Thank you for your continued interest in my story.

I don't own Bones.

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Brennan was met by Detective Simmons at the Metro Police Station. "Thanks for coming Dr. Brennan. I extradited James Collier from Texas, but it took quite a while to accomplish. The man fought extradition and it took a while to get the judge in Houston to approve the extradition. The thing is, we don't have anything to prove that the man I'm holding is James Collier right now. Richard Collier gave me a picture of his father, but the picture is about 18 years old. He also gave me a blood sample for DNA, but James is fighting to keep from giving me a sample of his DNA. He says he shouldn't have to be compelled to give it just because he looks like an old picture of someone. We don't have his finger prints on file so I need your help. What I need you to do is look at the man I'm holding and tell me if you think he's James Collier. Judge Baker is letting you make the call whether or not I can compel him to give me a DNA sample. Your reputation is pretty solid with the judge and if you say he's James Collier I can get my sample."

"I understand your problem, Detective Simmons." Following him to the elevators, Brennan advised him, "I'll need to see current pictures of Richard Collier and the pictures you have that Richard gave you of his father."

Detective entered an elevator and waited for Brennan to enter the car. Once she was in, he pushed the button for the second floor. "I have those in my office. I thought you might need those eventually so when I talked to Richard the last time, I had him pose for pictures. I also have a video of him sitting and walking if you need it."

Pleased at his efficiency, Brennan nodded her head. "Very good."

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Standing in the interrogation room, Brennan stared at James Collier's side features. After a few minutes, she walked around the table and stared at his bone structure from the front. Glancing at the pictures she held in her hand, she finally moved back towards the door. "This is James Collier."

Furious, James James stood up and protested. "Who the hell is this? I am not this James fella you claim I am and looking at me sure as hell doesn't prove a damn thing."

Smirking, Detective Simmons held the door open for Brennan. "This is Doctor Temperance Brennan. She's the best forensic anthropologist in the whole world and once Judge Baker hears her say you're James Collier I'm going to get that saliva sample you've been fighting me about."

Afraid, James swallowed and sat down heavily on his chair. "I didn't kill Cora. My wife did it. I was at work and she called me and told me that she'd killed Cora. I panicked. I drove home, saw what Jenny had done and I just panicked. I went to the store and bought some supplies and I placed her body in the wall and I closed it up. I didn't kill Cora my wife did it."

Sitting down across the the sweating man, Simmons folded his hands on the table as Brennan sat down next to him. "Why'd she shoot Cora?"

Terrified, James wept as he stared at the top of the table. "Cora was disgusted with the way Jenny treated Richard. She said she was going to call Child Protective Services and report how Jenny beat Richard all the time. Jenny panicked, walked into Cora's bedroom, took her gun from her dresser and then killed Cora with it. My wife is nuts. She always has been. After she did what she did Jenny just lost it completely and I had her committed. She's nuts detective. She can't be held liable for what she did."

Coldly, Brennan leaned forward and spoke firmly. "When you walled Cora in, she wasn't dead. Your wife didn't kill Cora, you did."

His eyes huge on his face, James stammered. "No . . . No . . . no she was dead. She was dead."

Slowly shaking her head, Brennan informed him, "She was paralyzed, but she wasn't dead. She died of dehydration. When you placed her in that wall, she was alive."

Placing his hands over his eyes, James began to cry. "I didn't know. I thought she was dead. I thought she was dead. I just did what I thought I was protecting my wife. I didn't know."

Ooooooooooooooo

That evening, Brennan was unusually quiet. Booth, worried that something was wrong, loaded the dishwasher, started it up, opened a bottle of wine and carried it and two glasses into the living room. Sitting down next to Brennan, he placed the glasses on the coffee table, poured some wine in the glasses and handed one of them to Brennan.

Brennan appreciated his kindness, took the glass from him and sipped some of the wine while staring at the fireplace.

Silently, Booth studied her features and finally placed his glass on the coffee table. "Bones are you alright?"

Nodding her head, Brennan sipped more of her wine. "We see a lot of tragedy. In our line of work we see the worst in people."

"We see the best too." Booth shrugged his shoulders. "It's a mixed bag."

Staring at the wine in her glass, Brennan insisted, "But we see more bad than good."

Puzzled, Booth tried to figure out what she wanted. "Do you want to quit your job?"

Shaking her head, Brennan sighed. "No . . . I was just thinking about how horrible your father was and what you went through as a child. Richard Collier had to live with his abuser until he graduated from school. He didn't escape the abuse until he was 22 years old. What would your life have been like if your grandfather hadn't rescued you? Would you have still joined the army and later the FBI or would you have done something else? The variables would surely have been altered if you'd stayed with your father."

Not sure if he should answer the question, Booth stood up and walked over to the fireplace. Placing his left hand on the mantle, Booth stared at the small vase near his hand. "I told you, Bones. I told you a long time ago. If Pops hadn't saved me I'd have killed myself. I was already making plans to end my life when he rescued me. It's a sin to take your life, but I was sick of the beatings and I'd lost hope . . . If Pops hadn't taken me in, I'd be dead now."

A cold chill running down her back, Brennan stood up and walked over to where Booth was standing. Placing her arms around him, she felt her body start to tremble. "Then I'll always be grateful that Hank did what he did for you, Booth. I love you and I don't want to think of a life without you in it."

Pulling her against his body, Booth held her tightly in his arms. "I'm standing right here, Bones. I'm standing right here. It didn't happen and we don't need to think about it. Don't let cases like Richard Collier's upset you like this. You and I had crappy childhoods, but we survived them. We survived the odds and now we're together. That's all that matters. I love you, Bones. You love me. We don't need to dwell on the bad things that could have happened that might have prevented us from being together." Kissing her, Booth let his lips linger near her lips. "I'm here for you, Bones. I'm always going to be here for you. I'm never going to let you fall."

His arms around her made her feel protected and that was what she needed. Kissing him, Brennan felt his hands move so they were resting on her hips. "You're right. We've been through so much for the last year and sometimes I'm just a little overwhelmed. I think I may take a small sabbatical. I think I need to just need to stay home and work on my new book. While I'm off I can see about having some things done to our house that we talked about."

Pulling her hips against his hips, Booth smiled. "That's a great idea. Take a couple of months off and just do the things you want to do. I'll back you all the way."

Her hands under his shirt, Brennan smiled as she moved her hands over his stomach. "I think me being off for two or three months might benefit both of us. You can stop fussing about me working late hours and you can come home earlier than you normally do. I'm sure we could use that extra time in the day in a more satisfactory manner."

That thought very pleasant, Booth kissed her again. "I think so too."

The phone ringing, Booth released Brennan, walked over to the coffee table and grabbed up his phone, "What?"

Don't be that way, Booth. Claire just had her baby. I'm a poppa.

Surprised, Booth exclaimed, "Hey, it's about time. What did she have?"

She had a boy, seven pounds one ounce. We're calling him Robert Joseph Brown. Claire and I named him after my Dad and you, well Joseph not Seeley. We want you to be his Godfather, is that okay? Claire and I don't have any brothers or sisters. If you don't want to do it just say so.

Proud of the offer, Booth responded, "Are you kidding me? I'm honored, of course, I want to be the Godfather. Yeah, of course. Tell Claire that Bones and me are coming over to see her and the baby right now."

Thanks, man. I'll see you when you get here.

Ending the call, Booth grinned at Brennan. "Claire had her baby and they want me to be the boy's godfather."

The news good news, Brennan walked over to where Booth was standing and placed her hands around his chest. "They made a wise choice, Booth."

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