Title: Amongst the Gravestones

Disclaimer: Language, violence; angst possible.

Chapter Twenty-one: Famous

They ate their breakfast together at a little café not far from the hospital. There wasn't much of a conversation to start with. Mainly because Booth was worried that it would hurt Bones to do a lot of talking. But she kept pressing the issue of her office and what evidence might possibly have been left behind. From the sound of her voice and the way she just kept bugging him he figured that her throat felt fine. Or she was ignoring the pain. He told her that he had someone over at the lab looking things over. He wanted to know if maybe she had gotten a look at her computer. But she shook her head, telling him that it was off when she went to her office. So they began to speculate who would have done it. In all likely hood it was probably the murderer. That would make the most sense. But Booth that sometimes there were other people who wanted things to stay covered up.

Bones was slightly amused as she listened to him ramble on about his conspiracy theory of a person in a high place that didn't want the truth to come out. She didn't think it was the answer they were looking for but he seemed to relish telling her about it. It sounded like some badly written book in her mind. They enjoyed their meals and each others company. She was about ready to accept that things were back to normal between the two of them. If he was grieving for Cami he surely wasn't doing it around her. He had to be grieving. It wasn't natural for him to not be grieving over someone he once loved. But what did she know about people? She was about the science.

At her persistence Booth took her back to the lab instead of to her apartment where the doctor wanted her to be. Something about her needing rest after such a traumatic event. She just scoffed it off saying that she would be fine. He rolled his eyes though he was smiling on the inside. If only knew what she was capable of handling it would be Bones. And he knew her well enough to stop fighting with her. The lab was more crowded than usual with all the extra bodies provided by the FBI and the local crime unit. As he watched Bones he noticed that she seemed slightly agitated and he knew why. All these people milling about in her domain, what if they touched something? What if they knocked something over and contaminated something that could have been potentially important? He had seen that look on her face before when he'd been in the lab those first few times. He also knew that he got that way sometimes. They all did. They all liked to do things a certain way and hated it when their routines were disrupted.

He tried to keep up with her as she bolted into the building and headed straight for the security gates. She raced up the steps and took off in the direction of her office. Zack was standing by a metal table near some computer equipment and he looked frazzled. When his eyes settled on Booth there was a flicker of hope in them. He walked briskly to the stop of the stairs and looked down at the FBI agent who was stuck where he was without a pass card.

"Can I look through your car?" Zack asked him a rushed voice. "It is here, isn't it? I mean, in the parking lot?"

"Why do you want to go through my vehicle?" Booth asked somewhat confused.

"Because I drove it home the other day and maybe my necklace fell off in there," Zack explained to him, his voice getting a hint of urgency.

Booth looked at the keys in his hand. "Well, I'll make you a deal. I'll give you the keys so that you can search my car if you let me through."

"Deal," Zack said with a smile. He swiped his card passed the computer chip and Booth stepped through while the light was green.

He handed the keys to Zack. "Don't mess it up. I want everything back in its original place when I get back in it. Got it?" But Zack had already run off. Booth just sighed. That kid never made any sense to him.

He weaved through the crowd of people to get to Brennan's office. He didn't see any of the other squints on his way and that made him just a touch worried. Where were they? Surely they all knew about Brennan's trip to the hospital and that things may very well have been compromised in one case, if not both. When he rounded the corner to step into her office he found the missing science geeks that had become his family and friends in an odd way. Not that he would openly admit it to most of the other men at his office. They would never let him live it down if they knew.

"You know, that's just creepy," Hodgins was saying as he stepped into the room.

"What's creepy?" Booth asked.

Angela looked at him and he could tell that she had been crying. Brennan was typing furiously at her computer and Hodgins was standing by the coffee table that they had all sat around at various times. He looked up at the agent and pointed to the table. "That's what is creepy. Whoever was here last night lined up all of Brennan's books in the order they were released. They're all signed by her, too."

Booth walked over to get a look for himself. "So whoever was here is a fan of her writing. What does that have to do with one of our cases?"

Hodgins smiled and Booth instantly regretted asking the question. The somewhat crazy scientist was known for his conspiracy theories. "Well, maybe he killed someone and left the books behind as a sign. Maybe it's his way of saying that her books inspired him or something. There are so many places I could go with this."

"Don't," Bones interrupted him. She was glaring at something on her computer screen. "The guy wasn't very smart. All he did was close down my program and turn off the computer. I had set up the search to save anything it came across. It found quiet a few matches but my computer tagged only three local missing person's cases. If we look into them maybe we'll find our thief."

"And your attacker," Angela said in a hushed voice. "I think you should let Booth handle this on his own."

Bones just kind of looked at her like she was crazy. "This man broke into my office, stole my case file, possibly tampered with evidence and attacked me. There is no way in hell I'm going to sit here like some damsel in distress. I'm going with him."

Booth kept his mouth shut on the issue. There would be no changing her mind. They both left the office quietly but hastily as they headed for his SUV. Zack was just finishing his search of the vehicle when they showed up. He didn't say anything to either one of them, just gave Booth back his keys before he ran back into the building. Bones looked after him with a questioning look on her face but Booth wasn't going to explain. He didn't know how she would react to the fact that Zack had lost a gift she hadn't even been comfortable buying for him. They climbed into the car and started the engine.

"Why my office?" she asked out of the blue.

He looked at her. "Because you're famous. You've been mentioned in science journals and you're a published author. You've been across the country to solve cases. Talked about in newspapers. Someone has been following your career." He grimaced. "Sounds like you have a stalker."

"Or an over obsessed fan," she said.

"That would make him a stalker, Bones," Booth said as they pulled into traffic.