Booth stared listlessly at the plate in front of him, his hand clenching a thin piece of cutlery like a lifeline, holding onto it kept him safe… at least, for now anyway. He looked up, startled to see the young CSI watching him as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. Abashed, she flicked her eyes away, feeling awkward that she'd seen his turmoil; but couldn't help. He looked at the plate again, tears blurring his vision, swirling the colours into one big mess, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. He flicked his gaze back to Sara, who was staring at her fingers in a bemused fashion and running her hand over her stomach far more than was necessary.

'Sara?' He said softly, startling her.

'Yeah?' She replied just as softly, moving her hand away from her stomach and forcing a smile to her face.

'Are you okay?' He asked, pushing the food around his plate with his fork.

'Yeah… fine.' She said quickly, too quickly, she realised almost immediately.

'You sure?' Booth asked her, a penetrating gaze cutting right through her.

'No… I can't lie to anyone. But I can't say. Sorry…' She cast her eyes down to the floor and clenched her fist slightly. He smirked at her sadly and picked up a forkful of… meat? He was too preoccupied to tell.

'It's good.' He made the effort to say, swallowing slowly and looking at the young brunette opposite him.

'Don't lie Booth. You're too worried about Brennan to notice.' Catching the end of his glance, she added: 'I've been there and seen people exactly like you acting exactly the way you are now.' Booth nodded, a slightly embarrassed smile flitting across his face.

'I guess I'm not good at hiding huh?' He joked weakly.

'No… you're not. But I guess why do you need to hide it?'

'Because… I love her.' The moment he said it he realised it was true. 'I do… I love her.' He started to cry, unashamed of his feelings. 'I love Temperance Brennan. And I can't live without her. Sara… you have to find her!' Sara took his hand, holding it tightly in her own.

'I promise you now Booth. I will do everything in my power to find her. And I promise I will. I swear to you now, on my life, that I will find Temperance Brennan.' Booth looked at her and flashed her a watery smile.

'Thank you.' He whispered huskily, standing up and walking round the table to embrace her tightly. 'Thank you.'

oOo

Grissom grabbed the sheet off of Wendy as he walked past, reading the information in seconds.

'Damn. It's Brennan's.' He told Greg, whose face fell almost immediately.

'Damn. So what you're saying is… we're nowhere? Correct?' Grissom looked over his glasses at the over eager young CSI.

'Correct.' He sighed heavily. 'We got nothing. And time is running out; we need to find her!'

'Damn right we do!' Greg told him, clapping a hand on the older man's shoulder.

'Uh Greg… Don't do that.' Greg removed his hand quickly, as though the contact scorched him.

'Sorry Gil… Grissom.' He corrected himself as a glare came his way.

'It's okay Greg. There's a DVD in the package. Get Archie to run it. We need to find her and we have very little time to do so. Less than sixteen hours as of now. Go!' Greg hurried down the corridor and Grissom watched him go with a heavy heart.

oOo

Brennan coughed once, her throat completely dry as she tried to swallow, tried to moisten her aching throat a little more; but breathing hurt, and swallowing was pure agony. She shifted herself on the chair and felt it give a little, felt the bolt beneath her feet unscrew slightly. She tried to kick her high-heeled shoe off so that she had more dexterity with her foot; thankful that she hadn't worn tights. In this position it was good to be thankful for small mercies.

'Come on!' She muttered through the gag, hoping to loosen the bolt a little more and move the chair. It was a start anyway. She just hoped she'd have enough strength to ride it out.