The Test in the Texts~Rated T (Complete)

This is a complete story I originally posted at The Lab and FF.net and thought I would bring it over here.

Rated T
Angst/Romance/Mystery



The Test in the Texts: Chapter One

There were things in this world that Temperance Brennan failed to understand. She understood how the human body worked, but she didn’t understand why. She was aware that the organs in the body all worked together in sync with the skeletal system to keep us all alive, but the meaning behind it was a mystery to her. She knew that eventually everyone died, but again the reason escaped her. And nothing made her angrier than when she didn’t understand something.

Angry would probably be the proper emotional descriptor for her current state. From her ‘assigned’ seat close to the casket, she could see everyone in the room and all she wanted to do was run. The one reason she defied her innate need to get the hell away from any overly-emotional situation was standing resolutely next to her, gripping her hand like a tiny vice. Parker.

In the days following what Hacker had called “one of the biggest messes in FBI history”, Brennan had found her only comfort came when she was close to Booth’s son. Even as his sad eyes, so much like his father’s, looked to her for an explanation as to why his daddy was gone, she felt Booth’s presence so palpably it was like a balm on her soul. They grieved together, she and Parker, and Rebecca seemed almost overly grateful to have Brennan there. Again, the why seemed just out of reach.

“Temperance?” She and Rebecca had been on a first-name basis since the moment Brennan stood on her porch to deliver the news of Booth’s death in person. She had insisted that an unfamiliar agent showing up would make the nightmare all the more difficult, and swallowed her own despair to comfort her partner’s son and his mother. Glancing at Rebecca, Brennan shook herself out of her reverie.

“Yes, Rebecca?”

Nodding towards the woman sitting a few feet away, Rebecca continued. “Do you think we should…you know, try to include Mary in some of the arrangements? I mean, I know that she and Seeley had only been dating for three months, but she seems really upset.”

Brennan turned towards the pretty redhead, who seemed to be praying to herself, head bowed. Despite her own feelings, Brennan genuinely liked Mary. She was kind, intelligent and seemed to really adore Booth in the way that he deserved to be adored. And she wasn’t threatened by Booth’s relationship with his partner like some other women had been. That fact alone served to endear her to Brennan, in her own way.

“Maybe. I’ll speak to her, Rebecca. Has she met Parker?” Brennan’s question seemed wildly out of context, but Rebecca understood.

“Yesterday at the funeral home was the first time. You know how Seeley was about introducing Park to women in his life. I guess he…” At a loss, Rebecca shook her head. “I don’t know how he felt about her. We never talked about any woman except you.”

“Technically, we were only work partners, I wouldn’t fall into the category of ‘other women’ as Booth defined it in regards to Parker, so I should be exempt from the equation.”

“Temperance.” The word was spoken quietly, but with reproach that was unmistakable. “Even now, you can’t admit that there was more to your relationship than work?”

Sighing, Brennan stood. “I’ll go speak to Mary.”
______________________________________________________________

Mary O’Reilly always believed that there was someone special out there for her. A man who was good, and honest and strong and wanted the same things from life that she did. So when she met Seeley Booth at a school function he was attending for his son Parker, she was able to suspend disbelief about the fact that a man with seemingly no flaws was not only single, but completely unattached. Well, almost completely unattached. Only a truly stupid woman would miss the connection Seeley had with his partner, Dr. Brennan. But he had assured Mary time and again that they were only partners and friends, and she had no choice but to believe him. His honesty was one of the things she loved most about him. And yes, she had loved him. It was impossible not to. And loving him included getting along with Dr. Brennan and the rest of the team, something Mary found easier than she had anticipated. They made an effort to include her in their gatherings, went out of their way to be incredibly nice to her, and even Dr. Brennan had invited her to lunch on a few occasions. The woman was a little odd, but sincere in her desire to see Seeley happy and always kind to Mary when they spoke. Deep down Mary knew that Seeley wasn’t in love with her, but he spoke lovingly to her when they were alone and treated her with a kind of adoration she hadn’t ever experienced before.

So when Dr. Brennan appeared at her apartment door a few nights ago, a haunted look in her eyes, tears on her cheeks and apologies on her lips, Mary literally felt her heart breaking. The FBI said that the tac team Seeley led into the seemingly abandoned warehouse had no idea that aside from the evidence they needed to bring down a corrupt senator, the building also contained four thousand pounds of TNT, set to explode with trip wires all over the building. The warehouse was completely destroyed and three FBI agents were killed, including Seeley. Because Mary was simply a girlfriend, and a rather new one at that, she had no legal way to get information on what happened exactly, but Dr. Brennan and Rebecca had made sure she was kept in the loop, a fact for which she was eternally grateful. Mary had finally met Seeley’s son, Parker, the night before and had wished with everything she had that the meeting had never taken place. The poor child was devastated, and seemed to want to do nothing but cling to either his mother or his uncle, Seeley’s brother. Mary doubted that the meeting even registered with Parker. And now sitting here at the funeral home, surrounded by friends and family she didn’t know, she’d never felt so alone.

“Mary?”

Looking up into Dr. Brennan’s watery eyes, every thought of feeling sorry for herself flew out of her head. Yes, she may have loved Seeley, but he had only occupied her world for three short months. The woman in front of her had lost her best friend, someone who was a major piece of her existence for almost seven years.

“Dr. Brennan. How are you doing?” Mary sniffed and gestured to the chair next to her. Brennan took the seat with a sigh.

“To be honest, I cannot quantify how I feel right now. I suppose the only word I can come up with is numb. But, in any case, I came over to see if there was anything you would like to contribute to the services on Wednesday. Rebecca and I thought you might want to have some input.”

Shock crossed Mary’s face as she absorbed the other woman’s words. “Me? But…I only knew Seeley for a short time. Surely his brother or his grandfather would be better suited to-“

Shaking her head, Brennan placed her hand on Mary’s knee. “Maybe. But Booth cared for you and I know that you loved him as much as anyone. I think he would appreciate it if you were offered some say in what happens in the next few days.”

“Thank you, Dr. Brennan. But no. I wouldn’t be comfortable and to be honest, I didn’t know him as well as you all did. I think he would appreciate it more if you and Rebecca handled everything. Besides…” Mary stopped for a moment, contemplating whether she should share her decision.

“What is it?” Brennan leaned towards her slightly, picking up the feeling that this was private information.

“I’m leaving DC, Dr. Brennan.” She pulled another tissue out of her handbag and wiped her eyes. “A few weeks ago I was offered another teaching position at an exclusive prep school outside of Flint, Michigan. Before…before all this happened I was going to turn it down. But now…” Mary looked behind her at the gleaming black casket. “Now, I just want to leave. I can’t be around here, thinking about what might have been and wallowing. I hope you can understand that.”

“Actually, I understand very well.” Brennan looked off somewhere towards the back of the room, eyes unfocused. “I truly do. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity. But, you should know…you will be missed here.”

“Thank you. I will miss all of you as well, Dr. Brennan.”

“Please, call me Temperance.” Brennan took Mary’s hand and held it. “Is there anything you need right now? Water or coffee?”

“No, thank you Temperance. In fact…” She stood and picked up her handbag. “I think I want to go home.”

Standing with Mary, Brennan leaned in to hug her slightly. “Alright then. Please call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”

“I will. Goodbye.” Mary nodded towards Rebecca, who was watching the exchange from a few feet away, and walked out of the room.

Brennan walked back over to Rebecca and gestured towards the rest of the mourners. “How much longer do you think everyone will stay?”

“Not much longer, I don’t think. We only offered visiting hours until six and it’s nearly that now.” She ran her fingers through Parker’s hair as he lay sleeping on the sofa next to her. “I really need to get Park home. I’m hoping he’ll sleep through the night tonight.”

“Is he still having nightmares?”

“Yes. Almost constantly now.” Rebecca sighed shakily and wiped her eyes. “I want to be mad at Seeley for this, but I miss him so damn much I just can’t. I know he would have moved Heaven and Earth to avoid leaving, but since that was impossible…I just, I am so heartbroken, Temperance.”

Brennan sat next to Rebecca and wrapped her arms around her, breath hitching in her chest. “I know, Rebecca. I know. Me, too.”

They sat on the sofa, both mourning a man loved to different degrees by both of them, when suddenly Brennan felt a vibration in her pocket. Pulling back, she reached for her cell and glanced at the screen. ‘Who would be sending me a text message now?’

Standing and excusing herself from the room, Brennan stepped into the side room set up for family only, and opened the message.

Thinking of taking some classes at the Musica in Akron but not really sure the curriculum's for me.

Assuming that someone sent the message to the wrong person; Brennan checked the number and realized that it wasn’t one she recognized and the caller ID simply said, ‘Caller Unknown’. Confused but not concerned, Brennan put her phone back in her pocket and exited the room to rejoin the gathering next door.

Chapter Two

It was like waking up to a nightmare that never ended. Brennan was never one for hyperbole, but the way her heart clenched and her stomach dropped every single time she opened her eyes in the morning, the description was apt because of the very first cognizant thought that entered her brain as the light hit her eyes was always: Booth is dead. He’s not coming back. This is real.

All during the funeral, although it was ridiculous, she looked around at the other mourners, hoping to see his smiling face hidden among the tear-streaked faces of their friends. She would have given almost anything to be able to jump up and punch him in the jaw one more time, to pull him to her in a ‘guy hug’, to hear him call her name. ‘Hey Bones, got a body for ya! Chop, chop! Get a move on, genius!’ She gasped at the visceral reaction her body had to simply hearing his voice in her head, then pulled the comforter back over her and tunneled deep into the blankets. She only, finally, poked her head out when her cell phone rang for the third time that morning. Fumbling for the offending item on her nightstand, she finally grabbed it and barked into the receiver.

“This had better be good!”

Silence greeted her growled invective. “Um…Temperance?”

Sitting up, Brennan wiped her hand across her face in embarrassment. “Oh, Mary. I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night. Is everything alright?”

“It’s okay. I apologize for calling so early, but I wanted to say goodbye.” Brennan could hear a car door shut in the background of the call.

“You’re leaving now?” Brennan threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood. “Are you going to say goodbye to everyone else? Do you need a ride to the airport?”

“No…no. I am getting into a cab right now. I just…I wanted to let you know that I was leaving and to thank you.”

“Thank me?”

Mary chuckled a bit at Brennan’s obvious surprise. “Yes, Temperance. To thank you. Look, I know that no matter how hard the past three weeks have been for me, they’ve been a living hell for you. And for you to show me so much caring and consideration is something that I will never forget. Ever.”

“Oh. Well…you’re welcome. I guess…I just, I know Booth would have wanted me to make sure you were okay, and I know that he did care for you a great deal, so that made it important to me as well. But there’s really nothing to thank me for. Honestly.” Brennan took a deep breath, considering. “I should be the one thanking you, really.”

“Me? Why?” Now it was Mary’s turn to be flabbergasted.

Brennan sat heavily down on her bed. “Because you gave Booth companionship, love and caring. Something he deserved more than anyone. And that is something I could never repay. So thank you, Mary. Thank you for making sure that Booth wasn’t alone.”

Tears pricked Mary’s eyes as she listened to the other woman’s heartfelt words. “You loved him very much, didn’t you?”

The last month’s horror has taught Brennan that no matter how irrational emotion was, no matter how much time you thought you had, the harsh reality remained that life is fleeting and no amount of saving face or dignity could outweigh the simple truth that telling those you love that you love them is one of the most important acts of selflessness one could ever commit.

“Yes. Yes, I still do.”

_____________________________________________________________

After the obligatory promise to keep in touch with the Mary and bidding her goodbye, Brennan checked her other calls from the morning. One from Angela, one from her father and a text message. Another strange call from an unknown number.

The skies are very blue today in Belgium.

Another strange, cryptic message obviously not intended for her. She thought about texting the caller back to let them know they were getting the wrong person, but she had other more pressing matters to take care of, so she let it go.

The task ahead of Brennan was one she thought she had put off more than long enough. Even though Pops, Jared and even Rebecca had insisted that no one would know more than she what to do with everything in Booth’s apartment, the thought of going through all of his things with the intention of throwing some of it away unnerved her. Although having Booth’s blood family trust her enough to know who should get what gave her a warm feeling, she didn’t know how long she would be able to hold her own simmering emotions in check. Taking a deep breath, Brennan inserted and turned the key and pushed the door open.

While she had prepared herself for the apartment to smell musty and unused, nothing she could have done could have prepared her for the surprising scent of him all around her. Even after all this time, Booth’s own unique smell permeated every nook and cranny of the small apartment. She indulged herself for a moment, standing stock-still and taking in the first real, true comfort she had felt in weeks. Mentally giving herself a shake, she walked to her right into the kitchen area and checked the fridge and cupboards, gratified to see that Jared’s wife Padme had been by to clean out any perishables as promised. She stared at the front of the fridge for a moment, smiling slightly at what Booth had considered important enough to display there. A picture of Parker from his day camp last summer, a grocery list that included tofu for her with “Yuck” written in parenthesis next to it, various notes and phone numbers written on post-its, and a picture of the two of them from the Jeffersonian Donor Ball they’d attended two weeks before Booth died. She had brought Andrew as her date and Booth had brought Mary, but they’d ended up spending much of the function sitting at their table talking to each other. That had been the night Andrew had broken up with her, as a matter of fact. At the time Brennan had wondered about his motives, but now everything was coming into focus. Her and Booth had gotten past his declaration on the steps of the Hoover that evening so long ago and finally returned to a good place with each other, and their behavior at the ball was indicative of that milestone. They both believed they had moved on from being “partners with the possibility of something more” to “partners and best friends”. And both had seemed happy with that arrangement. But looking back on it now, Brennan realized that they had never really moved on…they just became extremely adept at hiding it. Or so they thought. Obviously Andrew knew better. It made Brennan wonder what Mary had noticed, as well.

Four hours later, Brennan lugged the last of the boxes she had packed from Booth’s bedroom and dropped it in the small hallway next to the door. Looking down at the box, she was glad that no one else was here to see what she was doing. She checked that all the lights were off and the appliances were unplugged, and walked out the door, box in her arms. She stopped downstairs to speak to the landlord, who was surprised when Brennan handed him a check for six months rent.

“I would like to keep the apartment for a little while longer, if you don’t mind.” She explained, shifting the box she was holding.

“No, Dr. Brennan. As long as you’re paying rent you can keep it as long as you like. I’m just so sorry about Agent Booth. He was a damn good man and a great tenant.” He shook his head sadly. “You’re all in my prayers, Dr. Brennan.”

“Thank you. Have a good weekend.” Brennan nodded and headed out to the rented van she had parked just outside the door. She opened the back door and placed the last box, marked “Socks and t-shirts” in her neat hand, beside the others already stacked inside. Closing the doors again, she rested her forehead against the cool exterior of the vehicle for a moment. Before Booth she would never have done something so irrational. She knew Booth wasn’t coming back, that he would no longer have any need for the crazy socks, the vintage tees and the expensive tailored suits she had placed in the van on an earlier trip, but she couldn’t bring herself to take them to Goodwill just yet. Granted, renting a storage locker was beyond the pale, but something inside her was begging her to keep a hold of these things that made Booth…well, Booth. So she listened to her gut and decided to keep everything for now.

Once she had negotiated the tight parking area behind Booth’s apartment and maneuvered the van into the street, Brennan let her thoughts drift to the last three weeks and how everyone around her was dealing with the loss of Booth. Parker was still having an occasional nightmare, but Rebecca found that if he was able to talk to Brennan on a daily basis it seemed to calm him. She didn’t know how she felt about being Parker’s surrogate for his father, but she embraced the responsibility as she knew Booth would want her to. She loved Parker dearly, and her heart ached for his loss even more than her own.

Parker was a walk in the park to deal with in comparison to Angela, however. It had taken Angela until just a few days ago to manage to face Brennan without bursting into tears, a fact that had driven Brennan to avoid her friend for days at a time. Cam had finally gone off on Angela on the forensic platform, calling her dramatics “hurtful and obnoxious”, pointing out that her reactions were only causing Brennan more pain. Even Hodgins couldn’t find fault in Cam’s diatribe, his agreement finally knocking some sense of decorum into Angela and causing her to apologize to Brennan profusely. Aside from their handling of Angela, Brennan was grateful to Cam and Hodgins for their determination to get things back to as close to normal as possible in the lab despite their own grief at the loss of a good friend. Hodgins was more introspective now, and when Cam had inadvertently called him “Bug Man” the other day his eyes watered even as he smiled. Cam was probably almost as devastated as anyone but knew that Booth would haunt her forever if she didn’t do everything in her power to support Brennan, Parker and the rest of his loved ones as much as she was allowed, and in doing so she found her own kind of comfort.

Even Sweets was less therapist, more friend to Brennan in those first few days. He had offered to listen if she wanted to talk, but didn’t push her. Brennan suspected that it was more the fact that Sweets was broken hearted himself, but she appreciated his quiet support nonetheless. Max and Russ had been there for the funeral and the few days afterward, but they both knew she wanted to deal with things on her own and only offered her moral support and a hand to hold if she asked, which was exactly what she needed. Beyond her closest friends and family, her interns were there to pick up the slack at the lab and take that worry off her mind. Some, like Wendell, even working double shifts to make sure Brennan was available to take care of whatever she needed in regards to Booth’s funeral and the joint memorial service the FBI planned for Booth, along with Charlie and Agent Zhang, the other agents killed in the explosion.

A sense of irony settled over Brennan as she contemplated her support system of the last month. Every single one of these people was there for her because of Booth, and she had needed their strength because of Booth. Thinking about how sometimes life comes full circle; she turned into the storage unit facility and prepared herself to start physically storing away her memories of Seeley Booth.

Chapter Three

In the weeks that followed the cleaning out of Booth’s apartment, life seemed to go back to normal. Or as normal as it could be with a new agent working alongside the team at the Jeffersonian. At first, Brennan had resisted partnering with anyone else but Booth, but after careful consideration she’d decided that she wanted to continue to try to right Booth’s “cosmic balance sheet” on her own and believed he would appreciate the gesture. Cam had her doubts that Seeley would want Brennan going out in the field without him, but when Brennan assured her that her duties would be limited to questioning suspects at the Hoover and working the case from the lab, Cam relented. And after meeting Agent Richard Gunn, Cam was even more comfortable. He was large, imposing and seemed to have a great deal of integrity. She suspected that even Booth would like him, especially since he was in no way, shape or form interested in Brennan as anything other than a co-worker and partner. Angela had made jokes about Gunn’s resemblance to an actor Brennan, of course, had never heard of, but after watching The Green Mile one night over Ben and Jerry’s, even Brennan had to admit that Richard definitely looked a lot like the actor who played the poor, wrongly accused soul from the film. And they all had wondered about Gunn’s private life, which he never discussed with any of them, until they all met up at Founding Fathers for drinks after their first successful case and he introduced them all to his boyfriend, Erik. Thinking of the happy dance Booth would do, knowing that Brennan was safe and protected and partnered with a gay man, Cam smiled her first genuine Booth-related smile in almost two months.

Aside from making sure that Brennan was protected, even in her now-limited field work, Cam had taken it upon herself to keep an eye on her friend and co-worker’s eating and sleeping habits, much the same way Booth had. Of course, Cam wasn’t going to suddenly appear on Brennan’s doorstep at midnight with Thai food, but she had brought take out into the lab on several occasions when she knew Brennan would be there late. She had also gotten Brennan to meet her for lunch at the diner a few times under the guise of talking shop. Cam thought that Brennan was fully aware of what she was up to, but aside from a fleeting look of gratitude once or twice they never discussed it.

The thought of sending someone to get take out later crossed Cam’s mind as she swiped her card to step onto the forensic platform that afternoon. Brennan had gone out with Gunn to recover the body that now lay on the exam table, and had been intently examining it ever since their return several hours ago. She gave particulates to Hodgins and instructions to Mr. Nigel-Murray, this week’s intern, but had otherwise not said a word. The skull was still awaiting depth markers for Angela’s reconstruction, so the artist was ensconced in her office catching up on reconstructions from other departments as she waited. Agent Gunn himself was hiding in Brennan’s office catching up on paperwork and trying to stay out of the way. He was a rather large man, over six feet tall and close to 250 pounds, but as much as he genuinely liked the good doctor, he was still a little intimidated by her. Cam found that thought hilarious and incredibly endearing.

“Dr. Brennan, how are we doing?” Cam decided that if she didn’t ask, no one would tell.

Looking up, Brennan gave her a small smile. “Hi Cam. I have determined that cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the base of the skull, mob-style. Also, judging by the scrapings on the distal phalanges and the lack of teeth in the skull I would say that someone wanted to make sure that we never identified this man. All the usual markers used for identification are gone.”

Smiling, Cam shook her head. “I guess they didn’t expect you to be working the case then, did they?”

“Apparently not. They wouldn’t have bothered otherwise.” Brennan’s usual lack of modesty and guile was nice to see, and made Cam feel as if things were truly getting back to normal.

“Well, if there’s nothing else I am going to order in lunch. I expect everyone to gather in the upstairs lounge when it gets here. We all need a break.” Cam didn’t even wait for an argument from Brennan, turning immediately to walk off the platform.

Brennan looked up to watch Cam’s departure, shaking her head at her boss’s obvious mother henning where she was concerned. She may not get every subtle gesture of human interaction, but she knew when someone was trying to look out for her well-being. But instead of being irritated by Cam’s attention, Brennan found it comforting. It made the emptiness she had been feeling ever since Andrew had called her to tell her about Booth feel a little less overwhelming, and Brennan was grateful. Suddenly, she felt a vibration in her pocket signaling a text message to her phone. Snapping off her gloves, she pulled out her cell and checked the screen.

Loving the scenery at the big park in Alberta. Wish you were here.

Brennan felt a little guilty that whoever was sending her messages didn’t know that they had the wrong person, but for some reason she couldn’t name, she didn’t delete them. This was the third one she had received, and she resolved to text the sender back later to let them know they were mistyping the number. Sliding the phone back into her pocket, Brennan suddenly felt very tired. She left the rest of the exam to her intern, instructing him to get some x-rays on a specific section, and then left the platform herself to head for her office.

When she entered her office, she had to smile a bit at her partner, who was currently sprawled out on her sofa, snoring softly. While she had been worried that seeing another agent sleeping in the same place that Booth always occupied while waiting for results from the team would bother her, Agent Gunn had only inspired affection. He was a huge teddy bear of a man, seemed to genuinely care about the victims they were seeking justice for, worked incredibly well with the rest of the team and Brennan couldn’t have asked for a better stand-in for Booth. She suspected that even Booth himself would have approved.

Lightly tapping Gunn on the knee, she tried to wake him. “Richard?”

“Mmmph.” Gunn rolled over, ignoring Brennan’s attempts to get him to open his eyes.

Smirking, she tried again. She ran her fingernails through his hair, scratching lightly. “Oh, Richard….wake up, baby.”

“Wha?” Gunn shot up to a sitting position, eyes wide and confused. “Doc?”

Unable to help herself, Brennan roared with laughter. “I’m sorry, Richard!” She plopped down on the table across from him. “I couldn’t help myself…”

Shaking his head and smiling sleepily, Gunn sat the rest of the way up and threw the blanket he had been wrapped in onto the back of the couch. “Thanks, Doc. You’re pretty funny when you want to be.”

“I try. I learned from the best.” As always when Brennan made even an oblique reference to Booth, both looked a little chagrined. “Um..anyway, I wanted to let you know that Cam ordered lunch for everyone and we’ll be eating in the lounge, if you’re interested.”

“Great.” He sat up and pulled his shoes back on. “Are you eating, Brennan? You hardly had breakfast.”

Standing, Brennan crossed to her desk. “Yes, Dad. I’ll be there. I just have a few emails to send out.”

“Alrighty then. No dawdling. I’ll come after you if you take too long.” Gunn grinned and shook his finger at her as he walked out.

A small smile still gracing her face, Brennan sat down at her desk and opened the bottom drawer. For some reason, today she was feeling unsettled and needed something to soothe her. When she pulled out the small blue figurine, her smile turned into a full-on grin as she sat back and turned the Brainy Smurf character in her hand idly. She was so entrenched in her thoughts that she never heard Mr. Nigel-Murray enter her office.

“Here are the x-rays you asked for, Dr. Brennan.” The intern set the films down on her desk, and began to turn to leave before he noticed the toy in Brennan’s hand.

“Ah, the Smurfs. I remember them from when I was a child.” He watched with interest as Dr. Brennan continued to turn the figure in her hand. “Did you know, Dr. Brennan, that Peyo, the creator of the Smurfs, was born in Belgium?”

“Mmmm. No, I didn’t-“ Suddenly, Brennan’s head shot up and her eyes were wide and almost frightened, staring at Nigel-Murray in shock. “What?!? Are you sure?”

Completely confused by his mentor’s reaction, the intern nodded. “Yes, I am sure. His name was Pierre Culliford, but was more famously known as Peyo, born in Brussels, Belgium in 1928.”

Jumping up and grabbing her purse and cell phone, Brennan began to run from the room. “Please tell Dr. Saroyan for me that something personal came up and I had to leave. I’ll be back soon!” Brennan took off out the door, headed for the lab exit.

Gasping for breath as she sat in her locked car, Brennan pulled out her cell.

The skies are very blue today in Belgium.

She hadn’t known it was possible, but she literally felt the blood drain from her face. ‘Oh, God…it can’t be…’ But it was hard to ignore the definite reference in the message. Blue. Belgium. Smurfs. Brennan’s stomach clenched and she was able to get her car door open before her breakfast rebelled. Leaning over, spitting and coughing, tears spilling from her eyes, she suddenly felt more terrified than she had ever felt in her entire life

Chapter Four

Once Brennan recovered from her impromptu regurgitation, she closed her car door and sat in silence for a long time. She knew she needed to get to her apartment and regroup, but her head was still swimming and her eyes were cloudy…not exactly optimum conditions for driving. She glanced at the phone in her hand. ‘I need to find a computer.’ she thought.

Taking a deep breath, she started the car and practically peeled out of the parking structure.

Brennan entered her apartment, throwing her keys in the bowl by the door. She toed off her heels and headed directly for her bedroom down the hall, laptop in hand. As she entered the room, she glanced at the box sitting near the closet marked ‘Socks and t-shirts’ and her breath hitched in her chest.

‘This is ridiculous, Temperance. It’s a coincidence, nothing more.’ Her brain was calmly telling her to be rational, while her heart screamed something completely different. Finally settling on the bed, she booted up her laptop and scanned the strange text messages she’d received.

Thinking of taking some classes at the Musica in Akron but not really sure the curriculum's for me.

The first message, the one she’d received at Booth’s wake, stared back at her dispassionately. Steeling her resolve, she opened up a Yahoo search and typed in ‘Musica, Akron, College, Classes’. When she saw the first article, she pushed the laptop away frantically and scooted to the top of the bed, eyes wide and desperate. She was white-knuckling her comforter, and her breathing was coming in gasps.

The article was about the Musica in Akron becoming the new home of the Ohio College of Clowning Arts.

Like a record stuck on one song, the same thought ran through Brennan’s mind over and over. ‘Booth is alive. Booth is alive. Booth is ALIVE!’ Her stomach felt like lead and her head was pounding…and she had never been so exhilarated in her whole life. She wanted to jump and scream and cry and tell everyone they knew…but then she realized that Booth was contacting her and her alone for a reason, and she knew she had to keep it together in case he was in trouble and needed her help.

With that resolve firmly entrenched in her head and heart, she checked the other text message she had saved.

Loving the scenery at the big park in Alberta. Wish you were here.

Another quick Yahoo search for big parks in Alberta, Canada brought up several results. As she scanned down the page, a huge, delighted grin crossed her face.

Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.

Laughing in relief and happiness, Brennan curled up on her bed with her phone and finally released the deep breath she had been holding since Booth had died. She knew that he never would have contacted her unless he needed her help and it had to be bad if even Parker was led to believe that Booth was really dead. Yes, he had promised that if this ever happened again he would let her know, but deep down she understood the fact that only a threat towards Parker or herself would be the only acceptable reason he would risk everything to contact her. Getting herself together, she jumped off the bed and began to pace the floor, trying to come up with a response she could send him that would let him know she was with him and more than willing to help with whatever he needed. Her mind drifted back to that day almost three years ago, when she had stormed into Booth’s bathroom and confronted him about not calling her when he faked his death the last time. Her analytical mind had catalogued everything in the room (yes, everything) and now she was running through that list to come up with something only the two of them would understand.

The graphic novel. ‘That’s it.’, she thought.

Not knowing anything about comics, Brennan picked up her discarded laptop and began to research with a new purpose. Once she knew everything there was to know about Booth’s choice of superhero bathtub reading material, she grabbed her cell and began typing.

_____________________________________________________________

In a run-down, dark and seedy apartment six hours away, a cell phone vibrated, signaling an incoming message.

The grass is bright green here in Coast City.

“That’s my girl, Bones. That’s my girl.”

Chapter Five

Three days passed while Brennan anxiously waited to see if her text had gotten to Booth and was understood. She didn’t know if he had access to the internet or even if he was supposed to have the phone he used to send the original messages. And on top of that worry, she had a body on her exam table that she couldn’t identify.

It had been four days since she and Agent Gunn had recovered the slightly charred body from the abandoned building near the Capitol. Brennan had been able to determine that cause of death was a single gunshot to the back of the skull, but all identifying markers from the victim were gone. Obliterated. And his DNA was in no database they could access. Sitting comfortably on her office sofa, Brennan tried valiantly to study the x-rays and data from the nameless soul on the forensic platform, but the only thought that occupied her mind was whether or not Booth had gotten her message, and if he’d even understood it. Hopefully his interest in the Green Lantern was more than cursory; otherwise her reference to Coast City, Hal Jordan’s hometown, would miss him completely.

Sighing, Brennan rolled her head on her shoulders and tried to relax. To the outside observer, she had been normal, almost sedate, as of late. Even Angela had commented to Cam that Brennan had seemed to have finally accepted the inevitable and had begun to move on without Booth. If they only knew, Brennan thought. She was sure that Booth had contacted her and only her because he knew that she alone could compartmentalize the natural reaction to the news that his death was once again erroneous. She also hoped he called her because he trusted her above anyone else.

Brennan was so caught up in her introspection that she missed Agent Gunn’s entrance into her office. Richard stood quietly and watched his partner as she stared off into space with what he could only describe as a smirk on her face. In the month or so that he had known Dr. Temperance Brennan, he had seen her smile slightly, laugh a bit, and tease him constantly but this…this was new. She looked almost…satisfied. As if something she had been worrying over was finally settled. He only hoped that it had to do with Booth.

Special Agent Richard Gunn had attended Quantico with Seeley Booth and found the man decent, honorable and damn funny. They had a great time after hours, and challenged each other equally on the clock. Booth had been instantly accepting of his sexual orientation, didn’t even see it as an issue, which was rare in the alpha-male world of the FBI. That fact alone would have endeared Booth to Gunn, but when, during training, Gunn had suffered a stress fracture in his foot, it looked as though he was going to have to drop out and try to reapply at a later date. Gunn had wanted to wallow in self-pity, but Booth would hear none of that. He made Gunn wrap his foot and suck it up, getting together with him after training for hours on end, challenging him to push himself and find the strength of character to muddle through and complete training. Gunn literally owed his career to Seeley Booth, and now was his chance to repay him.

Gunn, like every other agent, had heard about the explosion that took the lives of three of their own. Upon finding out that one of the lost was Booth; he immediately applied for the liaison position with the Jeffersonian. Of all the things he knew would need to be done in his friend’s absence, taking care of Dr. Brennan was the one thing Gunn knew he could handle better than anyone. And to his surprise, Brennan had actually been quite receptive to his offer of partnership. He didn’t know if it was his own personality or something in Brennan herself, but they had hit it off almost immediately. Gunn hadn’t mentioned that he knew Booth, but sooner or later they were going to have to have that conversation, and he looked forward to it. He wanted to share something of the great man he knew with the woman who loved him.

With a sigh, Brennan looked up and finally realized that he was there. “Oh! Richard, I’m sorry. How long have you been here?”

“Not long, Doc. I’ve run out of paperwork to fake at the Hoover, so I thought I would come and take you out for lunch.” Gunn crossed to the sofa and sat down next to her.

Smiling for a reason she couldn’t really pinpoint, Brennan gave in rather easily.

__________________________________________________________________________________

At the diner, Brennan and Gunn sat at the counter waiting for their order. Gunn hazarded a glance at his very silent partner and tried to start a conversation. “So, Doc what’s got you in such a good mood today?”

“Me?” Brennan squeaked, surprised at the question. “What makes you think I’m in a good mood?”

“Oh, just a feeling. You seem…more relaxed today. It’s nice to see.”

Blushing a little, Brennan looked down at her coffee. “Thank you. I think-“

Suddenly, Brennan’s phone vibrated, indicating an incoming text message.

Chapter Six

Brennan stared at her phone for longer than was necessary, making Gunn wonder what had her so enthralled. He didn’t try to lean over her shoulder, but he was definitely intrigued.

For her part, Brennan wasn’t even aware of anyone else around her. All her attention was focused on her phone.

Princess Diana and Mr. Eliphalet should go by the Book.

Relief spread through Brennan’s body like wildfire and she had to suppress the grin that threatened to overtake her face. Coughing slightly, she put her phone back into her pocket and turned back to her partner. “I’m sorry; I was waiting for a message from my father. What were we talking about?”

Gunn may not have known Brennan for very long, but he definitely knew when someone was lying to him, and red flags were popping up all over the place at Brennan’s excuse. “I don’t even remember, Doc. Tell you what, why don’t I walk you back to the lab and I can get back to the Hoover and pretend to do more paperwork. Sound good?”

Glad to have an excuse to get back to her office to decipher Booth’s latest text, Brennan readily agreed. “Yes, thank you, Richard.” She followed him out of the diner, deep in thought.

_____________________________________________________________

Two frustrating hours later, Brennan was still working on trying to figure out what Booth was telling her. She was about thirty seconds away from throwing her laptop across the room when she heard Angela’s excited yell carry across the lab.

“I have an ID on our victim! Bren! Cam!” Angela’s high heels carried her loudly into Brennan’s office, where she screeched to a halt directly in front of the desk. “I found him!”

Smiling at her friend’s antics, Brennan reached her hand out for the folder Angela was waving around. “So, who is he?”

“That senator’s aide that was missing, Michael Novella. The one who worked for-“ Angela suddenly got a pained expression when she realized what she was going to say.

Brennan stood and walked around her desk, placing a hand on Angela’s shoulder. “It’s fine, Ang. He worked for Senator Roberts, right?”

Nodding, Angela sank down into one of the office chairs. “I’m sorry, Bren. It’s just…knowing that man might be responsible for Booth…” She broke off on a sob. “Dammit. I really am sorry, I am.”

Kneeling in front of her friend, Brennan tried to calm her down. “Ang, please. It’s okay. Let’s just take a deep breath and get up to the platform and solve this case. Okay? I’ll call Richard with the ID and we’ll go from there.”

Angela stood and grabbed Brennan in a fierce hug. “Brennan, despite what you think about yourself, you have a more open heart than anyone ever gave you credit for.”

Brennan drew back to look her in the eye. “That’s not true, Angela. Booth always gave me credit. Always.”

____________________________________________________________

Back on the platform, Brennan began yet another examination of the body. Knowing now that the remains belonged to an aide who worked for an allegedly corrupt senator who was currently being investigated by the FBI made everyone in the lab all the more resolved to find out who was responsible. Especially since the senator might be involved in the death of one of their own. Gunn had hightailed it back to the Jeffersonian as soon as Brennan called him with the ID, and had called Hacker while he watched Brennan circle the exam table with a determined stare. She knew she was missing something, but she just couldn’t pinpoint it. It reminded her of something Booth had said once about a word being “just on the tip of his tongue”….Booth. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before.

Princess Diana and Mr. Eliphalet should go by the Book.

The Book. The victim’s name was Michael Novella. Novella, a short story or book. Princess Diana….Wonder Woman, not the woman in England. Mentally slapping herself on the forehead, Brennan turned to her partner.

“Richard! Have you got the file on the victim here?” Brennan removed her gloves and began to walk towards her office, indicating that Gunn follow her.

“Sure, Doc. Why?” Gunn was truly fascinated by the sudden change in Brennan’s demeanor, but decided to go along with her for the time being.

Shaking her head, Brennan sat down at her computer to do another search. “Just a feeling. Nothing concrete as of yet.”

“A feeling, huh?” Laughing, Gunn handed her the file. “Hey, if you’re going to go on a feeling, I am more than happy to encourage you.”

Looking up from her search, Brennan smiled slightly. “Could you close and lock the door and draw the shades, please?”

Gunn did as he was asked, then settled back into the seat in front of Brennan. “What’s up, Doc?” He grinned.

“How long have you been waiting to use that?”

“Too long. And now that I have….I see how cheesy it is. Sorry.” He laughed with Brennan, then waved his hand back and forth. “C’mon, Brennan. Tell me.”

Taking a deep breath, Brennan asked, “Do you know who Eliphalet is?”

Sitting up in shock, Gunn stared at Brennan. “Where…where did you hear that name?”

“Richard.”

“Brennan.”

“Tell me. Please.”

They stared at each other for another minute, neither dropping their gaze, until Gunn finally saw what he needed to see in her eyes. “Not here. Let’s go for a walk.”

Chapter Seven

No words were exchanged between the partners as they left the lab, got into Gunn’s FBI SUV, and headed out to the Mall. Once parked, they exited the vehicle and began walking along the paths next to the reflecting pool. Showing uncharacteristic restraint, Brennan allowed Gunn to gather his thoughts before speaking.

“You knew Booth well before all this.” It wasn’t a question.

Inhaling sharply through his nose, Gunn nodded. “Yes. We went through Quantico together. He saved my career and my sanity, in more ways than you can imagine.”

Smiling slightly, Brennan hazarded a glance his way. “That sounds just like Booth.”

As they headed further away from the Washington Memorial, Gunn relayed his first meeting with Booth, their instant friendship forged while training to be FBI agents, and Booth’s involvement in his physical therapy during his injury. Sensing something was being left out, Brennan nudged a bit.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?”

Giving Brennan a sidelong gaze, Gunn smiled. “Booth was right; you’re a lot more intuitive than you give yourself credit for.”

“Booth said that?” The thought made her irrationally happy.

“Oh yeah. Among other things.” Gunn raised an eyebrow at her. “But anyway…I said that Booth saved my sanity. And he did.” Shaking his head, he grimaced. “You know the FBI has a very old school tough guy attitude, right? Holdover from the days of Eliot Ness, I suppose.”

“Yes. Anthropologically, the governmental hierarchy attached to law enforcement agencies is usually dominated by the most outgoing, biologically superior alpha males. The FBI is no exception. I suspect that is why Booth was revered among the other agents.”

“Was revered? You mean is revered.” Gunn didn’t have to look to know Brennan wore a look of shock on her face.

“You knew? You knew Booth was alive and you didn’t tell me?!?” Brennan pushed him from behind, her momentum so angry and unexpected that he actually stumbled a bit.

“Brennan! Calm down. I didn’t know until you asked me about Eliphalet. I swear!” He dusted off his bruised pride at almost being taken out by a woman half his size and tried to calm her down. “Temperance. I promise you, I didn’t know.”

Still breathing heavy from indignation, Brennan glared back. “What does it mean? Eliphalet.”

“The Remington rifle was designed by Eliphalet Remington.”

Stunned, Brennan stopped walking. “Remington rifle. A gun. Gunn. Booth knew you would be around.” Shaking with irritation, she clenched her hands into fists. “Did he also know there would be an attempt on his life? Did he know about this whole ruse? Again?”

“I don’t think so, Doc. I really don’t. Booth said that if something like this happened again he would tell you, and I think this is his way of doing that.”

“But…you knew?”

“I knew something like this might happen, and so did Booth. A long time ago we worked out a system of clues to alert the other if there was danger; if we needed help, if we were involved in something that got us in over our heads…we tried to prepare for every eventuality.”

“And your clue from Booth was your name.”

“Yes. I knew as soon as you asked me about it that it was Booth trying to get to me. And now I have to ask…was this his first communication?” Gunn saw the flush on her cheeks and the guilt in her eyes and knew it wasn’t.

“Alright then. How did he contact you?”

For the next half hour, Brennan relayed all of Booth’s messages and their meanings, ignoring Gunn’s chuckle at her choice of pig moniker. “Pigs are very clean animals, despite their reputations.”

Smiling despite herself, Brennan felt relieved to be able to share the news of Booth’s un-demise with someone else. “You said earlier that Booth saved your sanity.”

Gunn nodded. “I told you we met at Quantico, which is true. But my dad…he was an Army Ranger. Served in Kosovo.”

“Oh. Booth served under him?”

“Yeah. Quite the coincidence. We talked about how my dad was disappointed in me for not following in his footsteps…and for being gay. I hadn’t spoken to my dad in almost ten years at that point, and Booth was a sympathetic ear. Someone who knew us both but wasn’t in the position to judge. It was cathartic, in more ways than you can imagine.” Gunn stopped and considered his next words. “A few weeks after my little revelation, we had a weekend off, and Booth disappeared for the entire two days. I just assumed that he met a woman and decided to spend the time off in bed.” He had the grace to flush at her. “Sorry.”

“Not at all.”

“Anyway. When he came back Sunday night, he had a small cut on his eye, said he got it walking into a door when he was drunk. I didn’t have any reason to doubt him, until two days later. When my dad called me, wanting to talk.”

“Oh. Ohhh.” Brennan shook her head. “That man…”

“Yeah. I met with Dad at a bar that night. He came in with a black eye, busted lip and a limp.”

Brennan roared in amusement at the implication. “Oh no! He beat up your dad?” She bent at the waist, laughter shaking her frame. “Well, we definitely have something in common now!”

“Booth told me about the fight he had with your dad.” Gunn laughed with her. “Said your old man got him good in the jewels, too.”

Brennan stopped laughing and scrunched up her face. “The jewels?”

“Testicles.”

This made Brennan laugh even harder. “I can’t believe my dad…” She wiped her eyes and tried to control herself and get back to the topic at hand. “Anyway, you and your dad talked?”

Gunn smiled. “Yes. We had an honest, man-to-man talk and things got a little better after that.”

“And that’s why you owe your sanity to Booth?”

Gunn’s eyes were distant. “Dad died three weeks later. Massive heart attack.”

Tears sprung unbidden to Brennan’s eyes as she touched his arm. “I am so sorry.”

“Thanks. But yeah, that definitely saved my sanity. If Booth hadn’t gotten my dad to call me, I would have never spoken to him again. He would have been gone and there wouldn’t have been any chance for us to make amends. And for that, I will always be in Booth’s debt. It’s something I can never repay.”

The partners walked in silence side by side along the sidewalk, both thinking of the ways they owed the man who brought them together, and how they were going to do everything in their power to help him now, when he needed them most.

My good friend Smurfs would like everyone to know that Sweets does NOT drink beer, rather he prefers a sidecar. In the interest of full disclosure, I have no idea what that is.

Chapter Eight

Cam sat at the bar at Founding Fathers waiting for her companion, deep in thought. There were now times during the day when she would go for hours at a time without thinking about Seeley, and then suddenly the reality would hit her like a jab to the solar plexus and her eyes would begin to burn. She noticed that more often than not this happened whenever she spoke with Brennan.

She was not the maudlin type, and no one who knew her would ever call her a romantic, but Cam was steadfast in her belief that if there were ever two people who were true ‘soul mates’, it would be Booth and Brennan. Their total synchronicity, their yin and yang, their partnership in every sense of the word, was more solid, trusting and loving than any marriage Cam had ever witnessed. So seeing the empty look in Brennan’s eyes before, during and after the funeral was like a physical ache to her. Aside from her own personal grief at losing one of her dearest friends, Cam felt Brennan’s pain as well, and it was a dreadful burden. But one she shouldered readily, because she knew that Booth would never forgive her otherwise.

“Hi, Dr. Saroyan.” Sweets slid onto the stool next to Cam, signaling to the bartender for a beer. “How are you? Everything okay at the lab?”

“Hi, Sweets. I’m okay. And yes, things are…improving, I guess. We were able to finally ID the latest victim and Agent Gunn is working on getting more information about him.” Cam swirled her drink in her glass before taking another deep drink.

Sweets took a sip of his beer and considered what he was going to say. “And how is Agent Gunn working out with Dr. Brennan? Any trouble there?”

Cam smiled and shook her head. “Not at all, actually. They work very well together. I imagine it’s because Gunn is very much like-“ Swallowing thickly, the smile dropped off her face. “He’s very much like Booth.”

With a nod, Sweets continued. “I imagine that has made the transition easier for everyone.”

“You would think so.”

Considering his words carefully, the young psychologist looked at Cam in the mirror over the bar. “And how are you doing, Cam?”

Cam smiled tightly and shook her head. “I’m fine, Sweets. Really. I-“

“Really?”

A sigh. “No. Not really. I miss the hell out of him.”

“Yeah.” He sighed and turned towards Cam slightly. “I do, too. All the time. I never thought I would say this, but I would give anything to have someone make fun of my age right about now.”

They both sat in silence through another drink each, trying to find words of comfort to share but coming up blank. Nothing anyone could say would make this any easier. They simply had to accept the fact that their friend was gone, and maybe try to find comfort in the quiet company and simple gestures of the friends they had left.

____________________________________________________________

Gunn opened the door to his apartment and stood aside so Brennan could enter before him. “So, now that we know for sure that Booth is alive. The question is why is he hiding?”

Brennan nodded. “And where.”

Gunn smiled as he removed his badge and gun from his belt, setting them on the coffee table. “Now that, my dear Temperance, is one thing we do know.”

Brennan gasped. “You know where he is? How?”

“Like I told you, Doc…we made arrangements for every eventuality we could think of. Unless I miss my guess, our sweet little Seeley is safely ensconced in a crappy one-room apartment in Poughkeepsie, New York, watching his ridiculously talented Phillies beat up on the Mets and eating way too much take-out Chinese.” Gunn waggled his eyebrows in a way that made Brennan grin, the action reminding her so much of Booth.

“Okay, I have to admit that you and Booth have taken a very rational course of action in order to stave off the danger of unknown variables in the execution of a very dangerous profession. I am impressed.” Brennan smiled.

“Is that your squinty way of saying we done good, Doc?” Gunn was busying himself with something under the sink as he spoke.

“Squinty. Hmm. I haven’t heard that in what seems like a long time. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”

Pulling a metal box from its hiding place among the pipes, Gunn stood. “I’ll remember that when I talk to Booth here in a little bit. He can call you his Sexy Squint Queen all you want.”

“Excuse me?” Brennan gaped at him, eyes wide. “Sexy Squint Queen?”

Gunn had the grace to blush before he answered. “Uh…yeah. Booth sort of, well…”

“Wait a minute! What do you mean, when you talk to Booth in a while?”

Gunn breathed a sigh of relief. Even if they ended up saving Booth’s ass, Booth was going to kick Gunn’s when he found out he let slip Booth’s drunken endearment for his partner. “Yes! Yeah!” Opening the lock box he had pulled from under the sink, Gunn removed a rather large black satellite phone. “With this. Booth and I are the only ones who have them, they were prototypes. Don’t ask me how it works, it just does.”

Brennan took the phone and turned it over in her hands, examining it closely. “I don’t know much about this kind of technology, but don’t you have to have some kind of service to use it?”

“Nope.” He took the cell back and hit a button on the side, powering it up. “Something about bouncing towers, I’m not sure. Right now, the important thing is that it works.”

“Can we call him now?” Brennan was eager to speak to Booth, almost ridiculously so.

“No. Not yet. We have to text him first, let him know to turn his on. We can’t risk having them on for longer than fifteen minutes at a time because the batteries are not rechargeable and are irreplaceable, plus it’s just safer that way.”

“What about just calling the cell he’s using to text me?”

“Not using a phone for that, Doc. Internet. We can route that signal all over the world if we want pretty easily, so that was how we came up with our message system. Texting is safer.”

“Oh, that’s smart. So do we get to come up with another text message?” Brennan looked way too excited at the prospect.

Gunn shook his head at her obvious thrill at the espionage aspect of all this. He made a mental note to give Booth crap about his woman being an adrenaline junkie, then answered her. “No, Booth and I already have an agreed-upon message to let us know to power up the phones.” He took her phone, made a note of Booth’s cloaked number, and then quickly typed a message on his own cell. He handed it to Brennan with a grin.

“’Ground control to Major Tom’? That makes no sense.”

“It will to Booth.” Hitting send, Gunn sat back and waited with a sigh. “Now, we just-“ He stopped when his cell rang with an incoming message. He handed it back to Brennan. “What’s it say?”

Brennan’s forehead creased in confusion. “’Commencing countdown, engines on.’ I don’t know what that means.”

“It means we can expect a call anytime now.”

Just then, the satellite phone on the table rang shrilly. They looked at each other, and Gunn gestured to it. “Answer it, Doc.”

Chapter Nine

With a shaking hand, Brennan picked up the satellite phone and hit the button. “H-hello?”

There was a short silence on the other end, then a slight scraping sound, followed by…

“Bones? Bones, is that you?” Brennan released a shuddering breath and sobbed into the phone. Up until this very moment, there was a still, small part of her that didn’t really believe that Booth was alive, that this was all some elaborate joke designed to send her completely over the edge. But it was him. It was him…

“Yes! Booth, it’s me! Are you okay?” She tried to keep the emotion in her voice to a minimum, but she was just so relieved it poured out of her like a dam breaking. “Oh my God, Booth! What happened?”

There was more silence on the other end for a moment. “I’m okay now, Bones. I can’t tell you-“ He stopped, emotion choking his voice as well. “It’s good to hear your voice, Bones.”

She smiled at Gunn, and wondered if it were possible to be so happy you literally burst. Probably not. “Yours too, Booth. I-were you hurt in the explosion?”

On his end, Booth settled back into the ratty sofa he was stretched across, a huge smile crossing his face. “Just some small first and second degree burns, nothing major. I’m really fine, honest. Especially now. How is Parker?” His voice cracked slightly, knowing that his son was probably brokenhearted and it was his entire fault.

Brennan paused. What do you say in this situation? “Well, at first he wasn’t doing so well. But now, he’s better. I saw him yesterday and we talked about you for a bit. He’s okay, Booth. But he’ll be better when you’re home again.”

“Thanks, Bones.” God, he loved this woman. “Thank you for taking care of my son.”

“You’re welcome.” She glanced at Gunn, who was motioning for the phone. “Sorry, Booth…someone else wants to talk with you.”

Gunn grabbed the phone and skimmed over the pleasantries. “Seeley baby, what do you need us to do?”

“Shut the hell up, Dick. Listen, the body at the lab…”

“Yeah, we know its Robert’s aide. How did you know?”

“I suspected the kid was dead when I brought Roberts in the week before all this blew up. Literally. He’s a smarmy, entitled bastard but he’s also stupid as hell. He was tipping his hand all over the interrogation room. His lawyer tried to get him out of there as quick as he could because even he could see the man was developing flop sweats.” Booth sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Did Bones get anything off the body?”

“Whoa, hold up there, Kemosabe. You didn’t answer my question. How did you know about the body in the lab?” Gunn waited, listening to Booth breathing into the phone.

“How do you think we got those phones in the first place?”

“You never told me, remember? You just sent it to me a few years ago, no explanation. Why, Booth? Who gave you the phones?” Gunn was almost yelling at him by now.

Sighing again, Booth relented. “Let’s just say someone with more money than God and more paranoia than Oliver Stone.”

“Holy sh!t, Seeley! You let a squint in on your plans before me? Are you out of your f*cking mind?” Gunn was flabbergasted. Brennan, for her part, was simply confused.

“What? He told me before he told you, so? You knew that already.”

Gunn growled into the phone. “Here, you tell her!”

Brennan grabbed the phone again. “Booth? What is Richard talking about? What’s going on?”

“Bones, you have to understand that to set this up I needed unlimited resources and someone who could get their hands on advanced technology without tipping anyone off. And while I trust you with my life and I know you would give me anything I needed, you didn’t have access to equipment like the phone your holding.” Taking a breath, Booth came clean. “Hodgins did.”

Gunn was fascinated by the changing expressions on his partner’s face as Booth explained how Hodgins got involved in Booth’s emergency situation preparations. First shock, then dismay, finally interest. Gunn couldn’t believe that Brennan wasn’t going off on Booth for letting the bug man in on his secret while she mourned him. But her voice stayed even and calm and her eyes never left Gunn’s. This woman is amazing. Booth is a very lucky man.

Finally, Brennan turned the phone back over to Gunn after bidding Booth goodbye. “Everything straightened out, Booth?”

“I hope so, man. But you guys need to start looking into the financials for Roberts, he’s the key. And…you can’t go through the Bureau.”

“And why is that?”

“Because someone tipped them off that we would be at the warehouse. And besides the team and Bones, the only other person who knew we were going to be there was…”

“Hacker.”

“Yeah. Him.”

“F*ck.”

“Yeah.”

“What?” Brennan prodded. “What about Andrew?”

Gunn studied Brennan closely. “Are you still dating Hacker?”

Brennan flushed and glanced at the phone. “No. Not for months.” Gunn heard Booth huff in derision.

“Good. Did you part amicably?”

“I suppose…” Brennan replied. “Why?”

“No!” Booth yelled into Gunn’s ear. “She is not getting close to that jackass just to get information! It’s too dangerous!”

“Tell him I can hear him yelling. And that his fifteen minutes are up.” Brennan stood up and began to pace. “Unbelievable. Hundreds of miles away and still a controlling alpha male-“

“She knows I am only trying to protect her! Why can’t she see that if Hacker is involved in this that she could be in danger?” Booth was trying to overtalk Brennan in Gunn’s painfully throbbing ear.

“Protect me? How? You’re in New York! And if the only way we can help your stubborn ass is for me to get close to Andrew again, then-“

“Enough! Both of you!” Gunn put a stop to what was rapidly turning into a full-blown Booth and Brennan Patented Bickering Session before his headache got any worse. “Just…be quiet for a minute and let me think. I swear I cannot believe you two are not having sex. It’s like being a kid stuck in the middle of his parents’ fighting. Ugh!”

Brennan rolled her eyes at Gunn as she thumped back down into her chair, and Booth muttered to himself on the other end of the phone. “Great. Blessed silence. Thank you, children. Now, Temperance is right, our time is up, Booth. Let me and the good doc do some investigating, get with Hodgins, and we’ll get back in contact with you tomorrow night. Six o’clock. Sound good, Seel?”

“Yeah, man. And seriously, thanks. I can’t ever repay you for doing this…and for keeping her safe. I-I just appreciate it.” Booth paused, then spoke in a rush. “Can I talk to Bones one more time?”

Grinning again, Gunn said his goodbyes, handed Brennan the phone, and left the room.

“Booth? I’m sorry.”

“Me too, Bones. You know I know you can take care of yourself. I just…”

“It drives you crazy that you can’t be here to take care of things yourself. I know, Booth.”

“I miss you, Bones.”

“I miss you too, Booth.”

“Talk tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

“Goodnight, Bones. Sleep well.”

“You too, Booth. Goodnight.”

They both hung up at the same time, the same sad expression on their faces.

Gunn came back in the room and sat down on the sofa. He patted the cushion next to him, gesturing to Brennan to join him. When she was seated comfortably, Gunn pulled no punches.

“So tell me, Temperance…how long have you been in love with Seeley?”

Special thanks to Smurfs for pretty much every insight into Booth and Brennan’s 100th episode showdown and for being my official cheese deflector. You’re awesome.

____________________________________________________________

Chapter Ten

Gunn came back in the room and sat down on the sofa. He patted the cushion next to him, gesturing to Brennan to join him. When she was seated comfortably, Gunn pulled no punches.

“So tell me, Temperance…how long have you been in love with Seeley?”

“What?” Brennan resembled what Gunn could only describe as a deer caught in headlights.

“You heard me, Doc.” Gunn wasn’t going to back down from this discussion, no matter how hard Brennan backpedaled.

She tried to stand, but Gunn placed a gentle hand on her knee. “Temperance. C’mon. You are a woman who holds truth above all else, and you’re going to try to duck it now?”

“I’m not ducking anything! I just don’t think I know you well enough to have this discussion with you!”

“You know me better than most of my friends. Hell, I know you almost as well as I know Erik, and we’ve been dating for six months.”

“It’s impossible to know someone that well in such a short amount of time. Your hypothesis is flawed.” Brennan dug in her heels and grabbed onto her anthropological reasoning for all she was worth.

Gunn laughed a bit and released his hold on her. “Ducking again, Doc. Look, I know you love Booth, I know Booth loves you…and yet no matter how completely connected in every other way the two of you are, there is a disconnect between you when it comes to the most important aspect of your relationship. If you should have learned anything from the last month or so, it should be that life is damn short. You shouldn’t spend it on the fence. And Temperance….you need to jump that fence for him. I can see it in your eyes when you think about him, I can hear it in his voice when he tells me some cute story about you, I can feel it in the air whenever either of you are talking about the other. What you have is too damn special to ignore, and you’re both incredibly stupid for letting it go this far!”

Brennan ignored the tears streaking down her face and turned to Gunn. “Are you done?”

“For now.” He waited for Brennan to verbally pummel him, but what she said next was definitely not what he expected.

“Good. What makes you think Booth and I haven’t already discussed this?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“What? You-no. I refuse to believe that the two of you put your heads together and came up with this whole ‘just partners’ dance as acceptable. Just didn’t happen.” Gunn was stunned.

Sitting back down beside him, Brennan decided to ignore Booth’s “what’s between us is ours” directive and gave Gunn a detailed account of that night in Sweets’ office all those months ago, from the moment they stepped into the office until Booth dropped her off at her apartment much later.

Gaping, Gunn immediately began to pick apart both of their arguments. “Temperance Brennan, where in the world did you get the idea that you don’t have an open heart?”

“I-“

“No. It’s my turn, as a disinterested but well-informed third party, to show you exactly what you both did wrong that night. Starting with your erroneous assumption that you don’t have it in you to love Booth for as long as you both live.” He leaned back into the sofa and crossed his arms.

Brennan shook her head. “No. While I admit that you know Booth quite well, you and I have only been acquainted for a few months. You have no idea what my heart is capable of.”

“Why did you tell Booth that you couldn’t give it a try?”

“Because I didn’t want him to be hurt. And I would end up hurting him. I don’t have the ability to change who I am in that way.”

Rolling his eyes, Gunn leaned forward. “So what you’re saying is that in order to protect him, you sacrificed what may have the potential to make you happy in order to ensure his happiness. Correct?”

“Essentially, yes.”

“And in order to do that, you believe you have to close your heart off, to do what is best for Seeley.”

“Yes.”

“And how did you expect to close a heart that was never really open to begin with?”

Brennan stared in shock. “I…I despise psychology.”

“You only despise it when it exposes the ‘you’ you hide from the world.”

“You…no! That’s not true! It’s an inexact science, it relies on conjecture and-“

“No, it doesn’t. But I’ll refute that claim later. And that’s not why you hate psychology, anyway.” Leaning back again, Gunn began to really warm up to the discussion. “You have wrapped yourself in what you believe is this impenetrable cloak of science and reason and truth, when what you’ve really done is try to wall yourself away from really having to feel anything, because then you’re never really hurt. Some might find that selfish, because you’re depriving those who care about you the courtesy of knowing the real you, but I don’t see it that way.”

“You don’t?” Her voice was quiet.

“No. Let me ask you something, Doc. The last time Booth “died”, what is the first thing you would change about that situation?”

“I would want Pam Noonan to have never fired her gun.”

“Exactly. Do you hate Pam?”

“No, of course not. She was very troubled.”

“Do you blame Booth for jumping in front of her bullet?”

“No, I never did.”

“Do you regret killing her?”

“Every day of my life.”

Brennan blinked. Gunn smiled.

“Now. I have another question.”

“Alright.” Resigned and a little shell-shocked, she leaned back on the sofa with him, shoulders brushing.

“Where did you learn what a true partner is?”

She turned her head. “Booth, of course.”

“And where, do you suppose, he learned what a partner is?”

Brennan stopped to think. “I assume from having other partners at the Bureau…”

Now it was Gunn’s turn to blink. “He never told you?”

“What?”

“He worked alone before he met you. Always wanted to rely on himself, never really trusted anyone else. You, my friend, are the only true partner that Seeley Booth has ever had.”

“That can’t be true.”

“Oh, but it is. Even in the Army, with a spotter, he was always the ranking officer. You can’t partner with someone when you aren’t on even ground, and a subordinate is definitely not on even ground, especially in the military. He worked well with them, made friends with them, they meant something to him. But a true, symbiotic, give-and-take partner? All and only you, baby.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Brennan took in everything Gunn had revealed.

“I’m confused.” She said.

“Color me surprised.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“It means I knew this was coming. What has you confused?” Gunn smiled.

Brennan turned to Gunn, pulling her legs up to sit Indian-style and leaned against the arm rest. “If I was Booth’s first real partner, how did he know what it took to make a good partnership work?”

“And she finally gets to my point.” Gunn rubbed his hands together gleefully.

“Well?”

He was loving this. “He didn’t. He’s been winging it this whole time.” The declaration went over exactly as Gunn expected.

Good Lord, I can't believe this is turning into three chapters of Brennan getting a reality check, but I just had to get out everything I (and Smurfs, who wrote several lines here) ever wanted to tell her to her face. Consider Gunn the official "voice of the fans".

______________________________________________________________

Chapter Eleven

"What do you mean, winging it?" She whispered.

Brennan's head was spinning as her incredibly quick mind tried desperately to process everything Gunn was sharing with her. Until this moment, she thought that she knew Booth better than almost anyone, even Cam. But as her current partner continued, she began to realize that Booth was always holding a part of him back, an essential part that made him who he was. And the man in front of her was holding the key to her discovery of those secrets…secrets she was desperate to know.

Sighing, Gunn continued. "Booth never knew what having a true partner was like. Ever. Sure, he knew how to get along with his co-workers, fellow soldiers and even teammates in high school and college. But he has always been the guy in charge, the big man on campus, the alpha male, as you put it. In those relationships, he took the dominant position. In contrast, his important personal relationships with women were always the complete opposite. Rebecca led him around by his nose, always calling the shots, always making sure she had one hand on his heart and one foot on his neck."

Brennan gave a disbelieving snort. "I cannot picture Booth as the submissive in any relationship with a woman."

"Of course you can't, Doc. Even Tessa, she might not have been very secure in their relationship, but she did make the rules and Seeley always followed them. Cam doesn't really factor in because they were always friends with benefits, which created a different dynamic. But Cam is a pretty strong personality, and I have no doubt that had they tried to make a real go of it, the same thing would have happened." Gunn took a long breath in and thought for a moment.

"But you…you're different from every other relationship Booth has ever had or will ever have. Yes, you are a strong, self-reliant woman. That's what he is innately attracted to, so that's no surprise. But you also have an incredibly soft, incredibly sympathetic, incredibly intuitive side that speaks to something he has buried so deep he didn't even know it was there. He may have allowed himself to be the submissive in his personal relationships, and I think we both know where that comes from in his past, but when he sees you show your vulnerability…the young boy who stood in front of his baby brother and took his father's beatings in his place comes roaring back to the surface, and it's always been the best part of him. Balance that with this hidden part, the same boy, scared and alone, afraid to show the rest of the world what his life was really like because he was terrified that they would reject him, think less of him. The selfless, self-sacrificing, fiercely protective Seeley Booth found Temperance Brennan, just as broken and alone and strong and good, a woman who allowed him to be a man but never thought less of him when he reverted back to that scared, lonely boy, a kindred spirit who allowed him to be vulnerable without losing any part of his true self. That is why he is attracted to you. The real you. Because you and only you have allowed Booth to be the person he always had the potential to be. And I suspect that he has done the same thing for you."

Brennan wiped the tears from her face and shook her head. "What does this have to do with his knowledge of partnerships?"

Gunn ignored the fact that she didn't bother to refute anything he had just revealed. What he secretly called his "inner Angela" did a little money-maker shake in celebration of the obvious headway he was making, but he had yet to go in for the kill, so to speak.

"Like I said, you are the first real partnership Booth has ever been a part of. When you defer to him on a matter that is 'partner-like', it's like the blind leading the blind."

"I don't know what-oh. I understand. So I've been listening to him on this topic all this time, and he was bluffing me?"

Gunn tapped his chin in thought. "No, not really. Not intentionally, anyway. I don't believe that he realizes how much of your dynamic he improvises."

Brennan was struggling mightily with so many different emotions at once that she was having a hard time grasping Gunn's meaning. "I want to understand, I do. But I am just…overwhelmed, I guess. Please. Help me understand."

Her quiet plea was his undoing. Up until this point, Gunn was resolute in his goal to get Brennan to see that everything Booth had offered her, she was equally capable of giving back. But he could almost feel the sensory overload coming off her in waves, so he grasped her hand and began rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. "Let's order some dinner and take a break. Okay? I have a little more to explain, and I think we could both use some time to decompress before we get to the hard part."

Sniffing and laughing at the same time, Brennan regarded him with wide eyes. "That wasn't the hard part?"

"Oh, Doc…we're just getting started."


After amazing Brennan by putting away more Thai food in one sitting than she had ever seen the bottomless pit that was Booth consume in a week, Gunn settled back and prepared to finish the discussion.

"Okay. You remember where we left off?"

"Of course. You were going to explain how Booth misled me on his expertise on partnerships."

Oooh. This wasn't good. She was reverting back to her overly precise way of speaking, and taking his words at their most literal. He sighed and shook his head.

"Brennan, he has never misled you. He was simply misinformed himself. Nothing in his experience had ever prepared him for being a partner. Specifically your partner. And yes, sometimes he was groping for the right thing to do, and I'm sure he stumbled quite a bit." She laughed at that statement, recalling a few times where Booth seemed to be trying to infuriate her with his ineptitude. "Yeah, I suspected as much. But the thing about Booth is that he always learns from his mistakes with you. I'm sure he gave off his usual air of competence and authority, but inside he was always looking to you and your complete trust in him to lead him in the right direction. I mean, c'mon….someone who always needs scientific, tangible proof in order to make a judgment on anything believed in Booth almost from day one. Even that first case that ended so badly for the two of you, you didn't mistrust him. And he used that to guide him as well. That was never the problem."

"No." Brennan murmured. "Trusting Booth has always been innate, and I've never understood why."

"You wouldn't, because it's not something you can quantify. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, and you know that to be true because you do trust him implicitly. And he has always felt the same way about you. The fact that you returned that trust, especially being as tentative about interpersonal relationships as you are? It saved him. Figuratively, but sometimes literally. Even as the pull of who you are and what you two could be was slowly killing him."

"What?" Brennan's voice was almost non-existent. "I never intended…"

"And he never blamed you. He always took total responsibility for the consequences of loving you, and even now he wouldn't want to burden you with it. But there is one story I do need to tell you, beyond all this crap with partners and love and trust and hope…a story that perfectly illustrates just how long Seeley's happiness and peace of mind has been completely dependent on you."

Brennan blanched at the thought that something else she had done or said had caused Booth even a moment of pain. In her more introspective moments, she realized deep down that she agreed with what Gunn had said earlier, that in trying to avoid hurting Booth she had done exactly that, but she always fooled herself into thinking that as long as they stayed friends and partners that they both would eventually be happier in the end. And now, knowing that she had completely misread not only the situation but herself as well, she wanted to crawl into her bed, throw the covers over herself and never come out again. And if it were anyone else they were talking about, she might have. But she owed Booth so much, and if she had to endure more emotional upheaval in order to right whatever wrongs she had brought to him, she was perfectly okay with that. It was the very least he deserved.

"Okay. Tell me."

Once again, my undying love and affection to Brainysmrfs for letting me bounce ideas off her. She's very springy and never bitches when I hit her on the nose.

____________________________________________________________

Chapter Twelve

"Before I tell you this story, I want you to understand something, okay Doc?" Gunn moved from his seat on the sofa to the coffee table in front of Brennan, leaning forward to engage her eyes.

"Of course." Brennan's hands were shaking uncontrollably in her lap. At the best of times, she was terrified of facing emotional revelations, but this…. This was about Booth, which was making her skate the edge of a panic attack knowing in her heart that with him, it meant so much more than any innate fear or doubt she would ever have. She needed to focus on what Richard was telling her, because as irrational as it sounded to her own ears, her whole life's happiness might depend on it.

"You know about the gambling, right?" At Brennan's tight nod, he continued. "Well, I had similar problem years ago and because I stopped before Booth did I sort of became his sponsor. We both had local people, because I was assigned to the Jersey office at the time, but we were always a phone call away from each other. And honestly, Booth never actually called me unless it was really, really bad."

"Has-has he called you often?"

"Three times. Voluntarily, anyway. You have to understand, being a gambler is a personality tic. And if anyone knows how hard it is to adjust your personality…"

Brennan nodded again, gesturing for him to continue.

"Anyway, Seeley is the strongest man I've ever known, but he had two weaknesses. Gambling and Parker. And even the latter couldn't curb the former, so knowing how he feels about his son should give you some idea of the hold it had on him. But six years ago, out of the blue…he just stopped. Stopped dead. He would never tell me or anyone else why, but I can tell you that it was right after he solved that first case with you."

"He told me…that night, the night we almost…" Brennan gulped. "He said he had a problem, but that he was working on it."

"And he was. As far as I know, he didn't set foot in another casino until that case you two had in Vegas." At Brennan's surprised look, he nodded. "He called me a couple of times at night while you were there. Despite his calm demeanor, he was pretty freaked out about it. But he made it, and as usual you two solved the case. I think that always helped him curb the itch as well. The goal of delivering justice. With you."

"I'm glad that he had you."

"Doc, he had both of us. But that wasn't the last time he faltered. Most of the time, he would just call me, let me know it was bad…we'd talk and he'd be okay. But one night, about four years ago, one of our mutual buddies with the local PD in Atlantic City called me, said he had recognized Booth sitting at a craps table at Harrah's, winning more than he was losing and drinking soda."

"Soda? So he wasn't drunk and that's bad?" Brennan was confused.

"Yes, that's worse, actually. When Seeley was determined to really buckle down and spend some money, he liked to be clear headed. Had he been drinking scotch, I wouldn't have been as worried. In any case, I headed up there and joined him at the table. He was…the only word I can think of to describe him is defeated. He had a huge stack of chips in front of him and he couldn't have looked less thrilled about the fact. Eventually I talked him into cashing out, but only after he caught me a good one on the right cheek. Security was nice enough to help me escort him to his car." Gunn leaned forward and took Brennan's still-shaking hands in his much larger ones. "Here's where it gets deep, Doc. I drove, and all the way back to DC he's telling me about some fellow agent, how great a guy he was, what a decent boyfriend he made…I honestly thought for a minute that he had decided to come out of the closet, he was talking the guy up so much."

Brennan smiled a little. "I know what that means."

"Yeah. And much to my consternation, I have to admit. Turns out, he was only mourning the fact that the woman he was desperately in love with was considering sailing off into the sunset with this guy."

The gasp that came from Brennan was so heart wrenching, Gunn considered cutting the story short. But he knew that she needed to know, even if it meant breaking his best friend's trust.

"He…no. He wasn't in love with me. He couldn't have been, he told me to go with Sully! Why would he do that? Why?" Brennan face was pale and her eyes watery, but she held Gunn's gaze admirably.

"He says he told you to go because he loved you so much that he just wanted you to be happy. Me, personally, I think that's bullshit…but I'm not much of a romantic. So, he confesses his love for his partner and then starts to wallow all the way back here. Made me want to smack him, to be honest. I mean, it's like I said…Booth is a strong man, how is he letting a woman bring him to his knees like this? Of course, now that I've met you I have some idea, but Temperance…he was a mess. He didn't know if you were leaving the next morning or not, he only knew that he had let you go. One way or the other."

"Obviously, I didn't go."

"Obviously." Gunn gave her an ironic smile. "I spent the rest of the trip talking him into at least saying goodbye to you, although I tried to get him to be honest about his feelings for you as well. He finally relented to talking to you, almost at the last minute. I got him home around 6 AM and managed to talk him into a shower to get the casino smell off him, got him into a suit and told him to get to the docks and find you. So that's what he did."

"Oh, my God." Brennan shook her head. "He had been at a casino all night long before he showed up there? I never would have guessed, he looked so…I don't know, put together? He didn't look any different than he always did." Brennan sighed. "He said he came to say goodbye, and to take me to breakfast."

"And he was telling you the truth. Look, Brennan, that man was terrified of losing you, but more terrified of admitting it. Everything he had made himself into was tied up into one thing…Temperance Brennan. And yes, he brushed it off and even told Sully at one point that he wasn't interested in you…"

"He did?" Brennan gaped.

"Oh yeah. Sully asked him for advice on how to get you into bed. Booth refused, of course, but Sully wasn't as stupid as his leaving you suggested, because he picked up on Booth's feelings and called him on it. Booth denied everything, which at that point had become your standard line, right? Just partners?"

"Uh huh…" Brennan was overwhelmed and her head was spinning. Normally she would be in a blind panic at the information Gunn imparted, but she couldn't even process a complicated emotion like panic right now. Between finding out that Booth was alive and now being inundated with all these deep, emotional revelations about him she was feeling off balance.

"Look, I think I've said enough tonight. You look like you need to get some sleep so I am going to make up the guest room and you're going to sleep here. Tomorrow, we'll get to the lab early and start trying to find a way to bring Booth home. Okay?" Brennan could only nod, so Gunn stood and headed out of the room.

Brennan leaned back on the sofa and sighed heavily. She wanted to really think about everything Gunn had shared with her tonight because she realized how much it had cost him to break Booth's trust, but all she could really focus on was that despite every single defense mechanism she had spent 18 years building, every wall constructed around her heart, every cell in her body fighting against love….all those roadblocks were obliterated by a man who 'knew'. Simply knew.

PS. That last paragraph would totally suck if not for Smurfs, so if you love it credit her. If you hate it, blame me.

Chapter Thirteen

The first indication to Gunn that it was morning was the incessant pounding on his apartment door. He groaned, wanting to ignore the noise for as long as possible, until he remembered his guest in the other bedroom. He sat up and started to get out of bed when he heard Brennan speaking to someone out in the living room.

Making his way down the hall, he smiled when he saw who Brennan had let in.

"Well, good morning!" Erik grinned at Gunn, giving him a quick kiss as he passed to start the coffeemaker. "I told Temperance that I thought you had switched sides when she answered the door in one of your shirts."

Laughing, Brennan nodded. "I told him you were too scared of me to hit on me. For some reason, he believed me."

Shaking his head, Gunn grabbed coffee mugs out of the cupboard. "I don't know what it is about you two, but you're trouble when you get together. I knew I never should have introduced you."

Erik sat next to Brennan, patting her knee. "I can't resist her. She is hilarious."

"Are we talking about the same woman? Temperance Brennan?"

"Be nice, Richard. Or we won't let you have lunch with us. We are having lunch, aren't we?" Erik raised his eyebrows at Brennan.

Standing, she shook her head. "I wish I could, Erik. But we have an active case that's really important and I have to stay at the lab today. But I will definitely take you up on lunch next week. Okay?"

"Fair enough. Now go get ready. If I'm gone when you're done, have a good day."

"You too, Erik." Brennan smiled at both men and headed off to shower.

When she was gone, Erik turned to Gunn. "Well?"

"This case is kicking our asses. She was here last night going over our notes and it got late."

"Uh huh. You'll tell me eventually. So, do you have time for lunch?"

"I'll let you know."

____________________________________________________________

Gunn and Brennan entered the lab an hour later, striding purposely towards her office. When Gunn saw Hodgins was standing on the platform alone, he whistled at the bug man and pointed to Brennan's door. They entered her office and Brennan stood to the side as Gunn expertly swept the room for bugs and cameras. Once he gave the all clear, Brennan waved Hodgins in and closed the door behind him.

Gunn took one of the chairs in front of Brennan's desk and gestured Hodgins to take the other. Once Brennan was seated behind her desk, Gunn regarded the other scientist.

"I am supposed to tell you 'diplura'."

Hodgins grinned at Gunn, nodding. "The only order of insect that regenerates. Excellent." He looked at Brennan warily. "Dr. B, I-"

"Thank you, Jack. You saved his life. Please don't apologize." Both nodded, silently agreeing to move on.

Gunn clapped his hands together. "Great, that's settled. Now, we have to get our friend out of his cocoon. Any movement on those particulates, Hodgins?"

"Yeah, actually. I found small traces of Larrea tridentate, or a creosote bush, on the slacks of the victim, as well as crushed alpinia pulcherrima leaves in the cuffs." Hodgins looked overly excited, even more than he usually did when talking particulates.

"I don't know what that means." Gunn smiled at Brennan, delighted by her eye-rolling reaction to his use of her personal catchphrase.

Hodgins rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "I might have just broken this case, actually. Alpinia pulcherrima is the proper name for a bird-of-paradise…Mexican bird-of-paradise, to be precise. It's a tropical-climate plant, almost unheard of in this part of the country."

Brennan nodded. "And creosote bushes are native to warm weather as well."

Gunn's eyes widened. "Like…say, Arizona?"

Hodgins bounced in his seat like a two year-old. "Exactly."

"And who do we know that might have those two particular plants on his property here in decidedly-cooler DC?" Gunn began to stand up in anticipation.

"I don't know…a senator from Arizona with an expansive greenhouse enclosure attached to his home here?" By now Hodgins had stood as well, barely containing his excitement.

"I'll call Caroline."

_____________________________________________________________

"QVC…uh, no. Hallmark Channel, yuck. Oxygen, I don't think so. Ooooh, ESPN Classic. There ya go." Booth muttered to himself as he flipped channels idly. For most people a month and a half of sitting around doing nothing might sound like a vacation, but to him it was pure torture. He was beginning to see why Bones held such a dislike for television. He'd become addicted to some forensics drama on Thursday nights for awhile, but it got to the point that when the two main protagonists, a man and a woman, bantered back and forth it reminded him so much of his and Bones interactions that it physically ached to continue watching. And Survivor just pissed him off. 'Reality show, my ass.' He thought. 'In reality, all those morons would be dead by now.' So he was avoiding network TV in favor of something equally mind-numbing to distract himself. The replay of the 2005 NFC Championship game, eventually won by Philadelphia, seemed to be doing the trick.

His thoughts didn't stay in one place for long, however. As usual, he began thinking about his son. Looking at the clock, he wondered what Parker was doing at that moment. Probably already in bed, he decided. He missed him so much it hurt, but the idea that Parker might be targeted if Senator Roberts or any of his accomplices knew Booth was alive was enough to reinforce his belief that in the long run he was doing the right thing.

'And that's you all over, isn't it Seeley? Always doing the right thing, even to your own detriment.' It irritated Booth to no end when Gunn's voice popped into his head at his most introspective moments. Especially when he knew that his friend was right. 'Damn him.'

Booth hauled himself off the sofa and headed for the small efficiency kitchen off the living room. He had been judicious in how often he went out for groceries, only venturing out when it was absolutely necessary, so his choices were decidedly limited. Grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge, he contemplated his options.

"Canned vegetable soup, it is." He muttered, pulling the tab on the can and dumping the contents into a microwave-safe bowl. As he watched the container spin in the microwave, he decided that if he were here any longer he was going to have to buy some actual vegetables and make himself a salad. 'Oh, Bones would love that.' He thought. As if his mind conjured her up on command, his computer pinged, signaling an incoming text message. He wiggled the mouse to get rid of the screen saver, and a relieved, excited grin split his face as he read the three simple words displayed on the screen.

Come home, Booth.

Chapter Fourteen

Jack Hodgins let himself in the back door of the lavish condo he shared with his wife. Listening intently, he heard the soft lilt of the television coming from the sitting room, so he toed off his shoes and headed down the hallway, trying to sneak up on her as she sat on the large sectional in front of the entertainment center.

"Quit sneaking, I can hear you, Mr. Bull in a China Shop." He could hear the smile in her voice as he leaned over the back of the sofa and kissed her neck.

"You have ears like a dolphin." Hodgins walked around and plopped himself next to Angela, grabbing her feet to hold them in his lap.

"Dolphins have good hearing?"

"Best in the animal world, baby."

Casting him a sidelong glance, she nodded. "Good to know."

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, watching the end of the classic movie Angela had been watching when he came in. Finally, she couldn't wait for him any longer.

"What's wrong, Jack?"

Hodgins laughed softly, still rubbing her feet absently. "You freak me out when you do that, you know."

"I know. That's why I love to do it." She pulled her feet off his lap and sat up. "Now tell me."

"It's not anything wrong, really. In fact, it's something that is very much right. But I have to start from the beginning. Okay?"

"Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere."

"And thank God for that." He leaned forward and kissed her quickly. "Here we go….about two years ago, Booth called me and asked to meet at a bar on the North side, away from pretty much anything. When I got there, he was sitting in the back in a dark booth, nursing a beer. Once I got seated and ordered my drink, he just started right off with this story about how he had a friend from the Academy with whom he devised a plan to set up a safe house and system of protection in case something came up with a suspect or someone either of them had arrested, and that he needed my help to, as he put it, 'fine tune' some of the details."

"Really. Booth came to you for help? I find that…"

"Out of character, bizarre, crazy? Nothing I didn't think myself, babe." They both smiled as Hodgins continued. "Anyway, Booth made no secret of the fact that there were three reasons he came to me. One, because I had the money and resources. Two, because I am more paranoid than anyone he's ever met. And three…" He stopped for a moment, an expression crossing his face that Angela couldn't place.

"What, Jack? What was the third reason?"

"Because he trusted me more than anyone at the Bureau and almost as much as Brennan."

"Wow."

"Yeah. So, of course, I was going to do anything I could for him. I mean, we're talking about a man who trusts no one but his own gut and his Bones. You don't turn away from that kind of faith, you know? So anyway, he wanted access to some cell phone technology that's very CIA and a few other things I didn't have any trouble getting my hands on and that's how it started."

"Started?" Angela studied his face closely. "Hodgins. Tell me what the hell is going on. Now."

Sighing, Jack settled back and continued. "About 5 hours after that warehouse blew up, I got a text message. All it said was 'opossum'. That was the code word we agreed upon if something happened where whatever emergency preparations Booth and his friend had put in place were necessary."

Angela's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Why opossum?"

"Because they play dead, Ang."

Jack watched fascinated in a strange way, as she finally caught up with the truth of what he was telling her. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes.

"Oh God, Jack! Booth is alive? Does Bren know?"

"She does. She's known for about four days. Booth sent her texts from a secure internet connection, and once she figured them out she went to Gunn, and they contacted Booth."

"Gunn knows too?"

Hodgins smirked. "Who do you think Booth's friend at the Academy was? He didn't know until after Brennan did, but he's been all over it ever since. Gunn was the one who had the other phone that matched Booth's. He let Brennan talk to Booth last night."

Angela let her head fall back against the sofa and let out a soft sob. "Thank God. I just-just thank God he's not dead. But-wait. Should you be telling me this? Is Booth still in danger?"

"No, we've finished the case. Senator Roberts folded like a cheap suit and gave up everyone he was affiliated with. Imagine that, an elaborate smuggling operation covered by Roberts UN connections that took over a decade to set up and ended up claiming the lives of countless innocent people including two FBI agents…and he gave it all up to Gunn, including evidence, in just less than two hours. And now…Booth can come back."

"I hate to sound like a broken record…but thank God. I can't even imagine how Parker is going to react when he finds out his dad is alive. That poor kid has been through so much…" Angela swiped at a stray tear.

"I know, and Brennan…man. I knew she was tough as nails, but I really thought this was going to finish her at first. I mean, she came up big with her support of Parker like I knew she would, but this just had to be killing her, you know? Maybe now they'll both see what's right in front of them." Hodgins leaned over to kiss Angela, smiling softly.

"Yeah, especially now that Mary is out of the picture."

"Oh, damn." Hodgins winced. "I forgot all about Mary."

Chapter Fifteen

Brennan unlocked the door to her apartment and unceremoniously dropped her bag next to the closet. She took off her shoes and plopped onto her couch, sighing in discontent. Just knowing that they had solved the case, caught the bad guy and freed Booth from his self-imposed prison should have been enough to calm her, but something was still off.

She wanted to spend the next two days sleeping, but knowing that Booth would be back either tomorrow or the next day made her re-evaluate her priorities. Because of the talking-to she had received from Gunn, she had been doing a lot of thinking about what she thought Booth really wanted and what she thought she was capable of giving him. Because no one else was around, she allowed herself to think about what a real relationship would be like with Booth, and a smile crept across her face. She knew he would be a powerful, physically gifted lover just from his superior musculature…but she imagined that he was probably generous and giving in bed as well, if his personality and innately good nature were anything to judge by. Shaking the thoughts from her head for the time being, she rose from the couch and headed in to get ready for bed.

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A door creaked, sounding like a firecracker in the silent apartment. The Seth Thomas ticking on the mantle showed that it was just after 4 AM as a large, dark figure tiptoed across the hardwood floor. The hallway was lit with soft light, making the slightly open bedroom door easily discernable in the pre-dawn darkness.

Brennan lay on her stomach, one hand under the pillow the other flung to her side, hanging off the side of the bed. Her even breathing indicated a deep sleep, so when her eyes suddenly opened, it was completely unexpected.

"Booth?"

He moved from where he was crouched at the side of the bed and sat down next to her. "Hey, Bones."

Brennan raised her arm and slowly stroked his cheek, eyes still half-closed but shining with something Booth couldn't identify. Sighing lightly, she lifted the sheet and moved over to the other side of the bed. Booth pulled off his shoes and climbed in, his eyes never leaving hers as he settled in next to her.

For long moments, they simply took each other in, both understanding that everything needed to be verbalized, but nothing needed to be said. What could have been seconds, minutes or hours later, their eyes began to slip shut and they both fell into a kind of peaceful sleep that few experience after childhood.