A/N: You guys have been amazing! I love getting review alerts and email messages about what you think of my story so please leave feedback lol! Since this is my first attempt at writing I want to make sure you're all still interested and want me to continue with this. Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, life here has been crazy lately. Hope you enjoy my vision of what's happening off screen with our favorite characters.

PS: I still don't own Bones….

Chapter 4 Breathe

Gradually, Booth began to become aware of the shadows dancing along the walls and the dimming light coming in from the beautiful stained glass windows that graced the cathedral. His brain slowly began to function again and he knew that if Bones and Max had a prayer of making it on the run he needed to get his act together. Taking one last deep, shuddering breath, he raised his head. Sending up a silent prayer for God to watch over his family and give him the strength and composure to get through the next few hours not to mention the coming days, weeks, or months without them, Booth stood up. Pinching his nose, he ran through a mental list of what needed to happen.

Time. That's what they needed most. Act normal. Breathe. One step in front of the other. I can do this. I will do this. Thoughts jumbled together in his mind at warp speed but with them came clarity. Get home. Stall Flynn and his cronies. Breathe. They need time.

Booth took out his cell phone and running his hair through his thick brown hair he called a tow truck to come collect his car. Next, he dialed a familiar number from his contact list and said the only words that came to mind, "I need a favor…"

Pulling up to his house, Booth reached for the handle of the door. A slim dark hand stopped him hesitantly, "Booth…"

Booth didn't turn around, he closed his eyes briefly and shoulders hunched, said quietly, "Not now Cam. I appreciate you coming to get me. Now, if you don't mind I need to go in there and begin making dinner. Chri-… Christine is going to be tired, she needs a bath and then she likes to be rocked before we put her to bed." His voice wavered as he spoke.

Cam wasn't a fool. As soon as she got the phone call from him, she knew something was up. She wasn't born yesterday, and she hadn't gotten this far based only on her looks. Two and two equaled four. Booth was obviously upset and while some of that could be attributed to the investigation and Brennan's impending arrest, Cam sensed that there was something deeper going on. She didn't push though. She simply gave his arm a squeeze and with a sad smile said, "Ok, big guy..." She had seen the cars parked along the curb that belonged to the other Agents. She knew from Angela that they had a search warrant for the house. Even though a hundred questions danced through her mind, she focused only on being there for one of her oldest friends.

Booth stepped out of the car and straightening his shoulders and squaring his resolve, he walked toward the house and the hell that waited him inside. Walking up to the house that they had only recently finished, Booth felt like years had passed since finding Ethan Sawyer's body rather than days. He opened the big heavy door and though he had been expecting it, his eyes widened slightly in surprise to the scene that awaited him in his home.

Agents were milling about opening drawers and peeking in cupboards. His family's belongings that had once been organized and well kempt now lay strewn about haphazardly. His gaze landed on a stuffed animal of Christine's that was lying on the floor partially obscured by the couch. His composure faltered briefly before that steel curtain fell back to place. He picked up the toy and placed it on the coffee table before looking up at the other agents.

"Seeley," said Flynn, his narrow blue gaze watching Booth carefully. "Where's your partner?"

The heavy emphasis that he placed on the word grated on Booth's already strained nerves, however, he knew that he needed to buy her as much time as possible if she was to have any chance of getting away even with Max's help.

"I had car trouble," he said simply, shrugging. Being purposefully vague and using several half-truths he looked at the other agent and said, "Bones left instead of waiting for me. She had some work to finish up at the lab, she should be back as soon as she's done." He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge pulling out a cold beer trying to appear as normal and nonchalant as possible. He took a long swig and looked up at Flynn, "Did you get the address on that warrant fixed? Otherwise you realize that this is all for nothing and will be deemed inadmissible, right?"

Flynn looked at Booth and said snidely, "Yeah, that's fixed. Do you want to see it? I also have an arrest warrant for your partner as soon as she returns."

Booths blood began to boil at the tone and attitude that the other agent was using in speaking about Bones. He took a deep breath and another swig of his drink to center himself before saying, "Well, it could be a long wait, you know Bones, she's incredibly… thorough."

"Yeah well, if she's as smart as she think she is, she'll do this the easy way and turn herself in rather than making us go find her," Flynn said, his gaze never wavering from Booth's.

"Don't worry," said Booth. "If there's one thing I've learned about Bones over the years, it's to never underestimate her or her intelligence." He let out brief huff and shaking his head to clear it of the emotions threatening to drown him, he tipped his beer bottle up to his lips and swallowed the rest in one quick gulp before grabbing another one from the fridge and walking out onto the deck to wait for this too to pass.

Cam had silently followed Booth as he'd walked towards the brightly lit house. Before she could follow him into the home he'd created with Dr Brennan, her phone had rung. Rummaging around in her purse she looked for the stupid thing while still trying to keep an eye on Booth. Something was definitely very, very wrong, but what? Glancing at the caller ID she answered, "Dr Saroyan". Only half listening to the voice on the other end of the phone drone on about an upcoming administrative meeting to discuss the negative publicity that this whole situation with Dr Brennan would have on the Jeffersonian and the Medico-Legal Division, Cam glanced again through the open door of Booth's home watching him stop to pick up a stuffed animal from the floor. The others didn't know him as well as she did, they missed the reverent look he had in his eye as he looked at that toy. She saw it, she also saw his hand shake ever so slightly as he placed it on the coffee table.

Suddenly all of the pieces came together and it became clear to her, she knew Brennan and the baby were gone, and her heart broke for her friend. She turned around and headed back to her car. She needed to make some phone calls to try to inconspicuously find out if she was right. And if she was, then Booth was going to need her and his so-called "squints" more than ever before…

Booth sat alone on the patio, yet another empty beer bottle in his hand and looked up at the night stars just starting to make their presence known. Where were they now? Was Christine upset? It was her bedtime and they always did that together as a family. It was crazy how quickly they had adapted to being a threesome and how tightly that little girl already held his heart. And Bones…. Hell, he'd loved her forever it seemed, even if he hadn't always known it or admitted it. How was he supposed to live without them? God he wanted another beer or better yet something stronger, just to dull the pain of his broken heart. However, doing that would tip his hand and make Flynn even more suspicious then he probably already was.

So instead he sat there and looked for the few constellations that he remembered. The Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, Orion… They were all there twinkling at him like everything in his world hadn't just turned upside down. And then just like that, he was mad again, mad at Pelant for putting them all in this situation, mad at the squints for not being smart enough to solve it but mostly mad at himself. For not being man enough to protect them all from this, for not recognizing the signs that this was the route she'd chosen to take, and for selfishly wishing that things were different and that they had left together. What kind of father did that make him to Parker that he would even think such a thing?

The one person he wasn't mad at was Bones. He knew why she made the choice she had, and he as much as he hated it he knew that it was the right choice for all of them. Safer. But knowing that didn't ease the overwhelming pain he felt at the thought of being away from them.

Eventually, the door to the patio opened and Agent Shaw, his occasional partner and mentee stepped out. Booth squinted at the light pooling behind her as she quietly made his way over to where he sat. Booth could feel her staring at him and feel the words that she seemed reluctant to voice. Finally she spoke.

"Sir, it's been hours. You know how this works. It's going to look a whole lot better for her if she does this by the book and comes willingly. Either way, the end result is the same to them, they don't care which way it goes down." She paused to watch Booth's reaction fearing that she'd overstepped her bounds. Slowly she sat down next to him on the patio stairs.

"Agent Booth…." she tried again hesitantly. "If you're trying to help her figure out a way to run…" her sentence hung there in the atmosphere as she continued to watch for a sign that what she was saying was getting through to her mentor.

Booth made a laughless sound and finally acknowledged the other Agent. "She didn't do this Shaw. You don't know Bones like I do. She's just not capable of killing somebody for any reason, evidence be damned!" he declared emphatically, willing the other agent to listen to him.

"I understand Sir," she said and she did. Still she worried about how this would affect what career he had left after this eventually played out. She admired the other Agent, he was the stuff of FBI legends and she had thought herself extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity to work with him. She also genuinely like Dr Brennan and agreed that this was uncharacteristically neat for someone so experienced in their field.

But she also knew how this worked. So did he. All evidence that they'd gathered so far implicated only Temperance Brennan and despite whatever feelings they had about the likelihood of her actually being guilty it wasn't their job to decide guilt or innocence, only to gather facts and follow the evidence wherever it led to uphold the law at all costs. And this time for Booth, the costs were higher then he'd ever been faced with before.

Knowing that there wasn't really anything more to say about the matter, Shaw gave Booth a quiet nod and returned to the house leaving Booth alone once again with his bleak thoughts.

Flynn's narrow blue gaze took in the little scene on the patio as it played out and grabbed the arm of the agent closest to him. "Grab a few men and get over to the Jeffersonian, Booth said that Brennan had gone over to tie up loose ends but I'm beginning to wonder…" He left the rest of his thought s unsaid. The other agent's head bobbed up and down in agreement and he scurried off.

"Call me as soon as you know anything!" he called to the agent's retreating back. Mentally Flynn cataloged the house as they'd found it upon arriving. Nothing had appeared to be missing or indicated that the good doctor had decided to make a run for it, and Booth was here but something didn't feel right and he was going to find out why.

Forty-five minutes later he had his answer and he was seething. Storming out onto the patio he grabbed Booth by the lapels of his suit and dragged him to his feet. "Seeley" he spit out, "I just received a phone call from the agents over at the Jeffersonian that your partner hasn't been there at all this evening. I'm going to ask you one time and I suggest you think long and hard before you answer, your job and career will depend on it" he said staring Booth in the eyes. "Where. Is. Your. Partner?"

Booth shoved the other Agent's hands off him and never flinching, replied in the same deadly tone, "I. Don't. Know." He watched as myriad of emotions flashed on the other man's face.

Flynn sneered, "You honestly expect me to believe that Seeley! What kind of idiot do you take me for? If we find ONE shred of evidence that implicates you in helping her to run, one single thing that indicates you know where she is-" he jabbed his finger into Booth's chest as he spoke. "If we do, your job, your career, will be over before you can blink, and you'll wind up in jail for aiding and abetting right alongside your precious partner! We have enough evidence against her to try for life without possibility of parole. Where will that leave your kids then?" Flynn sneered, the veins at his temple throbbing as he spoke.

In a flash, Booth had his hands around Flynn's spindly neck, the force throwing his body up against the wall. "For the record," Booth spat. "I wish I did know where Bones was, I should be with them! But I don't, furthermore, if Bones really had committed this crime, there wouldn't be any evidence for you to find."

They were interrupted when a shout rang out from upstairs. "Agent Flynn? We found something," a voice from upstairs called. Shaw put a hand on Booth's shoulder and he reluctantly let go of his hold on Flynn. The other agent sputtered and rubbed his neck as he gradually caught his breath.

"Watch him!" he commanded. "If this is what I hope it is, I'm gonna nail your ass Seeley," he vowed turning to go upstairs. Booth made a move to follow him but was immediately blocked by two younger agents until Shaw motioned them to step aside and let him go. Quickly they made their way up the stairs, each lost in thought about the possibilities that could await them….

So what did you think? Sorry to leave you hanging but it seemed like a good stopping point for the time being. I've already got the next chapter halfway done so hopefully I can finish that soon to make up for the delay in getting this one out! Remember reviews encourage me to write faster! ;)