-Venus POV-
Temp, Sweets, Cam, and I are watching Booth's and Wendell's game as we cheer them on as Temp begins saying, "Go, Booth!" Cam adds, "Go, Booth!" I add, "Come on!" Cam then says, "Kill, 'em, Booth!" Booth then pushes on of the opponents onto the glass wall in front of us as we say, "Oh!" "Wow." Temp then asks, "What did he do that for?" Cam answers, "It's what Booth does. Keeps the other team honest. He's what you call an enforcer." "What, like law enforcement?" I chuckle at her as Cam nods, "Yeah, okay. Well, let's go with that." We then see Wendell coming down as I cheer for him, "Go Wendell!" We then see the opposing team number twelve ram into him on purpose knocking Wendell onto the ground. Booth then says, "Oh, what was that? What about the cross-check? Ref, are you blind?" I wince a bit but see Wendell get back up as I clap for him.
The opposing team number twelve has the puck as his teammate calls for it, "Pass it! I'm open! Pass it!" He does so as they make a point. We sigh as Booth yells out, "That was a cheap shot, Carlson." Booth goes over to him as Carlson says, "Yeah, you guys suck." Booth pushes him down onto the ground as the ref blows a whistle. "That's 24 Blue, two minutes for charging." Booth then says, "For what? What about the cross-check back there, huh?" "Get in the box." Carlson then says, "Come on, man. It's hockey." Booth looks at him, "Club hockey, and some of us have to go to work in the morning, all right, pal?" Booth and Carlson was separated from each other as the ref pushes Booth inside the box, "Enough. Let's go." Booth kept on looking at Carlson, "Watch it, Carlson." The ref then says, "Go on, get in there and sit down." Booth finally went into the box as Cam says, "Uh-oh."
Temp then asks pointing over to the box, "So, this is punitive, right? To be sent to this little area here?" We hear Booth say, Keep your head up next time, number 12. Keep your head up." Booth sits and looks over at us as Temp and I smile waving a hello to him as he smiles back waving at us. I then say to Temp, "It's called a penalty box, you know, sin bin." Cam and Sweets looked at me impressed as I blush a bit, "The unit that I was with in the Navy taught me a bit about hokey and other sports when we had some sort of free time." Sweets then says, "Yeah. Booth committed a penalty when he checked the big guy when he didn't have the puck." I nod as we pay back attention to the game as we hear Booth yell, "Stay with him, Paul. Just stay with him. There's a hit right there, Ref, that you missed again." We looked at Booth as Temp says, "Booth seems quite anxious to get out of the disciplinary box. " I nod as Sweets says, "Yeah, I've never seen him this agitated before."
We watch Booth yell, "Open man! Open man!" But the opposing team scored another point as Temp says, "That's not good, right?" "No." Booth is finally out of the penalty box as we clap and Temp yells for him, "Go, Booth!" Booth gets the puck and passes it to Wendell as he starts to take it down the ice as I yell, "Go, Wendell! You got this!" Temp then says to us, "Ooh! Wendell might get a basket!" I chuckle, "Wrong sport Temp." We watch as Carlson drives into Wendell from the side elbowing him down to the ground as I gasp. Booth yells, "Elbow, Ref! Elbow!" Temp then asks, "Is Wendell okay?" Sweets adds, "That can't be legal." I shake my head, "It definitely is not." We watch as Wendell get's back up slowly as the Ref blew his whistle as a player says, "Come on, Ref, you got to call that." But Wendell falls back down as I start getting more worried. Booth then goes over to Carlson, "Come on, what are you doing, Carlson?" But instead Carlson pushes Booth, "Want to go?"
Booth pushes him back as Carlson says, "Come on, come on. Let's go. Come on, let's go." Both of them start fighting. Booth beats him as Booth gets a call. We all wince at the event as Booth goes over to Wendell helping him up, "Get up. You all right?" "Oh, did I score, man?" "Oh, yeah. Yeah... Come on." Temp then says, "I do not know how I feel about this." Sweets then says, "It's very primal." Cam adds, "I like it just a little too much." I then say, "I would like to play a game, once. It seems so much fun." Temp and Sweets looks at Cam and I as we look back at them as I gave them my famous giddy smile.
The game was over as we were walking to meet them outside, but Temp decided to go to where they change and check if they were all right. So she dragged me along to the door where they change as she opens it revealing Booth shirtless and Wendell with ice on his head in front of us with ice packs and other men around changing also naked. I start blushing furiously and covered my eyes with both of my hands as Temp was holding onto my arm to keep me with her as she looks without flinching, "Hey, you two all right?" I wine a bit, "Temp...." Men around the room starts chuckling as Temp was confused as she asks, "What?" I then say to her, "Could we just have waited outside?" "Well Booth's hand might be broken. Want me or Ven to look at it?" Booth shakes his head, "No, it's all right. You both can wait outside please. It's a men's locker room, Bones. And Blueberry looks ready to pass out." I am still not looking as I still have my eyes cover as I stutter out, "S-S-Sorry... Temp really wanted to check up on your injuries... and she wouldn't listen... Can we wait outside now Temp... I don't think I could get any redder then now..." Temp closes the door as I open my eyes and look at her, "You really need to learn some sort of boundaries Temp." "I didn't think it really matter." "I know..."
A month later we are called up for a case as it was on a lake that had frozen. The body has been taken out as Booth says to us, "So, what do you think there, Bones, Blueberry?" Temp says to the forensic team, "Careful. I would surmise that the body went into the lake before it froze then the lake froze, then the body floated up and became attachment to the bottom of the ice." I chuckle as I then say, "Temp, I think Ranger was asking if the victim was murdered." Booth nods as Temp says, "Oh. Um, maybe. Could have been an accident or a suicide, except..." We look to see Booth is scratching his hand inside the cast as Temp says to him, "Oh, you shouldn't do that." "It itches, okay? Yeah, well except for what?" I answer, "Trauma to the left maxillary orbit suggests violence." Temp then says, "It's kind of gross, what you're doing." I chuckle as Temp's finger is in the victims eye as Booth says, "Gross? You got your finger in some guy's maxillary orbit." Temp then says, "I don't think there's anything else to be learned here, so let's get this Popsicle back to the lab." I chuckle, "Nice joke Temp." Booth adds, "Hey, look at that. Bones, you made a joke." "Well, I can be quite amusing." I nod, "Yes in your own ways Temp."
Booth then comes closer to get a better look at the victim, "Wait a second." He then grabs something without gloves as Temp says, "Booth, you aren't wearing any gloves." He picks up the neckless recognizing it, "Bones, Blueberry, I... Remember that guy I punched out last month during my hockey game? Pete Carlson." Temp and I nod as I say, "Yes. When you broke your hand." "That's him. I'm a suspect." We looked surprised as I say, "Oh, no..." Booth hands us the neckless needing to step away from the scene because he had turned into a suspect as Temp and I looked at each other a bit worried.
Temp and I are at the FBI Headquarters as Booth stands by the wall and Caroline starts explaining things to us, "Given that Agent Booth is currently the prime suspect in this murder..." Temp cuts in, "We don't know it's a murder." Booth adds, "Oh, look at that- I'm the prime suspect." I shrug not really knowing what to say as Cam introduces us to someone else, "Agent Payton Perotta here will be working with Dr. Temperance and Venus Brennan." I just stay seated quiet as Temp says for the both of us, "We won't work the case without Booth." Perotta then says, "In that case, I invite Agent Booth's continued participation. In the background as an advisor." I look at Booth as he just nodded as I nod as well. Caroline then says, "Agent Payton Perotta has earned bachelors degrees in both forensic science and criminology." I just nod as Temp says, "Well, anything short of a doctorate is virtually useless at our level." "How would you like to proceed, darling?" Booth then says, "Well, it's pretty obvious. We definitely want to interrogate the primary suspect, right?" Perotta smiles, "Yeah." I see a weird tension between the two as I stand up, "All right. If Ranger is all up for it, then I am in. I'll be at the lab if anyone needs me.
I am in Cam's lab with Hodgins and Wendell examining the body as Cam speaks, "Based on decomp, I'd put time of death at about five days prior to freezing." Wendell adds, "Local cops say the lake froze over three weeks ago." Hodgins add, "Aside from some dormant anopheles mosquito larvae, I imagine whatever the water from the lake tells us, it'll be through a microscope." I add, "How fun." Wendell then says, "If Booth is a suspect, then I should be, too. This guy scrambled my brains." I chuckle, "Yes... but you had an alibi that says you were seeing double." Cam then adds, "And being taken care of by Venus." I blush as Cam and Hodgins smirk as he then says, "I'll get on the fluid samples you took from the lungs and esophagus. Could be the vic was drowned somewhere else and then dumped in the lake." I shake my head as Cam says, "No. Drowning's not the way Booth would kill someone." I add as we were not paying attention, "He would've called me... I am on his speed dial..." We stop what we were doing seeing the two boys looking at us as I chuckle a bit as Cam says, "Not that we actually suspect Booth." I add, "At all." They just stared at us as I look away from them in embarrassment, "Could you both quite staring at us..." They do so going back to work as I look back as I see Wendell look at me again smirking as I blush even more and not pay attention to him.
We were in the bone examination room as Wendell says, "Both patella's are fractured." Cam then says, "As though he'd fallen to his knees?" I nod, "Yes, with a great deal of force." Cam asks, "During a hockey game?" Wendell answered, "No, not if he wore pads. I believe that this is the cause of death." He shows an image of the center of the skull as Cam says, "Penetration of the lachrymal sac here, deep into the inferior orbital fissure." "I would've caliber bullet, but..." I add, "No sign of bullet fragments." "Yeah." I then get a message as I check and see it was Temp saying that we where going to the victims apartment. "I got to go. I am going to check out the victims apartment." I wave them a bye as they wave back.
We are escorted inside the apartment as the landlord says, "This is Pete's apartment. He wasn't the best housekeeper." Agent Payton then asks, "Ms. Withers, was Mr. Carlson up to date on his rent?" Booth then says, "Good question. Great start." Temp and I give Booth a weird look as the landlord says, "Uh, yes. Mostly. 500 bucks short. He didn't need much. He was a big kid at heart. Poor Pete. What he really loved was hockey. I wouldn't be surprised if that's why he joined the volunteer fire department. I even got him this necklace. Crossed hockey sticks." Temp and I were looking around as Payton asks, "You attended his games?" "Oh, all of them. Yeah." "You were a couple?" She was silent as Temp then says, "It looks like someone went through all of his belongings and then left them on the floor." "Oh, it always looked like that." Payton then asks, "The car outside with the flat tires, is that his?" "Yeah, somebody slashed the tires just before he disappeared." Booth then asks, "Why didn't you report him missing?" "uh, maybe, I thought maybe, uh... I thought he was staying with someone else." I nod looking at the mail, "There's a lot of bills here. Final notice, past due..." Temp adds, "Looks like he couldn't afford to feed his fish either."
I looked at the fish seeing something wasn't right but Payton then speaks making me look at her as she says, "Albie, Thursday, 11:00 p.m.' Do you know who Albie is?" "I don't know." Temp had picked up the jersey, "This is blood." I look as Booth says, "It's a hockey jersey, Bones. You know, hockey players they bleed some times when they play the game." Payton asks, "Ms. Withers, how bad were his financial problems?" "Well, a couple days before Pete disappeared, he asked me for $2,000. " "Did he say what for?" She shakes her head, "He liked me. You know? He was one of these guys, he... he didn't say much, but he could be real sweet. And a man borrows money from a woman, it means there's a bond of trust, right?" Temp then says, "I don't understand your reasoning." I put my arm on Temps shoulder, "It's definitely a bond of trust." Booth nods, "You're absolutely right." Payton then says, "We're terribly sorry for your loss."
Temp and I are back in the lab as we go inside Cam's workspace as Temp asks, "Is that our victim?" Cam nods, "Yes. The last of the tissue samples. Wendell can clean the skeleton now and you both can do your thing." Temp then asks, "You still think the cause of death was a projectile through the left eye?" "Yes, but since we found no bullets, nor any indication of gunpowder residue in the wound, we're stumped as to what kind of projectile." I nod, "The alveolus around the incisor is cracked, with the socket caked with blood. It indicates a recent loss. But it makes sense since he was a hokey player." Temp nods, "So basically, we're talking about gladiators." Cam adds, "And I love it." "Perhaps the sight of males battling stimulates the part of your brain which has so far failed to find a suitable mate."
I just looked at Temp with wide eyes as Hodgins comes in. Cam then says, "And thank God you're here." "The water I found in the victim's esophagus not from lake. Lake water is microorganism infested. Water in his throat, deionized brine water." Cam asks, "He was killed then dumped in the ocean then dumped in the lake?" I shake my head, "Deionized brine water freezes clear." Hodgin nods adding, "It contains an antifreezing agent, which I know sounds counterintuitive..." Temp cuts him off, "Ice rinks." "Kind of jumped my punch line there. Dr. B. But, yes. We should see what rinks are closest to the lake." Cam then says, "It's the one Booth played at." I nod as Temp says, "I find it interesting that the evidence keeps pointing towards Booth."
The whole team was up on the platform as it was already late as I yawned a bit. Cam then asks, "Any luck with the murder weapon?" I nod, "Yes." Temp adds, "We are certain it is not a screwdriver." "Well, blood on the victim's jersey was all his own." I then speak, "The rib cage has been bruised." Wendell turns around coming over towards me to see look at the bone, "It has?" "Yes. See this vague pattern of bone bruising?" Wendell nods, "Yeah, it extends from the right clavicle through anterior ribs four through eight." Temp adds, "He was struck repeatedly." Angie asks, "Like, by a hockey stick? During the game maybe?" Wendell shake his head, "Not during. The, um, padding would prevent that kind of bruising. I'll take a closer look. I can't believe I missed that." I shake my head, "I missed it at first as well, don't beat yourself around it to much." I gave him a warm smile as he smiles back a bit and leaves.
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DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN "BONES". IT IS OWNED BY JOSEPHSON ENTERTAINMENT, BY HART HANSON. I ONLY CLAIM MY CHARACTER VENUS BRENNAN. I ALSO DON'T OWN ANY OF THE IMAGES. THANK YOU.