(The Signs in the Silence)

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

He woke with a start. Not sure what had awakened him, he turned his head and found himself alone. The sound of crying coming from the bathroom made him move from the bed to the bathroom. The sight of his partner leaning over the toilet crying and throwing up at the same time was very alarming and forced him to move further into the room. "Hey . . . Hey Bones. What's wrong?"

Tears streaming down her face, Brennan held her hands on the sides of the toilet and turned to stare at her partner. "I don't know . . . I woke up feeling nauseous and I can't seem to stop throwing up. I'm just dry heaving now . . . I thought it was just a stomach virus, but . . ."

His concern growing, he opened the medicine cabinet, removed a bottle of Emetrol from one of the shelves, opened the box and removed the bottle. "I bought this at lunch time yesterday, just in case." Handing her the opened bottle and the cap he watched her fill the cap and drink some of the medicine. "I don't know why we didn't have some in the house. You never know when you might need it. God knows Parker can really get sick sometimes. He picks up viruses from his classmates and boy those can be nasty." He was nervous and he wasn't sure what to do. "Do you want to go the ER? Do you think you need to see a doctor?"

Slowly shaking her head, Brennan handed the bottle and cap back to Booth. "No, I'm not in pain. I'm not running a fever . . . I'm just nauseous . . . I had salad for dinner, so it wasn't a heavy meal. It may still be a stomach virus. They can last for a few days. I think I should fast tomorrow, that helps sometimes."

After he placed the bottle on the sink, he knelt next to his partner and smiled. "Hey, let me go make you some hot tea. It helped yesterday."

Grateful for his kindness, Brennan patted his arm. "Thank you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

Not sure what was going on, he left the bathroom, made his way to the kitchen and prepared some Earl Gray tea. While he waited for the water in the cup to heat up, he rubbed his hand across his mouth. Please God. Don't take Bones from me. Please don't do that.

The tea was ready, he carried it back into the bathroom and handed it to Brennan. "Be careful, it's hot."

Once she had sipped some of the tea, she stood up and sat on the edge of the tub. "I think it would be a good idea to make an appointment with Dr. Cestia tomorrow and make sure this is just a stomach virus."

Concerned, Booth knelt next to her and placed his hand on her thigh. "I think that's a good idea. I think it's just a virus, but it won't hurt to get a second opinion . . . Do you want me to go with you . . . to the doctor, I mean. I can do it if you want me to. I can drive you."

"No, don't do that. I know you have a lot of work to do and you did tell me you have a meeting with the Director and the Deputy Director at nine. You can't cancel that one. You know you can't . . . I'm already feeling better. The Emetrol helped and so did the tea. I'm not nauseous anymore . . . We can go back to bed."

"I love you, Bones and I can skip the meeting for you. You come first." Booth smiled and stood up. Taking her hand, he helped her stand. "Just say the word."

Carrying her cup over to the sink, she placed it down and turned to face her lover. "I love you too and I don't want you to skip your meeting. I will call you when I've seen the doctor and I will tell you what he says . . . It's fine, Booth. Really. Don't treat me like an invalid because I'm not."

"No, I'm not. I just want to be there for you, that's all." Worried, Booth shook his head. "Throwing up two nights in a row means something's wrong."

"I agree, but still, it's probably a stomach virus and like I said, I feel better already. Let's go back to bed." Kissing him, Brennan knew that he was worried about her and she loved him for that.

Once they were back in bed, Booth moved his arm around Brennan's shoulders. "We've been working non-stop for a few weeks now. A lot of cases and me trying to track down Brodsky and the Director wanting some heads to roll since I found more of Kirby's men in our ranks . . . we're both losing sleep . . . Once we've closed the Pelant case and we've found Brodsky, I think we should go on a vacation. A week should do it . . . What do you think? Does that sound good?"

No answer, Booth turned his head and noticed that Brennan was asleep. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. I won't forget"

Ooooooooooooo

After checking in with Angela to see if she had anything he could use against Harold Kouns and Andrew Winters, Booth returned to the Hoover with a thick folder containing information that might interest his two suspects.

Since Brennan was busy with Chester White's autopsy, Booth brought Harris into the interrogation room and they both sat down across from Harold Kouns. Booth's plan was to interview Kouns first then Winters.

"You can only hold me for 24 hours and time's up. Release me or charge me." Kouns was sure that there wasn't any real evidence against him and if one of Taffet's people was talking then it was hearsay evidence.

Kouns' lawyer, Peter Dunning nodded his head. "It's put up or shut up, Agent Booth. It's time to release my client."

Staring at Kouns for a several seconds, Booth glanced at Dunning then back at Kouns and finally opened the folder he had placed on the table in front of him. "This is Christopher Pelant. His body was found at the Vietnam War Memorial . . . as you can see he was shot." When he got no response, Booth continued. "During my investigation of Pelant's murder, I discovered he had a safety deposit box and in it there was a diary . . . very interesting reading by the way."

Kouns was certain Booth was fishing and shrugged his shoulders.

"My investigation then led me to a second house that Pelant owned in Silver Spring, Maryland. That was where Pelant was murdered." Booth noticed Kouns look down and clasp his hands.

"We found two computers in the back room with two servers. Why you didn't destroy them is beyond me . . . it took my IT specialist a few days, but she cracked Pelant's passwords and she found a treasure trove of information about Taffet and her crew." Booth placed a sheet of paper showing a list of files under the file 'Gormogon'. "Apparently she didn't work alone . . . Pelant was obsessed with you guys."

"You guys?" Kouns laughed. "I never worked for that bitch and you can't prove I did. And, I still don't know who Christopher Pelant is."

Another sheet from the folder was placed in front of Kouns so he and his lawyer could read it. "You really shouldn't have used the internet to talk to Barry, Andrew and Peter . . . For some reason, Christopher Pelant became interested in Taffet and he started researching what she did and why. He found your emails on Andrew Winters' computer. How he found out about Winters is in Pelant's diary . . . and once he had those emails he tracked down your computer and hacked into it. He copied everything you had on that computer including maps that showed where Dorothy Schooley and Chester White were buried."

Booth saw the sweat beads form on Kouns forehead. Smiling, he placed numerous sheets on the table, one at a time, waiting several seconds before revealing each page. "If you're going to commit murder don't put your plans on your computer."

"Bullshit . . . that stuff isn't on my computer. This Pelant fella forged all of this crap." Kouns was afraid now and he wasn't sure he would walk away from what he had done.

Amused, Booth placed a warrant on the table in front of him. "Judge Latrelle believed it's real and gave me a warrant for your computer at your house. It's at the Lab right now. Agent Brown monitored Ms. Montenegro while she downloaded your files this morning and made several copies. This one is for you." Booth tossed the USB drive in front of the lawyer. "Just so you know what you're going to be dealing with . . . Taffet's orders to kidnap various people, where she wanted them buried, maps that you created showing where the bodies are buried . . . Dr. Jack Hodgins will be searching those burial sites starting today. He's sure it will take him a few days to find them all, but he's confident he will since your maps showing where Schooley and White were buried proved to be accurate."

Afraid, Kouns grabbed his lawyer's arm. "Do something. This can't be legal. They don't have cause to grab my computer."

Sighing, Peter Dunning knew that his client had not been up front with him, but he'd try to save him anyway. "I will contest the warrant."

"Go ahead." Booth placed a few pictures of the remains of Dorothy Schooley and Chester White on the table for Dunning and Kouns to see. "Assistant Prosecutor Caroline Julian has been given all of this data, copies of your files, files that were found on Winters' computer and the proof that Schooley and White were murdered. The confessions of Barry Thomas and Peter Manning implicating you and Winters in this mess. Your computer files . . . your boots you wore when you buried your victims has some blood on them and they're being analyzed right now . . . I guess some of your victims tried to fight back. Also, there was blood on another pair of shoes in your closet. It looks like you tried to clean it off but missed some in the laces. It will be interesting to see if it's Pelant's blood . . . we have video of you leaving the Vietnam War Memorial just before Pelant's body was found and you were wearing those shoes." He placed another warrant on the table. "This is the warrant that allowed us to search your house for evidence. Thomas and Manning have agreed to testify against you, so good luck. Caroline is going for the death penalty . . . It was stupid putting all of this shit on your computer and not getting rid of your shoes when you killed Pelant. You're a trained police officer and you've investigated murders . . . What you did makes no sense."

Furious, Kouns stood up and launched himself across the table grabbing Booth. His hands around Booth's neck, he screamed in outrage and didn't stop screaming until Agent Harris used the butt of his gun and hit Kouns on the back of his head knocking him out.

Pushing Kouns away from Booth, Harris shook his head. "Why didn't you move before he grabbed you? Next time, gouge the guy's eyes out, don't just try to remove his hands from your throat . . . Jeez. I thought you were a Ranger. Candy Ass."

His throat red and sore, Booth stood up and stared down at Kouns inert body. "Yeah, I'll remember to do that the next time." Rubbing his throat, he turned to stare at his lieutenant. "Candy Ass? Don't you have a job performance review next month?"

"Well, maybe I should have just said you're getting soft." Harris smiled at his supervisor. "I usually reserve Candy Ass for the rookies."

"Bones is going to be pissed when she sees my neck." Booth was certain Brennan was going to be angry that he allowed Kouns to attack him. "Since you're my backup, expect a call from her."

Sighing, Harris opened the door and asked the agent outside to get help carrying Kouns back to his cell. After he made sure a doctor was going to check out the Arlington policeman, he turned to stare at Kouns' lawyer. "This is all on film, so don't try to say your client was attacked by us. That attack should play pretty well to the jury."

Angry with his client, Dunning shrugged his shoulders. "You goaded him."

Amused, Harris pointed at the door. "Good luck with that. Ms. Julian is going to eat you and your client for lunch if you try that bullshit."

Once they were alone, Booth gathered up his sheets of paper, put them back in the folder and left the room with Harris following him. "I hope our interview with Andrew Winters is a little less exciting."

Oooooooooooooo

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