Here's chapter three, everyone! It's shorter than the first two, but I didn't want to take too much away from the next chapter. Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed, favored, and watched this story so far--thank you very much, keep it up, please. I hope you enjoy and if you do, PLEASE REVIEW! Thankies. Btw: I'm just an actrees/writer and science/math have never been my strong suits so if I get anything wrong with any of the forensics-type stuff please telling. I'm just basing everything I know on research and from the show itself.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bones or it's characters. I just own this case, Kristen, Zoey, Austen, Isaac, Meghan, Charlotte, Cheryl, Paul, and any other OC I have created.
Chapter Three: First Case
Being at the Jeffersonian and hanging with the people there after class—production for the TV show hadn't started since they were in the middle of casting—were a huge thrill for Kristen. She could never have such an occupation as the actress had never—and still wasn't good—at anything science and math related; she was more of a history, art, and English person.
However, over the few days the blonde would visit the Medico-Legal Lab, she still felt like she was out of place, like she didn't really belong. Don't get her wrong, the people who worked there seemed nice enough, but…still.
Dr. Brennan didn't really seem to care about Kristen being around as long she didn't get in the way. Kristen tried to stay in the background and ask only appropriate questions at the appropriate time. Dr. Brennan was very bright and very skilled at her job, but she seemed a bit cold and maybe even a little intimidating, more reasons Kristen stayed as quiet as possible.
Dr. Goodman was rarely around, so Kristen didn't know him well. He seemed very business-oriented though.
Hodgins, at first, didn't seem pleased by Kristen presence. Over time, she guessed she grew on him as they talked much more than they went they first got acquainted. He seemed like a really good guy. A big brother type who liked to pull pranks, makes jokes, and was very sarcastic. Like a combination of Isaac and Zoey—though, they weren't paranoid theorists like Hodgins. Nonetheless, Kristen and Hodgins weren't best friends or anything. They were just on slightly good terms—she had only been around for little under a week.
Angela was probably the most welcoming and warmest person in the Jeffersonian. Kristen and Angela clicked instantly, but that was most likely because they had artistic souls and also because they were the only people who weren't geniuses in the group—other than Booth. They talked about various things, but mostly art, plays, music, and such. She was very sweet like Charlotte. Kristen hung out with the artist more than anyone else when she wasn't studying Dr. Brennan.
Booth was…well Booth. Kristen and he were already friends from a while ago. She hung out with him, too when he was looming about the lab. They'd catch up on old times mostly.
And then there was Zack. Zack was…Kristen couldn't describe him, but that only because they didn't really talk—sometimes not at all. By the second day, she had been at the Jeff, Kristen knew or at least felt that he was doing anything he could to avoid her. He'd say as little as possible, wouldn't stay around her for very long, and wouldn't ever make eye-contact with her. It bothered her and she didn't know why. Maybe because she had convinced herself that he hated her for unintentionally blowing him off and Kristen wasn't use to people hating her at least not to her face. The young woman had only learned things from Angela and Hodgins about Zack, but she didn't learn much. All she had learned was that he was a genius and was kind of socially awkward—Kristen got that much from how he acted at the club. He was basically the male version of Dr. Brennan.
Otherwise, Kristen liked the Jeffersonian. She was a bit shy around the others—like she was around most people she didn't know very well. But, she had hopes they'd become friends eventually.
Anyway, since Kristen was still not allowed to drive her car—she had another two days on her punishment—Booth had offered to give her a ride to the Jeff after her classes. Today was no exception. However, today the atmosphere in the SUV as they drove away from Kristen's college was unusually tense. And at first, she had thought it was because the FBI had recently found a body dumped in a couple's pond in their backyard in Maryland and Booth wasn't happy that she was tagging along—she had to do a lot of persuading to be permitted such. Yet, as it would seem, that wasn't the case, at least not entirely.
Not liking Booth being so quiet, especially since he always seemed so happy to see her and was more than willing to strike up a conversation, Kristen decided to confront the dark-haired man about his silence. "Is…something wrong, Seeley?" she asked softly from the passenger seat.
He said nothing for a moment, his eyes focused on the road and then, he spoke gravely, "When were you planning on telling me, Kristen?"
"Tell you what?" Her brows furrowed.
"You know what." His dark eyes glanced to her briefly with a sharp look.
The blonde ran through all things she had done since she started visiting the Jeffersonian and occasionally the bureau. She jumped thinking of the one thing that would make Booth made at her. "Is this about the Marshmallow Peep Duel Hodgins and I held the other day in the bureau's microwave? Cuz we tried cleaning that up as best as possible, but those things are mad sticky when melted and blown up."
"That was you two?!" Booth exclaimed furiously, looking at her aghast. He almost swerved for a minute.
Kristen bit her lip and tugged at a strand of her straightened hair, looking away. "Nooooo." she sang innocently.
Booth groaned. "That's not what I was talking about, but we're going to get to that afterwards." he grumbled with a deep sigh of frustration. He had missed the girl sitting next to him, but he did not miss her antics—she was twenty-one wasn't she?
"Oh…" She blanched a little—wasn't she in enough trouble? Hesitantly, she inquired, "Then…what are you talking about?"
"Why didn't tell me Sarah died?"
Kristen went rigid. Tugging her hair hard, twirling it around her finger, her green eyes looked out the window. "…Oh…"
"Why didn't you tell me?" he repeated, his voice softer noticing her solemn tone and face.
"It's not exactly something you bring up in an everyday conversation." Kristen gazed to him, her face abnormally emotional. "How did you even know she died in the first place?"
Booth made a face, a bit reluctant to tell her the truth knowing she wouldn't be too pleased with it. "…I looked at your file."
"You did what?" Kristen seethed. Booth said nothing, which just made her even madder. "Seeley!" she shrilled.
"I'm sorry. I was curious as to what you have been up to these past few years."
"You could've just asked!"
"You wouldn't have told me anything, just like you didn't tell me Sarah died! You don't tell anyone anything, Kris!"
"That's no excuse to invade my privacy like that!"
"Kristen,"
"No! I can't believe you, Seeley!"
"You're acting like a child."
"I have every right to!"
Booth sighed deeply. He had a feeling starting that conversation would come and bite him in the ass if he brought it up. The agent remembered that Kristen was normally a quiet and calm person, but when sensitive subjects, especially about her personal life—a thing she rarely told people about—she'd get very defensive and snap like a wounded animal. He had just wished that after five years, she would have grown out of it—obviously not.
The rest of the ride was quiet as it had been when it began yet, now the tension had thickened greatly. Booth kept his eyes on the road, his hands tight on the steering wheel and Kristen slouched grumpily in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest as she glowered at the window.
When they arrived at the Jeffersonian and Booth parked out front, he stiffly told Kristen to get Brennan and Zack. She said nothing, got out of the car, and trudged up to the institute. He just watched her go with a deep frown.
Eventually, Kristen returned with Brennan and Zack, who was lugging a yellow case of equipment. They all loaded into the SUV with the older people in the front and the young in the back. Booth started the engine and pulled away from the Jeffersonian.
For a while, no one said anything, which was unusually. Usually, Kristen and Booth would be talking, encouraging Brennan and Zack to join the conversation. That being, when the two hadn't said a word in the past fifteen minutes, Brennan figured something was wrong—Zack didn't really notice all that much.
"Things seem quite…tense." Brennan piped up quizzically. She glanced between the other female and her partner. "Are you two fighting or something of that nature?"
"No," was Booth's reply.
"Yes," was Kristen's.
Brennan furrowed her brows and looked to Zack, who looked just as lost as she was. Nevertheless, neither said anything else.
It was going to be a long car ride to Maryland…
The little suburban Maryland neighborhood, especially the home of where the body was found, was in chaos. Neighbors were gathered at the one house with horrified and interested faces. Two FBI trucks, along with Booth's SUV, had parked in front of the small, but pleasant light blue house with a white picket fence—stereotypical home. Kristen didn't know whether to be fascinated by the sight or empathetic as she followed Zack, Booth, and Brennan around the house to the back of it—was she going to feel that way when she saw the body?
Reaching the back of the house, Kristen couldn't help, but think the tiny garden and pond that was there was quite lovely. It probably would've looked nicer without the horrified owners, the FBI forensics roaming about the pond, and the fact that there had been a body found in said pond, which had now been pulled out carefully.
Brennan immediately went into forensic anthropologist mode—well, more than she already was—and yanked on latex gloves while strolling up to the pond. She began giving orders to Zack, who was following closely behind her, "Zack, take stills then, move onto video before temperature and samples of the pond."
"Right away, Dr. Brennan." Zack nodded.
Perking up at the mentioning of taking pictures, Kristen jogged up to Brennan and Zack—also to get away from Booth, who was talking to the couple, since she was still mad at him. "Can I take the pictures and video?" she asked Brennan, trying not to show excitement in such a grave situation.
Brennan and Zack looked to her skeptically. Noticing those looks, Kristen elaborated, "I'm being serious. If I take the pictures and video, you two will be able to focus more intently and we can get the body to the Jeff quicker. You won't regret it, I promise. I'll take really good pictures and video. You won't regret it."
They exchanged looks for a moment. Brennan just sighed and nodded, motioning Zack to hand over the camera to Kristen. He looked reluctant and hesitant, but did as he mentor instructed. Kristen's eyes twinkled happily yet, her face remained calm. "Please, be careful with it. It's very expensive." he told her firmly.
"I know, I know. Nikon D90 Digital SLRs are always expensive." Kristen said dismissively, cradling the heavy, black in her hands—after placing the strap over her head—as if it was a baby.
The male genius was about to ask how she knew what kind of camera was and how she knew it was expensive, but couldn't as the blonde was already taking pictures of the corpse on the blue tarp. Not to mention, the older and much taller female had called to him again. Not needing to be told again, Zack got to work and knelt by the pond to take its temperature and take samples from it. Booth joined the three of them soon after, only looking at Kristen oddly briefly.
"So what do we got, Bones?" Booth asked, crossing his arms.
"Don't call me "Bones"." Brennan retorted, looking back and up at him over her shoulder from her kneeling position. Her keen orbs returned the gangly and slimy body before them. "Male, in his early teens, very tall for his age, around 5'8", and liked playing basketball." she announced confidently, calmly.
Kristen blinked, her attention broken from taking pictures to stare astounded by the woman. That's…so cool. She didn't even have to do anything, barely even touched the body and she knows his age range, gender, height, and what his favorite sport was., she thought. She turned to Zack, who was working beside her. "How can she tell all that?" the young woman asked the brunet man.
He stiffened and glanced to her, but quickly looked away. Zack cleared his throat awkwardly and explained, "We can tell the sex from the pelvis bone. A male's pelvis is heavier and thicker than female's. Males have more predominant bone markings, their pubic arch is more v-shaped, and the pelvic inlet is valentine-shaped while the outlet is smaller than females'." He pointed to each part of the pelvis he was mentioning. "And since the pelvis isn't completely developed that shows that he has just began puberty. As for the favoritism of the sport, that's told by the wears in the wrist bones and most of the legs." he told her impassively.
"Wow. That's really impressive." breathed Kristen. She was now not just amazed by Dr. B, but by Zack as well—no wonder he was her assistant. However, there was that twinge of disappointment that Zack still wouldn't make eye-contact with her and his body went taut whenever she spoke to him—at least he said more than a couple of words to her.
"Is it murder?" Booth queried.
Brennan didn't reply at first, examining the body one more time in case she missed anything. Apparently, she had had she looked at the inside of the mouth and inside of the nose. She frowned a little, especially when the brunette reached into the throat and pulled out the white object she had spotted in the throat. It was a white feather.
She showed it to the others. "The victim was asphyxiated and with whatever murder weapon this came from." she stated, gingerly holding the feather between her gloved index and thumb.
Her partner's lip formed a straight line. "Murder it is."
Kristen didn't want to be excited, but inside she was. This was going to be her first real case.