I think this is the fastest I've ever posted two consecutive chapters! Someone should erect a monument in my honour:)

I first wanted to thank those few people who took the time to review the last chapter. I really appreciate those who did tell me what they thought about the chapter. So thanks so much!

A/N: Just so you know, the quote at the beginning of the chapter (and the subsequent chapters) don't have anything to do with the story; actually they just go with the chapter number.

"Life is something that everyone should try at least once."

-Henry J. Tillman

"Bones!" Seeley Booth swiped his card to enter the platform, his footsteps echoing across the large room. "We've got a new case." When his partner didn't make any move to leave the bones she was examining, he continued. "And I figured that since it's getting late, we should probably get going."

Temperance Brennan, looked up, finally seeming to hear him. "We've got a new case?" She asked, her mind stuck on Booth's first comment. When he nodded in reply, she felt herself smile; to her it felt like they hadn't had a new case for weeks. "Where is it?"

"In a small neighborhood, that's just outside Arlington Cemetery. A couple of kids were digging around in their backyard- trying to get to China, most likely- and found the skeleton. Scared them half to death, I'm betting. Anyway, the police weren't sure what to do- what with the finding being basically on the cemetery grounds, so…"

"So that's when they called the FBI. And just a wild guess, but Cullen called you, and you came here?" Brennan joked.

"Basically."

When the partners pulled up, the crime scene was still crawling with police officers and FBI agents alike. A few news vans were parked behind the crime tape, and reporters could be heard yammering on, as they were so prone to do. A large crowd had also gathered around the home, mainly consisting of who Temperance assumed were the spying neighbors.

Booth exited the car first, stepping forward quickly to lift the tape for Temperance. Smiling her thanks, she continued on to the backyard where the action obviously was. A burst of excitement shot through her at the prospect of having a new and enticing case.

As she rounded a bend in the backyard, the skeleton could easily be seen sticking out of a hole in the ground; the skull sitting on top of the dirt; reminding her eerily of a cherry on top of a sundae. She noted that the bones were no longer a clean white, nor even a cream color; they had obviously been in the ground for a very long time, because they were a dirty brown. Overall, the crime scene was not that much different than others they had been to; and yet, for some reason, Brennan had a strange feeling about it. Almost like she knew something was…special about this body.

Meanwhile, Booth followed Temperance arrowed to the back. For a moment, he got lost in just watched her work. His mind was jarred back to the present, however, when she addressed him. "It appears to be male, ten to sixteen years old. I'll be able to give you a more accurate age when we get back to the lab." Even after working with her for as long as he had, it still amazed Booth that when looking at a body, she could discern all that information.

"From the discoloration of the bones, I would say that he has been buried here for over ten years." Brennan continued, telling Booth of her earlier observation. "I'll collect samples, and then Hodgins can give you a more exact time of burial."

Booth nodded, his mind storing what she was telling him for future use. "'Kay." He looked around the yard once more, trying to decide what he wanted to do now. "I'm going to go and talk to the boys, see if they can tell me anything else."

Brennan looked up from the skeleton, acknowledging his statement. "Okay. You know where to find me if you need anything."

Her partner smiled. "I always do."

By the time Booth dropped Temperance off at the Jeffersonian, it was hours past sunset. It had taken hours to excavate the bones carefully and completely, and at the time they were ready for transport, the crime scene was almost void of people. He had been able to gather absolutely no information from the boys who had discovered the body, and so had then- of course- been frustrated from the lack of information. After so many hours in the field, Booth was ready to go home, and crawl into bed- it seemed that his partner had other plans, however.

"Drop me off by the front entrance- I want to start processing the bones." Brennan stated, as though it was obvious for someone to want to work at one in the morning.

"No, Bones. I'm not. I'm going to let you get your things from your office, and then I'm taking you home. You need to get some sleep."

Brennan sighed, knowing that he was right; she should get some sleep. But something wasn't letting her. The same feeling of excitement that she had gotten at the crime scene had returned to her. There was something different about this skeleton, something that called to her…that begged her to take a better look at it. No matter what Booth wanted her to do, she had to go and start tonight.

"Fine, I'll go home. But I have to drive myself- I'm not leaving my car here overnight." She said, deliberately leaving out that she didn't plan to go home right away. She wasn't lying to him…she just wasn't telling him the whole truth.

"You promise to go home?" Booth questioned, his suspicions rising; Bones never agreed with him that easily. "You're not going to stay here?"

Temperance shook her head, trying her best to look as though she was telling the trutht. "I promise. You're right, anyhow. I need to get some sleep if I'm going to be able to work on the bones properly."

"Okay…"

"But don't wait for me." She stated quickly, knowing Booth wasn't going to give up easily; he was just about as stubborn as she was. He was probably going to suggest next that he should follow her home, just to be safe. "I have to sign a few forms, and like you said, I have to get all my things. It could be just a little bit, and you look like you could really use to go to bed." She smiled quickly at him, and then added, "No offense."

He cracked a grin, though it didn't fully reach his eyes. "If you insist, then I suppose I'll just leave." As much as he knew he should stay with her, he just didn't have the energy to force her to his will. She was right: he really was tired.

"Well, then it's settled. I'll see you tomorrow?" Brennan asked, already out of the car.

"Yeah, okay." Booth called to her. "I'll see you then…" He trailed off pathetically, realizing there was no way for her to hear him. Shaking his head, he put the vehicle into drive. As he pulled away from the museum, he muttered one last word to himself. "Women."

Now, I know you loved that chapter so much and that you have a huge desire to click that little blue button and review:) So please, follow that urge!!!

Charlotte