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I don't own Bones, not even a little bit.

Ooooooooooooo

Arriving at the Freeman farm, Booth scanned the yard surrounding the house and noticed a car with Maryland tags parked over near the barn. "Try to keep Freeman interested as long as you can. I want to check out the barn and the other buildings if I can. If I can't don't worry about it, I'll just come back tonight and scout the place out when everyone has gone to bed."

His hands clenching his seat belt, Hodgins glanced at the house and then at Booth, "What if he refuses to let us in the house? Do you want . . ."

Interrupting his friend, Booth frowned, "Don't ad lib. If he won't let us in the house then don't worry about it. Don't force the issue. I can always come back when he isn't here so let's just play it cool and don't worry about failure. This is just our first step. . . Got it?"

Relieved, Hodgins smiled, "Yeah, I just don't want to screw up."

His hand on his sunglasses, Booth adjusted them and smiled, "You won't. Just be yourself and you'll be fine."

Opening the car door, Booth exited the car and then leaned back in, "I work for you and my name is Buck Moosejaw. Don't forget those things and we'll be fine."

A sickly smile on his face, Hodgins left the car and scanned the house. Taking a few steps towards the porch, he came to a halt when the front door opened and an angry man stepped out onto the porch.

"Who are you?" Pointing towards the lane, Bobby Freeman growled, "I don't allow strangers onto my property now get the hell out."

Holding up his hands, Hodgins tried to assure the man, "My name is Dr. Jack Hodgins. I work for the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington D.C. We're trying to interest farmers in this area in blight resistant American Chestnut trees. We're funding the research and it won't cost you anything, just a little space on your land where the trees are planted, if you're interested."

Puzzled, Freeman stepped down from the porch, "American Chestnut trees won't grow around here. The blight gets them every time."

Confident now that he had the man's attention, Hodgins replied, "Yes but we think we've come up with a tree that will resist the blight. We're contacting farmers in the area to see if they'd be interested in our experiment. Like I said it won't cost you a thing. . . In fact, we'll pay you to allow us to plant the trees. All you have to do is let them grow or die. We'll come out once or twice a year and inspect them and that's pretty much it. . . . Oh and you also get to keep the chestnuts. We just want a few each year, if the tree produces any. You can have the majority of the crop to do with as you wish."

Clearly interested, Freeman moved a little closer to Hodgins. Glancing at Booth who was standing passively near the car, the farmer smiled, "How much will you pay me to use my land for the trees?"

Excited, Hodgins replied, "Well, we were thinking 500 dollars per tree. The maximum amount of trees we'd like to plant on each farm is ten trees but we'll settle for four. We think we've got the right tree and we really want to start soon. You're the first farmer I've tried. I have a list of twenty farms I'm going to contact in the area, so if you aren't interested that's okay."

A frown appearing on his face, Freeman rubbed his chin, "Do I get to keep the trees? I'd probably do it if you'd let me keep the trees as well as the nuts."

Blithely, Hodgins responded, "Oh sure. That's not a problem. We're just interested in the data. We'd come out and measure the tree, gather soil samples around the tree and take some of the chestnuts when or if the tress produce any. We'd want you to keep the trees for at least ten years."

Licking his lips, Freeman nodded his head, "Okay, I think we have a deal."

Glancing at Booth, Hodgins smiled, "Well, my assistant and I need to check your farm and gather some soil samples. If you have an idea where you want to plant the trees then you can show us now or we can come back tomorrow. We'll check out the area and once I've had a chance to talk to some of the other farmers we might be ready to plant the trees in about a month. We really appreciate your cooperation. You know the American Chestnut contains more nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium in its leaves when you compare them to other trees in the area. That means that they return more nutrients to the soil which helps the growth of the plants in the area."

Amused at the enthusiasm of the scientist standing in front of him, Freeman laughed, "Really more information than I needed Doc." Glancing back at the house, the farmer hooked his thumbs in his belt and turned back towards Hodgins, "I have some stuff I need to take care of." Pointing towards the barn, he continued, "I have some land behind the barn that I'm not using right now. I used to raise horses over there but it got too expensive. If you'll go down this lane and past the barn you can check that piece of land out. When you're done come back here and let me know if you're interested."

Reaching out for Freeman's hand, Hodgins shook it, "Thank you Sir. We'll go down and take a bunch of soil samples. Measure the land, check for available water and such stuff and then we'll come back and let you know if the land is suitable."

Turning back towards the porch, Freeman commented, "Take your time. Talk to me when you're done."

Oooooooooooooooo

Parking his car near the barn, Booth looked around and noticed the small door to the left of the double doors in the back of the barn. "I'm going to try to get a look in the barn."

Exiting the car, Booth popped the trunk and left it open. "Go ahead and start doing whatever it is you do. I'll be right back." Walking over towards the barn, Booth stopped when the smaller door opened. A crooked smile on his face, Booth pointed over his shoulder, "Hi, I'm with Jeffersonian in Washington D.C. Mr. Freeman gave us permission to check out this piece land to see if it's suitable to plant trees on. I wanted to see how stable this barn is. We may want to keep some supplies here."

A dark scowl on his face, Adam Rinard stared intently at Booth, "I don't know anything about it but you can't use the barn. Bobby stores hay and feed in here for his cattle."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth kept the smile on his face, "Not a problem. We'll just bring our supplies every time we come up here to check on our trees . . . if we plant them here."

Curious, Adam closed the door and walked over towards where Hodgins was standing, "What kind of trees do you plan to plant?"

Resting a shovel near between his feet, Hodgins explained why they were there as Booth removed some equipment from the trunk and walked out into the middle of the field. Placing the two bags and small shovel on the ground, he knelt and started to collect soil samples.

Oooooooooooooooo

That evening, Booth, Hodgins, Agents Spice and White met in Booth's motel room. Sitting on the beds and chairs, they discussed what they'd accomplished so far.

A bottle of water in his hand, Booth uncapped it and drank some of the water. Satisfied, Booth placed the bottle on the dresser, "Okay, we made contact with Freeman and Rinard. They both agreed to have trees planted on their property which allowed us to look around their farms a little. I didn't get a chance to look in Freeman's barn but I did get a look in Rinard's barn when we were on his property. I plan to go back tonight to get a look at Freeman's barn. What we're looking for may be in his house, but right now I'd like to at least eliminate the barn. I can always go back when he isn't there and search his house."

A little worried, Hodgins asked, "Do you want me to go with you?"

Shaking his head, Booth smiled, "Nope. I know what to look for, I'll be fine. It will just be a quick trip in and out. I'll go around midnight and I should be back by two. If I find anything suspicious, I'll arrange a warrant and have April and Kevin serve it. We'll have you look at what ever I find. We'll work out how we'll do that when the time comes. I don't want to blow your or my cover unless I have to."

A feeling of dread filling his thoughts, Hodgins pointed at the other agents, "Maybe you should take some backup with you."

Retrieving his water bottle, Booth opened the cap, "I don't need it. They have their own jobs to do tonight. They have to check out some buildings at the O'Neal place tonight and then they have to drive over to Somerset county to check into a couple of leads. You can stay here and be on standby. If we get into trouble we're counting on you to contact the FBI in Pittsburgh and tell them to send help."

Downcast, Hodgins apologized, "I wish I could be of more help than that."

Reaching over and patting his friend's arm, Booth smiled, "You are helping. You have your job to do and we have ours. It's okay. You're doing fine. I just brought you along to help with my cover and if we do get warrants served anywhere you'll be able to confirm what we're looking for. You're not an agent so I don't want to place you in any danger if I can help it."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

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