Hello again! I know it's been, what? Two days since I finished my second chapter story? And I'm already back with a new one!

I'm totally obsessed with Bones and writing fanfictions for it. It seems I write them rapid-fire.

Anyways, thank you to all who were notified of this story being posted because you subsribed to me :)

Disclaimer: If I owned 'Bones', don't you think I would have made my story 'The Life In The Dead Man' into an episode already? And the most EPIC episode EVER I might add! XD

In other words, no, I don't own the TV show 'Bones', but I do own a dark blue lab coat with the Jeffersonian patch on it! It's my Halloween costume. I'm going as a squint :)

September 1, 9:52am

There she was, sitting at her desk, typing away. The clacking of keys was echoing through her office, out the open door and fading as it carried through the spacious Medico-Legal lab of the Jeffersonian. As he stood there, watching her stare intently at her computer screen, he was taking a mental picture that would keep him going until his return.

He had told his partner a week ago that he had been requested for, or rather, ordered to do, undercover work. She didn't like it, but accepted the fact that neither of them had a choice in the matter. And now, he was standing outside her office, trying to muster up the strength to walk in and say good-bye. It wasn't for good, obviously. He would return, no doubt about it. There was no way he was going to abandon her like he promised he wouldn't. But even so, it was still hard to say good-bye to the one you love. Even if you've never admitted it to that person.

Remembering that his flight left soon, he figured it was now or never. He had already said his 'good-bye-for-now's to the rest of the Squint Squad, whom he had become surprisingly fond of over the last four years, and now all he had left to do was say good-bye to -

"Bones." he said from the door way.

She looked up only long enough to see him leaning against the door frame with his hands in his pockets, then turned back to the computer, her typing never missing a beat.

"What is it, Booth? Do we have a case?" Brennan asked, completely oblivious to what day it was.

"You don't remember what day it is?"

"Should I?"

"I told you a week ago, Bones. I'm leaving for undercover duty today."

She didn't look up from the computer the whole time he was speaking, and didn't even hear a word he said through the words that were circling her mind and coming out through her fingers.

He realized this and sighed, feeling slightly hurt that this didn't mean as much to her as it did to him, "Ok, then. See you in a few weeks. Bye, Bones."

As he turned to leave, the words 'bye Bones' caught her attention. She looked up to see him starting to leave her office, then looked down at her desk calender. On that day's date, 'Booth leaves today!' was written in bold red letters.

Brennan's eyes widened in realization and she leapt from her chair, sprinting towards the man who was just outside her office door and walking farther away.

"Booth!"

He turned around in time to be nearly tackled to the ground by his partner hugging him, a smile appearing on his face.

"Have a safe trip." she whispered as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer than she had pulled him with her arms around his neck.

He rubbed her back, closing his eyes to better savor and commit to memory everything about this embrace.

They broke apart and stared into each others eyes.

"Come back safe." she said, giving a small smile.

"I will. Don't worry." he smiled back reassuringly, before turning and leaving, feeling her blue eyes on him until he was out the door.

Once he was out of sight, his smile faded. He didn't want to go. Of course he didn't want to leave Bones and Parker, with no contact whatsoever of any kind, for who knew how long. But aside from that, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong.

--------

September 7, 10:58pm

A week went by without issue. Booth and his temporary partner had successfully infiltrated a gang of drug smugglers, posing as fellow members, and was waiting for the shipment of cocaine to come in so the FBI could make the arrest. In less than a week he could go home, hug his son and they would go to the diner with Bones. He smiled at the thought of the two of them. The two most important people in the world to him.

"Hey, Bobby, you ok?" Jim Boscorrelli, A.K.A Special Agent Tyler Jenkins, addressed Booth by his cover name.

He shook his head to clear the thoughts away, "Yeah, fine. Just spacing"

They were in one of the many warehouses at a marina on the Jersey shore with a handful of the members of the drug smuggling gang Booth and Jenkins were posing as members of. The group was discussing what they were to do to get the shipment from the ship it was coming on, to the warehouse where it would be divided up to each of the members to sell. Booth and Jenkins were listening carefully so that they would know where to tell Cullin to be with backup.

When the meeting was done Booth was one of the first to leave, which caught the attention of Carl Waulsk, one of the higher-ups of the gang who was suspicious of Booth to begin with.

It was Booth's turn to update Cullin, so as he walked through the 11 'o clock darkness in streets of the city, he pulled out his cell and dialed the number from memory, not wanting to have any speed-dials on his phone in case one of the gang members got nosey.

"Hey, it's Chapman." he said into the phone when his boss answered.

"Do you have a location?" Cullen asked, recognising the voice and the cover name.

Booth recited a sequence of numbers, each one representing a street, a certain dock and a date and time.

"Good work." was all Cullen said before hanging up.

As Booth shut his phone and slipped it into his pocket, there was a sudden sound behind him in the alley that made him freeze.

The cocking of a gun.

He turned around slowly to see Waulsk no more than fifteen feet away with his gun aimed at him.

"Waulsk, what the hell are you doing?!" Booth asked angrily, as a gang member would.

"What the hell was all of that? All those numbers, what do they mean?" demanded the smuggler.

"That? I was placing a bet." he said, hoping he sounded convincing.

"Bullshit. Now tell me what the hell that was or I'll kill you right here."

"I was placing a-"

One shot rang out, stopping Booth in mid-sentence.

He collapsed to the ground, the back of his head hitting the pavement as he bled from his left temple.

--------

Waulsk entered the warehouse in a hurry, speeding over to the boss.

"Boss, we've got a problem. That Bobby Chapman..." he said, gaining the attention of Jenkins, "He was a fed." Waulsky handed his boss Booth's badge.

Jenkins was frozen for a moment as a wave of panic washed over him before he shook himself out of it, luckily before anyone noticed.

"Was?" the boss, Joe Cutter, asked as he looked at the badge in his hand.

"I killed him. Shot him in the head. Found that in his pocket."

Jenkins took a deep breath and closed his eyes, hoping no one saw him shaking. He had known Booth since the academy. They were friends. He couldn't believe it.

"There's no way to know how much information was leaked to the FBI. What do we do, boss?" Waulsk asked.

"We do it tomorrow. Same place, same time." he decided, then walked out briskly, followed by Waulsk.

The other half-dozen members left as well, and Jenkins headed to his apartment.

Once inside, he locked every lock on the door and, his hands still shaking, grabbed his phone and dialed Cullen.

Jenkins took a deep breath as his boss answered.

"Sir, it's Jenkins."

"Jenkins, what the hell are you doing using your real name? Do you want your cover blown?"

"Sir, I'm sorry, but we have a problem." Jenkins paused to take a breath to calm himself.

"Well? What is it?" Cullen replied impatiently.

"It's Booth...sir, he's..."

"No..." he said disbelievingly.

--------

September 8, 9:16am

Brennan was at her desk in her office, typing up the last chapter of her new book, when there came a knock on the open door. She looked up quickly, hopeful to see Booth back from his mission, as she did every time she heard a knock.

But when she saw Deputy Director Cullen standing in her doorway, there was no fighting the sinking feeling in her stomach as her smile faded.

"Director Cullen, what can I do for you?" Brennan stood.

"Dr. Brennan..." he began in a grim tone.

"No..." she shook her head, knowing that tone as the one Booth used on victims' families.

"Dr. Brennan, last night Agent Booth's cover was blown."

"So he's coming home, right?" her voice was shaking.

He just shook his head, mouth in a firm line and unshed tears glossing his eyes over.

Her hand flew up to cover her mouth to stifle a sob as she collapsed down into her chair.

Angela was walking up the platform when she happened to glace towards Brennan's office. She stopped just as she was off the steps when she noticed Cullen and watched as Brennan collapsed into her chair.

"Oh no." she said in an almost whisper as tears welled up in her eyes.

Hodgens noticed and came over to her quickly.

"What is it, Ange?" he placed a hand on her shoulder.

She pulled her eyes away from Brennan and looked at Hodgens, the tears slipping down her cheeks, "Booth didn't make it." she squeaked before burying her face in the crook of Hodgens' neck.

He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back soothingly, "Shh, it's okay." he said through tears of his own.

"What happened?" Brennan demanded, still not letting the tears fall.

"As I said, his cover was blown. One of the gang members...killed him...shot him in the head." Cullen said slowly and quietly.

Brennan lost her breath again with a silent, dry sob.

"Where's the body? I want to see him."

"There is no body yet."

Brennan looked up from her hands instantly, "What?"

"It happened in the dark of night. No one saw anything and the only agent we still have inside doesn't know where he was killed."

"So you have no evidence? No proof that Booth is...?" she looked away from him, unable to bring herself to finish the sentence.

"So far, we only have the word of the man who shot him. But he shot him in the head, Dr. Brennan, he probably-"

"No." she stood, cutting him off, "Booth is not dead until I see the body." she said firmly.

"Fine. Believe what you want, Dr. Brennan." he said calmly, not upset with her in the least.

"You'll call me with any information?"

"You're the first." he nodded.

"Thank you."

He turned and walked out, nodding to the squints as he left the building.

Before Brennan could take a deep breath, Angela was in her office, followed closely by Cam and Hodgens.

"Sweetie, please tell me he's not..." Angela begged through soft sobs.

"He's not dead." Brennan shook her head, staring at her desk in front of her.

"What?" Hodgens asked, confused.

"Cullen said that he...was shot in the head. But they don't have a body. I'm not going to give up on him that easily." Brennan stood and stared at all of them with a deep determination in her eyes, "Until I see his body, I refuse to believe it."

Cam chimed in, "But if he hasn't reported in-"

"No." Brennan cut her off, "I don't assume. And right now, that's all they're doing about this. I'm going to find him."

"I'm right behind you, Dr. Brennan." Hodgens gave a small, reassuring smile.

"Me too." Cam nodded.

"You know I am, sweetie." Angela hugged her best friend.

Brennan squeezed Angela tightly, nodding at Cam and Hodgens, "Thank you, guys."

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