Chapter Sixteen: Keep Your Loved Ones Close

Hannah walked out into the fresh air with a smile on her face. Sunday mornings always did her good. Her church always left her in a good mood.

She'd left the house that morning with a small farewell to the cat and Booth, both agreeing to meet up at the Mailbox after both respective churches were finished and had arrived at Hillcrest Pentecostal church with a weary heart.

But now, she felt rejuvenated. Alive. Excited. No matter the fact that they still had a case to solve or a father to go and see but the pastor had said something that had sparked something in her mind that made her conclude something she hadn't thought of previously.

"Hannah, I'm so glad you came." Pastor Eric exclaimed as he caught up to her outside the church. Hannah grinned and shrugged.

"Unfortunately, work keeps me busy. But not today." Eric smiled at her and gave a light laugh.

"Yes, unfortunately that does happen. But I must say, you look much happier now than before the service." Hannah closed her eyes and smiled, shaking her head. "Rough week?"
"You wouldn't believe it." Eric laughed again.

"Being an FBI agent not living up to its full dream?"
"Oh, it's not that. Trust me. I love my job. It's just that this week has been more... of a trial that usual." Eric nodded thoughtfully.

"Well you know that Jane's and my door is always open to you, Hannah, if you ever need to talk." Hannah nodded. "Good. Well enjoy your day and do tell young James that we say hello."
"I will." Hannah cracked a laugh and waved goodbye to the pastor and returned to her car,  smoothing out her dress as she walked. The weather was staring to warm up again,  much to Hannah's happiness and this morning, had found that her dress was probably more to the liking of the church, society and to her legs. Jeans had proved to be too warm. Booth,  wasn't complaining when she walked out of the bathroom either, the dark purple dress loosely hugging her curves.

Driving to the Mailbox didn't take long either. Everything was conventionally located for Hannah, her preference to have everything within fifteen minutes of each other coming down to her grandmother's hate of traffic and long waits. Heather had instilled in Hannah from a young age that making sure good places were located at least fifteen minutes from your door were key to ensuring a happy, queless life.
Until she went to the Christmas sales that was.

Walking into her favourite café/bar/restaurant made her feel all the more energised as the thick smell of coffee and French fries greeted her nose. Taking a seat on one of the various bar stools, Hannah kept an eye out for Booth and greeted the barista as she meandered over from the coffee machine, pencil tucked into her bun as she greeted Hannah back.

"Howdy. What can I getcha?" Hannah grinned.

"Coffee. Lots of coffee." The barista nodded, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Now tell me, how would you feel about coffee with a twist?" The mischievous look on her face made Hannah raise an eyebrow.

"What kind of twist?"
"I can't tell you that, you'd just have to trust me." The barista grinned. Hannah nodded thoughtfully.

"Okay then. Make twisted coffee."
"Ohhh I like that. Twisted Coffee..." She mumbled to herself for a moment before moving to the kitchen window and slapped the frame before a string of rapid fire Spanish left her mouth. Hannah had to blink a couple of times to make sure that the tiny barista had actually said all that.

When she turned back around to start off her coffee, she saw Hannah staring at her with a semi-amused/confused expression on her face.

"You know, most people just say 'You speak Spanish?' But you, my friend, take the cake for best facial expression."
"I just... didn't see it coming,  that's all." The barista pulled a lever and the machine made a steaming noise and got her in the face with steam. Another string of Spanish words, one of which Hannah actually recognised as her calling the machine 'the devil' and laughed to herself. She pulled out her phone to check the time, hoping that Booth was already on his way there. 

"And... taadaa!" With a florish of whipped cream, Hannah was presented with a monster of a coffee that never would in her wildest dreams, be something she would ever order. Hannah turned the mug around to get a full 360 of it and nodded.

"This is... impressive."
"Why thank you. Twisted Coffee of my own design and imagination. And it should taste alright.  I wouldn't put anything in there that would be fundamentally insulting to the coffee community." The barista shook her head then motioned for Hannah to taste the beverage. Hannah raised her eyebrows and started a mental prayer in case the drink would overload her system entirely. When the hot drink hit her mouth, her taste buds exploded at the flavors the young woman had added. To be completely honest, it wasn't half bad.

"That is the most interesting coffee I have ever tasted."
"Is that a good or bad thing?"
"Undecided but I'll keep drinking it." She eagerly took another sip of it. "What's in here?"
"No idea. I just added whatever felt like needing to be added." Hannah hesitated at her third sip and with wide eyes, followed the barista who bounced happily to the counter to grab a plate with her eyes, slightly terrified to drink anymore.

"Here's a plate of cheesy fries by the way, my thanks for being my guinea pig... What?"
"You have no idea what you put in here?" Hannah's voice rose to a higher pitch.

"Oh don't be silly. It was something from this tray," She lifted a tray of assorted coffee additives, " not just any old thing. I experiment, not sabotage." Hannah laughed and relaxed, taking another sip of the drink that she decided she now liked. Putting it down, she grabbed a fry and saluted the woman before eating it.

"I'm Hannah, by the way. Hannah Price."
"Casey Rudolph at your service." The barista, now Casey, offered and grabbed a fry for herself, mentioning afterwards that it was a part of her free lunch offered to all the staff.

"Your phone, is ringing by the way." Casey said as she munched on a chip and pointing to Hannah's vibrating phone. Hannah jumped at it and answered it.

"Price."
"Hey, where are you?" Booths voice came through the phone, sounding rushed and put out.

"I'm at the Mailbox with my new friend who makes an excellent Twisted Coffee. Where are you?"
"I'm at the Jeffersonian. There's another body." Hannah went rim rod straight and Casey, who had returned from helping another customer, frowned as she watched her new friend go pale.

"New body how?"
"Can you come in?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Great, I'll see you then." Hannah just about hung up before pulling the phone back to her ear.

"Wait, Booth! Who is it?" Booth hesitated. "Booth..."
"It's Aurelia." Hannah hung up and was out of her seat, chucking a couple of crumpled notes that she found in her bag on the bench and apologised to Casey.

"Go get em!" Was all Casey could say before Hannah was out of the door.

*******************************

Booth wrapped an arm around Hannah's waist as they observed Aurelia's body.

"Estimated time of death is between 12 and 24 hours ago." Cam moved to the bottom of Aurelia's body and frowned.

The body of her friend looked like it had been munched on continuously making her almost unrecognizable if it weren't for a small part of flesh that hadn't been consumed. It was on her ankle, which had been covered by her ankle high boots. Once removed, Hannah had spotted the tiny tattoo of a butterfly that she had gotten in their first year if Quantico.

"How did she die?"
"We still don't know. But now that we have a more fleshy body, I might be able to determine cause of death and get Wendell and Brennan to compare the two bodies." Hannah nodded. Booth squeezed her shoulder and felt her give out a shaky breath.

"And the finger?"
"Exactly same as Mansons. Injuries are similar as well and the same glue was used to lodge it right up there." Brennan came up behind them, pulling on gloves as she walked. Wendell followed closely behind, looking grim. As he walked past, he reached out to touch Hannah's elbow, causing her eyes to prick at the slight gesture.

 "She wasn't dropped from a height, unlike Manson. But she does have defensive wounds along her arms and it looks like she may have been struck on the back as well." Brennan said after a few minutes of observations. Wendell moved the camera so that it was hovering over a spot on the crown of Aurelia's skull and frowned.

"Doctor Brennan, there appears to be something here." Hannah pulled away from Booth and was pulling her phone out, dialing Layas number. Booth watched as a sad look crossed her face.

"So... How long have you two been dating?"
"Who's dating?" Brennan's face popped up from the body, looking at Cam expectantly. Booth blinked a couple of times and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"A month? How'd you know?"
"I know you, Seeley. And I notice things."
"Who is dating?" Brennan asked again. Wendell suppressed a smile.

"Agent Booth and Agent Price." Brennan's eyes widened momentarily before relaxing.

"You are both clearly compatible with each other. Good luck." Booth frowned at his friend who went back to observing the mark on Aurelia's skull.

"You guys won't say anything, will you?"
"No. Especially not to Sweet so you don't have to worry." Cam confirmed.

"Laya, I have some bad news." Booth heard her say. After a minor pause her face tightened. "Where are you?" She turned to Booth, a quizzical look on her face.

"How long have you been here?"

"I'll meet you there, ya. See you then." She hung up and stared at her phone. "Laya wants to meet."
"She's in D.C? For how long?"
"A week. I'll let you know if she says anything of interest." Booth nodded and pulled her into a tight hug. Hannah gave him a bright smile, causing him to laugh and kiss her lightly on the cheek.

"Go. Be careful."
"Always." Hannah pulled away from the embrace and cupped his face briefly before turning and leaving, her heels clicking on the floor. Booth turned back to the team, all of them working over the body. Cam smiled.

******************************

Hannah drove the ten minutes to the meeting place Laya had mentioned. There was a ton of people milling around the playground at the park, and a conveniently placed ice cream truck. Hannah's stomach made its growling noise, reminding her of those few chips she had eaten, gifted to her by Casey. She wished she had eaten more.

Scanning the crowd, Hannah slipped on her sunglasses on so that she didn't  have to squint. She stopped looking after ten minutes, finally catching a glimpse of Layas bright red curls glinting in the sun. Hannah moved towards her, weaving between the people, narrowly missing a pram that just about ran into her.

"Laya?" Hannah called, grabbing her attention. Laya turned around to spot Hannah and gave her a small wave, a tight smile on her face.

"Hannah!" Laya Cardinal pulled Hannah into an awkward hug. Laya had never been one for physical contact unless it was romantically and that only happened in what felt to be once in a blue moon. "I'm so happy to see you, my friend."
"And you. How are you?" Hannah took a seat on the park bench as Laya did, sitting delicately with her hands folded across her lap. Hannah had spent five years trying to figure how Laya, delicate, polite and mild-mannered Laya, would decide to join the FBI. She had a slight lilting accent, something Laya had due to her parents being French. That mixed with being American made her sound like a proper lady.

"I've been okay. It's been an... interesting year. I got my pilot license with Franklin. Do you remember Franklin?" Franklin Douglas had been another guy in their class, who had been sent with Laya to the land of the sun and no cold.
Franklin Douglas had also creeped Hannah out. A lot.

"Interesting. Very interesting." Hannah frowned. "Why are you in DC, Lay?"
"I came to visit my grandmother. She's not been well." There was a twinge to her voice that Hannah caught on to. She frowned.

"You're lying." That made Laya frown in return.

"I'm not lying, Hannah. I never would. What would I have to lie about?" Now Hannah felt that feeling return to her gut, the feeling Booth had always told her to trust.

"Laya..." The woman had never been a great lier making it harder for her to be able to get out of situations. "We both know that you can't lie." Laya didn't say anything.

"Tim and Aurelia are dead. You've been here for about the same amount of time that Tim's been dead." Layas gaze flickered to meet Hannah's eyes, her dark brown eyes unreadable.

"You think I would kill them? I loved them. They were my friends!" Hannah had thought all of it over on the drive over, making a brief call to the airport. Hannah had been able to glean the information she needed. What she now needed was information, information that clearly, only Laya could give her.

"Why did you want to meet, Laya? What do you want?"
"To see you. I wanted to see my friend." Hannah could hear the sadness in her voice this time, the slight plead for her to understand. Hannah tilted her head and reached out to squeeze her hand.

"I missed you too. But this isn't good timing, you have to admit." Laya nodded, her hair falling over her face. Hannah pulled away and stood up, sighing.

"One more question, before I go."
"Of course."
"Well, two questions really. Do you remember any one from our class who would stick the fingers up the nose of the pretend victims?" Laya frowned and thought for a moment. Her eyes widened.

"Franklin..." A light bulb went off in her head.

"Oh Hannah, he flew opposite me to get here." Hannah cursed, something rarely heard.

"Of course! Now I remember. Why didn't I remember earlier?" She pulled out her phone, pressing 1. Booth had moved his number to her speed dial a month before they both confessed how they felt.

"Booth, hey.  Find- What? Hold on." She pulled the phone away. "What gun does he carry?"
"A .45. Why?" Hannah relayed the information back to Booth. She swore again.

"We need to find Franklin Douglas."She said as she hurries away, leaving Laya behind in the park.

*****************************

"Clear!" Hannah called as she checked another room. She entered the hall, meeting Booth there. Together they moved down the hall of the rented hotel room, the two of them watching each other's backs. The warrent that Caroline Julian had managed to get for them was tucked neatly inside Booths vest.

"Agent Booth! We've got something." One of agents they had brought as backup yelled from the front room. The two of them rushed forward, entering the room.

Sitting, cross-legged on the ground, with his eyes closed and his mouth in a tight line, sat Franklin Douglas.

"And to what, do I owe this pleasure?" He opened his eyes and saw Hannah. "Hannah Price! It's been a while."
"Douglas. You've been busy."
"How so?" He cocked his head and then saw the numerous guns pointed at him. "Ah. You think I killed your friends?" Hannah readjusted her grip while Booth talked.

"We have reason to believe that you killed Manson and Diamond, yes."
"Well I didn't."
"Their fingers were lodged up their noses, Douglas. Just like class. With the exact same injuries YOU would inflict on victims." Shaking his head, Franklin got up, straightening his suit jacket as he did so. He was dressed like he was ready for  day at work. Franklin shook his head.

"You pissed Manson off when you slept with Aurelia."
"I wasn't the only person who slept with Aurelia but yes, I did piss him off." Hannah waited for Booth to add more.

"And when Manson cheated on Aurelia, you were there to comfort her, weren't you?" Franklin nodded.  "What happened, Douglas?"
"I moved to LA. This was the first time I've left LA since Quantico."
"Get that confirmed." Hannah barked. One of the agents, a guy called Steven's, nodded and disappeared.

"You may want to have a look at Laya, Price. Shes been naughty." Franklin wiggled his eyebrows. Hannah frowned.

"What the hell does that mean?" Hannah lowered her gun slightly. Franklin grinned mischievously.

"Let's just say, she batted for both teams." Hannah was distracted momentarily as Steven's came back.

"LA confirms he hasn't left." Hannah nodded.

"Stand down." Hannah ordered, lowering her own gun. "You better explain what you mean."
"Why? You knew Laya well, didn't you?" Hannah nodded. Franklin sighed.

"For an FBI agent, you are very unhelpful."
"We can have you arrested for impeding an investigation." Booth threatened.

Franklin paled a little.

"She slept with both Manson and Aurelia."
"And they chose each other over her." 
Booth assessed and then cast a look at Hannah.

"Fudging hillbillies. That pain in the tosh! She lied to me!" Booth led her out of the room, motioning to their team to follow.

"She was jealous. In love with either one or the other or hell, even both."
"So she killed Timothy when he said no. When he chose Aurelia."
"And dropped him in the ocean as she was flying here." Booth got into the car and Hannah was behind the wheel. She frowned momentarily.

"How in the hell..." in their rush, they had accidentally swapped sides in Booths ute.

"Never mind that. Just go!" Booth yelled. Hannah nodded and turned on the car, leading the way to take down her own friend.

Authors Note:

Yikesssssssss.
I'm not 100% happy with this chapter but I needed to get it out of my system  and if I didn't publish it,  then it wasn't gonna get done.

And now I start uni on Monday. And I've been watching Harry Potter and The Umbrella Academy and working and good grief I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

But anyway. Goodnight, my pretties. Enjoy 💕

》Bree《