Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. Fox and Hart Hanson own Bones and I hope they don't mind that I play in their imaginary world.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS!
Chapter 3
Legates stood up at the knocking on the door and made his way down the steps. As he approached the door, he saw Brennan entering her code to open the doors.
"Dr. Brennan," Legates called out. Brennan paused and looked over her shoulder. She turned and took a few steps towards the stairs where Legates was standing.
"You should let security open the door," he chided her.
"Legates, this is my lab. You know who that is, as do I. There is no security risk," Brennan said smartly, turning she walked to the door. Punching in her numbers the door swished open.
"Besides, you do not have access to the Jeffersonian security system," Brennan said with a smug smile. Legates narrowed his eyes at her. Hodgins started laughing at the look on his face.
"It's another Booth. Lord help us all," Hodgins laughed.
Legates shot Hodgins a dirty look then headed back up to the catwalk. As he was walking around the catwalk, he spotted Parks and froze. Something was not right about this. They left Parks in Afghanistan with more time left there. Shaking his head, he continued to patrol. Parks, the General and Brennan disappeared into her office.
The men continued circling the catwalk, their eyes shooting around looking for danger but seeing nothing. As Legates approached the lounge, he saw Angela putting envelopes on the chest of men sleeping on the couches.
Michelle sat with her forehead in her hand desperately trying to do something. She couldn't sleep; she'd slept enough to make her be awake yet not enough to fight off the exhaustion. She was reading about gamete production for the fiftieth time and still not comprehending anything. Standing up, she grabbed her cup and turned almost bumping into Angela.
"Here, Sweetie, an invitation to the Jeffersonian Halloween Ball," Angela said, handing her an envelope. Michelle groaned, she really didn't want to go.
"Don't even think about it. You have to go because I said so," Angela said with a smile. Michelle scowled at her and stalked to the coffee pot.
"Stupid balls. Don't want to. This sucks," Michelle muttered, as she poured herself more coffee. Legates caught her muttered statements and paused.
"What are you grumping about?" He asked her with a grin. She scowled at him and jerked her head at Angela.
"If I have to go so do you because she said so," Michelle said, pointing towards Angela.
Stalking back to her seat, she flopped down. Legates followed Michelle into the lounge and raised an eyebrow at Angela. With a wide smile Angela handed him an envelope.
"You're dress greens, blues, purples or whatever color you wear will be delivered to the mansion. Your attendance is mandatory as per General Carter," Angela said, still grinning.
Legates opened the envelope and looked down at the vellum in his hand. A black card with a pile of realistic looking bones and a skull was on the bottom.
Make No Bones About it...
The Annual Jeffersonian Ball
October, 31st 7pm
Come in costume
Legates smiled, this could be fun he thought. Turning, he headed back to the catwalk but paused as he passed Michelle. Cocking his head, he grinned again. First come, first served.
"Who are you going with?" He asked her even though he knew she didn't have any options.
"No one has asked," Michelle replied, without looking up. He couldn't see the smile creeping across her face.
"Would you go with me? If I asked?" He probed not wanting to ask and have her reject him.
"You'd have to ask to find out," she said impishly. He mentally groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Will you?" He asked the incomplete question.
"Will I what?" She asked, trying not to laugh at the poor guy struggling to ask her to a ball they were both required to attend. He grunted and stood up straight.
"Fine," he sighed, "will you, Ms. Michelle Welton, attend this mandatory function with me?" Legates said, sarcasm starting to creep into his tone. Michelle looked up and squinted her eye at him.
"Yeah, I guess that's acceptable," she answered.
He nodded and walked back towards the catwalk. He froze again when her giggle reached him. He spun around and shot a glance at her. She sat looking down into her book with a cat that ate the canary look on her face. Puffing out some air, he returned to his patrol.
Legates was a few feet from the stairs when a loud crash echoed throughout the lab. Running down the stairs, he stared at the man standing behind the broken door. The man shot him a look and Legates already had his weapon drawn and trained on the man.
"Get out of my lab," Brennan thundered from Legates left.
His eyes shot to his left to see Brennan standing there with Booth's weapon trained on the man at the door. The man jerked his head up and an irritated look crossed his face. Cam put her hand over her mouth and started laughing. Hodgins, Angela and Sweets quickly joined in on the laughter.
"Dr. Brennan, I am only here to speak with you," the man said stoically.
"Mr. White, get the hell out of my lab. I already have a federal record for shooting people without warning," Brennan said, grinding her jaw. Cam stopped laughing and walked to her office.
"Where do you think you are going, Dr. Saroyan?" Mr. White asked with a raised eyebrow.
"As my lab is not being commandeered by the federal government, I don't have to tell you that," Cam said. Going back to her office, she picked up the phone.
"Temperance, put the gun down. We need him," Carter said gently. Booth walked up behind Brennan and reached over her shoulders. Gently, he lowered her arms.
"Give me the gun, Bones," he whispered near her ear. Booth gently took the gun from her hand and re-holstered it.
"It was a test for you wasn't it, Booth?" Sweets said, his voice rising an octave.
"Not just Agent Booth," Mr. White said. Cam walked from her office and clapped her hands.
"Back to work everyone. This does not involve us," she said with authority.
When Carter ordered Brennan to lower her weapon, Legates lowered his weapon and eyed the group warily. At Cam's instruction to return to work, Legates spun on his heel and jogged up the steps to the catwalk.
Michelle stood at the railing watching Brennan draw down on some poor fool and tried not to laugh at the man's problem. When Cam clapped her hands and issued orders in her authoritative tone, Michelle spun around and tried to return to the lounge. After spinning, she took a step and was plowed into by Legates.
"You know we really need to stop running into each other like this," she said, her voice full of laughter.
"Yeah," he agreed and stepped around her. Michelle paused as his mumble reached her ears.
"Or just run into each other wearing less," Legates mumbled, walking away.
Michelle's face bloomed with a light pink color then she grinned at his retreating back. Walking back to her books, she frowned and glared at them. After packing them up, she pulled out her book about a Wizard living in Chicago and begun to read. The lab fell mostly silent except for the occasional clang of evidence hitting trays or whispered conversations that could barely be heard over the hum of the machines. A whistle drifted from below the catwalk and Michelle saw Legates look down.
"Bones went for a run. Suit up and follow her," Booth ordered.
Legates nodded then shuffled over to the lounge. When he came into the lounge, he dug through a bag pulled out a cell phone, clipped on a waist holster for his gun and trotted out of the lounge. Booth saw Legates coming down the lounge stairs.
"She's at the National Mall," Booth said with a grunt.
Legates nodded and jogged out the door. Legates took the elevator down to the main floor. When the elevator reached the main floor, he stepped out and looked around. He saw a foyer and jogged in that direction. He stopped at the front doors and put the number to the Medico-Legal lab into the cell phone.
Pushing the door open, he glanced up and down the street. He saw Brennan turn a corner to his left. Turning left, he set out at a steady pace and caught up to her. When he reached her, he stopped and let her get several feet ahead of him. If she was running for space he'd give her that but he'd stay close enough to protect her if necessary.
They settled into a comfortable rhythm and did several circuits around the Mall. Legates was wishing for a pair of sneakers but was resigned to the fact that he had to wear his boots when Brennan put on a burst of speed as she rounded a corner. Legates sighed and picked up his speed, cut through the grass and should have come out in front of her.
He came to a skidding halt and glanced around. She had disappeared into thin air. His eyes scanned the area and he saw an alleyway. Cursing, he ran towards the alley scanning for her.
"Aw come on seriously, Dr. B?" He called out, glancing around. Groaning, he pulled out the phone and dialed the Jeffersonian.
"Medico-Legal Lab," Cam answered in a clipped tone.
"Dr. Saroyan, I need to speak to Sarge," Legates said.
"Hold on," she said, putting him on hold.
"Booth," Booth answered.
"I lost her," Legates said, puffing.
"You what?" Booth said in a low tone.
"I let her have too much distance and she took off into an alley around a corner," Legates said.
"Okay," Booth said then hung up on him.
Legates sighed, he knew he was in trouble. Turning, he began to jog back to the Jeffersonian, his eyes scanning hoping to catch sight of her. He pulled the door of the Jeffersonian and groaned when it clinked. Pulling out his phone, he dialed the cell phone he knew Techie had.
"Briggs," Techie answered.
"I'm at the door. Let me in," Legates said.
"Yep, I'll send someone," he said.
A few moments later, Cam appeared and opened the door for him. She narrowed her eyes at him when he stepped in. They walked to the elevator in silence. When they entered the lab Cam sniffed and grimaced.
"Decontamination shower is in lab four," she said, pointing. Legates nodded and paused. His duffel was in the truck. Sighing, he gestured towards the door.
"My bag is in the parking structure," he informed her.
"You should take someone else with you," she said. Nodding, he jogged to the stairs and up onto the catwalk. He ran into Goodman at the top of the steps.
"Come on you're going with me," Legates said.
Goodman nodded and walked to the door where Cam was standing. She let them out then turned on her heel and walked back to her office. Legates and Goodman walked to the elevator.
"You got out run by Dr. Brennan?" Goodman said with a laugh.
"Not out run, out foxed. She turned a corner with trees and shrubs blocking my view then ducked into an alleyway. By the time I figured out what she'd done the alley was empty," Legates said, chagrined.
Goodman laughed and looked at the ceiling. They walked to the truck and Legates climbed in and walked to his bag then pulled out his body wash and a change of clothes. Legates stuck his head out of the back of the truck when they heard a vehicle start. He saw the Sequoia drive out of the parking lot. They returned to the lab and waited as Cam walked towards them. She opened the door and they stepped through.
"You dodged a bullet, Legates, Booth went to get Dr. Brennan," she told him with a frown.
Legates shook his head and headed to lab four. He had just closed the door when Cam realized that he didn't have any towels. Stalking up the steps, she walked into the lounge and looked at Michelle.
"Michelle, can you take some towels to lab four. I have to go herd cats," she mumbled. Michelle looked up and saw how tired Cam was and nodded.
"Sure, anything I can do to help," Michelle answered, standing up. She walked down the steps and paused halfway down, realizing she had no idea where they were.
"Cam, where are the towels?" Michelle asked, looking up the stairs towards Cam.
"Oh, right, yeah, they are in the storage closet next to the bathroom. Make sure you get the ones all the way on the top or he'll end up with a washcloth to dry off with," Cam called.
"Okay, thanks," Michelle said, continuing down the steps.
She walked to the closet and opened the door. She groaned, the towels were way up on the top shelf which was way above her head. Looking around, she spotted a step stool. Opening it, she reached up and grabbed two towels. Tucking the towels under her arm, she closed the stool and headed for lab four. She was passing the window and got a good look at Legates standing there half naked. He was only wearing his pants and they were unbuttoned.
Before he could pull them down, she knocked on the door. As he turned towards the door, she saw the Rangers colors tattooed on his arm. Yep, she had seen a tattoo earlier. He walked to the door and pulled it open. He raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned. She let her eyes dip to the red and green Celtic dragons tattooed on his left pec.
"You might need one of these," she said, holding out the towel.
"Yeah, thanks," he said, taking the towels.
"You might want to close the blinds to the main window or everyone on the platform will get a show," she said, grinning. He turned and looked at the window.
"Yeah, thanks," he said.
She nodded, turned on her heel and headed back to the lounge. Legates dropped the blinds and went to take a shower in what had to be the smallest shower he'd ever seen. Considering the showers he'd seen around the world that was pretty damned small. Quickly stripping, he stepped into the shower.
Michelle went up the steps and stopped when she saw Davis sleeping on the couch. Thinking for a moment but coming up with no other recourse, she curled up on the cushion at Davis' feet. Her knees were bent and he shoved his feet under them causing her to snort. Opening her book, she returned to her reading. She was lost in the story and didn't hear Legates come into the lounge and set his clothes on the floor near the end of the couch by Davis' head. Davis let out a snort and Legates rolled his eyes.
Tucking his shirt in quickly, Legates returned to his patrol. Michelle smelled Legates walk by and mentally smiled. Men shouldn't smell so good, dammit. He wasn't covered in cologne and his body wash was clean with a slight musk not all girlie like some of the men's body wash she'd smelled on campus.
Crap, she'd forgotten to call Brittney about her costume and the Halloween party her roommate was throwing. Grunting a little, she lifted herself up and over Davis' feet and walked to her bag. Picking up her phone, she dialed her dorm number and waited. The answering machine picked up and she growled.
"Brittney, put your clothes on and pick up the phone," she growled into the machine. Getting no answer, she sighed.
"Look I'm being made to go to the Jeffersonian Halloween ball and I need my costume. Needless to say I won't be at your Halloween Party. Please just make sure you send everything, the dress, the wings, the heels, the thigh highs and garter belt please. Send it to the Hodgins Estate via messenger," Michelle said into the phone. She paused then gave Brittney the address to the Hodgins estate.
"Call me on my cell if you can't find anything," Michelle said then hung up. Davis rolled over and squinted at her.
"Garter belt? Seriously? Women still wear those things?" He mumbled his question then fell back asleep.
She snickered and went back to sit on the couch near his feet. She continued reading until she fell asleep with the book clutched in her hand. She didn't feel Davis get up or Legates slide into his spot. Techie walked by and smirked at the two sleeping on the couch. He didn't realize Michelle had also been asleep on the same couch with Davis.
Michelle jerked and blinked blearily at the sound of articles in the lab hitting the floor. Letting out a soft sigh, she fell back asleep. Legates had watched through slitted lids as she glanced around then fell back to sleep. Her jerk had woke him up but he quickly fell back to sleep. They both jerked awake a few minutes later when Mr. White and Parks came up to the lounge. Mr. White shot Legates and Michelle a dirty look when he flopped down on the couch in front of them.
"Why the fuck did they tell us to sleep here if they were going to have people stomping in and out?" Legates grumbled, sitting up and scooting to one side of the couch.
"I thought you Ranger types went through that whole lack of sleep training," Parks said, laughing.
"We did but we weren't offered sleep, got a little then woke up. We were just awake the whole time," Legates grumbled.
Michelle just glared at the strange man sitting on the couch across from them. Parks laughed at Michelle's expression. She turned it on him and he held his hands up defensively.
"Where the hell do you women learn that look?" Parks asked her with a wide grin.
"Your mama," she shot back before curling up against the corner of the couch. Legates burst into laughter at her comment. Parks leaned back against the railing and laughed at her crankiness. He knew that she wasn't a mean person but people got cranky when they were tired.
"You seem to know these men rather well, Miss," White said suspiciously.
"Back off, White," Parks said immediately. Michelle's eyes narrowed and she shot White a dirty look.
"I don't know and to be honest don't care who-"
"Michelle, be nice," Parks cut her off.
Her eyes shot daggers at Parks and White gave her a look of complete astonishment. Michelle stood up abruptly and began walking away.
"Where do you think you're going?" White said in a superior tone. Michelle stopped looked over at him and glared.
"I'm going to take a leak. Did you want to watch and make sure I'm not doing something suspicious?" She asked, her sarcasm getting sharp due to her sleepiness. She turned and went down the steps ignoring everyone as she went. Legates covered his face with his hand and started laughing.
"Stop laughing at me, Legates," her voice floated from below them. The bite in her voice was gone and instead it was edged with laughter. Legates kept laughing and fell over to his side.
"Have you seen her since..." Parks question trailed off as he gestured with his hands. Legates shot him a sharp look.
"No," Legates said in a short tone.
"Since what? Were you two in a previous relationship?" White asked, suspicious once again.
"No," Legates said sharply. Parks shook his head and glared at White's stupidity.
"Her name is Michelle," Parks said, emphasizing her name.
White sat for a minute and his eyes widened and he looked at Parks who just nodded. Legates stood up and left the lounge without saying anything. Legates wandered around the lab looking at things here and there. His patrol started in half an hour so there wasn't much point in trying to go back to sleep.
Legates was standing near the platform and watched as Cam let the Agents into the lab without questioning them. His eyebrows rose at the casual admittance but shrugged. He recognized Agent Burns and assumed that the others were brought in by Booth and were to be trusted. He continued to wander and found a room with a glass case full of bugs.
Michelle came out of the bathroom to find Cam letting four FBI Agents into the lab. No surprise Booth had brought in Charlie, Michelle had seen him a couple of times.
"Hey, Agent Burns," Michelle said as she passed.
He nodded and smiled at her as she walked by. He wasn't surprised to see her there. He had been in Maluku and knew what had happened. Several Agents at the Hoover had asked about her presence when she went to see Sweets but he'd never answered them.
Michelle found Legates staring at skull in the beetle case.
"That is so gross," he muttered, still watching. Michelle crossed her arms and leaned in the doorway. He tapped on the glass and watched them skitter.
"If you scare them away they won't do their job," she told him quietly.
He stood up straight and jammed his hand in his pockets. He turned to look at her with a grin and a shrug.
"I was one of those kids who tapped the glass at the aquarium," he said, still grinning.
She shook her head and laughed quietly. They both jumped and moved out into the main part of the lab when they heard the thunder of feet. They saw Brennan push Parks over the edge of the railing and hold him there. She was speaking to Parks but suddenly she screeched the word children.
Legates was already on the move towards the stairway when he heard her tell Techie to back off. He stopped where he was and waited to see what happened. Michelle still stood in the doorway of the room that they had just been in. A minute or two later, Legates realized that Booth had everything under control.
Legates leaned against the railing and waited. Brennan came down the stairs and brushed by him without saying anything. He could hear voices in the lounge but ignored them. Walking back up the steps to start his patrol, he stopped two steps from the top when Booth appeared there. Legates froze when Booth spoke.
"You have 72 hours to fix this," Booth threatened.
"I can have you arrested," White threatened.
Parks, Angela, Hodgins and Cam burst into laughter at his statement. Legates wondered when they had gotten up there. He must be slipping if he didn't see them go up into the lounge.
"Catch me. IF you can," Booth said with a smug smile.
"White, there is a reason we selected him. We really don't want him running off killing people. Especially since he found out about this Gregg person. That means he can find out who put out the order, who is involved, any number of things. We'll both be first on his list," Parks said frantically.
"I will not be cowed," White growled. Hodgins stalked over to White and looked up into his eyes. White glared down at the little scientist.
"Here's a couple of scary thoughts for you. First, he already has the list. There are fifty agents across the CIA, Homeland Security and US Military involved. He has names, addresses, Social Security numbers, everything he needs. Second scary thought, he would have the backing of the people who work here. And do not think that we aren't smart enough to hide things from you or anyone else looking for something. Like maybe a body. You come to us when you need help," Hodgins said in low threatening tone.
Legates mentally shuddered at Hodgins' words, the thought was really scary. Legates walked past the lounge and shot Techie a tired look when they passed. Techie shook his head and continued on to the lounge. Legates paused on the catwalk when he saw Brennan dashing for the door of the lab. Sighing, he looked to the ceiling and looked back down.
"Hey, where are you going?" Legates called out in frustration. Booth walked to the door and signaled for them to stand down.
"Doesn't matter. It's not like you could keep up with her anyway," Booth laughed at Legates.
Legates' face turned bright red. The unit hooted in laughter. Legates grumbled and wondered if he'd ever live that down. He was just glad that Booth wasn't angry about it.
Michelle saw Brennan sprint across the lab. Shrugging, she walked towards what the scientists here called Limbo. Opening the door, she walked in and saw Wendell bent over a table. She went down the steps into Limbo and started walking up and down the aisles of lit boxes. Wendell continued to work but watched Michelle from the corner of his eye as she walked up and down the aisles. So many boxes, she thought. So many people who had family that didn't know or never knew where they were. Michelle shrugged at her thoughts and walked back out of limbo, waving at Wendell as she walked by.
She headed up the steps and looked at her backpack. What the hell was she supposed to do now? She couldn't sleep, she was too tired to study. Picking up her phone, she flipped through the games and grinned at Angry Birds. The sound of flying birds filled the lounge. Johnson laughed as he walked by the lounge and heard the game she was playing.
He noted the dark circles under her eyes and shook his head. He knew she had been taking naps but was unable to get any real sleep. Her circles weren't as bad as the scientists' but they were getting there. Every man on the catwalk froze at the sound of a shrill whistle. Michelle rolled her eyes, she hated it when Booth did that to communicate with the security team.
"Rangers! Would you recommend putting your hands on Bones uninvited?" Booth bellowed across the lab.
A resounding 'No, sir!' echoed back from the lab.
They returned to their patrol as the door to Cam's office closed with a resounding thud. Every man hit the deck as an explosion rocked the lab. Michelle grunted when Johnson landed on top of her.
A/N: Let's seeeeeeee... Johnson's gun, Angry Birds, physicals, a whistle, Legates underpants, tests, middle names, Georgia, Michelle's underpants, Manticores, herding cats, S'mores Chex Mix, conversations of questions, scaring reporters, loading up the deuce and a halfs, and butt grabbing. *snicker*
A/N2: I really do appreciate the reviews! They keep my muse going which helps me get the Espionage sequel rolling. Yeah I'm not above blackmail. So PLEASE leave a review.