Entering the threshold of her office, Agent Booth's cursory examination told him that she was not inside, but had left recently. Her computer was whirring in the background, the Medico-Legal Laboratory screen saver not yet in place. He started back towards the door when the head of Angela Montenegro peaked in the room. "Hey Booth," she said. "Brennan is meeting with Goodman right now. She told me to tell you to wait for her if you came by. So, wait for her. Talk to you later." And like that, the whirlwind that was Angela disappeared.
Deciding it best to heed her advice, rather Bones' demand, he walked behind her desk and made himself comfortable in her chair. He threw his legs up on the desk, displacing a few papers, sending them flying towards the floor. Taking his feet back off the desk, Booth reached for the rogue papers, glancing at them briefly as he went to place them back in their rightly places. Noticing the tell tale format of a book manuscript gracing the surface of the pages, he fought his own conscience for a moment before settling down to read the mysterious words laid before him.
His mischievous grin faded slowly as his mind comprehended the content of what his eyes were seeing. His stomach started to drop as the full scope of her words hit him. His organ's descent continued as rapidly as his eyes continued across the page. Deciding he had had enough, Booth carefully placed the pages exactly where they had been and walked out of the room.
Over the couple hours following his invasion of her private "fictional" world, he had ignored his cell phone on three occasions. She was trying to contact him, but he needed time. He was creating a battle plan that would have the least amount of casualties, mainly his.
He was not surprised to see her towards the end of the day. Booth was filling out the endless paperwork that came with a job such as his, deep in concentration. But no amount of concentration distracted him from knowing when she was near. Instead of interrupting him, she stood quietly in the doorway, observing him, trying to size him up. They were at a stalemate, until Booth, without looking up, broke the silence. "Do you want to have a seat Bones?"
Brennan did not move. She stood resolutely, not quite in his office, gauging him still. "Did I do something to offend you Booth? You have been avoiding me all day. Angela said she gave you my message. I've called several times."
He finally met her gaze, his face not betraying the tumultuous emotions stirring within. His words managed to remain calm and clinical. A lesson learned from her no doubt. "It's not what you did, Bones. It's what I did."
Her brow furrowed in worry. She moved across the room to seat herself in the chair in front of his desk. "What did you do?"
"I read part of you manuscript. It was lying on your desk."
"You were snooping in my office." The anger lining her words caused them to come out in a fast burst.
"No." A simple reply. She continued her study of him, concluding that he was being honest. She knew he wouldn't have read her future book unless it was right in his face and he couldn't resist, or if she gave it to him. Since she knew one to be false, the other must be true.
"So you left because you thought that I would be mad."
"No. I left because you think I betrayed you."
"Booth…" she drew out his name, finding the words to dispute his claim.
"It's a fact. No need arguing with the facts Bones."
"Not fact Booth. Fiction. It is a book. A fictional book that I create out of my head. The characters in my book are not based on real people, so rationally speaking, you are jumping to a false conclusion."
"I am your partner and your friend Bones. But I am also a fan. I wasn't joking, I read every single word, most of them repeatedly. I enjoy your writing at face value, but due to my unique position in your life, I also analyze the material. I can tell the difference in what you are creating out of your mind and what you are pulling out of your life experiences. Sometime it is subtle and hard to catch. Sometimes, like in this case, it is glaringly obvious. You think I betrayed you."
"Just because Andy…"
"You're right." His blunt declaration stopped her in mid sentence. Her eyes grew big in surprise, her ears unbelieving of what he had just admitted.
"What?" The word barely exited her mouth. Her heart felt heavy and she was unsure of everything at that moment. Her current feelings being matched only by the time in question, the time of his betrayal.
His eyes were soft, his face wore his sadness and regret openly. He moved to her side, placing himself on his knees so they were eye to eye. "I betrayed you." He broke the connection of their eyes, because her eyes were the windows to her soul and he could see the scars on hers. His head hung lifelessly, his body completely slumped. She did not know what to do. She wanted to reach out to him, but she couldn't. She couldn't offer him comfort she never got. Her friends had tried to console her during his death, but it did little for her pain and sense of loss. It was when he was back in the land of the living when she needed the most comfort. Death happens and she understood that. Booth promised and she didn't understand why he broke that.
Gaining his composure, he somehow found the strength to look her in the eyes again. As if he could read her thoughts through her eyes, he continued. "I know I promised never to betray you. And I hope you know that I never, ever, meant to. But it happened, and for that I am very sorry." His voice was an endearing mixture of softness and passion. She felt the tears wetting her cheeks, but did nothing to stop them. "Your life is full of people that have hurt you, have left, have betrayed you. I know now that I am one of them. I want to promise you that I will never do it again, but I can't. It happened once, so it could happen again. But I will do everything in my power to keep it from happening again."
His cheeks mirrored hers, streaks of wetness flowing freely. His features were etched with pain, hers the same. They sat there locked in a moment, connecting at the lowest emotional level. His eyes pleaded with her to understand and to accept him, flawed as he may be. There was a oneness between them, glimpses of despair, fear, forgiveness and loves were exchanged and accepted freely.
And then the moment was over. He stood up straight, used his tie to dry his face, and went back to the paperwork he had recently deserted. She too pulled herself from the moment, using the back of her hands to dry her eyes. She stood slowly, looking at his sitting form. As she walked out the door, she stopped and turned back. "See you tomorrow, Booth." His head raised to meet hers. His small smile was genuine, and he nodded in affirmation. Then she was gone. And he knew they would hold.