Hello, and welcome back! My exams are over! YAY!!! And hopefully the results will be as good as I think they are, but I won't get them till friday :( So ...
Enjoy another chapter of Hous of Horrors and leave me your thoughts!!!
- Liesa

Chapter 8: Escaping To Peru

Sighing, I closed my laptop.
The e-mail was sent to Booth and I had no need to wait for a reply because I knew he would say the exact same thing as Angela.
'Stop running Brennan… or Bones!' Everything was packed and stuffed into my car, a one-way ticket to Peru was bought and I was more than ready to leave this hellhole.

My mind on blank I rode to the airport, waited for my plane to arrive and climbed on board.
I was just another passenger. Nothing different from the others, except that they didn't knew my story.
The story I was running from.

I hoped Booth would just let it go. That he would see my email for what it was. The curtsey to let my partner know where I was going, but also the need to do this by myself. I sighed in annoyance as I realized I was fooling myself. If Angela already thought this was a bad idea, Booth surely would as well.

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Observing I stared at my new 'home'.
It lay abandoned, and looked utterly cold from the outside.
Reaching inside my pocket, I took the key and opened the door.

The inside of the cabin was dark and the air smelled stale. I sighed as I picked up my suitcase and carried it inside. I switched the lights on and saw the living room. Their was one uncomfortable looking couch, an old, worn rug. My gaze slowly left the living room and glided towards the small kitchen. Their were no appliances except for what looked like a small cooker. Finally my gaze rested on the small bed in the far end of the room. I sighed again as I walked to the small closet, where I would keep my clothes. 'This would be my home for the next few months.' I sighed and lifted the suitcase onto the bed. I opened it and started to unpack.

A small package inside caught my eye when I removed the first pair of trousers, it was packed in plain brown wrapping paper and my name was written across it. I recognized it as Angela's handwriting. She must have put it in my suitcase when I went to say goodbye one last time.
Tearing the paper open I removed a small note what read : 'For your new home, don't forget us. The squints.'
As I tossed the note aside my eyes drifted to the actual gift, a picture frame which held a photo from last Christmas. A beautiful photo of the whole group including me and Booth.
And without him even here, I got lost in his kind, brown eyes again.

The same brown eyes stared at the screen in complete unbelief back in Washington D.C.
No…No… No.
Booth shook his head, the mail from his partner open on his computer screen.
There was no way she'd left.
For the third time he read the mail.

'Dear Booth,'t be able to answer my mobile phone, because off the dig in Peru. I'm leaving today to join a group of scientist on an six month dig in the 'Desierto costero del Perú' or simply the Coastal desert of Peru. There is no need to worry, I'll contact you when I feel comfortable and have the time to do it, which probably wouldn't be anytime soon.
One last thing, you don't have to pick me up at the airport, I already arranged Angela would do that for me.

For the next few days I probably won

Greetings,
Temperance Brennan.'


She was gone.
His precious Bones had ran…and she hadn't even had the strength to tell him herself.
Somewhat angry at her for being so impersonal, but also understanding and glad she had told him anyway. But there was no way he would let her get away this easily.
Not without her knowing how much she cared about him.

Picking up his keys and left on his way to Washington Airport.
"Good evening ma'am, my name is Seeley Booth. I would like some information on a client of yours. Her name is Temperance Brennan."

"I'm sorry, sir, but we aren't allowed to pass through information just like that." The receptionist replied.
Booth sighed, he didn't like to misuse his authorities but this was what he called 'an emergency'.
"Ma'am I'm an federal agent of the FBI and I'm investigating a case on Temperance Brennan." He flashed his badge. "I have information Miss Brennan has taken a flight to Peru in this company, can you confirm that and if possible give me further information?"

With a few taps on the keys of her keyboard the woman searched into the documents.
"Miss Brennan took a flight to Peru this afternoon at 1:29 PM. She arrived in the airport at Lima and from these records it's known she rented a car there."

"Any chances there's an address of her residence in it, a hotel or an apartment she's currently staying in?" He flashed her a charm smile. The young woman stuttered.
"I'll… see what I can do, Agent Booth."
A few minutes passed by and Booth impatiently began tapping his fingers against the desk.
Finally the woman spoke up again.
"Machu Picchu, Peru. Those houses have been restored recently and she's renting one of those, it's probable that's her residence,…I'm sorry but there's no number given."

Booth scribbled something down onto his notepad and looked up, smiling politely and thanking the woman, continuing his quest to search Brennan.

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Dusting off my clothes, I stood up and looked over at the final result.
These were my first two days in Peru and the team had discovered an ancient body at the Condor Temple.
Packing up my bag I looked at the site, everybody had already left, everybody except me.
Looking at my watch I figured it was probably also time for me to leave.
I knew that these were my roots, the reason why I became an anthropologist, but something felt strangely missing, I was getting attached to the team work at the Jeffersonian and in here the group wasn't all that friendly, and certainly not open for a personal chat. In some way it comforted me, but in some way it was also slightly disturbing.

I sat down on the side of the road as I looked in my backpack for a snack. While I was rummaging around in my backpack, I thought about all the times Booth would come get me for lunch and dinner too if we were dealing with a busy case, making sure I would eat. The way Angela would quickly drop by in the morning, just to say good morning. I usually told her that she shouldn't stop whatever she was doing just to come say hello to me, but now, I found myself missing these little things that made my day, a pleasant day.

The small things that would make me smile without me even realizing it. I sighed in annoyance at my musings. "Get a grip, Brennan. You have done this before. THIS is what you do. THIS is who you are. A forensic Anthropologist. And right now I'm needed here. So this is exactly where I should be."

Sighing I decided I needed a drink, luckily for me there was at least one pub in this village.
As I placed myself down onto a bar seat, signing for the waiter.

"Una cerveza." A beer.
The waiter nodded and seconds later a local beer stood in front of me.
I took a snip of the liquid and heard a local woman raise her voice.
"Lo siento mucho pero yo no le entiendo, señor. Déjame llamar a mi hija, ella habla un poco de palabras en Inglés. "
From what I could understand she was saying that she was sorry but didn't understand English. And getting her daughter to speak for her.

"Doesn't anybody in this freaking village understand me!!!" A male yelled through the whole pub. Wait a second….That voice was very familiar to me, but why?
I tried to focus my eyes on the place from where the voice came and saw a shadow through the heavy clouds of smoke and liquor fumes…when the daughter translated I knew it.

"Mamá, él dice que su nombre es Seeley Booth, un policía y que está buscando a una mujer llamada Temperance Brennan. La dama en la imagen. Ella es un arqueólogo .. aquí, creo."
When I heard my name I tried to translate the whole conversation as well.

'Mom, he says his name is Seeley Booth, a cop and that he's searching for a woman named Temperance Brennan. The lady in the picture. She's an ..archeologist here, I think.'

"Booth!!" I yelped through the whole place and suddenly all eyes where on me.
"¿Conoces a este hombre?" Do you know this guy? The woman asked.

"Sí, sí él es un amigo mío .., lo siento por el obstáculo". Yes I replied, he's a friend and I'm sorry for the hinderance.

The elder lady smiled at me.
"Está bien, querida. Eres novio era probablemente sólo preocupado por ti. Eres un joven muy lindo."
I Totally ignored her comment about Booth being my worried boyfriend and us being a cute pair.

Tossing some money to cover my drink on the table, I hurried through the mess of people and walked outside. And without even looking behind, I knew Booth was following me and that soon was confirmed.
"Bones!! Wait!!!" He yelled, quickening his pace to follow me.
Not a chance! I thought and also started to walk faster, almost running, to my place.

"Leave me alone!!" I screamed back, glad I saw the house I was staying getting closer.
I heard Booth run even faster and when I reached into my pocket to grab my key, I felt his hand grab my wrist, trapping me against the ramshackle door.

"Let go!!!" I cried, fear overtaking me again and struggling against him.
As I snapped my wrist from his tight grip, I quickly opened the door, anxious to get inside.
But as soon as I opened the door, Booth had also followed me inside.
With saddened eyes he looked at me.
"This is what you call a home, Temperance?"

Booth looked at her, and then back to the tiny shack.
The cobbles-floor was dirty and dusty, paint was pealing from the walls and the worst damage was covered with some hand-woven carpets.
The place was a complete disaster!

"Yes, Booth. For now, this is my residence. Do you have a problem with my choice? It's the most practical solution. It's close to the site, it's in a relatively safe area and it's not expensive at all. However, there is only one bed, so I suggest you leave." I looked at him and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"No…" Booth said stubborn, knowing that yelling at her would only drive her further away and that was complete the opposite of what he had planned to do.
"First of all I don't speak a freaking word of Spanish to order a room in an inn and second of all I'm not leaving you out of my sight again, you can scream and protest all you want, Temperance, but I'll make sure I stay the one constant in your life, whether you like it or not."

Our gazes met, both to stubborn to give in we stared at each other, the electricity crackling between us, Booth inched closer a small step, not breaking the penetrating eye-contact.
For minutes there where only sounds of crickets outside and our elevated breathing, the whole world seemed to have disappeared and only our gazes held.
Sepia brown stared into crystal blue for what seemed like an eternity, and then it happened.
"Fine," I gave in. "I'll get you a spare blanket, you can have the couch, but only for tonight."

When Booth was installed on the couch minutes later, I got to my 'room' or the other side of the small building and climbed into the so-called bed,

I opened the door and froze as I took in the mess. The table had been turned upside down, my clothes were scattered throughout the room. Everywhere I looked I saw pages that quite clearly had been torn out of the books I had brought with me. I had no time to process it as someone grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. The force of the action, unbalanced me and I fell to my knees in the middle of the mess as the person who was responsible for this started to circle me. When he stopped in front of me, I recognized him. "Patrick." My voice was soft and shock was evident in it. He sat down on his knees and pulled my head back by tugging my hair. He held my face with his other hand, forcing me to look at him.

"You really didn't think I wouldn't find you, did you?" He pulled me closer and crashed his lips to mine as he pushed me on my back. Fidgeting underneath him, I tried to get free before he could get any further, but his strong frame prevented me from escaping.
"Let me go!" I yelled, doing my best to scratch on his arms with my short nails, after a few times succeeding to create a large, red scratch.
A loud screech left my throatwhen I felt two hand on my shoulders…Two hands of a men, but in contrast to Patrick's these weren't cold like steel, but soft and gentle, shaking me back to reality…or what I thought was reality.

He grabbed my shoulders, lifted my torso a few inches and slammed me back on the floor. The move disoriented me and as I fought through the haze, he leaned down closer and started to talk. "Come on, babe! You really thought I would just let you go because that jackass of an FBI partner, who should have noticed weeks earlier, arrested me? He won't be there to save you every time. He is not here to save you this time is he? Let's face it, babe. He saved you once, I did this dozens of times. Enough evidence for you?"
His words cut deep, but I continued to struggle, only one thought going through my mind. 'Not again! Not again! Not ag...'

"Temperance," A voice called out to me. "Wake up."
Keeping my eyes shut forcefully, I shook my head in the sheets.
"No," I replied. "Go away, you're gonna hurt me."
Sighing, I heard someone kneel beside me.
"Patrick's not here, Bones…I am. Booth. And I'm not going to hurt you…I never will."
Slowly, I opened one eye to see my partner sitting next to me, a worried look on his face.
"It's ok, Temperance. It's all over." He smiled gently.

A surge of anger coursed through my body "No, it isn't!" The blanket was thrown aside as I kicked myself out of bed. "Isn't and it's never going to be! This is never going to end!"

Running towards the door, I yanked it open, running outside, not caring it was in the middle of the night or that I was barefooted.

I could hear him call out to me, but I couldn't give in. I started to run, I didn't care which way I was going, just needing to get away from him, from the small cabin, from my nightmares. From the fears that had haunted me all the way to Peru. I let out a small cry as I stumbled and crashed to the ground, falling on my hands and knees.

"Bones…" He breathed once he had caught up with me, sinking to my eyelevel.
"Let me help you…please. I'm here now, let me help you gett-"
His breath caught as I launched myself at him.
I was tired of running, tired of having those horrible nightmares, tired of not being able to feel anything good. As my arms wound around his neck, I buried my head in the crook where his neck and shoulders met, shivering in his arms.
"Help me…." I sighed. "Help me feel."
Rubbing my back reassuringly, he made soothing whispers in my ear. His sweet words were like a balm to my wounded heart and mind.
"It's all gonna be all right…shhh…I promise…I'm here…it's all right."
For several minutes we just say still in each other's embrace, and it may seem strange but it was the best thing I had ever felt.
It was gentle and sweet, everything I had longed for, for such a long time.

(---------------------------End Chapter 8---------------------------)