'Sup! :)

[PLEASE READ!] Alrighty - I made a wee little mistake last chapter: I wrote 'Walter Sherman' (from The Finder) instead of Walter Crane (the victim from episode 15, "The Killer in the Crosshairs") Now, considering this IS in fact a tie-up with that episode, just so we're clear - the victim's name is Walter Crane, not Sherman!

Thanks for putting up with me guys! ;) I know, I'm horrible :P

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[DISCLAIMER] I understand that, in the past chapter and next few, that I have taken bits from the episode "The Killer in the Crosshairs", consequently because, although this story is AU, it does sort of follow on in its own sort of 'season six'. I do not own Bones, or the characters - they belong to Fox Broadcasting and Hart Hanson. This is merely used for recreational purposes.

28. Imperviousness Isn't Strength

Angela Montenegro Hogins' morning had consisted of full breakfast cooked superbly by her husband, and sorting out her plan of attack on deciphering the evidence she had on the Caultt's case. Until Hodgins had rushed into the kitchen, pulling a T-Shirt roughly over his head and cussing lowly, she had been content with following her routine - which had become pending pattern since the young female victim was discovered.

At that moment, however, she knew that her husband knew something that she didn't, and that it wasn't good news.

"Just tell me, Jack," she pressed tiredly, placing her dishes by the sink.

He dropped his shoulders defeatedly. "We have another case."

Angela placed a hand on her womb and stared at him with blank surprise. "Wh…what is it?"

Hodgins' mouth twisted. "Broadsky; Booth just called."

His wife closed her eyes, and sighed sadly. "Poor Bren."

"Why poor Bren?"

Angela looked at him. "Because she just got Booth, and unless they're stronger than they give themselves credit for…this could really really drive a wedge between them; I mean, you know how upset Booth gets whenever you bring up this guy's name..."

Jack nodded in agreement. "Okay - poor Bren. And Booth. Honey, we need to get to work though - I mean, I have to check in with Cam and then I'll have to go to the crime scene and collect my own evidence because considering that there's money involved, the FBI techs have probably left-"

"Hodgy."

"Yeah?"

"Love you to pieces, as I do, and as much as I love your insaneness for conspiracy theories…"

He pressed his lips together in a tight line, and nodded again.

"Go, babe." She leaned forward and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "I'll clean up here; you get to work."

"Angie, are sure-"

"Go." She pressed her lips to his again. "I won't be long after you."

He smiled thankfully and planted a peck on her cheek, before slinging his satchel over his shoulder, and gathering up his jacket.

Once he had departed, Angela pulled her iPone from its charger on the wall, and hit Brennan's speed-dial.

Her friend answered on the second ring. "Hey Ange - is everything okay?"

The expecting mother chuckled. "That was actually my question for you, Sweetie."

She could hear the frown in Brennan's voice, when she replied with, "But there's nothing wrong with me…"

"No, Sweetie. I mean to ask you if everything is okay; like…how are you and Booth?" Angela faintly heard the man himself question the purpose of the call to his partner as she spoke.

Brennan sighed into the line. "I…I can't talk now, Ange. I'll see you soon at the lab - we're about twenty-five minutes away."

"Well I'll probably get there a little bit before you, so…I'll meet you in your office?"

"Alright. I'll discuss it with you then."

"Okay."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

The call ended. Angela knew that her friend probably needed to vent, but, having Booth in the car meant that conversation was constricted - greatly, considering that their entire discussion would have been based around the man himself, and how Brennan was holding up. This case was bad news, and there would undoubtably already be strain on her relationship with her partner.

Anytime anybody ever discussed or dissected any part of Booth's personal life, things got complicated; that was just common knowledge, as a consequence of the man's sensitivity.

Removing the dishes that she had placed near the sink moments before, she stacked them in the dishwasher with great difficulty - courtesy to her bulging body - and then stowed away the breakfast stuffs, and wiped a wettex over the benches.

Hodgins had offered to hire a maid to clean - and, though she had refused at first, Angela had submitted as soon as she began her second trimester; she just felt constantly fatigued, and with the murders seemingly becoming more baffling - and the criminals smarter by day - there wasn't much time left in the day - nor energy - to play the perfect housewife, when she she was living for two.

As she dressed quickly for the day, her thoughts wondered over troubled tracks - back towards her friend. This was a big case, and she knew that although Brennan would refuse help, she would need it.

Deciding to pay a visit to Cam once she had had her conversation with Brennan, she departed her house with determination.

.

- ~ B&B ~ -

.

"So, what did Angela want?" Booth enquired politely after Brennan had ended her call.

Brennan went to answer, but halted, and held her tongue before the words could tip off. "Nothing," she ended up replying lightly. "She just wanted to know when I was getting in, is all."

Booth frowned. "I wish I could say you're a talented liar."

He received a furrowed brow in return.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brennan demanded.

"What did she want?" Booth repeated.

"To talk to me," Brennan fired back a little to heatedly. "She obviously has something that she wanted to discuss with me, and I thought it best not have our conversation in the car incase we breached sensitive topics that would aggravate you." She crossed her legs. "If I want to tell you about my phone calls, then by all means I will." Settle down, she chided herself. What the hell, Brennan? Are you trying to drive a wedge?

Silenced by her vent, Booth rolled his shoulders uncomfortably, and dared to catch a glimpse of her facial expression. Her eyes were dark, and her body rigid. Don't say a word, he thought, let her have it.

Brennan closed her eyes. He shouldn't have pressed for answers, another voice piped defensively in another corner of her brain.

They shot open again.

Shut up! She thought madly, staring daggers at the road ahead. It isn't his fault that Broadsky murdered someone else. He'd be more upset about it than you are. Pull your finger out. Your stronger than this. Don't let it get to you.

The remainder of the car trip existed in a cold silence. When they did pull over at the front of the Jeffersonian - after what felt like a century, Brennan - embarrassed at her outburst, but not ready to grovel an apology - wasted no time yanking the door open and stumbling out with her belongings.

"Bones," Booth delayed her, tone apologetic. "I shouldn't have pressed if I had known it was going to fire you up so much."

Turning slowly on a heel, she looked him in the eye, but didn't say a word.

"Don't leave me angry, baby," he amended softly.

She arched an eyebrow.

Booth opened his door and slipped out. Standing in front her, he took her face in his hands and kissed her. Right hand sliding down to her waist, he drew her closer to him, and smiled beneath her lips when he felt her respond. They remained in the passionate embrace for a minute or so, until they had to break apart - both too breathless to continue.

"You realise that…that only made me more annoyed with you," Brennan puffed, fighting to maintain her stubborn frown.

"Really?" His hand tightened on her torso, and he moved his other index finger to tilt her chin. "…Because it didn't seem like it did."

Her eyes dropped to her feet, and the atmosphere shifted. "I'm sorry - I guess…that I'm just expecting us to cra-"

"But we won't," he interrupted her. He touched his lips to hers - shortly and sweetly. "We're the centre, right?"

She nodded, though doubt still weighted down on her shoulders.

Pulling away from her, he walked around the front of his car and returned to the driver's seat. As she stood uselessly, watching him, he rolled down the window.

"Have lunch with me?" he asked.

She nodded absently, still light-headed from their kiss. "I'll see you then."

He smiled. "I love you."

"I know you do." She turned away. "Me too," she called over her shoulder, disappearing into the building, aware that her partner didn't leave until he saw that she was safely inside.

She knew that it was useless for him to make promises about how life would continue on normally - Booth hated breaking promises, and the demise of that one in particular would be inevitable.

Though she did enter her office deeply in thought, she could't understand why she got a fright seeing her friend sitting in her office chair. That, was an abnormality - only Booth even tried to sit in her chair.

Angela meant business.

The woman in question heaved herself out of her position, seeing the stern speculative expression her friend wore, and waved it off.

"So you couldn't talk, huh?" she twittered. "Things already that tense?"

Brennan unwrapped her scarf and settled down her things. "It's going to be a tough case, Ange. I've just got to work around it, and do the best that I can - for the both of us."

Knowing of whom her friend was referring to as the other end of 'us', she took a seat upon the couch armrest, and stared her down squarely. "Sweetie, please don't see this as being 'invasive'"- her friend used her index and middle fingers to illustrate the word - "but just promise me that you'll take care of the 'us'."

Brennan watched her blankly. "I don't know what that means."

"Nurse your relationship like a newborn baby," Angela elaborated.

The anthropologist's brows furrowed, not comprehending. "From the breast?"

The artist sighed, and laughed. "Well, Sweetie, sex does-"

"Not fix everything," Brennan finished shortly for her.

Angela waited a moment, before correcting her. "No, Sweetie," she said. "I mean that you need to really take care of the 'love' end of your partnership, because with Booth off chasing baddies and saving the world, we all don't want to see stress of it all getting in the way of you too, and I'm sure you don't either."

Brennan shook her head. "I can't afford to think like that, Angela. I love Booth, and don't mistaken me for being cold-hearted, but we have a serial killer that has a bounty on his head, and probably mine too; if I let my emotional relationship get in the way of our professional relationship, then it could ruin everything - or even worse, get us both killed."

Angela's eyes widened. "Would you rather loose Booth - emotionally - than lose your professionalism?"

"That's not what I meant. Don't twist my words."

"I'm not twisting."

Brennan clawed her head with tense fingers. "I don't want to lose Booth, Angela. Never; it would destroy me. But at the moment, I need to focus, and be objective, and solve this case…and the other case. I see no other alternative than to put my head down, and not let anything get in the way, so later on there will be nothing to get in the way. Am I making any sense?"

Angela nodded quietly.

Brennan embraced her suddenly. "I love you Angela, and…as insistent and confusing as you can be, I love that you're always looking out for me. Let's just…play it by ear."

Angela's hormonal heart welled. "Oh, Sweetie, I love you too."

"I didn't realise that this was a mother's group morning," Cam's stiff voice came from the doorway.

"But I'm not expecting…" Brennan corrected her boss. "So technically it can't be…" She drifted off, reading Cam's expression. "What's the matter?"

Cam turned. "We have a murder - that's the matter. I have a date tonight, and I'm going to have to cancel it because we have no social lives."

Brennan and Angela sympathised.

"We'll be on it right away," Angela promised, moving to exit once Brennan had retrieved her lab coat, and together the three went to the platform.

For a moment there was the snapping of latex gloves moving into place on the hands of the team, and then Brennan stepped forward and took the lead examining the remains on the gurney before them.

"Where's Mr Nigel-Murray?" Cam wondered aloud.

Angela played with the keys on the platform computer. "He was talking to his sponsor."

"Oh?" Brennan lifted her head. "What about?"

"About my behaviour," The intern answered for himself in diminished voice, as he approached them.

His mentor frowned. "But your behaviour is immaculate…?"

Vincent stared at his feet. "My sponsor wants me to stop blurting facts…but I…it helps me keep people at an emotional distance, you see, so…"

"I understand," Brennan replied quietly, commiserating with her student.

Angela and Cam watched the exchange thoughtfully, though it was their boss who broke the silence.

"Perhaps we should focus on the case?"

All reconvened around the body, and Angela disappeared to her office.

"High velocity trauma severed the victim's spinal cord," Brennan noted into her earpiece. She turned to her intern. "Could you please bring up the victim's profile, Mr Nigel-Murray?"

Complying, Vincent stepped aside so she could read.

"It says here that he was born and raised in Virginia," she mused, and turned her attention back to the bones. "…But the nitrogen levels in his bones suggest that he was a Midwesterner." She met her colleagues' concentrated stares. "This person isn't Walter Crane."

At that moment, her phone vibrated in her pocket.

One new message, from an unknown number:

IGNORANCE IS BLISS. IN YOUR CASE, SO IS NOT BEING INVOLVED.

Brennan's heart jumped in its cage.

- ~ B&B ~ -

"Waddaya mean the victim isn't Walter Crane?" Booth argued into his phone. "The record says so."

Cam sighed on the other end of the line. "Dr Brennan believes that the nitrogen levels in his bones suggest that he was raised in the Midwestern-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got that. But that just means that everything's far more complicated-" Booth cut off when his phone buzzed for another incoming call. "Hold on, Cam." He glanced at the called ID. "Hodgins is trying to get me, so I'll just come down there."

"To hear it from Dr Brennan?" Cam sounded amusemed.

Booth ended the call.

Ten minutes later, he entered the lab, only to be steered to Hodgins' room by the man himself - who was nearly bursting with excitement.

"The money is counterfeit," he blurted as soon as the agent stepped through the door. He rambled on after that for few minutes about bills being bleached and printed with high denominations.

"Hey," Brennan's small voice came from the doorway, making Booth silence Hodgins with a pat on the back and follow her out.

Booth followed her to her office, and once inside, perched himself on the edge of her desk.

"So Cam told you about what we found?" Brennan asked - though it was more of a statement, and she played with the sleeves of her lab coat as she spoke.

"Yeah." He came forward from his perch, and took her wrists in her hands. "You seem a little disturbed, baby; are you okay?"

She shrugged. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

His head cocked sideways.

His uncanny ability to read people like children's books, meant that she was an open page to him in her vulnerability.

"I'm fine," she assured him, kissing him swiftly on the cheek. "But I can't do lunch."

Booth placed his hands on his hips. "Why not?"

"I need to spend some time on the Caultts case," she explained, reaching for her notepad and a pen.

"Babe, I think this one takes preference-"

"Phoebe has a family," she replied sharply, a lump rising in her throat. "A little boy, who isn't ever going to see his mom again - and...we don't even know where he is. Her parents want her to finally come home. I need to find out the truth, Booth. I need to give her back to her family - and if that means I have to sideline a counterfeiting criminal's case in order to do that, then so be it." She made for the door - on her way to the bone room.

"Bones…" He went after her.

She stopped. "Don't tell Cam where I'm going - if she asks, tell her that I'm working on the Crane case."

"I-"

She put a finger to his lips. "Please?" Dropping the index finger, Brennan stared up into his eyes, awaiting an answer.

Defenceless against the power of her two blue gems, he breathed a reply - "Okay."

She rewarded him with a small smile. "Can you do something else for me?" Came the second request. Upon receiving a nod, she continued with, "Can you find the little boy?"

"I will." He enveloped her in his arms. "In the mean time…stay away from the windows, okay?"

Brennan sighed with resign. "They've already moved Phoebe down to Limbo; there will be no windows."

They broke apart, and he stroked her cheek like it were the most delicate china he had ever beheld.

Turning, they went their separate ways.

Booth waited until he was sure his partner was well on her way, before walking in the direction of Cam's office. Wrapping on the door, he mentally apologised to Brennan.

I'm sorry, Bones - but I have to take care of you.

Cam looked up from her work at the computer. "Hey Seeley - what's up?"

Booth - out of habit - rolled his shoulders, which she knew was an indicator of him being under some form of stress or discomfort.

"Where's Dr Brennan?" she piped, trying to spark an explanation for his visit.

The agent shoved his hands in his pockets. "You're Bones' boss…"

Cam furrowed a brow in confusion at the course of direction he had taken. "Last I checked."

"Is there any way to…lighten her work load?"

Cam folded her arms across her chest. "What do you mean by 'lighten'?"

He shrugged. "I don't know-"

"I do," Cam interrupted him, standing.

Booth's eyebrows jutted skywards. "You do?"

She nodded with a grim smile. "Angela visited me this morning, asking for the same thing - she believes that Brennan is going to go overboard."

"Well, I know I say to her that I felt like we haven't done as much on the Caultts case, but in theory it's a pretty dry case anyway, so I guess it doesn't mean we've worked any less…anyway, and now she's…"

"Trying to work both - and you're afraid that she's going to overload?"

Booth nodded.

Cam moved closer to him. "I have a solution…but she's not going to like it."

Booth frowned. "What is it?"

The woman before him exhaled as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. "I need you to have my back on this one, Seeley. I know you love her, but she isn't going to like this at all - even though it's what's best for her."

Booth hesitated, and then extended his hand.

Clasping it, Cam told him.

Uh oh. What's the deal? :O

Sorry for keeping you waiting on another chapter, guys, RL is bloody busy. Anyways, this chapter was originally much longer, but I cut it down by half - my program doesn't have word count, so I only know how much I've written when I chuck it on this website. :S! Thank you to all who reviewed for last chapter (especially alexindigo - you know I couldn't get by without your support!) - I really appreciate it! - and also to the favs/alerts - you make me smile, guys!

Please be gems and drop me a review - don't read and run! I'll update as soon as I can -

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