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"Watch it, Frenchie," the boy snarled, shoving Louis aside and knocking him over. Louis landed on his hands and knees, and he struggled hard not to cry. Why were some kids so mean? He didn't understand.

"Come on," Parker said, pulling him up. "Don't pay attention to him."

"Why does he not like me?" Louis asked, brushing the sand off his pants. He didn't want any evidence for Temperance to find, and he knew she was excellent at that.

"He's a bully," Parker shrugged. "Toby is mean to everyone." Louis and Parker both watched as Toby knocked books out of a girl's hand and laughed while walking away. Louis shuddered. Ever since he'd proudly shared he was born in Paris, Toby had started calling him "Frenchie," and he didn't like it.

"I have an idea," Parker said.

Brennan was beside Daisy looking at remains of a murder victim found with remains of a slave ship. She found herself annoyed at Daisy's rambling about why she and Sweets weren't actually dating. When asked how her pants fell off from trying to return a book, Daisy had no comeback, so Brennan dropped it. Why Daisy had even brought it up, Brennan had no idea. She guessed Daisy thought they were closer now that they had survived things on Maluku and rescued Louis together. Brennan had noticed that Cam was unusually quiet since they had been working on this case. Brennan felt badly for her. She examined the body x rays, trying to get her mind off of Cam and Louis. She was worried about him as he was quiet that morning going to school.

"Chipping from the zygomatic arch. Hairline fractures to the mental foramen. All heavily remodeled. Metaphyseal fractures to the left tibia and right ulna, never properly set," Daisy finished, peering at them. Brennan felt her stomach lurch.

"I've seen these before," she said. "It happens when a person has had their extremities wrenched over and over again at a very young age." She couldn't help it. She thought about Louis. How could anyone hurt someone so defenseless repeatedly like that?

"Suggestive of child abuse?" Daisy confirmed, looking at her. Brennan nodded.

"We have to identify him," she replied. She had to. For Louis. For every other child victim of abuse whose story was never told. Like Booth. She shook this out of her mind. "What is taking Dr. Hodgins so long?"

Booth was at his desk feeling out of sorts. He couldn't get the image of Brennan and Louis out of his head. He also couldn't stop thinking about Hannah's reaction when he had talked about Brennan and Louis. It almost looked like annoyance.

"I'm weak, I'm weak," Sweets was yammering in the background. Something about Daisy. "I broke up with her, but I can't keep my hands off her. What should I do? Should I just let it happen?" Booth stared at him finally.

"Here," he said, handing him a magic 8 ball. Sweets shook it.

"'Yes definitely,'" he read. "Really?"

"I don't know," Booth groaned.

"You're older, wiser, more experienced," Sweets went on. "I thought you could help me."

"I'm not freaking Yoda," Booth answered. Sweets furrowed his brow at that. As if summoned, Daisy popped her little head into Booth's office.

"Hi!" she said happily. Booth wanted to shoot himself.

"Hi," Sweets said nervously. Daisy walked past him to Booth.

"Have you got anything for me?" she asked. Booth gave her an annoyed look. He reached for the papers and handed them to her. She flipped through them slowly. Sweets was still standing there awkwardly.

"Mike Casper," she said after a moment.

"Yup. Married with a kid and a dog in Calvert County with a cushy aerospace job," Booth told her.

"No. He's 19, 21 at the oldest," Daisy argued.

"He's 28. So you're off by seven years," Booth started.

"This is wrong," Daisy interrupted.

"No, I think you're wrong," Booth countered.

"Dr. Brennan did this, not me. She is never wrong," Daisy said pointedly. She gave him a look.

"Well, it matches Angela's drawing, so I'm sorry, but Bones is wrong," Booth said. Daisy huffed. Booth stood to go find the wife and give her the bad news. Daisy followed him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Dr. Brennan advised I would be doing the fieldwork with you," she answered, confused. Booth sighed loudly. So she was still avoiding him. Great.

It was the perfect plan. Louis and Parker worked carefully to make it happen. Now they were waiting.

"Do you always have balloons on you?" Louis asked, curious. Parker smirked. Their prank was paint filled balloons that they were going to hurl at Toby and his gang in the playground. They were purposely separated from everyone else so that they'd get targeted faster. Louis had the bag with the balloons looped around his neck. He felt anxious and gleeful at the same time.

"Here he comes," Parker whispered. They acted casual.

"Well if it isn't Dork 1 and Dork 2," Toby sneered, closing in on them.

"I believe it's Thing 1 and Thing 2," Louis corrected. Parker nudged him.

"Not now," he hissed.

"Sorry," Louis whispered back. Temperance's way of correcting people was starting to rub off on him.

"Well, what are you and the Goon Squad gonna do about it?" Parker challenged. Toby guffawed. He cracked his knuckles.

"I'm gonna enjoy this," he sneered. They moved in.

"Now!" Louis shouted. He and Parker started whipping balloons at them. Paint was flying everywhere. The bullies were shouting in anger. Then the worst thing of all that could happen happened.

"What is going on he-oh!" the teacher on duty cried, the balloon crashing into her nice blouse and leaving an ugly red stain. She stared at it. Parker and Louis froze. Their intention hadn't been to hit a teacher. They were in for it now. She leveled her stare at all of them.

"Principal's office. Now," she said sternly.

Booth and Sweets were watching Liam talk on Thursday's Child. Booth felt sad watching it. He looked over at Sweets. He knew he had been a foster child too, so he wondered if this was upsetting him. When it was over, Booth couldn't help it.

"That sounded like little puppy adoptions if you ask me."

"Well, when I was in foster care," Sweets started. "Every child who got on Thursday's Child won the lottery. I mean, big fancy cars would come and adopt them every time." Booth felt there was a hint of jealousy there.

"Well, Liam didn't," Booth pointed out. "It would have saved the juvie system a lot of time if he had. Here's records of a break and enter Liam did with another foster kid, Hunter Lang. We're trying to find him now." He handed the papers to Sweets.

"Why's that?" Sweets asked, glancing at the papers.

"Cos Liam testified against Hunter for a suspended sentence," Booth answered.

"Oohh not good. Foster kids stick together," Sweets winced.

"Is that something a guy would kill over?" Booth asked him.

"I don't know. I know these kids, though. I'll talk to him," Sweets answered.

Brennan was standing over Hodgins when her phone rang. She answered it hastily after seeing it was the school.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Brennan? We need you to come by the school."

Booth, Daisy and Sweets were standing in front of the cruise ship when his phone rang.

"Hang on," Booth said to them. "Booth."

"Mr. Booth? We need you to come by the school."

"Okay. I'll be right there," Booth answered. He hung up. "You two," he pointed, "are on your own."

"Wait, what?!" Sweets cried. Daisy hid her smirk as the cougar woman pulled Sweets aboard.

Booth and Brennan arrived at the public school at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" they asked each other at the same time.

"You first," Booth said.

"Louis is in trouble," she answered.

"So is Parker," Booth sighed. They went into the Principal's office together where they found a sad, sorry looking Louis and Parker sitting side by side.

"What did you do?" Booth asked.

"Oh, good. You're here together," the secretary said. "Go right on in." Brennan gave Louis a glance before following Booth inside. They sat down across from the principal.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"It seems Louis and Parker decided to fill balloons with paint and throw them at other students," the principal answered. Booth looked at the guy's nameplate. Raymond Tucker.

"What?!" Brennan exclaimed.

"Really," Booth said. Why did this not surprise him? "Where did they get the paint?"

"Smuggled it from the art class," Raymond answered.

"I see," Booth nodded.

"In their 'battle,' they struck a teacher with a balloon, ruining her, and I quote, '123 dollar blouse,'" Raymond said, shuddering.

"Who wears a 123 dollar shirt to a public school?" Booth asked, incredulous.

"Louis couldn't have done that. He's a good boy," Brennan argued. Raymond gave her a level stare.

"The paint is on their hands, Dr. Brennan. Both of theirs. This was a team effort."

"Look, I'm sorry. There has to be an explanation for this," Booth interrupted. "Parker doesn't just attack other kids for no reason."

"He shouldn't at all," Raymond lectured. Booth glowered.

"What did they say?" Brennan cut in before they could start snarling at each other.

"Louis didn't say anything. Parker claimed Toby and his friends were bullying them by calling them names and shoving them around. Mostly Louis." Brennan felt her temper flare. Louis was being bullied?! Why didn't he say anything?

"I see," Booth said.

"What is their punishment?" Brennan asked, knowing it was coming.

"Louis is to clean the blackboards after school. Parker is to assist the teacher he hit by doing assigned work to pay off the shirt," Raymond answered.

"Why isn't Louis helping to pay off the shirt?" Brennan asked.

"Because it was Parker who hit her. That was witnessed," Raymond answered.

"Seems like a fair punishment," Booth nodded. "I'll talk to him, sir. This won't happen again."

"What is the punishment of the bullies?" Brennan asked.

"I will look into the bullying," Raymond promised. "We have zero tolerance for that."

"Good. Thank you," Brennan said. She and Booth stood to leave. Louis gave her a mournful look when they went back out.

"Come on," Booth said to Parker, who stood up.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Parker said sadly.

"Well, buddy, there are other ways to deal with bullies," Booth told him. He patted Parker's head as they went out into the hall.

"Are you mad at me?" Louis asked Brennan. She gave him a small smile.

"Not mad, just disappointed," she answered. "Why did you feel you couldn't tell me what was happening?"

"I didn't want you to worry," Louis said. "I didn't want you to take me away from this school."

"I wouldn't have," she told him. "I just would have helped you."

"Oh," Louis said sadly. He hung his head.

"Come on," she said, taking his hand in hers. "Let's go home."

Hannah was scrolling through the news feed when she saw it.

"Missing boy. Name: Goes by Louis. Age: 6 years old. Hair color..."

Hannah read the description and felt like there was something familiar about it. She leaned back in her chair. Hadn't Booth gone on and on about Brennan's new adopted child? Whose name was also Louis? Hannah felt her skin tingle. Had Brennan stolen a child? She scrolled down until she found the contact name. Jerry Pasquel. She hesitated for a moment before printing off the poster. She needed to make certain it was the right child before getting this man excited. She grabbed her keys and headed out of the office. She didn't care if Booth got angry at her for doing this. If Brennan stole a child, justice needed to be served.