Twelve Days of Christmas Bones
Spoilers up to Season 3: "The Santa in the Slush"
A/N: Thanks to all the people reading and reviewing or putting this story on alert – I hope that you are enjoying the story.
Disclaimer: The characters and the show Bones are the intellectual property of their creators and Fox TV.
On the sixth day of ChristmasDec 30
A day of rest
"I just think we need to go over the case again, Booth."
"Bones, we've looked at every aspect we could. The people who ran the maternity ward are dead or disappeared, the people who worked there are dead or disappeared, none of the women who had babies there are on record, and few of them probably want to know anyway. We can't do anything else until the FBI has done some deeper searches, and that just ain't going to happen right now."
Booth's frustration and exhaustion was obvious, and Brennan bit her lip as she looked at him.
"Bones. They've waited this long. Those babies can wait a little longer. I'm not giving up, and neither will you. You speak for the dead, right? But it's the week between Christmas and New Year's, and it's Sunday. None of the offices we need access to are open."
She turned away so he couldn't see the pain in her eyes. "Okay."
"Okay? What do you mean okay?"
"Okay. I'll wait until Monday. In the meantime, I can get Zack to start running tests for usable DNA and …" she stopped as Booth shook his head, worry in his eyes.
"Zach has gone to Michigan. You know that. He won't be back until after New Year's."
"Yeah. Yeah. Of course, I knew that. Just not thinking." She sat down heavily on the couch in her office and ran a hand through her hair.
"Go home, Temperance."
She shook her head. "Not until you do. I can keep going as long as you can."
He sighed sharply and collapsed beside her, resting his head on the back of the couch. "You know, your stubbornness is going to be the death of one of us."
Gotcha. "I'll go home if you do." She tried to keep the triumphant tone out of her voice.
"I just have some files to …" he mumbled as his eyes closed.
"Come on. I'll drive you home." She stood slowly.
His eyes sprang open at that. "Oh no, Bones. My car, I drive."
And gotcha again. This reverse psychology is actually pretty easy. She smiled and reached down a hand, pulling him to his feet.
He handed her into her coat, and opened the door for her, his hand on her lower back steering her towards his car. "I'll buy you a cup of coffee and pie, and then I'll take you home, okay?"
Covey's Highly Effective Habit Number 4: Think win-win, he thought smugly.