It had been three days since Sadie had taken Jax to the Jeffersonian and so far Hodgins and Finn had been unsuccessful in getting the ring out of him. Sadie was sitting at home trying to think of a way to help when it suddenly hit her. Grabbing a feeder mouse from her garage she raced out to her car and headed to the Jeffersonian.
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"Hodgins, have you gotten the ring out of him yet?" She asked as she rushed into the lab.
"No, and we're completely out of ideas." Hodgins said as he met her at the bottom of the platform steps.
"I know how to get it." Sadie said excitedly as they rushed to his lab. She rushed past Finn and pulled the lid off the tank just enough to drop the mouse in.
"We have to wait for him to eat the mouse, but while he's doing that we need to move anything breakable over by the door." She said as she and Hodgins began moving everything closer to the door. Finn seemed to lag behind and hadn't said a word since they had come in, but Sadie tried not to worry about it and focus on what she was doing.
"Okay, do you guys have any of those mobile glass panes?" She asked when they had finished moving everything.
"Yeah, why?" Hodgins asked, Sadie could practically see the adrenaline pumping through his veins.
"I need three of them around the tank."
Hodgins rushed out of the room dragging Finn along to help him and within minutes they were back with the glass panes. By the time they got them set up around the tank Jax had eaten the mouse and Sadie took a deep breath as she turned to them.
"Okay, now I don't want you guys to freak out or anything, no matter what happens; understand?" She asked. Giving each other a confused look Finn and Hodgins both nodded. With another deep breath Sadie walked over and pulled one of the panes back just enough for her to spil past into the enclosed space.
"Sadie, what are you doing?" Hodgins asked rushing forward, but he stopped as she held her hand up.
"Don't come in here. You need the ring from Jax's stomach to possible solve Jessica's murder and I'm willing to do anything I can to help. Remember, whatever happens DO NOT COME IN HERE." She ordered as she slid the lid off the tank and reached inside. Hodgins and Finn were frozen as they watched her pick up the enormous snake; they all knew you weren't supposed to mess with a snake for at least an hour after they had fed. Pulling Jax all the way out of the tank Sadie stepped back and started moving him around in her hands. It didn't take long for him to throw up, but before she could put him back in the tank he got angry. Sitting up in attack mode he began hissing at her and she stopped knowing if she moved he would strike. Everything seemed to be going well and he appeared to be calming down until it all took an unwanted turn.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Angela asked cheerfully as she walked into the room. As soon as he saw movement Jax struck biting into Sadie's shoulder and arm a few times; when that did nothing he decided to try something else. Sadie barely had time to block as he went to strike her face, but instead knocking her back against the glass. Angela stopped, horrified by the scene before her, but Finn seemed to snap out of his daze as soon as Sadie's head contacted with the glass pane and made a sickening crack sound. Running over he pulled the glass pane back, grabbed Jax behind the head, and put him back in the tank while Hodgins called for medical help. After putting the lid back on the tank Finn went over and knelt beside Sadie.
"Sadie? Sadie, keep your eyes open! What the hell were you thinkin'?" He said quickly. Instead of making any sign that she was in pain Sadie looked off to the side and smiled.
"There's the ring." She said softly. Finn followed her gaze as Hodgins and Angela rushed over to them.
"You did it kid; your friend would be proud." Hodgins said putting a hand on her shoulder. A few minutes later the paramedics arrived and took her to the hospital to make sure she was alright. She woke up to the sound of someone entering the room and turned to see doctor.
"What's the damage this time?" She asked staring up at the ceiling.
"No significant damage, but you'll most likely have headaches for the next few days; here's a prescription for some pain killers that should help." The doctor said handing her the prescription.
"I heard about Jessica. I know it must be hard for you, but I don't think that's how she would want you to handle it." She said when she saw the scabbing lines that crisscrossed and intersected with others on Sadie's wrist.
"Are you drinking again?" The doctor asked as Sadie's hand went limp in her's.
"It's not as much as last time."
That doesn't mean it's okay, Sadie; you know that." With that the doctor left the room and let her get dressed. After signing herself out Sadie headed to the club to let Noah know she would be taking the next few days off to make sure there was nothing wrong with her. Only minutes after getting home she heard a knock at the door and answered it to find Booth and Brennan standing there.
"So, we checked out all of the names you gave us; most of them have solid alibis. Corbin Jacks was in Florida visiting his brother, Mathew Finch was at an AA meeting, Douglas Richmond was at the movies with his family. Everyone seems to check out, but...we can't seem to locate Richard Paxton." Booth explained as they all took a seat in the den.
"Yeah, Jess's boyfriend. He's been out on his boat for the past two weeks making sure it's ready; he and Jess were gonna spent a few months at sea. Richard was gonna have us all meet them at the docks when they got back; we were gonna be holding up signs asking her to marry him. He should be back some time tomorrow." Sadie said taking one of the pain killers her doctor had prescribed. Everything just kept getting better then going back to bad.
