Brennan had lied. She didn't have a doctor's appointment the next morning, she couldn't wait that long. She knew what this could be and after telling Booth, she needed to find out straight away.

When Booth dropped her back at the lab on his way back from the crime scene, Brennan strode straight into Cam's office and closed the door. She folded her arms again and cleared her throat as she waited for Cam to acknowledge her.

Cam looked up from her laptop and raised an eyebrow. "Doctor Brennan. Can I help you with something?"

"Yes," said Brennan as she sat down in the chair in front of the desk. But she didn't say anything more, just stared at Cam.

"Am I supposed to guess?" said Cam, leaning back in her chair, confused.

"No."

"Then what is it I can help you with?"

Brennan looked uncomfortable; she didn't really prepare herself for how she should ask.

"I need you to run a biopsy," said Brennan.

"With that new corpse, you mean? Is there a growth that you need me to identify?" she said, leaning in to her desk. She didn't understand why Brennan was being so cagey.

"No," said Brennan, emotionless. "On an enlarged lymph node situated in my right Axilla."

"Okay…" Cam got up and circled around her desk, sitting lightly on the front of it. "Have you made an appointment with your doctor?" she said, looking concerned.

"No, I want to know what I'm dealing with now. It will take days to get the test results back if I go to the doctor. I can't do that. I need to know what I'm dealing with. Knowing I can handle, but not knowing…"

Cam put her hands up. "Okay, okay… but I need to examine you first."

She went to the office windows and shut the blinds before locking the door.

She walked over the Brennan and waited. Brennan stared at her, unsure of what she wanted. Neither of them felt very comfortable around one another, although lately, with Zack's departure, they had become slightly closer.

"Take off your shirt Doctor Brennan," said Cam softly, trying to lead her through it.

"Oh, yes, right." Brennan slowly undid the buttons of her shirt and placed it back down on the chair. Cam asked her to raise her arm slightly, which she did, and she felt Cam's cold fingers slide into her armpit. Cam looked away, frowning. The lymph node was indeed quite large and solid.

"When did you first notice it?" asked Cam.

"This morning, in the shower," said Brennan.

"Did you do a breast exam? Were there any other swellings or lumps that you could feel?"

"Yes and no there weren't."

"How have you been feeling lately? Any symptoms?" asked Cam.

"I've been tired. And... I've lost weight," admitted Brennan.

"Any night sweats?" asked Cam, as Brennan put her shirt back on.

Brennan just looked at her, and then looked away. That was a yes.

"Okay," said Cam, looking straight at Brennan. "You do need a biopsy, but first of all you should get X-rays of both your chest and abdomen. Doctor Brennan, I'm a Medical Examiner, not a practicing physician – I really think you should see your own doctor, get some tests run at the hospital-"

"No. I just want to know. We have an X-ray machine, and you could do a needle biopsy tonight," said Brennan, her eyes pleading with Cam's.

Cam started to shake her head.

"Please, Cam. Please," said Brennan.

Against her better judgement, Cam agreed.

Please remember to R&R, keeps the muses singing to me! :) :) :) :) :)

N.B. In case you were wondering, Axilla is the scientific term for "armpit" - I just couldn't imagine Bones actually saying "armpit"... weird.