(The Suit on the Set)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooo

Before she left for Hollywood to visit the set of a movie being made about her book 'Bone of Contention', Brennan visited her friend Ethan Sawyer and spoke to him about Christopher Pelant. She gave him all the facts she had about the terrorist and Ethan appeared to be intrigued with the situation. "So somehow, he's managed to kill two people that you know of, hide a body in the FBI records room and kidnap one of your employees, but the monitoring company swears he hasn't left his house? This is fascinating, Temperance. Truly fascinating."

"I was hoping you'd think so." Brennan sat on the chair by his desk and smiled at her friend for a few seconds. At the moment he was lucid and he was the Ethan she used to know. "He's a dangerous man, Ethan. He's a computer expert . . . he calls himself a hacktivist. He's serving a sentence at his house, because he shut down the Department of Defense Network. Because of the FBI, he was convicted of multiple counts of wire fraud and computer fraud and doesn't have access to computers, smart phones or anything electronic. That's what makes this case so strange. Booth was at Pelant's house and he doesn't even own a television but he has found a way to bypass the electronic security set up to keep track of his movements . . . It appears he has a vendetta against the FBI and those that work with the FBI. That may be why he kidnapped Dr. Hodgins."

"Fascinating . . . Oh, I am sorry, I've already said that." Ethan sat on his bed, crossed his legs and placed his hands around his knees. "I'm glad you came to see me about this Temperance. I also don't have access to a computer, but I don't need one either. I will work on this conundrum and I will figure out why Mr. Pelant is capable of evading his electronic monitoring device . . . Yes, you have left me with a delicious puzzle, Temperance. I appreciate that you haven't forgotten an old friend."

Slowly shaking her head, Brennan gave her friend a sad smile. "I won't ever forget you, Ethan . . . Of that you can be sure of."

"Even if your time is spent with your family?" Ethan was a little jealous and couldn't deny he was. His friend had been like him for a long time. No family, alone except for a few friends, a workaholic. A future filled with work, writing papers in her field and seemingly detached from society, but now? She was living with her partner and they had a child. Would wonders never cease? He hoped that someday he could conquer his demons and find a new life like Temperance had. "How is your baby? Thriving, I hope."

"She is thriving, thank you." Brennan glanced at her watch and stood up. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer. I have to go pick up Christine from Day Care. If you discover the way that Pelant has evaded his monitor, please let me know. This is important."

Standing, Ethan took Brennan's hand and held it for a moment. "Of course I will. Thank you for giving me this wonderful puzzle to work on. I truly appreciate the gift you have given me. It's quite boring around here as you can imagine."

Once she was gone, Ethan sat down at his desk and stared at the blank wall behind his bookshelf. He wasn't allowed to have a pen and paper because during one of his more embarrassing moments, he had stabbed a nurse with a pen. "What a damn fool thing to do. My father gave me that pen and I'll probably never see it again . . . oh well, where there is a will, there is most definitely a way."

Ooooooooooooooo

Her trip to Hollywood had been a lot of fun. She hadn't expected to have to solve a murder while she was there, but she was more than willing to try if it meant the production of her movie wasn't shut down. Booth had supported her and helped with the investigation and they soon found the killer and the production continued. It was a very satisfying end to their trip, but she had been happy to return home. This had been her first trip away from her baby and she had found it hard to stay in Hollywood knowing that Christine needed her. Once they were home, they collected their child from Angela and Hodgins and drove home. Home, she had held her baby while Christine slept in her arms.

Booth had understood what Brennan was going through emotionally and while she sat in the living room with their child, he had put up what clean clothes they had left in their luggage, placed their dirty clothes in the washing machine and put the luggage up in the attic. That done, he had removed some soup from the freezer that they kept there for just such occasions and heated it up. With two mugs of soup in his hands and two spoons in his shirt pocket, he entered the living room and placed one of the cups and spoons on the coffee table. "Hey, you can put Christine on the sofa next to you, she's asleep . . . You need to eat."

Reluctantly, she had placed the child down on the cushion next to her, reached for her cup of soup and spoon and began to eat. "I didn't think I would miss her so much . . . I . . . I'm so happy to see her."

"Yeah, me too." Booth smiled at his slumbering daughter and knew he had been missing the tyke as well. "It's tough to be away from your kid, but Angela and Hodgins took good care of her, I knew they would."

"Yes, Angela considers Christine to be her niece even though we aren't actually related by blood or marriage." After she ate some of her soup, Brennan leaned back against the couch. "Russ is the only sibling that I have, that I know of . . . Max . . . well, anyway, it's nice to have a sister even if she isn't really related to me . . . does that make sense?"

Amused, Booth chuckled. "Of course it does. I get it . . . she's your best friend and Christine could use more relatives. I mean, let's face it, Jared and Russ aren't exactly the reliable types. We need a relative that we can trust and Angela . . . well, she's your sister in spirit and she's Christine's Aunt. I guess that means that Hodgins is Christine's Uncle . . . bug boy is weird, but he's reliable and I trust him."

"Angela is my best friend." Brennan ate more of her soup. "I hate to say it, but truthfully, I don't really trust Russ or Jared . . . if anything were to happen to us, I can think of no one I trust more than Angela to raise Christine . . . She would care for our child like her own. I do trust her."

"Yeah, I said I get it." And he did. Booth thought about how dangerous his job was, the fact that his health wasn't perfect and he knew that he could never give Jared the responsibility to raise any of his children. Russ was a convicted criminal, Max was a murderer and Pops was too old. "Hey, this is a heavy conversation . . . I think we're just tired and being away from Christine made us a little sad. Nothing is going to happen to you or me. We're young and we're smart. We work smart together . . . Christine isn't going to lose us anytime soon."

Glancing at her baby, Brennan sighed. "I do love her so much." Her gaze back upon Booth, Brennan smiled. "And I love you too, Booth. Don't forget that."

"Oh, I won't forget that, Bones." His cup empty, he placed it on the coffee table. "I love you and we're going to get our 40 or 50 years." Leaning back against his chair, he stared at Brennan and wondered again for the hundredth time how he had got so lucky to find someone like Brennan to share his life with. His life had started out badly, his childhood a nightmare and his grandfather had tried to fix what Edwin Booth had broken, but sometimes it had seemed like he would never have the life he wanted. He'd always dreamed he'd find someone like his grandfather had done to share his life with, but he'd never dreamed he'd find someone to love like he did Brennan. She was the biggest surprise of his life.

His gaze intense, Brennan felt her cheeks blush. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I love you, Bones . . . I love Christine, I love my life . . . Thank you."

"I don't know why you are thanking me, but I feel the proper response is 'you're welcome'. Is that correct or have I misunderstood what is going on?"

Chuckling, Booth nodded his head. "You're not misunderstanding anything Bones. I'm thanking you for giving me what I've always wanted, a family . . . And I think, I've given you something you wanted, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Brennan saw the look of love that Booth was giving her and she knew that she should thank him too. "This is a strange conversation, but . . . thank you, Booth. I never thought I would have anyone in my life that I could commit to have a permanent relationship with . . . You came into my life and you have changed me . . . sometimes I find it confusing, but the changes are good changes unexpected but good . . . I have a child, that is not something that I thought would happen . . . you . . . I never expected to meet anyone like you, not in my lifetime." She stopped, she was feeling emotional and she didn't want to cry. Not when she was happy.

"We're going to be okay, Bones. I promise."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thanks.