Agent Perrotta walked into the Jeffersonian Lab after an hour or so at the crime scene. As everyone at the FBI knew, the Jeffersonian was Agent Booth's team but she was told that he had injured his back and was on leave but what surprised her was that Dr Brennan had requested her to take his place. Perrotta saw Dr Brennan, Dr Saroyan and Angela walking towards her, the latter two grinning, no doubt at something the former had said. The three of them saw her.
'Agent Perrotta.'
'Dr Brennan. Nice to see you, I was honoured you requested me as a substitute for Agent Booth.'
Dr Brennan instantly made a face at her exclamation, as if offended that she would think she chose Perrotta due to some emotional reason.
'The variables involved in breaking in a new person outweigh the benefit of possibly finding a better investigator.'
Oookay then. The good doctor certainly knew how to make someone feel welcome.
'Aw, let's not get gushy about it.'
Dr Saroyan spoke to Dr Brennan.
'Agent Perotta and I inspected the dump site, and I cleared the body to be transported back to the lab. We haven't determined identity yet.'
The expression on Dr Brennan's face matched that of a teenage girl's face who was told she couldn't go out with her friends.
'Booth usually waits for me to conduct my own examination of the scene.'
'Do you want to go back there?'
'No. I'll examine the remains here, thank you.'
Perrotta sighed on the inside. The good doctor may be a genius, but at the moment she reminded her more of a five year old. Dr Brennan ran up onto the platform and started examining the body. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw amused expressions on Dr Saroyan and Angela's faces. Dr Brennan ran off the platform and spoke to Dr Saroyan as she ran past.
'Flesh is all yours, Dr. Saroyan.'
Perrotta needed more than that.
'Does that mean we're officially investigating a murder?'
Angela laughed.
'She's just upset because she put Booth in the hospital.'
'Well, I understand but I still need someone to officially say murder.'
Dr Saroyan spoke up.
'Murder.'
Perrotta thanked her and the three of them walked up onto the platform to investigate further.
Perrotta walked into imagicon with Dr Brennan and the two of them looked around.
'These people don't look like killers.'
Perrotta watched as Dr Brennan glanced around as well at the people holding fake weapons.
'I...disagree.'
Dr Brennan started analysing the convention anthropologically but Perrotta couldn't listen to it so she changed the subject.
'So you really did a number on Booth's lower back, huh?'
'He had a mechanical problem which didn't show up on his X-rays. My adjustment aggravated it.'
'So, it was an accident.'
'Yes. Why? Did Booth tell you something different?'
Perrotta laughed on the inside. Why was she so curious to know?
'No, no, no. In fact, "aggravated" was, um, exactly the word he used.'
Perrotta changed the subject and pointed out the booth they were meant to go to. She introduced the two of them to the woman dressed up in silver and they discussed the victim until Dr Brennan asked what she did and the woman answered. The good doctor looked very confused at the answer.
'Your job is to sexualise software?'
Oookay, Dr Brennan certainly made the weirdest of leaps.
Perrotta hadn't spoken with Agent Booth for a while so she decided to call him to see how he was doing, and to keep him updated on the case.
'Hey, it's Perrotta. How you doing? Uh, you need anything?'
'No. I am just dandy.'
'Well, if you do, um... Hey, we found the victim's father.'
All of a sudden a third voice came on the phone.
'We did?'
'Who's that.'
'It's Booth'
'No, no, no before it was you.'
A familiar voice spoke up.
'Booth you pressed conference.'
'Dr Brennan?'
Agent Booth seemed very confused about the whole ordeal, proving he was still on painkillers. Perrotta had heard that the good doctor could spend almost a whole day not moving and studying a skeleton while trying to solve a case, so she was surprised to find her casually chatting on the phone with Agent Booth. Maybe it showed that they were together but then again, it could just be her checking up on a good friend.
The rest of the three-way phone call was her listening to the two of them bickering; Dr Brennan saying that Booth shouldn't come in while he insisted he could.
Perrotta sat in the interrogation room, the dead girl's father in front of her, and Agent Booth in the laptop at her side. Due to the circumstances, she thought it was actually a good compromise and a good idea. But that thought flew out of her head as he asked a stupid question, proving he was still on painkillers and she closed the screen shut, ignoring his protesting. She sighed and resumed talking to the father, maybe Dr Brennan was right.
Perrotta was in Dr Brennan's office and the doctor was on the phone with Agent Booth, who had called as soon as he heard about the accident with her and Dr Sweets.
'No, you shouldn't move, Booth. With a herniated disc, the splintered cartilage can irritate the nerves and…'
From what she was saying, it sounded like Agent Booth had said he was coming in.
'So the pain is gone?'
She assumed Agent Booth had asked her why no one was there with her because she answered that she was with Sweets. His reply must have been a bit crazy because she immediately replied,
'Booth have you taken more Vicodin? Look, Booth, I'm fine. Sweets is fine. A little shaken up, but really, we're both fine. Please don't come in.'
Perrotta gave a small laugh. Agent Booth really was insistent about protecting her and making sure that Dr Brennan stayed safe at all times.
'That's amazing in your condition.'
He must have insisted that he was well enough to come in.
'I really think you should just take your Vicodin and rest.'
Dr Brennan was silent for a bit as Agent Booth spoke and she then handed the phone to her.
'He wants to talk to you.'
Perrotta felt a bit surprised that he wanted to speak to her but she took the phone anyway.
'How are you, Agent Booth?'
'The only reason that I'm not coming in right now is because Bones told me not to. But she is your responsibility. Nothing can happen to her, okay?'
He was awfully protective of someone who he was "just partners" with.
'If anything happens to her, you know, that silky black hair and... that soft skin…'
Ooookay then. They were definitely more than just partners, especially on his end.
'I will not let her out of my sight. You have my word.'
She heard cartoons playing on the other end of the phone.
'Now, uh, we should really get back to the case, Agent Booth.'
She heard him give a little laugh, proving to her he was still on painkillers.
'Am I stopping you?'
She sighed and hung up, giving the phone back to Dr Brennan and remembering what she had promised Agent Booth.
'All right, I'm gonna go, uh, round up as many Black Knights as I can at ImagiCon. In the meantime, please don't go out in the field without me.'
The good doctor looked slightly annoyed.
'I don't need a sitter. Booth gets needlessly protective sometimes. I have no idea why.
Perrotta shook her head and gave a small laugh. For such a genius, she really was a bit dumb at times.
'You really don't, do you?'
'No.'
Perrotta knew that if anything else happened to the good doctor under her watch, Agent Booth would kill her the moment he could.
'Just call me. Please.'
The case was over, the victim being killed by her lover, so she decided to make some chilli and give it to Agent Booth. It was her mother's recipe and she found it always made her feel better, whether she was sick or injured. She knocked on his door and heard him say that it was open. She walked in, through the kitchen but came to a sudden halt before walking into the living room. He was standing there, with the good doctor behind him and her arms were snaking around from behind and were holding his neck. Perrotta felt like she had walked in on something, whatever it was.
'Oh! I didn't...I thought you said the door was open.'
Dr Brennan immediately spoke up.
'It is open. I'm done. I'm just leaving.'
Perrotta felt like she interrupted a moment. She wasn't expecting the good doctor to be here but she felt like Agent Booth would rather have her there than herself, and if the both of them stayed it would just be awkward.
'Oh! No, no, no. I just, um, brought some chilli I made, but, um, I'll just leave that there, and you can, um...are you alright?'
Dr Brennan spoke up again.
'Yeah, he's fine now!'
Agent Booth mumbled about being scared to move as her and the doctor insisted that the other stay. They ended up both walking out and just before she shut the front door she could hear him say,
'Wait, now nobody's staying? Hello?'
The two of them stood awkwardly outside his door, both unsure what to say to the other, so Perrotta spoke up first.
'Is he okay now?'
'The doctor gave misdiagnosed him but I've fixed it so it should be fine now.'
There was an awkward pause so Perrotta said that she had to leave and they bid each other goodbye.
