(Psychic in the Soup)

A/N: prompt provided by razztaztic on twitter.

I don't own Bones.

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This had not been one of Cam's better days. When she had taken the job at the Jeffersonian she had known she would be herding cats, but sometimes it seemed even worse than that. With a deep sigh, she picked up her glass of Cabernet and practically gulped the first mouth full.

Booth had entered the Founding Fathers, witnessed his friend's expression before she drank from her glass of wine and walked over to where she was sitting. His hand on her shoulder he flexed his fingers for a few seconds, massaging the tense muscles he found and sat down across from her at the small table. "Rough day?"

"You might say that." Her first taste of wine had been bracing, but this time she sipped from her glass. "I found out one of my interns has been collecting money and prescription drugs and he was going to have them smuggled into Cuba." She sipped once more from her glass and savored the flavor as it entered her mouth.

Shocked that someone at the Lab was breaking the law so blatantly, Booth stared at his friend with his eyes widened. "You're kidding me? The Cuban intern? What are you going to do, fire the guy? You know that's a felony. He could compromise any cases he's worked on for us."

Cam held up her hand to get Booth to stop talking. "It doesn't matter who it was, it's been taken care of."

Relieved, Booth gave an order for two beers to the waitress as she dropped by their table. "I'm meeting Bones here." The waitress went away to place the order and Booth leaned on the table. "That guy has been hitting on Bones since he got here. I'm glad he's gone."

Slowly shaking her head, Cam gave him a sour smile. "I didn't fire him. I confiscated the drugs and money and I locked them in my office, but they're gone now. No evidence no crime."

Shocked at the turn of events, Booth shook his head. "He stole them back? You have to fire him Cam. He's a security risk."

She appreciated his sentiment, but she knew he didn't know the full story. "He didn't steal them back. Dr. Brennan broke into my locked desk in my office, took them and arranged for someone at the CIA to send the drugs on to a doctor in Cuba."

"Bones?" Booth was outraged. "And Danny I bet. Damn it! What the hell do they think they're doing?"

Brennan entered the bar and saw Booth talking to Cam. From the angry look on his face, she assumed that Cam had ratted her out. Ratted? Is that right? Yes, I believe so. Since the deed was done, she knew she would not be able to avoid the next few hours' worth of recriminations, so moved over to the table and stared down at her husband. "I'm here."

Booth stood up and before he could say anything the waitress returned with his drinks order. With a forced smile at the waitress, he took the glasses and pointed at another table. "Bones, we need to talk."

Moving across the room, Booth snagged an empty table and sat down. After he placed Brennan's drink down in front of her, he gulped some of his beer and set his glass down hard on the table sloshing some of the drink on his hand. "What the hell, Bones. I taught you how to pick locks and this is how you use that skill. You steal . . ." Booth lowered his voice and leaned forward. "You break into Cam's desk and you steal drugs and money to send them to Cuba which sure as hell is a felony and you know that."

Brennan sipped her beer as her husband ranted at her. Once she was sure he was finished, she placed her glass down and stared at him with little expression on her face. "Prescription drugs are very hard to come by in Cuba. The people suffer there because of that. I sent the drugs to Cuba with Danny's help to alleviate some of the shortages there. It was a small shipment and will only satisfy one physician's patient load, but it is at least helping. I would do it again if the opportunity presented itself."

Almost speechless, Booth slowly shook his head. "Well that's just great. Great Bones . . . So me being in prison for three months wasn't good enough for our family? You want to risk going to jail for years too. Don't you think Christine has been through enough? Don't you think I've been through enough?" Booth gulped more of his beer and stood up. After he pulled some bills from his wallet he tossed them on the table, finished his beer and glared at Brennan. "I'm mad just in case you haven't picked up on that. I'm going for a walk. You can take the truck home or a cab. Right now I can't . . . I just can't." Furious, he turned on his heels and stormed out of the bar.

Stunned with Booth's reaction, Brennan watched him leave and knew that he was so angry it was possible he might not come home that night.

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He was filled with fury. He'd almost lost his life when he'd been attacked in his home and then placed in prison for suspicion of murder. When he'd realized that Brennan had blackmailed the Federal Prosecutor to get him out he'd worried himself sick that she would be arrested for that crime. She had got away with it, but it could have turned out very differently and it made him angry that she didn't get that.

Now she'd broken a Federal law with the help of Danny Beck and he was afraid for both of them. My God, they can't keep breaking the law and expect to get away with it. Sooner or later Bones is going to end up in prison and then what?

He strode towards the Lincoln Memorial and when he arrived, marched up the stairs. Half-way up, he stopped and sat down on the steps. His elbows on his knees, his head between his hands, Booth thought about all the times Brennan had broken the law and it made him afraid. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, the law be damned.

The thought of his wife in prison, terrified Booth. He'd been in prison. He'd suffered terrible beatings while his guards had let it happen. The only time they'd intervened is when he gave as good as he got. The thought of Brennan being beaten and unable to protect her made him nauseous. She was too brave for her own good. He loved her for that, but it also frightened him. He loved her so much and to jeopardize her freedom for one of her interns was a step too far. It was just too far.

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The first place she'd checked was the gym at the Hoover, but Booth wasn't there. She knew a few of his thinking places, but not all of them. She didn't let that keep her from searching for him. After she parked Booth's SUV near the Mall, she walked around the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial. Once she was close enough, she knew she'd found her husband. He was sitting half way up the steps, his head resting in his hands. She knew that look and she knew he was still upset.

Wearily, she slowly walked up the steps and when she reached Booth, she sat down next to him. "I knew that Cam would not have me arrested, Booth."

Unwilling to look at her, Booth sighed and continued to bracket his head with his hands. "She was a law and order by the book police officer before she became a coroner. Cam loves the law and she lives by it. You put her on the spot." He raised his head and stared straight ahead. "You made her choose between having you arrested for theft or letting you off the hook. You stole drugs and sent them to Cuba with the help of the CIA."

"Dr. Fuentes was sending prescription drugs to Cuba to help people who really need them." Brennan was annoyed that Booth refused to see the whole picture. "Danny helped me, so that the money Dr. Fuentes had collected could be put to good use instead of being used for bribes. The law is stupid if it allows people to suffer needlessly."

"Then you change the law." Booth closed his eyes. "You don't break the law." He opened his eyes, turned to look at Brennan and shook his head. "You endangered yourself. You could have been arrested and ended up in prison. You made Cam choose between the law and you and you made Danny part of your blatant contempt of the law . . . Was it worth it? Would it be worth it to sit in prison while our daughter grows up without you? Would it be worth it to . . . to force us apart again after everything we've been through? I just got out of prison, Sweets is dead . . . I can't go through anymore shit right now. I can't."

His voice was low and so filled with emotional pain that Brennan's chest actually hurt. She knew he had a point and it was a very good point, but she had to help right wrongs when she was able. "Dr. Fuentes could have been jailed for helping his people. By taking the prescriptions from Cam, I removed the evidence she had and now he is safe. By sending the drugs to Cuba, I may have saved lives. At the very least I helped people that are living diminished lives because they don't have access to prescriptions that may help them. Also since the drugs are no longer here, there is no evidence I had the drugs. It is Cam's word against mine . . . Cam is my friends as well as yours and I knew she would not have me arrested for helping the way I did. I know her Booth. I knew what I was doing."

"Great Bones." She wasn't helping his issue with what she had done at all. "So breaking the law is okay if you can get away with it. Great. Why do the job we're doing? Let's just quit and let chaos rule. Why have any laws at all?"

Her annoyance growing, Brennan glowered at Booth. "I have seen you break the law, Booth. Why is it a good thing when you do it and bad thing when I do it?"

"Because if I end up in prison the world would just lose a cop. No big deal." Booth's voice was very soft and Brennan strained to hear what he said. "I've been on borrowed time since I was a kid, but you . . . you're a leading expert in forensic anthropology and you've helped thousands of people find their missing relatives and friends. Sure they were dead, but you gave families closure. You help bring murderers to justice . . . You're also a mother and Christine needs you. A little girl needs her mother. You can't keep placing yourself in situations where you could lose your freedom or worse get killed. Our daughter needs you. Don't you get that? I don't want our baby girl growing up without her parents. You did, I did . . . we were a mess for so long. She needs her parents at home with her."

"Booth let me ask you a question." Brennan took a deep breath and tried to control her emotions. "Why do you think your life is worth less than mine?"

Confused, Booth shook his head. "I don't. I never said that."

"Of course you did." Brennan was growing angry. She wasn't as calm as she wanted to be. "You said if you end up in prison the world would just lose a cop. No big deal . . . You value your life less than you value mine and I find that terrible, Booth. You're more than a cop and it would be a huge deal if you were in prison." She worried that he felt so little of himself and his impact on others. "You're a warrior who has fought for your country. You suffered for it as a prisoner of war, but you survived. You have a life and it's a life worth living. You protect those that need it. You're a father of a son and a daughter and they need their father. Don't act like your imprisonment or death would have little effect on anyone because it's wrong. You're wrong. I need you Booth. You are my husband and you are my life. I would be affected in ways you can't imagine if we were separated permanently or for a long period of time. Your life is just as important as mine is."

Booth stared her and finally shook his head. "I don't think my life is worth less than yours."

"How many times have you said you'd die for me?" Her hands were trembling, so she hid them under her thighs. "I don't want you to die for me. I want you to live for me. I can't live without you."

Surprised at the turn in the conversation, Booth rubbed the side of his head. "This is about you not me. You could have ended up in prison for what you did. You have to think about our child and you have to think about me. You say you can't live without me, well I can't live without you. Do you understand me? I need you in my life. I need you Bones to be with me, beside me . . . I love you."

Brennan moved her hand from under her thigh and placed her arm around Booth's arm. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Booth. I did what I thought was right. I didn't do it to hurt you or to scare you."

He closed his eyes and he knew that the argument was over. "I know. You were just being you, but you do things that scare me sometimes. I just want you to be more careful about doing things like breaking into a Federal Coroner's desk and shipping drugs to Cuba. You can't do those things without risks. If stuff like that comes up, come to me first. Maybe between us, we can think of something safer to do?"

"Like you breaking into Cam's desk?" She knew her husband too well. "No Booth. I will deal with things my way, but I will try to keep within in the letter of the law from now on. I will try."

He opened his eyes, turned and kissed her on the cheek. "Well at least you'll try. Thank you."

Their fight over, Brennan smiled. "You're welcome. Would you like to go home now?"

Booth nodded his head and stood up. "Yeah . . . thanks for looking for me. I shouldn't have left you at the bar, but I didn't feel like yelling at you in a crowded bar and . . . well, you know I have a temper."

She smiled. "Yes and so do I. We're quite a good match if you think about it. We bicker and we fight, but we ultimately come to an agreement. We are very good when it comes to relationships."

Not sure if they were or not, Booth didn't really care. "Yeah, we're pretty good. Let's go home and later tonight, I plan to show you just how much I love you and need you."

Brennan stood up and took Booth's proffered hand in her hand. As they walked down the steps, Brennan glanced at the side of Booth's face and smiled. I really do love this man so much.

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