Hi guys,
Thanks for all the reviews and positive feedback, you make me so happy:-)
We're about to dive into the technical part of the case, so please don't be too harsh with the comments, I'm not Kathy Reichs (sadly) and I am nowhere near being a forensic anthropologist!
Keep that in mind and keep the reviews coming!!

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The corpse lay on the examination table, Dr. Brennan leaning over the bones to check for any marks on the skeleton, which could give an indication of how John Doe died.

Booth had gone off to check on his card emblem lead, which was more than a relief to be alone again. Angela had called, but Brennan had refused her help, sure she could handle it herself. Cam had taken off for the afternoon, but Brennan was sure she'd be back later. Cam was as dedicated to the work as Brennan and, with exception to Booth, had never really had a personal life as it got in the way. It still felt weird sometimes; that her partner and her boss had had a fling, and it had always bothered her inwardly – never occurred to her why.

As she had observed earlier, the remains of the body indicated that it was a male who had died in his early twenties, but the ragged flesh around the bones made it hard to decipher how he died, meaning she had to look at the bare bones. The skeleton showed no indication of method of death either. There were no signs of identification, other than the playing card, which Booth had taken, and no visible marks of impact. Therefore, Dr. Brennan concluded that this man must have been poisoned, as there was no bone or flesh bruising around the neck to point to death by strangulation. This meant she'd have to get Hodgins in on a Saturday to clarify exactly what was used.

She took off her gloves and flipped open her phone, dialing Hodgins' number. It rang several times before he answered.

"Hey, it's me." She said. "Ange probably told you I have a body at the lab."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. On a Saturday, Temperance Brennan?" Hodgins tutted, mockingly disappointed.

"Yeah, Booth's already done that. Listen, I think this guy was poisoned, but I need you to verify exactly how and what was used." She said.

"No problem, I'll be there in ten." Hodgins replied and hung up. Temperance sighed, pitying her anonymous specimen. How unfair to be taken from life so young and to be found in such horrifying conditions. One aspect of her job that she loved was putting away psychos where they could never hurt anyone again.

Ten minutes passed slowly, and in the silent lab, every noise reverberated making it sound ten times louder than it was. Usually the loneliness was comfortable; having always been an independent person she had learnt to cope with being alone, but today had been unnerving on several accounts. She refused to let herself think about her erotic dream and Cliffe's comment on her personal status, but just because she told herself not to do it didn't make it happen less frequently.

"Get a grip, it was just a dream caused by an agitated sub-conscious." She rationalized. Having been so lost in her own thought she hadn't even heard Hodgins enter her office.

"Talking to yourself? Not a good sign." Hodgins smirked, baring a mocking grin.

"Hodgins, hey, thanks for coming." She got off her chair to follow him to his office.

"No problem, that's my job." He answered, swiveling on his chair to face his computer.

"I'd have done it myself, but –" She began.

"You probably would have broken it." He teased, and was met by an irritated look.

"I've got a sample of the inside of the stomach, I was thinking that molecules of the poison would still be there." She explained.

"Right you are." Hodgins loaded up the program and scanned the sample flesh. "This shouldn't take long." He turned to face her. "So how have you been? It seems like we haven't talked in ages."

"I'm fine." She sighed. He gave her an unconvinced, questioning look. "Why do people always give me that look when I say I'm fine?"

"You might want to try saying it without sighing and averting your eyes." Hodgins suggested and Brennan smiled.

"It's nothing. How's you and Ange?" She asked.

"Nice deflection, but I'll let it go." He smiled. "We're great actually. I'm thinking of asking her to move in with me."

"Well, that's great!" She exclaimed, patting him supportively on the back.

"Thanks." He laughed. "I have no idea when though, I want to have just the right moment."

"I wouldn't worry, you guys are great together. I've never seen wither of you happier." She reassured him.

"So what about you and Sully?" He enquired.

"We're fine. We're great." She answered, not entirely enthusiastically.

"Am I detecting trouble in paradise?" He poked.

"No, of course not. Sully's great, we're having a lot of fun." She said sincerely.

"But…" He continued for her.

"No 'buts'." She nodded, inwardly every though lead to Booth. Booth as her partner, her friend, her apparent dream lover.

Before either could say another word, the computer beeped, alerting them that the scan was complete.

"Ok, scans show signs of…" He enlarged the magnification. "Well, there are no chemicals… it's biological. That's odd." He said surprised.

"Food poisoning?" Brennan asked skeptically.

"In a manner, yes. I think we're looking at a plant of some kind." Hodgins said.

"A poison plant?" Brennan looked at the scans; bones she could see when the smaller detail was wrong, when it came to chemical variations on the molecular level, well that's what Hodgins was for.

"I would assume that the plant was mixed into a drink and, as the intent was murder, it would have to work fast." Hodgins concluded. "This is a murder, I presume?"

"Yes, the body was buried in Brookfield forest." Brennan answered. "So what plant would match this specification?"

Hodgins looked thoughtful and then snapped his fingers like an old cliché. "Deadly nightshade." He looked back at the scans. "That's gotta be it. There's no plant tissue in the stomach which would suggest ingestion, and deadly nightshade can easily be mixed into drinks undetectably, and it's fast at work."

"Great Hodgins, thanks." She smiled triumphantly. Finally, some leads. She flicked her phone open and dialed.

"Booth." Came the reply.

"It's Brennan, we're got the method of death, how's identification coming?" She asked.

"Four of the five guys I've spoken to claimed they'd never seen the emblem before and I'm on my way to the fifth now." He reported.

"Couldn't you have just asked them on the phone?" Brennan thought.

"Bones, I can't tell if someone's lying over the phone, I need eye-contact, habits sparked by nervousness–"

"Ok, I get it." Brennan shut him up before he went on a psychology rant. "Are these guys reliable?" Somehow she didn't think it was bad for her to question his seemingly shifty gambling sources.

"These guys have licensed businesses, they won't want to compromise their reputations. I mean sure, some of them do under the table dealings, but mostly they just want to make an honest living." Booth explained.

"Ok, well let me know when you talk to the fifth, I'll just be here examining the corpse." Brennan replied.

"I'll bring back lunch." Booth said, hanging up before she could object. Brennan told Hodgins that she appreciated the help and that he could go home, happy to grant someone a day off work. It occurred to her that work was the one place where she'd definitely see Booth if nowhere else, so coming into work this morning to avoid, well, everyone, had backfired completely. Not only was Booth on the brain, he was working alongside her again. Her phone vibrated, it read 'Sully'. She ignored it.