Disclaimer: I have to admit that I used a line from a Friends episode in this chapter, the "stewing in your own filth" answer. I just found it so funny, I had to put it in here.

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Booth turned into the parking lot of Brennan's apartment building feeling rather tired, confused and depressed. He didn't know what to think anymore. Brenda had seemed perfectly normal and he couldn't see why Johnson had had any reasons to doubt her story fifteen years ago. Booth had managed to track down Don Edwards but when he had called his place, his wife had told him that Edwards was out of the country for a few more weeks and would only be back in August. Booth thanked her and had hung up. He didn't have time to wait for Edwards. He found it doubtful that this had been a passionate crime. There weren't any signs of injuries causing death present on the bones which also made it harder for his squint team to determine a cause of death.

Booth turned off the ignition after parking beside Tempe's currently empty parking space and got out of his vehicle. He had a feeling he would never find out what had happened to his partner's parents. He sighed at that thought. He had wanted so much to be the one who would found these answers. He knew she was counting on him. What was he going to do when he would have to tell her that he'd hit a wall, that he didn't know who killed her parents and why and that there was a huge possibility that they would probably never know?

He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed he had reached his destination. He took out his keys, unlocked the door and stepped in. Closing the door behind him, he took off his shoes and placed on the rug beside the door. He walked to the living room, dropped himself on the couch and closed his eyes.

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Temperance wasn't surprised to find her door unlock as she stepped in her apartment, a little after six. She was tired, her back hurt from standing up all day and she had a pounding headache. She knew what she would do. She would take a bath then would talk Booth into giving her a massage. The memory of the massage he had given her two days ago came back to her. He had been so gentle and even if it hadn't relaxed her completely, it had felt rather nice. Nicer than she thought it was going to be.

As she walked in the living room she noticed Booth asleep on her couch. She stared at him for a few seconds, observing how cute and peaceful he looked when he slept, then walked off to the bathroom.

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Booth woke up to the sound of the water running.

She must be here. He thought to himself.

He rubbed the sleep from his face, yawned then sat up. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

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From the bathroom, Tempe could hear the TV. Booth was apparently watching the news. She sunk lower in her bath, closed her eyes and tried to relax.

She didn't know how long she had been there but when she opened her eyes, the water was cold and Booth had apparently turned off the TV. She rarely fell asleep while taking a bath and she took that as a sign that maybe she was more tired than she thought. She wondered if maybe she didn't need some time off. The thought of that surprised her. Where was that coming from? Taking some time off had never really crossed her mind since... well... she couldn't remember. Maybe she needed some though. She'd talk to Booth about it. Maybe they could go on a vacation somewhere. That thought surprised her even more. She groaned. What was Booth doing to her?

As the bathtub emptied itself, Temperance dried herself off, wrap her towel around her and walked out of the bathroom. Everything was silent in the apartment. She wondered if Booth hadn't left. She went to her room, put on some comfy clothes then walked to the kitchen. Booth was nowhere to be seen. Something caught her attention on the counter. It was a note.

Gone to my place to get some clothes. I'll bring back dinner. Hopefully you didn't drown in your bath!

She smiled. Booth was gone to get some clothes which meant he would be sleeping over that night again and possibly for the nights to come. She took the note and threw it in the garbage, suddenly fighting the urge to keep the note he had written her.

"Stop it, Brennan, you are not thirteen anymore!"

Then again, at thirteen, she hadn't been like that.

She heard the keys outside her door. She knew it was him and she was surprised that he had bothered to lock the door. He probably just wanted to make sure that nothing could happen to her. He could be so overprotective sometimes. She wondered if he was also like that with Parker.

He came in holding boxes of what looked like Chinese food. She watched as he took off his shoes, pushed them with his feet beside hers on the rug and walked to the kitchen.

A smile spread over his face when he saw her.

"Hey! You're finally done stewing in your own filth!" he told her, teasingly.

"What?" she replied, letting out a small laugh.

She hadn't understand a word he had just said.

"Sorry." Booth replied as he put the boxes of food on the counter. "I've never really been into bathes before. I always get the sensation that I'm stewing in my own filth when I'm in there."

"I guess it's one way to look at it."

"Are you hungry?"

"I'm starved."

Booth smiled. He pointed to the Chinese food laying on the counter. Temperance took out two plates while Booth opened the drawer, took out two forks, and set them on the table. Temperance put the plates down and the two of them sat down.

She was surprised when Booth asked her how her day had gone but she nevertheless went on telling him what she had done. He was stalling for time. She knew that he had gone to see Brenda today but she didn't know what had happened. She would probably want to know and he didn't know what to tell her.

But the stalling didn't last long. Tempe hadn't done much that day and Booth soon found himself having to answer the question that he dreaded so much. He looked up at her and saw her looking at him expectantly. He told her about his conversation with Brenda.

"See I told you she wasn't a killer." Brennan said after he was done.

"I never said she was. I only said that I still had to interview her, to get her side of the story. Your parents went over to her place the night they disappeared, it was worth investigating."

"How was she?"

"She looked... tired."

Brennan nodded. The room fell silent and they both cleared their plates quietly. Once they were done, Brennan looked up at her partner. His mind seemed somewhere else. She asked him what he thought of the whole thing. Her voice brought him back to reality.

"You really want to know what I think?" he asked her.

"Yes."

"I think we'll never find out what happened to your parents."

Booth sighed.

"I think I've hit a dead end."

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Of course, it's TBC. I'm not sure when I will be able to update the story, try checking in around Tuesday. Chapter 12 will probably be up by then.