A/N: Sorry to leave you all hanging for so long - I was in Disney with my school's choir all of last week. We had to ride all the way there in a bus. Though it was funny when we went through DC, I was like 'OMG! Brennan and Booth have been in this very spot!' Of course, everyone looked at me like I was nuts...lol

ERT evidence recovery team - I'm not sure, it might be the same thing as CSIs, just the Canadian version. I've been reading Kathy Reich's books, and the ERT was mentioned at a crime scene in Montreal. It sounded cool though... : p

Oh, and thanks for all the wonderful reviews guys - we made it to the 100 mark! Let's see if we can get it to the 200 mark by the end huh: D

Chapter 11

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Dan's gun had discharged when he fell, fortunately hitting nothing more than a nearby tree. He rolled away from Brennan and got up on one knee, readjusting his aim to point at her.

During the confusion Booth had been able to grab his own gun, and was now standing over Dan. "Drop it!"

No one moved.

Brennan was crouched on one knee as well, having gotten up halfway. Dan kept his gun pointed at Brennan, while he looked over his shoulder at Booth as he tightened his finger on the trigger. "Dan," Booth warned. Dan's finger twitched and two shots sounded as Booth fired. His shot hit Dan in the leg, while Dan's went wide, missing Brennan by only a few inches. Booth released the breath he had unconsciously been holding and lowered his weapon, meeting Brennan's eyes in a significant glance before they both turned their gaze back to Dan, who was yelling in pain and clutching his leg. The shot had only been meant to incapacitate, basically a graze - despite the pain and blood, he'd live.

After tying the wound tightly with a piece of cloth ripped from Booth's T-shirt and some grumbling on his part that Dan was 'lucky he didn't happen to be wearing his Greatful Dead shirt that day', Booth and Brennan stood a few feet away talking. Booth had his cell phone out, and was currently giving it a glare he usually reserved for those he was interrogating. "I don't get service in here. What about you?" he asked. Brennan shook her head. Booth glanced at Dan, who was now watching their interaction with a pained and angry expression. "We're gonna have to leave him here and go back out so I can call Cullen."

"Shouldn't someone stay here with him?" Brennan asked somewhat grudgingly.

Booth scowled slightly in Dan's direction. "He's not going anywhere," he said, resting his hand at the small of her back and leading them forward.

Booth held his phone out in front of them as they walked, searching for a signal. After quite awhile he saw the bars shoot up a few notches and stopped abruptly, causing Brennan to bump into him. "Booth, what - "

"Signal," he said simply, dialing Cullen for the second time and pressing SEND. Brennan watched him pace back and forth as he spoke. "Yes sir, the Pearson case...I found them - I need you to reopen the case - it's officially a murder investigation."

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Within the hour Cullen had CSIs and the ERT at the scene as well as EMTs and a few extra agents. As soon as the EMTs had Dan stabilized, he was taken away in hand cuffs. Booth had pulled some strings, and so far Dan had only been charged with assault in return for his continued cooperation.

Brennan and Booth had led them all to the scene and once again sat on the fallen log at the edge of the clearing. Brennan, who had injured her knee during the altercation, was stubbornly trying to oversee the removal of the remains while a few hapless EMTs struggled to bandage the wound. Booth smiled as he watched her push one of them out of the way as she yelled at one of the ERT. "No, you need to bag that one first! And you're handling the remains all wrong! Do you want to compromise the evidence?"

Booth knew she hated not being in control - of both the recovery and of her own emotions, which were no doubt being pressed to the breaking point. This was her way of dealing at the moment, and Booth hoped he'd be able to help her to continue to deal with it. A moment later his thoughts were interrupted as Cullen sidled up next to him.

"Booth," he said, nodding in greeting.

"Sir?" Booth looked to Cullen with some trepidation, not quite knowing what to expect from him after their last meeting.

Cullen gestured at Brennan, who was bending down in the dirt despite her bad knee in order to take over the recovery, much to the chagrin of the CSIs and the ERT. "She really is something, huh?" he said, giving Booth a knowing look.

Booth smiled absently. "Yeah, she is...I mean - Sir?"

Cullen had started chuckling to himself. "Well, there must be something special about her; getting my top agent to get himself suspended for her." He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Booth's response.

Booth shifted uncomfortably and laughed nervously. "I'm sorry about that sir - "

Cullen held up a hand, becoming suddenly more serious. "That's actually what I need to talk to you about."

Booth nodded hesitantly, preparing himself for the worst.

"Frankly, I expected nothing less from you, but - I had to try."

"What do you mean?" Booth had no idea what his boss was getting at.

Cullen cleared his throat. "Furlong tried to pull some strings, tried to get us close the case. At the time, we had no leads connecting to him as the one ordering the hits, but he knew we'd get there soon enough. He knew that you were working the case, and when I refused to close it he threatened to have you killed. I figured if I suspended you it would at least keep you out of danger until we figured the whole thing out. But, as usual, I underestimated you and your squints...Anyway, I sent some agents after Furlong, I'll let you know when they get back with him."

"Thank you sir." Booth hesitated before asking his next question. "Does this mean I'm no longer suspended?"

"You are correct in your assumption, Agent Booth," Cullen said, clapping Booth on the shoulder as he left to talk to another agent.

Booth sighed in relief and crossed the clearing to where Brennan stood at the edge of the removal sight. She looked up as he approached. "What did Cullen say?"

"He's having Furlong brought in. And I'm not suspended anymore."

"That's good," Brennan said distractedly.

Booth put his hands in his pockets and watched Brennan. She seemed so lost, staring at the scene in front of her but not really seeing it. It seemed that the vigor she had displayed earlier in yelling at the ERT had been worn out, leaving the more hopeless Brennan he had encountered a few hours ago. He desperately wanted to help her, but he wasn't quite sure how. He figured for starters it would be a good idea to get her away from the place. "Hey Bones, whaddya say we get some dinner while they finish up here?"

Brennan's eyes snapped back to the present and met Booth's. She shook her head. "No, I need to be here." She looked at the crew that was currently setting up a grid across the whole clearing in preparation for a full analysis of the site. "In case they find something."

Booth shook his head at her in return. "Bones, you need to eat. This could take hours. If they find anything else they've been instructed to contact me. Okay?" Brennan didn't respond right away and Booth took her hand, giving it a slight tug. He started walking slowly and she followed, her hand remaining in his until they reached the end of the now well beaten path through the woods and back to Booth's SUV.

They had been driving for a few minutes when Brennan noticed the darkening sky for the first time. "Booth, what time is it?" Booth looked at the clock on the dashboard and cursed. "What's wrong?"

"Parker, I have to pick him up at day care by 6. It's already 5:40. You don't mind if we pick him up first do you?" Booth glanced sideways at her briefly.

"Of course not." They were silent for a few minutes before Brennan spoke again. "What happened to getting a babysitter?" she asked curiously, remembering fondly her experience with watching Parker.

Booth was glad to see that the distance from the crime scene seemed to be doing her good and took a moment to reply. "Well, you know, I haven't really had that much time lately. The ones I did talk to didn't seem quite right, and..." they weren't you "Parker said they weren't nearly as pretty as you Bones." Booth gave her his charm smile. He hadn't been sure whether he should have added that last part, but the smile it earned him was more than enough of a reassurance.

Questions? Comments? Ideas?

Up next: Booth, Brennan, and Parker head to dinner and the case begins to come to a resolution.