A/N: Ok seriously, how awesome was tonight's episode? lol. Thanks so much to everyone for reading! Thanks to Anne Nonymus for the PMs.

The sun was setting, in an elegant mesh of colors that awed the people walking in the streets of DC. But inside the Jeffersonian the mood was dark. Everyone stood on the platform watching Brennan and Wendell carefully place the remains of their latest victim into a casket. Booth swallowed hard and turned around, gripping the railing until his knuckles turned white. This had been a hard case for him, the remains of an eight year old boy had been found mangled in a trash can; and while intellectually he knew that the remains were not his son, emotionally he couldn't stop thinking about how it could have been Parker that the psychopath could have chosen at random and killed. He shuddered and hoped that the squint squad didn't say anything, in the mood he was in; he was likely to start shooting just to relieve some of the tension and frustration.

Brennan stopped her work as she saw him shudder. She knew how hard the case had been on him. It had been their first case involving a child since his coma and while he had always been sensitive to child victims, this time had been even harder on him. She moved around the casket and approached him.

"Are you ok Booth?" She asked softly. He nodded. She may have trouble reading people, but she could read him as well as she could read bones and knew he wasn't.

"You can go wait in my office if you want" She continued. Booth let out a long breath.

"Thanks Bones" He said quietly. He slowly let go of the railing and headed down the steps, pulling out his phone on the way to Brennan's office. Angela raised an eyebrow towards Brennan.

"I assume he is going to call Parker to reassure him that he is safe" Brennan said simply. She glanced at her partner who had now made it to her office and the returned to placing the remains in the casket.

"Done?" Cam asked ten minutes later.

"Yes" Brennan said as Wendell nodded.

"I could really use a drink" Angela said as she eyed the casket, tears starting to fill her eyes. Hodgins resisted the urge to comfort her, knowing that she wouldn't want it from him.

"That's a good idea" He said instead.

"First round is on me" Cam said solemly as they dispersed to gather their things.

Brennan walked into her office, unbuttoning her lab coat. Booth was sitting on her couch, head back and eyes closed.

"Everything ok?" She asked as she took off her lab coat. She hated that she was unable to find the correct words to help him. Booth opened his eyes.

"Ya…. Parker had a good day, he won the class spelling bee" Brennan smiled; she loved the way his eyes lit up when he talked about his son.

"That is very good for him. Everyone is going to the Founding Fathers for drinks." Booth looked at her.

"I'm in the mood to drink. I just want to forget" He got up and exited her office, standing just outside waiting for her. Brennan quickly grabbed her things and followed. As they walked out of the lab, Brennan noticed Booth glancing at the casket that was still on the forensic platform. She stopped him and turned to face him.

"It's not your fault that that little boy is dead Booth" She spoke quietly but firmly "You caught the man who killed him and he won't hurt another child. Parker is safe and happy. You can't protect everyone, but you make the world safer by taking sociopaths like him off the streets." Then she did the only thing she could think of to take his pain away. She lifted her head, put her lips over his and gently kissed him. Booth tensed in shock for a second before responding to her kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer as her arms went around his neck, deepening the kiss. When the need for air became acute, they slowly separated. Booth pressed his forehead against hers.

"Thank you" He whispered. Brennan closed her eyes as he gently kissed her forehead. Before they could fully separate themselves, they heard the automatic lab doors open, startled, they jumped apart, heads snapping in the direction of the doors. There stood Cam with a smug happy smile on her face.

"Should I tell the others that you aren't coming for drinks?" She asked.