Chapter 2

Medico-Legal Labratory

Jeffersonian Institute

10:01 am

Brennan stood clutching her clipboard to her chest, staring past the milky white of the bones on the cold stainless steel of the exam table into the oblivion. Her mind seemed to only stayed focused half of the time now, ever since her incident with Rolph. Every second, she spent wondering where he was and racking her brain as to why Booth couldn't find the guy. It had been three weeks now, no trace of him visible. Anxiety itched inside of her skin, making it hard for her to work, or function in any other aspect of her life.

Suddenly, her revere was shattered with a whistle and a pair of hands waving in front of her blank, blue eyes. The movement jolted her, making her jump a bit. She tried to play it off as she came to look at Seely Booth, but failed miserably. He questioned her with a look from his brown eyes, more thoughtful than smirking at her. Brennan snorted and sat the file down on the table. She rounded the end of the gurney and brought her magnifier back to the section of bone she had originally come over to examine.

"Aren't we a little jumpy today?" Booth asked. Wrong damn question, Brennan thought.

"Wouldn't you be too if someone had just got through shooting you?" she spat back to him.

She saw him droop his head, stung by the harshness in her words. A twinge of guilt coarsed through her, but dissapatted quickly. For the most part, Brennan didn't think twice about jumping on Booth, assuming he could handle whatever she threw at him. Tough sniper cops had feelings too though. After all, she owed him a lot. She probably wouldn't even be alive it he hadn't been there with her.

She bent to look in the scope, not wanting to get into any further altercation with him. A warm breeze washed over the exposed skin that her blue lab jacket did not cover on her arms. She stood up from her work, her chest grazing Booth's. Endorphins ran through her body, sending nervousness throughout her. He stared into her eyes, then leaned forward. She could feel his breath on the nape of her neck, and she closed her eyes at the feel of it.

His hands did not touch her nor did any other part of him, but it didn't have to. There was distance between them, but it felt like they were grinding into one another. His breath tickled her ear as he spoke in to it.

"I tried to stop him Temperance," he whispered. He lips grazed her ear and lightly touched the lobe, kissing it. Or am I imagining, Brennan thought. The warm gushed away as Booth stepped back. She was unaware her eyes were still closed and she opened them quickly. The guilt was back, and with more force than ever. His eyes looked sad and he slowly walked away from her.

"I will talk to you later," he called out, looking back at her with a small smile. She nodded, half dumbfounded by the imagined kiss, the other half racing though what she had said to him. The doors slid open, and Booth rounded the corner, no longer visable to her. The day had only started and it was already proving to be tough to get through.

2 hours later

Somehow, Brennan had managed to tame her thoughts and focus on the task at hand. Originally, she had been extactic when she had heard the Jeffersonian had won the rights to examine a newly discovered Eyptian priestess, according to excavation records and other archealogical papers that had been sent with the woman. Now, it was Brennan and her scientific team that had the honor of figuring out who this woman had been. Judging by the condition of the bones, Brennan projected that this woman appeared to have lived during the time of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, somewhere around the early 1300's BCE. This find in the world of anthropology was stellar.

Brennan instantly became glad that her success and reputation had its benefits. Even though Brennan didn't take much stock in the fact that she was considered a famous author, as well as one of the world's top leading anthropologists, she smiled to herself and felt a sense of accomplishment. Hard works does pay off, she thought to herself with a smile.

Zach Addy, Brennan's prodigal lab assistant joined her side, also smiling at the corpse. The two never conversed, except on the work related aspects of thier lives. Brennan found it comforting that despite the age difference, she could converse with someone close to the same mental capacity as herself. Zach never skipped a beat with her and sometimes proved a challenge to her. She found their relationship satisfying on the work level.

"What a great find," Zach said to her. "The bones are in equisite condition, considering their age."

"Indeed," Brennan answered back. The two stood in silence for a moment, only staring at the body. Zach was the first to move, circling the table to stand opposite of Brennan.

"So have we determined a cause of death?" he asked.

"I found no anomolies in the structure of the bones. This woman appears to have died of natural causes."

"Hodgins ran some tests on the samples of fiber we collected from the sternum area. He concluded that the strands were that of Egyptian silk. Whoever this woman was, she was very well cared for and given the finest the age had to offer."

"Great work you two. I will give a look at the dentals, since most of the teeth are intact and present. We should have a good idea who we are looking at by the end of the workday, with a little research as well."

"I don't know about you, but our workdays tend to end a little before yours do," Zach said with a smile. Brennan sent him one of her own and pulled her lab coat off.

"I'm headed to lunch. Pack up the rest of the bones, except for the skull. Set up my equipment so I can examine it when I return."

"Sure thing Dr. Brennan," Zach said, moving diligently after her orders.

Her stomach rumbled as she headed out of the office. Booth suddenly shot into her mind. Should she invite him to lunch? A part of her felt like she owed it to him, considering her hateful treatment of him earlier. She didn't feel like dealing with him right now emotionally. Perhaps it was better if she had lunch alone. With a motion, she deposited her cell phone back into her purse. Another place, another time, she thought.

-

The streets of Washington were surprisingly calm for it to be the lunch hour. Brennan had oppted for a small cafe and bistro not far from the Jeffersonian. She sipped her diet Coke as she watched the people pass by. A chair scrapped across the tile floor, and Brennan looked over to see Booth taking a seat. Okay, so she hadn't intended on calling him. In fact, her better judgement had told her not to. Instead, she had calmed him up and was surprised when he agreed to meet her.

"I'm sorry about this morning," she apologized, popping a salt and vinigar chip into her mouth.

"Don't worry about it Bones," he said, shrugging it off.

"You want something to eat? I'm buying," she said, playing punching him in the arm.

Booth's expression remained as grim as when he had walked in, as he waved off her offer. Was he still in a crappy mood from this morning? Brennan felt a pang of agitation go through her. She had had enough time to cool off. Surely, he wasn't still holding a grudge against her.

"Look Booth," she began.

"I agreed to come here because I had something I needed to tell you. I didn't want to do it over the phone," he said leaning in to her more. His voice was low, his form guarded.

"What's going on?" Brennan frowned.

"This morning after I left, I got a call from my advisor. A tip came in on the whereabouts of Rolph," he whispered to her.

Her heart did a flip in her chest and then dropped to her stomach. She sat back in her chair and looked at the ground.

"We don't know if it's legit, but we are looking in to it," Booth explained. "I'm about to go and check in to it."

"I want to go with you," Brennan exclaimed, quickly standing and almost knocking over her coke and chair at the same time.

"Slow down Bones," Booth cried standing and putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him and steadied her breathing. He sat her back down slowly, but remained standing. Pulling his sunglasses from his pocket, he unfolded the earpieces.

"Sorry, but I am solo on this one," he said to her. "Please, just stay here and go about your work. I will let you know what I come up with."

She conceded to his request in action, but was very much against it on the inside. Perhaps the fear of being shot again overcame her, which is why she gave up so easily. Her eyes followed him as he exited the bistro. Brennan leaned back in her chair and felt her composure shatter. On the verge of tears, she sat numb. She barely noticed when the waitress sat her sandwich down in front of her. The hungry feeling in Brennan's gut was long gone at this point.