You lucky ducklings, I'm posting the next chap...right about now.

The sun started to descend behind the LA horizon and Booth crouched lower behind the small wall to his right. His rifle sat on the ledge, unmoving at his post on the rooftop. He'd been waiting for hours, but he knew it won't be much longer now.

The target would have to walk out of the building eventually. Booth would have to wait until then.

For a few minutes his grip on his sniper rifle loosened and he leaned on the roof's ledge, looking down five stories to the street. He wondered what Bones was doing at that very moment.

It was about four o'clock her time so she was probably at the lab. Probably had her auburn hair pulled back, showing off the beautiful face she refused to admit was exactly that. Beautiful. She would be leaning far over some set of bones, taking notes or talking to Zack. Communicating with the dead in a way no one else could.

Giving them back their identities, their families, and at the same time, they were somehow helping her create her own.

She would go back to her office, shake her hair out of her ponytail and slump into her computer chair. Then she would sit for a minute, Booth closed his eyes imagining the scene he'd watched so many times when she thought he couldn't see her. She would lean her head back on her chair and close those delicate eyes. Breathing deeply, she would smile to herself as she relished in her recent accomplishment. Then she would sit forward, hunch over her paperwork and not look up until someone distracted her or the sudden dimming of the lights in the lab reminded her how late it was.

Booth sighed, when he became aware again of where he was.

What would Bones say if she knew what I am waiting to do at this very moment? Would she understand? Would she forgive me? Maybe…

A sudden movement below brought Booth, albeit unwillingly, from his thoughts of Brennen. The door to the target's apartment building swung open.

Booth immediately returned to crouching behind his rifle and staring intently through the scope.

The target's head poked out followed closely by his body. Booth's finger tightened on the trigger and he held his breath to steady himself even more.

It was then that a waist-tall blonde bundle of energy dressed in a pink sundress and pigtails bounded out the door.

Surprised, Booth pulled back from his rifle and saw the little girl pull the target, most likely her father, away from the door and toward a nearby station wagon.

Booth watched as the girl hugged the man tightly, as if he was the most important thing in the world.

Why didn't I know he had a daughter?

Booth then saw a woman get out of the station wagon and round the car toward them. Then he understood.

The target and the woman were standoffish to each other. Booth could tell by their body language that they didn't like each other.

Must've picked her up while I was talking to Dan, now the girl is going home with her mom.

Booth felt his heart go out to the man, he knew how hard it was to have a child you didn't get to see much because of a bad situation with your ex.

Stop it Major. Booth snapped at himself and returned to his rifle. Don't get sympathetic, you have a job to do. Get it done and get the hell out of here.

But he couldn't do it. The girl had gotten into her mother's car and was driving down the street, leaning out the window and waving at him. The target stood on the curb waving back at her. Booth closed his eyes to images of Kosovo that suddenly, and rather inconveniently, assaulted his mind's eye.

I can't do it again. I can't kill a man in front of his child.

Booth watched as the man disappeared back inside his apartment and the girl and her mother disappeared around the corner.

Now he would have to wait, though it turned out not for very long. Twenty minutes later the man emerged again from his apartment building, carrying a worn out gym bag and Booth knew he was heading to work.

This time, Booth didn't give himself a chance to hesitate. He knelt down, took aim, and fired. The echo of the gunshot was still banging off the surrounding buildings when the target fell to the ground and crimson colored blood stained the concrete around him.

Booth slowly stepped away from the ledge as the screams of terror from neighbors rang out. Some who'd heard the shot were leaning out their bedroom windows to see what had happened, others just rushed out onto the street.

He began packing up his things and slowly began blocking out all the noise and confusion swirling in the streets below him. Finally, all he heard was silence, the sound of his own breathing and his heartbeat in his ears.

Booth stood up and looked to the west, toward the sunset, the way that the little girl and her mother had gone.

"I'm sorry."

His voice was carried away by the breeze and disintegrated into silence.

He knew the little girl would never know who killed her father and she would definitely never know he was 'sorry'.

The sound of a gunshot echoed again in his ears.

Seeley Booth felt a part of him die.

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"Booth, are you listening to me?" Brennen looked up from her neatly laid out table of Bones and into her partner's face.

She knew he wasn't. He hadn't moved from his spot near the railing, where he was looking out over the lab, in several minutes. He'd been distracted since the moment she picked him up from the airport, this time without Parker.

She was almost glad she'd done that, Parker wouldn't have liked to see his dad in his present condition, so worn out and tired looking. Brennen was concerned about her friend, but was still working on what to do about that.

She'd only very recently come to terms with her intense feelings for Booth and was still not even sure what to do about those, though Angela was doing her best to steer her in the 'right' direction.

The sound of Brennen's voice brought Booth out of his stupor and he straightened and turned to look at her.

"Of course I'm listening Bones." He smiled but when she lowered her glare back to the bones to continue her analyses he allowed his frame to slump a little.

He ran a hand along his stubbly face and rubbed his eyes. Truth be told, he hadn't slept in almost 48 hours. He'd spent twenty-nine of those locating the target again and waiting on the rooftop for him to show. The four hours he'd spent on a red-eye flight back to DC had been used on everything but sleeping, including trying to convince a stubborn flight attendent to give him more drinks than were allowed. After two more hours of debriefing at the warehouse, he'd showered, changed and come directly to the lab.

To say the least, he wasn't at the top of his game.

But it's only a little while longer. They said it would only be a few more assignments and this will be over. Booth thought warily.

He became aware of Bones looking at him and refocused his attention on her again.

"I was putting this in lamest terms for your benefit Booth, but I have a feeling you didn't hear a word I said." She crossed her arms and glared at him, she knew she was being too hard on him. She knew what a hard time he was having, but he needed to focus. She could help him later, right now they had a murder victim to identify.

That and she was scared. Scared of the fact that she loved Seeley Booth and there was nothing she could do to change that.

Oh yeah, scared out of her mind.

Booth sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. There was something angry pounding around in his brain and it apparently wanted out.

"No, Bones you're right, I wasn't listening. I was…distracted."

Her gaze softened a little. Not just because he'd said she was right, but because she realized what a rotten friend she was being. She glanced back at her bones, they would just have to wait.

"Booth are you okay?" She rounded the table and came to stand next to him, placing a reassuring hand on his arm.

"Yea. Of course." He shrugged and tried very hard to put a convincing smiled on his face. Unfortunately, it wasn't very convincing, especially not to Brennen's discerning eye.

Before she could press him Angela climbed up to the platform and looked at them.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Booth immidiatly shook his head 'no'.

Brennen didn't look as convinced, but shook her head anyway.

"Okay, well here's the sketch of our guy here." She gestured to the skeleton on the table.

Booth leaned over Brennen's shoulder to see the drawing.

He felt his heart stop and he involuntarily backed away from it. Angela noticed this reaction.

"You alright Booth?" She followed him as he moved closer to the human remains.

Booth shook his head at her question, "Where did you say these bones were sent in from?"

"Ummm…Crater Lake National Park, Booth, you're the one who brought in the file, remember?" Brennen joined the other two at the table and looked at Booth. He was staring at her bones with an intensity she'd never seen before, and she noted his pale complexion with worry.

"Booth…"

"Cause of death?" He interrupted and fought to keep his voice under control.

"It appears to be a gunshot wound to the head. Booth, are you alright?"

Booth felt like he was going to lose his lunch.

"I've got to go Bones. I'll talk to you guys later." Booth made a quick exit, leaving both women looking stunned and wondering whether or not to chase after him.

"Seeley!"

Booth heard Cam's voice behind him and looked longingly at the doors. He was almost there, maybe he could pretend he didn't hear her and just keep moving.

"Seeley I know you hear me. Turn around."

Booth stopped and turned around, his face red with impatience.

"What is it Camille?"

Cam stopped short at the clipped tone of his voice and folded her arms over her chest defensively.

"We need to talk. About us."

Booth rolled his eyes and turned to leave again, "Not now Cam."

Cam just shook her head and moved to stand in front of him.

"Yes now, Seeley."

He clenched his jaw for a moment and glared at her. Can didn't back down, so finally he was forced to.

"What is it?"

"Why haven't I met Parker?" She blurted it out in a clumsy bluntness Booth thought only Bones could manage.

"What?"

Cam unfolded her hands and her gaze wavered. "I just wanted to know because Dr. Brennen has been talking a lot about him lately and it occurred to me that I have never actually met your son."

"Look Cam we'll talk about this later." He turned and continued his journey to the doors.

Why can't she just take a hint? The bones of someone I killed are laid out on an examination table and she wants to talk relationship stuff?

Cam looked slightly defeated as she called out after Booth, "I'm leaving Seeley."

Booth stopped and turned back around.

"You're leaving? C'mon Cam I promise we'll talk about this later I just…"

"No. I mean I'm leaving this job. The Jeffersonian. I got a job offer last week from the chairman at the Ciao Museum in Egypt. They want me to work for them so…well I wasn't sure if I was going to take the offer, but you just answered my question. I leave in two days."

"But Cam, I don't want things to end like this." Although he did know he wanted them to end, all his days of thinking about Bones had assured him of that.

"End like what Seeley? We're still friends. I just…it wouldn't make any sense for me to go so far away and to hold onto you while you were here." She reached forward and straightened his tie for the last time. "I know where your heart lies, whether I'm here or on another continent doesn't matter, you will never love me how you love her."

Booth swallowed his pride and watched Cam turn to walk her way while he continued on his.

Once outside, he got in his car and pulled out into traffic, trying to think of everything and nothing at the same time.

He didn't blink, didn't take a breath until he got to the first red stoplight, just a block and a half from the Jeffersonian. Then he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, the sounds of his dad's favorite band, the Beach Boys, filled the SUV and Booth relaxed just a little.

The light turned green and he started to push on the gas.

Maybe it was fatigue. Maybe it was being dumped for a job and a raise. Maybe he was still shook up from seeing the face of a man he wished to erase from memory. Or maybe, just maybe it was because he was thinking of her…couldn't get her off his mind...

Whatever the reason, as Booth pulled his SUV out into the intersection he didn't notice the car full of teenagers to his left. The car that was so full of giggling and laughing, that none of them noticed the light had turned yellow, then red. Booth didn't hear the girls start screaming and the blare of the car horn only barely worked it's way into his consciousness two seconds too late.

He felt a powerful jolt put his seatbelt to the test and heard the sound of steel buckling under the impact.

All went black.

Ohhhhh...have I ever mentioned how much I love cliffies??