Chapter 10

Brennan walked into the apartment with Booth following. They had spent the last six hours at the hospital talking to doctors and getting Joe to apologize like Brennan had said. Booth smirked at remembering what she had done to Joe to make him apologize. He grinned remembering how he showed up and all Brennan had to do was shift in her seat next to Booth and Joe was apologizing to Shirley, Jared and Booth worried and afraid of what Brennan would do if he hadn't. Brennan sat on the couch as he put his things on the table by the door. He walked over and sat next to her as she leaned towards him.

"What you did today was really great, Bones." He said softly as she looked at him with a small smile.

"You taught me a lot in the last several years of working with you and one thing that is clear in my mind is that family comes first. Family trumps all and that's all I did. Your mother is sick and since you are my family, that means she is my family also."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to go and get that doctor, pay for her all by yourself. You know we have enough in our savings to more than pay for the care." He said.

"Yes, but that's our money, I wanted to help since I am of no help just sitting around."

"That's all you have to do when someone you love is hurting. All you have to do is be there."

"I felt I needed to do more. She came back after years of trying to stay alive; she came back to you, and asked for help. She accepted me with no questions or thoughts of how strange I am. I needed to show how much it meant that she never asked anything, she just took me as family." She said as tears came to her eyes.

"You are not strange. You just don't know how to deal with some situations." Booth smiled. "She knows that you love me and tried to help in every way in this whole mess. She knows that we have a daughter who you love more than anything in the world. And she knows that I love you more than anything. She saw you weren't just here because of Addy or anything other than you wanting to be with me, Tempe." He said as she smiled and let a tear fall.

"You know I never knew anything about any of these things. Love was just a lemans term used to describe a feeling of chemicals being released, marriage was a meaningless ritual. That no one would be able to guarantee how they felt about someone for life."

"And now?" She smiled at him as he gently wiped the tear from her cheek.

"Now, I finally understand. I finally believe that it is possible to completely lose yourself in someone, that love is not just chemicals. It's a feeling that you can never find an explanation to describe it to another. Marriage is a level of love that pushes the boundaries of two people becoming one. I know that I love Addy, that I will always jump to her protection and I have been able to help raise her with you by relying on my instincts that you taught me to use. I know that if it weren't for you I would be sitting in that lab not knowing anything. I would still be ignorant of these feelings and thoughts. I also know that my feelings for you are more than what love could be described as. I know that I would never be as well developed without you, Seeley." She said as he grinned and shifted to face her more.

"So I'm just awesome?" He asked as she smiled and shook her head with a small laugh before he gently ran his hand on her cheek and let it rest by her jaw as they moved closer and connected their lips in a strong, deep passionate kiss. They tumbled backwards on the couch kissing and breathing heavy both slowly working at the other's clothes when Brennan's phone rang and she gave a disgruntled sigh as they turned to look at it on the table ringing. "Let it go to voice mail." He said as he gave her another kiss.

"Booth, what if it's important?" She said as she reached over. "Brennan." She said trying to keep her voice even as she spoke.

"Tempe, the warrant came through for the school. Do you and Booth want to be here when we start the search?"

"Booth?" She breathed as he kissed her neck again. "Booth, Sully wants to know if we want to be there when they search the school." She asked making him look into her eyes before reaching up to take the phone. He smiled as he closed it and went back to kissing her, letting the phone fall to the ground.

Brennan lay cuddled against Booth as they both lay breathing heavily. Booth kissed the top of her head as she wrapped her arm across his abdomen with a bright smile. She slowed her breathing and looked up at him. He gently pushed her hair back before her kissed her again.

"Booth we're never going to get any sleep before we have to meet the doctor tomorrow." She said as he grinned at her.

"Then you want to go to sleep?" He asked as she looked at him torn between wanting to make love again and needing sleep for the family meeting they had in the morning.

"A little longer, and then we need to get sleep." She smiled as she pressed her body closer to him and they started all over again until their phones both rang breaking them apart. "Brennan."

"Booth." They answered slightly out of breath.

"No, Cam. You did not interrupt something… what did you need?" Brennan asked as Booth looked at her with a bright grin while he listened to Cullen on his phone.

"Yes, sir. Yeah… Cam is on the phone with Bones right now….. Yeah we'll be right there." Booth hung up as he took the phone from Brennan who gave him a little glare as he shut the phone. "You can hear all about what they found when we get there." He said softly as he gave her another passionate kiss. She pulled back and shook her head.

"We have work to do. After we are done our work we can pick back up." She said before kissing his neck and climbing from the bed to get her things together and going to the bathroom leaving Booth to drop his head back onto his pillow with a frustrated sigh. He lay with his hands on his head for a minute longer before he followed Brennan and the two were off to the school in Pennsylvania.

Booth and Brennan climbed from the car and Booth slammed the door as Brennan looked at him with an apologetic smile as Cam looked between them as Sully stood beside her.

"Seeley, you didn't have to hang up on me." Cam said, as Booth looked at her not amused. She glanced at Brennan who did not look all that happy to be there. "I'm sure the scene could have waited another few minutes."

"It would not have been a few minutes." Brennan said as she glanced at Booth. "What did you find?" she asked changing the subject to work.

"There was a large blood stain in the gymnasium. By the size of the stain I would think the victim was struck and bled out quickly while the murderer went to get something to clean everything up."

"What about the prints on the racquet?" Booth asked as Sully shrugged.

"They haven't called yet." Booth started dialing his phone as they walked into the gymnasium. "We are working on looking at the other items in the closet to see what could have caused the fracture to the back of her head but so far we haven't found anything."

"Yeah, Charlie, I need you to check on the prints to the Roberts case." Booth stopped behind them as the three started talking about what could have been used to cause the fracture on the back of Hope's head. "Yeah, thanks Charlie." He hung up and put his hand on Brennan's back to get her attention.

"They have a match?"

"Yeah, Johnny Harris." Booth said as Brennan nodded.

"Take samples and run them against the DNA we have on file for the victim. We'll meet you back at the lab, Cam. Let me know if you find anything else."

"Yeah, Caroline, I need a warrant for the house of Johnny Harris. We are looking for the weapons, clothing, and anything we can find from the murder." Booth said on his phone again as they started back to the car and Booth kept his hand low on Brennan's lower back. Sully looked at them sadly, as they walked away.

"You were good for her but Booth is something that you just can't compete with. He helps her become more social and she reins him in when he needs to be. It's nothing against you, but they were made for each other. You should just start fresh with someone new." Cam said before walking away as Sully nodded.

It only took five minutes to get to Johnny's house. They saw Danny sitting in his car outside already as they pulled up. Brennan quickly explained what was going on as they walked to the house and knocked. They saw him peak from a window on the side before taking off through the house. Booth told Danny and Brennan to run around either side of the house as he kicked in the door and ran through with his gun pulled. Johnny ran out the back and was about to go through Brennan when he saw Danny stop next to her with a gun and Booth stopped behind him with his gun pointed at his head.

"You really don't want to be stupid. I'm not in the mood to deal with you tonight." Booth warned as Johnny put his hands up and Booth handcuffed him. "Good choice." He walked him over and sat him in the back of Danny's police car. Booth's phone rang and he smirked before hanging up. "Let's go Bones." He said as they started walking towards the house as she pulled gloves from her bag.

It did not take long for them to search the house and move into the basement. Brennan used her light to see droplets of blood leading to a pile of junk. She started moving things and found a colorful parachute balled up at the bottom that was covered in blood. She pulled at it and saw that there were several things balled up inside. Booth looked down as she pulled bloody clothing out of it with sand falling back onto the parachute, and she lifted a roller that had blood on it. Brennan looked at Booth as he nodded and turned to tell the FBI techs to pack everything up. Booth walked over to the Car that Danny was leaning against and opened the back.

"Why'd you do it?" He asked as Johnny looked away. "We found the parachute you wrapped her body in with your clothes and the roller that had her blood on it. Why'd you kill her?"

"I…. it was an accident." He said defensively. "We were arguing cause she took the kids away from my studio and started teaching them herself. She was stealing all of my customers and she was even opening her own dance studio. I would have lost my whole clientele." He said.

"So you killed her."

"No, man we argued and I got mad. I grabbed what I saw and swung. I didn't think I would hit her. She took a step back and stepped onto the roller and she fell. It was an accident."

"She would have bled out slowly if she hadn't fallen." Brennan said. "The cut you gave her from the racquet sliced her temporal artery." The man looked at her for a minute before Booth slammed the door in his face.

"Do me a favor and take him to the FBI building. Agent Sully will meet you there and take him into custody." He told Danny who nodded and started as Booth and Brennan climbed into their car and started to the hospital. "We should get there a few minutes before it starts." He said absent-mindedly.

"Booth." Brennan said making him glance over at her. "I'm sorry about this morning." She said with a small smile as he glanced at her again. She smirked as he reached over grabbing her hand. "My dad is watching Addy for a few days, so maybe tonight you can make your macaroni and cheese." She said as he grinned. He stopped at a red light and kissed her cheek making her smile. The two just needed to make it through the day and then they could spend all night with each other.

"I reviewed the tests from before and after the treatment and she has improved greatly over the last week. I believe she should be well enough to go home in a few more days." The doctor said as Padame smiled and wrapped her arm around Jared's while Brennan and Booth held hands tightly. "Once she leaves she will continue to be treated as an outpatient until we have been able to eliminate the cancer."

"So she will make a full recover from this?" Brennan asked.

"Yes, in my opinion and the results of only a week worth of treatment, she should be able to make a full recover over the next several months."

"What do we have to do once she leaves?" Jared asked.

"She will still be weak and need help getting around but she should be able to do much on her own. We will have physical therapy work with her to help be prepared. But I suggest she stay with someone until fully recovered."

"She can stay with us." Brennan said as Booth nodded.

"Tempe…" Jared said and looked at Booth who looked over at him. "You guys have enough going on and you've done more than your share. Padame and I have already talked about it and we'll have her come with us."

"Jared-." Booth started.

"You have Parker stay with you almost every weekend, and you have the baby. Worry about Tempe and your kids, we have plenty of room." The two brothers looked at each other before Booth sighed and nodded.

"Fine, but don't take this on yourself."

"Booth and I are here to help you." Brennan said with a soft smile before the doctor started talking about the living arrangements.

That night Booth and Brennan were in the kitchen cooking. Booth stood behind Brennan as he showed her how to make the macaroni and cheese he made special. As the food cooked, he wrapped on hand around her waist and used the other to move things around the counter as they talked and joked.

"So, now that the case is finished we can sit and relax for a while." Brennan said as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"Your dad's watching Addy for another two nights so we don't have to worry about her." Booth said as he ducked his head and kissed her cheek. "You know Bones; I never would have imagined we would end up like this." She turned to look up at him.

"I don't know what you mean." He smiled and kissed her lips before explaining.

"When we first started working together we didn't get along. If I remember correctly you said you hated me."

"And you also insulted me several times." She added making him smirk.

"We were forced to work together and we started to ease up but we never crossed that line that made us partners. If someone had told me back then that, I would be married to you with a daughter I would have laughed in their face. I would have done it even a few years ago."

"I would have told the person they needed to see a doctor."

"We both never wanted to cross that line in case it meant making it hard for us to work and even splitting our partnership. But now…"

"We're husband and wife."

"Mother and father." He smiled as he ducked to capture her lips again before they smelled the smoke making them pull apart and see the smoke coming from the burner. The two laughed as they fixed the problem, took the food from the burner and were caught back into what they had started. The next thing they knew they were laying in their bed breathing hard.

"I love you, Seeley." Brennan breathed as she lifted her head from his chest and smiled at his bright grin.

"I love you too Temperance." He smoothed her hair back before rolling to kiss her and trap her under him again.