okay, sorry for taking so long! i have been pre-occupied with handcuffs of love, my other story. that story is ALOT better than this one! lol

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The next morning, Tempe stood over the body, while the two agents stood farther back, both with a cup of hot coffee in hand.

"So what do we got, Bones?" Booth asked quickly, trying to smother Sully out of the conversation.

"Female, Caucasian, approximately 5-10 years in age, with severe trauma to the entire vertebral column and the sternum. From the wear in her ankles, I would say she was a dancer, and broke her arm twice in a fall. By the amount of decay, this body has been here for approximately four months." Sully whistled impressively. He was always taken aback with her. She was so beautiful and so intelligent. No wonder Booth had fallen for her. He had fallen hard.

"What?" Tempe turned around, brushing the hair out of her face.

"Nothing, sorry." Sully blushed in embarrassment.

"So send the bones to the Jeffersonian as usual?" Booth asked. Tempe nodded, and took off her gloves.

"Ange can reconstruct the face, and you can try to find any little girl that has gone missing in the area."

Booth laughed and nudged his partner. "Since when have you ever told me how to do my job?"

Tempe smiled, and nodded. "Since when have you ever not told me?" Booth shrugged defeated, and followed her to the car.

"So what do we do now you guys?" Booth and Tempe turned around, both of them suddenly remembering Sully's presence.

"Well, I usually wait for lab results and in the meantime I help Booth with his part of the investigation, you know, like you and I did." Booth nodded mutely and pointed toward the car. The three climbed in and they drove off. Booth's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Agent Booth, we have the I.D. on the body."

"Okay, shoot."

"She is Samantha Richards, she was a dancer, went missing four months ago."

"Great, thanks." Booth hung up and turned to Tempe .

"Well Bones, we got an I.D. on the kid." Tempe turned to him, looking very confused.

"How could they know that if we haven't informed headquarters yet?" Booth held his breath as the phone rang again.

"Answer it!" Tempe yelled, even though she wasn't nervous. Emotions were irrational after all.

"Hello?"

"Get rid of the other agent. You and the bones lady need to come to the park at the end of the road your driving on." The line went dead. Booth put the phone down and stopped the car.

"Sully, get out man."

"Why does he have to get out?" Tempe looked at Booth. She didn't understand. Booth liked Sully after all, they were friends.

"He is compromising my investigation, and he knows it." Tempe turned to Sully. She didn't want this to happen. She just wanted to get closer to Sully. She didn't know she was compromising anything. The F.B.I. was so weird like that. Sully lowered his head and nodded.

"I knew that. I just wanted to spend more time with you Temperance. But this, this was totally out of line. I intruded. I'm so sorry. See you at the hotel." Sully got out of the car and hailed the only taxi traveling down the road.

"Booth, what is going on, who was on the phone? What's happening? Let me in." Booth shook his head violently.

"We have to meet someone somewhere. Let's go."

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The car ride to the park was eerily quiet. Tempe was staring nervously out the window. She didn't know what was going on. This was so weird. Booth always told her everything she needed to know. Why was he so distant?

Booth stared at Tempe , lost in thought. What was he doing? He was just so frustrated with Sully following them everywhere. He was tired of it all. He just wanted to go home. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to be at home with Parker. Parker, that's right. He had taken this case because of Parker. If he was the parent of Samantha, he would want to know what had happened. He had to do this for them.

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"We're here." Booth parked the car and led the way into the park. His phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Walk to the clump of old oaks."

The line went dead as he and Tempe trudged over to the wooded area.

"Do you see anyone Bones?" Tempe shook her head and searched, always making sure she could see Booth out of the corner of her eye. She had to protect him from whatever lurked in the shadows with her martial arts. Not that a gun wouldn't work just as well.

"Hey, you two, over here." Tempe and Booth followed the voice and came face-to-face with an older man, with graying hair.

"Hello. I am Adam Richards."

Booth suddenly remembered the last name of the girl. "Are you Samantha's father?"

He nodded, and ushered them forward.

"Why are you hiding in the woods?" Tempe questioned, he silenced her, and then leaned towards the two investigators.

"My wife, Mary-Ann thinks I killed Sammy. She is looking for me, to take justice for herself. The courts won't give me any sort of protection, so I am left with whatever I can devise." Booth nodded sympathetically, but Tempe continued, confused.

"Well, did you? And why would the courts not give you protection? This conflicts with all logical reasoning." Adam nodded to Tempe .

"Is she always like this?" Booth smirked, nodding.

"Yes, but I wouldn't have her any other way." Tempe blushed and nudged her partner in the ribs. He feigned to be hurt and smiled at her openly. Adam laughed.

"You two are perfect." This statement caught both Tempe 's and Booth's attention.

"What?" Tempe and Booth asked simultaneously, a look of shock on each of their faces.

Adam smiled. "You two are perfect to prove my innocence, of course! You need to find out who did this to my baby girl."

Booth nodded solemnly. "Yes sir. That is exactly what I planned on doing."

Adam smiled a tired smile. "Good, now I am going to go rest. If ever you need me, you can reach me here." He handed them a piece of paper with his number on it, then he vanished among the trees.

"Are you ready to go, Bones?" Tempe smiled and said yes, and began walking back towards the SUV. Booth followed behind her, admiring the graceful qualities in his partner.

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so yeah, do you guys like it? ...i wish i was in kansas with booth...and maybe toto! lol