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Chapter 10

Booth arrived back at his office feeling happier than he had any right to considering he had just left the scene of what would probably prove to be a double homicide. He swung by the break room for coffee before walking back toward his office. He passed Perotta, Barton and Killinger along the way.

Killinger looked up and smirked at Booth. "Having a good day today?"

Booth stopped at the door to his office and looked at him suspiciously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Perotta suddenly bit her lip and looked away, and Barton coughed as Killinger replied, "Nothing, absolutely nothing."

Booth continued into his office, only to stop dead before his chair - there sat a large bear wearing a T-shirt with the words "Squint Whipped" written in carefully blocked letters. Oh yeah, he thought as he moved the bear from his chair. They definitely all heard about this morning. He could hear some laughter from outside his office but decided to ignore it. He was in a good enough mood to let them have their fun but he knew there was one thing he couldn't ignore. Bracing himself for the conversation to come, Booth grabbed a file from his desk and made the short trip to Director Cullen's office.

Cullen's secretary looked up as he walked in. "Is he available?" Booth asked, nodding toward the office door.

Sheila picked up the phone to check, then motioned him toward the door. Booth took a deep breath before walking into Cullen's office. Cullen looked up from his paperwork as Booth entered. "Agent Booth, have a seat. I heard there was a second body called in from the crime scene you processed on Saturday."

"Yes sir, I have the file here. Dr. Brennan is still working with the remains from Saturday and the second body is on its way to the Jeffersonian now."

"What do we know about the first victim?" Cullen asked.

"We know the victim was female, likely a teenager. Initial estimate puts death at around a year ago, but we're still waiting for the report from Dr. Hodgins."

"So no ID or cause of death yet?"

Booth shook his head. "No sir. Dr. Brennan is trying to get something on cause of death today and we should have the facial reconstruction some time this afternoon also."

Cullen closed the file and added it to the pile on his desk. "Ok, keep me informed." When Booth made no move to leave he looked back up at him. "Was there something else?"

"Yes sir. I wanted to talk to you about Dr. Brennan, sir."

"Is there a problem?" he questioned.

"No sir, there's no problem but I wanted you to know that there's been a change in my partnership with Dr. Brennan. I think others are aware of it now and I wanted you to hear it from me."

Cullen's mouth quirked up as he said, "I assume you're referring to the argument between you and Dr. Brennan at the crime scene this morning?"

Damn, Booth thought. "So you heard about that?"

Cullen snorted as he sat back in his chair. "There's not an agent in this building who hasn't heard about that, Booth. Hell, they're probably talking about it in the Justice Department too. Caroline always has her ear to the ground."

Booth shuddered slightly as he thought about Caroline. "Sir, my personal relationship with Dr. Brennan will not affect our partnership. We're both professionals and I believe we can handle the changes without any significant impact to our work."

Cullen waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not about to break up the best crime solving team I have. As long as you can make it work, I have no objections. Though I do wish you had waited a few months."

Booth was confused by his last statement. "Sir?"

"I had a hundred bucks on you and Dr. Brennan getting together during the holidays."

So now the whole office was betting on his relationship with Brennan. Booth had a feeling he was in for a lot of ribbing from the other agents, but at the end of the day he'd be going home to a woman who made happier than he'd felt in a long time. If a few jokes were the price he had to pay for that, he'd endure it willingly. He had his hand on the door when Cullen spoke up again. "She still can't have a gun, Booth."

Booth swallowed back a laugh. "No sir, no gun."

Back in his office he started going through the massive amounts of paperwork that always seemed to grow no matter how many files he worked through each day. It was after 1:00 when he finished the notes on another completed case. Booth knew Brennan wouldn't leave the lab for lunch once the latest remains were delivered so he decided to go by the diner and take lunch to her. He was turning off his computer when he heard a knock at his door. He looked up to find Tessa standing in the doorway. "Tessa? What are you doing here?"

"I was here to pick up a file for a client so I decided to stop and see if you'd like to have lunch."

Booth sighed and ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Look, I know I said I would call but..."

She held up her hand to interrupt. "I'm not looking to start things up between us again, Seeley. I'd just like to talk for a few minutes. Old friends, right?"

Booth nodded reluctantly. "I'm headed to a diner near the Jeffersonian to pick up lunch for Bones since she's busy at the lab. If you'd like you can meet me there and we can talk for a few minutes."

Tessa smiled warmly at him. "Sounds good, but I can ride with you. I took a cab over here. I hate parking in the structure."

Booth followed Tessa out, suddenly acutely aware of all the agents watching and no doubt speculating as to what he was doing with the tall blonde woman. He met Perotta's eyes as he walked past and she raised her eyebrows at him. He sighed in resignation. He had a feeling it was going to be a long week.

Brennan was just completing her initial examination of the latest set of remains when Angela walked up the steps to join her on the forensic platform. "I finished the facial reconstruction for the victim found on Saturday." She held up her sketch. The girl had large eyes and high cheekbones, and Brennan noted it was a characteristic shared by the second victim as well.

"What's wrong?" Angela asked.

"I think the two victims might be related," Brennan stated. "They share strikingly similar characteristics of bone structure, remaining hair on the victims is the same color, they're roughly the same age and were killed around the same time."

"You think they might have been sisters?" Angela guessed.

Brennan nodded as she added, "Possibly even twins, though we'll have to wait for DNA to confirm. Hodgins has collected the particulates he needs so I'm going to have Mr. Edison start cleaning the bones while I look over his notes on the other victim. I want to give Booth cause of death as soon as possible."

Angela linked her arm with Brennan's and pulled her toward the platform steps. "First we're going to get lunch at the diner. You need to eat." When Brennan started to protest Angela cut her off. "Bren, sweetie, Booth doesn't let you skips meals and since he's not here I'm taking up the cause. You'll have plenty of time to look for cause of death when we get back. You can even bring Clark's notes and start looking at them while we're eating."

Brennan agreed and the two women walked out and headed for the Royal Diner. Angela pushed open the door and was walking toward the counter when she suddenly stopped. "Uh-oh," she murmured. She backed up and turned Brennan back toward the door. "You know, I've decided I'd rather have something else. I'm not in the mood for diner food."

Brennan protested the sudden change in plans as Angela herded her back outside. "Angela, we're already here so it makes no sense to go somewhere else now. I have a lot to do this afternoon." She noticed Angela looking toward the counter and she glanced in that direction as well. "Oh look, Booth's here." She started to pull the door open again when she saw the blonde woman beside him and realized he wasn't alone.