(Judas on a Pole)

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I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

The low moan waking him, Booth turned on his side and placed his hand on Brennan's stomach, "Bones . . . Bones, wake up. Bones, you need to wake up Sweetheart."

Awake, Brennan turned to look at her partner and asked sleepily, "Did you just call me Sweetheart?"

Moving his hand to her hip, Booth smiled sheepishly, "I needed to wake you up. You were having a nightmare."

Her hand moving so that it covered his hand, Brennan frowned, "Don't call me Sweetheart, Booth. You know I don't like that. . . . I . . . I was dreaming about being buried again. I'm sorry I woke you up."

Propping himself up on to his elbow, Booth stared sympathetically at her, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Her hand squeezing his hand, Brennan sighed, "It's just the same nightmare I've been having for the last two weeks, Booth. There really isn't anything more to say about it except I wish it would stop."

Leaning over and kissing her gently on the lips, Booth assured her, "They will eventually, well mostly. You only have that dream where you're locked in the trunk of that car once in a while and I only dream about Iraq every few weeks or so, this dream will start to fade just like the others did." Lying on his side, Booth pulled her closer to him, "Try to go back to sleep. I'm right here if you need me."

Moving so that she was snuggled as closely to him as possible, Brennan closed her eyes, "I'm sure the nightmares would be worse if I was alone. It helps me knowing that you're right here."

His eyes closed, Booth murmured, "I got you Bones you know that."

Ooooooooooooooo

Sitting in his sister's living room, Russ covered his eyes with his hands and moaned, "I can't believe this. I told you I was being watched, but, now you're telling me that the case you're working on, the dead guy that was burned to a crisp was stalking me and he was going to kill me? This is crazy."

Sympathetic, Booth sat down on the recliner and informed the shaken man, "There's more. This whole thing is linked to a murdered FBI Agent named Gus Harper. He was supposedly murdered by Marvin Beckett, or at least Beckett was convicted of his murder, but, we think what really happened was Agent Harper was getting ready to blow the whistle on some bad cops and FBI agents and he was murdered to keep him quiet. Marvin Beckett was chosen as the patsy to take the fall for Harper's murder."

Brennan, nervous for her brother and herself, interjected, "Agent Harper kept meticulous notes and kept them in a safety deposit box in Ohio First Savings and Loan in Dayton. That was the bank Mom and Dad robbed the day after Harper was murdered. They must have stolen Harper's notes and whoever really killed him wants those notes back."

Rubbing his jaw, Booth surmised, "We do know that Agent Delaney was Gus Harper's supervisor, so he must have been neck deep in the corruption. Now that we've exhumed Harper's body and Cam has done an official autopsy of Harper's remains some of the rats must be starting to panic. As dangerous as the situation was before its worse now because we now have proof that Beckett didn't murder Harper."

Standing, Booth moved over to where Brennan was standing and placed his arm around her back, "It looks like they're trying to use you and Russ to try and flush out your father. The thing is your father isn't just sitting around either. He's fighting back. He probably killed Delaney to send a message to the FBI. He hung Delaney on a pole, gutted him and set him on fire. He's telling them to back off of you and Russ. Your father is a wild card and by killing Delaney it broke this conspiracy wide open and whoever is behind this mess didn't count on that. They're afraid and they should be."

Grimly, Russ leaned forward and stared at his sister. "Dad had everything under control for 15 years and then you started looking for him and now see what's happening?"

Surprised at the blanket accusation, Brennan asked, "This is all my fault?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Russ replied, "Well, consequences aren't the same as fault." A smirk on his face, her brother added, "My parole officer is philosophical."

Annoyed at Russ, Booth interjected, "Look don't blame her. I tried to look into your mother's death, but I didn't really get far before all of this started happening. I didn't have a lot to go on and your parent's case was a cold one. I could only work on it when I had free time, but I did work on it and maybe that got the wrong attention."

Standing, Russ pointed his finger at Booth, "We only have your word that you worked on it."

Angry, Brennan stepped away from Booth, "Booth has done the best he can. He's my partner and he's trying to help us. You have no right to suspect Booth of being duplicitous. He's an honorable man."

Trying to cool the temperature of the room, Booth stepped forward and placed his hand around her wrist, "Okay now, let's just calm down now you two. . . . I'm on your side and I will find out what's going on. Russ, you've been threatened and Bones is in danger too. I will not let anything happen to her or you. I have some irons in the fire and I need to get back to the Hoover. I have a meeting with Caroline in about thirty-five minutes." Releasing her hand, Booth advised Brennan, "Bones you need to get back to the Lab. We have work to do and we can't do it here." Glancing at Russ, Booth urged him, "You stay here out of sight. You should be safe here." Walking over to the door, Booth grabbed his jacket, "We're going to get this mess sorted out."

Oooooooooooooooooo

Frustrated, Booth stood on the platform and leaned against the railing, "I've been suspended from the FBI. I'm not officially investigating Delaney's murder anymore."

Worried, Brennan stood near Booth and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Can they do that?"

Glumly, Booth responded, "Deputy Director Kirby seems to think so and he had two guys with guns to back him up, so yeah, I'm out."

Studying Gus Harper's remains, Zach noted, "As you can see, Harper's ribs and sternum were practically obliterated by the two shots to his torso."

Annoyed with his friend, Hodgins interrupted him, "Zach, Booth got fired."

Surprised by Hodgins interpretation, Booth shook his head, "Suspended, not fired."

Trying to be realistic Cam crossed her arms and informed her friend, "Suspended is FBI speak for fired."

Disgusted, Booth spoke wistfully, "Do you know what really hurts the most? They took my truck. I got no wheels."

Ignoring the conversation, Zach continued his examination, "The bullets themselves were removed from the body, but Hodgins found some very small fragments, copper, lead, polymer." Listening to Booth complain about his car and his companions mention conspiracies, Zach turned to look at them, "I assume that the only way Booth can get his car back would be to solve the case on his own and we'd help."

Worried about the Squints, Booth straightened and faced them, "No . . . no, no, I can't let you guys do that."

Eager to get the ball rolling, Brennan held up her hand, "Anyone who wants to help Booth, raise their hands."

Stunned, Booth saw everyone raise their hands. A feeling of pride filling him, Booth nodded his head, "Thank you."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

After Caroline informed him that Deputy Director Kirby had a military background as a sniper and that he'd been on the same task force Gus Harper had been on, Booth realized that Russ was in danger. Booth had Brennan try to contact her brother as they drove back to their house, but to add to their mounting frustration, Russ wouldn't answer his phone or the one at the house.

Arriving at their home, Booth cautiously opened the front door and with Brennan following behind him, quickly found a pool of blood in the kitchen. Terrified over the fate of her brother, Brennan turned and threw herself into Booth's arms, "That's a lot of blood. No one could survive that kind of blood loss."

Holding her tight, Booth glanced down at the blood, "We . . . you know this may not be Russ' blood. We're just guessing that it's his blood."

Her forehead against his shoulder, Brennan despaired, "Who else could it be? They must have followed Russ here and waited for us to leave. I . . .I"

Moving her at arm's length, Booth tried to catch her eyes, "Hey look, you always tell me not to assume, right? We'll get a sample and take it over to the Lab. Cam can do her thing and tell us if this is Russ' blood. Let's not invite trouble until we have to. Okay?"

Somehow reassured, Brennan looked down at the pool of blood and agreed, "Yes, you're right. We can't assume anything. We don't know what happened. We'll . . . we'll take a sample to Cam. . . . Should we call the police and report this?"

Shaking his head vigorously, Booth responded, "God no, Bones. If we call the cops or the FBI they'll arrest us for suspicion of murder. They could shut down our investigation and believe me, we can't let them do that. We'd lose."

Nodding her head, Brennan agreed, "Yes, you're right again. I'm sorry, I'm having trouble concentrating. I'm not thinking clearly and I need . . . "

Worried for her, Booth pulled her back into his arms, "You're okay, Bones. This is just a shock. We'll find out if this is Russ' blood and then we'll go from there. One thing at a time, Bones. One thing at a time."

Ooooooooooooooooo

While they were waiting for Cam to identify the blood, Brennan had received a call from Father Coulter, a friend of Max Keenan, Brennan's father. They'd met him a few days earlier and Booth had arranged to have the priest watched just in case Max tried to contact him. He'd forgot about the surveillance and only later wished he hadn't.

Informing Brennan that he had something for her, Brennan had agreed to come to the seminary to get it from the priest. Pointing out that they needed to wait until they found out who the blood belonged to, Booth insisted that Brennan wait.

Much to Booth's horror and anger, Brennan slipped out while he went to the bathroom. After he came back to Cam's office and found out that Russ wasn't the owner of the blood, Cam informed him that Brennan had left to go see Father Coulter. Beside himself with worry, Booth ran to the parking garage and drove the car he'd borrowed from Caroline to the seminary, praying that his girlfriend would be alright out of his sight.

On the way over the seminary, he received a phone call from Caroline telling him that Agent Carlson had called her to complain about the surveillance on the priest, Father Coulter. After being informed that Father Coulter was a 90 year old man suffering from Alzheimer's, Booth realized that they'd all been duped and raced Caroline's car as fast as he could to the seminary.

Arriving at the seminary, Booth saw his girlfriend handcuffed to a bench and the man they had all thought was Father Coulter standing next to Brennan. He also observed a truck on the driveway with Russ sitting behind the wheel.

Furious, Booth parked Caroline's car, got out of it, drew his gun and pointed it at the faux priest, "FBI, stop or I'll shoot!"

Fearful for Max's and Booth's safety, Brennan called out to Booth and pleaded with him, "Booth . . . Booth."

Aware that shooting Max would probably destroy his partner, Booth lowered his gun. "Max Keenan, you son-of-a-bitch, how could you do this to her again?"

Unrepentant, Max smiled and walked over to the truck his son was waiting in, "You take care of her, Booth or I'll come back and take care of you." Entering the truck, Max looked over at his daughter and then back at his son, "We have to go."

Backing the truck deliberately, Russ rammed the front of Caroline's car and then drove away.

His disgust with Russ apparent, he holstered his gun and jogged over to where Brennan was handcuffed, "Are you alright?"

Relieved but confused about her feelings, Brennan sat down on the bench, "He gave me Gus Harper's journal. We can use it to go after the corrupt agents that were involved in Agent Harper's death."

Kneeling next to her, Booth unlocked the cuffs with the key he'd kept in his pants pocket and rubbed her wrists gently, "Bones, are you alright?"

Bravely, Brennan looked sadly at her boyfriend, "He's abandoned me again, Booth. Russ gets a father, but I don't."

Angry that Max had been so callous towards Brennan, Booth sat down next to her. Placing an arm around her, he pulled her against him, "To hell with him, Bones. To hell with him and Russ. You don't need them, okay? You got me and we were doing fine before those two assholes showed up in your life. You don't need them okay? You don't. I'm your family. Angela and Hodgins and Zach we're all your family."

Leaning against him, Brennan sighed, "He's my father, Booth."

Changing tack, Booth squeezed her shoulders, "He loves you, Bones. He does. Max just . . . He's just trying to protect you as best as he can. He murdered Delaney and probably whoever was at our house. He's protecting you his way and he knows to do that he can't stick around. Russ is with him, so you don't need to worry about him either. Max will make sure he's safe and I'll make sure you're safe. Okay? I love you Bones. I'm your family, don't forget that. You do have a family just not . . ."

Kissing him, Brennan assured him, "I know Booth. I know you're my family. I love you too."

Oooooooooooooooooo

That evening, Booth was helping Brennan clean the blood from the kitchen floor when he received a phone call. Caroline called him to tell him that the journal had been given to the Attorney General and both he and Caroline had been reinstated. "We have another burned body. It was found in the same place as Delaney. . . Dr. Saroyan called me and told me that you had found some blood in your house and that you'd given her a sample. She's identified the blood as belonging to Deputy Director Kirby."

Not surprised, Booth muttered, "Shit."

Snorting, Caroline replied, "Yeah Cher', that was my response too. Get your butt over to the crime scene with that girlfriend of yours and do your thing."

Ending the call, Booth turned to Brennan and broke the news, "This blood belonged to Kirby. It's a safe bet that Max did it as a warning to Kirby's people to leave you alone."

A deep sigh escaping her, Brennan shook her head, "My father is a murderer."

Kneeling beside her, Booth removed the blood filled rag from her hands, "Let's not worry about that now, Bones. We'll just finish cleaning this up and then we have a crime scene to get to. Everything will be okay."

Picking up another rag, Brennan moved it through the blood, "Yes, you're right. We are okay." Making a decision she had been putting off for weeks, she advised him, "When we get a chance, I need to talk to you about something. It's nothing to worry about, Booth. It's just something I'd like us to do soon."

Curious, Booth stared at Brennan, "Okay, sure. Whenever you're ready, let me know what it is."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

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A/N: just in case you thought Brennan forgot about her change of heart about marriage, she's just waiting for a calm time in their life to talk to Booth about it. It will come up again.