"Open the door this instant, or I will come in there and get you, Bones," Booth threatened menacingly.

Bleary-eyed and thoroughly exhausted, I opened the door to see the whole 6'1" of FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth.

"Why am I up right now? It's 6:00 on a Sunday, and I was planning on coming in at 12 until you ruined my plans" I growled, irritable from lack of sleep.

"Come on, Bones, pretty please! I have some nice bones for you and a new case," he bribed and pleaded, most charming crooked smile plastered on his face.

"Ok," I conceded. When he smiles like that, no matter how hard I try to resist, I'm putty in his comforting hands. "Let me just make myself a little bit presentable first."

"I'm going to stand here until you're ready, so hurry up!" he put his hands on his hips and a fake pout on his face.

Cheeks cherry red and lips curved upward in a small smile, I quickly progressed through my morning routine, feeling Booth's eyes follow me from the doorway. Now Hodgins's paranoia was rubbing off on me. I subtly spun my head around and saw that he had stepped inside and was flipping through my newest manuscript lying prone on the coffee table. Oh, no. I could see in the near future the argument that Andy was Booth, but the truth was I didn't even believe that was untrue anymore. So many conversations I'd had with Booth had been edited and came out of Andy's mouth. My own parallel to Kathy had become even more pronounced over the last few chapters. But in that alternate universe, Andy and Kathy could be together, without any barriers, or "lines" as often referred to as. I shook my head, to attempt removal of these thoughts from my head, and threw myself into compiling an outfit for today.

As Bones was dabbing bits of powder on her face, I strolled around her small apartment and thumbed through anything I found interesting. My eyes fell upon the copy of her newest manuscript, which she had vehemently denied me the privilege of reading. I flipped casually through it, searching for something, a little tidbit that I could tease her about later. My eyes fell upon a section;

"Who are you jealous of?

"Many people, including you, Andy.

"Why?

"Because you all want to lose yourself in another person. You believe that love is transcendent and eternal. I want to believe that too.

"Hey, you will. I promise. Someday, you will. You will, some day. Okay?

His words comforted me, and I believed them, that someday, I could be in love. Maybe I was, even now. With him.

My mouth dropped open in incredulous shock. Bones and I had taken part in that conversations, word for word, just weeks ago. It shocked me that she had really taken my words to heart, and remembered them. But what confused me deeply was the words that followed "I could be in love. Maybe I was, even now. With him." All this time she had been denying the striking similarities of Andy and Kathy and the two of us in real life. Now, she could deny these allegations no longer. A mischievous grin lit my face as I rehearsed taunts in my head. Suddenly, I realized something. Kathy Reichs had mentally declared her undying love for Andy Lister. Was that the equivalent of Temperance Brennan confessing to her love of me, Seeley Booth? I pondered the question in silence, my mind torturing itself with various scenarios.

"Booth, I'm ready. Let's go." my voice rang out, refracting off the blank walls of my small apartment. The Jeffersonian was my true home, not here. All the people, things, and work I loved were enclosed in the vast walls. This was the place I retreated to when Booth and Angela insisted I needed sleep. However, I was preferential to the couch in my office.

"Bones, where do you go? You just zone out sometimes!" Booth's voice was overly loud, and his rough and calloused hand was waving in front of my face.

I have to stop doing that. I mentally scolded myself. What came out of my mouth was "Don't mind that, let's boogie!" I glowed with pride with my newfound ability to correctly use idiomatic expressions. I still think Latin is easier than English. He put his hand to the small of my back, so often occurring now that I barely gave it a second thought, and guided out of my apartment. I used to fight it, but now I rather enjoy the sensation.

In the front seat of my FBI standard issue SUV, I briefed Bones on the few details of the case that were within my knowledge.

"A boy was found early this morning in the playground of the local elementary school. According to your squints, he was between 7 and 9 years old.

She interrupted me. "Wait, who was at the crime scene?" At my reply of "Cam", she went into a whole incomprehensible rant about "breaking protocol" and "compromising evidence".

Knowing that she needed to calm down before we arrived at the lab, I put my hand on her small manicured one and she instantly quieted. My eyebrows raised in surprise. Though I was usually able to get her to listen to me, this was an extreme- and a first. Now that she was quiet I continued my brief summary.

"It was preliminarily declared that the COD was a subdural hematoma, possibly caused by the blunt force trauma to the parietal bone.

Bones stifled a giggle, and I questioned the reason behind it.

"You sounded like a squint there. Have you and Hodgins been spending a little too much time together?" she teased.

This was nice. Bones was so much more humorous in the morning, and less empirical. I loved it.

"Angela just needs to complete the reconstruction, and then we'll likely have an ID." I finished.

I made the turn into the parking for the Jeffersonian, and parked my car.

As we walked up the endless stairs, Bones broke the silence.

"It's horrible for anyone to die before their time, but when it's a mere child it's so much more difficult to deal with," Bones offered as her sentiment.
"Yeah, I know. That little boy was around Parker's age. Can you imagine…" my eyes filled up with tears. I wiped them away angrily, hating to show any signs of weakness, especially around Bones, who always stayed so strong, regardless of the scenario- except when it pertained to her family.

"It's ok, Booth. You're allowed to feel things. That doesn't make you any less of a man," she comforted me, stroking the expanse of my back. "You still owe me a hug for when you're scared. I think it's time." She teased, and I fell into her arms. What an odd reversal, falling and letting her catch me. Even if it was over something stupid, I liked it. Perhaps too much.

We must have looked very odd to anyone who didn't know us, paused at the landing, arms around each other. This was Booth and I, though. It defined our relationships quite well. Breaking apart and strolling into the Jeffersonian, I was greeted by a freshly cleaned set of remains on the table. Cam had been correct in her assumptions of between 7 and 9, though I leaned more towards the latter. After being pleasantly greeted by Cam and Mr. Nigel-Murray, I directed a question towards Hodgins.

"Do you know the approximate time of death?" I asked him.

"About two months ago, according to the particulates found on the corpse." He responded.

"Can you please not call it a corpse? It sounds so…zombie slayer" Angela complained, striding into the room. "I got an ID, Mark Teranta, aged 7 ½. Reported missing by his mother a little less than two months ago."

"That last name sounds familiar," Booth stated. "Let me see the photo."

He took one look at it, and confirmed his theory.

"His 16 year old brother was arrested on gang related charges a few months ago. I also think he's in Parker's class."

"Let me see the information you've compiled so far," Booth demanded, directed at Cam, with his arm extended. He always possesses such an air of confidence, that I've never seen another man, or anyone display with the same intensity.

Opening the file, he read "Prime suspect, Parker Booth.", and everyone's mouths, including mine, dropped about a foot.