A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Please leave a review, they're much appreciated.

Chapter 4

The next morning, Emma started frying bacon in a pan while waiting for the boys to get up. She figured it would be an incentive for them to get out of bed before noon. "Hey, future squint" said a deep voice. She didn't turn at the sound; she already knew who it was.

"Hey, Kegan," she said. "Looks like it worked." Kegan and Drew had taken to calling her a 'future squint' ever since her obsession with forensic anthropology and science in general became obvious.

"Yeah, the smell of bacon is always a good way to get me out of bed, just for future reference," he grinned, coming to stand next to her in boxers and a faded navy blue t-shirt. "Need any help? Unless you're planning on the three of us eating just bacon, of course."

"I was going to make scrambled eggs, too," she admitted.

Grinning, he headed for the fridge and pulled out six eggs. Searching for a bowl, he said, "I'm on it."

"Are you sure you can do it?" she asked doubtfully, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "I mean, you can't cook, Kegan."

"Emma," he said, glaring at her. "It's scrambled eggs. Everyone knows how to make scrambled eggs."

"Point taken," she chuckled, flipping over the strips of bacon. "Man, my brother is loaded with enough breakfast food to franchise an IHOP."

"You've got that damn right," Kegan said. He had finally found a bowl and he was now cracking the eggs.

"Where's Drew?" she asked.

"In the shower," he replied. "I let him have it first today since I tripped him so I could beat him to it yesterday."

"You two are vicious," she commented, shaking her head.

"You know you would've done the exact same thing," he protested.

"You're right," she admitted. Pointing her spatula at him, she added, "But that, my friend, is why I make it a point to wake up and beat both of you to the bathroom."

He chuckled, and they fell into a comfortable silence. After a few moments, Emma spluttered out, "Look, Kee, I'm just going to be honest with you. I like you, okay? A lot. And as more than a friend. But you should know that it's not going to affect our friendship at all. So… now that I've got that off my chest, let's just move on."

"Wait," he said after a few moments. "You like me?"

"Yeah, that's what I just said." He began to chuckle. Blushing and turning to glare at him, she demanded, "What's so damn funny?"

"Leave it to you to just blurt it out of nowhere, Em," he said, grinning sideways at her. "Well, you should know… that I like you too."

"You do?" she asked, for clarification.

"Yeah," he said, and he was suddenly in a very close proximity to her. "I do." She could feel his warm breath washing over her cheek, and she shuddered. His warm lips brushed against her cheek. She froze in what she was doing and slowly turned to face him, her brown eyes locking onto his hazel ones. Slowly, she set her spatula down, her intent clearly written upon her face. He knew what she was going to do.

But he beat her to it.

He bent his head so that his lips met hers. The kiss was sweet and gentle; there was nothing demanding about it. One of his hands lifted to gently cup her cheek as he pulled back, a soft smile spreading across his face. He took a step back, intending to give her some space, but Emma had other ideas. She stepped toward him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, bringing his mouth down to hers. Her lips moved against his, and, despite his shock, he responded appropriately. Cautiously, he ran his tongue across the seam of her lips: a request. She heartily granted her permission, opening her mouth to him, and her tongue brushed against his, causing him to shudder. He wrapped his arms around her waist, cradling her body close to his. He wished the moment would never end.

However, the smell of burning bacon caused her to jump away from him. "Shit," she muttered, quickly turning off the stove and taking the pan off of the hot surface. She then grimaced at the burned meat.

"It'll be fine," Kegan assured her. "Drew and I scarf down our food so fast we hardly taste it anyway." She grinned up at him, and he pressed a sweet kiss to her brow. He moved his lips to her cheekbone and slowly dragged them back toward her mouth. He paused so that their noses were touching and their breath was mingling, and he said, "Emma Booth, would you do me the great honor of being my girlfriend?"

She said nothing, but she smiled and pressed her lips to his, thrusting her tongue into his mouth with force that caught him by surprise. He moaned, wrapping his arms around her waist again and pulling her closer so that her chest was pressed up against his. He gently pulled her bottom lip into his mouth, causing her to gasp audibly.

When the need for air became absolute, she pulled away wordlessly and went back to making breakfast, a broad grin spread across her face. Kegan merely looked confused. "Wait," he said, his voice thick. "What does that mean in future squint speak?"

She grinned at him and said, "It means yes."

Drew chose that moment to come out of the bathroom, shaking his head of wet hair. "What smells like burning bacon?"

TSTLTSTL

"I just can't believe she's dead!" wailed the blonde girl in front of Booth and Bones. The girl's name was Jennifer Smith, and she was the best friend of the deceased Riley Evans. Jennifer had been the head cheerleader, and she had been the same cheerleader to recommend Riley for the squad.

"We're both very sorry for your loss," Booth said as soothingly as possibly, handing her a box of tissues. "And we understand this must be very hard for you, but we need to ask you a few questions."

"Of course," Jennifer choked out through her tears, wiping away her running mascara with a tissue. "Anything I can do to help."

"Did Riley have any enemies that you can think of?" Bones asked, cocking her head curiously at the girl.

"Well, Riley was one of the most popular girls in school, so usually people get pretty jealous of girls like that," Jennifer replied. "But not Riley. She was so sweet, so nice to everyone. I can't think of anyone who would want to kill her."

Booth and Bones exchanged glances. Had it been a rape?

"What other close friends did Riley have?" Booth asked softly.

"Oh, she had tons of friends," Jennifer replied. "But she wasn't personally close to many of them. Just me and her boyfriend."

"What's her boyfriend's name?" Booth asked. "We're going to need to question him as well."

"His name was Tony Ansley. He's the captain of the football team," the girl replied.

"What about… Riley's relationship with her parents?" Bones asked, remembering how little the couple had known about their daughter's activities.

"They were very strict," Jennifer said. "Mostly about grades. She was supposed to make at least a B+ in every class, otherwise, they wouldn't let her cheer. And Riley loved cheerleading. They freaked out when progress reports came out and she was only getting a 75 in chemistry. They told her that if she didn't pull it up by the end of the quarter, they'd make her quit," Widening her eyes, she added, "But her parents loved her. They would never kill her, and they just wanted what was best for her. Neither of them are drinkers, and they never so much as spanked her as a child. And she loved them too. She would never get into any sort of physical fight with them."

"All right, shhh, it's okay," Booth said, as the girl began to cry harder. "Thanks for your time."

And then they left.

TSTLTSTLTSTL

"So what do you make of that?" Bones asked in the car on the way back to the Jeffersonian. "Do you think the parents had a motive to do it?"

"No," Booth said. "I mean, they might've been strict about grades, but they didn't seem like the type to become violent when angry, much less to kill their own daughter. Besides, if it was possibly that the parents did it, the first person to point it out would probably be the victim's best friend. But she did exactly the opposite."

Glancing at the file, Bones said, "It says here that Jennifer Smith is an orphan, who's living with her aunt and uncle. She says that she knew Riley from the time they were toddlers. I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Evans were like surrogate parents to her."

"That's a possibility," Booth admitted. "Look, if we have a reason to bring her in for questioning later, we'll have Sweets examine her, okay?"

"That's fine," Bones said. Suddenly, her phone began to ring. "Brennan."

"It's Cam," said the voice on the other line. "We found something. Or, more accurately, we didn't find something."

"What didn't you find?" Bones asked, her eyebrows knitting together as she thought of all the possibilities. Booth glanced over at his partner and resisted the urge to chuckle. He loved the look she got on her face when she was trying to figure something out.

"Riley's missing an earring. A very nice earring, by the looks of the one we have. Real diamonds," Cam said.

"How much is it worth?" Bones questioned.

"Well, I said 'diamonds', as in plural, so… we're talking a whole hell of a lot of money," Cam replied.

"Thanks, I'll tell Booth," Bones said, and hung up.

Clearing his throat, Booth asked, "You'll tell me what?"

"Riley's missing an earring," Bones told him. "And the one earring we have has multiple diamonds in it."

Booth whistled. "Do you think her boyfriend, what's his name… uh, Tony Ansley, could've given it to her?"

"It seems like the most logical conclusion," Bones shrugged.

"Well, then, let's go find out."

TSTLTSTLTSTL

"Is there something you guys aren't telling me?" Drew asked, looking suspiciously at Kegan and Emma over his milkshake. The three of them were having lunch at the diner, and Kegan and Emma had been playing footsie the whole time.

"No, what makes you say that?" Kegan asked, biting his lip.

"You're a shitty liar, Kee," Drew told him, smirking.

"Give it up, Kegan," Emma told him, rolling her eyes. "Drew's gonna find out sooner or later anyway, so we might as well just tell him." Turning to Drew, she informed him, "Kegan and I are going out."

Drew's smirk turned into a triumphant grin. Turning to Kegan, he pointed and said, "Ha! I knew it! I told you she liked you! Ha!"

"Wait a damn minute," Emma hissed. "You knew he liked me and that I liked him and you didn't tell me?"

"Yeah," Drew said. "I was sworn to secrecy by little Mr. Paranoid over there." He jerked his head at Kegan to indicate that he was referring to him. "Besides, I knew you'd get the nerve up to tell him soon anyway, Em. You're no wimp. Unlike Kegan."

"Shut up," Kegan said angrily, throwing a French fry at Drew and nailing him in the forehead.

Drew made as if to pick up one of his own fries to throw back at Kegan, but Emma loudly said, "Enough. You two are such children."

"Wait," Kegan said. "If you're dating me, and I'm a child… then that makes you a pedophile."

"Ew," Emma said, wrinkling her nose. "Your mind is a scary, scary place. I mean you two are children mentally. Not physically." Turning to Drew, she asked, "How'd you know we were keeping something from you, Drew? You're usually as oblivious as a rock."

"Hey, I resent that remark," he retorted.

"More like you resemble that remark," Kegan murmured under his breath.

Choosing to ignore Kegan's remark, he replied, "You two have been playing footsie with me the whole time."