Right, so this was my first serious attempt at actually writing a story with a case. I've posted it elsewhere but I'm not really sure how much folks are enjoying it so I'd love to see if people are interested and it might motivate me to continue.

Bones is not mine. I've asked, but they said no.

Temperance Brennan leaned back from her desk and sighed heavily. Her back was burning from slouching over to peer at her computer screen for the past three hours.

Eyes bleary with tiredness, she gave them a quick rub with the backs of her hands. This only served to make her vision blurrier. She gave a wide yawn, one that stretched the skin around her mouth taut and even squeezed a few tear drops out of her narrowed eyes.

This should have been an adequate enough signal that it was time to go home. Of course similar signals had been making their presence known for the past hour and a half but the good doctor just wasn't taking the hint.

Grumbling nonsense to herself, Brennan leaned back into her chair. She let her head fall back and allowed her eyes to close. A brief rest couldn't hurt. She'd just take a break for a few minutes and then get back to work.

The Jeffersonian was eerie at night. The wide spaciousness of the Medico Legal Lab suddenly became saturated with dark corners and ambiguous shadows come nightfall. Of course, if Brennan chose to leave all of the main lights on this wouldn't happen…but for some reason she found the starkly lit lab devoid of people even creepier than when it was veiled in obscure mysteries.

Angela and Hodgins had long gone home. Zach had left with them after completing his notes on a body from limbo. Cam had stayed a little longer; she said she had paperwork to do. She had popped her head around Brennan's door about two hours ago and had subtly reminded her that everyone has to sleep sometime.

The team hadn't had much to do in the past fortnight. There had been no new cases. No Booth striding in and announcing those four magical words, "We've got a case." Or perhaps even the four words that were just as, if not slightly more, magical, "Bones, I need you." But, no. Nothing.

That still hadn't stopped the charismatic agent from dropping in on occasion. He always did this on the pretext that he wanted to see the squints, catch up on how everyone was doing, but the majority of time during these visits was spent talking to or watching Brennan. Occasionally these social calls had ended with Booth and Brennan arranging a lunch or dinner together.

This was always difficult to explain to Angela, who flitted around the place with a knowing smirk for hours afterwards, as whenever Brennan tried to reason that they were just partners, purely professional, Angela countered with the fact that, at present, they had nothing professional to talk about. Brennan was still working on a foolproof excuse to oppose this.

Poor Brennan never seemed to be able to just relax and take things easy. Angela, and secretly Booth, had both hoped that this free time would permit Brennan to abate her gruelling schedule. Unfortunately, the pull of Brennan's innate work ethic was far too strong. She had identified more bodies from limbo in the past two weeks than either had ever thought possible. While this was obviously beneficial, the constant pushing for answers was leaving its mark. Brennan was looking haggard and drawn. Sweeps of purple and red stained the area under her eyes and her skin was paler than normal.

When each day's work was finally completed, Brennan launched herself into countless hours of writing new material for her forthcoming novel. Angela was almost afraid to ask how many hours her friend had spent at home in the past fourteen days. She had a nasty feeling Brennan would be able to count them on a little over two hands.

Brennan suddenly jerked up at the sound of a knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer within, the door was pushed open and Seeley Booth strode into her office. She blinked a number of times and briefly touched her hair before offering him a soft smile. His eyes twinkled at her and he took a few seconds, after he'd closed the door, to lean back against it and simply observe her.

"Sleeping on the job, Bones? Tut, tut."

He grinned widely when he saw her physically prickle with annoyance. Her eyes became quite cold and she began making many, rather complicated, excuses about how tired she was, how much work she'd been doing, how many cases she'd managed to solve, how this wasn't really her work time, it was after work hours, and, besides, what business was it of his anyway? If anything, her little rant only improved his mood. He really couldn't even express to himself, let alone aloud to anyone else, how much he missed her. It felt like a part of him was gone. Something fundamental and necessary deep inside of him yawned vacant and empty when she wasn't around.

She finally argued herself silent. She held his gaze defiantly, challenging him to make another comment. Booth wouldn't dare. He was also so captivated with her face that he didn't really think speech was possible. Her rage had sent a gentle pink bloom to her cheeks and her eyes sparkled with intensity. He couldn't help but marvel at the fact that he managed to get any work done at all when she was around. She was just so exceedingly distracting.

Brennan pursed her lips and inquired, "Well, Booth, what do you want?"

The playful expression on his face died almost instantly. Brennan didn't even realise that the sudden change in her partner's demeanour caused her stomach to flip-flop and her back to straighten to an almost painful rigidity. Neither ever seemed to comprehend just how well they understood the other and, if they ever did, they'd deny it vehemently.

Booth's tongue shot out and coated his suddenly dry lips with a layer of moisture before he answered, "We've got a problem."

Brennan rested her elbows on her desk and leaned forward, her eyebrows almost meeting over the bridge of her nose.

"Do you remember the last case I brought you, Bones?"

Brennan let out a little snort of disgust. To his due, Booth coloured slightly. Possibly not the best way to introduce this. Of course his Bones remembered. She remembered them all. They were all so important to her. She wanted so desperately to find justice for them, to name them and give them, if not their life, then at least their dignity back. He shuffled his feet sheepishly, eyes lowered. When he raised his face once more, Brennan gave a little nod to show she forgave his somewhat thoughtless comment.

"Yes, I do." Her voice was smooth, steady. Booth raised his eyebrows slightly, grateful for the peace offering.

"Yeah, well, this girl, Caroline Bradford, you know that she was killed when somebody slashed her throat…"

"The wounds were so deep as to nearly decapitate her. Her larynx, carotid artery and jugular vein were all severed."

Booth blinked. How, after all this time, did she still manage to amaze him with all that she managed to remember?

"Right. And…eh…even though we'd found the body, I couldn't take over the case because murder still isn't a federal offence."

He studiously avoided Brennan's eyes as he said this. He knew only too well how she felt about this little detail. The many heated arguments and the bruise on his right shoulder were testaments to her displeasure. He knew how he felt about it too. But rules were rules. The squints had identified the body and had given her back to her family. The murderer wasn't found, as that wasn't part of the Jeffersonian's job description.

"Well, murder isn't technically a federal crime…but extortion through the mail is. Earlier today the Bradford family, along with a local newspaper and an F.B.I. agent, received a letter taking credit for the murder…and threatening that more were forthcoming if demands weren't met. No demands were specified in the killer's writings which means we can only assume that another letter will be dispatched shortly…or that more people will first have to be killed to grab our attention."

Brennan's eyes were huge and her lips were slightly parted. She nodded once. Booth pressed his lips together and took this as a sign to continue.

"Cullen doesn't want to take any chances. He wants to find this guy as soon as possible and protect everyone from further harm and heartache."

Brennan bit her lip thoughtfully. She ran a hand through her hair, mussing it up fetchingly as she did.

"Who was the agent?"

"That would be me."

Brennan's eyebrows looked set to delve into her hairline. Booth gave her a little apologetic smile along with a quick tilt of his head. Brennan returned the smile briefly before continuing.

"Ok…and, em, what do you want me to do?"

"Help me."

Brennan couldn't stop herself. Her incredulity made her stammer.

"Of course I'll help. You don't even have to…I mean…it's you…we're partners."

Her face flushed furiously. She suddenly felt raw, naked; as though she'd exposed something about herself she wasn't entirely sure she wanted him to know. Something she wasn't entirely sure she wanted herself to know. But the truth of the matter was, she'd do anything for Booth. Anything. And he would readily lay his career, his reputation, heck even his life, on the line for her, no questions asked. Silence permeated the room for a number of seconds as the two partners simply looked at each other. They knew the other couldn't put into words exactly how they felt, but they appreciated the unspoken sentiments all the same. Brennan let out a deep sigh and resumed the conversation.

"What exactly did the letter say?"

Booth frowned. He began to fidget slightly with something in his pocket.

"Do you wanna go get something to eat and we'll talk about it there?"

At Brennan's questioning look, he gave his stomach a sympathetic rub.

"I'm just really hungry."

She shrugged and began to turn off her computer. Booth bounced slightly on the balls of his feet as she gathered up her bag and jacket. He stepped forward and gave her a hand when she was pulling the jacket on. His touch lingered on the small of her back a second or two longer than necessary. Brennan shivered lightly at the prolonged contact. Somehow, even when she had layers of clothing on, this man managed to make her feel as though he was touching bare skin. It was a curious phenomenon, one that Brennan chose to enjoy for once and not over analyse. Possibly because she was afraid of what answers she might find.

Booth teased her gently over the lack of lighting in the lab, which quickly turned to annoyance when he managed to walk into the corner of a table. He spent the rest of the walk to the car and most of the journey in the vehicle tentatively rubbing his injured hip every few seconds. Brennan giggled at his antics but refused outright to offer any sympathy.

The two entered their often-frequented diner and chose a booth at the window. Brennan buried her head behind her menu, willing her cheeks to return to their normal colour after Booth had led her into the building with a warm hand once more placed on her lower back. After a minute of two, the partners ordered food and drink off a blonde teenager with shining eyes and a friendly mouth. Once the girl had left, Brennan began playing with the condiments on the table. A few seconds passed before she lifted her eyes to meet Booth's.

"So, tell me."

Booth leaned forward conspiratorially, his elbows firmly planted on the cold table.

"What do you know about the zodiac?"