AN: Work is NUUUUUTS!! Okay, so we got this new sales dude, and he's just brought in the business like I've NEVER seen before! Holy moley, I'm about to lose my freaking MIND! There's so much stuff on my desk, I can't remember what it looks like anymore! Soooo sorry that this chapter is so short. I'm trying to write in between the insanity and the constant bar hopping that my sister and I seem to be doing. Next chapter, I promise, will be a LOT long and definitely squee worthy. If not, you can kick my ass. I promise.

Special thanks to my beta, wrthy2bluvd for all her help. She's been incredibly helpful lately, giving me great ideas and looking over the story to make sure I'm not running around in circles, so thank you very much!

PSA: Show Paris and Allegra some love! They love you too! And they need a little encouragement to keep going. Anything is good, review, fave, watch, PM, a hit. I thank you in advance from the bottom of my heart! You guys are some of the best I've met. Have an awesome week! -DK


Chapter 6

The apartment was cool and quiet when Booth pushed the door open, the fragile woman in his arms softly dozing due to a combination of exhaustion and medications. They'd stopped off at the pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions and she'd taken them on the drive back to her place. Within minutes she was out like a light paying no mind to the sun rising in the east.

The clock on the wall read 5:58AM. Booth had to stifle a yawn as he plodded to the bedroom for the second time that morning, only now he was a bit more relaxed and relieved that nobody had hurt his partner. Instead, she was curled up in his arms sleeping soundly, something he hoped to do soon. The bed was just as she'd left it, the sheets thrown to the left side in a rumpled mass. He eased her onto the soft mattress and pulled the covers over her body making sure to tuck in the corners to keep her warm. Unable to resist, he placed a soft, feather light kiss on her forehead before whispering, "Sweet dreams, Bones."

He stood there for several minutes just staring at her as she slept. Her right hand had curled under her cheek while her left found its way beneath the pillow, propping up her body slightly. Tiny slivers of light shown through the blinds, illuminating her hair. There were so many things about her that he could memorize as he stood there, but a knock at the front door tore his attention away from his partner. He made his way back into the living room and peeked through the peephole before pulling it open.

"Since we still haven't decided who's going to look after her, I thought we'd stop by and have a little chat," Angela said as she stepped into the apartment with Jack following closely behind her. She walked right past Booth and plopped herself down on the couch.

"Okay," Booth replied, feeling a bit blindsided. He thought it was pretty obvious he needed to take care of her since he was the one who found her, but Angela had other ideas.

"Brennan needs someone who can understand what she's been through and what she's going through," she started.

"And you think I don't." It wasn't a question. Booth stood at the door, staring at her, his eyes dark and clouded. She wasn't able to read his expression, but judging by the tension throughout the rest of the body, she figured he was about to get defensive.

"I know you're well qualified," Angela replied, trying to diffuse the situation, but he had already folded his arms over his chest. That was never a good sign, and dealing with a moody FBI agent wasn't something she wanted to do this early in the morning, especially after having been awake all night.

"Of course I'm well qualified, I'm her partner," he countered almost immediately.

"I'm not challenging you on that."

"It sure sounds like you are."

"Jeez, Booth, will you shut up and listen?" Angela had finally gotten fed up with his interruptions and went straight for the sucker punch that shut his mouth long enough for her to finish a thought. "I'm just saying, maybe I should just stay with Brennan. I've been her friend for almost a decade, so I think I know a thing or two about what she's going through and what she needs."

"Well, we spend a lot of time together being partners and all," Booth immediately countered. "We've been through a lot together. She's trusted me with her family and her life on several occasions. This might be a bit different, but I still think it applies. After all, she did call me, and I did pick up." He knew he was playing dirty, bringing up Angela's guilt for not having been there for her friend, but he couldn't help himself. This was an argument he knew he could win. It would only be a matter of time before she crumbled.

"Don't think you can use that against me, Booth," she warned, her brown eyes shining with anger. "Just because you've known her for three years doesn't mean you know her like I do."

"Oh, yeah, how's that?" he challenged, stepping right up to her and invading her personal space.

Jack could see this was getting out of hand and tried to interject, "Why don't you just ask Brennan?" But they both glared at him, immediately making him back off so they could continue on with their little argument. He only hoped that it wouldn't escalate into fists being thrown or the like.

Without skipping a beat, Angela said, "I know that since she's so independent, she has problems accepting help from others, especially when she's sick or injured. And I know that she's very uncomfortable giving up that independence so someone can take care of her." Two could play the guilt game.

He wasn't done yet, not by a long shot. "Don't you have someone who depends on you? What does your fiancé think about this?" He turned and looked at Jack, waiting for him to answer.

"Don't bring him into this!" she shot back before he uttered a word. "You have your own responsibilities! Don't you have Parker?"

"Whoa! Don't bring my son into this either! Besides, I only get him on weekends."

Jack had finally had enough of their bickering and yelled, "Will you two quit it already?" He was getting fed up with their excuses and explanations, especially since the pitch of their voices continued to rise with every point they made to each other. If they kept this up, they'd either have the cops called on them or they'd wake the sleeping doctor in the other room.

"Hey, she started it!" Booth retorted as he pointed to Angela. Jack glared at him, leaving the FBI agent slack jawed and speechless at the venom in the squint's eyes.

"How about a compromise?" Jack suggested. "Angela, you can stay with her this morning and then Booth can stay with her tonight."

They both stared at him for several long, tense moments before Angela sighed and said, "Yeah, I'm alright with that."

He turned to the FBI agent, waiting for his response. "Booth?"

"Alright, fine," he shot back, albeit vehemently. Even thought he wasn't too happy being relegated to second shift, Booth wasn't about to complain. At least he would get a turn. Then again, even if they'd continued to argue, they probably would have come up with the same agreement on their own, only much later, and with the probability of waking the neighbors. And even then they probably would have continued arguing about who went first and who went second. With Jack stepping in to do the hard work, it went a lot smoother with no need to wake the neighbors or their sleeping friend.

Angela smirked and turned for the bedroom. Booth had to restrain himself from reaching out to strangle her, reminding himself that she was Brennan's best friend, after all, and there was no need to cause anymore trouble than had been brewed the last couple of days. Instead, he turned and headed to the couch, plopping himself down and putting his feet up after kicking off his shoes. "Hunker down, Hodgins, it's gonna be a long day," he said, making himself comfortable.

"Don't you have work?" Jack replied.

"I can't work without my partner," Booth reasoned.

"You can do paperwork," came the scientist's snide remark.

"Shut up, Hodgins."