The Golden Age by bertie456 posted 29/12/2007

Posted 09/01/2008 10:40:21 AM
by CheeseBK

bertie, this was great.... I felt like.... being there!!! awesome job!

Posted 09/01/2008 01:21:04 PM
by ToZiKa

Oh I haven't thought of that I actually tried to make up a new word with the initial letters of the others, then I tried it backwards and then I spent 20 minutes googleing (I don't really think that is a word...) all words together or only a few together but nothing came up....I never thought of them being all greek....

fab you knew who the next victims would be and you knew the murderer....you must have been a genius!

I can't believe he did this only because of his homosexuall son.
But I liked it that now Bones knew something Booth didn't.
It is always nice, when they need the knowledge of both of them to get the murderer.

Posted 09/01/2008 09:46:46 PM
by fanofbones

bertie...that was superb chica....but I also feel alittle sorry for Mr. Normans....in his mind, he was doing something noble....he truly had himself convinced of that...not realizing that it was mostly the lack of the medicine that caused the delusions....
and thats sad to me....he must have loved his son very much....
wonderful wrap to the case....

hugs
fab

Posted 10/01/2008 00:59:12 AM
by DBAngelfan

more more!

Posted 10/01/2008 06:01:14 AM
by bertie456

Last chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who's left a comment - they are very much appreciated and I'm really glad you've enjoyed the story. Quick reminder before you read the last one: I was aiming for an episode-like, case-based fic, rather than something overtly shippy. Just be warned.

Epilogue

"What meal is this?"

Sitting in the diner, Booth turned to Brennan in confusion, "It's 9.30am - it's breakfast."

The anthropologist stared into her coffee, clearly deep in thought. "But breakfast is generally eaten after you've been to sleep. Technically this should be dinner, or possibly brunch since it's now mid-morning."

"Bones, stop trying to categorise my pie."

She looked up at him, snapped out of her contemplations by his reply. "I was just making conversation."

"Well, can we converse about something other than my breakfast/dinner?"

"It was an interesting question," Brennan replied defensively, pouting slightly at his mocking, and he gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Okay, you've now invented "dinfast." Can we please move on?"

Deciding on the fairly safe topic of the heatwave, she ventured, "It's still pretty hot outside."

Booth chuckled, looking down. "I was shut in an oven, Bones. I swear I'll never complain about the heat again."

She smiled briefly, taking another sip of her coffee before moving on to a new topic. "Do you think Normans will be able to plead insanity?"

Putting his fork down on his plate, Booth turned to face her with another sigh, "I thought the point of this dinfast was to take our minds of the case? You bringing up Normans is kind of doing the opposite."

Temperance frowned. "It's natural to make conversation about recent events that we have in common, and since Normans tried to kill both of us tonight, it seems logical that he should be discussed."

Knowing there was no way he could win now that she had introduced the dreaded l-word into the argument, Booth reluctantly returned to the earlier question, "Insanity could be the right defence. After what you said about the side-effects of the drug withdrawal, it's a strong possibility."

"There isn't enough scientific evidence to prove that Triazolam actually causes mental instability," she stated simply. "It isn't accepted as a defence in court."

The agent twirled his fork, staring at his pie as he considered her words before asking, "What do you think?"

"I think he is insane," Brennan said decisively. Booth gestured for her to continue, his mouth full of pie, and she obliged, "At first, he might have been considered reasonable - his plans were well-thought out and there was a complex symbolic reason behind each killing rather than the work of a madman. But after what he did to us, I'm not so sure anymore."

It was Booth's turn to frown. "How is that different? He still identified us with Greek gods and he tried to kill us in a symbolic way. It's not like you to take something personally..."

"I don't. I'm not," Brennan said firmly. "But there's a difference in the pattern. From what you told me, all the other killings were based on a fault in the character of the deity that he then reflected in the victim. For example, Zeus was an infamous adulterer and so Matt Richards was killed because he happened to have affairs too."

"So what's different about us?" he inquired, still shoveling down his pie.

Temperance swiveled to face him as she spoke seriously, "You said that Apollo and Artemis never did anythng wrong. Or, at least, they never slept together. Normans targeted us because he thought we were having an inappropriate sexual relationship and then reflected this back onto the deities when it should've been the other way round."

"How does that make him crazy?" Booth asked, perplexed. "He still thought the victims were impure..."

"Yes, but usually both the gods and victims had to be impure. This shows his mental state was deteriorating, in that he was unable to distinguish between reality and mythology. He thought he saw us having an affair and so projected that belief onto his image of Artemis and Apollo, thus thinking that they too were sleeping together. He was deluded, and he could use that in his defence."

She looked over at her partner, seeing that he had stopped eating and was now grinning at her. "You know, as much as you say you hate psychology, you've been thinking about it a hell of a lot."

"Haven't you?" she countered, her tone telling him that it was the obvious thing to think about.

Booth shook his head, digging into his pie again as he said, "I was thinking more about why he tried to kill us."

"That's what I just sai-"

"Not in that way, Bones," he interrupted, smiling. "I meant the whole me-and-you affair reasoning."

"Oh." She paused. "What's there to think about? There was a misinterpretation of actions; he just drew the wrong conclusion."

"He's not the only one," her partner said quietly. Brennan waited expectantly and he continued, "You must know what people think, Bones. It's expected at the FBI, where most of the guys think I'm having an affair with Mrs Robinson if my mom ever comes to town, but it's even happening at the lab now."

"Mrs Robinson?" she queried, missing the vital point of the conversation. "Why isn't your mother called Mrs Booth?"

He waved away her question, turning back to his coffee. "Never mind, Bones." Smiling, he added playfully, "It just kind of sucks that we're getting the murder-attempt parts of a relationship, without, you know, the perks."

"Oh, you mean sexual perks?" she asked openly and Booth's coffee ended up down his windpipe. She smirked as he coughed violently, still taken aback by her comment. "Sorry, I forgot you don't like to talk about sex."

Regaining the ability to breathe, Booth tried to cover himself. "I didn't just mean sex, Bones. There are more perks to a relationship than that." Temperance looked at him with genuine confusion, and he explained, "You know, like spending time with someone, just the two of you. Or having someone there when you come home at night. Or being able to talk comfortably about anything with them."

She pursed her lips, considering, before eventually asking, "Don't we do that?"

"Do what?"

"Talk comfortably to each other about anything." She reconsidered. "Well, except sex, but that's only because you don't want to."

"I don't want to have sex?" he asked with a strange pang of anxiety.

"You don't want to talk about sex," Temperance clarified, before returning to her original point. "But other than that, we definitely talk to each other." She offered him a small smile. "At least we have one perk."

Booth returned the smile. "Yeah, that makes up for the near-death experiences."

Unsure if he was being sarcastic, she said quietly, "We can work on having more perks."

Surprised at her response, Booth repeated softly, still smiling, "We can."

There was a brief silence as they both returned to their coffees, replaying the conversation in their minds and trying to fathom its meaning. Finally, they both drained their cups at the same time and Booth got to his feet with a yawn. "Ready, Bones?"

Temperance nodded. "Ready when you are."

The End

So no B&B hookup, but there was still some mild fluff, ice-cube goodness, and semi-naked Booth so please don't be too aggrieved. Thanks for reading!

Posted 10/01/2008 06:25:44 AM
by CheeseBK

oh this was the perfect ending... PERFECT, just PERFECT... totally true to the show!

Posted 10/01/2008 05:36:59 PM
by miller0259

OH GOD!! I missed so much!! stupid classes!! Yay they're safe! And Hooray for the janitor getting caught!! And hooray for perks!!

Nice Job!! I loved it!!

Posted 10/01/2008 09:21:51 PM
by fanofbones

bertie it ended fabulously....so sweet...
and hooray for working on more perks...
you and I both know thats code for sex...
loved it all sweetie....written beautifully..

Tonights question on Are you smarter than a 5th grader was what mythology god is known as the thunderbolt? Of course I got it right....Zeus...and that is thanks to you bertie for making me a tad bit smarter....

hugs sweetie
fab

Posted 11/01/2008 12:18:10 AM
by ToZiKa

I totally loved the breakfast dinner discussion...."dinfast"...can't beieve it....
I really liked the ending.
Oh and I think I have to agree with fab with this more perks-thing....