(The Baby in the Bough)
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Brennan found herself in a strange situation and she wasn't sure if she should blame herself or not. She had tried to entertain a baby they had found at a crime scene with a key and the child had swallowed it. She'd never really had any contact with babies besides Parker before and she hadn't known they would swallow unpalatable things like metal keys. Parker had never attempted to eat a key before in her presence, so she felt it was unfair for Booth to be upset with her for not knowing that particular rule about infants. Now she and Booth had to keep the child until he had passed the key in a bowel movement while doing their jobs trying to find the killer of the child's mother.
Adding pressure to the situation, Max's trial was coming up in a week and Brennan was growing increasingly nervous. Her father was standing trial for the murder of Deputy Director Kirby and it was likely he was going to be found guilty. The preponderance of evidence would insure that. She hoped that the jury would give her father a life sentence, but since Kirby had been a Federal Employee it seemed more likely that they would hand down the death penalty. If Max was given the death penalty then sooner or later, he would be executed and she would become an orphan. Her family was so tiny that the loss of her father would mean all she had left in her life was her brother and Booth. She had been abandoned as a child and she had suffered from that abandonment, but she had got her family back in the last year and she knew she would be devasted if she lost her father again.
A knock on her office door interrupted her as she was feeding Andy some baby food. The child seemed to love cooked apples and he ate them with enthusiasm. "What do want Dr. Sweets? You can see that I am busy."
Aware that Brennan wasn't a fan of his, Sweets knew that she was going to resist his efforts to help her, but it needed to be done. "I know that you and Booth are busy working on a case and um, taking care of a baby, so I didn't want to insist that you keep your appointment to see me today, so I've come to you. I'd like to talk to you . . . Your father's trial is coming up in a few days and I wanted to check in with you and see how you're doing."
"I'm fine and very busy, Dr. Sweets as you can clearly see." Brennan continued to feed the child.
"Yes, I can see that . . . Are you ready for the trial? I know you've hired a very good lawyer to represent your father, at least that's what Booth told me." Sitting down on the chair near the sofa, Sweets crossed his legs to show Brennan that he wasn't going anywhere. "I know that you and Booth won't be testifying against your father during the trial due to conflict of interest, but will you be testifying for him?"
She paused to wipe some bits of apples from Andy's chin and then answered. "Booth is not going to testify. He was the arresting officer and he doesn't feel he has anything that can be of positive use to Dad's case. Max actually resisted arrest and hurt Booth when Booth took him in to custody. I don't think the jury would be receptive to that particular piece of information."
Surprised with that revelation, Sweets hadn't known that Booth had been hurt. "Hurt? Hurt how?"
"Booth and my father ended up in a fist fight and Max is not a fair fighter." Brennan didn't plan to add to that. "I don't know if I'm going to testify or not. Mr. Barron hasn't asked me to."
It was obvious that Brennan wasn't going to add to her story about Booth getting hurt, so he'd have to try to get that information from Booth if he was willing to talk to him. "Is there anything I can do help you, Dr. Brennan? If you'd like to talk to me about your father or the upcoming trial, I am available. Sometimes just talking about a situation, sharing something about that situation can have a calming effect."
"There is nothing to talk about Dr. Sweets. My father is going on trial for first degree murder. My friends and co-workers will do everything in their power to have him convicted and they should. I will not blame them for doing their jobs. It is what they are paid to do and my father is a murderer . . . Mr. Barron has hired Dr. Edison to work for him as an expert witness during the trial. Clark was not involved in the Kirby or Delaney cases, so there will be no conflict of interest. He is quite good and I have offered my expertise if he needs it . . . I feel that I have done all that I can do to help my father. We will have to wait and see how the jury responds to the evidence and to Mr. Barron's defense."
Clearly Brennan was as calm as she could be and she seemed to be handling her father's trial as well as could be expected. "Has Angela been able to come up with anything from the recordings at the Chase Pavilion parking garage? Booth said she was still looking at the videos and was writing up a list of people that they might consider suspects . . . people involved in law enforcement?"
"Yes, so far she has added ten people to the list that Booth is interested in." Andy was finished eating and Brennan gently wiped his face with a damp cloth. "Booth suggested that she look at the recordings at around the time that the security cameras were broken in the parking garage. We're waiting for the security company to send the recordings over, perhaps today or tomorrow." Lifting Andy into her arms, she held him against her shoulder and gently patted his back.
"Good, I'm glad that you have something to work with right now. I know that case and the Gormogon case isn't moving as fast as you would want it to." Sweets saw the annoyed look on Brennan's face and knew that she had taken his words as condemnation. "I just meant that I know that you don't have a lot of clues to work with Dr. Brennan. I didn't mean anything else. I have faith in you and Booth's abilities and I'm sure that you're going to solve those cases. It just might take longer than you want it to."
"We are working on those cases when we can. Everyone is doing their best." Brennan heard the child burp and placed him back in his pumpkin seat. "Booth and I are driving up to West Virginia in an hour or so. We have a lead we have to follow up there."
He knew he was being dismissed, but Sweets was certain that for now, Brennan was doing as well as she could be. He intended to be at the trial and he would offer her solace if she needed it then. "I'll see you later, Dr. Brennan."
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Their case solved, Brennan still couldn't believe how angry she had been and how she had reacted towards their suspected murderer. The thought of running someone off the road with a baby in the vehicle, then killing the mother with no thought about her missing baby made her so angry she was still fuming about it. "He didn't care that Andy was in the car when he forced the car off the road. After the car was stopped, he didn't bother to see if the child was in the car or not. He didn't care . . . I just want to go back and hit him again."
Amused, Booth tried not to smile as his partner fumed about Chip Barnett and his callousness. "Easy Bones, we got him and he's going to pay for killing Meg Taylor and for endangering little Andy."
"Yes, he will." Brennan crossed her arms against her breasts and stared out of the truck's side window as they drove through the countryside. "I suppose we must turn Andy over to the Grants now. It is the wish of his mother."
"Yeah, we can't keep little Andy." Booth had grown fond of the baby boy and it made him wish he could be become a father again, but Brennan had made it clear in the past that she didn't want to become mother. He tried to understand and he had no intention of trying to pressure her into doing anything she didn't want to do. He accepted that Parker would probably be his only child. "He's going to be alright with the Grants. They love him already, so he's going to have the family he needs."
Calmer, Brennan nodded her head. "Parker is the only child I have ever had to take care of and he was older than Andy when I met him . . . I learned a few things taking care of Andy. It was an interesting learning experience."
"Yeah, babies can be a handful, but it's worth it." Signaling left, he drove up the entrance ramp and onto the highway. "Sweets came by and saw me for a few minutes this morning. We missed his appointment, but he let it go. Max's trial is coming up and he was just checking in to make sure we're okay . . . He's a good kid. Nosy, but a good kid."
"He came by and saw me just before you arrived to pick me up at the Lab." Brennan turned in her seat so she could look at her partner. "I have thought about the trial. I don't really have any hope that he will be found innocent. We know he killed Kirby and Delaney and the evidence is incontrovertible. I think Max will be facing the death penalty."
Booth was certain that Brennan was right, but he wanted to be optimistic for her. "Hey, I've seen juries look at evidence and still find the defendant not guilty. You have too. Max may be lucky and walk . . . but if he isn't Bones . . . if he isn't lucky, I want you to remember it will be awhile before they execute him. Sometimes it takes years you know that. Don't worry about it right now. Let's get through the trial and see what happens."
"Yes, you're right." Brennan sighed, "I am putting the horse before the wagon . . . cart . . . wagon?"
"Cart, you almost had that one." Booth noticed a State Trooper speeding up behind him then pass him going faster than he thought was safe for the winding highway. "When we get back, I'll call the Grants and let them know we found Meg's killer. I'll check with Judge Brown and see when they can have custody of Andy and then arrange to turn him over to them."
Watching the State Trooper leave the highway at the next exit, Brennan nodded her head. "Yes, Andy knows the Grants. He will be more comfortable in their care."
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