A/N: thank you for the kind reviews. They are appreciated.

Exhaling quietly as he exited the elevator the next morning, Booth quickly glanced at the group of agents working in the bullpen before entering his office. Even considering all his years as a Ranger and as a sniper in a war zone, he'd never felt so on edge...so exposed. The thought that someone in the FBI had turned on him...had given away the secret that he was still alive after his supposed 'death'...it was unbelievable. He'd been in dangerous, even life threatening situations with some of those agents...he'd always depended on them to have his back...but who could he trust now?

He sat at his desk, fidgeting with a paperclip as he thought about the list of contacts he'd given Sweets...the people who were supposed to know that he was really alive. There was Pops...but Pops lived in Philly, and the Council were more of a DC area gang. Most likely, even if they knew about his grandfather, they wouldn't have bothered trying to harass the old man, and anyway, as a former military man, Pops could be counted on to keep a secret. He'd never give me away...and besides, who's he gonna tell? My death's not gonna make the news there unless he chose to release the information, right? I suppose he might tell Jared, just in case...but that's it...and Jared's at sea...nobody for Jared to tell anyway...

Rebecca knew the truth as well, but as annoying as she might be from time to time, she could be counted on for her discretion, especially in a case that might affect Parker's well being. When an aggravated Booth had called her late the night before, she'd been indignant at the suggestion that she might've let something slip...and he'd believed her when she denied it. She's been through this before...she knows what's at stake…she wants to protect Parker…she's sent him to stay with her parents...

And since Sweets hadn't told Bones about the whole stupid 'let's fake Booth's death again' plan, it couldn't have been her. That meant the leak had to come from someone among the agents at the FBI, but who? Who was the rat? Who had put him in harm's way?

Pushing himself away from his desk, he walked down the hall to grab a cup of coffee, hoping to clear his head. There was no way around it. He'd been given up by one of his own colleagues, but he had to have some proof before he went forward with making those allegations, and right now all he had was the process of elimination and a nagging bit of gut instinct.

As he stirred some sugar into his coffee, he pondered his situation. He'd have to pick someone to trust within the FBI if he was going to get anywhere in this investigation…

And that someone would be Sam Cullen.

Booth had known Director Cullen for several years. A former Naval Intelligence Officer, the man had a reputation for being terse, blunt, and unwilling to put up with anybody's shit. He was also incredibly honest and forthright, and willng to go to bat for his agents if necessary to allow them to do their jobs successfully.

Cullen had played a major part in Booth's early training as an FBI agent, serving as both a mentor and a friend. Puffing out a sigh, Booth nodded to himself. If he had to trust somebody at the Hoover, it'd be Director Cullen.

Sipping his coffee, Booth walked towards his office, acknowledging greetings from people who were glad to see him back at work. It was surreal...the agents were pretending not to know that he'd been playing possum for the last six weeks...acting as if it was perfectly normal to fake one's death and then be stashed at some sort of safe house for over a month instead of recovering from brain surgery at home, ensconced in a recliner in front of the television.

He checked for messages on his phone before logging on to his computer. If things went according to his plan, Angela would be checking Bones out of the hospital right about now. Then they'd go to Angela's place to wait until Booth arrived to take his Bones somewhere safe, although he wasn't quite sure where yet. He shook his head, anticipating her argument. Bones is gonna be so pissed...she'll want to go to her place, but Vorstenbach might be waiting for her there...Angela can handle it at her place for a couple of hours...and nobody knows that's where they're going...

He'd desperately wanted to be there with Bones as she got ready to check out of the hospital, but the only opening in Cullen's schedule for the week was at 10 AM that morning. Not wanting to wait any longer than necessary to take care of his business at the Hoover, Booth had made sure there was a security detail on the hospital floor where Bones' room was and in the hospital's parking garage, as well as a detail covering Angela's place, but still...it weighed heavily on him, being away from Bones right now, especially not knowing who'd given him up to Vorstenbach. Fortunately, he'd been able to get Charlie Burns to help him out for a few hours, lending a couple of agents who would follow Angela home, and then stay there at her complex until he arrived. Surely it wasn't someone from the Cyber division, right? It had to be someone from my division or from RICO…

He was startled as his text alert sounded, almost dropping his phone into his coffee cup. It was Angela, telling him that she'd just arrived at the hospital. Good…at least that part of the plan is working...

After scanning his email, he put out an APB for an armed and dangerous Dick Vorstenbach before leaving to keep his appointment with Cullen.

Oooooooooo

Walking down the hall to Brennan's hospital room, Angela smiled to herself. Her best friend was probably driving the nurses crazy with all her pointed questions about her condition. "It's probably a good thing the doctor is letting Brennan go home today.," Angela said to herself. "Otherwise there might be a lot of people calling in sick tomorrow…"

Tapping lightly on the room's door, she cautiously pushed it open. "Hey, Sweetie...ready to go to my apartment?"

"I'd rather go to my own home, but it seems that I was somehow overruled by Booth, since he's concerned about my safety." Obviously irritated, Brennan rolled her eyes as she accepted the clothes that Angela had brought for her. "Anyway, I have to wait for the nurse to go over my discharge orders with me. I don't know what's keeping her. This is ridiculous! I know what to do. I don't need it explained in minute detail..."

Angela smiled as she sat down next to the bed. "Well, I'm sure you're not the only one who's being discharged this morning. Just be patient…"

"I suppose I'm not a very 'patient' patient, am I?" Puffing out a sigh as she tried to pull on her tee shirt, she scowled at her friend. "It appears that I need help dressing myself since my wrist is in a cast…"

"No problem. That's what friends are for." Angela gently maneuvered Brennan's arm through the sleeve. "So...is Booth okay? I'm sure he was overwhelmed with all the news he got the other day…about the pregnancy...and the rest of it..."

"As was I. I find that I'm very sad about the premature, albeit accidental, termination of my pregnancy. I want to have a child, Angela...I want a family." Brennan bit her lip as she reached for her jeans. "Finding out that Booth was alive was, of course, wonderful, once I got over my initial shock...but then dealing with our loss…" She brushed away a tear. "He was upset...sad...devastated, just as I was, but…after talking things over with him at length last night...and dealing with our pain together...I have hope again. I know now that my sadness won't last forever." She paused, allowing herself a small smile. "I believe we will try to conceive a child in the future…"

Angela shrugged as she found Brennan's shoes in the duffel bag and put them on the bed. "I'm kind of surprised Booth would go for artificial insemination again, but he did volunteer his stuff for your use…" She paused as she heard her friend giggle softly. "Wait…you mean...you're talking about the up close and personal method, aren't you? As in sex?"

"Yes." Brennan grinned shyly. "Booth and I have decided to pursue a monogamous sexual relationship, and because of Booth's romantic nature, it will most likely last for an extended period of time. Having a child together seems to be the most obvious outcome of such a relationship."

"Oh, Sweetie...that's wonderful!" Angela laughed in delight. "See, it's just like Avalon told me while you were gone..you two do belong together…"

Rolling her eyes at Angela's ridiculous belief in the supernatural, Brennan shook her head. "Well, it seems as if we are quite compatible, but there's no way for your psychic to know that." Groaning softly, she tried to stretch out the kinks in her neck. "I'm still sore...my chest aches, too..."

"That's to be expected, given the extent of your injuries." A nurse stood in the doorway with a stack of papers. "Here are your discharge instructions, Dr. Brennan. You need to rest for the next week or so...and you need to call your OB-GYN to make a follow up appointment. Call us if you have any excess pain or bruising…you may want to use ice packs...avoid lifting anything with your wrist. Here's a prescription for pain medication, or, if you'd rather, you may use ibuprofen for pain. You should arrange a post op appointment with the surgeon who operated on your wrist. Barring complications, the cast will mostly be removed in approximately six weeks. Keep it as dry as possible..."

"Yes, thank you.," Brennan said impatiently as she signed some forms with her left hand. "Can we leave now?"

"Fine." Clearly frustrated with her patient's dismissive attitude, the nurse checked over the papers. "I'll call for a wheelchair…it'll be a few minutes before they can get one up here, though..."

"Please tell them it's urgent." Brennan pouted like a petulant child. "I want to leave as soon as possible. I hate hospitals."

Grimacing slightly, Angela followed the nurse out of the room. "Hey...I'm sorry she's being kind of surly. Is there anything else I need to know? I think she's going to be staying with me for awhile.…"

"Make sure she rests...she shouldn't go back to work until the middle of next week at the earliest." Smiling sarcastically, the nurse waved. "Good luck…"

"Yeah...bye." Glancing at the two men in dark suits who were standing in the hall, Angela laughed to herself. "Booth's buddies are all over the place, aren't they? That makes me feel better...now I just have to make sure Brennan behaves..."

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

Thirty minutes later, Angela and Brennan were on the way to Angela's apartment. Checking her rear view mirror, the artist noted the large black SUV following her car. "Booth's got some agents tailing us…he's thought of every detail, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he has. However, I do think he's being overprotective…" Brennan shrugged as she looked out the passenger window. "I've told him I can take care of myself…"

"Sweetie...let him take care of you for a change, okay? He loves you…and besides, you were recently kidnapped while you were 'taking care of yourself', right? The guy that nabbed you is really scary, so it's normal for Booth to be worried about the woman he loves...that's just him..."

"I know..." Brennan turned to Angela and smiled. "...and it makes me very happy that he cares for me like that, even though he does sometimes go to extremes. When I thought he was dead…it was terrible. I didn't know how to move forward..."

Angela smiled at her best friend. "Oh, Bren...don't even go there. He's back in your life for good…you know that, right?"

"It would appear as if you are correct. We'll be able to go forward together from this point." Brennan paused as the car turned onto the street that ran in front of Angela's apartment complex. Seeing a pedestrian walking down the street, she reached over and grabbed her friend's arm. "Wait...Angela, don't turn in…drive past the entrance."

"What's wrong?" Startled, Angela looked at Brennan, surprised to see her fear. "You're staying with me, remember?"

"No, I can't…" Biting her lip, she turned to look over her shoulder as they drove on. "Didn't you see that man? Is the SUV still behind us?"

Angela shook her head. "What man? I didn't see anyone…I think your pain pills are making you loopy, Bren..." The artist checked her mirror. "Oh no...the SUV turned into the complex...I wish we could call them…maybe I'll just drive around the block and we can alert them..."

"NO!" Brennan was almost frantic with fear. "I'm positive it was him, Angela...the man who kidnapped me...his name is Dick Vorstenbach, and I just saw him walking down the street in front of your complex…"

"SHIT!" Angela checked her mirrors again before quickly changing lanes. "Okay...okay...so we can't go to my place...I get that. I know...let's go to the lab...there's a lot of security there...it'll be fairly safe...call Booth and tell him there's been a change in plans…tell him you saw the bad guy..."

Oooooooooo

Unaware of what was going on with Brennan and Angela, Booth checked his phone for messages and then silenced it as he waited impatiently to see Director Cullen.

He'd expected to hear from Angela earlier in the morning, and the fact that there hadn't been a message from her was making him edgy. Tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair, he sighed softly. If the truth were to be told, it seemed that since his brain tumor surgery, everything had made him edgy. Every little sound seemed to kick his sniper senses into high alert, to a point where he wondered if he was having flashbacks from his time in the service. Closing his eyes, he focused on something Bones had told him before she'd left for Costa Rica.

"After brain surgery, you need time to adjust, Booth. It's not like a normal injury, in that it takes longer, but don't worry...after several weeks, your brain will compensate…and you'll start to feel normal again..."

Unfortunately, it seemed his brain was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on, and wasn't in any hurry to let him in on it. He felt like he was always two steps behind everything that happened around him. He was having trouble concentrating, and even things that would've been routine in the past were difficult to handle. This morning I couldn't remember how to tie my tie...it took me forever to figure it out. Who knows what it'll be tomorrow? I'm so tired of this shit...

However, none of that mattered right now. He was going to see Cullen and get things taken care of, and then he was gonna spend some quality time with his Bones. She was gonna help him recover fully, and then they'd have a long, happy life together.

Preoccupied with his thoughts, he didn't hear the receptionist approach him. "Agent Booth? The director will see you now."

"Thanks."

He was greeted warmly as he entered Cullen's office. "How you doin', Booth? Have a seat. How's Dr. Brennan?"

"She was pretty banged up when they found her, but the good news is her injuries aren't life threatening, thank God. I'm glad they found her when they did, or things might've been a lot worse. I guess whoever grabbed her got scared away somehow, so he left her in a heap after she fell down a long flight of stairs. Anyway, she's supposed to be released from the hospital today." Pinching his lips together, Booth averted his eyes from the Director. "However, the bad news is that...she had a miscarriage from the fall, Sam…"

"Goddammit! I'm so sorry to hear that, Booth. I know that's difficult for both of you...dealing with the pain of losing your baby as well as Dr. Brennan's injuries...that's a tough break." Shaking his head, Cullen sighed softly as he sat back in his chair. "How far along was she?"

"Six weeks or so." Booth decided to skip over the question of why the Director had assumed the baby was his. "She lost the baby because of an assault, which makes it murder, right?"

"Yes, we can charge the perp with murder when we figure out who the guy is…"

"But that won't change things, will it? She still has to deal with the loss, as do I." Becoming increasingly agitated, Booth sprang from his chair and began to pace the room. "This is all Sweets' fault…"

Cullen was stunned. "Sweets assaulted Dr. Brennan? I don't believe it…"

"He didn't physically assault her, but…he still managed to hurt her terribly." Fuming, Booth pounded his fist against Cullen's desk. "You remember what happened last time I played dead, Sam? Sweets was supposed to tell Brennan the truth, okay? He swore he would...and then he didn't, right? Well, guess what that mother fucker did this time while I was off playing dead? He was supposed to tell Bones that I was alive, but he didn't, for some fucked up reason, so she thought I was dead, and then she decided to undergo artificial insemination with a donation I'd made several months ago…as a sort of memorial for me..."

Seeing Cullen's shock, Booth nodded as he continued his tirade. "Yeah...that's right! She got pregnant because she thought I was dead!," he raged, throwing up his hands in frustration. "If Sweets had told her the truth, she wouldn't have done that…and now, because of the assault, she's had a miscarriage! At least she believed me this time when I said Sweets was supposed to tell her the truth about me, but she's devastated about losing her baby, and when the woman I love hurts that bad, so do I, okay? The pain is almost unbearable, and I hate feeling like this..." Booth was unashamed as he brushed away his tears. "I'm gonna beat the shit out of that little bastard Sweets…"

Astonished, Cullen slumped in his chair as he considered what Booth had said. "He didn't tell her you were alive? But he said…the fucker lied to me, didn't he? Son of a bitch..."

"Yeah, and that's bad, but that's not the worst of it." Taking a few seconds to compose himself, Booth closed his eyes. "After talking to Dr. Brennan, I think it was Dick Vorstenbach who nabbed her at the cemetery, which means…"

"Which means somehow he knew you're still alive! Jesus!" Cullen whistled softly. "Who else was Sweets supposed to tell, other than Dr. Brennan?"

"My grandfather, who lives in Philadelphia, and also Rebecca, the mother of my son. Both of them have been through this before, Sam...so I'm sure it wasn't either of them who let the news slip." Booth glared at the Director. "It had to be somebody here at the Hoover...somebody inside the FBI who tipped off Vorstenbach. I'm trusting that it wasn't you…"

"What?! No way!" Upset by Booth's insinuation, Cullen nodded resolutely. "You know I wouldn't do that to you…"

Booth yelled in frustration as he paced the room. "So then, who the hell was it? How many more people were in on my 'play dead' plan this time?"

Trying to calm down his friend, Cullen raised his hands in surrender. "Listen, I understand that you're angry, Booth...and you have every right to be…"

"Angry? Oh, angry doesn't even begin to cover it, Sam. I'm so...furious...deadly furious...like I could hurt someone furious. If Sweets had told Brennan the truth all of this could've been avoided...she wouldn't have been at the cemetery...she wouldn't have been injured and assaulted...she wouldn't have miscarried…"

Booth was interrupted by the ringing of the Director's desk phone. Groaning in frustration, he stood in front of the desk as the Director raised a finger to quiet him. "Cullen...Jesus...really? How many? Right. Okay...I'll be there as soon as I can…" Ending the call, he rose from his chair. "Sorry to cut this short, Booth, but they need me over at Washington General...I've got at least three agents down at an apartment building...definitely one dead, and two injured...probably more, from the sound of it. I've got to go see what's going on, so I'm going to meet the ambulance at the emergency room..."

"An apartment building?" Trying not to panic, Booth swallowed hard. "Where?"

Cullen shrugged distractedly as he picked up his phone, keys, and service revolver. "Over on Victor Avenue...the Esplanade…some sort of running gun battle from the sounds of it."

Booth tried unsuccessfully to quell the panic rising in his throat. "Oh my God…that's Angela's complex...that's where Bones was going to stay...was it Vorstenbach that attacked them? Were there any civilians involved?"

"I don't know. Details are still sketchy." As Cullen got ready to leave, he turned to Booth. "Listen, I'll call you if I need anything. Right now, I want you to go check on Dr. Brennan…find out where she is and stay with her, alright? Oh, and don't worry about Sweets...we'll deal with him when the time comes…"

"Right. Okay…" Booth drew a shaky breath, jumping when the text alarm buzzed on his phone. Quickly pulling it from his pocket, he collapsed into the chair when he read it.

Safe at the lab. Long story. Come get us. A and B

"Thank God…," he whispered as he put his phone away and rose to leave. After saying a quick prayer for his fallen colleagues, Booth headed for the elevator so he could go make sure his Bones was safe.

A/N: yes, I know...normally Booth would be the one to pick up Brennan from the hospital, but sometimes things happen beyond our characters' control. I hope you'll allow me a bit of artistic license. It won't happen again. Laura