The Body in the Pond - By Kasper Posted 28/11/2007 04:36:13 PM

Wow! That was amazing! Love the action =]

Wow, Kas this is awesome, you've gotta keep writing!! I'm going crazy already hehe..

Chapter 10
Red Bank, New Jersey
11.13 EST

Booth dashed up the stairs as fast as he could. He was already formulating an exit plan to get Brennan and Mary out of the building because he was certain that the men after them were here. Finally he made it to the apartment and burst through the door.

“Bones, you have to take Mary and get out of here. Take the evidence and get it to Cullen as fast as you can. But only to Cullen. Do you hear me?”

“Booth what are you talking about?”

Booth pulled her to the side away from Mary. “Bones, they followed us here. They are here now. But the most important thing is your safety and that of this evidence here.”

“Wait Booth, you can’t expect me to leave you here.”

“Yes, you will. Look Bones, you need to get this evidence to the FBI and explain everything to Cullen. I’m going to follow them because I can’t let them get away. These guys, whomever they are, have the ability to disappear and I will not let happen.”

She looked at Booth’s eyes. “Booth…”

He placed his hands on her shoulders. “Bones, there is no argument here. It’s what has to be done.”

She shook her head and sighed. “Are you sure?”

“Look Bones. I know a thing or two about the government. These guys are ready to go into hiding.”

She nodded as if understanding. She then surprised him by flinging her arms around him and giving him a hug. He reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her.

“Bones it’s going to be fine,” he whispered into her hair.

She nodded and pulled back. Silently, primarily because she was afraid she was going to cry, she took the bag from him and walked over to Mary.

Brennan looked back one more time before ushering Mary out of the apartment. Booth watched as she walked out of the room. He then watched out the window and waited for her to appear on the street. She appeared from an alley further down the street, but was able to get into the car and drive away. Once he was sure that no one was following him, he tried to get his own exit strategy together. First he changed into a suit from Paul’s closet. Paul’s clothing was a little bit small, but it still fit.

He checked out the window again and noticed two men walking from the street and into the building. One had his hand very close to his hip and the other was clutching something under his jacket.

“Shit,” Booth cursed to himself. He knelt down and reached into the backpack he kept with him. He reached in and looked at what he had. He took the extra magazines for the pistol at his hip and added them to his jacket pocket along with a few zip-ties. He then reached for something in the bottom of the bag and pulled out a hexagonal cylinder following by a dark sock and earplugs.

He moved quickly to the door and listened for footsteps. He could hear the stairway door at the end of the hallway squeak and made his move. He stuck the earplugs in his ears and looked out the peephole. He saw two men standing on either side of the door, each with a gun in his hand. That was enough confirmation for Booth to know that the men were hostile.

He kicked the door open and deposited the grenade at the same time. He rolled away at the same time that he covered his eyes with the black sock. A blinding light and ear piercing sound filled the small hallway of the apartment complex. A few seconds after the explosion Booth stepped in the hallway. The two men were now on the ground clutching at their eyes, momentarily blinded. Booth stepped the first man, forcefully grabbing his hands and yanking them behind his back.

“What the…” the man started shouting and wriggling, but Booth elbowed the man in the head rendering him unconscious. Once his hands were secured behind his back Booth quickly attached another plastic tie to the other guy so that they were stuck together.

“Let go of me damn it,” shouted the other guy. “You’re not going to get away with this.” Booth knocked the other guy out and dragged them back into the apartment. He quickly took pictures of the two with his camera phone and locked the door behind him in the process.

…
Garden State Parkway
Central New Jersey
11.35 EST

Brennan smacked the steering wheel in frustration as they sped down the Parkway. “How could I be so stupid?!” she exclaimed inside the car. She hit the steering wheel again before jerking the car to the right lane so that she could get on the other side of the road. She took out her cell phone and dialed the number to Hoover Building.

“Hello, how can I help you?” said a receptionist.

“I need to speak to Cullen,” demanded Brennan.

“May I ask what your business is with Agent Cullen ma’am.”

“This is Dr. Temperance Brennan of the Jeffersonian Institute and I need to speak with Cullen before one of his agents dies in the field.”

“Okay Dr. Brennan, patching you through now.”

“Cullen.”

“It’s Dr. Brennan. Booth and I have the information on what happened except Booth went to go get the bad guys and I left him alone and now I don’t know where he is,” she said quickly in one breath.

“Okay Dr. Brennan, this is what I need you to do.”

Downtown Red Bank
New Jersey
11.40 EST

Booth got to the street and moved to the alley that was in between apartment buildings. The van that he had seen back in DC was parked on the street and he assumed that the operation was being led from there. His hand lay on the pistol that was concealed in the pocket of his jacket. He quickly swung the door open to find that the place was empty. There was electronic equipment all over the back and he was that there was a GPS coordinate on his current location and he realized that they had been followed through their cell phones. He was glad that he hadn’t allowed Brennan or himself to make any calls.
He pulled the keys from the ignition and pocketed them, looking in the distance to see a man make a quick right into an alley. Booth jumped out of the car.

“Hey you!” he shouted at the man as he concealed his weapon behind him. The man already knew who Booth was because he started to run. Booth swore under his breath as he broke into a sprint. The fresh snow in the abandoned alley gave him a path to follow and he easily found the warehouse the man ran into.

Booth removed a flashlight from the bag on his back and slowly opened the door with his gun raised. The warehouse was dark and cold, with snow covering the ground. Around him were pallets of frozen food in various heights and snow covering the ground. From across the building he heard the sound of metal hitting the ground and then a swear. He moved quickly trying to get to the source of the sound before it could recover, but all he ended up finding was a piece of metal pipe on the ground; the man must have tripped over it.

His phone was vibrating against his pocket and he looked down to see the Brennan was calling. He couldn’t answer it, instead he ignored it and sent her a quick text message. He shut the phone and returned it to his pocket. He moved forward cautiously, careful to remain close to the edge when he heard the sound of a jacket ruffling somewhere near him. Immediately his sniper instincts kicked in and he looked around slowly and carefully, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. He slipped in between a row of pallets just as two figures passed each other. They carried weapons, but weren’t the same guys that were up in Mary’s apartment, leading Booth to believe that they were other minions of the man after him. He looked around to see that he could shimmy up the pallets. He did so carefully and quietly until he was at the top of the medium sized tower. He had a view of most of the room and was able to see the two men carefully combing the warehouse for him.

“He’s on top of a pallet!” he heard a deep voice shout and naturally he hit the deck. He turned around quickly to see that the man he followed was on the other side behind a glass partition. The two men that were looking for him moved to the far end of the warehouse so that they could see him. The fired from their weapons randomly, sending Booth for cover once again. When the weapons chambered Booth moved quickly by jumping to the next pallet. The men moved forward, but lost sight of Booth. He heard them mutter and then the sound of shrink wrap ripping as they created handholds to climb up. Booth clambered to the pallet they were on and when the first man reached the top he gave him a sharp kick to the face that knocked him out and sent him falling. The second man was smarter and jumped down. He looked up at Booth and gave him a smug smile and then Booth saw no more.

The Warehouse
Red Bank, New Jersey
13.04 EST

Outside of the warehouse looked like a scene out of a movie. Hundreds of law enforcement agents, stood around, waiting for the word of the SWAT team. A man in an FBI jacket approached Brennan.

“What do you know about the situation inside?” he asked her without an introduction.

“All I know is that my armed partner is inside with at least one hostile.”

“Do you have any contact with him?”

“I could text him; I tried to call but he didn’t answer.”

“Okay, thank you.” He turned to move away, but Brennan caught his hand.

“I want to go in with you.”

“I don’t think so miss. Cullen warned me about you. I’m sorry but for everyone’s safety you have to stay back.” He whistled and an agent came over and led Brennan away towards the staging area. Under a tent, they had cameras linked to the HRT operators and many agents controlling different computers. The agent handed her a headset so she could hear the operators and she silently thanked him with a nod of the head.

“We have a breach point on the northern side, just under the management office,” said one man in a deep voice.

“Bravo is set up on the roof. We have visual on the inside. Three hostiles are confirmed and we have thermals on another man sitting in a chair. His signal isn’t as strong.”

Brennan’s hand flew to her mouth as she heard the words. His signal wasn’t as strong. It either meant that he was naked in the cold environment, or that he was… she couldn’t bring herself to think about it.

“Bravo ready for breach and clear.”

The same man that questioned her about Booth earlier, now also stood under the tent with a headset on. “Team A you have permission to breach. Check your fire; we have one of our own in there.”

Brennan removed the headset as the line became a flurry of communications between the two teams.

“Echo, breach, breach.” Thirty seconds passed before the communications resumed. “Bravo, Echo, we need a sit rep.”

“Sir, we have three hostiles down and in custody. We need EMT for Agent Booth, he looks a little roughed up.”

The leader removed the headset and gestured for Brennan to follow and they moved into the warehouse. Brennan stifled a gasp as they entered the room where the action had taken place. Three men were in the corner with their hands behind their backs with three agents guarding them.

“Brigadier General Marks,” stated the lead agent. “What the hell has gotten into you sir?” The General remained quiet. The lead agent gestured for them to be moved and they stood. In one fluid motion, the General took the weapon from the agent’s holster and shot himself in the head, sending brain matter flying through the air.

“Holy shit,” shouted a few of the agents as they watched the General’s body crumple to the floor.

A few of the other agents ran in after hearing the shot, curious as to what happened. “Okay people, let’s clear the area so we can get photos and documentation,” demanded the lead agent.

Brennan however, didn’t pay attention to the scene around her; her focus was on the naked bloodied man on the ground. The EMTs had already placed him on the gurney and covered him in blankets. He had facial lacerations and his left shoulder was slumping, indicating a separated shoulder.

“Oh Booth,” she said as she looked at his wounds.

Booth just smiled. “You didn’t listen to me.”

“What?”

“I told you to go to Cullen and instead you got the whole fleet.” He leaned up and pressed his lips to her cheek. “Thanks Bones.”

This is the last chapter. Thanks for those of you that have commented.

Chapter 11

“I can’t believe it’s all gone,” said Booth for the fifth time. They were standing outside the charred remains of his home. He was released from the hospital two days prior and went back home to Pennsylvania to be with his family for a while. Now it was a few days before Christmas and he was left without a home and without his possessions.

“Were they able to recover anything from the fire?” asked Brennan. She was standing next to him, bundled up in a jacket to keep out the brisk wind.

“Just my important things that I keep in a fire-proof box, but I lost all my pictures and everything else.”

“I’m sorry Booth.” He just nodded. “Um Booth, since you don’t have anywhere to stay, you could stay at my place if you want.”

He turned to face her and regarded her comment for a moment before nodding. “Thank you Bones, I’d like that.”

He reached into his pocket and threw her the keys. “Here you drive. I don’t think driving one handed was a good idea.”

“Really Booth? After you almost missed the turn I was beginning to wonder the same thing.”

“Are you getting smart with me Bones?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No…”

“I think you are.” He started after her and she to the car for protection. She got in and locked the doors, leaving him stranded outside. “Okay Bones, come on, it’s cold out here.”

She laughed before unlocking the door and letting him in. “Don’t try me next time Mr. Booth.”

…

“Ange, he’s just been in this funk lately. He’s not his usual upbeat self.”

“What do you mean Sweetie?” Brennan had shaken Booth off for a few hours, leaving him in her apartment as she left to go run some errands. In reality she went to her best friend’s house to ask for some advice.

“I mean it’s just that he kinda sits around. I offer to take him somewhere fun or go buy new clothes or something, but he doesn’t want to do anything. And before this whole debacle, he was very excited for Christmas, but now he hardly mentions it.”

“Oh, I see.” Angela stood up from the couch. “Okay, your apartment isn’t Christmas friendly, but we are going to make it so to give that man the best Christmas he ever had.”

“And we are going to do that how?”

“Well I am going to get Jack and we’re going to go buy Christmas decorations. You are going to take Agent Stud out somewhere for a good few hours. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Brennan looked at her for a few, before standing. “I’m glad to have a friend like you.”

…

They walked through the mall together, passing the rush of people purchasing last minute gifts. Being the day before Christmas, many people were running around frantically trying to find last minute gifts.

Brennan looked over to Booth; he was quiet all day and it worried Brennan. She had tried to cheer him up, but that wasn’t one of her strong suits and instead she had made a fool of herself.

They had visited half the stores in the mall already and Booth’s arms were laden in bags from various establishments. “Booth, where do you want to go next?” she asked him. He didn’t answer and instead kept walking.

“Booth, are you okay Booth?” she asked him as they left the store. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“Yeah Bones I’m fine.”

“Perhaps you need some nourishment. Let’s head to the food court next.”

…

A few hours later Booth pulled the SUV into the parking lot of Brennan’s apartment complex.

“Bones, why is the light to your apartment on?” he asked concernedly.

“That? Oh I turned it on before we left because I couldn’t find my… keys.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes Booth, of course.” Apparently Booth was satisfied as he stood up and went to the trunk to get the bags from their shopping trip. Booth had repurchased the gifts he had gotten for Parker, and Brennan had purchased him some too.

Brennan took it as a chance to send Angela a quick text message to make sure that the apartment was ready from them.

“Bones, let’s go. It’s cold and dark out here.” She grabbed her jacket and followed him into the elevator of her building. Her phone vibrated as they got on and she looked at the text quickly before returning the phone to her pocket. Angela needed a few more minutes, how was she going to stall him. She looked around the elevator and saw that the only thing she could do was to push the emergency stop button. But that was too drastic.

The doors to the elevator opened and their noses were assaulted with the scent of Italian cooking.

“Wow that smells so good,” commented Booth as he walked down the hall. “Bones is that coming from your apartment?” He turned back to look at her. “Bones, what’s going on?”

“I had a lot of fun today Booth,” she blurted out quickly. “I think we should do it again sometime,” she added as she moved closer to him. They were now in front of her door and she was still waiting for the go ahead text from Angela.

“What?” laughed Booth. “What, was this a date Bones?”

“If that’s what you like to call it,” she nearly whispered as she moved closer. Her lips were inches from his and he started to tilt his head when her pocket vibrated. Immediately she stepped away and reached into her pocket to grab her keys. She opened the door to find the place lit up with Christmas lights with a huge tree in the corner. Her apartment had never been so decorated or filled with people. Zach, Hodgins, Angela, Cam and Sweets all stood around in various Christmas attire and clapped when they walked in. Hodgins turned on the stereo and the soft sounds of Christmas music began playing in the background.

“Happy Christmas Eve!” they shouted. Brennan smiled as she looked to Booth. She hoped to find a smile, but instead his jaw was rigid. He put the bags down and rushed past the group towards the bedroom.

“What happened?” asked Angela.

“I don’t know. He was fine all day, at least as fine as he’s been lately.”

“Go talk to him Sweetie. We’ll get dinner ready.” Angela urged Brennan towards the direction Booth ran. Their talking resumed as she made it past the living room and to the guest bedroom. The door was shut and she knocked on it gently.

“Booth, is everything okay?” she asking.

“Go away,” he said. Considering the circumstances she would have laughed at the child like behavior; instead she opened the door.

The room was dark and with the light from the hallway she could barely make out Booth’s figure sitting on the floor with his back against the bed.

She sat down beside him. “Well I thought that you were unhappy about missing Christmas and I know that this isn’t the most Christmas friendly place so I asked Angela to help me out. I thought that I was doing you a favor.”

He lifted his hand and used it to turn her face so that he could stare at her eyes. “Hey listen, I’m sorry. It’s a great idea and I absolute love it. I was bummed out about not having Christmas at home.” He sighed and tilted his head against the bed. “It’s just that Rebecca called me while you were in the bathroom at the mall and she told me that I can’t see Parker anymore, that my rights are finished. I…I spoke to Parker and he was crying as I tried to tell him it would be okay. But he wanted to come over my house for Christmas, just like we always do, but she won’t even let me see him again, one last time.” He choked on his last words and leaned his head against Brennan’s shoulder. She frowned and reached for his hand, squeezing his fingers in assurance.

“I’ll be right back Booth.” She stood and walked out of the room and then returned a few minutes later. “I asked the others to leave for the night. Hodgins is having a big Christmas get together at three in the afternoon tomorrow and we’re invited.”

He opened his mouth to protest but she placed a finger on his lips to silence him. “Listen to me Booth, you’re going to go to bed and tomorrow we’re going to open presents. Understand?”

He was to beat to argue and instead stood. He gave her a hug, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in close. “Thank you for everything Bones.” With that she smiled and left, heading to the living room.

She sat there for an hour until she heard the sound of his snores permeating the hallway. Once satisfied that he was sound asleep, she grabbed her jacket and keys and carefully snuck outside. She drove to the house she had only been to once when Booth needed to pick up Parker early for the weekend. It was nearly nine o’clock and she hoped that not everyone had headed to bed early. She pulled up to the curb and was glad to see that there was a light on.

She walked up the driveway carefully, trying to avoid the ice forming. She knocked on the door and Rebecca answered quickly.

“Oh, hello Dr. Brennan,” greeted Rebecca rather confusedly.

“Hi Rebecca. Can we talk for a few?” She nodded and stepped to the side to allow Brennan through. The home was quiet and she assumed that Parker was already in bed hoping to accelerate Santa’s arrival.

“Look Rebecca, I hope that I’m not overstepping any boundaries here. It’s just that Booth is really taking this not being able to see Parker thing to heart. He’s been down the past few days and upon hearing that he can’t spend Christmas with his son, he got worse. When the fire started and Booth figured out what was happening he immediately put Parker’s safety above anything else. His first goal after we left the house was to keep Parker safe. His safety and the case meant next to nothing to him until Parker was safe at his grandmother’s house.”

“I understand that Dr. Brennan, but my concern is for Parker’s health. He has been and can be used for leverage considering Seeley’s occupation and I don’t want him being scarred for life because of his father’s work.”

“Yes but still for Parker’s benefit, not seeing his father still hurts him more. There are worse men out there that can legally see their children, yet Booth is an honest, caring man that wants nothing more than the happiness and safety of anyone that means anything to him. And you keeping a man from his son like that, because of something that could happen is wrong.”

Rebecca opened her mouth to speak, but shut it when she realized that there was nothing she could say regarding the statement. “I’m sorry if I overstepped a boundary or two, but I think that something needed to be said.” With that Brennan left the home, hoping that she didn’t permanently ruin Booth’s chances of ever seeing his son again.

…

The morning came quickly for Brennan and she awoke to the soothing aroma of coffee and bacon assaulting her olfactory senses. She looked at the clock to see that it was already 10 in the morning. She rolled out of bed and threw on her robe before heading to the kitchen to see what Booth was doing.

He stood in front of the stove turning over the bacon with a fork. In her iHome was Booth’s iPod and she could hear the sound of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra blaring. Booth’s head moved in time with the beat of the drum.

She watched as he body moved, taking in the movement of his muscles through the thin T-shirt and candy cane laden pajama pants. She smiled until Booth turned around and caught her staring.

“Hmm Bones, like something you see?” he asked cheerfully and gave a wag of his bottom. “Merry Christmas.” He stepped away from the stove and walked up to her. “Listen I’m sorry about last night. I guess everything that has happened over the past week kinda just hit me and I couldn’t stop it.”

She waved her hand. “No Booth, there is no need to apologize. It would have been wrong of me to stop that.”

Booth smiled. “Thanks again Bones.” He gestured to the stove. “I figured that we could have a nice Christmas breakfast before we left for Hodgin’s place.”

Brennan smiled. “Thanks Booth. I’m just going to go shower and get ready.”

“Well if you’re not going cook, you get to clean up.”

“Fine by me,” she added before she headed for the bathroom.

…

After the refreshing shower she dressed and headed to the kitchen. Booth was just finishing putting their food on the table. He pulled her chair from the table and she sat.

“Thank you Booth.”

They ate in silence, each avoiding the other’s stare for the time being. Brennan could tell that Booth was still embarrassed after the events of the previous night. He was also mourning the loss of visitation rights for Parker. She felt for him, wishing that she could help him deal with his pain, but she couldn’t think of any way that would even begin to ease the pain.

Booth cleared his plate and wiped his mouth before leaning back and linking his fingers behind his head. His gaze was on Brennan as she finished eating, the way she would close her lips around the food and then slowly slip out the fork. She dropped her fork as she finished her food. She noticed that Booth was staring and her cheeks turned red as she looked away. Booth smiled at her shyness and stood.

“I’m going to shower now.” She nodded and watched as he moved down the hallway.

She was working on drying the dishes when there was a knock at the door. She dried her hands on the dishtowel and hurried to answer it. She was surprised to find Rebecca and Parker standing at the other side.

“Hi,” she said tentatively, hoping that the woman wasn’t angry about her visit the previous night.

“Hi Tempe, is Seeley here?”

“Daddy!” shouted Parker and he ran past his mother and Brennan and jumped into his father’s arms. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too.” He put Parker on the ground. “Can I go talk to Mommy for a few?”

Parker nodded and Booth walked out the door, not before giving Brennan a suspicious glance.

Parker tugged on Brennan’s hand. “Tempe, can I have something to eat?”

She was surprised that the boy referred to her as Tempe when he used to call her Doctor Brennan. “Of course Parker.” He took her hand in his and held on tight as they looked for something to eat.

“Do you have Froot Loops?”

“No,” she replied quickly, not even knowing what the boy was talking about.

“Apple Jacks?”

“No.”

“Fruity Pebbles?”

“No.”

“Then what do you have?” he asked exasperatedly.

“Cheerios.” He made a disgusted face and sighed.

“Fine, can I please have some of those?”

“Of course.” She poured him a bowl and set him up in the living room and turned on Christmas cartoons. He pulled her to the couch and they were just starting to watch something about a bald little boy and his dog when the door opened and Booth stepped back inside. From the distance Brennan couldn’t gauge his mood.

“Temperance, I need to speak to you in the kitchen, please.” Worried she immediately walked to the kitchen, nervously biting her lip in the process.

Booth was leaning against the counter when she walked in. “Look Bones, I don’t know what you said to Rebecca even though she denies that you had anything to do with it. But I know you left last night.” Booth had moved closer while talking to her so that were now standing toe to toe.

She opened her mouth to reply, but Booth put a finger on her lips, silencing her. He leaned in to kiss her cheek but she turned into the kiss so that their lips met. They continued for a few moments, enjoying the closeness of each other until…

“My Cheerios are soggy… EW!” shouted Parker when he saw what they were doing.

The adults broke apart fast and giggled at being caught by the young boy. “Merry Christmas Bones,” said Booth.

“Merry Christmas Booth.”

A[Only admins are allowed to see this link] I love this story!!!! Great job!

Woot! Brilliant job Kas!

great work kas!