Title: They say the ones who don't cry hurt the most.
Author: FactVsFiction
Pairing: B/B Duh!
POV:Parker Booth
Rating:T (Because i'm careful)
Warning: Character Death
Disclaimer: I don't own BONES
They Say The Ones Who Don't Cry Hurt The Most
Parker Booth leaned silently against the willow tree. Observing with numb detachment the landscape. The day was overcast but no rain threatened. A cold northerly breeze caused the edges of the 19 year old's leather jacket to flutter slightly. He pulled it tighter around him and shook his head to dislodge the golden curls that had fallen into his eyes.
He was in a graveyard. D.C fountain memorial to be prisese. Seeley Christopher Booth was dead at 48 years of age. Killed in the line of duty.
The blonde's lip curled at the scene. He found it quite sickening. All the tears and sniffles from people who had no right. In the first row sat 'the family'. Parker couldn't help the sarcasm in his thoughts.
Mr. and Mrs. Booth, his own grandparents, sat huddled together. Mrs. Booth was sobbing loudly while Mr. Booth looked ashen, attempting to comfort his wife. Parker could almost believe that they weren't the people who had disowned his Father over his birth 19 years ago. Religion. He thought disgusted. was no reason to disown a child. He felt a righteous anger well up inside him. They had no right. None at all.
Then there was his Uncle Jared. The blonde had a small amount more respect for the man than he did his grandparents. But not much. Jared and his Father had fought when Seeley chose to leave the American army. A conflict of values they had never gotten over. Jared was a Cornel now. Just like his Grandfather. But he made an effort to know his brother and for that Parker couldn't fault him.
The Next four seats contained more family members. Parker had never met them.
The final seat of the row was occupied by a woman. She sat hunched forward, silent tears ran down her cheeks, flushed pink from the cold, and she clutched a photograph tightly in her hands. His Mother.
Parker hadn't seen her in months. He hadn't wanted to. Rebecca had fallen in with the wrong crowd during his early teenage years. Her defeated stature never failed to disturb him and even the thought of the needle marks he knew were hidden under her coat never failed to make his skin crawl. Parker had moved in with his Father at 15 when the alcoholism and drug abuse finally became to much for him to handle.
He hadn't stayed long with his Father. Parker had chosen to attend college out of state at 17. His Father had never understood. She had though. She had made it okay.
Parker allowed his eyes to wander further down the rows. Row two consisted of the family of 'lesser' importance. Cousins, Uncles, and Aunts of his father he supposed.
Row three was delegated to the FBI. Parker rolled his eyes at the suit clad robots. Faces all schooled into identicle expressions of detached sorrow. Typical.
A ghost of a smile attempted to lift his lips but failed at the sight of the people in the next row. Row four. The squints. Angela, Hodgins, Zach and Camille. His Father's friends. Angela was leaning heavily on Jack. Her body shook with quiet tears as Jack rubbed her back. An isolated tear ran down his cheek and the entomologist made no attempt to brush it away. Zach was looking worriedly at his boss. Cam was doing her best to suppress her tears. The tracks on her cheeks told Parker that she was failing miserably.
Her absence didn't surprise him the slightest. Actually Parker was expecting it. His eyes swept accross the crowd and it didn't take him long to locate her. Great minds think alike.
Dr. Temperance Joy Brennan was leaning against the willow on the opposite side of the mourners just a little further up than his own perch. Her face was dry and showed no evidence of tears. They say the ones who don't cry hurt the most. It was most definitely true in this situation.
There was no dramatics to his Father's death. Temperance wasn't present. She wasn't with him for his dying breath. There were no declarations of love, no desperate attempts at revival. He hadn't given his life for her. One second he was there and the next he was gone. She hadn't even been in the country...
15 years. They had stayed together 15 years. And to Parker that was the definition of devotion. 15 years later and they still had the highest solve rate in the FBI. They were still Booth and Bones. She was still a squint. She still drove his Father mad.
11 years ago they had chosen their partnership above all else. 11 years ago they had finally discussed their future and agreed that the protection of the innocents mattered more than their own happiness. Their own love for each other. So they had stayed at it. Stayed partners and the closest of friends. Stayed on opposite sides of that line.
Well. They had tried. Neither of them ever got over it though. Over their love for eachother, and over the years they had fallen together more times than Parker could count. They had never hidden it from him. They never even attempted to and as a child Parker could never understand why his Father never allowed him to call Temperance his daddy's girlfriend. Only as he grew older did he finally realise just how much was at stake. How much they had given up for their country.
So they walked the high wire without a safety net.
At first they had tried to prevent it happening. Arguing, returning to partnership, then friendship and finally they fell together as lovers once more. Always together... Subconsciously they had given up the fight long ago. It was nine years since either of them had dated anybody.
It was only when he moved into his Father's house that Parker gained an insight to their lives. Once every month or two Temperance would be present in the morning. The routine was always the same. She would rise very early, dress and head to the kitchen for coffee. More often than not Parker would be present and she would converse easily with him for as long as possible. She'd rise and make another coffee before leaving, leaving it on the locker beside his Father's bed. It was a reassureance, Parker now understood. A sign that they were still okay. Then they'd just go back to normal. No discussions. It was dropped and they went on as the partners the world knew them as.
The 'world' had no idea. Not the FBI, not the Jeffersonian, not the squints, Hell not even Angela knew. Just Parker himself and the partners. It astounded Parker to this day that they could do it. Just walk away from what could be. They lived in a reality where it couldn't be and they understood that. Even if Parker never could.
It was over their early morning coffees that Parker had finally gotten to know the woman he had christened Doctor Bones as a child. They debated heavily. They discussed life. Schooling, Philosophy... He found she was perfect for bouncing ideas off. Never one to sugar coat anything he could always expect an honest answer from her and so it was only natural that he went to her when he wanted to leave state for college. As she'd predicted his father had flown off the handle. But he had needed to go. She understood that. So she had fixed it. It was then that he'd finally seen her as more than his dad's partner (In every sense of the word.) and they had become quite close. It had made his Father so happy to see it.
He was brought back to reality as the droning priest ended the sermon. He looked back to the willow to see Temperance watching him. She gave him a tiny nod, and the pair remained in place until the area emptied.
"Hey" He said quietly as he joined her at the graveside.
She gave him a weak smile and Parker realised that he couldn't begin to understand what she must be going through. How strong she must be to be able to summon the courage to smile as her world fell apart. This went so much deeper than anyone knew. Even him. Her black trench coat whipped around her as she threw a bright yellow daffodil into the still open grave. Parker hadn't even realised she'd been holding it...
"Come on kid, I'll drop you home." She said slinging an arm around his shoulders.
He didn't even bother telling her that 'home' was a 7 hour drive away. He knew she already knew that. He needed her, and she understood that. Parker was pretty sure she needed him too.
"Sure Dr. Bones."
With one last look at the grave the duo left the grave yard arm in arm.
-They say the ones who don't cry hurt the most.-
OoOoOoOo
A/N: I know! I know! I killed Booth again! I'm sorry... ): But I've been experimenting with Parker lately and I couldn't resist this. I've seen so many Fics where Booth dies for Bones. Or theres declarations of love. I wanted to see if I could write a "Realistic" death of Booth. (I do use the term realistic loosely) Let me know what you think!
Becca!