Ok, I'm gonna move this into the T section as some peeps have suggested it. If anybody has a problem with this now or in chapters to come, please let me know and I'll move it.

Bones is not mine. Woe is me.

Booth shoved the balls of his palms against his eyes. He left them pressed there for a minute before returning them back to the table.

Brennan's eyes were swimming with sympathy. The man looked drained. The hollows in his face were more pronounced than ever and he just looked…old. Old and tired. She wanted nothing more than to give him a hug.

Booth didn't seem to register his partner shaking her head incredulously at the strange, unbidden thoughts that were germinating in her brain.

"Ok, well, like I said, there were three identical letters sent out. The contents of the letter itself seem to be an accumulation of the kind of correspondence sent by both the original Zodiac Killer and the copycat in New York."

Brennan nodded once.

"O…k… What do you mean exactly?"

Booth ran a hand across his forehead a number of times.

"When the original Killer sent his first letter, it was anonymous as I said, and it contained a by-line followed by twelve underscores. Our letter has this also. It also contained the words "keep your sisters, daughters and wives off the streets and alleys". It referred to the killing as a "game" and threatened "beware…I am stalking your girls now." Our letter contains some form of paraphrase of these verbalisms."

Brennan raised an eyebrow, one of the corners of her mouth pulled irresistibly skyward.

"Verbalisms?"

"You're not the only one who gets to use big words you know."

She held her two hands out, palms facing him, in a gesture of peace. He couldn't help but laugh at the amusement that sparkled in her eyes.

"I love few things more than seeing you happy."

The words were out before he'd even realised he'd thought them. He was so shocked that he actually clamped a hand over his treacherous mouth, shaking his head wildly. Brennan squirmed uncomfortably.

"Booth…"

"I…look, I'm very tired. Let's just get back to the case."

Brennan nodded at the table.

"I'm sorry." He wasn't really sure why, but Brennan's reactions to situations could be so different to other people's that it was nearly better to apologise, even when he felt that whatever he'd said or done wasn't enough to deserve an apology.

She started slightly.

"I…don't be. It's…thank you."

He refused to continue until she met his gaze. She eventually did and offered him a small, crooked smile. Booth shook his head slightly before resuming.

"Where was I? Oh, right… the letter also contains influences of the copycat killer, as previously stated. The copycat's first letter, the one that started with "This is the Zodiac", contained a circle with lines dividing it into sections. In this circle were the various zodiac signs. However, Virgo was missing and the Taurus section was obscured by the words, "The first sign is dead." It is unclear why Virgo hadn't been included. The words across the Taurus sign were never conclusively explained either. The first person the copycat attacked, who fortunately survived, was a Scorpio. No satisfactory demonstration of why these words were written was ever formulated and so this particular letter is often written off as a hoax. For the sake of our investigation, however, we're going to attribute it to the copycat."

He glanced up. The intensity of Brennan's gaze startled him.

Brennan herself realised that she must look rather eager and sat back, embarrassed. Booth looked so exhausted that she had edged further and further across the table, almost as though her proximity and undivided attention could help to abate his tiredness. She was also more than a little intrigued at the way he kept casually throwing rather 'big words' into his sentences. She was aware, however, that she must appear rather strange.

Booth wiggled his eyebrows.

"You alright there, Bones?"

"I'm fine, Booth." She muttered to her hands as she made something of a production of examining them on the table.

"You sure?"

The laughter in his voice irritated her. She hated feeling that people were making fun of her. Even if it was Booth. Who, somehow instinctively, she knew would never intentionally hurt her. She was also more than a little perturbed that he'd happen to catch her in a moment of somewhat intense vulnerability. This could have been the reason for the edge of stinging bite to her voice.

"Like I said, I'm fine. Right. So, you've told me about the copycat's letter. How does that tie in with what you received?"

Booth settled back against his seat. It was obvious that the teasing moment had passed. Being with Brennan was like being on a seesaw. As soon as your brain managed to grasp the fact that you were up, suddenly you were kicking dirt once more. It was all over in a split second and frankly it left him quite disorientated…and looking forward to when it would inevitably happen again.

"The letter we got mirrored this in some way. There was a circle drawn rather crudely in the top right hand corner. The circle was divided into twelve and all twelve zodiac sign names were contained in it, one in each section. Just over the letter's by-line were the words "The first sign is no more". At the end of the letter and to the left is written, "I've killed her"."

Brennan shivered involuntarily. Booth allowed himself a moment to give her a quick concerned glance before he completed what he had to say.

"The…interesting thing is, our killer seems to be referring, not to the Taurus of the copycat's letter but to the actual first sign of the zodiac, Aries."

Brennan's eyes bored into his own.

"We…we checked Caroline Bradford's birth date. She was born on March 29th…which makes her an Aries."

Brennan's gasp came like a whip crack. She had been expecting something like this. As soon as Booth had said that they'd checked the date, she'd known what was coming. But there was something about hearing it said aloud, actually putting the idea out there made it all the more horribly real. The words hung between them for almost a minute before Brennan was finally able to choke out, "So it's not random."

"No, it would seem not."

Brennan shifted uncomfortably. She felt wretched for thinking it…but a small part of her was a little relieved. It meant…it nearly meant that they couldn't have helped Caroline. That she was doomed before this had even begun.

Suddenly, unwanted but necessary, bile filled her mouth. How could she even think that? She was giving up before she was completely involved. They could have helped. Someone can always help…as long as they're aware. In this instance, they hadn't been aware. But that only meant that nothing could be done due to circumstantial hindrance. Nothing more. She examined her partner's hands spread out on the table. She was ashamed to meet his eyes. Booth would never give up. No matter what, he would always try. That was the very least any of them could do. Finally, she looked up at her partner's concerned face. Once more he had just saved her…and like countless times before, he wasn't even aware of it.

"Come on, Bones, I think it's time I got you home."

"I'm not a child that needs protecting."

"I like protecting. I'm good at it."

He leaned in and breathed into her ear as he once more helped her into her jacket, "Let me protect you."

Brennan reflexively closed her eyes at the shiver that began in the base of her spine and raced up her back, eventually fragmenting off into little tickly pulses across her skull.

Booth had used her distraction to his advantage and had quickly left some bills on the table. He placed a warm hand around her elbow and, in the wake of her surprise, propelled her towards the door before she realised what was happening. Before she knew it, she was standing out in the car park.

"What…?"

She glanced quickly around her, trying to catch her bearings. Realisation struck like a blow to the head.

"That wasn't very nice."

Chuckling, Booth gently pushed her into the car.

"Booth!"

He climbed in himself and shut his door. He strapped himself in and put the keys in the ignition. Stealing a quick glance at his partner, he grinned. Brennan was sitting with her arms crossed obstinately in front of her, refusing to buckle up.

"Come on, Bones. It's the law."

She turned her head away from him childishly and refused to acknowledge him.

"You're mean."

He snorted.

"And you are, apparently, six."

She snapped her head around and glared icily at him. Unconcerned, he indicated silently that she do as he asked. She raised her chin and shook her head.

"You're…"

She didn't get a chance to finish before Booth leaned around her to grab the seat belt himself. His breath was like fire against her neck and his hands as he pulled the strap across her body were like molten. During the few seconds it took him, lingering at her hip, to strap the buckle securely in place, Brennan was sure she must have melted.

"Hot."

Booth's eyes widened in amazement.

"What?"

"You're…you're warm. I said you're warm."

The remainder of the journey to Brennan's apartment was completed in silence. Brennan, for her part, stared unwaveringly out of the passenger side window. Booth's cheeks were in an extraordinary amount of pain as he hadn't been able to fully wipe away his smile. He quickly sobered up when he pulled to a stop in front of the building. So far his kick-free days were at an all time high of one and he was eager to see if he could beat that record.

Brennan turned to look at him, her expression slightly sheepish but focused.

"Thanks, Booth."

"No problem, Bones."

She unbuckled and shuffled out of the vehicle. Before closing the door, she popped her head back in.

"And…thanks for protecting me, Booth."

The corners of his mouth upturned and the skin beside his eyes crinkled.

"Anytime, Bones. Anytime."