(Judas on a Pole)

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Brennan looked at her partner with such absolute sadness that Booth felt both angry and worried at the same time. Angry with Max Keenan and Russ Brennan for abandoning Brennan again and worried that she was taking that abandonment very badly.

Her voice small and almost childlike, Brennan stared at her hands, "You know, I'm just one of those people who doesn't get to be in a family."

Trying to console her, Booth placed his finger under her chin, gently forcing her to look at him, "That's . . . Listen Bones, hey, there's more than one kind of family."

Listening to him carefully, Brennan decided that Booth was probably right. After all, she'd been without a father for over 18 years so Max entering and leaving again shouldn't mean anything to her. As for her brother, well, Russ had abandoned her too and even though they had finally been on speaking terms for a few months, Russ was Russ. Booth was right, in a way, she did have a family, a family she'd made during the last few years. Her family consisted of her friends and if that's all she ever had then it was more than she ever expected.

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Sitting at the table, watching her drink her milkshake, Booth knew that his partner was ignoring the pain she felt about her father and was trying to place a wall around that part of her life again. Sipping his coffee, he watched as Angela came over to the table and placed her arm around Brennan's neck and spoke in her ear.

A faint blush on Brennan's face, the anthropologist shook her head, "Angela . . . just not right now."

Laughing, the artist released Brennan and sat down next to her, "Okay, it was just a suggestion."

Curious, Booth asked with a smile, "What?"

Giggling, Angela leaned towards Booth, "I told Brennan that I know two really hot fire fighters that are a lot of fun and we should go out tonight. I'm sure they're available."

His eyes hooded, Booth nodded his head and stood up, "It's been fun, Bones, it really has but I need to go. I have to go take care of some paper work and Caroline wants to talk to me about her car. That's not going to be fun by any stretch of the imagination. The next time I see Max, I swear to God . . . he didn't have to back into Caroline's car. She's blaming me for that." Stopping his rant, Booth leaned over and patted Brennan's hand, "I'll call you later to see how you are. Remember what I said."

Watching him leave, Brennan felt Angela snake her arm around her arm. Turning to look at her friend, Brennan frowned, "He's in trouble with Caroline because he was helping me."

Squeezing her arm, Angela shook her head, "Booth can take care of Caroline, Honey don't worry about it. If you don't want to go out tonight how about coming over to my place and we can have a girl's night? We can watch old movies and eat ice cream until we're sick."

Her eyes glancing at Booth's abandoned coffee cup, Brennan shook her head, "No thank you. I have something I need to do this afternoon and I'd like to go to bed early tonight."

Zach, sitting down across from Brennan on Booth's abandoned chair, beamed with happiness, "This has been a lot of fun. Thank you for taking me to lunch, Angela."

Pleased, Angela laughed, "I'm glad you liked it, Dr. Addy."

Oooooooooooooooooo

Entering Caroline's office, Brennan tapped her fist against the door frame and waited for Caroline Julian to notice her.

Looking up from a report, the prosecutor frowned, "What can I do for you, Dr. Brennan?"

Moving across the room, Brennan sat down across from Caroline's desk, "Since my father was the one who damaged your car, I feel like I should pay for the damage."

Surprised, Caroline leaned back against her chair, "Booth was going to turn it into his insurance."

Shaking her head, Brennan informed her, "Call Booth and tell him not to do that. I will take care of getting your car fixed. He wasn't responsible and he shouldn't have to fix the damage done to your car."

"Alright." Opening a desk drawer, Caroline withdrew a card and handed it to Brennan, "This is where my car was towed to. They're very good at working on old cars."

Taking the card, Brennan placed it in her purse, "I'll call them as soon as I leave here."

Her eyes glittering, Caroline replied, "This is very nice of you, Cher'. Booth's insurance rates would have probably gone up if he'd put in a claim."

Standing, Brennan smiled, "Call him and tell him not to worry about it. I don't want him to pay that kind of price for helping me."

Nodding her head, Caroline picked up her report, "He'll appreciate it."

Shrugging, Brennan responded, "It's what partners do for each other."

Observing Brennan leave her office, Caroline snorted in amusement.

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Knocking on her partner's apartment door, Brennan waited patiently. Soon the door opened and a surprised FBI Agent smiled at her, "Hey, Bones, what are you doing here?"

Holding up two bags, Brennan smiled shyly, "I stopped by Mama's and while I was there I decided to pick up something for you too. I know you love her soup."

Standing back, Booth gestured for her to come in, "Thanks Bones, that was a real sweet thing to do. I was just going to eat a sandwich and turn in early. Soup sounds like a better idea."

Passing him, Brennan noticed that Booth's hair was damp. "If you were getting ready to go to bed, perhaps I should just go home."

Shaking his head, Booth assured her, "What are you kidding me? Come on, you brought soup. You can eat dinner with me."

Uncertain, Brennan walked down the hallway and into his kitchen. Placing both bags on the kitchen table, Brennan sat down and took the contents out of the bags. Booth, looking over the contents, grabbed a fork for Brennan, a spoon for him and two beers from the fridge. Sitting down, he took the lid off of the soup and inhaled deeply, "God, she makes the best minestrone. Thank you."

Satisfied, Brennan removed the lid from her pasta primavera and stirred the pasta with her fork, "I want to thank you for helping me Booth. If I had known that it would have almost cost you your job I would never have involved you in my personal problems."

A little exasperated, Booth placed his spoon back in the container, "Bones, I involved me, you didn't. Kirby was a rogue agent and he would have killed Russ and probably you to flush out Max if I hadn't helped out. Yeah, it sucked that they took my badge but in the end it was worth it. Kirby is gone and I say good riddance. I got my badge back and I still have my job." Reaching out, Booth patted her hand, "I'd do it again too."

Swallowing, Brennan frowned, "I spoke to Caroline and I'm going to fix her car. It wasn't your fault so I don't want you to do it."

Smiling, Booth removed his hand and picked up his spoon again, "I know, Caroline told me. Thanks."

Moving her gaze to Booth's soft brown eyes, Brennan smiled shyly, "You're welcome."

Winking at her, Booth placed his spoon in his soup, "This soup is real good, want to taste it?"

Nodding her head, Brennan pulled his spoon from his hand, scooped up some of the soup, tasted it and handed the spoon back, "I'll have to purchase some of that the next time I go to Mama's."

Gloating, Booth smiled, "It's good, right? I told you." Scooping up some of the soup, Booth sucked it from his spoon, "Just like my grandmother used to make." Watching Brennan eat some of her pasta, Booth spoke softly, "Just remember, Bones, I'm your friend. You need me to help you with anything . . . all you have to do is ask me."

Her eyes glittering, Brennan acknowledged him, "Thanks Booth. Thank you for taking the risks you took."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth shook his head, "The risks didn't matter Bones. I told you there are different kinds of families and I meant it. You're part of my family and family always protects family."

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