(Nov. 8 2009)- Hey! I'm new to the Bones fandom (only started watching 3 weeks ago--watching every single episode from the start). I've grown to love the cast and the characters are some of the best I've seen. My favorite character is Zack (or is it Zach? I prefer Zack since there was this kid in my 8th grade science class named Zach and he smelled funny) so of course I started reading a few Zack-fics on . I liked a few of them and thought I should contribute one of my own.

And this is how this story came to be :D

Summary: Alice Carson took an internship with Dr Sweets hoping to get a BS in psychology. But a patient, a certain Zack Addy, unknowingly, makes his way to her heart making it her goal to prove his innocence. Meanwhile people from Zack's past put everyone in danger…

Timeline: Post-season four. Beginning of season five.

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I don't own Bones. If I did, well…lets say I have a tendency not to finish what I started…

O-N-E

She was impatient.

That wasn't news to her at all. She had known that; it wasn't exactly a secret. Impatience wasn't exactly the best trait to have in the field she was trying to get into. Having to listen to people drone about their life? Talk about irritating. But she liked to help people, so that's why she wanted to be a psychologist.

The loud tick-tock noise that emitted from the clock across her was starting to get on her nerves. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. It was so ANNOYING.

She groaned. She felt like it had been hours (in reality only five minutes) since the receptionist sent her to wait for Dr. Lance Sweets.

She sighed, a piece of her dark brown hair flying upward. Alice had finished undergraduate school and already spent two of the three years working for her Bachelors. It's her third year and she had been required to take an internship with a psychologist to get the degree. She wasn't exactly sure what would happen to her after she got her Bachelors, maybe get her Masters and Doctorate if her parents were generous, but she hoped that it would be soon.

With a dazed look on her face, Alice didn't notice the figure walk over to her. He cleared his throat, snapping her from her thoughts. She looked up, coming face to face with a man who looked no older then herself.

He was dressed up in the normal suit-and-tie attire everyone in this building shared. He stood there holding a file--her file--in his hands. He glanced down at it before addressing her.

"Alicia Carson?" he asked.

"It's Alice." She mentally winced. It had always been a reflex for her to say that. She blushed. "Ah…sorry…I just automatically…"

He smiled, waving it off. "It's okay. I'm Dr. Lance Sweets. I'm sorry I kept you waiting, but I had a case to help with."

Alice looked at him incredulously. "You're Dr. Sweets? But you look like you're… twelve…"

It was obvious she was sarcastic, but Sweets looked annoyed at Alice's outburst. For a moment she wished she had taken what she said back. "I'm twenty-four." He sighed. "It's fine. You're not the first person to underestimate my abilities, it really isn't new."

"Sorry," was all she could utter. What else could she say? He was still young; only a year older than her, and he already had his Doctorate, while she didn't even have her Bachelors.

Wow she felt stupid.

Sweets lead her inside his office. She looked around. A nice soft couch sat right in front of the door, and across from it, a comfortable looking arm chair. A random plant stood next to the door, probably giving the room a more lively feeling. However it failed--miserably. The office seemed sort of plain. Then again, everything seemed incredibly boring in this building. You would think the FBI would have better decorating skills.

Sweets sat at the arm chair making Alice sit on the couch. She knew she was going to be analyzed; she could spot the look Sweets had a mile away, it was a look Alice herself would make when analyzing someone. She knew she had to make a good impression on Sweets in order to get this internship--and she knew she partially screwed that up by calling him a twelve year old.

Sweets leaned back into his chair, his hands folded. "So Alice," he paused raising an eyebrow as her leaned back onto the couch, "why did you want to take this internship?"

Was he seriously asking this question? Surely he knew about her Bachelors degree. Maybe it was a test?

She took a deep breath before stating what seemed like a rehearsed line in a play. "The reason is because I'm trying to get my Bachelor's in psychology. For the third year it is required to take an internship with a psychologist."

Seemed satisfied with her response, Sweets nodded. "Well, my job isn't only to listen to people talk about their problems. I'm a profiler for the FBI."

Alice's eyes sparkled with interest. "Profiler? I was told I did acceptingly well profiling people by my first psychology professor."

Sweets smiled, amused at her response. "You seem like an awesome person, and your professor recommended you. I trust that guy's thoughts."

Alice beamed, excited for gaining this internship, but she kept that to herself, making sure her emotions were in check.

"Thank you very much, Dr. Sweets," was her robotic response. "If there is anything else you want me to do…?"

Sweets shook his head. "Nothing really. Just make sure you get her at 8:00 tomorrow morning. I have a patient we need to visit before we head to the Jeffersonian."

Alice nodded, slightly confused. She thought that patients usually came to the doctor. Then again, Sweets was young, he could have an unorthodox way handling things.

She stood up, but paused. "Wait? The Jeffersonian? Why are we going there?" She was honestly curious. What did the Jeffersonian Institute had to do with anything?

Sweets smiled. "I said I was a profiler, right?"

Still confused, Alice shook her head and walked out of the room.

----------

He felt safer in here.

Behind the barbwire fence, inside the large cold, dark building, away from any danger--away from them.

He wasn't sure who they were, but they were out there, waiting; waiting for him. He'd rather be in prison then out there, even if Hodgins said he wouldn't survive. Inside here…he was safe.

He was staring out the tiny window (it wasn't like there was anything else to do here), when the door to his room opened. He glanced at the door briefly before looking back at the clear evening sky.

It was Irene, the nurse taking care of him. She probably came to announce that it was time for dinner.

Irene was a plump woman in her mid-fifties, with kind blue eyes and a set of curly gray hair. She was nice to Zack; a trait that most nurses and doctors lacked here--she treated him like her own child. And as crazy as it sounded, she kind of reminded him of his mother.

"Zack? It's time for dinner." He smiled, in spite of how he was feeling; he was right--naturally.

He silently got up from the chair he was sitting and made his way over to Irene. He particularly didn't enjoy eating. Because his hands were pretty much blown off, he had to be fed. That made him feel like a child, and he didn't like that at all.

The two left his room, walking down the long hall that led to the elevator. The hallway was plain white, unlike the inside of the dark rooms. It was mostly empty, considering it was dinner time, but there a few patients, the severally crazy ones, who had to have their food brought to them. They deemed Zack not as insane, allowing him to eat with the others. But sometimes he wished they thought he was crazier so he would get to stay at his room and not be fed in front of the others--not that those people cared at all.

Irene broke the long silence with small talk Zack appreciated every once in a while. "How was your day, Zack?"

How was his day? It was just like any other day. He woke up at around 5:00 and got fed breakfast by one of the newer nurses. She was terrified of him, knowing all about what happened in his past. At 8:30 Sweets came to "evaluate" how he was doing. That evaluation was mostly trying to get him to speak the truth. But of course Zack brought back the doctor-patient confidentiality issue he threw in Sweets' face every visit. Eventually Sweets gave up, saying something that had to make the genius think for the rest of the day. At around noon, he was fed lunch by one of the harsher nurses. He would shove whatever the crap they served down his throat, almost making him choke. He had no visitors today, so he laid down on his bed staring at the small window near the ceiling all day.

They reached the elevator and Zack answered quite simply, "Fine." And wanting to be polite to the only person who somewhat cared, he added, "How was your day Irene?"

Irene's blue eyes sparkled with happiness. "Oh it was wonderful! My baby boy's finally all grown up and married! It only felt like it was yesterday when I was changing his diapers!"

Zack had to bite his tongue in order to refrain himself from asking why she would change her son's diapers when he was a grown man. The old Zack would ask that, but the new one? He kept everything to himself.

He nodded his head as they stepped into the elevator. "Congratulations." He was sure that's what you told someone when they get married.

Irene gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you, Zack. That means a lot to me."

He gave her a crooked smile as the door closed.

----------

"Yo! You finished lugging my stuff?"

Alice groaned. She thought that leaving Jersey meant being away from her family--being away from her obnoxious twin brother.

She wiped the sweat that was dripping down her brow and sighed, pushing the last box into her apartment. Her brother just flew in from their small town in the middle of New Jersey to DC. It was a drastic change if you asked her. Being surrounded by trees and green fields and then instantly living in city with bustling cars and many people. It was something Alice hadn't gotten used to at first.

Her brother walked into the apartment holding a small bag slung over his shoulder. He grinned at his sister throwing the bag on the couch, nearly knocking over a lamp.

"Hey!" Alice scolded, rushing over to the lamp, making sure it was steady. "I'm letting you stay here, Gabe, and I expect you not to break anything." Gabe rolled his eyes, plopping himself on her couch. She stalked over to him, getting into his face. "Anything," she threatened.

He rolled his eyes again, gently pushing her away. "Come on Allie. It'll only be until I get my own place. Let me have some fun."

Alice sighed. She hated being the responsible twin. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Gabe looked down, his laidback demeanor vanishing. "I wanted to get away from it all." She looked at him asking him to elaborate. He sighed. "You're here having a life becoming what you want to be,while I'm back home, working at the same place I did since high school! I need some fun."

She raised an eyebrow, her hands on her hips. "So you hop on a plane to DC? New York City is only a forty-five minute drive from the house. You could've moved there."

Gabe grinned like a child at his sister. "I wanted to be closer to my twinie." Alice glared at him as he laughed. He knew she hated when he called her that, but he is her brother, it was his job.

She sighed, making him grin like a fool. "Okay fine. That's a legitimate reason, I guess. As long as I won't have to bail you out of jail or something, It'll be alright if you stay here--" Gabe jumped up from the couch to give his sister a hug. She held her hand out halting him from attacking her. "Only until you get an apartment. After that I want you out."

Gabe nodded his head. "Fair enough." He gave her a quick hug before sitting himself back on the couch. He flicked on the TV, a news channel on. Staring at the screen, he asked. "So how have you been, Al?"

Alice shrugged situating herself next to Gabe. "Pretty good. Only a year left until I get my Bachelors."

Gabe turned to look at her, an astonished look across his face. "Your Bachelors? For what?"

She stared at him as if he had seven heads. "Psychology… I thought you knew that…"

He snorted, ignoring the last part of her statement. "So you're going to help crazy people? I heard that working with crazy people drives you insane yourself."

"No it doesn't," she retorted lamely.

"Sureee…" He drawled out. He was just teasing her, but Alice would sometimes take his jokes a little too seriously.

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it's required that I have to take an internship with a psychologist. And the doctor that I'm interning for is twenty-four."

Gabe's eyebrows shot upward. "Twenty-four? And he's a doctor? Is that even legit?"

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "He works for the FBI, so I guess so." He had a thoughtful look on his face. Probably thinking how he would be as an FBI agent…Of course, she thought rolling her eyes. "You hungry? I know a couple of good places to go to eat." Gabe opened his mouth to ask something. "…And we're not going to any bars."

"Party pooper," he pouted dejectedly. "You gotta learn how to live."

She grabbed her jacket and car keys by the door. It was getting colder seeing as it was late November. "I know how to live, but I have to go to work at 8 in the morning."

----------

He sat up with a start, violently shaking; he tried to stop it by wrapping his arms around himself. Drenched with sweat, panting, trying to breath evenly, he counted to ten; something he didn't' understand why people did--how could counting calm a person down--but it apparently was working for him at that moment.

He tried to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness and glanced at the clock that sat next to the table near his bed. 3:32 AM

He sighed, still a bit shaken up.

He had no idea what that dream had meant. But that girl, that girl who he couldn't decipher the face of, was in danger. And he was the cause of it.

Zack laid back down, eyes still wide with fear, slipping into an uneasy slumber.

What do you think about Alice? I was trying my best not to make her sound Mary-Sue-ish, but I'm not too sure if I succeeded. And about the characters: I am defiantly not good with keeping characters in character (no matter how much information I obtain about the show, I somehow end up screwing over a character's personality…). Just try to deal with it, please? I've always had issues with characters personalities.

I know somehow I messed up the info about the degrees and all the college stuff. I tried to do some research and asked my sister (she's in her third year in undergraduate school studying psychology) but I'm your average, 15 year old under-achiever, I don't really try to much… (sorry, I'm sorta lazy n__n)

Please review! Can't making any promises when it comes to updating, cuz frankly I suck at it. Oh! And if anyone wants to be my beta…please send me a message; I seriously need it. Someone who knows their info about stuff would be awesome.

Oh and could someone tell me what name (if there even is a name) of the psychiatric hospital Zack's currently staying at?

~Amanda :3