I'm going to get back to some Booth comfort stuff soon, I promise. There is just a bit more case related stuff to get out the way first.

I should also apologise for taking a cruel amount of time to update this story. I've been laid up with a bad case of writers block on this story which I'm still struggling through. I appreciate everyone's support and thanks for coming back to read.

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Booth leads the way down the plush hallway to Sabrina Wilcox's employers' office. Booth had called ahead and scheduled a meeting with Nigel Silverman. According to Booth, he had been devastated by the news that Sabrina was dead and was more than willing to aid in the investigation.

As they walk the long hallway, Brennan surveys the minimalist decoration and decides she quite likes it. Simple, clean and unobtrusive.

"Hey Bones." Booth touches her arm, guiding her towards an open door where an older man with greying hair is sitting behind a large glass desk. As Booth approaches the door, the man lifts his head and rises from his seat.

"Agent Booth?"

"Yes, Nigel Silverman?" Booth checks as he walks in with Brennan at his back.

"Yes, yes. Please come in." Mr Silverman walks around the desk and crosses the room to shake Booth's hand.

"This is my partner, Dr Temperance Brennan." Brennan steps around Booth and shakes the man's extended hand.

"Please, take a seat." Mr Silverman gestures to the two empty chairs before his desk. As Booth and Brennan settle themselves he moves back behind his desk and slips into the luxurious leather seat.

"I can't tell you how devastated we all are to hear about Sabrina's murder." He hangs his head. "We all believed she was on vacation. She wasn't due back for another couple of days."

"How well did you know her?" Booth asks.

"Very well. She came to work for me three years ago. It was right after her parents died and I had just lost my wife. We bonded in grief."

"Bonded?" Brennan asks, wondering just what Mr Silverman means.

"Not in that way." He shakes his head. "Sabrina was like a daughter to me. She reminded me a lot of my own daughter. I lost her six years ago in a car accident."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Booth nods.

"Sabrina fitted in well here. She had a lot of friends but more than that, she had the respect of the people she worked with. She would have gone a long way." As he talks, Brennan feels her stomach knotting. Sabrina wasn't some nobody lost in a big city. She was a loved woman with close friends and her life was taken because of me.

"Do you know if she was seeing anyone?" Booth asks.

"Sabrina didn't flaunt her relationships but she often sought my advice. I remember about a month ago she told me she had met someone. His name was Darren Sinclair. She wanted advice. Apparently the relationship was moving very quickly and she was concerned perhaps she was getting swept along."

"What did you tell her?" Brennan asks.

"I believe I told her if it felt right to go with her feelings but not to be afraid to pull back if anything worried her."

"Did she mention anything else?"

"No, she left for her vacation a couple of days after. Well, she was supposed to."

"Was she going on vacation with this Darren Sinclair."

"Yes, but only I knew about it. She was concerned about what her colleagues would think since she had only just met him."

"It does seem rather fast." Brennan comments.

"Sabrina had a big heart. She welcomed people into it without question." Mr Silverman leans forward. "Do you think Darren is her killer?" Booth looks over at Brennan then back to Mr Silverman.

"We're still making enquiries." Booth nods. "What would help is if we could have a look around Sabrina's office."

"Of course, whatever you need." Mr Silverman rises to his feet. "I'll have my assistant Steven show you around."

xxxx

A few minutes later, Booth and Brennan are in Sabrina's office, supervised by the assistant Steven. As Booth begins to look at the papers on the desk, Brennan finds herself drawn to the personal artefacts displayed. They show what a full life the young woman had; the places she visited, the things she cared about. Knowing that she is responsible for that life being taken away makes Brennan feel incredibly guilty.

"Bones?" Booth calls her name again, this time startling her from her thoughts. She turns around. "You okay?" he looks at her with concern, seeing how she is drifting off into her own world.

"Uh, fine." She nods and moves over to the desk.

"Why don't you check the computer." He suggests.

"Sure." Brennan slides into the chair at the desk and switches the machine on. As it whirls into life, she glances at the photographs displayed on the desk. There is one which she assumes is Sabrina with her parents, another with what looks like a group of friends and a third of Sabrina, Nigel Silverman and a couple of other people in suits she assumes are colleagues. Her fingers trace over Sabrina's face in the photo with her family. I'm sorry Sabrina. This is my fault.

Xxxx

It is almost seven in the evening when Booth and Brennan arrive back at the Jeffersonian. The rest of the squints are still working on evidence from the car when the pair wearily walks through the doors. Angela notices them first, her head lifting from the desk she is seated at.

"Hey, you get anything?" she asks as Brennan swipes her card at the platform and walks up to meet them.

"Nothing probative." She replies. "Sabrina was due to take a flight to the Bahamas but she never made it." Angela jerks a little when she hears Brennan refer to the victim by name. She's getting personal she thinks. Brennan always refers to the victim as 'the victim'.

"We do have a potential suspect." Booth adds. "She started seeing some guy right before she was murdered."

"Are you thinking this boyfriend is the Gravedigger and he lured Sabrina to her death?" Hodgins asks.

"It's a possibility. Her boss says she was going on vacation with him even though she had known him barely a week."

"Wow, that's fast." Angela says.

"Suspiciously fast." Booth nods. "I'm going to check in with the guys at work, see how they're getting on with that list of names and if we can track down this Darren Sinclair character." He speaks more to Brennan than the rest of the squints. He steps back off the platform and seeks a quiet place to make his call while Brennan catches up with her team.

"How are you doing sweetie?" Angela asks, her voice conveying sympathy.

"I'm fine Ang." Brennan nods jadedly.

"It's okay if you're not."

"I know. But really, I'm okay." Brennan attempts a smile so Angela doesn't think she's lying. "Have you found anything?"

"Nothing, nada, zip." Hodgins snaps off his gloves. "Whatever we're looking for it isn't here."

"I expected as much."

"You did?" Angela asks.

"The Gravedigger is playing with us. It's all about mind games." Hodgins speaks the words in Brennan's mind. "He is not going to make this easy."

"Which means we have to step things up." Brennan straightens her shoulders.

"I don't understand." Zach steps forward.

"We put aside this evidence, it isn't helping and we're just wasting time." Brennan knows they have less than forty five hours to save five people.

"So what do you suggest?" Hodgins asks.

"We go back to our evidence." Brennan states.

"The metal fragment from my leg." Hodgins nods.

"The car." Zach adds.

"Exactly. Maybe we missed something the first time."

"I don't think we did." Angela tries to be the rational one.

"It won't hurt to look." Brennan tells her friend before she heads away to her office. She has some reports from her kidnapping to look through.

Xxxx

In her office, Brennan lowers herself into her chair. She places her head in her hands, the headache she has been feeling all day growing in strength.

"Hey Bones." Booth strides in.

"How are things progressing?"

"I have fifteen agents tracking down every person with the same name as on the list and who matches the age he gave you. So far it's proving to be a lengthy process."

"None of them have been found, or are missing?" Brennan asks, hope in her eyes but lacking from her voice.

"Not yet." Booth shakes his head. He feels his heart clench when Brennan visibly slumps in her chair. He knows she is feeling responsible and the lack of progress seems to be weighing heavily on her.

"Bones, maybe we should take a break, go get some dinner." He suggests.

"I can't take a break Booth." Brennan begins to sift through the papers on her desk.

"You need to take a break." He says firmly. "How much sleep did you actually get last night?" he cocks his head, looking at her with eyes that tell her he knows she didn't sleep at all. "And you haven't eaten anything since breakfast right?" He knows me too well.

"One hour." She rises from her chair, knowing Booth will eventually drag her away despite her protestations.

"Fine, one hour." Booth agrees. An hour is better than nothing.

As Booth ushers Brennan out her office, his cell rings.

"Booth." He answers quickly. Brennan pauses, watching Booth's face. "Okay, get someone over there asap."

"What's going on?" Brennan asks.

"Agent Syler has not been able to track down a Tina Vasquez. She didn't show up for work and her friends haven't seen her since the day before yesterday." He says gravely. "He's heading over to her apartment now."

"We should go there." Brennan nods.

"I know." Booth agrees. Dinner will have to wait.

Xxxx

Three hours later Booth and Brennan are driving back to the Jeffersonian. The Tina Vasquez they couldn't contact has been found safe and well having skipped work to spend the day with her boyfriend. As Booth drives, he can see how frustrated Brennan is.

"We're not going to find them are we?" she asks quietly.

"I don't know Bones. We don't have much to go on."

"Five people are going to die."

"We don't know that."

"Come on Booth, you know how the Gravedigger operates. He leaves no evidence and there are no negotiations." She turns to look out the window, resting her head against the cool glass. Booth suddenly changes lanes.

"What are you doing?" Brennan asks.

"Taking you home." Booth keeps his focus ahead, knowing what is going to happen.

"Booth, I can't go home." She focuses her eyes on him, willing him to look at her but he doesn't and he doesn't respond to her either.

"Booth." She demands. "Hey." She slaps his arm.

"Hey, not while I'm driving." He finally turns to her.

"Then stop driving, I want out."

"No."

"Booth."

"I'm sorry Bones but you're not going to win this one." He shakes his head.

"This isn't about winning something Booth. There are five people dying because of me. I can't go home and relax while they're fighting for their lives."

"You're exhausted Bones. You can't do anything to help these people if you end up in hospital because you pass out from lack of sleep or dehydration or not eating."

"I can't help them if I'm at home." She argues back.

"All I'm asking is that you take a couple of hours to eat and sleep."

"No, stop the car!" she demands. Booth realises he really ought to pull over, at least to calm her down, so he signals and pulls the SUV over to the side of road. As soon as it comes to a stop, Brennan yanks open the door and climbs out, striding up a pathway. Booth grunts and gets out to follow her. As he hurries up the path he has a strange feeling of deja vu. It then occurs to him that this is the exact spot he chased Brennan down two years ago and their unconventional partnership was born. He wonders if Brennan realises it too.

"Hey Bones! Come on will you just stop for a minute." He calls. Brennan slows her strides and comes to a stop, turning to face him.

"What Booth?" she huffs. When Booth sees the look in her eyes he forgets all the things he was going to say he just sighs. Brennan sees the change in Booth's demeanour and she unclenches her jaw, relaxing a little.

"I know you're worried about me." She says softly. "And you have every reason to be. I am stressed and I haven't been sleeping or eating properly. But I'm responsible for the fate of those five people and I just can't rest until we find them." Booth reaches out and rests his hand on her Brennan's shoulder.

"I understand that Bones."

"But?" she knew it was coming.

"But, you need to take care of yourself too." Brennan lowers her head and looks away from Booth. "Just take a couple of hours to rest. I promise we'll keep working and the minute we have something I'll come get you. Okay?" He looks at her with those big brown puppy dog eyes knowing she can never resist them.

"Fine." She resigns.

"Okay, let's go." Booth slides his hand around to the back of her shoulder and guides her back to the car so they can begin the journey to Brennan's apartment.

I will hopefully have another chapter ready to post sometime this weekend. Thanks for reading and also reviewing if you click the button.