As he walked towards Brennan's office, Booth was stopped by Wendell. "Agent Booth, I've figured out which knife was used on the victim," he announced, holding up a long knife with a black handle. Booth took it from him automatically, glancing at it briefly. "It's a standard kitchen knife, but the serrations are curved rather than straight." He pointed this out to Booth.

"Okay, we'll look for a knife like that," Booth said distractedly, already turning back toward Brennan's office. "Bones, I've got new information," he announced, entering the office. "I'm going to go check on a new lead that Hodgins found. Parker and Kristen are with Hodgins now." Brennan looked up at him.

"You might want to put the knife down," she suggested. Slightly surprised, he looked down to find that he still held the knife that Wendell had passed him.

"Right. Our murder weapon looks something like this," he told her, placing the knife on her desk. "I'll call you if I find anything," he promised, already heading out.

An hour and a half later, Booth and Brennan were both sitting in the interrogation room with Michelle's step father, Jack Paulson. "In October, you were working on a platform supply vessel," Booth said, his normally warm brown eyes cold.

Jack shrugged. "Yeah, so? I've worked a lot of odd jobs over the years to support my family. I did a four-week stint on a supply vessel, decided it wasn't really for me. I guess that was around October or so."

"You returned on October 26. The day your wife reported your step-daughter missing. Any reason why you chose not to mention this during the investigation?"

He shrugged. "I didn't see the relevance. I never saw Michelle that day; she had some sort of meeting after school, and then she was supposed to come home after that. When she wasn't home by 9:00 that night, Jenn called the cops."

"So you didn't see Michelle at all that day?" Booth questioned.

"No, I already told you that I didn't," Jack said.

Booth leaned closer. "You're lying."

"I'm not lying."

Booth moved away from him, leaning back in his chair as Brennan set an evidence bag on the table. "We found this knife in the house. Though it was cleaned well, there are still traces of blood between the blade and the handle. Our lab is testing them now, but I believe that the blood is going to be a match to Michelle's."

"So you found a knife? Big deal. You can't prove that it was me."

"Michelle had skin under her fingernails," Brennan continued. "We're testing right now, but I would guess that the DNA will be a match to yours."

"Are you still sure there's nothing you want to tell us?" Booth questioned. Jack was silent. "Okay, fine, how about I tell you how I think it went down? I think that you got home, that you were tired from being on the ship, and then Michelle did something that just set you off. What was it, Jack, huh? Did she talk back to you? Or maybe she forgot to do her homework? Was that it?"

"No," Jack said quietly.

"What was that?"

"No!" he repeated, more vehemently this time. "It wasn't any of those things. Yes, I came home that day. I wasn't supposed to; I was scheduled to be at sea for another day, but we finished early. Jenn was out with Jimmy, so I thought the house was empty. And then I walked into the living room and found Michelle kissing some Hispanic guy who had to be as old as me.

So I yelled at them; you would do the same thing in my situation. I love Michelle like a daughter, and seeing that guy touching her and kissing her. . . it was just wrong. I started to go after him, but he ran. Michelle stopped me from going after him, and I tried to get past her so that I could give the pervert a piece of my mind. But she just wouldn't get out of my way, so I pushed her aside. She grabbed my arm, started screaming at me to just let him go. I tried to tell her that I was just protecting her, but she told me she didn't need protection. She could take care of herself.

Well, now I was mad at her. I grabbed her shoulders, tried to shake some reason into her, but she pushed me away. When I reached for her again, she pushed me off. And then she grabbed a knife from the counter behind her. I didn't know what else to do, so I grabbed a knife, too. She came after me, and I just thrust the knife forward. I didn't even realize it hit because she was still fighting like crazy, so I did the only thing I could. I stabbed her again. And again. Until she stopped trying to attack me."

"So you cleaned up the kitchen and moved her to the crate?" Booth tried to keep his voice flat, but he was literally quivering with rage now.

Jack nodded, tears now gathering in his eyes. "I knew people rarely ever looked in those, figured it would be a good place to hide her body. Look, I didn't mean to kill her. It was an accident. You have to believe me. I loved her."

"If you loved her, she wouldn't be dead," Booth hissed, his voice dangerously low. Brennan put a restraining hand on his bicep. Before he did something he regretted, Booth pushed away from the table forcefully, standing so quickly that his chair toppled to the ground with a loud clang that reverberated around the room. He strode from the room, not meeting Brennan's eye until they were alone in his office.

"What's this about, Booth?" she inquired, shutting the door behind them.

"Drew and Becca are getting married."

"So Parker's going to have a stepdad soon," Brennan reasoned. "You don't think Drew is going to murder him, do you?"

Booth laughed in spite of himself. "No, Bones, that's not what I'm worried about. I'm just worried about how I'm going to protect him now. I mean, I only see him every other weekend as it is. How can I protect him from everything evil in this world when I barely even see him?"

"You can protect him, and you will. Parker loves you, Booth, and he has complete faith in you and your ability to protect him. Maybe you would do well to have a similar faith." He looked up at her, considering her words for a moment. "Now, come on, let's go get the kids, grab some dinner, and go home."

"That sounds like a plan, Bones," Booth agreed.

They stopped at Sid's for a late dinner, and Brennan listened to Parker and Kristen eagerly explaining what they had done at school that day, smiling to herself. This was slowly becoming her life—dinners with stories of the kids' days at school, being roped into basketball or baseball games in the park (though in truth, she did not resist too much anymore), bedtime stories either read or created by Booth on the spot (Brennan had to admit, he was a talented storyteller), and late nights spent with Booth—sometimes making love but sometimes simply talking. And she was slowly coming to realize that it was not a bad way to spend her time. She still loved her work, still found it fulfilling, but Booth had helped her discover that there were other aspects of life which could also be fulfilling.

As they finished their dinner, Parker suddenly grabbed his father's arm excitedly. "Dad, look!" he exclaimed, pointing to the large window. Booth and Brennan both looked to see small white flakes falling slowly past the window, buffeted by the wind. A wide smile that matched Parker's broke out over Booth's face.

"First snow of the season," Booth remarked, staring at the flakes. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out enough money to cover the bill and set it on the counter. Sliding from his seat, he stood, staring at the others. "Come on, what are you guys waiting for? It's snow!" Brennan could not help but laugh at him; he sounded no older than Parker, and his eyes lit up with a youthful glow. Immediately, Parker and Kristen scrambled out of the booth, struggling to put on their heavy coats. Brennan was a bit slower, and Booth picked up her coat, impatiently holding it out for her. "Come on, Bones," he urged. "You don't want to miss the snow."

"It's just frozen water falling from the sky," Brennan pointed out.

"Uh-huh, Bones," Booth muttered, dragging her to the door after she had picked up Noah's carrier. Parker and Kristen danced ahead of them as they walked out onto the sidewalk. Parker's head was thrown back, his mouth wide open as he attempted to catch one of the elusive flakes on his tongue. Kristen mimicked his actions, and the two giggled excitedly as the frozen water fell around them.

"It's fairly early for the first snowfall," Brennan remarked. Booth shrugged. "It would seem that an unusually-"

"No squint talk, Bones," Booth interrupted. "Just enjoy it."

"Enjoy what, Booth? It's just frozen water, and it's cold out here."

"It's snow, Bones. Here, is this better?" He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her body against his side. She had to admit, she certainly felt warmer. "Now, just relax and enjoy it. See, look at Parker and Kristen." He gestured to the two who were still attempting to catch snowflakes. Parker's hands were raised above his body as if trying to reach for the source of the snow while Kristen seemed content to simply close her eyes and wait for the flakes to fall into her mouth. "Come on, Bones, let's try it," Booth urged.

"Try what?"

"Catching snowflakes." Booth tipped his head back as the kids had done, opening his mouth. Brennan watched him critically.

"This is ridiculous, Booth."

"Come on, Bones, surely you tried to catch snowflakes on your tongue at some point in time when you were a kid," Booth said, looking back at her.

"That was a long time ago, Booth."

"Well, then you're long overdue to catch some. Now, tilt your head back and follow my lead." Once more, he let his head fall back, letting out a loud laugh as his mouth opened, inviting in the frozen flakes. With a sigh, Brennan emulated his example, feeling silly as she opened her mouth to the heavens. Booth's arm tightened around her waist, and she let her eyelids slide shut as she waited. Slowly, the feeling of silliness began to dissipate to be replaced by something else, something Brennan had not felt in awhile. It was a feeling she thought she had lost in childhood, the feeling which made even simple occurrences seem extraordinary.

Suddenly, she felt something cold hit her tongue, and her eyes flew open as she straightened her neck, glancing over at Booth. He seemed to sense her gaze, for he, too, closed his mouth and moved his head so that he could look at her. "I think I caught one," she told him. His grin widened.

"I knew you would." Using the arm around her waist, he pulled her against him so that the front of their bodies were pressed together. "So, Bones, what do you think? Still think there's nothing more to snow that some frozen water?"

"I will admit that there seems to be something else to it, something. . ."

"Magical?" Booth suggested, his eyes twinkling. "Because that's what the first snowfall is, Bones. It's magical."

"I don't believe in magic." Booth nodded, still smiling as he leaned closer to her.

"Just wait, Bones, you will," he promised before pressing his lips to hers. The heat of his lips on hers was a stark contrast to the cool night air, and it created a tingling feeling which started at the point of contact and spread quickly throughout her body. She closed her eyes, letting him pull her closer as she lost herself in the feelings that his lips always seemed to evoke. She was starting to consider that Booth might be right (a realization she would never share with him). Perhaps there was something magical about the first snowfall.

After a few moments, they pulled apart, and Booth called to Parker and Kristen who had started to draw ahead, both laughing and jumping around in the snow. "Hey, Dad, can we make a snowman and have a snowball fight?" Parker questioned.

"I don't know about that, Bub," Booth said. "I don't know how much snow is actually going to fall tonight, and it doesn't seem like much of it is sticking. But once we get the first big snowfall, I promise we'll build a snowman and have a snowball fight."

"Okay," Parker agreed.

They stood outside for a short time longer, Parker and Kristen still fascinated by the snow. Brennan had taken Noah into the car with her where it was somewhat warmer. By the time the other three joined them, all of their faces were flushed from the cold, and all three wore wide grins. Booth started the car, turning up the heat and on the radio. A song that Brennan did not recognize was playing, but Parker and Booth both obviously knew it, for they began to sing along exuberantly. As they belted out the chorus, Kristen started to giggle loudly, and Brennan glanced back to see that Parker was playing air guitar to the music, reminding Brennan forcibly of Booth as he danced around her apartment. Her laughter soon joined Kristen's, mixing with Booth and Parker's singing to create a not-so-unpleasant cacophony of noise.

Later that night after all the kids were in bed, Brennan brought out a glass of wine for herself and a beer for Booth, setting the two drinks down on the coffee table where a stack of papers already sat. Booth smiled gratefully at her. "Looks like it's going to be a long night," he remarked, nodding to the paperwork.

"Well, we should get started then," Brennan declared matter-of-factly, taking a sip of her wine before removing the top sheet from the stack. They worked steadily for almost two hours before the ringing of Booth's phone interrupted them. He pulled it out of his pocket, wondering who would be calling them at such a late hour. Brennan saw his eyebrows furrowing in confusion when he saw the caller ID.

"Hello?" Brennan watched as he listened to the person on the other end, wondering if they had a new case already. His face paled after a few seconds, and his voice wavered slightly as when he next spoke. "Okay. We'll be there soon." He hung up, still staring straight ahead, automatically replacing the phone in his pocket.

"Do we have a new case?" Brennan asked.

His head shook slowly, and he turned around to face her. The movement appeared to take a large amount of effort. When she could finally see his face, she immediately noticed that his eyes had a haunted look. "Becca was in a car crash," he told her, his voice sounding hollow. "They took her to the hospital in critical condition."

"I'll get the kids."