This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: Elevations & Ramifications.
"Technicolor Wishes & Hi-Def Dreams"
2. Partners
The first recollection he had was the gentle sway of being in a swivel chair. His head was pounding like he'd had one too many the night before, and it took him a few seconds to remember…
"Rachel?" he blinked, still situating…
As his eyes opened and settled, it became very clear that they were not at McKinley High… or at least he wasn't, because he wasn't seeing Rachel anywhere. It looked like he was in some office, some… His eyes fell on the desk and he saw folders and other items, all identified as belonging to the FBI, and he panicked. Had they been caught breaking in to the school? Why would they call the FBI for that? Did they even have an office in Lima?
One thing was for certain, Rachel wasn't here. Were they interrogating her separately? Of course they would… She would crack like an egg, and he… He was wearing a suit. He looked down at himself, feeling the jacket… This was a good suit, and it made just about anything he'd ever worn feel like rags in comparison. It distracted him for a few seconds until…
"Agent Booth?" He looked up, startled, and he missed what the man standing at the door had just said. Well, man may have been a big word, the guy looked like he could almost be in high school still, but he wore a suit, too, so…
"We didn't do anything," Puck was quick to affirm, and the man-boy stared at him like he had something on his shirt.
"Who's we?" he asked, and when Puck didn't say anything, he stepped forward, holding out a file. Puck reached out a hesitant hand to take it. "I consulted with Briggs' psychiatrist. He says he'd been off his meds for two weeks the last time he saw him, but he didn't show any signs of… Are you listening to me?" the man-boy asked, and Puck, who had been staring around what he now saw was definitely an office, looked back to him.
"This is the FBI," he stated.
"Yes, yes it is," the man-boy stared at him now like he had bird crap on his forehead. "Did you fall? Hit your head? Bad night's sleep? You know, I…" There was a knock at the door, which made both of them turn.
"Agent Booth, Doctor Brennan is here to see you," the woman announced, and Puck looked to the man-boy, figuring this was him.
"Right, well if there's nothing else, I'll just…" he pointed to the door, making to get away.
"No, it's alright, I get it, I'll leave you two to talk," the man-boy indicated the file. "If there's anything else, you know where to reach me," he left the office, and Puck frowned, moving up to the desk, he put the file down, spotting the nameplate in front. He picked it up, and as he read the name on it, he heard a breath. He looked up and found himself face to face with…
"Rachel?" he tripped up, landing back in the swivel chair.
"Oh, good, I was right," she came in, shutting the door. Puck just looked at her, in her own share of fancy clothes. Not that what she usually wore wasn't nice, but this made her look different, official… also kind of hot, he had to say.
"What's going on?" he asked her, less tense now that it was just the two of them.
"I don't know, I don't know how we got here," she shook her head. "One minute we were at school and there was that… that thing, the light…"
"Yeah, what was that?" he asked.
"I have no idea. The next thing I knew I was in an office, and my head was hurting, but there was a woman there, and she asked if I was alright. It took me a few seconds to recognize where I was." She stared at him like she hoped he was seeing it, too. He just stared back at her, clueless. "I know how this is going to sound, but I think we're in a television show," she cringed as she said this.
"What do you mean 'in' a television show?" As a way to explain in no uncertain terms, she reached in her bag and pulled out a mirror, holding it up to his face. He paused, pointing at it.
"Hey, I know that guy, he used to be on that vampire show, he… I…" As he spoke he could only see that the face in the mirror was talking at the same as him, like it was him talking. "What the hell?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you, we're in a television show," she sighed, putting the mirror away.
"The vampire show?" he asked.
"No, 'Bones,' you know?" Now it started to click in his head.
"I thought that guy looked familiar," he looked off to where the man-boy had gone. "My mom watches that show," he explained. "But how can we be here, that's… We're not dead, are we?" he paused.
"I don't think so, I mean this seems kind of an odd place to go."
"Maybe that's just what happens," he shrugged.
"No, I think this is just… where the light thing brought us," she stated, and he sat back, trying to process this. "When I realized where I was, who I was, and I saw you weren't there, I had a feeling this might have been who you'd become, so I took a cab and… here I am," she went on, and he looked to her.
"Guess it's a good thing you know the show then," he told her, and she nodded. "So what now? How do we get home?" he asked her. She sighed, bowing her head.
"I have no idea."
TO BE CONTINUED (NEXT TUESDAY)