Hi everybody again,

Here is the eighth chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

HUNTING

Booth woke up in the middle of the night. He saw Brennan sleeping in an armchair with a magazine in her lap. She seemed more peaceful now, and that made him feel some relief.

He remembered the dream he had when he was in the coma, and the feelings he was having since then. No, that's not exact. He had been feeling exactly this way for a long time ago, but he couldn't admit it to himself freely. But now it was undeniable, because he could barely hide the feelings for her to the world. They were becoming stronger every minute, and he knew he must do something about them or they would drive him crazy. But what? How? He knew he couldn't go and tell on her face, because that would scare her and made her run. Maybe he could talk to Angela… No, that wasn't a good idea, she would run in ecstasy and tell her in the next second. He sighed in frustration.

He looked at her again, and his mind betrayed him. He began to imagine (again) how it would be to touch her, to caress her, to kiss her, to make love to her… Oh, my God… I'm already beyond to the point of no return, he thought. He kept staring at her for a while, watching her sleep, trying to imagine her dreams. He fell asleep again thinking about her.

Brennan woke up too, sometime later. She checked on Booth and she thought she saw an odd expression on Booth's face, but it vanished the next second. She stared at him, thinking how close it had been to lose him today. This thought gave her shiver in terror.

Her phone started buzzing and took her from her thoughts.

"Brennan" She answered without reading who was calling.

"Hello, Dr. Brennan! It's a pleasure to speak to you, at last." A male voice said, with something in it that made her feel uneasy.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you my name yet. I was calling just to announce you that our love nest is ready for us. Very soon I'll show it to you. I'm sure you'll like it."

"I don't know what you're talking about! Who are you? And how did you get my phone number?" She insisted angrily. Booth had woken up when she had answered the phone, and was listening. She was becoming more nervous and looked at Booth. They both knew who was calling and Booth flipped his own phone and called the Head Office to trace the call. Then she put her phone on speaker, so Booth could hear the conversation.

"Tell agent Booth that it's useless to try to trace this call. Do you think I'm stupid? This is a prepaid number, and the FBI will never link it to me." He said very calmly, leaving Brennan still, looking at Booth's eyes. "I forgive you for this lack of trust in my abilities because you don't know me yet as well as I know you." Booth was gesturing for her to keep him on the line, while the FBI was trying to locate the call.

"You don't know anything about me. Have you asked me if I think you're stupid? Do you really want me to answer to that question? Of course your poor attempt to impress me with your gift is enough answer." She said trying to stay in control.

"I'm sorry to hear that you didn't like my brilliant present. I promise you I'll do better next time. And, as I said to you, I'll forgive your rough words, because you don't know me yet. We're going to fix this situation together, don't worry. You'd better be getting ready to come with me." The soft tone of voice was more threatening than if he had been shouting.

"I'm not going to go with you anywhere, though you were the last man walking on Earth! You've killed Karen Lindberg and sure you'll do the same to me if you have the chance. But do you want to know something? You're not going to put your hands on me. I'm far more intelligent than you, so don't pretend to be what you're not. I'm sure you're just a loser that needs to demonstrate his nonexistent abilities just to feel he's better than the others." She said irritated, and trying not to demonstrate her fear.

"I'm sorry for Karen, because she was just a poor substitute of what you could have been, and because of that I had to kill her. I couldn't let her live, she was nothing compared to you."

"You're a monster. You should be degraded from the humankind. You make me sick!" She said repulsively, and Booth watched to her astonished.

"Dr. Brennan, my patience has a limit. You wouldn't like to get me angry, would you?" He replied in a menacing, but low, voice. Then Booth thought that it could be a good idea to get him angry, because he could make a mistake in that mental state. He encouraged her to keep doing the same while he waited for something from the Head Office.

"I really couldn't care less about how you get or feel. I'm sure you will have enough time in jail to stop being angry, because you will be there for the rest of your life!"

At that moment Booth hung up his phone, stood up from the bed and hung up her phone too.

"He's here Bones, we must go out of here now!" He said taking off the I.V. and the electrodes.

"What are you doing?" She asked impatiently.

"I can't go out with all these machines connected to me!" He dressed in less than ten seconds and caught the gun that Harmon had handed him before. He opened the door a bit and took a quick look, and when he was sure, he pushed Brennan lightly out of the room. Agent Harmon was nowhere to be seen. "Where the Hell is Harmon?" He asked to himself.

"What's happening, Booth?" Brennan asked impatiently.

"Communications has told me that they couldn't get any information about the number he was calling from, but they have told me what base station he was connected to. And he's connected to the one on the top of this hospital. I'm sure he's here, and he was just distracting us, keeping you on the line. Back up is coming, but we must go out of that room, because that will be the first place where he will come searching for you. The security of the hospital is going to close all the entries, so he can't go away."

"Nor us. And where will we go? He could be everywhere and we don't know how he looks like, but he knows exactly who we are. He can recognize us in a bit, but we cannot. It's not a good idea, Booth! Besides you need to stay in a bed!"

"Call agent Perotta and ask her where the Hell is her partner. He should be right in front of the door, damn it!" He said ignoring her protests. He knew she was right, he could be anywhere lying in wait for them, but he cannot wait for him to come inside the room and do whatever he wanted… That was not going to happen, no way, Booth thought. "We could hide in another room with a telephone and call reception. Maybe they could tell us if someone has come asking for my room."

"Ok, let's go! I'll call agent Perotta as soon as we could be in a safer place than this corridor. We should leave this floor, Booth. Go to another one. This way it will be a lot more difficult for him to find us." She suggested and they headed to the emergency stairs, hoping that nobody was in there.

"Stay behind me, Bones!" He said opening the door. Fortunately it was empty. Booth walked aiming the gun downstairs, and two floors down they headed to the door that led to the main corridor of the floor.

The corridor was empty too, for their luck. Booth tried the first doors but they were locked or with a patient in it. But in the middle of the corridor they found an open and empty room, perfect for hiding in there. "We can stay here for the moment. Call Perotta now, please!" He urged locking the door behind him.

"I'm already dialing!" She spotted. There were two o'clock in the morning, she was just sleeping a few minutes before, a killer was trying to get her and Perotta wasn't answering. She hung up frustrated, while Booth called the reception.

"The receptionist has told me that a man has asked for my room ten minutes ago. He has had enough time to arrive to the room before we went out. I don't understand. Why has he waited so long? I have the feeling that he's toying with us."

Brennan's phone buzzed again. It was him. "Booth…" She said disturbed.

"Give me the phone." He told her. She handed the phone and he picked it up. "Leave her alone, you fucking bastard!"

"Agent Booth! What a pity to hear your voice, it's a lot more unpleasant than Dr. Brennan's. You are becoming a pain in the ass, you know?" He said ironically.

"I'm glad to be able to piss you off!" He said dryly, putting on the speaker again.

"Well, I have to say that that poor agent could have been a good match but, ups, he was sooo sleepy in that chair that I couldn't help to do to him the same I did to you. Only this time I'm sure he won't survive. But you two have surprised me. I expected to find both of you in your room, but it seems that you have gone while I was carrying the poor agent to a more private place. But I like games. I'm sure Dr. Brennan loves games too. Do you mind to ask her, please?" He kept being sarcastic.

"Listen to me carefully! If you dare to touch a single hair on her head I will KILL you, even if I have to move Heaven and earth! I swear it to you!" Booth said that in a very menacing and angry voice.

"Don't threaten me, agent Booth. You must be sure you'll be able to keep your word before threaten someone this way. And I'm going to make me sure that you couldn't interrupt my time with Dr. Brennan, so your threat is in vain. Don't waste your breath." He kept that sarcastic and calmed voice, and that was making Booth and Brennan feel really disturbed.

"You're sick! But you already know it! Besides, you'll not be able to escape from this hospital." Booth shouted.

"Ah, agent Booth!" He said with condescension, as if he was talking to a child that refuses to understand. "You two have the ability of underestimate me. I can forgive her doing it, but I'm not in the mood to forgive you." That last statement sounded more threatening. In that exact moment Brennan watched a man in the corridor, talking through a cell phone. She gestured nervously to Booth to come to the door glass. The man was walking toward the room, turning his head in every glass door, and looking inside. He wore a cap and they couldn't see his face clearly. "In fact, I'm already thinking about punish you some way. I can be very creative!" He said. Booth had the sensation that that bastard was enjoying this situation. The man was almost in front of their door. Booth blocked the microphone with his hand.

"Listen to me, Bones. I'm going to open the door and hit that bastard with it. If something goes wrong I want you to run, ok?" He whispered.

"No! It's not ok! I'm not going to leave you alone with this sicko, Booth!" She replied.

"Please! Do as I say! We have no time to argue about this!" He said. The man was now in front of the door, and Booth didn't think twice. He opened the door violently, knocking the man out on the floor. His cell phone flied four meters away. Booth aimed the gun to him and knelt down to search him. Brennan went to pick up the man's phone and turned again to Booth and the unconcious man. It was still connected, but not with her phone.

"Booth… this phone was not connected to mine! He is not who was after us!" She said. And then she heard a click on her right ear. She had a gun directly aimed to her temple. Right behind her had appeared a tall man, who had come through the same stairs they had used before. His right hand was aiming the gun and his left one a syringe. He stuck it on her neck but didn't inject the content. She froze.

"She is right, agent Booth." The voice sounded louder and Booth was surprised, because it hadn't came from the phone. A cold shiver ran through his spine. "This poor man was not who you think." The man said, with sarcasm in his voice and face, arrogantly. Booth aimed the gun directly to him and stood up, but he was using Brennan as a shield. Booth felt his heart froze in that moment, looking directly to Brennan's eyes. She stared at him trying to get some strength from him, and he was trying to hide the fear and desperation. But he failed miserably and the man noticed it.

"Oh, look at that! I think I'm going to kill two birds with one stone! I'm going to make you suffer the Hell, while I enjoy her. That's absolutely perfect!" He said funny.

"Let her go now!" Booth said standing up.

"Or what? Where are your threats now, agent Booth? I'm indeed touching her whole head." He said handling her hair. He turned to speak to Brennan. "In fact I'm planning to touch you all we want. Right, sweetheart?" He said to Brennan.

"You won't be able to go out of the hospital, neither with me nor without me!" Brennan said dryly.

"Oh, we'll see. Agent Booth… I have two options right now to kill her, the gun and the syringe. Don't make me waste my time and drop your gun." He was being arrogant again.

"Booth! No! Shoot at him!" Brennan shouted. The man pushed the gun stronger against her head to make her be quiet and she felt the needle of the syringe sticking deeper. The man was smiling sarcastically. But Booth was paralyzed. He simply couldn't take the risk of shooting at her. But he didn't want to drop the gun. He must try to distract him enough time for the FBI team to arrive.

"Let her go, NOW!" Booth almost yelled it.

"You are not going to shoot. Your face is like an open book. You can't risk a shot against me with her in the middle. But I've changed my mind. The best way to spend my time with her without interruptions will be shooting at you!" The man said, and aimed the gun directly to Booth. That lack of attention on her was what she needed to attack the man. She elbowed him on the liver, just at the same time he pulled the trigger. The shot grazed Booth's right arm, making him drop the gun and fall on his knees. The man released the syringe with the hit, but a little bit of content was injected inside her veins, making her feel a little dizzy instantly, although not enough to make her fall. She took the chance to run toward Booth. She was now shielding Booth instead, looking at the killer in the eye, trying to focus her view. She wasn't sure who he was, but she knew him from somewhere. She thought that if he indeed wanted to take her somewhere, then he wanted her alive. She pulled the syringe out of her neck and threw it away.

"Bones! What are you doing? Get out of here!!" He yelled, but she ignored him.

"I'm not going to let you kill him! You have to kill both of us!" Brennan told the man.

"I'm not going to give up because of this." He said stepping back through the stairs door. His smile had faded from his face. "But be sure I'm not going to forgive you easily after this betrayal." He said before going through the stairs door and disappear. She turned to Booth and saw four FBI agents coming toward them through the corridor aiming their guns. That's why that bastard had run away, she thought.

"Are you ok?" She asked him looking at his bloody arm.

"Yes, don't worry, it's just a scratch." One of the agents stopped by their side, another knelt on the man who Booth had knocked out, while the others followed the man through the stairs.

"Agent Booth?"

"Why have you taken so long?" He replied not meaning it at all. The agents just took seven or eight minutes to arrive.

"Are you ok, sir?" The agent asked.

"Yes, yes, don't worry. The bullet has just grazed me." He replied. But he was thinking about Bones. He was angry and worried for her at the same time. "Bones, and you? Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Why did you step in front of me? You could have got killed!" he said grabbing her from her shoulders.

"I know, but it was the only way to save you! He wanted me alive, and I thought that he wouldn't shoot you while I was in his line of fire." She was having troubles to fix her gaze. "And don't yell at me! You have done exactly the same for me before!"

"I know, I know!" He said holding her possessively. She squeezed him tight, feeling the anxiety go away in his arms. He felt her shake lightly. She was feeling faint due to what had been injected to her. "Bones! What's happening to you?" Booth held her before she could fall and took her in his arms. "Please! Call for help!" He told to the agent. He headed with her to the bedroom where they had hidden before, and lied her down on the bed.

"Bones! Come on! Open your eyes!" He said desperately.

"I'm ok Booth." He felt a lot relieved when he heard her voice. "Don't worry. I'm just a little sick. He must have injected a little bit of what was in that syringe. I'm going to be ok." She remained with her eyes closed.

"I'm sure of that. The nurses are coming to help you." He was watching her carefully, placing a lock of hair behind her ear, and caressing her face with infinite care.

"You need to go to clean and check that wound, Booth, and to return to a bed too." She said opening her eyes a little.

"I promise you I'll go as soon as the doctors check on you. You can't help to be bossy even now, can you?" He said, trying to release a bit of tension. In that moment a pair of nurses and a doctor entered the room and make Booth move away from her and wait outside. How close they have been to disaster, too much close, he thought. He remained in the doorjamb looking at her, and he couldn't help to think that she was one of the bravest persons he had ever met. She had saved his life twice in one day. When the doctor told him that she was just under the effect of a small dose of tranquilizers, and that she will be ok in a few hours he leant on the wall and sigh in relief. He saw that the doctor had gone to help the man he had knocked out to stand up and then he helped him to lie down on a couch. He must go later to apologize to him.

The nurses were going to take Brennan to an Emergencies box. While they prepared her he talked to the agents.

"Have you already caught that bastard?"

"I don't know anything yet, agent Booth. I will inform you as soon as I have any information."

"I suspect that he has attacked the agent that was with us, agent Harmon. He told me that he had injected something and he was dead."

"Ok, give me the details and agent Clarkson will go to search for him right now. Maybe we are still in time." The agent said. Booth told him everything that had happened as fast as he could. Meanwhile more agents arrived. A few were sent in search for agent Harmon. Moments later the nurses were pushing a wheelchair where Brennan was sat.

"I've told them I could walk by myself, but they didn't let me!" Brennan protested.

"This is a hospital rule, Dr. Brennan. I've already told you." The tallest nurse replied.

"Let me, please." Booth said, and the other nurse let him push the wheelchair. "She could be very stubborn. Don't pay attention to her protests." He told to the nurses with a funny complaisance.

"Booth! It's not a stubborness problem. It's just that this is a way to waste a wheelchair with someone that doesn't need it!"

"We know that, but you need it. What if you faint again?"

"I'm not going to faint again. They have injected me a dose of dopamine to increase my cardiac rhythm and my level of alertness."

"That's amazing Bones, but you are going to be a good girl and let me take you to Emergencies, where you could be more comfortable in a box for a while."

"Don't treat me like a child, Booth!"

The nurses were smiling at the bickering, thinking that those two were a lovely couple.

To be continued...

Please, review!!!!!!!! Have I told you that I love your reviews????????

Next chapter is coming soon... and we'll know what happens with the killer, agent Harmon and more and more...

Author's note: I've added a few comments to try to explain more clearly the way the killer speaks... because I read it again and I've realized that it wasn't clear enough. I hope you've understood him as I was trying to write him!