A/N I hope everyone enjoyed the fluffy break of the previous chapter. Now we're back into Booth figuring things out (with a little help, of course.)

I assume no one really NEEDS (or maybe even bothers with) the disclaimers, but here it is-don't own Bones or its characters.

I walked into the lab to pick up Bones for lunch, and the first person I ran into was Daisy Wick. Stifling a sigh (and an urge to grab my gun), I smiled and asked if she knew where Bones was.

"She's in Limbo, Agent Booth. She asked me to help her with identifying remains. We make a great team, so-"

I held up my hand. "Really, Daisy, that's all I need to know."

"But, Agent Booth, there are some fascinating remains there. Right now we're working on-" She broke off. "Do you have a headache, Agent Booth?"

I was pinching the bridge of my nose and muttered, "I think I have one now."

"Is it a migraine? I have never had one, but I understand they can be awful. Maybe-"

"Ms. Wick." Cam's voice. Thank God. "I believe you were in the middle of some work-work that does not include questioning Agent Booth. Perhaps you could get back to it. Please let Dr. Brennan know that Agent Booth is here, and will be in my office."

I shot Cam a questioning glance as Daisy nodded enthusiastically and said, 'Right away, Dr. Saroyan."

As she walked off, I leaned over to Cam and whispered, "Nice rescue."

She smiled. "You looked like you needed it. But don't thank me yet, Seeley."

I stared at her, and let out a sigh. "So now it's your turn for the third degree about my mom."

Cam tugged on my sleeve. "Let's not do this in the middle of the lab. And it's not a third degree. It's a friend being concerned about another friend. That's all."

I followed her into her office. "I know, Cam. It's just-everything seems more confusing and frustrating the more I dig into it."

"So talk to me. I've known you and Jared a long time. Maybe I can help. At least I can be another sympathetic ear."

I shrugged. "I'm not even sure where to start. Mom and I have had a few conversations about our past. It's-let's just say those have not exactly been fun for anybody involved."

"Did you get the answers you were looking for?"

I gave a short, humorless laugh. "I got answers, all right. I wouldn't say I was looking for what I found out, though."

Cam raised her eyebrows. "That bad, huh?" I shrugged and she placed her hands on her hips. "Don't give me that, Seeley. I get you're a private guy. How long have we known each other? If you don't want to go into every gory detail, I get it. I'm not going to insist-I know how well that would work anyway. But really-we were friends before either of us worked here. I know you, Seeley. I know this is eating you up, and if you think I'm going to stand by at let that happen without trying to help you, than you have another think coming."

"I know you want to help, Cam. It's just-I don't think I really recognized what kind of person my mom was. Bones, Hank and I had it out with her, and some of the things she said-"

Cam looked closely at me. "I'm going to assume that you're not going to tell me everything she said and that's fine, but something about it really bothered you. Care to share that?"

"God, Cam, what hasn't bothered me about this? She's explained why she left, what she did after she left, why she didn't contact me or Jared, why she left us with Dad, why her new husband's kids knew about us but Jared and I didn't know about them-"

"Woah." Cam held up her hand. "Ok, that was more than I was expecting from you."

I shrugged. "You asked, Camille."

She shook her head. "Yeah, I guess I did. I'm assuming you asked about the details of this stuff-so I take it it's the answers themselves that were hard to hear."

I let out a long breath. "I don't get how she could have done what she did, and how she thought the way she handled all this was OK. And I'm not sure her explanations make things better. They may have made them worse."

Cam whistled. "That must have been a hell of a conversation, Seeley."

"You have no idea, Cam. I was hoping talking to her about this would make it better, but right now I feel like it's worse."

She studied me. "So now what?"

"Now? Now I try to figure out what I think about what she told me. Because right this minute, I have no clue what to do with it."

Cam studied me for a minute. "I really am sorry, Seeley. I know how much it meant to you to have your mom come back, and I can only imagine what you feel like having that turned inside out."

"I feel like I've been turned inside out, Cam. Everything I believed, or wanted to believe, about my mom has just been completely destroyed. How do I deal with that? How do I treat her now?"

Cam sighed. "Look, I don't know everything she told you. All I know is you're a good guy. Just make sure you do what's best for you. Well, for you, Dr. Brennan, and Christine. If that means you keep her at arm's length, that's what you do. Just don't let her guilt trip you into anything."

I raised my eyebrows. "So I'm a doormat?"

Cam smiled and shook her head. "Of course not. But you like to try to make people happy, Seeley. That's a good thing, don't get me wrong, I just don't want you to keep the peace with your mom if it means you suffer for it. That's all. And don't give me that look. We've been friends for years-I'm allowed to talk to you like this and you know it. I just don't want to see you hurt-especially not because of your family. Let's face it, they've done enough damage. Don't let them do any more. So how did Dr. Brennan react to all this?"

I grinned. "Think full-blown scientist with some 'momma bear' thrown in."

"Oh good Lord. I can't imagine your mom was ready to deal with that."

I shrugged. "I made it clear Bones was a part of all this. Mom didn't really have a choice. I think it threw her, particularly at first."

"Hell, Seeley, that attitude threw me when I first came to work here. It scares me a little to think how strong she would have come on when it comes to anything dealing with you. And don't give me a hard time-I care about both of you, but for someone not used to dealing with how direct Dr. Brennan can be, you have to admit it can be a little offputting."

"That's part of her charm, Cam."

Cam leveled a look at me. "Charm, right."

"OK, so charm is in the eye of the beholder."

Cam laughed. "Ok, Seeley. I'll back off of that. I don't want you to sic Dr. Brennan on me. Seriously, though, I'm glad she's in your corner for this. I know how you keep things in-except when it comes to her. I just wanted you to know that she's not the only one who has your back."

"Yeah, I know. Hodgins already offered to go out and get drunk with me."

Cam put a hand over eyes. "Oh, God. I don't want to know. If it happens I don't want to hear about it. I have enough problems dealing with his experiments some days."

"Has Dr. Hodgins been conducting more unauthorized experiments, Dr. Saroyan?" I turned at the sound of Bones' voice.

Cam shook her head. "No, Dr. Brennan. Seeley was just telling me about Dr. Hodgins suggestion to go out and get drunk. I already have my hands full with him-I didn't think I needed to hear about that on top of everything else."

Bones frowned at me. "Really?"

I threw my arm over her shoulders. "It was an offer from a friend, Bones, that's all. It's a guy thing-go out, have some drinks, maybe watch some sports-and maybe talk about stuff in between. So you ready for lunch, or does Daisy have some insight she wants to show off to you."

"She is an excellent scientist, Booth."

"Yeah, but as a person she remind me of a horsefly-constantly buzzing around."

The expression on Bones' face was priceless. She looked torn between agreeing with me or reprimanding me for insulting her intern. "Booth-"

"Relax, Bones-it's not like I'm going to actually tell her that." I turned to Cam, leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, Cam. I appreciate the ear and the advice. I'll keep all of it in mind. In the meantime, I'm going to steal your coworker for lunch, if that's OK."

Cam laughed. "Knock yourself out."

As we headed out of the lab, I heard Cam's voice behind me. "Ms. Wick, what exactly did you just do?"

Felt like ending on a jab at Daisy. I don't hate her as much as I used to, but she still irritates me. If you like her, I respect your opinion, but she reminds me of one of my younger sisters-the one that I did not like while we were growing up. (LONG history there-don't ask.)

I figured Cam would need to put in an appearance somewhere. She and Booth knew each other before either one became involved with the Jeffersonian, and Cam knows exactly how much his family (except for Hank) has screwed him over. She wouldn't want to see history repeat itself.