Good morning! Or whatever time it happens to be where you are, that is. I won't lie, this chapter gave me some trouble, but I've been assured that I must have been making a big deal over nothing. We've got drama, fluff, and a new case. I know you're all hating Cam and Rebecca right now, and yes, things have to get worse before they'll get better, but hang in there!
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Chapter 5
The sweep of the original murder site in New Jersey was productive, and to the surprise of both partners, the evidence indicated that the victim had come to the place willingly. While Hodgins took the evidence back to the lab for analysis, Booth and Brennan went to have another chat with the victim's friends.
The three women were surprised to learn that their friend had known the woman Kyle Richardson had been cheating with, and Faith mentioned that Carlie had confessed to not wanting the baby she'd been carrying. Mary, the veterinarian who had assisted with the victim's dog, studied the picture of Karen and said that she felt she had seen the woman around the time that Carlie had disappeared.
When they returned to the lab, Cam informed them that Karen's DNA wasn't a match for the evidence under the victim's nails. Perhaps more troubling was the presence of an antidepressant in the bloodstream of the fetus.
"It's not weird," Brennan remarked as she looked at the file. "Carlie Richardson was having emotional problems with her husband."
"Carlie Richardson wasn't taking the drug," Cam contradicted. Booth was having trouble following.
"Hold on, none of this is making any sense."
"I agree," Cam stated. "The only way the fetus could have the drug in its system is if it were passed from the mother in utero."
"Or through breast milk," Brennan added.
"How do you breastfeed an unborn child?" Booth asked, still confused. Brennan gave him a look he'd learned to recognize: she was on to something. She hurried toward the platform, calling for Zack.
"An infant's skull is made up of several separate bones that are eventually fused together," she announced to the group, holding up the fetal skull on a tray. "What do you see?" she asked Zack.
"Oh, my God," he groaned.
"I don't believe it," Cam added, looking at the skull in shock.
"Okay, now everybody knows but me," Booth complained.
"This is not a fetus," Brennan explained. "The skull bones have shifted and overlapped because this child passed through the birth canal. This baby was born alive and lived about...two weeks," she concluded.
"But Carlie was pregnant when she was last seen."
"This isn't Carlie Richardson's child. The escitalopram in its system came from breast milk."
"Then what happened to her baby?" Cam interjected. Brennan glanced at Booth reluctantly before answering.
"The baby was...cut out of her and stolen. This child replaced it." She examined the skull under the medial cam and looked at Zack. "This child was dead before Carlie was murdered. You can see the traces of blood pooling in the cranium."
"Abusive head trauma," Zack concurred.
"Evidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome."
Cam theorized that the baby's mother must have been taking medication for postpartum depression, had gotten upset when the baby wouldn't stop crying, and had shaken him to quiet him down. Brennan nodded and added that it would've taken as little as five seconds. The thought of it sickened Booth, and he involuntarily recalled Parker's colicky spell as an infant. As exhausting and stressful as it had been, Booth couldn't imagine doing anything to hurt his son.
He turned his attention back to the conversation and heard Brennan asking Angela to do a facial reconstruction of the infant in attempt to see genetic similarities which might lead them to the mother. His phone chirped from inside his pocket, and Booth answered a phone call from one of his agents. The news was good.
"They found Kyle Richardson," he told the group as he snapped the phone shut. He looked at Brennan, preparing to ask if she wanted to come along, but she was already snapping off her latex gloves and walking toward him.
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Brennan observed her partner cautiously from the passenger seat, knowing that the story of the infant's death had distressed him. Booth was clenching the steering wheel and glaring at the vehicle in front of them.
"I wonder if he'll even care, you know… Finding out that his wife is dead," he muttered.
"He didn't kill her."
"No, but he ran. How do you just cut your family out of your life like that?"
Brennan considered that for a moment, having no answer for him. Whatever the reasoning, her own family had done that to her. She had done it to Russ. But those hadn't really been the same types of situations. Brennan inhaled slowly, trying to determine what she could say to help him feel better. When faced with life's more profound questions, Booth found his comfort in his faith, and though Brennan had studied many religions as anthropological concepts, she felt a little out of her element when it came to discussing it with Booth.
"Well… What about Abraham?" she asked tentatively.
"You want to talk about religion right now?" he replied incredulously. He knew she respected his beliefs, but it was still something they didn't talk about often.
"I thought you found answers in what you believe."
"Well, I mean… that's one Bible story I just don't like. I mean, God commands Abraham to kill his own son, and he does."
"No, Abraham does not kill Isaac."
Booth raised his brows in slight surprise at her knowledge of the story.
"But old Abe, you know… he had the intention."
"I thought what he had was faith," she replied evenly.
"Look, I have faith. But if God Himself came down, pointed at Parker and said 'I want you to…' you know… That ain't gonna happen."
"But God's messenger stopped Abraham," she pointed out.
"Yeah, grabbed his hand at the last second."
"Okay, so… the lesson I would learn from the story is that when it comes to your children, your love has to be absolute," Brennan explained. "The messenger represents goodness, what you know to be right… Ergo, you have to remain open to what you know is true."
Booth chuckled softly and smiled at her. If ever there was anyone to remind him of the goodness in the world, it was her.
"Are you sure you're not religious?" he teased.
"Science all the way," she grinned back.
"Science all the way."
"Hey, even an empiricist can have a heart, Booth." He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips.
"Bones, you have a bigger heart than anyone I know." Brennan's pulse skipped erratically at the open adoration she could see in his twinkling eyes, and she felt an immense gratitude that Booth, unlike so many others in her life, had taken the time to truly understand her heart.
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The partners sat across from Kyle Richardson in the interrogation room, and Booth was feeling quite a bit less irate than he'd been before his conversation with Brennan. His partner, on the other hand, looked back at Richardson with an expression of absolute disgust.
"We know you didn't do it," Booth told the man flatly.
"What?" Richardson looked shocked.
"Evidence doesn't fit you."
"Then who was it? Who killed them?"
"You ran," Brennan pointed out. "Seems like you'd be the one to know."
"I would've told someone if I knew," he insisted.
"Right. 'Cause, you know, you're such an honorable guy," Booth replied sarcastically. "The knife, the rope, the plastic sheeting… It all came from your place, and why didn't you tell the police it was missing?"
"What, do you check out what's in your garage every day?" Richardson scoffed.
"If you didn't know anything, why'd you take off?"
"Because I'm a bastard," he spat sardonically. "I'm a selfish, pathetic bastard, and everyone had already decided I was guilty."
"That's true, Booth."
"Bones," he admonished.
"No one wanted to find another suspect," she pointed out, turning back to Richardson. "I kept insisting." Brennan still felt some residual irritation with Cam for her narrow-mindedness in pursuing only Richardson as a suspect.
"Thank you."
"I didn't do it for you. You are a pathetic bastard. Your wife was having your baby." Brennan pursed her lips as Richardson swore that although he had wanted to leave his wife, he'd never have wanted her and his son to die. Booth seemed to believe him when he insisted again that he had no idea who had killed his wife and son, and Richardson became overwhelmed with emotion at the thought that it might not have happened if he'd been with Carlie that night.
"We think your child might still be alive," Brennan said, watching him carefully. Richardson's initial confusion shifted to outright shock as Brennan explained that his son had been stolen right out of his wife's womb. Richardson demanded to know where his son was now, but neither partner had an answer to that yet. They allowed him to leave with the agreement to keep in touch should something new come up.
When they arrived back at the lab, Angela was ready with the infant skull reconstruction. Unfortunately, the face looked like that of just about every other caucasian baby. To solve that issue, Angela had run the image through an aging program, and when the face shifted to that of a boy around ten years old, Booth and Brennan simultaneously recognized the more prominent features. They'd seen them in the face of Carlie Richardson's friend, Mary Corbis.
The arrest went smoothly, although the woman became extremely emotional. At first, she had simply denied the accusation, but after Brennan mentioned a warrant to obtain a DNA sample, Mary changed her tune fairly quickly. She claimed that Carlie hadn't wanted her baby, that she hadn't meant to kill her own son, and that she was a good mother.
After the arrest was made, Booth and Brennan met Kyle Richardson at the Hoover and introduced him to his son. For a moment, it appeared that Richardson might take the coward's way out of his responsibility, but Booth spoke up to set him straight.
"You don't get to decide that. You have a son. Step up."
Brennan watched Richardson hold his son for a few seconds, but her attention was quickly drawn back to her partner. She smiled at him with a rush of pride and hoped he realized what a good man he was.
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Brennan sat across from Booth at the diner as they waited for Rebecca to stop by with Parker. Rebecca hadn't relented about keeping his scheduled weekend visit, but apparently Parker had wanted to show Booth and Brennan the diorama he'd made for school. Not long after the waitress had poured their coffee, Parker came bounding through the doors and over to their table.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"
"Parker!" Booth greeted him, boosting the little boy up to sit on his lap.
"Look what I did." Parker pointed proudly to his diorama of an animal habitat, and both partners smiled in approval.
"Wow! Look at that!" Booth glanced toward the door where Rebecca and Drew were hovering. "Hey, why don't you tell Bones about your project while I go talk to your mom real quick, okay?"
Parker nodded, and after his father scooted him off his lap, the boy promptly climbed onto Brennan's instead. She did her best to distract him from the heated conversation behind them, but the general tone of it was not missed by either Parker or Brennan. She attempted to get Booth's attention a several times, and when he finally made eye contact, she silently communicated her opinion that he should try to be civil in front of his son. He seemed to have gotten the message, and a few moments later, all four adults were seated at the table.
"Can we all go to the zoo tomorrow?" The question was directed primarily at Booth, who looked at Rebecca for approval. She hesitated only a moment before nodding, and Parker cheered excitedly. "Drew knows a lot about the animals. Almost as much as Bones!" he told them happily. Everyone laughed or smiled in response, though Rebecca couldn't resist a bit of an eye roll.
"Well, maybe afterwards we could… all go out to dinner if it's okay with your mom," Booth suggested. Parker looked at his mother hopefully.
"Yeah," Rebecca answered in surprise. "That...that sounds good."
"Mommy, can I stay with Daddy tonight? I haven't seen my new room yet!" he begged.
Though Booth and Brennan had moved in July, Parker had still only seen the house without furniture. They had set up his room for him, but Rebecca had consistently canceled every visit since. Parker had put her on the spot with his request, and in light of Booth's cordial behavior, she felt that she couldn't really say no. Booth saw Drew give her a gentle nudge with his elbow.
"That's fine, Parker. We can meet at the zoo around...two?" She directed the question primarily at Booth, seeming to ignore Brennan for the most part. He did no such thing, however, and looked to his girlfriend for approval of the plan. Brennan nodded with a smile, happy that Booth would finally be getting a little time with his son.
The five of them chatted awkwardly for a while before Drew and Rebecca left, and Parker became gradually more excited to see the new house. By the time they actually pulled into the driveway, he was bouncing ecstatically in his seat.
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"You remember where your room is, buddy?" Booth asked as he ushered his little family inside.
"Yup!" he shouted. Booth and Brennan heard the rapid thumping of Parker's feet as he climbed the stairs, followed by a cry of 'Awesome!'
Booth grinned happily at his girlfriend and stole a quick kiss before she pulled him upstairs to join his son. As they neared the top step, the light in Parker's room was extinguished, and they moved curiously to his doorway. The little boy was lying on his bed in the dark, and Booth flipped the light switch back on in confusion.
"Parker, why are you sitting in the dark?" he chuckled.
"No, turn it back off, Daddy! I'm looking at the stars." Booth complied and glanced toward the ceiling where Parker was pointing. He'd forgotten Brennan's addition of glow-in-the-dark stars to the area right above the twin size bed.
"Look, that's the Big Dipper!"
Brennan laughed lightly as Booth turned to look at her in surprise. She couldn't see his expression in the dark, but she knew what he was thinking.
"You made actual constellations?" Booth asked her incredulously.
"Certainly. Not all of them, but just the ones we see for most of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. And my favorite one."
"Which one is your favorite?"
"Delphinus!" Parker answered for her, pointing off to the left slightly. "It's that one, right Bones?"
"Very good, Parker."
Brennan was impressed that he remembered the simple astronomy lesson she'd given him on one of their weekends together earlier that spring. It was one of several subjects in which Parker had shown interest, so in addition to teaching him how to read, they'd discussed the moon and planets, meteorology, and a little geology. Parker was endlessly questioning, and he loved that 'Bones' always had an answer.
"That's Bones' favorite 'cause she loves dolphins," the boy declared confidently. Booth grinned with pride and pulled Brennan into his arms, taking advantage of the darkness as well as his son's distraction.
"That's very impressive, buddy, good job. Did you look at the rest of your room before you turned the light off?"
"Yeah, but you can turn the light back on now," Parker replied. Brennan reached for the switch, and they all blinked a little spastically as their eyes adjusted. "Did you bring all of my stuff from the old house?"
"You bet, kiddo. All of your toys, your books, your clothes. Everything's here."
Parker gave his room a more thorough examination than the cursory glance he'd made before noticing the stars and turning the light off. There wasn't a particular theme as was the common practice in most children's rooms. Instead, there were elements of all of Parker's favorite things. His favorite toys were displayed prominently, a few pieces of sports memorabilia and a handful of picture frames decorated the shelves, and his bed was the one from Booth's apartment, the trundle still tucked away beneath it.
It was nearly Parker's bedtime, so Booth encouraged him to brush his teeth, put his pajamas on, and pick out a bedtime story. The boy whined a bit about having to go to bed already, but Booth held firm. A trip to the zoo with Rebecca and her boyfriend would be uncomfortable enough even if Parker was well-rested and well-behaved.
Getting Parker settled took a little longer than usual, most likely owing to the fact that it was his first night in a new place. Booth reassured his son that their bedroom was right down the hall and showed him the nightlights they'd placed in his room, the bathroom, and the hallway in between.
It had been a while since Parker's last visit, so Booth gently reminded him to knock on their bedroom door when he woke up in the morning. Brennan smirked as she overheard Booth's instruction, wondering what he had in mind that might necessitate a closed door. She took her turn kissing Parker goodnight and waited for Booth in their room.
A few minutes later, Booth entered and closed the door behind him, spotting Brennan digging through her pajama drawer for pants to match the shirt she was already holding.
"You won't need those," he whispered as he stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Brennan smiled and tilted her head a little to look up at him.
"No?"
"No." Booth pressed a line of open-mouthed kisses to her neck, tightening his hold on her and drawing a soft moan from her throat.
"We should probably give Parker time to fall asleep, don't you think?" she asked. Her actions contradicted her words as she lifted her arms so that he could remove her shirt.
"He knows to knock," Booth replied, hooking his thumbs into the waistband of her pants and pushing them past the curves of her hips until they fell to the floor.
"Yes, but…" she gasped as his hand drifted low into her panties. "You know we're not very good at keeping quiet." He responded with a husky laugh that made her ache for him a little more.
"I know, baby. But the challenge is part of the fun."
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"Booth?"
"Mmm?" he grunted back sleepily. They were lying in one another's arms, completely spent, and in the silence, her mind had drifted back to the case they'd just closed and a question she hadn't gotten around to asking him.
"Do you want me to call you Seeley?"
"What?" he asked, looking down at her in surprised confusion.
"It's just… I noticed that Cam calls you that, even though you don't seem to like it when she does, and Rebecca calls you by your first name also. So is that something you prefer in your romantic relationships?"
Booth smiled and kissed her forehead lightly, understanding her logic now. What he didn't understand was the insecurity shining back in her beautiful blue eyes.
"Bones… you're different than anyone I've ever been with. Our relationship is different than any I've ever had before. The former rules don't apply." Brennan considered that for a moment but still seemed slightly troubled.
"So… even in bed?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. He chuckled and captured her lips with his own, kissing her deeply and for nearly long enough to make her forget the question.
"Even here, Bones. Honestly, I can't imagine you calling me by my first name in any scenario. It doesn't feel right."
"I agree," she replied with a smile, glad that he shared her opinion.
"Just so we're all clear though… do you want me to call you Temperance? Or Tempe?" He couldn't help the slight wince at the second name, knowing as he said it that he could never call her that. Brennan didn't miss the face he made and laughed happily, moving in for another kiss.
"No, definitely not Tempe," she assured him. "That sounds strange coming from you. And you do call me Temperance sometimes, usually when you want to make sure I'm paying attention, I think." He smiled in approval at her perceptiveness.
"That's true," he said. "And I don't think you've minded being called Bones in a pretty long time."
"No… I like that you're the only one who calls me that. Well, you and Parker. But no one else I've been with has ever given me a nickname. It's...special." If the moonlight were brighter, Booth would have been able to see the flush in her cheeks.
"It is special," Booth agreed, kissing her once more. "You make it special."
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Brennan pursed her lips in speculation for probably the tenth time that day and vehemently wished that she were better at reading people. Was she really this bad at it or was Rebecca really flirting with Booth? Brennan felt at a loss, much as she had over the past week or so when Cam had made ambiguous comments to Booth in her presence. With Cam, it was never as blatant as it had been at that first crime scene, and Booth rarely seemed to notice it, so Brennan assumed she was reading her new boss incorrectly.
She was only slightly more certain about Rebecca's behavior, and the only reason for it was Booth's reaction to his ex's occasional touches and word choices. Drew looked equally uncomfortable, particularly at the way Rebecca appeared to shift back and forth from lightly flirting with Booth to overtly flirting with Drew. At one point, Booth seemed to have decided Rebecca might be less likely to invade his personal space if that space was already occupied by Brennan. It worked for the most part, but Brennan couldn't help but notice the fact that Rebecca avoided eye contact with her rather diligently.
When the visit to the zoo was finally over, Rebecca made a work-related excuse to call off their dinner plans. Parker was reluctant to leave with Drew and Rebecca, and both Brennan and Booth gave the boy long goodbye hugs. Booth tried to get Rebecca to confirm that he would have Parker again in two weeks, but she gave little more than a vague nod at his words and encouraged her son to get in the car.
Booth was quiet as he drove them back home, and Brennan could tell he was troubled. She reached over to place a hand on his thigh and sighed a little when he immediately reached down to enclose her hand in his.
"I'm sorry about today, Bones. I really don't know what her deal was," he told her, watching the traffic in front of them with a tight jaw.
"I thought I might be imagining things, actually," she admitted.
"No, her behavior was ridiculous. Even Drew was uncomfortable. Looks like that relationship won't be lasting long."
"Is she often like that?"
Booth shrugged a little, unsure how to respond. It had been a while since the last time Rebecca had been so inappropriate, and it made him nervous.
"Sometimes. Usually she's just rude and argumentative. She doesn't generally act like that unless she wants something, so I'm not sure what to make of it."
Brennan was silent as she considered his words. Perhaps Rebecca's behavior indicated that she did indeed intend to ask a favor of Booth, but Brennan wondered if the true motive wasn't a far simpler one. Jealousy. Whether it had been to make Brennan and Drew jealous of her connection to Booth, or else to make Booth jealous of her relationship with Drew, Rebecca had seemed determined to make everyone uncomfortable in any way she could.
"Hey," he said, squeezing her hand a little. "You know there's nothing to worry about with her, right? Or anyone else, for that matter?" He gave her a tender smile, and she returned it.
"Of course, Booth. I was just trying to understand her motive. I know that's your area, but it seemed like she was trying to make the rest of us jealous for one reason or another."
"You're on point there, Bones," he said approvingly. "She's always been insecure, but even knowing that, I was still surprised at her behavior." Brennan felt slightly satisfied that she had perceived the situation correctly for once. "Let's not talk about it anymore, okay?" he suggested.
"Agreed. Though I hope she didn't ruin your day with Parker," Brennan commented. "Next time we'll make sure you have some time just for the two of you." Booth smiled at her, impressed at her insight.
"It wasn't ruined, Bones," he reassured her. "Parker still had a great time, and even if his mother did put a damper on things, I was still with my two favorite people in the world."
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"Bones! Saddle up your squint squad, we've got a nasty one." Booth announced as he swiped his way onto the platform. She rolled her eyes a bit at the phrase but gave him a smile anyway.
"Exactly how 'nasty?'" she asked.
"Well, let's put it this way: Hodgins day is about to get ten times better."
"Why's that?" Hodgins spoke up from behind him. "Did the President finally admit-"
"You know what, Bug Boy, how about we just stick to the job, huh?" Booth interrupted. "We've got a body discovered in an overturned garbage truck."
Hodgins eyes glittered dreamily, and he skipped off to retrieve his kit from his office.
"Zack, can you pack up and return these remains to Bone Storage while we're gone, please? And make sure the platform is prepared for the new remains?"
"Of course, Dr. Brennan," he replied.
Brennan left the platform and headed for her office, Booth hot on her heels. He helped her out of her lab coat but stopped her when she reached for her jacket.
"You're gonna want the full suit for this one, Bones," he advised. "Cam says it's pretty nasty."
"Cam's already there?" she asked in concern, doubling the speed of her movements as she pulled on her jumpsuit and gum boots. Booth pulled the strap of her field kit onto his shoulder and gazed at her with an indulgent smile.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm sure she's guarding the remains from unscrupulous FBI forensic techs," he teased. She leveled a glare at him, which only made him chuckle, and attempted to take the kit from him. "I've got it. Let's go."
Brennan didn't waste time arguing and walked out of her office toward the main doors, shouting to Hodgins that they were leaving. The entomologist giggled excitedly and hurried to catch up.
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Booth fervently hoped that Brennan wouldn't have cause to be angry with Cam over anything done to the remains before their arrival. She and Cam were slowly adjusting to one another, or at least it seemed that way, but Booth knew that it wouldn't take much to set them back at square one. Brennan's ego was still smarting a little at being passed over for Cam's job.
Brennan had contacted Dr. Goodman to speak to him about his decision, and from what Booth could discern from Brennan's recounting of the conversation, she hadn't gotten a satisfactory answer. Goodman had pressed the point that Brennan was interested in science, first and foremost, and a large part of Cam's job was bureaucratic. He'd explained that he knew Brennan wouldn't have the patience for that and would have been unhappy in the position. Not to mention, he'd known that even if she'd gotten the job, she wouldn't have been willing to give up her work as Booth's partner, and the simple truth was that there was only so much one person could do.
To Brennan's surprise, Booth agreed with him and reminded her that she was already working as his partner, identifying ancient remains for the Jeffersonian, identifying the occasional set of remains for this government agency or that, teaching her graduate students, and filling the rest of the time with her career as an author. Booth went on to say that he didn't think she really wanted the job anyway. After brief contemplation, Brennan agreed that he was probably right, but she still maintained that Goodman had gone about it in a rather cowardly way. Booth didn't disagree with her there.
As soon as they reached the crime scene and opened their doors, the smell overwhelmed them. Brennan and Hodgins barely reacted, but Booth felt his stomach flip in revulsion. He instinctively covered his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his suit jacket and followed the squints toward Cam.
"Oh man. Okay, how bad does garbage gotta stink to cover the smell of a dead body," he whined.
"I think the victim was a minor," Cam announced. Brennan ignored her until she'd looked for herself.
"Okay, well if you agree, this falls under FBI jurisdiction, Bones."
"It's a male. Yes, an adolescent," she confirmed, appreciating Booth's deference to her opinion.
Hodgins announced that the victim had been in the garbage for three weeks, and Brennan added that the bone damage was congruent with a fall. Booth watched her brow furrow as she spotted something in the victim's hand.
"What've you got?" he asked, impatient to put as much space between his nose and the crime scene as possible.
"It's organic," Hodgins answered, handing Brennan a pair of tweezers. She extracted it carefully and collected it as evidence.
"Whatever it is, he brought it with him from the crime scene," Brennan added.
Cam asked Hodgins how much of the garbage he would need to take back to the lab, and her eyes widened at his answer: everything.
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While Brennan, Zack, and Cam got started with the analysis on the platform, Hodgins began sifting through the massive amount of refuse from the crime scene. Booth was relieved that the trash wasn't heaped in the middle of the lab but was instead being analyzed somewhere else. He stepped up onto the platform as the squints were discussing the state of the remains.
"He was wrapped in a shroud?" Zack asked curiously.
"Angela's analyzing the stains on the cloth while Hodgins figures out what they're made of," Brennan explained.
"No finger pads left for prints. How are we on dentals?" Cam asked. Zack replied that the FBI was handling it. "Multiple shards of glass embedded in the remaining tissue. Massive contusions congruent with a swan dive onto a hard surface."
Brennan pointed out evidence of a non-fatal strike to the clavicle and scapula, and when the group fell silent for a moment, Booth took the opportunity to inform them that the garbage handler he'd spoken with worked for a private company and wasn't particularly strict about his route. The man hadn't been able to say for sure where he might've picked up the victim. The squints nodded and focused again on the remains.
"No visible tats or track marks," Cam remarked.
"You sound surprised," Brennan said, a little confused.
"Well, it was most likely a junkie or a hustler, Bones." Booth regretted speaking up almost immediately as he saw Brennan stiffen a little in response.
"Why make the assumption?"
"Not many kids from the suburbs end up rotting in garbage trucks. Fun fact from the front lines," Cam explained. The group was saved from an admonishment about jumping to conclusions by the appearance of Angela.
"Hey, guys. Wanna see something cool?" she asked eagerly. The artist had a sort of gleam in her eyes that reminded Booth forcibly of Hodgins' reaction to the garbage dump. He and the squints followed Angela into the Bone Room where she'd been analyzing the shroud that had been wrapped around their victim.
"On the fabric covering John Doe's skull, there are tissue stains around the eye sockets, the nose, and the mouth. This is essentially a photo negative of his features," Angela explained. She pulled up a digital scan of the shroud on the large monitor next to her.
"Are you saying you have enough to assemble a face?" Cam asked, impressed. Angela used her computer program to project the details as she replied.
"Selective laser centering allowed me to map unimprinted areas. Skin tone and hair color were extrapolated based on Dr. Saroyan's data."
They watched as the face of their victim shifted into being on the screen. He looked like a clean-cut, reasonably attractive young man.
"I could be wrong; I'm no expert, but he sure doesn't look like a street kid," Brennan commented tersely. Cam pursed her lips but didn't reply, and Booth gave Brennan a flicker of a smile.
Zack went back to the platform while the rest of them filed out of the Bone Room and headed toward Angela's office. Booth's hand found its natural place at Brennan's back, hoping to soothe her at least a little bit. Angela took a seat in front of a large computer monitor, and the rest of them gathered behind her.
"I'm running our facial reconstruction through the Missing and Exploited Persons database," she announced.
"That's a lot of missing and exploited kids," Cam commented.
"These are just the locals," Brennan reminded her. Booth shook his head at the disturbingly large number of endangered children.
"Let's hope we don't have to go national," Booth replied.
"Narrow the search," Cam instructed the artist. "To street kids and kids in the foster system."
"Why?" Brennan demanded, bristling.
"Because, statistically, that's where this boy comes from."
"It's far too early to start narrowing our focus," Brennan argued.
"Runaways, street kids, foster system," Cam insisted. Brennan's mouth snapped shut and she tilted her head with a mocking expression.
"Dr. Saroyan's the boss," she told Angela, who shifted uncomfortably in her chair and input the requested parameters.
"I've autopsied a lot of kids," Cam continued. "Car accidents, drug overdoses, drownings: fine, that's a broad search. Kid in a dumpster: it's a runaway, street kid, or foster system kid."
Booth placed a hand on Brennan's back, trying again to comfort her without words.
"It's worth a try, Bones. If it doesn't work, then at least we'll know where not to look," he encouraged her.
"Got it," Angela announced. "Dylan Crane, 17."
"This is why I was appointed to this job, Dr. Brennan," Cam said, looking vindicated. "To streamline the process."
"Honor student from a nice neighborhood," Angela added with a smirk.
"Oops," Brennan snarked. Angela continued to read the information aloud.
"He disappeared three weeks ago with his girlfriend, Kelly Morris, who is in the foster system."
Brennan set her jaw and rolled her eyes. Cam was smiling again.
"Good. There we go. I guess your first move is to find Kelly Morris," she told Booth. But both partners were shaking their heads.
"No, the first move is to inform the Cranes that we just found their son," Booth contradicted her. Brennan followed him from the room, heading back to the platform to check on Zack's progress while Booth tracked down Dylan Crane's parents.
After they'd left, Angela considered warning Cam about Brennan and the foster system, but she felt that their new boss really needed to learn some perspective on her own. Brennan was a force of nature, and if things were going to work with Cam running the show, she had to learn that Brennan wasn't a typical employee.
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The Cranes insisted on speaking to Booth and Brennan at the lab, and although Booth was reluctant to agree, Brennan assured him that the bones would be in the cleaning process at that point, rather than displayed on the platform. The victim's parents would never see anything they shouldn't.
"I was able to identify Dylan beyond the shadow of a doubt," Brennan told them gently, showing them a picture of Angela's reconstruction. "I'm sorry."
"That's Dylan," the boy's mother confirmed. Both Mr. and Mrs. Crane appeared to be more angry than upset, and Booth knew they needed to tread carefully.
"How did he die?" Mr. Crane asked.
"He fell… from a height of approximately fifty feet."
"Suicide?" Mrs. Crane whispered in disbelief.
"Is there any reason to believe that your son was despondent?" Booth asked the couple. They boy's father denied it promptly.
"Dylan? No. He was a smart, happy kid."
"Problems at school? You know, uh… spending too much time on the internet? Anything like that?"
"His whole life centered around this girl he was seeing," he said, tapping a photograph they had brought with them of their son and his girlfriend.
"Was this Kelly Morris?" Booth inquired.
"Yes. I suppose you read the missing persons report," Mrs. Crane replied.
"So, you know Kelly's in a foster situation?" her husband pressed. Brennan flinched slightly at the condemnation in the man's tone.
"Have you seen her since Dylan disappeared?" she asked evenly.
"No."
"To be honest, we were hoping they ran away together," Mrs. Crane explained. Booth narrowed his eyes at that.
"Why would they do that?"
"We told Dylan to stop seeing her," Mr. Crane clarified. Brennan anticipated the answer to her next question but asked it anyway.
"Why?"
"Dylan met her at Harbor Plaza where the street kids hang out," Mrs. Crane sighed.
"Dylan was getting ready to go to MIT. She's already dropped out of high school. The life we provided him didn't prepare him for a girl like Kelly," her husband added.
"You mean a foster child."
"Bones," her partner said softly. Booth wasn't any more impressed by the couple's bias than she was, but these people had just lost their son.
"Whatever happened to my son, it happened because of Kelly," the other woman insisted bitterly.
"We're gonna find her, and we're gonna talk to her," Booth assured her. Dylan's father spoke up then, his eyes on Brennan.
"Dr. Brennan, I can see that you think we're being hard on Kelly. But my son… my son was a good kid with his whole life ahead of him." Mr. Crane became more emotional toward the end of his speech, and Brennan lowered her eyes to the table. She could feel Booth's leg move closer to hers beneath the table, a physical reminder that he was right next to her, as always.
Booth assured Dylan's parents that they would be in touch, and the Cranes left the lab looking grim. When they had disappeared down the stairs, Booth turned to Brennan and pulled her gently into his arms. He held her for a few moments, swaying gently, and she allowed herself to relax into the familiar comfort of his broad chest.
"Kelly Morris's foster mother is meeting us at my office shortly," he said quietly. Brennan nodded and pulled back, intending to head down to her office to retrieve her bag. "Hey," he stopped her, grasping her hand to pull her back. Booth dropped a soft kiss to her lips and squeezed her hand before letting go, pleased that she didn't push him away to retreat behind her walls.
Booth knew that this case would be difficult for her, and he worried about the progress she'd made in coping with her kidnapping. Although she hadn't been able to consciously remember much about her hallucinations at first, her visions had resurfaced in her nightmares, and Booth had even heard the occasional name leave her lips when she talked in her sleep. He'd been able to resist the urge to look one or two of them up, and over the last month or so, her dreams had mostly returned to normal.
He thought back to the last case they'd had involving the foster system and the little boy she had encouraged to open up to her about the crime he'd witnessed. It had been before they'd shared anything more than a very passionate kiss, before he'd learned the harsh reality of her teenage years, before he'd heard the stories that had made him nearly blind with rage on her behalf. Before she'd been kidnapped and drugged into reliving some of those horrific events. Booth sighed and tried to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach that always accompanied thoughts of Brennan's past.
Yeah, this case will be a rough one, he thought. He just hoped Brennan would continue to accept his help.
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Yes, I want to bitchslap Rebecca too. I think we all did during these episodes. Review if you've got time, and I'll be back with more on Tuesday. :) -Christi