WWI victim.
Killed June 13th, 1915 at the battle of the Gallipoli.
Kenneth James Smith, 19 years old.
There is a beep as an access card is swiped.
And then there is Booth, bounding up the stairs to the forensic platform.
~BB~
The bones are bright white against the dark earth.
The skull is intact, but she can see fractures to the frontal lobe.
Second molars haven't erupted.
Female, age 12-13.
Without looking up, she knows Booth's face is set, jaw clenched.
The young ones are always the hardest.
~BB~
Once the body has been recovered and all scene evidence is collected, they go back to the lab.
She oversees Mr. Bray as he organizes the bones.
Then she heads to her office.
Booth is there, leaning against the wall.
She walks over to him and gives his hand a squeeze.
Lets him know that she knows how he feels.
He gives her a tight smile.
~BB~
12 year old Amanda Killerman.
Killed by blunt force trauma to the head.
She gives the information to Booth.
He takes Sweets with him to go inform the parents.
And that is ok, since she knows she will see him later.
The mother is in a rehab center.
The same place she has been off and on since her daughter went missing.
The father is at home, unemployed and drunk.
He swears at the pair, cursing the FBI and all its stooges.
He takes a swing at Sweets, who doesn't manage to dodge in time.
~BB~
A search warrant reveals the man's hidden stash of porn.
Porn featuring young girls and boys.
Some feature a young Amanda, bound and gagged.
~BB~
Booth doesn't need any more reason to keep the man locked up.
But he and Sweets grill him until he confesses.
She's grown over the summer and managed to gain some muscle climbing trees.
She used that muscle to resist him.
So he hit her with a lamp.
She hasn't grown enough to survive the force of the blow.
~BB~
When he and Sweets arrive back at the lab with the news, she knows it will be a rough night.
They go back to her place and share a drink.
He just sits there, staring at the remaining ice in his glass.
His eyes are dark, his body tense.
She knows what he is thinking.
About how he would love to go back to the interrogation room and beat the man until he was bloody.
How any man could do that to a child.
To his own child.
She grabs his hand and holds it.
He grasp it tights.
He stands up and pulls her close.
~BB~
That night they fall asleep holding each other.
Sweaty bodies pressed together, hearts beating in unison.
They are exhausted from the case.
Exhausted from the emotions it brought to the surface
~BB~
The next day they take Parker to the park.
Together they watch him engage in a game of tag with other kids.
They watch him smile.
They hear his laugh.
They pull leaves from his curly hair when the day is done.
And later that night, they fall asleep with smiles on their faces.
~BB~
The clock reads 3:12am.
Her heart is pounding with an unknown lightness to it. She feels happy, elated even.
She felt this way was when she discovered Booth was alive, even as she punched him. She felt this way when he woke up from a coma, even as she worried that he didn't remember her.
She felt this way the last time she saw her parents, together and alive.
She jumps out of bed and pulls on the closest clothes she can find. Then she grabs her purse and is out the door.
She hits all the green lights as she drives. She even drives over the speed limit, her GPS flashing at her the entire time.
But she makes it to his apartment in record time. She takes a minute to compose herself, running her fingers through her hair. She is in the elevator when she realizes she has no idea what she is about to say. She is about to send the elevator back down to the ground floor when the door opens. And there he is.
He is as shocked to see her as she is to see him. He is in the midst of pulling on a shirt and his belt buckle isn't hooked.
"Bones."
"Booth."
He smiles that smile of his and gestures her out of the elevator and towards his apartment.
"I was just on my way to see you."
"Is there a case?"
"No. No. Nothing like that. I just wanted to talk to you."
"At 3am?"
He laughs, "Yeah Bones, at 3am."
She smiles.
~BB~
They sit in his living room and a comfortable silence falls.
"Booth?"
"Yeah Bones?"
"Why do you love me?"
~BB~
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. It would have to be rated R or NC-17 if I did.