Title: More than Partners
Author: MissBehaving
Summary: What should have happened in Two Men in the Morgue when Booth entered that examination room. Short scene.
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, in fact most of this scene is not mine.
"Looks like someone stole your earrings, ripped it right out of the lobe." The doctor noted something down on his notes.
"I don't know what happened to me."
"It's a tough town; we don't have that many cops anymore and they were never that good to begin with." The doctor smiled, even as he realized that Detective Harding had caught his words.
The detective had a smile playing on her lips. "You shouldn't insult the one that stuck around."
"Detective Harding. I didn't know who else to call." She had called Booth, but Booth was in DC and she was in New Orleans.
"I need blood samples on this clothing. Maybe we'll get lucky and they won't all come from you. Still fuzzy on the details?" Detective Harding asked.
"I'm not fuzzy on the details, I don't remember anything." That frightened Temperance, more than she wanted to admit to anyone.
"Nothing?" Even though the words were spoken kindly, Brennan got the impression that she was being interrogated subtly, and it made her head hurt, thinking about it. Booth was better at interpreting cop-speak, but Booth wasn't here.
She caught a flash of something and tried to hang onto it, but it slipped from her mind, leaving only the slightest impression. "Dr. Legiere knocking over a tray of instruments at the morgue, then- Mm-, nothing."
"That was the day before yesterday."
She knew that. Did Detective Harding think she was that obtuse? But she brushed it aside for the moment. "I requested a rape kit.".
"No sign of sexual activity, forced or otherwise." The doctor told the detective.
"Sir you can't, sir you can't go in there."
Booth burst through the examination room doors without so much as a pause. "Bones! Bones, are you alright?"
Temperance turned her head slowly and saw Seeley Booth looming over her. "Booth I told you not to come." She was feelings all these different emotions; confusion, that he came, relief that he was actually here, and so many others. Thankfully he hadn't heard her asking about the rape kit. He would have been so angry.
Seeley chose not to answer, but ran his eyes over her body, mentally cataloguing her injuries.
"Who's he?" the detective asked with a smile. Seeley Booth was rather handsome to look at.
Brennan closed her eyes briefly to relieve the pressure building up in her head. "He's FBI. We're sort of partners." She turned away, but Booth tilted her head back so he could look into her eyes.
"A guy flies down from DC, you're more than just sort of." Detective Harding said smartly.
"Yeah, that's great. You remember anything?" Booth asked Bones. The doctor looked up. He had never heard anyone dismissed the detective so swiftly.
Brennan sighed, but answered his question patiently. "Tray falling over?" she sounded unsure of herself.
"Why can't she remember anything?" he demanded rather rudely.
"It could be the head injury."
One hand cupped her cheek gently, whilst the other came to rest lightly on her thigh, just below the hem of the hospital gown.
"Hairline fracture on my right distal radius, concussion, slight fever, torn earlobe. I lost one of my favourite earrings."
"You're worried about losing an earring? Cause you should really be worried about losing a whole day!" Now Seeley knew why he had scared the airline attendant at the booking counter into giving him a seat on the next flight to New Orleans; Temperance Brennan clearly didn't have her priorities in order.
Temperance was focusing entirely on Booth now. "I know it's stupid, but these earrings were my mother's." She wanted him to understand their importance to her and he did understand, even if he didn't say anything else on the matter.
"Amnesia caused by any traumatic event, injury or drug can erase memories before the event, not just after." The doctor said. Temperance Brennan resisted the urge to say an irritable; 'I knew that already'.
"We'll just wait for the tox screen."
"It's gonna be at least 24 hours."
"24 hours!"
The doctor was amused and made not effort hiding it. "Hurricane Katrina destroyed most of the labs around here."
Brennan didn't need to look at Booth to figure out he had his unhappy face on.
"Don't worry, we'll find out what happened. You just take care of your … partner."
Booth threw Detective Harding a look but didn't verbally acknowledge her words. Instead he moved his body between the detective and Dr. Brennan effectively blocking their view of each other with his larger body.
He assisted Temperance off the table and shrugged out of his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.
"Thanks." Her grip was tighter than it normally was and it didn't reassure him in the least. He looped an arm around her waist and eased her gently off the examination table until her feet touched the ground. "I can do this," she protested weakly.
"I know you can, so humour me, and let me help."
Detective Harding watched the two 'partners' walk down the corridor. Agent Booth stopped Dr. Brennan with a hand to her forearm. They had a short and heated exchange of words which she shamelessly eavesdropped on.
"Booth, I told you not to come."
"Well I missed you and you missed me-"
Dr. Brennan glared venomously at her partner. "I did not miss you Booth."
Agent Booth continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "And now I've got a reason to visit you."
"You missed me?"
"I'm really glad you're alright."
"I'm glad I'm alright too."
Then Agent Booth pressed his lips to Dr. Brennan's forehead and she wrapped her good hand around his waist and closed her eyes
"Is this a guy hug?" she asked confused.
"No, it's just a hug."
Detective Harding smirked to herself. 'Yep, they were more than just partners.'
FIN