Fantasia on Brennan
Booth woke up with a start. He had fallen asleep on her couch again. Special Agent Seeley Booth had come over to the Jeffersonian to finish up some paperwork with Dr. Brennan. Unfortunately, it seemed she was in the middle of a staff meeting that would last a couple of hours. Instead of heading back to the FBI, he had decided to sit on her couch and wait for her. Apparently he had fallen asleep.
He stood up and stretched. As comfortable as that couch was, Seeley Booth was just a little too tall to fit perfectly. Looking around, he noticed that Dr. Brennan hadn't returned from her meeting just yet. Sensing that he might have to wait even longer, he decided to check out what sort of goodies might be hiding in the break room. He walked through the door and out into to the hallway…
…when he walked into a bar. More specifically, he walked into a saloon. Clearly confused with his surroundings, he froze and surveyed the room. Seeing that everyone around him was dressed in classic 'western' attire, he noticed his own clothes had changed. He was wearing a full-out cowboy ensemble, complete with boots, spurs and a hat. 'I must look ridiculous,' he thought. The heavy clothes did nothing to relieve the intense heat emanating from outside.
Booth's meticulously trained senses picked up on many unusual things around him. Over to his left was a poker table with four rather large, disgruntled men and a familiar smug scientist. The tense mood of the table appeared to be the result of a significantly large stack of chips sitting in front of Zack. Booth chuckled to himself. Of course the kid was good at poker, it's all statistics and probabilities. His fist clenched as the memory of winning coursed through his brain. He had to physically turn his body to stop himself from joining the game.
Located directly in front of him was the actual bar. Looking rather ridiculous in a bowler-type hat, Hodgins was pouring drinks for a group of middle-aged customers. He acknowledged Booth with a smile and then turned to the beautiful woman in red standing at the side of the bar. Angela Montenegro was simply ravishing in a dress of deep crimson. She apparently seemed to be the owner of the bar as she walked around and conversed with many of the customers.
As captivating as she was, Booth was distracted by another woman on the other side of the room. Temperance Brennan was just finishing her last song for the evening. Standing next to the piano played by a sweet-looking old man, she was wearing what some people would call a dress. For as much cobalt blue fabric as she was wearing, it sure wasn't covering much skin. Booth's jaw dropped slightly as he stared at his partner. Clearly he was affected by the way the dress accentuated her curves, but that's not what he was focused on. He couldn't help but think that her eyes look so much brighter when she wore that particular type of blue.
A smattering of applause was heard as she finished her song and greeted her crowd. She gave a slight smirk to Booth as she made her way past him to the bar. Hodgins poured her a shot of something resembling whiskey and she easily downed the amber liquid. She turned around when a tall and honestly rather ugly man approached her. The smile on her face quickly faded when he whispered something in her ear. With a dangerous smile on his face, he vigorously grabbed Brennan in a hug. Uncharacteristically, Brennan didn't flatten the guy on the floor; she simply seemed to struggle feebly in his arms. What the hell was going on? That guy should be bleeding from several orifices by now. This wasn't the Bones he knew.
Once Booth realized that his partner wasn't going to be able to remove herself from the aggressive brute, he recovered from his previous state of shock. He marched over to his Bones and forcefully removed the man's arms from around her slim figure. Booth reached back to knock the guys lights out when he heard a loud shout from behind him.
"Cut! Cut! Ok everybody; that was awesome. We're going to set up for the fight scene between Sheriff Booth and Mad Billy Porter. Be ready to film in five minutes!"
Booth spun around in confusion and looked at Dr. Sweets shouting and giving directions. Out of thin air, cameras, lights and dozens of other people materialized around him. All the other people in the room seemed to immediately relax. Huh, he seemed to be on a sound stage. Was he in a movie or something? Sweets had better tell him what the hell was happening around here.
Sweets walked over to Booth and called Brennan and "Mad Billy Porter" over to join them. With a clear air of authority, Sweets began giving instructions.
"Now we've set up this fight fairly well. Sheriff Booth just walked in and saw Billy manhandling his woman. Obviously wanting to save his damsel in distress from any threatening presence, the Sheriff engages in an altercation with Billy."
Sweets pointed to Booth. "Focus on your motivation. You're head over heels in love with this woman and Billy over here has got his grimy hands roaming all over her body." He nodded his head to Billy, "No offense."
Billy chuckled. "None taken."
Sweets turned to address Brennan. "Now remember, you've had many men in your life like Billy and you're tired of it. The sheriff has just recently declared his undying love for you. He's the first real man who has shown you any respect. Now this ugly brute," again he motioned to Billy, "no offense, has decided to have his way with you and you can't fight him off. All you have to do is wait for your hero to rescue you."
Booth simply stood there stunned at what was going on around him. Surely he was dreaming, because this was a very, very distorted version of reality. He admitted there seemed to be some truth in the overall mood of the scene, but everything else puzzled him. Instead of resisting the situation, he realized that he actually wanted to fight Billy. Hey if he actually got to punch the guy, this might be worth it.
Sweets cleared his voice to get everyone's attention. "Ok, we're going to start off with Billy throwing the first punch."
Figures.
Booth moved over to where he was directed. Everyone went back to their positions and prepared for the scene. Booth laughed at himself. Who needed to get into character? He actually WAS in love with this woman. Thinking of Brennan, he looked at her and prepared for the punch. Just before Billy threw his fist, Booth closed his eyes and felt a rush of air…
…as the backdrop around him changed again. Booth opened his eyes to a more comfortable surrounding, which seemed to include a more reasonable taste in clothing. He was standing in a spacious and inviting kitchen. There were packing boxes all around. All of them were clearly labeled: Booth's dishes, Bones' baking supplies, random kitchen supplies. He was about to open one of the boxes marked as his, when Brennan walked in with arms full.
"Hey," she said with a smile. "This is the rest of the groceries. None of it is perishable, so I suggest we leave them on the counter for now. I don't think I can unpack anything else."
"Sure," he replied dumbly. He didn't seem to know exactly what was going on, so he decided to follow her lead.
She walked out of the kitchen through a door to his left, so he decided to see where she went. They entered a large living room. It contained more boxes as well as a big couch and some big comfy chairs. Brennan sat down in one of the chairs and pulled a footstool in front of her.
"Come here," she said, patting the ottoman. He complied without thinking twice. "Time for me to follow through with my promise."
"What?" he asked, confused yet again.
She raised her eyebrows. "I didn't think that you'd forget that I swore to give you a back rub once we unloaded everything."
Booth's confused look was replaced with a grin. Who was he to argue with Bones' plans? "Well, I wouldn't want to make you a liar. You value the truth too much."
He turned with his back to her as she chuckled softly. He sat there for a moment before she leaned forward and whispered into his ear.
"As much as I enjoy seeing you in a tight black shirt, this will be much easier if you weren't wearing it."
Shuddering slightly due to her breath on his neck, Booth quickly discarded the hindering garment.
She began with her fingertips, slowly caressing his skin. He tensed briefly at the contact before relaxing into her touch. She spread out her hands on his back and he felt the cool touch of metal.
Curious, he turned around and caught her left hand. He looked down and saw her ring finger. Located there was a band of twisted silver metal with a solitary diamond centered on the ring. That had to be an engagement ring. Temperance Brennan was engaged to be married?
"You're wearing an engagement ring." It was a statement and a question. The disbelief in his voice echoed his thoughts.
Brennan broke into a laugh. "You keep sounding surprised, and you're the one who gave it to me!" She shook her head in amusement. "You'd think after four months you would accept that I finally said yes to marrying you."
Booth looked into her eyes to see if she was kidding, but only saw love and assurance. Plus, his Bones didn't know how to tease very well. Even though he realized that he really WAS dreaming, Booth didn't care. The amazing feeling of joy coursing through him was too overpowering.
After a few more moments of staring at each other, Brennan finally shoved him back around.
"Come on now, I hardly started before you interrupted me."
Her hands reconnected with his back, and they were heaven. At her delicate touch, he couldn't help but give in to the experience. She slowly traced each muscle and gently rubbed her fingers across and down his back. As she focused on a particularly enjoyable spot on his lower back, he couldn't help but react.
"God, Bones," he moaned in pleasure. "So good."
Every ounce of tension and stress he held in his back was worked away. It was the most amazing massage he had ever received. He felt that a large factor of that was due to the fact that it was his fiancé, his beloved, his Bones, that had lovingly removed all his pain.
Feeling so completely safe and relaxed, Booth had nearly fallen asleep when…
…his arm was wrenched in pain. His once relaxed senses were now on high alert. He could feel every single part of his body, and nearly everything hurt.
His arm hurt so much because he was tied, very roughly, to a chair in a small, dimly lit room. There was a large window in front of him, but it was pitch black. Booth took a mental inventory of his injuries. It appeared that someone had been using him as a punching bag. He could feel a couple of bruised ribs, a swollen lip, a black eye and several other cuts and bruises.
He felt the presence of someone standing behind him, but his lack of motion prevented him from confirming this visually. He felt anxious not knowing where he was, why he was here, or who had done this to him.
One question was answered when a man walked around in front of him.
"Well good morning Agent Booth."
Booth got his first good look at his captor. The smooth and confident voice had come from a man appearing to be in his late twenties. He was fairly tall with shaggy brown hair and a devilish smile. He looked remarkably calm.
"That's Special Agent Booth, if you don't mind," he sneered.
The man smiled and replied. "Fair enough, you can call me Alex." He talked as though they had just met at a cocktail party.
"I'm sure you have questions as to who I am, where you are and blah, blah, blah…" He stepped closer to Booth and continued quietly. "But really, the only thing you need to know is what's in the room next door."
Standing up and moving over to the wall in front of him, Alex flipped a switch. Suddenly the window in front of them was illuminated and the sight in front of them froze Booth's heart.
Temperance Brennan was in the next room, also tied to a chair. Her clothes were torn; she had a cut on her head and a split lip. Any recollection of being in a dream was driven away at the sight of his partner. Booth couldn't refrain himself from calling out to her.
"Bones!" His voice was laced with panic and he frantically struggled to free himself.
Alex stepped in front of Booth and momentarily blocked his view of Brennan.
"You need to calm yourself down, Special Agent Booth, or you won't catch all the details of my little plan. Dr. Brennan cannot see you or hear you, so you'll only wear yourself out shouting to her."
Booth stopped moving and took several deep breaths. The bastard was right. He needed to be calm and concentrate if he wanted to have any hope of getting out of wherever the hell he was and save Bones.
Alex smiled smugly and leaned against the window. "Much better. Now since you've just joined our little party, let me catch you up to what we've been doing the last couple of days and tell you what the next stage of my plan is."
Booth kept a careful eye on Brennan while Alex started talking.
"I know you've been busy the past couple of days since the disappearance of your precious partner. I must say that you worked with unusual speed and gusto to find her. This leads me to believe that she's not simply a partner to you, but we'll get to that in a bit."
"Knowing how successful the Jeffersonian team is in finding clues and solving crimes, I left some subtle clues behind that would lead you to my house. Through some fancy engineering I won't go into right now, I rigged the house to explode as you entered while simultaneously saving your life. The amazing result being that everyone now believes you are dead, at least for several days."
Alex watched as this news sank in. Booth was slightly stunned at the amount of work put into this scheme, and he still didn't really understand what the point was.
"So…you saved me while you tried to make it look like I died?" he questioned. "Why not just kill me?"
'This guy's a nut job,' he thought.
Alex laughed quietly. "Then I couldn't make you suffer. Now shut up so I can explain the next part of my plan."
"Now Dr. Brennan has no knowledge thus far of what has been happening outside of her little sanctuary. So naturally, she has been foolishly hoping that you will come rescue her. In a few minutes here, I plan on going in and breaking that precious heart of hers. See, I have this front-page article from the Washington Post that has a wonderful tribute to the life of Special Agent Seeley Booth, who was tragically killed in an explosion yesterday. That should be enough to convince her that you're dead."
Booth scoffed at this last remark. "She won't believe I'm dead until she sees my bones for herself."
Alex considered this for a moment. "That may be somewhat true, Agent Booth, but I do have a second piece of evidence that will probably convince her."
"And what is that?" he growled.
Alex reached around Booth's back and pulled something off his constrained hand. Alex held a wedding band in front of him.
"Do you think she'll believe me when I have her beloved husband's wedding ring? As you already know it's quite unique."
Booth tried to hide the disgust on his face as his enemy held with his vengeful hands the symbol of his marriage. Amazingly, the news of his marriage didn't surprise him.
"Your wife really has exquisite taste. The way this Celtic cloverleaf design frames the three diamonds is quite remarkable."
Booth found himself responding. "The Celtic design is based on a shield knot that represents protection. With my job, she wanted the ring she gave me to be a symbol of protection. The three diamonds stand for Bones, Parker, and myself; my perfect family." He wasn't sure how he knew what the symbolisms in the ring signified, but deep in his soul, he was positive of the meaning.
Alex snickered at the sentiment evident on the agent's face.
"How do you think she will react when she believes you've left her? What will she feel when she believes no one is coming to rescue her? Do you think she'll be able to survive after the one man she's ever loved completely is gone forever?"
He left these questions hanging; they filled the room with despair. Booth didn't want to think about these questions. He had already thought about them too much. They were the thoughts that haunted him every time he had considered being with Brennan as more than friends or partners. Oh God, he couldn't believe this was happening. It would kill her.
Alex continued after a moment. "Yes, I think this will break her. She'll be completely vulnerable and the only person that will be there to comfort her will be me."
Booth felt bile rise in his throat as he imagined this creep with his arms around his Bones.
"You son of a bitch! You keep your hands off of her!"
Alex's calm demeanor changed in a flash as his fist connected with Booth's jaw. He leaned down in front of Booth to look him in the eyes.
With venom in his voice, he told Booth, "I'll do whatever the hell I want with her…and you'll have nothing to do but watch."
Booth spit out the blood pooling in his mouth and watched as Alex's mood shifted again. The smug and careful man had returned.
"You know, I've been holding myself back until you arrived. Those few cuts and bruises are her own fault. You know how stubborn and feisty she can be."
Alex walked around behind Booth and whispered in his ear as they both looked out at Brennan. "But now that you're here, I'll get to touch her in every way that I've imagined. I'll get to see if her porcelain skin is that soft everywhere."
By this point, Booth was doing everything he could think of to remove himself from that chair. He wanted to wipe that predatory smile off that bastard's face. Unfortunately, he only seemed to be injuring himself further and the knots were becoming tighter. Helplessness overcame him as he watched Alex walk towards the door. As he was leaving, Alex turned to address Booth one last time.
"Well Agent Booth, even though you won't be able to hear anything, I hope you enjoy the show." And with one last sickening smile, he closed the door, leaving Booth alone.
Booth focused on Brennan once again. Even though she was restrained to a chair, her hands were tied in front of her and resting on a table. She didn't appear to be trying to extricate herself from the bonds, but he could tell that her mind was on overdrive.
As Alex opened the door to her room, Booth held his breath. Brennan's eyes turned furious as she starting spitting words at Alex. With one swift move, Alex backhanded her across her face. Booth winced in sympathetic pain. He knew she was strong, but he also knew what Alex had planned. He didn't know if she could survive the emotional anguish.
Alex put the paper headlines down in front of Brennan. She read it briefly before shoving it away. She shook her head violently and her eyes were confident. As Booth had guessed, she didn't believe the story. Alex smiled and looked directly at Booth as he placed the wedding ring in front of Brennan.
Time seemed to slow down for Booth as he watched his love reach out to grasp the ring. He could almost literally see her heart break. The tears of hopelessness and pain washed out the confidence that had been etched in her eyes. All Booth wanted to do was run in there and comfort her, tell her the truth, tell her he was still alive. Not being able to do anything else, he tried to get her to hear him.
"Bones! I'm here! Don't believe him! I would NEVER leave you!"
Even though she showed no signs of hearing him, he continued to call out to her.
Dr. Temperance Brennan smiled as she looked at her partner. He was sleeping on her couch, again. She wouldn't tell him this, but she actually liked it when he slept in her office. She got a warm feeling thinking that Booth was comfortable enough around her to fall asleep.
She decided to let him continue his nap; she didn't need him at the moment anyways. She had some work to do on her computer while they waited for data to be analyzed, so she set about accomplishing the tedious busy-work in front of her. Booth's presence added a sense of calm and protection to the office, and Brennan quickly got engrossed in her job.
She had nearly forgotten that he was in the room when she heard him moan from the couch.
"God Bones, so good."
Her eyebrows shot up when she heard the desire in Booth's voice and she turned to observe her partner. He seemed to be enjoying his dream. She was slightly surprised by his words since he rarely divulged any information about his sexual desires, let alone anything relating to her.
With a flattered smile, she returned to her computer, deciding to let him enjoy whatever fantasy was playing through his head.
She knew the second his dream changed. His relaxed body became tense and he kept struggling against some unseen force. She hesitated waking him up in hopes that he could resolve whatever conflict he was in.
She could no longer take it when he began to thrash around. Quickly moving over to the couch, she tried to wake him up carefully. As he became more violent in his dreaming, he cried out.
"Bones! I'm here! Don't believe him! I would never leave you!"
Now being afraid for him, she shook him roughly and called his name until he woke up.
As his eyes opened and looked at her, she could see fear and anguish. Brennan wanted nothing but to replace those emotions with the warm and loving brown eyes that were so familiar to her.
When he woke up, the first thing he saw was her. She was looking at him with those clear blue eyes, and they were full of worry. Still on edge from his dream, he sat up quickly, pulling Brennan onto the couch. He needed to know she was safe and unharmed.
She was watching his face carefully, his look fierce.
"What's wrong Booth?" She asked quietly
"I need to know you're ok," he stated, still breathing heavily from the adrenaline. He looked her over and noticed the brace on her wrist. His brow wrinkled in concern.
Gently holding her wrist, he asked her, "Are you hurt Bones? What happened?"
She looked down at her wrist and back up at Booth with confusion.
"Don't you remember? That creep we arrested yesterday twisted my arm. You insisted that I wear this brace for a couple of days."
Sensing that he was still upset, she tried to set his mind at ease.
"I'm fine Booth, really."
Finally accepting that she was indeed fine, he released her hands and fell back on the couch. With his head resting on the back of the couch, he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. He said a silent prayer of thanks that his nightmare wasn't real.
She watched him attempt to recover from the dream. Remembering his panicked cries, she wondered what had happened in his dream. Knowing Booth like she did, she was aware of how loyal he was. He constantly reminded her that he would never leave her. In this aspect, as in everything else, she trusted him completely. She realized that for all the times he reassured her, she rarely vocalized how comforting his words were to her. Something told her that he needed to hear something like that from her right now.
"Booth?" She stretched out her hand and placed it over his on the couch.
"Hmm?" he quietly responded, not moving his head.
She hesitated for a moment before continuing quietly.
"I know you would never leave me willingly. Since my parents left me, you're the first person in my life to stay around this long, helping me through so many obstacles. I know I don't deserve a friend like you, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciate everything you do for me."
Halfway through her speech, Booth opened his eyes and met her gaze. She never opened herself like this to anyone, and he was touched by what she said. Her words were comforting to him and he knew he would do nearly anything for her. He squeezed her hand and gave her a slight smile.
"Thanks Bones. I needed to hear that."
After staring at each other for a few more moments, he started to smirk.
"What?" Brennan asked cautiously.
With his full charm smile on, Booth replied. "I knew you liked having me around. You can't resist my good looks and my stylish socks."
Helpless against that damn smile, she couldn't help but return it with her own. She laughed and shook her head.
"It's more like I don't want to have to train a new FBI agent to follow my instructions."
"Ouch Bones, that really hurts." He tried to sound hurt, but the smile on his face betrayed his intentions.
Finally standing up, he turned to her.
"Hey, let's go find out if your squints have found any new evidence."
Standing up as well, she responded. "I thought they were your squints."
Placing his hand on her back to lead her out of her office, he reworded his statement.
"Ok, let's go find out what 'our' squints have found."