Chapter 12

When we woke up two hours later, we continued our routine as usual. I got a shower. Then Booth got a shower. He got changed then we went to my apartment. I got changed and we drove to the Jeffersonian. He dropped me off, but not before kissing me goodbye.

"Bye beautiful," he called out the car window along with a cat call as I walked away.

The case had been put at a standstill. We had identified all the remains but could not pinpoint an accelerant. It was difficult. The stress level was through the roof. Hodgins felt as if he was not doing his job, and threatened to retire. Angela had to take a few days off after identifying a mother who was 8 months pregnant. The whole team got hit hard.

Sitting in my office going over notes, I heard a light knock on the door. I knew that knock from anywhere. It was my baby.

Not looking up from the notes, I greeted, "Hey, Seeley."

"BONES, how did you know that was me?"

"BOOTH, I know your knock. It's light enough to not totally disturb me, yet heavy enough to draw attention."

"What are you doing right now?"

"Looking over notes about the accelerant's properties. Hodgins can't figure it out. He's getting really frustrated."

"Look, let's go home. Get some rest. Sleep on it. Maybe it'll come to you. Plus, its 8:30."

"Alright Baby, let's go home."

After two weeks of the same old-same old song and dance, it finally cracked. The accelerant was a chemically modified gasoline that had no hydroxyl group on it. Hodgins was able to trace the substrate the broke off the hydroxyl group. Luckily, the enzyme was only made by one company in the tri-state area. Booth and I went to go pick up the chemist for questioning. In the car, we got into a heated discussion.

"Booth, why do you have to be like this? So…"

"Like what Bones, uneducated? Is that what you were going to say?"

"No, smarty pants, stubborn. You theorized that Dr. Shaik created this gasoline for this purpose only. To make a gasoline to combust after a certain amount has been burned off is highly inefficient and unethical."

"Bones, then you tell me what he did it for. We know he made this gasoline. But not how it got in the hands of a bomber. Homeland Security is all over my butt for this. I need to close this case. And fast."

"So you're willing to place the blame on an innocent person? What happened to you? I thought you were all for justice."

"I am, but when my techs sweep this lab, I really hope they do bring the person to justice, whether it is Dr. Shaik or someone else."

I huffed, knowing that he had just won the argument. Lately, Booth and I had been butting heads. I don't know whether it is just something that comes with the territory, or if we really aren't as compatible as Angela thought we were. I am going to need to have a conversation with her later. To remind myself to talk to her, I texted her:

Remind me, we need to talk.

Bren, what's wrong?

Booth and I have been butting heads.

Alright, we'll talk later.

When we got to Dr. Shaik's lab, we knew something was not right. All the labs on the company property were set up like a campus. Dr. Shaik had his own lab and worked alone. Driving up to the lab, Booth spotted some disturbances immediately.

"Bones, stay behind me. And I mean behind me."

"Alright, cranky trousers."

"Bones, its cranky pants. Pants, not trousers."

Booth and I rounded the corner to the door. The door to the lab was cracked open. This was highly unusual for a chemist's lab. Booth drew his weapon and slowly entered the lab. Clearing the first room, we slowly entered the second room, which was the prep room before the lab. There were chemicals everywhere. Broken glassware lay across the floor. Bunsen burners torn apart. Dr. Shaik's lab had been broken into.

Booth quickly cleared the room and I entered behind him. There was a specific smell that I could not identify. I walked around the 3 separate lab stations. Feeling every surface with a gloved hand, I stopped at the farthest lab station from the door.

"Booth…"

"Bones, what did you do?"

"I think there is an explosive rigged to this table. But I can't bend down to look. Can you bend over and look at it for me?"

"Sure."

Booth kneeled down and peered under the lab station. Indeed, I had found an explosive. By putting my hand on the trigger, I was keeping this building from being blown into smithereens. I asked Booth to describe it to me.

"Okay, there are 4 wires. One of which I know is a trip wire. The other three are connected to a circuit board. The wires and board are attached to a glass box with metal shards in it."

"Okay, the glass and metal is used as shrapnel. I need you to call in the bomb squad. They need to disarm this bomb."

"They are on the way as we speak."

Suddenly, I felt a click. I knew, from what experience I had with explosives, that something had been tripped. We had less than 45 seconds before it exploded.

"Booth, I need you to run. Leave the building. Now."

"No Bones, I won't leave you here. I can't."

"Booth, you have Parker to think about. I can run quickly. I will have about 10 seconds left to run if you leave now."

After giving me a quick glance and an 'I love you,' Booth finally listened to me. He bolted out of the lab. As soon as I fully released the trigger, I had less than 5 seconds to get out. Getting a text on my cell from Booth, it said:

I'm out. Bomb Squad around the corner.

For the first time in my life, Seeley Booth had introduced the power of prayer to me. I prayed prior to releasing the trigger. I prayed to at least make it out. And not in a body bag. I released the trigger. Bolting from the lab, I passed into the prep room and 75% into the first room when the bomb finally exploded. Sending shockwaves through the building, I knew it was built for an explosion. But to what magnitude, I had no idea. I was thrown at least 15 feet in front of me, right before the door. I tried to crawl out when the building got hit with a second blast. The glass in front of the door came crashing down onto me.