(The Purging of the Pundit)

I really don't own Bones.

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He'd tried to get assigned to the Hoover as soon as possible and his dream had finally come true. James Aubrey was a good FBI agent and considered a rising star by the upper echelon of the FBI. Aubrey knew that and he did have ambitious plans for his future, but he had hit a stumbling block after a few weeks at the Hoover and he wasn't sure how to fix it.

Aubrey was a huge admirer of Agent Seeley Booth and one of the reasons he'd wanted to work out of Major Crimes. The Head of Major Crimes had a solid reputation as an investigator and his solve rate was phenomenal. He and his partner Dr. Temperance Brennan were a great pair of investigators and Aubrey hoped someday to emulate them, but currently Agent Booth didn't trust him and didn't want to work with him.

When he'd been transferred to the Hoover, Seeley Booth was in prison under suspicion of murder. Aubrey had been stunned and he'd been appalled with the hate filled rhetoric coming from his fellow FBI agents aimed at the incarcerated agent, but he kept his silence. None of what was said made sense to him and he wasn't about to let gossip influence his opinion about anyone let alone someone he admired. He knew that there was more going on than was being told to them, he just didn't know what it was.

Once Booth was freed from prison and his name had been cleared, Aubrey tried to attach himself to the man, but Booth balked. Booth didn't trust anyone at the Hoover and that included Agent James Aubrey.

Not sure how to handle the situation, Aubrey had consulted with Dr. Lance Sweets and the psychologist had given him some advice, some of if useful and some of it not so useful. The most important thing Sweets had told him was to give it time. Booth was an honorable man who had been betrayed by the institution he loved. Aubrey would have to prove to Booth that he could be trusted, but that would take time and a lot of patience.

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Depressed, Aubrey was slowly looking over the latest interviews concerning the murder of Hutch Whitehouse. He was still waiting for some forensic evidence from the Jeffersonian and he was hoping it would point them towards the killer. A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. "Oh, Dr. Brennan . . . um." Not sure why the forensic anthropologist was standing inside his office, Aubrey stood up. "If you're looking for Booth, I think he's probably in his office . . . he doesn't exactly hang out with me."

With a slight smile on her lips, Brennan moved across the room and sat down on the chair in front of Aubrey's desk. "Booth is too isolated."

Puzzled, Aubrey sat down. "He wants it to be that way . . . He doesn't trust anyone right now . . . well, he trusts you and the people at the Jeffersonian, but he doesn't trust anyone here at the Hoover."

"Can you blame him?" Brennan was curious about his response. She needed to know who James Aubrey was. "He was betrayed by an organization that he loves and once he was betrayed the people he'd worked with for years became complicit in his betrayal. They didn't search for the truth, they assumed facts not in evidence and blamed my husband for murders he didn't commit. I'd say he has a right to feel betrayed don't you?"

Her words were true and Aubrey couldn't refute them, at least not when it came to the other agents in the building, but he was different. He hadn't been in the Hoover when Booth was betrayed and he'd been careful not to stain his honor while the man was in prison. "Dr. Brennan, I know Booth got a raw deal . . . I really do know that, but I'm not part of the problem. I can be part of the solution if he'd just work with me."

A little impatiently, Aubrey shifted on his chair, folded his hands on the desk and sighed. "I've been trying to get Agent Booth to let me work with him since the day I met him. I didn't have anything to do with what happened to him and I've told him that, but he's not listening to me . . . Dr. Sweets had a long talk with me when he came back to the Hoover and before he died. He made sure I was someone he could trust, because he was looking for someone that would have Agent Booth's back. Dr. Sweets was scared for Booth. He was afraid that no one would be there to protect Booth when he needed it. He chose me to do that, but Booth won't trust me. He . . . he's too caught up in what happened to him and he . . ."

"He's afraid, Agent Aubrey." Brennan wanted Aubrey to understand exactly what was going on. "Not physically of course. Booth is a very brave man . . . that is not what I am talking about. Booth and I uncovered a secret organization that was corrupting our government . . ."

"And they tried to murder Booth to shut him and you up . . . I know." Aubrey felt like he was butting his head against a brick wall. "I wasn't part of that mess . . . I was never part of that mess and I didn't believe what was going on when he was thrown in prison . . . the facts didn't add up, but no one was interested in anything I had to say about it . . . I did volunteer to have Booth's back when he came back and you'd think that would mean something since no one else trusted Booth and refused to work with him. I did though. I know a good man when I see one."

Pleased with Aubrey's answers, Brennan smiled. "And so do I Agent Aubrey. That's why I'm going to help you. I want Booth to work with you and I think I know how."

Curious, Aubrey leaned back against his chair. "Well if you know how to get him to let me help him, then fire away, because right now, I'm just treading water here."

Brennan stared at the agent and tried to translate what he'd just said to her. "Your metaphors are very mixed and slightly confusing."

Unable to help it, Aubrey chuckled even though the situation was serious. "Yeah, thanks . . . what do you want me to do?"

"I have to go back to the Jeffersonian, but I'll be back this afternoon and I will fix this." Standing, Brennan looked around his office. "You have a small refrigerator. Booth doesn't have one in his office."

Aubrey shrugged his shoulders. "It's mine. I paid for it. I like to keep a lot of juice and bottled water plus a few snacks. An engine needs fuel and the snack machine can't give me everything I want."

Shrugging her shoulders, Brennan left the office.

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True to her word, Brennan forced the issue and talked Booth into working with Aubrey. They wrapped up the case and both men were satisfied with the results.

Aubrey was going over his notes when he heard a noise near his door. Surprised, he looked up and found Booth standing just outside staring at him. The scrutiny a little intense, Aubrey straightened his tie and smiled. "I'm just going over my notes before I start to type up my report . . . you need me for anything?"

Slowly nodding his head, Booth entered the office and stopped a few feet from the door. "Sweets trusted you."

Not sure where this conversation was going, Aubrey decided to just nod his head.

Booth pulled his lips between his teeth and debated what he wanted to say. "Sweets had my back. He was a good man . . . a good friend. He shouldn't have died like that. He had a family and Daisy is going to have his baby. I . . . he trusted you."

"Yes." Aubrey felt that this conversation was long overdue, but he didn't want to make the man across the desk from him anxious. "I wasn't in the Hoover when all that shit went down against you. I transferred in after you were incarcerated . . . I transferred here because of you. I wanted to work with you."

Surprised, Booth moved over to the chair and sat down. He was tired and he was still losing a lot of sleep at night. "I was in jail and you transferred here anyway?"

Patiently, Aubrey tried to put Booth at ease. "Yeah I did. I knew that you were being railroaded, I just didn't know why. I've heard a lot of great things about you and no way what was happening added up . . . I was hoping that it would work out and it did . . . of course, busting open a treasonous organization was more than I counted on, but hey, those assholes are finished and . . . and I hope you'll let me continue to work with you."

Booth nodded his head. "Bones thinks you're a good man . . . so did Sweets . . . I guess I'll have to trust their judgement since mine is a fucking mess right now . . . I . . . I trust Bones and . . . "

He stopped speaking because he didn't want to explain himself. Standing, Booth walked back over to the door and paused. He felt he should make himself clear, so he turned to face the younger agent. "I need someone to guard my back . . . can I count on you to do that because right now . . . right now, I don't trust any of the other agents in this building. Some of them still think I got away with murder. They don't give a shit that this was all a plot by a shadow government. They hate me and it's going to take time for them to accept me back. In the meantime, I need backup . . . are you in this with me or not?"

Aubrey stood up and leaned on his desk. "I've got your back, Booth. I'm in it when it counts."

Satisfied, Booth nodded his head and left. Once the Head of Major Crimes was gone, Aubrey sat down and stared at the empty doorway. "Sweets was right. Booth has been through too much, but he said that Booth was a fighter and I believe him. He'll be alright. Me and Dr. Brennan will make sure of that."

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I hope you liked my story. Thank you.