(After The Change in the Game)

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I don't own Bones.

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It was two in the morning and Booth had gone to bed late when his phone rang. Groping for it on the nightstand, he managed to knock his clock onto the floor before finding his phone. "Booth."

I'm in trouble. I . . . my sponsor is out of town . . . I . . .

"Gavin? What's going on? Where are you?" Booth could hear the fear in Gavin's voice mixed with anger and something else he couldn't quite place.

I shouldn't have called you. Just go back to sleep. It's alright.

"Wait! Gavin tell me where you are." Booth moved to the edge of the bed and searched for his underwear. "Come on man, you called me. Tell me where you're at."

The pool hall. You know the one on Columbia Road?

"Yeah, stay there. I'll be right there." Ending the call, he grabbed his underwear and jeans from the floor and slipped them on. Grabbing a t-shirt from the dresser, Booth walked around the bed and shook Brennan's shoulder.

"Do we have a case?" Tired, she flipped the cover to the side and sat up.

Kissing her cheek, Booth smiled. "Go back to sleep. We don't have a case. Gavin called and something's wrong."

"Your GA sponsor?" Puzzled, Brennan stared sleepily at her boyfriend. "Why is he calling you?"

In a hurry, Booth found his shoes and slipped them on. "I think he's in trouble. His sponsor is out of town. I'm going to the pool hall on Columbia Road. I'll be back as soon as I get Gavin straightened out."

"Pool Hall?" Brennan slipped out of bed and began to dress. "I'm going with you."

"No, you don't have to lose sleep too." Booth was ready to go. "I'm just going to check on Gavin and see what's going on."

Worried that Booth was going to a pool hall, Brennan continued to dress. "Booth, I'm going with you. I'm your partner. It's what partners do." She had heard him tell her that often enough. Now she was using that on him.

Grabbing his keys, wallet and badge from the dresser he waited for Brennan to put her shoes on. "Okay, but you don't really need to go with me . . . but thanks."

"You're welcome." Her purse in the living room, Brennan grabbed the strap and lifted it to her shoulder as she passed through the room. "I won't interfere, Booth. You may approach your friend by yourself. I am merely going with you as backup."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan."

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Once they were in the pool hall, Brennan walked over to the bar, ordered a club soda and sat down. Her plan was to keep an eye on her lover, but to let him handle his meeting with Gavin by himself. She just wanted to make sure that Booth didn't falter and play any games for money. Playing pool would be fine, the minute she saw any money appear she would intervene. Her partner worked too hard on his sobriety and she wasn't going to allow him throw it away. Not if she could help it.

Spying Gavin hunched over a pool table, Booth took in the fact that there were two gruff looking characters standing near the table, holding cues and glaring at Gavin. Careful not to alarm the two men, Booth moved casually over to the pool table and watched as Gavin ran the table. He could see why the two men he was playing against were angry. Gavin was good at what he was doing and that was a problem for them.

Once Gavin was done, he straightened, grabbed the money siting on the ledge of the pool table and smiled. "Thank you. It's a pleasure doing business with you."

Before either of the men could reply, Booth placed his hand on the table. "Gavin, I need to talk to you."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth's sponsor pocketed his money and moved to join Booth. The two waiting men protested. "Hey, you can't walk away with our money. We should get a chance to win it back."

Annoyed, Booth flashed his badge at the losers. "I have business with Mr. Chadwick."

Surprised, both men looked at each other then back at the FBI Agent. "He took our money."

"He beat you in a fair game. If you can't stand to lose, don't play." Booth placed his badge in his jacket pocket then flipped his jacket aside to show his gun. He was in no mood to play games. "Like I said, I have business with Mr. Chadwick. Walk away while you can."

Furious, both men turned on their heels and moved over to another table. Once they were out of earshot, Booth began to talk to Gavin keeping his voice low. "What's going on Gavin?"

Embarrassed, Gavin racked up the balls on the table. "I told you not to come, Booth. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" Booth leaned on the table and watched the two men nearby also rack up some balls on their table. "As far as I know you haven't gambled in eight years . . . something must have happened to make you think it was okay to give up your sobriety."

Solemnly, Gavin began to run the table again. "A friend of mine from the 101st Airborne committed suicide this morning. His wife called me and let me know . . . He and I used to gamble together. He was the greatest pool player I'd ever met . . . Cory gave up gambling a few months before I did. He was the one who talked me into going to Gamblers Anonymous . . . Katy, that's his wife called me and said that his brother Felix borrowed some money from him and Felix refused to pay it back. Cory was counting on the money being paid back. It was part of his son's college fund. When Felix refused to give it back, Katy said that Cory got worried about their son and he started gambling to try to get the money back that way. At first it was okay, but he beat the wrong guy. Cory won over $20,000 from some guy yesterday and when Cory walked away, the guy followed him to his car, beat him up and took the money back plus all the money Cory had on him, about $5,000. He called Katy crying at around three in the morning . . . He told her what happened, said he was sorry and he shot himself in the head . . . If a guy like Cory can fail then what hope do I have, Booth? He was the one who got me to quit and now . . . and now Cory is dead. He was one of the good ones and Katy . . . Katy and their son are devastated . . . I don't know what to do. I thought maybe I could earn the money for Katy to give to their son . . . I know that this is wrong, but what about Katy? What about her son Wyatt? I don't know how else to help them."

As firmly as he could, Booth placed his hand on Gavin's cue, pulled it from the man's hand and placed it on top of the table. "What about your wife and daughter, Gavin? You start gambling and what happens to them when you start circling the toilet? Yeah, you want Katy to get her money, but gambling isn't the way to do it. I have a friend who's a prosecuting attorney and I work for the FBI. Let us look into Cory's death. Maybe we can track down the guy that robbed him. In the meantime, Katy can sue Felix for the money. You don't have to throw your sobriety away like this Gavin . . . Think about your family. Think about your daughter. You've got a good relationship with her since you gave up gambling. She doesn't want to lose her father again."

Booth's words beat into him and made him realize that he was risking too much. Cory had been like a brother to him, but he knew that Cory wouldn't have wanted him to ruin his life because of something he'd done. "When Katy called she was crying and I could hear Wyatt crying in the background. It was awful and I thought maybe I could fix this, maybe I could get the money back . . . I called you because deep down, I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn't stop myself. I needed someone to stop me . . . Thanks."

"Not a problem." Booth glanced at the bar and noticed how intently Brennan was watching him. "Hey, I know what it's like not to have anyone in my corner. It's tough, but you're not alone. You have me and if Clarence was in town, he'd be right here knocking some sense into you . . . you don't have to take on Cory's burdens by yourself. Let me help. Maybe we can do something about the money. I know a few good lawyers. I'll give you their numbers and you can give them to Katy. She can go after Felix and if she loses, then . . . well at least she tried."

Gavin glanced over at the two men who were now arguing about the game they were playing. "Those guys aren't going to be happy when I walk out of here."

Since he didn't care, Booth shrugged his shoulders. "Just leave and I'll make sure they stay here."

As Gavin made his way to the door, the younger of the two men started to walk after Gavin. Booth stepped in front of him and held out his hand. "Go back and play pool." His hand near his gun, Booth let it be known he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Grumbling, the young man stalked back to the pool table, picked up his cue and turned to face Booth. "If that ass comes back here he won't like what I do to him."

"If he comes back, then he'll deal with you." Booth walked over to the bar and sat down. "That went better than I thought it would. Gavin is going home."

Leaning the side of her head on her hand, Brennan smiled at her boyfriend. "Good . . . would you like to go home? I'm supposed to be at the Lab at eight, but I think I'll take the morning off."

"Thanks for coming with me, Bones." Booth stood up and held Brennan's hand as she hopped down from the bar stool. "It's going to be a long day today, but it was worth it. Gavin is a good guy. He just needed some help. We all need help sometimes."

"If you ever need help, you can count on me, Booth." Brennan clasped Booth's hand as they moved towards the exit. "I am your partner and that is what partner's do."

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