A/N: Well, I've managed to write a shorter chapter this time:-) Hope you like it.

Paulina Cortez glanced at her watch and sighed. Seconds ticked away, the time slowly nearing 7:00 am. It had been a painfully long night. Not a lot of calls, not any real emergencies. She had been at work for close to ten hours. Only another hour and she could finally go home. How sweet it would be to lay down in bed, sink her head into her comfy pillow and finally start her voyage in the realm of dreams.

She was alone. The other dispatcher had called in sick. The flu, or something like that. Paulina didn't care. As much as she hated working alone, she didn't really like Tony. There was just something about him that gave her the creeps. Sure, he was really nice and still pretty good-looking considering his age. In the ten years they had worked together, Paulina had never once asked him his age. He was much older than she was, probably by ten or even maybe twenty years. She couldn't tell. Frankly, she didn't really care either.

Her stomach growled. There was a down-side to working alone. She couldn't just go down to the cafeteria and get herself something to eat. What if the phone rang while she was gone and that, this time, it was an emergency? She'd have to tough. She had eaten only hours ago, how could she still be hungry?

Somewhere in the hallways of the police station, Paulina heard some noise.

Probably just a cop bringing in some drunk guy. Paulina thought to herself.

Seconds later, the door to the 911dispatcher room opened. A young man walked in.

"Hey Polly!" The man said as he walked over to the empty desk in front of her. "Had a nice shift?"

"Not really." Paulina grumbled.

"Tony didn't come in?"

The woman shook her head.

" 'Said he was sick."

The young man nodded.

"Well he didn't look good when I last saw him. He almost looked like he was near having a burn out."

"Yeah because everyone can do a burn out working as a 911 operator in Winchester." Paulina said sarcastically as she stood up.

"Quiet night?"

"You have no idea. Mind if I leave you here for a few seconds? I'm going to get myself something to eat."

"Sure Pol, no problem."

The woman nodded in thanks before walking out of the room, leaving the young man alone behind her.

Her stomach welcomed the food eagerly. She slowly chewed on the buttered slice of bread. It was all that was left but it would have to do for now. Grabbing another one, she closed the small fridge door and walked out of the kitchen.

On her way back to her office, Paulina passed a few of her colleagues. She nodded politely at them. She knew them by name only. She had no clue what they did outside of the police station, if they had any families, or if they even lived in Winchester. She didn't need to know all that stuff. As long as they got along professionally, it would be enough.

She walked inside the operator room to find Justin, her colleague, on the phone.

Finally. Paulina thought to herself. Maybe a little action.

She sat down at her desk just as Justin was hanging up.

"Man had a heart attack." Justin explained.

"Nothing extraordinary there, huh?" Paulina replied.

Justin shook his head.

"Feeling better?"

"Now that I've eaten something, yes."

Silence fell over the room. Justin leaned back in his chair and grabbed the newspaper he had brought with him. Paulina turned to her computer screen and began surfing the Net. Internet: her cure for boredom. Chin resting on her fist, she began navigating.

The ring of her phone startled her. She turned to it to find a red light blinking.

Finally, a call.

She snatched the receiver of the hook.

"9-1-1, Winchester Police Station, what is your emergency?" Paulina said, dully.

Sirens blared throughout the city as paramedics and police cars sped through the streets of Winchester. People looked out their windows or stepped out on their porch to see what all the commotion was about.

Sgt. Ronald Fawkes was the first one to arrive on scene. Stepping out of his vehicle, he was immediately joined by two frantic parents.

"We just found her like this." The mother said.

"We don't know what happened." The father added.

The officer gently pushed them away.

"Where is she?"

The father pointed to a direction behind the house. Sgt. Fawkes walked in that direction. Slowly. Dreading to see what he would find laying on the pavement.

His toes curled and his blood froze in his veins. He was no doctor but he could easily detect her injuries. The way her leg stretched crooked, the puddle of dry blood circling her entire body told him her skull had been probably smashed. The little girl laid rigid on the ground.

With shaking hands, the young officer grabbed his radio.

The toasts popped out of the toaster, startling both Temperance and her husband.

"We need to get a new toaster." Booth said as he tried to calm the beating of his heart. "I'll die from a heart attack."

Temperance chuckled.

"Riley! Lukas! Breakfast is ready!"

The sound of footsteps was immediately heard above their heads. Soon, what seemed like a stampede came running down the stairs. Seconds later, shrieks and laughed could be heard in the hallway, immediately followed by the sound of one of the children bumping into the wall.

"You cheated!" Came Lukas's cry.

Riley stepped in the kitchen, laughing hysterically.

"I win!"

Seconds later, Lukas made his entrance.

"That's because you pushed into the wall you cheater!" Lukas replied, indignantly.

"Easy with the male ego." Temperance said as she set a plate of toasts on the table.

"I don't know what that means." Lukas answered as he grabbed a toast and placed it in his plate.

Booth chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Booth replied. "Eat up."

Lukas sighed but obeyed.

"Is Julia coming today?" Riley asked.

"Yes, Julia isn't coming today. Sarah is going to babysit you."

"Who's Sarah?"

"It's Parker's girlfriend." Lukas replied, teasingly.

"Parker has a girlfriend?" Temperance asked, surprised. "You never told me that."

"I didn't even know myself, Bones."

Then, turning to his son, he added:

"Parker has a girlfriend?"

Lukas nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. In the next room, the telephone began to ring.

"I'll get it." Temperance said as she got up.

Booth nodded, absently.

"Since when?"

"A couple of weeks."

"You've met her before?"

Lukas shook his head.

"No, but I saw a picture of her in his room. I confronted him about it and he told me she was his girlfriend. Then before he left Sunday, he told me to be really nice with Sarah when she came to babysit on Friday or else I'd regret being born."

Booth growled softly.

"Well tell him it wasn't really nice of him to threaten you like this, next time you see him. But he's right. I want you to be really nice to Sarah today. She seems like a pretty sweet girl."

A noise made Booth look up. He found his wife staring back at him.

"Are you okay? You're pale."

"It's Mackenzie." Temperance replied, numbly. "It happened."

"Funny how Clara didn't see this coming." Temperance said as they pulled into the Roberston's driveway.

"Just you know, that's widely out of line." Booth replied, glaring at her.

"Sorry."

Turning off the ignition, the couple got out the SUV.

A crowd of police officers and forensics technicians had gathered at the back of the house. A police officer guarded the secured area. After showing them their ID, the couple ducked under the yellow tape and joined the crowd on the other side.

"Agent Booth?" A man asked.

Booth nodded.

"I'm Sergeant Fawkes."

"Sgt. Fawkes, this is my partner, Dr. Temperance Booth. She's a forensic anthropologist and she's working with me on the 53 Maple Street case."

"So you think this child's death and the 53 Maple Street case are related?"

"How can they be not?" Temperance replied. "It's the most logic conclusion."

"I was just asking, Dr. Booth. You two married?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Easy there, Bones." Booth whispered between clenched teeth.

"No reason. Just curious." Fawkes replied. "There's a forensics team already working on the victim. She was apparently pushed from the roof. Nobody saw or heard anything. I have a couple of men up on the roof looking for any clues but so far none. We also have no idea how the child was brought there."

Booth nodded.

"The parents?"

"Inside with a colleague of mine. Feel free to ask them any questions but I'm telling you now, you won't learn much from them. They just found her this morning. They didn't know she had been taken."

Booth turned to his wife.

"Stay here. I'll go talk to Mickey's parents."

"Mickey? You knew this girl?"

Booth had already begun to walk away.

"She was my daughter's best friend."

Fawkes swallowed.

"Shit."

He found the Robertsons just where he thought he would: sitting in their living room, Mickey's mother quietly sobbing in her husband's arms. Booth's heart broke at the sight and he immediately thought of his daughter: how were they going to announce to her that her best friend had been murdered?

"Richard?" Booth asked, unsure.

The Robertson couple looked up.

"Seeley." Lucy replied.

"I'm very sorry about Mackenzie."

The couple nodded.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"No, go ahead. But we won't be able to tell you much."

Booth sat down in an armchair.

"When did you find your daughter?"

"It was a little past seven. Maybe quarter after." Lucy replied, trying her best to control her sobs. "I went to stand at the sink to wash the strawberries I was planning on using for breakfast when I saw her just... laying there. Face down. I knew instantly that something was wrong so I called Richard."

Richard nodded.

"I was upstairs when I heard my wife scream my name. I ran downstairs and she pointed out the window. I just knew something had arrived. I looked out and saw my daughter. There was dry blood everywhere. Her leg was crooked, her arm was under her. I ran outside. She was rigid and I knew she was dead. I still checked her pulse."

A few tears ran down the man's face. Booth smiled, sympathetically.

"And you didn't know she was out there?"

The couple shook their heads.

"Can you tell me exactly what you did from dinner last night 'til this morning?"

"Mickey did her homework quietly in her room and William went to a friend's house. They didn't have any school today so I figured he could go. Richard and I watched a movie. I put Mackenzie to bed at the same time as usual, around nine o'clock. Everything was okay."

"What time did you go to bed at?"

Lucy thought for a second.

"Around midnight. Maybe one in the morning. We ended up watching another movie after putting Mickey to bed."

"And you didn't notice anything weird or suspicious?"

Lucy shook her head.

"No. Nothing."

"And over the night, you didn't hear anything? Noise? Suspicious activities?"

"No."

"And you Richard?"

"Nothing."

Booth nodded before standing up.

"We'll keep you posted." Booth said.

Lucy nodded.

"Say hello to Riley for us. Hopefully she won't be too devastated."

But Booth knew his daughter and knew how she was. She got attached to people easily.

Booth walked out of the living room, leaving the couple alone behind him.

Outside, the forensics team was zipping the blue bag containing Mickey's body. He joined his wife at the front of the house. Temperance motioned to him that they should be leaving.

It wasn't until they had turned out of the Robertson's street that Temperance dared to mention her daughter's best friend.

"Broken leg, broken arm, fractured skull. She died on the impact. There are a few marks on her arms, showing that she somehow carried out of the house. No signs of struggle anywhere. A tox screen should determined if she was drugged. By the way she landed on the ground, we think she was pushed off the roof."

Booth nodded.

"You okay?"

He turned to his wife.

"How are we going to tell Riley?"

Temperance sighed.

"I don't know."

From the depth of her pocket, Temperance's cellphone vibrated. Taking it out, she flipped the phone open.

"Booth."

Her husband glanced briefly at her.

"What? Angela, slow down. I can't understand a word you're saying."

A pause. Booth felt his heart stop beating.

"We'll be right over." Temperance said before hanging up.

The SUV stopped at a red light.

"It was Angela." Temperance said, shocked. "She's in labor."

Uh ooooh...