The Evaluation

• Chapter One •

"How's it goin' in there Booth?" Henry's soothing voice spoke and she could practically hear the smile that painted his lips, despite her eyes being glued to the IED before her.

"It'd be going a lot better if you stopped distracting me," Riley commented with a light, playful tone. A light grin played at her lips when she heard light laughter.

"Damn, Magnus," The voice was easily recognizable as Erickson, who had always had a childlike tone. "You better get your fiancé." He laughed lightheartedly.

"The longer I spend with you people the more I love being here. IED or not." Riley chuckled at Yang's words before clipping a wire.

"Alright, I got it." Riley said lightly as she started to pick it up, "dispose of this and we all go home." She smiled and turned toward the group. Henry approached her with a smile and carefully took the IED from her hands.

"Grab your stuff, I'll take care of this." He told her and turned to head out of the abandoned building. Riley smiled, her hazel eyes trailing after the male before gathering her tools. As she moved toward the exit she noticed that Henry, along with Keenan and Sophia had stopped in their tracks.

"What's wrong?" Riley asked lightly as she started to approach, "Henry," she spoke and tilted her head.

"Riley-" before the man could continue, the blast had consumed him, Keenan, and Sophia. The force of the blast had knocked Riley back, causing her to hit her head.

In a matter of seconds Riley shot up from the couch in a cold sweat, a shriek of terror escaped her. Her hands shook as the moved to cover her face, needing a minute to breathe. Seeley's bedroom door swung open, his bureau issued Glock 19 in his hands. When he noticed Riley's state, he lowered the gun and his face fell slightly. He hurried over to the girl, placing his gun on the coffee table as he sat beside her.

"Hey, Ri, it's okay," he said gently and pulled her into a tight hug, rubbing her back, "Riley, that's the third time this week." He recalled gently and sighed a little, "you gotta talk to me, or Jared, or- or somebody." He told her though he sighed when she began to shake her head.

"I'm fine," she insisted quietly and rubbed away the tears that had begun to pool in her eyes. "It's only been a few weeks, I'll-" she shrugged and swallowed hard, "I'll be okay, I just need some time." She told him before standing up and running a hand through her messy brown hair. "What time is it?" She asked him gently as yawn forced its way out.

Seeley had glanced at the clock on the entertainment center, "a little after six," he told her and stood up shortly after, "I gotta get ready for work." He commented and glanced at the girl, "why don't you come with me?" He asked her lightly, "you can get outta the apartment, keep yourself busy, maybe it'll help." He offered as Riley began to nod.

"Yeah, sure, I- wait, are you allowed to do that?" She then asked as she looked at him, brows furrowed as he nodded simply.

"Yeah, we'll get you a visitors pass," he told her with a casual smile, "alright, go." He said lightly, "take a shower, get dressed, we leave in thirty." He told her and headed back to his room.

Riley grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom, letting the scolding hot water run as she peeled off her sweaty pajamas before stepping in, relaxing as she felt the pelting water hit her skin.

A while later she turned off the water and stepped out, wrapping a towel around herself before going to the mirror. She wiped away the condensation from the glass and stared at reflection for a moment. Her eyes moved to the dog tags around her neck, a dainty engagement ring added to it. She closed her eyes for a moment, jumping slightly when she heard a knock on the door.

"Riley let's go," Seeley called gently, "I gotta get to the Jeffersonian and grab Bones." He told her and glanced at his watch.

"I'll be right out." Riley told him as she started to get dressed. She pulled on a pair of dark frayed jeans and gray T-shirt before slipping a brown belt through the loops of her jeans. She brushed through hair, soft waves forming as it dried.

When she walked out of the bathroom she saw Seeley folding up the blanket she'd been using. His gaze then shifted to her and he gave her a small, gentle smile.

"Ready to go?" He asked her as he raised his brows.

"Almost," she murmured lightly, grabbing her tattered high tops and pulling them on, she laced them up before nodding once. "Let's go," she headed for the door, grabbing a faded jean jacket and pulled it on as she headed for the stairs while Seeley locked up.

The ride to the Jeffersonian was quiet. Seeley had occasionally glanced at Riley while he drove, but the girls gaze was focused on anything and everything outside her window, like her mind was elsewhere. He knew she had gone through something deeply traumatic, though she wouldn't open up and tell him. He found it frustrating though he understood not wanting to relive it.

Riley zoned back in when Seeley parked the car, "you want me to stay here or am I coming in to meet the team?" She asked him as she raised a brow, watching as he unbuckled his seatbelt and began to open his door.

"Come on in." He smiled. The girl nodded once and followed after him. They checked in before heading to the lab. The girl looked around curiously in awe and smiled a little.

"Nice," she muttered under her breath as Seeley swiped some sort of keycard before heading up the few steps to a platform.

"Male. Caucasian. Late teens, early twenties. approximately six feet tall." Riley's gaze shifted to a dark haired woman, intently analyzing a set of human remains. "The metacarpals on his right hand appear to have been fractured, but given the way they healed it likely wasn't properly tended to. I'd assume the injury was caused from football. Our victim was probably a quarterback, though I'm sure he wasn't very good after he broke his hand." She continued.

Riley looked at Seeley and cocked an eyebrow, "she got all that from a busted up hand?" She questioned as Seeley grinned and the woman turned, finally acknowledging their presence.

"Hello," the woman stated simply before looking to Seeley.

"Alright, Bones, this is my sister, Riley. Riley this is Dr. Temperance Brennan. She's brilliant." Seeley gushed as the woman nodded.

"That's true, I am quite brilliant." She stated, causing Riley to smile, "it's nice to finally meet you. Booth mentioned you quite a few times," Temperance recalled and smiled as she shook the girls hand, meanwhile Seeley grabbed his phone, answering an incoming phone call, "he's very proud." She added. Riley smiled lightly.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Dr.Brennan." Riley said as she shook her hand before furrowing her brows, "if you don't mind my asking," she began, "why does Seeley call you Bones?" She asked her.

"I'm a renowned forensic anthropologist. I study bones and help Booth solve murders." She stated simply and Riley nodded at her words.

"Fair enough." She said with a smile. Seeley reproached the women after ending his call.

"Alright, we got a lead on the first victim," he told Temperance who nodded and began to unbutton her lab coat, draping it over a chair. Seeley then looked at Riley, "I'll be back in about forty-five minutes, why don't you stay here, you can uh-" he scanned the platform before his eyes landed on Angela, "oh, you can help Angela ID the victim." He told her as Angela looked over at the mention of her name.

Seeley then quickly lead Temperance out of the lab. Riley shook her head a bit and turned toward the woman that Seeley had previously gestured to, "Angela?" She asked with a light smile. The woman's smile was warm and inviting as she nodded.

"Little Booth?" Angela asked as Riley chuckled.

"Riley," she introduced. Angela nodded a bit and glanced at the skull then back at the girl before her.

"Well Riley, you can come with me." She assured and began to lead the girl from the platform to her office.