Épisode Lorsque l'enfant paraît S03E12

L'épisode commence avec Booth et Brennan qui arrivent sur les lieux d'un accident. Une voiture a brûlés avec un corp à l'intérieur. Brennan parvient à déterminer que la victime, est une femme d'une vingtaine d'années qui a été brûler avec de l'essence. Elle remarque également que la femme a eu au moins un enfant .

Alors qu'elle continue d'examiner le corps, Booth entend un bruit. Il fait taire tout le monde et suit le son jusqu'à un arbre. Il lève les yeux et découvre un siège auto dans les branches. Un bébé est assis dedans.

Booth porte le bébé dans les bras. Brennan demande à ce que le siège et la porte de la voiture soient rapportés à l'Institut Jefferson. Quand les partenaires essaient de changer la couche du bébé, Brennan trouve une clé cachée dans le sac de la victime. Booth lui demande de surveiller le bébé pendant qu'il va chercher un sac en plastique et Brennan se retrouve seule avec le bébé qui pleure pour le calmer elle lui montre son éléphant en peluche et lui dit qu'il n'est pas normal car il est rose ! .

Lorsque Booth revient, il réalise que Bones a laissé la clé près du bébé... Ils ne la voient plus et il semble que le bébé l'ait avalé. L'enfant va devoir rester avec eux jusqu'à ce qu'il rejette leur preuve Booth donne le bébé a Brennan qui lui fait pipi dessus .

Au labo, Cam, Angela et Zack s'extasient devant le bébé couché sur la table d'examen. Comme elle est enregistrée comme parent adoptive, Brennan est maintenant la tutrice légale de l'enfant. Quand Hodgins passe un détecteur de métaux au-dessus du bébé, l'appareil bipe, ce qui signifie que celui-ci a bien avalé la clé. Brennan entre et veut que son équipe se remette à travailler, leur rappelant que le bébé n'est pas un jouet. Angela accepte de surveiller le petit garcon pendant que les autres examinent la victime.

L'Agent Charlie entre dans le bureau de Booth et lui annonce que la voiture brûlée appartenait à un homme mort. Elle a été vendue pour trois fois rien dans une casse de Seneva Rocks, en Virginie de l'Ouest. C'est quelqu'un qui souhaitait visiblement rester anonyme qui l'a achetée il demande ensuite a Booth si c'est réellement le Dr Brennan qui s'occupe du bébé et dit qu'il paierait cher pour voir sa.

Dans la salle d'autopsie, Brennan, Camille et Zack étudient les restes. La victime est morte à cause de l'accident, pas du feu. Angela entre dans la salle est leur montre la couche du bébé qui a du caca rose.

Avec le babyphone dans la main, Brennan travers le laboratoire avec Booth. Hodgins les rattrape. Il a trouvé une substance sur l'os qui lui indique que la victime vivait dans le Nord de la Virginie de l'Ouest, le comté Tucker pour être exact. Le babyphone sonne et Brennan ne comprend pas. Elle l'a nourrit, l'a changé et lui a fait faire son rot. Et pourtant, il pleure encore. Pendant que Booth et elle se disputent pour savoir qui va aller chercher le bébé, Angela entre avec le bébé dans les bras. Elle apporte aussi une reconstitution du visage de la victime et Brennan remarque rapidement les similarités du visage entre la reconstitution du visage de la victime et le bébé. Les résultats du test ADN ne sont pas encore arrivés mais Bones est sûr qu'il s'agit de la mère de l'enfant.

B&B sillonnent les rues de Huntsville. C'est presque une ville fantôme, mais Booth observe la valeur immobilière de l'endroit. Il recommande à Brennan de se construire une maison près de la rivière pour qu'il puisse venir pêcher. Ses conseils en investissement n'intéressent pas Brennan. Alors qu'elle regarde le bébé dans le siège auto à l'arrière, elle souligne combien il est seul : personne n'a signalé sa disparition, personne ne se préoccupe de lui. Personne sauf Brennan, note Booth.

Booth, Brennan et le bébé s'arrêtent près d'une maison pour parler avec le propriétaire. Il estime que le gouvernement est responsable de la situation de Huntsville. Rien n'a jamais été fait lorsque le pont a été ravagé, il y a plusieurs années, ce dont l'économie locale a beaucoup souffert. La femme du propriétaire sort et reconnaît immédiatement le bébé, Andy. Le couple du bout de la rue, Jimmy et Carol Grant, le surveille pendant que sa mère est au travail. Elle reconnaît aussi le visage dessiné de la victime : c'est bien la mère de l'enfant.

B&B se rendent chez les Grant pour parler avec Jimmy et Carol. Booth leur montre le dessin du visage de la victime et ils confirment que c'est bien Meg Taylor, la mère d'Andy. Le père de celui-ci, Lou, les a abandonnés tous les deux peu après la naissance du bébé. Meg travaillait dur pour aider le garçon et les Grant étaient heureux de garder Andy pendant ce temps là. Elle était employée à Fallbrook Rubber, un des seuls endroits où travailler dans la ville. Jimmy et Carol évoquent leur vie avant que le pont ne soit ravagé. Jimmy enseignait au lycée tandis que Carol était directrice de projets.

Dans la voiture de B&B Cam appelle pour donner l'explication du caca rose d'Andy. Le bébé avait dans le sang un médicament contre les convulsions. Il est peut-être épileptique.

Booth et Brennan se rendent jusqu'à la caravane de Meg dont ils trouvent la porte d'entrée ouverte. Alors que Booth sort de sa voiture, le revolver au poing, il fait promettre a Bones de rester dans la voiture avec le bébé et de s'en aller si il y'a un problème.

Booth entre dans la caravane et découvre un homme en train de fouiller l'endroit. Celui-ci commence à s'enfuir mais Booth le rattrape et lui passe les menottes.

Alors qu'il est dans la caravane, Brennan attend dehors avec le bébé. Elle essaie de faire arrêter de pleurer le bébé.

Dans la caravane, Booth parle avec l'homme. Il s'agit de Lou, le mari de Meg. Booth lui dit qu'elle est morte et il veut savoir où celui-ci était la nuit précédente. Il ne se souvient pas.

Tandis que Brennan a réussi à calmer Andy, Booth arrive avec Lou menottés. Celui-ci avoue qu'il cambriolait la caravane de sa femme mais il ne l'a pas tué : elle s'occupait de lui.

De retour au labo, Angela montre à Cam l'empreinte de la clé qu'a avalée Andy. Le type de clé qui ressemble le plus est celui utilisé pour les coffres-forts. Elle va lancer une recherche pour trouver la banque la plus proche de Huntsville dans laquelle on utilise ces clés.

A la caravane de Meg, le FBI termine de passer l'endroit au peigne fin et Brennan repère la boîte de médicaments prescrits à Andy par une clinique située à 75 km de là. Sur un calendrier mural, Booth remarque que Meg avait un rendez-vous chez le docteur à Washington prévu pour le lendemain du jour où elle est morte. Brennan veut récupérer le dossier médical d'Andy, ainsi que la prescription du médicament. Zack appelle Brennan pour la tenir au courant des dernières avancées de son examen.

B&B se rendent à la compagnie Fallbrook Rubber pour parler avec, le patron de Meg. Celui ci est surpris d'apprendre la mort de Meg ; elle était plus solide que la plupart des hommes. Terry et Rich, deux employés, entendent la conversation et proposent leur opinion. Ils évoquent Dave Shepard, un comptable récemment arrivé à Huntsville qui réduisait les coûts de l'usine. Lui et Meg entretenaient peut-être une relation.

Alors que Booth, Brennan et Andy repartent vers la voiture, Booth reçoit un appel. Lou n'a pas pu tuer Meg ; il était en prison . Booth ordonne que les employés de l'usine soient interrogés et il demande les coordonnées de Dave Shepard. Il pense que les empreintes du meurtrier peuvent se trouver dans la caravane.

Booth change la couche d'Andy tandis que Brennan nettoie la clé qu'elle vient de récupérer. A travers une vidéo-conférence, Brennan lit le numéro de la clé à Angela. Celle-ci lance une recherche dans une base de données de combinaisons et trouve une correspondance. La clé provient de la banque Green Hills à Petersburg, en Virigine de l'Ouest. Booth prend Andy dans ses bras et Brennan remarque que les jambes de l'enfant sont incurvées. Booth veut s'arrêter aux services sociaux et déposer Andy, maintenant qu'ils ont récupéré la clé. Mais Brennan n'est pas d'accord. Elle a été dans la même situation et elle ne veut pas se séparer d'Andy tant qu'elle n'est pas certaine qu'il est en bonne santé.

Les partenaires arrivent à la banque Great Hills où Booth utilise la clé pour ouvrir un coffre fort. A l'intérieur se trouve un revolver.

Brennan prend des échantillons du canon du revolver. Elle découvre un résidu collant sur la détente et un objet étranger dans le canon. Elle détermine également que le revolver a servi il y a peu de temps. Booth sait que le pistolet n'était pas déclaré au nom de Meg et le numéro de série a été effacé.

Jimmy emmène les enquêteurs à une piscine municipale abandonnée. Tandis qu'il s'occupe d'Andy, Brennan passe en revue quelques produits chimiques. Elle sort une bouteille d'acide. En le mélangeant avec le métal du revolver, elle arrive à faire ressortir le numéro de série.

Booth interroge Earl Delancy, le propriétaire du revolver. Il travaillait à Fallbrook Rubber, mais a été licencié. Le pistolet a été déclaré à son nom mais ils jurent ne pas l'avoir vu depuis plusieurs années. Il l'a vendu à un prêteur sur gages. Il est peu convaincant car son casier judiciaire est rempli d'attaques sur son patron et Dave Shepard. Le magasin du prêteur semble être une impasse car, comme le reste de la ville, il a fermé.

Au laboratoire, Zack identifie l'objet étranger du revolver comme un fragment d'os. Du tissu de cerveau sur les fragments lui indiquent que l'arme a été utilisée pour tirer sur quelqu'un à bout portant. Hodgins dit à Zack que le résidu collant sur la détente est de la peau brûlée. Il va l'envoyer à Cam pour récupérer l'ADN.

Booth entre dans le bureau de Brennan et la trouve en train de donner le biberon à Andy, tout en étant en attente sur la ligne d'un député. Elle l'appelle pour lui demander de réparer le pont de Huntsville. B&B n'ont toujours pas de nouvelles du dossier médical du bébé. Cam arrive avec des informations sur la peau brûlée du pistolet. Elle provient d'un homme, ce qui signifie que Meg était complice ou simplement témoin d'un meurtre et, après avoir mis la main sur le revolver, l'a caché. Booth reçoit un coup de téléphone : Dave Shepard a été retrouvé après avoir utilisé sa carte de crédit pour prendre une chambre dans un motel. La police de Huntsville vient de l'arrêter.

Booth va à la prison du comté. Il entre dans la salle d'interrogation et trouve un SDF à la place de Dave Shepard. Celui-ci a trouvé la carte de crédit de Shepart dans un sac couvert de sang, dans une poubelle.

Alors que Booth continue de rechercher Dave Shepard, Brennan et Cam sont de retour au labo. Cam termine les tests sur le sang du sang et le petit bout de cerveau du fragment d'os et les compare avec les ADN de la base de données du FBI. Le sang est celui de Shepard. Ce n'est pas lui l'assassin ; c'est la victime. Brennan donne à Angela une clé USB cassée retrouvée dans le sac de Shepard, espérant que celle-ci puisse en récupérer les informations.

Angela va voir Hodgins, elle veut être sûre qu'il veut des enfants. Il répond qu'il en veut un million, tout comme elle, et qu'il l'aimera peu importe à quoi elle ressemble après ses accouchements. L'ordinateur de Hodgins bippe avec les résultats d'un test de particules. Le revolver a été utilisé à Fallbrook Rubber.

Booth et Brennan se rendent à l'usine de caoutchouc. Elle remarque une gros machine à pneus... exactement ce qu'il faut pour se débarrasser d'un corps. Il faut qu'ils cherchent dans les sacs d'ordures qui remontent au jour où Shepard a disparu.

Terry amène Booth et Brennan devant la pile de sacs. Brennan mélange le caoutchouc écrasé avec un peu d'eau et continue le test avec plusieurs sacs. Pour chaque test, les morceaux de caoutchouc flottent dans l'eau, jusqu'à ce qu'elle découvre un sac où un morceau de caoutchouc flotte mais un petit bout d'os coule au fond du tube. Booth ordonne que les lieux soient immédiatement fermés. Angela appelle pour dire ce qu'elle a trouvé sur la clé USB. Dave Shepard, le comptable, avait des chiffres différents de ceux qui ont été donnés à l'entreprise : il s'était rendu compte que quelqu'un détournait de l'argent. C'est probablement la raison pour laquelle lui et Meg ont été tués. Booth et Brennan veulent parler avec le patron de meg mais il est parti.

Celui ci saute dans sa voiture et essaie de s'enfuir. Booth l'arrête et court à sa poursuite. Il ne va pas loin car Booth le rattrape. Il avoue tout. Il admet avoir volé l'argent pour sauver sa famille, et Dave allait le dénoncer. Meg voulait de l'argent pour acheter son silence à propos du meurtre, c'est pourquoi il l' a provoqué son accident.

Brennan est dans son bureau avec Andy quand Booth entre. Il a un mot que le FBI a découvert dans la voiture de Meg. C'est un message à Carol Grant. Cam entre avec le dossier médical d'Andy. Il est un atteint d'une maladie comme sa mére mais il va pouvoir être soigné.

Dans la salle de conférence du FBI, Carol lit la lettre. Meg voulait que Carol et Jimmy s'occupent d'Andy si quoique ce soit devait lui arriver. Jimmy signe les papiers d'adoption. Brennan donne Andy à ses nouveaux parents.

L'épisode se termine avec Booth et Brennan... Ils s'arrêtent au parc pour boire un café ils discutent assis dans la voiture. Brennan admet qu'Andy lui manque. Et alors que Booth la taquine, il renverse du café sur un dossier. A l'intérieur se trouve des papiers pour la reconstruction du pont de Huntsville. Brennan va payer elle-même et elle a embauché Carol Grant pour diriger le projet. Booth plaisante en disant que Taty Bones manque au petit Andy et lui suggère de réfléchir à l'idée de construire une résidence secondaire près du lac... Booth a besoin d'un endroit pour aller pêcher et pour regarder la télévision sur un énorme écran plasma. Brennan sort une tétine et lui enfonce dans la bouche pour le faire taire.

Fin de l'épisode

TEASER

(Open: Freeway stock. Night. Booth's Car exterior. Booth's Car interior. BOOTH is driving.)

BRENNAN: What do you know about the Cayman Islands?

BOOTH: Great diving, you know? Lots of sea turtles. Why? Are you going?

BRENNAN: No. My accountant wants me to set up a tax shelter there.

BOOTH: Tax shelter?! Exactly how loaded are you?

BRENNAN: (indignantly) That is an offensive way to phrase the question. (she pauses, and mumbles) Quite loaded. I'm betting on a seven figure advance for my next book.

BOOTH: Seven figures. Wow. With-without the decimal point?

BRENNAN: (defensively) The publishers make considerably more.

BOOTH: What's the first of those seven figures?

BRENNAN: A prime number. What do you do with your money?

BOOTH: I use it for food and rent.

(Cut to Booth's Car exterior on freeway.)

(Cut to: firemen and emergency workers grouped around a crash site in Pendleton. There are fire trucks, police cars and an ambulance. A sports car has run off the road. The area is muddy and wooded. It is night and the site is lit with floodlights on stands. The firemen are packing up hoses and calling to each other as they work. SHERIFF DELPY, BOOTH and BRENNAN walk into shot.)

FIREMAN: (in background) Hey, this is all done get over to-

BOOTH: (to DELPY) Hey. What have we got here?

DELPY: You Agent Booth?

BOOTH: (shaking his hand) Special Agent Booth. How you doing?

DELPY: Sheriff Delpy.

BOOTH: This here's my partner-

BRENNAN: I can introduce myself. Doctor Temperance Brennan.

BOOTH: Somebody ran the car off the road?

DELPY: Yeah. Well, it makes it impossible to get any traceable tire marks.

(BRENNAN approaches the victim, who is a burned husk still seated in the driver seat of the open top car.)

BRENNAN: The victim was doused with gasoline and then set on fire.

DELPY: Farmer three miles away saw the smoke, called it in.

Brennan: Female. Probably in her early twenties. Preauricula sulcus on the iliac. She's given birth.

BOOTH: Ran off the side of the road, set on fire... Somebody wanted her dead.

DELPY: Well that's why I need your help. I only got six deputies covered four hundred square miles. We're stretched thinner than plastic wrap.

BRENNAN: Compound fractures to the right tibia and fibula. (BOOTH opens the hood of the car and notices a diaper bag in the back seat.) Crushed manubrium; massive skull trauma. (BABY ANDY cries and BOOTH looks up quickly as BRENNAN continues her examination) I'm not certain yet whether she died in the accident or the fire-

BOOTH: Ssssh! You hear that? (The SHERIFF and BRENNAN listen) Everybody! Keep quiet! Stop workin'! (To Brennan) Did you hear that?

BRENNAN: Sounds like a cat. (They all look around.)

BOOTH: A baby. (He looks up. The camera looks down on BOOTH and BRENNAN from the treetops. Pan across to reveal BABY ANDY in a car-seat, lodged in the branches.

DELPY: Holy crap.

BOOTH: Get a ladder down here now!

FIREMAN: All right, let's move!

(Cut to DELPY and EMERGENCY WORKER holding BABY ANDY as they walk alongside the emergency vehicles to BOOTH and BRENNAN)

DELPY: There's not even a scratch on the boy. It's a miracle.

BRENNAN: Well, hardly! Car-seats are specifically engineered to protect the child.

BOOTH: From what? Flying out the back of a car and landing in a tree? (BABY ANDY squawks) Oh, look at him, Bones. He looks a little fussy there. Why don't you pick him up and give him a cuddle?

BRENNAN: What? Just because I have breasts doesn't mean that I have magical powers over infants. You're the one with the son.

BOOTH: All right, fine. I'll take him. Here you go. (He hands her the diaper bag.) You have fun with the diaper bag. You look good. (he takes BABY ANDY) Come on, little man! Whoa-ho. Hi! Why don't you say hi to your grumpy old Auntie Bones.

BRENNAN: No! I am not grumpy! (To the SHERIFF) The-the vinyl seat melted and fused to the body so we need that brought back to the Jeffersonian. And the driver's door for particulate evidence.

DELPY: (Sniffing) The kid smells a little ripe. Might want to take care of that.

BOOTH: Ye-eah. (He sighs) Okay, Bones, I'm gonna have to change him. Just hold on to him here (holding BABY ANDY out for Bones to take). Here you go. Here you go. Okay? Got him?

BRENNAN: What? Oh! Woah! Arrrgh.

BOOTH: Okay. Here we go. (Taking off his suit jacket) We'll work together on this one. (He lays his suit jacket on the wide back step of a fire truck) Changin' Diapers 101. ( BRENNAN passes him BABY ANDY) Here we go. Here we go, little big man. Okay. watch your-Here. Right here. Look at that. All right. Get me a diaper there, Bones.

BRENNAN: Right. There you go.

BOOTH: Thanks. Baby powder.

BRENNAN: You know, Booth, I have better things to do with my time. (She looks through the bag) There's no powder.

BOOTH: No powder?

BRENNAN: Yeah. Hey. Wait a minute. (She pulls a key from the bag and shows it to BOOTH.)

BOOTH: Where'd that come from?

BRENNAN: There's a rip in the lining of the bag. Seems like someone was trying to hide it.

BOOTH: Okay. I'll get an evidence bag and I'll ask EMT if they have any baby powder. Just watch him. (He jogs away.)

BRENNAN: Wait. Wait. Wait! Booth. There's a baby! I don't feel comforta-. (She trails off, exasperated. BABY ANDY gurgles.) Coochie-coo? (BABY ANDY cries.) Oh! No no! No need to fuss! Obviously something is upsetting you. Children have toys; you must have some. Let me see. (She rummages in the bag, retrieving a purple stuffed elephant.) You know, elephants are not purple. This is wrong. ( BABY ANDY cries. BRENNAN sighs). Hey, look at that: he flipped over!

BOOTH: Bones! That's because you gotta *watch* him. Jeez. Woah. Okay, look, little big man. If you're gonna be in my jacket, we gotta get you out of that diaper. Woah. Okay, where's the key?

BRENNAN: I put it on your jacket.

BOOTH: Next to the baby?

BRENNAN: Yeah.

BOOTH: Are you crazy? Do you know that babies put everything in their mouth, Bones? He could have swallowed the key! It's so dangerous. All right. Okay. ( He picks up the BABY ANDY whilst BRENNAN looks for the key) Shh shh shh shh. The *key*, Bones. look for the key.

BRENNAN: It's not here. Oh, no. He must've... swallowed it.

BOOTH: (In synchrony) Swallowed it. (BABY ANDY cries.) Okay. (BOOTH hands BABY ANDY to BRENNAN) Here you go. Get used to him.

BRENNAN: What do you mean?

BOOTH: That key was evidence. You know how chain of custody works. That kid stays with us until we get the key back.

(BRENNAN looks at him. BABY ANDY pees down her leg,)

BRENNAN: Ugh. Argh.

BOOTH: (Takes the still-peeing BABY ANDY.) Wooh. That's a stream.

TITLES.

ACT ONE.

(Open: Medico-Legal-Lab. CAM, ANGELA and ZACK stand in a line looking down at something offscreen.)

ANGELA: I have never seen anything so gorgeous on this table before.

CAM: Or so alive!

(Camera looks down from above at ZACK, ANGELA and CAM standing along one side of an examination table. BABY ANDY lies on it, laid on a piece of cloth and burbling happily.)

ZACK: Why is Doctor Brennan the official custodian?

ANGELA: She's registered as a foster parent. Russ asked her to do it after he began his prison term.

CAM: Russ wants to make sure his step-daughters are taken care of if anything happens to Amy.

ZACK: Prodigious saliva production.

HODGINS: (Walking into shot carrying a security swipe-wand metal detector.) Okay. Now we can determine if the little guy really *did* swallow the key, or if he has been falsely accused. (HODGINS passes the wand over BABY ANDY. The wand squeals as it passes over BABY ANDY's abdomen.)

CAM: Well, unless he's already had a hip replacement, it sounds like there's a key in there.

ANGELA: He liked it! Do it again. (HODGINS wiggles the wand over BABY ANDY, who chuckles and squirms.)

BRENNAN: What are you doing?

HODGINS: (Grinning) We were just- (He sees BRENNAN'S expression and becomes serious.) We verified that the baby did indeed swallow the key.

BRENNAN: Then you should X-Ray him to get a clean view. He's not a plaything. (To Zack.) And you're supposed to be examining the victim.

ANGELA: We thought it would be bad form to examine the remains in front of the baby. You know, creepy formative memory?

BRENNAN: Then would you mind taking him for a little while so that we can work?

ANGELA: I'd love to. (She gathers up BABY ANDY, smiling. ANGELA looks at HODGINS. who laughs indulgently.) Get used to it. I want, like, a million of these.

HODGINS: Cool. (Angela carries BABY ANDY away. HODGINS to CAM) What do you think she meant by "a million"? Two?

(Scene: Booth's Office. BOOTH is looking through some photographs. AGENT CHARLIE BURNS knocks on his door.

CHARLIE: Agent Booth?

BOOTH: Yeah?

CHARLIE: Got a hit on your burned car. It was registered to a dead guy.

BOOTH: A dead woman driving a dead man's car.

CHARLIE: Plates expired five years ago. Dead guy's family said they sold the car for scrap to a junkyard in Seneca Rocks, West Virginia.

BOOTH: Let me guess: junkyard guy sells off the old heaps to people who wanna get off the grid.

CHARLIE: He used to. Operation got shut down two years ago. No one's seen him since.

BOOTH: Let me know if forensics finds anything to help Bones id. the remains.

CHARLIE: (Nods.) Is it true that Doctor Brennan's taking care of the baby? Because that's something I'd pay to see.

BOOTH: (Studying his photographs.) Goodbye, Charlie.

(Medico-Legal Lab-forensics platform.)

ZACK: The victim exhibits enlarged hypertrophic lesions and multiple muscle attachments.

BRENNAN: The result of strenuous activity, most likely occupational.

CAM: The ligamenta flava shows evidence of whiplash. All the para-mortem injuries are consistent with vehicular trauma. She was dead prior to immolation.

BRENNAN: Zack, grind some bones so Hodgins can perform an isotope analysis. We might be able to figure out where she lived.

ANGELA: (Walking in to the room) Junior made us a little present.

BRENNAN: The key. Finally.

ANGELA: Not yet. This is just the usual present, but with one major difference. (Angela opens the diaper she is holding to show a pink-soaked seat.)

ZACK: I assume pink isn't a normal color for this type of thing.

CAM: Does yours ever look pink?

ZACK: No, but I'm not an infant.

BRENNAN: Where is the baby?

ANGELA: Asleep in your office. I was gonna start the facial reconstruction, so...

BRENNAN: He's my charge; I'll sit with him.

CAM: (Picking up the diaper.) Let me run some tests. See what I can find.

ZACK: Actually, one time when I was visiting my cousins, we ate a lot of beets, and the next day-

CAM: Zack, really. Too much sharing.

(Cut to BRENNAN and BOOTH walking around the Medico-Legal Lab Floor)

BOOTH: You know, you look very mom-like with that baby monitor.

BRENNAN: I have a responsibility under state law as a foster parent. I've already bought him toys and clothes.

BOOTH: Ah, so you've bought him some clothes?

BRENNAN: Well, I sent an intern, who apparently loves bears, which in reality would devour a small child.

(BRENNAN and BOOTH round the corner to meet HODGINS at the base of the Forensics Platform)

HODGINS: I tested the ground bone for strontium.

BRENNAN: Strontium is an element found in most rocks.

HODGINS: Human beings absorb it through the consumption of local vegetation and water. (He brings up a map on his computer) Over time, the isotope collects in the bones, meaning-

BOOTH: You could use it to figure out where someone's from. (BRENNAN and HODGINS look at BOOTH in surprise.) That is right, people. I am a constant surprise.

(The baby monitor transmits BABY ANDY whimpering.)

BRENNAN: I don't understand. He's been fed; he's changed; I patted him, and now he's just...complaining.

BOOTH: He's acting like a real baby.

HODGINS: The victim was from northern West Virginia. Tucker County to be more precise.

BRENNAN: Well, are you sure she's from Tucker County? The crash was in Pendleton.

HODGINS: Very sure. Particulate matter collected from the salvaged area of the car contained guano from a Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus.

BRENNAN: So we know where to look. (She stares at the baby monitor, which is still transmitting BABY ANDY's cries).

BOOTH: Are you gonna get him?

BRENNAN: I figured you'd get him.

BOOTH: Don't you have a "responsibility under state law"?

BRENNAN: But you're the baby daddy.

BOOTH: Baby daddy?!

BRENNAN: You have prior experience with pre-verbal infancy.

BOOTH: You can be the daddy mommy.

ANGELA: (Enters, with BABY ANDY) Okay, you two had better get your act together or I'm suing for custody. (ANGELA hands BRENNAN a head shot of a young white woman with dark brown hair.) This is my rendering of the victim.

BRENNAN: Numerous genetic similarities. Cam's running DNA tests to be sure, but I'm comfortable with the assessment that this was the child's mother.

BOOTH: He misses his mother. He's sad.

(BRENNAN takes BABY ANDY)

BRENNAN: We need to go to Tucker County.

(Fade to Booth's Car. Huntsville, Tucker County.)

BOOTH: The last coal mine closed about eight years ago. This place is a ghost town.

BRENNAN: The local economy was devastated.

BOOTH: Yeah. That could be why our victim was driving a junker. She couldn't afford registration, insurance... You know, I don't wanna sound insensitive here, but I'm telling you: real estate? It's gotta be a steal. I mean, you could build yourself a beautiful house on the river. I could come out and fish. You could put in one of those media rooms. You know, I saw a one hundred and three inch flat-screen TV-

BRENNAN: I don't need another residence, Booth.

BOOTH: Just, you know, tryin' to give you a little financial advice.

(BRENNAN looks at BABY ANDY in the back seat.)

BRENNAN: He seems so peaceful. He has no idea that he's all alone.

BOOTH: Well, maybe that wasn't his mom. Maybe there's a dad.

BRENNAN: No-one filed a report, Booth. No-one's worried about him.

BOOTH: Yeah, well, you are.

(They share a look. BRENNAN looks out her window and sees a man working in the front yard of a dilapidated house on the otherwise deserted street.)

BRENNAN: There's someone. (BOOTH pulls over.)

PAUL: You people are from the government?

BOOTH: Yes, sir. With the FBI.

PAUL: (Nods toward to BABY ANDY) Ah. Training them up young, I see.

BOOTH: If you could just... help us.

PAUL: Right. Just like the government helped us when the bridge washed out. When they closed the school.

BRENNAN: Well, the business and industry left the area. The local tax base is non-existent. The government can't be expected to provide services without the fiscal means to do so.

PAUL: What'd she say? Are you from France or somewhere?

(BOOTH chuckles)

BRENNAN: Economies live and die just like any organism. When they expire, the logical thing to do is to move.

PAUL: This land is part of me. I've lived here all my life, my father before me, his father..!

DOROTHY: Paul. Who're you hollering at now?

PAUL: They're from the government.

DOROTHY: (Seeing BABY ANDY) Oh my god! You have no right. No right at all! Taking people's children away?

BOOTH: (Moving to cover BABY ANDY) Hey, hey!

DOROTHY: You should be ashamed. That girl does the best she can to provide for Andy.

BOOTH: Andy? Do you know this baby?

DOROTHY: (suspiciously) Yeah. Folks up the street? Carol and Jimmy Grant? They take care of him when his mom works.

BOOTH: (Shows her the head shot.) Is that his mother?

DOROTHY: Looks like her. But you should check with the Grants. What's goin' on? Has something happened?

(Cut to THE GRANTS, interior. BOOTH is showing the head shot to CAROL GRANT)

CAROL: Yeah, that's Meg. Meg Taylor. We all went to high school together: me and Jimmy and Meg, and Meg's husband, Lou.

JIMMY: Back when we had a high school.

BOOTH: Meg's husband, does he still live around here?

JIMMY: Uh, I've not seen him lately. Not that I'd want to. He's in and out of jail, does anything for a drink, left Meg before Andy was born.

CAROL: I'm not sure he's laid eyes on Andy more'n twice.

JIMMY: Meg worked herself to the bone for this boy.

CAROL: We couldn't have one of our own so we were real happy to help Meg out.

JIMMY: Meg would have to, heh, pry her away from him at the end of the day.

BRENNAN: Where did she work?

CAROL: Ah, Fallbrook Rubber? They recycle tires.

JIMMY: They turn them into ground coverings, you know, for playgrounds and such. It's one of the only places left around here to work.

BOOTH: And how about the two of you. You're both currently, what, unemployed?

JIMMY: No, uh, I work part-time, looking after some of the buildings they shut down.

CAROL: Jimmy used to teach high school and I did some project management, mostly for construction, but now... We do what we can.

JIMMY: This town used to be something. I mean, we were on the scenic route. You know, people would come to visit. It wasn't all coal.

CAROL: What'll happen to Andy, because we can watch him.

BOOTH: He's gonna have to stay with us for now. Tell me where Meg lived?

(Huntsville: A denim-clad man is leaning in the doorway of a decrepit building. A sign swings above his head. The windows are boarded over. Booth's Car drives past and we hear BRENNAN talking.)

BRENNAN: Looks like everything's closed down around here.

BOOTH: Yeah, probably lost all its customers. With no bridge, the highway routes all the traffic away from the town-

(BRENNAN'S phone rings.)

BRENNAN: Brennan.

CAM: Got the scoop on the poop.

(Cut to Medico-Legal Lab: ZACK in the foreground; CAM in the background talking on the phone.)

CAM: It was pharmaceutical dye used to color the phenobarbital that showed up on his tox. screen.

BRENNAN: Andy had phenobarbital in his system?

CAM: Oh, his name's Andy? Adorable. I had a dog named Andy. That came out wrong.

ZACK: Why does he have phenobarbital in his system?

CAM: It's often prescribed for seizures.

ZACK: Perhaps the infant is epileptic.

BOOTH: Hey! Don't say that. Andy's going to be just fine.

CAM: Well, he was still breastfeeding, so there's a slight chance he ingested the drug that way but... the depth of color makes it unlikely.

BRENNAN: We're on our way to check out his mother's home. I'll see if I can find a prescription bottle.

(BOOTH and BRENNAN pull up at a trailer park by some train tracks.)

BRENNAN: Okay.

BOOTH: Nono no no no no no no no.

BRENNAN: What?

BOOTH: No no no no. Look, the front door is open. You stay here.

BRENNAN: But-

BOOTH: Bones, there is a baby involved. If you hear gunfire, anything like that, drive away.

BRENNAN: Bu-I'm not leaving you.

BOOTH: Yes you will, because this is about the baby, not me. Promise me.

BRENNAN: (Looks at the baby for a long moment.) I promise.

(BOOTH approaches the trailer, weapon drawn. He cautiously enters to see LOU, a man with wild hair, ransacking the place. LOU looks up. BOOTH aims his weapon.)

BOOTH: Okay. Easy. Both hands to the ceiling, nice and easy. Right there. (LOU makes a break for it and BOOTH detains him easily.) Yeah. Easy! God! (BOOTH handcuffs LOU.) You know, I asked you very nicely.

BREAK

(Trailer, exterior. Booth's Car, interior. BRENNAN and BABY ANDY are inside.)

BRENNAN: We will find out what happened to your mother. I promise. You know, Booth is an excellent investigator and, I don't like to boast, but I am the best in my field. (BABY ANDY squalls) What do you want? Ah. How, how about some visual and auditory stimulation? Okay. Let's see. Um.

(Trailer, interior, BOOTH is hustling LOU to the front door)

LOU: I told you, I'm Meg's husband. I live here.

BOOTH: If you live here, why'd you break the front lock?

LOU: I didn't do it! Somebody else broke in. And when I saw it I thought I'd come in and check on Meg.

BOOTH: Oh, so, you live here or came by to check on Meg? Which one is it?

LOU: Ugh, all right now you're getting me all confused.

BOOTH: Yeah, I bet.

LOU: Look, Meg bails me out sometimes. If she can. And when I saw she wasn't here, I just figured I'd, you know, help myself.

BOOTH: How often do you steal from your wife?

LOU: It's not stealing. She likes to help me.

BOOTH: Well, Meg's dead. She was killed.

LOU: How?

BOOTH: You seem shocked.

LOU: Well, of course I am!

BOOTH: Where were you last night?

LOU: (Dazedly) Last night? (BOOTH claps his hands sharply in LOU's face) I don't remember.

(Booth's Car, interior. BABY ANDY continues to cry. BRENNAN waggles her hands at him.)

BRENNAN: Phalanges! Phalanges. Phalanges! Dancing phalanges. Dancing phalanges! Yeah-hah-hah. Booth thinks bones are dry and boring, but- show me your phalanges.

(BABY ANDY wiggles his fingers.)

BOOTH: (Walking a handcuffed LOU to car) Hey, Bones. Her husband, real genius, doesn't even remember where he was last night.

BRENNAN: We've got your son in here. His mother's dead and now you're the only one-

LOU: Oh, no no no no no. I never wanted to have a kid. She did it because she thought it would, uh, straighten me out, but I told her I couldn't handle a kid because I'm a free spirit?

BOOTH: What you are is a drunk, Lou. (On radio) All right, dispatch. I need a forensics team and a car for a burglary suspect and a possible murderer-

LOU: Woah! I didn't kill her! Why would I? She took care of me.

(Medico-Legal Lab. Angela's Office.)

ANGELA: I've determined an approximate size and shape for the key.

CAM: Did you reference it against currently registered key patterns?

ANGELA: Yeah, and the closest match is an old design used for safety deposit boxes in banks. I'm looking into banks near Huntsville that still use them.

CAM: Most safety deposit keys are numerically coded.

ANGELA: Well, we couldn't get a clear enough picture without exposing Andy to too much radiation.

CAM: Okay. (She goes to leave. She stops and turns.) How many? Exactly?

ANGELA: Excuse me?

CAM: Kids. ‘Cause a million seems a little impractical.

ANGELA: I don't know. I kind of have a thing for chaos. I guess I'll stop when the Feds need to airlift me in supplies.

CAM: (Laughs.) You don't by chance live in a shoe, do you?

ANGELA: You don't want kids?

CAM: Eh, screaming, crying, vomit...other bodily fluids. It's like a day around here. It's not worth giving up this body for that.

(Cam departs, slinkily. Angela looks worried.)

(Trailer, exterior. An FBI forensics team member carries out a box.)

BOOTH: Ooh, let's see what you got here. (He rifles through the box.) Hey, Bones! Come on, the sweep's finished. It's all yours, come on.

BRENNAN: The phenobarbital was prescribed to Andy from a clinic over fifty miles away.

BOOTH: Yeah, that was probably the closest medical care they got.

BRENNAN: It's an extremely harsh drug to give to a child. (BRENNAN looks around the trailer.) It's quite sweet: the pictures... She really loved him.

BOOTH: (Pointing to a wall calendar.) Check this out. Somebody had a doctor's appointment in D.C. yesterday. Maybe that's where they were headed.

BRENNAN: Okay, we'll need this prescription and Andy's medical records.

BOOTH: Okay. I'll have ‘em sent to the Jeffersonian. Because that's what we do. (BOOTH departs.)

(Brennan's cellphone, nestled in BABY ANDY's car-seat, rings)

BRENNAN: Brennan.

(Medico-Legal Lab, Zack is examining the body.)

ZACK: I made some discoveries regarding our victim. Is this a good time?

(BABY ANDY clutches at BRENNAN'S necklace.)

BRENNAN: No no no no no.

ZACK: Oh-kay. (Zack hangs up.)

BRENNAN: Zack? Hello? (BRENNAN dials.)

(Medico-Legal Lab.)

ZACK: Doctor Addy.

BRENNAN: Uh, it's Doctor Brennan.

ZACK: Oh. Is this a better time?

BRENNAN: (To BABY ANDY, who is again clutching at her jewelry) No no no.

ZACK: Then why'd you call back?!

BRENNAN: I wasn't speaking with you, Zack.

ZACK: I believe you are.

BRENNAN: I was saying no to Andy. He was grabbing my necklace. (Quietly, giving the necklace to BABY ANDY) Here you go. You were saying?

ZACK: Our victim had healed compression fractures in her L1 and L2 vertebrae.

BRENNAN: From a traumatic injury?

ZACK: No. Malnourishment. She also has some minor deformities, including a slight bowing of the legs and bony outgrowths at a number of muscle attachments.

BRENNAN: Do you know if Cam found any painkillers in Andy's tox. screen?

ZACK: No. Just the phenobarbital.

(Trailer exterior. BRENNAN carries BABY ANDY to Booth's Car.)

BOOTH: First the key, now jewelry. What's next? Are you gonna let him play with a bowling ball?

BRENNAN: What? I'm watching him!

BRENNAN: Meg had a number of bone conditions that would have caused chronic pain but she wasn't taking any pain medication.

BOOTH: (Handing BRENNAN her necklace) Here. It was probably because she didn't want it affecting her, you know, her supply.

BRENNAN: What, you mean her breast milk? You know, you can say the word "breast", Booth.

BOOTH: Yeah, I know, Bones.

BRENNAN: Well, didn't Rebecca breastfeed Parker?

BOOTH: I am not. You know... (BOOTH gets in the car and waits for BRENNAN to close her door. He lowers his voice.) I am not discussing that with you.

BRENNAN: Would teat make you more comfortable?

BOOTH: I am not talking teats with you!

BRENNAN: Why not?

BOOTH: Enough! (He blows a breath out.) So our victim wasn't taking any painkillers.

BRENNAN: No, but her occupational markers in her lateral upper condyle and lower discs suggest that her job requires manual labor. Her pain might have been excruciating.

BOOTH: Probably had no choice. I mean, jobs around here are pretty scarce. All right, what do you say we go talk to her boss?

BRENNAN: Were you breastfed? I was.

(Interior. Fallbrook Rubber, tire recycling plant. CHIP BARNETT talks to BOOTH and BRENNAN while TERRY, RICH, and other plant workers stack tires in the background)

CHIP: What, uh, yesterday was her day off, and when she was late today I just...god-I mean- Who did it? What happened?

BOOTH: We're not sure yet, Mr Barnett. How long have you been the manager of this plant?

CHIP: Three years now. It's the only real business left around here.

BRENNAN: Since Meg's job involved a lot of physical labor, were you aware of her spinal condition?

CHIP: The pain, you mean? Yeah, I saw it. I offered to put her on disability. She said she and the baby couldn't get by on that. She was tougher than half the guys here. (He looks on BABY ANDY.) Poor little bug. I got five kids myself. I can't. I can't imagine...

BOOTH: Any reason to think Meg was in trouble?

CHIP: Nah. I was her boss. She didn't confide in me.

TERRY: How about that husband of hers? He was trash on a cracker if I've ever seen it.

CHIP: Yeah, they weren't even livin' together any more.

RICH: Doesn't mean he ain't jealous. Maybe someone told him about Shepard.

BRENNAN: Who's Shepard?

CHIP: Dave Shepard. Some accountant from corporate headquarters in D.C. He was here for a week. Left a few days ago.

RICH: He was here to cut costs. We've all heard that before.

TERRY: Goodbye, jobs.

BRENNAN: Was there anything between Meg and Shepard?

CHIP: The guy was kinda slimy. You know: offering to buy her sodas, asking about her kid, all the time looking at her... you know.

BRENNAN: Breasts?

BOOTH: Did Meg return the attention?

RICH: He's from the city, had money. After her deadbeat of a husband you can't fault her for wanting a good meal.

TERRY: The only guy Meg really cared about is right there. (Indicates BABY ANDY) She woulda done anything for this kid.

(Tire plant, exterior. Camera looks down on BRENNAN and BOOTH as they carry BABY ANDY back to Booth's Car. BOOTH talks on his cellphone.)

BOOTH: Just do a check on all the employees. And also, give me the contact information on this Dave Shepard, in the D.C. area. I'm telling you, Lou Taylor didn't do it. He was in jail; they picked him up passed out in another county.

BRENNAN: Booth.

BOOTH: Hold on. Yeah, well, you know what? If *Lou* didn't toss the place then somebody else did, all right? So just keep checking for prints. (BOOTH hangs up) I'm telling you, somebody else is looking for that key.

BRENNAN: Booth?

BOOTH: Yeah?

BRENNAN: Andy's making that face again.

(Booth's Car, exterior. BOOTH changes BABY ANDY in the open trunk while BRENNAN, wearing gloves, examines the key.)

BOOTH: I'm serious, Bones, next time you're changing the diaper.

BRENNAN: Fine. (To ANGELA over webcam) There's a series of numbers on it.

ANGELA: These keys were coded to indicate a specific bank so read me your numbers.

BRENNAN: 36 09 20 14

(ANGELA'S Office)

ANGELA: Okay, searching. Got it. It's from Green Hills Bank in Petersberg, West Virginia. I'll send the directions to your phone.

BRENNAN: Thank you.

ANGELA: No problem. How's my little bruiser?

(BOOTH lifts BABY ANDY out of the car.)

BRENNAN: Well, he looks pleased that a piece of metal is no longer passing through his intestinal tract.

BOOTH: (Sing song) No more metal! No more metal.

BRENNAN: (Frowning) His legs are bowed.

BOOTH: All babies' legs are bowed.

BRENNAN: No, not like this. How could I have missed that? (To ANGELA) Tell Zack to run a P ratio test on the victim's teeth. He'll know what I mean.

ANGELA: Sure thing. Take care of him, sweetie.

BRENNAN: I will. (She disconnects and turns back to BOOTH.) I've got the bank's address. It's in Petersberg, one town from Huntsville.

BOOTH: Great! I'll request a warrant. That'll give us time to go to Family Services in Parsons to-

BRENNAN: What? No! Not yet.

BOOTH: Bones, I know this is difficult but we both agreed that we'd keep Andy to get the key. Now that we have the key...

BRENNAN: No. You can't leave him with Family Services in the middle of nowhere. Cam still needs to review his medical records.

BOOTH: Oh, well... I mean... Bones, there are doctors there.

BRENNAN: You have no idea what that place will be like, Booth. Med students, underfunded, understaffed-

BOOTH: Bones.

BRENNAN: His mother is dead and his father is a felon. I've been in his situation, Booth. I am not turning him over until I'm satisfied that he is somewhere safe where he'll get the care he deserves.

BOOTH: Fine. He can stay with us, for now.

BRENNAN: (Quietly) Thank you.

BOOTH: Okay. I'll go lock the back up.

(BRENNAN puts BABY ANDY in the car. Impulsively she blows a raspberry on his tummy, then another. BABY ANDY and BRENNAN laugh. BRENNAN looks around shiftily.)

(Green Hills Bank, Petersberg, interior.)

BANK MANAGER: Just let me know if there's anything else you need.

BRENNAN: Do you like elephants? Huh?

BOOTH: Bank manager said Meg was a new client, only got this box a few days ago. (BOOTH opens the safety deposit box and unwraps a blue cloth to reveal a handgun.) Ooh.

BRENNAN: Uh-oh.

BOOTH: Uh-oh is right. Oh, Andy, what kind of trouble was mama in?

BREAK

(BRENNAN examines the gun while BOOTH plays with BABY ANDY)

BRENNAN: There's a sticky residue lining the trigger. I see fragments of a foreign object inside the barrel. I need to take this back to the Jeffersonian.

BOOTH: Well, Meg Taylor didn't own a firearm, at least not legally. (To BABY ANDY) We need to find out where mommy got the gun, don't we?

BRENNAN: Hey! Someone filed off the serial numbers.

BOOTH: Do you think I didn't know that before I handed it to you? I mean, I am FBI. (To BABY ANDY) Not just some guy who changes your stinky diapers.

BRENNAN: It's been fired recently. I'm finding gunpowder residue.

BOOTH: Gunpowder's not gonna get me the owner's name. I need fingerprints, DNA.

BRENNAN: (Thoughtfully) Do you think there are any public pools around here?

(Huntsville Public Pool, exterior. It is drained and derelict. JIMMY GRANT shows BRENNAN and BOOTH, carrying BABY ANDY, inside to the pump room.)

JIMMY: It's a pretty depressing job, keeping an eye on the ruins, but I try to think positive. Like I'm keeping them safe until they open up again. Ah, chemicals are down here.

BRENNAN: Thanks.

JIMMY: Can I hold him? Just for a bit?

BOOTH: Okay. Just for a little bit, right, Andy? (JIMMY takes BABY ANDY.)

BRENNAN: Do you know of any medical conditions that Andy was being treated for?

JIMMY: Meg never liked to share her problems. She was, uh, pretty independent but, I mean, Andy's always seemed just fine. Is he sick?

BOOTH: We were just checking. Must have been a pretty nice pool?

JIMMY: Yeah. Heh. Coached the high school team once, back when I was teaching-

BRENNAN: Perfect. Muriatic acid.

BOOTH: Bones, what are you doing?

JIMMY: Hey, I get it. Someone filed the numbers off, didn't they?

BOOTH: How'd you know that?

JIMMY: Oh, she's using the acid to react with the metal. It restores the original etchings.

(BOOTH chuckles in surprise.)

JIMMY: I taught high school science.

BOOTH: Really.

BRENNAN: You must have been a good teacher. (Brennan swabs the handgun with the hydrochloric acid to reveal etched serial numbers: 160-56391) I got the numbers.

(FBI interrogation room. BOOTH paces as he interrogates EARL DELANCY)

BOOTH: Mr Delancy, you worked for Fallbrook Rubber before you came to D.C.

EARL: Yeah. Got laid off a couple months ago. Surprised that place is still in business.

BOOTH: So you knew Meg Taylor?

EARL: Sure. Can't picture her with a gun though. She was sweet as they come.

BOOTH: The gun was registered to you.

EARL: But I haven't seen it in a couple of years. I pawned it when things first started getting tight.

BOOTH: It's illegal for pawnshops to buy guns.

EARL: (Chuckling) Have you seen Huntsville? People do whatever it takes to stay afloat.

BOOTH: It says here in your file that you assaulted the plant manager when he laid you off. Also took a swing at Dave Shepard.

EARL: That's right, yeah! Look, that sumbitch drives up from D. C. every few months, and when he leaves, five more of us are out on our asses. Sure I took a swing at him. I'd do it again, too, if I ever saw him.

BOOTH: Where's the pawn shop?

EARL: Corner of Elm and Wilson. Went out of business, though: too many people selling, not enough people buyin'.

(Medico-Legal Lab.)

HODGINS: This gun is covered in a fine dust of particulate matter. It's going to take a while to id.

ZACK: The fragments inside the gun's barrel are bone.

HODGINS: Really? To get blowback like that, somebody would have to have been shot point blank.

ZACK: In the head. Brain tissue on the fragments means they're from a frontal bone.

HODGINS: Wow, maybe our victim shot somebody?

ZACK: If she did, then why would she put the gun in a safety deposit box? It's not logical.

HODGINS: Yeah, you're right. Well, we'll soon know for sure.

ZACK: What do you mean?

HODGINS: I've identified the residue on the gun's trigger. It's burned skin. The finger must've gotten caught and burned when the shooter fired the gun. Cam should be able to get some DNA.

(BRENNAN and BABY ANDY are in Brennan's Office. BOOTH enters.)

BOOTH: Hey, Bones. The pawnshop, it closed last year. No one's seen the owner. I mean, this gun? That could have been floating around for months. (to BABY ANDY) Hey, little man! Yeah-aha. Uh, Bones? What's the muzak?

BRENNAN: I'm on hold. There's an anthropologically proven link between poverty and violence: more people competing for scarcer resources.

BOOTH: That's, that's great, Bones, but the bottom line is we're not gonna know if the gun owner is telling the truth.

CONGRESSIONAL STAFFER: (Over speakerphone.) Doctor Brennan?

BRENNAN: Yes, I'm still here.

BOOTH: (to BABY ANDY) Woah, hey. Hey.

BRENNAN: Well, then tell the congressman I'd appreciate a call back. Thank you.

BOOTH: (to BRENNAN via BABY ANDY) Congressman, woah, what is Bones up to, huh?

BRENNAN: I'm just putting in a few calls. You know, I have contributed a great deal of money to numerous campaigns. I think these politicians owe me.

BOOTH: Bones, that's not how it's supposed to work.

BRENNAN: That is exactly how it does work, Booth. If the government fixed that bridge leading to Huntsville, they'd be back on the scenic route.

BOOTH: (Laughing) Okay, what about the "lack of fiscal resources" that you were talking about?

BRENNAN: They found millions to build a bridge to nowhere in Alaska. (to BABY ANDY) Do you need to burp?

BOOTH: No.

BRENNAN: I was talking to Andy.

BOOTH: I know you were talking about Andy. (to BABY ANDY) My man, Andy! So, what's up with the little guy here. How's his condition? Any news?

BRENNAN: Cam's still looking at his records, consulting with some pediatricians.

BOOTH: (to BRENNAN via BABY ANDY) He's going to be just fine, isn't he? He's a tiger? (BOOTH plays with BABY ANDY's feet) Tiger tiger tiger tiger. Tiger tiger tiger tiger. Tiger tiger tiger tiger.

BRENNAN: You know, verbal development would be heightened if you didn't talk to him like a fool.

BOOTH: Well what were you just doing? Just then?

BRENNAN: What? I wasn't doing anything?

BOOTH: You were so! You were goin' doodoo doodoo-

BRENNAN: What are you talking about? I never did that!

BOOTH: Doo-doh baby-yes, that's what [unintelligible bickering]

CAM: (Walking in) I have some info about the skin Hodgins found on the gun's trigger.

BOOTH: Yep.

CAM: It was male: not Meg Taylor.

BRENNAN: So Meg was either an accomplice or-

BOOTH: She witnessed the murder, got her hands on the gun, then hid it. (BOOTH'S phone rings) Woah. Excuse me. Booth. Yeah. (He writes something down.) Huntsville!

BRENNAN: (Beams at BABY ANDY) Yeah!

BOOTH: Bones, we just found our missing accountant. He used his credit card to check into a hotel near Huntsville. (To caller) Great. Thanks. (BOOTH hangs up.) Local police are picking him up now.

(Tucker County Jailhouse, interior. An officer shows BOOTH down a corridor into an interrogation room where a HOMELESS MAN sits)

OFFICER: There.

BOOTH: You're kidding me, right? This is not Dave Shepard. (to HOMELESS MAN) You're not Dave Shepard!

HOMELESS MAN: Tell me something I don't know.

BOOTH: How'd you end up with his credit card?

HOMELESS MAN: It was inside that bag. (He indicates a bloodstained holdall.) I found it in a trash heap near the old coal mine. (Ruefully.) I thought my luck had changed.

BOOTH: Was there blood on this bag when you found it?

HOMELESS MAN: I guess. Hey, can I have the sweaters? They're really soft.

BOOTH: (To OFFICER.) I'll take the bag and everything in it back to D.C. Cut this guy loose.

HOMELESS MAN: Cut me loose?!

BOOTH: Yep. (He walks out.)

HOMELESS MAN: I don't mind staying here, you know, couple of nights maybe? Whaddya say? Couple of nights?

(Medico-Legal Lab. Cam's Office. CAM sits at her computer and BRENNAN stands at her shoulder.)

CAM: So this Dave Shepard guy is an accountant? That's usually not a profession I associate with killers.

BRENNAN: Booth thinks that our victim may have seen Dave Shepard shoot someone. Since he's been missing since her death, he could have killed her too.

CAM: Yeah, well, tell Booth I just found the guy. (Screen shows: DNA Match found: 99.0173 CFD) Or parts of his skull, anyway. I ran the DNA from the blood on the duffel bag and the frontal bone fragments from the gun through CODIS-both his.

BRENNAN: So Dave Shepard isn't our killer, he's another victim.

CAM: He was shot in the head by a male, with a gun Meg Taylor was trying to hide.

ANGELA: Hey, you wanted me?

BRENNAN: Yeah, there was a flash drive in Dave Shepard's duffel bag. (BRENNAN hands a bagged flash drive to ANGELA)

ANGELA: It's crushed.

CAM: That's where you come in.

BRENNAN: We need to know if Dave Shepard found something that could have gotten him killed.

ANGELA: Okay. I'll get right on it. (ANGELA leaves.)

BRENNAN: Did you call your pediatrician friend?

CAM: He's on his way.

BRENNAN: You know he's good, right? Because we have to be certain-

CAM: Doctor Brennan, he's the Chief of Pediatrics at Children's National Medical Centre. He's the best.

(BRENNAN nods.)

(Medico-Legal Lab. Ookey Room.)

HODGINS: Hi, Beautiful. Coming to visit?

ANGELA: Yeah. I need some cotton swabs and some bleach. I'm cleaning dried blood off that flash drive. (HODGINS and ANGELA share a smile. She walks to the door and pauses.) You do want kids, don't you?

HODGINS: What?

ANGELA: Kids. Small humans.

HODGINS: I'll admit: I only ever planned on one or two, but, if you want a million, I want a million.

ANGELA: Really?

HODGINS: Absolutely. I don't care if you're mushy and shapeless, puffy from constant hormonal fluctuations-I'll still find you sexy.

ANGELA: Well, I'm not going to look like a-

HODGINS: It's okay! I mean, when you get wider there'll be more of you to love. (ANGELA looks faintly worried.) I think we should start right now. Why wait until we get married? There's no telling how long it's gonna be until you get your divorce.

ANGELA: Hodgins! Your...computer, it's beeping.

HODGINS: Oh (HODGINS walks to check his screen, smiling to himself.) That's interesting.

ANGELA: What is it?

HODGINS: Particulates from the gun. Dust was composed of silica, sulphur compounds and synthetic rubbers.

ANGELA: Sounds like tires.

HODGINS: The gun was used at the tire recycling plant. (He strides away.)

ANGELA: (With folded arms.) I'm not gonna get wider.

(Fallbrook Rubber, tire recycling plant, interior. BOOTH, BRENNAN, and an FBI team search the plant.)

BOOTH: Thanks.

CHIP: What exactly are you looking for?

BOOTH: Well, we're not sure yet. Anything that can help us find out what happened to Dave Shepard and Meg Taylor.

CHIP: (to workers) Okay, people. Back to work. You let them do their job, they'll let us do ours.

(TERRY starts up a huge mulching machine. BRENNAN follows its machinations with her eyes. She makes for the top platform of the mulcher.)

BOOTH: Hey, where're you going? Hey Bones? (Handing his coffee to a colleague) Hey, pal, hold on to that for a second there, would you? Bones! (He climbs the stairs after her.) Hey! Where you going? Hey!

BRENNAN: (Looking down into the mulcher.) Booth, look at this. (to TERRY) Turn off the machine!

BOOTH: Yeah, if I were a dead body and I needed to disappear?

BRENNAN: This would be a pretty thorough way to do it.

BOOTH: Hey, pal, how often do you ship out a load of this mulch?

TERRY: We collect a week's worth at a time, but we bag it up every couple of hours.

BRENNAN: Dave disappeared four days ago. He could still be here.

(Fallbrook Rubber, warehouse interior.)

TERRY: (Indicating a row of mulch bags.) It's this lot right here.

BOOTH: Yeah. Bones?

BRENNAN: Yeah.

BOOTH: THis lot was collected right after Dave's disappearance.

TERRY: Everything is washed, sanitized, and ready to be shipped.

BOOTH: But that means that all the evidence has been washed away!

BRENNAN: (Laying out some equipment.) Not necessarily. Scoop up some of the mulch. (BRENNAN sets a glass jar on a table and fills it half full with water from a bottle.) Put it in this water. (BRENNAN screws on a lid, shakes the jar, and holds it up to the light. BOOTH looks closely too.) Next batch.

BOOTH: Uh, Bones, what exactly are we doing?

BRENNAN: I'll explain in a minute. (They repeat the process.) Try the next bag.

BOOTH: Next bag. (They repeat the process.) Next bag. (They repeat the process.)

BRENNAN: (Holding up a jar.) The rubber pieces float, see? But bone...(Bone fragments sink to the bottom of the water.)

BOOTH: Sinks. You just found Dave. (to TERRY) Tell the manager to shut this plant down now.

BRENNAN: (Answering her phone.) Brennan?

ANGELA: Brennan, it's me. Turn on your video stream.

BRENNAN: Is Andy all right?

ANGELA: The pediatrician is examining him right now. (BRENNAN slides her laptop cradle out of the trunk of Booth's Car.) The baby is fine. Take a look at this. (Angela transmits data.) I recovered most of the memory from that flash drive. Dave Shepard's internal audit? Showed a completely different set of numbers to those reported to corporate headquarters.

BOOTH: Somebody was doctoring the profit reports.

BRENNAN: Siphoning money into a private account. Dave figured it out while he was in Huntsville, that's what got him killed.

BOOTH: And if Meg knew about it then the killer would want her dead too. Come on. (They walk back into the plant to RICH and TERRY.) Hey, where's Barnett?

RICH: Chip left.

BOOTH: Where'd he go?

RICH: Said he had an emergency at home.

(BOOTH huffs. BRENNAN grabs the jar of evidence. Cut to CHIP throwing suitcases in his car. He gets in and tries to drive away, wheels spinning, but BOOTH and BRENNAN round the corner, siren wailing, and block his exit (in Booth's car).)

CHIP: Jeez. Damn! (He drives in reverse until he hits the post of a chain link fence. CHIP abandons the vehicle and runs away, clambering heavily over his car. BOOTH pursues on foot with BRENNAN close behind. BOOTH catches CHIP and restrains him against another chain link fence.)

BOOTH: (Handcuffing CHIP.) Chip Barnett, you're under arrest for eluding a federal agent. I'm sure we'll be throwing in a few murder charges as well. You know your rights, yeah?

CHIP: Argh! Gah! Yeah. It was only a matter of time before they closed the plant.

BOOTH: So you embezzled from the company.

CHIP: A man does what he has to for his family.

BRENNAN: So that justifies killing two innocent people?

CHIP: Shepard was gonna turn me in.

BOOTH: So you *shot* him. Meg witnessed it, got a hold of the gun-

CHIP: She wanted money to keep quiet, take her kid to some doctor in D.C.

BRENNAN: So you knew where she was headed.

BOOTH: Yeah, you followed her out of town so you could kill her with no-one around.

CHIP: I didn't want to kill her. I went to her trailer, I looked for the gun first, but you do what you have to-

BRENNAN: There was a baby in that car, you son of a bitch. (Brennan walks off, disgusted. BOOTH hauls CHIP along.)

BREAK

(Brennan's Office. BOOTH walks in and the camera reveals BRENNAN sitting with BABY ANDY.)

BOOTH: Hey.

BRENNAN: Hey.

BOOTH: One of the techs found this in Meg's trailer. (BOOTH holds an envelope.)

BRENNAN: What is it?

BOOTH: A letter that Meg wrote to her friend, Carol Grant.

CAM: (Entering, carrying papers) Hey. Andy has a genetic condition.

BOOTH: What is it?

CAM: Vitamin D resistant rickets. Meg had a mild form, very few symptoms; she probably didn't even know she had it.

BRENNAN: But males are prone to more severe cases than females so Andy would have exhibited more extreme symptomatology.

CAM: Including the seizures. The clinic probably prescribed him the phenobarbital without searching for underlying causes.

BOOTH: Well, is Andy going to be all right?

CAM: Absolutely. (BOOTH sags in relief.) Very treatable. My friend can treat him as an outpatient. Andy's going to be fine.

BRENNAN: Thanks, Cam. Really.

CAM: Don't mention it. (CAM departs.)

BOOTH: (to BABY ANDY) Yeah!

BRENNAN: (to BABY ANDY) You're going to be fine.

BOOTH: (to BRENNAN via BABY ANDY) Looks like our little guy's going to be just fine. (They share a long look.) *The* little guy.

BRENNAN: Andy.

BOOTH: Andy's going to be just fine. (He hands BRENNAN the envelope.) You should read this.

(FBI Conference Room. BRENNAN holds BABY ANDY. BOOTH stands beside her. JIMMY GRANT signs papers while CAROL GRANT reads Meg's letter tearily.)

CAROL: Dear Carol, If anything happens to me, take care of my Andy. I know you don't have much, none of us do, but you have love. And I know Andy would be lucky to be part of your family. (CAROL signs a paper.)

(BRENNAN slowly hands BABY ANDY over to THE GRANTS. BABY ANDY holds his arms out for a second and then relaxes into CAROL'S arms. BRENNAN is on the verge of tears.)

(Fade to Booth's Car, exterior. A park. BOOTH and BRENNAN sit in the open trunk, drinking coffee.)

BOOTH: You know, I'm gonna miss that little guy...And so are you, so don't deny it.

BRENNAN: I'm not ashamed to say that I have developed a certain...affection for Andy. It's a natural byproduct of caregiving.

BOOTH: Yeah. So, what do you think, huh? Change your mind about having kids?

BRENNAN: Booth!

BOOTH: Okay, all right. You got some time. (He pauses, grinning.) Not *that* much time-

BRENNAN: (Swatting BOOTH.) Booth! (and knocking the coffee cup out of his hand.)

BOOTH: Hey!

BRENNAN: Now look what you did! (BRENNAN wipes down some comb-bound documents.)

BOOTH: What *I* did?!

BRENNAN: Yeah.

BOOTH: You're the one who hit me! (He takes the documents.) Woah, what is all this stuff?

BRENNAN: It's information Carol gave me, from a structural engineer.

BOOTH: Oh, so you took my financial advice, didn't you? Hm? You're gonna build that home.

BRENNAN: No. The congressman couldn't help so I'm rebuilding the bridge into Huntsville. I've hired Carol Grant as the project manager.

BOOTH: Wow. That is going to cost a fortune.

BRENNAN: Well, to you it's a fortune, but with my advance, and selling the movie rights-

BOOTH: Yeah, I get it. You know, I thought you said that towns lived and died liked organisms, that sometimes we should just let them go.

BRENNAN: Sometimes it takes one thing, like a bridge, for a town to start recovering. Back on the scenic route the gas stations could reopen, restaurants, maybe a bed and breakfast for people wanting to stay in the area.

BOOTH: Wow. Listen to you. Good for you. (He hands her the documents and sits back.) You know, it's a, it's a shame.

BRENNAN: What?

BOOTH: No kids: who's going to be proud of you?

BRENNAN: I don't do it for that.

BOOTH: Yeah, okay. I know. I know. You know, with next year's book, you should uh, you should get that second home in that town you saved. I mean, it only makes sense, right? Because every year, you know, plasmas, they go down, they get cheaper and cheaper-it happens all the time.

BRENNAN: Forget it.

BOOTH: What? I'm just saying. Andy's going to miss his Auntie Bones. He's going to want to see you. We could all go fishing, come back home, plop ourselves in front of that one hundred and three inch plasma screen of *heaven* and *football* and you can make the *five layer* dip.

BRENNAN: Seven layer dip.

BOOTH: Even better! Seven layers! Perfect! You can talk to Andy: hello Andy, little baby, little baby baby Andy-

(BRENNAN plugs his mouth with a pacifier. BOOTH sucks on it.)

FADE TO BLACK