A/N: Glad you guys were happy with 2 chapters yesterday! I might load a second chapter tonight - we'll see how I feel.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show Bones. I do own all the dvd's so far and a few Itunes episodes.

Approximately 12 hours after the injection…

Brennan stifled a yawn behind her hand as she bent over the skeleton on the platform. She wondered if she had ever felt this tired.

Without taking her eyes off the wrist bone she was examining, she reached back for he coffee cup. Someone placed it in her hand. She looked up to see Patrick Gates standing slightly behind her, his face showing fatigue and worry.

"Thanks, Mr. Gates," she said. Glancing inside her mug she saw it was empty. "I'm going to go get some more coffee. Look at the right wrist bone again – see if you notice anything that will help us know what condition this man was in when he died."

"Yes, Dr. Brennan." Gates said. He moved into place and bent over the body part in question, his teeth worrying his bottom lip.

On the way to the break room, Brennan decided to stop by her office and check on Booth. It was a logical thing to do, she told herself: given how little they knew about the toxin in his body, constant examination was wise.

She tried to push back the thought that the real reason was she was afraid if she didn't check on him often he'd slip away from them all.

When Brennan got to her office, she found the FBI agent stretched out on her couch. His shoes were off and his red, white, and blue socks were clearly visible. His jacket was draped over the back of the sofa.

Booth had his cell phone pressed to his ear. He held a finger up to Brennan and continued to talk. "So that's all he can give us?...Yeah…I doubt it, he's delivered to me before, seemed like a nice kid…Right…Yes sir, I feel fine…yes, I have the medicines the hospital discharged me with, haven't needed to take them yet…" He rolled his eyes at Brennan. "Yes sir, Bones is keeping an eye on me. It's one reason I'm working from the Jeffersonian rather than my office…I will, sir. Thank you, sir."

Booth hung up his phone and sighed. "They talked to the delivery kid."

"And?" Brennan said. She studied her partner's face. He looked tired – everyone did at this point – but otherwise fine. She wished she could believe The Professor had lied about the injection. Her mind knew better.

Booth swung into a sitting position. "The kid came to the foyer and there was an older man standing there – gray suit, earpiece, sunglasses. Said he was Secret Service and was checking any deliveries to me because of a threat made."

"That's all the description you got?" Brennan asked, dismayed.

Booth sighed and nodded as he placed a hand on the back of his neck and stretched. "Pretty much. Kid said the guy had gray hair but he thinks it was a wig. Anyway, guy grabs the food, takes it over to a corner, comes back and pronounces it okay. Also tells the kid not to mention this to me, they don't want me to worry."

Brennan felt her shoulders slump. "I can't believe it! I can't believe that young man couldn't give us a better description!"

"Give him a break Bones. He's not trained to be observant, and apparently the so-called agent was pretty intimidating." Booth grabbed his shoes and started to put them on. "The wig angle might be helpful."

"I'll have Hodgins keep an eye out for gray hairs," Brennan said. She watched as Booth got to his feet and stretched. "What are you doing?"

He gave her an odd look. "I thought I'd stretch my legs a bit, then sit with you guys on the platform for a while."

"But don't you think you should…you should take it easy?" Brennan asked.

"Bones, give me a break, if I wanted to take it easy I wouldn't have worked so hard to get out of that hospital. And we had a deal – if I came here so you could work I wouldn't make you get some sleep. And to be honest, you look like you need it a lot more than I do right now."

Brennan sighed. She'd wanted to take Booth home after he was discharged. He was only willing to stop by his place to get a shower and some clothes (he was embarrassed that he had to leave the hospital with only his boxers and t-shirt with Max's jacket around him).

When she'd argued with him, he said he'd go to bed if she'd get some sleep as well. Her father took Booth's side on it, with the result being Booth was working with the help of his phone while sprawled on her couch while she and her team raced against the clock.

She looked at him closely. He looked all right as he shrugged on his jacket. A glance at her watch made her shiver – it had been twelve hours. According to The Professor, he could start manifesting symptoms at any time from this point on.

He put a hand over her watch. "Don't, Bones. Please, don't keep one eye on the clock and one eye on me."

She flinched. Looking at him, she decided to try to persuade him to rest one more time. "Booth, rest might help delay some of the symptoms…"

He frowned. "Bones, come on, you know that even if I rest from now on it won't stop this thing from killing me!" he snapped.

Brennan felt as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice cold water over her. She tried to speak, to explain, but nothing came out.

Booth's face went from anger to chagrin. "Oh, blast, Bones, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." He rubbed his neck again, and shot her a small charm smile. "I guess maybe I'm more tired than I thought."

She swallowed. "It – it's all right. I just wasn't expecting you to – to be so blunt about it."

"I, I shouldn't have said it," Booth insisted. "I'm mad at this Professor creep, no reason I should take that out on you, right?"

She nodded. Glancing down, Brennan realized she was still holding her empty coffee cup. "I was going to get some coffee. Do you want some?"

"Tell you what," Booth said, easing the cup from her hands. "To make up for being a jerk, I'll get the coffee and bring it to you on the platform. All right?"

"All right," she nodded. Getting back to the platform was a good idea. That was where she'd find the answers. That was where she could help Booth. She was no good at words. No good at providing emotional support.

But she was great at catching killers. And she vowed to herself she'd catch this one no matter what.