A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, I had a really hard time getting this chapter to work. Then we had HSPAs all last week (aka: a really annoying standardized test in NJ that takes up valuable hours of fanfic writing time :P ).

Anyway, here it is - the much revised, rewritten, rearranged and hopefully much better chapter.

PS - If anyone catches the Buffy reference, I'll give you a cookie - and a huggable lifesize DB doll.

Chapter 6

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Booth's apartment

10 am

Booth woke with a start, sitting up too quickly - his head was pounding. He looked at the clock and groaned, remembering the night before.

They had ordered drinks and played poker well into the night. Booth had lost most of the money he had had on him, which fortunately hadn't been much.

Booth got up and went into the living room, rubbing his eyes as he walked. He sat down on the couch and noticed that the TV was on, figuring Sidney must have forgotten to turn it off. Booth would have done it himself, but the remote seemed much too far away. He had started drifting off again, until he heard the current report on the news.

An old picture of Sidney was on the screen, as the voice of the news caster was heard.

"...he has not yet been apprehended, although he has been sighted in the DC area..."

It was then that Booth noticed that the single bag Sidney had brought was not in its usual place at the end of the couch, nor were any of the other things he normally left lying around.

"Dammit!" Booth got up and dressed quickly. He was out the door in a matter of minutes.

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Medico-Legal Lab

Jeffersonian

Brennan sat in front of her computer, the latest chapter of her book on the screen. She hadn't actually typed anything in quite awhile, but sat staring at the words, lost in thought.

She had been at the lab since early that morning, hoping that Booth would show up. After all, they still had a case to solve, and she couldn't do anything else until he got there - they had already gathered all the data they could from the evidence. Even if Booth was mad at her, she didn't think he'd just abandon Serena and the case. However, when he hadn't shown up by 11, she and Angela had gone to the FBI building to find him. He hadn't been in his office and no one had seen him all day.

It was now 5 o'clock and she still hadn't heard from him. She was beginning to worry just how much what she said had affected him, or if this had anything to do with her at all. She had already decided that she would go to his place later and apologize, the anticipation of which hung over her like a dark cloud. She had always been bad at admitting when she was wrong, a fact that had only grown worse as she got older. She sincerely hoped that on this occasion she would be able to do it without making things worse.

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FBI Headquarters

5:15 pm

After hearing the news report, Booth had gone back to The Alibi, hoping that one of Sidney's gambling buddies would know where he had gone. He hadn't asked any of them outright, wary of raising suspicions. Instead, he had joined their group, listening to their conversations as they played, waiting for one of them to let something slip - that is, if any of them actually knew anything...

Booth hadn't been paying attention to how long he had been there, but when he realized it had been more than a few hours and he still hadn't learned anything, he had decided to return to headquarters. Now, he walked down the hallway toward his office, thinking over the facts of the two cases and what he knew about Sidney.

"Booth! Where have you been?" Cullen barked, walking over. Booth stopped reluctantly; he had hoped he would be able to make it without seeing his boss.

"Sorry sir, something came up," he said, hoping he didn't appear too disheveled - he realized he had never actually stopped to check.

"A couple of your squints were here earlier looking for you," Cullen continued, noticing how distracted the agent seemed.

"Thanks," Booth said, as Cullen turned to leave.

Booth was just about to go into his office when Cullen turned back. "I want this case closed, Agent Booth - ASAP. If you have to, declare it unsolved due to lack of evidence. There are more pressing cases I want you working on." Cullen walked away again, disappearing around the next corner.

Booth stepped into his office, frowning at Cullen's sudden impatience. He remembered what Cullen had said about the squints looking for him, but decided he'd just have to stop by the lab later - right now he needed to find out where Sidney was.

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Having hit a dead-end with the few pertinent files he could dig up at the FBI, Booth headed back to The Alibi. This time, he'd have to start asking questions, whether it raised suspicions or not. There wasn't enough time now that Cullen was pushing to close the case. He knew that these two cases were related, and the key was Sidney.

A few minutes later Booth walked under the red neon sign of The Alibi, which was flickering ominously, and spotted Sidney's group at a table in the corner. He wondered vaguely if they ever went home, until he remembered that he had been here at least half the day himself. Pushing that thought firmly to the back of his mind, Booth walked over to the group and sat down, nodding at them in greeting.

An hour later Booth had joined the game, had a drink, and brought up Sidney several times. Every time he received the same reactions - furtive glances and narrowed eyes; no one was willing to give up any information.

Booth had noticed one thing however. Another key member of the group wasn't there, though he had been on every other occasion. Booth joined the next hand of cards, hoping the man would show up soon.

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Medico-Legal Lab

Jeffersonian

7 pm

Brennan saved what few sentences she had succeeded in writing and shut down the computer for the night. Just as she pressed the power button, there was a knock at her door. She turned around in her chair and saw a woman standing there. She had long brown hair, expensive looking clothes, and a very frustrated expression.

"Can I help you?" Brennan asked, standing up from her chair.

The woman simply nodded. "I'm Rebeca - "

That's when Brennan noticed a little boy standing behind her - all golden-brown hair and expressive brown eyes - Parker.

Parker waved from behind his mother's purse. "Hi Bones," he said, smiling in an almost perfect imitation of his father. Brennan's mouth turned up in a smile almost involuntarily at the thought of Booth teaching her nickname to Parker - a thought she realized she didn't mind at all, considering how vehemently she had protested being called 'Bones' a few months ago.

Rebeca cleared her throat then, bringing Brennan back to the present. "Um - yes, hi Rebeca," Brennan said awkwardly, attempting a small smile which she suspected ended up looking more like a grimace. "Were you looking for Booth?"

Rebeca nodded again. "Yeah, I've been about everywhere I can think of - FBI, his apartment, Sid's..." she sighed, "That's just like him, you know," she said, shaking her head, "just going off somewhere; not telling anyone -"

Brennan frowned, thinking just how unlike Booth that was. Rebeca had gone on, ranting about how irresponsible Booth was. "Excuse me," she said, crossing her arms in front her, suddenly feeling the need to defend her partner, "I admit I don't know that much about Booth's past, but that's certainly not how he is now."

Rebeca had stopped mid-sentence, looking surprised at Brennan's outburst. Soon though, that surprise gravitated toward indignant anger. "Well, have you seen him? Do you know where he is?" she asked.

Brennan looked at her feet for a second. "Well - no, but I suspect he's just -"

"If you see him," Rebeca interrupted, "tell him I'm reconsidering moving Parker to New York, and I need to talk to him." With that, she turned and walked out the door. "Come on Parker!" she called over her shoulder.

Parker turned to follow her, but stopped at the door and turned back to Brennan. "Bye Bones," he said sweetly, waving before running after his mother.

Brennan smiled softly and went back to packing up her things for the night. At least she would have some good news when she went to go apologize to Booth.

Comments? Questions? Ideas? (Especially ideas - if there's anything you'd like to see in future chapters, please suggest it!)