Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone who's been reviewing. The last chapter was definitely one of my favorites thus far to write, character and story development wise. This one isn't as high up, but there are some important goings on, so I hope you'll enjoy it.

Reviews are amazing and will be what gets me through this Bonesless hiatus. I plan on watching my s1 DVDs and whatever Fox decides to give us but still...reviews are amazing. :)


When Brennan first heard the crying, she froze for a moment unsure of what to do. Amy had just gone outside to help Haley fix her bike and Russ hadn't come home from work yet, leaving her as the only one who could help the baby. The idea scared her a little, but hearing her nephew crying was something she couldn't bring herself to tolerate. After picking him up from his crib, she gently rocked him side by side and listened on as his crying continued.

Brennan frowned and felt confused as panic rose within her. She had seen Russ pick him up before and do what she was doing and Ryan was quiet almost immediately, so what was the problem? Thinking about calling Amy back in for assistance, Brennan walked to the window, but what she found was mother and daughters all hovering around Haley's bicycle. "Shh..." She whispered before stroking his cheek. "You'll be fine."

The words sounded empty and hollow in her ears, but suddenly they were working. Rocking him back and forth, Brennan made sure his head was supported, and she kept talking to him, only half-listening to the words leaving her mouth.

"-just fine. The statistical probability of it not being true is significantly low." She said and smiled. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Ryan responded by simply gazing up at her, his tiny hand clenched around one of her fingers. He whimpered and cried out a few more times before settling down.

Brennan smiled and felt happy, because at least in doing this she felt useful. Not to say she didn't think she had a purpose any longer, because she knew she absolutely did, but this was something she could feel sure about. Her eyes caught something moving in the doorway and she turned her head. "Oh, I'm sorry. I knew you were outside and I heard him crying. I just figured the appropriate thing to do was help."

Amy smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you, Tempe. I can see you're doing just fine. Actually, he's probably hungry. Would you like to feed him his bottle?"

Brennan swallowed hard before looking down at the baby she was cradling in her arms. Truthfully, she had simply acted out of logic; the baby was crying and required comfort, so she was the one to offer it. She'd never been that great with children, and yet Amy was asking her to try.

Seeing the slight look of worry on Brennan's face, Amy laughed a little and took Ryan into her own arms. "You don't have to worry, Ryan's a strong boy. I know it feels a little overwhelming at first and you're not sure of what to do, but see-" She paused as Ryan refused to loosen his grip on Brennan's finger. "He already likes you."

"That is completely-" Brennan opened her mouth to say the idea that you could judge whether or not someone liked you by a simple touch was ridiculous, but when she looked into the smaller eyes of her nephew, she knew even if the idea seemed off-base that she wanted it to be true.

While the girls were in the living room watching television, Brennan settled at the table with Ryan and his bottle as Amy moved things around and started on dinner. "Are you sure there's nothing I could help with?" Brennan offered, though by judging how efficiently Amy was moving around on her own, she assumed there wasn't.

Amy turned from her position at the counter and paused her cutting of the vegetables. Dinner wasn't something she had a lot of time to plan over, much less time to actually make, and she was glad Brennan was there to at least offer to help. "You're helping the little man out right there, so thank you. Russ should be home before too long. I'm guessing he's told you, but he's planning on taking the rest of the week off. He had vacation hours piling up anyway and they were asking him to take them."

She felt touched that he would care so much, but also a little guilty for making him feel obligated. Rather than replying, Brennan went back to checking and making sure the bottle was placed properly and that Ryan was nestled comfortably. Now that she was actually taking care of him, she realized it wasn't quite hard at all. Figuring out the problem was at the core of the issue, but if you could go that far, giving him what he needed wasn't hald as difficult, or at least that was the conclusion she had come to. Ryan was different though, because he wasn't able to walk or talk yet, and as such, it was like having a one-sided conversation. There was something calming in holding him and watching as he drank too, and it was that small comfort she took pride in.


Booth's hands clutched tightly around his coffee mug as he felt the eyes of the person sitting across from him bore a hole into his skull.

"With all due respect Agent Booth, since you were the one who requested this meeting I assumed you'd be starting the conversation." Sweets spoke with so much patience he was sure it would make Booth upset, but instead he watched in interest as he simply picked up and stirred a spoon in his coffee.

Sweets was right, even if it wasn't something he would ever admit it aloud. "How's the lecture planning going?"

"Quite well, actually. I was working when you called. Why do I get the feeling that isn't why you called me?" Sweets asked. He knew the reason, or at least the source of it, but was waiting for Booth to share his feelings when he felt comfortable. "I'm pleased that you would even ask me, by the way. It makes me feel as if the trust we had before I left is even stronger. Perhaps you'd like to-" Sweets stopped when Booth's eyes rose to match his. It was better to not push the issue.

Booth set his spoon down on the napkin and rejoined his hands against the hot sides of his cup. Truthfully, he wasn't sure of the specific reason he called Sweets. He could have talked about it with Angela, or Cam, or even Hodgins for that matter. They were the ones who got it, who knew what he was going through. Sweets on the other hand was someone who was planning to at least try and help, so he figured it was only fair he knew what had happened. "Bones knows the truth. She found her wedding ring in her belongings from the hospital, something I was stupid enough to forget, and now she knows."

"That's good, right? Now that she knows the truth, you'll be able to help her on a much more personal level." Sweets replied, though he was still sounding too enthusiastic. When he saw Booth shake his head, all of that hope was suddenly deflated. The defeated look in the other man's eyes was something he'd only seen on rare occasions before. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Booth replied with a shrug. "I don't want this to be something we just hash out over the phone, but she's refusing to come back before the planned ending of her trip. To be honest, I can't really say I blame her." He shook his head before bringing the coffee mug to his lips and taking a sip. The strong scent overwhelmed his senses for a moment, and he closed his eyes. Sounds of the diner and people talking reached him, but for a moment he was able to relax. "I've got this case as it is, and this isn't something I wanna just schedule in time for. We need to talk it through."

"You're afraid this isn't something she wants." Sweets said. He didn't ask because he knew it was the truth. In the time he spent as their therapist, Brennan's views on marriage had come up more than once, and it was always the same. An archaic institution, something that wasn't needed to prove commitment. She was her own stubborn independent woman and they both knew that, but Booth had somehow been able to change her mind. "You're afraid that she'll do something before all the memories come back and she changes her mind."

Booth set the cup down hard enough to make his spoon do a little jump. The idea that Brennan could be so completely against the idea was something that hadn't escaped his thoughts, but it was something he was trying to avoid. "All I want to do is make sure she gets better, Sweets. If when all of her memories return she decides this isn't what she wants, I'm not going to force her. If she doesn't remember, I don't know what I plan to do. The point I'm trying to get at-the reason I asked you here- is because I know you're interested in helping her as well."

"You do realize I can't discuss patients and their progress, correct?" Sweets asked. He knew he'd probably bend the rules if it came down to really helping them, but at this point no progress had really been made.

Booth nodded and clasped his hands together. "Yeah, of course I do. I just want to make sure that you have Bones' best interests at hand. I don't want you trying to psycho...whatever her, and try and make sure she ends up wanting what we have. Okay?" He sighed before staring down at his hands. He knew what he was telling Sweets and knew there was a chance Brennan might not want what he had to offer. It wasn't going to stop him from trying to help her and make her happy. "I love her, Sweets. I really do, but she needs to make her own decision about this. I know that."

Sweets knew in that moment that he had to make it all work, had to make sure whatever he tried help Brennan somehow. He just hoped it wouldn't somehow change her mind about the man sitting across from him, because even if he left town before anything substantial happened between them, he knew just as well that there was something special between them. "I'll try me best, Agent Booth. Now, you said you had a case."

The sound of Booth's phone ringing interrupted their conversation. "Booth." He replied. "Really? Thank you...yes, I'll be on my way. Absolutely."

"You're leaving?" Sweets asked in surprise.

Booth downed the rest of the coffee and pulled some money from his wallet. He placed in on the table before standing. "That's the case you were just talking about. Our prime suspect was just spotted. He's been evading us all week, so I really gotta hurry." He slapped Sweets on the shoulder. "Have some pie on me."


As it turned out, while Ryan had been hungry and needed the bottle, his crying and general attitude continued. A visit to the doctor two days later revealed the reason. An ear infection, which had also been the cause of his fever that had spiked overnight. They caught the infection in time for proper medications, and had been lucky enough that Russ was planning on taking off the time anyway. Amy came home early when she could, but usually ended up being the one helping at night; it was a compromise they were willing to make.

Brennan helped as much as she could, and as it turned out, Russ was out picking up his medication when there was a knock at the door. With Ryan poised carefully in her arms, she frowned. They hadn't mentioned anyone coming by, but she supposed Russ might have picked up some other thing and his arms were full. Putting Ryan down was pretty much out of the question; over the few days she was staying with her family she was finding it hard to tear herself away. Taking him with her, Brennan quickly opened the door, only to find herself standing stock still seconds later. "Booth, what are you doing here?"

He thought just for a second driving there had been a mistake, but he knew he couldn't wait and talk to her. This was still her choice, things would still go her way, but he wasn't about to let her build all the walls he worked so hard to tear down back up again. "Isn't that kind of obvious?"

Brennan shifted Ryan in her arms and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He'd driven the whole way there and wanted to speak to her, but she wasn't quite sure she was ready to speak with him. Either way, it was clear something had to be done.

His eyes shifted from hers to studying the baby in her arms. An image, a guilty yet hopeful one, flitted through his mind. Of course it wasn't real, but just for a moment it could have been. "Can I come in?"