A/N:
Thank you for the reviews! Despite how busy I was this weekend, I just couldn't stop writing this chapter. Enjoy. : )

Chapter Four

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Medico-Legal Lab

Jeffersonian

8 am

Brennan was in the lab looking over the new evidence analysis. It had come in just that morning, and she had already called Booth to tell him, but she had had to leave a message.

Angela had just arrived, and was currently standing next to her, nagging her about her favorite Brennan-related subject - Booth.

"So, what did you two talk about last night?" she asked, smiling conspiratorially.

"Angela, I'm really not comfortable telling you. I don't think its something Booth wants everyone to know."

"But best friends are supposed to gossip. Anyway, I bet I can guess. Will you tell me if I guess it?"

Brennan gave her a look, one which Angela pointedly ignored.

"Did it have something to do with Sidney?"

Brennan just shrugged, not looking up from the piece of evidence.

"Was it the poker?"

Brennan looked up.

"Aha! I got it didn't I?"

Brennan sighed; lying had never been her strong suit. "He said he has a gambling problem, he hasn't gambled in four years, and that he could handle it."

Angela's triumphant smile had gone. "Poor Booth; and we were just sitting there rubbing it in his face..."

Brennan nodded. "I know, that's what I -"

"Wait, isn't Parker four?" Angela asked suddenly.

"Yes, but what does that - "

"Sweetie, he said he hasn't gambled in four years, right? That must be why Rebeca wouldn't marry him. They must have broken up because of his gambling, and then she finds out she's pregnant. She tells Booth, who of course asks her to marry him - and she says no. That must be why he stopped..."

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Booth's Apartment

Earlier that morning

Booth woke to find that his alarm clock had not gone off, he had missed a call from Brennan, and Sidney was using his bathroom. He got up and knocked loudly on the door, yelling to be heard over the shower. "Hey! Could you hurry up? I've gotta get to the lab!" There was a muffled response, which Booth couldn't understand. He waited for ten minutes, in which time Sidney had still not emerged. He decided to give up and just get dressed.

Just as Booth was about to go out the door, Sidney came running - fully dressed, hair perfect, jacket in hand. "Wait up! I need a ride down town."

"Fine. Whatever." At least it would get Sidney out of his apartment for awhile.

On the ride over Booth glared at the cars in front of him and tried not to think about the fact that he hadn't shaved, his hair was unkempt, and to top it all off, he was over an hour late in answering Brennan's call.

As Booth honked at the car in front of him again, Sidney cleared his throat, glancing in his direction. "Get up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Booth turned his glare on Sidney. "You might say that. Of course it would have been so much better if you hadn't hogged the bathroom all morning. Then there's this case, which is pretty much turning into a big blank..." Booth continued to tell Sidney about the case, wanting to rant, and not caring to whom.

When Booth had finished, Sidney looked somewhat troubled. "That reminds me of a job I was assigned when I was in the army."

"What?"

"It was a few years before you joined. It was about 15 years ago, I think... I was supposed to be back in the US on leave, but I was actually on a classified assignment. The two targets - I was supposed to make it look like they had just up and left. No car, no clues, no reason for anyone to ever suspect the truth. Ended up looking a lot like this case you're working on now."

Booth stopped the car where Sidney had indicated. "So you're saying, this case - it might be an inside job."

Sidney nodded. "I don't think you'll get very far. This is the kinda thing none of the higher-ups want anyone to know about. Now, I'd love to stay and chat but..." Sidney opened the door and got out of the car.

Booth rolled down the window. "What were the names of the targets?"

"I only ever got a last name," Sidney said, thinking for a moment. "Brentley? Brendman, maybe? I don't remember."

Booth felt a twinge of dread in the pit of his stomach. "Was it Brennan?"

"Yeah, that's it. Look, I gotta go..." Sidney slammed the door then, leaving Booth to speed off toward the lab, mind reeling, wondering how he was going to tell Brennan.

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Medico-Legal Lab

Jeffersonian

Brennan and Angela looked up as Booth walked in, and pretended they hadn't just been talking about him. Brennan crossed to the other side of the table and examined the next piece of evidence again. Angela excused herself, smiling at Booth on the way out the door.

"I got your message. Sorry I'm late."

Brennan thought he looked distracted; his mind was definitely on something else.

Booth walked over to stand across from Brennan at the examination table. "What's that?" he asked, indicating the slide she held in her hand. Now he was just stalling for time; avoiding the inevitable. He knew he needed to tell her. It would just be worse for everyone if he didn't.

"I don't know, that's the problem," she said, placing the object under the microscope again. "Here, why don't you have a look. Maybe you'll see something different."

Booth leaned over the microscope. He honestly couldn't comprehend what he was looking at. "I'm not very good at 'squinting'," he said, standing up straight again. "I don't know what it could be."

"Chemical analysis indicates that its made up of poly-paraphenylene terapthalamide - "

"Kevlar." Booth said, surprised that he had actually remembered that.

"Like in bullet proof vests?" Brennan asked, slightly taken aback that Booth had known that and she hadn't.

"Yes." Booth's heart sank; Sidney's theory was looking more and more likely.

"Wasn't it raining heavily that night?" Brennan asked suddenly.

"Why?"

"Well, how do you explain a piece of Kevlar being found? Its five times stronger than steel, and there was no evidence of gunfire. If it was raining, there could be another explanation. The Kevlar in bulletproof vests isn't usually waterproofed as it would be when used in mooring lines and other underwater products. Poly-paraphenylene is formed through hydrogen bonding. When the material is saturated with water it loosens those bonds. In the vests, rainwater would weaken the structure significantly, making it far more easily damaged."

Booth nodded slowly. "So, you're saying it could have been ripped or torn?"

"Yes. It would have taken some force, buts its possible. Although, it still doesn't explain why it was found there. None of the police or FBI who were present on the scene were wearing bulletproof vests; there was no reason for them to."

Booth sighed. If what Sidney said was correct, it was perfectly reasonable to assume that the kidnappers would be wearing Kevlar. "There's something I should tell you."

"What?" Brennan asked, growing anxious. Booth had been acting strangely, and it seemed that this is what it was about.

As Booth prepared himself to tell her, a low ringing echoed throughout the room. Perfect timing. Booth rolled his eyes and answered the phone.

"Hello?" Booth said it bruskly, making it clear that it was a bad time. "Oh- hi Rebeca." He looked at Brennan awkwardly and then walked slowly to the other side of the room as he talked.

"What? Why?" he sounded shocked and angry. Brennan wondered what had happened.

"That's not fair and you know it. You can't do this!" After a moment the anger faded and was replaced with a look of defeat.

"Rebeca...please." Booth listened for a moment longer and then hung up. He slipped the phone back in his pocket, sat down on the couch in the corner, and put his head in his hands.

Brennan went over and sat down next to him, touching his arm lightly. "What happened?"

Booth sat up straight, trying to pull himself together. "Rebeca decided to move to New York with Parker and her 'fiance'." He snorted derisively. "That was her giving me 'two-weeks notice'."

"She can do that? Just leave?" Brennan asked, sounding nearly as angry as Booth had before.

"Pretty much," Booth sighed.

"That's not right!" Brennan exclaimed indignantly. "She has no right to take Parker away from you. I've seen you with him; you're a great dad."

Booth smiled sadly. "Thanks."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Brennan remembered that the phone call had interrupted them before. "You said you had to tell me something?"

"Yeah." If it was possible, Booth looked even more unhappy. Although, he noted, at least this time she was sitting down. "I may know what happened to the Pearsons, but - more importantly, I know what happened to your parents."

Questions? Comments? Ideas?