A/N: Ok, so this is my first fanfic, so reviews are most welcome (although any flames will be ignored). This is dedicated to the lovely bonesmd007 - you have been an amazing friend and I most definitely wouldn't have written this without your input or support!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bones...
Temperance Brennan sat at her desk as she watched the seating area of her office being re-arranged once again by her publicist and the television producer. While the two quietly argued, Brennan wondered again why she had agreed to this television interview. Hadn't the first two been bad enough?
Brennan leaned back in her desk chair and her hand drifted to her small baby bump. At four months pregnant, the bump was relatively small considering her height, but Temperance appreciated the physical evidence of her impending motherhood. The summer had been extremely hectic – changes in her personal relationship with Booth, changes in the lab (although temporary) while Angela was on maternity leave, hiring a new intern to replace Mr. Nigel-Murray, preparing to promote her newest novel…all during one of the hottest summers in memory and while experiencing morning sickness.
At the beginning of August, Brennan's publicist, Katie McNair called to schedule a meeting. Katie had been Brennan's publicist ever since Ellen Lasko had been murdered after her second book had been published. Katie was a few years younger than Brennan but had always treated the anthropologist with respect and professionalism that Ellen had lacked. Katie had tried to schedule television interviews and to re-negotiate the ill-fated movie deals that had just mysteriously ended, but she had never pushed her best-selling author beyond what she was comfortable committing herself to doing in order to promote her novels.
Katie had always respected Brennan's desire to compartmentalize her career as an author from her private life and her career as a forensic anthropologist. Typically, their meetings were Saturday lunches in quiet restaurants, or wherever was most convenient for the anthropologist…rarely in Katie McNair's high-rise office or Dr. Brennan's office at the Jeffersonian Institute and certainly never in Temperance Brennan's private office in her apartment home. So when Brennan had requested the early August meeting at her home, Katie had been surprised to say the least.
When Katie arrived at Brennan's doorstep on the first Saturday in August, she had been surprised again, when Dr. Brennan's FBI partner answered the door and welcomed her inside. As Agent Booth led Katie into the living room, he had a sheepish grin on his face as he told her, "Uh, Bones is…um…well…she's not…" Unfortunately, before the FBI Agent was able to completely string together a complete thought, the sound of someone being sick came from the back of the apartment, and Agent Booth was running towards the sound. Katie sat patiently on the couch for almost a half hour, uncertain if she had been forgotten. Before she could decide if she should leave or not, she could hear the bantering voices of the partners as they approached her position in the front of the apartment.
"Booth, stop worrying. This morning's nausea is no worse than any other morning. Morning sickness is a perfectly normal part of pregnancy."
"Shhh…Bones, Katie is here."
"Obviously, Booth. I have a meeting scheduled with her and I heard you let her in. I'm pregnant, not deaf."
At this the two partners turned the last corner to enter the living room, Katie grinned at Brennan, "I suppose congratulations are in order."
Brennan smiled, "Thank you. We are very happy." And with that the meeting to discuss book signings, interviews and other promotional related events had begun.
An hour later, as Brennan walked Katie to the door, Katie asked, "Either way, you know I'll respect your decision, but have you given any thought to doing a television interview for this book's release?"
Brennan held open the door and glanced into the living room at Booth, who was staring a little harder than normal at his Saturday sports news. Lost in her thoughts of Booth and her new family, Brennan sighed as she placed her hand on her stomach and said, "Perhaps one interview would acceptable."
Brennan sighed when she saw that Booth was not back from interrogating the suspect at the Hoover. When Brennan had informed Booth two weeks ago that the interview had been scheduled, Booth had told her he would be there. However, as Booth and Brennan were wrapping up lunch at the diner on the warm September day, there had been a break in the case the two were working on, and Booth had left to pick up the suspect to interrogate while Brennan walked back to the Jeffersonian.
Brennan hated to admit it, but she was nervous about this interview. Although Brennan's interviewing skills had improved since that first disastrous television interview, she did not appreciate being reminded of an event where she had so clearly failed. Since Katie had become her publicist, questions regarding her personal life had become extremely rare and questions regarding her career as a forensic anthropologist and FBI consultant were only permitted insofar as they related to Brennan's novels only. However, both Katie and Booth warned Brennan that considering her pregnancy and her opinions regarding children in her last televised interview, a question on the topic was almost a certainty.
Brennan was brought back to the present as Katie called her. "Dr. Brennan? I believe we are ready to begin."
"Yes, of course." Brennan stood and moved toward where Katie had been arguing with the television producer. A young woman with long, blonde hair stood next to the producer, and Katie introduced her as Justine Bradley, the journalist who would conduct the interview.
Overall, the fifteen minute interview was proceeding very well in Brennan's opinion. Ms. Bradley had offered a brief congratulations on her impending motherhood at the beginning of the interview but immediately dove into her questions regarding the latest novel. Ms. Bradley had clearly done her research and asked intelligent, insightful questions regarding the science elements, as well as the typical questions regarding the plot and characters.
"Dr. Brennan, thank you so much for your time this afternoon. One final question…" Brennan tensed, as she knew this was question she had been warned to expect. And although she knew that people changed, that SHE had changed, it was still a personal question she did not want to answer. The relationship she shared with Booth, that was just theirs…and now this new life she created with Booth, this new family, well obviously, it was not something that would be able to stay only between the three of them, but it also did not mean she had to share it with the whole world either.
Ms. Bradley continued, "Next week marks the tenth anniversary of September 11th. As a forensic anthropologist, you were at Ground Zero helping with the identification of victims of the terrorist attacks. Do you have plans to attend any of the memorial events scheduled for the weekend?"
Brennan's smile left her face as her blue eyes glare into the reporter's. Although she is livid and wants nothing more than to throw this young, blonde reporter to the ground like she once did an El Salvadorian gang banger, at four months pregnant she really is not in a position to do so. In her iciest tone, she answers the blonde muckraker's question.
"My work as a forensic anthropologist is to bring closure to victims' families. For you to discuss the events of September 11th in an interview about a novel not only cheapens the work I do but it insults the memory of every person killed on that terrible day. This interview is over."
Katie immediately intervened and the office became a blur of activity. Jeffersonian security escorted Ms. Bradley out of the Medico-Legal Lab. The television producer began apologizing profusely but Katie was demanding the television crew pack up, for copies of the interview, threats regarding breach of contract…
Brennan sat immobile in the chair, still stunned from the interview until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw it was Booth. "You ok, Bones?"
"I was very much blind rolled."
Booth smiled as he kneeled next to her and took her hand. "I think you mean blindsided. Or steam rolled. Yeah, you were, Bones. You definitely were."
"How long have you been here, Booth?"
"I got here right after you guys got started…stood just outside, so I heard the whole thing. You did really good, Bones."
"Well, perhaps until the end."
"Nope, then too. You put her in her place." Brennan smiled shyly at Booth, but he could tell she was emotionally exhausted after this interview. "Hey, the guy confessed, by the way. So, what do you say we go home early today, huh? Get an early start on the paperwork tomorrow?"
Brennan tilted her head in thought before nodding. Booth helped her out of the chair and waited patiently as she gathered her things. The walk together to Booth's SUV and the drive to Brennan's apartment was quiet. Booth kept an eye on her. That last question had stirred up something for her, and he knew she would talk about it when she was ready.
When they entered the apartment, Brennan indicated she was going to go change. As she headed toward the bedroom, Booth asked, "Do you want anything? Tea, maybe?"
"Tea would be nice. Thank you."
Booth took off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves and loosened his tie as he made tea for Brennan. When the tea was ready ten minutes later but Brennan had not reappeared from the bedroom, he went in search of her. He found he sitting on the edge of the bed, changed into yoga pants and one of his black FBI t-shirts. She held in her hand a framed photo of the Squint Squad taken early in their partnership – Zach was in the photo and Cam still had long hair, so it had to have been within the first year she came back to DC.
As Booth sat next to Brennan and handed her the cup of tea, Brennan said, "I was supposed to be at the Pentagon that afternoon."
"What?" Booth looked up from the photo, completely stunned.
Brennan did not look up but carried on. "The Department of Defense wanted to meet with me regarding me doing some identifications for them. Clearly after everything that had happened, I assumed the meeting was canceled."
Booth grinned sheepishly at her as he nudged her shoulder. Then, he got a thoughtful expression on his face. "So, where were you then?" At Brennan's confused expression, he clarified. "I mean, I know where you were after, and if you were supposed to be at the Pentagon and you weren't…where were you?"
"Oh. At the lab. It was Tuesday. Where else would I have been?" A thoughtful look crosses her face as she remembers that day. "I was upstairs in the lounge getting coffee and Hodgins was behind me eating cereal watching CNN, when suddenly he drops the bowl. I remember I was going to say something to him about cleaning up his own messes when I look at what he's watching – the first plane had just flown into the first tower. We both just stood there for several minutes before we looked at each other – it was like we both knew I would have to go there. We didn't say anything though. We cleaned up the cereal bowl and we just sat on the couch on front of the television and watched it all – the second plane, the towers collapse. It was this awful nightmare that just kept getting worse and worse. And Hodgins and I just watched the whole thing from the lounge of the Jeffersonian."
Booth wiped the tears she didn't realize she had started to cry. "But the government offices were evacuated and closed…why didn't you leave?"
"We were both alone, Booth. And we didn't want to be alone. So, we stayed together. Even if I had wanted to leave the Jeffersonian, I couldn't leave Hodgins, and he was glued to that television for the first twenty four hours. He had friends who worked in the towers. The angry man you met when we first started working together – this is why Hodgins was that way."
Booth hugged Brennan to his side. Brennan tucked her head beneath Booth's chin as she asked him, "Where were you that day?"
Booth hugged her tighter as he answered, "I was in the bullpen that morning. We all saw the reports of the first tower being hit and watched the second tower being hit. Pretty much right after that we were told to gear up, and I was sent to help evacuate the Capitol Building and the federal offices in the immediate vicinity. There was so much chaos. After that I was put on a security detail and I was assigned to a Senator's family. Well, you know how when you are on a security detail you can't make any personal calls or anything…not that you would have been able to anyway, the phone lines were jammed. Well, the Senator's wife knew on the guys on the detail had people they would want to check in with. I didn't realize until her aide brought the notes back, but the Senator's wife had made the phone calls personally. I know it's sort of random, but that always stood out for me, something nice about that day."
"That was very nice of her to make those phone calls." Brennan leaned back from Booth so she could look him in the eye. "Booth, is it wrong that I just want to remember that day with you? That I don't want to go to any memorial services this year?"
"No, Bones, it's not wrong. We all grieve in our own ways. As long as we remember the people who were killed that day in our own way, that's all we can do, Bones, that's all we can do."