The Partners in the Divorce

A/N: please read

Title: The Partners in the divorce

Summary: "We are both free agents, and I've done just fine on my own!" That's what Brennan shouted at him. Booth suppressed his feelings, apologized, and drank. What if for once he hadn't been the doormat?

Genre: Romance, angst, drama, NOT cannon

Season/episode: Season 8 – episode 2 "The Partners in the Divorce"

Spoilers: Anything aired until "The Partners in the Divorce" (8x02)

Pairing: Booth/Brennan

Rating: K+ (If anyone disagrees please let me know)

Warnings: NOT A B&B HAPPY ENDING!

Comments: I'm tired of doormat-Booth (yeah, I even gave him a nickname), and of this clueless Brennan that refuses to see that being in a romantic, monogamous, long term, committed relationship, or whichever squinty name she wants to give it, means that there is no longer a "you and I" but only an "us".

I liked the B&B we saw in "The Prince in the Plastic" (and some counted episodes of the end of S6 and S7), but I don't like the B&B that we saw in "The Hotdog in the Competition" (Brennan can't be THAT clueless…she's not Sheldon Cooper!) or most of season 7. Sometimes Brennan sounds more closed off than in season 1 and they are more disconnected than they were then. But "The Partners in the Divorce" just did me in; it's starting to get really hard for me to believe that they can have a healthy and happy relationship. I hope I'm wrong and they can go back the B&B that I like, but as things stand now, I can't see the happy ending. (Though I gotta say that in "The Gunk in the Garage" B&B were pretty great… let's hope it sticks…)

Disclaimer: read profile

Acknowledgements: Big thanks to my beta Whatever55 for her great job :)

The Partners in the Divorce

After the argument with Brennan, Booth went back to the Hoover to work on the case. He couldn't focus on it though. He kept thinking about his relationship with Brennan and how it would affect Christine. He was angry because she was shutting him out of her life, she seemed intent on proving that she didn't need him, and not only that, she wanted them to be 'free agents', her own words. He loved her, and being free agents was not enough. He wanted them to be a family, a unit that works together to build and share their happiness. He was angry, and he wanted to demand her to commit herself to him, but he was afraid to push her because if he did it, she would run AGAIN with Christine AGAIN. He thought about suppressing his feelings like he had done so many times, bow at her, apologize, and try to fight those walls that surrounded her heart again, slowly like he had been doing every day for so long. But the thought of doing so left him exhausted. He was trapped, and he didn't know how to break the cycle. He knew that he couldn't keep living this way, or it was going to kill him. He had two kids that needed him whole, not broken, and he was breaking into tiny little pieces of an emotional mess fast.

Out of instinct he picked up his phone and called an old friend from his Army days. Dave was an Air Force Special Ops guy that saved his ass when he was captured and tortured in the Middle East. He dragged him and his broken feet through the desert, and they became friends. They kept in contact over the years as much as Dave's deployments, and family time, and his own schedule allowed them. If Booth knew something, it was that Dave won't lie to him, he won't judge him, but he would listen to him, and give him his opinion without sugarcoating, or giving him false hope.

Dave got married when he was 22, straight out of the Academy, and had been happily married since then. Twenty years. Twenty. Dave and Susan, his wife, had four kids, all of them boys, and all came after their tenth anniversary. Susan was in fact pregnant with their fifth and, they both swore, the last: a girl. Susan confessed to him that she had insisted on trying once more for the girl, partly because she wanted a girl, but also partly because she knew that deep down Dave wanted it too. Dave, she had told him, would have never asked her for more kids, but she had found herself unable to deny them both one last try to fulfill their shared wish. Why was it that they could do it while he and Brennan couldn't? Why were they so happy but he wasn't? What was the secret?

Dave agreed to meet him at the Founding Fathers for a drink that night, so Booth called Brennan to inform her of his plans. He shouldn't have problems picking up Christine from daycare at a reasonable hour, but he wanted her appraised just in case he was delayed.

After his job was done and the murdering spouses were behind bars, he left the office and went to meet Dave. After some beers and a lot of talking, Booth had put his friend up to date with the last developments of his messy relationship. Dave nodded sadly at his friend, took a long sip from his glass of beer, and asked, "Do you want my opinion and my advice or just a friendly ear?"

"Your opinion and advice. Look, Hank always tries to help; he always gives advice about how Bones and I should move forward together. But…" Booth signed having a hard time putting his thoughts into words. "Have you ever felt trapped? You've been married 20 years… in all that time, have you ever felt exhausted of fighting to make it work?" Dave shook his head sadly. "I need to know if…"

Dave stopped him by talking himself. "I've never felt trapped; and while sometimes it's hard work, I've never felt like if I couldn't continue doing it, I've never felt so exhausted that I was sure I was going to break.

"Look, Booth, you got it right. For a marriage to work, the couple needs to be completely committed to each other, and they need to act like a unit, make decisions together, compromise, and always move in the same direction, together. Both partners must be equals, always. This means that you shouldn't fear saying what you feel, that you have every right to demand her to commit to you for real. I don't mean legally, I mean for real. The problem I see here, Booth, is that we've had this same conversation more times that I can count in the last two years." Dave signed again. He was sad because he had to tell his friend some things that he didn't want to hear. But Booth was talking with him because he knew that Dave would be brutally honest, if needed.

"And honestly, if after all this time, she can't treat you like her equal, 'cause let's face it; she's made you her doormat. If she can't treat you like Christine's father, if she's starting to act like Rebecca wanting her only for herself and not including you in plans… if she can't see the hurt she's doing to you… then, she's never going to. She's never going to act as if you two are a unit, a family… She's never going to commit herself to you completely. She's never going to give herself to you completely, like you've done for her. She will always have a door open to run…and I think from what you've said she will always choose the door at some point."

I think that you're keeping her as close as you can at expense to yourself. She hurts you and you just take it for fear that she'll run again, but reality is that she will run again, it's just a matter of time or matter of how. Now she's doing it by shutting you out of her life and Christine's. It may look different than running to Maluku but it's not. And this dance is killing you Booth. You can't keep fighting those walls by yourself, and you can't keep taking the hurt, and suppressing your feelings and needs. You said that you thought of apologizing to her today to open dialogue. Why? She was the one that said that you are free agents, it wasn't you. It's not you who has to apologize. It's gotten to a point that this is more an abusive relationship than anything else, Booth, and you ain't no victim!" He tried to lighten the mood a little and make his friend feel a little better too with his next comment. "You might be able to give a good ass-whooping and create a vic out of your opponent, especially if you use some of the moves I taught you, but you ain't no vic!"

"So what do you suggest? Because if she runs, she runs with Christine and I can't lose my daughter again," asked Booth, feeling defeated. Strangely enough, though, he also felt stronger now. Dave's words had freed him from some of the guilt he felt for thinking about giving up, for doubting that they had a future together.

"You get the hell out of there before she breaks you because your kids deserve a father that is whole, not a broken man." Booth glared at him, silently telling him that it wasn't an answer. "You still have that contract she gave you when Christine was born, right? The one that says that if you separate you get half custody. I still don't get why she thought that it was a good present, but now I'm glad that she did."

"Yeah, it also has a ward chain of shorts in case something happens to both of us… you know if we die, the Hodgins' will take Christine, if they don't you, if you don't Cam…I think there are like five possible options or more. It's with my will, and other important documents. I have 2 notarized copies: one in the house's safe and one in the office's safe." Booth turned somber and added, "but that won't matter if she disappears like this last time."

"She won't. She needs to be Dr. Brennan, she can't run like that again. She may want to go on a dig, but you told me that the contract prevented her from taking Christine out of the state without your consent, right?"

"Yeah, it does. But…" the agent still sounded hesitant. If Dave was reading his friend correctly, and he was, Booth was feeling guilty for leaving her.

"Booth, you deserve to be happy," Dave said firmly, with absolute certainty. "I'll repeat it as many times as I have to."

Booth nodded and emptied his beer. Dave followed suit, and Booth paid the bill so that they could leave.

They were by the bar's door when Dave's wife drove by to pick him up. Dave spoke then to Susan. "He's coming with us, but we need to make a few stops." Susan nodded sadly, and waited for them to get in the car.

Dave didn't allow Booth to argue; he just pushed his friend inside Susan's car. Once they were both inside the car, Susan drove them to the Jeffersonian daycare. They picked up Christine, and drove again to Booth's house.

Dave and Susan entered the house following Booth, who had Christine in his arms. "Pick up what you need for Christine and you for one night. Call Brennan and tell her that you two are spending the night at my house, and that you'll be back tomorrow to talk with her. If you have to, tell her that I want practice spoiling a little girl before ours makes an appearance," Dave instructed while directing his pregnant wife to the couch.

Fifteen minutes later the group left the house. Brennan had reacted strangely calm to the news of Booth spending the night out with Christine. She had been upset that he was going to take her for the night but he had been firm about needing time with her so she relented seeing that she really couldn't stop him.

The next day, Booth let the baby with Dave and Susan, and he went to speak with Brennan. He explained to her what he was feeling, and why he couldn't keep fighting against her walls while she rebuilt them all over again every time.

"So you are abandoning me like everyone else!"

"No, Bones, no. The abandoned card is old; you don't get to use it anymore. I'm not abandoning you; I'm refusing to run after you. You are running away scared and shutting me out. You are the one that said that we were free agents. This is being free agents for me," Booth answered sounding defeated.

He walked to the door, and before leaving the house he said one last thing. "You were right, Bones, love is not enough, one hundred percent commitment is needed to. But this is not on me, it's on you. You are the one that can't commit to me."

With that Booth closed the door to a large period of his life.

That weekend Booth found a three room apartment, and moved out. Dave, Wendell, Finn, Clark, Cam, Sweets, and even Hodgins, much to Angela's anger, helped.

Booth also took the time to tell Brennan in private, and then to the others during the moving, that he wasn't going to work with the Jeffersonian any longer. Being in charge of Major Crimes gave him the opportunity to choose someone else for the job, and concentrate on other things more. Perotta, who was transferring back from Florida, was going to work with the squints from now on.

Life went on with Booth doing his best to be a good father for Parker and Christine, and doing his best at the FBI too. Brennan continued her work at the lab, and the ex-partners settled into a routine with their kid. They were friendly to each other, but they never spent time together unless it was related to their daughter. They adjusted to their new lives.

Booth gave into Dave's advice and allowed Gordon Gordon to help him through the grieving process, and in time he grew stronger, and started rebuilding his life.

"Agent Booth, how are you feeling today? And why would you want me to meet you here in the park," the shrink/chef asked the first time they meet after the separation.

"Bones and I are separated," Booth said simply and put Christine on the carousel. The girl laughed and clapped her hands knowing what was going to happen. Booth had brought her to the carousel that first weekend he left the house, and she had liked it. He suspected that she hadn't liked it while they were running because Brennan had been tense, maybe afraid of being caught, and the girl had felt her mother's fear. Booth got up on the structure before it started to move to hold the baby, and Gordon Gordon did it too. The chef nodded absorbing the revelation, and asked what happened, but Booth shook his head. "Another day. Today I want to enjoy my afternoon with my girl," he said with a small smile.

The old shrink watched intently to the other man, and he could see sadness, the deep kind that comes from a broken heart, but he also saw happiness and hope when he looked at his daughter. And he knew that his friend would be alright, someday. He will make sure of it. That was, after all, why he was here.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think (but remember my profile: no rotten tomatoes! If you want to say that you hated it, DO it, but do it politely and minding your manners)

A/N2: please read (This is the A/N that I wrote after publishing this story for the first time, or most of it…)

First, I want to thank to the people who put this in favorites or alert list, and to every one of you who took the time to review. You read it, and you took a few minutes to tell me why you did or didn't like the story. I appreciate that.

Second, Elizabeth Bennet-Darcy asked for a continuation getting B&B back together, and I imagine happy. Some of you put the story in your alerts' list; I guess that hoping for the same. So let me tell you that at this point I consider this story complete, but it may change in the future if I feel that they can get that happy ending. This story may or may not be continued.

Third, I'd like to explain my point of view a little better.

I don't know if you know what fatigue is, in scientific terms, but it's the reason behind most materials' failures. It's what breaks most of the things you use: dairy, from your car, to your frying pan. It means that repetitive use of something degrade the properties of the materials that compose something, and therefore of that something, until it breaks. It's why you change a climbing rope, for example. After it has withstood your weight, and the strain of rappelling down a wall a number of times, it reaches its limit. After that, if you use it again to rappel down the wall, for example, the impact and strain on it will be too much, and it will break and you will go splat.

This is the problem I see in B&B's relationship. During season 7 I've seen Brennan mistreat Booth more than once. I've seen her disrespect him as the father of their kid, or most important keeping a distance between them, that shouldn't be there if she was honestly 100% committed to him. Pampilot67 said in her review that she's found Brennan to be too stiff for someone that has given her heart to Booth. I've felt the same way all over season 7, and I believe that causes fatigue in Booth. If you add to this fatigue the 3 months of pain for missing Brennan and Christine, his own low self-esteem and doubts, then this last stunt of Brennan's may be enough to break the relationship or him. Booth can see his breaking point is too close, as I presented him, and he needs to choose what will break: his relationship with Brennan, or he.

His responsibility towards his kids is bigger than towards Brennan, so he can't be broken, he can't allow anything to break him. Therefore, he must take the other road: break the relationship with Brennan, and heal to be whole for his kids.

Someone said that I don't like Brennan, and that would be partially right. I don't like this Brennan. I like, however, the strong Brennan I saw at the end of season 6. That Brennan was a strong and loving person that helped Booth heal, that admitted her imperviousness, and that could ask for comfort from Booth when Vincent died. That Brennan changed my mind about B&B together; she convinced me again that they made sense together.

Sadly, I saw her only a handful of times in season 7, like in "The Price in the plastic" or "The male in the mail".

The rest of the time, I've seen a very different Brennan. This Brennan, the Brennan that I don't like, is a weak woman that always needs to prove how strong, independent and capable she is in order to be with Booth. She always keeps a distance from him, she is always thinking in terms of "you and I" instead of in terms of "we" like Booth does. She is not the woman committed to get it right that I saw in the second part of season 6, she is the same woman that ran away to Maluku. And that's the woman that I don't like.

So as you see I'm disappointed in this Brennan we are seeing now, and in the B&B relationship we saw in season 7. It's not only Brennan's attitude that bothers me, but also their relationship that seems pretty unhealthy from my POV.

Some of you point out that she went to see Sweets voluntarily. That's good, but like nertooold54 pointed out, she was mean to Booth and refused to see it until her intern told her that something was wrong; and her apology at the lab was weak, and not heartfelt. She wasn't taken aback with how mean she was being to Booth, it wasn't that being what took her to Sweets; it was Finn's remark that did it. This is why going to see Sweets didn't make an impact in me, even if she did it voluntarily.

Also you must remember that in this story, Booth doesn't go to the lab to apologize, so there's no politeness, and no remark from Finn, so she never goes to Sweets.

I hope that this explains sufficiently the POV used to write this story.

xxx

Again thanks to everyone that read and reviewed the story.

xxx

In one of the reviews I received the first time I posted this, the reviewer told me that she thought that Brennan had been a doormat to Booth and that in this episode she finally stood up to him. I answered to that by PM, and my reasoning apparently wasn't well received because I was all but called a retrograde and a chauvinist. In addition this person wasn't brave enough to debate like civilized women by PM, and she blocked me out so that I couldn't answer.

So I'm going to answer here. I'm going to say loud and clear what equality means to me.

Equality means that men and women are equal. It means that men don't discriminate against women, but it also mean that women don't discriminate against men. There is a MUTUAL respect between the two genders.

Equality means that when in a relationship, both members of the couple make decisions; they have equal rights to make them. In heterosexual couples nor the man nor the woman have more rights to make decisions.

Equality means that in heterosexual couples with kids, both parents are equals. Neither the man nor the woman has the power to make decisions unilaterally about the education or upbringing of their kids only because of their gender. It also means that being the mother or the father does not give extra power over the other. Having a uterus doesn't give anyone the right to decide unilaterally the kid's school, where to live, or any other thing that should be decided by both parents. This power is also not given because you have testicles.

Equality means that a female soldier, cop, firefighter, etc, gets the right to be pregnant and safe out of the field, and then, after the pregnancy and maternity leave, she recuperates her job as it was before being pregnant, rank, position, salary, everything as it was. It does not mean that we can have pregnant soldiers with ACUs and rifles running around in Afghanistan.

Equality means that the job of being pregnant can be shared by both parents. In heterosexual couples, it means that the woman doesn't need to do everything, even if she can, because the man is willing to share the load.

Equality is earned with equality, not by discriminating someone else. Equality is earned by women that can be equal to men, that don't need to discriminate men to soothe their insecurities. Equality is earned with RESPONSIBILITY, INTEGRITY AND RESPECT. It's not earned by insulting someone because she doesn't agree with you.

I think that I've explained to you (you know who you are) sufficiently my views about the issue. You call me "anti-feminist" with intent to offend and insult, but due to the way you defend your ideas and your lack of respect, and that you seem to believe that equality is women taking control over men, or being irresponsible enough to have pregnant cops assaulting buildings or arresting gang leaders, I can only say: "thanks for the compliment". As for the rest of your PM, as you don't know anything about me, I won't even dignify it with an answer.

But if you're interested in knowing some about me, here are some facts: I'm an engineering student that studies and works in a male dominated world. I'm an atheist. I make my decisions with logic, reason and by evaluating the risks. I'm the child of a woman that studied medicine and became an MD when women in my country only were secretaries, school teachers, and nurses. I have no kids but I have a firefighter for boyfriend. Just some basic facts so that if you decide to compliment me again, you at least know something about me.

For everyone else, I'm sorry for the rambling... and thanks for reading :)