Chapter 3
The Squint team were working on their latest case when the phone began to ring. They all paused as the phone rang out shrilly as Cam hurried to answer it.
"Hello?" she spoke into the receiver, "Zach, how are you?"
Upon hearing their colleague's name, the others all put down what they were holding, and approached Cam.
"That's good, you got there safely?" she asked, meeting Brennan's eyes.
"Let me talk to him," Hodgins demanded.
"Put him on speakerphone or something" Angela added. Cam sighed and nodded.
"Hang on Zach; I'm just going to put you on speakerphone. Hodgins and Angela are breathing down my neck" Cam smiled and flicked a switch on the phone, putting the receiver back in its cradle.
"Hi guys" Zach's voice issued from the speaker, a little more cheerful than it had been the last time Hodgins and Angela had seen him, when a grimfaced Dani had come to pick him up in her car, but it certainly wasn't as upbeat as it usually was when he was at home.
"Hey, Sweetie, how are you?" Angela asked.
"Okay, considering everything that's been going on." Zach said.
"How's, how's Dani and the rest of the family going with it?" Hodgins asked.
"They're okay as well. I don't think it's sunk in for them yet, mentally and emotionally speaking," Zach replied.
"When do you think the funeral is going to be, Zach?" Brennan said, and there was a pause before Zach replied.
"Next Monday. We have to wait until the investigators are finished with the bodies."
"We'll see you there, Zach." Cam said, "Brennan, Hodgins, Angela, I'll ask Booth as well, and me. We'll all come and support you."
"You don't have to do that," Zach began.
"Zach, Shut-up, we're coming, and nothings going to stop us." Hodgins interrupted. Zach fell silent on the other end of the phone.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" Angela asked, concerned.
"Um, yes. Thank-you, really." Zach stammered, overwhelmed by their loyalty to him.
"Zach, we are your friends, it's the least we can do" Angela said, wanting to hug the younger man down the phone.
"Thank-you, I have to go now. I guess I'll see you soon, then." Zach's voice had gone quiet, and all of the Squints could practically hear the tears in his voice.
"Bye Sweetie," Angela said, and Zach whispered his response.
"Bye" he whispered, before hanging up. The Squint squad stood in silence as Cam pressed the end call button.
"I'll go ring Booth and ask him to come" Brennan said, moving off in the direction of her office. Hodgins wrapped his arms around Angela's shoulders as tears filled the artist's eyes. Cam looked down at her feet as Hodgins rested his head on Angela's shoulder. They all knew that the death of Zach's parents had affected the young man that had become like their little brother, but none knew how much it had.
XO XO XO XO XO
The day of Zach's parent's funeral dawned clearly, the rain clouds that had threatened all weekend blowing away during the night. Zach sat in his childhood bedroom, dressed already in his black suit. His gaze was fixed on a photo on his bedside table. It was the same photo he had shown Angela, the one that had been taken last Christmas of his family. A slight noise at his door made him turn to face it. He smiled at Dani, still dressed in her pyjamas.
"Hey" she smiled, offering him a mug of hot coffee, made just how he liked it. He gave her a weak smile as she walked across the room and gave it to him, before sitting down next to him, cupping her own mug in her hand. He smiled when he smelt the chocolate odour rising from her mug. Dani had never liked coffee.
"How are you doing?" he asked, feeling that, as her big brother, he should.
"I'm okay. Just glad they caught the bastard." Dani raised her mug to her lips and sipped. Zach nodded, remembering the relief he had felt when, on Saturday, they had received a call informing them that Harry Davidson, an old friend of his father, had been arrested, and had later confessed to the murders. Zach wrapped his spare arm around Dani's shoulders and rubbed her arm as she leant against him.
"Do you remember when we were kids, and I used to sneak in here after bedtime and we used to talk about stuff?" she asked, and Zach nodded.
"I think you were the one I missed most of all after I left." He admitted. It was true, Dani was the only one in his family that he'd felt had understood him as he had grown up into the socially awkward guy he was.
"I know you were the one I missed most when I left" Dani replied, enjoying being in her brother's company. They sat in silence as they finished their drinks, and Zach fell back into gazing at the photograph. Dani followed his gaze until she realised what he was looking at.
"I have that same picture in my dorm." She smiled, remembering the day. It had been fun; it always was when they were all together.
"Yeah, It's a good photo. We're all in it."
"Yep, everyone." Dani fell silent again and sipped her ho chocolate some more. As she finished her mug, she glanced across at Zach's face.
"I can't believe they're gone. I mean, you tell me about all these murders you help solve, and all that but you never think its going to happen to your family."
"I know what you mean, I think" Zach tore his eyes from the photo to look at his little sister. He could see the tears shining in her eyes and clinging to her eyelashes, and gently wiped them away with his thumb.
"Go get ready, we need to leave soon" he told her, and she nodded, letting him take her empty mug from her hands so she wouldn't have to go downstairs to the kitchen, before returning to her room, which was right next to Zach's.
Zach watched her back as she left the room, before getting up with a sigh. Dani's words were making a lot of sense to him at that moment of time.
XO XO XO XO XO
Brennan, Booth, and the rest of the team got out of their respective cars, looking with slight surprise at the large number of cars parked in the church car park.
"I never realised how popular Zach's parents were" Angela said, smoothing her black dress were it had wrinkled up from sitting in the car, and Cam found herself nodding.
"Did he mention anything to you, Jack?"
Hodgins shook his head, "He didn't go into that much detail when he talked about his family to me."
They all walked through the car park, passing small groups of people who were standing by their cars, getting things out of the boots, or just talking. Booth nudged Brennan in the side, nodding towards the front of the church, where Zach was standing with a group of people who Brennan assumed were his siblings. Zach glanced over in their direction as they got closer, and gave them a weak smile excusing himself from those he was standing with and walking over to them. Angela embraced him.
"Hi, Sweetie, how are you?"
Zach shrugged nervously, "I don't know. It's hard to believe that today we say goodbye to them, even though I know that they are really gone." He faded off and looked down, suddenly interested in his shoes. Booth watched, his eyes filled with sympathy as Zach obviously struggled to keep the tears that were welling up in his eyes from rolling down his cheeks. He heard a slight noise, and glanced up, instinct taking over, before he relaxed, taking in the girl that had walked over, following Zach. Booth knew just by looking at her, taking in her puffy, red eyes, and the resemblance she bore to Zach that she was obviously one of his siblings. Hodgins looked up when he noticed she was there, and gave her a smile.
"Hey, Dani. How you going?"
"I'm going ok, thanks Dr. Hodgins." The girl, Dani, said. Zach looked at her, and held out his arm. She stepped forward, and he gently pulled her into a hug.
"Everyone, this is my little Sister, Dani. Dani, this is Dr. Brennan, Dr. Saroyen, Agent Booth and Dr. Sweets."
"Hi, it's nice to meet you. Zach's told me so much about you." Dani said, smiling up at the older people. Booth immediately noticed that, although she and Zach looked similar, the younger of the pair carried none of the awkward, shy manner that he had known Zach carried around people he did not know or trust. Booth could also tell that, of the two, she was the dominant, even though Zach was three years older. Despite this, he could tell from the way that Zach kept one arm around his sister as she shook hands with everyone in the gang that Zach was very protective of his baby sister, and would readily defend her against anything that threatened her.
The group stood for a little while, until Zach broke the silence.
"They found the man who did this. It was an old army friend of my Dads. They had a disagreement a couple of years ago, and Dad stopped talking to him. Last month, he started contacting Dad again, and well, they had another argument, and he pulled out a gun." Zach looked away, his eyes filling with tears again. He was saved when a man, about Booths age, came over.
"Zach, Dani, can I borrow you two for a bit. The service is going to start soon, and Minister Hemingway wants to talk to us before it starts."
"Ok Steve" Dani spoke for both of them, her voice cracking slightly. Zach nodded, and the three moved away, Zach turning to hesitantly wave his hand in farewell.
"That was their oldest brother, Steve" Angela said.
"He was the one that rang up to tell Zach about what happened?" Cam asked. Angela nodded.
"I thought I remembered his voice. Come on, let's go and get some good seats."
"How do you know who they are?" Booth asked Angela and Hodgins as they walked towards the church.
"Zach introduced us to Dani when we dropped him off in Ohio." Hodgins said.
"And Zach showed me a family photo that night and told me who everyone was." Angela added as they crossed the threshold of the church, accepting booklets from the two elderly women who stood in the doorway. Angela looked down at the front page and felt her eyes well up with tears. The paper was a pale pink, with swirling, dark blue, calligraphy style writing printed onto it. What had affected her, though, was the picture on the front cover. It was a picture of Zach's parents, cropped so it was circular, their smiling faces looking up from the page. They both looked very happy in the photo. She shook her head and sidled into a pew about halfway down the church. Booth, and all of the Squints (minus Zach of course), were all in the same pew, sitting side by side. Booth noticed, with a grin, that Bones had, intentionally or not, positioned herself next to him. Just down the pew a little bit, Hodgins was having the same thoughts about the still composing herself Angela. From where they sat they could see the two coffins, identical in design, up on the dais, the lids covered with flowers. Angela sniffed a couple of times, before falling silent,
The church quickly filled, with few places unoccupied. Then, the entire congregation fell silent as the priest, minister Hemingway, slowly walked down the isle, followed closely by the six Addy children, walking in pairs. Booth guessed that their order of birth had influenced who walked where, because Zach and Dani brought up the rear of the procession. At the back of the church, someone pulled the heavy wooden doors closed, dimming the light slightly, but the church was still well lit, with the many windows letting sunlight in, and a few electric lights adding to the light. Zach and his family sat in the front pew, as the priest made his way to his pulpit, and began to speak, beginning his service.
