I gently place the skull back in the ground so it can be documented properly when the team arrives from the lab. The team from the lab. I groan internally. They're going to want to know how we found it and why we were here in the first place. My nausea suddenly returns with a vengeance. I turn quickly and dash up the stairs. I run past Booth in the kitchen who is still making calls and stumble through the back door. I just make it to a patch of overgrown shrubs before vomiting uselessly. My stomach is empty, the coffee having long since been digested. Dry heaves wrack my body a couple more times before it's over. While I was vomiting, I heard Booth call my name, confused by my sudden exit no doubt. He comes to stand behind me now and gently places his hand on my shoulder to turn me to face him.

"Bones? Are you ok? Are you sick? What's going on?" His face is etched with concern.

I lower my eyes and pull a bottle of water from my bag "It's nothing Booth, I'm fine. It's just food poisoning that's all." I look back up at him to see he is eyeing me incredulously.

"Oh, well that's all right then. As long as it's only food poisoning." His tone is heavy with sarcasm.

"It's fine, Booth. I feel better now." I take a welcome sip from the water bottle feeling grateful I had thought to put it in my bag before we left this morning. He is still looking at me with concern and I smile at him in an attempt to convince him I really am fine.

"Do you want to go home, Bones? I'm sure the squints can handle recovering the body."

"No that won't be necessary, Booth." While I trust our team, handling bones is my job and I need it to be done right. If this is who I think it is, we're going to need all the evidence we can find which means being painstakingly thorough. Something which I only trust myself to be.

0-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-0

It is mid afternoon before we have completed recovery of the remains. It took a lot longer to dig these remains out than it did to recover the dumpster body yesterday. Each bone had to be painstakingly removed from the compacted dirt by brushing and gently digging so as not to damage the bones. Hodgins has taken numerous soil samples; each stage of the recovery has been painstakingly documented and I am satisfied we got everything. Booth had the FBI techs do a sweep of the house even though it is virtually empty just to be sure there was nothing we were missing but they found nothing. I feel extremely glad that Booth is here today with me and not another agent like yesterday. He has managed to field the team's questions well by telling them we found the remains while we were chasing leads on the Gravedigger shooting.

I climb into Booth's SUV and we begin the journey back to the Jeffersonian so I can begin my analysis of the bones. I am once again feeling incredibly fatigued. I rest my head back on the seat and against my will, my eyes close and I find myself drifting in and out of sleep. I jerk awake when we stop, and I look around to see we have arrived at the lab. Booth leans across from his seat and takes my hand.

His eyes are full of concern as he gently asks me "Bones, are you sure you're ok? I'm so worried about you. It's not like you to be sick or sleep this much."

I am unsure if I am ok. I do not know what is wrong with me and it is unsettling. I don't want to worry him though, so I squeeze his fingers and smile and say, "Yes Booth I'm sure."

His eyes tighten a little at my words, but he nods and then leans forward to kiss my forehead. "I've got to get back to the office, Bones. You'll let me know when you have something from the bones?"

"Of course Booth." I smile at him again as he releases my hand and I get out of the car to head to the lab.

I go straight to my office to grab my lab coat then onto the platform where the remains have been deposited awaiting me. I open the zipper on the bag and begin the process of laying the bones out on the table. It is obvious the body has been buried for some time as the bones are dry with no flesh remaining. This means the body has been there at least a year but most likely longer. We did, however, manage to recover some scraps of clothing. The synthetic fibres taking a lot longer to decompose than human flesh. Once I have completed laying out the bones, I take X-rays then begin my preliminary analysis. As I initially thought, the remains are male, Caucasoid, and I estimate the age to be mid 30's. I can find no obvious indication of trauma or possible cause of death, so I begin the process of cleaning the bones, opting to boil them due to the lack of flesh remaining. I am just making my way back to my office when I hear Angela shouting my name across the lab. I turn on my heel and walk over to her office. As I walk through her door, I see she is in front of the Angelatron. She turns as I enter and smiles.

"Hey Bren, sorry for yelling like that, I just couldn't face the walk over there to come and get you." She gestures to her large pregnant stomach and I nod my understanding at her.

"What do you need Angela?"

"What, besides a foot massage?" She grins then continues "I have the facial reconstruction for you from the basement remains."

She taps a few buttons on her keypad and the face appears on the screen. As usual, she has done an excellent job. I feel relief when I don't recognise him, specifically when I realise it is not the man from my dream.

"I'm running his image through the DMV database and missing persons to see if anything comes up." She says.

I look at the left of the screen where I can see the computer making its search for matches. The images suddenly stop flicking and stop on one. All the breath leaves my body when I see the name under the picture on the missing persons report. "Oh my god." The words leave my mouth in a whisper, but Angela still hears me.

"What is it Sweetie?" She asks.

I swallow before answering her. Even though this is the result I expected, having it confirmed is still a shock. "It's William Burton."

"Who?" Angela asks, clearly not understanding the significance.

"I need to call Booth." I say as I quickly turn to leave Angela's office. I pull my phone from my pocket and hit the speed dial button.

"Hey! Brennan! What's going on?!" I hear Angela shouting from behind me, but I don't stop to answer her.

Booth picks up just as I reach my office. "It's William Burton." I blurt out with no preamble whatsoever. Before he can respond I add to clarify "the basement remains, it's him, Booth."

I hear his sharp intake of breath before he asks, "Are you sure it's him?"

"I'm sure."

"Wow, ok. Do you have cause of death yet?"

"No. I have found nothing to indicate cause of death on my preliminary analysis. I'm waiting for the bones to be clean then I'll be able to make a more detailed examination."

"Ok, Bones. Keep me informed of your progress."

"Of course Booth."

I am about to hang up when he says, "Oh, and Bones?"

"Yes Booth?"

"I love you."

I feel a smile spread across my face and the warm feeling spreading in my chest that only seems to occur when he says those words "I love you too, Booth". I disconnect the call and go to see if the bones are clean yet.

0-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-0

Further analysis of the bones has not yet revealed cause of death and I am frustrated. I have scoured every millimetre and I have not found one indication of what killed William Burton. The only thing we have managed to ascertain thanks to Hodgins' soil samples and analysis of the scraps of clothing found with the remains is an approximate time of death of between 10-12 years, which is consistent with the time of his disappearance.

I have been stood over the table in the bone room scouring the bones for clues for what must be hours. I quickly glance at my watch and realise it is late. Pre- Booth I would have slept on the couch in my office for a few hours before going back to the bones again. Now though, I know that Booth is waiting at home for me and that thought is a considerably more appealing prospect than my office couch.

I suddenly detect movement out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head to see Angela stood in the doorway. "Angela! What are you still doing here? You should have gone home ours ago."

She walks towards me and says "Yeah, I could the say the same about you Sweetie. I was just trying to catch up on some paperwork while I waited for Hodgins to finish. He's looking at the pieces of clothing again that you recovered today to see if he can find anything he might have missed. I'm guessing you're doing the same thing?"

"Yes. With very little success."

"I made a start on those financials Booth requested. It wasn't until I started that I realised he had requested them for Heather Taffet and William Burton. I didn't understand the significance when you identified him. He was the guy you were already looking for huh?"

I freeze when Angela mentions that Booth and I had already been looking for William Burton. I don't reply to her and try to appear deep in thought examining Burton's left ulna.

Angela continues, "What's he got to do with Taffet anyway? Did Booth suspect he might have been her killer?"

I can feel a sheen of sweat appear on my forehead as my stomach begins to feel uneasy once again. This conversation is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I know I need to give her a reply though, because otherwise she won't leave me alone. I swallow before answering her. "No, he wasn't a suspect. He was the man Heather Taffet married to create her false identity."

"Oh!" She says in surprise. I risk a peek at her face, trying to avoid making eye contact with her but she is looking at the bones, not at me. She looks confused. She pauses for a moment then says, "So, if you didn't suspect him for Taffet's murder, why were you looking for him?"

I am gripping the edge of the table as I listen to Angela question our actions. I can't tell her why. I would have to tell her more about the dream and she will think I've lost my mind. My already uneasy stomach somersaults and I dash from the room. I only just make it to the bathroom in time before I lose the contents of my stomach. I hear the door open behind me and Angela's voice calls out.

"Brennan? Are you in here?"

I groan then call out to her from my position kneeling on the floor in front of the toilet. "Don't come in here, Ange. I'm sick. I think I have contracted a gastrointestinal pathogen and it might be contagious."

She snorts then says "Trust me, Sweetie. I'm still puking so much that I don't think I would notice if I did catch the stomach flu. Whoever said that morning sickness goes away in the second trimester is a liar. It's probably the same person who named it 'morning sickness'. In my experience, it's any time of the god damn day sickness."

I rise from the floor on shaky legs and leave the toilet stall. I go over to the sink and wash my hands. As I examine my reflection in the mirror over the sink, I see Angela watching me carefully.

"Are you sure it's stomach flu Sweetie? I mean, you were fine just a minute ago."

I splash a little water on my face to wash away the sticky sheen of sweat that had gathered there. "I think it might be food poisoning Ange. It's been happening on and off for a couple of days now."

I look at her reflected face in the mirror to see she has one eyebrow raised. "Food poisoning huh? I know what you're like with your science and theories etcetera, so I'm assuming you've ruled everything else out before coming to this conclusion? Like, when was your last period? For example." She waves her hand in the air in a flippant manner but looks at me knowingly.

I turn to face her, my mouth hanging open, dumbfounded. She must have interpreted the expression on my face as confusion, as she attempts to clarify what she said "Your period Brennan? You know, your cycle? Menstruation or whatever fancy scientific name you like to call it."

My brain has frozen. Unusually for me, I am unsure where I am in my menstrual cycle. It is very regular, usually to the day. I need to check my calendar. I pull my phone from my pocket and tap on the little calendar icon. As I find the last entry I made for my cycle I quickly calculate when I am due. As I calculate the dates, I begin to feel dizzy and I think I might faint. "I'm- I'm late." I manage to stammer out.

"Whoa, ok Sweetie." Angela comes closer and gently takes my wrist. I tear my eyes from my phone screen to look at her. "How many days late are you?" She asks.

I glance back at my phone to confirm my calculation, suddenly unsure of myself. I calculate it again but confirm that, of course, I was right the first time. "I'm six days late. I don't understand how I could have missed this. How can this have happened?" I say in disbelief.

"I don't think you need me to explain that to you, do you?" A small grin appears on her face and I know she is teasing me.

I roll my eyes at her and shake my head. "That's not what I mean, Ange. I'm on birth control."

"Oh, yeah because no one ever got pregnant while they were on birth control." Her tone is heavily laced with sarcasm. "You know, there's a reason why they put it on the box that it's only, like 99% effective. It doesn't work sometimes for lots of reasons, you know that." She points out. "Like if you've been sick or if you miss a pill…"

Miss a pill. I look at Angela, my eyes wide with horror. It has happened to me twice before. Usually when working on a case and I would be here late into the night and I would forget to take it. I learnt after the second time to carry the pills in my purse instead of keeping them at home so I would always have them with me. Of course, in those instances it was inconsequential as I didn't have a sexual partner at the time. Could I have missed another one without realising?

I almost run from the bathroom to get to my purse in my office. I tip the contents onto my desk and hear Ange's slow footsteps entering my office behind me. I rifle through my things until I find the silver strip of birth control pills. I flip the blister strip over to look at the back where the days of the week are printed over each pill. "What day is it today, Ange? Is it Wednesday?" It has been an incredibly long day and the panic is clouding my mind.

Angela glances at her watch and says "Yeah it's still Wednesday. Just."

I groan and slide into my chair behind my desk. I drop the blister strip and place my elbows onto the desk to cradle my head in my hands. "The days are out of sync. I've missed a pill, but I don't know when. The last empty one says Tuesday, but I know I've taken it today; I remember coming in here to do it."

Angela moves to stand next to me and rubs my shoulder. "Don't be too hard on yourself Sweetie. It happens to the best of us and you have been dealing with a lot lately. I thought this is what you wanted though?"

"I did. I do! Just not now. I thought maybe in a few months or something. I wanted to make the decision when the time was right but now the decision has been made for me!" It has been a long stressful day in a stressful week and this is testing my limits. I feel a tear roll down my cheek and my hands are shaking. I feel like I'm on the verge of losing control of myself.

Angela moves closer to me and puts her arm around my shoulders. "Sweetie, I know it scares you when you don't have control over something, but you're just going to have to trust me that it's going to be ok. You couldn't be in a better position. You have a stable job, a great place to live and a man that loves you more than anything. A man who will no doubt be ecstatic at the prospect of raising a kid with you. It's going to be ok."

I wish I could believe her, but this is so unexpected. I recall how I felt the other day, how I felt envious of Angela. I thought that this is what I wanted, but now it is reality, I don't know if I am ready. "I'm not ready, Ange." I mutter as more tears roll down my face.

Angela snorts then says, "Who is, Sweetie? I was terrified when I found out I was pregnant. Happy, but still, terrified. If you wait until you're ready, you will never be ready. There will always be a reason not to do it or it not being the right time."

"Not the right time for what?" Hodgins' voice startles me. I look up to see him stood in my office doorway. I quickly wipe my face with the back of my hand.

Angela turns around at the sound of his voice blocking me from his view. "Hey babe!" She says to him, ignoring his query. "Are you finished?"

"Yeah, for now." He says in reply. I can just see him from my position behind Angela. He looks as tired as I feel as he wearily rubs his face with his hand. "I'm so tired I'm seeing double. I need to get some sleep and I'll take another look tomorrow."

"I was just telling Bren she needs to go home and get some sleep too." Angela says

I glance up at her I confusion. I am certain that she didn't say that to me "You were?"

"Yeah." She turns to face me with her pointed no nonsense look.

I know from previous experience that when she gives me that look, there is no point in arguing with her. I stand up to start gathering my things that I had dumped unceremoniously on my desk. "I need to call a cab. Booth brought me here after we'd recovered the remains."

Angela rolls her eyes at me and says "Don't be ridiculous, Bren. We'll give you a ride home. Speaking of Booth, where is he anyway? He's usually the one pestering you to go home."

I feel my hands start to tremble again when I think about going home to Booth. Only a short while ago it was the most appealing thing I could think of. But right now, all I can think is how I am going to avoid him seeing there is something wrong. I can't tell him yet. I need to take a test to confirm it before I can say anything to him. I don't want to tell him only to find I am incorrect. I realise Ange is still waiting for me to reply so I say, "I told him I'd be working late and not to wait up."

"And he just accepted that, did he?" Angela says with a knowing look.

"No. He's called several times, but I have ignored it."

She shakes her head and looks at me disapprovingly "Ok, come on, let's get you home before Booth comes marching in here to drag you home like some sort of hot, alpha male, FBI agent caveman."

"I don't know what that means Angela."

Hodgins interjects and says with a grin, "It means, let's get out of here before Booth shoots his way in looking for you."

He turns to leave the office and Angela follows him. I slip off my lab coat and grab my jacket before following behind them.

On the way home, I ask Hodgins to stop at a convenience store. I hope they have what I need as I quickly enter the store. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see they have several. I pick up three different brands of test and take them all to the counter to pay. I stash them in my purse and dash back to the car. The sheen of sweat has returned on my face and I feel queasy again. I crack the side window a little for some air and it helps. I look up to see Hodgins eyeing me with concern in the rear-view mirror.

"Are you ok Dr B?" He asks.

I feel irritated. I am tired of being asked if I am all right. And when did everyone start observing me so closely?

I realise he is only concerned for my wellbeing, so I try to keep the irritation out of my voice as I respond. "I'm fine. Just a little under the weather, that's all." I decide not to blame my behaviour on tiredness just in case he witnessed my dash for the bathroom earlier on.

"Oh," he says "have you got like a cold or something? Because you know, since this morning, in that basement, I've had this really scratchy throat and I don't know whether it's something I breathed in down there or…"

"Jack..." Angela admonishes him with her head turned towards him and her eyebrows raised.

He glances at her briefly then nods his head and says "Right, yeah. Shut up Hodgins."

The rest of the ride home is mercifully brief and quiet. I thank Angela and Hodgins as I exit the car before entering my building and making my way to the elevator.

As I wait for the elevator to deposit me on my floor, I work on trying to appear normal. I take a few deep breaths and close my eyes to calm myself. I pause outside the apartment door while I find my key in my pocket but before I can put it in the lock, the door opens, and Booth pulls me inside wrapping me in a bone crushing hug.

"It's well after midnight, Bones." He says softly in my ear "I've been worried about you; I was starting to think you weren't coming home. I was getting ready to go down to the lab and drag you out."

I smile when I realise Angela's predictions about his actions if I didn't go home were correct. I press my face against him and breathe him in. I had been so busy this afternoon I hadn't realised how much I have missed him, and I almost relinquish my desire to keep the revelations of this evening a secret from him. I never keep anything from Booth, and it feels especially wrong to keep this from him. I bite my lip to prevent the words slipping from my mouth. I need to do a test first, I remind myself. Then I can tell him.

He releases me from his embrace and says "I tried calling you several times. Why didn't you answer your phone?"

"I was busy, Booth." His question irritates me and consequently my response is blunt.

I see his eyes tighten at my response and he looks hurt. "I was worried about you, Bones. You were sick this morning and you fell asleep in the car! And then I don't hear from you for hours! You didn't answer your phone and you didn't come home. What was I supposed to think huh?" His voice gets louder with each statement and I can see he is angry. I didn't get a look at his face when I arrived home and realise now that he must have been working himself up to this all night.

I don't want to argue; I just want to go to bed but I feel agitated and can't resist the urge to fight back. "Booth, I was working. I told you I would be working late, and you knew where I was. I don't understand what the problem is."

He is alternating rubbing his fingers and thumb over his eyebrows and pinching the bridge of his nose. "The problem, Bones is that you didn't answer your phone! How was I supposed to know you were alright? Like I just pointed out, you were sick! How was I supposed to know you weren't lying on the floor somewhere in the lab in need of medical attention?"

"Booth, you are being ridiculous." I say dismissively. He is really starting to make me mad.

"Am I?!" He almost shouts back at me.

I find myself raising my voice now too. "Yes! I wasn't that unwell, and I wasn't alone, Booth. Angela was there and even if she hadn't been there is always a night watchman. Besides, if you were so worried, why didn't you just come down to the lab to see for yourself?!"

He narrows his eyes at me and says "Because I knew you wouldn't want me to, Bones. And I wouldn't have to if you would do me the common courtesy of returning my calls!"

I am too tired for this. My hold on my self-control tonight was tenuous at best and now my temper blows completely. "You are not my keeper, Booth! Just because we are in a relationship now, it doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do! I don't have to answer to you. Believe it or not, I managed perfect well to take care of myself before and I am certainly still capable now!"

"That's not what I'm saying! Bones!" He says as I turn my back on him and storm off towards the bedroom.

I slam the bedroom door and hastily strip my clothes off. I stalk into our attached bathroom and toss the clothes in the hamper. I shiver as I climb into the shower so I turn the water temperature up as high as I can bear it then just stand under the stream trying to calm myself. I remain there until the water starts to turn tepid. I shut it off then dry myself. I go into the closet and pull a pair of pyjamas from the chest of drawers. I wearily pull them on then walk back into the bedroom. I look at the bed; it is empty, and I can hear the TV from the living room. I know Booth isn't trying to control me; I knew about his alpha male tendencies a long time ago and he is only concerned about me like I would have been about him. I should really go and make amends, but I am beyond tired. I simply don't have the energy. I flop down onto the bed and fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.