(After 'The Next in the Last')

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Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Angela had witnessed Hodgins' enthusiasm during their last case and she began to wonder if she was being selfish. She wanted to move to Paris and give up her job at the Lab, but she knew that Hodgins loved his job and what he was doing with his life. Aware that she had power over his future, Angela began to worry that he was willing to give up a lot for her, but she might not be willing to give up her dreams for him. She didn't consider herself to be a selfish person, but making Hodgins give up something he loved just because she wanted him to, made her realize that her demanding him to make the sacrifice was indeed selfish. She had been so dead set to get to Paris that she hadn't considered the feelings of the man she loved and cherished.

She entered Sweets' office and cleared her throat. "Do you have a few minutes to talk to me?"

Surprised to see Angela, Sweets put down his pen and stood up. Pointing at the love seat, he sat down in the chair facing it. "What can I do for you?"

"I want to live in Paris." She stopped and waited to see what the psychologist would say.

"Okay . . . And you wanted me to know . . . why?" Puzzled, Sweets leaned back against his chair and stared at the older woman.

She knew she sounded a little desperate, but Angela needed a sounding board and it couldn't be anyone at the Lab. Everyone there had an agenda. "I want to move to Paris. I want to get away from death and blood. I want to be surrounded by beauty . . . Is that wrong?"

"Well, you're an artist as well as a computer expert, so yes, I can see why you might want to move to Paris . . . why not just go? Why are you here?" He still didn't understand what Angela wanted from him.

Sighing, Angela closed her eyes for a moment and decided the conversation would be more useful if she actually talked to Sweets about why she was there. Her eyes open, she sighed once more. "I want to move to Paris, but to do that Hodgins would have to give up his job. Michael Vincent would have to give up his school and he loves his school. He has a lot of friends there . . . I can speak French and so can Hodgins, but my son can't so he'd have to learn it . . . I'm tired of working with dead bodies. I'm tired of seeing the worst in people. I want to see what's best in the world and I can do that in Paris, but the people I love would have to give up what they love to give me what I want . . . I think I'm being selfish."

"I see." Sweets thought it over for a few moments and knew he would have to be careful. Angela wanted help making a decision and he wanted to make sure he helped her and didn't make the situation worse. "Perhaps you are." He saw her stiffen, but she had come to him and he was going to tell her what she needed to here. "I know you're unhappy right now but doing something that makes you happy would make two people you love unhappy. It's quite a dilemma . . . Is there hope for a compromise? Perhaps you could give up working at the Lab and do artist things at home. You could travel, perhaps go to Paris for a few months, see what you want to see and come home . . . Maybe you just need a break."

She thought about it and knew that Sweets didn't really understand what she was feeling. He just thought he did. "I don't want to separate from my family. I want them to be with me, to live in a beautiful place with me . . . I want to live an artist's life. I want to wake up knowing that I'm not going to see a dead body today. I'm not going to see a rotten corpse. I want that for Hodgins too."

"I, I, I . . . not we, not us, just I." Sweets knew she had to be hearing what she was saying. "You need to sit down and have an honest conversation with your husband. Quitting your job, making Hodgins quit his job, uprooting your son . . . Don't you think you should allow them some say in their future? They love you of that I am certain and they would probably move to Paris with you if that is what you want, but would they be unhappy doing that? Are you really willing to make Hodgins give up something he loves because you don't want to work at the Lab anymore? You know he loves working with Brennan and Cam. He enjoys working on cases. Sometimes he's so excited when he's working on a case that he can't stop smiling. You know that. You've seen it yourself. We've all seen it . . . I'm not saying that you shouldn't be happy, Angela. I'm saying that someone is going to lose in this situation and some kind of compromise might help. This decision shouldn't just be yours." He hoped she understood what he was saying. "There are three people in this equation and none of them are named 'I'."

She almost smiled. What he had said was so corny and yet he had been serious and he wanted her to take his words seriously. "Okay Junior, I hear you." Standing, Angela slung her purse onto her shoulder. "I just needed a sounding board. I love Brennan and Cam to death, but they have reasons for me to stay, not that they would try to make me do something I don't want to do. . . you know what I mean."

"I do." Sweets smiled. "If you need to talk to me again, I'm here . . . Talk to Hodgins, really talk to him and see if there is a way to make both of you happy. I bet you'll find a way."

Once she was gone, Sweets sighed. Everyone had been through the wringer the last few years and Durant had frightened Angela, Sweets knew that. The man had tried to kill Booth and he had almost succeeded. If Danny hadn't been there at the house with his friends that night things might not have worked out for Booth and that made Angela feel unsafe, Sweets was sure of that. Hell, it made me feel unsafe. He just hoped Angela was honest with Hodgins and really talked to him. Their happiness relied on her being honest.

Oooooooooooooooo

Booth couldn't believe how relaxed he felt. The vacation had been something he'd really needed and now he felt recharged. He knew that Brennan was also feeling better for having been away for a week. The case they worked on when they got back had been an odd one and started out badly, but it had ended well especially since they weren't dealing with a serial killer.

Brennan was getting close to her due date and she was making plans to handle it her way. They had sat down and had a serious talk and they both decided that she would remain in the Lab for the rest of her pregnancy and not go in the field. She had been torn and Booth appreciated that she was willing to give in, but he'd had to give in to her too. She refused to have her baby in a hospital and no matter how much he tried to influence her she wouldn't change her mind. She considered hospitals a haven for bacteria and she didn't want to expose her baby to such a toxic atmosphere.

Since she had assured him that she would have a reputable mid-wife, Booth decided he wouldn't fight her. They weren't far from the fire department and the hospital wasn't that far away either. Her first delivery hadn't been that bad, so he was counting on the second one to be normal too. Whatever normal means.

Aubrey entered Booth's office and placed a folder down on his desk. "Just got a call. A body was found at Great Falls, Virginia. Some guy was flying a drone with a camera up and down the Potomac River and saw a body near one of the waterfalls."

"Great Falls?" A little perplexed, Booth shook his head as he grabbed the folder. "John Hepburn is in prison waiting to go on trial for killing Corbet Frye and Durant is dead. This has to be a coincidence."

"Well, we know there was no way John Hepburn killed Frye by himself." The thought of Hepburn's partner in crime still free made Aubrey want to take this case. "Come on Booth, you and I know there is no such thing as coincidence in criminal cases. Hepburn had help killing Corbet Frye and he won't say who it was. This might be our chance to get the guy."

Since he didn't have a case at the moment, Booth didn't see why he couldn't humor the younger agent. John Hepburn had killed Corbet Frye at Great Falls by throwing him off of a ledge near a waterfall. Both Brennan and Cam had agreed Frye had been thrown since his body was too far away from the ledge to have jumped. They had both been of the opinion that two people had thrown the man from the ledge, but John Hepburn had claimed he had murdered Frye by himself. No one believed him, but they hadn't found any proof pointing to a partner. "Okay, we'll take the case. Call Cam and let her know to meet us at Great Falls with her team. Is the body in the same place where Frye died?"

"No, it's across the river. Same falls though." Anxious to get on the road, Aubrey strode from Booth's office, walked over to his desk and grabbed his jacket. Once his jacket was on, he called Cam with the news. She seemed as concerned as he was, when she found out the body had been found at Great Falls and promised to bring Hodgins. Hurrying over to the elevator where Booth was waiting, Aubrey placed his phone in his jacket pocket. "Dr. Saroyan is on the way."

"Good." Booth stepped into the elevator car once it arrived with Aubrey joining him. "This may not have anything to do with Corbet Frye's murder . . . It will be interesting to see who the victim is."

Staring at the closed elevator doors as the elevator descended, Aubrey nodded his head. "Frye's sister let the lady that found Frye's dog keep him. Nice lady . . . I hope this is connected to Frye's murder. I hate the thought that someone is walking around thinking they got away with it."

"Yeah, me too." Booth was glad Brennan wasn't going out in the field. She was a little too ungainly to be climbing over rocks. "We'll have to keep Bones in the loop. I don't want her to think I'm shutting her out. She can help back at the Lab. I just don't want her out at the waterfall."

"Got it." It made Aubrey cringe to think of Brennan trying to climb around a waterfall looking for evidence.

Ooooooooooooooooo

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