I wish I was better at responding individual to reviews, but it's something that I'm just not great at. I really appreciate every single review I get from you guys, both signed-in and anonymous. It means so much, especially with an AU Bones story. So I really can't thank you guys enough for the words and thoughts you leave about these chapters.

A quick note about the way things go down in this chapter: I kind of took my cue from the shows, which seemed to lead several missions that didn't seem all that conventional (like when Booth and Brennan went after Pelant by themselves). So that's how I justify the events in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The chapter title comes from the song "Empty Gold" by Halsey.

Aubrey and Max were on their way over to the Hoover as well, but were about twenty minutes behind Brennan and Booth. That was just fine by Booth, because he needed to make sure that Brennan was properly fitted for a bullet-proof vest. They already had one for Max, so they would meet Booth and Brennan up in Booth's office.

"Come on, Bones, let's make sure we get you a good one," Booth said as he pressed his hand to the small of her back and guided her into one of the many rooms of the Hoover that housed tactical gear.

Brennan's brow furrowed. "I don't understand what you mean by a "good one," Booth. Are they not all of the same quality? I would hope so, given that they are supposed to protect you from bullets."

Booth resisted the urge to roll his eyes, well aware that Brennan liked to hide behind scientific rationality when she was stressed. Really, he was surprised that they had managed to whole ride to the Hoover without one of her snippy, fact-based comments. He perused the rack and selected one that looked as though it would fit Brennan properly.

"I just meant that you need one that fits, Bones," Booth corrected patiently. He unsnapped the vest for her and held it out. Brennan scowled at him and snatched it away, pulling it over her shoulders herself. She strapped it into place and then stood back, holding her arms out for inspection.

"Well? Does it meet your requirements?" Brennan demanded with an edge to her voice.

"Temperance." Booth didn't often use her full name, but when he did, he always got her immediate attention. She looked him in the eye then, and when Brennan saw the patient and concerned way he was gazing at her, she realized that she'd been snapping at him all morning.

With a sigh, Brennan's shoulders deflated. She wasn't used to having her emotions on such a rollercoaster, and it was causing her to be more on edge than usual. Brennan had spent years perfecting the art of compartmentalization, and it irked her to no end that she seemed to have lost control of that ability.

"Booth, I…" Brennan began, but saying that she was sorry just didn't seem like enough. She wanted to apologize, but the words alone could not express everything that she was feeling.

"Shhh." Heedless of the bulky vest she was still wearing, Booth drew Brennan into his arms. "You don't have to say anything." As always, it was like he could read her mind, and he didn't want her to apologize. She didn't need to, given that he had been there for everything that she had been going through. If anyone was entitled to an emotional freak-out, it was Temperance Brennan. Booth pressed a kiss to her forehead, tightening his arms around her as she relaxed against his chest.

"Oh, good! I'm so glad that I found the two of you down here!"

And just like that, all of the tension returned to Brennan's body. Booth groaned as Sweets' voice reached them, and he sent Brennan an apologetic look as he pulled away from her. The kid meant well, but Booth really wished that Sweets had waited until they were back up at his office, as opposed to cornering them in the armory.

"I heard about what happened, Dr. Brennan," Sweets continued as he stepped further into the room, effectively blocking the partners in. It was amazing how he managed to do that both in his office, and in any other space he found himself in. Beneath the typical therapist's look of bland, careful compassion, there was true concern on Sweets' face. "I just wanted you to know that I'm here if you need to talk."

Brennan sucked in a deep, even breath through her nose. "I appreciate that, Dr. Sweets," Brennan finally managed. Booth was proud of her for the sincerity in her voice. "I just don't believe that now is the best time."

"Of course, of course," Sweets agreed as he nodded his head. "But I just wanted to say… your mother knew that there was no way that you, your father, and your brother would just let her go. She knew that you would find her and go after her." Sweets met Brennan's eye without hesitation. "She was in no way abandoning you, Dr. Brennan. By turning herself over, she was trying to save you."

There was a long, heavy moment of silence where Brennan just stared at Sweets. It went on for so long that Sweets was wondering if Brennan was going to take a swing at him. Instead, she surprised everyone—including herself—by throwing her arms around Sweets and hugging him tightly. The psychologist hesitated for only a second before he returned the hug. While it was highly unorthodox to embrace a patient, Booth and Brennan fell under a unique set of circumstances.

A small smile played around Booth's lips as he nodded his head in approval at Sweets. The FBI psychologist excelled at profiling, it was true, and he was great with the families of victims. His advice with the personal lives of his colleagues was rather hit-or-miss—with the misses being greater than the hits. This time, though… this time, Sweets had really hit it out of the park. He had said the exact right thing to Brennan. Coming from an intellectual equal (even if that person happened to be a psychologist), it meant something to her.

Getting a hold of herself, Brennan sniffled once, loudly. She pulled back from Sweets and efficiently smoothed out the wrinkles she had left in his suit jacket, before she gave him a sisterly pat on the shoulder. Brennan was more than aware of Booth standing behind her the whole time, and she was sure that he was wearing an amused, proud look on his face. As always, she was less annoyed with him than she thought she'd be, even if she did playfully send her elbow back into his side.

Brennan cleared her throat. "Thank you, Dr. Sweets," she said in the most professional voice she could muster. She nodded her head once before she began to undo the straps on her vest. She handed it to Booth and then headed towards the door to wait in the hallway. They had to go meet Aubrey and her father up in Booth's office, after all, and that was a whole separate thing that she had to mentally prepare herself for.

Sweets had his file on Brennan, and knew about her hang-ups. He understood exactly what transpired, and simply tucked his hands into his pockets as he nodded at Brennan in return. Once she had escaped outside the armory, Sweets turned back towards Booth to offer his help to the Special Agent. After all, the man was now intimately involved with the family he was working with, and had been tasked with keeping them safe. It was enough to stress anyone out—especially when one of those family members gave themselves up to the bad guys.

Before Sweets could offer his professional help, Booth reached out and clapped his shoulder as well. "Thanks, Sweets." Booth's voice was sincere, and he smiled at the younger man before he followed Brennan out of the armory.

Sweets stared after them, watching as the door to the armory swung shut. Once again, he had lost control of his session with the partners—as impromptu as it was. He smiled, since this time, Sweets really didn't mind it. He figured that he should go to his office to clear his appointments for the next few days, since things were about to get pretty intense. With everything going on, Sweets had a feeling that his schedule would need to be as free as possible.

Brennan and Booth had just stepped out of the elevator when Brennan suddenly jerked to a stop in the middle of the hallway. Glancing around, Booth tugged Brennan into the supply closet before anyone could see them. He knew that look. It was Brennan's "I'm-about-to-get-the-hell-out-of-here" look.

"Bones, what's going on?" His hands came up over her shoulders, his thumbs rubbing in soothing circles.

Brennan bit down harshly on her bottom lip, chewing thoughtfully. "I don't know if it's the best idea to have my father with us when we go in there," she admitted quietly. "I've always known that my father was capable of some rather horrible things. With all I've learned over the last few months, and some of the things he's told me…" Brennan shook her head. "I truly don't know what he's going to do when we get to those warehouses, Booth."

Booth bit back a sigh before he squeezed Brennan's shoulders comfortingly. He drew her into his chest again, much as he had while they had been standing in the armory. Truthfully, he had been thinking the same thing. Max still had secrets that he wasn't sharing with them, and while Booth wondered if that was going to bite him in the ass, they had other things to focus on at the moment. Their first priority was getting Ruth back safe and sound, and the next was catching McVicar and Barlow. Hopefully, they could accomplish both those things at once.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Bones," Booth murmured once his arms were wrapped around Brennan. "We don't know what Max is going to do. It's a risk to send him in there, it's true. But it's a bigger risk to keep him back."

Brennan tilted her face up towards Booth's, but didn't pull away from him. Even though they were currently hiding out in a supply closet in the middle of the Hoover, she felt perfectly at ease in his arms. "How so?" she asked.

Motive had always been something difficult for Brennan to figure out. The deeper they had gotten into this mess with her family, the more she had understood it, but some things still escaped her. Brennan understood her mother and her father (for the most part), but McVicar and Barlow were two people that completely escaped her. Brennan couldn't quite grasp the obsession that the two criminals seemed to have with her parents. Besides the fact that McVicar was apparently still in love with her mother, that is.

Maybe Brennan wasn't as far off as she thought she was, since Booth said, "Vince McVicar and Marvin Barlow have been fixated on your parents for over thirty years. They won't want to talk to me, or anyone else from the FBI for that matter. We'll be there to make sure that the situation won't get too out of hand, but… we can't go in with Max initially."

Now Brennan lifted her chin, and there was a stubborn set to her jaw that Booth was quite familiar with. "I want to go in with him." She had decided it before they had even left her parents' house earlier that morning, but now was the first time she was saying it out loud. When Brennan saw that vein pop in Booth's jaw, she added, "It's not up for debate, Booth."

Sliding his fingers across her jaw, Booth cupped Brennan's cheek with his palm. "I know it's not, Bones." His voice was sort of resigned, but completely accepting all at the same time. "Why do you think I took you to get a vest?"

Brennan's eyebrows shot up, and she was shocked into silence for a brief moment. Booth grinned at the fact that he had managed to render the great Temperance Brennan speechless. He was making it into a skill, honestly.

The moment passed quickly of course, and Brennan managed to say, "You're really agreeing to let me go in? That seems… unlike you."

It did, it was true. It was time like these, though, that Booth had to remind himself of all of the training that Brennan had. She'd been in much more dangerous situations doing work in other countries, and she had taken care of herself as best as she could in those instances. Booth trusted in her abilities, and as much as he wanted to lock Brennan away and keep her out of harm's way, he knew that she needed to do this.

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "Call me an over-protective alpha male all you want, Bones. I'm always going to do whatever is in my power to keep you safe, but that doesn't mean I don't know that you can take care of yourself." He brushed his lips across Brennan's and held her just a little bit tighter.

A bright smile spread across Brennan's lips. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Brennan could feel some of the tightness leaving her chest. "That might be the most romantic thing you've ever said to me, Booth."

Chuckling, Booth glanced around at the boxes of pens, highlighters, paperclips, and staples surrounding them on the shelves lining the walls. "Oh yeah, Bones. This is a real romantic place for declarations of love."

They both laughed then, and some of the lightness that they had felt the previous morning (had it really only been twenty-four hours ago?) returned. It felt good to take this moment to just be together, without any of Brennan/Keenan family drama getting to them. As their laughter faded, though, Brennan's blue eyes grew serious once again.

"I do love you, you know," Brennan said. Her hands stroked up Booth's broad chest until she was able to wrap her arms around his neck. "I really, really do."

"Oh, Bones." Sometimes, she shot straight to his heart. Booth loved Brennan so much that it honestly hurt a little bit, but in the best way possible. It was almost as if he wasn't sure if he was allowed to feel this good. He wouldn't trade it for anything else, though… and from the look in Brennan's eyes, Booth knew that she felt the same way.

"I love you too, Temperance Brennan," Booth whispered before his mouth came down over hers. He kissed her deeply, pouring all of his love and passion for Brennan into the touch of his lips against hers. She stretched up onto her tiptoes and pulled him as close as she could, so that every curve of her body was pressed against the matching hard lines of his.

Booth turned until Brennan was pressed against the door of the supply closet. His hands slid down her sides until he was cupping her bottom, and she moaned against his lips. When he squeezed gently, she lifted up and in a perfectly synchronized moved, Booth swept her into his arms. Brennan's legs wrapped around her waist, and they both gasped at the intimate contact.

"Booth." Brennan's moan was passion-filled, but there was also a hint of a plea in it. Booth knew exactly what she meant, since if they kept kissing, they wouldn't be able to stop. This so wasn't the time or the place to get carried away, much as they both might want to.

"I know." Booth pulled his mouth away from Brennan's and tucked his face against her neck as he tried to catch his breath. He couldn't help but press his lips to her thundering pulse point, and he smiled when she gasped again.

Her fingers stroked through his hair, and then she tugged lightly. He groaned in arousal, and then it was Brennan's turn to smile. They both needed to calm down, but neither could seem to resist staying close. "Booth, maybe… maybe you should put me down."

"I know," Booth said again. He pressed another kiss to her neck, and then nipped at her pulse point lightly. Once they stepped out of the supply closet, they would be stepping outside of their little bubble. The real world was out there, and it was full of danger, moms that were being held captive by bank robbers, and fathers that were out for revenge. "In a minute."

Brennan smiled and tightened her arms and legs around him, holding him closer to her.

Predictably, Aubrey and Max were already waiting in Booth's office by the time Brennan and Booth emerged from the supply closet. Max was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger, while poor Aubrey just looked exhausted. Booth squeezed Brennan's hand right before they stepped into his office, and she shot him a thankful look.

"It's about time the two of you joined us," Max snapped as soon as Booth and Brennan crossed the threshold.

"Dad." Brennan sighed heavily. "Please. Don't start."

Ignoring that, Max gave the young partners a pointed look. "Your shirt's a bit wrinkled there, Booth," he grumbled. "And you have some lipstick on your jaw." He very purposefully didn't look at his daughter, knowing that she probably looked similar to Booth.

Brennan's cheeks pinked a little, and she reached up to wipe away the smudge of color on Booth's jaw. She was aware that they were both looking rather disheveled after their little interlude in the closet, but they had also had a pretty eventful night. They were all running on pure adrenaline, at this point.

"Max." Booth's voice was mild, and he squeezed Brennan's hand supportively once again. Yeah, he respected Max, but there was no way that Booth was going to stand by and let him snap at his daughter like that. "If you'll recall, we were all up pretty late last night because your wife decided to turn herself in to the people that have been stalking and threatening you and your family."

That made Max deflate a little, and he sunk into one of the chairs across from Booth's desk. He scrubbed his hands over his face, suddenly looking as though he had aged ten years. "I know." His voice was quiet, and Brennan didn't think she had ever seen her father look quite so defeated. "I know, alright?"

"Dad… can you do this?" In typical Brennan fashion, the question escaped her without thought. The stress of their current predicament made Brennan forget how to censor herself, but she certainly didn't regret asking the question. It was something that they were all wondering.

"Bones is right, Max," Booth added. His voice was even, kind. He was so good with people, had a way of putting them at ease even when they were experiencing some of the worst moments of their life. God knew that Booth had done it for Brennan more than once. "This is going to be a pretty… touchy situation. You can't go in there, guns a-blazing, but you can't shut down either. You want to get Ruth out safely, you gotta work with me."

Max took a deep breath, and then his face hardened. Instead of answering Booth, he took in the outfit his daughter was currently wearing: the dark jeans and black shirt, along with the vest Booth had set aside when they had first come into the office. "You planning on sending my daughter in with me, Booth?"

"I'm going, Dad," Brennan answered before Booth could say anything. Aubrey, for his part, hid his chuckle behind his hand. This family was just too much sometimes, honestly.

There was a tense moment of silence, where they all just stared at one another. Finally, Max rolled his eyes. "I figured as much," he admitted finally. He knew his daughter quite well, after all, and knew that Brennan had inherited his toughness and her mother's stubborn determination. "Just… tell me what the plan is."

An hour later, Booth and Brennan were finishing getting ready. Aubrey was busy coordinating with HRT, so that they had extra backup. Russ had been notified, and there wasn't any question about him coming back to DC with Amy and the kids. Brennan had thankfully been able to talk him out of leaving his wife and kids behind so he could be with them when Brennan and Max went into the warehouse—someone in this family had to stay safe, after all.

Booth had done hostage rescue dozens of times before, but this was different. He knew why, of course: he was sending the woman he was in love with, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, into a dangerous, potentially deadly situation. And he wouldn't be able to go in with her.

It would be different if Booth was the one at her back, watching over her. They were partners now, and Booth knew that he would do absolutely everything in his power to keep her safe. They had already been over this in the supply closet earlier, but Booth knew he wasn't going to be able to fully let it go until this was all over.

The protective vests that they made nowadays fit a little closer to the body, and were able to be much more easily hidden. They didn't want to tip off McVicar and Barlow, so Brennan couldn't very well go into the warehouse blatantly wearing a bulletproof vest. She had just picked up a thick, cable knit sweater to wear over the vest when she caught the dark look on Booth's face.

"Booth." Brennan took a step closer to her partner and laid a hand on his chest. He was wearing a close-fitting black shirt that stretched across his broad chest and his own vest, along with a pair of black tactical pants. He looked damn good in them, and any other time, Brennan would have spent a lot more time appreciating the very arousing and fantastically masculine picture he presented. "Talk to me, please."

Booth adjusted the straps on Brennan's vest, tightening them just a bit more. He looked pointedly at her sweater, and Brennan quickly tugged in on. Even though they were well into spring, it was an unseasonably cold morning, with chilly, misting rain that had been falling since the night before.

"It's killing me that I can't go in with you, Bones," Booth finally revealed. He ran his hands over the soft cotton of her sweater and when she opened her mouth to respond, he pressed a finger to her lips. "I know we've been over this, and I know you can take care of yourself. I just… I want to go in there with you, Bones."

Brennan chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip as she slid her hands up his chest, feeling the strength of him underneath her fingers. Booth truly was an alpha male—but not one of those loud, posturing ones, who pretended at it. He was quiet about it, always putting other's lives before his own without a second thought. It was part of who he was, and while Brennan understood it on an anthropological level, but she also understood him. It was all coming from a place of love, and in turn, it made Brennan love him even more.

"I was in Guatemala, about three months before we met," Brennan began. She stared at where her fingers were resting against his chest and felt a shiver course down her spine at the memory of her time in Guatemala. "I was captured while I was indentifying human remains. It was…" Brennan shook her head slowly, sadly. "Horrible. It was so sad, but the work I was doing is very necessary. There were people, however, that didn't like it. That wanted me to stop."

"Bones…" Booth's arms wrapped around her, and he pulled her close. With his level of security clearance, he had access to Brennan's files, and had read the very clinical version of these events. Having Brennan tell him now, though, with the memory of that fear in her voice… well, it was important. Booth knew that Brennan loved him, but the fact that she was sharing this with him now just added another layer of intimacy to their relationship.

Finally, Brennan was able to look up at him. "They threw a bag over my head and tossed me into a cell for three days. It wasn't… Booth, I'm so incredibly lucky that they didn't do anything else to me." Brennan didn't often believe in luck, but in that one instance, she knew that she had been lucky. "They came into the cell every day and threatened me with all sorts of awful things, including ending my life. We were rescued, thankfully, and then…" Brennan shook her head once again and took a deep breath. "The point is, I know that you're apprehensive about this, but I can handle it. I can."

Booth pressed his forehead against Brennan's and closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply. That subtle melon and citrus scent always put him at ease. Booth was pretty sure that it was one of his favorite smells in the world.

Sliding his hands up her back, Booth buried his fingers in Brennan's hair. "You're amazing, Bones. You know that?"

The corners of Brennan's lips tilted up in a small smile. "You've told me once or twice."

"You really are. And I don't want to go in with you just because I want to keep you safe." Booth pressed his lips to Brennan's in a gentle kiss. "I just want to be the one to watch your back, Bones. I want to do that for you, since you're my partner. I'm always going to want to be the one who looks out for you. Plus, I'm not going to trust anyone else to do as good of a job as I would."

Brennan's heart was tight in her chest at Booth's words, and she was positive that she had just fallen in love with Booth all over again. Trying to lighten the mood just a little bit, she took a shaky breath and joked, "Not even my father?"

"No." Booth gave her a small smile, but his voice was completely serious. "You know I respect your dad, Bones, but…" He shook his head and forced himself to relax. "You know what? After this, we always have each other's backs. We go in together, no matter the situation. Deal?"

In addition to their romantic relationship, Booth still wanted their professional partnership. He still wanted to work with her, take her out into the field. Booth wanted that, and he was standing there in his tactical gear, telling her as much. God, did she love him.

Brennan's voice was giddy as she surged up on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Deal!" she exclaimed against his lips.

Booth pulled back to give her something resembling a serious look. "I'll do the chasing and the shooting. You can do the cuffing." When she began to smile, Booth's brow furrowed darkly. "I mean, it Bones."

"Yes, Booth, you're very serious," Brennan noted in a teasing voice as she patted his cheek.

They were in a rather sobering situation, it was true. It was moments like these, though, that made it all bearable. This bit of time away from it all made it easier to get through what they had to face.

"Does everyone understand the plan?" When the agents surrounding Booth, Brennan, Aubrey, and Max all nodded, Booth dipped his head in acknowledgment. "Good. You all know your jobs. Get busy."

The team assembled to help get Ruth Keenan back home safely split up immediately. They all had tasks to complete, and then they would meet up in the warehouse district where McVicar and Barlow were holding Ruth. They were just a little under an hour away staging their rescue mission, and the tension in the room was running high.

Brennan watched as Booth bustled around the conference room, ordering people around and checking up on the surveillance team watching the warehouse. At the same time, Charlie came in and handed Booth a paper update on Russ, Amy, and the kids; they were settled into a safe house in DC, so they could be close by when they got Ruth back.

Booth was a complete natural as a leader. He ran the team with ease, and it was clear that he was very much respected. Brennan was proud, both of him and of the fact that she allowed herself to be vulnerable enough to be with him. No matter what happened after, Brennan knew that she would never regret her attempt to blackmail Booth into working with her.

Meeting Seeley Booth—working with him, falling in love with him, building a life with him—was one of the best things that had ever happened to Brennan. For all her rationality and cynicism, she wasn't afraid to admit that. When this was all over, she would tell him.

Brennan's phone buzzed in her back pocket with an incoming call, and she quickly pulled it out and ignored it before tucking it away. Her phone buzzed again for three long vibrations, and then there was a quick burst of several shorter buzzes, signaling some text messages. Brennan had a hunch about who they were from, but they still had some mission prep to get through.

They had to focus now, though. Predictably, Booth rounded on Max and Brennan, his face as hard as it had been when he had been speaking to his team. His eyes softened just the slightest bit as he looked at Brennan, but the tone of his voice left no room for argument.

"Do we have to go over your parts again, or do you think you've got it?" Booth asked.

Max cursed rudely and stalked away, but Booth wasn't too concerned by that. Either Max would follow the plan perfectly, or he would go completely off the rails and do something very stupid. Max was always a wildcard, and there wasn't much that Booth could do about it.

When Booth turned his eyes towards Brennan, she arched an eyebrow at him. "I possess three doctorates, you know. I think I'm perfectly capable of understanding this plan."

"Humor me," Booth deadpanned.

If they hadn't been standing in the middle of a conference room at the Hoover, Brennan would have rolled her eyes. Instead, she settled for leveling him with the cool look she normally reserved for her students.

"My father and I are supposed to enter the warehouse and announce our presence to McVicar and Barlow. We are to make sure that my mother is relatively unharmed, and then we are supposed to stall and attempt to move my mother away while we wait for you and HRT to get into place to apprehend McVicar and Barlow." Brennan crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. "I believe I covered it all."

Booth swayed towards Brennan a little bit, as if he was seriously thinking about kissing her. He managed to hold himself back at the last second, and he blinked a few times as his hands tightened into fists. The way that they stepped up to one another would never not be a turn on, and both were willing to own up to it.

A slight smile tilted up one side of Booth's mouth and he reached down, briefly tangling her fingers with his, out of view of the people buzzing around them. "I think you've got it, Bones."

Brennan returned his half smile and squeezed his fingers before letting go. Their game faces were back on in an instant, and Booth turned to have a quick discussion with Sweets while Brennan finally gave her attention to her incessantly buzzing cell phone.

Of course, most of the text messages were from Angela and Cam. Half were demanding updates on what was going on, and the other half were checking in with Brennan, making sure that she was okay. There were a few messages from Hodgins, and even several from various interns. Brennan was touched that they had all reached out to her in the best way that they could.

Booth had basically banned Angela, Hodgins, and Cam from the Hoover once things got into motion. He said that they could do almost any work needed from the Jeffersonian—where the equipment was better, honestly—and that if they truly needed them, Booth would send Charlie to pick them up. Booth knew that the squints wanted to be there for Brennan, but they didn't need any extra distractions. They had enough going on with Max and his attitude as it was.

Still, Brennan knew that she could take a few minutes to answer some of their text messages. She saved Cam and Angela for last, because she figured she was going to get a phone call. Sure enough, as soon as her text was sent, her phone buzzed in her hand. Brennan tucked herself into the corner of the conference room and answered in a calm, though mildly amused, voice.

"I'm fine, Ange," Brennan said instead of giving an actual greeting.

"Don't tell me you're fine, Temperance Brennan!" Angela screeched. She audibly took a deep breath before she added, "You're on speaker, by the way. Cam is here too."

"I've been trying to calm her down," Cam said. She had always been the most level-headed of all of them. "To no avail, obviously."

Brennan smiled. While it was true that she could always count on Booth to help her feel better, the same could be said of her friends. She instantly felt a little less stressed as Angela sniped back at Cam, and the two began bickering. "I'm fine," Brennan said again. "Really."

Angela's voice was a little hysterical. "Do I have to remind you that you're willingly going into a warehouse where two notorious criminals are keeping your mother hostage?"

"That's definitely up there on the list of dangerous things to do," Cam agreed.

Brennan let out a heavy sigh as she began to assure her friends that they were taking every precaution, and that she was all decked out in a bullet proof vest, even. Yes, it was a dangerous situation, but hopefully there would be minimal risk.

On the other side of the conference room, Booth watched as Brennan reassured their friends. He was glad that she was getting the chance to talk to them before they left. Brennan needed all of the support that she could get, even if he had been the one to keep all the squints away from the Hoover. Really, he had only banned them from the Hoover because Booth was convinced that Angela would get her hands on her own bullet proof vest, and would somehow find her way onto the mission with them.

Truthfully, Booth was still more than a little apprehensive about letting Brennan and Max go in on their own. The only reason it was being allowed was because Barlow had been on the Top 10 Most Wanted list for years, and this was the first break they had on him. No one was going to pass this up, least of all Max Keenan. The higher ups in the FBI couldn't believe that they finally got a lead on Marvin Barlow because of two reformed bank robbers. Booth would have found it funny if he hadn't been about to send the love of his life into this life-threatening situation.

As soon as they were able to move in, Booth would be the first one through that warehouse door. Hopefully, things wouldn't get out of hand before then, and Booth and his team would be able to apprehend McVicar and Barlow without too much fuss.

The Brennan/Keenan family was involved, though. If Booth was being honest, he completely expected this all to go to shit.

Booth insisted on driving his own truck to the cluster of warehouses, and Brennan took her customary spot in the passenger seat without argument. When Max tried to climb into the backseat of Booth's truck, Brennan stopped him with one dark, very pointed look. Max had held his hands up and hopped into one of the other trucks without a word.

The ride to the warehouse was taken in complete silence, with Booth and Brennan holding hands the entire way. Brennan wanted to find the words to say something to Booth, to reassure him that she would be perfectly safe going into that warehouse and that this would all be okay. The truth was, though, she was afraid that she was going to say something the exact opposite of reassuring.

All she could think about was how she had been insisting for hours that she was going to follow her father into that warehouse, no matter what Booth had to say about it. And though he had voiced his reservations, Booth was supporting her anyway. Brennan's chest squeezed tightly at the thought of how amazing Booth had been during all of this, of how much she loved him. If they could make it through this, they could make it through anything.

Even though Brennan didn't have any concrete evidence that this would go alright, she didn't want to think about a negative outcome. Brennan wanted to get through this with her mother and father safely, and she wanted Booth at her side.

That was a pretty big incentive to not do anything reckless. Brennan closed her eyes and inhaled deeply and wondered what it was like to have Booth's faith. Now seemed as good a time as any to pray, and if she had been the type to do so, she would have. Instead, she simply hoped that her mother was safe.

"What are you thinking about?" Booth murmured. His thumb stroked soothingly over her knuckles, rubbing back and forth in a way that made shivers run down Brennan's spine.

She opened her eyes and was surprised to realize that Booth had already put the car in park. He was watching her with those soulful brown eyes, the ones that she felt had always seen to the heart of her. He'd been able to read her so easily, even on the first day that they met. Booth just got her, understood her in a way that no one ever really had.

"I love you," Brennan said. There was so much else that she wanted to say, but she couldn't put a name to the tightness in her chest, to the way that he made her feel.

Booth brought his free hand up to cup her cheek. "I love you too, Bones," he told her in a soft voice.

Brennan cleared her throat, feeling her eyes inexplicably burn with tears. She blinked hard; crying was the last thing she wanted to do. "When this is all over… when we get through this… I want to do this, Booth. I want to be with you."

Booth's brow furrowed in confusion, and then he smiled slightly. "I thought you were with me, Bones," he teased. "I know we've been a little short on going out on dates, but we kind of had to put a hold on that, what with the threat to your life and everything."

Despite Brennan's best efforts, tears welled up and one escaped, rolling down her cheek. It was quickly followed by another and as a third one appeared, she wiped it away impatiently. She had wanted to wait until after they got her mother back to tell Booth this, but it was like she couldn't hold it in anymore. Brennan had to tell him because she needed him to know how she felt before she walked into that warehouse.

"That's not what I meant. Booth, I want to be with you. In every way possible. I want to wake up with you in the morning and fall asleep next to you at night. I want to start our lives together, really start it. I want to see Parker whenever we can during the months you don't have him, and do things with him during the months that you do." Reaching up, she covered his hand on her face with one of hers. "I want to start a family with you, Booth. You are my home. I love you."

Not normally one for emotional outbursts, Brennan wasn't entirely sure where the little speech had come from. But it felt right, and easy to say it to Booth.

Booth was looking a little misty eyed himself as he gazed tenderly at her. He brushed Brennan's tears away and leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. "Oh, Bones. You're my home, too." His hand moved from her cheek to cup the nape of her neck. "I love you, Bones. So much."

They sat like that for a few moments, sharing the silence, the space, the air between them. The sound of the other vehicles pulling up behind them reached Booth and Brennan's ears at the same time, and their hands tightened on each other for a brief moment before they pulled apart. The other agents on the team began to get out of the car and pull out the equipment needed. It was time to get started.

Brennan reached for the handle of the door, but stopped when she felt Booth slip his hand behind her neck again. She turned to look at him and was shocked at the flare of heat in his eyes. Brennan only had a second to take it in before Booth was tugging her forward, slanting his mouth over hers.

The kiss was deep, passionate, and mind-numbing. He kissed her with a thoroughness that stole her breath, and they were clinging to one another when they finally parted. Brennan couldn't resist curling her fingers into Booth's black shirt, pulling him close for another short but deep kiss.

They were both thankful for the tinted windows because that meant that Booth's team—along with Brennan's father—hadn't been able to see their intimate embrace. Booth smiled at her, and Brennan managed one in return. The partners got out of the SUV at the same time, and Charlie was there to hand them their gear.

Brennan slipped in the small earpiece that would allow her to communicate with Booth (and the rest of the team), while Booth shrugged on his own bullet proof vest. He watched Brennan for a long moment and then nodded his head at Charlie, who presented Brennan with a holster to wear at her ankle.

Taking it, she looked at it in surprise before turning wide eyes towards Booth. "No… are you serious?"

"Don't get too excited," Booth cautioned immediately. "I can't go in there with you, but I'm not about to send you in unarmed, either."

He held out a small sidearm, and Brennan quickly attached the holster to her ankle and took the firearm from Booth, inspecting it and testing its weight in her hands. Booth had to admit that he was impressed with the way she handled the gun, checking the clip and making sure the safety was on before she tucked it into her holster.

"That's only for emergencies," Booth stressed.

Brennan patted his chest, not at all put off with his attitude. "I understand, Booth." She got a sly look on her face then and asked, "Are you giving my father one, too?"

"I'm sure he has his own," Booth grumbled instead of actually answering.

Max appeared then, as if he knew that they had been talking about him. He gave the partners a dry look before he said, "I need to borrow my daughter for a moment, Booth." His tone suggested that the matter wasn't up for discussion.

Booth rolled his eyes. "Of course you can, Max. Just make it quick."

Nodding his head once, Max put his hand on his daughter's shoulder and guided her off to the side, away from the busy FBI agents. Brennan pressed her lips together as she stared her father down, waiting for him to talk. Things had been tense between them ever since he had tried to give her Ruth's ring, and they hadn't really talked about what had happened, much less what they were about to do.

Max rubbed his hand through his hair. "I knew," he finally said.

Brennan blinked in surprise. Out of all of the things she had expected Max to say, that certainly wasn't one of them. "What?"

"Your mother thought I didn't know about McVicar and the way he cornered her before we changed our names. I knew about the first time he made a move on her, and I should have killed him then." The look on Max's face was dark, and it was a little unnerving. Brennan had only seen that look on his face a few times, and never for this long.

"You knew about the other time," Brennan concluded. "When she claimed that she saw him when you were out shopping."

"I knew there was more to it than that," Max confirmed. "It took a lot to shake your mother. She wouldn't have freaked out the way that she did if she had just seen him. I managed to convince her to run, all of us together, so that we could escape. But there was one thing that I needed to do."

Brennan knew her father well, so it was easy to guess. "You found Vince McVicar."

"I found out that he was going into Witness Protection, like we were. He tried to break away from Barlow, and he wanted to use it as a way to come after us and find your mother. I couldn't have that."

"So…"

"So when I found him, I might have persuaded him to drop out. With my fists." Max's gaze grew even darker, if that was possible. "I should have killed him then, too."

Brennan knew that Max meant it. He really would have killed McVicar, given the chance. Which begged the question: would he be able to walk into that warehouse without killing Vince McVicar on the spot? Ruth might have turned herself over, but there had been a shadow hanging over the Brennan/Keenan family's heads for years because of McVicar and Barlow. Max had been waiting for over thirty years for this all to be over. God only knew what he would do when he got in there.

"Dad, you know that we have to wait for Booth, right?" When Max didn't say anything, Brennan's eyes went wide. "Dad. I'm serious."

Max squeezed Brennan's shoulder and gave her a tight smile. "Don't worry, Tempe. I heard you."

Well, Brennan certainly didn't like the sound of that. Still, she figured that it would be better to keep it to herself anyway. With a team full of FBI agents waiting outside of the warehouse, Brennan sincerely doubted that Max would go that far off script. After all of the work he did for the FBI, Brennan hoped that Max wouldn't throw it all away for cold-blooded murder.

They made their way back to where Booth was briefing the rest of the team. He had a rifle in his arms and was holding it comfortably, as if it was an extension of his body. Brennan supposed that at one point, it was. Booth would make sure that he had every advantage when he went into that warehouse, after all.

When Booth caught sight of Brennan and Max, he stepped away. "You ready?" he asked them both, though his eyes were on Brennan as he spoke.

Max just nodded his head, while Brennan adjusted the hem of her thick sweater. The air was cool even in the early spring, but the adrenaline was making Brennan feel a little overheated. "Ready," she confirmed.

"What's the code word?" Booth asked. Earlier, when they had picked it, Booth had made Brennan and Max repeat it numerous times. When Brennan had remarked that it was word that would be difficult to fit into conversation, Booth told her that that was the point. It was a word that was supposed to stand out, so that they would know unequivocally that it was time to enter.

"Booth—"

"Just say it, Bones."

Brennan sighed gustily before she muttered, "Paladin."

"Good." Booth gave her a small smile and then he reached out, brushing his fingers over Brennan's cheek. With a nod and a short order to the team, everyone got into position.

The warehouse that McVicar and Barlow had been hiding in was one of the more well-kept ones. Booth, Brennan, and Max stopped two blocks away. This was where they would separate. This was the point where Booth would have to wait for one of them to give the signal, and then this mess would be over.

"We'll be able to hear everything, and we'll have eyes on the building," Booth reminded Max and Brennan. He tapped the earpiece tucked into his ear and Brennan touched her own, reassured by the connection to Booth.

Max had already started walking away, presumably to give Booth and Brennan one more moment alone together. Brennan knew that she had to get moving, but she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from Booth. He cut a striking figure in his tactical gear, but it was the look in his eyes—tender, worried, warm, full of love—that really made it difficult to pull away.

"Be safe, Bones," Booth finally said. The words were squeezed from his chest, like they were difficult to get out. But they were sincere all the same.

Brennan managed a smile for him before she turned on her heel and followed her father.

They had known that McVicar and Barlow weren't working alone, but Max seemed surprised by the fact that they didn't run into anyone guarding the entrance to the warehouse. The first floor was completely open, so it was easy to see that no one was down there. The area was clearly lived in though, with a space for eating, sleeping, and lounging.

Brennan caught sight of the stairs and wordlessly pointed them out to Max. He nodded his head and together they made their way up the steps slowly. There was light streaming out from under the door at the top of the steps; Max went first, and he pushed the door open.

Despite being in a dilapidated warehouse, the second floor was actually rather homey. It was like a loft apartment, with furniture, a kitchen, a private bathroom, and television. It was clear that McVicar and Barlow had been hiding out here for some time.

Brennan had only seen photographs of the men from over thirty years ago, but they looked relatively the same, if not more than a little older. Brennan could see the underlying bone structure that indicated their true identities. Marvin Barlow lounged on a leather couch, looking as though nothing in the world would trouble him. Vince McVicar was leaning against the wall, standing next to the chair that Ruth was tied to.

She looked as comfortable as a person who was restrained could be. Soft leather ties were used to bind her ankles to the legs of the chair, and the same leather was used to tie her wrists together behind the back of the chair. She smiled wanly when she caught sight of her husband. When she saw her daughter emerge from behind Max, though, her eyes widened in panic.

Before Ruth could say anything, though, Barlow stood up. "Well, you were right," he said as he tossed a look at McVicar. "It took Keenan less than twenty-four hours before he went after his wife. We should have just kidnapped her from the very beginning. It would have made things a hell of a lot easier."

"If you wanted to talk, Barlow, all you had to do was ask," Max stated calmly. "There was no need to play games."

Ha. Games. As if the killing of an innocent women, the stalking and attempts to kill his children were only games. This was just another game for Barlow, it seemed. Brennan pressed her lips together as she took in the way McVicar was standing guard over her mother. How in the world were they going to get Ruth away from them?

Barlow sniffed before he turned his attention to Brennan. "I didn't think you'd bring a friend, though. Given the resemblance, I can only assume that this is the daughter that started working with the FBI."

Brennan lifted her chin defiantly. He knew damn well who she was, and his pretending otherwise irked her. She had been in his presence for all of thirty seconds, and everything about Barlow annoyed her, really. He had caused too many problems for her and her family, and she couldn't wait to put him in his place.

"What were you thinking, Max?" Ruth finally demanded. "Tempe wasn't supposed to come with you!"

As his eyes fell on his wife, Max finally managed a real smile. "She's just like you, Ruthie," he murmured. "She wasn't going to stay behind." His eyes softened. "I'm glad to see you, honey."

Ruth's distress lessened a little, and her shoulders relaxed. "I'm glad to see you, too."

That caused McVicar to curse harshly. "That's enough!" he yelled. "Can we just get this over with? You have Max here. Just kill him already, Marv. We can take the girls and go."

"Excuse me?" Brennan sputtered before she could stop herself. She had taken note of the fact that McVicar obviously planned to take her and Ruth with them once they killed Max. What she was really protesting, though, was the fact that McVicar had referred to her as a girl. As if she were a child!

"Bones." Brennan heard Booth's voice quietly warn her, and she relaxed slightly. No matter what happened, Booth would never allow her to be taken by these men. She could count on that much, at the very least.

McVicar turned his attention towards Brennan, and the rather fanatical look in his eyes made Brennan's stomach clench in unease. He took a step towards her, leaving his guard of Ruth for the first time since they entered the warehouse.

"Joy," he breathed. "I can't believe it's you! You're so grown up." McVicar smiled, but there was something very unsettling about it. "You look just like your mother."

"My name isn't Joy," Brennan snapped.

"It was, once," McVicar insisted. "When I found Ruth for the first time, your name was still Joy."

Brennan honestly thought that she was going to throw up. For the first time since her parents told her the truth at eighteen years old, Brennan truly understood why they had kept all of this a secret for so long. She had been in McVicar's presence for all of a few minutes, but there was just something so… off about him. It wasn't hard to imagine Ruth being terrified of him because frankly, Brennan was wary of him as well.

"My name isn't Joy," Brennan repeated, and she sounded a little hysterical to her own ears. This had always been the crux of Brennan's problems with her parents. Learning about Joy Keenan, being told that she once had another name and that her parents had led a completely different life… it took a toll on someone to learn all of that. Even if they had changed her name before she could truly understand what was happening, it had still affected her.

"Of course it isn't, honey," Ruth interrupted. "You're our Tempe. You always have been."

McVicar went on as if Ruth hadn't spoken. "You could have been ours, Joy. If Ruth had just listened, we could have been together and we would have been so happy…" He trailed off and shook his head before he turned back towards Ruth, his eyes dark and even more crazed. "If you had just listened!" he shouted again.

Ruth let out a whimper and shrank back in her chair. She might have given herself over to these men, but it was different now that her daughter was here to witness it all. This was something that Ruth had never wanted Brennan to see.

"Just let Ruthie and Tempe go, alright?" Max said. His voice was calm, but his eyes were bright as he looked between his wife and daughter. "You have me now, and that's what you wanted. Just let them go."

McVicar crouched down in front of Ruth and put his hands on either side of her chair. He was lost in his own delusion, and it was like there was no one else in the room with him besides Ruth and Brennan. "We were in love, Ruthie. Don't you remember? You loved me! You wanted to leave Max, and escape with me, but he made you run away and leave me behind!"

"No, no." Tears were streaming down Ruth's cheeks now, and Brennan could feel her own forming as she watched her mother break down. Ruth turned stricken eyes towards Max. "That never happened! You have to believe me, Max."

"Of course I know that didn't happen, sweetheart," Max soothed. McVicar was clearly unhinged, and had concocted some story about his relationship with Ruth in his own mind. He had the past thirty years to make himself believe it. Honestly, it was likely that no one knew just how far gone McVicar really was.

"I was nice to him," Ruth continued, doing her best to ignore McVicar, even though he was right in front of her. "That's it. I'd say hello to him, and I would talk to him sometimes."

"You were nice to everyone, Ruthie," Max told her. He knew what had really happened, and he didn't need her assurances. "This isn't your fault."

It was heartbreaking to see the guilt that Ruth had clearly held on to all these years. Max was right; Ruth had always been nice to everyone, even the more unsavory characters in the crew. Just because she had been nice to McVicar, it gave him no excuse to essentially stalk her the way that he had, or for him to go after her in this way now.

"SHUT UP!" McVicar shouted as he whirled around towards Max. He stalked forward, his hands outstretched, as if he were going to go for Max's throat. Brennan took the opportunity to dart across the room to her mother's side, where she immediately began working on the ties around her wrists.

Barlow, who had been quietly watching the exchange, finally stepped in McVicar's path with his hands up. "Calm down, Vince," he said quietly. "We don't want this all to be over just yet. We have a point to make, remember?"

"So make it!" McVicar shouted. "Make it, and let me take Ruthie and Joy!"

God, these knots were too tight. Getting Ruth's wrists unbound was proving to be a difficult task. Brennan's hands had already been shaking, but she winced and lost her grip on the knots when McVicar referred to her as Joy once again. Her mother was murmuring soothing words to her, and Booth was telling her to take a deep breath. Brennan closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. When she opened them again, she was pleased to see that her hands had stopped shaking.

Both McVicar and Barlow had turned their attention towards Max, so Brennan had a little bit of room to breathe as she tried to free her mother. Brennan concentrated on undoing the knots, but she kept one ear tuned towards the exchange taking place between the two criminals and her father.

"You're a hard bastard to track down, you know," Barlow said casually. "We spent years trying to find you. And when we heard that you had the gall to go by your real name while you lived in DC and worked with the FBI… we knew that we had to bring you down. You had to know that it was only a matter of time, didn't you, Max?"

Max tucked his hands into his pockets, seemingly unconcerned with how the two men were slowly advancing on him. "What about the girl? Lydia Simmons? She was just an innocent kid."

"Collateral damage," Barlow explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "Hernandez ran some drugs for us, and Ms. Simmons was sniffing around a little too closely to us. The girl was studying to be a lawyer, after all. We were going to leave her as sort of a… calling card. But someone," Barlow shot McVicar a pointed look, "missed with the bolt stunner."

"What was the point of framing Mara Muerte, then?"

"For fun. Hernandez was annoying. Plus, we couldn't wait for Lydia Simmons to die just by bleeding out."

As Brennan finally got the first knot undone, she shuddered. The way Barlow was speaking—as though he were more amused than anything else—was truly unsettling. He really didn't care about the fact that he had murdered an innocent woman and framed one of the most notorious gangs in DC for said murder as way to get to one man.

Max wrinkled his nose, and then he finally dealt his verbal blow: "I'm not the only one that's been working with the FBI, you know." Barlow's face grew pinched, but Max didn't stop. "I always wondered how you managed to fake your death all those years ago after that mess in Dayton. Imagine my surprise when I found out that you were in cahoots with one of the deputy directors."

Barlow's face was now and interesting shade of purple, while McVicar simply looked confused. In her ear, Brennan could hear Booth curse loudly, but she was too busy working on the third of the four knots binding her mother's wrists together. They could come back to that disturbing little fact later, after they were all safely back home.

"Were you giving him a nice little cut under the table so you wouldn't be arrested?" Max continued to taunt. "Shit was pretty corrupt back then, so I'm not surprised that you managed to get someone from the FBI on your side. What was his name? Kirby?"

Barlow had finally had enough. He pulled a gun from his back pocket and whipped around, pointing it directly at Ruth and Brennan. The two women froze, while Max let out a strangled shout. Even McVicar was distressed as he demanded to know what the hell Barlow was doing.

"I was going to wait a little longer for this, you know," Barlow began in a darkly amused voice. "I was going to draw this out, make you suffer. Then I was going to shoot Ruth right in between the eyes, right in front of you." He turned the safety off on his gun and cocked it, sending a round into the chamber. "But I think I might just kill her now."

Cliffhangers aren't really my thing, but this just seemed like the right place to end this chapter. Thanks for reading!

Also, I love Tactical! Booth. :)