A/N: So how did Skinner from 10.9's "The Mutilation of the Master Manipulator" come to live with Aubrey? Read and find out. Bittersweet so get a hanky if you are emotional like I am. I cried writing part of this because it reminded me of when I lost my beloved Abbey Road last year (My avatar).

SEPTEMBER 2022

The Friday night was quiet one in the Aubrey household, a welcome respite from the emotional week for Aubrey, Jessica, and four-year-old daughter. Luckily, their eight-month-old twins remained oblivious.

After putting their children to bed, Jessica led Aubrey downstairs to their living room. The agent was curious at his wife's insistence to talk to him there instead of in their bedroom. Sitting down, he watched as the anthropologist went to her large purse.

"Jessica, what's going on? Are you sick?"

"I'm fine, James." She said as she pulled out something before walking it over to him. "The vet called today…Skinner's ashes arrived, so I picked them up for you."

Aubrey felt himself get emotional again as he thought of their late orange tabby whose sudden illness last week turned out to be cancer. Four days ago, he left work early and did something that broke his heart. However, he knew it was for the best.

He stayed until Skinner took his last breath after the vet put him down. After spending time with him, he gave the authorization to have him cremated. He drove the long way home to compose himself. That night, he and a devastated Jessica explained to Rachael that their beloved pet was in heaven now. Rachael was sad but was comforted as her mother explained the Rainbow Bridge to the intelligent child. Seeing how devastated his little girl was, Aubrey gave her the paw print cast he got to put on her dresser before the couple had a restless night.

Jessica could see how sad her husband was, so she didn't say anything as she wiped a tear away herself. Picking up the box, she held it. "I wanted to pick out an urn for him because it seems wrong to leave him in this box. However, I think that is something that you should do."

Aubrey took a deep breath. "Thank you."

Jessica took his hand. "You're welcome."

The couple sat quietly before Aubrey chuckled. Jessica didn't know whether to be happy or be concerned that her husband had lost his mind. "Superman, what is so funny?"

Aubrey looked at his wife. "Sorry. I was just remembering how I got him."

The redhead smiled. "The Russell Fairbanks case. You worked with Dr. B because Booth was stuck at the office."

"Yep. Booth had to do traffic school…it was my first real case with her."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

NOVEMBER 2014

Aubrey shook his head in disbelief as he walked out of his interview with Tabatha Collins. The victim's graduate assistant described the experiments she and the professor ran with a detachment that freaked him out. The victim didn't deserve to be murdered, but if his killer was one of his test subjects, he couldn't blame them.

Of course, pissed off college students now opened up a new list of suspects. Since the assistant was invoking doctor patient confidentiality, he sent an email to Angela updating her on their progress and to see what magic she could come up with. Hearing a beep on his phone, he looked and saw a picture of Hodgins with the vic's cat Skinner.

He was an orange tabby with green eyes almost as bright as that cute redhead squint that worked with Dr. B sometimes. He was totally with Hodgins on not wanting to call Animal Control. According to Professor Fairbanks' records, Skinner was four years old and it was harder for cats to be adopted at that age because many people wanted kittens. Sure, they were cute, but they had to be trained. An adult cat can entertain themselves.

He remembered his mother's cat Cindy growing up. She was a white Maine Coon with the sweetest disposition, ironically a Christmas present from his father when he was nine years old. The cat became a member of their family, sometimes his and his mother's best friend during the darkest times after his father left. She lived to be the ripe old age of sixteen, dying of old age about a year before he lost his mother.

He entertained taking him home but pushed that thought away. He was busy and the cat didn't look happy to be manhandled when Wendell put him in a carrier they found in the victim's garage. Skinner needed someone who had time for him.

A day later, Aubrey was back at his desk working on leads for the Russell Fairbanks case. Working with Dr. B had been really cool so far and he really wanted to make a good impression on her. He hoped that once Booth finished traffic school, he would get another chance.

Hearing a buzz on his phone, Aubrey picked it up to see a selfie of Hodgins with Skinner on Instagram. He chuckled at the two of them before putting the phone down. Once again, he considered adopting the animal, but a bachelor with a cat? What is a woman going to think if he gets lucky enough to bring one home? Are they going to think he's some kind of lonely dork?

Isn't he though?

Shrugging off his lingering thoughts, the agent went back to his work.

The next morning, Aubrey stopped at the lab to give Angela some paperwork to sign. Trying to not be obvious, he looked for that squintern Jessica but saw it was Wendell working again. The guy was pretty cool from the few times they talked, but he wanted to see the cute squint. Pushing that thought aside, he peeked inside Angela's office to no avail. Heading to the Ookey Room, he overheard the woman in question.

"Hodgins, have you found anyone for Skinner yet?"

"No…I don't want to give him to just anyone. He's a pretty cool cat. I wish we could take him."

"I know…me too…"

Feeling bad, he walked in. "Angela, the woman I'm looking for. I have some reports I need signed, please."

"Sure Aubrey." Angela took the folder.

The agent walked up to the cage and was surprised to see the cat greet him and start to purr. "Wow…you've done a 180 from when we found you."

"Well, we fed him." Hodgins said. "It's amazing how a cat's disposition changes once you give him canned tuna fish."

Aubrey arched his eyebrows at the scientist. "Hey, food is important."

Angela and Hodgins looked at each other. "Say Aubrey, would you be interested in taking Skinner? He really seems to like you."

The lanky man looked at the cat again and couldn't help putting his finger in the cage. Immediately, the cat came to him, sniffed, and began licking his finger. "Me? I don't know…"

Aubrey could feel his resistance fading as the cat began purring. However, he was not sure if he wanted to be a pet owner. What if he got transferred in a year or so to a plush assignment in Los Angeles or somewhere big? How could he handle transporting a cat?

But, as he would only admit to himself, while he's made friends since arriving in DC, it was still lonely for him sometimes. It would be nice to come home to someone who would always be there for him. Mrs. Hall, his landlady did allow pets if it was a small animal.

"We would but Michael Vincent is allergic, Dr. B is not keen on having pets in their house, and Cam says she's not a cat person." Hodgins could see the younger man was still undecided, so he played his trump card. "Jessica really likes him."

Ears perking up, Aubrey came back to reality. "Jessica…Dr. B's intern, right? The one with the red hair?"

Angela smiled, knowing full well Aubrey knew who they were talking about. "Yeah, Jessica Warren. She was returning one of Hodgins' books yesterday and melted when she saw Skinner. He seemed to really like her, too."

"She wanted to take him, but her landlord doesn't allow pets." Hodgins said. "Are you sure you can't take him? I would hate to send him to the shelter."

Aubrey hated to admit that Jessica tipped the scales, but he could keep that to himself. "Well, I guess having another bachelor around couldn't hurt. I'll take him home with me."

"Aubrey, you're taking Skinner home? That's is so awesome."

Aubrey turned to see Jessica standing in the doorway dressed in plainclothes holding an accordion folder. He tried not to stare but it was hard not to as she looked particularly cute with her hair in a side braid and her green blouse making her big eyes pop...and turned him into mush.

"Y-yeah, I am." He stammered.

Hodgins saw the agent getting nervous, so he decided to do the man a favor. "Jessica, I thought you had today off. What brings you here?"

The squintern held up the folder in her arms. "I needed to bring Dr. B the tests from her Human Origin class I proctored for her today."

"I thought Bren said she was fine with you hanging onto those until you worked tomorrow." Angela gave the young woman a knowing smile. "You just wanted to visit Skinner, didn't you?"

The agent watched Jessica's face turned red as a tomato and it was one of the cutest things he ever saw. She was so beautiful with her porcelain skin, red hair, and big green eyes. 'She's so adorable...'

"Okay …yes I did. He's just so cute." Jessica said before walking up to the cage. "Hey there Skinner. You're going home with a nice man who shouldn't piss anyone off anytime soon and get murdered like your last daddy."

It was Aubrey's turn to blush at the squintern's compliment. Any final misgivings about whether to adopt the orphan cat were gone. "So, Skinner, want to come home with me? It's an older apartment and there's a lot of science fiction around but I think you'll like it."

Skinner's response was to sniff Aubrey's hand and purr, making everyone laugh. "Thanks for taking him, Aubrey. Now, I'm sure you want to pick up some cat essentials firs, so do you want to come get him tonight? I have to stay late to work on stuff."

'There was no turning back now', Aubrey thought. "Sounds good."

"I'm so glad he's going on with you, Aubrey." Jessica said. "I was so afraid he would have to go the pound..."

"Yeah…no problem." Aubrey replied shyly before starting to walk out. "See you all later."

"Aubrey?" Angela said. When the agent turned around, she held up the signed paperwork. "You may want to take these reports with you."

Embarrassed, the agent walked back and retrieved the items. "Thanks. Booth wouldn't appreciate me coming back empty handed."

"See you later, Aubrey." Hodgins said.

The couple watched the lanky man amble out and smiled when they saw the intern watch him walk away. They waited but she continued to stare. After sharing a smile, Angela broke the spell. "Jessica…Jessica!"

Startled, the redhead turned around. "Sorry…got distracted."

"I just wanted to tell you that Bren just walked into her office if you want to take those exams to her." Angela said with a smile.

"Oh good. Thanks." Jessica said before turning to the cat. "Bye Skinner."

Hodgins and Angela smiled as they watched the intern go to her mentor's office. "Aubrey has got the biggest crush on Jessica, Honey." Angela said. "As for Jessica, I think it's mutual. You know…perhaps they just need a push…"

"No, Angie…if they are meant to get together, they will. No meddling." The scientist said. "Now, while I've appreciated the break, it's time for me to continue my experiment."

Angela saw her husband pull out a clean syringe and cringed before turning away. "I can't watch you draw your own blood. I'll check on you later."

Aubrey spent the afternoon working the case and after Dr. B told him what they found in Skinner's stomach, they brought in Russell Fairbank's neighbor in and interrogated her. After Ms. Von Merten's confession, he booked her and completed the report. Picking up Skinner's cat bed from evidence, he picked up at supplies from PetSmart and headed over to the lab.

Arriving at the lab, he got a spring in his step when he saw Jessica talking to Doctor B in her office. He was tempted to stop but he saw the entomologist smiling in his doorway. "Hey Hodgins. Is he ready to go?"

"He is, Aubrey. I'm glad he's going to a good home." Hodgins said as he handed the other man the cat carrier.

"Yeah, thanks." The agent said before bending down to the animal peeking out. "Ready to go home with me?"

"You're going to a nice home, Skinner."

Startled, he looked up to see Jessica. She had now taken her braid down and she looked amazing. Trying to keep his reaction to himself, he smiled. "T-thanks." Aubrey said. "I hope he likes living with me."

"Maybe I can visit you sometime, Skinner…" Jessica grinned at the cat as she poked her finger through the mesh part. "...and you, of course, Aubrey...I mean..."

Aubrey stammered for a response as Brennan peeked out of her office. "Ms. Warren, we need to finish going over your proposal."

"Sorry…be right there." The redhead said before turning back. "Bye Curly…bye Aubrey…bye Skinner."

'She wants to visit Skinner...and me...' Aubrey continued to watch the squintern go back into the office until his thoughts were interrupted. "Huh?"

"Cats are chick magnets, you know."

"Why would you say that?" Aubrey asked.

"Never mind, Aubrey." Hodgins said with a smile. "I'm heading home. Have a good night."

"Yeah…night." The agent said. Passing Brennan's office, he heard the intern and her mentor finish their conversation. Waiting outside, he greeted Jessica as she came out. "Hi again, Jessica."

"Hi again, Aubrey." Jessica said shyly. "Why are you still hanging around?"

'Be clever…be clever…" Aubrey thought. "I thought I would see if you and Dr. B would like me to walk you to your cars. It's dark out now."

"Booth will be here shortly, Aubrey." Brennan said. "However, Ms. Warren and I are finished if you could accompany her to her vehicle."

"How about it, Ms. Warren?" Aubrey said. "Can Skinner and I walk you to the parking garage?"

Jessica smiled shyly. "I would like that very much. Thank you."

At 11:30, Aubrey stripped to his boxers and a t-shirt before climbing into bed. Before he even had the covers over him, Skinner jumped up on the bed. "Want to sleep with me?" Aubrey asked before petting his head and pointing out the space available. "Sure. Take your pick."

Aubrey shut off the lamp, but Skinner chose to lay next to him. Smiling to himself, the agent put his arm around the cat and went to sleep.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

"So…you brought him home because you liked me?" Jessica said.

"No…not totally." Aubrey shrugged. "He was a cool cat. You…were just the deciding factor."

"I see." Jessica said as she curled her legs up on the couch. "You figured I would come over to visit…then if you played your cards right you would get some forensic anthropologist nookie?"

"No…noooo…." Aubrey scoffed as his wife watched him with a smile before giving up. "Maybe…a little…okay, yeah. I wanted to get to know you better...and yes, I may have thought once or twice about...us having sex..."

"So is that why you didn't even make any sort of move until the Leslie Hodsell case?" Jessica chuckled at her spouse's embarrassment. "Think of it as this, Aubrey. If you had made a move or if we did things differently than we did, we may not have built a wonderful friendship that got us through the best of times…"

"…and the worst." Aubrey finished before taking her hand. "I'll look online tomorrow for an urn for Skinner. Maybe Rachael can help me."

"I think she would like that, Superman." Jessica said. "Ready for bed?"

"Yeah." The lanky man said before grabbing the box. "I'll take this upstairs with us tonight."

Jessica took Aubrey's hand as they walked through their living room. The agent hit the light, leaving only the stove light on. They walked up the stairs together.

"Remember when Skinner liked to steal my seat when I would get up and take a nap?"

"Because your cute butt is so warm, Superman."

When there was only darkness in the living room, an iridescent orange cat came out from the kitchen and sat in the spot where Aubrey left and went to sleep.

My apologies for the delay is publishing this. I have several more in the can but I've several other projects in the fire, including my joint one with 554Laura as Lachelle Nepper for the A & J story LOVE & CARBONITE, posted here and on AO3. An excellent read.