"The Object of My Affection" - Chapter 25
Title: Object of my Affection
Author: Shannon - shannyfish
Disclaimer: I do not own “Bones” or its characters, Fox does. This is merely for entertainment purposes only.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Booth and Brennan must struggle with not only the Grad Students trying to take Zack’s old position, but also help get through a tragic end.
Warning: Post Season Three - “Pain in the Heart”. Would take place during Season Four, probably mid to late. Warning! Do not start reading this unless you plan on reading all…like…one hundred chapters (it might be that many…might not…). This will be an epic/saga-type fic and shall include all kinds of fun plot twists. The rating of this story will most likely fluctuate, FYI.
Chapter 25 - “Crime takes a holiday?”
Author’s Note: wake up…non-reviewers…you DO motivate me to write and I’d really like to be motivated enough to have these next five chapters done this week, so that I can keep in what I’ve already planned out…after that…I have to abandon my life to nanowrimo and schoolwork until December rolls around.
*~*~*
Diner
Angela and Hodgins invited everyone to celebrate their re-engagement. Angela’s “husband” had finally signed the divorce papers after they’d spent the whole weekend convincing him of their love. So, now they were all celebrating, even the grad students. Cam, Angela, Hodgins, Brennan, Booth, and Parker were at one table while the grad students were at another. Hodgins had deemed the grad students’ table the “kiddie table” and had given Parker an exemption from it.
“So, when’s the wedding?” Cam asked.
“New Years’ Day,” Angela replied. “We figured it would be a good way to start the New Year.”
“Plus, we’ll automatically have a big party for New Years’,” Hodgins added.
“Always a good thing,” Cam said.
“Just let us know what we can do,” Booth added. “You know we’d all be more than happy to help you guys.”
“We appreciate it, Man,” Hodgins said with a smile. He appreciated it; he knew that sometimes that when people didn’t make it through their first time down the aisle, then people weren’t as receptive when they tried it a second time. He appreciated that they had faith in them…in their love.
“So, big wedding again?” Cam asked curiously.
Angela shrugged, “I don’t know yet…we still have time to figure out the guest list.”
“I thought you wanted a big wedding,” Hodgins said surprised.
“We sort of had one…”
“True…”
She smiled, “I actually don’t care if it’s just us…and family, of course.”
“That could work,” Hodgins said with a smile as he took her hand.
Angela leaned closer to her best friend, so that she could whisper into her ear without anyone else hearing. “You know, Sweetie, we could have a double wedding.”
“Angela…” Brennan mumbled a bit irritated and shot a glance at her friend before turning her attention to her coffee.
“It’s just a thought,” she said aloud.”
“Can I sit with the other squints?” Parker asked after a while.
“Don’t want to sit here?” Hodgins asked trying to act sad.
Parker sighed, “You guys are boring…”
Angela giggled, “Go on and sit with them Parker,” she encouraged.
Parker didn’t even think to ask his father and just scooted off the bench and joined the grad students where they were playing tick tack toe and entertaining each other doing other things.
“We’re getting old…” Booth commented with an irritated sigh.
*~*~*
Jeffersonian
A new case. It seemed like there were always new cases… People dying all around. But this time, they didn’t have a body and Angela was starting to think that this was far worse. The person was missing. And it wasn’t just any person; it was a teenager…a girl…the daughter of Boston royalty. The girl’s photo was up on their board and at first Angela didn’t understand why it was there. What could they get from a standard photo? There were no bones…no type of remains…how were they involved? She waited with everyone else as Booth stepped up and started the tape that he had. The voice was familiar; she knew it and it made her stomach instantly knot up.
*I have Julia Harper. You have twenty-four hours to wire one million dollars to the following account-*
The Gravedigger was back.
Brennan just stared at Booth. “Why do we have this case?” she asked, her voice breaking a bit. She already thought she knew why…she and Hodgins had gotten out of the Gravedigger’s trap before…they were the only ones who survived without paying the ransom.
“It was more of just an update…to let us know that he’s back,” Booth said, trying to remain calm. The voice on the tape reminded him of the chilling message he had received for Brennan and Hodgins’ ransom. It made him sick thinking back to that. They’d barely found them…they’d barely gotten out alive. They’d remained for over a year…almost two without the Gravedigger having any activity that they knew of. Why now…
“He could come after us again,” Hodgins spoke up.
“I’ve already tripled security,” Cam spoke up. “Though I’m just now learning why…and I’m almost thinking that we need the F.B.I. at all entry and exit points.”
“Maybe we should just stay at the lab,” Angela suggested.
“Who’s the Gravedigger?” Cedric spoke up curiously.
Booth suddenly remembered that the mini squint squad was present. He’d been concentrating on Brennan, how she’d reacted…how she was taking it…how she was absorbing it. He wanted to know that she was okay. She looked okay for the moment, so he turned his gaze to the grad students. “The Gravedigger is a serial kidnapper…that sometimes releases his victims…”
“Only sometimes?” Isabel questioned.
“He takes a victim and puts them in some kind of container that has an air space that will last them for twenty-four hours and then sends a ransom that has to be delivered to an untraceable account. If the ransom is delivered, then they are sent the coordinates of the victim, if the ransom isn’t met, then he lets them die. Almost two years ago we found a container that contained the remains of two boys…he lied to their father saying that he had twenty-four hours, but having the two boys had been an accident…they only had twelve hours… The father never gathered the ransom, but he would have never been able to retrieve his boys alive even if he had,” Booth explained.
“The Gravedigger came after Doctor Brennan and I ended up getting run down by his car. We got shoved into her car and buried alive in Virginia,” Hodgins spoke up. “We were luckily able to get a message out and they found us…”
“It was a team effort,” Angela managed to get out. She didn’t like to think back to that time. It had been hard on Hodgins…she was sure that Brennan was shaken even though she hadn’t said anything to her. She hated when Brennan compartmentalized.
“If the Gravedigger is only after money, then why are you worried about locking down the lab with security?” Hart asked thinking it over. She wasn’t sure if she was going to like the answer.
Brennan frowned, “He could come after me…and Hodgins…”
“He could be after us in revenge,” Hodgins added.
“Why?” Angela asked getting upset at the whole idea.
“They escaped,” Cam suggested.
“You seriously think that he’s that vindictive?” Alejandro asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Booth said and frowned. “You know what; I think we just all should be really careful. Travel in groups and all that.”
“I think I’d feel better just staying here at the lab,” Hodgins said.
Brennan turned to her grad students. They weren’t involved. They shouldn’t be involved. She didn’t want them to have to deal with anything she’d gone through when she’d been trapped with Hodgins. Being trapped and having oxygen as a ticking bomb was absolutely terrifying. “Hart, Kelsey, Gonzalez, MacGowan…you’re dismissed. I will call you all back once this case is over.”
“What? You’re not going to let us help?” Hart asked shocked.
“It could be very dangerous,” Brennan tried to explain calmly. “I will examine your work on the next case and try to narrow down to a new assistant.”
“You sure about this, Bones?” Booth asked.
“They weren’t here the last time and they shouldn’t be in any danger now. I don’t think it’s responsible to make them targets,” she explained.
“Good point,” Booth said and then turned to the mini squint squad. “Time to go…study or something…”
“Kay…” Hart mumbled and then motioned for the other three grad students to leave. “I guess…let’s go…then…” She really didn’t like it. It made her a bit sad. She was curious and she wanted to be there to work on the case. But they needed to leave and so she followed the others, she just hoped that she’d get to learn what happened with the case. “Call us if you need help,” she said quietly as she left the platform with the others.
Booth turned his attention back to the squints. “I think Hodgins is right. You should all stay at the lab.”
“What are we going to do about clothes?” Angela asked. She had no problems with staying at the lab, but she wanted a clean change of clothes.
Cam frowned and thought about it for a moment before speaking up, “You’re both right.” She turned to Booth, “Can you get us F.B.I. escorts to take us home? We can go home, get a bag, and come back to the lab. That way we wouldn’t be all...uncomfortable.”
“I think I can arrange that,” Booth said. He liked that plan.
“Booth,” Brennan spoke up. “You should stay here…and Parker,” she told him.
“What?”
“You’re part of this team,” Cam told him. “Doctor Brennan’s right, we can’t out rule that he won’t come after you and Parker.”
Booth sighed, “Crap.”
“Where’s Parker now?” Angela asked. “School?”
“Yeah…”
“Call them and have them pull Parker it’s the office or something and have him picked up first. The F.B.I. can bring Parker here,” Brennan told Booth.
*~*~*
Booth’s Residence
“I would still feel better if you were back at the Jeffersonian,” Booth told her as he packed his suitcase. The F.B.I. agents were posted at the door and then one was with Parker in the other room. They’d luckily left them alone or else he was sure that the conversation would be far more uncomfortable. He really didn’t go through Brennan being nabbed by the Gravedigger again. He couldn’t lose her.
Brennan frowned and put her hands on her hips, “It was far more logical for us to break up into groups and you just happen to live the closest to my apartment,” she told him as if it were common sense.
“How are we going to work the sleeping situation at the lab? It wasn’t exactly the best when we had to camp out there when we were possibly infected that one Christmas,” he said. At least there was no medication needed this time around.
“They’ve got an area set aside, but I figured that I’d just sleep on my couch in my office,” she told Booth.
“Sounds better than a creepy random room,” Booth told her.
She smiled, “You and Parker are more than welcome to stay in there as well. Angela and Hodgins are staying in Angela’s office and I think Cam found an alternate place also.”
“Good,” he said as he zipped up his duffel bag.
Parker had already packed and was watching the F.B.I. agent when his dad and Brennan entered to check on him. “I get to bring Kelley and my pillow, too, right?” he asked as he stood up from where he was sitting on the edge of his bed.
“Sure,” Booth told him.
“Who’s Kelley?” the agent asked.
“My dinosaur. He’s really scary,” Parker told him holding up the gifted dino.
The agent smirked and then glanced at Booth, “Special dino, huh?”
“Shut up,” Booth mumbled.
“Come on, Parker,” Brennan said moving to help the boy to gather his things and take them to the vehicle waiting for them outside.
“Why aren’t we taking a tent if we’re camping?” Parker asked as they headed out of the house.
“It’s not that kind of camping,” Booth tried to explain.
“But you need a tent to be really camping…”
“We’re camping in Bones’ office.”
Parker rolled his eyes and sighed, “You lied, we’re not really camping…”
“We are.”
“No,” Parker argued. “Camping means tents and hot dogs and s’mores and hot chocolate and stuff.”
“You’ve never been camping before,” Booth countered.
“Maybe you should take him then,” Brennan interrupted as she let Parker into the car before her and faced Booth. “Just relax…you can tell him that you’ll take him camping…”
“Really?” Booth asked not really liking the sound of it. He didn’t want to do that.
“We’ve practically gone camping before when we went after that body that had been eaten by that bear up in Washington, wasn’t it?”
“I suppose…”
“So, tell him that we’ll take him camping.”
“We?”
Brennan just shrugged and then got into the vehicle.
*~*~*
TBC…