Booth was sitting in his office reading his morning briefs. It was a calm morning, he hadn't heard anything on the scanner while he drove to work, and the usually buzzing office seemed dull and almost lifeless.

Booth picked up his phone and stared at the screen. He hated this feeling; it was as if he was waiting for something to go wrong. Of course he hoped that it wouldn't but he couldn't help but anticipate it. Just as he sat his phone back on his desk it rang.

"Booth." Booth answered. The half-smile on his face sunk away. "I'll be there in 25 minutes, I've got to pick up my partner." Booth quickly hung up and dialed his fiancé. "Bones." He said. "We've got a case, apparently a body was found at FedEx Field." Booth let out a faint chuckle. "No, the football stadium."

Booth's drive to the Jeffersonian seemed like it happened in a blur, he usually felt lonely when he drove alone, but today was different. He didn't like the feeling, but it almost seemed to grow on him.


"Bones, you ready?" Booth said as he rushed onto the forensic platform.

"You okay, Booth?" Dr. Saroyan asked. "You don't look so good."

"Jared might be in trouble."

"Was he arrested? You want me to make some calls?"

"Not that kind of trouble."

"Oh." Dr. Saroyan gasped.

"What? Why 'Oh'?" Brennan asked.

Booth silently looked into his fiancé's eyes. "The kind of trouble he can only get into with a woman."

"Oh." Brennan said. "Anthropologically speaking; pregnancy wouldn't be considered trouble. It's necessary for the survival of the species."

"Let's go, Bones."

Booth and Brennan walked out to the SUV.

"Did Jared call you this morning?" Brennan asked.

"No, his ex-girlfriend called."

"What? They broke up?"

"Yeah, apparently Jared wanted her to get rid of it, but she's Catholic, like me."

"I don't see why religion would impede that sort of decision." Brennan suggested.

"Because we don't believe in abortion, Bones."

"If you have free will, why would God condemn you for using it?"

"You don't get it do you? The whole point of free will is kind of like a test. God makes it so we can choose what we're going to do in our life, and those of us that choose to live a holy life are rewarded with eternal life."

"If God did exist he would more than likely rule like a dictatorship rather than dulling out freedoms."

"Okay, Bones, first of all, God does exist, secondly stop saying his name like that, and lastly, I'm not about to have this argument with you again." Booth sighed and stared intently at the road.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, Booth."

The remainder of the ride was silent.

When Booth finally pulled up to FedEx Field he and Dr. Brennan jumped out of the car and quickly maneuvered around the FBI Forensic techs that had already investigated the crime scene.

As Booth and Brennan approached the entrance Dr. Hodgins came running out with a large smile on his face.

"Unless Dr. Brennan can identify the murder weapon just by looking at the body, I am King of the NFL. I just found a sack of mosquito eggs that indicate the deceased was in a swampy area at or around time of death. And on top of that… I found indicators of gnats, yeast, and mustard seed."

"And what does all that mean?" Booth asked.

"Tailgate party. Gnats indicate food that was sitting out exposed to the elements for anywhere from two to six hours, yeast indicates beer and or bread, and mustard seed indicates, well, mustard. You put that together, you've got an All-American Tailgate Party."

"Oh great." Booth exclaimed.

"What?" Dr. Brennan asked, "That doesn't seem like near enough information to seal this case."

"No, Bones, Tailgating means I'm going to have to talk to a bunch of crazy football fans. Any one of them could be capable of murder."

"But you like football; does that make you capable of murder?" Brennan asked.

"I think what Booth means is-"

"-I can talk, Hodgins." Booth interrupted. "You get a bunch of loyal fans drunk, they get into an argument before the game, one team loses, and another fight ensues. I've seen people killed for less."

"That's conjecture, Booth, we aren't even sure those particulates are from a Tailgate, and Hodgins hasn't had time to run them through the mass spec, he could have easily confused them with any number of things."

"Brennan, I know my tailgates." Hodgins said.

Booth rolled his eyes and then led Brennan onto the field where the body was discovered.

"Detective Arnolds, MPD, the body was found while the field was being painted. Grounds man said that he felt a bump, and when he stopped to take a look he found a body."

"Did your guys take a look at it?"

"Hell no. Last time my guys touched a corpse, your bone-lady freaked out on us. We cordoned off the body and made sure to keep our distance."

"Thanks, Detective." Booth said. He and Brennan walked away from the Detective and onto the field, approaching the body.

"I did not freak out!"

"You did, a little."

Brennan walked under the police tape and approached the body very slowly. "Male. Based on the existence of full eruption of the wisdom teeth I'd say at least 20 years old. Approximately 140 cm, he was short."

"Which would be…?" Booth asked.

"About four foot seven inches."

"Really short, are you sure he's 20?"

"Wisdom teeth don't lie."

"Anything else other than short 20ish male?"

"Caucasian."

"I'll start combing through missing persons, as soon as I can get a face it'll be a lot easier."

"There seems to be quite a bit of damage to the phalanges radiating bones in the forearms and wrists."

"That happens when you get run over with a tractor." Booth said.

"I won't be able to determine much more until I get the bones cleaned."

"Back to the lab?"

"Back to the lab." Brennan said.


Jared strolled into his brother's office. He tossed his jacket onto the chair and plopped down into it. "You wanted to see me, Seeley."

"Yeah." Booth said solemnly. He dropped his stack of paperwork and leaned forward onto his desk.

"What's up?"

"Teri called me. She told me what happened."

"We broke up. Things happen, people change." Jared blew off the comments from his brother, but he knew where this conversation was going.

"She's pregnant, did you know that?"

"That's what sparked the argument." Jared said, "In a way."

"What do you mean; 'in a way'?" Booth asked.

"I told her to get rid of it. We're too young for kids."

"And I'm guessing she said no."

"Yeah." Jared said. "She wants kids, I don't right now."

"So, you're going to walk out on that kid. You're not going to be its dad? Why, because you think it's a mistake?"

"I am the dad."

"No, you're the father." Booth said. He stood from his chair and walked closer to his brother. "Anyone can be a father. That just means you helped create the child. But a dad, a dad is someone that loves the child, unconditionally. If it's a boy, his dad teaches him to fish, ride bikes, play football. If it's a girl, her dad listens to her sing, takes her for ice cream, has tea parties."

"I'm not up for all that stuff."

"You need to man up, Jared. One day, you're gonna look back, and wish you could be a dad, and Teri's not going to let you in her child's life."

"I think I'm man enough, Seeley, I fought for my country."

"So did dad."

"I don't need this. I'm going." Jared stood to leave.

Booth grabbed his arm and drug him back into his seat. "Look at Bones' brother."

"Russ?"

"He is probably the worst brother in the world. He hasn't got a clue where his life's going, or how he's going to provide for his family. But that's not what makes him different than you. The defining point in Russell Brennan's life, is that he stood up, he manned up, and he became a dad to two little girls that needed one. And if you don't go make things right with Teri. Some man is going to come in and be a daddy to your child. Is that what you want?"