A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken so long to update. Things have been crazy and I've been spending time with other fandom-related things as well. I will try to get chapters up a bit closer together! Thanks for reading.

Pairing: B/B - but the whole gang will appear

Rating: Up to M

Timing: After Season 6 season finale

I own no one and nothing but a wild imagination and a trusty keyboard.

The Cradle Will Rock – Chapter 8

Cold… Thirsty. Head…hurts.

Brennan opened her eyes and blinked in the dim light. She shook her head as if to clear cobwebs from her brain. She had no idea where she was or what had happened... Oh… She remembered now. She had been in the car on her way to the obstetrician's office. She was getting ready to call Booth.

Booth! He must be looking for her and must be sick with worry by now. Except… she didn't know what time it was. How long had it been since she had been sitting in her car with the phone in her hand? She felt around her to see if she had her phone, but her fingertips met only cold concrete. She had stopped wearing her watch a week ago because the band had broken and she hadn't made time to replace it. Her eyes were adjusting to the near darkness and she observed her surroundings. She was sitting on the floor of a small room, about ten feet long and nearly as wide. There was an old Army cot against one wall and a low utility sink in one corner. The walls were made of concrete block. There were no windows in the room, and the only light came from a dim bulb high above her head inside a fixture so dirty it nearly obscured the glow the bulb offered.

She stretched out her legs and tried to stand, wincing when she put her weight on her left foot. Sinking backward onto the cot, she felt down her leg to her ankle where there was a slight swelling. She gently examined the ankle and determined it was likely only strained, not broken. She checked the rest of her body, running her hands up both legs to her thighs and then to her abdomen. The baby! She cradled her enlarging belly and determined that everything felt normal. She checked each of her hands and arms, and then felt along the back of her head. There was a bump that was tender to the touch but it didn't appear that the skin had been broken. Had she been hit with something, or had she fallen?

Her eyes finally able to see somewhat better, she continued to assess the room in which she was imprisoned. There was a single door that appeared to be a heavy, solid fire door. There was no opening or window to look through. Aside from the cot, the room held no furnishings. There were two shelves mounted on one wall with metal brackets, and on the lower shelf was a paper grocery bag. The room appeared to be some kind of janitor's closet or storage room. There was no noise except for a low rumbling sound coming from outside the door.

Brennan slowly stood up, careful to keep her weight off her strained ankle. She crossed the room and picked up the bag and looked inside. There was food inside; three apples, a box of crackers, and two bottles of water. Her captor apparently wanted to make certain she didn't die of starvation, at least for a while. She opened one bottle of water and took a long drink. Taking the bottle with her, she hobbled over to the door and put her ear against the hard surface. The rumbling became louder.

"Hello?" she shouted, hoping to be heard over the noise, but there was no reply. She pounded on the door with her fist.

"Hello? Anyone? I'm being held captive. Please call the FBI and ask for Agent Seeley Booth. He's my…"

Her voice trailed off. She didn't know what more to say. He was her partner, her friend, her lover, the father of her unborn child. He was her everything and she wanted him to come and get her right now. She didn't bother calling out again. No one could hear her anyway; she was certain of it.

She made her way back to the cot, sat down, and leaned against the solid wall. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She had no idea where she was or when or if she would ever get out. She closed her eyes and hoped as hard as she could that Booth would find her very soon.

[BRENNAN'S APARTMENT – LATE EVENING]

The crime scene team had examined Brennan's entire apartment, but they found nothing that helped Booth determine what had happened to her. The last tech had packed up and gone, and Booth was trying to determine where to begin looking for Bones. He was convinced that her disappearance was related to the three murdered women in her lab, but thus far nothing had been discovered about them that might be useful to him. He had already set up a team to canvass Bones' apartment building and the surrounding area. Maybe someone had seen her being abducted.

"Agent Booth?"

He turned toward the sound of Sweets' voice. "What do you want, Sweets? I'm not in a very talkative mood."

"I'm sure you aren't," Sweets acknowledged. "I talked to Daisy. She told me what was going on."

"Oh she did, huh?" Booth said scornfully. "I suppose she told you that Bones is pregnant and that I'm the father?"

"Uh… yeah, she did."

Booth paced the length of the living room, trying his best to hold in his anger.

"So you were right. We love each other. Are you happy now? Why don't you just go publish your little book and tell the whole world about it?"

"I don't care about the book, Booth. I want to know how I can help find Dr. Brennan." Sweets said quietly.

"How can you help?" Booth nearly shouted at Sweets. "How can anybody help? I don't know where to start. She's just… gone." He sank down onto the sofa and put his head in his hands.

Sweets sat down at the opposite end of the sofa. He could normally come up with some kind of appropriate psychiatric advice in situations like this, but he knew that there was nothing he could say that would make Booth feel any better.

They sat in silence for several moments before Booth stood up suddenly and headed toward the door.

"I'm going to the lab," he said as he walked out. "Are you coming or not?"

[THE JEFFERSONIAN – CAM'S OFFICE]

"Booth must be beside himself," Cam said. "He loves her very much."

"I know how I would feel if anything happened to you," Paul answered. "I would be tearing this city apart trying to find you."

"Thank you, Paul," Cam smiled at him. "That means a lot."

They were sitting in Cam's office, eating a very late dinner of takeout Thai food. He was on call and they were both praying that his phone would not ring.

"Does Booth think that Dr. Brennan's disappearance has something to do with the case you're working on?" Paul asked.

"That's the assumption at this point. The case involves three pregnant women who disappeared when they were supposed to be going to appointments with their obstetricians. We can't find any connection between them, though. I've been through the records and they don't have a common obstetrician, they don't live in the same neighborhood, they don't share a gym or a grocery store. We can't figure out how they were chosen as victims." Cam took a bite of her pad thai and shook her head in frustration.

"And Dr. Brennan is pregnant, so she fits within the victim profile, I guess."

Cam looked at Paul in surprise. "You knew that Dr. Brennan was pregnant?"

Paul shrugged. "She sees an obstetrician in my building. I've seen her coming and going. I couldn't say anything. Patient confidentiality, you know?"

"She's not your patient, though," Cam pointed out.

"You know that doesn't matter. I had to let her tell you herself."

"She didn't, actually. I found out from Booth when he came to find her tonight."

Paul nodded. "Well, now you know. How far along is she?"

"About three months."

"So she would have had her prenatal testing by now. Everything seems to be going okay?" Paul asked.

"As far as I know. Like I said, I just found out she was pregnant and I haven't spoken to her directly."

Paul reached across the table and put his hand on Cam's.

"She's going to be all right. You know Booth won't stop until he finds her."

Cam nodded, fighting the tears she felt welling up in her eyes. "I just hope he for both of their sakes that he finds her in time."