Week 3 – Wednesday, Early Afternoon

It seemed to Seeley this morning had been the longest of his life. He catalogued back, and with a smirk thought, 'Nope. Not even close.'

Setting aside his internal hyperbole, he had to admit he was having trouble concentrating. His own impatience was wearing on him. His attention made its trek from a review of the current file – sifting through requests from local jurisdictions for the FBI's help on cases – to his Inbox, and then on again to the clock. Seeley took a deep breath, trying to calm his impatience. 'Hell, it might take them days to comb through the information,' he thought. 'No sense getting worked up over something I have no control over.'

He sat back, looking out into the main office. Through the open door and glass wall, Seeley could see the rest of the agents and admin personnel assigned to his team quietly working through their own paperwork, making telephone calls, following up on leads. 'My team,' he thought. Although technically he was not a "Special Agent in Charge" or even a Supervisory Special Agent, they all looked to him for their behavioral clues. They were good agents. They knew their jobs and did them extremely well. They were loyal. Seeley looked over to Chaz, 'Sometimes loyal to a fault,' he thought. But more than that, they were good people. Their talents and abilities meshed well. 'Not a prima donna in the bunch.' To Seeley's knowledge, not one of them ever refused another's request for help. But lately they've been quiet. 'Too quiet,' Seeley thought. Within any organization there will always be a certain amount of non-business related activity going on. Conversations – both case-related and personal – joking and teasing back and forth, lunches… Not so much, lately. Sure, it had loosened up some with Kelly's absence the last four days. Now with him back, the only sounds Seeley could hear were the clicks and clacks of the computer keyboards, and muffled voices of the telephone conversations, sometimes interrupted by the electronic warble of telephone ring tones. He pressed his lips together tightly. 'I wish I could do something to remove this rock crushing them,' he thought, his eyes moved to the plaque adorning the black and white photograph upon his wall, and then ratcheted back to the closed Deputy Director's door.

At that moment, Interim Assistant Director in Charge Emerson "Butch" Sollars appeared exiting the corridor leading to the elevators. He was dressed, as always, in what appeared to be a dark-colored, tailored suit. Seeley could never tell the difference between black and dark blue under the fluorescent lights from a distance. In Sollars' hand, he held the ever-present padfolio he used to take notes of important nuggets of information in his daily conversations, meetings and briefings. The most striking thing about his appearance, to Seeley, was his smile. He looked genuinely happy. Even today, with Kelly back in the office. The two men caught each other's eye and nodded. Sollars then knocked lightly on Kelly's door and turned the handle. He started to enter, but halted abruptly, and after a moment, with a quick nod, he backed out of the room, shutting the door. Seeley watched as Sollars "worked the room." He moved from cubicle to cubicle, shaking hands, saying hello, asking how each of the agents was doing. 'Payingattention to the response,' he thought. Seeley could hear snippets of the conversations. Tidbits of personal information, never a sign of doubt remembering a person's name. Sometimes a small joke told to put people at ease. Seeley, remembering Kelly's initial return earlier this morning, marveled at the juxtaposition of the two management styles.

Sollars finally made it to his office door. "How's it going, Booth?" he asked with a smile.

Seeley looked over at his Inbox again, "Not bad." He turned back to Sollars, "And you, Butch?" Seeley caught himself involuntarily returning the smile.

Sollars bobbed his head, "Pretty good."

"Got a meeting with Kelly?" Seeley asked.

Sollars looked back towards the closed door, "Yeah," he drew the word out almost resignedly. Turning back to Seeley, his smile still attached, "Just killing some time while he finishes up his phone call." Seeley looked at Sollars questioningly. Sollars leaned against the doorjamb as he elaborated, "I think he's on hold for something."

Seeley's voice took on an accusatory tone, "He calls you down here for a meeting, and then makes you cool your heels while he's hanging out on the phone?"

Sollars shrugged, "Ahhh…it's no big deal," he said lightly. "I got a chance to touch base with everyone out there," he ticked his head in the outer office's direction.

"What's going on?" Seeley asked. At Sollars' innocently uncomprehending expression Seeley continued, "I mean, what are you so happy about? I would think having to spend any time alone in a room with him…"

"My family's coming into town this afternoon," Sollars said, his smile broadening. "Don't you remember?"

Seeley's mouth opened slightly, his expression changed to understanding as the memory bubbled to the surface. "That's right," he said. "What time's their flight get in?"

Seeley could see Sollars' eyes glinting, "Three," he answered.

"You picking them up?" Seeley asked. He added, "Or sending a car?" He paused a moment, then offered, "If you want, Temperance and I can pick them up and take them to the hotel."

Sollars shook his head. Pursing his lips, he said, "No need. I'll be taking the afternoon off." He added, "Thanks, anyway."

Kelly's barking voice cut the air, "Sollars!"

Sollars' posture gave no indication of fear, surprise or embarrassment as he leaned away from the doorjamb and turned towards the voice. Kelly was standing in his open doorway. He was jacketless, wearing a pinstriped short-sleeved shirt. His blue-striped tie hung from his wide shirt collar and rested atop his stomach paunch, about three inches above his silver belt buckle. "Yes?" Sollars' calm voice drifted across the room.

The office fell silent. All phone conversations, all data input, all scratching of notes into the files stopped. Everyone's eyes flitted from Sollars to Kelly and then back again.

"Don't we have a meeting?" Kelly sneered. "This isn't the hospitality hour. These people have work to do."

Sollars looked at his watch, "Indeed we do have a meeting. I was here on time. You were the one who had to finish his phone call." Again, Seeley was surprised at the restraint, and almost lightheartedness in Sollars' voice. Sollars turned to Seeley and winked. He turned and started moving towards the glowering figure.

"Catching up on the mess you made of things in my absence takes time," Kelly sneered.

Seeley stood, fully intending to come to Sollars' defense. From what he could see, the Bureau had worked with its trademark clockwork efficiency in Kelly's absence. Homer Simpson's voice sounded from his computer, "The Mail! The mail is here! Ooooh…" Seeley, almost unconsciously, looked to his computer screen. The incoming message sender's address was unknown to him. He moved his eyes back to the western movie-like showdown playing out in the main office.

Kelly continued his berating as Sollars moved towards him, "Perhaps I should call the Director and let him know just how miserably you're failing at the one task he assigned you?"

Seeley watched as Sollars calmly reached into his inner jacket and withdrew his Smartphone. Butch, almost within arm's length of Kelly, extended the phone to him. "Speed dial five," he said simply.

Seeley had to stifle a snort. He moved back towards his open door, fully realizing Sollars can take care of himself.

Astonishment flashed over Kelly's face; quickly replaced by a grim determination not to lose this battle in front of the others. He issued a snarling, "Get in here," as he turned and entered his office.

Seeley could hear Sollars calmly, almost lightly say as he followed Kelly into the office, "Perhaps you could tell him I needn't bother coming to Washington anymore…"

The door closed behind him, blocking the two combatants from the release of nervous snickers, laughter and smiles from the team. Chaz turned to gauge Seeley's reaction. He smiled as Seeley winked and then watched as he turned away to answer his ringing cell phone.

Seeley reached over the desk as he moved around to his chair, picked up his Smartphone and spoke into it, "FBI, Major Crimes Unit. Special Agent Seeley Booth."

A newly familiar voice responded, "Hello Agent Booth. This is Agent McGee of NCIS."

Seeley eased down into his chair, his heartbeat picking up slightly in anticipation. "Yes, hello Tim," he returned. He rotated the chair around towards his computer. Looking at his Inbox, and seeing just the earlier e-mail, he said, "What can I do for you?"

"Agent Gibbs relayed your request last night for information to me," McGee said matter-of-factly. He continued, "And I just wanted to let you know I sent the information a couple minutes ago."

Seeley's eyes moved to the computer screen. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't see anything with the NCIS address…"

McGee affirmed, "You should have just received it," McGee's voice drifted away as, Seeley imagined, Tim scoured his "Sent Items" folder. McGee continued, "The sender's name should be JTibbs879."

Surprised, Seeley noted the message he had previously received. "Got it," he replied. "But…?" he started.

McGee explained, "Gibbs told me not to leave any tracks, so I routed the message through a couple of different servers." He paused a moment, and then asked, "Is that not what you wanted?"

Opening the e-mail, Seeley said reassuringly, "No…no. Good thinking Tim." Seeing icons for an Excel spreadsheet and a PDF document, he asked, "So, what am I looking at Tim?"

McGee answered, "The PDF document is a copy of his service record, and if you'll open the Excel spreadsheet…"

Seeley double-clicked the icon. After a moment, he saw the spreadsheet with only two columns containing header information. The top cell was labeled "Ranking as of" and two columns directly below it had dates – approximately three months apart. But other than those headers, it looked like nothing but blank cells in the rest of the spreadsheet. Seeley said, "So, it looks like a blank spreadsheet."

McGee explained, "Scroll down until you see some numbers in a couple of cells." Seeley began rotating the mouse wheel. McGee continued, "These are applicant standings for the Naval Academy. As you know, service members are identified by their service number - usually their Social Security Number. Applicants to the Service Academies are identified by their service number as well."

Seeley continued scrolling. As the numbered rows and blank cells slid upwards he said, "How far down do I need to go? And what's with all the blank cells?"

"I blanked out all the cells containing everyone else's service number." He paused, "You know, privacy and all that."

Seeley smiled and thought ironically, 'Yeah…privacy.' "I'm already down to 800, Tim. How much further?"

"You're almost there," McGee said.

At that, Seeley saw a cell filled with numbers in the second column at the 932nd row. "Okay," he said. "I've got a service number at 932 in the second column. And that means…?"

McGee explained, "The second column is the final applicant ranking for acceptance into the class."

"So he was 932nd? That would put him on a waiting list or something?"

McGee said, "Each of the Service Academies class size is about 1,200. Being 932nd would put him somewhere around the middle of the pack."

"And what's the first column?"

Seeley could hear McGee's voice tinge with amusement. "That's the applicant standings three months before the final ranking."

Seeley started rotating the wheel again. "So he started out lower and then moved up. Isn't that to be expected?"

"Correct," McGee agreed. "Applicants change their minds, go to different schools. Sometimes hardships happen and they have to drop out…" Seeley continued rotating the wheel, watching the blank cells bounce from the bottom of the screen to the top.

"So how far down…?"

"Go to row 7,807," McGee said simply.

"What?" Seeley exclaimed as he clicked on the slider and dragged it lower, increasing the speed of the sweep through the worksheet. "Was he the last person on the list or something?"

McGee laughed, "Actually, he started out in the middle of the pack of applicants. This year about 15,000 applicants applied to the Naval Academy alone."

Seeley finally arrived at row 7,807 and sure enough, there was the service number. "So how does he go from being 7,807th on the list to 932 in three months?"

"That's a very good question, isn't it?" McGee.

After a pause, Seeley asked, "How does someone get into the Academy? They have to be nominated by someone in Congress, right?"

"Pretty much," McGee agreed. "Unless the Academy goes out recruiting for their various sports teams." He hastily added, "But even then, the coaches, or whoever, would get the applicant to contact their rep in Congress to nominate them.

"Did he play on any sports teams?"

"If you open his service record," Seeley double-clicked the PDF icon. McGee continued, "You'll see he did play football. But he wasn't a starter in any of the years he attended."

"So how the hell did he jump up on the applicant list?" His eyes started scanning the online document.

"Your guess is as good as mine," McGee said. "He was obviously qualified to enter the Academy. But it looks like he was just late applying and his initial ranking put him outside the qualifying placements. Somebody pulled some strings, maybe?"

Seeley, noting a particular piece of information, nodded, "Yeah…" He scribbled some information on his notepad. "Thanks, Tim! I think I almost have what I need. Just need to do a little more digging."

"Anything I can help with?"

Seeley smiled, "No, you've done more than enough! Great work, Tim!"

"No problem Agent Booth. I'll talk to you later."

Seeley nodded, "You too! And tell Gibbs thanks as well." Finished with his note to himself, he leaned back into the chair.

"I'll make sure he gets the message…Bye."

Seeley heard the connection end. He sat back, gently bouncing the edge of his phone against his lips, deep in thought. He saw Temperance emerge from the hallway.

Temperance slowed and looked curiously at the sound of yelling filtering through the Deputy Director's closed door as she passed. She was dressed in a loose-fitting grey pullover shirt over a-dark, pleated, long-flowing skirt ending at mid-calf. Her lace-up, calf-high boots completed her look. Her bag strap perched upon her right shoulder, and she carried a file folder in her hands. Once at the aisleway, she turned and looked through Seeley's open door to see him leaning back in his chair, deep in thought. A smile crept across her lips as he finally registered her presence. A gentle, surprised look blanketed his face. He rose with a smile and started moving around from behind his desk.

Temperance looked to her right and said, "Hello Chaz," as she moved further towards her husband. "Is he having a bad day?"

Chaz shook his head, "Hello Doctor Booth." He added, answering the question, "Not yet. But then, he hasn't really had any interactions with Kelly yet."

Still moving towards Seeley's office, Temperance looked back at the closed door, "Who's…?" she started.

With a worried tone to his voice, "IADIC Sollars," Chaz said.

Temperance looked at Chaz; she was almost walking backwards now, "You don't think he can take care of himself?"

Chaz looked back her, shaking his head, "It started out bad…and just got worse from there."

"How can you tell?"

"The volume," Chaz said simply.

Now fully walking backwards, Temperance looked back towards the closed door. She was so startled bumping into her husband's chest she almost lost her balance. Her eyes widened in surprise and an almost comical look of astonishment filled her face as she felt her equilibrium giving way. Seeley reached around and firmly, but gently held her upright. Wide-eyed, she turned her head to see him looking at her with concern. "Are you all right?" he asked.

She almost giggled at her own ineptness. "Yes," she smiled at him. With a short laugh she added, "I really should watch where I'm walking, shouldn't I?"

Now relieved, Seeley returned the smile, but did not let her go, "Yes, you should." Then a look of confusion rolled over him as he looked his wife up and down. "You haven't worn this outfit in awhile. What's up with that?"

Temperance began moving in the direction of Seeley's office, offering more distance between the personnel and the two of them. Seeley moved along with her, never moving his arm from her waist. Looking her own wardrobe up and down, in a lower voice, Temperance said, "Why what's wrong with it?"

Seeley steered her through his open doorway and followed her in, swinging the glass door closed. "Nothing," he assured her. "It's just; you haven't worn it in awhile." Temperance looked at him. "What?" he asked. "Usually you're in jeans and a jacket."

Temperance's look changed to one of consternation. After a moment she blurted out, "My jeans don't fit!" At Seeley's surprised expression, she continued, "Nothing else fits! I even tried lying down on the bed to put my jeans on! And I still couldn't zip them up! So I had to wear...this!" She turned and moved to one of the visitor's chairs.

Seeley, not knowing why, but knowing he should, rushed to her. "Come on, Bones!" he tried using her old nickname to get a smile out of her. "You knew this day was coming when the baby would alter your body shape." Temperance looked miserable sitting in the chair, legs crossed under her long skirt, her forehead resting atop her right hand, hiding her eyes. Seeley sat on the edge of his desk. "Look at it this way," Seeley tried. "At least now, you get to go shopping for a whole new wardrobe."

Temperance raised her head and looked at him in shock. "Shopping?" she sounded wounded. "Don't you even know me?" Seeley's face looked almost panicked. At his uncomprehending expression, she looked away again.

'Oh Christ!' he thought. 'Maybe a different tack.' "You know, for what it's worth, I've always liked this kind of outfit on you." She looked up at him again. He smiled, "You know. All 'girly' and stuff."

Uncrossing her legs, she looked back down at her skirt. Her hand brushed the folds atop her thighs, "You really think so?" she said in a small voice. Her fingers picked at the fabric.

Seeley knelt before her, his arms tracing up her outer thighs allowing his palms to rest upon her hips; his fingers extended out onto her lower back. "Yeah," he said earnestly. Her eyes met his. "You could be wearing a potato sack, and you'd still be the most beautiful woman in the room."

Temperance smiled ruefully, not understanding why she had been so close to losing control. She looked around, "Seeley, I'm the only woman in the room." He smiled. Again, her mournful tone tinged her voice, "And pretty soon all I'll be able to fit into will be a potato sack."

Seeley leaned in, "Then think how much fun we'll have making mashed potatoes." She smiled, her hands tracing the strands of black, and now some slightly grey hair around his ears. "And it doesn't matter where you are, or who you're with, or what you're wearing. To me, you're the most beautiful woman in the world." He moved his face closer. Her hands slid down to caress his cheeks. He felt her lips curl into a smile and heard her soft squeak of approval as he kissed her softly.

"So, are you about ready to distribute the flyers?" Temperance asked from her visitor's chair.

Seeley nodded, "Pretty much." He was navigating through the search screens in preparation to shutting down. "I've just got to tell Kelly," he looked to the still-closed office door.

Temperance followed his gaze. "How long have they been in there?"

Seeley looked back to his screen, "About 45 minutes now."

Temperance turned back to him, "With Kelly shouting all that time? How can one man have so much vitriol inside him?"

Seeley shook his head, "Don't know." He turned to Temperance, "I mean...I know there's bad blood between the two of them."

"Sollars hasn't told you what happened?"

Seeley shook his head, "And I haven't asked." He looked at her meaningfully.

"Why not?" she asked. At Seeley's glare she added, "I mean, maybe he has some insight or maybe some suggestions on how to deal with Kelly?"

Seeley shrugged noncommittally at the suggestion. "We'll see." He nodded towards the folder. "Those the flyers?"

"Yes," Temperance said proudly. She opened the folder and withdrew a sheet of paper. "They turned out pretty well, I think," as she handed it over to Seeley.

Seeley looked the document over:

¡Atención!

(Attention!)

Sábado, 29 de mayo a las 11:00 AM

(Saturday, May 29 at 11:00 AM)

Abierto al público.

(Open to the Public)

(The three Immigration photos of Rosalie, Celia and Olivia Serra lay between the writing on the poster.)

Los servicios fúnebres para Rosalie, Celia y Serra Olivia se llevará a cabo en el Santuario del Sagrado Corazón.

(Funeral services for Rosalie, Celia and Olivia Serra will be held at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart.)

Ceremonia de entierro, donde serán enterrados junto a Héctor, su padre y esposo amoroso, estará en el Cementerio Todas las Almas en Germantown, MD después del servicio.

(Interment ceremony, where they will be laid to rest next to Hector, their loving father and husband, will be at All Souls Cemetery in Germantown, MD following the service.)

Todos están invitados que deseen pagar los últimos respetos a la familia Serra.

(All are invited who wish to pay last respects to the family Serra.)

Por favor acompáñenos Sábado, 29 de mayo a las 11:00 am como decimos adiós y celebrar la reunión de la familia en el más allá.

(Please join us Saturday, May 29 at 11:00 AM as we say goodbye and celebrate the family's reunion in the afterlife.)

"Nice touch, Temperance," Seeley said, nodding. "Using their Immigration photos." Temperance smiled at the compliment. She knew she had done a good job, but she always liked hearing her husband speak proudly of her. He continued, "Maybe we can get Angela to print up some enlargements to place by the caskets."

"Oh, I've asked Angela to do something even better." At Seeley's questioning look, she explained, "Actually Angela volunteered to do a family portrait with all three of them that we'll put on display at the church and the gravesite."

Seeley smiled, "Good idea. But have Angela hold off on it for a bit."

"Why?" Temperance asked.

"I was just thinking if we can get a photo of Hector, maybe from back records at the DMV, maybe Angela can put all four of them in the portrait." Temperance looked at him. "I mean, he's been dead longer than they have," he nodded. "But it might be nice to have all four of them." Temperance smiled at his thoughtfulness. Seeley nodded towards the door, "Let's go."

Seeley and Temperance moved down the aisleway. At Chaz's desk, they stopped as Seeley informed him he would be out for the rest of the afternoon. Chaz nodded, and gave a quick glance to the still-closed Deputy Director's door. Seeley nodded, "I'll tell him."

Temperance fished out a flyer and offered it to Chaz. They waited a moment as Chaz scanned the document. When finished, he looked up at them, "That was fast," he said. Adding, "I mean, you getting everything together so quickly." Temperance smiled at the compliment. "Should I attend?"

Seeley shook his head, "Not if you wouldn't feel comfortable. I just thought since you played an important role in capturing the killers..."

Chaz nodded, "I'll be there. And so will Jules."

Seeley smiled. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Chaz returned the smile with a nod, "Booth," he looked at Temperance, "Doctor Booth."

Temperance smiled as she and Seeley moved off.

Once at the Deputy Director's door Seeley motioned for her to wait. He knocked and, without waiting for an acknowledgement, opened the door.

As the door opened, he heard Kelly almost screaming, "Don't give me any crap about what happened in San Francisco either!" Inside the room, he saw the two men still in their face-off positions. Kelly stood behind his desk, his chair a short distance behind him. Sollars stood off to the right, by the Deputy's credenza, jacket open, both hands on his hips; fingers angled across his lower torso, his trademark padfolio lay in the visitor's chair seat.

Seeley saw an ugly glint take up residence in Sollars' eyes. Whatever happened in San Francisco was obviously a serious point of contention between the two men. Sollars leaned slightly forward, his right hand came up, his index finger extended at Kelly. Seeley was sure if it had been a weapon Kelly would be dead right now. Sollars' mouth opened for a stinging retort, Seeley was sure, but it never came.

Instead, Seeley said loudly, "Excuse me for interrupting..."

It had the desired effect. Kelly's surprised expression seemed almost comical to Seeley. Sollars, finger still pointing at Kelly, turned his head towards Seeley. It didn't take long for the brief silence to be broken. Turning to Seeley, Kelly roared, "What is it Booth?"

Taking a cue from Sollars, Seeley calmly said, "I just wanted to let you know that I'll be leaving for the day." Kelly looked at him unbelievingly. Sollars hand resumed its position atop his right hip. Seeley continued, "My wife has..." he turned and looked at Temperance; who looked back at him, mute. He turned back to the combatants, "An appointment."

Out of the corner of his eye, Seeley saw Sollars nodding. However, he knew he wasn't getting off so easy with Kelly. The older man sneered, "You gonna be milking this pregnancy for a long time, aren't you?"

Again, maintaining his self-control, especially since he was purposely misleading his boss, Seeley nodded, smiling, "About eight more months." He heard a slight giggle from behind him. "And probably after the birth as well," he added.

Kelly's expression hardened even more, "Fine...go."

Seeley turned to leave, catching Sollars' eye as he did. He was almost at the point of closing the door when he turned back to Kelly. "Oh...one more thing," he said. Kelly's peeved imperious stare burrowed into him. "I got a call this morning from Caroline Julian." Kelly's body language screamed impatience. Seeley dropped the hammer, "Robert Jeffries has decided to plead guilty."

Kelly's face crumbled. Sollars said, "Good." Seeley noticed a quick flick of his eyes toward Kelly and then back to Seeley. "With your triple murder cleared, along with this one coming to a resolution for us, that's two cases in the win column this week alone." Sollars nodded. He added, "Any reason why he suddenly decided to pay his fine and walk away?"

Seeley put his hands in his pocket, shrugged, shook his head and said, "No idea. Maybe he got directions from Capitol Hill."

"Wha...what do you mean?" Kelly asked, obviously stunned but now looking warily at Seeley.

"Well," Seeley said. "If we continue digging into him, maybe somebody thought we'd expand the investigation into his boss...or former bosses." He looked over at Sollars, "In this town that can be the death of a career." Seeley looked back to Kelly, "Right?"

Kelly looked a shell of his former self. Attempting to hide his loss of composure, he said gruffly, "Get out."

Seeley nodded in acknowledgement. He turned to Sollars and nodded. Sollars nodded slightly and turned back to Kelly.

"Both of you," Kelly muttered.

Now it was Sollars' turn to look surprised. He looked towards Seeley questioningly, then reached down, retrieved his padfolio and moved towards Seeley's position in the doorway. Seeley could still see the questions in his eyes as he passed him. Closing the door, Seeley saw Kelly turn around towards the window, hands in his pockets, seemingly humbled.

As the door latched, Sollars said, "All right. What was that all about?"

Seeley bowed his head toward the hallway. "Let's talk as we walk."

Sollars moved down the hallway, followed by Temperance and finally Seeley. "I finally found out why Kelly took such an interest in a minor case of failure to pay taxes timely."

Just before opening the double glass doors leading to the elevator entranceway, Sollars stopped; his hand on the handle. He turned to look at Seeley, "And?"

Seeley said simply, "His grandson."

"What?" Sollars said, pushing the door open, holding it for Temperance to pass.

Seeley followed through after his wife, "Prior to his stint as an Undersecretary of Labor, Jeffries worked as an aide to Congressman Pete Webster of California."

"And?" Temperance asked.

Seeley explained, "Congressman Pete Webster was the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces." At both Temperance and Sollars' blank expressions, he continued, "Kelly's grandson was nominated to the Naval Academy by..."

"Pete Webster," Sollars finished, nodding in understanding. He shrugged, "But so what? That's pretty much how all potential recruits are nominated.

Seeley smiled, "How many applicants go from being 7,807th on the list to 932nd in three months?" Sollars' jaw dropped. Catching himself, he quickly closed it.

"So you're saying Kelly got Webster to bump his grandson up on the list?" Temperance said. "And Jeffries was the go-between?" Both Sollars and Seeley looked at each other with slight smiles, and then at Temperance. "What could be the problem now, though? Didn't his grandson just graduate?"

Sollars shook his head, "As far as whether anything would happen to his grandson...probably not. They wouldn't discharge him, or have him resign his commission. After all, it was someone else doing all the machinations. He probably didn't even know what was going on."

"But if it got out to the press..." Seeley said. He leaned in towards Temperance and said softly, "Do you know what kind of stink it would put on the grandson's career?"

Sollars led them towards the elevators. "I think your problems with your boss just got solved." Sollars hit both the 'Up' and 'Down' buttons.

"Would you really resort to blackmail?" Temperance asked, horrified.

Seeley shook his head, "While the Army and Navy have a pretty fierce rivalry, I have no intention of telling anyone." He ticked his head back towards the doors. "But he doesn't know that."

Temperance looked at Seeley's smiling face. She heard 'Ding' and then another 'Ding' as the two elevators announced their presence.

Seeley held the glass door to the 'Papusa Shack' open as Temperance walked through. Seeley followed her and let the door swing shut behind him. Not much had changed since they had first come here. Nor should it have. It had only been a couple of weeks. The same, greasy smell hung in the air, mixed together with cigarette smoke and beer, both stale and fresh. Patrons sat around the same retro-diner tables scattered around the restaurant. And just like before, all conversations ceased when they entered. Customers either pointedly looked away from them or the two were met with suspicious glares.

Seeley and Temperance moved to the counter. The young woman behind the counter called to the kitchen area, "Papá! La policía está aquí! (Dad! The police are here!)" she shouted.

After a moment, the cook appeared from the back. Both Seeley and Temperance remembered him from before, "¿Sí? ¿Qué puedo hacer para usted? (Yes? What can I do for you?)" he asked, rubbing his hands with a kitchen towel.

"¡Buenas tardes! (Good Afternoon!)" Temperance said.

"Mi nombre es Doctor Booth y este es mi marido Booth de agente especial con el FBI. (My name is Doctor Booth and this is my husband Special Agent Booth with the FBI.)"

"¿Te acuerdas de nosotros? (Do you remember us?)"

The cook nodded, "Sí, le recuerdo. (Yes, I remember you)"

Seeley said, "No estamos aquí para hacer algún problema para usted. O a sus clientes. (We're not here to make any trouble for you. Or your customers)"

"¿Cuál es su nombre, por favor? (What's your name, please?)" Temperance asked.

"Mi nombre es Arturo," he said suspiciously.

Temperance smiled as she pulled a flyer from the folder, "¿Nos preguntamos si esto podría poner en su restaurante para personas ver? (We were wondering if you could put this up in your restaurant for people to see?)"

Seeley added, "Y espero que venga y respetos. (And hopefully come and pay respects.)"

They watched as Arturo read through the flyer. Shocked, he asked, "¿Es esto cierto? (Is this true?)" He looked from Seeley to Temperance. "¿Usted capturados quienes mataron? (You caught the people who killed them?)"

"Sí" Temperance and Seeley said as one.

They could see the glint of tears in the man's eyes. "¿Y vas a pagar que se sentaron a descansar? ¿Con Héctor? (And you are paying for them to be laid to rest? With Hector?)"

Seeley and Temperance nodded.

He blinked, trying to wash the tears away. "¿Por qué? No se sabía les! ¿Por qué haría este maravilloso? (Why? You did not know them! Why would you do this wonderful thing?)" The flyer trembled in the man's hands.

Seeley and Temperance looked at each other. They turned back to Arturo, "Las familias deben estar juntos. (Families should be together)" Seeley said softly.

"Incluso en la muerte. (Even in death)" Temperance said just as softly.

Arturo looked at them. A shuddering smile came to his lips as he nodded to the flyer, "La pondré a mí mismo. (I will put it up myself.)" He paused a moment, "¿Hay algo más que puedo hacer? (Is there anything more I can do?)"

Temperance and Seeley looked at each other, their mouths working soundlessly.

Arturo said, "¿Tal vez el dinero para ayudar a pagar...? (Maybe money to help pay...?)"

Both Seeley and Temperance shook their heads. "No, no. No es necesario. (No, no. That's not necessary)"

Seeley smiled, "¿Tal vez si usted podría decir a personas no es un truco? Inmigración no estará allí. Voy a hacer seguro. (Perhaps if you could tell people it's not a trick? Immigration won't be there. I'll make sure.)"

"Sí, sí les cuento les. (Yes, yes I'll tell them)" Arturo nodded vigorously. Moving the flyer up and down, he asked, "¿Son esos más de ellos? (Are those more of these?)"

Temperance raised the folder and answered, "Sí, estamos poniendo les alrededor de la vecindad. (Yes, we are putting them up around the neighborhood)"

Arturo, holding the flyer in one hand, held his hand out, "Por favor. Darles a mí. Me aseguraré de que la gente a verlos. (Please. Give them to me. I will make sure the people see them.)" He motioned for the girl to come to him. When she arrived, he handed her the flyer and motioned for her to go show it to the customers.

"¿Estás seguro? No queremos que te inconvenientes. (Are you sure? We don't want to inconvenience you.)" Seeley asked.

Arturo smiled, "Es una pequeña cosa que puedo hacer por ellos. (It is a small thing I can do for them.)" At Temperance's hesitation, he added, "Por favor... es un placer. (Please...it is my pleasure)"

Temperance, smiling, handed over the notices. Arturo, returning the smile, took the folder. Holding it to his chest, as if it were a sacred text, he turned and shouted, "Miguel! ¡Ven! (Miguel! Come here!)"

A young boy, perhaps 13, appeared from the kitchen. " ¿Sí, papá? (Yes, dad?)"

Arturo held the folder out to his son. "Poner estos hasta donde las personas puedan verlos. Todo el barrio. (Put these up where people can see them. All around the neighborhood.)"

Miguel opened the folder, looking at the flyer. "¿Donde? (Where?)"

Arturo yelled happily, "En todas partes! Restaurantes, iglesias... por todas partes! (Everywhere! Restaurants, churches...everywhere!)"

After his son had turned and disappeared back into the kitchen, Arturo turned to Seeley and Temperance smiling. Temperance turned to Seeley, "Well, I guess our afternoon just got a lot less busy. What do you think we should do?

Arturo asked, "¿Está hambriento? ¡ Venga! Será fijar algunos alimentos! (Are you hungry? Come! I will fix you some food!)"

Seeley said, "No, gracias! No es necesario! (No, thank you! That is not necessary!)"

Not to be dissuaded, Arturo said loudly, "Insisto! Y yo no le cobrará por ello! ¡ Es gratis! (I insist! And I will not charge you for it! It is free!)" Arturo laughed, still trying to coax them to the ordering station.

Temperance and Seeley looked at each other. They smiled. Seeley said, "Well, you know. I am kind of hungry." He looked at the board, "But remember last time you smelled this kind of food?"

"Nonsense!" she sniffed. "That was hormones." She looked at the menu board and then towards Arturo, "Esta bien... pero insistimos en pagar por él! (Okay...but we insist on paying for it!)"

Arturo laughed, "Esta bien...Buena! (Okay...Good!)" as he moved back towards the kitchen and Temperance and Seeley began their study of the menu board.