Author's Notes: Quite a bit inspired by one of Emily Deschanel's scenes in Glory Road. (She was wonderful in that movie, by the way. :D) I had a bit of a hard time writing this one (I'm not fond of writing Bones fic where Booth and Brennan are already together...), but I think in the end, it turned out very well. :)
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Opening the mailbox, Temperance spotted a plain white envelope, spotless save for her address in the middle, printed in generic text. She retreated into the house to pull on a pair of latex gloves before returning outside to retrieve the mail.
This would be the fourth, if it was what she suspected.
Trying to do as little damage as possible to potential evidence, she carefully slid her thumb underneath the flap, loosening the adhesive. She gingerly removed the single, folded sheet of paper from the confines of the envelope.
Laying it flat on the table and smoothing the crease with her gloved palm, Brennan's suspicions were confirmed.
The letter was short, the words printed in the same nonspecific font as the address.
Agent Booth-
I'm running out of patience. This is your final warning:
Stop looking for me. If you know what's good for you and your family, you'll quit while you're ahead.
-George McPherson
As she finished reading the note, Brennan heard a key slide into the lock of the front door, and she tried to quickly hide the paper beneath a magazine on the dining room table as she tossed her gloves onto the floor beside her feet. Booth shut the door behind him as he entered, coming up behind her. He eyed the envelope and his nervous wife. Slowly, he picked up the envelope and peered inside. "What was in here?"
She stood, pulling the envelope from his hands. "It was nothing."
Booth shook his head as she avoided meeting his gaze. "It wasn't nothing." His eyes swept over the table, stopping on the corner of white sticking out from beneath a magazine. He grabbed it, revealing its contents.
Shocked, Booth passed a hand over his face and took a deep breath. He turned to Brennan. "This isn't the first one, is it?"
Her gaze fixed on the floor, and she spoke quietly. "Fourth."
He stepped closer, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"You would've given up the case. And you're the best, the only way to catch this bastard."
"There are other ways, Temperance. You know that. You know that you mean more to me than my job."
She slid her fingers through her hair, leaning into his touch. "Work has always been everything to me. It's been my whole life. I'm just so used to..."
"Putting it first." Booth supplied, pulling her into his embrace and setting the paper back onto the table. "I know how that is. But then I had Parker. And that put everything into perspective."
He held her tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as he whispered,
"Love beats work any day."
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End