Sweets stared at the words on his car in shock and dismay.

And fear.

In white, scratchy words that stood out from his black car, it said:

'You shouldn't have told.

-H. and M.'

Lance took heaving breaths.

"Who are H and M?" Zach asked quietly.

"My br-brothers, H-Harr-ry and M-Mar-c-cus..." He stuttered, going numb.

And then came the break, the pure shock that turned his legs to jelly and his stomach into ice cold snakes.

He fell and heaved out all he had eaten and drank.

"Its ok, I got you." Angela rubbed his back when there was nothing left in Lance's stomach and Booth was on the phone.

"I need to get protection for Doctor Lance Sweets."

The next day, Lance was back at the Royal Diner where the whole mess had started.

No one failed to notice Lance's appetite was diminishing.

But while Lance picked at his very unappealing food, he couldn't manage to keep his sigh in.

"What's wrong Sweets?" Brennan asked.

Lance was there with Booth, Brennan, and Zack. They all watched him as he ignored the stares and only kept watching his fork play with his food.

"I... I didn't charge my parents with everything I know they did, you know? I-I feel bad, but most of it that I left out was just petty theft, my father sold drugs on the street, my mother laundered money..."

Lance fought back another sigh and looked nervously at all 3 of them.

"M-Mayb-e another m-urd-der..."

They gaped at him and Booth started. "You left out all that? All that could get them the death penalty!"

"I'm not bringing poor, dead Krissy into this!" Lance's voice rose a few clicks.

So did Booth's.

"Come on! Theft, Drugs, money laundering, 2 murders, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Child Molestation, Raping of an Adult!"

Lance looked around in fear as the people's growing interest caused everyone to turn to watch.

Booth's voice rose higher.

"Your parents deserve death penalty for everything they did to you!"

Brennan and Zack both realized why Lance was afraid now.

Everyone who was watching started to murmur about Lance and what he had gone through, and about how Booth had done something terrible as well when everyone saw big, fat tears streak down Lance's face.

Lance gave a heart wrenching sob and bolted out the door.

Now the murmuring crowd scolded Booth.

"You shouldn't out his personal life like that!"

"Hasn't anyone told you you shouldn't yell at someone who's going through that?!"

"And you call yourself his friend."

"I don't doubt it if Dr. Sweets doesn't speak to you ever again!"

That one hurt the worst.

Booth realized that it was probably right. He turned to look at Lance, sitting on the curb, sobbing.

"Bones, Zack, could you go check on Lance?" Booth's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Now you stay quiet?!" Zack yelled, and he gave a glare at Booth before he made his way to Lance. Booth flinched.

Brennan was no better. "Why would you do that?!" She left right after that, and though Booth knew it was a rhetorical question, he answered.

"I don't know."

Outside, the 2 scientists were trying hard to comfort Lance.

"Hey, let's get you to the Jeffersonian so you could see Cam, Angela, Hodgins, Mr. Nigel-Murray, Wendell, Fisher, and the others, ok?"

He gave a shaky breath and nodded.

They helped him up and took Zack's car to the Medico-Legal lab.

Meanwhile, Angela was painting at the Jeffersonian with nothing to do.

She hadn't realized it until she really stared, but it was about Sweets.

A small baby duck was sitting on the floor with blood all over it.

Some of its feathers were plucked, and there were two dark shadows, shapes that scared her.

It was almost like it wasn't her that was painting, but someone else. Maybe it was someone else. She did believe in that stuff, but for some reason she knew not to tell anyone about the painting.

She took it off the canvas, rolled it up, and stuffed it in a backpack that was in her junk.

When Sweets, Zack, and Brennan walked in, Angela was surprised to not see Booth.

"Where's-" Angela started, and Zack cut her off.

"Don't say his name." He said, angered.

Angela's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked, Zack being angry like that was so... unbelievable.

"Agent Booth yelled at Sweets about what his parents did..." Brennan sighed.

"In front of the whole diner."

Angela closed her eyes and sighed.

"The idiot..."

"Who's an idiot?" Hodgins asked, walking up them.

"Agent Booth." Zack spat in his nasally voice.

"What did he do?" Hodgins asked angrily.

"He yelled at Sweets in front of everyone in the diner." Angela said softly.

"He did WHAT?" Hodgins bellowed.

"Oh, he yelled at Sweets in-" Brennan started, but Hodgins cut her off.

"Yes, I know, I heard, I mean, how the hell could he do that?"

Brennan pursed her lips.

"He shouldn't have done that."

Sweets looked up for once and said, "It's not his fault... it's mine."

"No, he shouldn't have yelled at you at all, for whatever reason, and hey, we actually know the reason!" Brennan yelled.

Sweets closed his mouth and looked back down.

"Sorry..." He whispered.