Disclaimer: Still searching through my paperwork but as of right now I still don't own Bones. It belongs to Hart Hanson and Fox Network.
Angelbach: Yeah, I figured being organized is beaten into them by the Army (mostly). Lol I've always thought that Michelle has had more than her fair share of back bone. Actually I'm not sure because I didn't really see the similarities to Booth until you guys pointed them out. There is also another similarity (a big one) that you'll see today buuuutttt it was the easiest explanation for Legates' situation. Better than the other options I thought about.
Yenyen76: Yeah blackmail isn't nice but hey I'll do what I have to in order to feed my muse =P I know you are waiting patiently and I appreciate that. I wish I could write faster but I can't =/. I have fun writing and I'm just glad that there are people who like it =D
Moxie: If it weren't fried crispy it weren't done right. The other thing is, different companies have different seasonings so they all taste slightly different. Trust me when I say that greasy spoon didn't make their own. More than likely they cut it too thick and didn't cook it long enough blerggh. Lol sounds like your daughter is a Boof fan =D.
1956JohnDeere50: You'd be a mess in Philly. You'd spend most of your day gasping for breath. I suggest you visit DE or NJ beaches. Then you may get some reprieve from it but still get to laugh at. Better yet if you're careful you can here people from DE imitating it *whistles innocently while looking at the ceiling*
Nertoold54: Don't hold your breath with John. You might turn purple and suffocate ;-)
Silver Maker: Yeah nothing like a good cheesesteak. I refuse to say it like a Philadelphian *shakes head* The funny thing is when my husband read these chapters he argued with me about the accent. It annoyed the crap out of him ROFL.
Thank you EVERYONE for your reviews!
Chapter 15 – Shared Nightmares
Michelle rolled over and looked at the clock. Five pm, time to head to the kitchen and eat some dinner. She wondered if she had absorbed any other mental images of Legates butt in those military pants. Or mental images of Legates naked as far as that went how close to reality was she? Groaning, she got off the bed and walked to the kitchen to get dinner. She'd chalk those last two hours up to fun time. Smirking, she walked into the kitchen and found Angela, Hodgins and Cam sitting there.
"Where is everyone else?" Michelle asked looking around.
"They've decided to watch some movie," Angela said, shrugging. She handed Michelle a plate with a hamburger and French fries on it. Michelle smiled her thanks and sat down at the table. Angela followed her to the table and sat down with the three people there. Hodgins chuckled as he watched Michelle's eyes glaze over as she started eating.
He knew that look, he'd worn it enough to know he didn't want to know about her thoughts. When she finished her food, Michelle rinsed the plate and put it in the dishwasher. She left the kitchen without another word. Cam sighed and shook her head.
"My little girl is in heat," Cam said mournfully.
"It's okay, Cam. That may be just for now," Angela said, patting Cam's hand, "Hodgins and I started as lust and look where we ended up."
Cam glared at Angela to let her know that did not help.
If Brennan believed the next two hours passed painfully slow for her, she should have stood those hours in Legates' shoes. He was trying to push down the memories of his father while paying attention to the crowd which seemed to be pretty calm. When they finally were back in the air headed towards DC, Legates leaned back in his seat and struggled with pushing down that memory. He couldn't deal with it right now, not here and not now. He almost jumped when Kim asked him a question.
"Are they always like that?" Kim asked Legates, pointing over her shoulder at the pair.
Legates leaned around the seat and saw Brennan snuggled up to Booth.
"Pretty much," Legates said.
"She seems awfully, I don't know, snuggly, for a cold hearted woman," Kim said.
"As I said on the way to Philadelphia it is a misconception. Dr B, is just very particular about who touches her and how they touch her. It doesn't make her cold it just makes her particular," Legates said with a shrug.
Kim shook her head and leaned back in her seat. When Kim leaned back in her seat, Legates returned to his internal struggle. He'd been doing this for close to twenty years and had learned how to blank his face to not give away what he was feeling. He knew he was doing it right when no one said anything to him.
Three times he swallowed the bile, finally reaching his frustration limit; he stood up and got a soda from the mini fridge on the plane. The jet landed at Hodgins' private airstrip at 6:15pm and the occupants unloaded. Kim and Jimmy shook everyone's hands and climbed into the town car waiting to take them back into D.C. Legates, Booth and Brennan looked around and found the golf cart. Legates drove them back up towards the house and parked the cart near the garage.
Legates started to walk away but stopped when he noticed neither Brennan nor Booth were following him. He turned slightly and saw Brennan looking up at the garage and shuddering. She turned and started walking towards him. He wondered what the heck that was about. As they approached the tennis courts Legates heard the crackle of needles breaking. He froze and listened carefully, there was someone in the trees. He scanned but didn't see anything.
"Williams, come out from the trees," Booth said in a loud voice. Williams came stumbling out, swatting at the prickly branches of the trees.
"How. In. The. Hell. Did. You. Know," he said, swatting limbs between each word.
"When you shifted, the dead needles under your feet crackled," Legates said.
"I smelled your cologne when we rounded the corner of the garage," Booth said.
"You were breathing loud enough for the blind to find you," Brennan said. Booth and Legates looked at her in surprise.
"While we were under Sarge's command, we spent a year trying to sneak up on him and never could. And we are trained as snipers. You never stood a chance," Legates said.
The four of them continued up to the house, Booth being unusually quiet. Booth was not the only one but neither Brennan nor Williams would have realized that fact. After reaching the kitchen, they all separated, heading their own ways.
Legates walked through the kitchen, foyer, down the hall and into his room. He closed the door behind himself and looked around. He leaned against the door taking deep breaths. The silent darkness was not his friend. Spinning on his heel, he left his room and walked the halls. He saw some of the guys trickling towards the pool. He followed them into the pool and remained silent. He realized that they hadn't realized he was there. He quietly sat down on a lounger and watched Booth run.
"Chris, how long does he run for at that pace?" Denise asked, turning her head up towards Wilson. Wilson watched Booth for a minute, shrugged and looked over at Parks.
"At his given speed-"
"Five hours," Hodgins interrupted Parks. Parks rolled his eyes and the men shot looks at Hodgins.
"Another one," Legates grunted.
"Simple math," Goodman snickered. Hodgins rolled his eyes and took another drink of his beer.
"Seriously, I mean I know you have to be in shape for the military but he's mindlessly running," Susan said quietly to Addison.
"Oh, he's not mindless," Addison said, looking around.
Legates saw the flat look in Booth's eyes and knew he wasn't mindless. My father can't hurt me anymore, Booth thought as the background noise of his feet hitting the concrete filled his ears. He was keeping a blank face and physically running from mental demons. Legates realized that he himself was mentally running from his demons by focusing on what Booth was doing. The bad thing was that they were running from pretty much the same demon.
Standing up without saying anything, Legates slipped from the pool area and decided to see if he could mentally purge his demons for a while. He walked to his room and quickly stripped. Flopping down on the bed, he threw his arm over his eyes. His mind flew back to all those years ago and he shuddered. He knew without a word what Booth's father had done. He saw a version of his father in Booth's father. He flinched as the memory rolled over him.
"Boy what the fuck is wrong with you? You can't even pass a damned spelling test? You go goddamned C!"
His father's voice rang in Legates' ears, he felt the fist as it slammed into his face.
He felt the blood seep from the corner of his eye. He felt the hand wrap around his arm then he bit down on his lip as he felt his arm break again. He could hear his father cursing at him as he kicked him. He took a deep ragged breath. Why was it always this one? Why did it have to be the worst that he remembered the clearest? Not even what had been done to him in the system had been this bad.
He was a seven year old boy and had not deserved the beating that followed. He could hear his father screaming at him. Screaming how stupid he was, screaming how he was the worst mistake he'd ever made. Screaming that his mother had committed suicide to get away from him. He shuddered and sucked in a ragged breath.
He didn't hear the knock on the door or his name being called softly. He couldn't breathe and was gasping. Michelle quietly pushed the door open. Stepping in, she closed the door behind her and scanned the room. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She saw Legates lying on the bed shaking and gasping with his arm over his eyes. Padding quietly, she moved around the bed and climbed in next to him. Straddling him, she tugged at his arm.
He flinched and sucked in a deep breath. She managed to pull his arm off his face and looked him in the eye. Her eyes widened at the pain, helplessness, and fear she saw there. His eyes were a navy blue color, his pupils dilated so all she could see was a thin ring of blue around the outer edges that ring was surrounded by the black ring that was always there. She cupped both sides of his face.
"Josh," she whispered.
He shuddered and sucked in another breath. He rolled her over, knocking her off him and continued to rolling until his feet hit the floor. She stared in stunned amazement as he stumbled to the bathroom. She heard him get sick and sighed. She knew this problem, she had seen it, she had lived it, it was her good old friend emotional trauma. Rolling off the bed, she walked to the bathroom, opened the cabinet and pulled out a washcloth. Running it under cold water, she kept an eye on him out of the corner of her eye.
His face was hanging over the toilet and his forehead rested on his arm which was across the seat. He shuddered then got sick again. She reached up and got him a cup of water. She set it down next to his hand. Going back to the sink, she picked up the washcloth and walked back to him. Putting her hand on his forehead, she lifted his head, swiped the cloth down his face then put his head back on his arm. She set the washcloth back on the sink and turned to leave the bathroom.
She walked quietly through the room and out into the hallway. She made her way to the kitchen and saw the kitchen was dark. There was a stack of files on the table. Shaking her head, she walked to the cabinet she'd seen Angela get tea from. Opening the door she dug through the boxes. After locating the green tea with ginger, she made a cup of tea. While the water was heating, she looked through the cabinets and found the honey and saltines.
She carried the finished tea with honey and the crackers back down to his room. When she returned she found him lying on the bed curled in the fetal position shaking. She set the crackers and the tea on the nightstand and sat down near his stomach. He curled even tighter around her, continuing to shake. She stroked his hair and murmured soothing noises. He finally stopped shaking. She felt him tense and he tried to roll over. He finally realized that he wasn't really alone and that she was someone he didn't want seeing this.
"Nuh uh, that's so not happening. First things first. Tea and saltines. I'm sure your stomach is mighty pissed at you right now," she muttered, grabbing his arm and stopping him from rolling over.
He yanked his arm back, rolled up into a tight ball and ignored her. Sighing, she stood up and quietly left the room. She walked to the pool where everyone was. Standing near the glass, she scanned the crowd. Not seeing his parents, she made her way upstairs. She walked down the hall to the room Perkins had been in. Stopping in front of the door, she could hear muffled talking. Raising her chin, steeling herself, she raised her hand, and knocked on the door. It was snatched open and John glared at her. The scowl on his face deepened at the sight of her.
"What the hell do you want?" He snarled at her.
"Mrs. Jackson, Josh needs you," she said over John's shoulder, ignoring his existence.
"Is he okay?" She called from over John's arm.
"I don't think so. But he won't speak to me," Michelle replied.
"About time the boy came to his senses," John snarled.
Ignoring him, Michelle caught Legates' mom's eye and shook her head indicating that wasn't the problem. Sadie pushed past John and started down the hall.
"Where are you going, Sadie?" He asked incredulous at her determination. Sadie stopped and turned to look at him.
"Our boy needs me. No matter what you think or how you act, Michael is my son," she said in a soft reprimanding tone. Turning again, she followed Michelle down the stairs.
"What happened?" She asked Michelle her voice full of worry.
"I don't know. They came back from Philly and he was in his room, doing what appeared to be hiding. When I opened the door he was hyperventilating and shaking. He stopped suddenly then he-"
"Got sick," Sadie whispered then sighed.
"Is he okay?" Michelle asked softly her eyes full of worry.
"Yeah, he will be," Sadie said.
When they reached his door, Michelle turned to face her.
"Dr. Brennan was saying that the limos would be here in another two hours to take you to the airport," Michelle told Sadie.
"Thank you," she said softly.
Michelle nodded and turned on her heel. Sadie entered the room and found Legates rolled up in a ball in the middle of the bed. She saw tea and crackers next to the bed and smiled. Michelle had a good head on her shoulders, she thought silently. She walked to the bed, slid her shoes off and climbed into the bed. She lay on her side facing Legates' back.
"The day they called us to tell us that there was a child who needed our help has become one of the best days of my life. Other mothers speak of the day they gave birth. I didn't give birth but I received a precious gift," she said softly.
He said nothing and remained lying still. He couldn't believe Michelle had gone and gotten his mother. It was as if she knew what he needed the most and was willing to admit it wasn't her.
"When I stepped in the door of the hospital room, I got angry, I was horrified and absolutely in love. A little boy sat in the middle of that big bed, surrounded by white sheets, machines and bandages. When we brought you home you flinched whenever anyone stepped near you. You ran and hid if anyone's voice was raised above a normal tone for any reason. You had nightmares that made you sick every night for ten months. One night I convinced you to start talking. The more you talked the less frequent the dreams came. Then one night you slept the whole night through," she said quietly.
He shifted a little but still stayed curled up and quiet.
"Now, I can count on my hand the number of times it's happened since that first night you slept through the night. What happened?" She asked in a quiet but firm and demanding tone.
He let out a sigh and struggled to find a way to put his thoughts together. He was a grown man, he shouldn't be having his 'mama' in his bed doing this. He should be dealing with it alone.
"And don't be thinking that 'I need to be a grown man and handle it on my own' horseshit," she said sharply. A sigh crossed his lips and he shook his head.
"Come on, sit up and drink this," she said, sitting up and reaching for the tea.
He knew the tone and knew he wouldn't win. Rolling over, he scooted up against the pillows. He took the tea from her hand and took a sip. He stared at the cup then at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't make green tea," he said in a gravelly voice.
"No, but apparently Michelle does," she said. He groaned and wiped his hand down his face.
"Start talking, young man," Sadie said firmly.
"We went to Philly and ran into Sarge's dad. Who was a lot like my biological father. At least Booth's father drank. Mine... mine was just plain mean," he said, shakily.
"From the reports I read and the one time I saw him, I could see he was an ass of the first order," she agreed.
"When we got back here I was trying to deal with the memories and I just couldn't. Michelle came in and I got sick and sheesh," he muttered.
"Which memory?" She asked in a quiet voice. He flinched and her eyes grew round. Reaching out, she ran her hand down his arm.
"Honey, one day you'll be ready to talk to someone about it. But for now just having someone who understands that you're not being an ass would be helpful. We're leaving to go back home in a few hours," as she said, they heard people moving through the hall, "and you need someone."
"Not yet. I just don't," he trailed off.
"It's just something to think about. Something else to think about is apologizing to that nice young lady who took care of you and worried about you," she told him.
He knew from the tone of voice the last one was an order not something he should think about. He nodded in agreement. Sadie leaned over and kissed his forehead.
"I have to get packed. Are you going to be okay? Do you need us to stay longer?" She asked him with a worried frown.
"No, you need to get home. Love you, Mama," he said quietly.
"Love you too, Michael," she said, patting his hand.
Standing up, she slid her feet into her shoes and quietly left him to his thoughts. She was passing the game room when she saw Techie standing there talking to Michelle. She stepped over to them and waited patiently. Techie turned to look at her.
"Excuse me for interrupting, Mr. Techie," she said tentatively. Techie grinned at her use of his nickname as his last name.
"That's okay, what can I do for you?" He asked solicitously.
"I don't think that Michael will be able to work until probably mid afternoon tomorrow. He's..." she trailed off trying to find the right word. It wasn't this man's business what he was.
"Sick, he's sick," Michelle finished for her. Michelle had seen emotional trauma enough to recognize it when she saw it.
"He's sick?" Techie asked doubtfully, looking between the two women.
"Well, considering I was just taking care of him while he puked his guts out, I'd say yeah he's sick," Michelle said, truthfully.
Techie looked her in the eye and saw the truth there. Legates was sick.
"Okay, I'll take him out of patrol rotation and we'll see how he's doing in the morning. Thank you ladies for letting me know. Now if you'll excuse me, the cars are leaving in an hour or so," he said. Michelle watched Techie walk away and shook her head.
"Thank you," Sadie said quietly.
"For what? I told the truth. I took care of him while he puked his guts out. I didn't say why just that I did," she said truthfully.
"Thank you, nonetheless," Sadie said.
She walked over to the bar where she saw a napkin and pen. Picking up the pen, she wrote her name, cell phone number and email address on the napkin.
"Here, this is my contact information in case you need to get a hold of me again," Sadie said, handing Michelle the napkin.
Michelle took the napkin and understood it was the passing of the torch. She was now responsible for this woman's little boy. She raised her eyebrows in surprise but nodded. Sadie turned and left the room. She knew that no matter whether Michelle dated her son or not, she would be his friend and either way she would take care of him.
Michelle flopped on the couch, with her legs hanging over the back. She heard the men and their families leave. Several hours passed and she heard the cats screaming in the briar patches but ignored the noise. Her eyes were on the TV but flicked towards Legates door which she could see through one of the doors into the man cave.
The door remained closed and silent. She must have fallen asleep on the couch because the next thing she heard was a knock on his door. Looking up, she saw Techie standing at Legates' door. She growled and was about to get up when she heard him.
"Hey, Legates, I know you're sick but Sarge wants to talk to us upstairs. He's leaving the mansion. It'll only be a few minutes then you can go back to sleep," Techie said in a sympathetic tone.
"Yeah, be right there," Legates gravelly voice came through the door. Michelle snatched her legs off the back of the couch and curled up on her side.
Legates groaned as Techie's voice came through the door. After he agreed to come up, he rolled from the bed and pulled on his ACU pants and a shirt. Growling, he pulled on his boots and half ass laced them. He walked out of the door, rubbing his hand down the back of his head.
Michelle watched him pass and saw that his eyes were still that almost black color and shook her head. She turned her attention back to the TV. If he wanted to talk to her he could find her. Legates climbed the steps and walked to where Techie and Booth were standing.
"What's up, Sarge?" Legates asked in a quiet tone. Booth's eyes skimmed Legates face and made note of the paleness and pinched look. Saying nothing, Booth looked at them.
"I'm taking some of the guys and Bones to the Hoover. Hannah Burley has been arrested. You guys need to make sure patrols are still running and everyone gets tucked in safely. We'll probably be back in two maybe three hours," Booth said. Legates finally gave in to Techie's smacking and looked at him.
"What?" He yelled, unleashing some of his irritation on Techie.
Techie pointed and Legates' eyes followed Techie's pointing and he caught sight of the ring on Dr. Brennan's finger. His mouth fell open and he stood there stunned. His attention was drawn back to the conversation when his Sarge's fingers were snapped in his face.
"Anyway, you know the drill but I would be extra careful from here on out. I have a feeling Ms. Burley will be an issue," Booth said firmly.
Both men nodded in agreement then walked off. Legates went down the steps, leaving everyone behind. Techie had seen that his friend was ill but something in his gut told him that it wasn't just an illness. There was that air of utter hopelessness hanging around Legates it was almost tangible.
Shaking his head, Techie headed to the kitchen to check the patrol list. Legates moved almost silently through the hallway. He entered his room without looking up from the floor. Michelle shook her head from her position on the couch and sighed. Getting up, she walked to his door and lightly knocked. He pulled the door open and leaned on it. She could still see it in his eyes but she refused to let it get to her.
"I'm heading to bed. Did you need anything before I go?" She asked him quietly, offering him whatever he might need.
"Yeah, I need to apologize for my actions earlier. I-" he cut himself off with a grunt. She held her hand up to stop him from saying anything else.
"I know what it is. I've seen it before, I've done it before. If there's anything I can do just let me know," she said gently.
"I just...I'm not ready to talk about that with anyone yet," he said quietly. She gave him a shy smile and a nod.
"That's fine we all deal with things in our own time and way. If you need someone to listen I'll be here. As your friend, your girlfriend, or both the choice is yours," she said quietly.
She stepped up closer, crooked her finger. He leaned down towards her then she placed a kiss on his cheek. Turning, she walked down the hall to her own room. Legates stood there watching her go and feeling her lips on his skin. She was an amazing person, he didn't doubt that in the least. Turning, he closed the door and stripped. Falling into bed he slept for about two hours before he was jerked awake. His eyes darted around and a fine sheen of sweat covered his body. His breathing was ragged and his body was shaking. Wiping a hand down his face, he fell back on the bed and drifted back to sleep.
Michelle's night passed slowly as she tossed and turned in her bed. Her mind's eye kept seeing the large 6'7 man curled up to be smaller than she was. He was in so much pain and she could see it radiating off of him and crystallizing his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she rolled over again. Groaning, she closed her eyes and pictured a much better picture in her mind. Lots and lots of rippling muscles, olive colored skin, a hairless chest, she wondered briefly if he waxed, and oh my that tattoo on his pec. She wondered what it meant and if he had any others she hadn't noticed. Her mind drifted to sleep before she could complete the picture.
The next morning her eyes blinked open sleepily. Grunting, she rolled from bed and shuffled to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she appeared clean but still sleepy. Throwing on her clothes and shoes, she left her room. Walking down the hall, she stopped in front of Legates door and knocked. He opened the door and grinned at her.
"Breakfast?" She mumbled sleepily.
"Yeah, but maybe you should have coffee first," he suggested.
"Umm," she agreed and turned away from him. She walked down the hallway slowly. Cam passed them tutting at Michelle.
"You'd think after all this time you'd be a better morning person, Michelle," Cam said, laughing. Michelle stuck her tongue out at Cam's back.
"Put that tongue back in your mouth, young lady," Cam told her.
Michelle's face drew up in a frown making Legates chuckle. When they arrived in the kitchen a few of the guys sat around the table sleepily sipping their coffee. Michelle joined them and sipped her coffee. Techie walked into the kitchen and grinned at the people sitting around the table.
"Good morning everyone," he said in a loud happy voice, spreading his arms in a theatrical manner.
"Go to hell," Michelle muttered.
Techie burst into laughter and Legates chuckled behind his fist.
"Glad to see you look less like shit," Techie said, smiling at Legates. Legates tipped his head in thanks.
"You mean he looked more like shit than he already does?" Johnson asked, sitting down with his coffee and a toaster pastry.
"Keep it up and I'll tell Angela you're eating her pastries," Michelle threatened. Johnson snorted and took a bite of his Toaster Strudel.
"I'm not skeert of her," Johnson said defiantly.
"That's just stupidity," Wendell said, sitting down on the other side of Michelle.
"Why's that?" Johnson asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Well, let's just say she's well balanced and had a good instructor," Wendell said.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, Johnson, that for her nice side there is an equally evil side and that her father, a very scary person, trained said evil side," Techie said, sipping his coffee.
After everyone finished up their breakfast, they gathered their items for the day. Meeting outside as had become routine, they loaded up into the trucks and headed to the lab.
Michelle flung her backpack down on the coffee table in the lounge. This had become her second or maybe her third home. She pulled out her introduction to physics book, notebook, pen and mumbled about hating physics. A few hours later, Legates and Goodman crossed paths in front of the lounge.
"Distance is a scalar and displacement is a vector. Scalar has a magnitude and vector has both magnitude and direction. Scalar is one dimensional and vector is two dimensional," she muttered, while writing.
"Goodman, what the hell is she talking about?" Legates asked from the corner of his mouth.
"Physics. Distance versus displacement," Goodman told him.
Legates shook his head and started walking off. Michelle looked up when he moved. He shot her a wink and continued moving.
"God, I hope Guillaume Amontons is right," she muttered.
Her head jerked up in surprise at Goodman's almost hysterical laughter. He walked off leaving a scowling Michelle in his wake. When Goodman reached the other side of the platform, he saw Legates waiting for him.
"Now, what was so funny after I walked off?" Legates asked Goodman with a scowl.
"Michelle wondering if Guillaume Amontons' law, I guess you'd call it, would be useful," Goodman said, evasively.
"Huh?" Legates said his scowl getting darker at Goodman's evasion.
"Guillaume Amonton established that there is a proportional relationship between friction force and mutual force between the bodies in contact," Goodman said. Legates' eyes got wide and he started chuckling and shook his head.
"Tsk Tsk. Well, at least it's not tingly lady parts," Legates murmured as he walked off.
Goodman sucked in a breath then burst into a huge belly laugh. He stood clutching the railing and laughing.
"Private, are you okay up there?" Rowan barked up at the laughing man.
"Fine, Sergeant, fine just give me a sec to catch my breath," Goodman gasped out.
Rowan stood watching the man as if he'd lost his ever loving mind. Shaking her head in amusement, she walked away wearing a smile. They were awfully happy people for hardened killers.
Michelle's head jerked up as Booth came running into the lab bellowing for Cam. That panicky tone meant only one thing. Dr. Brennan was in trouble. She stood up and headed to the steps but was bowled over as security ran past.
"Dammit, Josh, you didn't have to push me off the stairs," she yelled as he pushed past her.
She scowled as she headed down the rest of the steps. A minute later, she heard Hodgins yelling to Legates that he was with him. Hodgins was at a full on run and Legates was lightly jogging behind him, trying not to run the shorter man over.
Legates followed Hodgins at a quick shuffle as they moved through the maze of hallways.
"Dr. B, has been sprayed with pepper spray. Cam is using the orange oil to cut it but we need something to counteract the capsicum," Hodgins said.
Legates winced, knowing how much pepper spray hurt. Moving faster, they reached the cafeteria doors. Hodgins grumbled as he sifted through the keys. Sighing, Legates dropped to his knees and pulled out his lock pick.
"Dude, I have a key," Hodgins said.
"You're taking too long. Just tell them you used the key," Legates muttered.
He began picking the lock as Hodgins continued to look through the keys. The lock popped open and Hodgins was still looking.
"You suck," Hodgins told him.
They moved through the cafeteria to the kitchen. Looking around, Hodgins pulled a rolling cart to the refrigerators. He started opening doors looking for the milk. Legates started at the other end opening doors. They met in the middle each pulling open doors.
"Thank God, they're in one gallon containers," Hodgins said. Legates started loading them on the cart while Hodgins scribbled a note.
"You push," Hodgins said.
Legates nodded and started pushing the cart out of the kitchen. He prayed as he pushed. He caught a glimpse of Dr. Brennan and it was not a pretty sight. Not at all.
Michelle stood watching them run out when Techie's voice bellowed out.
"Michelle, Cam will need your help in the autopsy room."
Michelle started moving at the mention of Cam needing her help. She jogged towards the autopsy room and almost ran into Booth as he was stepping out of the autopsy room.
"Angela, we need the security video for the elevator," Booth yelled. Angela nodded and took off for her office.
"Booth, call 911. She is going to need more help than I can give," Cam called out.
Michelle pushed past Booth and hustled into the room. She came to an abrupt stop at the sight of Dr. Brennan's burnt and swollen body on the table.
"Michelle, I need the spritzer bottle from the first cabinet over by the phone. Fill it halfway with saline from a new bottle," Cam ordered.
Michelle jumped into action and moved to the cabinets Cam pointed at. Opening the cabinet, she pushed the bottles around. Finally, she spotted the four bottles of sterile saline solution. Pulling two down, she grabbed an empty spray bottle. Breaking the seal on the saline bottle, she poured it into the spray bottle, filling it halfway. She was halfway to Cam when Techie and Hodgins got into a pushing match to try to get through the door at the same time.
She handed Cam the bottle and caught sight of Legates pulling about ten gallons of milk in through the door. Was it bad to admire his physique while dealing with a medical emergency?
Turning, she headed back to the counter and made a second bottle and returned to the table where Brennan was laying. She swallowed the vomit that had risen in the back of her throat. Again she stood over an unconscious bleeding Dr. Brennan. With that image came flashbacks of pooling blood and determined blue eyes.
Taking a deep breath, she swallowed again and watched Cam count out the drips of orange oil into the bottle. When she set the bottle down, Michelle reached over and plucked it off the table. She counted out the required drops and screwed the cap on the spray bottle.
"Seeley, I need you to take one of Dr. Brennan's shoes off and wrap your hands around her ankle," Cam said.
Booth did as she asked and Techie's brow lowered in confusion. Cam picked up a cloth and looked over at Booth. Nodding, she sprayed the liquid over Brennan's face. Brennan's body arched in pain and a horrible noise that could have been a whimper came from her throat.
Booth immediately understood Brennan's need for tactile comfort and began to massage her ankle and spoke to her in a low soothing tone. Cam pressed the cloth to the skin on Brennan's face. After pulling it off, Techie cursed in a low voice.
Legates watched in horror as he helped Hodgins pour the milk into the sink as Brennan's body arched off the table in pain. He could see the pain in Booth's eyes as he murmured to Brennan. Glancing over, he saw Michelle start to spray. He looked at her eyes and saw that her pupils were dilated with panic. Her motions remained smooth and even but her hands were shaking as she helped to remove the oil from Brennan's body. Needing this to go faster, Legates pulled the knife from his belt and cut the jugs in half then emptied them into the sink.
A/N: And let's see what's on the agenda for tomorrow? The bathroom, a career ending move, more vomit, sobbing, sleeping, personal mattresses, more Murphy, a real adult relationship, duyla, information, pieces of furniture, a Clark moment, driving home, head butting, sounding hot, being boobalicious, dishing, and defending the silence.
A/N2: As it has been pointed out Booth can't run for five hours...blah blah...yeah I know I did the super human thing. Unfortunately it was in Espionage and so it's here again.
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