Five weeks sans new episodes of Bones is going to kill me. Plus side=Christmas break is coming up. Thursday is my last day of school and then I will have a lot more free time to lose myself in some of the wonderful stories on this site as well as writing updates for this one, and few of my others. Two weeks for Christmas break is not enough. We go back to school the 3rd. Not sure I will be entirely sober by then. Will probably still have the remnants of one helluva hangover for sure.

The couple woke up to their alarm going off. Both of them instantly groaned at the offensive noise that they had been not had to hear over the past several days. The break from a strict morning schedule was a nice reprieve from the monotonous daily routine that they had previously, but the offending sound indicated the return to their lives.

Now, though, they had to wake up to reassemble their morning routine in order to get everything packed and ready to go so they could arrive at the airport in Mahé on time.

After both taking individual showers and dressing comfortably for the trip, they worked together to make sure they had all of their possessions properly packed away and ready to go. Booth checked the other two villas to make sure that none of their articles of clothing were left behind, as they did spend a little bit of time over the past several days christening some rooms in the other villas as well as the main one they stayed in.

After Booth gave the affirmative that everything was ready he shouldered all of the bags with straps and let Bones pull the suit cases that were on wheels, though if he had a free hand and if the walk up the path to where the shuttle was waiting for them wasn't so long, he would have insisted on leaving them and coming back for them, himself. The driver of the shuttle exited the vehicle as they approached take the luggage from Brennan, and to help Booth load them into the back.

They made the bumpy ride to where the helicopter pad was. Upon arrival, they noticed that the helicopter was already waiting for them.

While the ride was noisy, Jack had been right about it being smoother than the tin can of an airplane they had flown to Frégate on. The wide windows also allowed for a breath taking panoramic view of the island and the ocean. From the air, Brennan took some amazing pictures, and was pleased that she had not experienced any nausea as of yet. The view allowed them to see other islands that spanned the area as well as some ocean wild life that was viewable from the air. They could see dolphins and even some whales. The water was a crystal clear cerulean blue that allowed for a clear view in the shallows of the reef and exotic schools of fish.

Once they passed over some deeper waters, the pilot of the aircraft brought them higher in the air. He explained to them that he mainly did island air tours around here, but he was contacted by a very generous man with an offer he couldn't refuse to give them a ride back to the main island. He figured he could at least let his passengers enjoy the view as well so that the man who had called could get his money's worth. He asked if they would like to take a ride around Mahé before they landed in Victoria. They replied that they would, and he obliged. Brennan took more breathtaking aerial views of the island, its national park, and its cities. Most of the pictures looked like they could have come straight out of a brochure.

He finally dropped them off at a helipad near the beach. He bid them goodbye and best wishes in his thick Seychellois Creole accent as he kissed each of Brennan's cheeks. Booth raised his eyebrows, but said nothing as he figured it was just a polite custom, and he shook the man's hand and thanked him for the ride and tour.

They still had some time before they needed to be at their terminal to board Hodgins' jet. There was a beach and a boardwalk nearby, so they walked the short distance down to some shops to search for souvenirs. They knew they at least needed to get something for Parker and something to commemorate the trip for themselves. Then they figured they had better get Jack and Angela something considering their overwhelming generosity in both upgrading their villa and in arranging the travel home to better accommodate their needs. After that, they bought a few more knick-knacks and Booth bought a cute little stuffed dolphin for Bones. Finally, they thought they had enough stuff to bring back with them. They had a little something for everyone, and they even had a few shells, silver dollars, and a dried up starfish from the beach near their villa.

Once they had everything packed away nicely, they headed to the airport just a few blocks away. One of the locals offered to help them with their stuff as they were walking down the street. They made it to the airport with almost an hour to spare. Brennan booted up her laptop to send a quick email to let everyone know that they were getting ready to board the plane. She figured they wouldn't like to receive a call in the middle of the night.

Four hours later found them mid-air flying above the ocean at a high speed that would get them home faster than flying commercial. When they boarded the plane, neither one of them could believe the sight they were greeted with. The interior looked nothing like a plane at all; it was more like a narrow luxury hotel suite. There was a couch and flat screen TV in one area, and in another area that looked like a little kitchen/mini-bar. There were two doors near the back. One, they discovered, led to a spacious bathroom; the other led to a bedroom. It wasn't huge, and neither was the bed. They both had fleeting thoughts of joining the mile high club, but figured that could wait until a little later in the flight.

Right now, they were both a little tired from tossing and turning most of the night followed by an early morning wake-up and a walk along the pier. They just decided to relax for the time being. They had a long flight ahead of them, and they knew that when they reached D.C. it would be like starting their day all over again because of the time change.

For the first few hours, they laid together on the luxurious couch and watched a few movies. A little into the second movie Brennan started becoming uncomfortable and restless. They both thought, at least restlessness is better than being nauseous with motion sickness.

But even though Booth was glad she wasn't sick, he still needed to make sure she was doing alright.

"Hey, Bones. You're moving around a lot. You okay?"

"Yes. I just need to go to the bathroom. I like this movie so far, and I didn't want to miss anything."

"Jeez, Bones. All you had to do was say something. I can pause the movie, you know. This is a long flight; there is no need for you to be uncomfortable. Go," he said as he gently helped to push her up off him. He thought to himself, we've been through this before. Alss she has to do is say something!

"Okay. I'll be right back."

He waited for her to come back before resuming the movie. They continued watching the movie, and when they neared the end, Booth noticed Bones was crying. He ran his hands up and down her arms. He didn't say anything because he knew that if he did, she would get insecure about her tears and see it as a weakness.

The silent comfort was exactly what she needed, and she was grateful that he knew her well enough to know exactly what she needed.

When she regained enough of her composure back to keep her voice from wavering, she spoke, "When Angela recommended this movie she never told me it was sad."

"You've never seen A Walk to Remember?" He asked, figuring she hadn't, but didn't want to make assumptions.

"No. I remember Angela saying something about it being really good awhile back, but never got the chance to see it. When I saw it on the DVD shelf, I figured I would see what she was talking about. It was good, but I didn't think it would be so sad. They were so happy together. I should have realized something was up when she told that boy not to fall in love with her."

He comforted her for a little bit longer before he felt her breathing slow down and even out.

He didn't want to wake her up, but he didn't want her to sleep all cramped up on the couch either.

"Bones, baby."

She groaned and furrowed her brow in irritation.

"Bones." He kissed her temple and then whispered into her ear, "Come on, let's go to bed."

"Are you trying to seduce me on a plane?" She mumbled.

Booth laughed. "Do you want me to?"

"I wouldn't complain."

"Then, sure." He nibbled on her ear. "I'm seducing you on a plane, but it's not happening on the couch when there is a perfectly good bed in that room with a lock on it. The last thing we need is for one of Hodgins' minions to walk in on us. How do we know that Angela didn't commandeer them and now they are spying on us for her?"

"Booth!" She laughed and playfully slapped his chest. "Hodgins doesn't have minions, and while I know that Angela is going to be ripping at the seams—"

"Bursting at the seams." He quickly corrected.

"Right. While she will be bursting at the seams to hear about our time together, I don't think she would actually set anyone up to spy on us."

"See, you don't think she would. That's not the same as knowing she won't."

Regardless of his fears, he joined her in the small bedroom. While the bed wasn't very big, there was ample room for two people to share, especially when said people were going to try to take up as little room as possible by being as physically close as the laws of physics would allow. Forget the laws of physics; Mr. and Mrs. Brennan obliterated the laws of physics.

After fulfilling what was a fantasy for both of them, they quickly dressed before they fell asleep. They slept for the rest of the way to the states, knowing that when they arrived the day would just be starting there even though they had already been up for quite some time.

B&B

Upon arrival at a private terminal at Dulles International Airport, Booth got a cart to put all of their luggage on. While he was doing that Brennan made a call to see if Rebecca had arrived to pick them up yet. The phone almost immediately went to voicemail, but Brennan received a text a minute later telling from Rebecca tell her that she had an emergency meeting with a client, but Angela would be picking them up instead. So Brennan called her friend to find out that she was on her way, but was stuck in some rush hour morning traffic. If she had received the call from Rebecca sooner, then she would have already been waiting for the couple as they arrived. Brennan was assured that it wouldn't take her more than fifteen minutes to arrive.

When Angela finally arrived, she helped Booth load their luggage, and chastised Brennan for trying to lift something that was too heavy. Brennan rolled her eyes and got into the van. She figured Booth would want to stretch his long legs out in the front seat so she sat in the back. She was surprised when the door just across from her opened and he got in the back instead of sitting up front with Angela.

"Don't look so surprised, Bones. I want to sit by my wife." He leaned over and whispered; "Besides it will keep Angela from looking directly at me as she pries into our personal life. You know she's going to ask questions."

"Yes."

Angela opened the door to the driver's seat and feigned hurt when she noticed that no one was up from with her.

"Oh, I see how it is. You're married now so you're going to sit next to each other and leave poor old me to sit up here all by myself. You're probably back there groping each other as we speak, while I'm sitting up here, all alone, driving you home."

Shit! Can she see what I was doing? Booth removed his hand that was previously resting on his wife's thigh. Apparently over the last minute or so, it had moved, without his permission, up her inner thigh.

"Just take us home Ange." Booth said curtly.

Angela could see his face in the rearview mirror and they locked eyes for a second. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh my God! You were, weren't you? You were groping Bren in my car!" She said with a saucy grin.

Booth exhaled a big breath of air and rolled his eyes. "What I do with my wife isn't any of your business."

"Okay, what about if I ask your wife what she does with you?" Angela countered.

"What do you want to know, Angela?" Bones played along with Angela, knowing it would irritate Booth.

"Bones! Don't give her free reign to ask what she wants!"

"Booth, don't worry." She then ignored his eye roll and leaned in to whisper, "I haven't forgotten; what's between us is ours."

"Good." He kissed her, and when Angela noticed the sudden silence, she looked back up to the rearview mirror to confirm her suspicions with a grin.

Booth broke off the kiss before it got too inappropriate.

"So, if Rebecca is in an emergency meeting, and you're picking us up, who's with Parker. I know his school hasn't reopened yet." Booth asked.

"Jack is with him at your apartment. Rebecca called as we were on our way to work, so we just went by your house before she left. Jack couldn't get him out of the closet to come with us, so he stayed."

Brennan looked at Booth. This was not a good sign. "Did he know you guys were going to pick us up?" Brennan asked.

"Yes." Angela replied sadly. "Booth, you know I wouldn't say this if I didn't really care, and I don't want you to think I'm overstepping, but I think he—"

"He needs to see Sweets or some other child specialist. I know. Thanks, Ange. We should have set him up with someone after the abuse, but we just wanted him to feel normal. Bones and I have been forced into therapy, and neither of us is too fond of it. We just didn't want to inflict that upon him. I think that he may actually benefit from seeing someone now." Booth said sadly.

"Booth, would it be okay if we stopped by the Hoover before we go home?" Brennan asked. "I know you want to see Parker, and relax after all that traveling, I do too, but I want to know more about this kid that shot out the school that we cannot find out from the media."

"Sure." He didn't bother to correct her misuse of shot up and he was curious to know as well. "Ange, take us to the Hoover. We aren't too far away from it anyway."

"No problem, as long as we don't take too long. I don't want Parker to get worried that something happened."

B&B

Booth, Brennan and Angela all slipped into the Hoover. The only people that knew they were there were the guards at the security checkpoint where Brennan and Angela had to get visitors' passes. It was easy to get to Booth's office without being noticed by someone, as most people were in morning meetings or briefings. They still had the day off, since it was Friday, and they weren't really supposed to be back until tomorrow. They tried to avoid people so that they wouldn't be roped into doing something.

Booth booted up his computer and tried to access some files on the network regarding the case of the kid shooter and the victims. When asked for his password for security clearance, he was denied access. He was shocked. Was his security clearance not high enough to access such a simple case? It was probably under a heavier lock and key due to the fact that the shooter was a minor. "I don't have a high enough security clearance for to access anything. I could call Charlie, but he would ask why we're here when we're supposed to not be here. Besides, as SAC, I have a higher security clearance than he does. This doesn't make any sense."

"Let me try." Brennan said entering her password. Just as she gained access, Cullen opened the door.

"Aha! Booth, my boy, I knew the second you guys got back that you would be in here trying to find out as much as you could." He saw Brennan sitting at the computer instead of his agent. He walked over and turned off the computer monitor.

"Sir," Booth said, as he stood up straighter. "How—"

"How did I know you were here? Well, let's see. You had to go through security clearance to get here. I notified them to tell me if you showed up. Also, anytime one of these computers is turned on, our tech guys know. They also alerted me to you presence. I took the liberty of, temporarily, suspending your security clearance, Agent Booth. I didn't figure I would have to do the same to your wife's as well. How much did you see?"

"Nothing, sir, we just gained access when you entered the office." Booth replied.

"Doctor Booth, if you would come around to the other side of the desk and have a seat with Agent Booth and Mrs. Hodgins, I will walk you through what we have so far." He said walking around to sit in Booth's desk chair. "However, what is said in here doesn't leave this building. We do not want the name of the shooter or the names of the kids on the list released to the media. I suspended your security clearance so you can hear this from me, personally. I was actually going to, unofficially, ask you guys if you could help us out. Unofficially." He said again, emphasizing the word. "Technically, you're both still on vacation, and are thus both civilians at the moment. I would like your opinions, as civilians, instead of as a special agent and an expert."

"I don't understand." Brennan said.

"Bones, if he asks us, as civilians, we can give them an idea without it jeopardizing the case because not only is this case not in my department, but we are too close to it. As civilians, our names won't be present on any of the paperwork and we can't be called to testify as expert witnesses, which wouldn't be allowed because of our proximity to the case anyway."

"Oh, so you're asking us, unofficially, because your other people have come up with nothing." Brennan concluded.

"Well, yes and no. This isn't your normal kind of jigsaw-put-the-body-back-together kind of case. This case is one of those open and shut cases where the shooter and victims are all known right off the bat. What we're having trouble with is this." Cullen said as he turned the monitor back on and pulled up a scan of the kid's hit list. "This is the list the shooter, Brian Schultz, was carrying with him."

"Brian Shultz, why does that name sound familiar?" Brennan asked Booth.

"He was one of Parker's close friends. They used to do everything together, but not so much in the past year. He was on Parker's hockey team as well."

Booth was afraid to find out who the kid was, and now that he knew who it was, he knew why his son was now so afraid. This kid was one of Parker's best friends. They played hockey together and sometimes had sleepovers.

"Sir, when they questioned Parker at the scene, did they reveal to him that he was on the list?" Booth asked.

"Yes, Booth. He knows about this list, he knows he was on the list, and he knows who the shooter was."

"Damn it!" He hissed through clenched teeth as he looked to the ceiling. He palmed the back of his neck as if trying to rub the tension away.

"Agent Booth, please calm down. If you cannot handle this, we can stop right here." Cullen said with immediate results.

"Sorry, sir."

"The cops on the scene had to question him, you know that."

"I know. It's just that Parker has locked himself in his closet and won't come out for anything other than to go to the bathroom and eat. He wouldn't even come out to go with Hodgins and Angela to come pick us up from the airport."

"I'll have Sweets contact you to set something up. If he feels it's necessary, he can refer you to a specialist."

"Thanks."

"Okay, back to the list. We have this list of names. There are seventeen names on the list, Parker's included, but what no one can figure out is the message at the bottom."

Remember: You deserved it more!

Then Cullen continued, "This is also the only thing he has said since being brought into FBI custody. He keeps saying he deserved it more."

"I can't explain that, but one thing I can tell you from this list right away," Angela started, and after gaining everyone's attention, she continued. "This list was not written by a child. This is an adult's handwriting. While, I'm not a handwriting expert, I can tell you that little boys' handwriting at these kids' age does not look like that. This is too neat, too perfect."

"I agree with Angela; Parker's handwriting is barely legible." Brennan added.

"Hey, it isn't that bad, Bones." Booth feigned hurt.

"You say that, but only because your handwriting is very similar and just as illegible as his at times." Brennan replied, still looking at the list. Then she let out a gasp, "Booth." It came out as almost a whisper.

"What, Bones?"

"These names all look familiar, not just Brian's."

"Yeah, I agree. Okay, so these three and the shooter were all on Parker's hockey team. Wait! Bones! You are a genius," he said leaning over to kiss her temple.

"I know, but I didn't say anything helpful."

"Yes, you did; look, all of these kids were in the hockey league Parker played in. Three of the kids on the list, plus Parker and the shooter were all on the same team. The other kids' names look familiar because they were all chosen for the All-Star hockey team that was going to play against different leagues around the city. The shooter was not chosen to be on the All-Star team."

"That sounds like maybe there was some jealousy, there." Angela said after thinking for a moment.

Booth thought about it. Something about this didn't make sense. He couldn't quite figure it out, and Bones beat him to it.

"But this list was not written by Brian. It was written by an adult."

"Bingo, baby. That's it. There was some jealousy, but it wasn't the kid. Bones, think back to all of the hockey games we attended. Do you remember that obnoxious man that always seemed to get on everyone's nerves claiming that his son didn't get enough playing time on the ice and he always seemed to be screaming inappropriate obscenities at the refs and the coaches? That man was this boy's father. I'm sure of it. This message at the bottom of the list looks like some kind of sick encouragement. The boy did the shooting, but a million bucks says this kid's father brainwashed him to do this under the pretense that he deserve to be chosen for the team more than the others."

"Booth, you should be betting money on anything, but that sounds plausible even though we have no proof." Brennan said.

"What a sicko." Angela said in disgust.

"Yeah, it is sick, and we don't have proof, or we won't until a handwriting expert links the father to the hit-list, but now we're at least been able to give the agents on this case something to go off of, and it isn't going to be so cut and dry as it was before."

"What I would like to know is why didn't any of the other agents piece this together?" Angela asked.

"To an outsider, myself included, the names appeared to be random. We didn't know if maybe this kid was bullied by the kids on the list or what was going on, especially since he hasn't talked to anyone other than repeating what the message on the list said." Cullen said.

"What's going to happen to Brian?" Brennan asked.

"I can't say for sure. I can only say that he won't walk on this. He may only be ten, but he shot thirteen other kids, so he's going to do time for it. I just can't say whether it will be in a juvenile rehabilitation facility or if it will be in a psychiatric facility."

"And the dad?" Angela asked.

"Assuming the handwriting analysts confirm that this is his handwriting, he will also do some serious time." He shut down the computer and stood. "Thank you for time, Booth. Take the missus home, and take care of your boy. If you need time off this next week, just let me know, and I will understand."

"Alright. Thank you, sir, for letting us in on this unofficially."

"I'm sure that you may be called in for questioning regarding the father's demeanor at games. That may be the only official way that we can use both of you to help this case. Now, get on out of here, and enjoy the weekend." He ushered them out of the office, closing the door.

"Goodbye, sir."

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