Title: Curing What Ails You...
Author: Stephanie (AKA Damara)
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership of the characters contained herein, they belong to Fox, the creators of Bones, and of course the incomparable Kathy Reichs.
Spoilers: Episode insert/rewrite for "Man in the Morgue"
Summary: Suppose Booth and Brennan return to her hotel room in New Orleans before coming back to D.C. With 3 hours to burn before their flight home…what might happen between them? And what will Brennan say when the truth of Booth's omission comes to light?
…Ugh, my head hurts.
More than anything, Dr. Temperance Brennan wished she can could soak in a hot bath and sleep off the last 48 hours.
Pushing the key into the lock of her hotel room, she nudged the door open as Booth followed closely behind her.
"This shouldn't take long Booth. Some of my things are already packed…"
Their trek from Richard Benoit's shop to her hotel room had passed in long comfortable silence. Another long day…another exhausting case…another identified victim. And as always…the satisfying capture of yet another terrifying murderer.
"We've got some time Bones. The first flight back to D.C. isn't for another three hours. Why don't you take it easy...relax…you're not exactly running at a hundred percent yet you know?"
Nodding her solemn acknowledgment of that simple fact, Brennan moved slowly about the room collecting her belongings. Making an active effort to hide the shy smile that graced her lips, she considered the thoughtfulness of the man watching her so intently.
If the last 48 hours had taught her nothing else…they'd certainly shown her the depth of her partner's concern for her well-being. His unwavering belief in her innocence, the care with which he'd tended to her fears and insecurities, and most of all the empowering strength that his companionship inspired within her…these were gifts he'd given her during their investigation of her missing day in New Orleans.
I really should thank him for ignoring me when I told him not to come down here…
She shuddered to think of where she'd be now if he'd only listened to her when she'd told him to stay in D.C.
She'd never forget the fluttering of relief, or the warmth that flooded through her when he'd appeared at the hospital yesterday.
If she was honest with herself, she didn't know how she would have managed the last 48 hours without him.
Turning slowly about the room, she made a quick mental note of her scattered possessions. Her sweeping glance cataloged the list of things to be done before they could catch their flight back home.
…My head hurts just thinking about it
In her purview she glimpsed Booth perched on the corner of her bed, watching her with keen interest.
Moving slowly into the bathroom she chanced a glance at herself in the mirror. Her lip was still raw; the bruises coloring her cheekbones and neck were still too fresh…
Ouch!
…And apparently still tender.
Gingerly lifting her arm over her head, Brennan moved to release the clasp that tautly held her hair in place. One thing was for sure, it certainly wasn't doing anything for her headache except make it worse.
She immediately winced in pain when the answering soreness that radiated through the muscles of her arm and neck converged in her back.
"You okay Bones?" the concern that was evident in her partner's voice seemingly dulled the pain.
"Yeah…I think…"
Was that my voice?
"Booth…can you give me a hand?"
In an instant he was at her side, ready and willing to aid her in any capacity that she needed him.
His eagerness was constantly refreshing...and in her current state, somewhat of a welcomed relief.
"Can you take that clip out of my hair? I tried to reach around and do it myself but…" her face still slightly contorted in pain, "…I think I might have overextended. I'm still pretty sore."
Reaching over to remove the clasp, Booth stood motionless as the silky tendrils of her hair fell down around her shoulders in wavy disarray.
Stretching her neck to loosen the knots in her shoulders, she groaned gratefully, "…thanks Booth."
Suddenly desperate to focus on anything except her proximity to his body, or the intoxicating scent of the shampoo emanating from her locks, Booth tried his best to appear in control.
"Yeah well you know Bones…Superwoman though you may be...invincible you are not."
Turning around to meet his eyes strangely she muttered lamely, "I don't know what that means."
Letting out an incredulous breath, Booth didn't even try to hide his disappointment, "Gee Bones! Did you even own a T.V. when you were a kid?"
Forming a slightly crooked grin, she whined, "Hey what happened to the nice guy I had lunch with? Or are you going to poke fun at me all night?" The smoldering look that erupted at her mention of their earlier conversation did little to calm the tension between them.
"Sorry…" his voice was low and throaty. "I'm fairly sure he's still in here somewhere…"
Nodding her approval, she eluded the gravity of the moment when she turned back around to gather her toiletries from around the sink. Suddenly unconfident in his own ability to remain objective while wedged into such a small space behind her, Booth stepped back over into the bedroom and paced the floor steadily.
Anxiously rushing a hand through his hair, he rummaged through his own scattered thoughts; he wasn't left pondering for too long though before Brennan herself stepped out of the bathroom, toiletry bag in hand. Breezing past him she set the bag atop the bed and reached down for her larger piece of luggage.
"Here…why don't you let me get that for you?" Booth stepped forward with a helping hand.
"I don't need your help. I can do it Booth!" the words come out more forcefully than she meant them.
It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for the help…she just didn't need him of all people thinking that she couldn't manage.
Sensing her apparent disgust with her own situation, Booth approached her slowly.
"I know you don't need my help Temperance," the use of her first name grabbed her attention immediately. Her eyes lifted to search his as he asked her carefully, "But will you let me help you anyway?"
Damn him with that charming smile and those smoldering brown eyes! I used to be able to resist that look…
Purposely dropping away from his penetrating stare, she watched as his hand reached out in anticipation of her surrendering the suitcase. Her head bowed in silent apology, she took a step back and away from the heavy object and watched as he moved to effortlessly hoist it atop the bed.
Then actively searching for anywhere else to settle her gaze besides on him, Brennan's interest was pulled to the coffee table standing opposite the bed; all of her laptop equipment still lay scattered atop its surface. Moving over toward it, she slouched down onto the couch and leant over to collect the components.
But just as soon as she bent over to gather the equipment, her attention was instantly drawn to the tiny object still lying beside the computer.
…Mom's earring…
And suddenly she was revisited by the anger, sadness, and disappointment that accompanied the absence of the second earring.
From his position across the room, Booth easily picked up on his partner's apparent thoughtful state. Turning to address her prolonged silence, he moved just time to find her reaching down to palm the small piece of jewelry.
Whether it was because of her earlier explanation of the earrings' significance or his own selfish need to hold something of hers close, he wasn't sure; but at that exact moment he reached into his pocket to grip the other earring.
It was then that her solemn voice pierced through the palpable silence, "Of all the things I could've lost...it had to be my mother's earring…"
Her quiet musing marked a significant shift in their relationship he instantly recognized. Before now, she might never have let him this close…never have confided in him something so personal.
But now they both felt it…things between them were different.
"When I was a little girl…," she continued softly, "…my parents would go out…to parties or to dinners. And my mother would ask me, 'Tempe, you want to help Mommy get ready?' We'd go into her closet and hunt for the perfect dress…."
Smiling fondly at the remembrance, Brennan was seemingly oblivious to Booth's soft smile as he tried to envision what she might have been like as a child.
"…And then, once we'd found the perfect dress…we'd riffle through all of her jewelry in search of the perfect accessories. We'd sit there and alternate modeling all of her necklaces, and bracelets…earrings."
Her gaze stayed fixed upon the earring in her hand; she smiled slightly at her recollection. Standing across from her, Booth suddenly found himself wishing that he could somehow erase the hurt he saw buried beneath her tight smile.
"Only thing was…that it didn't matter what dress we'd picked, I always chose these earrings to match." Shrugging demonstratively as though it could better explain her sentiments, Brennan chanced a glance up at her partner. And she was met with a startling intensity that she neither expected nor attempted to rationalize.
"And you want to know something crazy?" she mused.
His answer was his silent smile as he lifted his chin as and watched her with tender interest.
"…She always wore them. Every time I picked them, she wore these earrings," her voice faltered only slightly now, "…even when they looked terrible."
Stepping toward her then, Booth bridged the distance between them silently. Then slowly moving to sit beside her on the couch, he was careful to train his gaze on the table in front of them as she continued to tell him sadly, "I don't have too many memories of her anymore. But I guess I always thought that I'd at least have these to help me remember."
In one fluid movement she gingerly lifted the earring in one hand and wiped at her gathering tears with the other.
Turning to face her, Booth realized that until this moment he'd played with the idea of waiting until they'd made it back home before divulging his secret…somehow though that didn't seem right now.
Stuffing his hand into his pocket, he removed the earring nested there. Palming it quickly, Booth reached over him and handed it to her carefully.
"Well then…" he started thoughtfully, "…it was more than worth the risk to keep it safe."
The growing shock that overtook her expression as she accepted the trinket was unmistakable… and infinitely worth the danger that he'd invited by confiscating it.
"Booth…but how…?"
"Let's not dwell on it okay Bones?" he was quick to dismiss. "Trust me…it's better that you don't know."
"But where did you…?"
It was then that her analytical mind quickly assembled all of the details she'd let herself ignore until now.
After they'd found Graham Leger's body…when they'd come back here to the hotel…before the police…he'd told her...he'd stake his professional career on her innocence…
…that he already had…
"Booth?" she didn't know why she felt herself teetering on the edge of becoming upset, "Did you remove this from the crime scene?"
His silence was answer enough.
"I can't believe that you…that you would…" Shaking her head in disbelief she struggled to find the appropriate response, "…what happened to 'respecting the law'?"
He considered the fairness of that question for a moment. After all, it wasn't too long ago that he'd lectured her on the necessity of obeying the rules while working with him.
"Yeah well…I guess you could say that in this instance, my respect for you won out."
"I don't know what to say," she was honestly the closest thing to speechless she'd ever been.
With a lopsided grin Booth supplied lightly, "…Well you know, most people might start with 'thank you'."
Shaking her head she asked aloud, "Why?"
"Why should you thank me?"
"No Booth! Why? Why would you do something like that?"
"Because Bones!" He sensed that he was becoming unreasonably flustered with her line of questioning, though he wasn't sure why. With his eyes trained on her eagerly he immediately noticed the expectant stare she'd focusing on him.
It was tauntingly seductive…
And they both knew that he hadn't answered her question.
"You know Bones, for such a brilliant woman you can be amazingly dense sometimes!" In his frustration Booth abruptly moved to stand up and put some distance between them.
She could be so infuriatingly attractive that it drove him crazy.
Following him with her gaze, "What's that supposed to mean?" Though she wasn't sure, Brennan considered that if she hadn't known better, she might take offense.
"Nothing…" he dismissed with a shake of his head.
"No…I want to know."
At least I think I want to know…
Smirking through his hesitation, Booth started meekly, "You asked me why I'm nice to you…"
Looking up at him she was confused, "Yeah…and you told me the reason."
"Yeah I gave you a reason. And what I said was true Bones." By meeting her questioning stare, it somehow made doing this harder, "…but it's not the only reason. I would have thought that by now it would have been obvious…"
"What would be obvious?" she wondered innocently.
Booth scoffed nervously, "You know something, just forget it okay?"
"Don't tell me to forget it!" Her answering outburst caught him off guard. Pushing herself off of the couch Brennan stalked over to him almost angrily, "I want to finish this."
Her frustration smoldering within her, Brennan's determination to force the truth out of him was quickly becoming more urgent. As the gravity of the consequences he'd invited in doing this settle over her, she desperately grasped to understand why he'd accept such a risk.
"I want an explanation Booth! I want to know why you would incriminate yourself by withholding information in a murder investigation…why you would remove evidence from a crime scene."
That charm smile of yours isn't going to get you out of this one buddy, so cut it out dammit!
"What if we'd found out that it was me? What if we'd pieced together all of the evidence and discovered that I was guilty? Then what Booth? You could have been dismissed from the FBI…brought up on charges…Booth you could have been convicted!"
Yes, he acknowledged quickly, that's all true.
"Stop looking at me like that and tell me why!"
No…he was sick and tired of talking.
Studying her with anticipation, and without any delay, he pulled her roughly against him…effectively swallowing any angry retort she might have dared. While at first it was clear that the abruptness of his movement caught her by surprise, it was only a matter of seconds before she'd relaxed against him, her body melding with his in a sweet surrender that captivated them both.
Their dedication…their respect for one another…their pent up frustration for something more…
Their first time could only be this passionate…
God he feels so good…solid…perfect…
Their urgent devouring of one another soon left them both breathlessly hesitant to pull apart.
"Oh…"
While it seemed mindlessly simple, that one simple word was all she could manage for the moment. And yet strangely…it somehow adequately summed up their collective feelings.
"Yeah," his raspy whisper broke through a lopsided grin.
Did it suddenly get really hot in here or is it just me…
"Well…I suppose that answers Detective Harding's earlier prodding," she raised her brow playfully.
Grinning his satisfaction, Booth teased back, "Well geez Bones…man flies all the way down from D.C…what did you think…I came down to visit my friendly neighborhood Bokor?"
His words came out as gently teasing, though his soft smirk underpinned their deeper sentiment. Smiling against his lips she moved to kiss him again softly.
This new closeness between them was sweetly addictive.
Eagerly drinking from her lips, Booth managed to stave just long enough to elicit her attention.
"Hey Bones?" she felt his breath whisper against her mouth.
"Hmm…?"
"You gonna break my arm if I try to cop a feel?"
Laughing together she moaned when he pulled her more completely against the solid warmth of his body.
"No…but I might if you don't…"
"Ah, promises, promises…" he hummed into her mouth.
"Booth…?"
"…Yeah?
"Shut up…!"
Grinning excitedly, he swung her carefully beneath his weight and cradled her protectively against the line of his body.
"Yes Mam!"
Then dipping her gently atop the bed beneath him, Booth greedily covered her body with his.
Perhaps my memories of New Orleans won't be all bad after all…
…And for the first time since she'd awoken in a horrified heap on the tile of her bathroom floor, Brennan felt the aching in her head begin to ebb ever so slightly.
…Oh yeah…a couple more hours of this…and I'll be better in no time…
Okay guys this is the part where I shameless beg for your comments :oP
So please, pretty please...with chocolate covered Booth on top? ...Now that's a tough one to resist!