Author's Note: Next chapter. I realized the last time I posted that I have officially passed the one-year mark in how long I've been posting fics to this site. According to my stats, I have posted over half a million words to this site in about a year. I'll admit that I was stunned to see that. It's been a lot of fun posting all those fics though, and I'm hoping the next half a million will be just as much fun. :)

I do not own Bones or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :)

Rankor01: I always did love how Angela really got into the death metal during Mayhem...and the idea that Sweets was so entrenched into that world has been constantly intriguing to me. So that was fun to add. And you bring up something that I'm surprised isn't explored by canon (or maybe I shouldn't be surprised): the idea that Sweets' youth would be an issue with other agents of the Bureau. I can't see everyone being as accepting of Sweets as Booth and the Jeffersonian gang for that very reason. I did touch on it very briefly in one of my other fics (The One in a Thousand), but it's something I wish could be explored further. Who knows, it might at some point...;)

Nertooold54: Thank you. I've always understood crackfic to be something that's totally outlandish as far as execution or plot in relation to canon. So, things like a whole story playing out like a musical, or having a fic take place in medieval times or changing one of the characters into a little kid (which I sort of did here) could qualify as crackfic for Bones. Usually crackfic tends to be humorous. I'm saying mine's semi-crack because I'm still trying to hold to canon for the most part, and I'm throwing in some angst with the humor. But still, it's pretty crazy. I hope you enjoy the rest of it though. :)

Lives in the now: Thank you. I was wanting to make this a little more humorous since I tend to be pretty heavy on the angst. And you bring up an excellent point: it's easy to forget that Booth is actually a pretty smart guy since he plays dumb so often either to throw witnesses/suspects off or for the benefit of everyone at the Jeffersonian. So far, I've only seen Wyatt and Angela call him on it. I see Booth as one of these people who actually have a lot going on inside them so it's interesting to try to imagine his thoughts.

D: I'm not entirely sure myself when Booth and Jared ending up moving in with their grandparents. I know they mention it in TFitF, but they never went into much detail about that. Either way though, I am very certain Booth was older than Sweets was when he was taken in by Hank. But, like you said, Sweets was still dealing with his past at twelve and in fact was working through a lot of major changes and breakthroughs in his life at this point...I agree that Booth has perhaps the most potential to relate to Sweets, but I figure there is one area Brennan can understand Sweets' viewpoint: the alienation during schooling. Both Brennan and Sweets were genius level children/teens who were surrounded by peers who didn't understand them. I've often thought that it was the basis for the friendship/respect between them...

Writerchick786: Haha, yes I could picture Sweets still being somewhat of an imprinted duckling toward B&B at this point simply because of some of their shared traits. As far as that bit where Sweets seemed disappointed, that had more to do with feeling like he was separate from the group than being disappointed at being a psychologist (whereas if he was Booth's partner or part of Brennan's team, there would be that natural expectation of some sort of bond)...And yes, I never forgot that line where Sweets admitted to having a little crush on Angela in TPitS. I can't picture him ever acting on it because of Hodgins, but then again, I think he is a little smitten (in a friendly way) with all of the women he works with...I have been known to write stories by request. My TNotM, TQotI and TTitS stories were all the result of one of my readers making a request and these crackfics were based off other people's prompts...But I do consider myself pretty weak when it comes to romance. So don't be shocked if your idea rears its head at some point...but also don't be surprised if it takes on a form you may not be expecting...

Peanutmeg: Thanks for the review and congrats on your break. :D I just hope I'll be able to update with some kind of regularity over the next couple of (busy) months. :)

Timewitch93: It was perhaps the only thing that disappointed me about the Mayhem episode: the fact that Sweets did not share any of his past with B&B and the fact that everything B&B know, they heard from Wyatt. It was a complication I figured would have a huge impact into a scenario like this. Anyway, thanks for the review. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

The Confusion in the Duckling—Chapter 4

There were some raised eyebrows along with some meaningful smirks from some of the agents as Booth entered the building with Brennan and Sweets in tow. In his current attire, the psychologist looked more like a teenager hanging out after school than a member of the Bureau.

Sweets noticed the smirks and stares and began to keep his head down, carefully studying every tile on the floor as he walked. A few well placed glares from Booth, however, soon put a stop to the other agents' gawking.

"Bones, I'm going to go drop by Hacker's office and let him know what's going on," he said.

"About Sweets or the case?" she asked.

"Both. Why don't you take Sweets by his office and see if he remembers anything."

"Why can't I tell Andrew about what is going on," Brennan pouted.

"Because…Just because, Bones, all right?" Booth said as he started to go down the hall. "I'll meet up with you guys there later." After the agent had left, Brennan turned toward Sweets and guided him toward the elevator.

"Let me show you to your office, Doctor Sweets," she said.

"Doctor Brennan…am I really a doctor too?" Sweets asked.

"Technically you are a doctor of psychology because you have two doctorates in the field," she responded. "But since psychology is not a real science, you're mainly a doctor in the academic sense."

"Oh," Sweets said, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

Brennan soon felt a twinge of regret at her words. She had become accustomed to Sweets defending his profession and his field of study in response to her jabs, usually in a teasing but playful manner. It was disconcerting to her to see the therapist not only passively accept her comments but appear hurt by them as well.

"However," she added. "Despite the fact that psychology is a soft science, I believe you to be very adept in your field due to a high level of intelligence."

That brought forth yet another blush, and the anthropologist was pleased to see Sweets starting to smile again.

"Thank you Doctor Brennan," he murmured. The elevator made a soft 'ding', and the two of them got on as the doors opened for them.

"You're welcome, Sweets," she smiled back. "And you can call me just Brennan if you would like."

The two of them made their way to the psychologist's office, and were greeted by Sweets' secretary, Becky.

"Doctor Brennan, Doctor Sweets," she nodded. "Agent Booth mentioned what happened," she said. "So I'm rearranging Doctor Sweets' schedule so that he won't have anything to worry about this week." She then regarded Sweets with a smile.

"I hope you feel better soon, Doctor Sweets.

"Thank you," he said, his tone unsure.

The secretary went back to her work, so Brennan walked with him into his office. She stood by the door at first and watched as he walked about, the only sound being a faint shuffling as Sweets dragged his feet along the carpet.

"Does being in this environment stimulate any sort of recollection?" Brennan asked. "You spend a lot of your time here."

"Not really," Sweets sighed. He plopped down into his usual chair and began to dig around in the bowl of knick knacks he kept on the coffee table, eventually pulling out the toy chicken and fidgeting with it. Brennan took her normal seat on the couch across from him.

"Um…Brennan?" he finally asked.

"What is it?"

"Are you and Agent Booth…? Uh, are the two of you…?"

"Are we what?" Brennan asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Are you…more than partners?" Sweets asked, hesitantly.

"We are very close," she replied. "But we are just partners. Why do you ask?"

"You seem…I don't know…." Sweets faltered and began to look around the room as he searched for the right words to say.

"You guys…you kind of remind me of Mom and Dad," he finally stammered out.

"How so?" Brennan replied, intrigued by this revelation.

"Well...My parents…They've been together for years, and they really love each other," he said. "And they just enjoy being around each other, you know? Even when they're doing things like chores or errands or just spending time talking, they always seem happy and content. It's as if all they need to be happy is to be together. And sometimes, it just feels like that's how it is between you and Agent Booth."

Brennan sat still and silent, stunned at this observation. She was about to ask more when Booth barged in through the door.

"Ok, Sweets, how did it go in here?" he asked, clapping his hands together.

"Sorry Agent Booth," Sweets mumbled shaking his head. The agent had a brief look of disappointment on his face, but he quickly shook it off.

"That's ok," he said. "I've got just the thing for you to do now."

"What's that?" the psychologist asked.

"You're going to help me interrogate a witness."

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Brennan asked as she and Booth watched Sweets wander around the listening area of the interrogation room.

"It'll be fine, Bones," Booth assured her. "Sweets needs a chance to be in familiar settings and do his normal routine, right? This is perfect for him."

"But how can he help interrogate someone if he doesn't remember any of his training?" she wondered.

"Don't worry, this will work," the agent said. "Look, I know Sweets. Even without all that psychological mumbo-jumbo in his head, he is still a human polygraph. He will know if this guy is lying. And while he's doing this, he might start to remember things."

"It seems logical on the surface," Brennan said reluctantly.

"Hey Sweets," Booth said, motioning for the psychologist to move close to them. "Ok, I want you to stay in here with Bones and listen to what this guy says. If you think he's lying at any point, you let me know, all right?"

"Ok," Sweets nodded eagerly.

"All right then, good," Booth said, exchanging a look with Brennan before walking out.

Booth walked into the main interrogation room, file in hand and sat down across the man, who was waiting for him. The man was Norman Adams, a neighbor of Felton's who had been particularly uncooperative ever since the investigation had commenced. Something about him had struck the agent as suspicious from the beginning and some digging had revealed some interesting facts that Booth hoped would lead to something more.

Adams could hardly keep still and kept looking at his watch and at his hands.

"Mr. Adams, I'm Special Agent Booth," the agent said as he opened the file.

"Yes, we met before," Adams snapped. "How long am I going to be here?"

"I'm sorry about the wait," Booth said blandly. "There are just a few things we need to clear up is all."

"Look, we've already gone over this," Adams huffed. "And as I've said about a hundred times now, Agent Booth, I wish I could help you, but I can't."

"Oh oh, Agent Booth, he's lying," Sweets chimed into Booth's earpiece.

"Yeah, I noticed that, Sweets," Booth muttered.

"Noticed what?" Adams asked.

"Mr. Adams, are you sure you wouldn't like to correct your statement?" Booth continued. "We checked with your supervisor at work. According to him, on the day Doctor Felton was murdered, you left work four hours early."

"Ok, I wasn't at work," the man sighed, slumping his shoulders in defeat. "But that doesn't mean that I was at home or at Felton's place. As it turns out, I ran into some old college buddies of mine the other day. I didn't want to tell the wife, but me and my friends decided to hit this old bar we used to hang out in so that we could catch up for a while."

"Lying again," Sweets said in a sing-song voice. "You should ask him where he really was that day."

"I'm getting to that," Booth mumbled.

"Getting to what?"Adams demanded.

"I'm going to need you to write down the names of these friends," the agent said, pulling out a pen and shoving a pad of paper toward him. "That way we can contact them and make sure your story checks out."

"All right," Adams nearly shouted. "I wasn't out with friends. Are you happy? I was at home. But I don't know anything, I swear."

Booth paused and stared at Adams, waiting to hear something in his earpiece, but nothing came. He then looked over toward the mirror and mouthed Sweets' name, but still got no reply. After another minute of silence, Sweets finally responded.

"Um, Agent Booth…I don't think he's lying there."

"Are you sure?" Booth hissed.

"Yes, I'm sure I was at home," Adams snapped. "And I'm sure that I don't know anything."

"So, you're telling me that you were just sitting at home, watching television or taking a nap, or whatever you were doing, and you just didn't hear your neighbor being murdered and his tool shed blowing up a few yards away?" Booth said. "I think you can understand why I find this difficult to believe."

"Nevertheless, it's the truth," Adams insisted.

"Uh, Agent Booth," Sweets said, his voice flush with embarrassment. "Maybe he um, wasn't alone or…."

"Gotcha," the agent nodded. "Mr. Adams…was there perhaps someone with you? Someone who could maybe tell us something about that day?"

Adams started to say something, but instead grew increasingly pale. Eventually he put his head in his hands.

"All right…I wasn't alone," he mumbled. "But I…Look, my wife and, more importantly, my boss can't find out about this. If he knew that I was seeing his wife on the side…."

"None of that needs to leave this room if you cooperate," Booth said. "So the question is: are you ready to cooperate? Did you see anything that day? Anything out of the ordinary?"

"There was one thing," Adams nodded thoughtfully. "There was that cable guy who stopped by Felton's place. He went to my place first, by mistake, and I had to point out Felton's place to him. Happens more often than you might think for some reason."

"What was strange about this visit?" the agent inquired.

"Well Felton was always talking about how he didn't have a TV and how he never intended to buy one," Adams said. "Kept saying that television was turning everyone's mind into mush and that reading was a much better leisure activity. I suppose it's pretty weird that he would get a visit from a cable tech."

Booth stood up and gather up his files and notes.

"Ok, Mr. Adams, I'm going to send a sketch artist in here," he said. "You just give him a good description of this cable guy, and there will be no need to mention your 'afternoon activities' again."

Adams nodded gratefully, and Booth left him. The agent gave instructions for the sketch artist to one of his assistants before returning to the listening room. He went over to pat Sweets on the back, but stopped himself when he saw the psychologist flinch.

"Good work, Sweets," Booth grinned at him.

"Thank you," Sweets smiled back. "But I…."

"But you don't remember anything else, do you?" Booth asked.

"No," the therapist said, slinking off toward a corner of the room. "What do you want me to do now?"

Booth looked over at Brennan and shook his head. He would have liked to answer Sweets' question right away, but he found himself running out of ideas…a situation he had been dreading from the beginning of all this.

'We can't give up,' Booth told himself. 'But…what else is there to do?'