Alright this is the big one, the one I've been saving up for. I think I went through about five different songs on repeat while writing this, but the ones I liked most for this chapter were "Running up that Hill" by Placebo and "A Light on a Hill" by Margot and the Nuclear So So's. I think I already used them both in other chapters but they fit.

Hope you like it.

Empty as I am (Part three)

She panted and coughed, trying to get oxygen back into her lungs. Her legs were shaking, struggling under her to keep her standing upright.

"Why don't you just kill me then" Brennan spit at him. She knew he wouldn't. She was right.

There was nothing more to say. No pleading. No begging him to save her friends. No hoping that Booth would come, that he wasn't already dead. No more feelings of regret. No more anything.

One hour earlier...

Brennan woke up with a headache in the dimly lit warehouse. Actually headache was an understatement because it felt as if her head had been smashed into the wall repeatedly and for all intensive purposes it had. She still wasn't quite sure what connected with her skull to make her black out but it was Steven's M.O.

Picking her head up slowly to look around, she realized for once that she wasn't chained to the wall where she had been far too many times in the past.

It only took her a second to realize why when she went to stand up and pain shot through her ankle. It only seemed to be sprained, but it was enough for her not to be able to run very far.

A small cough from her left sent her whipping around to see Steven watching her intently. "I love seeing the confusion on your face when you wake up. It makes these next few minutes that much more fun"

She stared at where he was holding a gun loosely in his hand.

It was her gun, the one she had hidden in her coat, and somehow her coat was missing.

"Looking for something?" He smirked waving it in the air.

Brennan looked around for anything she could use as a weapon, but all there was were crates that seemed to box her in.

Steven moved so that he was right in front of her.

"You know Temperance" he continued "You've always been my favorite, you still are, but this?" he asked holding the gun up "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to off me"

"I don't know what that means"

Ignoring her, he started to pace. "What did you come here tonight for? Because I figured that you'd come here telling me you dumped your little boyfriend so that I wouldn't hurt him again. I thought that I'd hear you promise not to go near him anymore"

He paused for a moment, staring at the ground. "Instead not only did you threaten me but I got shoved up against a god damn wall in my own fucking office Temperance!"

Smiling her "know it all" smile as Booth liked to call it, she laughed. "He did beat you up pretty bad huh?"

With that Steven lost it and swung at her. Brennan ducked and at the same time landed an uppercut to Steven's nose knocking him backwards against the wall.

His hand reached up to his nose to see that it was bleeding.

"You bitch" he yelled angrily. His icy gray eyes became full of anger.

"Things have changed Steven. I'm not the same girl that used to work for you"

He stood up straight taking her in as if trying to see what was new. Eyes softening a bit, he began to look like the man she first met, the man she was almost sure she was in love with. He was captivating and powerful, and sensual and wicked all at the same time.

"You'll always be that girl Tempe. You'll always be my girl"

For a moment she was struck by this. For a moment she was the young girl who felt that she really was his girl.

However a voice in the back of her head screamed at her. It was Booth's voice so clear and calm, like he was right there with her. "Don't listen to him Bones, I don't care if I have Alpha-Male Tendencies, you're my girl. Okay Bones? Just keep holding on, I'll find you"

"You're wrong"

He ran at her again, a fist flying towards her head but at the last minute she dodged him and they swapped places.

"I have to say, that FBI agent boy toy of yours has taught you well"

"Martial art classes actually"

"Right" he said before swinging at her again. This time she blocked him with her right and gave him another swift punch to the face.

He doubled over, and she kneed him in the face, sending him to the floor.

"I've been waiting years to do that" she said, breathing heavily.

She didn't have handcuffs or anything to tie him up with, so she looked for the keys to open the door. Just as she found them, hanging there next to the wall, she heard the sickening sound of a gun being cocked behind her.

The gun, her gun was in Steven's hands. She had forgotten that Steven had taken it off of her while she was still unconscious.

She stood still waiting to hear him pull the trigger, but it never came.

"Did you forget I had this? Did you really think that you would get out of here? You're supposed to be the world renowned scientist; I'm just the guy that owns the nightclub"

"Forensic Anthropologist actually, and I am smart enough to know that you can't keep me in here forever Steven" Brennan said turning around.

Steven had a wicked grin on his face that spoke of terrifying plans that lay ahead.

"If it was anyone else they would be dead by now but not you. No Temperance, I have something better planned for you. After I'm done with you you'll wish you were dead"

She tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she thought of what he might possibly mean by that.


"Get off of me!" Angela yelled as she was led along by two guards. She was fighting them as much as she could, kicking and dragging her feet.

"Angela that's not going to do anything" whispered Lindsay slightly behind her.

Angela didn't seem to care as she continued to try and break free of their hold.

"My boyfriend's going to wonder where I am if you don't let me go and you're both going to be sorry!"

"Oh yeah who's your boyfriend sweetheart?"

"He's huge, all muscle, and he has guns, lots of them. And if I don't get back to him soon he's going to come down here with his... biker gang"

The two guards just laughed and kept them walking around the building.

"Biker gang?" Lindsay asked her incredulously, shooting her a look.

"Well it was better than doing nothing" Angela said squirming again.

The guard on her left got aggravated and swung her to the ground and pulled out a gun.

"If you don't stop trying to run I'm going to shoot you, and then Steven wouldn't be able to have you"

"Have me?" she asked slowly reaching in her purse. "He's not going to have me. I'm not a girl that get's had okay Mr. Body guard"

"Angela" Lindsay warned.

"No, whatever they want me to do I'm not doing it. I don't listen to a bunch of sissy men who do whatever some scumbag says just because they're too afraid to be their own men. Pretty pathetic if you ask me"

The guard that had thrown her down took her arm again, and was only inches away from Angela's face. It was a perfect position for her to pull the pepper spray Brennan had given her (funnily enough for exactly this type of thing) from her purse and spray him in the face.

In agony he rolled in the grass, clutching his face desperately.

Meanwhile Angela got up just in time for her other guard to charge her. Without thinking she swung her purse at him, hitting him square in the face. Looking at her purse, she realized that it was strangely heavier than it was before.

Lindsay had been starring in shock at what was unfolding, and when her guard went to go after Angela she tripped him making him fall to the ground, before kicking him below the belt.

Angela stared at Lindsay in shock of what they had just done.

"We have to find Booth and tell him where Brennan is"

Lindsay nodded and they ran towards the closest door of the club, using Lindsay's key to unlock it.


After Booth left Angela standing out on the side of the building to wait for a swat team to get there, he went from door to door looking for one left unlocked.

When he finally got to the front again, he found the same guard standing in front of an open door.

"I need to get back inside, I got locked out and Temperance is still in there!"

Booth rushed up the steps but was stopped by the guy.

"We've been ordered to lock all the doors. No one goes in or out"

"I need to get in there, she's waiting for me"

The guard didn't move. "She can wait"

"Fine" Booth said nodding. He took a few steps away before spinning around again and pulling out his gun.

"I suggest you let me in"

The guard, who didn't look over thirty, gave in and stepped aside.

Booth nodded and let himself back into the darkness of the main floor. Hopefully he still had time to get to Brennan before she once again was forced into Steven's bed... or worse.


"Temperance let's you and me have a talk about that boyfriend of yours. Booth is it?"

Brennan sat tied to a chair in front of him.

"Untie me first"

Steven squatted down in front of her and moved a piece of her hair gently off her face. "Tempe, you know I can't do that. You have a habit for escaping when you're not supposed to remember?"

Brennan didn't respond.

Steven pulled up another chair in front of her, and grabbed a stack of papers before sitting down.

"Agent Seeley Booth" he read looking down at it.

"Special Agent" Brennan interrupted him coldly.

Steven brought his head up slowly "Interrupt me again and I'll make sure you're there to get his flag at his funeral"

They glared at each other before he continued reading.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth, served as a sniper in the army, works alongside the stunningly beautiful Dr. Temperance Brennan... And would you look at all these cases, you two must work together a lot"

Again she didn't respond, and Steven leant forward in his chair, his face turning into a look of disgust.

"And I bet you got together after a good case. Some food, a glass of wine, and you let him fuck you to take away the stress. I bet you gave it up to him real quick against the wall didn't you? He means nothing more to you than someone..."

"You're wrong" she interrupted

"I've already warned you" Steven said standing up and kicking her chair over.

With nothing to break her fall, she hit the floor hard, and there was a loud pop from her left shoulder as it dislocated.

Brennan screamed out as pain shot through her arm.

"You know what the difference is between you and those girls upstairs, what makes you my favorite? It's that you always fight. Those girls upstairs have given into everything I tell them to do, but not you. You always have to be difficult"

Sighing he leaned her chair back up as she winced in pain.

"You and I are going to make another deal, but this time you're staying with me, and maybe your boyfriend will live. No more digging up dead bodies, no more solving cases, no more writing, and no more Booth. Just you and me, and so help me if you try and run I will make sure none of that team of yours works on another case"

A single tear fell from her cheek. This was her only option. Her team had no evidence, Booth was probably still around here and out in the open, and even if he had called the FBI, she knew Steven would be alerted and would take her before they reached her.

"Fine" She choked out, staring at the ground.

Steven got out his cell phone and called one of the guards.

"Brian go to my office and get out my book for me"

Brennan's head shot up. The book, Steven's book, was with Angela. It was her last way of them all getting out of here. It was her last hope.


Once they were inside, Lindsay led Angela to the waitress' locker room where she had made plans with Tempe only hours before.

Lindsay looked over Angela up and down before pulling things out of her locker.

"If we're going to look for Booth, you're going to have to wear these or they'll throw us both out"

Angela looked at the clothes now piled on one of the benches. It made her think of Brennan, how she would've had to put these on night after night and work in this awful place.

Lindsay noticed how quiet she was and smiled sympathetically. "It's the standard issue uniform; black shirt, black skirt, and red high heels"

Angela nodded and begin to change as Lindsay talked her through how they would look for Booth.

"I'm assuming it took him a while to get in so he's probably still on the main floor. The men out there can get extremely personal so watch out. If they do reach you, try not to make a scene or you'll stick out to the guards and blow your cover. We're taught to accept being grabbed or touched, to be only objects to them"

"So I'm just supposed to let them do whatever they want to me?"

"Well obviously not, we're trying to find Booth here. Just say you have a meeting with Steven and they should back off. If they don't then I'll step in for you and you'll have to try and find Booth on your own. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that"

Angela was somewhere between shocked and pissed. She couldn't imagine Brennan, model in herself for woman independence, working somewhere where she was viewed as an object.

"Okay let's go" Angela said, a little more determinately. She would do this for Brennan, in fact it was probably the least she could do.


Booth was too anxious to wait for the team of FBI agents he made Angela call. He wanted to find her and bring her home as soon as he could.

There were a lot more people in there than Booth would've liked. The whole club seemed to be in darkness, except for the dim multi colored lights flashing around.

For some reason the dance floor, bar and the tables in the back seemed to be relatively filled even though they were supposedly all locked in here.

A few people watched him carefully to see what he was doing here, but most ignored him. Booth could tell that the majority weren't going to be exactly pleased to see a team of FBI running in minutes from now, the way they seemed to be secretively making deals with each other.

Booth made his way to the office upstairs; the guard at the bottom of the stairs seemed to have stepped away from his post.

"Bones you in there?"

He looked around to see if anyone was watching before kicking his way in.

He was met with an empty office, with all kinds of papers thrown about. Booth went to leave when he saw something sitting on the floor. Picking it up, his panic level rose instantly.

He recognized the object as Bones' black jacket. Picking it up, one of the sleeves had blood on it, though whether it was from Bones or her attacker he didn't know. He had a strong feeling she was in more trouble than he had originally imagined, and he needed to find her soon.

Coming back down the stairs, he tried to think of what to do next, when he saw Angela and Lindsay coming towards him.

Once they got closer to him through the crowd, Booth realized what Angela was wearing.

"Ange... what the...?"

"I know, but we needed to find you before it was too late"

"They're not in his office I already checked"

"Yeah we know. Booth Brennan's in trouble. Steven's going to kill her if we don't find her"

Booth took a step back as if he'd been punched.

"How do you know?"

"I don't have time to explain it right now, but if we're going to save her we need to go" Lindsay explained.

"Okay" Booth said suddenly seeming lost in thought.

They followed Lindsay to the staircase that led to the warehouse.

Once they reached the bottom there were three guards in front of the door.

"Damnit!" Booth swore under his breath, seeing that it would be hard getting past them, and would probably alert Steven who might snap and kill her. If anything Booth needed a way to get in there undetected to surprise Steven.

"Is there another way we can get in there?" Booth whispered to Lindsay.

She bit her lip "there is but I'm not sure where, I've just heard Tempe mention it existed once after the last time..."

"What do you mean the last time?"

"That's not important right now" Angela interrupted as they quietly headed back upstairs. "Think Lindsay, she must've said something about where it was"

"I... she told me she managed to get out through some door that led back into the club, but I've never seen it.

Suddenly Angela had an idea. She reached into her pocketbook for her small sketch book and pen, and also found a small black book that didn't belong to her.

"What's this?"

"Oh my god" Lindsay said staring at the thing in Angela's hands. "She actually did it"

"What is this?" Angela asked again turning it over.

"Put that away quickly before someone sees it!" Lindsay said.

Angela put it back into her purse.

"We seriously need to find Tempe, I don't even know how she managed to get that but we have to get her and get out of here"

Booth was concerned by everything Lindsay was saying but didn't have the time to ask questions. Instead he watched as Angela quickly drew a map of the place.

"Ok so the warehouse is in the back and only accessible by stairs on the main floor which means it's slightly lower than the main floor. Does this place have a basement?"

"No"

"Okay so that means that there must be another set of stairs behind one of these doors"

They looked down the row of doors, two bathrooms, the waitress's locker room, an office and lounge for the guards, and the stairs they just came out of.

"Since the stairs are so close to the guard's lounge and office, I'd say it's unlikely that it's in there. Is there any door in the locker room besides the one to get outside? Because if I had to guess, Brennan wouldn't of gotten away if she had walked out onto the main floor, so the only way would be from the locker room to outside"

"Since when do you guess?" Booth asked looking between all the doors.

"Hey it's the rest of them that don't jump to conclusions without getting the facts. I however take intuitive leaps, and this is one of them"

They followed Lindsay into the locker room and instantly Booth spotted what they were looking for.

"Maintenance room" he said trying the handle. Finding it locked, Booth took out his gun ready for whatever was on the other side before kicking it open.

It led to a small stair case with another door at the bottom.

"You two go wait outside for FBI to come and show them this way, they should be almost here by now"

"Booth you can't go in there alone" Angela said.

"What other choice do we have Ange? We're running out of time again, only this time I already know where she is. I can't just give up on her. I can't"

Angela nodded and bit her lip. In a few minutes both Brennan and Booth could be dead without ever getting their happy ending she wanted so badly for the both of them. They deserved it after all this, they deserved each other.

Lindsay pulled on Angela's arm and they began to leave the room.

"Be careful Booth and make sure to bring her home in one piece, that way I can kill her for this" she said smiling sadly.

"I will"

With that he disappeared through the doors.


Ten minutes earlier...

"Steven, your book isn't in here, it's not on the desk"

"What do you mean it's not on the desk!"

"It's not here we've looked everywhere"

"Damnit Brian no one was supposed to be in my office!"

"They weren't I've been guarding it all night, only you Temperance and those two others have been in there besides those two girls you called in, but they don't have it we've already checked"

Steven hung up the phone and returned back to Brennan, picking up his chair and smashing it into the wall behind her.

"Give it to me!"

"Give what to you?" Brennan asked knowing exactly what he was talking about and where it was.

"You fucking know what! My book that you took out of my office"

"Is that the book you hit me with when you killed Mandy? The one you made me sign thinking you were going to help me, when really you murdered a whole family?!"

Steven quickly untied her from the chair. "Yes that's the one, and you were the only one in my office today that knew how important it was"

Brennan held her left arm in her hand, rubbing it softly.

"I don't have it?"

"Oh no?" Steven asked "How's your arm feeling?"

He took her arm and pulled her from the chair, smashing her wrist into the cement.

She screamed as she felt the small bones in her wrist break upon impact.

Hearing her scream slightly to his left Booth maneuvered cautiously, his gun out in front of him.

The warehouse was full of boxes and crates that made it almost a maze to get through. Booth went as fast as he could, his heart beating in his ears.

"Temperance tell me where it is or I will kill you. You gave it to Lindsay didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

Steven hit her in the jaw, splitting her lip.

She could taste the blood on her lip. Her blood. She raised a shaking hand to wipe it, before she was struck again.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You don't have it on you, so you must have given it to Lindsay, where is she!"

Her cold eyes glanced up at him, the man who had taken so much already. There was a time when she admired him, when she wanted to be loved by him. That was gone.

"She's probably at the police station telling them everything. Are you going to have her killed too?"

"Hmm maybe she's going to the FBI to have your little fucking boyfriend come and arrest me"

Steven took her wrist and twisted it.

Booth cringed as he heard his partner scream again. He was getting closer to her.

Slowly she got to her feet, leaning heavily on the wall. Her ankle was sprained, her shoulder dislocated, and she was pretty sure he wrist was broken after Steven had slammed it into the concrete floor.

"He is coming"

It was only a few seconds before Steven pushed her against the wall forcefully, holding her chin in one hand and wielding a knife in front of her.

"To do what save you? Do you think he'll still love you after this? Do you think he'd still look at you the same knowing the crimes you've committed? Sooner or later he's going to walk out like everyone else in your life."

Brennan didn't say anything, for long enough for Steven to know he had guessed perfectly her worst fears.

"Your book is with the FBI; I gave it to Angela before she left. I only came back to give them time to call the FBI. They're on their way here so you mind as well give it up Steven, because you're going to be locked up for the rest of your life"

Steven grabbed her neck, choking her as she tried to free herself beneath him. It was pointless with only one good hand and a sprained ankle.

"You think that you're going to get out of here? You think that Booth is going to save you in time? I love you Tempe, but I can't let you leave. If I'm going to spend the rest of my life in jail, I can't have you running off with another man. By the time they come in here to arrest me you'll be as cold as the bodies in your lab"

He let go of her, letting her collapse against the wall.

She panted and coughed, trying to get oxygen back into her lungs. Her legs were shaking, struggling under her to keep her standing upright.

"Why don't you just kill me then" Brennan spit at him. She knew he wouldn't. She was right.

Instead he stabbed her in the stomach, not nearly deep enough to do any damage.

Booth heard her scream once more and started running. "Hold on Bones, please just hold on"

"Don't you worry about that, it doesn't look like Booth's coming to save you anytime soon now does it? Maybe I was right after all, maybe he realized that you weren't worth it. I suppose he'll miss his partner, but there will be other woman for him to date. He'll forget all about you, and never look back"

"You're wrong... he'll find me, he always finds me" Tears began to fall from her yes.

"Then where is he?"

"Right here" Booth yelled turning the corner with his gun aimed at Steven.

Steven had a gun raised to Brennan's head when he turned to see Booth.

Booth was pissed after hearing everything Steven had told her, because he knew it would never be true. Losing her would kill him, he would never be able to move on or find someone else.

It broke his heart to see the tears on her face, to not hear her protest everything Steven had told her. Booth realized for the first time how much power he had on her, that out of everything he said her only retort was that he would find her.

Glancing over at her, he looked to see if she was okay. Her lip was bleeding, she had various bruises, and she seemed to be holding her left arm in her right, but what worried Booth most was that she barely seemed to be standing on her own.

They locked eyes with each other from across the room and Booth could see every emotion running through her, tiredness, worry, relief, sadness, everything.

Subconsciously, Booth took a step towards her wanting only to gather her in his arms.

"One more step Agent Booth and I'd be forced to kill her. I'd hate to do it though, as I'm sure you know she's a prize in bed. The way her soft breasts glide over..."

"That's enough!" Booth yelled angrily cutting him off. His jaw clenched twice before he was able to speak. "Now let her go"

"A little touchy aren't we? Is it because she cheated on you with another man? Honestly it doesn't surprise me. If you knew half of what she's done you'd leave her wouldn't you?"

"Shut the hell up or I will put a bullet in your head"

"Booth" her voice sounded weak, making alarms go off in Booth's head "don't... he'll be... getting off... easy"

"Bones are you okay?" Booth asked side stepping closer towards her. "Please be okay" thought Booth "I need you to be okay"

Booth's gun shook as he tried hard not to shoot the man right there, while moving closer to her.

Stephen laughed seeing his guards closing in on them and stepped away from Brennan as Booth stepped closer.

"Well now seems I will be getting off easy then. Looks like Booth here didn't bring backup, very heroic I must admit, but very stupid"

Booth turned and stood in front of Brennan protectively. There was about twenty guards and two of them, and she didn't look like she'd be able to hold a gun.

"Temperance has five seconds to tell me where Lindsay and my book are or you will both die Booth"

Booth looked at her and noticed for the first time, the crimson color of blood on her shirt. She was hurt, and it was time to get her out of here.

Booth seized up the guards, debating how many of them he could take out, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

"One" Steven counted knowing she would tell him eventually.

"Booth.." she pleaded needing him to tell her what to do.

"Two"

Booth moved closer to where she was, finally seeing the signal he needed from behind the guards.

"Three"

Bones couldn't let it go any longer; there was no way she could let her partner die because of her. "She's at the Jeffersonian!"

At the same time Booth dove, pulling Bones down underneath him, and covering her body as a reign of bullets ripped through the air either killing or taking down all of the guards around them.

Steven was shot in the leg, and tried to shoot Booth but an Agent quickly came over and kicked the gun out of his hands.

Booth carefully helped Bones to sit against the wall while he looked at her injuries. He quickly called for a medic when she looked like she was starting to lose consciousness.

"Bones? Come on stay with me, that's it, that's my girl"

Seeing her bright blue eyes, he pulled her into him, holding her tightly. He sighed into her hair, taking a deep breath.

He had her in his arms, she was going to be okay, and it was finally over.

Around them, Steven and the guards were being put in handcuffs and led away.

"I got ya, I'm here" Booth whispered to her

He felt something wet on his shoulder and realized she was crying.

"Shhhh Bones it's okay, you're going to be okay the paramedics are on their way. Shhh"

"Don't ever leave Booth please" Her voice sounded desperate even though it was muffled by his coat. She was pleading with him not to walk out on her and it brought tears to his eyes.

"I promise"

"How long till my heart breaks
So much that I can take
One more day, one more hour
Of waiting on something that's not gonna happen
How long till my tears stop
How every salted drop
Bruises the skin, I'm stuck in betrayal


Empty as I am..."


Sniff, makes me cry a little inside. Don't worry this isn't the end, not yet. I still have a lot more to write so hang in there. For me the aftermath is just as fun to write as this was.