I'm glad you guys seemed to like this one so far! Remember, this fic is going to be one continuous story, unlike 30 Kisses, so make sure you read the earlier chapters and review!!!


Chapter 2—Mute

A few weeks later…

Brennan was sitting in her office one afternoon, finishing up her paperwork for their most recent case, when she was suddenly startled by her partner dropping into the seat opposite her desk. She was surprised she hadn't heard his usual "Bones!" the minute he stepped through the doors, but the fact he still hadn't said a word since he entered her office made her start to wonder what was wrong.

He was usually so outgoing, calling her name at least five times in the first few minutes, and immediately making his presence known in the lab. When he entered quietly, or didn't talk to her, there was usually something wrong, and it always made her worry about what was affecting him.

"Booth?" she asked, studying his face. Although she couldn't read most people, over the years she had learned how to read him. His facial expression gave nothing away today, though, and if not for his continued silence, she never would have suspected something might be wrong.

He raised his eyebrows in response, still not saying a word.

"Booth, what's wrong?" she asked, her growing panic that she had done something or forgotten something evident in her voice. It's not his birthday, that's next month. It's not a holiday. I haven't talked to him all day, so I couldn't have said something earlier. We went out for drinks last night, and I even let him walk me to the door without arguing with him, so he couldn't be mad at me from yesterday. What could I be missing?

Hearing her worry, he just shook his head, trying to tell her nothing was wrong. Motioning for a pen, she handed it over, and a pad of paper. Thinking for a moment, he scribbled down "Larengitis" before passing the pad back to her.

She stared at it blankly for a moment before realization crossed her features. "You mean Laryngitis?" she asked, smiling broadly at his spelling and trying not to laugh at the cross look on his face. She could tell he was frustrated, but couldn't contain her laughter any longer. She imagined him interrogating a suspect in mime, since he wouldn't be able to talk for at least a whole day.

Rolling his eyes at her, he offered her a "Duh!" gesture, then slid their new case file across her desk. Standing up, he grabbed her coat and purse, helping her as he started pushing her out of the office.

"Booth! Give me a break, I'm going as fast as I can!" she said, struggling to read the file and get her coat on at the same time. Finally they managed to get out of the lab, her nose buried in the file as he drove towards the crime scene.

Arriving at the crime scene, Booth had to rely on Brennan to talk to the officer who had secured the site. He was thankful she had processed so many scenes with him, because she was able to ask all the questions he usually would in order to find out exactly what had happened. He was surprised by some of her questions, wondering for a moment if she was able to read his mind, because he had been debating how to ask them.

They processed the scene quickly as Booth took statements from the witnesses with the assistance of another agent. He was never so thankful to be able to go back to the lab, if just to get away from people giving him weird looks because he couldn't talk. His hopes of not having to try to communicate evaporated the minute they walked into the lab, when Hodgins accosted them in the hallway screaming government conspiracy.

"Dude, G-Man, you know the Feds killed the girl to get the governor out of office! He was fighting corruption within the state offices, which would eventually have proven the corruption of major federal officials!"

Glaring at Hodgins, Booth opened his mouth to tell him off, but no sound came out. His frustration grew exponentially as Hodgins stared at him before breaking out into laughter when he realized the reason for the silence.

Stomping off towards Brennan's office, Booth swore to himself that he wouldn't come out until he could tell Hodgins to shove it. Or until he needed to get dinner, whichever came first.