BONES AU - PART TWO "The Stargazer In The Puddle"

BONES AU 2 Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

Joe and Scott showed up at the Cole household to present her with the pretty convincing evidence.

"We'll probably be able to trace this medication back to you, right?" Joe accused.

"I loved my daughter very much, Agent Hobbs-"

"Like hell you did. She got too much to handle, so you killed her, right?" Joe glowered down at her sitting on the couch.

"Y-You don't understand-" she whimpered.

Scott intervened. "I don't think you'll ever find anyone that does, Mrs. Cole. You know, your daughter had the mind of a six-year-old."

Cynthia Cole dazed off. "She loved the stars..."

"She also trusted you. And you killed her." Scott said as he picked up one of her prescription medication bottles, and handed it to Joe so he could tell the name to Kevin to look up. He whispered the name into the phone.

"MK-0518? Any matches?" he asked impatiently. Knowing Scott, he couldn't stall Mrs. Cole for much longer.

"None of those is a trade name for nevirapine. Wait, hold up. MK-0518 is still in experimental trials to replace nevirapine." Kevin replied.

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning, she used her old medicine to poison Chelsea." He retorted back, quite tired of always having to explain himself to almost everyone.

"Right, got it, thanks, Kev." Joe hung up and got his hand cuffs out. "Cynthia Cole, you're under arrest for the murder of your daughter, Chelsea Cole."

Cynthia looked panic stricken as the handcuffs ratcheted around her wrists. "Could you please take down the pictures Chelsea drew? I don't want anyone to come in and just throw them away."

Scott looked disgusted by this. "You threw away your own daughter. Why would I do you a favor?" Joe sighed in exasperation.

"Can you both shut up long enough for me to Mirandize her? Please?" Scott nodded and stayed quiet, while Cynthia was speechless altogether.

""You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you desire an attorney and cannot afford one, an attorney will be obtained for you." Joe droned out his well-rehearsed speech after years of going through the arresting process. Next came his favorite thing ever. Paperwork.

The next day, Saturday morning, Scott went to the prison where Cynthia Cole was being held. He, as a child, was abandoned by his parents, and later by his older sister. He, of course, did not know at the time they were fugitives on the run, for he was only a child left alone on Christmas morning. The previous night, he got a video from of his mother. It was, of course, heart breaking to see his deceased mother speaking directly to him (albeit, on a screen) and apologize. The video went something like this...

"Hi, Scott.

It's Mom.

I don't know when or if you'll ever see this.

I hope to put it in your hands myself see you again with my own eyes.

But this is a hard, hard world.

Your father and I left you and Lindsay to save your lives.

People would have killed you to get us.

That's not what this is about.

No.

Today is your 16th birthday.

I'm so sorry not to be there to tell you all the things that a mother should tell her son when he turns 16.

And sorry not to give you this.

It's an heirloom from my side of the family.

And starting today, it's yours.

I don't know how long it will take me to get it to you, but I promise you I will.

You're going to hear a lot of things about your parents especially about your father.

He is a good man.

It was my insistence to leave you kids.

Rupert would have kept us together, fought until the end.

Not sure he'll ever forgive me for that.

So please, Scott.

I need you to forgive me.

And if you can't forgive me, I beg you, honey forgive your father.

Because he is a very good man.

Remember this.

You were cherished in this world.

Adored.

What I did to you may have been wrong but I did it out of love.

I did it out of love."

Not his finest moment, he will admit, but now he was set on finding this ring. He didn't think it would fit him, but being the youngest, it technically belonged to him.

He searched through the envelope, and at last, found a small, dark, emerald ring. He smiled at the thought of his mother wearing this. It made him happier than travelling to Egypt, or China, identifying ancient remains. No, this is what made him truly happy. This is also what inspired him to go to the prison.

As he walked in, he saw a miserable Cynthia Cole sitting at a table in orange. Not her color. Too bad she'll be stuck wearing it until she dies, he thought.

"Your AIDS cocktail wasn't working. You were sick, dying. They put you on an experimental drug and you felt even worse. Your worst nightmare was coming true. Chelsea was going to outlive you. No foster parent would take her. You did what you did out of mercy, correct?" he asked as he sat across from her.

"We went to the park and I gave the- told Chelsea that it was candy. We, uh We sat there looking up at the stars. I didn't know what to do with her. I didn't have any strength left. A-And then I remembered the water. And I thought it was deep enough. Peaceful, you know?" Cynthia sighed.

Scott also sighed, looking sad for Cynthia. "Like you were being punished the experimental drug started to work, didn't it?" Cynthia nodded, but Scott went on. "What you did was wrong, but... but you did it out of love."

Cynthia looked at the folder he had brought. All of Chelsea's works. He took out the rock reading "I Love You" and pushed it to her.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cole. I really am." He said almost heartlessly as he stood up and left for the impromptu wedding.