(The Diamond in the Rough)

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I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

The need to gamble had finally turned into a buzz in the back of his mind instead of the steady drum it had become over the last few months. Allowing himself to mourn for his father for a short time had seemed to help Booth and he was grateful that Gavin had talked to him and given him a push in the right direction. It also helped that Jared was still working for the Fairfax County Sheriff's department and he was still sober. It seemed like some of the weight of the world was off of Booth's shoulder's, at least for now.

Hank wanted to come for a visit and Booth and Brennan had been happy to accommodate him. Max had heard from his daughter that Booth's grandfather was coming for a vacation and Max decided to help out and stay with Hank during the day when Booth and Brennan were at work. The older man suspected that Max considered himself a baby sitter, but Hank didn't mind too much. It gave him someone to play dominoes with and to share lunch with. Since he had vowed to never cook again, Max being there meant that he'd get a hot lunch and not just a cold sandwich. Hank valued his independence, but he knew that he needed help sometimes and he had grown to accept that fact. He wasn't forty anymore and having Max around eased his mind and he knew his grandson felt easier too.

On the second day of Hank's stay, Max showed up a little later than Hank had expected. "Get caught in traffic?" Hank watched Max close the door behind him and walk into the living room.

"No, I stayed at a friend's house last night and it would have been rude to leave without eating breakfast before I left." Hank's girlfriend appreciated conversation and expected Max to have breakfast and talk to her before they went their separate ways during the day. "She works at a bank, so she doesn't have to be there until nine."

The fact that Max had a girlfriend wasn't surprising to Hank, after all he had two girlfriends at the retirement home. Old didn't mean you were dead inside. "I get it . . . Seeley and Temperance had to leave early for a case. Angela came by and picked up Christine and took her to day care around eight. That little girl is growing so fast, it's amazing."

"I know, right?" Max loved his granddaughter and missed not seeing her every day. "She's over a year old and she's getting into everything. She opened the cabinets in the kitchen last week and pulled out some of the stuff before Tempe found her. Tempe said that it was a good thing all the chemicals in the house are in the laundry room or the garage. Christine found some of Booth's Oreos and she was eating one of them when her mother found her."

"That little scamp." Hank laughed. He could imagine his grandson wasn't too happy that some of his cookies had been pilfered. The man had a sweet tooth that was for sure. "Seeley told me that she opened the fridge the other day and pulled out some bottles and cans. He moved the glass bottles higher up in the fridge and moved the cans down on the bottom shelf plus a bag of animal crackers and some juice boxes. He hopes that will satisfy her when she's being adventurous."

Christine was definitely inquisitive like her mother. "Her mother was the same way when she was little. She'd open the refrigerator, grab a can of Coke with both hands and go look for someone to open it for her. Of course, she usually didn't drink much of it and me or her mother would have to finish it . . . I miss those days."

Slowly nodding his head, Hank agreed with Max. "Yeah, Seeley and Jared were good kids, but some of the things they did would make me laugh . . . I wish I'd taken them from Edwin sooner. If only Marianne had told me what was going on . . . well, that's water under the bridge."

The conversation had taken a somber turn and Max had his own regrets. "I should have taken Tempe with me when her mother and I ran . . . she never should have been in Foster Care . . . She's done pretty good with her life, but . . ."

Hank patted Max's arm and sat down at the dining room table. "Come on, let's play dominoes. We can't change the past. It's done."

"Yeah, it's done."

Oooooooooooooooooo

For some reason that she couldn't explain, Brennan was feeling excessively happy. Booth seemed to be happier lately and was still working hard to keep away from gambling, Jared was doing well and was sober, Christine was a healthy happy baby and Brennan was starting to feel closer to her father. Her life had been complicated ever since her parents had abandoned her at age fifteen and it never seemed to get easier as the years went by, but lately her life felt different. She and Booth were solving cases and when she had the time, she worked on identifying the remains in Bones Storage. Her interns were doing well and they all seemed to be marching towards their chosen fields with quiet determination. All in all, she felt that if she were given an opportunity to change anything in her life, she wouldn't do it. Her life wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but she was content. "Yes, that is what I feel, content."

"Honey are you alright?" Angela had entered the room to drop off some completed reports for Brennan and overheard her friend talking to herself. A rather unusual event.

"What . . . oh, hello Angela. I'm fine." Brennan hadn't realized that she was talking to herself and it embarrassed her that she had been caught doing it. She was usually more guarded than that. "I was just ruminating."

Curious, Angela dropped the folder on Brennan's desk and sat down "About what?"

Picking up the folder, Brennan placed it down on the desk in front of her and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm happy."

A bright smile breaking out, Angela nodded her head. "And you have a right to be, Bren. It seems that things have quieted down around here and we're all feeling less tense than we were. I think we needed this quiet moment in our lives. We deserve it."

"I don't know if we deserve it, but it is appreciated." Brennan smiled at her friend. "I think I was feeling a little foreboding when we were working on the Pelant case. He seemed to be able to manipulate computers too easily and I feared he was going to be a very dangerous adversary, but he died and he is no longer a concern. I do think that if he hadn't died of a heart attack, he would have continued to murder and the fact that he might have been watching us made me believe one of us could have been a target. I wish for no man's death, but Pelant was too dangerous for the safety of everyone he came into contact with."

Brennan flipped the folder open and glanced at the report on top. "Inger Johannsen's mother sent Booth a letter thanking him for finding out who murdered her daughter. Inger's family had a memorial for her two weeks ago and Mrs. Johannsen wanted Booth to know that Inger's family is now at peace with what happened . . . Booth rarely gets acknowledgement like that. He showed me the letter and reminded me that we're a team and the letter was for all of us. I will bring the letter tomorrow so you can read it. I may post a copy in everyone's email here at the Lab so they can see how much their work means to others. When we solve cases that gives families closure and the victim justice. It's what we do."

Proud to be part of such a team, Angela smiled. "Sometimes I want to quit, like when Wayne Kitchen from Homeland Security was having people killed. The man was a traitor and he had a congressman killed for goodness sake, just to try to cover up his ties to Robert Hanssen. I knew if he could do that then none of us were safe, but . . . I couldn't quit and let you and Booth deal with that man . . . I guess I stay because Hodgins loves what he's doing here at the Lab and I know he'd moved if I asked him to, but that wouldn't be fair to him. He's so happy here and I guess I am too, when we're not in danger."

"Yes, Hodgins is brilliant and it's his expertise that has helped us solve many cases in the past." Brennan was surrounded by brilliant people and she knew that her job would be much harder if she couldn't rely upon their expertise. "But your computer skills are very impressive, Angela. I have come to rely upon your computer skills when it comes to collecting data on suspects. You are just as important to our team as Hodgins and Cam are."

Flattered, Angela smiled at her friend. "Thank you, Honey . . . I am very good at what I do, but sometimes I wish I could give it up and just paint full time." She sighed. "I have a little art studio in our home and on the weekends, I paint like a mad thing. I've had some successes and some failures, but at least I do paint when I get a chance."

Not sure what to say about that, Brennan didn't say anything.

"You know we never did find out who sent Wayne Kitchen the blackmail letter. That worries me sometimes. I mean there is someone out there that may be worse than Kitchen or Hanssen and we don't know who he is or what he's up to." Angela kept a file on her 'stand alone' computer about this particular case and added information to it occasionally. She had noticed some odd stuff in the news about cases in court, suicides and odd behavior by elected officials. She was hoping that she could collect enough information and over time she might be able to develop a useful pattern that might point to the blackmailer. In the mean time she worked on it alone and made sure her computer was password protected from the curious. She didn't want to draw attention to what she was doing. If Kitchen was dangerous then the blackmailer was much worse and she didn't want his or her attention. She hoped to identify whoever it was someday and get rid of one more threat. Perhaps she should mention it to Pete the next time he hacked into her computer. He might be a good ally.

The conversation had stopped and Angela stood up. "I have some things I need to take care of. How about going to lunch with me today?"

"Alright. Booth has several meetings he had to attend today, so I'm free." Brennan continued to look at Angela's reports.

"Sounds good." Angela's mind was now on her little project and as she left her office, she decided to look over what she had and see if there was anything she needed to add.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thanks.

A/N: the blackmailer that Angela is talking about refers to a case that started in chapter 85 and ended in chapter 105.