Okay so it's been a long time since I last submitted anything but I've been suffering from the worst case of writers block in the world. I have half finished stories all over the place. I'm in the UK and we've just started seeing the new series. I'm loving it but then again, how could you not? This is a one-shot for the moment but if my muse co-operates there is always the chance of a continuation. That also depends on reviews so be nice and send one in for me. Any suggestions for the story are also welcome.
Alone
Temperance Brennan has never felt more alone. Even in a crowded bar surrounding by people, her heart aches with loneliness. Standing next to the bar are Angela and Jack. Even with her social awkwardness and lack of understanding about personal relationships, Brennan can clearly see that something more than friendship has developed between the two. The way they look at each other intensely and stand a little closer than friends should, gives away their secret. Brennan sighs heavily. It's not that she's unhappy about it, she just realises she envies their relationship. As a couple they'll always have someone to talk to. Brennan turns her attention to her prodigy Zach. The youngster has been seeing a cute new lab tech for a couple of weeks. After struggling to understand ordinary women, Zach seems to have found a soul mate in the equally awkward young woman. As they dance clumsily together Brennan glances to the side and sets eyes on Booth. He is sitting at a table with Cam and again, Brennan can see something between the two. She thought she noticed a moment between them a few weeks ago but not wanting to give up the fantasy that Booth might actually like her, Brennan brushed it aside and convinced herself that it was nothing. But now she knows she was right the first time. Though they aren't touching, their hands lie dangerously close to each other on the table and the looks they are exchanging speak volumes. Booth says something to make Cam laugh and she leans in, a wide smile on her face.
As the music in the bar pounds and the crowd grows, Brennan feels so out of place. Everyone in this bar has someone and Brennan quickly realises she is the only one not with anyone. Her friends seem to be having such a good time they haven't noticed that she is standing on her own. I doubt they'd miss me if I just left she thinks. And with that thought, Brennan picks up her jacket from the back of the chair she is standing next to and turns on her heels. She feels a powerful need to get out of the club and away from the situation that is causing her to feel bad so she pushes her way through the crowd towards the door. Her feelings only seem to grow stronger the harder she has to fight to get away. She is almost desperate by the time she bursts through the doors and into the cold night.
Slinging her jacket on, Brennan crosses the parking lot to where her car is parked. Half way across the lot she slows down and pauses, feeling someone looking at her. Her heart pounds with the excitement that maybe Booth did notice her leaving and came to bring her back. But when she looks around there is only a couple of college kids pointing at her. She turns back and hurries to her car. Once inside she sighs and rests her hands on the wheel. They haven't even noticed she thinks. Not one of them. With shaky hands, Brennan starts up her car and drives out of the lot, onto the road and heads for the one place that she understands and makes her feel safe.
An hour or so later, inside the bar, Angela has torn herself away from Jack and has made her way to where she left Brennan. When she doesn't see her she turns to Booth.
"Hey, you seen Brennan?" she asks almost having to shout to be heard over the noise.
"She's not with you?" Booth asks. Angela shakes her head.
"She's probably in the bathroom." Cam suggests. Putting Brennan's disappearance to the back of their minds the group resume their fun. It's only half an hour later when Brennan hasn't re-appeared that Angela begins to worry.
"Booth, she's not here." Angela tells him. "I've checked the bathroom and Jack circled the club twice." She explains.
"You think she left?" Booth asks. Angela shrugs. Half the time she has no idea what's going on in her friends' head. "I'll check the lot and see if her car is there. She's probably around here somewhere, don't worry." Booth nods, trying to assure Angela.
When Booth steps out of the bar he looks to where Brennan's car was parked only to see an empty spot. After taking a quick glance around he pulls out his cell and calls her number. It rings out.
Sitting in her darkened office, Brennan sees the screen of her cell light up and Booth's name flash up. She should be excited. He's calling her. He obviously wonders where she is. But it isn't excitement that she feels. It took her friends nearly 2 hours to notice she wasn't with them. Turning her attention back to the computer screen she types away at another paragraph of her novel, this one a scene where the heroine argues relentlessly with the FBI agent over a case.
Booth heads back into the club and manoeuvres his way to the squints.
"Well?" Angela asks, wringing her hands with worry.
"Her car is gone and she's not answering her cell." Booth states.
"Oh my God. What if something's happened to her?" Angela asks.
"Don't worry Angela, I'll swing by her apartment and the lab. I'm sure she'll be there."
"But why?" Angela asks. "Why would she just go and not tell us?"
"Don't look at me." Cam states as everyone glances at each other then at her. It's no secret that the two Doctors don't get along that well. "I haven't spoken to her all night."
"Me either." Zach admits.
"Angela and I were at the bar alone for quite a while." Jack voices.
"Okay, so when was the last time anyone actually spoke to her?" Booth asks. The group quickly works out that none of them have spoken to Brennan since they walked through the doors of the bar. A heavy cloud of guilt settles over them, knowing now that Brennan took off because she felt left out.
"I'll go by the lab." Booth states. "Angela, you and Jack go to her apartment."
"What about us?" Zach asks as he looks over at his date then at Cam. Booth just turns and heads for the door.
When Booth arrives at the Jeffersonian, the night security guard looks surprised to see him but waves him on through anyway. Booth finds the lab in semi darkness, the only light coming from Brennan's office. Sighing heavily, he makes his way over and spots Brennan sitting at her desk, her eyes focused on her computer screen. He stands in the doorway watching her until she senses his presence and turns her head.
"Hey Bones." Booth offers tentatively. The look he receives tells him she's really upset, angry even. Taking a few steps inside Booth tries to think what to say next. But he doesn't have to as Brennan speaks first.
"I'm busy Booth." She states. "I'll see you tomorrow." She turns back to the computer and tries to ignore him. Booth is a little shocked and stares at her. She's been upset and angry at him in the past but she's never acted like this.
"I'm not leaving Bones." He tells her. "We need to talk."
"I'm not in the mood for talking."
"Well just listen then."
"I don't want to hear it."
"Bones, I know why you left and why you're upset." Brennan cocks her head to the side and pokes her tongue into her cheek a little as listens with reluctance. Booth obviously won't leave until he's said his piece. "None of us meant to make you feel left out." Brennan doesn't seem to react to his words so Booth steps a little further towards her. "Aren't you going to say anything?"
"What do you want me to say Booth?" Brennan rises to her feet and steps around her desk, walking over to the bookcase.
"I don't know, something?"
"How about something like, the people I thought cared about me were all to busy with each other to notice that I was alone, too busy to notice I left and too busy to even realise I was gone until 2 hours afterwards?" Brennan turns her back to Booth and pulls a book off the shelf.
"Bones." Booth sighs.
"Don't call me Bones." She states. Booth is taken aback by this because for over a year now she hasn't complained once about his nickname for her. He even got the impression that she liked it.
"I'm sorry." Booth offers. "We were lousy friends tonight."
"It's not just tonight Booth." Brennan admits.
"What are you talking about?" Booth is confused. "This has all been building up for weeks."
"I don't understand." Booth really doesn't.
"I'm not stupid." Brennan says. "I know what's going on between you and Cam, and between Angela and Jack." Brennan puts the book back on the shelf and turns around. "I want my friends to be happy, don't misunderstand me. I just never expected that in being happy, my friends would…" she trails of.
"Would what?" Booth asks softly.
"Would forget about me." Brennan almost whispers. She steps around Booth to walk back to her desk but Booth grabs her wrist and stops her.
"We haven't forgotten about you." Booth tells her, pulling her closer to him. "Bones, you're important to us… to me." He adds.
"So important that you all forget I'm even with you." Brennan pulls her arm free and walks over to her desk.
"Bones."
"Don't Booth. I'm really not in the mood for this. I'd like you to leave." Booth senses he isn't going to get anywhere so with a heavy heart he nods and heads for the door. He turns before leaving to see Brennan back staring at her computer again. I've really hurt her this time he thinks. How do I fix it?
After a sleepless night Booth drags himself to his office at the FBI and slumps behind his desk. With their last case closed Booth has no business reason to go to the Jeffersonian and after last night he doesn't think a personal visit will go down very well. So he begins a tedious day of paperwork, a safe option given that his mind can't seem to think straight. Around midday a phone call from Angela breaks the monotony.
"Hey Angela." He greets her listlessly.
"I take it your talk with Brennan last night didn't go so well." Angela says.
"She's still upset?" Booth asks despite knowing the answer.
"She's barely talking to us except to tell us what work to do. I haven't even seen her in a couple of hours. She's been holed up in her office."
"Angela, I don't know how to fix this." Booth admits. "I know we didn't mean to but we really hurt her."
"I know Booth." Angela agrees. "But I don't see how we can make it right if Brennan won't talk to us."
"We have to do something Angela. I hate this."
"Me too." Angela agrees.
As evening rolls around, the tension in the lab could be cut with a knife. Angela and Jack make a quick exit as soon as the clock turns five. Zach has chosen to spend the day hiding in one of the layout rooms, busying himself with a set of World War 2 remains. To his relief, his mentor has barely spoken to him all day. In fact he's hardly even seen her. He decides to stay until after Brennan has left to finish in the hope that some good work from him will help.
In her office, Brennan closes down her computer, switches everything off and pulls on her jacket. She can't help but notice how strange it feels to be leaving at a normal hour. Normally she won't even think about leaving until at least seven. But today she's had enough. Part of her wonders if she's over-reacting to the whole situation and if her behaviour towards her friends is uncalled for. But the part of her that opened up to her friends over the last year is has been hurt so badly she can't help but feel the way she does. As she makes her way to her car she wonders if anything will be the same again. She's never argued with Angela or even Booth like this before and doesn't know how to get back what she had.
Later in the evening, as Brennan settles down with a book and a glass of wine, she finds her mind wandering. Her thoughts turn to everything she's been through with her friends. Angela has been the best friend Brennan could ask for. Starkly different, Angela seemed to see something in Brennan that others didn't, something she could relate to. She had taught Brennan so much about life and allowed her to see that things can be different to how she knew. Why am I mad that Angela wants to share the special moments with someone else, someone who needs to know what life can be like outside of government conspiracy theories? And Booth. He came into her life at just the right time. He's been more patient with her than anyone and without him she most certainly wouldn't be alive right now. He's saved my life more times than I can remember and I freak out over one night where he wants to enjoy himself. Booth has a right to be happy too and if being happy means being with Cam then Brennan realises she shouldn't get in the way. Her mind drifts to her previous relationships and how she let her friendships (if they could be called that) with the people in her life slide as she focused on one person. As she remembers the previous night in the bar Brennan realises she is just as to blame for feeling abandoned as her friends. She made no real effort to interact, she just stood in the corner and watched as her friends did what people do on a night out. They talked, laughed and had fun. Fun she knows she wants but isn't sure how to get.
A knocking at her door stirs Brennan from her thoughts and she pulls herself up off the couch to go to the door. A quick peek through the spy hole reveals that her visitor is Booth. She wondered if he would come but didn't think it was a big possibility because of how she treated him the other night. Slowly, Brennan pulls open her door.
"Bones, I know you're upset and mad at me but I just want to talk." Booth blurts out his words before Brennan can slam the door on him. To his surprise she just stands aside and lets him in her apartment.
"Okay." He mutters to himself, caught off guard because he was expecting a fight.
"Booth." Brennan starts.
"Wait, Bones, there's something I need to say." Booth interrupts. "What happened at the bar the other night, I'm really sorry." He apologises sincerely. "I never meant to make you feel left out, I was just caught up in the night and…" this time Brennan interrupts him.
"It's my fault." She admits.
"What?" Booth asks, totally surprised by this turnaround. Brennan sighs and walks over to the couch, taking a seat.
"Booth, I don't do so well in places like that. I feel…like an outsider. I don't know the music, the crowds are…" she trails off. "It wasn't your fault, it wasn't Angela's fault either. I shouldn't have left like I did."
"Bones." Booth sighs and walks over to her, taking a seat beside her. "I shouldn't have assumed that Angela was with you, I should have…"
"Booth, you were with Cam." Brennan shrugs. "I don't want to be the third wheel."
"You are not a third wheel. Cam and I, well there is no Cam and I." he tells her with a little smile. "Not in the sense of a relationship anyway. Cam and I had something a while back and I guess we were trying to see if maybe that was still there." He pauses, searching Brennan's face for a clue to what she's thinking but as usual he doesn't find it. "We've moved on, both of us."
"Booth, you don't need to explain your love life to me." She sighs.
"Maybe not." Booth smiles. "I just want you to know that I haven't forgotten about you. I'll never forget about you." He leans in towards her to meet her eyes and she finally lifts them from her lap.
"Come on, how about I take you out for some dinner?" he asks.
"Sure, I'd like that." She replies.
"Good. I'll go bring the car around. Meet me downstairs." He almost jumps up from the couch. As Brennan watches him leave her apartment she feels warmth in her heart. Maybe Booth doesn't like her the way she wants but he does feel something for her. He wants to spend time with her and he cares about how she feels or he wouldn't have come. Grabbing her purse and jacket, Brennan turns off the lights and makes her way out to meet Booth. We're fixed she thinks…For now.