"Dead?" Brennan repeated as if she wasn't sure she had heard Booth correctly. Booth nodded and stepped closer to her bed.

"Single gunshot wound to the head, gun found in his hand, the only prints on it belong to him." Brennan nodded in understanding.

"Suicide," she concluded.

"He was found just a few blocks from the building where you met him," Booth continued. "So he probably killed himself right after he ran from Will." Brennan's brow furrowed. "You're thinking the same thing I am, aren't you?"

"How could I possibly know what you're thinking?" Booth chuckled.

"Fair enough, Bones," he conceded. "I'm thinking that something's off here. Why run if you're just gonna off yourself? Why not just pull the trigger while he was standing there?"

"Then yes, we were thinking the same thing." Booth smiled and gave her a peck on the lips. "You should ask Will," she suggested. "He was the last person to see him alive if he did in fact die after he ran."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Booth agreed. "How about you? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Brennan replied honestly. "I should be discharged tomorrow if there are no unexpected setbacks."

"Great. Hey, Parker's waiting outside. He'd really like to see you. Are you feeling up to it?" Brennan grinned at the thought of her pseudo-stepson.

"I would enjoy that." Booth disappeared through the door and returned a minute later with Parker on his heels.

"Hi, Bones," the 13-year-old boy greeted with a smile to match his father's. "Are you hurt?" he asked cautiously as he approached her bedside.

"No, Parker," Brennan assured him. "I'm only being kept here for observation. I gave birth to your sister prematurely and the doctors are keeping me here for a few days to make certain that there is nothing wrong with me medically."

"And there's not?" Brennan shook her head and gave Parker's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"No, physically I'm very healthy." Booth noticed that she was throwing around qualifiers like 'physically' and 'medically' instead of just saying that she was fine. He figured now wasn't the best time to bring it up, but he definitely would be soon. Parker smiled in relief.

"I saw my little sister," he told her. "She's really, really small."

"Yes, I was only 24 weeks along in my pregnancy when she was born. She should be at the average size of her peers shortly after her second birthday."

"She's really cute, though," Parker qualified, worried that his comment had hurt Brennan's feelings in some way.

"Yes, I find her to be quite beautiful myself," Brennan agreed.

"Hey, Parks, why don't I take you to get a burger at the diner? Then I'll drop you off at your mom's," Booth suggested.

"Can I have a chocolate shake?" Parker asked enthusiastically.

"Sure. Why don't you go wait for me outside?" Parker shrugged and dutifully exited the room. Booth walked up to Brennan's bed and took her hand in his. "I'm gonna feed Parker and then talk to Will about what he saw, okay?" Brennan nodded. "I'll be right back," he promised. "You'll call if anything…"

"You know I will, Booth," Brennan interrupted him. "Take your time. I'll probably use the time to get some rest. I'm just… really tired today." Booth touched her cheek soothingly.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked gently.

"Yes, I'm fine," she insisted. "Go. I'm fine." Booth nodded and pulled his hand away. He leaned over and gave Brennan a long, sweet kiss.

"I love you," he told her as he met her eyes with his. There was a hint of a smile on Brennan's face when she responded.

"I love you too." With one more kiss, Booth turned and walked out of the hospital room. As soon as he was gone, Brennan let the tears fall that she didn't want him to see.

-BONES-

"Will!" Booth shouted across the hallway of the Hoover building when he spotted his old friend. Will turned at the sound of his name and pulled Booth into a quick hug.

"Hey, man!" he greeted Booth with a slap on the back. "How're Temperance and the baby?" Booth shrugged.

"Evi's doing great. I'm a little worried about Bones, though."

"Yeah?" Why's that?" Booth shook his head and rubbed a hand on his neck.

"She's got a lot on her mind." Will nodded in understanding. "Just with Evangeline and the bombing and everything. And now this whole thing with Daniel, it's just a lot to deal with."

"Well, all that affects you too," Will pointed out.

"Not like it affects her," Booth answered, thinking about everything Daniel had put Brennan through as a teenager. "Look, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. It looks like Daniel committed suicide right after he evaded arrest. Do you remember seeing anything? Hearing anything?" Will considered the question for a moment then shook his head slowly.

"No, sorry," he answered. "I ran after him but he just slipped past me. I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Why are you asking? This all seems pretty cut and dry to me."

"Something stinks," was Booth's simple reply. Will chuckled knowingly.

"You always did rely on your gut, Seeley." Booth laughed. "Hey, with everything that's happened I didn't really get a chance to thank you for setting me up with this job." Booth waved off his thanks.

"Hey, I needed to protect my girls," he said with a smile. "You're the best. There's no one else I'd rather have taking care of my family. Besides me," he added with a soft chuckle.

"It's just… after everything that happened…" Booth cut him off.

"Hey, how long have we known each other?" he questioned seriously.

"Closing in on twenty years." Booth nodded and took a step toward his old friend.

"Right, so I know that you're the best, okay? I wouldn't have anything less looking after Bones and my kids. Back in the Gulf there wasn't anyone else I'd rather have watching my back."

"Thanks, Seel," Will said appreciatively. Booth patted him affectionately on the shoulder. "I'll let you know if I remember anything about Daniel."

-BONES-

Booth walked back into Brennan's room and found her looking at a photograph with more scattered around her on the bed. "Bones, what are you doing?" Brennan looked up at him, startled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya."

"You didn't scare me. You surprised me." Booth surveyed the pictures and documents strewn across her lap.

"What is all this?"

"The crime scene photos and x-rays from Daniel's apparent suicide," Brennan answered without looking up from her task.

"How'd you get ahold of those?" Booth took his now familiar seat next to her bed. She lifted her eyes to meet his and gave him a sly smile.

"I have my ways," she answered. Booth laughed.

"That you do, Bones," he agreed. "Have you found anything interesting?"

"Yes. I have reason to believe that this was a murder." Booth shot out of his chair.

"Whoa, a murder?" he repeated incredulously. Brennan nodded calmly. "What… what makes you say it was a murder?"

"The angle at which the bullet entered the skull barely makes sense. It would be possible to inflict the wound on oneself, but it would be incredibly difficult, and an extremely awkward way to hold the gun to shoot yourself in the head. Plus, the way his arm landed when he hit the ground doesn't make any sense. It wasn't held up like this…" She demonstrated holding a gun to her own head. "It looks like it was lying at his side, straight down, although I can't be certain."

"Well, that's good enough for me. I'll call it into the higher-ups." He paused. "Bones, you know who they're gonna suspect, right?"

"You?" Brennan said matter-of-factly, still examining her pictures and x-rays. Booth's eyes widened in shock.

"Me? You think I did this?" he questioned in a whisper. Brennan sighed and put the picture in her hand down in her lap.

"Of course I don't," she assured him. "But you have a very clear motive. You're a better suspect than anyone else."

"I was buried under my desk when he was killed," he pointed out. "Getting blown up in my own office is a pretty ironclad alibi." Brennan considered his words, then nodded.

"That's true. So who were you referring to?" Booth gave her a quizzical look. "Earlier, when you asked me who would be suspected in the murder. Who were you referring to?"

"Come on, who besides me would kill someone to get them out of your life?" It didn't take Brennan long to realize who he was talking about.

"My father." Neither of them talked for a moment.

"Do you know where he is?" Booth asked gently. Brennan shook her head, looking straight ahead at the door to her hospital room.

"No. I called him the day Evi was born and he said he'd be here this week to visit us. I suppose you can question him then." Pain for what Brennan was going through shot through Booth's heart and he took her hand in his.

"I'm so sorry, Babe," he told her and brought her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles. "Do you want to talk about… what's been going on the last few days?"

"I don't, Booth," Brennan answered curtly. "I really don't."

"Okay," Booth accepted rather reluctantly. Brennan looked up at him.

"But I would really like you to hold me. Will you do that for me?" Without another word, Booth lifted the corner of the thin blanket and slid into bed next to Brennan. He gathered her in his arms and rubbed soothing circles on her back as she finally released everything she had been feeling the last few days, pulling her tighter to his chest when he felt hot tears starting to dampen his shirt.

I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think! Your reviews make me smile! :D