Thanks to reviewers: Liberty Girl In the Sky

and crys82

So, I totally almost did not update, because I saw that chapter 12 was not finished. Then I got on here and realized I just needed chapter 11. Thank goodness I checked that or I would've made everyone wait an extra week. Hopefully chapter 12 will be finished before next week. I'm slowly overcoming writer's block.

Also this chapter is slightly...suggestive, however I have read worse with K ratings, so I'm not making this story M rated because of it. I really don't think it warrants any more than the T rating so it's staying where it's at.

I do not own Bones

The Daughter in Distress: Part 4

Patience slowly blinked her eyes open, feeling Aaron's protective arms around her. She caught sight of the sun through the window and gasped, quickly sitting up in bed.

"Huh? What?" Aaron slowly woke up beside her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm late for work," Patience muttered, starting to get out of bed.

Aaron caught her arm and pulled her back down. "Cam said if you came in today she'd fire you. Go back to sleep."

Patience stared at him for a minute as he squinted at her in the morning light.

"But I…"

"Have no reason to go to work other than a case that is not requiring immediate investigation. She has to focus on interviewing potential bug and slime guys anyway."

"Shouldn't you be at work?"

"And miss a day off with my wife? Are you crazy?" Aaron pulled her down, roughly kissing her lips. "If you don't go in, there's no reason for me to."

Patience slowly broke away. "Don't you have…other cases?"

"Nothing of upmost importance. I can enjoy a day off once in a while."

"The kids-"

"Are with your parents," Aaron interrupted. "They picked them up last night. Your dad wanted to take them to the zoo today. Something about monkeys."

"They've been spending a lot of time with my parents lately. We should give my parents a break."

"When the case is solved, we'll take a short vacation or something." Aaron stopped his ignored attempts at seducing her. "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk."

"You told me last night," Aaron replied.

"I…" Patience's eyes widened. "I did?"

"I already knew," Aaron added. "The doctor called to check on you. I answered the phone."

"Which time?"

"There was more than one time?"

Patience stared at the bedspread. Aaron leaned back against the headboard shaking his head.

"Patience, why didn't you tell me?"

"I was fine. You would have freaked," she said softly.

"Yeah, because less than a week later you took off to some foreign country."

"Because those pictures-"

"Forget the damn pictures," Aaron growled.

Patience glanced up in alarm.

"My mother wanted me to talk to her and my father. I'd hoped they'd come around, but they hadn't. When I got there, Britney automatically tried seducing me. I've told you this a million times. She came onto me. I pushed her away several times, between that my mother must have snapped pictures." Aaron sighed. "I haven't spoken to my parents since you know."

"Because of me?" Patience whispered.

"Yes." Aaron grabbed her hand. "God, Patience, you have no idea what you mean to me. My parents have never been around for me, unless they were telling me what to do. Since we met you were there. That's why I am never going to leave you. You would have to kill me to get rid of me."

Patience smiled. "I know."

"Good. You hungry?"

"Starving. Quite literally, by the way."

"You're the idiot who wouldn't eat," Aaron pointed out.

Patience slapped his arm playfully. "Be nice."

"I am. Go back to sleep. I'll bring you breakfast in a bit."

"Breakfast in bed?" Patience smiled. "I like the sound of that."

Aaron leaned forward to kiss her. "Just the answer I was looking for."

Patience pulled him back down as he started to go. "I think I can wait a little bit to eat though…"

Patience groaned as she took a sip of coffee the next morning. "I hate taking days off. I never want to go into work after them."

Aaron smiled, straightening his tie. "Well someone's gotta solve this case."

"I know. Let's go before I call in sick."

"I'm sure Cam wouldn't mind."

"Not helping."

Aaron kissed her cheek. "Come on. I'll drop you off at the lab so you can examine the remains."

"Right. Murder. Mayhem. Work. Fun." Patience yawned. "I can't believe I'm still tired."

"I can," Aaron muttered.

Patience slapped his arm. "Let's get going."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a sly grin.

At the lab Cam shook her head at the body in the trunk. "I can't help much. Most of the flesh has decayed."

Sarah grimaced. "Yeah, well, it's gross either way. Has Patience called in sick yet?"

"Funny, Sarah," Patience answered, walking up to join the other two on the platform.

Aaron followed closely behind her.

"How'd the interviews go?" Patience asked curiously.

"Don't go there," Cam replied. "Over thirty interviews and none of them could work as a landscaper."

"Well you can't go comparing everyone to Hodgins," Patience replied. "Ok to remove the body?"

Sarah and Cam both nodded, Sarah stepping as far away as the platform allowed. Cam and Patience slowly lifted the body to the examination table.

"So gross," Sarah muttered.

Aaron chuckled at her words. "You wanted to work here."

"Hey, there's a good health plan," Sarah retorted.

"If you two are finished," Patience interrupted. "I would like Sarah to try getting the images from the quilts."

"You think it might mean something?" Cam asked.

"It's a quilt," Patience replied. "If anything it'll tell us who made it. That might help us in figuring out who our victim is."

"I already gathered insect and dirt for Hodgins to take a look at," Cam said. "All yours, Sarah."

Sarah stepped forward, collecting the quilts. "I'm on it."

Aaron watched as Patience ran her hands along the victim's arm, which even he could tell had been broken in several places.

"Victim is female," Patience told them. "Age…eight to ten…" She glanced up at Aaron. "By the looks of things your trust theory is out."

He frowned. "It's a kid?"

"A little girl. A few years older than Chrissy. Hodgins should be able to give more accurate time of death, but for now I'm gonna stick with twenty years. There are several various breaks on the right arm. A Perry fracture to the right ulna. Minor fractures to the ribs, and sternum. Her left arm also shows a couple minor breaks, as do her legs. She was not placed in there willingly. We will have to run a scenario but I believe these fractures can be explained by someone forcing her into the trunk." Patience paused to look at the trunk. "Why didn't she try to escape?"

"Could she have been dead?" Cam asked.

"I don't know…" Patience took a deep breath. "This is why my mother should have never retired."

"Hey, don't say that," Cam commanded. "You're one of the best anthropologists in the world."

"And I'll never be as good as her," Patience whispered. "I don't think I can solve this case. I don't think with what we have that I'll be able to figure out who murdered her."

"You just started examining the bones," Cam told her. "Let me know what you conclude."

Patience shook her head and bit her lip as she stared at the remains in front of her. "I should write down my preliminary report and clean the bones."

Aaron crossed the platform to stand next to her. "Patience, you need to calm down. You can do this."

"I…Aaron…it takes me twice as long to examine a skeleton as it ever did my mother. In limbo I'm lucky to ID a body a day, my mother did at least five-"

"Stop comparing yourself to your mother, Patience. You're stressing yourself out. There is no reason to get worked up. You just started your examination."

"What if I get something wrong? This is the first real case we've had-"

"You won't. You have never missed a thing in your examinations. Even your mother told you that. Why would you start now?"

Patience looked at him and smiled. "Thank you."

"Let's get this ID," Aaron said, smiling in return.