A/N: Yea for research. Gotta love it. BTW, names I've used reflect people I know. Usually people I think are stupid or annoying. Vicariously killing them through FanFiction…yep, I'm kraze! However, I did need a name for the newest team member. This is not someone I want to kill. A big thanks for my beta, KatieBeth, for all her help.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Chapter 9 The Case Twists (Thursday)

Temperance kissed her son's freshly scrubbed cheeks and sent them out the door. They practically flew down the path to meet the school bus, waving from the departing vehicle. She smiled and returned to the kitchen, marveling at how, in the span of an hour, they'd managed to make such a mess. Booth would have a fit if he saw this. Thankfully, Booth was already at the Hoover building setting up interviews and updating Cullen on the case.

Temperance finished cleaning the kitchen and dining room and settled into her office chair. Focusing with expert determination she began writing, intent on finishing her latest novel on time. Stopping only for the frequent bathroom breaks she needed, Temperance managed to complete all but the final two chapters before Booth arrived home for lunch. Satisfied, she reviewed her work and sent it to her editor.

During lunch, Booth recalled the morning's interviews and his plans for the afternoon. They sat across from each other, eating leftovers straight from the Wong Foo containers, holding hands across the table. When they were finished, Booth made her sit while he took out the trash and started the dishwasher.

"I've been sitting all morning, Booth," she protested, half-heartedly, knowing she'd never live it down if he knew how much she loved and appreciated his concern.

"But, you'll be standing all afternoon, rest while you can. Ready to head to the lab?" She nodded and they locked up the house. In the SUV, Temperance pulled her oversized sweater tighter around her frame. Booth immediately adjusted the heat to make her more comfortable. A few minutes into the drive she noticed he wasn't heading toward the Jeffersonian.

"Where are we going?" He had mentioned the lab.

"Picking up Angela, she called this morning and insisted on coming to the lab with you."

"Why?"

"Hodgins told her that her replacement hasn't been able to complete the simulation of the victim's head wound. She wants to reverse engineer the weapon and wouldn't take no for an answer. Plus, she's going crazy sitting at home waiting."

"Is my husband, the big, bad FBI agent, afraid of a hormonal pregnant woman?" Her eyes danced mischievously.

"You bet. And please, don't take advantage of that knowledge."

"I promise nothing," she retorted with a light laugh as they pulled up to Hodgins's estate.

By the time Booth returned to the Jeffersonian that evening, dark had fallen. Scanning the platform, he found Zack working quietly on the skeleton, finishing the reconstruction of the broken femur and kneecap. Booth nodded hello and found Temperance and Angela working side by side at the Angelator.

"Hey, you four, what did you find?" Angela smiled at her friend and rested her hand-held device on her stomach, which protruded from her Jeffersonian lab coat.

"Hi, Booth. Just testing different weapons."

"So the bone fragments found at the scene were a match?" Temperance nodded.

"Yes, Zack finished the skull reconstruction yesterday but we were unable to plug all the factors into the Angelator until Hodgins finished with the particulates this morning. We believe the same object was used to disable to victim with a strike to the knee, based on the fractures to the distal epicondoyle of the left femur."

Angela continued, "We've managed to narrow down the murder weapon to an irregularly shaped wooden object, type unknown." Without looking away from the projected image, Temperance continued. "The impact came from the victim's left side and struck the lateral parietal bone at the synarthrodial joint adjacent to the occipital bone."

"That's what killed her?"

"Yes. Blood pooling on the interior of the temporal bone indicated hemorrhaging consistent with the scenario. The victim lay on her side for several hours before she was buried face down."

"Any leads on the carpet fibers?"

"Check with Hodgins, he's been locked away in his office all day," Angela suggested, lowering herself into a chair. Booth noticed Angela's temporary replacement, a young woman named Katie, was sitting nearby taking furious notes.

"I'll be right back," Booth gave Temperance a quick kiss. "You two relax until I get back." He turned and headed for the entomologist's office.

"Seeley?" He spun instantly. "Where are the boys? They should be home from the sitter's by now."

"In your office, they've eaten dinner and I told them to sit and behave." Her eyes widened.

"And why did you think that would work?" She started toward her office quickly.

"Because I gave them ice cream?" She moved faster.

"Not on my couch!" His laughter followed her down the hall.

"Jack! What do you have for me?" Booth burst into the office, startling Hodgins, who quickly dropped the phone he was holding back in its receiver.

"G-man. Okay, uh, the fibers." Clearly flustered, Hodgins quickly turned on his genius and began reciting facts. "None of the fibers collected from the scene were a match to the polymer found on the victim. Analysis confirms the polymer came from a red shag carpet manufactured between 1975 and 1980 by a company out of Dayton, Ohio. Particulates found on the recovered pieces of skull indicate a processed wood, probably oak, which was treated with a solvent containing dichloromethane."

"English, Hodgins, speak English."

"Right. Paint remover was used on the wood. It's a common chemical sold in every home store in the country. But if we can locate the murder weapon I can type and match it to the shards left on the victim."

"Angela said the object was irregularly shaped, what are we looking at here?"

"Most likely a chair leg, table leg, something with a carved pattern, recently stripped and restained."

"Great. Thanks, man. I'll get back to you tomorrow. Now, please take Angela home before she falls asleep at her desk."

"You read my mind, G-man."

Soon after Angela waddled out of the lab followed closely by a hovering Hodgins, Temperance and Booth followed, Booth hoisting a sleeping Sam in his strong arms, Temperance chatting with Parker about his upcoming science fair. Life is good, he thought as they drove home. He reached for her hand and was rewarded with a smile as she looked up from the case file. Life is good.

END

A/N: Hope I'm not moving too slowly for you. I'd love to skip ahead a few days and write some of the fun scenes I'm planning but I refuse to be lazy. Don't worry too much. The case will be solved, babies will be born, and Zack will get more lines. Trust me.