A/N: Sorry for the delay of this chapter. I kinda had a mini-meltdown and got sick to boot. Hope you find it worth the wait and I'll do my best to update faster!

Disclaimer: Don't own Bones. Good thing, too, because I don't want to spend a lot of time in Hollywood.

I have taken Agent Booth:

To the casual observer, Dr. Temperance Brennan was the epitome of calm as she sat on a bench outside of Courtroom A. Especially if you compared her to Dr. Jack Hodgins, who was pacing the length of the hallway with rapid steps, frequently running his hands through his curly hair.

But Angela wasn't a casual observer. She saw how her best friend's eyes kept cutting to the cell phone clipped to her purse, and the slight tightness about her mouth.

Cam had stepped outside the courthouse "to get some air" – the artist was almost certain that the air in question would be tobacco scented. Sweets and Booth hadn't arrived yet. Angela figured the kid would show up in time – there were still ten minutes before the hearing would start.

But Booth not being there yet didn't seem right. And the more she examined Brennan, the more Angela suspected her friend might know something about the FBI agent's absence.

Abandoning her efforts to calm Jack down (nothing she'd said would stop his incessant pacing, his shoes ringing on the shiny floor), Angela dropped down beside Brennan on the bench. "Bren? You all right?"

Her friend sighed. "Of course I'm all right, Angela. We're about to close the Gravedigger case, and it will finally be over."

Angela arched an eyebrow. "Then why do you keep checking out your phone? And where's Booth?"

Brennan's gaze dropped to her hands, which were tightly clasped in her lap. "I – I don't know. He's not answering his phone. I think…" here Brennan took a deep breath, "I think he's very upset."

"Because we couldn't confirm his suspicions about an accomplice?" Angela asked.

Brennan nodded. "We argued about it last night. He insisted his gut was telling him we were wrong, and – and we both said things we probably shouldn't have." She bit her lip, then continued. "I informed him I would drive myself here today, and he stormed out."

Angela placed a hand on Brennan's. "Sweetie, this case has stressed us all out, especially you, Jack, and Booth. You guys'll get past this."

"I suppose you're right," Brennan said, "but I'm worried about him, Ange. He's having nightmares – that's logical, given what he experienced – but they appear to be bringing back unpleasant emotions from his time as a sniper. It's causing him to question his worth as a human being, and he shouldn't."

"Of course he shouldn't," Angela agreed, "But Bren, he's Catholic – guilt is part of the package. And Booth tries to do what's right – when he thinks he's failed at that, he takes it hard. You know that better than anyone."

"But how do I help him?" Brennan asked. "I can relate to the nightmares – I can't tell you how many I've had thanks to the time Hodgins and I were buried. But the guilt?"

Angela smiled. "Just keep reminding him that you don't think he's worthless, hon. He trusts your judgement."

The artist's gaze went to Jack, still pacing. Brennan noticed it. "Jack is having a difficult time as well," the forensic anthropologist noted. "Have you spoken with him?"

"Yeah," Angela said, her shoulders slumping. "I almost offered to move back in with him for a bit – I know he's having nightmares and feeling bad about what he did."

"Why didn't you?"

Angela shook her head. "It would've opened up all kinds of stuff between us – stuff that Jack would take way more seriously than I do." She sighed. "I mean, what we had was great, but we can't go back, can we?"

Before Brennan could come up with an answer, Caroline Julian strode into the area, Sweets trailing behind her. "All right, people, we're almost ready to go, so let's get your butts inside!"

Sweets looked around as Cam hurried up to the group. "Where's Agent Booth?"

Caroline stared at the group. "He isn't here?" She raised an eyebrow at Brennan. "Did you misplace your partner, Cherie?"

"I'll try calling him again," Brennan said, pulling out her phone. She quickly dialed his cell phone and got his voicemail again.

Hodgins looked concerned. "You think he's all right?"

Brennan disconnected the call after leaving a message. "He was pretty upset last night…this has hit him pretty hard."

Caroline looked at her watch. "Well, he'd better have a good reason for missing the show. We'd better get in there, and you all make sure your phones are off inside – I don't want anything to disrupt this hearing. Let's put this woman away!"

Sweets stepped over to Brennan. "It's possible Agent Booth decided he couldn't face the hearing. This case has taken quite an emotional toll on him."

Brennan ignored the psychologist as she stared at her phone. She didn't' want to turn it off – she felt as if something was wrong, even if Sweet's opinion sounded logical. But she didn't want to miss the hearing – she needed to see this particular criminal put away, for her own mental health.

Promising herself that she would check on Booth the minute the hearing was over, she powered off her phone.

#

"Court is adjourned!"

Brennan stood up as Caroline turned and beamed at the group. "Well, that went well! Congratulations, squints, we won this one!"

Jack was grinning from ear to ear. "Wow, it's finally over. We finally got her!" He turned and hugged Angela. "It's over!"

Brennan tried to smile. She felt some relief – Heather Taffet had pled guilty, she was going to jail, and she would never kidnap someone again. It was over.

Still, something troubled her.

When the hearing started, Taffet was led into the courtroom. Her gaze had swept the chamber, an arrogant smirk on her face, as though she were about to be released instead of locked up.

But at one point her expression wavered, her expression changing to one of confusion and concern. Puzzled, Brennan looked back to see Taffet's assistant, Norman Bear, standing near the doors, staring at his boss with an odd look on his face.

Brennan turned back to Taffet and saw she was smirking again, walking over to the defense table. What had that been about? The sound of a door opening caused her to glance back in time to see Bear disappear.

Brennan shook her head as she accepted the congratulations of everyone around her. Booth would've been able to tell what that had been about. Why wasn't he here?

She heard Caroline say something about having to go deal with another case, but she suddenly wanted to talk to her partner. Brennan made her way out of the courtroom, trying not to be overly rude. Once she was in the hallway, she turned on her phone.

The first thing she noticed was that there was a voice message from an unknown number. Frowning, Brennan accessed her messages.

"I have taken Agent Booth."

Logically, Brennan knew that it was impossible for time to stop. But at the sound of that mechanical voice, and those five words, it felt as if everything around her had frozen. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, all that continued was that relentless voice on her phone.

"I am demanding no ransom. The only thing I want is for you to know that Agent Booth is dying, and will die somewhere, sometime. You will never know how he suffered or what happened to him – unless, of course, some day you identify his bones.

This is my final message to you, Dr. Brennan. I hope this hurts you as much as you've hurt me."

"Bren?"

Brennan jumped. She didn't know how long she'd stood there, ear pressed to the phone. Angela was staring at her, concerned. Her friend's face looked blurry; Brennan realized there were unshed tears in her eyes and blinked furiously.

"Dr. Brennan?" Cam joined Angela, and Brennan saw that Hodgins and Sweets were behind her boss. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Brennan swallowed, not wanting to say the words, but knowing she had to.

"Booth was right. There is an accomplice." A deep breath, and she spoke again. "And they have Booth."

Shock ran through all of them. "What does he want NOW?" Hodgins demanded.

The tears came again. "He has it. He has Booth. And he's going to kill him."

There was a brief silence. Then Cam shook her head and straightened up. Her gaze swept the group.

"Well, let's get to work and make sure that doesn't happen."

Brennan nodded. "I need to talk to Heather Taffet. Can we make that happen?"

"Maybe Ms. Julian can help," Sweets said, but Cam shook her head.

"We go to anyone official, they'll tie us up timewise. Did we get a deadline?"

"No," Brennan said. "It may already be too…he may already be…"

"Don't think like that!" Angela ordered, her face alarmed. "There has to be a way we can get to see her."

Hodgins nodded, his face grim. "I'll make it happen. Come on, Dr. Brennan, let's see what she has to say."

"We'll come," Cam said. "Dr. Brennan, is the message recorded?"

Brennan nodded, moving to follow Hodgins. She felt a flame of anger ignite in her, and she nourished it. Her partner was in danger. Heather Taffet might know something to help save him.

And if she did, Taffet better tell them what it was. Or else.