The Universe's Mixer

Jennifer had a stack of papers on her desk, files. She was going through them to assemble the best set of information she could. There were a lot of duplicated things here, and a lot of leads that had gone nowhere. She wanted the information that actually had something to do with the case to be easily accessible.

This wasn't just for her and Charlie, either. They'd found a third pair of eyes that would be good on this case. A pair of eyes that apparently knew what to look for on bodies and were used to solving cases that didn't have apparent leads. Jennifer had read what she could about this Dr Brennan without prying into personal things. She had looked up what kind of doctor she was and her case history. It was all very impressive.

She wasn't going to deny Brennan a chance to look at the broken leads, as it might give her ideas of what to look for, but Jennifer wanted them in a different file. This was the biggest thing to happen to the case since they'd found the giant man right before the City had gone still. A real chance at being able to discover little clues that she and Charlie might have missed because neither of them were trained in the way that this doctor was. They didn't know what to look for.

The file was filled with every picture of every scene that she had been able to dig up. Some of them were truly gruesome, but she thought that Brennan could handle it.

She looked at her watch. Where was Charlie, anyway? She had made sure to note the meeting on as many places as she could think of, even sticking reminder notes into his pockets. This was important to her. Not that it wasn't important to him, too. But she'd been so concerned over these murders for so long, she just didn't want any little chance to slip by unused.

There were times when Brennan missed home. She liked going to the Royal Diner and for drinks at the Founding Fathers. She knew there were bars and restaurants she could go to here, but she hadn't really done a lot of exploring since she'd been back and she knew that none of the people she knew would be there anyway. She was feeling nostalgic, though, so she donned her trench coat and hit the sidewalks looking for a diner.

Her boots made small thudding noises on the concrete as she wandered along. Finally, she spied a building that looked promising. She pulled the door open and stepped inside and sidled up to the bar. She didn't want to take up a whole table or booth for herself. That was just silly.

She picked up a menu when it was placed in front of her and immediately ordered a chocolate shake. She was perusing the dinner options when she saw a shadow fall over the bar and then a body settle into the bar stool beside her. It was all in her peripheral, so she didn't get a good look, and since she was not all that great with social interactions, she didn't look up and try to make conversation, either.

She just kept studying that menu for something that sounded good.

Brennan had more or less settled into life in the City once more. It was different, without everything moving around and the unnerving refill of food and funds. It was like life at home. She bought groceries from the store, made her own meals, did her own laundry, worked at the lab and pretended that it was all very normal. It wasn't, of course. She had neither friend nor family in this place, but for once she was unconcerned with being alone.

The doctor was working on a skeleton that had been found at the bottom of a well long unused. Apparently the only reason the skeleton had been found at all was the offensive smell of decomposing flesh. The flesh, or what was left of it, had since been removed, and she was combing the boiled bones for hints as to the cause of death.

She was reminded of the bones of the young man that Dr. Lecter had brought to her for examination the first time she was brought to the City. She straightened, settling the gloved heels of her hands on the exam table. She wondered if Dr. Lecter was still in the City and recalled that he had been working at the Hospital at the time. She rolled her lips and imagined that he must still be there. And perhaps he had finally gotten through the volumes of text she had given him to study.

She stepped back from the table. The bones could wait. She snapped her gloves off and tossed them in the bin as she made her way to the exit. She could feel something like excitement building. She hadn't had a real intern, a regular intern, for some time. She enjoyed teaching, and that part of her life was something she would miss. But maybe she didn't have to.

She arrived at the hospital a short time later and asked reception until she was directed to his area, after which she was unsure of where to go and adopted a furrowed brow as she glanced around for someone to further direct her.

A RUN IN- LITERALLY (Thomas)

Brennan was settling in alright. It wasn't the same this time around, not with what had been happening lately. The city going still and all. It had taken her relatively no time to find her apartment, the same one she'd had before (or at least it appeared to be the same- it was difficult to tell considering it was an exact replica of her apartment in DC), and her lab. The lab even had a couple of files she'd been working on when she left. Bones didn't disintegrate, though, and she was grateful she still had some puzzles to figure out. The last thing she wanted was too much time to herself to think.

Perhaps because she was so used to taking care of herself, she didn't resent the change in the City as much as others. But that didn't mean she didn't have questions. Mainly, what had happened to cause the change?

She put down the skull she was working on and pulled her gloves off. Trashing them, she left the platform and walked toward the exit. She wanted some coffee and a breath of fresh air. She was pretty sure she had enough change for a cup of joe and was rummaging in her pocket, not paying attention to what was in front of her, when she ran right into a solid being.

She took a step back, slightly flustered and embarrassed, "I apologize, I should have been watching where I was going."

Temperance Brennan glanced back at Booth as he headed out of the airport. They'd said their goodbyes. Indonesia was waiting for her to further investigate the interspecies hominid remains that could be a crucial link in the evolutionary chain. She turned and continued toward the terminal where her flight was getting ready to leave. She knew that she needed this break, not only from the Jeffersonian and solving crimes, but from Booth. She wouldn't be getting completely away from the Jeffersonian, though, not with Daisy tagging along. But they were both going for the same purpose.

The flight was long and Brennan read when she wasn't sleeping. Her First Class accommodations treated her well and she was comfortable. But she was relieved when she finally felt the plane touch down. She gathered her belongings and met Daisy at the door. She stepped out of the plane, fully expecting to set her foot down on the tarmac, but instead, she stepped out onto a concrete sidewalk with high rise buildings on all sides.

It was not Indonesia, but it was familiar. She sighed in frustration, not knowing how long it would be this time, and if she would ever get to examine those remains in Indonesia. She had her carry-on suitcase with her, and as she patted her pockets, she found that a set of keys, a bank card and a cell phone had appeared. It seemed the City had her again.

Angela didn't think it was possible to get lost as she walked from the market on the corner, back to her apartment. Then again, knowing her luck, she would get lost when she was already late to start dinner. Hodgins was probably on his way over by now, and dammit she wanted to have everything in the oven and on the stove when he arrived. Okay, so maybe that was a little too Susie Homemaker, but a girl could still be a fiercely independent woman and enjoy cooking for her man. Plus, the look on his face would be priceless.

Somehow it didn't seem like she'd get to see that look after all. She had absolutely no idea where she was. Not just turned around or on the wrong street. She was the 'Toto I don't think we're in Kansas anymore' kind of lost. Uh oh.

There were many things that Hannibal could do. Many types of science that he could wrap his head around. What he knew well was done with ease, the things he didn't, he could pick up simply. He had very little need for outside help.

Of course, there were some sciences that hadn't been around in 1951. Things that he still hadn't had anything to do with in these new modern times. And unfortunately for him, he didn't have the time to sit down and learn. He needed information now.

A girl had come in. She'd been in a car wreck. Badly injured. She was so badly disfigured, that they'd had to find alternative ways to determine that she was, in fact, female. As unfortunate that all was, she wasn't the problem. It's what she had with her that was causing the issue. And it was his issue, because it had been handed off to him. Like he'd know what to do with it, other than look at it. He didn't even know what sorts of tests should be run, because he didn't know what he was looking for.

It frustrated him to have this road block. But people were demanding answers, and nobody was willing to be patient. Hannibal figured that it was dead anyway, so what was another week or so of waiting while he got the books he needed and studied them? They wanted the answers now. Whatever they could get right away. So he knew that he was going to have to call in somebody else. Some kind of help.

After some inquiry through various hospital channels, he discovered a name and a number. He sat in his lab and picked up the phone. It rang four times before it was answered.

"Yes. May I speak to Temperance Brennan, please?"

( Dreaming... )