A/N: Hi folks. Using the spouse's computer today and he doesn't have Word...only Open Office. Ugh!

There's one more part to Aftermath, then the story will continue to its final chapters. I've started up plans for the sequel already...thanks to your encouraging reviews. I will have another couple of short stories posted I hope in the next few weeks. As stated before, thanks for the kind words and the reviews...my brain candy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones...I don't think I ever will...but it sure would be nice

The next afternoon, Booth sat in his office. As he was trying to get paperwork he left the last few days done, he was also on speaker phone arranging repair of his house since it was no longer a crime scene.

"So what's your estimate? That long?...That much? So because of the weekend of the 4th it's going to take that long and that much? Yeah….yeah, I understand. Can we at least live in our house? Well, that's good to know at least. Thanks, pal."

He hung up the phone. "'Your homeowner's insurance policy should cover the damage" Booth muttered in a mocking high pitched voice. "Bombs usually aren't covered with those, dumbass!'

Realizing he was talking to himself, he turned his attention back to Perotta's report on her kidnapping. When questioned, her recollection of the events was piecemeal. She could recollect hearing Pelant before passing out the first time and when she woke up and discovered the fire. The doctor confirmed later there was a hypodermic needle mark in her arm.

The same doctor also stated that when he went to examine her, the agent became so upset she had to be given a sedative to calm her.

Booth had the nagging suspicion that Perotta remembered more that she was telling. He remembered the bruises he saw on her legs and the absence of her underwear. He didn't think it was a coincidence that Forensics found a pair of women's underwear crumpled in a corner inside Zane Reynold's white van.

It disgusted him, but he had to push her soon. He knew she was probably traumatized. However, while he couldn't force him to tell her what happened, he knew she needed to so he could get Pelant. Seeing he wasn't going to get anything done, he made a phone call.

"Sweets, its Booth. I haven't heard from you in two days. You said you wanted to be left alone and I understand, but you're starting to worry everyone…starting to worry me. We are going home tonight and you can stay with us if you want. Call me, Sweets or else I am tracking you down. "

"I'm right here, Booth."

Booth looked up and saw Sweets holding a folder. He was wearing one of his death metal t-shirts, jeans, and a hoodie. He also looked like he hadn't slept in two days.

"Sweets, come in here and close the door."

Sweets obeyed and sat across from Booth. "I've been reading the report on the bombing at your house—"

"Sweets what the hell are you reading that for? Why are you at work?"

"Because I am the FBI Profiler assigned to this case, Booth. I have a job to do."

'God I forget how much he has in common with Bones sometimes, especially a talent for shoving things down.' Booth thought. "Sweets, I told you not to come back until the 1st."

"I know you did, but I am needed. Besides, all I would do is sit at home and either be smothered by my roommates or think and I don't have the time to do either."

"Sweets, you have the right to grieve. You need to grieve."

"I did. I saw her….I talked…I talked to her at the hospital. Now, I need to get the asshole."

"I wanted to let you know the service is at noon tomorrow in Hagerstown. Want to ride with me and Wendell?" Booth asked.

"I'm not going."

Booth almost spit out the coffee he was drinking. "What? What the hell are you talking about? Of course you're going."

"No, Booth, I'm not. I need to help with this case. I don't have time to go to the service."

"Bullshit, Sweets."

"What do you mean 'bullshit?"

"You heard me, kid. None of us have time, either, but we are going to pay our respects to Agent Sparling anyway. I want the real reason you're not coming."

"I already saw her, Booth. I'm good."

Booth knew he was lying. Getting up, he walked around his desk until he was sitting on the edge in front of the profiler.

"Sweets, you are not good. Olivia was someone you cared deeply for, not just a fuck buddy. Look at you! You haven't slept and you look like shit! You look worse than you did when you were sleeping in your office."

"Thanks, Booth." Sweet said snidely

"Sweets, you loved her. She was taken in a violent way and now she's dead. Trust me when I say this. Avoiding your feelings is not going to make it go away."

"Seemed to work for you when your dad died."

Booth inhaled the retort, knowing he was only speaking out of anger and unresolved grief. "Yeah, I blew it off at first, but I wasn't fine. Bones made me deal with my feelings of sadness, anger, frustration. I'm telling you, you need to say your goodbyes to her, see her one last time before she's gone forever. Do you want the last time you see her to be what you saw in the hospital...all covered in blood, damage, and medical smells?"

"I said I'm fine, Booth! Get off my back!"

Booth knew when to quit. "Okay, Sweets. Your choice.

The agent walked back to his chair and sat down. Taking a drink from his coffee, he changed the subject. "By the way, we have the okay to move back into the house tonight. Luckily the damage was contained to one room and part of the hallway. Bones and I are going to be sleeping in the guest room until the repairs are done. Emma is going to continue to sleep in Bones' office and the kids will be back in their rooms."

"I'm glad for you, Booth, but why are you telling me this?"

"I'm telling you because if you want to come stay with us for a few days, it's fine. You would have to bunk on the couch or man cave."

"It's okay, Booth. I'll be fine." Sweets understood the message and appreciated it, but wanted to move on. He got up and took the Pelant file before Booth could snag it. "I've got to go. I have work to do."

Shaw appeared in the entry way and knocked. "Hey Sweets."

"Hey." Sweets muttered as he walked out the door.

The younger agent watched him for a moment before turning to her supervisor. "Agent Booth, you wanted to see me?"

Booth put away his concerns for Sweets for a moment. "Yeah, Shaw, come on in. Close the door."

When she sat down, Booth sat back. "I wanted to see how you were doing. I know you have restrictions but it's good to see you."

"Yeah, I can't be out in the field for at least nine weeks per the surgeon. He said I can do things here in the office."

"You can, and you will. No field work until cleared by the surgeon, all right?"

"Sure, sir." She pulled out the folder she had. "I did the check you wanted on Zane Reynolds. There was a sealed record, but Ms. Julian was able to get it opened."

Booth took the file from his subordinate. "Thanks, Shaw. What did you find out?"

"He was arrested for sexual battery of a classmate in Loudoun County when he was 16. The charges were dropped due to the victim dropping her complaint. May I ask why you are looking into Zane Reynolds again now that he's dead? I thought we did a check on him when he was arrested."

"We did, but apparently when it was done it was federal only by mistake."

"Was there a connection with Pelant?" Shaw asked, puzzled.

"No, there's not physically, but there was computer equipment in Reynolds' house. I think Pelant pulled what he did a few months ago with Agent Samuels' daughter."

Suddenly the phone rang. "Booth….Hodgins…what did you find?"

"I'm glad Flynn held onto that marigold because it gave me just enough DNA to compare to this shirt piece."

"Hodgins."

"It's a match. Christopher Pelant's sweat is on this piece. You got the son of a bitch. Now get him, Booth."

"You are the king of the lab, Hodgins." He hung up the phone and looked to his junior agent. "Pelant finally screwed up. His DNA was on the fabric Perotta gave to me when he found her."

"What do you need from me, sir?"

"The phone company had no record of the call to Reynolds' place, but there's got to be something out there. Comb any financial records you can of Pelant and with Zane Reynolds. Also any medical records….driving records, you name it. We've got to find him. He took Perotta because they thought she was Bones. She's the target."

"You got it, sir."

The phone rang again and Booth picked it up. "Cam, what's up...Bang stick, huh? That's no surprise. I'm glad the fire department got there when they did or else there wouldn't have been much to autopsy or draw DNA from. What about the other thing?"

Booth's face fell. "Damn. I was hoping it was just a suspicion, but now it's a fact. Yeah, thanks Cam."

He hung up his phone and became eerily silent. "That was Cam. Pelant stuck with his M.O. A bang stick turned Reynolds' body into sirloin, but they were able to determine it went through in a upward thrust and were able to collect DNA. As for the underwear found in the van, it contained two DNA profiles. One was Reynolds."

Genny put two and two together. "The other one was Agent Perotta."

"Yeah."

"Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?"

"Yeah." Booth asked, needing to push the guilt he was feeling about Perotta down. "How are things with you and Wendell?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Come on, Shaw. He's crazy about you."

Genny got excited for a moment, but then fear rose in her like bile. "No he's not. He's just a friend. Plus he's been great with Danny through Big Brothers Big Sisters."

"Shaw, I saw the flowers he gave you. They were not cheap."

"He was trying to be nice, Agent Booth."

"I knew a couple of them, but I asked Bones about the others. Here's what she said about them."

Booth pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and opened it. "The yellow rose means friendship. The pink carnation means love of a woman. The gardenia means that the recipient is loved and lovely to the giver. The lavender heather means admiration and solitude. The blue iris means faith and hope and the gladiola means strength of character."

He folded the paper back up and placed it in his pocket. "I know for a fact that those flowers put a dent in his budget." Before Shaw could say anything else, he put his hand up to stop her. "I'm not going to push. I'm just saying that Wendell's a good guy. He's loyal, trustworthy….a bit rash, but with good intentions. To top all that off, he's one hell of a hockey player. From what I've seen, he's a good friend to have in a pinch."

He got up and grabbed his phone and keys from the desk. "I'm heading back to the hospital to see Bones, then I'm picking up the kids and Emma and we are going home tonight. Keep me posted, okay?"

"Sure, sir." she said as he left his office. When he was out of view, she walked over to her desk and sat, contemplating.

Bones, are you sure you're going to be okay tonight?" Booth was feeling less confident about staying at home as he got to the hospital.

"Booth, I'm fine. The kids need to be home. Hodgins and Angela have been generous, but they need to establish a pattern. Plus Russ and Amy have enough to worry about with Hayley. I don't want to send Emma home unless absolutely necessary."

"Why, Bones? I don't mind her being here, but you pushed Russ for her to stay here this summer when Hayley got sicker. Why?"

Brennan took his hand. "Booth, at her age, I was abandoned and shuffled between different foster homes. Russ and Amy don't mean to, but with Hayley sick, Emma gets lost in the shuffle. I want her to have a sense of belonging before she goes back home. Do you understand?"

Booth nodded. "You're right, Bones. I should have realized. Um, I have to tell you something."

Brennan inhaled. "I think I have something to tell you, too."

"You go first, Bones."

"No, you Booth."

"No Bones, you."

"You, Booth"

"How about together, Bones?"

"Okay, Booth"

Both inhaled and spit their news out at the same time.

"I invited Sweets to stay with us for a few days."

"My publicist saw my wedding ring and knows we're married."

When the other's news sunk in, both reacted.

"Again, Booth?"

"Great, Bones, at least she doesn't know you're pregnant, right?"

Bones acted first. "Booth do we have the room?"

"No and no. He would have to either sleep in the man cave or the couch. As for the other thing, he's in denial. He's not going to the service tomorrow."

"Booth….is he going to be okay if he doesn't go? He was here earlier and looked so…sad. I can go with you instead."

"No, Bones, he needs to grieve, not shut it away with work and no you can't go. I talked to your doctor and he said you can maybe go home tomorrow evening but only to bed rest for the next few weeks as a precaution for the baby."

Waiting for her blow up he expected, he got nothing. "You're not yelling at me for talking to your doctor before you. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Booth." Brennan sat for a few seconds before inhaling and continuing. "I am just realizing with all that is going on that you asking my doctor was something you did for me and I appreciate it."

"Okay…so about our marriage. What do you want to do?"

"Well, Booth, we kept it a secret because of Pelant, but he obviously knows now and…he's going to come after us either way, so we might as well pour the beans."

Booth sat on the bed next to his wife and laughed for a moment. "That's spill the beans and okay, call your publicist and tell her it's all right to announce it on the six o'clock news. I'm sure she's dying to."

"Okay, I will" Brennan hesitated for a moment, still unsure how to feel about the person in question. "How's Agent Perotta?"

"The same. States she doesn't know what happened, but her DNA was found on the panties we found in the van with Reynolds' DNA."

"Do you believe her?"

"No, I don't Bones. She may not remember specifics, but at the least, she suspects what happened. I can feel it."

"Did Mr. Reynolds have a history?"

"He did all right. I checked the previous case and the bruising was similar. She needs to tell us what happened, Bones. If we get Pelant we can charge him as an accessory. She needs to deal with this."

"You can't force her, Booth. Not until she's ready but she may never be."

Brennan thought about times at her foster homes. Someday, Brennan would have a conversation with Booth. He knew a few things, but not all of it, things she's never told anyone. 'Someday'

Coming back from her thoughts, she thought she had an idea of why Booth was so determined for Perotta to remember. "Booth, I know how you feel about justice, but you are taking what happened to Agent Perotta hard. Why?"

"Bones, an agent was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and almost murdered by a madman. I take that personally."

Brennan knew that wasn't the whole truth. "Booth, what happened was not your fault."

Booth blanched as what his wife said struck a nerve. "Of course it's not my fault. I didn't do it."

"But you blame yourself for what happened to her."

"No, I don't, Bones."

"Booth you do. You feel like it's your fault she was attacked because she was the one you assigned to be the decoy. You assigned her that role because she looked similar to me and because of what she did at our house, didn't you?"

Not hearing a reply, Brennan continued. "Booth, you couldn't have known that Reynolds was involved with Pelant or that he would make the agent guarding the room sick so he would not be outside it. Through a clerical error, you didn't know he had a history of sexual assault. Perotta made the choice to break into our house all on her own and crossed a line. Her actions needed to be dealt with. You are her supervisor and you chose to give this assignment to her, a logical choice."

Booth knew his wife she said made sense. "I know, Bones."

"Good. Now stop blaming yourself for what happened. She has to come to terms with it in her own way." Looking to change the subject, Brennan moved quickly. "You said that Hodgins found Pelant's DNA on the material she found."

"Yeah, Bones. What's that thing you called his ego? The thing you said would let us get him?"

"Hubris."

"Yeah, his hubris…man's not so smart without his computers, is he?" He smiled at his wife. "Okay, Bones. If you promise you're going to be fine, I'll get the kids and take them home."

Brennan reached out and kissed her husband goodbye. "Don't forget to bring me some breakfast from the diner tomorrow before you leave for Maryland. The food here is terrible."

Booth smiled. "Yes, my dear, I promise."

Aaaahhh, I love when the muse lets my chapters end on a high note;)