Thank you for your reviews. They are the only way I can tell if you are interested in my story.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Observing Booth struggle through his therapy for his lungs, Max rubbed his chest in sympathy. Booth's attempt to take deep breaths and blow into a hand held device caused him to cough and lose his breath which made Max feel uncomfortable. Finally unable to bear listening to it anymore, he walked into the kitchen and rummaged around the cabinets. Collecting ingredients, he placed them on the counter and searched for a pan. Satisfied, he started a project that would take his mind off of his son-in-law's struggle.

After awhile, Max heard the front door open and then close.

"What are you doing, Max?" Leaning against the door frame, Booth watched his father-in-law pour something in a baking pan.

Scraping the bowl, Max made sure all of his mix was in the pan. "I'm making brownies."

Surprised Booth glanced at the clock. "It's eight thirty in the morning."

Not willing to tell Booth that the sounds of his straining to breathe creeped him out, Max shrugged his shoulders. "So, is there a time when brownies are ever wrong?"

Chuckling, Booth shook his head. "Hell no."

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Not really hungry, Brennan picked at her food. Slowly, she moved her spoon through her oatmeal, moving the food from one side of the bowl to the other.

Her breakfast companion watching her stare at her spoon finally broke the silence. "Is something wrong, Temperance?" Not getting a response, Aaron placed his hand over her left hand. "Temperance . . . is something wrong?"

Moving her gaze to her hand being covered by her friend, Brennan moved her hand away and rested it on her lap. "I'm fine."

Aaron moved his hand back over to his side of the table and stared in sympathy at his friend. "Clearly it isn't. Tell me what's wrong. You've been . . . acting distant, Temperance. You've barely talked to anyone for the last four days and you've almost stopped eating for the last three days. Something is wrong and I want to know what it is."

Uncertain how to explain what was going on, Brennan placed her spoon down, picked up her glass and drank half the orange juice. Satisfied, she placed the glass back on the table. "Besides the cistern, we really haven't discovered anything else, Aaron. I've been here for a month and I . . . I don't feel like I'm contributing anything to this project. I'm a forensic anthropologist not an archaeologist. I think it would be better if I returned home where my skills would be better used."

Not surprised at all, Aaron nodded his head. "I think you're right, Temperance. I was hoping for much more, but I think the cistern is all we're going to find. It was a very lucky find and it has given us some wonderful examples of Acadian pottery and that wonderful bible, but you're specialty hasn't been used so far. I was glad that you signed onto our project, Temperance. Perhaps the next project I undertake will be able to use your skills . . . If you'd like to go home then I think you should."

Relieved, Brennan smiled at her friend. "Thank you for being so understanding, Aaron. I agreed to be here for two months, but I would like to go home now."

Aaron watched Brennan pick up her fork and start to eat. "Did you talk to Booth last night? How is he doing?"

Shaking her head, Brennan frowned. "I haven't talked to him since yesterday morning. We worked so late last night, I didn't want to wake him up. I didn't want to interfere with his sleep patterns since he has a hard time sleeping through the night. As soon as I'm finished eating, I plan to call him and talk to him."

Sipping some coffee, Aaron glanced around the tent, "Well, I'm sure he'll be happy when he finds out you're coming home."

Thoughtfully, Brennan wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Yes, he's become use to sleeping with me and he says he's been having difficulty sleeping alone. My father says that Booth's nightmares didn't seem to be a problem when he first moved in, but they've increased in the last two weeks and Booth seems to be having one every night. I'm concerned for Booth's welfare. My father hasn't tried to wake him up when he's having his bad dreams, but when Booth does wake up Dad gets out of bed and stays with Booth until he goes back to bed. You know my husband has been through a lot in the last year. He nearly died twice."

Sympathetic for both of them, Aaron placed his cup down and spoke softly. "Go home, Temperance. You don't want to be here and your husband doesn't want you here either. As far as I can tell, you're both unhappy so just go home. Maybe the next time you go on a dig, you can bring him with you."

Placing her spoon and napkin in the bowl of oatmeal, Brennan stood up. "I will. I think I'll pack and leave in an hour or so."

"Thanks for coming, Temperance." Standing, he held out his hand to shake her hand. "This didn't turn out to be what I thought it would be, but every discovery no matter how small adds to our knowledge."

Brennan smiled at her friend. "I agree. The cistern was a wonderful find. I'm glad it proved to contain some valuable items."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Bored, Booth listlessly used his remote and changed channels on his TV. Unable to find anything interesting, he kept flipping the channels, one after the other.

Reading a newspaper while his brownies baked, Max glanced at his son-in-law and shook his head. "Hey, want to go the movies this afternoon?" Not getting a response, Max stood up and walked over to the couch. Tapping Booth on the shoulder, Max repeated his question. "Want to go to the movies?"

Turning his gaze towards Max, Booth shook his head. "No."

Worried about Booth, Max shook his head. "You never go anywhere. Since I've been here all you do is go to work and then come home. Come on, you're getting stale sitting around this place. The only real activity I see you do is therapy. Let's go to the movies . . . It's Saturday. Do you plan to just sit around all day and not watch television?"

Dropping his remote on the couch, Booth grabbed his crutches and stood up. "I'm not going to the movies. Go if you want to go, I'm not stopping you."

Surprised at the man's surliness, Max pointed at the television. "It's Saturday morning. At least go out to lunch with me. I know this great Italian place that makes great pasta dishes."

Moving across the room, Booth entered his bedroom and slammed the door. Shaking his head, Max called out. "You know you're going to knock that door off it's hinges someday slamming it shut all the time." Staring at the door for a few minutes, he shook his head again and went back over to the table and sat down again. Picking up his newspaper, he shook it to straighten the pages and started to read it again.

Ooooooooooooooo

Staring at the bathroom door, Booth heard the phone ring. Lunging towards the night stand, Booth grabbed his phone. "Booth."

"Hi, it's me."

Glad to hear her voice, Booth moved so that he was propped against the head board. "Yeah I know. How was your day yesterday? You didn't call so I thought maybe you found a really disgusting body and lost track of time."

"No, I did lose track of time, but it had nothing to do with bodies. I was studying a bible that we found in the cistern. It had been wrapped in oilcloth and placed in a large jar. It has some damage, but for the conditions it's in, it is readable. It is interesting, but that isn't why I came on this dig. Unfortunately we haven't found anything new since we found the cistern so there is nothing that requires my specialty."

"I'm sorry, Bones. I was hoping you'd find at least one really cool skeleton."

"That would have been interesting . . . My skills have been of little use so far."

"Yeah well, we both know that happens sometimes. At least you're having fun. That's the important thing."

"Yes, it has been very interesting."

Unsure about her tone of voice, Booth asked, "Is everything okay? You don't sound very happy."

"I'm just thinking Booth."

"Oh well, okay. So tell me about what you're going to do today. Are you planning on doing more digging or you going to take the day off? . . . Oh, you know that last picture you sent me was pretty funny. What'd you do fall in a pig sty?"

"There aren't any pig sties here, Booth. I was working in the cistern. It's hard to work in there and remain immaculate."

Amused, Booth laughed. "I'm kidding. I was making a joke . . . You looked very cute with those dirt daubs on your face. Very very cute."

"I . . . What are you going to do today? Are you going to a game?"

"Nah, my leg is kinda of hurting me. My therapist put me through the wringer this morning and my knee has been hurting ever since. I'm going to stay home and watch a game on TV. So what are you going to do?"

"I think I'm going to go visit a sick friend today."

Trying to sound upbeat, Booth tried to be encouraging. "That sounds nice, Bones. I hope your friend isn't too sick."

"No, I don't think so."

"Good . . . So tell me something interesting about the bible and whatever you found in the cistern yesterday. I really want to know what you're doing." Listening to her talk, Booth decided that if his therapist gave him the go ahead, he was going to fly up to where his wife was the next week. He missed her and he damned well wanted to see her.

ooooooooooooooooooo

That evening, after going to bed early, Booth dropped off to sleep after reading a few chapters of one of Brennan's books. His sleep riddled with powerful dreams, he was soon awakened when he felt someone move onto his bed. Instantly awake, Booth turned his head and witnessed his partner move closer to him and place her arm across his chest. After a very passionate kiss, Brennan smiled. "I tried not to wake you. I'm sorry I woke you."

Turning into her arms, Booth pulled her into his embrace and kissed her deeply. Once he was satisfied, he pulled back. "What are you doing home?"

Chuckling, Brennan stared into his beautful brown eyes. "I told you I was going to visit a sick friend."

Booth caught on and kissed her once more. "I'm the sick friend huh?"

Moving her hands slowly down his chest, Brennan whispered. "Yes, you are . . . I came home because they didn't need me and I missed you. I'm not going back."

Pleased with her news, he moved his right hand down her side towards her hip and spoke quietly. "I missed you so much, Bones. So damn much."

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