Author's Note: Thank you all for your kind reviews. I'm going to work even more to get the characters even more real since I got a remark about Booth's reaction. I'm sorry for taking such long time with this chapter but school's been a bitch. But now, we have fall break and it was time for some updating. Please review! Keeps me motivated.

Chapter 4 – An Eye for an Eye

Impatiently, Booth tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. Damn the lunch traffic. He angrily slammed the breaks as the traffic stopped by an intersection, the traffic lights showing bright red. Ignoring the chilly November air, Booth rolled down the window and let the icy wind fill the car. They traffic stood completely still, and he could see other agitated drivers squirm in their seats. But Booth himself sat perfectly still, step-by-step building up his strategy. He had to talk to Stephanie. The other agents had said that she'd refused to talk. But it was worth a shot.

The image of Brennan bruised and battered, hopefully alive, on that concrete floor…it would be stuck in his mind for a very long time. It reminded him strongly about the time he flew down to New Orleans in a hurry, when Brennan had called him and briefly told him about what had happened. The bruise on her forehead seemed nothing now, compared to the image that had popped up on Angela's screen.

The traffic was moving again, slowly but it was moving. The light had turned green, and the line of cars that waited to cross the intersection was slowly getting shorter. Booth hit the gas and sped down the road, taking a sharp left in direction towards the Hoover building. After what felt like ages, he pulled up on the parking lot and in hurry, locked the SUV with the remote as he almost ran thought the doors. He fished out his ID, flashing it to the guard, who without fuss let him in. To impatient to wait for the elevator, Booth took the stairs, up to the director's office.

Outside the door he stopped, taking a few deep breaths and adjusting his tie slightly, before knocking.

"Enter" director Howard's voice called out and Booth opened the door. "Agent Booth" the director greeted him with a curt nod.

"I want you to let me work on dr Brennan's case"
"Agent Booth, we talked about this and…"

"Sir, Coleman keeps sending video clips to the Jeffersonian. Since I'm the liaison between the lab and the Bureau, I don't see why I can't work my partner's case"

"Agent Booth, listen to me. I know she is your partner but I also know that she's your friend. Personal relationships can cloud your judgement"

"Never"

The director sent him a glance that simply said "Don't give me that crap". "Look, I worked the Anderton case, where Coleman was a suspect. I know what this guy is up to" Booth said, doing everything to not lose his calm since that would certainly cause problems.

After several minutes of intense discussion and many near outbursts from Booth, director Howard reluctantly agreed to let Booth participate in the official investigation. Happy with himself, Booth stood, they shook hands and he walked for the door. As he opened it to leave, the director called out:

"Good luck, agent Booth" he said, sending the agent a meaning glance. Booth only nodded and hurried down the hall and took the elevator back down to the main floor.

He had a murderer to see.

--

Scratching the back of his neck, Booth patiently waited for the guard to bring in Stephanie Anderton. He'd been in this room many times enough to find it rather familiar. The cold, naked walls, the concrete floor and the table with two chairs opposite each other. In all its simplicity. Through the glass, he saw Stephanie, clad in orange jumpsuit, being led by the arm. The guard said something and shot her a cold glare before opening the door and nodding towards the chair across from Booth.

The expression on her face was the exact same as it had been when they arrested her. Neutral, giving nothing away. Eyes as empty as a bottomless well, lips dry and bags under her seemingly black eyes. But she didn't look menacing. More reserved, not regretful or sad, just…an empty shell.

"Agent Booth" was all she said as she sat down on the edge of her chair. "What are you doing here?"

He had no intention of telling the truth, at least not yet. "You remember dr Brennan right?"

"That pretty woman who always followed you around? Oh yeah, of course I remember her" she said, eyes now mocking him. "What about her?" No answer from Booth.

"I ask the questions, ms Anderton"

"Whatever you say"

"You heard anything from you boyfriend?"

"Ben?"

"Who else?" Two could play this arrogant game…

Stephanie chewed her bottom lip, eyeing him carefully.

She knew he wanted something from her, why else would he be here? Booth wasn't blue eyed to believe that this woman wasn't smart. She was a great actress, she had pretended to be horrified by the death of her foster kids, claiming that she'd been staying with Ben and that when she was supposed to pick Justin and Hannah up from the babysitter, they'd been gone. But after talking to the babysitter and confirming that the young woman hadn't dropped off her kids that day, Stephanie's act had been rather easy to see through. But now she was playing her smart card again; she knew something was up. Booth could see the wheels working in her brain as she was thinking about the right thing to say to get him to crack. Tell her what he wanted…

"He comes by almost every night" she said finally and met Booth's eyes across the table. "Why?"

"When was the last time he was here?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Ms Anderton, I ask the questions and you will truthfully answer them, okay?" she rolled her eyes at his statement and sighed before answering.

"He was here last night"

"Did he seem different? Did he have any injuries?"
"Why do you ask all these questions? It has nothing to do with my case!"

"Oh believe me, it does. Now tell me, did Ben seem different to you?"

"No! Why would he?" she exclaimed exasperatedly. Booth glared, he would have to tell to be able to ask what he wanted. At least now he got her to answer his questions honestly.

"Because I believe that before he came her to see you and play the good boyfriend, he'd beaten the crap out of my partner and leaving her on a concrete floor"

Stephanie didn't seem surprised. "Is that so…Well, I bet his got a good reason for it" she said, voice holding now compassion or emotion. Booth wanted to slap her, press her up against the wall and force her to tell him everything she knew. But he had to be tactical here, it didn't work that way with criminals. Especially not with clever criminals such as Stephanie Anderton. So he remained in his chair.

"He told you anything about it?"

"How could he? This place is full of freaking guards. They would gladly give him a jumpsuit matching mine, you idiot. And why would he tell me? It's not like I can help him from here!"

"Well I was just thinking…" Booth said sarcastically. "Don't you usually share big things with your loved ones? You know, sharing both bad and good moments?" his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Stephanie just raised an eyebrow. "What do you know about that?" she said, nodding towards his naked left ring finger.

"Answer the question, did Ben tell you?" he unconsciously raised his voice.

"NO!"

"Do you have any idea where he might keep dr Brennan?"

"Even if I would, I would never tell you!" Stephanie's voice rose as well. "If Ben left your pretty partner to rot somewhere, I bet he's got damn good reason for it. Oh, maybe it is because you threw his girlfriend in jail, don't you think?" she said sarcastically. "I'm not stupid agent Booth, and neither is Ben"

"Dammit!" he slammed his hand onto the table. Stephanie didn't even flinch slightly. "You better tell me what you know or I'll make sure those guard will provide a lethal injection to both you and Ben!"

"You pissed Ben off, very bad thing to do" she spoke calmly, once again mocking him. "Ben likes revenge, you know. For him it's an eye for an eye and don't you think that's fair? I mean, after all, you put me here after what you claim I did to Justin and Hannah. It's only fair isn't it? An eye for an eye, agent Booth"

Booth was fuming. She was playing him. She obviously knew something. Something important enough not to share with him, not even give away the slightest hint.

"He's sharing his experience with you, nice don't you think? This is how he feels, my man is good and sharing his emotions, don't you think?" she said and now a sly grin spread across her features.

If looks could kill, Stephanie would be dead by now. With that last glance, Booth stood and left the room, leaving Stephanie to smile contently to herself. Booth curtly told the guard that they were finished and then walked for the gates. Damn it!

--

Back out on the road, now heading home, Booth was still swearing to himself. It was so frustrating. How something could be so close and still so impossible to reach. He'd called Angela, to hear how she was doing and what he'd just found out. She'd appeared to be a little bit better, but once again begging him to get Brennan back. He'd once again promised as he always did and then hung up. Now he glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard. Rebecca would drop off Parker in thirty minutes. Maybe spending some times with his son would make him feel better. Parker had a tendency to know when people were upset and then do everything to cheer them up. Despite everything, Booth smiled.

--

Back at the Jeffersonian, Angela had refused to process the video clip and Cam had been forced to call in a technician from another department. As the young man typed away on her keyboard, Angela lay on her couch, trying to gather her thoughts. This case was getting on her nerves. They knew who had Brennan and for which reasons. They just had to figure out why. The world the sometimes seemed so small, suddenly felt huge.

"How are you holding up?" Hodgins soft voice drew her back to reality. She managed a shrug from her position, flat on her back.

"I'm not sure. I try not to reflect my emotions that much, only makes it worse. Is the guy getting something out of the video?"

Hodgins glanced over his shoulder. "Doesn't seem that way" Angela squeezed her eyes shut.

"Sometimes I really really wish that Booth hadn't come along, to charm her away with his gruesome cases and exciting fieldwork"

"Dr Brennan would have found her way out of the field eventually"

"You think?"

"Probably. And you know, you should be happy that he started working with us. Remember Kirk's case?" Since they started seeing each other, Angela had dared to share her emotions regarding Kirk's death and Hodgins now showed no signs of jealousy. He knew that it would only hurt Angela and that he really had no reason for it.

"I guess you're right" she agreed reluctantly. "But she's so…damn independent sometimes. So stubborn. It gets her in trouble"

"And that's why she has her G-man to save her" Angela smiled.

"Brennan is really too stubborn for her own good, I mean. They would make a great couple…"

"Aww! Don't start that again. I've heard that far too many times!"

"But you have to agree, the tension is almost unbearable. You can see pure sexual tensions radiate off those two"
"Maybe. But that I would say, is just a bad thing right now"

Their expressions sobered up. "I guess…Booth sounded very distant when I spoke to him on the phone…Poor guy…"

"Yeah…but it'll be fine, Angela. One way or another"

"I know…Thanks Hodgy" she leaned into his shoulder and let her thought wander off again.

--

When he came home, he dumped the files on the coffee table and went to change out of his suit, choosing instead a pair of faded jeans and a hooded shirt. Ten minutes later there was a knock on his door followed by the soft voice of his son.

"Daddy, daddy. Open up. It's me!" Booth smiled, he could practically hear his son jump up and down with excitement.

"Hey, buddy! How are you?" Parker smiled and jumped up in his father's extended arms.

"I'm great. Can we watch a movie? Mommy bought me a new one!" he squirmed out of his father's grip and skipped into the apartment.

"So, I'll pick him up on Friday"

"Yeah…yeah sure. Thanks, Rebecca" he said and took the blue dinosaur backpack. "See you on Friday"

"Seeley?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?" she asked, eyeing him warily. He managed a smile. "Yeah, just a bit tired. Thanks. See you"

Still a bit suspicious, Rebecca waved goodbye to Parker and left. Booth joined his son on the couch, taking the DVD cover from him.

"So, what's this?"

"It's Robots! Come on, let's watch it!" Parker jumped up and down on the couch, asking about popcorn and soda at the same time. Relieved, Booth found that he was relaxing a little bit.

Halfway through the movie, Booth had zoned out but Parker still seemed extremely interested and laughed as the hundred thousands of domino bricks fell perfectly. Booth stared blankly at the TV screen, watching the different shaped robots move, talk and apparently fight for their freedom. Why had the kids shows stopped being about jungles, animals and innocent things such as birthday parties and ballons? He leaned back and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. That's when he felt Parker watching him.

"Daddy? Why are you sad?" Booth turned his head to look at the little boy.

"What?"

"You look sad" Parker elaborated, innocently tilting his head to the side.

"No…Uhm, no Parker. I'm fine" he managed a small smile. "I'm just a little bit tired"

"Are you trying to find some bad guys?" Parker shifted and his eyes turned to Ben's file on the coffee table, next to Brennan's photo. Of course, Parker noticed.

"It's the bone lady. Why don't you call her? She can make you happy again" Booth contemplated his son's words. If Parker only knew how much he wanted to see his partner.

"Daddy, why don't you call dr Brennan? You always say friends make you happy"

"Bub…ehm, dr Brennan is not at home at the moment"

Parker nodded slowly and climbed up on his father's lap.

"You are looking for her again"

"Wha…-" Booth was shocked. Did Parker know what was going on?

"The…some guys at school were talking about and the bone lady"

"Oh, what did they say?"

"Uhm…" Parker nervously twiddled his thumbs. "They…they said that some bad guys had buried her in the ground with the bug man"

Booth gaped. Had Parker heard of the Gravedigger? Did media reach six year olds these days?

"Is it true, daddy?"

"Yeah…" Booth couldn't lie. Not to Parker, not now.

"But you saved her last time. Why can't you find her now?" Booth smiled wistfully. It was flattering that his son had such high thoughts of his father, it really was. But…not just now. Booth sighed. That was a good damn question though, why couldn't he find her?

So, fourth chapter. You know the drill by now, please please review!!! And Happy Halloween!