12.

"So we haven't turned up anything yet on Molly Edwards or…" Brennan said but Caroline stopped her as they walked in Booth's office.

"What do you mean chere?"

"Angela was continuing to search for the daughter and the mother." Brennan explained. "It's not an easy task but I'm sure with Angela's skills…"

"Yes, Angela's skills are exemplary, and expensive." Caroline began.

"What are you saying Caroline?" Brennan asked with Booth across from her.

"Just this, he confessed. Case closed." She explained. "The department of justice is on a budget, just like everyone else. Bringing them in is going to take a lot of time, and a lot of money. Time and money that could go to solving a lot of other cases."

Brennan wasn't sure she was comfortable with that, it wasn't complete in her mind. Caroline could tell.

"Look chere, Angela can spend days finding them and she probably will. But the cost to bring them in a question them on a topic they probably know very little on, only to further a case we have a signed confession on, it's not a reasonable expense in the bean counter's books."

Booth agreed. "He's confessed. And he did it to keep them out of it. If we bring them in, make that girl live thru that all again, take their money away and leave them with nothing, find out what her father did."

Brennan nodded in agreement having deterred to Booth's suggestion.

"I need to get back to the lab to overlook some remains for the Jeffersonian. I'll let Angela know." Brennan said as she left. Caroline took her leave as well.

The case in its entirety had left some questions for them all in their own ways, and there was only one person who could answer them for him.

Booth cleared off his calendar and left for the hospital.

"I'm looking for Dr. Lance Sweets?" Booth asked the nurse after finding an empty room. He surprised even himself when he used Sweets full name.

Before the nurse at the station could answer he heard Sweets voice, "over here Booth."

Booth rounded the corner to see Sweets in scrubs and a white tee leaning against the wall with one hand on the chair rail that lined it.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Booth said catching up to the slow moving object.

"Oh, I just wanted to stretch my legs." Sweets said slowly shuffling forward.

"Shouldn't there be some sort of therapist or something?" Booth asked looking around, a hint of concern in his voice that suggested he was ready and willing to chew someone's ass if needed.

"No, they were busy, which was fine, I just wanted to go for a little walk. The doctor suggested I should get some circulation in my legs." Sweets explained.

Booth noticed that Sweets was putting a lot of weight on his hand that ran along the wall. While the hand was cushioned in the bandage Booth could tell that Sweets was pushing himself a little far to be doing this.

"You should have seen what I had to bargain to get some pants and a top." Sweets joked. "I sure as heck wasn't going to moon the hall as I walked around."

"Yeah no one wants to see that." Booth joked though he kept his hands out of his pockets, ready to steady, catch or do whatever if Sweets needed it.

"How is the case? You said it was all wrapped up or something?" Sweets asked still moving slow. Booth looked along the quiet hallway, keeping an eye on Sweets who was tiring but was trying to hide is as much as he could. It was quiet so he knew they could talk easily but he still found it hard to say what he wanted to. "Yeah, the guy he confessed. You were right you know, about the daughter, Molly Edwards, she didn't fit the mold. He did it for her."

"He killed the girls for her?" Sweets asked pausing. Booth noticed that Sweets wasn't as steady as a moment ago but he was looking to the end of the hall and figured that must have been his goal.

"They teased her, they took it, well too far. I guess, I can't stop thinking about…"

"What you would do as a father?" Sweets asked and Booth didn't even have to nod. "Booth you're a good dad. And I'm more than sure that you would figure out a way to make someone pay without ritualistically killing a series of people."

Now it was Booth's turn to pause. While he had sympathized with the father's rage but not the method. In a few short words Sweets had accurately pinpointed Booth's uneasiness about the outcome with simplicity.

Sweets was now a few steps ahead of Booth so he caught up.

"How is Angela?" Sweets asked.

"Fine I guess, why?" Booth asked confused.

"Seemed like something was bothering her." Sweets said now slightly out of breath but nearing the end of the hall.

"I think she feels guilty, that it took her too long to get back to you." Booth said watching Sweets closely.

"Oh." Sweets said as though it hadn't occurred to him. "That makes sense. I mean, her behavior fits that explanation. Though she has no reason to. I'm fine."

"You didn't look so hot when we found you." Booth said. "No pun intended by the way."

"Oh well, she needn't worry." Sweets said feeling now like the end of the hall would never come. His arm was really hurting and he wasn't so much gliding along the wall for optional support but leaning heavily on it for needed support. "I can talk to her about it next time I see her, she shouldn't feel bad."

"Sweets." Booth said slightly exasperated causing Sweets to stop and look up questioning him. "You shouldn't do that. Look, it's not always up to you to make us feel better."

"Sure it is. That's actually my exact job description." Sweets said leaning against the wall with all his tired weight now.

"Well, what I mean is, we should be doing that too. We should ask you. I know how you feel and I know how all guys feel and…"

Booth was rambling, he knew that but he couldn't figure out how to say what he wanted to about the silliness of social taboos and being seen as weak.

"What I'm saying is…" Booth said but stopped as he looked at an exhausted Sweets who Booth realized had reached his goal of being at the end of the hall. He respected Sweets and he cared for him. Booth reached an arm out and pulled Sweets in for a manly hug.

"Whoa, what's…" Sweets said surprised.

"I'm just, I'm here for what you need." Booth said backing up out of the hold but keeping one hand on Sweets shoulder to keep his wavering body from toppling over. "People shouldn't worry so much about what people think and instead on what kind of support friends need."

"Like Edwards." Sweets said guessing where some of this was coming from.

Booth looked past Sweets and saw a red swear along the last section of the wall. He thought that odd that no one would have noticed that and looked back to Sweets whose arm was dripping with blood from his cut. A few of the stitches had come open and the pressure on his arm on the wall for support had made it open again.

"Nurse!" Booth called and Sweets looked down at his arm and held a look of surprise.

Booth didn't want to walk away for Sweets was about to fall from the exhaustion and now the blood loss. No one was coming and Booth felt a near panic.

"It's fine Booth, I can make it." Sweets said reaching his left hand out to steady himself along the wall to walk back.

Booth knew that wasn't going to work well since Sweets had no energy left but Sweets tried anyway. Booth put his arm around Sweets shoulder to shift the weight back towards him. Sweets was trying to keep his bloody arm away from Booth's suit.

"Don't worry about it kid, it's just a suit." Booth said wondering where the damn doctors were.

"Booth?" Sweets said, his voice light. "I think I have to sit down." Sweets said and immediately dropped to the floor and leaned against the wall in a sitting position. Booth was half relieved because now he could get help faster.

When Booth returned a moment with the nurse and doctor following he noticed how calm Sweets was, sitting on the floor, holding the left hand bandage over the right cut to stop the bleeding. It was however, too much red on the bandages on the shirt to make Booth feel at ease.

The nurse brought a wheelchair that was close over and despite Sweets efforts to stand himself up he ended up in the chair due to Dr. Carter and Booth swiftly placing him there.

Booth followed them back to Sweets room in a distance where the nurse swiftly removed the bandages and discarded the bloody material. Booth saw Sweets red and puffy hands now that they were visible.

"They're healing quite well." Dr. Carter said and Booth wondered if he were assuring Booth or Sweets. "This arm however is going to need new stitches. Walking is okay, but we're going to remember not to push it." The doctor mildly reprimanded him.

Sweets was about to argue but Booth stepped forward. "I'll go with him tomorrow." Booth knew Sweets was going to protest that he was not a child nor did Booth want to minimize Sweets achievement of walking his goal, despite the bloody aftermath.

"Just think, you got really far today, with me, you can go twice as far tomorrow." Booth promised. Sweets smiled as he realized Booth was true to his word about helping others. And this was something Booth was comfortable in helping others with.

"Sure, we can finger paint in another hall." Sweets joked and Booth smiled but the doctor and nurse only stared at him suggesting it wasn't funny.

"I'll get a clean shirt." The nurse said still shooting Sweets an ill look. The doctor went to pull on Sweets shirt but he pulled back on it.

"It's chilly, I'll wait till she gets back." Sweets said and the doctor shrugged.

"I'm going to leave the bandages off for a while and bring in some packs to allow the swelling to go down. Let me know right away though if the hot/cold bothers them, they will be more susceptible to the temperatures right now."

Sweets nodded and the doctor left as Angela was coming in.

"Hey Sweets, whoa, what the hell?" She said noticing the blood on Sweets shirt.

"It's okay, just a little accident." Sweets said trying to calm her down quickly.

Angela looked at Booth as though he played a part in the scenario.

"Well you know how stubborn he is." Booth said as his phone rang. He stepped out. "Yeah Bones." He said as his voice faded in the distance.

The nurse came in the door and sat down the shirt on the bed and began to pull Sweets off.

"Thanks, perhaps it can wait a moment." Sweets said and the nurse understood that he didn't want to change in front of a friend and left.

"Oh non-sense Sweets." Angela said setting down her purse and immediately began to pull off the blood dripped tee.

"No, it's fine, I can wait…" Sweets was protesting but a maneuvering an unruly toddler had given Angela plenty of practice to swiftly remove the top.

She had the shirt off his head and had slowed it to remove if more carefully over his arms when she saw his shoulder blades, scarred with the past. She paused at the surprise of seeing it but tried to promptly move on having figured that was the reason for Sweets reluctance. She couldn't help but wonder what would have made such old scars but if Sweets hadn't mentioned it in the last several years of their knowing each other she was pretty sure he didn't want to now.

"Here. Nice and clean." Angela said now even twice as gently maneuvering the clean tee on. She knew those scars were old, but they still hurt just to see them.

"Angela, they uh…" Sweets began in obvious discomfort on the topic.

"Oh sorry to interrupt you sweetie but I wanted to talk to you about something. It's been on my mind."

Sweets was happy for the change of conversation. Maybe he would tell Angela one day, but not today.

"Look, about yesterday, man, it seems like so much longer than a day ago." She said pausing.

"Oh that reminds me." Sweets said happy to interrupt her this time. "I didn't get to thank you."

"Thank me?" Angela asked flabbergasted.

"Yes, you never gave up on me. I heard about the uh, what was it railroad song?" Sweets said smiling. "The cop, he stopped in this afternoon, before I went on my uh, little walk. He told me all about how you annoyed them all until you got back. So thank you."

"Sweets, I should have…"

"No Angela, you did everything. Thank you." Sweets said and Angela realized that the discussion was over.

Sweets blistered and numb fingers didn't hardly register than he'd sat them over her hand in consolation. He looked down and saw he had and pulled them away. Angela softly pulled his hand back and looked at them for a moment. Their injured nature made her feel sick a moment and a wave of guilt returned.

"They'll heal." Sweets said pulling them back again and pushed his hands under the blanket at his sides, out of sight. Not seeing them seemed to make Angela feel better.

"Hey that was Bones." Booth said stepping back in the room. "She's getting dinner."

"Oh already?" Sweets said wondering what time it was. "I wonder what tonight is." He mused thinking of the typical hospital offerings.

"Well that's what I was about to ask. Bones said Chinese and since she's picking it up then that's what we have to go with. Angela, Hodgins is picking up the kiddos and bringing them here." Booth announced going back to read a text. "And Cam, she says she needs to check in. But she's so thin I think she might just eat an egg roll and be stuffed, how much do you want to bet?" Booth teased though Angela shot him a look that it wasn't funny.

"No, you guys need to go home, no reason to spend time here." Sweets urged.

"Um, yeah there is Sweetie. There's one pretty good reason to be here." Angela said sitting down. Booth slipped off his jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair to get comfortable. He sat down and flipped on the TV searching for something.

"Ugh!" Booth said with disdain. "More crime shows? Geez, aren't there enough of those?"

"Now Sweets, I was thinking the doctor said that to increase mobility means your hands will work with more dexterity. And I remembered you played the piano."

"You're going to bring me a piano?" He joked as she sat in the chair next to him.

"Ha ha, don't tempt me." She teased. "Well I'm an artist so I thought that we could work on that together, we could draw or something."

"Can't we just play quarters?" Sweets said and Angela looked up at him to see a big grin on his face.

"Maybe but not here."

The little room grew cramped but no one noticed as Chinese and children arrived. Cam of course at little declaring she was full but spent most of her time chasing around the doctors and nurses to drill them with questions about the routine tests that turned out to be indeed routine and indeed just fine.

The doctor passed the full room, past visiting hours, wafting with the heavy smell of Chinese food and a group of people and kids all crammed in it.

The little girl he noticed sat on Sweets lap and preceded to shove Lo Mein noodles in. Each time his patient said he was full the little girl took direction from her mother who sat behind said patient to shove more noodles in. The patient he noticed would not deny the little girl anything. He wasn't aware Dr. Sweets had any family though she repeatedly called him uncle. A thought then occurred to the doctor.

"Good evening everyone." He said stepping in the door to the crammed room and over a small truck.

"I'm sorry doctor, are we being too loud?" Cam asked suddenly aware of their presence.

The doctor wanted to say, yes you are loud, you ignore visiting hours, you've made the whole place smell like Chinese food. Instead he said, "no, but I do see how much you do care for your co-worker, your friend. I had considered releasing Dr. Sweets tomorrow but if Dr. Sweets would like, I would have no problem releasing him tonight. I see the care and support he has from friends and would thus have no issue with it. Physically he is cleared."

"Yeah Sweets how about it, home has gotta be better than here." Hodgins said. "No offense doc."

"Thanks guys." Sweets said but there was a reservation in his tone. "Yeah, home does sound cheaper than health care here but I'm uh, just not sure…."

"But what?" Angela asked taking another bite of food.

Sweets could feel them all staring at him. "Well, I live alone." Sweets said timidly. "I'm not sure I can even get the key in the door." Sweets had been holding Christine on his lap. At Sweets request the nurse rewrapped his hands so no one had to look at them in their true state and possibly lose an appetite for them. He had told Christine they were boxing gloves for snow men. Sweets looked at his hands he felt were useless.

"Well dummy we weren't sending you home alone." Angela said in her own way.

"Besides Sweets I think we would all be much more comfortable gathering, such as we are now in a place much more comfortable to the rest of us as well." Brennan said knowing that if she appealed to the side of Sweets that was eager to please those around him he would agree more readily.

"So how about it Dr. Sweets?" Dr. Carter asked.

"I can't be a burden to anyone." Sweets explained.

"Friendship is never a burden." Brennan said picking up Christine from Sweets lap. "Now come on Christine. Uncle Sweets has to get ready to go."

"I'll get the paper work." The doctor said taking his exit and Sweets realized his mind had been made up for him.

Ta da! Well I wasn't going to have it end with a fluffy sort of caring thing but I'm a sucker for friendship.