The Face with Two Skeletons

By: Tropicwhale

Disclaimer: Mine? Who's been saying that wonderful lie? oh...ignore them, they lie like rugs. Bones and all things associated with the show belong to other people...dammit.

Author Talk: LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYY JENKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSS!

Chapter Sixteen

Zack woke up in a stiff bed in a white room. Immediately, he tried to sit up. Hodgins and Robbie were there pushing him back down. Robbie then pushed the button to make the bed go up into a sitting position. "Hey, how ya doin', Zaddy?" he asked.

"Where's Angela?" Zack asked.

"Right here, sweetie." he heard her say. Hodgins shifted to revel Angela lying in the other bed. Zack waved weakly and she waved back.

"Are you okay?"

"I've been better…what about you?"

"I've been better." Robbie ruffled Zack's hair.

"What is it with you and getting into car accidents?" Zack looked at his basketball captain.

"Is that suppose to be a joke?" Zack asked. Robbie rolled his eyes and ruffled Zack's hair, again.

"Yes. Yes it was."

"It wasn't very funny."

"It would have been if you answered with something 'just lucky, I guess' or 'oh you know you like rescuing me'."

"I see. So it was an ironic joke?"

"You got it, Zaddy."

"I see. In that case it was very funny."

"Glad you approve." Robbie moved to ruffled Zack's hair again but Zack raised his arm that was attached to an IV drip at the inset of his elbow.

"You ruffle my hair again, Robbie, and they'll be admitting you for a broken wrist."

"You would assault a police officer?" Robbie's tone was incredulous and amused.

"Yes." Robbie laughed loudly while Hodgins and Angela stared in amazement at the pair of them.

"Women would be outraged at your sacrilege."

"Women? You mean your penis."

"Oooh, that's cold, Zaddy. We both know I'm a god to women."

"A god to women? I thought my ears were burning." Bailout and the rest of the team appeared in the doorway. Zack saw a box of candy, two flower arrangements and three balloon bouquets.

"You wish." Zack said in amusement as the gifts found their way onto the bedside table. "Hodgins, Angela, this is Bailout, Wineskin, Othello, and you already know Keg and Robbie. Guys, this is Angela and Hodgins….I work with them and Hodgin's owns the property of….my apartment." Zack realized two things belatedly. "What happened…does anyone know?"

"The top of the garage blew up, Zack." Hodgins said. "The cars were fine but your apartment is completely gone."

"All those DVDs" Bailout bemoaned, pretending to swoon. Wineskin slapped him upside his head.

"Forget the DVDs, you moron," the Greek said, "we almost lost our best forward. A few seconds later and…" Everyone seemed to realize the implications at once.

"Geez…we were lucky." Angela said. Zack didn't say anything and Hodgins grabbed his ankle.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Hodgins told Zack sincerely. There was a knock on the open door. Everyone looked over to see Booth, Dr. Saroyan, and Dr. Brennan. Booth had been the one to knock.

"Hey Zack…you're awake." Dr. Saroyan was the first to speak.

"Yes. How long was I out?"

"About twelve hours." Dr. Saroyan answered honestly.

"I was out for eight, Zack." Angela answered his next question before he had the chance to ask. The last thing he remembered was the emergency room as he was wheeled in on a gurney. He remembered insisting on seeing if Angela was okay but she was already in surgery. Keg had told him that he would check on her for Zack. Then the drugs kicked into his system and Zack remembered dancing burning skeletons that had tissue still attached in a swamp made of basketball courts and vintage cars. It had been terrifying.

"Zack, try to rest." Dr. Brennan told him.

"I did. I'm more concerned with Angela. She was the one that had the internal bleeding."

"I'm fine, Zack."

"Are you sure?" Zack wanted to make sure.

"Yes." Angela sounded exasperated. "Hodgins, Brennan, Booth, Cam, and my father all asked the same question at least three times."

"Oh." Angela looked over at him. He looked at her. "Are you sure?" She grabbed her pillow and threw it at him. He caught it and stuff it behind his head. "That wasn't smart. Now I have two pillows and you don't have any." Everyone, including Angela, laughed. Hodgins stood and stole Angela's pillow back for her.

"Thanks Hodgins." She said then stuck her tongue out at Zack who returned the gesture. Othello laid his hand on Zack's shoulder and Zack looked up at him.

"The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel." He said. "Hamlet, Act One, Scene Three from Polonius to his son Laertes." Bailout groaned.

"Do you have to make everything a Shakespeare reference?" He asked.

"If you took my Shakespeare class you would know that answer, Bailout."

"I don't even go to your college!"

"That's no excuse." Othello shot back. Bailout groaned and collapsed over Zack's feet. Zack rolled his eyes and kicked him with his leg that wasn't broken. "I slayed him…with Shakes' spear." The Copperheads groaned and Robbie shoved the older man.

"Bad pun." Wineskin said and nodded in Angela's direction. Keg noticed it and slapped his arm for it. "OW! Wha?"

"No hitting on Zaddy's co-worker when she's in the hospital. It's rude."

"But she's hot!" Wineskin shot back. Angela smirked at him. Keg shook his head and slapped Wineskin on the back of his head.

"I'm sorry for my teammate's idiocy." Keg said to Angela. "He doesn't get that you are so far out of his league that he has a better chance of holding a star in the palm of his hand." Angela raised her eyebrows and smiled. Brennan turned to Booth.

"It's impossible to hold a star in the palm of his hand…the size and the heat of a basic-"

"That was the point, Bones. It's impossible for Wineskin to get Angela." Booth whispered back. "It's Keg's way of using his teammate to hit on Angela as a gentleman."

"Oooh. That's very Machiavellian of him."

"Yeah, well…it also casts him in a favorable light to Angela. Not only does he pull her from the wreak of her car but he implies that she's more beautiful and more out of reach then the stars which shows his romantic side even as he's defending her from a sleazy teammate."

"Oh. Do you think it was planned that way?"

"Probably." Booth shrugged. Brennan nodded, considering the implications of this information.

"Where's Zerbrowski?" Zack suddenly asked. The squints and Booth froze. Robbie shrugged.

"He had to work, Zack. He said he would come in as soon as he got off."

"I'll bet he did." Angela mumbled but the Copperheads didn't hear her.

"Okay." Zack said and snuggled back into his covers. Just then a nurse arrived and hustled Angela and Zack's guests out of the room. She checked Zack's vitals and medication, asking him how he felt and that sort of thing then moved on to Angela.

Meanwhile, in the hallway, the squints and the Copperheads were sitting in those uncomfortable hospital chairs….staring each other down. Robbie turned to Booth. "Why would someone want to blow up Zack?"

"Case." Hodgins said. Bailout shifted.

"Is he always in this much danger." the blond kid asked.

"No, usually it's Booth and I that garner the life-threatening situations." Brennan said. "Zack is just my assistant."

"So why would anyone go after Zack?" Wineskin asked. Just then Zerbrowski arrived, striding down the hallway toward the group.

"How is he?" Zerbrowski ignored Booth and the squints and focused immediately on his teammates.

"He's fine, Zerbrowski." Othello said. "Enough to make jokes and to ask about you. The nurse is looking in on him now."

"Oh good." Zerbrowski slumped in a chair, clearly out of breath.

"So you're James Zerbrowski? Anne Zerbrowksi's wife?" Brennan asked. Zerbrowski looked at her suspiciously.

"Yeah…who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan. I work at the Jeffersonian and am helping Booth solve your wife's murder although I am not comfortable with saying that it was a murder as there are no signs of trauma just yet."

"Except…you know…she was found in the dumpster by an art student as just bones." Hodgins said.

"Hodgins….not in front of people not involved in the case." Cam said.

"She didn't have any skin?" Bailout asked.

"She didn't have anything period. Her bones were turned into the guy's thesis sculpture." Hodgins said excitedly before Cam silenced him with a look then looked over at Zerbrowski meaningfully. Hodgins got it and looked over at Zerbrowski. "Sorry for your loss, man. We'll do everything in our power to find out how she got that way." Zerbrowski said his thanks and looked toward the door of Zack and Angela's room.

"Zaddy will figure it out, Zerbrowski. He's crazy smart like that." Bailout said.

"We're all crazy smart like that." Cam said. "Unfortunately, Zack will not be helping with the investigation." The Copperheads looked at her.

"Why?" Bailout said. "Zaddy's, like, the best there is."

"Actually I'm the best and involved in the case." Brennan said. "Zack cannot participate in the investigation because he is a suspect."

"Why would Dr. Zachery Uriah Addy be a murder suspect? What would he have to gain by killing Anne?" Othello asked. Hodgins and Cam glanced at Zerbrowski.

"He said so." Brennan said. "Zack doesn't lie."

"We know that." Robbie said.

"Zack's one of the most honest guys any of us know." Wineskin said.

"We also know he wouldn't kill anyone." Keg added. "He must have meant something else."

"He said he had something to gain by Anne's murder….I'm inclined to believe him at his word. In order for the case not to get thrown out when it comes to trial-" Brennan said.

"If you ever catch who killed her." Zerbrowski said.

"We will." Booth said. "We have a near perfect track record…"

"We have a perfect one if you don't include Gormogon and the Grave Digger." Brennan said.

"Gormogon? Grave Digger?" Bailout asked.

"Serial killers." Cam informed him.

"Oh." Bailout looked around uncomfortable "Oh, People!" he picked up the magazine and buried his nose in it. Keg shook his head.

"You would think that he's the gay one and not Zack." Bailout responded by flipping off the EMT but leaving his nose in the magazine.

"So you knew Zack liked men?" Brennan asked.

"Yes." Robbie said. "The Copperheads are an open-minded team. We're not going to turn away anyone because of race, creed or sexual orientation."

"I see." Brennan said. "Were you also aware that Zack was having an affair with Zerbrowski here?" The team froze. Bailout put down his magazine and all the Copperheads looked at Zerbrowski. Booth took that as a 'no'.

"You asshole." Robbie said to Zerbrowski. "You know the kid has had it rough and you…you sleaze!"

"Robbie, stay out of it." Zerbrowski said. "What Zack and I do is our own business." Robbie stood, took the two steps it took to stand in front of Zerbrowski and delivered one hell of a pill-driver to Zerbrowski's face. Zerbrowski and his chair toppled to one side and Robbie was all over him like orange on a basketball. Booth, Hodgins and Keg were up as well, trying to get Robbie off of Zerbrowski. Two doctors and a few orderlies were striding toward the group to separate the brawling men. It took Booth, Hodgins, Keg and Wineskin to hold back Robbie from reattacking Zerbrowski. The orderlies and the doctors were helping Zerbrowski stand.

"And what about Anne? Your wife? Remember her? Did you use her just like you're using Zack? Is that why she's dead? You selfish- Zerbrowski, you're off the team…I don't want to see your face again or I'll kill you. Understand?"

"You can't do that." Zerbrowski's face was shocked and verging on upset underneath the bruising that was starting to form all over his face.

"Yes, he can." Othello stood. "And while we're at it you're going to stay away from Zaddy too. That poor boy was nearly blown up last night and you're just now showing your face? Your wife runs around so much that you don't know that she's gone missing until her bones show up in some art major's thesis? I don't want you on my team. You obviously don't look after the people that care about you."

"Zack doesn't care about me." Zerbrowski defended. "He doesn't even believe in love. He's just looking for some physical intercourse….and you know what? Zaddy's not some little saint that runs around doing other people's bidding. He has his own mind. Makes his own choices." Zerbrowski shrugged off the orderlies. "You don't get to tell me what to do when it comes to Zack, Robbie…Othello. You don't even know who Zack Addy is…any of you." Zerbrowski looked at the squints, Booth and the Copperheads. "Otherwise you wouldn't be yelling at me right after my wife's bones were found and my lover was nearly blown to hell just yesterday."

"You're the only connection." Brennan said. "Logically the discovery of your wife's death and the explosion of Zack's apartment happening within twenty-four hours of each other has some correlation to the other."

"Yeah, and why haven't I been targeted? You don't have a clue. You don't even know if Anne was murdered or if it was an accidental death. You know Zack speaks so highly of you….you'd think that you would be Wonder Woman or something…but you people didn't even know he was bisexual or that he played basketball. Forget you." Zerbrowski turned around and walked away.

Author After Talk: ..........sparklies?

Tropic