Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, but I am obsessed!

Author's Note: Well, It's a Sunday and it is time to begin the hopefully highly anticipated sequel to If I Needed Someone. If you haven't read it yet, you probably want to go back and take a look at it. Enjoy.

The Man in Black

Prologue: The Man Comes Around

Summer 2002

Six year old Lucy Brennan was frustrated. She had spent the past twenty minutes playing this carnival game and she was doing poorly. It was a simple game, aim the squirt gun at the target, and whoever got the most water in the clown's mouth the fastest would win a prize. She had played three games and come in dead last three times. Despite her few years of life, failure was not something she was used to. Her mother or her Aunt Angela were always around to help her succeed. But her mother wasn't here. Her mother was in Africa for the entire month, the longest amount of time that they had ever been separated. Her mother always took trips in the summer, first working on her degrees and now helping people. She was too young to realize that her mother was dealing with mass murder victims, or was putting her own life in peril to give justice and faces to victims. All that Lucy knew was that she missed her mother.

Lucy spun on her stool and faced Angela who had been standing behind her and giving the man who worked the booth a dollar every few minutes. "Aunt Angela? How much longer until Mommy comes home?"

"Two more weeks, Sweetie. Not even. Eleven days, and we get to pick her up at the airport."

"Eleven whole days? But I miss her, now. I want her to come home."

"Tomorrow is Sunday, you know that you will get a phone call from her. And in eleven days she will have awesome souvenirs for you. Remember the bracelets she brought us, or that doll from her last trip?"

"I know, I just miss her. Africa is really far away."

"It is, come on, Sweetie. Cheer up. They are starting a new round. I've got a good feeling about this try." Angela handed the barker another dollar.

As the worker made a last call for entry into this round, an older man took the last available stool, which happened to be one next to Lucy and brandished his own dollar. He glanced at the girl and nodded at her. "Hey, kid." Suddenly shy, Lucy turned away and focused on the game. Music chimed and lights blinked and the race was on. Lucy finished a respectable third to last, but the man next to her had beat everyone, in what seemed like record time. The kid manning the booth handed him a key chain, first congratulating the man and then telling him if he won three in a row, he could have any one of the toys hanging from the top of the booth. The man pulled out two more dollars and then started up a conversation with the girl as the barker started calling for more game players.

"Next round's on me, OK kid?"

Lucy looked nervously and Aunt Angela and then whispered, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

The man chuckled, "You are right." He glanced at the two companions. "Sorry, its just I have a granddaughter about your age, I don't get to see her much. You just reminded me of her." He made an apologetic face at Angela. She nodded to Lucy, it was going to be all right. The man was nice.

She patted his arm. "I'm sorry you don't get to see your granddaughter much. It must be hard." Further conversation was stopped by the game starting again. Once again the man won easily. Lucy had come in several slots behind him, improving slightly, but still she was disappointed that she had not come close to winning.

Lucy glanced at the man. "Wow, you are really good at this game."

"I can give you some pointers, if that's all right?" Lucy once again glanced towards her aunt.

"It's OK, Luce. I'm right here." The man left his stool and came a little closer to the girl. He showed her how to aim the gun with more accuracy and a trick to hold the trigger so that she could keep the pressure constant. She looked at him with amazement.

"Thanks. I'm going to beat you this time. Aunt Angela, can I have a dollar please?"

"Don't worry about it kid. I've got it." He once again reached into his wallet and pulled out two singles.

The game started one last time and Lucy used her new techniques effectively. She was close to the top, she passed one person ahead of her. She was doing so well, and then it was over. The man to her right had won for the third time. Lucy pouted.

"I was so close."

"You did a great job, kid. You'll get the next one." He smiled at her and waited for the barker to come over and give him his prize. The man whispered to the worker and pointed secretly at which toy he wanted. Two seconds later the barker was unhooking a stuffed dolphin from the chain it had been hanging on. The kid handed it to the man, who quickly handed it to Lucy.

"Here you go, kid. You deserve it." Lucy's eyes grew wide in disbelief. She hugged the body to her chest.

"Really? It's for me?"

"Sure, kid. Do you like it? I'm sure you could get a different one if you wanted it."

"No, its perfect. Dolphins are my favorite! How did you know?" The man looked sad for a moment and then smiled widely.

"My wife and my daughter both loved dolphins. I told you that you reminded me of my granddaughter. I thought that she would like dolphins too."

"Thank you, mister. How come you don't get to see your granddaughter?"

Angela placed gently pressure on Lucy's shoulder. Bluntness was a Brennan trait. Angela turned to the man. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that. Lucy hasn't mastered the art of tact yet." The man chuckled.

"No problem. I had to go away when my daughter was young. I thought that I was doing the right thing, but because of that I don't get to see my daughter or my granddaughter."

"I'm sorry, Mister. It's too bad that you don't get to see them. You are really nice. Isn't he nice Aunt Angela?" Angela nodded and then thanked the man for his kindness as Lucy once again squeezed the dolphin and then kissed it on the top of its head, right where the blowhole would be on a real dolphin.

"No problem, kid. You ladies have a nice day." He got off of his stool and began to walk away, he paused when he heard a small voice behind him.

"Hey Mister, what should I call him? He's your dolphin, you should name him." The man knelt down to her eye level and ruffled her hair once.

"Call him Max."