Dr. Temperance Brennan walked through the parking deck towards her Prius. Normally, even late in the evenings, she didn't feel any apprehension walking out to her car alone, but this night was different. She looked from side to side, taking in the vast expanse of the deck, unable to shake the sudden fear that seemed to grip her from the inside. She didn't see any other car near hers, but she picked up her pace anyway. She reached into her bag and found the Glock, and switched the safety to the off position. Within a few feet of her car, her pace slowed and she began to relax; thankful that she'd made it. She chided herself for getting so worked up over nothing. She didn't hear the footsteps behind her until the hand was around her mouth. She tried to fight against the chloroform by not breathing but she had to suck in a breath to scream. She was unconscious within seconds.

Brennan woke up lying beside her car. She took an inventory of her injuries: at least 2 broken ribs, busted lip, concussion, and the hospital would need to do a rape kit. Struggling, she finally sat up, leaning on her car for support. She was still dizzy from the drug and could barely see five feet in front of her. She took shallow breaths to ease the pain in her ribs, hugging herself as she tried to stand up. Her legs gave out and she ended up in a heap on the concrete floor. She suppressed the tears as she sat up again. She looked inside her bag for her gun, but it was missing. Her wallet was still in there as well as the cash and credit cards she had. Her first instinct was to call Booth. But she didn't want him to know anything about what happened. She knew he would want her to report the attack, and even though she knew she should, she couldn't bring herself to call the police. She sat there for a few more moments and then successfully got to her feet. She fumbled with the door lock before she finally got it open. Falling into the driver's seat, she was out of breath. She fought the sleepy feeling as she stuck the keys in the ignition and started the car. She locked the doors immediately and sat in the running car and cried.

Back at home, it took her several minutes before she could get to the door and unlock it. Her broken ribs were making it increasingly hard to breathe and her head throbbed from the knot she could feel forming on her forehead. She glanced at the clock in the foyer as it ticked away the seconds: 4:42a.m. She tried to remember when she'd finally left the lab, but couldn't. So she had no idea how long she'd actually been gone before being left back in the parking garage. She dragged herself through the front living area to the master bedroom, where she dropped her bag and keys on the bed. She went into the bathroom and started the shower, getting the water as hot as she could stand it, before stepping inside. The continuous spray eased the tense muscles, making her relax a little as she stood there. She knew she was probably rinsing away evidence, and everything within her was screaming to get to the hospital, let the authorities know. But she couldn't. And she wouldn't. No one would ever know what had happened. After the shower, she called Cam and let her know that she was going to North Carolina for a while to see Russ and his family. She also called Booth, thankfully getting his voicemail, and left him the same message. And then she climbed into bed, pulling the blankets over her head, trying to shut out the pain and soreness that was slowly creeping in.

One Month Later

"Wow! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Angela said as she walked off the platform to greet her friend. "I have missed you so much!" Angela hugged Brennan tight and it was all she could do not to yell out from the pain in her ribs. It'd been a month, but her ribs were still sore.

"Glad to be back," Brennan replied. "I see I haven't missed the birth." Angela smiled.

"Only three more weeks," she replied, rubbing her round stomach. "And this baby can't come soon enough. She's been on my bladder the last month, I think. I have to pee every five minutes!" Brennan smiled.

"I'm sorry I missed your baby shower, though. I have you a gift," Brennan said, handing Angela an envelope. Inside was a scholarship to any university in the country. Angela looked at Brennan and smiled. No frilly baby gifts from Auntie Bones. She hugged Brennan again and said thanks. Then she walked off to show Jack the gift and left Brennan to walk to her office alone. Thankfully, the lab didn't seem busy and Booth hadn't called about any murders needing to be solved. Brennan sank down in her chair slowly and turned on her computer. As she let her month's worth of email load, she walked to limbo to get another set of remains. She worked on those for the better part of the day before Booth made his inevitable appearance.

"Hey Bones," Booth said, sliding up beside her. "How was North Carolina?" Brennan glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and shrugged.

"It was okay, I guess. Hot and humid. The girls were doing well. Russ has finally seemed to be back on his feet. He and Amy are having a baby." Booth stood close enough to Brennan that she could smell his cologne. She normally loved the smell of it, but today it made her nauseous. She walked around him to the other side of the table, hunching down over a small fragment of bone. As she made notations, Booth took the whole of her in. He knew that she hadn't been in North Carolina for the month because Max had called him out of worry, saying he hadn't heard from her. Booth reassured Max that she was alright, but looking at her, Booth couldn't be sure. Sure, she looked the same. Her brown hair was pulled back in a lose ponytail, her eyes were still green, but there was something Booth couldn't put his finger on.

"I was thinking of taking Parker to the park later on, would you like to join us? I know Parker would love to see his Auntie Bones," Booth said, smiling his mega-watt grin at her.

"I don't know, Booth. I've got so much unpacking to do and I really need to catalog these remains. You understand, don't you?" Booth released the breath he'd been holding and let the disappointment show on his face.

"I do. Some other time, then," he said, and then walked off the platform without as much as a parting glance. Brennan watched him walk out of the lab before looking back at the bones before her. Her mind was anywhere but the bones that lay on the table. Angela was watching the scene from her office doorway and sighed. Something was definitely off with her friend. She wanted to press the issue but knew that would get her nowhere. Turning around, she went back to the drawing she was doing for the baby. It was a carousel complete with horses, a giraffe, and some kangaroos. With no murder to solve, she didn't have much to do.

The next morning, Brennan woke up sick on her stomach. She barely made it to the bathroom before she could vomit in the toilet. As she sat with her back against the tub, she tried to think about over the past several days to pinpoint exactly what she'd eaten that would've made her so sick, but didn't come up with anything substantial. Being a vegetarian meant not getting food poisoning from undercooked meat. Then a thought started to creep into her mind. One that made her flush and break out in a cold sweat. She jumped up off the floor and walked to her calendar. A red 'x' was marked on the day she should've started...six days previous. She felt faint as the realization almost knocked the wind out of her. On the way to the lab, she stopped in a drug store and bought a test. Anxiety made the nausea worse as she watched the stick show one pink line and then two. She grabbed a couple paper towels and wet them, pressing them to her forehead so she wouldn't faint. She blinked back the tears that she knew were hormone related as she grabbed her cell phone. After the made the appointment, she finally felt some relief. In a few days, the problem would be taken care of and her life would go back to normal.

Booth tried to call Brennan for the third time that morning. As with the other two times, his call went straight to voicemail. Slamming the phone down, he grabbed his suit coat off the back of his chair and stalked out of the FBI building. He drove quickly to the lab, where he found her again leaning over some bones, most likely the same bones, as she had been the day before.

"I've been trying to call you, "Booth announced as he walked onto the platform, setting the alarm off. Brennan glared at him.

"Well, you should know I would be here. This is where I am every other day of the week," she replied curtly. Booth grabbed her arm and led her off the platform, and into her office. Slamming the door, he turned to look at her. If looks could kill, he'd be dead, he was sure of it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, waltzing in here like you own the place?" Brennan said, trying to walk past him but he blocked her path to the door.

"Look. I'm sorry. I've been worried about you. You won't return my phone calls or my messages. We hardly ever see each other anymore. And then there's this," Booth said, handing a yellow file folder to her. "I've already mentioned it to Cam and there's been an increase in security around here. You are not to walk to your car alone until this perp is caught." Brennan blanched as she looked through the folder. One of the interns from Paleontology had been raped in the parking garage the week before. Guilt filled Brennan as she read through the report. She wondered if it had been the same attacked, but the m.o. appeared to be identical to her own attack. She fought back the sob that threatened and handed the folder back to Booth. Without looking him in the eye, she sat down on the sofa. Booth noticed the immediate change in her nature, but didn't mention it. He sat down on the sofa beside her, the folder between them.

"I know you weren't in North Carolina," Booth said softly. "Max called me worried sick about you. I made sure you were alright and told him so, but respected your need for privacy. I don't know what's going on with you, but you know I'm here if you need me, right?" Brennan nodded her head, but didn't return Booth's gaze. He sighed and grabbed the folder as he stood up. "If you want, I can come back by here on my way home; make sure you get to your car okay."

"I'll be fine, Booth," Brennan replied. "Thanks for letting me know." Booth nodded and walked out of her office. Again, something didn't sit right with him but he didn't press it, knowing it wouldn't do any good if he did.

The day of the appointment, Brennan paced her apartment, feeling nervous. She didn't understand why, since all it amounted to was a mass of cells. It wasn't like she was killing a live human being. It wasn't even a human yet. But she still felt anxious. The drive over to the clinic wasn't much better and she had to vomit once she got into the office. As she washed her face and rinsed her mouth in the bathroom sink, she broke out in a cold sweat. As she debated rescheduling her appointment, her phone rang. She wouldn't have answered it, but it was Angela.

"Auntie Bones, it's time," Jack said giddily into the phone. "We are on our way to the hospital and wanted to let you know so you could head over there, too." Brennan was quiet. She looked at her watch. The procedure would take not more than half an hour and then she could be on her way to the hospital. The baby wouldn't come that quick, with it being Angela's first time. She'd have plenty of time to have the abortion and go to the hospital. "Dr. B? You there?" Brennan cleared her throat.

"Yes, I'm here. I'm on my way," she replied. "Tell Ang to hold tight til I get there."

"Will do. See you soon." Brennan pushed the button to end the call and glanced at her watch again. She knew in an instant that if the roles were reversed, Angela would drop everything to be by her friend's side. And Brennan was going to do the exact same for her. She went out to the counter, rescheduled her appointment for the next day and left.

Once Brennan arrived, she was glad that she hadn't decided to keep the appointment because Angela was almost ready for delivery once she got there. They'd already prepped her and she was strapped to the fetal monitor. Brennan glanced at the print-outs and smiled; the baby had a strong heartbeat and everything seemed to be going smoothly.

"I'm so glad you're here, sweetie," Angela said through clenched teeth as a contraction hit.

"I'm glad, too. Is there anything you need?"

"Just this baby to come out," Angela hissed. "All the books I've read never prepared me for the pain." Jack placed a wet rag on Angela's forehead and whispered in her ear, trying to soothe her.

"I'm going to find the doctor. Maybe it's not too late for them to give you something for pain," Brennan said, and she walked out of the door in search of Angela's doctor. She almost ran smack into Booth as they were both rounding the same corner.

"Hey, Bones. We're gonna have a baby today, I hear," Booth said, grinning. Brennan had to grin in response to his enthusiasm.

"It appears so. Have you seen Dr. Lidner?" Brennan asked, looking past Booth down the hall.

"I think he was with Cam just a minute ago. Why? Is everything okay?"

"Things are great. Angela's just in a bit of pain and I was hoping that she could get the epidural before it's too late."

"I'll find him. You go back in there. By the way, Bones. Happy birthday," he replied, giving her a small box. She'd been so busy that she'd forgotten her own birthday. She looked down at the box, tears swimming in her eyes but when she looked back to say something to Booth, he'd already gone back down the hall. Sighing, she slipped the box in her pants pocket and went back into the room.

Within moments, Dr. Lidner was there, but by then, it was deemed too late for the epidural. He offered Angela other pain medications, but she declined to have anything. So, during the contractions, Brennan watched the fetal monitor to let Angela know when it was subsiding and Jack held her hand. He wondered out loud once if his hand was even going to survive the birth. Angela laughed and squeezed his hand harder. Dr. Lidner came back to check on Angela once per hour until it was time for her to push. At exactly six p.m. little Catherine Temperance was born with a head full of dark curls and piercing blue eyes.

"She's beautiful, Ang," Brennan said, fighting back tears. "Perfect." Angela looked up at her friend beaming with tears running down her cheeks. Jack took the baby from the waiting nurse and put her into Angela's arms. A perfect little family, Brennan thought as she quietly backed out of the room. Once inside the hallway, she sank down onto the floor and put her head on her knees. How in the world could she go through the procedure knowing that the mass of cells inside her stomach would turn into something as miraculous as baby Catherine? She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number to the clinic before she had a chance to change her mind. Once the appointment was canceled, she breathed a sigh of relief. A month ago, Brennan thought she could continue on as if nothing had happened. But now, she realized, her life hadn't been the same since that night. And she could dwell on the negativity of that horrible attack all she wanted, but she couldn't place the blame on the embryo that now inhabited her body. Suddenly remembering, she grabbed the gift box out of her pocket and opened it. Inside the box was...