HOPE - a flangsty fanfic by CheeseBK - [11/09/2007]

Chapter 21
... girls talk ...

Brennan shivered. It was cold in the cellar and the blanket did not warm her enough. Her cloak was gone. She had fallen asleep, but it had been a restless sleep full of awful dreams, leaving her breathless and wide-awake.

None of the two men had shown up again in the past few hours, a fact that made her both grateful, because she did not really enjoy the company but at the other hand also worrying. What if they got caught and nobody knew where she was?

‘Booth is going to find me......... he found me the last time,........ he is going to get me out of here.’ She repeated the thoughts over and over, like a mantra. The sound of footsteps and a muffled cry from the other side of the door interrupted her thoughts.

_ _ _ _ _

Hodgins held Angela in a tight embrace. “Angela, what is it?”

He had been watching Angela talking at the phone from the other side of the lab and as soon as he had seen her face he had ran over to her. She had dropped the cell phone and her eyes had been filled with tears. But still she said nothing.

“Angela..... what happened?” Jack asked again.

“Booth” she whispered.

“Is ........ what ......... Dr. Brennan?” he avoided to ask if they had found a body. He could not force himself to say it out aloud. Saying things aloud made them ....... more real.

He felt Angela stiffen in his arms. “It’s okay, Jack.......... thank you..... could you tell the others to meet me here? I’d like to fill them in.” He looked at her..... somehow she managed to hide that she had just been crying. Hodgins touched her cheek, but then nodded and left, searching for Zach and Cam.

Five minutes later she explained, what had happened at Spencer’s house.

“You mean....... you mean that bas*tards kidnapped that poor woman only to ‘deliver the message’?” Hodgins asked. She nodded. “They call it a game......... and they told Booth his part in it is over.... that Bren is going to die soon.....” Angela said, trying to stay calm.

She felt fear nag at her, but she did not want to let the feelings out again. She was sure she would not be able to steady herself again, so she just tried to bury her fear deep down in herself. Booth’s voice was still in her ears........ the sound of it had caused her chest to tighten.... it had been full of fear and thick with emotion. ‘He thought he had found her.... but these filthy bas*tards only used her coat to make him feel even more miserable after finding out it wasn’t her......... ‘ her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone.

Hodgins spotted it, still lying on the floor where she had dropped it, picked it up and handed it over to her.

A look at the display told her it was Booth again. “Yes, Booth?”

“Angela! I just found something out........ there have been two attacks on young girls the last few days........... very, very similar to those that had occurred when Bones was 11 years old..... I remembered I heard something about it on the radio...... I am going to send you the files and everything...... with Marks and Spencer we do have two suspects.... maybe the girls can report anything helpful..... or Hodgins can do his analysing-thing with what the cops have found at the scenes....”

He told her what he knew about the two girls, Sarah Nobbs and Lindsay Gruger.

“Okay, folks” Angela said to the squints after hanging up “there’s work to do”.

She explained the latest information and thought ‘No way these two as*sholes are going to get out of that!’

_ _ _ _ _

Booth looked at the phone. Angela had hung up while he still had been talking. Obviously she was eager to start working on the girls’ cases.

‘Okay let the squints do whatever they do.......... I am going to do my work too’ he thought and left the office to talk to Agent O’Brian.

_ _ _ _ _

Brennan’s eyes were fixed on the door. Spencer opened the door and she saw he was dragging a blindfolded girl with him. He pushed the child in the room, then threw in two bottles of water. He lustily glanced at the girl and the sight of this made Brennan furious.

She grabbed the girls hand and pulled her close to comfort her. “It’s alright” she murmured over and over and removed the blindfold, ignoring Spencer, who still stood in the doorframe, watching them.

“Don’t promise that nobody will harm her, Dr. Brennan............ you won’t be able keep the promise.” Laughing nastily he left the room.

Brennan looked at the girl and forced herself to put an encouraging smile on her face. “Hey,....... my name is Temperance Brennan..... and what’s your name?”

The girl sobbed. “Tammy........ Tamara Greene............ what happened...where are we?” she asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

“I do not know, Tammy....... I am sorry... Tammy... did ... did they .... I mean, are you hurt?”
She was relieved to see the girl shaking her head. She looked fragile and scared, her big brown eyes wide open, but she was whole and not hurt. ‘Not yet’ Brennan thought and a sick feeling rose again in her.

“Tammy..... what do you think... since we can not really do much in here, we could try to get to know each other better?” ‘Keep her talking...... that helps to fight the fear’ Brennan thought to herself.

Tammy nodded. “Okay, then......... I’ll ask you a question... and then you ask me one, does that sound fair?” Again the girl remained silent, showing her agreement by nodding.

“Okay,... so Tammy how old are you?” Brennan asked in a soft voice.

The girl murmured “10..... but next week’s my 11th birthday!”

“Okay, Tammy....... now it’s your turn.... you can ask me something!” Brennan encouraged the girl.

The girl looked at her curiously, then said. “The man..... he called you Dr. Brennan..... what kind of doctor are you?”

“Oh....” Brennan nearly started to recite the descrïption of anthropology, but then realised a 10-year-old girl would be bored by that. “Well............ I am a scientist..... I examine old skeletons to tell when the people lived and what caused their death.”

“Ew.... that’s weird........ but kind of cool.” Tammy almost smiled.

Brennan tried to banish the thoughts of Spencer or Marks touching that sweet girl and asked the next question. “So....... you told me you’ll be 11 soon....... do you already know what presents you are going to get?”

Tammy’s eyes suddenly shone brightly and she started to list many things Brennan vaguely identified as computer games and DVDs.

The kept on talking.... Brennan tried to keep the girl busy by letting her tell stories about herself and her little brother.

‘I hope they find us before these two sick bas*tards are coming back’ Brennan thought. And although she had never believed in a god, she prayed for his help to safe the girl and herself.

______________


Chapter 22
... news ...

“Agent Booth?” O’Brian looked up at the man that had just entered his office. “What can I do for you?”

Booth told him about the possible connection between the case of Brennan and the raped girls. O’Brian nodded, then said: “You know what? I was just making the same connection...” He showed him the files on his desk “You have already talked to the cops?” Booth nodded.

O’Brian’s phone rang and he answered..... most of the time he listened, then took notes and after some time he said “Thank you very much for the information, Officer Malucci!”

He looked at Booth. “There is a 10-year-old girl missing. Her name is Tamara Greene. The little brother - 7 years old - witnessed everything from a tree house. The kidnapper did not see him and he was clever enough to stay quiet. He identified Spencer as the man who pulled his sister in the car and Marks was probably the driver.”

Both of them knew that this could be there new lead. They might not be able to find out, where they had brought Brennan, but maybe finding the girl and finding her was the same.

“Do we know anything about the car?” Booth asked. “Yes......... usually 7-year-olds would not be able to report anything about that, eh? But we are lucky, the boy is crazy about cars.... he said it was a blue BMW, model 5.30 with tinted windows. Unfortunately he could not see the registration plate, but I think there should not be too many of these cars.... “

_ _ _ _

Hodgins was examining the hair that had been found on one of the girl’s sweater. After some time he identified it as white horse hair..... but they already knew about Marks or Spencer smelling of horses, so it was no break-through at all. He sighed. Horse hair. Horse smell.

He really wanted to help to find Dr. Brennan, because he liked and respected her...... and because he could not stand seeing Angela that troubled.

‘There has to be something’ he told himself ‘Start from the beginning.’

Hodgins arranged the few pieces of evidence again on his table and examined them.

‘Would it be possible to find out the breed of the horse?’ he asked himself. ‘It’s worth a try’

_ _ _ _

“Tempe?” Tammy asked. Brennan and the girl had fallen asleep, cuddled up together for warmth and comfort. Brennan woke with a yawn. It took her a minute to figure out where she was and whom she was holding.

“Tammy, what is it?”

“There have been footsteps on the stair......” Tammy sobbed. “If someone comes in, pretend to be asleep, Tammy.” Brennan whispered in her ear. Tammy nodded and closed her eyes.

Brennan had decided to at least try to fight the men to protect the girl. She knew her chances were not good.... but she could not stand the thought of the girl being harmed by Marks or Spencer and would do her best to not let it happen.

Brennan waited, ready to jump up and attack, but nobody came in. ‘Maybe there are other rooms in that cellar...‘she mused.

She pulled Tammy closer and whispered. “Try to sleep, Tammy..... Whatever happens you will need your strength”.

_ _ _ _ _

Hodgins was proud of himself. He finally had found out the breed of the horse, contacting a stallion sperm bank. He shook his head ‘Who would have thought something like that exists?’ But he also was proud of putting a smile on Angela’s face with what he told her.

“A stallion sperm bank?” Angela giggled. “Are you serious?” He nodded. She giggled again then whispered in his ear “Do they already have your number?”

“Angela!” his eyes widened, then he said in a serious voice: “They come to me, baby, I do not have to give my number away.”

“What are you laughing about?” Zach looked froma Angela to Hodgins.

“Oh........nothing!” Angela said. “Jack knows what breed the horses are!”

“Oh........ and that’s good news?” Zach asked.

“Yes....” Hodgins said “Since Lipizzaner horses are not really common in the United States it might help us!”

“Where do they come from?” Zach asked “Europe........ I think Slovenia, but I am not sure..... I know that Vienna is famous for having a beautiful Lipizzaner horse show. I have been there but I have not seen the show.....” Hodgins started to explain.

“That’s lovely, Jack” Angela interrupted him “But there’s no time for that now....... we have to search for that .... lipidano horses.”
“Lipizzaner” Zach corrected immediately.

“Whatever” Angela rolled her eyes and headed towards her office. The time for laughter and teasing each other was over.... they had work to do.
‘Thank god for the blessings of the internet’ Angela thought, after finding out what she needed. She grabbed her cell phone to call Booth.

Chapter 25
... bruised ...

Booth swallowed hard, hearing the words of Officer Simmons. Then he managed to utter “Is she okay......... I mean not........?”

“Some bruises but nothing serious. I know what you mean, but she’s okay. She said Dr. Brennan saved her.... and made it possible for her to escape.” Simmons answered.

Booth closed his eyes and relieve swept over him. ‘She’s alive’ he thought.

“Agent Booth, I think you should talk to Miss Greene. We know, where they are with Dr. Brennan, but I think we have to react quickly or they will be on their way. Miss Greene could give you information about the house. We already have some people there to observe it, but....”

“We’ll go in there with our team. I’ll inform Agent O’Brian. Where are you?” Booth interrupted. ‘No time to loose’ he thought.

Officer Simmons told him where they were and Booth and the other FBI agents left McGillen’s farm, leaving back only two agents to wait for Mary’s father and explain everything. While they were driving Booth called Angela to keep the Squints informed.

_ _ _ _

Fifteen minutes later Officer Simmons led Booth and O’Brian to Tamara Greene. She was sitting in an ambulance car, wrapped up in a blanket and holding a cup of tea. She looked small and fragile, but her eyes showed no fear.

“Hi, Tamara, I am Agent Booth, this is Agent O’Brian. I am Dr. Brennan’s partner”

Tammy cocked her head thoughtfully, then asked „Partner? But I thought she was working with old bones?” Booth nodded “That’s right, but sometimes we need her to help us on current cases too..... Tamara, could you please tell me what happened?”

She took in a deep breath, then started to explain. He told him how two men kidnapped her and how she had feared they would spot her little brother in the tree house. Then they had blindfolded her, so she could not see, where they were driving. After what seemed hours they finally reached their destination and one of the men had brought her to the cellar where she had met Dr. Brennan.
“She was..... very kind. We have been talking most of the time.... I don’t know how long I was there...... We slept a little. Tempe said I’ll need my strength..... Then the man came. He said it was his house... he said something about not being like the other two man, that he wants grown-up women........ “ At this part Booth closed his eyes. “...... and then she hit him .... he forgot to close the door and she told me to run and inform Agent Booth of the FBI..... I made it out of the house....... nobody there, so it was easy....” Suddenly her eyes were filled with tears. “The man....... he beat her..... I hope she is not hurt..... She was so kind....” she stammered.

“It’s okay, Tamara. We’ll get her out. Just tell us more about the house, okay?” O’Brian gently asked her, knowing that Booth was still struggling to keep the professional appearance.

Tamara told them about the cellar and the staircase that led into the kitchen, where she had found a backdoor to escape. “It is a farm... you know. No houses nearby.... I thought if I stay on the road, they are going to see me! So I ran through the fields and then I found this house and Mrs. Pickley here..... and she called the police for me.... although I told her to call the FBI!” Tammy frowned.

Booth cleared his throat, then said “Thank you Tamara.......... you really are a brave girl. Officer Simmons and his collegues will take you to your parents now, is that okay?”
She nodded, smiling at the thought of seeing her parents again, but then her face went serious again. “Will I meet Tempe again?”

Booth gave her a wry smile “I hope so, I really hope so...”

Officer Simmons interrupted “Come, Tammy.... let’s go..... don’t you want a ride in a police car?” he offered her his arm, playing the perfect gentleman for a lady and she smiled. “Yeah, my little brother is going to be soooo jealous!”

When they had left, O’Brian looked at Booth. “It’s been about an hour now, since Tamara has left the farm.... ten minutes, running through the fields..... it would have been less time, if Mrs. Pickley had believed the girl and called us immediately, but I guess she did not want to call the FBI because of a girl’s story....”

Booth only nodded. In his head the words “he beat her..... I hope she is not hurt” where still twirling.

“Agent O’Brian?” a young female agent was approaching them “The team is now ready!”

“Okay............ let’s go!” O’Brian and Booth turned to follow the other agents.
‘God, I hope she is there........ and alive’ Booth thought.

_ _ _ _

30 minutes earlier

Brennan was awake, but she’d rather be sleeping..... the pain from the bruises and the laceration on her face were always there, but bearable... but after Tammy’s company being alone seemed to be even more hopeless than before.

She sighed and tried to will herself back to sleep, but when she heard loud voices from above she concentrated to overhear the argument.

She could identify the voices of Archibald Marks and Robert Spencer.... the third voice had to be the man that had hit her. They were quarrelling, the voices were loud enough to make out every word.

“........... are you an idiot? I mean...... leaving the door open..... why did you even go there? I told you not to open the door!” this was Marks’ voice.

“...this is my house......!” the unknown man interrupted.

“........and the girl could escape because you are stupid!” Marks shouted. “Rob...... I told you.... don’t trust anybody. I wanted the girl.......... she belonged to me! I wanted her to make friends with Brennan........ It would have been the greatest satisfaction to have her ..... and hurt the woman with it..... instead that idiot left the door open!”

“...Archie, calm down, we have to leave....” Spencer wanted to interrupt.

“.... hey.... don’t call me an idiot... NOT IN MY HOUSE!” the other man’s voice was furious.

“... idiot!” Brennan heard Marks scream, then she heard rumble and noise from above. It sounded as if they were fighting but suddenly everything went silent.

“....GOD! Arch, what have you done? He...... He is dead!” Spencer shouted panicked. “You killed him!”

“... he lost my little toy, he deserved it!” Marks voice came nearer, Brennan heard his footsteps on the stair.

She decided her best chance was to pretend to be unconscious and maybe surprise them, but her spirits were low. ‘I am too weak..., but .....Tammy made it out......that’s good..... at least she is going to survive....’ she thought.

Then somebody opened the door.

Chapter 28
... back again ...

Hodgins was examining something his colleagues called “dirt”.... he hated the word dirt... dirt could be anything... dust, ash, soil...... He was just identifying it as soil, containing suprisingly high amouts of magnesium, as a loud squeal of Angela startled him.

He spun around, then spotted his girlfriend. Her face said everything, but still she screamed: “Bren – they found her. Booth found her! She’s okay... I mean she’s hurt, but not that bad.. they are taking her to hospital, but it’s just so... wohoo!” She jumped up and down like a rubber ball and Hodgins grinned. He was relieved to hear that Dr. Brennan was alive, but what made him even more happy was to see Angela dancing and jumping around. He loved to hear her laughing.

She flung her arms around his neck and said: “Isn’t that good news?” “Yes, that’s good news” Hodgins agreed and quickly kissed her.

After some time she pulled back and asked, “What where you doing?” Looking at the petri dish in front of him she asked “Is that dirt?”

Hodgins frowned “Don’t spoil the moment, Angela!”

_ _ _ _

Brennan woke hours later. She felt a bit dizzy and when she opened her eyes it took a moment until she realised she was in hospital. She looked down to find out why her hand felt that warm and saw Booth’s hand covering hers. He was sitting in a chair beside her bed, sleeping. She smiled and sighed. She had never thought she could feel so much tenderness for a man. But since it was Booth, everything was possible. At the sound of her sigh, Booth opened his eyes.

“Hello, sleepy head.” He smiled.
“Sleepy head? Last time you called me Sleeping Beauty.... but I guess my face looks horrible.... so....” He stopped her by placing a kiss on her lips. “You are beautiful.” he said.
“.... and colourful.” He added in a low murmur, smirking a bit.

She smiled back at him. It was not important how she looked like..... he was there, holding her hand and she was satisfied with that. “How come you always end up in hospital?” he asked her. She shrugged. “I don’t know..... you would call it bad luck, I guess?”

That moment somebody entered the room, waiting for something like a millisecond between knocking an opening the door.

“Sweetie!” Angela’s voice was loud and echoed in her concussion-affected head, causing cascades of pain. Brennan suppressed a frown and looked at Angela, gripping Booth’s hand tighter. “You are not going anywhere” she murmured, knowing that Booth would have left them for their “girl’s talk”. But since her head was aching she was not willing to tell the whole story alone.

Especially the part about kissing in the office... no way such negligible things like getting kidnapped or having a concussion would let Angela forget about their conversation in Brennan’s office. Booth sighed, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.

“Hi Ange...” Brennan said, smiling at her best friend. “Hi, Angela” Booth greeted.
“Oh, Bren..... I am so glad..... We all feared... but you are back. I am so happy. How are you?” Angela took the chair on the other side of Brennan’s bed, smiling broadly as she spotted the entwined fingers of Booth and her best friend.

“... they said I have a concussion. I believe them, my head really hurts..... and my face. I don’t want to look at it.” Brennan answered. Angela took Brennan’s right hand in hers and said “It’s not that bad. I mean okay, it’s got more colours than it should, but at least no broken bones, hm? Sooooo..... I think I know nearly everything now..... how you have been kidnapped and how they played their game with Booth and us, but...”
Brennan interrupted her. “Played with you?” She looked at Booth. “What did they do?”

Booth cleared his throat and then told her about Linda Hennessy and Mary McGillen. Brennan could only guess how desperate he had felt, when he had found Linda Hennessy wearing her coat only to find out it wasn’t her. “I ... I didn’t know.... they told me about playing games and everything... but ... they are really sick. Marks.... he wanted to hurt Tammy ... he wanted me to watch it. I overheard that, when they were quarrelling... He killed the man... it was not Spencer.” She murmured.

Booth nodded. “We know. We found his fingerprints on the knife. We think he murdered the wife too....... maybe it was an accident, but we are not sure. Her neck was broken.”

Brennan closed her eyes. It had been a very narrow escape....... once more. “Spencer and Marks... they are gone? Not arrested?” she asked, although she already knew the answer. “Gone... we hope to find them soon, but ... you still need protection, Bones... it’s too dangerous.” Booth watched her seriously.

She gave him a wry smile and simply said. “I know.”

His eyes widened in surprise “No arguing?” Brennan shook her head. “I definitely need to be protected.” She said, suppressing a smile.

Angela laughed. “Yes, what a pity..... you are forced to stay near her, Booth.... but I guess you are willing to sacrifice your time?” She giggled and looked from Booth to Brennan.

Booth smiled mildly “I guess it will be bearable.” ”Bearable” Brennan muttered.

“I already have a pretty good idea about what you were doing in your office, Bren,.... but I’d really like to have the details... first-hand... you know?” Angela winked.

“Uhm...Bones... I guess...” Booth tried to free his hand, but Brennan squeezed it hard. “You are not going to leave us to our girl’s talk... I already told you, you are not going anywhere!” She stated.

“I’d never thought you favoured bossy women, Agent Booth.” Cullen was standing in the doorframe.
Booth opened his mouth to explain the situation, but Cullen stopped him
“There is nothing to explain. It was obvious that sooner or later your relationship would... change... As Dr. Brennan is not FBI, there is nothing I can do about it, although I would appreciate to see you can keep it as professional as possible.... otherwise we will have to find another partner for Dr. Brennan. I think I made myself clear?”

“Yes, sir” Booth said. Brennan nodded. “Miss Montenegro... I don’t think there is much you can do about that....?” Cullen said, clearly amused by Angela’s nods.

Angela smiled widely “Jack and I will try to be a good example for them.”

Booth and Brennan were shaking with laughter. “You... a good example for being professional? No way!” Booth exclaimed, remembering some certain situations....

Cullen cleared his throat. “I guess I should leave now... I just wanted to inform you, that Dr. Robert Spencer has been arrested... but we are still searching for Archibald Marks. It seems Spencer and Marks had an argument about the necessity of killing the Petersons and then separated.
Get well soon, Dr. Brennan........ and Agent Booth... I am confident you can write your reports at home..... I expect you to keep Dr. Brennan safe until Marks is arrested.... I assume this is in your interest ” He left.

“Wow...... he took that quite... calmly.” Angela said. “So you two are now a couple, I mean, officially?”

Brennan and Booth answered in unison “Yes.”

Angela grinned from ear to ear. “Bren... I KNEW IT... I told you for months... I knew you are meant for each other...”

Brennan rolled her eyes “How long will you reproach me for that?” she asked.

Angela giggled. “I guess as long as I remember..... since I have a good memory.... forever. But now I’ll leave you two alone.. And when you take her home today, Booth, let her get some rest, okay?.... she needs it... Bye, sweetie! Bye, Booth.“ Still giggling she left the room.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other. “The doctors said you could take me home today?” He shook his head. “They did not say anything about taking you home...”
“If Angela says you’ll take me home today...don’t question it. They will come and say I can leave and you’ll take me home.” Brennan smiled.

“Home?” he asked.
“Home. Your apartment has less windows and only few people will know I am there... a rational choice” she said teasingly and they laughed. “And I know my apartment better.” He added, then he moved closer and kissed her.

Chapter 31
... hungry? ...

Brennan woke once more in Booth’s bed.... but this time she did smell Booth because he was next to her. In fact he was holding her, one arm around her waist. She enjoyed the feeling of his strong arms holding her more than she would ever admit. She was a strong woman, but still sometimes it felt good to be the weak one.
She felt his warm breath touching her neck and she shuddered with pleasure. The feeling of warm breath was replaced by the feeling of soft kisses. She turned – careful not to put too much pressure on her bruises – to face him.

He kissed her on the cheek. “Good morning” he whispered in her ear. “Good morning” she answered in a low murmur. His look had just caught her breath.... his hair was in a mess and he still looked a bit tired, but his brown eyes were full of....love.
‘I never thought a man could look at me that way’ she mused, still surprised by the sensational feelings she had for Booth and knowing he had the same feelings for her.

“What are you thinking about?” Booth’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“I.... was thinking how much I enjoy waking up with you.” She said, then she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “Thank you for being there for me, Booth.”

“Anytime, Bones... and I like waking up with you too...” he winked at her. Then his stomach rumbled audibly and he smiled. “Hungry?” she asked teasingly. “What kind of hunger do you mean?” he shot back and let his free hand roam over her body. She laughed “I was talking about the same kind of hunger your stomach was talking about.... but if you are thinking of a bit morning exercise...” she had to leave the sentence unfinished, because his lips were occupying hers.

Breakfast had to wait....

_ _ _ _

An hour later they were sitting at the table, Booth poured coffee for them and they enjoyed their breakfast when his cell phone rang.

He answered it. “Booth.”
“Hi, Booth, this is Angela, how is Bren? She does not answer her phone...”
“She’s fine....... I guess we just overheard it...”
“Oh... you’ve been busy then?” he heard Angela ask. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Only breakfast, Angela” he gave back “Wait, I’ll pass you on to Bones.”
“Brennan.”
“Hi, sweetie! Mhm... does he ALWAYS call you Bones? I mean in some certain kind of situations ... “ Angela asked curiously.
“Ange, ...really.... that’s none of your business, you know? Why are you calling anyway?” Brennan asked.
“Sweetie, I just wanted to know if you are alright... “ Angela’s words could not hide that there was something else behind them.
“What is it, Angela.... Come on, tell me.” Brennan did not have Angela’s supernatural senses regarding the feelings of other people, but she knew Angela well enough to know something was wrong.

“Bren... I just wanted to tell you..... I’ve been watching TV .... and they reported that a girl has been kidnapped.... Bren, it’s Tammy.... It must have been Marks of course... Tammy was at home alone with her mother and Marks somehow managed to get in... he beat the mother unconscious and took Tammy with him...... I had to tell you before you hear it in the radio or something... I am sorry.” Brennan sat there the phone in her hand, motionless and unable to speak.

“Bones?” Booth touched her hand. “Bones?” She did not move, but her eyes filled with tears. Gently Booth removed her fingers from the phone and yelled into it “Angela.... what the hell did you tell her?”

“I am sorry, Booth, really........ but I had to.... she might have heard it on the radio or so....” Angela told him what she had told Brennan before.
Booth swallowed hard as he thought of the nice brown-haired girl again in Marks’ power. “Okay.... Angela. I’ll call you later” he said and hung up. Then he turned towards Brennan and took her cold hands in his. “Bones?” She did not react.

“Temperance!” As he called out her name she sobbed and the tears began to stream down her face. He moved closer and hugged her, stroking her hair, murmuring “It’s okay, Temperance.... “

“...what I dreamed last night...” she sobbed “... he really is going to do it... or maybe he already has done it... he took Tammy because he knew he could hurt me with that even more than by taking another girl...” Suddenly he felt her stiffen in his arms and when she spoke again her voice sounded steady “We have to find him and help Tammy.”

“But, Bones, you have to...” “No!” she yelled. “We will find that sick bas*tard!” And without further ado she went to her bag, which was still standing near the door, to get her clothes.

Booth went after her, trying to stop her, but she shook her head. “Booth, try to understand. I know him better than anyone else..... why not use my knowledge to catch that ..... that....” she clenched her fists.

He understood that nobody or nothing could change her mind and finally gave in. “Okay... BUT, Bones, we’ll get in touch with the agents working on Tammy’s kidnapping, okay? We are not going out there on a wild hunt!”

She nodded and they quickly got dressed. On their way to the FBI Booth called Agent O’Brian to find out who was working on the case.

Chapter 33
... another cellar ...

He had removed her gag, but not the rope around her wrists. The cut on the back of her hand had stopped bleeding already.
They had been driving for what seemed hours, but she had spotted the watch in the car and found out it had been only about thirty minutes from the place they switched cars to the house, where they finally stopped.

Marks had opened the garage and parked the car then he had closed the garage door before opening the door for her to get out the car. He had brought her to the cellar where she was now.
In a cellar again..., but this one was a friendlier than the first one. A big table was standing in the middle of the room and the whole furniture – including a jukebox – made clear the cellar normally was used as a kind of party room. Now the room was dimly lit be the light that came through the single window near the ceiling.

Somewhere outside a dog was barking. Tammy sighed and sat down on one of the chairs. She remembered Tempe’s words, when she had been kidnapped the first time
“Try to sleep, Tammy..... Whatever happens you will need your strength”. She closed her eyes and tried to rest a bit.

_ _ _ _

Booth and Bones were driving to the lab with the few evidences they had. They would have to check, if the blood on the knife was Tammy’s, but Bones already felt that it was hers. ‘Gut feeling’ She thought ‘I never believed in that...’

Booth’s cell phone rang and he answered “Booth” Brennan could not hear what the conversation was about, but when Booth looked at her, she saw a little spark of hope in his eyes.

“I told them to check for stolen cars. They found two that have been stolen not too far from where we found the van. Both stolen yesterday.” Booth informed her, watching her.
“Booth, keep your eyes on the road...we wont help her if we die in a car accident.” Brennan told him.

Booth gave her a weak smile and forced his attention back to the traffic. He knew he was sometimes watching her too long and that he should be more concentrated on driving... but she was just so distracting, sitting there beside him....
Her face was now wearing an expression he could not interpret.

“What are you thinking about, Bones?” he asked after some time of silence.

“I ... I was just remembering what you told me about McGillen. Spencer and Marks, they stole the car when nobody was at home, they were on vacation..... I have an idea, Booth. What if Marks is hiding Tammy somewhere... in a house he broke in? The owners on vacation? That could be possible, he would consider it being safe.... what do you think?” Brennan repeated her thoughts aloud.

“Yeah.... That could be possible.... but what are we going to do with that information? They are no records for people going on vacation... “ Booth objected.

Bones only shrugged. “I just thought it would be possible... Of course it won’t lead us anywhere.”
Booth shot her a quick side glance “But... Bones... it was a good idea.... We could tell the police to keep us informed if there are reports on break-ins.. ... maybe we are lucky!”

Brennan nodded and answered “Yes, maybe.” Despite her words, her voice sounded hopeless.

_ _ _ _

Tammy could not sleep – she was not surprised by that. The dog somewhere outside was still barking frantically and her fettered wrists were hurting more and more. While she listened to the barking dog she suddenly realised that if she was able to hear the dog, maybe somebody would hear her if she screamed. She moved closer to the window.

Of course there was still the risk that Marks would come back and hurt her. But on the other side the house had remained silent since he had left her and maybe he had gone away.

Then she heard the voice of a woman, even louder than the barking dog: “Rocky, stop it! Stupid dog, what’s the problem with you?”
Tammy decided that this was her best chance and started to shout: “HELP! I am here... Please help!” But the very same moment the dog had started to bark again.
She heard the woman’s voice again: “Come in, you stupid dog!”

Tears filled her eyes... she shouted once more, but there was no sound from outside anymore. Instead she heard something behind her. The sound of a key turning in a lock.
‘He heard me......he is coming back’ she thought and the tears began to stream down her face.

___________________

Chapter 34
... tears ...

When Brennan and Booth reached the Jeffersonian Angela, Hodgins and Zach were already waiting for them. Although it was a Saturday, they had come to the lab as fast as possible to help them solve the case.

“Hi.... sweetie.... how are you?” Angela whispered in Brennan’s ear while hugging her gently. “It’s okay, Ange....... I just want to do my best to find Tammy..... thank you for helping, guys!” she said to Hodgins and Zach after pulling back from Angela.

“No problem, Dr. Brennan.” Hodgins said and Zach only nodded.

“Okay.... Jack... there’s some kind of dirt the FBI found at the scene... they think it might come from one of the tires of the car Marks used.... the soil there was lighter and dry.” Brennan handed the bag with the dirt over to Hodings. She was glad he had not started to complain about her using the term dirt... as he usually would have done.

“Zach... maybe you could help us find out if the blood on the blade of this knife matches Tammy Greene’s?” Brennan asked him and he answered. “Yes, Dr. Brennan” as if he still was her student.

Angela studied Brennan’s face... she knew Brennan struggled to hide her emotions. The truth was that she hid them very well.... well enough to fool Zach or Hodgins, but not well enough to fool her best friend or Booth. They knew how hard it was for her to accept that Marks had taken Tammy because of her.

Brennan abruptly turned away, fully aware of Booth and Angela watching her. She remembered how she had felt herself, as she had been eleven years old, the man about to rape her, telling her how much he would enjoy it. She could not suppress the trembling of her hands and that her eyes filled with tears again. She wondered where the strong woman she used to be had vanished to. She felt how two strong hands were placed on her shoulders and Booth directed her to her office, Angela following them.

Booth led her to the chair and she sat down, tears already streaming down her face.
”Sweetie.... we’ll get him. We will catch him and he won’t harm you or anybody else anymore..... “ Angela kneeled down beside her and took Brennan’s cold hand in hers. “Bren, look at me. He tried to rape you, he tried to kill you, but he did not succeed.
In the end he is going to get what he deserves.... and there is no way out for him anymore... he killed Peterson and his wife and we can prove it! No way he is ever going to get out of prison!”

“Angela’s right, Bones.... Look, Bones... he would have kidnapped a girl anyway... but he is obsessed with the idea to hurt you. That’s why he took Tammy... it gives us the chance to track him down.... it would have been smarter to try to get away as fast as possible, leave the state.... he makes mistakes, Bones.... that’s our chance!” Booth added, standing behind her, his hands still on her shoulders.

Brennan nodded. Her head knew all that, her mind had figured it out, but still she could not stop the sobs and the tears. It was like crying it all out..... all the pain. The pain of an eleven-year-old girl nearly being raped, the pain of a teenager losing his parents, the pain of an adult woman knowing that a girl she knew was going to be tortured and maybe raped.

After some time Booth kneeled down in front of her and pulled her into a tight embrace, stroking her hair and murmuring reassuring words into her ear. She did not know how long she was sitting there, weeping, but when finally she calmed down a bit Booth’s shirt was soaked from her tears and Angela was gone.

Booth felt how she relaxed a bit in his arms and he loosened the embrace. She leaned back in her chair, wiping her eyes. Booth watched her, saying nothing.
She sighed and gave him a wry smile: “Thank you....... but now your shirt...” “Temperance.... no problem.” Booth interrupted her and gently took her hand in his.
“Are you feeling better now?” He asked.

She nodded “Yes.... I don’t know why, but...”
“You needed it.... you had to let it all out.... it helps.” Booth simply said.

“Yes, it helps. Thank you, Booth.... I feel........ better now....
and ready to work!” her voice was getting stronger with every word.

He placed a kiss on her forehead and said “That’s my Bones.” Slowly he got to his feet: “Man, kneeling is not exactly comfortable....” He feigned a hurt face and she had to smile. She loved that man....he could make her laugh,... but the most important thing was, that she knew he was there for her... always. That gave her confidence and strength.

And confidence and strength filled her voice when she said “Let’s kick his a*ss!”

_ _ _ _

Angela saw Booth and Brennan coming out of her office. Her eyes were red and swollen, but her best friend seemed to have gathered her strength again. “Better now?” Angela asked and Brennan nodded.

“Okay... so Jack is nearly done with his analysis.... Zach already confirmed that the blood on the knife is Tamara Greene’s.... he went to get us coffee...” she added, when she saw Brennan looking around. “.... and I have this for you: the driver of the stolen van has been found. Marks forced him to stop his van this morning about one mile away from where he had hidden the car and where we found the van. He beat him unconscious.... but a woman walking her dog found him... he just woke up at hospital ..... And now there is the most interesting point: The man said Marks took his cell phone........”

“If it’s not turned off we might be able to trace him!” Booth said. Angela nodded. “O’Brian is already checking this.”

“So....... we have to wait now?” Brennan asked.

“Dr. Brennan?” Zach arrived with the coffee and looked at Brennan’s swollen and red eyes. “What happened? Have you been crying?”

“Zach! Could you please act as if you had a sense of tact?” Angela yelled at him and he almost dropped the tray.

“It’s okay, Angela. Yes, Zach, I have been crying..... But now I am fine.” Brennan smiled at Booth and he retorted the smile.

“Oh....... okay.” Zach answered, not knowing what else to say.
He handed them their coffee and nearly dropped the tray again, when Hodgins shouted: “Yeah.... got it! Call me master of dirt!”

‘I thought he hated the word dirt’ Angela thought as they waited for Hodgins to explain what he had found out.

Chapter 37
... so close ...

“Sammy... Sammy... it’s alright.... yes, she’s a bad cat.... she’ll be gone soon, my precious little Sammy.... they are coming back soon, okay?” the old woman was babbling to her cat, which was hiding under a chair. A beautiful and big Maine Coon cat was sitting on said chair, apparently not willing to let poor – and definitely – old Sammy come forth.

Brennan rolled her eyes. There was not time for cats right now.... they had to find Tammy.

The old woman offered them something to drink, but both of them did not want to loose time and started to question the woman, when they suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of tires. In an instant Booth and Brennan were at the window.

“Booth... the Keller house.... that’s him ... with Tammy!” Brennan exclaimed.

They stormed out the house and ran to Booth’s car to follow the limousine with Marks and Tammy..... leaving a very confused Mrs. Haverson behind.

“These young people....” she muttered to herself when they ran out.

Booth immediately passed on the information about the car by phone. By the time they reached Booth’s SUV Marks’ car was long out of sight.

“He can’t be far away” Brennan murmured and Booth sped along the road, searching for the dark limousine, but there were too many intersections.

After some time they had to give up “Damn it, damn it, damn it..... we lost him!” he cursed infuriated. Brennan just clenched her fists. ‘So close, so close....’ she thought.
They decided to drive back to the lab and neither of them spoke a word while they were driving.

_ _ _ _

Tammy had seen Tempe and the Agent who had told her he was Tempe’s partner.... Booth had been his name, right.

She had seen them and she had wanted to scream Tempe’s name, but she still was gagged. Marks had been cursing all the time... but he had calmed down a bit when he saw that Booth’s dark SUV was not following them.

“Hah......i think we got rid of them..” he had said..... and these few words had dashed Tammy’s hope.

But still Marks was breaking every speed limit, trying to get away as fast as possible.

Suddenly a dog crossed their way and Marks lost control over the car....

Tammy heard the noise of the tires, heard him curse and heard herself let out muffled screams.... and then everything went black... and she felt nothing anymore.

_ _ _ _

20 minutes later Booth’s cell phone rang. “Booth”
“Agent Booth? Officer Craig here.... we found the car.. he drove it against a tree.... it was empty... we think they fled by foot, but we found great amounts of blood... somebody is bleeding hard... I guess they won’t make it far... we hope to be able to follow the blood stains to find them” The police men told Booth where to find the car and quickly
made a u-turn causing other people to honk and gesture.

Then he informed Brennan, who had been watching him curiously.

__________________

Chapter 38
... imprints ...

When Brennan and Booth reached the scene and investigated the car, Brennan was overwhelmed with relief. Most of the blood was on the driver’s seat, so it was Marks who was wounded.

The police men informed them, that they had not been able to track Marks and Tammy, because somewhere the blood stains had stopped and the ground changed, so there were no imprints any more, but that soon search dogs would arrive.

‘He realised that he was leaving a trace and stopped it’ Brennan mused, then asked
“Could I go and see where the blood stains stopped?”

“Sure” the officer answered “It’s not far... just that way into the forest.... I’ll show you.” Booth, Brennan and Officer Craig walked along the small path, careful not to cross the trace . Brennan’s eyes were fixed on the ground.

“He carried her.” She stated after some time. “What? Why do you know?” the officer looked at her curiously.

“There are only imprints of one person. Tammy’s feet are not nearly that size. Marks is tall and strong, but slim. The imprints are very deep... Apparently he did not leave her in the car,....... so I assume that he was carrying her.” Brennan explained. Booth only nodded... he had come to the same conclusion too.

“He can not be very fast. He is carrying Tammy AND he is limping... you see how irregular these imprints are? He is limping, he can not charge the left leg properly. That will slow him down.” Brennan stated.

“Is there anything where they could hide, anything he would want to go to?” Booth asked.

Officer Craig shrugged. “Not really..... there is an old hut, but it’s nearly rotten.. “ Suddenly his eyes went wide ”But if you go south... you’ll reach a camping site....”

“Where he could steal another car.” Booth added. “Where is this camping site.... We have to go there immediately...”

Officer Craig and two other police men left together with Booth and Brennan, to drive to the camping site.

_ _ _ _

Tammy’s senses slowly recovered. The first thing she sensed was that somebody was carrying her. By the muttered curses she could tell it was Marks... and suddenly everything came back to her. The kidnapping... the car... the accident. Marks was carrying her, so she apparently had fallen unconscious when the car crashed into the tree. She had a headache... and knew she must have hit her head somewhere. He had removed her gag, maybe to make sure she could breathe.

Tammy did not dare to open her eyes... what would he do if he knew she was awake again?

“You are awake!” Marks said and put her on the ground “You held your breath.”

“Where are we?” Tammy asked. “Since when are you allowed to ask questions?” Marks snapped at her. At this moment he drew out a gun. “You are going to keep your mouth shut. We have to go this way.” He pointed towards a small path through the forest.

She eyed him secretly. He was limping and he had bandaged his head, blood was already soaking the improvised bandage made of..... of..... she looked at him again, then looked down at herself. He had ripped parts of her shirt off to bandage his head.... Fortunately she loved to wear oversize t-shirts, so she was still clothed, not half naked.

“Faster...... “ Marks growled at her, grabbing her arm. Tammy had no time to think of other things anymore, she had to keep her concentration on the path before her, careful not to trip over a root.

After some time the path widened a bit, obviously this part of it was used more often. Tammy saw that somewhere ahead the forest thinned out.... and she heard voices.
Marks heard them too and made her stop. “I do not trust you.... you might think of screaming...” his grin was foul when he ripped off another part of her shirt and gagged her with it. Then he loosened the rope around her wrists, but only to tie it around a tree and then fettered her again. Her face was no resting against the rough tree bark and could hardly move.

“I am going to get us a car.... then we are going to find us a nice, cosy place, my little toy. Pray that I’ll come back safely........ nobody is going to find you here.” With that he left her.

_ _ _ _

Booth and Brennan and the others reached the camping site.... some kids were playing and everything looked peaceful and normal.

“The children have to go in. It’s late anyway” Officer Craig said and one of his men went over to the children to tell them to go inside.

“I guess we’ll best split to pairs. Starting from where the forest is directly abutting the site and then move towards the entrance.” Booth suggested, he pointed towards the young officer who had told the children to go in “You stay here at the entrance and make sure that nobody leaves.” Everybody nodded.

It was already evening and slowly the twilight made the whole place look eerie, since the children had passed on the information that the police had told them to stay indoors. Brennan saw a young woman watch them from the inside of a trailer and gestured towards her to hide inside. The woman’s eyes widened at the sight of Booth’s gun and she quickly disappeared.

When Booth and Brennan examined the third trailer they saw somebody lurking around a car. The twilight made it impossible for Booth to identify him... but he was tall and slim, just like Marks. “It is him...” Brennan whispered in his ear “Same shape.....it could be him!”

Booth nodded. This was too much of a coincidence. It had to be Marks.... but where was Tammy? The tall figure looked around and Brennan and Booth ducked behind a bush.

The man opened the door of the car, but then went to the back of the car to disconnect the trailer. Booth and Brennan slowly crept nearer, careful to avoid every sound.

Chapter 40
... dead ...

“My God......He is dead” Mr. Adams exclaimed, holding his wife, who was now completely breaking down, as good as he could with his fettered wrists.

“No big loss!” A male voice from behind Brennan came out of the dark. She quickly turned around.

“Officer Craig.... I assume this was you, saving my life?” Booth looked at him. “Good shot!”

Craig nodded. “Thanks.....where is the girl?” he asked.

“We do not know. He must have hidden her somewhere... and now...... well we can not really question him anymore.” Booth said, his voice full of concern for Tammy.

“As if he would have told us.” Brennan muttered. Craig had removed the tape around her wrists and she stepped over to Booth to free his hands, then he pulled him in a short embrace. “I am glad you are alive.”

Craig politely turned away and freed Mr. Adams hands.

Brennan pulled back and looked at his face. “Booth.... we will find her. He would have never told us where to find her... he would have tried to play his sick games again... besides... she must be near. There was not enough time to hide her somewhere else. She has to be in one of the trailers or in the forest.“

Booth nodded. “You’ll better get your wife inside now, Mr. Adams. A doctor will have a look at both of you later, okay?” The man nodded, carefully leading his wife inside the trailer.

“Now.... we have to call an ambulance and we need more people to search the area for Tammy.” he added, turning towards Craig. “Yeah... and we have to inform Tammy’s parents too.”

Suddenly they heard something behind them and all of them whirled around. A small figure was standing near a trailer.

“Tempe?” the voice was low. “Tammy!” Brennan dashed forward and hugged the girl.
“Are you alright?” She quickly searched for wounds, but all she found was a little bruise on the head and the marks of the rope around her wrists.

“Did you free yourself?” She asked and Tammy nodded.

“Is he....... Is he...” The girl stammered. “He is dead, Tammy. He won’t hurt you anymore.” Brennan assured her.

“I thought he shot someone... I thought he would come back and ...”
Brennan saw tears glistening in Tammy’s eyes and she pulled her in a tight embrace.
“It’s okay. He wont come back. He won’t hurt us anymore.” She whispered in her ear and gently rubbed her back.

“We’ll call your parents, okay, Tammy? Go home and forget about him. And if you ever have nightmares of him, remember that he can’t come back.”

Tammy nodded, sobbing a bit. “Come, we will walk a bit, okay?” Brennan asked her, because she wanted to get her away of the body.

“No....... no..... I want to see it. I want to see that he is dead. My daddy always says you can only believe what you see with your own eyes. ” Tammy pulled back and straightened herself.

She put her hand in Brennan’s and they walked over to Marks, hand in hand.
And in that moment it was not the grown-up woman, but the eleven-year-old-girl in Brennan that was looking down on the body.

Still holding Tammy’s hand Brennan lifted her gaze and looked at Booth, who had been watching her. His eyes were full of love and her heart lightened, when looked at the man she loved.

And that moment she knew, she would never have nightmares of Marks again.