Alright folks. I apologize for the delay. I kind of started reading other fics, and lost my muse there for a bit, and then I forgot the case in the story, so I had to re-read the whole thing and write notes and... you really don't want to hear about it... You want to read. So... comments and reviews for my time...? Even trade. Hope everyone is staying healthy. I'll try to make sure the next update appears a little sooner next time. Thanks readers. -PJ.

Friday, August 29th – 7:30am-

Brennan walked briskly into the lab, her eyes flicking around as she walked noticed the peace of her sanctuary. She had dropped Michael off at the daycare, and was happily entering her domain. The night had been restful despite knowing what the day ahead held for her, and she was woken a few minutes before her alarm by the ringing of her phone that was still rested in her hand when she woke.

"Hello?" She mumbled blearily into the phone, her voice a little deeper than usual, the fact that she had been awoken evident in the sound of her voice.

"Good morning, beautiful." Booth's voice danced over the line. He imagined the way her face would scrunch, knowing how much she loved sleeping in. He thought of letting her sleep a little longer but he couldn't wait another moment to hear her voice. "Bones?" he singsonged across the line, letting out a playful chuckle at her groan.

"I'm gonna hang up on you now." She mumbled. "You sound way too happy to be awake this early."

"Hey, don't hang up." He said, dropping off the bit of humor in his voice as well as his volume. "How did you sleep?"

"Mm… would you like the sarcastic answer, or the truth?" She sighed sleepily. She waited a beat and let out a laugh as she stretched and yawned. "I slept very well. Thank you."

"Good." He said softly. "How is Michael doing? Did he sleep through the night?"

"He did." She replied. "I think he's comfortable with me. That makes me happy." She said, leaning over toward the edge of the bed, looking down at the sleeping infant. "Booth." She said softly, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"I know, Bones." He said. "I know that you need him to be safe, that you need him to be somewhere he will be well taken care of. We're going to make sure we take very good care of him, Bones. You have my word." He said, listening to her silence.

"I believe in your word, Booth." She said. "But that's not going to stop them from taking him away from us." She sighed. "I should get up and get ready. You also have work to do, so that you can come home to us." She said, dropping fears that she had just expressed as quickly as they had arisen. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, Bones. I'll call you at the lab a little later, let you know how the search is going." He replied. "I love you."

"I love you, Booth. Please be safe." She said, disconnecting the call with a soft smile on her lips, just as her alarm went off.

Brennan moved into her office, setting her bag on her desk as she moved around to her chair. She sat comfortably and moved the mouse to wake up her computer, taking a slow deep breath as she perused her e-mail box. Nothing case related had come through, though she did feel her throat constrict when she noticed the e-mail from child protective services. There had been an inquiry sent out about Michael to the mother's extended family, and Brennan knew that the little boy's fate was just a click away. The pointer hovered over the message, and her lower lip slipped into her mouth as she sincerely wondered if she could pretend that she hadn't seen the e-mail. Her mind was completely consumed with these thoughts, so consumed that she didn't see the person appear in her doorway.

"Doctor B?" Hodgins voice sent her eyes directly to his, her jaw opened slightly. "I'm sorry, did I startle you?"

"No." She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I didn't realize anyone else was here." She said, giving the bug man a tight smile. "Did you need to show me something?"

"Uh, yeah." He said, watching his friend and colleague for a moment to make sure she was alright. She stood up, and her smile became a little more natural, and without another word, she grabbed her lab coat and followed him into the lab.

Friday, August 29th – 12:30pm-

By the time lunchtime rolled around, Brennan had worked herself up to a tight ball of nerves. Booth had called to say that they had apprehended their suspect and would be returning him to D.C. for questioning, but that wasn't one of her worries. She knew that he'd get his man. He was a strong, competent, smart agent, with or without her help. That wasn't what was fraying her nerves. Her appointment with Dr. Saunders was looming, a 2pm appointment where she would be required to at least begin the process of revealing some of her darkest fears was coming very quickly, but that wasn't what was twisting her stomach in knots.

It was that damn e-mail.

She stared at the subject line, Case #344783- Danby, Michael Joseph. She could feel her jaw clench slightly, her eyes focusing on the words until she stared so hard she could almost see the individual pixels on the screen. She shifted the cursor over the e-mail, when she heard shuffling at her door, and her eyes lifted to see the light blocked by a familiar form.

"Booth." She said, a smile lifting on her lips, and relief seemed to just rush into her body. It must have been obvious, because she watched his smile turn to concern.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked. He was instantly by her desk before she could even reply. "What happened?"

"You're here." She smiled. Her eyes were a little glassy, her smile wobbly as if she were on the verge of crying.

"I told you I was coming back." He said, letting out a puff of air that almost sounded like a scoff. "Bones."

"I'm fine." She said, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out quickly. "I'm fine." She said, instantly straightening, the mask of professionalism sliding firmly back into place. "How did the interrogation go?"

"We haven't done it yet. He's still en route. I wanted to stop and see you. Maybe go to lunch." He said, crouching down, he took her hand. "What's going on? You looked upset. Are you worried about your appointment?"

She looked into his eyes, and immediately knew that she couldn't brush it off or lie. "I... Child Protective Services is following up." She said, nodding toward her screen.

He looked toward the screen, and he saw the e-mail. "What did they say?" He asked.

"I... I just..." She stammered, lifting her hand to swipe over her cheek, she could feel the warmth there. "I can't bring myself to open it. You can open it." She said, looking toward his eyes.

"Nah." He said, a slight smile on his lips. "Don't worry about it. Let's go get lunch." He said, giving her hand a little tug as he tried to pull her up. She resisted a bit.

"Booth." She said, her tone coming out in a whine, he tipped his head. "Booth, I got the e-mail this morning. I should really look at it."

"If you haven't read it yet, it's not going to matter for another half hour." He said, giving her hand a tug, she let him pull her into standing, and she looked toward the screen. "You have to get to your appointment, and I am going to die of starvation if we don't eat right now." He said, stopping his pulling to turn around, allowing her to crash into his chest. He smiled into her worried eyes, a sparkle within them seemed to clear hers of worry for a moment. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." She mumbled, letting out a sigh.

He leaned down and kissed her gently, tipping his head as he silently told her that everything was going to be just fine. "Let's go eat." He grinned.

She rolled her eyes playfully and let out a huff. "I suppose I'm hungry."

"Yep. You're hungry." He said. "I'm starving to death, and I can hear the monster in your stomach right now." He said, turning around, he grabbed her hand, as he listened to her diatribe about stomach acid, digestion and sounds and how he couldn't possibly be starving to death, all the while keeping her close as he ushered her out of the lab.