Frivolous Litigation

"Hope is not frivolous, not when it's all you have." Brennan has been served. Lucky Brennan has two Booths to defend her now. As Kelly steps up to the plate, Booth wonders if her heart is in the right place.

Part of my ongoing Invicta AU. Head on over to my profile and check out the series if you haven't already. Without a little back story, this story seems kind of stupid.

After a brief hiatus, Kelly is back! Please review if you feel so inclined! I love feedback! Thanks!

"His name is Chunky, but Jeremy and I have renamed him Dexter." Kelly gushed as she pulled something out of her brown suit jacket and handed Angela a small picture of a white pit bull puppy.

The two were sitting in Angela's office on the couch. Kelly was on her lunch break and came over to the lab to see if her brother was around. He and Brennan were currently discussing something, rather heatedly by the looks of it, and Kelly had ducked into Angela's office for a little girl time.

"Aw," Angela grinned as she looked at the puppy. "Look at that face! He looks exactly like a Dexter. Those little black markings around his eyes look like reading glasses!"

"I know!" Kelly tucked her legs up under herself.

"This has to be the cutest puppy I've ever seen." Angela sighed and looked up at Kelly. "And the puppy is staying at Jeremy's place?" Kelly nodded. "Like a 'you will be spending all your time over there with the puppy so you might as move in' kind of thing?"

"Like a 'Jeremy already asked me to move in and I just have to break it to Seeley, Rebecca and Parker' kind of thing!" Kelly squealed as quietly as possible, fully aware she was still in a functioning lab.

"Oh Sweetie!" Angela wrapped her arms around Kelly. "I am so excited for you."

"Why are you excited for her?" A strong male voice interrupted the hug. The girls pulled apart and Kelly smiled uncomfortably at her older brother.

"Hi Seeley! I wanted to talk to you!" Kelly jumped off the couch.

"Look!" Angela followed Kelly and quickly shoved the picture towards Booth. "Kelly and Jeremy got a puppy!"

"A puppy?" Brennan walked into the office right behind Booth. "Look at that face!" She smiled as she looked at the picture that Booth was now holding.

"His name is Dexter." Kelly provided.

"A Pit Bull?" Booth eyed the puppy over Brennan's shoulder. "It's not going to eat you, is it?"

"Pit Bulls get a bad rap." Kelly frowned.

"Don't judge the breed, but the deed." Angela reminded, backing up Kelly. "Pit bulls no more so than a poodle."

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" Booth stepped away from Brennan and took a step closer to the door. Kelly shook her head. "Ok, then you have the time it takes for me to get to my car because I've really got to get back to the FBI…" He took another step towards the door and started to turn around. "Bones, I'll call you when I find out."

"Is this what we are now? Passing strangers at the Jeffersonian?" Kelly called out as he trailed after him.

"Losing time, Munchkin." Booth chided over his shoulder.

"Well, fine, if this is the way you want it to be, then I'll tell you as I'm running after-" They were passing through the sliding glass doors as a man wearing a button-up shirt and tie entered the lab that looked vaguely familiar. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to watch the man stop in front of the platform and look around.

"Kelly. Keep up." Booth stopped walking a few yards ahead of her and turned around in exasperation.

"I think," Kelly squinted her eyes and looked at the man. "I know him."

"Looks like some office dweeb." Booth tugged on her arm. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

Kelly stood there, gawking at the man as he talked to Angela when she approached him. She pointed to the back of the lab where Brennan was talking to an intern. Angela called out her name and Brennan started over towards the pair. As Brennan approached the man, he held out an envelope with his right hand. As if it were happening in slow-motion, Kelly called out and started running as Brennan reached for the envelope.

"Temperance! Don't touch the-" Kelly arrived beside Brennan right as Brennan's hand sealed itself around the envelope. "Subpoena."

"Subpoena?" Brennan looked at the offensive document. "For what?"

"Dr. Temperance Brennan," The man said tersely. "You are being sued."

"Oh crap." Kelly sighed. Belatedly, the name of the man serving Brennan clicked into her head. "You had to do it today, Rhys."

"I'm just doing what the big man tells me." He shrugged and smiled sadly at Kelly. "Not my favorite part of the job, you know that."

"Yeah, yeah," Kelly started to lead him out of the lab. "Thanks for ruining my day."

"No problem, Kelly." He laughed. "Anytime."

He left the lab and made his way down the corridor. Kelly stood in the doorway, bracing herself for the upcoming assault.

"You knew about this?" Brennan approached her, waiving the envelope in her hand.

"It's sort of my job." Kelly shrugged, knowing the worst was yet to come.

"Bones is being sued?" Booth, who had been standing just outside the doorway, now stalked up to Kelly. "You didn't think it was important to tell her?"

"Let me see," Kelly held out her hand for the subpoena and Brennan handed it to her. After a cursory glance, she sighed and looked up at Booth and Brennan, passing the envelope back to Brennan's waiting hands. "I think it is best we not talk about this here until we are with our counsel."

"Aren't you our counsel?" Booth eyed her angrily.

"Well I have been, but clearly I couldn't keep the dogs at bay, Agent Booth." Kelly snapped back and stormed away towards her office and threw over her shoulder, "You better call your D.A. friend, Caroline. She's going to love this case."