Chapter 27. The Proof in the Pudding.
Booth and Brennan were in her office, halfway through a pizza. "Oh come on, you really don't see it?"
"I don't see anything." She shook her head.
"It's clear as a photograph. …you don't see anything in the cheese? …Nothing… Absolutely nothing." She shook her head, giving the same response every time he asked.
"You know seeing a pattern where none exists is a symptom of schizophrenia. …Why what do you see?" she asked curiously looking closer.
"Michael Jackson doing his…" Booth demonstrates pulling off a spin, kick, and grabbing his belt, the other hand in the air before doing a little moonwalk to make her laugh.
It worked. "I don't know what that is."
"Come on, it's like when a little kid lays in the grass staring up at the clouds and points out the whales and pirate ships and bunnies and… you never did that?"
She shakes her head "No never."
"Never?"
"No." she admitted with another shake of the head.
"…Well, I've got to go." He said heading for the door. "I'll, uh,…" he pulled a few more of Michael Jackson's signature moves. "See you Monday."
She smiled as he moon walked out. "Goodbye!" she called after him and he waved before turning around.
Brennan turned back to her work just in time to be interrupted by Cam walking in. "Strange question, I know but I gotta ask." Brennan spun back around looking at Cam. "Are you by any chance…pregnant?" she asked holding up a pregnancy test.
"…No. I haven't had sexual intercourse in quite some time." She said in her professional overly-scientific way.
"…Don't you want to know why I'm asking?"
"Well you're holding a home pregnancy test, which I assume is positive, and you're worried about losing the most important person in the lab."
Cam looked at her for a long moment, honestly wondering if she was really that naïve or if she was just a really good actress. "….No. Very modest by the way," a hint of sarcasm was evident in her tone. "Uh, I'm asking because Michelle was here earlier this afternoon and the only other two people who use that bathroom beside me and her are… you and Angela. And I'm really hoping it's not Michelle's."
"Well Angela is currently having sex."
"That's true." Cam said hopeful.
"With Wendell."
"Very, very active." Cam nodded with a deep calming breath.
"And even if they are using condoms Wendell is young. His sperm is likely to be extremely motile. Perhaps you should ask her." Brennan suggested.
"You are SO cheering me up right now." Cam said relieved and walking out.
Brennan turned back to her computer, unable to get the possibility that she may, in fact, actually be pregnant out of her mind. She pulled out a pen and paper and wrote out the math again and again. "Damn." She sighed leaning her head on the desk.
Cam rushed into Angela's office. "Angela, quick question. … um, is this your pregnancy test?"
Angela chuckles awkwardly. "Beg your pardon?"
"Are you pregnant? Please say yes." She asked desperate.
Angela sighs looking at her, and Cam turns realizing they aren't alone. "Hey don't look at me." Hodgins chuckles holding up his hands innocently.
Cam turned back to Angela. "I am so sorry." She apologized. "I-I thought you were alone."
"Hey you know, you don't have to keep it a secret from me." Hodgins said stepping closer. "If, Y'know, you're pregnant, I mean, I can be happy for you and Wendell."
"Wait a minute. Why are you asking me?" Angela asked walking around her desk.
"Well it's not mine, and Dr. Brennan doesn't make any life choices without a Boolean flow chart so I hoped it might be you." She explained with a sigh. "…I'm not crazy." She said met with their looks then walked out.
Hodgins walked over leaning on the desk next to Angela. "What was that all about?"
"Yeah, well, what makes Cam crazy?"
He shrugged. "When I do experiments."
"And…?"
"Michelle?" he guessed.
"Michelle." Angela nodded.
"Ooh. Sixteen. Ouch." Angela nodded.
Cam rounded the corner out of her office seeing Sweets standing infront of 3 very large men in suits.
"What's going on?" she asked confused.
"These men won't let me leave." Sweets said looking back at her.
As she reached the men the door opened and another man walked in. "Everyone inside is now confined to this facility."
"I'm in charge of this facility." Cam said surprised.
"Not tonight, Dr. Saroyan." He said stepping aside as a large box, covered in a cloth was brought in. "Secure the exits." He called over his shoulder.
"Who are you guys?" Sweets asked confused by the whole situation.
"I'm Mr. White from the General Services Administration."
"The people we order paperclips and pencils from?" Cam asked confused and following him as he followed the box up to the platform.
"What's going on?" Brennan asked walking out into the main room when she hears the alarm to the platform going off.
"Ah, Dr. Brennan. Hello." Mr. White greeted. "You're government requires you to figure out… how this person died." He continued placing a hand on the box. "And until you do we are all locked in here… as a matter of national security." He said simply handing Brennan a silver briefcase. "No one in, no one out, by order of the federal government. Now you have until dawn tomorrow to complete this task."
"Why should we?" Cam ventured bravely.
"Well the fact that you are all paid by the federal government. But if that doesn't work for you there's patriotism, professionalism… personal curiosity. …take your pick, but the point is… the sooner this is over the sooner we can get back to normal." He turned on his heels and walked away, leaving them to it.
An hour later. Brennan and Cam were working and Sweets was hiding under the catwalk and calling Booth.
"What do you want Sweets? I'm working out, building up a sweat." Booth lied taking a bite of his donut.
"Booth I'm in the lab."
"And you're whispering because…?"
"Because I'm in the lab and a bunch of government guys came in. they sealed the place up. They brought in a body. And they won't let anyone in or out." He whispered quickly.
"What? …Wait a second. Slow down Sweets. W-what government guys?"
"They said they're from the General Service Administration. …they're supposed to be in charge of promoting efficient government operations like leasing office space and buying paper in bulk. It doesn't make any sense."
"Who else is there?" Booth asked standing.
"Dr. Saroyan, Dr. Hodgins, Angela, Dr. Brennan and me."
"So they knew to come when the techs were gone for the weekend." Booth nodded throwing down a few dollars.
"Why wont the let me leave? I'm a psychologist."
"I'll look into it Sweets." He said hanging up and walking out.
"What do I do? …Booth? …Hello?" he looked at his phone, knowing he'd been hung up on.
"No destructive testing is allowed, not even the smallest sample will be taken. These remains will leave in exactly the same condition in which they came. My men and I will observe and no one enters or leaves the premise." Mr. White instructed.
"Now that you've kidnapped my lab and my people maybe you can tell me why." Cam asked looking down at the bones they had been given.
"You have not been kidnapped doctor, you've been seconded by the government to do your patriotic duty."
Cam was about to respond when Brennan interrupted. "Your 'no samples' restriction will severely limit our insights."
"We require only cause of death." Mr. White said matter-of-factly. Brennan and Cam looked to each other and he continued. "…There are a number of samples in here which you may examine but again, nothing shall be destroyed. Identity of these remains is priority zero. Excuse me." he said walking away receiving a text 'we've contained agent Booth'
"Is there any way I could persuade you to look at these and… guess cause of death?"
"Guess?" Brennan asked surprised that she even asked.
"I need to get home to kill Michelle." Cam sighs knowing it's not going to happen and begins helping Brennan set the bones up on the table.
Sweets, Angela and Hodgins all sat in Angela's office staring at Sweets phone waiting, impatiently for Booth's call. The phone finally rings and they all jump before Sweets answers it.
"Booth what'd you find?"
"Listen, can you talk? IS anyone else there?" he asked walking away from the men that had stopped him.
"Only the good guys."
"Alright put me on speaker."
"Hey, uh, this is really weird Booth." Angela said uncomfortably.
"How do we know these guys aren't terrorists?" Hodgins asked paranoid.
"Look they're not terrorists okay? They're standard federal issue agents."
"Why would the general services administration bring in a body?" Sweets asked.
"Standard federal issue cover-up." Hodgins guessed.
"This is the first time I've ever been as paranoid as Hodgins." Angela sighed chewing her thumb. "This is really scary Booth."
"You're FBI property. Okay? If anyone is gonna lock you up, it's gonna be me." He said reassuringly.
"But why are they letting us use our cell phones Booth?"
"Why because whatever they're doing these guys think they're untouchable." He said hanging up.
9:30 pm. Booth was sitting and talking to Hacker at the diner.
"So this guys Government Service Administration ID said 'Mr. White'."
"That's it." Booth nodded.
"You recognize him?"
"No."
"God I hate these covert guys."
"…Right. I'm going in." Booth said standing.
"No. No. No you aren't." Hacker said grabbing his arm and pushing him back down.
"Why?" Confused.
"Because its unprofessional in terms of interagency cooperation."
"Huh?" again confused.
"I said it like that so you'd know I wasn't serious."
"Right so you're going to help me." he nodded.
"What? Are you serious?" Hacker said with a disbelieving look.
"Yeah. Why?"
"No! Not stopping you isn't the same as helping you. But I will help afterwards, when you're in some nonexistent CIA prison."
"…Yeah ok. Thanks for the support." Semi-sarcastic.
"Mm-hmm. …hey there's a reason I'm the boss when you're plainly the better FBI agent." Hacker said smiling.
"I'll keep that in mind." Booth rolled his eyes standing.
"I'll, Y'know, poke around for some answers see if I can muddy the water." He said serious now.
"Alright. Ok. Thanks boss." Booth said patting him on the shoulder and turning to walk out.
"Yeah. Hey Booth." He called after him.
"Yeah?" Booth asked turning back by the door.
"You mind telling me why it's so important you get in there?"
"…They're my people." Booth said thinking only of Brennan in that moment.
"Oh God!" he scoffed. "Now you're going to prove that you're a better man than I am too? That you care more about your people?" Booth walked out and Hacker sighed. "How am I going to get anywhere with Temperance if you keep making me look bad in comparison?"
Booth pulled out his phone hitting redial. "Hey Sweets."
"Hodgins says they're listening to everything we say to each other. Is that true?" he sounded worried.
"forget about that." Booth said seriously.
"What? Just act like they aren't listening?"
"Exactly."
"Booth what's going on here?"
"Don't worry I'm on it." He said hanging up and climbing into his SUV.
Brennan and Cam ascend the stairs to the platform where Hodgins is waiting.
"Did you find anything?" he asked hopeful in a hushed tone.
"The victim died within months of the Limited Test Ban Treaty." Brennan explained.
"That was in 1963." Hodgins said trying to keep calm.
"Hodgins you look like you're about to explode." Cam whispered back certain that he was holding in something huge.
Hodgins looked around the agents watching nearby and stepped away from them followed by Brennan and Cam. "Is there, by any chance, a knick on the right rib, somewhere near the third thoracic vertebra?"
"Yes…. Most likely caused by a transiting bullet." Brennan nodded.
Hodgins sighed covering his face.
"Hodgins you're vibrating." Cam observed growing worried about him.
He walked over to the computer and typed a few strokes, pulling up a picture. "One of the fiber samples turned out to be pink wool. … The bad back. A knick from a transiting bullet." He looked up at the agents on the catwalk watching him. "…1963."
"Wait… Pink wool, as in Chanel?" Cam asked knowing what had gotten him so wound up.
Hodgins nodded slightly. "She never left his side."
"And the head wound. Oh. Oh my God. This… is President John F. Kennedy." She said looking down at the bones infront of them.
They all stare for a long minute. Cam is the first one to speak. "Why would they bring us JFK's remains after all these years?"
"Because some people have a thirst for the truth, and other people want to make sure that truth is never proclaimed." Hodgins whispered an explanation.
"Which are these?" Cam asked looking up at the men who walked above them.
"I've been considering it. In what kind of casket was the president buried in?" Brennan asked curious.
"Mahogany." Hodgins answered his arms crossed over his chest.
"That's a good casket. How could his remains be completely skeletonized?" Cam asked confused.
"If the casket was compromised and allowed in oxygen and moisture, skeletonization could have occurred." Brennan shrugged.
"It's naïve of us to imagine that Kennedy's remains were actually ever interred at Arlington." He posited and decided to drop the theory and continue with his findings "…The hair I found has no cuticle or cortex." They stared at him. "…Its synthetic. As it happens, after JFK was shot, the funeral home tried a cosmetic fix with wig hair, wax and a metal mesh to hold it in place."
"Ah! The mesh would explain the crosshatch patterns on the skull." Cam said rounding the table and picking it up. "…I can't confront Michelle about something this big over the phone right?"
"What the fact that you may be investigating the murder of the president of the United States?" Brennan asked looking at the pattern on the skull.
"…No the fact that she's pregnant." Cam shook her head and they looked at each other.
Brennan was about to answer when they heard a loud shot ring out and glass shattering. They turned to see Booth stepping through the glass.
"Booth!" Brennan called surprised.
"Hiya. Bones." He smiled lightly and began walking towards them only to be tackled by one of the agents. "Ouch." He groaned.
5 minutes later. Brennan kneeled down next to Booth on the couch in the lobby on the mezzanine.
"…Are you ok?" she asked placing an ice pack on his head.
"Yeah." He sighed. "Those are some big guys."
Brennan laughed. "What did you think was gonna happen when you shoot your way into a place guarded by government agents?" she asked lifting off the ice to check out the bruise growing on his head.
"Not gonna lie I didn't see the tackle coming. I just thought I'd be locked up in one of the offices or something."
"Well you would've done the same thing if you were on the other end." She gingerly brushed the hair out of the way causing a sharp intake of breath on his side. "Ooh sorry." She apologized.
"It's okay. Concussions are sexy."
She laughed looking directly into his eyes. "You don't have a concussion. Just a big ass bruise."
"Are those sexy too?" he asked waggling his eyebrows.
She smiled. "Only when you get them trying to be a hero." Brennan smiled kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you."
"Hey anytime." He said meeting her eyes again.
Brennan sighed looking away and moving back away from him.
Booth took the ice pack and replaced it on his head. "Did you figure out who the guy is yet?" he asked moving to a safe topic.
"Hodgins and Cam are convinced that it's John F. Kennedy." she whispered ok with this topic of conversation.
"The 35th president of the United States who was assassinated November 22nd 1963?" Booth asked surprised.
Brennan nodded. "Also Cam is fairly certain that Michelle is pregnant."
"Usually that would be big news but right now, not so much." He shook his head. "It's JFK?" he asked unable to believe it. Brennan nodded. "Wait… was Hodgins the first one to say that it was JFK?"
"Yes." Brennan admitted.
"Then it's not JFK." He shook his head.
"No Hodgins is an—"
"Hey Mr. White." Booth greeted as he walked over to them.
"How did you get past the guards?" Mr. White asked not amused by his antics.
"Uh, sniper training. It trained me how to walk really, really quietly." He said smugly.
"You are now restricted to the building of course."
"Damn." as sarcastic as humanly possible.
"But you already knew that didn't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah. But you didn't see that coming did you?"
Mr. White sighed, rolled his eyes and walked away. Brennan looked at Booth and he leaned back closing his eyes.
Cam's office. Cam sits staring at her phone debating whether or not to call Michelle.
"Awkward, awkward, very awkward." Angela sighed walking in.
"What's awkward?" Cam asked looking up at her.
"About Michelle…"
"Oh, I'm going to call her right now and tell her I need to talk to her… well I will, when I get up the courage anyways."
"but about the …pregnancy test?"
"She lied to me. She told me to my face that she wasn't having sex with that boy. She lied to my face, Angela I need to talk to her about this, not you I'm sorry."
"…It's my pregnancy test." Angela admitted. Cam sighed, obvious relief on her face. "I'm… soo sorry, Cam. I-I would've told you sooner but… Hodgins was in the room and…"
"Oh thank god. …No I mean…" She turned to her realizing how insensitive she sounded.
"It's ok." Angela chuckled.
"You alright?"
"Um… I'm a… a bit in shock, I guess but..."
"Well, does Wendell know?"
"No." Angela shook her head violently. "No. No. N-not yet. …only I know… and you of course. And, I mean, really, shouldn't Wendell be the first to know?" Cam nodded as Angela continued rambling. "But I figured that you… you needed to know."
She nodded again. "Because I was freaking out about Michelle. Thank you." She said sincerely.
Angela nodded. "Yeah." She turned and walked out. Then into Hodgins' office.
"Jack I need to tell you something."
"Shoot." He said leaning back against his desk.
"That pregnancy test that Cam found wasn't Michelle's… it was mine." She confessed.
"Oh… wow…"
"And I was thinking that Wendell should've been the first one to know… but you should be the second and since I told Cam already I figured you should be next."
"Do I say 'congratulations'?"
"…I don't know." she smiled. "I mean it's not the right time… or the right guy." She sighed. "but, it's a baby."
"Well, you know Wendell, uh, he… he might rise to the occasion. I mean he's- he's a good guy."
"No I didn't mean that. I mean… A baby. I mean, you're linked to that person for the rest of your life. Like way more than if you're married. I mean, you're linked through another human being. A soul."
Hodgins stared up at Angela and she tried to look content with the news, and failed. "Okay." Hodgins looked down at his hands, then stood. "I'm-I'm gonna say 'Congratulations'. …Not for today… but for how you're going to feel about this later on." He nodded.
"Well, I might not even keep it." She said turning to walk out.
"You're going to keep it, Angela." He called, unable to let the conversation end like that. Angela turned around to face him again. "You always wanted kids. Lots of 'em." She smiled lightly.
"Thanks Jack." She smiled lightly.
Hodgins nodded and she walked out.
An hour later Booth and Sweets were in the basement looking for the Lee Harvey Oswald gun to prove whether the man they were investigating was in fact JFK. Hodgins checks his watch, stopped pretending to mop the floor, and walked over to Mr. White.
"Uh, Mr. White? Yeah, I've done all I can do," Hodgins said pulling his lab coat off. "So I'm gonna leave the premises."
"I'm sorry that's impossible."
"Um… you can't stop me because I'm an American." He pointed out. "So I've got rights." He began walking away.
"I'd rather not hurt you." Mr. White sighed following him. Just as he did Booth and Sweets snuck out of the janitor's closet.
"Hey nice job with Bush and the whole 'flying shoe' incident, by the way. I want to compliment you on that one." He said with a smirk that quickly faded with a blow that knocked him down.
"Hey, you wanna try me instead of some bigmouth scientist. Huh?" Booth walked out near the offices.
Mr. White rolled his eyes and walked away.
"Yeah, I thought so. Come on." Booth sighed helped a groaning Hodgins to his feet. "Really the Bush comment? To him? You sure you don't have a death wish?"
"Just tell me you got the gun."
"Yeah. …Easy now you're lucky he didn't paralyze you." Booth joked as Hodgins pulled away from the hold he had on his arm.
"I'm gonna go lie down."
Booth laughed and walked into the Ookie room where Cam and Brennan were working.
"I'm gonna need some science jibber-jabber to distract these guys."
"Oh, you know who can do Jibber-jabber?" Brennan asked excitedly.
"Who?" he asked knowing the answer.
"Me." She said smiling.
"Perfect. My lucky day. Come on." He smiled trying not to laugh at how excited she was. "Alright." Cam nodded, smiling as she followed, not wanting to miss the show.
"…You want my permission to shoot a cantaloupe?" Mr. White asked disbelievingly.
"Yes." Brennan nodded.
"With my sidearm?"
"You took away agent Booth's sidearm." Brennan pointed out.
"You want our best work? This is what we do." Cam said simply.
"And this experiment is essential to cause of death?" again disbelievingly.
"Yes. Because you have forbidden us from taking samples in order to estimate the osteoconductivity of the oblique taphonomic remodeling pertaining to the mid-sagittal plane encelphalametric transaction or translation, if you will, of the intermatrix can be deduced by correlating the force-displacement values" Cam nodded along with Brennan pretending what she was saying actually made sense to her. "With the osteogenic- and geogenic-hydrogel-nanocomposite we placed inside the surrogate."
"…Which is the cantaloupe." He nodded holding it up.
"You understand me perfectly." Brennan said smiling knowing it worked.
"How many bullets?"
"Just one." Cam nodded.
He looked between them unsure then handed Brennan the cantaloupe and Booth the gun. "We'll be watching."
"Bring your popcorn." Booth said pleased with their work. He turned to Brennan "Good work." He whispered his hand on the small of her back.
"Thanks." She smiled widely, her stomach doing little flips.
15 minutes later they were all seated in the Ookie room getting reamed for the stunt they pulled.
"20 minutes after this operation ends your career in the federal law enforcement is over."
"Hey, Mr. White, that is enough." Cam rolled her eyes.
"None of your results will survive. All of this was for nothing." He said growing annoyed by their insubordination, and walked out. Hodgins turned to the computer and brought up the video of the reenactment.
"1.6 seconds exactly."
"See Oswald could've made the shot. Case closed. Oswald did it."
"Booth, Oswald was a lousy shot. You are one of the best." Hodgins pointed out patiently. "With none of the nerves that an actual assassin would experience in the lab, no wind no distractions, aiming at fruit. I mean, come on. You barely made the shot."
"Yeah. I hate to admit it Booth but Hodgins is making a pretty good point." Angela agreed.
"All he is proving is that he made up his mind. Oswald shot Kennedy. We just proved that, okay?" he said walking past Hodgins towards the door.
"Booth?" Brennan called stopping him.
"Yeah." He asked turning back and knowing immediately he would regret it.
"This entry wound here. If you look closer there are microfractures radiating from the exit wound which suggests, it wasn't an exit but an entrance."
"Reverse beveling." Cam nodded taking a closer look.
"I'm sorry but it's true. If this is another entry from a completely different angle, then logically, there was a second gunman."
Booth turned around and walked out. Cam looked to Brennan as she realized that it didn't really matter how he died if they couldn't confirm that it was really JFK. Sweets and Hodgins share a look and they know they went too far.
Feeling guilty, Brennan pulled off her gloves and went to look for him finding him in her office.
"Two shooters. You know what that proves to me?" he asked as Brennan neared the couch, but he wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Only that there were two shooters." Brennan said standing infront of him and he sat on the couch, still obviously annoyed by their assumptions.
"No. that those remains are not John F. Kennedy."
"Why is it so important to you that this not be President Kennedy?" Brennan asked genuinely trying to understand as she sat on the couch next to him, placing her hand on his as he laid it on his knee.
"If it was him, he was killed by two gunmen."
Brennan nodded. "Yes."
Booth looked at her and continued. "And if he was killed by two gunmen then the government lied. They covered it up."
"Throughout history, governments have lied with impunity to other governments and to their own citizens. …Booth does this, by any chance, have something to do with the fact that your ancestor was a famous assassin?"
"Bones." He said practically begging her to stop.
"John Wilkes Booth who killed president Lincoln." She finished unable to stop herself.
"You promised you would never mention that!" he said standing agitation growing as he headed for the door.
"No, you told me not to! I never promised!" She pointed out standing and following him. "But I promise now!" she said cutting him off and closing the door right infront of him. "I promise Seeley." She said her eyes blazing. "I'm sorry. …I didn't mean for that to come out."
He sighed leaning against her desk. "No you're right. It does have a little to do with him. …But mostly it's just… y'know, I've lived my whole life based on the fact that the United States of America is a fair and free place to live …and if I find out that they've lied to us about something like the assassination of a president…" he trailed off.
Brennan nodded. "I understand."
"…I know you do. … I know you're just doing your job. …but y'know a little compassion once in a while wouldn't kill ya." A slight smile played at his lips.
"Yeah… sometimes I go a little overboard with 'cold Brennan'." She agreed leaning on the desk next to him.
"A little bit?" he raised an eyebrow.
She laughed smacking him on the chest. "Ok a lot. …But you're the only one that gets to see 'warm Brennan'."
"Not as much as I'd like." He said smiling widely a few inches from her lips.
She pulled away laughing. "Don't make me kick you out."
"Hey a guy's gotta try doesn't he?" Booth stood walking out as his phone rang.
He checked the caller ID. 'Hacker'. "Did you find anything?" Booth asked walking down the hall.
"Did you hear about this congressional committee that's trying to get permission to exhume JFK?"
"Why the hell would anybody want to do that?" he asked playing clueless.
"To see if modern forensic methods can tell us anything about the circumstances of his death."
"Well, Teddy Kennedy believed in the Warren Commission all the way up to the day he died."
"Yeah and Bobby Kennedy was suspicious right up until the day he was assassinated."
"What does that have to do with our friends here in the black suits?"
"All I was able to find out is that there are parties very interested in the outcome of that congressional hearing. …Booth, are you being held against your will?"
Booth scoffs. "Come on I can get out if I wanted to."
"That's not the question I asked you. I asked you, is an agent of the FBI being held by persons unknown against his will?"
"Yeah. We all are." He nodded.
"Then I find on behalf of the FBI. I'm annoyed by their arrogance."
Booth hung up, rolling his eyes at Hacker.
Angela's office. Hodgins walks in and watches her work for a moment.
"…I'll have Brennan's analysis of the entry angles up in one second." She said typing away as he walked over to her.
"Ange…" he sat on the table next to her.
"Yeah?" she didn't look up.
Hodgins waited until she turned to him to continue. "You're gonna have this baby."
"I dint know that yet." She said turning back to her screen.
"Yeah, well, when you do… I've been thinking… you're gonna try to raise this kid on your own. Wendell is a very decent guy."
"He's a great guy." She nodded.
"I know. But he's a struggling grad student, and you're gonna minimize his responsibilities for his own good." Angela looked up at him, and she knew he was right.
"Geez, you're a regular Nostradamus there Hodgins. Predicting the future?"
"Says the woman who consults a psychic." He said following her as she moved towards her desk. "My point is, I'm your guy."
"Hodgins…" she shook her head.
"I'm your guy. I love you. …I love you. And I want to help you in whatever way I can. If-if you want to move in together, if-if you want to get married… I'm here for you. And for the baby. …in whatever role you need me to be in." she stared at him for a long minute. "Okay." He said leaving her with her thoughts.
Brennan and Cam are on the platform going over the bones once more as Sweets watched.
"There's calcification on the left radius."
"You keep returning to the arm. The victim didn't die from a little calcification."
"Yeah even I can tell that." Sweets said watching her examine the bone for the dozenth time. "The two bullets to the head probably did him in."
"You don't understand, Booth is a very patriotic man." Cam started. "He believes this is the greatest country ever."
"Being the best doesn't mean being perfect. " Brennan pointed out.
"It's naïve to think that a country the size and influence of the US doesn't pursue secret agendas." Hodgins said for the hundredth time.
"The Kennedy assassination wasn't a secret agenda it was a black stain. A dark moment in history. And if you say that infront of Booth he will kill you." she said giving him a serious look. "…do you know how many people Booth has shot for his country?" she asked turning back to Brennan.
"49." Brennan said staring at the bone but not really seeing it.
"Wow that's a lot of blood to have on your hands. I mean, it's the kind of thing that would keep a person up at night." Sweets said amazed.
"And Booth did that because he trusted that it was right." Cam pointed out." He trusted the government. And if he finds out that the government has lied to us he'll begin to question everything that he's done while following government orders …If they can lie about the murder of a president they can lie about anything."
"Dr. Brennan, Dr. Saroyan. Your work is done here thank you." Mr. White said walking onto the platform.
"No. …But we're not finished." Brennan objected.
"The good news is, you all get to go home." He continued.
"Our results are inconclusive at best." Cam added confused.
"There's still unexplained calcifications on the left radius."
"Within the hour you'll find that none of this ever happened." Mr. White ignored their protest.
"But if you didn't want to know the truth, then what was this all for?" Brennan asked confused by this outcome.
"I have no idea."
"One more analysis and we will have the whole truth." Brennan insisted.
"The whole truth was never the point." Mr. White turned and walked down the steps. "Please pack the remains up and prepare them for transportation."
"Mr. White!" Cam called after him and he turned. "For future reference, you might want to inform your bosses that we don't do half-truths here." He looked between them and turned away.
A few minutes later. Cam walked into Angela's office and placed a piece of paper on her desk.
"What is this?" Angela asked picking it up and looking to Cam.
"You aren't pregnant." Cam said simply. "When I thought it was Michelle, I retested the sample, I just got the results. It's a false positive."
Angela smiled widely. "Uh… wow. Thank you for this."
"Of course." Cam nodded and walked out.
As Angela stared down at the paper her smile faded.
Cam walked up onto the platform finding Booth with Brennan.
"So you found the cause of death. You think it's Kennedy. What's left?" Booth asked confused as to why the bones weren't packed yet.
"There are loose ends." She said seriously looking up from the bones.
"How long is it going to take you to tidy up your loose ends here?" Booth asked getting an idea.
"The big man always comes through." Cam said satisfied by Booth's reaction.
"Always." He nodded.
"Those remains ready for transport?" Mr. White asked walking up onto the platform.
"Yeah there's a problem with that." Booth said not turning around.
"What are you going to do?" Cam whispered so only he could hear.
"I'm going to give you the time you need in order to find out the truth." Booth whispered back. He turned to Mr. White. "Hey, Mr. White. How are you?" he asked holding out his hand. Mr. White takes it shaking it and Booth holds his hand in a death grip cuffing it and locking him to the railing. "You know what, your job is to protect the president. My job is to solve murders." He whispered to him flipping him over the railing then jumping off the platform and running as the agents start chasing him.
Brennan grabbed the radius and took off in the other direction.
One of the agents cut Booth off and rushed him Booth tripped him knocking him down and cuffed him to a nearby rack. Another went after Brennan and Booth got infront of him allowing her to go the other way.
"What do ya got feeb." The agent egged him on.
Booth smiled kneeing him in the sweet spot and stepping over him, cuffing one of his hands and leading him to the platform and cuffing him to the bars. "That one there's a classic, pal."
Angela, Hodgins, Sweets and Cam applauded Booth.
"Damn you butch Cassidy'd 'em" Hodgins praised.
"Oh, that was totally Ninja….you got some serious anger issues, Dude, but that was awesome."
"Stand down and drop your weapons!" Hacker called storming in with his men. "This facility is officially under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Hacker looked around noticing all of the cuffed agents. "Oh man. …ten seconds earlier, I would have been the hero, right?" they all gave him a look. "Yeah… hey Booth."
Booth smiled up at him and walked away into the autopsy room, finding Brennan standing behind two big tubs of what looked like chocolate pudding.
"…Is that pudding?"
"Yes." She nodded placing one bone in each tub.
"One question… Why?"
"I adjusted the specific gravity with a thickening agent to assure the test's efficacy."
"And you do that with pudding?" he asked watching as one of the radii got sucked down to the bottom. "Whoa. What was that?" he asked rounding the corner of the table.
"One sank and the other floated." Brennan pointed out.
"…I see that but what does it mean?"
Brennan smiled at his impatientness. "The heavy bone is healthy but the one that is still floating is riddled with osteomyelitis. …President John F. Kennedy never had osteomyelitis."
"Come here." He pulled her in kissing her lightly then pulling her into a hug.
"Um okay. …You really didn't want this to be JFK."
"You kept looking because of me. …Thank you."
She smiled. "Of course."
Hacker and Mr. White walk in together. "I've been speaking with Mr. White here from the General Services Administration, and we've come to the conclusion that any reports we write should be very carefully worded… as in there should be no words."
"No words." Booth nodded. "Got it."
Hacker turned to Brennan. "Hello Temperance. You look great."
"Thank you, Andrew." Brennan nodded politely. "It's nice to see you too."
"Did Booth tell you about me crashing in through the front doors to rescue you?"
Brennan smiled turning to Booth. "No he did not. …I would've liked to have seen that."
Hacker looked back and forth from Booth to Brennan and Booth smiled. "So we're free to go then?"
"…Yeah." Mr. White nodded.
"Great let's go." Booth said looking to Bones and walking out.
"Good to see you, Andrew." She smiled following him out.
"…Yeah you too."
Meanwhile infront of the Jeffersonian. Hodgins and Angela smile as they see the rising sun.
"So… Can I call you a cab?" Hodgins offered.
"I'm not pregnant. …It was a false positive." She said smiling.
"Oh. Well, that must be a big relief." Hodgins nodded.
"Yeah."
"So everything can go back to normal, y'know, to how they were before."
"Yeah… Yeah. But… Um, I-I want to… I want to thank you for…"
"Nah, forget it." He shook his head smiling lightly.
"…I'll never forget it." She said smiling at him. His smile widened and they crossed the street, their arms linked.
Cam caught up to Brennan and they fell back as Booth kept going. "Were you aware that JFK had Scarlet Fever as a child?"
Brennan nodded. "Hodgins informed me of that fact. Yes."
"Scarlet Fever can cause osteomyelitis." Cam said matter-of-factly.
Brennan nodded again. "It's very rare Cam. It can happen in approximately one in a hundred cases…. It's statistically unlikely that it was Kennedy."
Cam smiled. "You're a good person. …I will never forget what you did for him."
"Hey Bones! You coming or not?" Booth called smiling from across the street.
Cam nodded and walked away. "See you Monday."
Brennan smiled and met Booth across the street. "So what did Cam want?" he asked curiously.
"Just to let me know that Michelle wasn't pregnant." Brennan lied.
"Oh that's good, really… Really good."
Brennan nodded. "So how about Breakfast?" she suggested.
"Great I'm starving." He said smiling down at her.
"Good." She said smiling back and they walked the 5 minutes to the diner.
A half hour later they were sitting at the bar eating breakfast.
"Seeley there's something I have to tell you." Brennan said looking up at him uncomfortably.
He smiled "What's that? Oh god, don't tell me you're dating Hacker again." He laughed jokingly.
"I think I might be pregnant." She said ignoring his comment.
"…What? …You're kidding right? Because I-I was kidding." Brennan looked down. "Oh God you're not. … is it…?"
Brennan shook her head. "No. …I never…" she sighed. "It's not Andrew's."
"…So that means…?"
Brennan nodded. "It's yours."
"…But how? We haven't… Since…"
"Christmas." She nodded giving him a look that jogged his memory.
"…Oh… Right. …Right."
"Yeah." She nodded looking at her hands.
He smiled lightly. "…We're having a baby?"
"Might be." She clarified, relieved by his reaction.
He kissed her smiling widely. "Let's go find out."
An hour later. Booth's apartment. They sat silently staring at the positive pregnancy test.
"…So … we're really having… a baby." Booth said the news really sinking in for the first time.
Brennan nodded. "Yup. … I called earlier and made an appointment with my doctor just in case… you can come if you'd like." She offered.
Booth looked at her smiling lightly. "I would love too."
"….Ok." Brennan nodded standing. "…I'm exhausted so I'm just gonna…go."
Booth took her hand as she passed. "You don't have to go Tempe."
Brennan smiled lightly. "But we won't be sleeping if I stay here."
He laughed with a nod. "Then let me drive you home."
She nodded "Of course."
Thursday. 6pm.
Booth paced the room as they waited for the doctor. "What is taking so long?"
"We've only been waiting 5 minutes and she's seeing up after hours." Brennan said watching him. "What's really bothering you Seeley?"
He stopped, facing her. "Tempe what does this mean for us?"
"I don't know. …do we really need to discuss this right now?"
He resumed pacing and they were quiet for a long minute. "Yeah, you know what we do. … I need to know Temperance… Am I going to be in our child's life?" he asked staring straight into her eyes.
The doctor walked in then. "Sorry I'm late." She said removing her glasses from the top of her head and placing them on her nose. "It's been crazy here."
"No problem." Brennan nodded looking away from Booth and leaning back on the table.
"So how are you feeling Temperance?"
"I feel great."
"Fantastic." She said making a note. "…and who is this?"
"He's my… He's the father."
"Nice to meet you 'the father'" she said shaking his hand.
"Seeley." He said smiling.
"Dr. Simmons. …so let's get to work shall we?" She pulled a pair of gloves on and took her seat by the ultrasound machine. She squirted the gel on her stomach and ran the wand along her stomach. "hmm. ..."
"Hmm? What's hmm?" Booth asked concerned.
"…How many weeks along did you say you were?"
"About 7… what's going on?"
"…I'm not detecting anything, now this isn't necessarily bad news. It does happen because of position or angle. So don't worry yet. I'm gonna run a couple tests to be sure."
Brennan nodded and Booth squeezed her hand reassuringly, hiding how scared he really was.
7:30. The doctor walked back in.
"…All of your readings were completely normal. …it was a false positive. I'm so sorry Temperance." Brennan nodded. "I'll give you two a moment." The doctor said walking out.
Booth pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry Tempe."
She nodded looking at him sadly. "It's ok… I'm fine. …I'll be fine."
"Let me take you home, huh?"
Brennan nodded and they left not saying a single word on the drive back to her place.
"Hey Tempe do you want me to stay for a while? Keep you company?" Booth offered. She shook her head. "…Okay. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow then." He said turning to leave.
"Seeley!" She called after him. He turned back to her "…For what it's worth… You would've seen that baby every single day of its life."
Booth crossed the room and pulled her back into his arms. "Thank you."
"Anytime… I guess."
They laughed lightly. "I should go…." Booth said still holding onto her.
"Yeah."
Booth cleared his throat and took a step back. "I'll, uh, see you tomorrow."
Brennan nodded sitting on her bed. "Tomorrow."
"…Yeah." Booth nodded and walked out.
Brennan laid down on her bed, disappointed, her hand on her stomach, and laid there for a long time thinking about how things would've been if she were having his child.
For the next few days Brennan had been distant and quiet so Booth decided he had to do something to make her feel better.
"Why are we at the park?" she asked curiously.
"Why? Because I got a little surprise for you Bones." He said smiling and taking her hand and leading her to a little spot near a tree. A blanket was laid out with a picnic basket set up below it and a bottle of wine.
"Seeley Booth what did you do all this for?"
He shrugged. "You've been kinda down lately …I thought I'd do something to cheer you up." He said smiling and dropping down onto the blanket. He offered her a hand and she smiled lightly taking it.
"So you decided a picnic in the middle of February was a good idea?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
"Ok, not my most brilliant idea ever but that's not the only reason we're here." He said with a Boothy grin.
"Ok. You have my attention." She said taking his hand and sitting next to him. "Why else are we here?"
"It has come to my attention recently that you, my dear, have lead a sheltered life, even as a child. …So today we are going to lie here, look up at the clouds and find some bizarre shapes."
"In the middle of the park... In February?"
"That's right."
"It's 45 degrees outside." She pointed out.
"That's why I brought… another blanket." He said pulling one from the basket.
"So you really did think of everything."
He smiled. "That's right."
"Except…"
"Except what?"
"There's no clouds." She laughed pointing at the sky.
He looked up. "….Huh… okay so there's one glitch in the plan. You'd think I'd remember to check that."
"You'd think." Brennan nodded with a laugh.
"Oh well." He shrugged, lying back anyways. "It's a beautiful day and I, for one, plan to enjoy it."
"You're crazy you know that?"
He nods. "So I've been told."
She smiled and laid back, her head lying on his arm. They lay there for a while, watching the sky, until Brennan turned to Booth. "Thank you Seeley."
He shrugged. "It's nothing, just thought you deserved the experience."
"Still… thank you." She said kissing him sweetly.
He smiled. "Anytime."
She kissed him again, pulling him in closer and he rolled her onto her back. "Oh. Now I see something."
"And what is that?" he asked smiling.
"Some warm brown eyes, belonging to the sweetest man I've ever known."
He leaned in kissing her again with a newly found fervor.
"Now Seeley, I never thought you to be okay with voyeurism."
He smiled. "Let them watch."
Brennan laughed. "Or we could go back to my place?"
He nodded kissing her. "That works."
A/N: Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I actually have this story nearly finished I'll try to get the rest up soon.