A/N: Okay, so…this is my version of how the team gets Pelant. Yes, I know that as of Monday Pelant is gone one way or the other, and this took me *forever* to finish, but I'm getting it in under the wire. Barely.

It is a multi-chapter, but those of you who know how much I suck at posting regularly, fear not…it's already finished. I'll be posting the four complete chapters throughout Sunday, and the epilogue on Monday morning.

Big, huge props to Tracy and Cindee for your *invaluable* help. They both read through this little ditty several times, Cindee caught several technical and story errors as did Tracy, who also helped polish it while she was on vacation, so she wins the Epically Awesome Above-And-Beyond Beta/Friend Award this week.

Any and all errors are mine alone.

The Agent in the Blind Spot

Angela stepped through Brennan's office door and stopped in her tracks. The look on her friend's face was…well, she could only describe it as terrified. The scientist sat at her desk, one hand resting on her office phone and the other fisted tightly against her chest, eyes closed.

"Bren?"

Blue eyes opened slowly, and the turmoil and worry Angela saw there made her draw a sharp breath and take an awkward step backwards. Recovering quickly, she moved to Brennan's side and slid to her knees next to her friend.

"Brennan. What's going on?" Angela took the hand that was still clutching the phone and held it tightly. "Bren, you're scaring me. Did something happen? To Booth?" She shook her head in despair. "To…Christine?"

At her daughter's name, Brennan finally blinked, slowly and deliberately. With a shake of her head, she seemed to come back to herself and turned to look Angela directly in the eye. "No, Christine is fine, Ang."

"B-Booth?"

Visibly swallowing, Brennan nodded. "It's time, Angela. He's found Pelant."

~Two Months Ago~

"Angela, could I talk to you? Privately?"

Angela looked up from her work and smiled at her best friend, who seemed uncomfortable as she stood in the doorway of the artist's office. "Sure, Sweetie. Just close the door behind you."

Brennan did as she was asked and moved slowly to the sofa that sat against the windowed wall of the office. Angela, her curiosity on high alert, got up from behind her desk to join her. Once they were settled, Brennan cleared her throat, seemed to nod to herself, and then began speaking.

"You know that Booth decided that getting married wasn't something that we needed, correct?"

Angela released a huff, her eyes narrowing. "Oh yeah, I remember. I can't say that I'm not still angry as hell about it, either."

"Angela…"

"No, Brennan. He broke your heart. I get to be as mad about this on your behalf as I want."

Brennan sighed and nodded. "Alright. And yes, you're right. My heart was…crushed…" A small smile crossed her lips in direct incongruity with her words. "But after a great deal of reflection, I've realized that I failed to take all the evidence into account."

Rolling her eyes, Angela took Brennan's hand. "What evidence? He said no, after he said yes. That was pretty cruel, Bren."

"No!" The vehement retort rocked Angela backward a bit. "Booth is many things, but he is never cruel. And he would never hurt me if he could possibly avoid it. Ever." She looked at her friend, locking eyes with her and begging her to understand.

"So you're saying that he couldn't avoid it? I don't get it."

"What were we doing when I first proposed?"

Angela released a sigh, the memory of that terrible week still relatively fresh. "Trying to catch that bastard Pelant."

"Exactly."

At her friend's oblique urging, a terrible idea began to form in Angela's head, one that seemed both ridiculous and completely plausible. "You think Pelant had something to do with Booth turning you down."

"No."

"No?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion. "But you just said…"

"I don't think Pelant had something to do with it, Angela. I'm sure of it."

~Present Day~

"What happened, Brennan? Did Booth call?"

They had moved to Brennan's sofa, hidden behind the closed door and drawn shades. A small black electrical device sat, blinking, on the table in front of them.

"Yes, but…only to cancel lunch."

"Oh." Angela nodded. "What was his excuse?"

"Paperwork."

"Okay, alright…" Angela took a deep, cleansing breath. "Let's be rational about this." The friends shared an ironic look, tinged with fear. "While it's historically true that Booth would never choose paperwork over you…or food, we can't be completely sure that Pelant is the reason."

Brennan nodded. "I concur. And yes, I know that it's ridiculous to assume but…" She gnawed at the inside of her cheek, obviously unsure of how much she should reveal. "Last night…we were, you know, being intimate…"

"Okay…" Angela nodded in encouragement.

"And he was…distracted."

"So?"

A small smile crept onto the anthropologist's face. "Booth is never, ever distracted when we are making love." Her smile turned dreamy, something Angela never expected to see in her entire life. "His focus is singular, intense and irrefutable."

"Wow." Angela breathed.

"Mmmhmm." A self-satisfied smirk lingered for a moment before Brennan regained her focus. "In any case, I had a feeling that Booth was closing in on Pelant's location and his behavior last night started to solidify that. Then, this morning at breakfast he…well, the only way I can think to describe it is that Booth was there, but he wasn't there. If that makes any sense."

"I get it, sweetie. But since he changed his mind about marrying you, he's been like that…distant. You know that."

"Yes, but this was different, Angela. And now…he's canceling lunch with me for paperwork. Which he has done before, and things have been much better lately, back to more normal behavior. But we were supposed to go get Christine and take her to the park to eat." She closed her eyes briefly, thinking about another park visit three months prior. "He would not turn down a chance to see his daughter during the day, not now."

Angela shook her head. "I understand that you think this is all solid evidence, Bren. I do. But it's like you said, Booth has been, for lack of a better word, distracted for months now. I even suspected that he was cheating on you-"

"Angela, you know that's not true. Booth would never betray me that way."

"I know, I know…but even so, things being better between you or no, we still don't know for sure-."

"I realize that." Brennan agreed, and then closed her eyes for a moment. "When he called to cancel lunch, he said that he had something important he needed to finish."

"The paperwork?"

"He said he had quite a bit, yes. But then…" Brennan swallowed through the lump that had formed in her throat. "He, he said he would get something from the lunch cart on the third floor."

"Oookay…" Angela shook her head. "I'm not following."

"Do you remember last month when he got so sick at work?"

"Oh yeah." A small smile crossed her face. "He was such a baby about it."

Brennan's smile was almost wistful. "Yes. It was from the sandwich he'd purchased from the lunch cart."

"The third floor lunch cart?"

"Yes."

"I remember that. He swore he would paint his hair blue and sing 'Firework' naked in front of the whole lab before he got another meal there again." Hand still clutching Brennan's knee, The artist nodded. "Okay. I'm convinced."

"So this is it, Angela." Brennan pulled her cell phone from her pocket and speed dialed a number. While she waited for the other party to pick up, Angela stared at the device still in front of them with a slight frown. "Dad? Could you do me a favor and pick Christine up from day care? Yes, a case has us tied up right now. No, I'll pick her up at your place; please don't bring her to the house. Thanks, I'll call you later. Bye."

Angela swallowed thickly as Brennan turned to her with a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Well, here we go."