I know, I know I have Lilly to focus on but this one just wouldn't get out of my head. I figured the easiest way to get rid of it was to write it down. Hope you like it - I have one maybe 2 chapters to go. Hopefully get some creative flow back as reviews for Lilly seem to be dropping away. Thanks for reading. Constructive criticism always welcome.
Disclaimer: Bones does not belong to me, sadly.
People began to stare as Brennan stalked closer to Booth, her cheeks flushed and her heart racing.
"For the last time Booth, I am not wasting my time listening to your guess work. The facts are the facts Booth and I can't ignore them."
"For the last time Bones," Booth shouted back, drawing out the word 'Bones' and moving another inch towards her, "I am not asking you to ignore the facts I am asking you to interpret them."
"Facts cannot be interpreted Booth, they can be identified but not interpreted."
"Bones." Booth warned, waving his finger dangerously close to her face. By the grace of god, in his mind his cell phone rang cutting them off mid argument. Booth stepped away from Brennan, each of them using the time to cast the other a disapproving and frustrated look.
"Booth." He said curtly as he answered his cell. Within a second his tone had changed completely. His face visibly fell and Brennan's feelings changed immediately from anger to concern.
"Jenny, Jenny you need to calm down and tell me where you are. Jenny? Jenny? Listen to me Jenny, I can't understand what you are saying. That's right…deep breaths. Where are you? Ok, ok you stay calm I'll be there now."
Booth snapped his cell shut and darted towards the door.
"Booth what's going on?" Brennan asked her voice laced with concern.
"Not now Bones." Booth replied slowing to turn and look at her. "Just not now, okay?"
"Okay." She responded, her confusion evident. With that Booth jogged towards the elevators leaving Brennan leaning against his desk completely unsure of what she should do now.
-
Booth made it from his office to Jenny and Peter's apartment block in 10 minutes. Not bad going for what should have been a 20 minute drive, he thought to himself as he ran up the staircase. Today was not the day for the elevator to be out, he cursed, evermore grateful for the hours he had been putting in at the gym recently.
He reached their door to find it open, their apartment filled with police officers and what he could only assume was a negotiation team.
"Excuse me sir, could you please exit this apartment." A large police officer said harshly moving to cut off Booth's path.
"FBI buddy." Booth responded flashing his badge.
"You aren't on the list of authorised personnel Agent…Booth." He asserted, not moving out of Booth's way.
"I am a personal friend of the family." Booth said through gritted teeth. "Now I suggest you let me through or…"
"Seeley?" Jenny cried, running towards him and burying her head in his arms. "They won't let me out there Seeley, I just make him worse, why doesn't he want to talk to me?"
The officer made the wise choice to move out of Booth's way and let him usher Jenny back into the centre of the apartment. Once they had stopped moving Booth held her close, rubbing her back and trying desperately to appraise the situation.
"I bet he just doesn't want you to see him this upset, I'll go talk to him, it'll be fine Jenny." Booth assured, placing a distance between them, keeping his hands on her shoulders.
"Please get him to talk to you Seeley, I don't know what I'd do, what I'd do if…if."
Fresh tears made their way down Jenny's face and Booth silently admired the way in which she fought to keep herself together.
"Now I am going to talk to the Officer in charge, see if I can sort this mess out." Booth told her in a purposefully calm voice, he used the best charm smile he could muster before turning away from her and approaching the officer in charge, his face now like thunder.
"Hi, I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth." He began, extending his hand to the Officer in charge.
"That's very nice Agent Booth but right now I am trying to talk a man down from this balcony and I sure as hell don't need to be dealing with some jumped up Agent looking to break into negotiation."
"Sir," Booth said, as calmly as he could muster, "I served with Peter I think I could be of use in talking to him."
"Oh." was the only response the agent could manage before ushering Booth into the dining room. "Agent...Booth, was it?"
"Yes sir."
"How long have you known Major Sampson?"
"About 15 years sir, we started out together."
"I can see from his file he has seen a lot of action in these 15 years. He was due to go on a second tour of Iraq this fall however the army has declared him unfit to go."
"On what grounds?" Booth asked, hoping not to get the answer he suspected.
"Psychological mostly, although he does have increasingly limited mobility in his hip following a shell attack in Kosovo where he…"
"Sir, I was with him in Kosovo."
The older agent nodded his understanding and moved to place his hand on Booth's shoulder. "Son, Major Sampson is not responding to any of our negotiation techniques, he is quite clear on what he wants to do, and to be honest we are running out of ideas. He is a smart man, positioned himself so that we cannot break his fall, catch him or grab him in any way."
"If he was sure sir, he would have done it already." Booth commented, the gravity of the situation beginning to dawn on him.
"Agent Booth, people who intend to commit suicide, who plan it in a way such as this, well, they don't like changes to that plan. He didn't expect his wife to come home. He didn't expect Local PD, the FBI, negotiations team and friends and colleagues watching on. We have to take advantage of this break in his plan to make him see sense."
"Can I talk to him?" Booth asked, moving his now shaking hand across his worried brow.
"On the condition that if I feel the situation is escaltating you come right back in here at my command, no arguing."
"How can it escalate from this point." Booth half joked, raising his eyes to meet the agents.
"Right back in here, no arguing." He repeated.
Booth nodded his understanding and made his way out of the dining room. He noted that a female agent was sitting with Jenny on the couch, evidently trying to keep her back towards the balcony. Booth passed as if in a daze through the crowd of people. Unaware that the senior agent was barking orders at the team to let him through, all he could see was Peter, sitting precariously on the edge of the railings. Booth pushed the doors open and went to stand on the balcony, consciously leaving significant distance between them as not to spook him.
"Hey buddy, if you wanted me to come over for a beer you could have just asked." Booth joked, his smile not reaching his eyes, "this is just a little extreme Pete…Pete." No response, nothing, Peter was not intending to engage, he was not giving anyone a chance to get through.
"Come on Pete, I can't pretend to understand what you are feeling. What has made you feel that everything is so bad that…that this is the only answer. Just talk to me Pete, make me understand."
Silence was the only response that met Booth. Peter did not move an inch, his gaze focussed on the ground below, his hands wrapped around the railings, not as tightly as Booth would have liked.
"Do you see them?" Peter said, almost silently, his whispery tone enough to make Booth wonder for a moment if he had heard him at all.
"See who Pete, see who?" Booth asked, looking around to see who his friend and comrade was talking about.
"Their faces, before you shot them between the eyes Booth, or in the back of the head if necessary, or the chest. Do you see them."
"Yes Peter, I see them." Booth admitted, his heart sinking as he realised exactly what Peter was talking about.
"I can't stop seeing them." Peter wailed, letting go of the bars with one hand to strike himself in the head.
"Pete, no stop that." Booth commanded, instinctively moving forward.
"No!" Peter yelled, turning to face Booth, "Back off, you back of now Booth."
"Ok, ok." Booth responded, raising his hands to indicate surrender. "I'm backing off, see?" He assured, taking two paces backwards.
"I just want it to stop." Peter said, striking a chord with Booth.
"I know Peter, I know, but this," Booth gestured, "this won't solve anything Pete. You have a beautiful wife in there, friends and family that love you. We'll help you through Pete, just let us."
"How do you get through Booth, how do you make it stop."
"I don't know Pete, I…sometimes I'm okay, other times…it's, well it's hard Pete, but I have Parker and he's worth every nightmare in the world."
"Have you told anyone? Told them what we did Booth?"
"Some of it." Booth answered honestly, his mind flashing back to Brennan, regretting their stupid argument just an hour before.
"I can't Booth, I just can't live like this. Leave, please, I don't want this circus, I just want to die in peace."
"By throwing yourself off an apartment block?" Booth asked, his voice raising, frustration evident.
"If you didn't have your boy wouldn't you?"
"No Pete, I wouldn't. There may have been times when I have felt like life isn't worth it. But, those time pass and then the good comes around again to remind us why we are here."
"I got no good coming to me Booth. Not after what I have done." Peter lolled forward, causing Booth to take a step in his direction. "Back Booth." He warned, sitting up straighter. Booth took a step back, his fists bunched together completely lost as to what to do.
"Peter you are better than this." Booth said, his heart in his throat becoming all too aware that there truly was nothing he could say to change his friends mind. He had known Peter all of his adult life and if one thing was true about him it was that once his mind was made up, it was made up.
"That's where you are wrong Booth." Peter said, letting go of the railings as he fell towards the earth.
"Peter," Booth screamed as he ran towards the balcony edge to catch him.
He was too late.
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