(A/N): Okay, longer chapter for you guys, because I love you! I know it's been a while, but I wasn't sure how to go about it after how I ended last chapter. But anyway, this chapter is pretty episode heavy, with The Boy in the Shroud, or 2x03. But it is review time!

ZinaR: Aww thank you. I'm sorry this has taken so long. I really need a better balance between my fanfics and my uni work, don't I?

Allthingstvshows (1): Haha, the initial fighting between them was bad, but it petered out mostly before Booth and Brennan met. Ammi just gets overly concerned sometimes. I'll consider it though, or maybe a oneshot or something. But only if I get inspiration for it.

Chyrs: Haha, Ammi's dad is supposed to be mysterious. I wanted a character that Booth didn't automatically know everything about, and he will play more into later plot ideas I have swimming round this overrun brain of mine haha. Bits and pieces will be given though hehe, I am evil, I suppse.

Guest: Aww thank you and yes, it is nice to see that she has something out of her life at the lab, though I agree, Booth did still enter at the right time. There's only so much a child can do, even one as scarily smart as Ammi.

Guest (2): I'm fine, thanks

Allthingstvshows (2,3 and 4): Hey sweetie, I'm fine, just taking a while to think things up right now, but I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for caring so much, it makes me happy to hear from you, even just asking where I am.

Alright guys! I will leave you to read this chapter, and I will work on the next one asap, though no guarantees it will be as long as this one is. Please, as always, let me know what you think butterflies! Love you all.

Take Two

Chapter 4

Brennan glared at Booth and Cam as they built up on the other's theories, culminating in assigning blame to the foster kid girlfriend of their latest victim. Brennan knew she shouldn't be getting so angry over it, but in truth, she felt alone on the side of the evidence, or at least on not jumping to conclusions based on no evidence other than the girl being in the foster system.

"So Dylan tells the girlfriend they're breaking up." Booth posited, addressing Cam more than his partner. Cam immediately jumped onto his train of thought.

"She whacks him across the carotid with a pipe."

"And pushes him out the window." Booth finished decisively with a slight nod.

"Exactly." Cam agreed. Booth's face dropped into confusion as he finally noticed the glare Brennan was directing at the pair of them, not sure if it was what they were saying or that they were stood so close together. He knew that Cam and Brennan still didn't like each other, despite treating each other with cold civility.

"What? What's with the stink eye? It's just a theory." He defended himself. Brennan fought the urge to roll her eyes as she addressed Cam.

"There was cheap nail polish in the box of Kelly's belongings. You should see if there's a match." She told the pathologist coolly.

"Find some hair, match the DNA on that, then get started on the murder weapon." Cam ignored Brennan's suggestion, focusing on Booth instead. Neither Booth nor Cam noticed the anger that flashed through Brennan's sharp blue gaze. Sighing silently, she stood up and grabbed her lab coat, determined to do her job in spite of the odds against her and her task in finding the evidence.

"Yeah." Booth agreed with Cam before frowning as he finally noticed his girlfriend annoyed stride towards the door of her office. "Where are you going?"

"I thought before we arrest Kelly Morris for murder based solely on the fact that she's a foster kid, we might want to find the place where Dylan Crane actually died." Brennan shot at them coldly, pulling her hair out of the collar of her lab coat and fixing them both with a glare, though it was slightly more intense when pointed in Cam's direction. "Point of fact, the pipe, if that's even what it was, was not the murder weapon. The evidence, if anybody cares, shows that Dylan Crane died from a fall." She rolled her eyes at their incredulous looks and stormed off, leaving them in her office.

She slipped around the corner, out of sight from the pair in her office and placed her head against the wall. It was so hard, especially this case. Why was she up against everyone else? She jumped a little as Angela appeared beside her and gently tugged the anthropologist into her office, where she had set up a video call on the Angelator. As Brennan approached the holographic square, Amethyst's head popped up in the middle, offering her mother a smile.

"Hey mom." She frowned, taking in Brenann's worn out expression. "Talk to me."

"It's nothing; I'm fine." Brennan denied, out of habit more than anything else. Amethyst's eyes narrowed but she nodded all the same.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later about it. Don't think you can get out of it." She warned, pasting her best stern look on her face. "Until then, could you help me with a question I got stuck on in class? I want my notes finished before I have to pick Parker up from school. Becca's got late cases tonight, so I won't be home until late."

"Sure, what is it?" Brennan relaxed as Amethyst explained the problem she had. She could count on her daughter to provide enough distraction or support or even both, should the elder ever need it, usually without questions asked. She sighed a little. Now if only she could get through the case without completely losing her temper with everyone, then she'd be able to compartmentalise once more.

Brennan took off running after the teenager, only vaguely hearing Booth's shouts as she overtook him in pursuit of the runner. She recognised Dylan's jacket as she took her turn to yell after the boy. "We're not gonna hurt you!" She caught up to him and grabbed the back of the jacket, flinging the boy to the ground with a thud, wincing a little at the sound. "Okay, I hurt you a little bit, but that's only because you ran." The boy spat up at her and she glared down at him in disgust as she wiped it from her face. Booth and the two sandwich people caught up to them. Booth shot her a disapproving look for going after him without waiting for him to get in front, but didn't verbalise it as he hoisted the boy up and took him inside the warehouse, keeping a sharp eye on him as he called in the people he needed. Finally, he turned his attention back on the boy they'd caught, ignoring the small part of his mind that had wandered to what exactly had been running through his partner's mind when she'd decided to take the kid down on her own.

"You can't ask me nothing without a social worker being present." The boy shot out instantly, clearly knowing the script to be followed. Booth sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not questioning you." He denied. "We're just… we're talking, okay? Here. Want some gum?"

Brenna barely held back a smirk at his tactic, recalling a few times the police had attempted to 'talk' with her. The gum tactic hadn't worked back then, and she seriously doubted it would work with the blonde teen sat before them.

"Yeah, like that's gonna make me trust you." The boy snorted, though he took the gum anyway. Brennan knew the motive for a change, based on her own experience. As a foster child, you accepted anything that was free, especially if you weren't going to get into trouble for it later.

"I'm just asking your name."

"C." He finally answered with a slight shrug.

"Does that stand for anything?" Brennan finally spoke up, eyeing him knowingly.

"Carter. I'm not saying if that's my first or my last name."

"Why'd you run?" Booth questioned.

"'Cause this lady was chasing me." He gestured at Brennan.

"Because you ran." She pointed out.

"Yeah, it's a brain twister."

"You know, that sweatshirt you're wearing belongs to a kid by the name of Dylan Crane." Booth mentioned, watching closely for recognition from Carter, who barely even blinked.

"Never heard of him."

"Where'd you get it?" Brennan asked, hands in her pockets.

Instead of answering, Carter shrugged out of the jacket. "I'm done with the hoody. You guys can have it." He handed it over to Booth, showing a list of names just below his right wrist. Booth glanced at them, unable to tell if they were crude tattoos or just permanent marker.

"What's with the names on the inside of your forearm there? What does that mean?"

Brennan glanced at the names, her eyes widening in recognition. She could still recall the names on the bottom of her own shoe, though there were only five, not including the time she spent at the group home, which constituted the majority of her time in social care and was where she aged out with Amethyst and James. Davis, Thornbridge, Walker, Gregg, Harrison. The names were inked on the bottom of old battered high tops stuck in the top of her closet at home.

"Guys I killed." Carter tried with a false sense of bravado.

"It's a list of foster homes." Brennan informed her partner in an even tone. "Ones that threw him out."

"Sometimes getting thrown out's the best-"

"Is the best thing that can happen. I know."

"You were in the system?" Carter asked, watching the anthropologist with a newfound respect in his eyes.

They finished up the interview quickly, receiving a bit of new information from Carter. On her way to the door, she paused and handed Carter a few twenties and her card. "Call me if you need help. I won't bring the FBI with me." She murmured to the boy, waiting until Carter nodded before letting him leave the building. She felt Booth's eyes on her but ignored it. She didn't want to deal with the pity in his eyes just yet.

"Tempe?"

"Hi. Can I meet you somewhere?" Brennan asked as she slipped from the office and made her way to the underground parking lot, hitting the fob button to unlock her car.

"Sure, but is everything okay? Is Amethy-?"

"Amethyst is fine. Still in class as far as I know. I just… I just need to talk to you." Brennan interrupted, waiting patiently as she heard a sigh from the other end of the line. She slid into the driver's seat and shut the door behind her, doing up her seatbelt one handed.

"Alright. My office, half an hour. Is that alright?"

"That's fine. I'll see you then." She hung up and put the car into drive, leaving the lab with a small weight lifted from her shoulders at getting away from the lab, which was becoming more and more oppressive the longer she and Cam were at loggerheads. Pulling onto the street, she didn't see Booth's SUV indicating to enter the Jeffersonian grounds, too focused on her own destination.

"Hey Ange, have you seen Bones?" Booth asked as he entered the artist's office. Angela looked up from her screen with a small head shake.

"Sorry, studly, she left about ten minutes ago." Angela set down her work and sighed. "I'm sorry. She was in kind of a rush. She grabbed her keys and cell and practically ran out. She didn't even take her lab coat off."

Booth felt his blood run cold, wondering just what had happened that would cause his partner to forget something like that and rush out like a bat out of hell. "Just a sec, Angela." He grabbed his cell and called Brennan, but it rang through to voicemail. Rather than leave a message, he cancelled the call and placed another one, this time to her daughter. It was picked up after four long rings.

"Hello?"

"Gem? Why are you whispering?"

"Because I'm at the back of a lecture hall. I have classes all day. Why are you calling?"

"Have you seen your mom today?"

"This morning. She was a little annoyed, but that was all. Why?"

"She ran out ten minutes ago and isn't answering her cell?"

"She may still be driving. She doesn't answer her cell when she's driving." Booth sighed, relief trickling down his spine at her factual, rational explanations. "I don't know where she is or where she's going Booth, but if she calls me I'll tell her to call you, alright?"

"Okay. Thanks Ammi."

"No problem." She hung up, leaving Booth to offer Angela a reassuring smile.

"Ammi said she'll be fine."

Brennan let herself into the spacious office, a little surprised at finding an entire wall of windows overlooking the city placed at the far end of the room, behind a beautiful mahogany desk that seemed almost out of place with the rest of the modern, minimalist décor.

"Tempe."

She span round at the unexpected voice, relaxing as she took in the other occupant of the room. "James. Thank you for agreeing to see me."

James Dante smiled gently as he gestured for her to take a seat on a black two seater couch, following her to sit down, watching her with a concerned expression. "I didn't expect to hear from you. It's not Christmas." They shared a smile at the reminder of the only time they usually got along. "Is this something to do with your mother's case?"

Brennan eyes him warily. "You told Ammi that Vince McVicar was dead, didn't you?"

"Guilty as charged Tempe." He shrugged. "I knew you'd take it better from our daughter than you would from me. I don't have any more information than what Amethyst has, unfortunately."

"That's not why I'm here. There's a case at work, and… I'm not really sure if the circumstances surrounding it is influencing me, or is influencing everyone else around me."

"Why don't you just tell me about the case?"

"A teenage boy was found a few days ago. He had a girlfriend, who's in the foster system. Everyone else has automatically placed her in the role of murderer." Brennan concisely explained her problem to him, sighing a little.

James' brow furrowed a little. "Tempe, are you the only one with personal experience of the system there?"

"Yes." Normally she'd question the need for questions, but she knew him well enough that he always asked questions for a reason that she would know about sooner or later, usually sooner.

"Then you are the only one to have any idea what that poor girl is going through."

"I want to find her, but they want to arrest her."

"Alright. Is there no-one there that will even listen to your view of this?" He rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her.

"No-one that will understand without an explanation behind it. You know I'm no good with that."

"You're better than you give yourself credit for, Temp. Now, what do you want to do about it?"

"I… I want to examine the evidence, all the evidence, and find the murderer from that, rather than assume the worst of Kelly straight away."

"And if she does turn out to be the killer?"

"Then she should be arrested. But through evidence, not simple prejudice."

"Then that's what you'll do. And I'll make a call, so you won't face as much opposition." He winked at her as she finally felt peaceful, knowing she had a plan and that she knew how to execute it.

"Thanks James. I didn't know who else to talk to. Usually, I'd talk to Booth but…"

"Tempe, are you and Booth…?"

"Don't start James. It's my life." Brennan shot out defensively as she stood, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. James' hands shot up in surrender.

"Tempe, I'm not kicking up a fuss over this." He told her. Brennan frowned.

"Oh, why not? You have with everyone else I've seen since I gave you your ring back."

"Ammi read me the riot act." He shrugged at her confused look. "She yelled at me and warned me not to do anything in regards to yours and Agent Booth's relationship. Oh and Ammi has that ring, by the way. I gave it to her a long time ago."

"Why? To both pieces of information." She clarified quickly.

"Ammi told me that you're happy and that Agent Booth is a good guy. I don't want to get in the middle of that, especially if it would cost me my daughter. Amethyst warned me that I'd lose her if I interfered without her express consent." He explained, hurt and acceptance shining in his eyes. "As for the ring; she asked me about it and I showed it to her. I gave it to her as a reminder that her parents did love each other once upon a time." James stood up and reached out for Brennan's shoulder. "I just have one question for you: Are you happy?"

Brennan nodded as James pulled her into a loose hug. She may not admit it very often, even to herself, but she was happy, happier than she'd been in a long time where her personal relationships were concerned. Pulling back from the hug, she said goodbye and left, feeling a renewed sense of hope for the investigation and also for her personal life.

Brennan resisted the urge to smirk as she spotted Cam glaring at her desk, her office phone practically glued to her ear. She hadn't asked James who he was calling, but it did seem to be having the effect she needed to get justice without everyone trying to manipulate things. She nearly jumped as Booth appeared in front of her, looking worried.

"Bones. There you are. I was… worried. Where were you?"

"I don't have to tell you everything, Booth." She scowled, pushing past him into her office, setting down her bag and sitting down at her desk. Her cell phone beeped, indicating a new message. She glanced at it, finding that anything was better than what was going on around her.

Take it easy on Booth. He's overprotective and worried. It makes for an overbearing combination. Say hi to dad if you haven't already left. Ammi x

Brennan sighed, silently admitting that her daughter had a point, though she was more than a little reluctant to admit it out loud, or to Amethyst herself. She glanced up at Booth, who had dropped down into one of the chairs opposite her desk and was fixing her with a concerned expression. "I was… lacking perspective on this case, so I went to see James about it."

"James?"

"Ammi's father."

"Oh. Why'd you not come to me instead, Bones? I could've helped." Booth questioned, trying not to feel hurt that she went to her ex over him. Brennan shook her head sadly.

"No. Whilst James and I do not see eye to eye on many things, I knew he would understand me on this subject." She sighed again. "You agree with everyone else out there, even if you aren't as vocal as some about it." She gestured to the lab outside the office. "Kelly Morris killed her boyfriend. And all your evidence is that she's in the foster system." She shook her head again. "I felt… alone. I knew James would understand that and help me decide what to do next."

"Bones…" Booth trailed off, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. He felt stupid. Of course his partner would feel this case more than usual when it involved the system. "You can see yourself in Kelly's shoes?"

"I don't know what that means."

"You can see it from Kelly's perspective? Her point of view in life?"

"Ah, right. Yes, I suppose so. I recall all the assumptions made about me when I was in care, especially when I was with Amethyst, or James and I were with Amethyst. So many people judged us without knowing any of the facts. They simply made up their own stories and evidence to support their version of my situation and disposition." Brennan shuddered a little at the memories her words invoked, though she managed to keep a tight lid on most of them. "I see you all doing the same with Kelly."

"Okay. To say I'm sorry would probably sound hollow right now. Next time though, just talk to me Bones. I'm not a mind reader, but I want to know." Booth ran a hand through his hair in thought. "What would you like to do now? In the case, I mean."

"Hmm. That's up to Cam, isn't it?" She asked with just a hint of bitterness. Booth shook his head.

"No Bones, I asked you. What do you wanna do?"

"I think… I think we shouldn't close off any avenue of investigation. We stay on all the evidence and see where it leads us. Like we did before Cam."

"Then let's get to it." Booth stood simultaneously with Brennan and placed a hand on her arm gently. "We'll talk more when we get home, alright Bones? We can talk about whatever you want to, or need to."

"Alright Booth. Let's solve the case first though."

"After you, milady."

"Booth…"

TBC…