(Season 10)

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Babysitting his daughter was becoming an almost everyday event and Booth was so happy to do it. Max was up to something per usual and was gone most of the time which left Booth to fill in when Brennan had to work late. Working on the killer clown case was driving her to work late hours, but she was trying to prevent another death if she could. Not only had the Li's allowed Brennan and Cam to autopsy their daughter, but Caroline had been successful in getting the Morgan Family to allow an autopsy of their son to happen as well. William Morgan had been murdered in Bethel, Maine and their family had been clamoring for justice ever since. When Caroline had approached them, they had been quick to agree to the autopsy, but were relieved when they were told that they wouldn't have to bear the costs of the exhumation or reburial.

The autopsy on Beverly had produced some evidence, but not enough to point to anyone in particular. Green nylon hairs had been found on the clothing she had been wearing when she had been murdered. Cotton fibers were found in a deep scratch on the little girl's throat too. It appeared that the child had been cut with a knife before she had been strangled which infuriated Cam. "Damn it, it looks like he might have tortured the child first." She found some slices on the girl's arms and on her shoulders that confirmed her worst fears.

Hodgins was certain that the clown had worn white cotton gloves while strangling the child. Thankfully, the girl had not been sexually assaulted. No DNA evidence had been found on her clothes which disappointed everyone. So far there was just particulate evidence. Hodgins was certain if they caught the clown they could match his wig against the wig material found on Beverly's body, but Cam knew it was all circumstantial. They needed much more and they needed something to point to the identity of the killer.

Once the body of William Morgan arrived, Cam began a careful examination. She had been surprised to find that the boy had not really been through an autopsy. The coroner had noted the crushed hyoid and assumed death by strangulation. He had also noted numerous bruises on the boy's body. Angela was curious and checked on the background of the coroner and found out he was the local pediatrician. He had done the best he could, but obviously he hadn't been very thorough. Perhaps finding the cause of death had stopped him from doing anything else.

While Hodgins inspected the clothes that William had worn when his body had been found, Brennan assisted Cam in her initial examination. Cam was hopeful that they might find something pointing to the killer.

"From the bruises on the boy's hands, he fought back and he didn't die easily." Brennan was oddly proud that the child had fought for his life. He hadn't been afraid or at least not enough to let the clown just kill him. "We may find DNA evidence."

Cam had noted the defensive wounds and prayed that Brennan was right. "He was a brave little boy. Nine years old and a warrior. The funeral home washed the body which doesn't help us, but I'm going to check the wounds on his hands and under his finger nails. Also, I think he may have done some damage to the clown."

"The Sheriff's office did scrape under his finger nails and they said they got some bits, but I'm not sure they did any DNA testing or at least they didn't send me the DNA test results if it was done." Hodgins wasn't impressed with what he was seeing in the report that the Sheriff's office had sent over. "I'm going to call them and ask that they run the DNA test. I'll pay for it out of my budget if that's the problem."

Brennan was listening to the entomologist as she inspected the child's hands. "Since William put up such a fierce fight, there should be blood on his clothes. Not just his, but his assailant. I think William's case was mishandled . . . I am not satisfied that the Sheriff's office did all that they could."

No one standing on the platform was happy with what they were seeing. Clark Edison had volunteered to help with the case since it involved the deaths of children. He wanted that clown found as soon as possible. "I'll call the Sheriff's office while you keep working on the clothes, Hodgins. I'll try to see why there weren't any follow throughs." With that he left the platform and returned to his office.

While Clark was gone, Hodgins was elated to find several human hairs on the clothes that didn't belong to the child. William's hair was a deep copper red and the hairs he was finding were a chestnut brown color. "Hah, I found hair. Several strands. William did good. He did really good."

Glad to hear it, Cam and Brennan continued to inspect William's body. The boy may have got them the clues they were looking for.

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As Cam started her autopsy, with Brennan standing by to help, Clark returned to the platform. "I talked to the detective in charge of the case. He did send off the finger nail scrapings for DNA testing, but the tests never came back. He said he also sent some hair that had been found on the clothes too. He said he called about it a few times, but they just keep saying they have a back log and they'll get to it when they get to it. I called Booth and he's going to get someone from the FBI up there to fetch the DNA samples and send it here for us to analyze. He's pretty pissed, but he said we should get it by tomorrow morning."

Grateful that the DNA hadn't been lost, Cam grimly inspected the hyoid that lay bare of skin and muscle. "The boy has a crushed hyoid just as the coroner reported. This is what killed him."

Working diligently, Hodgins soon found a few drops of blood on the shirt near the collar and took samples. "William, you make me so proud. You really do."

Oooooooooooooooooo

His Gamblers Anonymous meeting went well or at least Booth thought so. He talked about his struggle with gambling and it helped to have sympathetic ears listening. He had thought his addiction was under control since he had met Brennan, but he had let himself become too lax over the years. He had done a few office pools and hadn't really considered them gambling, but he now knew that he had just been setting himself up for failure. He had let himself think he was cured. What a joke on him. He had to give up all of that behavior forever. Not just cards and pool. He had to be diligent and turn down office pools or casual bets on sports games. There was nothing casual about gambling when it came to an addict and he knew that now.

Brennan was helping Cam with William Morgan's autopsy, so Booth had picked up their daughter from school and took her out to eat. They had dinner at the Royal Diner and Booth had laughed when she tried a sip of coffee from his cup and she had spit it out in a napkin. "I told you, you wouldn't like it."

"That's just awful, Daddy." Christine was amazed that all the adults she knew drank that bitter stuff. "Yuck."

Amused, Booth sipped his coffee and placed the cup down. "I told you it was something adults drink. Maybe the next time you'll believe me."

"I will, Daddy." Christine took a drink of milk from her glass and smacked her lips. "I like milk better."

"Good." Booth was really enjoying being with his daughter. She always made him smile. "You'll have strong bones like Daddy." He flexed the muscles in his right arm and pointed at it. "See, I drank milk when I was a kid and look at that."

She was impressed. "Wow, you must have drunk a lot of milk."

"Oh, I did." Booth pointed at her spaghetti. "Okay eat up. We need to go home soon. You still have to do your homework before you go to bed."

Their dinner was interrupted with questions from Christine, but Booth was used to that. He really missed being with his family and he would do everything he could to be able to come back home. The nights without his family were so lonely and it was hard to sleep by himself. He hoped that someday his wife would forgive him. It was a lot to ask, but he hoped she would be able to see that he meant to stay sober now and in the future.

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She found him sitting at the bar, flipping through a photo album. "I hope you didn't have plans this evening."

"Me?" Booth would have laughed, but he knew his wife wouldn't get the joke. "Nah. How'd it go with the autopsy?"

"Hodgins found hair and blood on William's clothes." Brennan placed her purse down and sat down next to Booth. "I don't think we'll need the DNA from the fingernail scrapings, but we will process it and verify it matches the DNA we will get from the hair and blood. Cam has prioritized the DNA tests and hopes to have it by tomorrow evening. We may find out who the killer is very soon, Booth."

That was fantastic news as far as Booth was concerned. "God, I hope so. If that nut keeps his schedule some kid's life is going to be in danger in about four days. I want to make an arrest before he kills anyone else."

"What are you looking at?" Brennan was curious about the photos that Booth was looking at.

Moving the photo album so that it was in front of her, Booth pointed at a picture. "I was looking at Pop's old album. Most of the pictures were taken by Grams when she was alive, but there are some of us after she died . . . that's a picture of my father . . . it was during one of his sober moments."

Brennan felt sorry for Booth. His father had been an abusive drunk and no role model that he could emulate. Of course, her parents weren't exactly role models either. "He could have tried to get help, Booth. He didn't want to. That is one of the many differences between you and him. You want to do something about your addiction. Of course, there are many more differences between you. You love your family and you are an honorable man. Edwin Booth neither loved his family nor was he honorable . . . How are your meetings? Are they helping you?"

"Yeah, I think so." Booth appreciated that Brennan knew that he wasn't like his father. "It helps to talk to people that are going through the same things that I'm going through."

"You can always talk to me, Booth." Brennan was worried that Booth might feel too isolated. She loved him and she needed him to know she was still on his side. "Any time."

He appreciated her sincerity. "I know. Thank you . . . This is just going to take times, Bones. I made a big mess of my life and I really want to fix this, what I did . . . I'm sorry that I've put you through this whole thing. I never meant to hurt you or Christine. I never meant to put you in danger, but I did and I am so sorry."

Her throat felt tight from emotion. This was the first time that Booth had apologized with sincerity. He had apologized before, but he had been in denial at the time. He was trying to accept what he did was wrong and he was taking responsibility. It was what she had been waiting for. "Thank you." She didn't really have anything else to say about it, at least for now. "Would you like a slice of pie? I have some in the fridge. I bought it for you."

Standing, Booth closed the album and smiled. "I'd love a piece of pie. Thank you Bones. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

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