Thanks for the reviews, sorry for the delay in getting this posted. Again, much thanks to BONESDECHIPPIE for her beta-ing skills! More to come soon! -R-

Chapter 2

FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth had finally managed to leave the office, having hadbeen buried in a excessive amount of reports, and paperwork to finish on the most recent case he'd been assigned to on the young woman from China, her murder and sale of her bones. All he needed was a few signatures, and it was all good to go, but that could wait until Monday.

He grimaced as he glanced at the time on the dashboard. It was nearing midnightand as he was on the way home. Although he knew he should be tired, exhausted even, he found himself wide awake, and hungry. It was almost as if he'd had massive doses of caffeine or something, he felt too jittery.

He tapped his finger on the steering wheel as he waited for the traffic light to change from red to green. He knew he should stop and grab a quick bite to eat, because his choices of foods at home were narrow and unappetizing. Mentally going over the small list of 24 hour restaurants that offered take out, he settled on Thai food.

The light finally turned green, and he accelerated down the deserted lane. It was dark, and the streets were for the most part deserted, and there was little to no traffic at all. Orange street lights were bright against the night's darkness, and most of the local businesses were closed down for the night. He reached to turn on the radio, and was greeted with Foreigners' "Hot Blooded" blared out the speakers of his SUV. He glanced at the radio, and back at the road again, smiling his thoughts turned to his partner and friend, Dr. Temperance Brennan, or "Bones" as he called her.

Frowning, it occurred to him that he hadn't seen or talked to her all week. In fact, the last time he saw her, was over breakfast last week after his co-worker Agent Sullivan had left on the big boat he'd purchased, (and had named after her). Feeling suddenly guilty at his lack of communication with her, he wondered if she was okay. The look of melancholy in her eyes as she turned to leave the marina was still fresh in his mind. At breakfast after she was quiet and picked at her food.

Her mother is dead, her father and brother had both deserted her and were wanted criminals, she finally finds a connection with someone, and he leaves her too, even though he'd asked her to take a sabbatical and go with him for a year. She must be feeling very alone, he surmised. She always proclaims she likes to be alone, butall of them leaving her they way they did wasn't exactly her choice, they took the choice away from her.

The stress levels in her life lately were very high also, he reminded himself mentally. Someone buries her alive, a serial killer attempts to kill those who she cares about, breaks into her apartment and is killed, not to mention the problem with the people copying the murders from her book. All of these things are not exactly mood boosters.

Swinging a U turn in the middle of the intersection, forgetting his hunger and desire for Thai food, he sped off in the direction of her place, knowing that more than likely, she was awake anyway. She'll welcome the company, he told himself. We can order pizza from her place if she wants, or maybe she has something I can eat there, he thought, smiling, looking forward to seeing her.

Reexamining back at her relationship with Sully, he was slightly uncomfortable with his feelings towards the entire issue. He was of course, happy for her, happy she found someone, but every time she wanted to go back to her vacation with him, it was almost disconcerting that she wanted to be with Sully instead of helping him solve the case like they always did together. It made him feel as though the case wasn't as important to her, that Sully was more important, and he'd never seen her act like that before. Reflecting, he realized he was looking for any excuse to pull her back from vacation and back to the lab. Back to me…he realized suddenly, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He rolled the window down of the SUV and turned to the route that would lead him to her place, his heart rate accelerating slightly in anticipation.

End this chapter.