Note: Inspired by the following prompt at the latest comment fic at Bitesize Bones on LiveJournal:
Booth OR Brennan in some kind of jeopardy and the other must find them.. bonus points if one in danger helps save themselves!
What if: Caroline hadn't been able to reach Brennan?
AU? Yes
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Seeley Booth is a good man, a man who sees himself as a protector of those weaker than himself, so when I called him and told him Cam needed his help, I knew he'd charm his way out of that army commitment and get his sorry ass on a plane ASAP.
Besides, seven months was long enough to get over whatever sort of snit sent him halfway around the world.
When I talked to him, I told him Dr. Brennan was coming home, too. Of course she was … even if I hadn't quite heard it from her, yet. Seven months was long enough to move past her fear of making a damn fool of herself, and I knew she wanted to see him as badly as he wanted to see her.
It was time for both of them to get over themselves and start populating the world with little squint/agent hybrids. Maybe they'd even name one of them after the brilliant prosecutor who brought them together.
Twice.
The rest of the team was already back and assembled in the conference room, exchanging hugs and stories, waiting for the dynamic duo to arrive, and soon Booth would walk through that door, his eyes scanning the room for the person who is home for him.
Except she wouldn't be there. I'd called Dr. Brennan three times a day for the last four days, and she hadn't yet returned my call. First they'd said she was working, then that she was "unavailable", and then they just stopped answering altogether.
I was starting to get concerned. If Dr. Brennan got the message I left, she'd call me back, even if she were in the middle of nowhere.
So why hadn't she called?
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When Caroline had called, I knew I had to get back to DC. Cam and I have been friend forever, and if her job was on the line, I needed to be there to help.
And Bones was going to be there. I wasn't sure whether that was good or bad. I really wanted to see her again, to make sure she was safe, but … there was Hannah, and I was afraid that I'd end up back in love with Bones and mess up the best relationship I'd had in years. I mean, Hannah could be the one. I could build a life with her, grow old with her. She loved me, and I loved her, which made spending all day every day with Bones …. scary. I'd have to learn to step back, to keep my distance.
Of course, for all I knew, Bones had spent her time in the Macaw Islands shacked up with some geeky doctor.
I nodded at the security guard and made my way down the hall to the conference room. I needed to start as I meant to go on – which meant focusing on Cam. She was the one I was here to help. I shrugged off my pack and tossed it on the ground beside the door, then walked over to Cam. It was so good to see her, and I hugged her a little tighter than normal. When I took a step back, I looked around the room for the first time, wondering whether Bones would be happy to see me, or whether she'd have that hurt-puppy expression she'd worn the last time we worked together.
I'd spent a lot of time wondering how I'd feel when I saw her again, but it never occurred to me that she wouldn't be there.
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I was cold, achy, and I could my her heartbeat throbbing in my temples. I moved a little, enough to know that my wrists and ankles were tied together.
"Dr. Brennan?"
It was Daisy, whispering as if she were concerned that someone would hear her. I opened my eyes, but couldn't see anything – not the smallest sliver of light penetrated the darkness. The cold, the hard rock I was lying on, and the complete absence of light told me I was in a cave.
My bruises, the ropes digging in to my limbs, and quiver of fear in Daisy's voice told me I was in trouble.
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I excused myself when Booth walked in, and tried calling Dr. Brennan one more time. Still no answer.
I slipped back into the conference room and waited for the ruckus to die down, then I looked Booth in the eye and told him I thought Dr. Brennan had stumbled into some sort of trouble.
Seconds later, the group exploded into a flurry of activity. Booth barked orders that sent Sweets scurrying to run background checks on the team Dr. Brennan was working with. Hodgins started checking in with some of his crazy-ass conspiracy theory groups to see if they'd heard any rumours coming out of the Maluku Islands. Angela started tapping away on her keyboard, doing something that was almost certainly illegal.
And I slipped out of the room to make a few phone calls. It pays to have friends in the State Department.
BbB
I'd estimate that it was three hours after I woke when I heard footsteps echoing through a nearby cavern. A moment later, I was blinded by bright lights.
There were six of them, dressed in militaristic clothing, each with a powerful assault weapon. I tried to study them, to figure out if I'd seen them before, but the headlamps they wore made it impossible to see their faces. The best I could do was a vague impression of their body types.
Daisy wasn't my only companion – now that there was light I could see Dr. Kapinski, Dr. Johnston, and Dr. Kumar, bound like I was, in varying states of consciousness.
Just the Americans, then.
Dr. Kapinski seemed to be the worse off, not even stirring when the light was shone directly on him.
The men walked from person to person, taking pictures of each of us. When they got to me, they pulled my shirt up far enough to get a picture of the ugly purple bruise on my abdomen.
It seemed like the pictures were all they wanted, because when they were done, they left us and the room was dark again.
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He'd looked forward to being home, to hanging out with his son, to sleeping in his own bed. Instead, here he was, eight hours after his plane had landed, buckling himself into a cramped middle seat en route to the other side of the world.
He never should have let her go. Lord knows she had knack for attracting every serial killer and deranged lunatic in DC – it was crazy to think she'd be able to make it through a year in the jungle without getting into some sort of trouble.
And from the pieces they'd been able to put together, she was in serious trouble.
All he had to do was fly there and figure out how to get her out.
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Approximately ten feet away from me, I'd seen a sharp-looking stalagmite. If I could get close enough, I could work on sawing through the ropes around my wrists.
The only problem was that a little farther away and just slightly to the left of the stalagmite was a drop-off, and I didn't know how far down it went. If I misjudged the direction, I could fall to my death.
In the dark, it was a big chance to take, but it might be the only chance we had. I lifted my hips and wriggled them a few inches in what I hoped was the right direction, then did the same with my shoulders.
BbB
The conference room table was littered with empty coffee cups, a donut box containing nothing but powdered sugar and a couple of pieces of peanuts, and a pizza box with one cold, stale piece of pizza. It was completely unappetizing – but then it hadn't been that good when it was fresh and warm.
Angela had refused to go home to sleep, and she lay curled up in a corner. Half the lights were off, and the rest of the group sprawled on chairs at the other end of the room.
All we could do but wait.
We'd heard from Booth when he'd landed and met up with some old army buddies, but that was sixteen hours ago, and there had been no word since.
I gave in and leaned forward, cradling my head in my arms, hoping a quick nap would give me some new ideas. I had barely closed my eyes when the phone rang.
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I spotted them first – probably because I'd pushed my way to the front of the crowd. I jumped and waved, making an utter fool of myself, and Bren waved back, doing that little hand -up-by-the-shoulder-so-no-one-knows-you're-waving thing that she does. She looked like hell – rumpled clothes, black eye, almost too tired to stand – but she was alive, and she was home, and whatever she'd gone through, we were ready to help her through it.
Booth stood a couple of feet behind her – far enough back that he could pretend she was just another colleague, close enough to catch her if she fell.
Just like always.
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I know, I skipped the actual rescuing part. Use your imagination. :)