After Life [Seeley Booth Fanfic]

Ghost From The Past

Meanwhile, Booth is breaking into the Jeffersonian by shooting the door after he got a call from Cam about the damage power source there. Everyone were locked in their respective space. Cam is in her office with Angela but they can't get ahold of Hodgins for hours. "Still no calls from him?" He keeps the line with Cam for any updates possible.
"We called his cellphone, it gets through but he didn't pick the call. As for Agent Dale, straight to voicemail. But an employee reported to me to hear a blast from the elevator shaft."
"Alright, I'm currently at the center of the building, I'll check the elevator. Call you again Cam."

He goes from floor to floor and to call out Hodgins name. "Hodgins!!! Dale!!!" And when he reach the baseman, he can hear a weak smack on the elevator door. "Help! Please, someone!" Booth gets closer to the door and trying to open the door but it's too hard. "Hodgins!! You're there??"
"Booth! Booth you gotta open the door or Dale is gonna die."
"What?"
"She's bleeding too much. Hurry up!" Booth runs to maintenance room and gets a crowbar. After a couple of minutes, he gets the door wide open. There he sees Both Hodgins and Dale on the floor.

"Booth, she's not waking up." Booth got him out first and then jumps into the elevator to gets Dale. "We need to get her to hospital." Booth picks her up on his arms while Hodgins goes to get his car key from Angela.

Hodgins and Angela are on the front seat while Booth is back there with Dale. For a brief moment, Dale opens her eyes. "Dale! Hey, stay with me. You hear me?"
She puts her hand on his face and mumbles incoherently, "....Ryohei?"

She passed out again right after, leaving Booth confused. "What she just said? What is Ryohei?" Angela looks back at Booth but he is as clueless as everyone else. "I think it's a name. Hodgins, did she say anything about this when she was stuck with you?"
"No, all we did was talking about this case. We thought that the killer is a woman who works at the Jeffersonian, particullarly at the bone room. And something about Carl Ericsson being the next target."
"Nothing else?"
"Well, there is something, but I don't think I can tell you anything. It was like a deathbed confession to me. Not related to the case. Why?"
"There's a reason I bring her to work with us, to catch Brennan's killer. She had a suspect on her mind but refused to tell me at that time, she knew I would've hunt that person and kill whoever it is."

Hodgins is reluctant to say anything further but it seems Booth might get the wrong idea. "I mean...she didn't say anything about the suspect but she talked about...someone that she loved, that's all I can tell you... so this Ryohei could be that person."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, totally. You should't tell her that I told you about it. Okay?"
"Uhm..yeah, sure. But that's the least of our concern for now."

After get Dale to a hospital, Hodgins talks to Booth and asking him to go and work on the case. "Her being here was an accident, but it wouldn't have happened if she wasn't working on this case and get a direct isight from Ericsson. You need to go and meet him in order to catch the killer."
"I shouldn't have brought her in the first place."
"It doesn't matter now, being stuck with her in that elevator for hours makes me seeing her in a different light. I admit she keeps a lot of secrets, but I see no ill intention."
"Fine, I'll be back after I wrap the case."

Booth goes with Dale's phone in hand, there's a call log from Carl earlier that day so he can try to track him down with this information. Turns out he stays inside his family mansion all day, so Booth decided to pay him a visit.

When he arrives, to his surprise there's no security here. The Ericsson mansion is usually packed with bodyguards and others who protect Carl. That's why the authorities have yet been able to enter this place. "Why is it so empty. It doesn't make sense."

Carefully, he walks in and goes straight to Carl's bedroom where a scream could be heard. "This is what happened when you kicked me out! You think the public will still sympathize with you after Ericsson's knife was involved in the killing of civilians?" A woman seems to be inside. Carl calmly answers, "I know you tried to set me up. Someone came to me about the murder and I instantly think of you. I'm sure she will prove my innocence."
"She's gonna be stuck for a while, that's enough time for me to kill you."

Booth breaks in with a gun pointed at the woman, she's holding the stolen knife and Carl also holds what seems like the freshly made Ericsson's bone knife. "Drop the knife, both of you." She won't surrender without a fight and run towards Carl. Booth stops her by shooting her on the leg, and then looks at Carl, "You too, drop the knife!" He looks at Booth and then place the knife carefully on the table. "Easy...I haven't done anything wrong."
"Yeah? Get on your knees now."

Meanwhile at the hospital, after 2 hours of surgery, Dale is finally stable and safe. Hodgins and Angela decided to stay until she wakes up. "You really think this Ryohei is Dale's lover instead of Brennan's killer? Because I can't find this guy anywhere."
"I think so. I mean, she erased her entire past so I'm not surprised you can't find any connection between them. I don't know how to explain this, but by the look on her face when she told me about her lover, it seems like he's already dead."
"Well...that makes sense."
"How?"
"She thought she was gonna die, and she mistook Booth for someone who's already dead."

"Hey, any updates?" Booth rushes in where Hodgins and Angela are sitting. "Dale is stable, but she hasn't woken up yet. You catch her?"
"Yes, she was one of the employees who worked in the bone room, Stella Braxton."
"Stella? That bitch really...."

A doctor came out with a smile, "Excuse me Mr. Hodgins, I'd like to inform you that Ms. Dale woke up a couple minutes ago, you can go in to check her up."