The "important" people had gathered in the living room: Buffy, Spike, a redheaded woman, a brunette woman, dark-haired man, and a dark-haired woman who had begged to stay and managed to do so. They were then introduced and Booth could not resist blurting out, "Buffy's a name? Willow's a name? Xander's a name? Kennedy's a name? Spike's a name?"

Buffy gave him an unwavering glare and coolly inquired, "What are your first names?"

"Um…" Booth said, deciding to change the subject. "It's okay. We know about everything. We're here to help."

Brennan and Booth had decided ahead of time to pretend that they were in on whatever the people were keeping secret. If anything mentioned was suspicious or was something they had never heard of, they were to play along. This might get them more trust, and therefore, more information.

As soon as Booth's words left his mouth, the room became hushed and tense. "Your family…?" one of the women asked cautiously.

Brennan took the liberty of answering the question honestly. "They disappeared when I was 15. I later found out that my mother was…"

"Oh, God!" exclaimed the redheaded woman, Willow, sympathetically.

Brennan continued. "Recently, I just found my dad walking around, doing… horrible things."

"That must be terrible. Just remember, that wasn't really your dad."

"Really? 'Cause that would explain a lot."

"All right, now that we've all bonded and connected," Booth interrupted callously, "we have a few more questions to ask. Are you aware that several girls have been killed trying to make their way to this house?"

"Um… yeah," said Buffy, visibly beginning to doubt the sincerity of Brennan and Booth. "We've been trying to get to them before they're killed. We then bring them here and teach them how to defend themselves."

"But then that would make this area a target for… them," said Booth, concealed hope of understanding who was behind the murders rising in his chest. "I mean, we just found a man who tried to enter your house with a large knife. Do you know anyone who might want to hurt you?"

Booth's report was met with, to his and Brennan's surprise, suppressed giggles and smiles. Brennan raised her eyebrows and Booth narrowed them.

"Let's see," Buffy said, restraining her laughter. "This is gonna be tough. Okay. Do you want me to name individuals or groups?"

"What do you mean, 'groups?'" Brennan inquired.

"What I mean is… some people really hate the idea of women standing up for themselves." Buffy's face was now unreadable. Booth scolded himself silently for blowing their cover.

"Um, okay," he said. "We have to remain open to the possibility that one of you has something to do with this. In those cases, it's usually related to a messy breakup or an affair. What's the status of your relationships?"

Buffy plainly answered the awkward question with, "Well, just about everyone in this room has slept with someone else in here. But now, no relationships that are beyond friendship exist."

"We're just friends?" asked Anya to the person next to her, Xander.

"Well, except for us," interjected Willow. Then, gesturing to the dark haired woman next to her, Kennedy, she mumbled, "We, you know… gay together."

Brennan took this as an opportunity to be insensitive.
"You know, homosexuality is irrational. Scientifically speaking, sex is a means to an end; the end being the propagation of the human race. This end can never be fulfilled by intercourse between males or between females. The general conclusion is that homosexuality is illogi-"

"Bones," said Booth in a quiet, dangerous voice.

Brennan sighed and said, "I apologize. I have nothing against gay--"

"It's okay," Willow hurriedly. "Really."

"Uh, Bones," Booth said softly. "Why don't you go outside and look around the house for anything that …pops out at you?" Then, hoping his partner could send Spike to the hospital (after being provoked, of course), he said, "Hey, Spikey, why don't you show Dr. Brennan the yard?"

"Umm… Err…" Spike stuttered.

"You see, Spike has an allergy to sunlight or something," Buffy quickly said.

"Xeroderma pigmentosum or protoporphyria?" Brennan asked, tilting her head.

"Uh, yeah," was Spike's response.

Xander volunteered to show them around the house, cheerfully announcing "That's where Buffy got shot," and other morbid events. Brennan tuned him out and focused her attention on her surroundings. She eventually heard the sound of crackling beneath her feet and looked down to see broken glass. She looked up and saw, as she had predicted, a window.

She knelt and examined the ground. Sure enough, there were numerous glass shards in the grass. Xander, who had been monologuing and walking around, finally realized that Brennan wasn't paying any attention to him. Seeing that she had his attention, Brennan asked him if he was aware of the broken glass on the lawn. He answered, "Yeah. I mean, when someone throws a rock through our window, I'm the one who has to fix it."

"Interesting," Brennan commented. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a call to make."