Chapter One: Spiderman

It was a dark and stormy night.

Cliché, but true. The sky was pregnant with rain, swollen purple-gray clouds ready to unload their cargo. The clouds blocked all the stars.. Brennan shivered in the icy air, and pulled her jacket tighter around her. Even the streetlamps seemed dimmer than usual.

She walked Spiderman to the end of the block, too cold and impatient to wonder why her neighbors named their dog after a fictional superhero. It was day two, and she was already desperate to be rid of the thing; it growled at her, snapped at anyone who came near it, and had panic attacks whenever the TV, microwave, toaster, or ipod speakers were used. Right now she was particularly irritated because in good weather, Spiderman refused to leave her apartment, preferring her rug, but the moment conditions were sufficiently unpleasant, he whined to go out. She had to let him, in order to spare the carpet. So there she was.

Something was making him anxious. He was pulling back on the leach and whimpering, half choking himself. She didn't want that.

"Come here, boy. Good boy. Back to the house." she called encouragingly. The dog must have detected the false note in her voice, because it refused to move. "Please? I will reward your compliance with a dog treat!" she begged. The animal perked up it's ears, and seemed about ready to listen. Brennan smiled in relief.

The smile disappeared as Spiderman started barking as loudly as possible.

"Shh, shh, come on, come here boy."

She wished she could carry him, but it was some kind of German Sheppard mix, and was fairly large. For once, she didn't know what to do. Would Booth know?

"Hey." A man said, approaching her. He was tall and slim, with piercing blue eyes and pale skin. He was frowning.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what's wrong with him." she apologized, gesturing at the canine. The man's face softened.

"Here boy, c'mere.!" he called. Spiderman stopped barking and looked at the man curiously.

"Here!" the man commanded again. The dog wagged his tail and cautiously approached him. He leaned down and patted Spiderman's head with a smile.

"Thank you." Brennan said gratefully. A few fat raindrops fell and splattered on the sidewalk, reminding her of the imminent storm. "I appreciate it immensely, but I've got to go now. It's starting to rain."

He studied her for a long minute, and more rain fell, faster. She nodded politely and turned away, desperate to get in to her apartment. When she was safe under the porch, about to enter the building, she looked for him, and there he was in the downpour, still watching her. She ran upstairs and bolted her door shut.

-The Next Day-

Booth thought she was overreacting.

"You're sure he was still standing there?"

"Positive."

"It was dark and raining and a streetlight was out?"

"That doesn't change what I saw."

"So, he stood around for a moment. Maybe he liked the rain."

"What's happened to you, Booth?" she asked, frustrated. "A couple of weeks ago and you would've had a full background check done. That is excessive, but you could at least show some concern for my safety."

"I am concerned. I just know you can take care of yourself." His brown eyes met hers, and she could see a mix of emotions in them. She couldn't understand what those emotions were, but she could tell they were generally negative.

"You said nothing would change." Brennan said. She had no clue why she said that, but it somehow seemed appropriate.

"You said we would never mention it."

"I told you how sorry I am… it wasn't my fault!"

"I know it wasn't."

"But you don't believe it."

He handed her a cup of coffee and took a long sip of his own, grimacing as his tongue was scalded. Then he took another sip. Apparently he would rather burn himself then talk about what happened.

"I do believe it, and I'm trying. But it's hard."

"I know that, Booth. You know what you do when bad stuff happens? You move on!"

"I can't! Its been two weeks! These things take time, and I'm not you! I can't be sad for a week and then just get over it!"

"I'm not expecting that. Not so soon. I expect that you understand that eventually you will have to move past it, which you don't seem to have grasped. Also, you are normally very clear on each person's responsibility in a situation, and you don't seem to understand that it wasn't your fault, or even my fault."

"Bones… I said I don't blame either of us."

"I know what you said. And I know what you meant." Brennan left him there and went to the car, sliding into the passenger seat. She had decided a long while ago that she didn't like this emotional stuff; it was too much of a burden. She couldn't stand him for blaming her, but Ange said it would pass. Angela said Booth was blaming everyone, not just her, and himself most of all, because he loved them, and where there was love there was forgiveness, and where there was forgiveness there was healing. Since Booth felt he could never love, forgive, or heal by blaming someone who's fate was in the hands of the United States Judicial system, he was doing the best he could.

Brennan could see the logic of that, but she still didn't speak to him when he finally got into the car.