"OK, so what are we going do about this guy?" Russ asked, leaning his elbows on the table as Booth finished his pie. "I don't know. That's kinda why I called the two of you," Booth stated, looking back and forth between Russ and Max. "Does she know yet?" Max inquired. "No, and I don't want her to, mainly because I don't know how she would react. Basically, I don't know if I'll have to arrest her for the assault of a federal agent, or if she will decide he's worth another chance," Booth said, with a pained expression on his face for the last bit. Max adopted a thoughtful, if slightly devious, expression as he began formulating a plan. "What are you thinking?" Booth asked with a slightly suspicious and apprehensive tone to his voice. "Oh, nothing much, just wandering down memory lane…" Booth continued to look at Max suspiciously, and was about to begin interrogating him when Russ, having recognized his father's expression, jumped in to distract Booth. "So, how's Parker been lately….?"

*Flashback* 8 hours previously

" Sir, now is not a good time for me to go on an assignment," Booth protested as vehemently and respectfully as he could. "Well I'm sorry if this assignment has come at an inopportune time, Agent Booth, but you're the best man for the job, and it is extremely important that this case is NOT screwed up," Agent Cullen declared, using his characteristic tones of sarcasm and authority. "Maybe if you don't want so many assignments, you shouldn't be so dmn good at your job." Booth sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument. "What is the assignment?" Booth asked through gritted teeth. Cullen brushed that aside with a wave of his hand. "That's not important, we'll get to that later. What I wanted to talk about to you know was you somehow convincing Dr. Brennan to work with someone else while you're gone." Booth had opened his mouth to point out that NO ONE made Dr. Temperance Brennan do something she didn't want to do, but was cut off by Cullen saying "I know, I know she won't do anything if she doesn't want to, but you do have some pull with her, plus I'm going to assign someone who has previous experience working with her." It took Booth a second to realize what Cullen said, but once he did his heart started racing and he started to panic. "Who are you talking about?"

"Well, Agent Sullivan, of course. They worked together well for that one case, and I think that they would do well again if we paired them back up," Cullen said, slightly confused as to why Booth was freaking out. "He's back? When did he get back? I thought he was gone!" "Well, he actually came back very soon after he had left, and asked to be reassigned elsewhere. He got an assignment out of the country and just recently got back." Booth sat back in his chair, trying to determine how Bones would react to this new development. He was more than slightly worried when he realized he had absolutely no clue how she would react. Normally, he would say that she would not want to see Sully, but one of the things he loves about his Bones is that she is unpredictable. She could do anything from punching his lights out to agreeing to date him again. Having come to a decision, Booth leaned forward and said, "Look, I will try to convince her, but I'm not entirely sure that she will be cooperative. What would happen if she refused to work with him?" Cullen pondered this for a minute, then said, "Well, since Dr. Brennan is invaluable to this agency, I would allow you to work with her and send Agent Sullivan on this assignment instead. However, I would prefer that I didn't have to do that. In the strictest confidence, you are the better agent. I think that you should be the one to take this assignment. But for now, you should try to convince Dr. Brennan to be cooperative and work with Agent Sullivan." Booth took this as a dismissal and left, fighting internally with himself, because his dedication to his job made him want this assignment, because he wanted to serve his country and be absolutely sure of the success of the mission, but he really didn't want to leave Bones, especially in the hands of Sully.