"Angela, please tell me that this is a really bad joke."

At that exact moment she wanted to just break down and tell him the truth. Tell him that his partner was in protective custody and that this was so top secret that the team and Cullen were the only ones who knew the truth.

She looked at the other people in her office. Jack and Cam had an apologetic look on their face. They nodded silently, convincing her once again that there was no other way. Cullen had made it very clear that Booth couldn't know. He would go after her and he would put himself, the team, Brennan and Parker in danger.

No matter what happened, we have to make sure that Parker is safe. His safety was the one and only reason why Bren had agreed to this absurd situation. And it was the only reason why she had agreed to NOT tell Booth.

Angela looked at Booth. His eyes were desperately trying to find the lie in what she had just told him.

The only thing he found were teary eyes staring back at him.

She slowly shook her head.

"Booth, Temperance is dead."

Her heart broke. She really didn't want to lie to Booth about something as serious as Bren's life. But she had no choice.

Hearing those words in that calm collected voice that was on the verge of breaking down was too much for him.

He put his head in his hands to hide the tears he could no longer hold back. She gently rubbed his back, while she looked at the others. Cam had tears in her eyes, she knew how much Seeley cared for his partner. Jacks eyes were brimming with tears. Angela knew how guilty he felt about this whole thing.

He looked back up at her.

"Ange, what the hell happened??? I was only gone for 48 hours!!!" He asked, trying to choke back the tears.

She took a deep unsteady breath and prepared herself mentally to tell Booth what had happened over the past 48 hours.

"Booth, after you left, she spend the entire day in the lab. I left the lab at 7 p.m. and she was still there. I asked her if she wanted to go out with me."

Angela chuckled.

"She said that there were a lot of things that she'd rather be doing and that were a lot more productive. So I left her alone. When I came back in yesterday morning she was still there."

Booth faintly smiled. He wasn't surprised that she still had been there.

She'd probably slept a couple of hours on the couch in her office, before she continued to work.

Angela continued.

"I was supposed to meet Jack in the harbor that day to go out on a fishing trip with him and I asked her if she wanted to come with me. She said that she didn't feel like it and that she would impose."

Angela stopped to wipe a tear away, she started to sob. She couldn't continue this, breaking his heart by telling him that Bren was dead.

Jack noticed her distraught appearance and walked over to her.

If she's not strong enough to do this by herself I will help her.

He took over and continued.

"So, as the good friend that she is, she called me to ask if it was okay if Dr. B would accompany us. I knew how much she was affected by your absence and I thought it would be a good idea to distract her. So I told Ange she should bring Dr. B with her. And she did. Everything went really well… at first. We were having a lot of fun. Until… Oh god, I really should have seen it coming… If I had than…"

Angela squeezed Jacks hand and decided to finish their sad tale herself. It was the least she owed Booth.

"We hit a reef, Booth. One of the sails was moved by the shock and she was knocked of the boat and in to the water. Jack immediately dove in after her, but he couldn't find her. While he kept trying, I called for the coast guard. They arrived really quickly."

She took a deep breath and looked at Booth with tears in her eyes.

"We searched for hours Booth. But… we couldn't find her."

Her voice was high pitched as she desperately tried to control her voice.

"The current was to strong, it… it must have pulled her under and away from the boat. She didn't even… She didn't even surface once after falling in the water…"

By now everyone in the room was crying. Crying for Booth, whose heart was slowly breaking and crying because they all remembered the fearful hours that they had spent, searching for her before Cullen showed up to tell them what was really going on.

"So, they haven't found her body yet?"

Hope shone through in Booths words.

"Ange, how can you be sure that she isn't still alive??? We all know she's a good swimmer. Maybe she surfaced a bit further and… and… and we just haven't found her yet."

Hodgins spoke up. His voice was determined and strong.

"No, Booth. She IS dead. Not only did we search for hours, but BECAUSE of the strong current the Coast Guard searched in a perimeter of twenty miles, Booth. TWENTY miles. If she would've still been alive, we would have found her."

Booth stood up.

"Booth, where are you…"

"No, Angela. I need to be alone. I need to think."

He turned around and left.

Angela started to cry again. Jack pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry Jack. I know we have to do this. But that doesn't mean that I have to like it."

He soothingly rubbed her arms while he said:

"I know, Ange. I feel horrible to. We just broke his heart."

Cam spoke up.

"He is going to kill us when he finds out the truth."

But Booth was oblivious to their conversation as he quickened his pace and made his way over to her office. He seated himself on the couch and allowed himself to let reality sink in.

She's gone.

She's not coming back.

She'll never sit on this couch again.

She'll never argue with me again.

She'll never…

He couldn't think anymore.

He couldn't breathe anymore.

He just broke down.

He curled up in a ball on her couch and cried himself to a deep dreamless sleep.

That's how Angela found him an hour later. She walked up to him, draped a blanket over his sleeping form. Before she walked out, she gently pressed a kiss on his lips and whispered: "I'm so sorry, Booth."

Jack walked into her office.

She sat on her couch, deep in thought.

"It's not fair. It's just not fair, Jack! Why can't Cullen see that Booth is probably the only one who really NEEDS TO KNOW that she is alive??? He is already falling apart."

She turned to look at him.

"He can't fall apart. The only reason she agreed to go into hiding alone is so that Booth could focus on protecting Parker. So that he wouldn't have to worry about her to. But how can Booth protect Parker when he is grieving for Brennan?"

Those last words came out in a high pitched voice. Hodgins quickly pulled his sobbing girlfriend into his arms.

"Shhh, Ange, shhh. He doesn't know yet that Parker is in danger. When Cullen tells him, he will do what we expect him to do."

She gave him a quizzical look.

"Which is?"

"Allowing Parker and Rebecca to go into protective custody too and he will focus on catching whoever is making those threats so Parker can come back home."

He soothed her.

She sighed and buried herself even deeper in her boyfriends comforting arms.

"I know Jack, but why is Cullen so hell bent on keeping the truth from Booth?"

He pulled her even closer and answered:

"I don't know Ange. I don't have an answer for you."

"But I do."

They both looked up in surprise when they heard the voice of Deputy Director Cullen.

Cullen entered her office and said:

"Where is Agent Booth?"

Jack quickly replied:

"Asleep on the couch in her office. Don't worry, if he's coming over here we'll now it before he even sees you're here."

Cullen said down next to Angela and said:

"We received two letters. The first one was a threat against Dr. Brennan. It stated that Booth had to pay for all the things he did in the army. And that it was only fair to take her away from him. It also said and I quote: "We will do our very best to try and inflict the exact amount off pain on her that he has inflicted on others."

He paused.

"It is much more likely that we'll be able to catch him when he goes after Parker. I know this sounds harsh but think about it. In the other letter, the one that threatened Parker, pain or torture was never mentioned. It simply said that Booth needed to pay for all of his actions in the army and that it was only fair to take Parker away. They are out to hurt Booth. By killing his son. But they have no desire to make it painful. They'll try to make it quick, so quick that Booth won't be able to stop it. But if we put Parker into protective custody, there is no way that they will get close enough to kill him quickly. And if he knew that they are also after his partner to kill her slowly and painfully, his attention will be divided between the two of them. He won't be focused. Both Parker and Dr. Brennan would be in a lot more danger."

Cullen stood up and said:

"That is why he can't know, Miss Montenegro. It's a lot easier to protect both Parker if Booths attention is only fixed on him and not on his partner. Besides, we hope they won't go after Temperance since her death is currently one of the top stories in each news show and on the pages of each newspaper, magazine and tabloid of the country. If Booth knew she was still alive, he would never willingly let her out of his sight. We are merely making this choice in his place."

She mumbled:

"Well it feels wrong."