Booth looked up when Sweets walked into the office at daybreak. He was still angry with the man, angrier than he could put into words, but he put that aside for the moment. The Squints believed him. That was enough.
Booth sat at Bones' empty desk in her office. In fact, it wasn't even her office anymore. After Booth found her, he promised himself he'd change her mind about that, too. "Where's Hodgins?"
"He took Angela home for a couple hours sleep. He figured it would be a long day."
Booth nodded and tapped a couple of keys on Bones's keyboard. A password protected screensaver came up and Booth entertained himself for a few moments trying to guess her password. He swallowed thickly when his name unlocked her computer.
Sweets came forward and held out a folder. Booth looked at him a moment before taking it from his hand.
"What's this?"
"It's a request for several days vacation. I took the liberty to fill it out for you. Just sign it so I can send it in."
Booth looked at it a moment, the words swimming in front of his eyes. Reaching for a pen, he signed the form and returned it to the folder. Rubbing his hands over his face, he glanced at Sweets. "Listen," he began.
"No," Sweets said. "You listen. I may think this is all some manifestation of your feelings for Dr. Brennan. But," he continued, despite the look in Booth's eyes. "But, it's just as clear that I"m the only one to feel that way. So, I'll do what everyone else is doing and take what you're seeing at face value. Go, find her, even if part of the reason I hope you're wrong is I really don't want Dr. Brennan trapped on a mountain."
"Me, either," Booth agreed. "But I still expect an apology when we find her on a mountain with a broken right leg."