Vigilante Justice

Author's Notes: Another fanfic- blame the weather here around DC. Our town has had over 40 inches of snow in three days. So I'm writing and shoveling snow, in turns.

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing these characters from the Bones TV show and they can have them back when I'm done playing.

Chapter 1: Call Booth

Temperance Brennan groaned. She really should have turned off her cell phone. It was the wee hours of the morning and the thing had waked her to the disgustingly happy sound of 'The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.' Nothing should be allowed to sound that cheerful at this hour of the morning. The last time she'd had lunch with him, Booth had loaded it on her phone along with the "James Bond Theme Song" as his personal ring tone for his calls to her. She was going to change both ring tones first thing in the morning, she decided grumpily.

"What?" She muttered ungraciously into the receiver.

"Tempe? It's Russ."

She sat up, wide awake and alarmed by the rough tone of her brother's voice. "Russ! What's wrong?"

"Dad says you and I are in danger. He wants me to help him take care of things, and he wants you to call Booth. Now. Don't go anywhere alone, Tempe, do you hear me?"

"What? Why? Russ, you need to tell me what's going on. Where are you? I want to see you and Dad. You're frightening me."

"Just know that we're both okay. I want you to call Booth as soon as possible. Promise me."

"And tell him what?" She demanded, pacing anxiously in the moonlight, shivering in her thin night shirt and bare feet.

"Tell him that someone threatened to kill you and tell him to call me at this number. Be careful; I mean it, Tempe. I have to go. I love you."

"Russ! Wait!"

The call ended amid Brennan's terrified protests. She immediately pressed number 2 on her speed dial and put the phone back to her ear.

"Come on, come on—pick up!" She whispered as it rang. Finally he answered.

"Bones? What's wrong?"

Booth sounded worried, and with good reason. Brennan had never called him in the middle of the night before. In fact, she rarely called him at all when she wasn't at work.

"Booth, I'm sorry if I woke you," she stuttered.

"What's the matter?" he asked again.

"Russ called me. It's Dad. Russ told me to call you right away…"

"Are you at home?" He demanded sharply. "Did something happen to your Dad?"

The fear in his voice frightened Brennan all over again, making it hard for her to say anything intelligible. She heard Booth scrambling about and breathing fast.

"I'll be there in ten minutes, just hang on," he promised shortly. For the second time that night, the phone in her hand cut off abruptly.

"No, wait; you don't have to come over right now…" she said uselessly.

Brennan fumbled for her slippers in the darkness of her bedroom and shuffled to the closet to retrieve a robe. Throwing it on haphazardly, she headed for the kitchen and flipped on the light switch. The digital clock above the stove read 4:45 A.M. Too early to get up, but too late to try to get any more sleep after a phone call like this one.

Pulling a bag of grounds out of the refrigerator, she began going through the familiar process of brewing a pot of dark roast coffee, but she was so upset that she dropped the measuring spoon twice. Finally, after spreading coffee grounds all over the counter and spilling water on her robe, she managed to complete the task.

It wasn't long before she heard a knock at the door.

"Open the door, Bones," she heard him call out impatiently. Glancing at the clock above the stove again, she saw that it had only been eight minutes since she'd called him. Either he'd hit every light when it was green or he'd run the red ones. Her trembling hands finally cooperated and she got the door unlocked. Booth burst into her apartment and grasped her by the shoulders. She was so relieved to see him that she swayed in his hold, increasing his alarm.

"Russ just called. He said that something is going on with Dad. Someone made a threat against me and Russ—I didn't get who. He said that he and Dad were going to take care of things themselves—I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means. He wanted me to call you immediately, and he said for you to call him back as soon as possible. I don't know what to do, Booth, but I'm afraid that Russ and Dad are in danger," she blurted, talking so fast he could barely understand her.

"Okay, okay; at least you're all alive and unhurt. Give me the number so I can talk to him."

"I'll get my cell," she agreed, her voice shaking. He followed her into the kitchen where she'd dropped the phone on the counter.

"Last call received—here it is."

Booth dialed immediately. Bones felt calmer just having him here beside her. She studied him as he waited for Russ to pick up the line. In spite of having just been awakened and then driving like a madman across town in the middle of the night, he was collected and alert, his dark brown eyes sharp and his mouth set in a determined line. He'd know what to do, she had confidence. He'd keep her safe; she had complete trust in her sniper-trained FBI partner. They'd been working together for over four years now and she had learned to rely on his razor sharp instincts. Suddenly remembering how she must look, she pulled at her robe, only now realizing it wasn't even tied. Booth had the audacity to wink.

"Russ, it's Seeley Booth," he said into the phone, his tone and expression serious again.

She waited and anxiously watched Booth's face as he listened to Russ. At one point, as if he'd suddenly remembered she was still there, he looked at her and gave her a tiny smile of reassurance. The thoughtful gesture brought tears to her eyes.

"I will. Russ, let me help bring him in. Don't do this outside the proper channels of authority."

"No, I can't guarantee it," Booth said, responding to something Bones couldn't hear. "We've both seen enough from Max's former associates over the years to suspect that they have connections in the FBI, although I really hate to believe it. But you trust me, right? Let me help. We'll get the police to make an arrest. You don't want your father to do something that sends him back to prison."

He listened for a few more minutes.

"Look. Max doesn't need to worry about that. I'll do whatever it takes to protect her. You can take that to the bank. Okay; I'll be there. See you tomorrow. Stay safe, man."

"What did he say? Are he and Dad in danger? When Russ hung up earlier, it sounded like he was in trouble."

"I think you'd better sit down while I tell you what he said. This could get ugly, Bones; I'm not going to lie to you."

She sat down on the sofa and buried her face in her hands. Booth made a soft exclamation of sympathy as he sat down beside her and placed an arm on her shoulders. She stiffened; she couldn't handle his tenderness right now. If she gave into it she'd fall apart, she was sure of it. She shrugged his hand off. Undeterred, he grasped her knee and held her steady. Booth knew how to reach her without saying a word.

"There's no reason to get upset. Not yet, anyway."

"That's reassuring."

"About a week ago, your Dad made contact with an acquaintance he knew back in the days when he was involved in illegal activity. I don't know why or how it happened yet. We'll ask Max. But that's later. Right now the problem is that this old friend of your father's is a mean bastard who didn't take kindly to running into Max after all these years. He cornered your Dad behind a restaurant a few days ago and told him that he'd go after his children if he tried to contact him again."

"Surely my Dad didn't contact him after he said that?"

"No, but it sounds like this guy decided to go after Max's family anyway for old times' sake. He found out where Russ lives, waited for him to leave for work this morning and followed him. He tried to run him off the road on a two-lane stretch of Georgetown Pike."

"He tried to kill Russ?" Bones gasped. She jumped to her feet, too agitated to remain seated. Booth followed her as she strode across the room to the window. He stood close behind her, his strong presence registering on her consciousness as he continued to tell her what Russ had said.

"Bones, Russ talked to Dad and amazingly, the two of them decided to do the right thing this time and call the police. But even though the guy was arrested this morning, the police have already let him go and now he's disappeared. Russ and your Dad think they have a lead on where he's going and they're planning to go after him."

"They released him? Why?" She turned to face Booth.

"There wasn't enough evidence proving that his actions were deliberate to hold him. Besides, nobody got hurt, Bones."

"And my father, who has once again had his faith in our justice system shattered, is going to find him and kill him to protect his family. Oh, Booth. What if he kills Dad first? Or Russ? Booth, I want to know where they are." Placing her hands on his chest, she leaned her head against them. Booth's arms instinctively moved into place around her.

"They're close by. They decided the safest thing to do was check into a hotel for the night, rather than go home. Russ wants me to help apprehend the man so your Dad won't kill him. Apparently he had to really twist Max's arm to get him to call the police at all. Your father is afraid to tell the police the guy is living under an assumed identity because he'd have to give himself up too. He wants me to make sure he stays in custody. That way, everybody stays alive and all the Brennans stay out of jail. But first we have to find him before he gets to one of you. Russ has put me on bodyguard duty starting now. Tomorrow I'll help him and your Dad, but only after I drop you safely off at the Jeffersonian, where you are to stay put until I come back to get you after work."

Her head shot up. "What? That's why Russ woke me up? So you can babysit me? No thanks Booth; I can take care of myself."

Annoyed and upset, she pulled away from Booth and plopped down in her overstuffed rocking chair, kicking off her slippers and folding her bare feet underneath her. She wrapped her arms around herself defensively. Ignoring her pout, he dropped his leather jacket on the back of a chair and wandered into the kitchen.

"This smells great. Can I have a cup? You want some?"

Brennan sighed. "I might as well. It's almost time to get up anyway. There's cream in the fridge."

"You want cream and two spoons of sugar."

It was a confident statement rather than a question. She couldn't help warming up to having him here when he was in her kitchen fixing her coffee the way he knew she liked it. It was amazing to her how he knew so many of her habits. It was a rare thing for her to feel as comfortable with someone as she did with Seeley Booth. And although it was hard to admit it, even if only to herself, the fact that her big, strong FBI partner would be watching her back was a great comfort.

It would be light soon and she had the nagging feeling that since she was awake now, she ought to get showered and dressed for work, but Booth was already back and sitting opposite her on the couch, handing her a steaming mug of coffee. She decided the shower could wait. This could potentially be a rough day; taking a few minutes to relax with a hot drink was a good idea. She closed her eyes and let the steam steal over her face before she took a sip.

It was getting dark that evening when Brennan decided to call it a day at the Jeffersonian. Just as she was packing up bones from the latest project from Limbo, Booth bounded up onto the forensics platform looking as fresh as someone who hadn't been awakened two hours too early and then spent the day on the trail of a dangerous criminal. He peered over her shoulder curiously. Even though he didn't always follow her explanations, he took a great deal of interest in her work.

"So whose bones were they this time?"

Brennan carefully closed the lids to the clear containers and stacked them up. As she began to lift them, Booth stepped in and took two, leaving her with one. He followed her as she walked over to a forensics locker to put away the remains for the night.

"This person died at least thirty years ago, male, mid-twenties; the remains were recovered from a field near Harper's Ferry. But I only just started on this set. That's all I know so far. Okay, hand me the next container."

She stuck out her hands and he was careful to hand her the top box without jostling it too much.

"What did you find out from Russ and Dad today?"

"Well, you can rest assured that they are both in one piece. Come on, let me take you to dinner and I'll tell you what they told me."

He handed her the last box and she finished locking up. Turning to Booth, she looked as if she was considering his offer before she shook her head and headed for her office.

"That's okay, Booth. I've got leftovers from lunch to take home and eat. You can go through a drive-through and meet me there."

"Leftovers? Bones! You know you'd rather have hot Pad Thai then a cold, soggy burger." He flashed his charming grin at her.

Brennan gave him a sharp glance. "I don't remember telling you I had a burger for lunch."

"Lucky guess." As if he hadn't been out to lunch with her hundreds of times. He knew she loved the Royal Diner's burger plate.

"So—what do you say? Delicious Thai food prepared right before your eyes, or a box of greasy leftovers?" He smiled and winked. Her resolve began to crumble.

"Well I guess we have to eat somewhere. It might as well be at a restaurant."

"Great. I'll drive," Booth offered, waiting in anticipation for the usual objection.

"Okay," she said, surprising Booth with her passivity. Wait, what was wrong with her? She always sparred over the right to drive with him. He waited by the door, watching with concern, as she silently ducked into her office to retrieve her purse and jacket.

To be continued in the next chapter where Booth continues to babysit Bones whether she likes it or not…