(Party in the Pants)

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I don't own Bones.

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The DNA tests came back and their victim was indeed Marianne Booth. Brennan was still searching for cause of death and because this was her mate's mother, her frustration was starting to build. She wanted to be able to tell Booth how his mother had died, but so far she had been unable to find the answer. Unfortunately, it looked like the answers weren't in the bones and since most of the flesh wasn't available to examine, she was beginning to worry that she was going to let Booth down.

Angela entered the examination room and stood just inside the doorway. She watched her best friend holding a very small bone in her hand and the dark look on her face made Angela worry for her. "Bren, you'll find the answer. Maybe you're just trying too hard. Sometimes when I'm painting and I can't get the colors to work or the vision in my head to translate to the canvas I have to stand back and give myself a chance to relax. Forcing the issue just makes the situation worse."

She knew that Angela was right, but Brennan was under pressure from Booth to get answers and she didn't want to disappoint him. Carefully placing the bone down on the table, she removed her gloves and threw them in the biohazard bin. "Booth blames himself. He thinks that if he had called the police when his mother had been hurt Marianne would be alive today." Her mate was in pain and it made her feel ill that she couldn't help him. "He was just ten years old and he was already feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. Now he wants to add to it and I don't know how to help him. I need to find out how Marianne died."

"And you will, Bren. You always do." Angela was worried that Brennan was working herself into exhaustion. "Let's go to lunch. You need to eat and you need to step back from these bones. You need to rest and come back and look at them refreshed. You know that helps when you're stuck. Get Wendell to look at these bones again and see if he missed something or call in Clark. He's never seen these bones before and he might have a different perspective."

Annoyed that she hadn't thought of that, Brennan nodded her head. "Yes, I think asking Clark to help would be beneficial. He does excellent work. Not as good as me of course, but he has found things in the past that has helped me and his input was valuable in several cases he helped me with." Brennan removed her Lab coat and moved over to the door. "I won't expect him to find the answer, but he might find something that will point the way."

"There you go." Relieved that Brennan had agreed to the break, Angela walked beside her friend to her office so she could get her purse. "Besides you have only had the bones for three days and I've seen you take longer to find the answer. You'll get this. I know you will."

Brennan hoped so. Booth was in a strange terrible mood and she wanted to get him out of it as soon as possible.

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Not sure he was doing the wise thing, Sweets knew he was doing the right thing. "Booth, may I speak to you?"

"No." The last thing Booth wanted was his young friend getting all shrinky with him. He was having a hard enough time concentrating on his work and he didn't need the distraction.

Undeterred the younger man stepped into the office and over to Booth's desk. "Booth, I really need to talk to you."

Annoyed that Sweets wasn't taking no for an answer, Booth slammed his pen down and glared at the profiler. "My mother is dead, my father may have killed her. I'm sad. Okay? Got it?"

"No, it's not okay." Sweets sat down and tried to appear relaxed, an almost impossible task since Booth was oozing hate at the moment. "You're tired, you're cranky, you yell at anyone that talks to you and Deputy Director Bishop has heard about it. He wants you to go home and stay away from the Hoover until you're finished dealing with your mother's death."

Grimly, Booth stood up, grabbed his jacket, made sure his gun and badge were with him and moved towards the door.

Unwilling to let his friend just leave, Sweets stood up and spoke up. "If you need to talk to someone I'm available. If you want me to I can leave work and hang out with you . . . you know as a friend."

"I don't need a babysitter." Booth paused in the doorway and glanced back at the younger man. "You mean well and thank you, but I don't want company right now. I just need to be left alone."

"No you don't." Sweets walked over to where his friend was standing and placed his hand on Booth's arm. "You really don't."

His temper barely under control, Booth knew that he had to calm down or he might do something he would regret later. "Fine, whatever."

As Booth walked over to the elevator, he barked out to Agent Burns. "I'm leaving. If you need anything check with Deputy Director Bishop. Don't call me for anything."

Actually relieved that Booth was leaving the office, Charlie raised his hand. "Got it." Like anyone would want their head chopped off trying to call you.

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Not sure what to do with himself, Booth drove over to the firing range to let off some steam. Sweets sat quietly in the truck and watched Booth drive aggressively. He knew if he said anything the agent would just vent and since the man was driving, Sweets didn't want to become a statistic.

Amazingly, they arrived at the firing range unharmed. Once they were there and Booth had parked near the entrance, he removed a box of shells from the back of his truck and trudged into the range. Signing in, he took the farthest lane away from the exit while Sweets signed in for the lane next to Booth. He had his gun with him, but not a box of bullets like Booth did. Since he wasn't really there to shoot, he thought he might let off a round or two and then just observe Booth.

Calmly, Booth made sure he had some ear protection on, lined up in the lane and shot until his gun was empty. After reloading his gun, he shot at the target once more until it was empty. Staring at the target, he decided that a torn piece of paper wasn't doing it for him. What he really wanted was his father's neck in his hands, but the man was dead and out of his reach. He had always hated his father, but he had never wanted him dead and now he did and that worried him. It worried him a lot. He didn't want to be that guy, bitter with the world, angry with everyone, pissing off his family and friends. He knew he needed to stop what he was doing and he needed to do it soon.

Refilling the chambers of his gun, he placed it in his holster, closed the box of shells and left. Surprised that Booth had quit so soon, Sweets followed Booth back to his car and entered the passenger side before Booth could drive off without him. Silence seemed to be the state of affairs between them right now and Sweets was fine with that. He was shadowing Booth at the moment so the man wouldn't be alone and he knew that Booth had to appreciate that even if he couldn't admit that to himself.

Once he was in his truck, Booth drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and tried to think what he wanted to do. He knew he couldn't go to the Lab because Brennan would think he was harassing her. She was already feeling too much pressure trying to find out how his mother had died and he was starting to regret doing that to her. He had been mean to everyone the last few days including Brennan and he knew he was just taking out his anger on the wrong people. That had to stop right now. Slowly, he left his truck and stood outside the door facing away from Sweets. Once he had his phone in his hand, he made a call and waited.

Brennan

"Bones, I'm sorry I've been acting so shitty around you. I think maybe you should just give up looking for cause of death for Mom. It won't change anything. My old man buried Mom in that forest and that means he either killed her or she died from her fall which he caused. He's guilty no matter what and . . . and I don't want you to worry about it anymore. I'm just going to let it go. Thank you for working so hard for me and I really do appreciate it . . . I love you Bones and I'm sorry I've been such a pill."

I have Clark looking at your mother's remains right now. I think a new perspective is in order, but I do appreciate this phone call Booth . . . I love you too and I would like help you get closure.

"Thanks, but there is never going to be closure." Booth sighed and looked at the traffic passing by next to the parking lot. "My old man is dead, so he can't pay for what he did, at least not in this world . . . Mom is dead, but at least we can bury her and give her some peace. I'm going to bury her with Grandma Alice and Grandpa George. I might not be able to get a plot near them, but it will be in the same cemetery. She really loved her parents and Grandma Alice really missed her when Mom disappeared. I think Grandma Alice died of a broken heart when she thought Mom ran away so my father has to answer to God for more than just Mom's death. Grandpa George died before I was born, so Mom was all Grandma had left besides Jared and me . . . anyway, thank you for working so hard for me, Bones and I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the ass. You've been great and I appreciate it. I really do. I'm going to try to be better. I promise."

Are you at work?

"No Deputy Director Bishop kicked me out of the building. I can't go back until I get my act together." Booth sighed and leaned against his truck. "I guess I've been treating everyone like shit and he got tired of it."

Would you like me to meet you somewhere? I can come home.

"Thanks Bones." Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes and thanked God that he had such a wonderful woman in his life and on his side. "I think I'd like that."

I'll meet you there.

The call ended, Booth reentered his truck and turned to look at his friend. "Sweets, I'm going to drive you back to work. Bones and I are going to have some alone time and you aren't invited."

He noticed that Booth was now calmer and less angry and for that he was grateful. Sweets didn't know what had made Booth change his attitude, but he was glad it had happened. "Not a problem. It was kind of boring hanging around with you anyway."

A slight smile on his face, Booth turned and started his truck. "You aren't exactly Mr. Excitement yourself. You tell me you're going to hang out with me and then you don't talk to me. What kind of crap is that?"

Since Booth was now in a better mood, Sweets thought it was better to not reply.

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