(After "The Change in the Game')
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Brennan had found that she was starting to dread seeing sunrise. Each morning, she tried to eat a light breakfast and within an hour or so, she would lose what little she had eaten. She hated the fact that her reaction to her pregnancy was so inconvenient. She wouldn't have minded if her morning sickness had occurred at night, when she was home and not surrounded by friends and co-workers. As it was, she was experiencing her spells of nausea and vomiting at the most inconvenient time of the day, in the morning when she was trying to do her work surrounded by observant co-workers.
While she wasn't working on any cases at the moment, she kept busy in Bones Storage, out of sight of most of the people in the Lab. Avoiding technicians was one thing, but avoiding Angela was another. Her friend was back from maternity leave and there was no escaping her in the Lab for very long.
The knock on the door was insistent. Reluctantly, Brennan removed her gloves, moved over to the door, unlocked and opened it. "I'm busy Angela."
"Why'd you have the door locked?" Puzzled, Angela frowned at her friend. "You look sick, what's wrong?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Brennan moved over to examination table, donned another set of gloves and picked up the fractured femur. "It's possible I have a stomach virus. I advise you to stay away from me in case it's contagious."
"Shouldn't you go home?" Worried, Angela stepped into the room, but kept a safe distance just in case Brennan really did have a stomach virus. "I mean I'm sure you have enough sick hours accumulated because you never take any. Just go home."
"I'd rather not waste a sick day on an upset stomach." Brennan observed a notch in the upper portion of the fracture of the right femur and moved it closer for a better look. "It probably won't last more than a day or two and I see no reason to fall behind in my work." The notch was intriguing and Brennan examined it under the microscope.
Angela knew that her friend could be quite stubborn about missing work and chose to provide support instead of berating her. "Okay, I'll go get you some hot tea and I have a pack of saltines in my desk. It might help."
Grateful that Angela wasn't harassing her to go home, Brennan accepted the generous offer. "Thank you. I appreciate your offer." Once she was alone, Brennan continued to examine the notch, moving her fingers lightly over the area of the femur trying to determine what might have caused the notch by feeling the irregularities. This particular set of remains had been found in Savage River State Forest in Maryland. The Sheriff of Garrett County had sent a report with the remains along with all man-made materials found near the body. In his report he had mentioned that his deputies had scoured the area where the body had been found but they were only able to find about 60 percent of it. He was certain that wildlife had carried the rest of the parts away and Brennan was inclined to agree with him.
Finished with her examination and her notes now complete, Brennan was packing up the skeleton when Angela arrived. "I have the tea and crackers." Angela noticed how pale her friend was and worried that Brennan might be sicker than she was admitting. Placing the tea and crackers on the small table near the examination table, she scooped up the notes and flipped the folder open. "I'll let you know when I'm done with the facial reconstruction."
"Thank you." Sipping the tea, Brennan realized that it was Earl Gray, one of her favorite teas. "I'm going to finish packing up the remains and go to my office. You can return the notes for me to type up when you are done using them."
Her attention on the folder, Angela nodded her head and left the room. She was intrigued that Brennan was uncertain of the race of the male victim. It might mean that the victim was of mixed race and that would make the facial reconstruction tricky. Before the bones had been cleaned, Brennan had noted that the hair still attached to the skull of the victim was a deep chestnut so at least she wouldn't have to guess the color of the victim's hair. She would have to guess the color of the eyes though, since a predator had taken them from the body before the body had been found.
Alone, Brennan placed the cup of tea down, stored the bones in a case and placed the case in an available slot. That done, she carried her tea and crackers to her office, sat down on her couch and tried to relax. While she sipped her tea, she flipped through her latest edition of Anthropology Today and noticed that an old cemetery had been found in Rome when an excavation for a new apartment had begun and several bodies had been removed and identified by Dr. Georgio Russo. A little envious, Brennan noted that the bodies had been dated back to the third century and that some of the jewelry buried with the bodies had shown Greek as well as Italian influences. "It would be wonderful to be there working on that dig." She missed working in the field on archaeological digs, but she had obligations at the Lab and with the FBI and she felt that what she did was important. It was fun to be on digs and perhaps she would find one to work on in the future, but for now, she was satisfied with what she was doing.
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Worried that Brennan might be pushing herself to make a point, Booth debated whether or not he should call in and check in on her but decided at the last minute to just text her. How's the identification coming along on the remains you're working on?
Not really surprised to see the message from Booth, Brennan moved her empty cup to the side and picked up her phone. It looks like he was killed with an arrow or spear. The Garrett County Sheriff had his deputies search the area and sent everything over that looked significant. There was no arrowhead or spear head in the bag he sent with the remains.
Since she was willing to talk to him, Booth assumed that his partner was feeling alright. He could see a little enthusiasm in the message and that made him feel better about her situation. Once you have the ID shoot it over here and I'll do what I can on my end to start up an investigation." Pausing for a moment, he sent another message. You feeling okay? Want to do lunch with me?
I might be able to handle some soup. I need to avoid dehydration. She didn't want to go into detail about her bout of vomiting earlier that morning so she didn't type anything else.
"So, you've been throwing up." Not sure what he could do to help her, Booth thought about making things convenient for her. Want me to pick up something and bring it over? We can eat in your office. You and me, a little quiet time together.
Though she didn't want to admit that she was feeling tired, Brennan liked Booth's idea and decided to take him up on his suggestion. Some vegetable soup, maybe some rolls no butter or margarine and a glass of unsweet tea.
You got it. I'll be there in about an hour. Placing the phone on his desk, Booth stared at it and sighed. He had been in the service when Rebecca was pregnant and he was away more than he had been at home. She'd moved in with her parents the last three months of her pregnancy because she couldn't rely on him and he regretted that. He thought that his accidental neglect had been one of the reasons she refused to marry him and he was determined to make up for that mess by taking care of Brennan as much as she would let him. "If she'll let me."
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With two bags in one hand and a drinks carrier in the other, Booth entered Brennan's office and found her sleeping on her couch. Torn between letting her sleep and wanting to make sure she ate, he decided that food was probably more important. "Bones . . . Bones, special delivery."
Startled, Brennan sat up, rubbed he eyes and yawned. "I must have dozed off." Moving over, she made room for Booth to sit down. "Did you bring lunch?"
"Yep." After he placed the bags and carrier on the coffee table, he placed her bag of food in front of her and handed her the glass of tea she'd asked for. "I know you didn't ask for it, but I brought you a piece of apple pie and some pudding beside the soup and rolls. You might want to snack latter today. If you don't want them, bring them home tonight and I'll eat them."
Amused, Brennan smiled as she drank some of her iced tea. Once she was satisfied, she placed the glass on the table and retrieved her soup from the bag. "Angela was questioning my health earlier this morning. I hate to lie, but I told her it was possible that I have a stomach virus . . . I'm not sure what excuse I will give when the subject of my health is brought up again."
"Hear me out before you comment." Booth had unwrapped his steak sandwich but paused before taking a bite. "You know Angela is your best friend and she cares about you, that's one of the reasons she sticks her nose into your business. Why not tell her you're pregnant, just her and no one else? That way you don't have to worry about hiding anything from her. Almost everyone else around here will take longer to notice your condition because they're not vested in you. At least not personally . . . well, maybe Hodgins is too since he's your friend and if you tell Angela she'll probably tell Hodgins . . . I don't think I'm helping, am I?"
Patting his thigh, Brennan chuckled. "You can see my dilemma . . . I may tell Angela and ask her not to say anything to Jack, but you know she tells him everything so she may be incapable of keeping a secret from him."
"Ha, she didn't tell him she was married that first time he asked her to marry him. She can keep secrets." Booth still found that whole mess to be bizarre and he was grateful he'd never been attracted to Angela.
That part of Angela's life still confused her. Brennan still couldn't understand how anyone could forget they were married, but Angela was a free spirit and anything was possible when dealing with her friend. "Yes, I suppose she is capable of keeping some secrets . . . I think I'll tell her this afternoon. Hopefully we can keep our secret from everyone else for a few more weeks . . . Do you still want to go see Hank this weekend and tell him our news?"
"You bet." Booth sipped some of his Coke before he said anything else. "He's going to be happy when he finds out he's going to be a great grandfather again. I think he gave up on seeing any more."
Slowly opening the lid on her soup, the aroma of the soup made her feel a little nauseous and she replaced the lid and put the bowl on the coffee table. "Perhaps I'll just eat the rolls."
Sympathetic, Booth retrieved the rolls from the bag and handed them to her. "I'm sorry you're not feeling well. If you're up for it, I think I'm going to make a vegetable stir fry tonight or would you like a cold salad?"
"I think a salad. There is very little odor to deal with when consuming a salad." Disappointed that she couldn't eat the soup, Brennan took a bite out of her dry roll.
"Salad it is." Booth had some ham in the fridge he could add to his salad plus maybe a few hard boiled eggs would be okay for both him and his partner. "We're going to get through this Bones. I have your back." Taking a bite out of his sandwich he thought he might have room for the soup too. Not need to let that go to waste.
Grateful that Booth was being so kind to her, Brennan nodded her head. "Yes, we will."
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