ASC: Did you miss me? ;) Sorry, I was in Nawlins for a week, just getting back. I did however come up with LOTS of ideas I scribbled down while I was gone so I should have lots of Sweet stories if you are deprived.

Current Time settings so like season 9

It wasn't a good start to the day. Booth knew it as soon as he stepped in Sweets office. The young psychologist was in a mood. Booth found it a bit annoying but after a bit of prodding and the younger counterpart not answering, Booth's mood shifted towards slightly concerned.

This brought them to their new location, the diner for lunch. Booth hoped a lunch invitation would snap Sweets' disposition back into place. However Booth observed Sweets continue to shift the placement of his food around his plate more than he was eating it.

"Okay enough, I'm not the shrink but I know something's going on so out with it." Booth demanded.

Sweets attention was drawn up to him due to the fact Booth started his sentence by throwing his fork on his own plate with a 'clank.' Booth didn't seem to care as much as Sweets did at the attention Booth had drawn.

"It's nothing, it's stupid really." Sweets said trying to take an interest in his sandwich but the appetite wasn't there. It had no taste, nothing had taste.

"Well if it's so stupid then why aren't you eating and what's with the moping?"

Sweets sighed, he knew he wasn't going to be able to dissuade Booth's attention away from this.

"I appreciate your concern Booth but really it's nothing, it's stupid on my part to be so bothered by it. I'm just in a funk."

"Funk, is that an official shrink term?" Booth asked trying to tease him into a certain amount of ease.

"About as much as the word 'shrink' is." Sweets said throwing his napkin over his food, he knew there was no way he was going to eat it. "Look I'm not trying to feel sorry for myself, I'm just surrounded by happy couples, with happy homes. I'm just not there and sometimes it just bothers me and I get in a funk."

"Well you're still young Sweets, I mean a lot of us are older than you are." Booth said trying to encourage him.

"I'm not so sure that's it." Sweets said softly.

"What do you mean?" Booth asked when he didn't like the look in Sweets eyes.

Booth's phone rang and Sweets was relieved. He was pretty sure it had less to do with his age and more to do with himself, his past and a future he couldn't see. He couldn't think of any friends he really hung out with either besides the occasional lunch and after case solving drink.

"Hey, I've got a body." Booth said taking the last bite of his lunch.

"Sure. I'll get a cab back to the office." Sweets said getting up to leave and pay.

For some reason Booth didn't like the idea of Sweets going back to his dark little office in his dark little mood.

"Hey Sweets, Bones is already at the crime scene, why don't you come with me."

"Why?" The moody side of Sweets asked.

Booth tried to look past little black rain cloud. "I think you might be able to help out, check things out at the scene."

Sweets expression suggested he wasn't buying it.

"Okay, I don't think you should go back to your office and sulk."

"Booth I'm not going to. I'm fine. Really." Sweets said about as unconvincingly as humanly possible, he was near perfection at detecting lies but terrible at telling them.

Booth gave him a look as he paid for his own and Sweets stepped away, having paid for his empty stomach and left behind plate. He rolled his eyes and Booth held up a hand.

"We're going." Booth said and Sweets thought the idea of maybe being out of the office for a while might not be so bad.

The day wasn't getting all that better as the overcast day quickly switched to a rainy day by the time they got to the crime scene.

"At least it's inside." Booth said as they arrived.

Sweets hardly noticed the rain, his thoughts were still elsewhere.

"So Sweets, uh, big plans this weekend?" Booth asked as they walked up to the building. He was still somewhat concerned for the young psychologist.

"Huh? Uh, no. Probably just work on some case files. Maybe read some other case files."

"What? It's the weekend Sweets. It's time to go out and have good time." Booth said surprised. Geez, are things really this bad for Sweets, I just assumed he did something. "There's more to life than work you know."

"Oh, yeah, maybe, sure." Sweets said glad to have reached the group so they could end the awkward conversation.

"Hey Cam, Bones, bug guy, what do we got?" Booth asked approaching the group.

"Good morning Seeley." Cam said. "Oh, and Dr. Sweets." She said confused. "Why is Dr. Sweets here?"

"He's here to help us." Booth said giving her a look to try and sound a little more supportive.

"Well we would take all the help we can get." Hodgins said taking more samples.

"This looks staged." Sweets said looking over the scene.

"Yes!" Brennan said with much enthusiasm. She wasn't sure what Booth was up to by bringing Sweets but she wanted to support her partner in whatever his idea was. "We were thinking the same thing."

Sweets nodded. He was sarcastically glad he had just brought absolutely nothing to the proverbial table.

"What happened to this guy?" Booth asked.

"It appears he was light of fire, post mortem. Cause of death is still unknown." Cam explained.

"Is it just me or is he pointing to something?" Sweets asked.

They all looked at the body and considered the possibility but quickly went to talking about accelerants and other things he quickly lost interest in.

"Hey Dr. Brennan, have you taken Christine to Jumping Palace? We were thinking of taking Michael Vincent this weekend. Could be fun." Hodgins said.

"I took Michele there once when she was little." Cam said chiming in. "It was a lot of fun."

"Maybe we can discuss this later?" Booth asked but by the time he had looked up from his notepad he saw Sweets was gone. Sweets was in the distance looking around in the direction the skeletal hand was pointing.

"What's going on Booth?" Brennan asked as she watched Booth sigh.

"I'll tell you later Bones." He said lost in his thoughts.

Sweets heard their voices echo in a distance. He had a good excuse to follow the direction the hand was pointing but what just happened was what he had wanted to avoid, making the group feel awkward. He made a mental note to repress these feelings of sadness when they came up. The psychologist in him reminded him that was not a healthy approach. He abruptly told that voice to promptly shut up. He stopped and sighed at the thought that he was arguing with his inner self.

He looked around the old building which had at one point been a small mall. He thought of how the times so quickly changed from this materialistic mecca. What was once packed on the weekend with teenagers flocking to the cookie stands, girls trying to ignore the cute boys checking them out while they giggled with their friends. At least that was what Sweets assumed they were doing. As a teenager Sweets was already in college after breezing thru high school in order to achieve his double doctorates before his early twenties. Much like then, he now was not in tune with the people he was around.

"This is interesting." Hodgins said sifting thru the particulates.

"What's that Dr. Hodgins?" Cam asked.

"And in terms that like, people understand." Booth instructed as he took notes.

"Do you mean like just you?" Brennan asked and Booth resisted the urge to roll his eyes, suggesting that yes, he did not understand their lab speak.

"Well what I'm seeing here is often seen in scenes congruent with explosives." He explained.

"Explosives? I thought this guy was lit on fire?" Booth asked.

"He was." Brennan stated. "The accelerant can be found all around the remains. Can you be more specific but not too specific for Booth please?"

This time Booth did roll his eyes.

"Well what I'm seeing is traces of explosive materials but they haven't been ignited yet." Hodgins explained. "It's like they were spilled after the body and flames had cooled."

"Well if we had live explosives, if even only traces I want everyone out of here." Cam said standing up now alarmed.

"Hey!" Booth shouted to the agents nearby. "Let's get this area secured and get these remains back to the Jeffersonian immediately."

Quickly the place snapped into action as the Jeffersonian team quickly assembled their samples while the FBI agents quickly donned protective gear in the event anything were to go wrong.

"Okay people, let's get going." Cam said as they followed the body being transported.

"Wait." Booth said stopping them and turned back in the other direction.

"Booth what?" Brennan said following him.

"Sweets!" He shouted over his shoulder as Brennan continued to follow him at a distance.

Sweets looked at the glass window in front of him. The mannequin with no arms looked back at him with a grin and he somehow wondered if she was mocking him. He shook his head as he realized that today he really was in a funk today if this was his train of thought.

He figured he should be getting back soon thought it seemed like they were going to be there forever going over the tiny bits of dirt and crap on the ground. Sweets paused before he turned to leave. The glass caught his attention. He wondered if his eyes were being bothered by the old moldy smell in the building. He reached out to touch the glass and felt it vibrate on his fingertips. He quickly realized there was a small tremor from under his feet thought it was less more subtle than the vibration from the glass.

The vibrations began to increase in intensity and when Sweets took a step back but before he could turn the glass exploded in front of him. Sweets was a second late in shielding his eyes and felt the tiny shards prick at his face.

He was sure not to rub his eyes and further imbed the glass. He heard more glass shatter next to where he was and then the one after. He turned to get away from the sound of the consecutive explosions but he could hardly see.

He was a few steps away but remembered there was discarded debris such as old plant stands and merchandise stands thrown about. He checked his eyes by touching them lightly and could feel there weren't any shards near them. He looked down at his hands and saw tiny cuts on his hands. The rumble behind him increased as did the floor below his feet . He remembered they walked up an unoperational escalator to get to the crime scene. He had wondered around lost in thought for so long he wasn't entirely sure how to get back to where he was.

The rumble increased and he could feel the floor start to shake to the point it was becoming difficult to stand on his feet. Sweets felt the immediate need to get out of the building. He quickly began to run away from the consecutive explosions behind him. The ceiling in front of him quickly collapsed so Sweets doubled back and saw the elevator shaft not far from him. He knew it was reinforced concrete and his only chance for safe shelter. Sweets jumped in the empty car as the cable snapped and it dropped a floor. The building around him collapsed.