Disclaimer: Once again I don't own the Bones crew or the Bones world. I just like sticking my own characters in Hart Hanson and Fox's world.
Thank you all for your reviews! I appreciate all of your kind reviews, you guys are really awesome.
Moxiegirl: This covers October of 2011 to May of 2012 with time jumps of course. Can you imagine how long this story would be if I did a day by day of that long a period. Oye Vey LOL
BecksBones: That frenzy was in the past. It happened when she came back from Maluku. Caused by the wartime Barbie's story.
Chapter 2 - A Lost Contact
Michelle let her eyes roam over his square shaped face with almond shaped eyes that were an icy shade of blue. Her eyes took in his olive skin and black hair which was in direct contrast with lighter coloring of his eyes.
"Old enough to have seen things I wish I hadn't and young enough to still wish to see things," he answered, standing up and walking to the table.
"So what, forty?" She said, trying to get his goat.
He snorted as he snagged a bottle of water off the table. Pausing, he held one up towards her in question. She nodded; he picked up a second, and walked back to his seat. He sat down and handed her the bottle. She accepted the bottle, looking him in the face.
"Forty-five?" She said, not even blinking when he burst out laughing. She swallowed her laugh, kept her face even and looked at him.
"Twenty six. I am twenty-six. Now you're what eighteen?" He said, know she was older but not sure by how much. She snorted and glared at him with a pout.
"Twenty, I am twenty," she told him.
"Huh, just barely I bet," he told her.
"Maybe, maybe not," she said, looking at him with another pout.
"Don't pout," he said, grinning at her.
She stuck out her tongue and he immediately started mentally listing body parts he'd like that tongue to touch. She smirked when his eyes started changing color and narrowing.
"What are you smirking at?" He asked her his eyes still narrowed.
"Noooothhhhinnnngggg," she said, in a knowing tone that made him shift uncomfortably. She laughed, sat back catty-corner and draped a leg over the arm of the chair.
"What are you studying?" He asked her casually, the silence was making him uncomfortable since both of them knew where his thoughts had been.
"Human Anatomy and Physiology," she told him.
"You are majoring in Human Anatomy?" He asked with a befuddled look on his face.
"No, that's what I was studying. I am majoring in Biological Sciences," she said, grinning at the look on his face.
"Huh, what are you planning on doing with that degree?" He asked, wondering what the hell you would do with a biology degree.
"Med-school," she said easily.
"Hmm a doctor like Dr. Saroyan then?" He said, casually fishing for information.
"I don't think Pathology is to my liking," she said, shifting uncomfortably. This was a conversation she'd had with Cam.
"What is to your liking then?" He asked, sensing her discomfort and wanting to alleviate it.
"Difficult to say. I'm leaning towards emergency medicine but I'm not sure if I could deal with all the death it entails," she said, scrunching her face.
"You still have time to decide," he told her with a smile. She nodded and her lids dropped down. He chuckled.
"Guess I should go crawl onto a table that a dead body has probably been on at some point and get some sleep," she grumbled.
"I think I'd rather sleep in the dirt under the tree," Legates said, laughing. Michelle shrugged and stood up.
"G'night," she said, ambling off after picking up her bags.
She entered the van and looked around. There wasn't a lot of space but she'd make do. She slid a table out and stretched out on it. Turning over, she faced the window that allowed the stadium lights dimly into the van. Three and a half hours later, she sat up straight drenched in sweat. Panting, she looked around frantically. Realizing where she was, she took a deep breath.
When her breathing returned to normal, she slid off the table and pushed it back in. Picking up her bag, she walked to the bathroom. She hated the bathroom in this thing. It was positively tiny. Keeping silent since Brennan, Booth, Hodgins and Angela were still sleeping in the cabin, Michelle took a quick shower and put on clean clothes.
Quietly, she left the Jeffersonian van carrying her bags. Sitting down, she took up her position in the camp chair. The halogen lamps were still glowing. Shivering lightly, she opened her bag and pulled out her hoodie. Blowing a breath out, she pulled out her book and began to read. The next few hours passed in relative quiet with the patrol occasionally stopping by the table for coffee or to check on her. Then Michelle heard a thump followed by silence. Turning, she looked around but didn't notice anything unusual. Shrugging, she went back to her reading.
"Get Out. Now," Booth's voice barked from inside the van.
Michelle glanced over her shoulder for a moment then went back to reading. She ignored the changing of the patrol until someone dropped a cup of coffee in her hand.
"Thanks," she mumbled without looking up.
She took a sip and put it in the cup holder on the arm. Legates shook his head and walked back to the other end of the table.
"How long has she been up?" Legates asked Johnson, pointing at Michelle.
"Michelle? She's been up for ahh," Johnson glanced at his watch, "about four hours."
Legates let out a low whistle. He stood sipping his coffee his mind drifting to what could possibly cause a person to sleep so little. Wincing, he mentally cataloged why he'd been sleeping so little. The constant nightmares that woke him up after they had returned from Afghanistan was the first thing that came to mind.
"Well, something has Dr. B's tail in a twist," Wilson muttered, sipping his coffee. Legates didn't precisely ignore the comment more of was too lost in his own thoughts.
"I made an S&M crack about the scars on her back this morning," Reed said sneeringly.
Legates was snatched from his thoughts at Reed's sneering comment. Reed took a step back when seven heads turned and shot glares at him.
Michelle heard Reed make a comment and saw Brennan's scars flash before her eyes. The sounds of the water hitting Brennan's back and dripping down her frame entered Michelle's mind. She could taste the fear that Brennan would die and they would start on her. She could see the young Indonesian woman laying over the table staring sightlessly at her. She could hear the man speaking to his comrades. She fought the memories but lost the battle and they overwhelmed her.
A low whimper escaped her throat. The men standing around turned their heads to see a very pale Michelle sitting there. Legates knew that she was back in that time and that place.
"Fuck," Legates swore. Walking over, he squatted down in front of her. Damn could that man possibly have been more insensitive.
"Michelle," Legates said in a soothing tone.
He took her hands in between his. They were freezing. Holding her hands in between his, he began rubbing them together trying to get some circulation. Her normally light caramel colored skin was a pasty shade.
"Yo, Dr. Boy," Goodman called out over the scene. Sweets jerked towards them with a frown.
"Ha ha, he actually answered to it," Goodman laughed. Sweets walked over and saw Michelle's sallow complexion.
"What happened?" Sweets growled.
"Sergeant Reed said something stupid twice," Goodman pointed out, while looking at the sky.
"What did he say?" Sweets asked in a soothing tone. Goodman leaned over and whispered what had been said in Sweets' ear.
"Seriously? Tell me he wasn't that stupid? Not only did he say it once but twice?" Sweets asked, his pitch getting higher on each question.
"Come on, Michelle," Sweets coaxed. He led her gently by the hands into the van closing the door behind him.
"Wow, this is one screwed up bunch of scientists," Reed snickered.
Legates temper snapped, he was normally pretty easy going and even tempered but this was too far. He could still hear Michelle sobbing in his arms for more than two hours while Cam took care of Brennan's wounds in Maluku. At the time it freaked him out. What was he supposed to do with a sobbing young woman? Especially one who had just gone through what she had. Where the hell had Sweets been then?
Without making a sound, Legates charged Reed and slammed him against the side of the Jeffersonian van. Pressing his forearm against Reed's throat, Legates applied just enough pressure to be a threat but not enough to cut off the man's oxygen. He really wanted to cut the man's oxygen supply completely off for making fun of Dr. Brennan and Michelle for what they'd been through.
"Those two women you call screwed up; they went through a horror in the Moluccan islands. Instead of making fun of them, you should be giving them some respect for surviving," Legates snarled in Reed's face.
"Put me down, Corporal," Reed snapped.
Legates gave him a good shake then dropped him to the ground. He stalked around to the other side of the van, mumbling irritably the whole way.
"Stupid people talking about stuff they know nothing about. Making fun of torture victims...needs to be shot between the eyes...hate the military..." could be heard by the men Legates passed as he left.
Reed tried to follow him but found his way barred by a hand on his arm. Looking from the hand on his arm up to the owner's face, he saw Wilson wearing a frown.
"Don't, man, just leave it. No disrespect to you. That trip was supposed to be a security detail, but got turned into a nightmare of the worst kind," Wilson said in a low voice.
Nodding, Reed stalked off and Wilson turned to lean against the van door.
Legates stalked around the back of the van and crouched down between the Jeffersonian van and the Sequoia. He needed to calm down. Breathing deeply, he closed his eyes and tried to slow his heartbeat.
Michelle followed Sweets into the van and sat down when he pushed her onto one of the examination tables.
"Michelle, I need you to breathe. Just take a deep breath. You are safe here," Sweets coaxed her.
He'd seen these with her before. After returning from Afghanistan, Cam had a difficulty with Michelle eating and sleeping. Michelle had eventually ended up in The Psychiatric Institute of Washington. The therapist there did not understand the trauma and tried to force Michelle to talk about it. When she wouldn't talk about what had happened the doctor had put her on a random cocktail of drugs. Finally, after getting her panic attacks under control, Michelle had sought out Sweets and a psychiatrist recommended by him. Sweets tried a different tactic and gave Michelle tools to gain control of the panic, the fear and the memories. Sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't.
Eventually, he would try to get her to talk about it but for now dealing with the panic came first. Michelle began to suck in deep breaths and her color slowly returned to normal. Her eyes shot around the van taking in her surroundings.
"Michelle, what happened? Did you try any of the methods we spoke of?" Sweets asked her as he crouched in front of her.
"I tried but they didn't work," Michelle said in a voice that reminded Sweets of a small lost child.
"Okay, let's try to get control of the situation now. Take a deep breath and hum for me," Sweets said, coaxing her to use the musical therapy they'd been working with for the last few months. Michelle took a deep breath, closed her eyes and began to hum.
Legates' heart rate had slowed down and he could hear the murmur of voices drifting from the open driver's side window of the van. Then he heard humming and cocked his head. Standing up, he left the area and returned to his patrol.
Michelle slowly gained control and gave Sweets a wavering smile. He nodded and returned her smile.
"Are you ready to go back out?" He asked her in a low tone.
She nodded and stood up. Leaving the van, she stared at the ground and returned to her seat. Burying herself in her reading, she ignored the activity around her. Legates eyed her each time he walked past on his patrol. Lunch came and Michelle ignored it. Dinner came and she ignored it. She paused for another cup of coffee. She knew that after this morning sleep was not happening.
She stopped reading when she heard Reed snarl and looked up. She watched as Reed showed his ass again. Then from nowhere Booth appeared on top of the Jeffersonian van with a rifle pointed at Reed. Her heart sped up as she watched what followed. She shivered and heard Angela speak from beside her. She turned to look at Angela. When had she sat down there?
"Booth, turn off the creep factor. You're making me nervous," Angela pouted from her chair. Booth shot her a charming grin but continued cleaning the weapon.
Michelle shivered and returned to her reading. She'd had enough guns, violence and nightmares for one day. It seemed like minutes but it had actually been a little over an hour when the scientist began breaking down the crime scene. Standing, Michelle stood watching, not sure what she could do to help. Shrugging, she walked to the Sequoia to wait for the trip to the lab.
The drive to the lab was silent except for the noise of Michelle as she played a game on her phone. They pulled around the back of the museum and Michelle watched as the people unloaded from the trucks. She wondered if she was supposed to get out too. But before she could ask Booth was back in the truck and pulling around to the parking garage. Michelle shivered as she remembered Cam telling her about finding blood from Hodgins here when Brennan and Hodgins were taken by the GraveDigger.
Sweets and Michelle got out of the SUV and stood with Booth, watching as Legates and Techie jumped from the drivers seats. Michelle eyed Legates with an appreciative eye as he walked towards them. He walked with confidence that came from being a natural alpha.
Turning, Booth opened the hatch and began pulling out the suitcases, knowing they weren't leaving anytime soon. Legates and Techie grabbed as many bags as they could, leaving four for Booth and the others to carry. Michelle watched the muscles in Legates' arm ripple and bunch as he swung the bags up on his shoulders.
She could see the edge of a tattoo peeking from under the sleeve of his shirt. Booth swung a bag up on his shoulder then picked up the nondescript gray case and transferred it to the other hand. Bending carefully, he picked up another bag and slung it up on the other shoulder. Sweets and Michelle each picked up one bag. Legates saw Michelle's eyes dart nervously around the darkened parking garage as they made their way towards the elevator. They entered the elevator and Michelle's frame relaxed slightly at the light in the elevator.
"So, there is a section of this building that the lab is in?" Techie, asked Booth as, he glanced at the ceiling of the elevator.
Booth chuckled at Techie's assumption. Michelle stood in the back near the wall, Sweets on her left and Legates on her right. She could feel the heat radiating off Legates' body and wondered if he was sick and running a fever or if he was literally hot blooded. She instinctively leaned towards the heat.
"No, this entire building is the laboratory," Booth corrected.
Techie's showed his shock and Legates began to laugh. Legates had been unable to control his laughter at the sight of Techie standing there with his face covered in shock. Legates hadn't realized the whole building was the lab but it didn't surprise him.
The Jeffersonian was a world renowned museum and from what he'd heard from Brennan the lab was the world's best in forensics. The doors opened into the gray colored hallway. Booth stepped off and turned left, heading towards the lab doors. They followed Booth off of the elevator and down the hall.
"Evening, Booth," Micah said. He paused and raised one eyebrow at the gray case. Booth nodded and continued to walk. Legates eyes narrowed as they passed Micah. Who was this guy and how secure was the building if random people were on speaking terms with Booth.
"I thought the security was good here, Sarge," Legates growled at the casual greeting Micah had given Booth.
"It is. There are four guards that work night shift. There are twelve during the day. I know them all and I ran background checks on all of them," Booth said with a smile.
"Micah was an instructor at Fort Benning before he was sent to work at the 9-11 site. It would seem that he worked with both Bones and me. He taught my Night and Day Land Navigation classes. He worked with her at the Twin Towers while she was identifying victims. According to him, he was the only soldier she liked. She helped him to get a job here after he retired from the Army," Booth said briefly.
Legates chuckled at Booth's thoroughness. At least he knew that if Micah had taught at Benning then he was trustworthy enough. As they stepped in the doors of the lab, they came to a sudden halt. Reed stood in front of them, his arms crossed and a frown on his face. Legates shifted uncomfortably as he only half listened to the conversation. Anything dealing with security mostly went through Booth but that was due to his and Techie's respect for their Sarge.
When Booth finally started moving, everyone followed them. Legates' eyes were scanning the lab as they walked. He could see two possible entry points, the door and the skylight. The catwalks above the lab would make a good patrol area as you could see the lab except for the offices. Michelle watched from the corner of her eye as Legates' eyes shot around the lab. She could see him calculating and planning. Interesting, when had she learned to read people that well?
His face was blank yet she knew what he was doing. They reached Brennan's office and unloaded the bags. Booth sorted the bags and Michelle grabbed her backpack. Leaving the office, she made her way to the lounge. Sitting down, she pulled out her books and spread them across the coffee table. She preferred sitting in the floor for some reason. She looked up as she heard feet moving across the catwalk. She saw Legates moving around the catwalk looking down at the platform and surrounding areas.
She ignored the security as they moved around the platform. God, her life had gotten weird. How many people could say they were accustomed to military security like it was an everyday thing. She had only been studying for a few minutes when the alarms blared from the platform. Leaning her forehead on her hand, she tried not to grumble out her frustration. Then the lab slowly got dark and she froze as panic started to set in. Breathing deeply, she started to hum until her pulse slowed down and her breathing evened out. Standing up, she stalked down the steps and over to Cam's office. Knocking on the door, she waited for an answer.
"Come in," Cam called, curious as to who actually waited for permission to enter.
"Hey, Cam, is there a light I can use? Booth closed the overhead thingie and there's no light in the lounge to speak of," Michelle explained her request.
Cam paused for a moment then her face lit up.
"Yeah, let me get one of the examination lights. It's like an octopus lamp," Cam told her.
Michelle nodded and waited while Cam went and got one of them. After Cam returned, Michelle took the lamp and headed back to the lounge. She passed several of the men carrying the potted plants from the catwalk. She placed the lamp and then crawled around looking for the outlet. Legates walked by and spotted Michelle on her hands and knees with her butt in the air.
"If I weren't such a gentleman I'd take advantage of this situation," Legates said, laughing. Michelle rolled her eyes and kept looking.
"What are you doing?" Legates asked her with a grin.
"I lost my contact," she said sarcastically.
"Oh, did you need some help finding it?" He asked, missing the sarcasm. Michelle put her head on her forearms and laughed.
"I don't wear contacts, Legates," she told him, still laughing.
Spotting the outlet under the couch, she stood up and moved the lamp next to the couch. Pushing the couch forward a little, she tried to plug the lamp in. Sighing because she couldn't reach it, she climbed on the couch and bent over the back. Legates burst into laughter causing Brown to stop and look at him. Legates just shrugged at Brown and continued to laugh.
"Bite me," Michelle grumbled as she heard his laughter.
He walked up behind her, knelt on the couch and leaned over her. Reaching down, he took the plug from her hand and plugged it into the socket.
"Where would you like for me to bite you?" He asked teasingly, as he straightened up.
She laughed and straightened up. Sliding out from between his body and the couch, she moved back to the floor and flipped her book open. Grunting, she moved to the other side of the table so she wasn't blocking the light. Ten minutes later, she began banging her forehead on the coffee table when Techie and Legates sat down in the lounge to make a patrol schedule. Giving up, she closed her books and kicked back on the couch. She dozed off briefly and woke up to find Booth and Reed snarling at each other.
Her sleepy mind couldn't quite make out what they were talking about. After a brief pissing match she saw Booth disappear and Reed headed in the opposite direction. She sat up then went and got a cup of coffee. Sitting down in front of her books again, she picked up her pen and wrote her name on the cup. She ignored the men as they came and went during their patrols.
A shot rang out through the lab. Michelle jumped from her position on the floor and ran to the railing at the edge of the catwalk. She saw Booth pointing his weapon at Reed who was gripping Dr. Brennan. Legates was one step behind her and slammed into the back of her as she came to a sudden halt. She gasped as she was pushed from behind into the railing. Legates realized Michelle was in a position to fall over the railing and reaching out he wrapped his arm around her waist to stop her from falling. Michelle blinked as she felt her body come up against something large and hard.
"Sorry," Legates muttered, releasing her.
"Thank you," she said quietly and leaned over to watch what was going on down on the platform.
She couldn't quite hear what was going on but she knew Booth had it under control. Turning around, she walked smack into Legates who was still standing behind her.
"Sorry, excuse me," she said, stepping around him.
Legates grinned at her as she stepped around him. She sat back down to her books again. Shaking his head, Legates returned to his patrol. On the other side of the platform Techie stopped him.
"Sarge says we're going to be here for awhile so same as at the base. Sleeping and working in shifts. There are couches over there in the lounge and Angela's office," Techie told him.
Legates nodded and turned around to tell the men. Techie turned in the opposite direction and started telling men as he walked in the opposite direction. When Techie and Legates met in front of the lounge, Legates swept his arm in a formal gesture for Techie to take the first sleep shift. Nodding, Techie walked into the lounge and flopped down on the couch, pulled his hat from his pocket, placed it over his face and promptly fell asleep.
Michelle continued studying for another three hours and finally gave into the sleepiness that was dragging her down. Pulling the cushions from the back of the couch, she tossed them on the floor in the light glowing from the octopus lamp and laid down on them. When Legates came in for his turn to sleep, he smiled at the young woman curled up in a ball on two couch cushions the third at her feet but not being used. He quietly lay down on the couch and fell into a light sleep.
All three occupants in the lounge were woken up by a banging on the door. Michelle rolled over on the cushions and looked between the bars of the catwalk at the door. She saw a General and someone else standing there. Rolling back over, she tried to go back to sleep.
A/N: Let's see what's on the menu for tomorrow...Dirty looks, invitations, semi-sarcastic questions, Mr. White, running into each other wearing less, losing Brennan, showers, tattoos, smelling good, garter belts, sleeping with Davis, THAT look, taking a leak, Charlie, bugs, and Johnson's on top.
A/N2: I had to change it from Oaks to Techie in the elevator scene sorry. Techie and Legates are the only ones allowed to drive the D&H's. Bwuahahaha ya'll actually thought he was that old. Maybe I should warn you there is a lot of teasing and joking around in this story. So be careful about what you take at face value =P. Oh and I should mention that the chapters get longer here soon. I went from making them 3,500 words to double that =D