A/N: Hi all. Just finished chapter three, so now I'm starting chapter four. Last chapter was kind of all this preamble stuff and was not very interesting (at least not in my eyes) so sorry! I hopeyou enjoy this chapter though. -SB

~~Named~~

--Bones--

Angela wandered into a room that was obviously not meant for cleaning bones, but Zack had made it functional. "Hey Zack." she said, making her presence known. Zack turned and smiled briefly. "Got anything for me yet?"

"Nope, but they'll probably be ready in about five minutes."

"Okay." She started to turn to leave, but then on a secondthough, she walked back to Zack. "Hey, have you noticed anything wierd about that Flack guy? I mean, he looks like he's on fire, but he's not sure what to do about it. Like he's just sitting in his own personal hell. It's sad to see."

"Natural human reaction to combustion is panic, Angela." Zack said.

"Somehow, I knew you would say that, but that's not what I'm trying to get at here."

"Well, I suppose he does look really sad. His brain cells must be-"

"Okay, Zack, I don't need the formula for sadness."

Zack sighed quietly, "To be honest, Angela, he looks a lot like you did when you came from from the desert that last time. When Kirk was murdered."

Angela tried not to think about Kirk Perzinger as much as possible. Although she was very much over him and had come to grips with his death, it didn't change the fact that she had been madly in love with him, ready to marry him, and he was taken away from her forever. The fact that she'd never see his face again, or laugh at one of his cheesy jokes, or share a beer in their cabin in the desert, or tease him about his flakey photos... Even after four years, she missed him. "Really?" she asked, her voice sounding strangled.

"Yeah. Really."

"Wow. That changes things. Maybe his wife died of cancer or his girlfriend broke up with him... I should go apologize or talk or something." Angela said.

"Well don't just run in there and make things worse. I don't think these New York people like us that much. Maybe you need to get all the facts first..." Zack suggested, trailing off.

Angela thought about it. "Maybe I will. I'll go talk to that delicious Messer guy. But he did have a wedding band on. Too bad."

"Just be back in approximately two minutes. You'll need to take this skull."

"Oh. Then I may as well stay. I'll finish up the reconstruction, then go get the scoop on Detective Flack." Angela concluded, just as the bones finished boiling.

"The hearing aid belongs to Lynn Macken. She is one of the top college softball pitchers in the country. I'm going to talk to her parents." Booth stated to Brennan, Mac, and Stella.

"Sorry, Booth. I need to stay and help Zack with the remains." Brennan said, regret displayed all over her features. Any time not spent with Booth was time wasted in Brennan's eyes.

"I could go," Stella offered. She didn't want to admit it, but she liked this Agent Booth.

"Since Lindsay's not coming in today, I've gotta cover some of her lab work, so that'll work out great." Mac said.

"Okay then. Let's go." Booth said and he and Stella headed for the exit.

"Who's Lindsay?" Brennan asked.

"She's one of our team and she's out sick or something today. She and Danny just had a baby, so she's probably worn out." Mac explained.

Brennan smiled dreamily. "Kids do have that effect on some people." She realized she had come out of her shell. It wouldn't take a roket scientist to guess she wanted a kid. Her wall of emotionless professionalism slammed back into place. "Tell them congratulations for me." she added politely. She wasn't about to curse people who had everything she wanted, and she didn't.

Mac smiled kindly, "Of course."

Angela gently placed tissue markers on the now clean, stark-white skull with latex-clad hands. Her sketchpad sat nearby, waiting for Angela to draw this girl. She somewhat sadly began her task. She wished ferociously there were no murders in the world, and that this girl would be still alive. She was a softball pitcher, so she probably had a team of friends who cared about her, a family, a life ahead of her... It was so unfair to have that taken away from her, without her consent. It wasn't right.

The tissue markers were all placed, and Angela began to tenderly sketch every detail of the face, placing skin and tissue over bones. Bringing the skull back to life on paper. Her sensitivity did not go unnoticed. Flack, who'd been standing close to the room where Zack had cleaned the bones and been perfectly able to hear Zack and Angela's conversation, watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye. Even if he wasn't attracted to her, I'd be nice to have someone to talk to who would understand. And someone who wasn't his boss.

He'd make a point of talking to her later. Just not now. He stalked off in the opposite direction, where his desk was waiting with stacks of paperwork to be done.

Stella and Booth approached the house that belonged to the Mackens. Booth hated this part of his job fiercely, having to tell the family that their loved one was dead. Or even worse, tell a parent that their child had passed before them.

The silence between Booth and Stella was kind of awkward, and she tried to strike up a conversation. "So... How long have you and Dr. Brennan been partners?" she asked, trying to be as non-chalant as possible. She WAS curious to see if there was anything going on between them.

Booth knocked on the door loudly. "Five years next week." he stated.

Stella was about to say something else, but the door was opened by a big burly guy. He was tan with jet black hair and a creepy looking face. Stella looked out of the corner of her eye and Booth kind of looked like he was sizing this guy up. "Can I help you?" Burly Guy asked gruffly.

"Yeah. FBI, I'm Special Agent Booth, and this here is Detective Bonasera with the NYPD. We need to ask you a few questions about Lynn Macken."

"Oh no. Cops? What to Lynn do?" Creeper asked. But his concern was SO obviously false. His voice was tight and controlled, like he had the undeniable urge to scream, but had to hold it in.

"Can we come in?" Stella asked. It was more of an order than a question. Creeper stepped aside to let them in. "May I ask what you name is?" Booth asked as soon as he got in the door.

"Dane Macken. I'm Lynn's brother." he said, his voice still tight and controlled.

"Well then, may we speak with your parents?" Stella asked.

"Yeah, if you don't expect an answer. Dad's dead and Mom's gone senile and she's under constant surveillence in a nursing home. So go right on ahead and have a nice chat with them."

Booth wasn't fazed at all by his answer. He launched into a questioning Stella could hardly keep up with.

"Has your sister had any problems in school or with the law before?"

"No. Lynn's a good kid." Dane said. "What's going on? What happened to Lynn?"

"We have evidence that you sister was murdered. Her hearing aid was found with a body. We're currently trying to match the two." Booth stated.

"Oh." was the only thing Dane said.

"Oh?" Booth said, voice low and extremely scary, "I just told you your sister was probably murdered and all you have to say is 'Oh'?"

Dane stood up, in an aggressive position. Stella's hand immediately found her gun in it's holster, but she didn't draw it. Yet. "Well, jeez, you guys just barge in here and tell me that my sister is dead! How do you want me to respond? Huh?"

Booth stood up too, easily standing eye to eye with Dane. "Oh, I don't know, maybe show some sort of emotion, or concern for you sister would be nice." Booth's voice was still eerily calm and quiet.

Dane sat back down, a look of bewilderment on his face. "So, how come you never reported your sister missing?" Stella asked.

"I didn't know she was missing. She lives on campus. We hardly ever talk any more. Maybe the occasional Christmas card, but other than that..."

"Do you know about any friends? Boyfriends? Any other associates we could talk to?" Booth asked.

"I don't... really know. Last time I talked to her she was going out with some guy. His name was Adrian or Aiden or something like that. And Lynn was... attractive and she was really popular, so yeah, I guess she had a lot of friends."

"Does this Adrian/Aiden person have a last name?" Stella asked.

"Something German sounding. Westly? Westen? Westhouse? Westenhausen, that was it." Dane said. He wasn't really showing much emotion on the case of his sister's death, but he wasn't NOT helping.

"Thank you for your cooperation. If you think of anything that may be useful, just give us a call. And do not think about leaving town." He added, wtih a glare.

Dane Macken glared right back, "Of course Agent Booth."

Booth and Stella then left, and Dane slammed and locked the door after they left. "I do not like him." Booth stated nonchalantly as he started the car.

A/N: yeah, that was a really strange ending, but I had to end somewhere. Hope you enjoy this chapter! -SB