A/ N - Sorry for the delay, it's going to be a pretty busy week. Anyway, this chapter is a fillerish one. Hopefully I'll get the next one finished tomorrow and we can get to the surgery / recovery. Thanks for all the great reviews and alerts. Please continue to let me know what you think.

Disclaimer - I am in no way associated with the TV show Bones.

Chapter 21

Both Booth and Brennan slept fitfully for the rest of the night for different reasons. Brennan was contemplating the horrible things Booth had endured over his lifetime and Booth worried that his history would change her opinion of him. When morning came, Booth got ready and made his way into the kitchen completely expecting her to still be asleep.

"Hey," he said as he noticed that she had cooked eggs for him. He smiled as he got a mental picture of her scrambling eggs on crutches. "Bones, you really shouldn't be up right now. You need to keep that space boot thing on as much as possible."

She rolled her eyes at his protective nature and the bickering began. "Booth, I hardly think that 30 minutes out of that cooling unit will change how long it takes me to recover. Besides, I'm tired of sitting, I need to be useful." She honestly did want to feel useful and was hoping that she could actually get some work done on the case today. Maybe should could even figure out a way to get to the Jeffersonian.

"Only you, Bones, would despise having to lie around the house all day. Most people would love the opportunity." He was done with the bickering, "How's the ankle today?"

"Is that going to be the only question people ask me for the next few months?" She was tired of feeling disabled and decided Booth should take the brunt of her frustration.

"Bones!" He hoped saying her name one more time would make her see that he wanted an answer even if she didn't want to give one.

He was right. "It's fine Booth. It's actually feeling a lot better after staying off it yesterday. It still hurts, but the throbbing isn't as persistent." She explained her well-being as clinically as possible hoping it would deter further questions.

"That's good Bones." He was satisfied that she was okay so he chose not to ask the rest of his questions about her ankle and chose a different line of questioning. "What are you planning on doing today?"

"I'll do as much as I can. I'll probably work on my book and then try to stream the Angelator scenarios as she uploads them. I'm not sure how much I will accomplish here though." She insinuated that she wanted to be at the lab.

He knew what she was thinking and tried to head her off at the pass. "Bones, just stay put. If we absolutely need you, we'll call. Hopefully it will be really cut and dry once we get the truck in." He had finished his eggs and was getting ready to leave. "I'm going to go to the Hoover and brief Cullen on the case." He didn't mention that he was going to ask for the time off too.

With that last statement, Booth gathered his things and left.

Bones was alone, again. She settled back onto the couch and worked on her book for a little while. She couldn't remember when she had spent this much time at home, probably never. Even when she was sick, she worked. She could think of a few occasions when she should have stayed home, but chose to work to pass the time. She usually just locked herself in the bone room to keep from infecting the rest of the lab.

Even though she hated psychology, she knew her views on sickness were coping mechanisms. She didn't like to let on that she was sick. It was a weakness. She learned that in foster care when she was still in her first home. After that one terrible experience, she learned to deal with her sickness alone.

Booth drove to the Hoover and briefed Cullen on the situation with the case. Cullen was satisfied and slightly surprised that the case was going that well without the genius scientist. "How is Dr. Brennan?" Cullen asked.

"She's alright, sir. She's still in a good deal of pain and is at home trying to get the swelling to go down. She's scheduled for surgery on Monday morning and will probably spend Monday night in the hospital." Booth explained and was glad that Cullen brought the subject up. Asking for time off was usually a tricky thing, especially on short notice.

Cullen nodded with a slight grimace on his face. "I didn't realize that sprains could be that serious. I suppose that criminal father of hers is helping out?" Cullen actually respected Max and honestly, would have done the same thing if he needed to in order to protect Amy and his other daughter.

Booth jumped at the opportunity that Cullen threw out. "Actually, sir, Max has been helping Dr. Brennan's brother with his two step children a lot; one of them has cystic fibrosis. Anyway, he won't be available to help her as much as he would like, so I was going to ask you for some time off so I can help her out a little." Booth did his best to remain vague in his explanations.

Cullen gave Booth a strange look. He always thought the partners were close, maybe even to close, but their closure rate was high; they must be doing something right. "Booth, you know I can't let you off if this case isn't solved, but if you close it, take as much time as you need. I really need you both back in the field as soon as possible."

Booth exhaled, he was really relieved that Cullen had been so accommodating. "Yes sir, I understand. I intend to wrap up this case this weekend. Hopefully, I can get a confession out of Groves and we won't even have to trouble the US Attorneys too much." Cullen then excused Booth.

Booth then found Nichols. "What have you come up with from the contact list?" He expected an empty response, but was surprised.

Nichols began, "Actually, Groves' best friend knew who Watson was. Apparently, he used to gripe about him all the time. The friend said that the complaining just stopped one day and there were no other mentions of Watson, not even a snide remark about him going missing."

Booth just nodded. He hated that Nichols was actually pretty good at the investigative work. It made disliking her harder. "Alright, good job. Let's go check with Charlie on the financials. I want this one wrapped up in a nice package."

The pair talked with Charlie and found that Groves had several hidden accounts. He was making periodic deposits into them, but only one of them had any expenses or drafts removed.

Booth spoke, "Have the bank guys run a tracer on every withdrawal. I'm betting that this account was used to rent the warehouse." He paused, thinking for a moment. "That would be enough to bring Groves in on suspicion of murder."

Charlie nodded and went back to work. Booth looked at Nichols. "It's 10:30 now, we need to get to the lab to be there when the techs bring the truck in."

Nichols nodded and followed Booth out to the SUV.

At the lab, Booth and Nichols were met by three squints. Cam spoke first. "FBI techs will be here in 30 with the truck. We're going to let Hodgins dust for particulates first and then Angela and I will take the measurements."

As expected, the truck arrived and Hodgins took his time gathering the particulate evidence. He was pretty sure that most evidence would have been washed away by the weather and use, but there were always particulates to test.

Booth and Nichols waited impatiently. Finally, after two hours, Hodgins finished and Cam and Angela went to work. Their job with the truck was fast, the hard work was tackled in Angela's office.

She worked for a while and then came out of her office with a look of despair on her face. "Booth!" She called.

He jumped from the couch, almost dropping his poker chip. "Did you get the scenario complete?"

She just shook her head. "No matter how hard I try, I can't get the angle that would produce the fracture patterns on the bones. I hate to admit it, but I'm going to have to call Bren." Angela knew Brennan wouldn't mind, but that was the problem. Her friend needed to recover not be pulled in to work because she couldn't do her job.

Booth was a little defensive. He didn't want Bones out of the house. "Cam can't figure it out?" He had barely finished his statement when the medical examiner walked in.

"I know you don't want her here, Seeley, but if you want the case closed, you are going to have to call her in. The fracture patterns are odd and the interns certainly can't figure it out. We're all stumped. We need her expertise." Cam was trying to appeal to Booth as a friend.

Booth thought for a second and ran his hand through his hair. He knew Brennan would be happy and come in immediately. She'd probably hurt herself further, but at least they would solve the case. "Okay, fine, but you have to have everything ready for her. She needs to be in and out as quickly as possible."

The team busied themselves on the jobs at hand and Booth went to make the call he didn't want to make. He dialed her number and she picked up almost immediately. "Hey Bones, listen, Angela needs you to work up the scenario in the Angelator with her. You feel like coming in for a little while?" He paused for a split second. She obviously agreed. "Alright, I'll pick you up in 20. I'll take you back home as soon as the scenario is right." He knew if he didn't put conditions on it, she would be in limbo working on remains before he could stop her.

Booth flipped the phone shut and told left to pick up his Bones.

40 minutes later, Booth, and a smiling Brennan walked back into the Jeffersonian. Brennan immediately shifted into scientist mode and made her way over to the truck. She studied it and looked at the specification sheet. She seemed to be in the zone, but couldn't quite put the scenario together. She couldn't see what she needed to see while on crutches.

She did what any good, truth-seeking scientist would do, and put her crutches against the table and went to work despite the pain.

Booth noticed her actions and protested. "Bones, what in the hell do you think you are doing?" He was in full out alpha male mode. She completely ignored him like any good alpha female.

She squatted beneath the grill, and looked up through the chrome. It didn't take her long, and she had put the picture together. As she stood back up, she knocked her ankle on one of the blocks used to support the truck. She tried to muffle the yelp that came from her lips but was unsuccessful.

Booth tried to stay calm, grabbed her crutches, handed them to her, and helped her steady herself. She shot him a glare to tell him that she was fine, but since she really wasn't the glare wasn't effective.

Booth followed her as she slowly made her way to Angela's office. He could tell she bit back a wave of pain as she began talking. "Alright Angela, try rotating Watson's body at a 12 degree angle and then raise his chest about a foot." Angela clicked a little on her touch screen and then ran the scenario again. As she did, the bones in Watson's chest and spinal column snapped in exactly the right places.

Brennan spoke again. "See, he must have been standing on a step or something to put some things on the top of the loading dock. He would have been reaching for something when Groves drove down the dock crushing him with his grill." She might be in pain, but her brain functioned as good as ever.

Booth instinctively flipped his poker chip in the air and said "Got him." He then turned and noticed that Brennan was leaning heavily on the table. Jaw still set.

He walked over to her and placed his hand on her back and said, "Bones, let's get you home."

She just nodded, let out a long breath, and headed toward the door. As they walked through the threshold, Booth's cell rang.

He flipped it open to find out that Charlie had heard back from the banking division. They had traced the mystery account to Groves and figured out how it was used to pay for the lease on the warehouse. They had more than enough to arrest Groves.

He turned to the oddly quiet Nichols. "Nichols, go ahead and take one of the teams with you. You can go to West Virginia and arrest Groves. Bring him in and I'll interrogate him." Booth didn't anticipate what came next.

Nichols saw the opportunity to get Booth away from the good doctor. "Actually Booth, I'm not really comfortable with the arrest making side of things yet. Plus, Groves is large and would definitely take me down in a struggle." She knew that she was attempting to appeal to the protective side of Booth, hopefully it would pay off.

Booth looked at Bones and back at Nichols and weighed his options. He had committed to take care of Bones, but he needed to close this case so he could be with her before, during, and after surgery. He looked at Bones again and she wasn't really paying him any attention. She was ready to get home and get off her feet.

Booth decided he had to go make the arrest. If he screwed this up, Bones would be alone during surgery and he couldn't let that happen. He then looked at Angela. "Hey Angela, can you take Bones home and help her out for a little while. I'll call Max to spend the night. It's almost 4:00 now and we won't be in until tomorrow morning at the earliest."

Angela shut down the Angelator and walked to get her purse. "Sure Booth, if Max can't come, I'll just spend the night." She was surprised that Brennan wasn't protesting, but she could tell she was in her own world.

"Thanks Angela. Bones, you going to be okay?" He asked, knowing full well that she would be.

Brennan answered quickly and concisely. "I'll be fine Booth. Just go get this creep."

That's just what Booth did; he walked briskly out of the lab to the SUV with Nichols trailing behind. He would get this guy, close the case, and be back to his Bones in no time.