I completely understand if nobody cares about this anymore...but it's annoying me that it's not finished so I'm gonna try and complete it. Have forgotten where I intended going with this, but hopefully I'll be motivated and inspired! Thanks to anyone who reads!

Bones doesn't belong to me. Believe me, I'd be gloating until I was blue in the face if it were.

Brennan studied the smiling female face on the computer screen before her. Swallowing thickly, she glanced down at the sketch Angela had completed of the second victim.

"It's a match. Definitely a match."

Behind her, she heard Angela heave a sigh of relief. Some overly enthusiastic throat clearing hastily cut off the sigh. Smiling tightly to herself, she handed the sketchpad back to her friend.

"Very good, Angela."

She knew the struggle Angela faced. The artist had the mammoth task of trying to convert the wreckage of bones that arrived into the lab into something that resembled a human being once more. This was her job. Everyone, naturally, wanted to be good at his or her job. Unfortunately for Angela, when she did her job right, she successfully identified a cause for heartbreak and pain that what resonate through a family for years to come.

She met Angela's eyes briefly, as though trying to wordlessly convey to her that she understood just how horrific this task could be, then turned and faced the computer once more.

Brennan's eyes darted over the neatly typed words beside the smiling photo, lips moving silently as she processed the information.

"Samantha Jones, 23, lived at home with her parents, although she attended college where she majored in Chemistry. Parents reported her missing 2-3 weeks ago."

Booth had entered the room quietly while she was speaking. He took a few seconds to process what she had said, during which time he closed his eyes briefly and pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. He let out a frustrated sigh, causing both women to jump in surprise, as they hadn't heard him come in.

He smiled apologetically at the two of them before addressing the smiling girl's static face.

"If we've got a name, can we now get a date of birth? We're obviously convinced that she is…was…a Taurus…but we need to be certain. The…circumstances of the crime scene point in this direction also, but…we just need to know…"

His voice trailed off and he shifted uncomfortably.

Angela flitted her gaze back and forth between the two partners. Booth looked like a shell of a man. His shoulders were slumped, his face consumed by tiredness and worry. He looked exhausted. Brennan couldn't take her eyes off him.

Angela finally decided to break the suffocating quiet by hesitantly asking, "What kind of circumstances?"

Booth lifted his gaze to hers curiously and the pain clearly reflected there shocked her.

"You know, the circumstances at the crime scene." She clarified.

Booth nodded his head wearily.

Methodically, without inflection, he droned, "She was found with a red rose in her mouth…pushed between her lips…and…and there was an emerald pin fastened to her jacket." Rather needlessly he added, "All associated with Taurus."

Angela moved around Brennan and sat at the computer, clicking and typing to try and find Samantha's birth date.

To the backdrop of the gentle tapping of the keyboard, Booth moved over beside Brennan and murmured into her ear, "Because this letter didn't specify what day she was killed, we can't be positive, but if it follows his previous pattern, then it's a given that he killed her on a Friday."

His nostrils flared involuntarily and his stance stiffened at the very thought of the taunting letter. Brennan was hyperaware of her partner's movements and desperate to offer comfort. To his surprise as much as hers, she slipped a hand down between them and gently gripped his fingers. His breath caught painfully in his throat. After a couple of seconds, however, he recovered enough to squeeze back.

"Ok, so she was born on the 16th of May…which makes her a Taurus."

A slight crease appeared on Angela's forehead when no words followed her not-so-surprising revelation. She pursed her lips ever so slightly.

"Hey, guys, did you hear me? I said…"

She swung around in the chair. Forgetting completely what she was talking about, her gaze zeroed in on the clasped hands of the two standing behind her. A smile threatened to split her face in half. When she was absolutely positive that what she was seeing was indeed real, she lifted her eyes. Her grin, if possible, grew wider.

Booth and Brennan were staring intently into each other's eyes. A slight smile twitched on both pairs of lips and they seemed to be, unintentionally, leaning into one another. Some of Booth's weariness seemed to have lessened. Both seemed to be, somehow, glowing from within.

Angela cleared her throat loudly, chuckling softly as the pair jumped.

"Am I interrupting something? Do you guys need some alone time?"

The two looked at her, startled, and sprang apart. Without giving them time to answer, she moved in for the kill.

"Do you guys love each other?"

Booth barked a hasty "No!" at the same time Brennan offered a thoughtful "Yes, I suppose so."

Angela nearly fell off her chair while Booth goggled at his partner.

"What?!"

Brennan glanced around, completely mystified.

"What? I've done some reading and it's perfectly natural to love people outside of the family circle. Strong feelings of affection are indicators of a love shared with another person that one spends a significant amount of time with. Friends, co-workers…"

"Soul mates…"

Brennan's forehead furrowed as she gazed at Angela.

"I guess…if such a concept actually existed."

Brennan glanced at Booth for reassurance. He hurriedly rearranged his face from the wildly ecstatic expression he had been sporting to a more sombre demeanour and nodded seriously once or twice.

Angela pursed her lips slightly as she smiled at him, causing Booth's cheeks to suddenly bloom with a bright rosy flush.

"Right, well, I…that's great. Thanks Angela. I…"

Understandably nervous about the gleam in Angela's eyes, Booth hastily spun on his heel and headed for the door. He caught himself just before he disappeared through the doorway, turned his head briefly, caught Brennan's eye and whispered, "Thanks Bones," before striding off.

"Right, well if we have the girl's identity then…. what?"

Brennan halted mid-sentence, raising her eyebrows at the little dance Angela was currently doing in front of the glowing monitor.

"Oh, nothing sweetie. Just, you know, that you guys are so heart-stoppingly, world-endingly, God-I-just-wanna-push-you-up-against-the-wall-and-have-my-way-with-you-right-here-and-now in love with each other. But other than that, nothing."

Brennan let out a short gurgling sound, as though she'd begun to retaliate but then had thought better of it.

"Very funny, Angela. And "stoppingly" isn't even a word," she laughed airily as she reached around her friend to pick up the notebook she had left on the desk.

"Sure, Bren, focus on the important things. Right, so, honey, if you're not in love with him, then why were you researching the concept of love? Everybody knows what love is. It doesn't need explaining. Unless…you were getting nervous about the intensity of your feelings for Booth and were trying to rationalise them, like you always do. That sound about right?"

Angela didn't realise just how much she resembled Booth at that moment. Her self-assured stance and cocky smile were identical to those displayed by the F.B.I. agent when he felt himself to be in the right.

Brennan made a quick grab for the stationery in her arm. She quickly cleared her throat and smoothed her hair, trying desperately to distract from the fact that she'd almost dropped her notes in surprise at her friend's words.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Angela,"

With that, Brennan hastily scampered from the room before she could hear Angela's retort.

"Yeah, sure you don't," Angela muttered as she switched the CPU to standby and picked up her sketchpad.

"But you're both gonna have to face up to it sooner or later or I, for one, will scream."