Rating: PG-13ish

Pairing: BB hints

Author's Note: This took a bit longer to get out then I intended. Mostly because I was home sick yesterday and couldn't work on it. Otherwise it would have been out yesterday. Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed. My muse really loves the encouragement.

Dedication: To Ems because quite frankly bad days suck because of fucked up family life.


The house was unassuming. A pale, buttery yellow with white trim and overflowing flower boxes. It was situated on a quiet cul-de-sac in the middle of suburbia, a place called Willow Whisper, a few miles north of nowhere. Just like all the other victim's residences.

Booth pulled up in front of it, turning the engine off and staring at the picturesque house for a moment before turning to Brennan. "Ready?"

She nodded, reaching for her jacket as she opened the door, careful to avoid knocking over the bag that still held one or two bagels from their hurried breakfast, allowing the cool autumn air to enter the vehicle. Booth watched her for a moment before stepping out as well, locking the SUV and joining the anthropologist at the front walk. They made their way silently to the front door and he pressed the doorbell before glancing around the porch at the comfortable furniture and heavily perfumed air.

A woman with a worn expression and dark hair opened the door, looking at them curiously through the screen door. "Can I help you?"

"Claire Kirkpatrick?"

"Yes, is there something I can help you with?" she asked again. Brennan noticed the way the woman clutched at a pendant hanging from her neck, eyes already showing understanding.

"Ma'am, I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth with the F.B.I. and this is my partner Doctor Temperance Brennan." The woman's face became paler and she tightened her hold on the necklace. "May we come in please?"

"Mara...?" she asked softly.

"Mrs. Kirkpatrick it would be best if..."

She nodded, stepping aside and Booth pulled the screen door open, letting Brennan enter before him whether she wanted to or not, before following her into the tidy entry hall. Claire closed the door behind them before leading them into a cozy living room where a young child was watching cartoons.

"Aline, why don't you go play upstairs?"

"But Mommy, it's Kim Possible," the little girl whined.

"Go Aline!" The girl pouted as she turned off the tv and got off the couch, shooting a disgruntled look at the two strangers that were the most likely interruption of her all-time favorite show this week. Claire stopped her before she reached the stairs, brushing a stray lock of reddish hair out of her face. "Why don't you finish it in my room?"

"Okay Mommy."

Claire waited until Aline had disappeared upstairs before gesturing to the sofa and chairs. "Please, have a seat," she said calmly. She sat down on one of the two overstuffed chairs and Booth and Brennan sat on the sofa across from her. "My daughter?"

"Mrs. Kirkpatrick, I'm sorry to say, but we..." He broke off as she started to cry, pressing a fist tightly to her mouth to muffle the sobs wracking her body.

"She's dead, isn't she? My Mara's gone!"

"Mrs. Kirkpatrick, there is no evidence of that," yet, "we're still searching for her and may have a few leads shortly," Booth explained calmly. Claire looked up at him, hope glittering in her eyes amidst the tears while Brennan shot him a look. There wasn't any evidence to support whether she was or wasn't dead.

"She may still be alive?"

"We're looking into it. Is there any information you can give us on Mara's disappearance? Who was the last person to see her for instance?"

Claire frowned, rubbing her temples tiredly. "I told all of this to the police when she went missing two weeks ago."

"Please, there might have been something you've missed or had forgotten."

"Aline was with Mara though I don't think she saw anything. I was at a meeting and Mara was supposed to be watching her."

"May we speak with Aline?" Claire nodded and Booth glanced over at Brennan, nodding at her surprised look. She stood slowly and made her way out of the room and up the stairs to where Aline was sprawled on a large bed, watching a cartoon on tv where a girl was flipping through the air and doing otherwise impossible, illogical things.

"Aline?" The girl tore her eyes away from the screen and looked her curiously. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." She sat up, pulling the pillow with her and turning her eyes back to the show.

"My name's Dr. Brennan. What're you watching?"

"Kim Possible. It's the best show in the world."

"Really?" She hesitated, looking at the red-head girl on screen. She assumed she was the heroine of the show though the stunts were still illogical. "Aline, I've come to ask you a few questions."

"About Mara?"

"About Mara," Brennan agreed. "You were here the night she disappeared?"

"Uh-huh. And so was Casey."

"Who's Casey?"

"My friend. Mommy says he isn't real but he talks to me a lot." She looked at Brennan when the end credits came on. "Casey said he heard something outside and I told Mara. She didn't believe me though and told me it was a dream and sent me back to bed."

"What else happened?"

"I woke up to the door banging open and went down stairs again. Mara wasn't there but Casey was in the doorway."

"What was Casey doing?"

"He was looking around. He said Mara had gone outside and he couldn't find her. He said he was gonna go look for her but he never came back and neither did Mara."

"Aline? What does Casey look like?"

"He told me not to tell."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind you telling me."

"I don't know..." She looked uncertain, shifting slightly and pulling the pillow closer to her. "He looks like my friend José."

"Spanish?" Aline nodded slowly. "Young, old?" The girl shrugged and Brennan sighed, rubbing her temples. "Was he your age, Mara's age, or my age?"

"I don't know. It was dark."

"Was that the first time you saw him?"

"Yes."

"What else did Casey say?"

"Lots of things but Mommy doesn't believe me."

"She's lying." Booth raised his eyebrows at Brennan as he pulled onto the highway. "I can't pinpoint exactly what it is but I know she's lying." Brennan glanced over at him and glared. "Will you please stop staring at me when you're driving and pay attention to the road?"

"Sorry, it's just the fact that Temperance Brennan, who doesn't believe in anything not proven with facts, is following an instinct that says a six-year-old is lying. It's kinda unbelievable," he responded.

She continued to glare at him. "I know there's something she isn't saying."

"Maybe she doesn't think it's relevant."

"Maybe she knows what happened to her sister."

"She's six Bones, six! She probably thought her sister's friend was her imaginary friend!" He took a deep breath and swerved around a car, a little to close for Brennan's comfort. "Now," he said, speeding past the car, "the mother. I can see her as doing something, or knowing something and not telling us."

"We already have the killer," she pointed out. He glanced at her quickly but she was staring out the window, oblivious to his concern.

"Yeah, I know Bones," he replied slowly. He sighed as silence settled over them and he let his mind wander, thinking about other things such as work and the impending weekend with Parker and...

He jerked as her cell went off and she reached over, fumbling with it and looking just as surprised as he felt. "Brennan," she said crisply when she had managed to open it. "Uh-huh. Really? Are you sure? No, I'm not second-guessing, just want to make sure...uh huh. Alright, thanks a lot." She paused and he glanced at her, watching her shake her head slightly. "No, no. Don't bother." She sighed deeply and he smiled when he heard the faint trace of Angela's voice, slightly tinny, from the phone.

"Bren, sweetie, where are you?"

"Why?" she asked carefully, ignoring Booth's raised eyebrows and gesturing for him to pay attention to the road.

"You wouldn't happen to be with Mr. Hunky FBI Agent would you?"

"What's your point Ange?"

"Oh, you know," Angela replied vaguely and Brennan could almost picture the absentminded wave of the hand that would accompany her friend's words. "Just the fact that it is 12:25 and you had promised me lunch and I haven't seen hide nor hair of you all day."

"Oh, Ange, I'm so sorry," Brennan said, glancing away from Booth's probing eyes. "Booth and I are..."

"Hah! I knew you were with Booth!"

"Angela. We're on a case. We just spoke with the family of the missing girl."

"Oh. I should have known. The day Temperance Brennan decides to miss work for no reason at all will be the day Hell freezes over."

"Technically speaking, Hell is supposed to very hot with magma and volcanic activities which would not..."

"Forget it. We'll reschedule, alright? Toodles sweetie."

Booth glanced at her again as she hung up the phone, raising an eyebrow as she glared at the phone, pocketing it before looking at him. "Interesting call?"

"That was Hodgins. He was able to identify some of the minerals and spores on Sally's bones as well as the one we recovered from Mara."

"And?"

"And he found concrete particulates along with phosphorus and seaweed."

"Seaweed?"

"It can be found in fertilizers. He says he found evergreen needles and sap as well."

"And all this means?"

"We could be looking for a place on the seashore. Hodgins is convinced that it's a construction zone we're looking for, does it ring any bells?"

He gave a tired laugh, shaking his head slowly. "Do you know how many new buildings are going up on beachfront property every day? We have to narrow it down more." He gave her a small smile and then looked back at the road, sighing. "What did Angela want?"

"To remind me I missed lunch," she replied with a vague shrug. He gave her an apologetic look but she waved it away. "Not your fault, I forgot about it and you didn't know about it in the first place. Where are we going?"

"I'm dropping you back at the Jeffersonian, then I'm going to follow up a few leads." She looked at him pointedly and he shook his head. "Not this time Bones," he replied. "I'll fill you in later."

They were assaulted as soon as they pulled up in front of the Jeffersonian. Zack Addy was standing out front, pacing, and when he saw them he hurried over to the vehicle, a relieved expression plastered on his face. "Doctor Brennan, Agent Booth, I'm, we're, relieved you're back."

"What is it Zack?" Brennan asked as she exited the SUV.

"We got a package."

"And?" she asked, reaching in for her jacket which Booth handed over to her.

"I think it has another part of Mara Kirkpatrick in it."

She bit her lip and Booth muttered a curse, looking at Brennan. "I'll meet you inside," he said after a moment. She nodded, taking her jacket and closing the door behind her, following Zack into the building.

The finger was laying on the exam table, flesh already decomposing off of it and the box it had come in sat next to it, bloody gauze already sampled. She sighed, pulling on her lab coat and tossing her jacket into her office as she pulled on gloves on her way to it. Booth jumped up the steps, flashing his card before the alarm could sound, and joined her at the table, poking the cardboard box with a pen.

"It was postmarked a few days ago," he said slowly. She glanced at him curiously. "It means that Valdez sent it before we apprehended him."

"I know what it means, why do you think he did it?"

"Probably because he knew we were going to catch him and he decided to use this as a way to bargain." He took a deep shuddering breath, pacing as she lifted the digit and turned it this way and that, examining it. "What is it?"

"Looks to be the fourth phalange of the left hand," she said carefully.

"I thought a phal - however you pronounce it was a toe?"

"No. Well, it is. The term phalange refers to both the toes and fingers."

"Why not just say toes and fingers?" She shot him a look and he raised his hands. "Sorry, forget I asked."

"Zack!" Zack looked up at her from where he was hovering nearby. "Has Hodgins had a look at this yet?"

"Yes doctor Brennan. He's running tests on the spores he picked out of it now. He said he's probably be able to get more information out of this one than the bone because of the remnants of flesh."

Brennan nodded, once more turning back to it and studying it. "I'll try and get you whatever I can Booth, but I don't know how much that'll be," she said slowly, looking up at him.

"Whatever you can give me Bones I'll appreciate." He gave her a smile before nodding. "I'm going to go check up on a few leads and talk to the police who first investigated her disappearance."

"Alright."

Booth lounged on his sofa, beer sitting on the coffee table as he sighed, rubbing his temples later that night. He had gone back to Valdez, to threaten, to intimidate him without Brennan there to distract either himself or his suspect. Not that anything had really come out of it. Valdez refused anymore information without speaking privately to Brennan and Booth would never let that happen. Not again.

He sighed again and reached for the beer, taking a gulp of the liquid and glancing at his cell phone. Brennan had called a few hours ago saying that the plant life that had been found on Mara's finger, it had been a match, was definitely from the western coast of Chesapeake Bay, the plants typically found in Maryland. They were looking for construction sights around the Bay. Like a needle in a haystack.

She promised they would have more results in the morning but something wasn't clicking. He knew that he was missing something, that Valdez must have said something and he just couldn't remember what it was. He groaned, glancing at the clock on his DVD player and groaning again when he saw it was a quarter to two in the morning. He only had to be up in three and a half hours anyway.

He was just getting up when his cell phone went off and he grabbed it, flipping it open. "Booth." There was silence and he frowned. "Hello?"

"Booth?" The voice was stressed, tired sounding and his frown deepened.

"Bones?" he asked. He stood up, already reaching for his jacket, finding his keys and slipping his shoes on. "What's wrong?"

"It's stupid." He could have snorted. It obviously wasn't stupid if Bones was calling him at two fifty in the morning. "I just...remember two nights ago? It was raining then too," she said softly. He glanced out the window, noticing the rain for the first time and cursing silently.

"I'll be there in fifteen Bones."

"No, no. I'll be fine."

"It's okay to be upset Bones," he said as he exited the apartment, locking the door behind him and heading for the SUV. "No one will think any less of you."

"I will." She paused as she heard the SUV start up, waiting until he had reversed before speaking again. "Thanks Booth."

He reached her apartment in ten minutes flat, jogging upstairs and knocking quietly on her door, listening as he heard her walking over and silently opening the door. She was pale and trembling and he was shivering and cold. He gave her a wry smile before stepping in and hugging her tightly, whether she wanted it or not.

"It'll be okay."

She sighed and stepped away, closing the door and looking at him. "I feel so stupid. It's just rain."

"It was..." Lightning flared and thunder rumbled close by. He watched as she jolted and he sighed, smiling slightly at her. "You have every right to be upset Temperance."

She glanced at him but smiled slightly. "Thanks Booth, for coming over here. No matter how stupid the reason was."

"It wasn't stupid," he repeated, looking at her. "I know you don't believe in psychology but what he did...it was messed up Bones. Anyway, you can count on me. I'll always come." She looked worn out and he smiled at her, slipping an arm around her shoulders and leading her deeper into the apartment. "Why don't you go to bed? I'll be right out here if you need anything."

She nodded faintly. "Thanks. Again." He watched her make her way around the sofa and to the back hallway, disappearing into the shadows before going over and collapsing on her couch.

Angela grumbled under her breath about late, inconsiderate best friends as she stormed up to Brennan's apartment door. They had rescheduled their cancelled luncheon to breakfast the following morning. Lo and behold Brennan hadn't shown to that either. She knocked on the door, vowing vengeance on the forensic anthropologist if she didn't have a really good excuse.

Brennan opened the door on the third-or-so knock, looking tired but awake. In fact, Angela could smell bacon and eggs and something else, probably coffee, coming from the kitchen. Brennan's eyes widened when she saw her friend and she mentally hit her forehead.

"Ange, I'm so sorry," she said for the second time in two days.

"Uh huh," the artist replied. She entered the apartment when Brennan opened the door wider and followed her friend back to the kitchen. "Two days in a row sweetie," she said. She paused then, listening to water running from somewhere in the back of the apartment, presumably the bathroom. "Oh sweetie," she called. "Were you going to take a shower?"

"Huh?" Brennan asked, turning to look at her. At that moment the water turned off and Angela raised an eyebrow.

"So, let me guess who else is here with you and why I was blown off yet again."

"Angela..."

"Details sweetie. I'm not letting you off without them this time."

"It really isn't what your thinking..."

The bathroom door opened and Booth entered the living room, pausing with some surprise when he saw Angela standing there. He was dressed in pants and was just pulling a button-down shit on. He smiled at Angela before looking at Brennan curiously.

"So Booth, what are you doing here?" Angela asked. He saw the look pass over Brennan's face but wasn't exactly sure what it was he was seeing. He turned his attention back to Angela with another smile.

"I came over last night to fill Bones in on what I'd discovered while she was squinting at the finger and it got late so I asked if I could sleep on her couch and she agreed after I pestered her for a good thirty minutes," he replied.

Angela looked vaguely disappointed but nodded slowly. "Alright, I'll let it slide this time," she conceded. "But Bren? This is two meals you owe me now," she said. She gave them a wave and headed for the door.

"You aren't going to stay?" Brennan asked, surprised.

"Naw, I ate before I came over here," Angela replied. "While I was waiting for you." She grinned at Booth. "See ya later muffin," she called with a backwards wave as she headed for the door.

Booth glanced at Brennan once Angela had left and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Muffin?"

"Well, I usually call her fruitcake," he replied.

She laughed, grinning at him and he liked that. Being able to make her laugh. "Come on, I have breakfast ready." She turned then stopped, glancing back at him over her shoulder. "Hey, Booth?"

"Yeah," he asked, approaching her.

She sighed deeply, entering the kitchen and messing with the food. "I seem to be saying that a lot now, but thank-you for not telling Angela why you were really here." She gave him a tired smile and he smiled back, knowing she hadn't been able to get much sleep the night before. He had heard her tossing and turning for most it.

"No problem Bones," he replied easily before glancing at the food and laughing. She grinned when she noticed what had caught his attention. "Muffins?"

"Yeah. Kinda coincidental, huh?" She grinned wider, tossing him one and he caught it effortlessly. "Eat up 'muffin.'"