A/N: Thanks for all your support and I do apologize that I am updating slower. I have four other stories I am balancing plus the holiday...wow! I am writing the final chapters to this story. I am thankful for your support so I will take my time to write a worthy climax. Thanks again.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones but being the middle of DB and TJT sandwich would be nice.

Two days later, Genny arrived at work tired but focused. She ended up staying home yesterday and Wendell brought Danny home when he noticed he wasn't feeling well. It wasn't intentional, but he ended up staying to watch the Orioles game. They were up until after two o'clock talking before they realized the time. She felt bad as Wendell had to be at the lab at eight but he told her not to worry about it.

As she neared the elevator in the garage, Wendell kept popping up in her mind. He was a jock who she discovered last night also liked the Marx Brothers and shared her secret love of Boy Meets World and Man from UNCLE. He got into anthropology originally because he was fascinated by bone damage done by sports and enjoyed challenging puzzles, but after working with Dr. Brennan he wants to focus on the forensic side. He was someone she never knew growing up….a cute jock with a brain, a heart, and who treated people like he wanted to be treated. He could have run circles around the guys she knew….even around Danny's father.

'God what the hell am I thinking? I don't have time for love or sex. I have a five year old son to raise. Romance is a fantasy for someone like me, a single mother with so-so looks. You let people in, you get hurt.'

The elevator door was almost closed when Agent Thompson raced in. "Hey there, Shaw. How's your bum arm? Probably not much use to Booth now, are you?"

Genny was no t in the mood for Thompson but felt bitchy enough to respond. When they arrived at their floor, she waited for the door to open and was happy to see two agent waiting as she turned around. "Hey there, Thompson. How's the new adult diaper working out? We sure know that restrooms aren't always much use for you, are they?"

Shaw saw Thompson's face turn red in humiliation as the other agents laughed. Heading to her desk, she saw who was at the desk next to her. Storming the short distance over, she slammed her purse down. "What the hell are you doing here? Haven't you done enough?"

Perotta looked up. "I'm here to work, Agent Shaw. Agent Booth asked us to work together going through Reynolds' and Pelant's records to see if we can find his location. I've started Pelant's if you want to go over Reynolds, then we can switch so each have a pair of fresh eyes."

Shaw knew that it was petty, but couldn't help herself as anger rose up. "You have no right to be here, Perotta. You should be the one dead, not Olivia."

Perotta didn't have the heart to fight with her as the news she received ten minutes earlier was tearing her up inside. Hearing an alarm sound on her phone, she reached into her purse and pulled a large pill out of a bottle. Chasing the medication with coffee, she set everything back in her drawer. "Whatever Shaw. I'm here to do work. You do whatever, but Booth wanted us to work together."

She felt a moment of sympathy for Perotta as her distress was obvious, but she quickly pushed down as her pain over Olivia's death overcame her. "Give me Pelant's file. You can have the asshole Reynolds."

The thought of seeing Reynolds' picture made vomit take hold in her stomach, but Perotta was determined to get passed it. Closing the Pelant file, she dropped in on Shaw's desk and picked up the other file. "Whatever. Let's just get our jobs done. We need to get this son of a bitch off the streets."

Seeing that she was essentially dismissed, Shaw thumped down in her seat along with slamming her coffee mug down. It was bad enough to see the other agent here, but her not snarking back like in the past infuriated her even more. Opening the file, the two agents worked in silence.

From his office, Booth watched the two agents as they went to their neutral corners. He didn't know what was said, but he noted the impassive look of Perotta in contrast to the obviously annoyed face of Shaw. He saw they were playing nice, so he got back to his work.

Booth was only working half days for the next few days unless something came up. He wanted to be home with Bones, plus he didn't want to leave her or the kids without protection, so unless an agent or Max was with them, he was going to be at home. Hacker balked, but Cullen backed him up.

Cullen also let him choose the detail to stay at the house. He would have preferred Shaw but she wasn't 100%. Agent Thompson was not only still on his shit list, but he was extremely annoyed with the slap on the wrist he got from the Disciplinary Committee for his stunt at the hospital. However, the committee was headed by Hacker and Thompson was one of his pets. He finally chose Charlie because he trusted him with his family's lives.

Brennan wasn't happy about the FBI detail and Booth's half days and expressed it vocally at breakfast the last two days. She hated being hovered over and knew how to use a gun. It took some convincing, but he pointed out that she had an injured ankle and arm as well as her pregnancy. After giving her the two options of the detail or him being with her 24/7, Brennan agreed to the FBI.

Glancing at his phone, he began to think about the phone call he got from Cam about thirty minutes ago. She re-ran a test she did on Zane Reynolds and the new results stunned the agent as she revealed that the deceased piece of shit was HIV positive. Calling Perotta to his office, he gave her the news. Perotta took the news stoically before leaving the office. He did know that she was taking an PEP drug as a precaution, but it was only for twenty four hours since Reynolds initially tested negative. Cam wrote a prescription for another antiretroviral for twenty eight days and was arranging for it to be delivered shortly as a favor to him.

He watched as Cam herself walked into the bullpen and went to Perotta's desk. He said a silent prayer for her as he prayed to his God to not make her Pelant's next victim.

Brennan laid on the living room sofa typing on her laptop. Since she was stuck at home, she was able to complete three more chapters of her newest novel Bones of the Lost. However, Booth was going to stop by the Jeffersonian and bring her home work to do that Cam was able to get together for her. He would be with her every afternoon for the next two weeks or until Pelant was caught. As much as she loved her husband, the thought set her teeth on edge. She spent almost all of her time with Booth, including their work. Being home from work was nice when she wanted to be. Being stuck at home with Booth hovering over her was not going to be pleasant. She argued that she could defend herself, an unborn child, and three minor children just fine.

Max came into the room to check on Tempe and saw that his daughter was about to explode. He figured that someone was going to be the brunt of her anger. 'I'll give Booth a break and take one for the team'

He grabbed her slippers from the floor nearby along with a large fleece blanket. He walked up to his daughter, who was still engrossed in her novel. "Tempe, this floor could be slippery past the rug. Here, I'll put your other slipper on."

"Dad I don't need a slipper. I'm fine." To her surprise, Max dropped the fleece blanket in a bundle next to the couch and walked over to do it anyway. "Dad, what the—"

"You're still my daughter, so deal with it. What can I get you?"

Brennan felt her patience hanging by a thread. "I'm fine, Dad. Why don't you see if the children need anything?"

"They're fine. Parker is watching the Discovery Channel, Emma is reading something on your IPad, and Christine is down for her morning nap. So I will now take care of you."

"You sound just like Booth. I do not need a babysitter. I can use the restroom and get a snack on my own in the kitchen. I can take of my ankle and arm without anyone's help and I sure as hell don't need someone hover over me and my children! I can protect them against Christopher Pelant. I am a black belt in karate and I am an excellent shot."

"Okay, Tempe. You're right…..I'm just being an overprotective dad."

Brennan was relieved. "Thank you for understanding."

"Of course."

When he walked away, she went back to her book. She was engrossed when she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She attempted an easy take down but with her left arm in a splint she could only struggle. Her wrapped ankle betrayed her as it was stuck in the cushion, a habit she had when lying on it. Suddenly she was let go. Turing around, she saw her father standing behind the couch with his arms crossed.

"Dad! What the hell!"

He came around and faced his daughter. "That, Temperance, was to make a point. What would you have done if that was Pelant instead of me? You broke free because I let you go. You couldn't get off the couch quickly enough to respond. Pelant would have killed you and then got the kids. Booth would then come home and find you all dead. Is that what you want? To prove yourself so badly you would give your trust in pride instead of accepting help from people who care about you?"

"I could have got Pelant..." but the words came out unconvincingly. Her father's words echoed as she realized that if she was the only one here there was no way she could get to the children quickly enough and take him down with her injuries and pregnancy. All of these feelings reminded of how she felt when she was on the run a year ago….weak….small….helpless.

When Max saw his daughter begin to cry, he sat down, took her in his arms, and rubbed her back like he did when she was a child. "Shhhh, it's okay, Tempe. I know you hate feeling weak, but accepting help is okay. No one will be able to put Pelant's head on a platter alone you know….not even Booth."

Brennan suddenly felt herself becoming very emotional. "I'm such a bad wife…I get angry when my husband wants to make sure I'm taken care of."

Max recognized pregnancy hormones and just let her cry. "Enough of that shit. You're not a bad wife. You're Booth's dream come true. The schmuck has loved you all these years and I don't see that changing anytime soon."

At that moment, Booth came in with a pile of files. "Bones, Cam hooked you up with—what the hell, Max?" Running over, he dumped the files on the table and took his wife in his arms. "Bones, what's wrong?"

"I'm selfish and mean…..I got mad when you just wanted to protect me….I'm a horrible wife." Brennan got out before crying again.

'God, I forgot how pregnancy hormones made Bones' Booth thought. "Bones, you're been a terrific partner, girlfriend, mother, and wife. Nothing could change that for me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am." He moved out of the embrace and grabbed Brennan's laptop. "I've got some work for you from Cam, plus she arranged for a video link to assist Wendell and the other interns with the Pelant case when you are needed."

Max saw that his presence was no longer required. "Well, I have some things to do, so I will leave you two. Same time tomorrow, Booth?"

"Sounds good. Thanks, Max." After his father-in-law left, Booth kicked his shoes off and relaxed. "So how are you and the baby feeling today?"

"I'm feeling fine, Booth. The fetus as far as I know is fine. He or she can't tell me how it feels, Booth. It's too early to tell that."

"Okay, Bones." He kissed the top of her head and they sat in silence.

Brennan felt the pregnant silence and it wasn't one of relaxation. Turning to her husband, she saw the worry in his eyes. "Booth, what's wrong? It can't just be worry about me and the baby."

He inhaled for a moment, but wasn't surprised that she picked up on his tension. "Zane Reynolds had HIV."

Stunned, Brennan was quiet for a moment. "I thought Cam already tested him for that and it was negative."

"Cam felt the results may have been compromised so she ran them again. She got the results this morning and called me."

"Does she—"

"Yes, Bones, I told her this morning. She had no emotion and she didn't tell me what really happened. She just...went back to her work...probably the only way she could process the news. Cam updated her medication and brought it to her quietly." Booth sighed. "I was there a while longer, but with all this going on, I just wanted to be home with my family. I figure I can make us lunch later."

"I would like that, too, Booth." Brennan said before she curled up next to her husband with her legs propped up on Booth.