Thanks for your support guys! I'm glad you like this story! Let me know what you think of this chapter :)

Chapter 3

It had been three days since Booth had been back from Afghanistan, and today was the second day he would be back at work. Mostly he just filled out required paperwork and sat at his old desk, and occasionally took a break to poke the bobble head bobby he had gotten from London all those years ago.

The first day back had been like any first day on the job. Getting back into the swing of things, not really doing much exciting. But he was itching to get a case, or at least do something. Mostly, he just wanted an excuse to go to the Jeffersonian. He was sure the squint squad knew he was back by now, if everyone was still there. He was anxious to see them, especially Brennan. Even though it had only been two days since he had seen her, he still felt deprived. Turns out that she had missed him just as much as he had missed her, and he couldn't be happier about that.

He had run a background check on Eric while sitting at his desk that morning. Full name was Eric Dulso, forty, Anesthesiologist, graduated from University of Virginia Med School, never been married, one child: Jade Brennan. Booth figured he would be of someone with an equal intellect to Brennan, so that they could talk squint science and what not. No criminal record, 2nd in his class... all in all, he seemed like an ok guy. He had won several medical awards, for what Booth didn't know. And he wasn't some nerd, he seemed to actually have a regular, average guy life. Registered Harley Davidson motorcycle, season tickets to football games through work, he reminded Booth of himself. It was strange how alike they were, but Booth ignored it just as a man came through his office door.

"Agent Booth," The man was short, round, and had a bald spot appearing on the top of his gray haired head.

"Can I help you?" He asked, distracting himself from his thoughts.

"We've got a murder."

{Line Break}

Walking from his car to the actual crime scene hadn't lived up to the expectations he had set in his head. In fact, it was pretty much just... awkward. Being side by side Brennan had been something he was longing for years. He felt pretty natural around her, it was almost like he had never left in that respect. They were still friends... or at least he thought so. He expected some casual, ordinary conversation to come up between them. Something related to the case, their jobs, their friends... But instead, they had just walked in silence. Booth was restraining himself from jumping with joy, or at least blurting out something cheery. Brennan was her usual rational self, holding her back straight and head high. But something had changed within her while he was gone. Booth could feel her reverting back to her old self, an impervious person, almost emotionless at times.

Had he harmed her even more than he thought?

Once they got to the body, Brennan squatted down beside the corpse, and examined it thoroughly. Booth couldn't help but notice the dark circles that she wore under her eyes, and how she kept yawing in the middle of her sentences. It wasn't until she was practically sleeping next to the victim that Booth decided to speak up.

"Tired Bones?"

Her head turned towards his, looking at him with a sleepy expression. "Jade was up for a long time last night. She kept having bad dreams."

"Is she okay now?" Even Booth could feel the worry in his voice.

"I don't know, I took her to daycare. She's probably forgotten about it by now though," Said Brennan, picking up one of the arm bones of the victim and looking at it carefully.

"What were her dreams about?" Curious.

Brennan set the bone back down before she answered, "She wouldn't tell me." Annoyed.

"Well I'm sure it's nothing. Kids had nightmares all the time," He said, recalling having unrealistic dreams as a child.

"Yeah," Brennan mumbled, before becoming very interested in the skull of the victim.

"So this guy, was found by that guy over there," Booth pointed behind them, "Says he was taking a stroll through the alley, and then he just appeared."

"He's a male, approximately 160 pounds, 6'1, early thirties late twenties," She pointed to the top of the skull, "See these marks? They indicate the the victim was struck by a hard substance."

Booth saw a crack on the top of the head, and was surprised by what he saw. It almost looked like a flower, or a snowflake, because it was so symmetrical.

"I''ll get Wendell started on Identifying a weapon once we get back to the lab..." She said, looking over the rest of the body.

"So Bones, I was thinking we could do some catching up. What do you say to lunch at the diner?" Booth asked, ignoring the awful smell that suddenly radiated from the victim.

He saw her hesitate, then "I can't, I promised to take Jade to her favorite restaurant tonight," Stiff.

"Well, I could come. Spend some time with you guys?" He felt desperate now.

"It's kind of a family thing," She said, standing up.

Yikes, it wasn't like her to reject him so harshly. Or at all for that matter.

"Sure, I understand." He said, sighing, "Speaking of family, how's Max been?" Said Booth, changing the subject.

He saw Brennan's face change, he couldn't quite tell, but he thought he saw sadness in her features. Especially in her eyes.

"He hasn't been around for a while. I haven't heard from him in months," She said, trying to hide the fact that her eyes were tearing up by looking back towards the body.

Booth was surprised by the news, he thought that they had been getting along nicely. Max wouldn't leave his daughter like he had all those years ago, would he? Brennan must have been upset, because she started to walk back towards his SUV, with a slouch in her step.

{Line Break}

As soon as Booth opened the door to his apartment, he felt a wave of exhaustion come over him. It had been a long, long day. In between Brennan ignoring him, he had been piled with twice as much paperwork as he had expected. The small print put strain on his eyes, and he could feel his eye lids struggling to stay open.

Was it time for reading glasses? No, he wasn't that old.

But what really bothered him was the lack of Brennan in his life. This wasn't what he remembered about her, shutting down his ideas and refusing to spend time with him. She had a kid for god's sake, how was he supposed to compete with that? No, not a competition, he told himself.

Then why does it feel like one?

Booth stumbled to his fridge to grab a beer, and used the old trick of opening a bottle with the lid of another. He watched the air drift from the top of the bottle, taking on the appearance of smoke. After it faded, he took a big gulp and headed to his couch.

Jade, the name came from no where, as did the kid. She looked just like the pictures of Brennan he'd seen as a child. A mirror image. Her personality was a bit different though, more quirky and unique. The eyes were really something to look at. They were just as amazing as her mothers, but a completely different shade. Bright green, with a hint of gray. But this guy... Eric, had the same eyes as his daughter, probably the only thing of his that she did have. She was more outgoing than Brennan, but not quite as...

Booth couldn't really think of a word to describe Eric's personality. Strong? Brave? The word that stuck in Booth's mind was dangerous, but what else would you expect from a tall, dark haired man?

He didn't look dangerous himself did he? Nah.

He longed for the days when he'd be sharing wine with her, here, all those years ago. When they talk about the case, sometimes personal issues, relationships, friends, nightmares, dreams...

But he finished his beer alone that night.

Sorry for the delay :/ Can't seem to keep on track with school!