✔️Romancing The Bone--- Seeley Booth ✔️

Ch. 1: The Homicide at Homecoming

~Lizzie~

If you would have asked me three years ago, where I thought I would be professionally, I would never have said that I would be helping a forensic team solve murders based solely on whatever's left of the victims.

Yet, that is where I am, and I wouldn't change that fact for anything in the world.

Three years ago I was approached by Special Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI, who needed my help identifying the motive behind a murder that had happened almost a year prior to the investigation. The guilt for that murder fell onto a man that had been abused as a child by his addict mother, thus developing PTSD which manifested itself during his incredibly violent actions.

Along with Booth, I worked with Dr. Temperance Brennan, a brilliant Forensic Anthropologist, Dr. Jack Hodgins, expert in insects and particulates found on the remains and Ms. Angela Montenegro, our in house art expert and facial reconstruction extraordinaire. This group of people though vastly different have wormed their way into my heart.

Walking into the lab at the Jeffersonian Institute, I see both Brennan, or Bones, as Booth has affectionately dubber her, and Hodgins hard at work on the set of remains Booth and I discovered burned in the ashes of a Homecoming bonfire for Georgetown University.

"Bones, what have you got for us?" Booth said as I walked in coming to a stop next to him and looking at the blackened set of remains on the table.

"Victim is female, late teens early twenties, fractures on the C-3 and C-4 vertebrae indicate some kind of struggle , but the charring of the bones leads to suspicion that the damage was not the cause of death. After further examination, I found indentions on her right humerus, ulna, and radius that are consistent with signs of a struggle with her attacker." Cam piped up by saying, "Toxicology report on what little flesh remaining shows trace levels of trichloromethane in her blood."

Rolling my eyes, I heard Booth sigh. "Great so this girl was chloroformed, kidnapped, killed and then thrown into a bonfire..." he said with a waver in his voice that held an intense amount of anger, yet only I picked up on it. Changing the subject, I asked, "Do we have an ID yet?"

Bones turned her attention to me saying, "Dental records say that our victim is Marsha Williams, age 22, from Dallas, but attending Georgetown University as a first year graduate student." Angela walked in moments later, with a digital print out of her reconstruction. "Well this is what Ms. Williams would have looked like based on her skull markers." Turning the page around to face us, we came face-to-face with a blonde haired, blue-eyed girl with what looked to be kind eyes and a warm smile.

Sighing, I turned to Dr. Hodgins. "Any particulates left to find on her?" "Yes." He responded, "I found charred clothing particulates laced with dimethyl ketone, common acetone." "Okay.. that would probably be from whatever acetone they used to start the bonfire. Anything else?" "Yup. I found traces of soil in the crevices of her shoes, I'm running it through the Mass Spectrometer now."

"So what was her cause of death; burned alive? That seems a bit too obvious, doesn't it?" I said turning to Booth who had a murderous look on his face. "What's up Booth? I know that look, that's the 'I'm going kill someone' face."

Booth and I have been partners for the last three years, spending the majority of our time together both on the job and on our own time. When you work that close with someone for three years, you learn more about them than you realize.

"She was 22, Liz. Do you remember how carefree you were at 22?" He said to me with a sadness in his eyes that I had seen only on cases that involved either children or people that were child-like to him. "Yeah, I do." I said quietly in response. "So let's get the guy that took that from her."

Turning to the Squint Squad, I broke the tension. "Okay, so we have an identification so let's see what we can find about Marsha from her roommate."

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In the car, on our way to Georgetown, Booth and I had fallen into a comfortable silence. Yet looking over at him from the passenger seat, I could see his thoughts churning about this case.

"So when we get there, let me do the talking okay?" I said to him jolting him out of his mind. "Now why should I do that?" He shot back playfully. "Because unless you received your Doctoral Degree in Psychology in the past 24 hours, then I am the one that gets to question the possibly grieving roommate."

Booth's face was priceless.

"Wow... I never thought that I would feel this betrayed by my own partner, but I can officially put in the complaint..." He said with sarcasm that I knew he reserved specifically for me. "Okay Mr.Hotshot, you can interrogate the roommate, and when she gives us nothing to go off of, I will tell the bureau that we couldn't solve this case and whose fault it is." I said, a smug smile spreading across my features. The only response from Booth was a sigh letting me know that I had just won our little sarcasm bout.

"Okay fine."

Smiling I turned my gaze back to the passing scenery on our way. "Seriously though, how are you Booth?" I said without turning to see his face. "I'm fine, Liz. I just wanna get this guy. You know, I look at Marsha and I think of Parker. And when I think of Parker, I feel my blood begin to boil and I can't help but get angry!!"

As he gave his reasons, I felt my heart tighten as if my chest had no more room to hold it. Hearing Booth talk about his son, and hearing the emotion lacing his words, gave me a glimpse of my partner's paternal instincts. Stop analyzing him Lizzie.

Before I could respond, he stopped the car. Looking out of the window I saw the edifice of one of Georgetown University's student housing buildings. Hopping out of the car Booth and I headed inside looking for the dorm room that Marsha shared with her roommate.

"Ready to do this Liz?" Booth asked me with his charming smile firmly on his face.

"You know it Boothy. Lets do it." I said taking the lead and heading into the building, and completely missing the goofy smile that replaced Booth's charming smile directed at my receding back.

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