This is my Secret Santa Fic for Jazzyproz who is a really talented writer of Bones fanfiction. If you haven't read her stories, you really should.
She wanted a Bones fanfic that included Booth, Brennan and Max. She wanted some angst from an argument or misunderstanding, but a happy ending. She also wanted an early relationship story, so this is not a Christmas themed story. I hope this is what you wanted. (This story is six chapters long. I plan to release one chapter a day.)
I don't own Bones.
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Max knocked on the door of his daughter's apartment and waited patiently for her to respond. After a minute of waiting, he placed his ear against the door and thought he heard music playing inside. Once more he knocked on the door and waited for her to come. Once more he was ignored. Not sure what was going on, he knocked a third time and still he was left standing in the hallway.
Growing concerned, he started to think about her job and the dangerous people she pissed off on a regular basis with her partner. His imagination now growing wild with catastrophic scenarios, he pulled his pick lock from his wallet and after making sure he was alone in the hallway, unlocked the door.
After he slipped into the apartment, he closed the door behind him and called out to his daughter. "Tempe, I'm sorry I broke in, but I'm worried and I need to make sure you're okay."
He heard a thud in the room he knew was Brennan's bedroom and called out once more. "Tempe, listen I know Booth killed Brodsky, but . . . Honey are you okay? Are you alone?"
Another thud and Max's adrenalin started to pour through him. His hand moved to his jacket pocket and he quickly removed a pistol. Afraid for his daughter, he aimed it towards the open doorway. "Tempe . . . "
Suddenly, Booth stepped out of the room wearing only a pair of jeans and a furious look on his face. "What the hell do you think you're doing Max? Breaking in Bones' apartment? Really?"
Seconds later, Brennan stepped past Booth wearing a long red robe and the same furious look on her face. "Dad, what gives you the right to break into my apartment? This is unacceptable."
For a minute, Max stared in amazement at the nearly naked Booth and finally laughed. Pleased to see that he'd been right after all, Max lowered his gun. "I knew it. I knew you two were together now." Satisfied, the older man placed his pistol back in his jacket pocket and moved closer towards the couple.
Before he took more than three steps, Brennan held her hand up. "Stop . . . just stop . . . You broke into my apartment. You have violated my privacy. What makes you think that I will accept such behavior from you?"
Hurt by her tone of voice, Max held his hands out, palms towards his daughter. "Tempe, be reasonable. You had a serial killer stalking you two and Booth just killed him a month ago. I knocked on your door three times, but you didn't answer. I heard music so I knew you were here and I started to think the worse that maybe you were in danger . . ."
"Stop!" Brennan exhaled deeply. "I am being reasonable and this . . . this intrusion into my personal life is not something I can or will condone. You have to leave."
He knew he had stepped over a line, but he felt justified. After glancing at Booth, who was leaning against a wall staring at him, Max tried to plead his case with the agent. "I thought she was in danger. I'm her father. I . . ."
Furious, Brennan trembled in her rage. "You are my father, but you don't have a right to interfere in my life. You lost that right when you abandoned me twenty years ago."
"Tempe." Max was now horrified that their conversation had taken a dark turn. "Tempe, how many times do I have to tell you that your mother and I did that to protect you? We couldn't risk you or Russ being hurt or killed and that could have happened if we had taken you both with us. Look at what happened to your mother? She died. She . . ."
Brennan shook her head, marched past her father over to the front door and pulled it open. "Leave Max. I don't need a father. I needed one when I was fifteen years old. I don't need one now."
Filled with dread, Max stared at his daughter with his mouth open. He tried to think about how he could fix the situation, but he was stunned and his brain just didn't seem to want to work.
"Go Dad." Brennan glared at her father. "Go!"
Booth stepped forward and placed his hand on Max's arm. "You better leave, Max."
With no choice, Max walked over to the open door and tried to speak to his daughter. "Tempe . . ."
Brennan was having none of his excuses and stamped her bare foot on the floor. "Go!"
After he was outside her apartment, he turned to face the open doorway only to have the door slammed in his face. "But I thought you were in trouble. I was just trying to protect you."
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Brennan was so angry that she was almost speechless. Moving slowly over to where her lover was standing, she held her arms out and he pulled her into his embrace. "Bones . . . he meant well."
"No!" Brennan pulled back and glared at him. "No, he doesn't have the right to break into my apartment. He's done it one too many times. I've had enough. My privacy is not something to be trifled with."
Afraid he'd stepped into a Brennan land mine field, Booth nodded his head. "Yes, you're right." He pulled her back into his embrace. "I'm on your side, Bones. Don't forget that."
His embrace like a security blanket, Brennan moved her arms around him and leaned against him. "I don't need his help . . . Where was he when I almost died in the locked trunk of that car? Where was he when I was abused by my foster parents? He was the reason why I was placed in jeopardy in the first place. He thinks that I've forgotten about those things, but I haven't. I never will."
Her anger was palpable and Booth didn't think she was open to any opinion from him at the moment. He held her against his body and tried to show her that he had her back. "I'm here, Bones. I'm not going anywhere."
Tears slowly moved down her cheeks and she let them. "I'm not over reacting am I?"
Booth chose his words with great caution. "I love you, Bones. We'll handle this however you need to. I'm on your side."
Grateful that Booth was so understanding, Brennan clung to him and cried. She wasn't sure why she was acting like she was, but that didn't matter to her for the moment.
A feeling of helplessness moving through his body, Booth stood quietly with Brennan in his arms and let her cry. He felt there was more to this than just Max breaking in to her apartment, but right now he wasn't going to look into it. There is a time and a place for everything and at that moment, it was his duty to hold her and let her cry.
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So this is going to be a multi-chapter story. I hope this is what you wanted, Jazzy. Reviews would be wonderful. Thank you.