AN: Thanks as always to my marvelous reviewers and to CalleighAryn for her suggestions. I can't believe the day of the season premiere has finally arrived!

"Don't worry, Dr. Brennan, I'm not going to insult you," Olson said when she took the stand. "I wouldn't want Agent Booth to come after me."

Don't think I wouldn't go after you just because you're an ADA, Booth thought. It doesn't matter who you are—mess with my Bones and I'll take you down.

"Objection!" Tierney called.

"Sustained," Judge Lyon ruled. "Be mindful of your tone, Mr. Olson."

"I apologize for my feeble attempt at humor, your honor. So, Dr. Brennan, in your own words, how would you describe your relationship with Agent Booth?"

Remembering the advice of the jury consultant in the Schilling case, Brennan resolved to answer his questions simply, using as few words as possible. She didn't want to give him any room to twist her words against Booth. "We're partners."

"And friends too?"

"Yes."

"You dedicated one of your books to him, so am I correct in assuming that you're very good friends?"

"Yes." Yet 'friend' seems like a woefully inadequate word to describe the depth of our relationship.

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes." Looking at Booth, she had to add: "More than anyone else I've ever known." She saw him smile at her words.

"And you have an open, honest relationship? You share things with each other?"

"Yes." Most of the time.

"Now we've heard testimony that Agent Booth has saved your life on more than one occasion, but you've also saved his life, correct?"

"Yes." She knew where this was headed and tried to prepare herself.

Realizing that Dr. Brennan wasn't going to elaborate, Olson asked "Would you tell the court who Gil Lappin was?"

Hearing the name brought back a familiar twinge of guilt. "He was an accomplice of Howard Epps, a serial killer Booth and I investigated."

"And what happened when you witnessed Mr. Lappin attacking Booth?"

Images of Booth being beaten and falling to the floor flooded her mind. "I shot him."

"A fatal shot?"

"Yes." Brennan shuddered involuntarily at the memory. Booth saw it and wished he could comfort her.

"So you killed a man for Agent Booth?"

"I didn't have a choice. He would have killed Booth."

"Is it true then, as Detective Carter said, that you would do anything for your partner?"

Brennan hesitated. She had asked herself the same question after Carter's second offer. "Anything within reason."

"Would offering yourself to Detective Carter to make the case against Booth go away qualify as 'within reason'?"

"That didn't happen. Carter lied."

"Detective Carter has been with the D.C. police for sixteen years. He's never been accused of perjury before. Why would he do such a thing?"

"I don't know. I'm a forensic anthropologist, not a psychologist." Of course, psychology isn't a real science anyway.

"A forensic anthropologist with a background in martial arts. Tell me, did Carter touch you inappropriately?"

"Yes, he touched my hair."

"Then why isn't his wrist broken?"

"What?"

"Ms. Montenegro said earlier that if Spencer had tried to hit you, you would have broken his wrist. You broke Howard Epps' wrist when he touched you. If Carter was the one making the offer, and he touched you inappropriately, why didn't you hurt him?"

I wish I had hurt him! If I had known how he was going to hurt Booth, I would have broken every bone in his body! "I was showing restraint for Booth's sake."

"Restraint? Dr. Brennan, you attacked a gang leader in the halls of the FBI building, assaulted a Homeland Security agent in an airport, and even shot a senator's aide after breaking into his home. Where was your restraint in those cases?"

"The gang leader and Homeland Security agent both attacked me, and the senator's aide would have lit me on fire."

"I talked to the Homeland Security agent myself. He said that all he did was grab your arm. You call that an attack?"

What was I supposed to do? Wait for him to actually hurt me before fighting back? "He didn't identify himself as Homeland Security when he grabbed me."

"So you believed you had just cause for attacking him?"

"Yes."

"If Carter was inappropriate with you, you would have just cause to attack him, wouldn't you? Yet you didn't, because you were the one making the offer. You knew Booth was guilty of Spencer's murder and you wanted to help him out, didn't you?"

"No. That's total conjecture with no basis in fact. Detective Carter made the offer."

"If that were true, why didn't you report him to his superiors?"

"I was planning on dealing with him when Booth's trial was over."

"Why wait?"

"Because trying to find evidence to clear Booth's name was more important."

"But you, one of the top forensic anthropologists in the world, didn't find any evidence to exonerate him, did you?"

I could have if the FBI had let me do my job! "The FBI wouldn't let me examine the evidence they took from the scene."

"I see. Now you've said that Booth is a good friend, and that you have an open relationship. Did you tell him about your encounter with Detective Carter?"

"I told him today, during the recess."

"Today? But this incident happened six weeks ago. If it happened as you say, if Carter really propositioned you, why wouldn't you tell him then?"

Maybe I should have. "He was stressed about the trial, so I didn't want to add to his worries."

She was trying to protect me, and I yelled at her for not telling me, Booth thought. I'm sorry, Bones.

"Really? It wasn't because you were afraid of what Booth might do to Detective Carter if you told him your version of events? It wasn't because you knew he would act violently towards him, just as he did in the courtroom today?"

Brennan wished she could say no. "I knew Booth would feel obligated to defend me."

Booth was hurt by her choice of words. Obligated? Bones, I don't defend you just because I feel it's my duty. I do it because I want to do it. Don't you realize how much you mean to me? Of course you don't. I've never had the courage to tell you.

"You knew Booth would kill Detective Carter just as he killed Nathan Spencer, didn't you?"

"No! Booth didn't kill Nathan!"

"So you say. But if you're willing to kill for Booth, why wouldn't you be willing to lie for him too? No further questions, your honor." Olson returned to his seat triumphantly.

Tierney stood up and approached her. "Dr. Brennan, would you tell the court about your family?"

Brennan didn't know why he was asking her that, but she trusted him. "My parents left my brother Russ and me when I was 15."

"Why?"

"They were protecting us from a group of violent criminals who were pursuing them."

"Last year you identified your mother's remains and arrested her killer, Vince McVicar. What happened to Mr. McVicar in prison?"

Now Brennan understood why he had asked about her family. He wanted to create reasonable doubt about Booth's guilt by implicating her father. "McVicar was killed by a fellow inmate, a man my father hired."

"And your father himself killed former FBI agent Garrett Delaney and Deputy Director Robert Kirby to protect you and Russ?"

"Yes." In her mind she could still see their charred remains. She could still remember how disgusted she had felt when they learned that her father was the murderer they were seeking.

"Is it possible that, after learning your boyfriend was a suspect in the murder of Melissa Kincaid, your father decided to have him killed to protect you?"

"Objection!" Olson shouted. "This is more speculation. Your honor, Dr. Brennan's father, Max Keenan, was in federal custody at the time of Nathan Spencer's murder."

"But he could have hired someone to kill Spencer from jail, your honor," Tierney argued.

"Is there any evidence of this?" Judge Lyon asked.

"Well, Nathan Spencer is dead."

"First you accuse Detective Carter, now Max Keenan, but where's your proof?" Olson asked. "You have no forensic evidence to support your claims."

"And you have no forensic evidence against Booth," Tierney countered.

"There isn't any useful forensic evidence in this case," Olson admitted. "It's as if someone with a thorough knowledge of law enforcement evidence collecting techniques cleaned the crime scene...someone like a FBI agent."

"Or a police officer."

"Enough, gentlemen," Judge Lyon ordered. "Mr. Tierney, if you don't have any evidence to suggest that Max Keenan was involved in Spencer's death, move on."

"Yes, your honor. One last question, Dr. Brennan. You and Booth have worked very closely for two years now. You know him better than anyone else in this courtroom. Is there any doubt in your mind, any doubt at all, that Booth is innocent?"

"No," she answered instantly. "No doubt at all. I would bet my life on it." She saw Booth grin at her and mouth the words Thanks, Bones.

"Thank you, Dr. Brennan. No further questions, your honor."

"The witness may step down."

Tierney and Brennan returned to their seats. "How did I do?" Brennan asked Angela.

"Awesome, sweetie," Angela answered.

"The prosecution may call their next witness," Judge Lyon said.

"Thank you, your honor. The prosecution calls the defendant, Agent Seeley Booth."

I didn't kill Spencer, so I have nothing to worry about, Booth told himself as he took the stand. If he tries to make me angry by saying something about Bones, I'll be ready. I won't take the bait this time.

"Agent Booth, in my opening statement I suggested that you killed Nathan Spencer to protect your partner because you were secretly in love with her. Other witnesses have testified about the strong bond you two share, but I want to hear the truth from your own mouth. Are you in love with Dr. Brennan?"

Booth was temporarily unable to breathe. Oh, God! This isn't how I wanted her to find out! I didn't want to tell her I loved her in the park because I thought it wasn't the right time. But if I had said it then, at least it would have been just the two of us. Now I have to admit how I feel in front of a courtroom full of people!

"Agent Booth, I'm still waiting for your answer," Olson said after several moments of silence.

There's no way around it. I'm under oath; I have to tell the truth. "Yes." He dared to look at Bones and saw her eyes widen in surprise.

"Do you love her enough to kill for her, if you felt you had no other choice?"

"Yes, but I didn't kill--"

"You didn't kill Nathan Spencer? He just happened to be murdered hours after you threatened to kill him? Do you expect the jury to believe that?"

"It's the truth. I--" He stopped as he saw Agent Ryan entering the courtroom. Ryan came up to Tierney and whispered something to him.

"Excuse me, your honor," Tierney said. "The FBI has just uncovered evidence that could exonerate my client."

Thanks for reading! All comments are greatly appreciated. :) One more chapter to go!