A/N: I was so disgusted with the terrible writing and plot contrivances of S6.01 that I haven't read or written anything for a couple weeks. Finally, I sat down and puked out most all of my peeves, which turned out to be a post-6.01 scene. If you liked this episode, I apologize for hacking holes in it. Sorry, I mean I'm sorry for sticking my fingers in the huge holes that were there and ripping them open, then laughing at it. The blatant product placement makes me wince. And waiting until the very end to shoehorn in the mammoth joke was just too pathetic to be mentioned. "Oh, look, we're not talking about our relationship, the usual elephant in the room! See, but ours is bigger, and it's at the museum, so it's a mammoth instead!" Sorry, I gag myself.
The SUV seemed almost cozy inside, despite it's hulking, tough Toyota exterior. Streetlights gave their faces a gentle glow, although it was likely that some of that glow came from just being together again. The separation, even though it wasn't as long as either had planned, had definitely been a good thing. Still, it puzzled at least one of the partners that they, in particular, had been necessary to wrap up this case.
"Seriously, Booth, I don't understand why Caroline called us all back. Regardless of the incompetence of Dr. Saroyan's entomologist, it seems that testing the fibers of the blanket in which the child was wrapped would have been an obvious step. Similarly, if Angela was able to ascertain that the child was Asian with only a cursory inspection, why wasn't Dr. Saroyan able to do that herself?
"Bones, just give it a rest. Caroline said we were needed—which we were, by the way—because we're the best. I know you can't argue with that fact."
"I admit, being recognized as the preeminent authority in my field gives me satisfaction, but that still doesn't address what can only been seen as Dr. Saroyan's incompetence in this investigation."
"Now hold on there! Cam is not incompetent." Booth turned his eyes from the road to give her a scowl. "Just because she wasn't able to complete this on her own—"
"And I suppose it never occurred to the local authorities to stake out the disgruntled spouse, either. I believe anyone who has ever watched any police procedural knows that the spouse is always a strong suspect."
"Okay, I admit, that was kind of lame. It's possible that the powers on high who were gunning for Cam made sure the least skilled detectives were working for her on this."
"I will grant that possibility, but, well, here's another point that annoys me: why didn't she just hire Wendell if she needed and anthropologist on-site? Although I doubt that she even should have required one for this case; as soon as we looked at the x-rays (to which she had access all along) and mentioned the definitive fixation of the molars and cranial bones, she immediately came out with the fact that the remains belonged to a child of at least 3 years."
"Fine. Cam dropped the ball on this one. I did noticed that she didn't seem all that invested in this case, as if she believed there were more important issues to handle." His voice dropped a touch as he talked almost to himself, "I'm not sure it's just the veterans story that's eating at her."
"What other issues, Booth? She had already lost the Medico-Legal lab, all our most qualified support staff, and even, apparently, her 'top notch' skills as a pathologist. Are you referring to her TV appearances?"
"What? No! I mean, it seems like there is something more wrong, something deeper that we don't know about. Maybe you should try to talk to her, Bones. Rekindle the, uh, cordial coworker relationship you had before you left?"
"I do not think that's possible. Did you hear Dr. Saroyan attempt to blame me for all that went wrong? She said I put my own 'selfish desires' before the good of the team, but I am led to question the basis for her assertion, because other members of the team were accessible, had she just used her initiative to contact them."
"Yeah, like she was going to fly to Paris to see Hodgins."
"Of course not, but it would not have been the first time Hodgins had provided invaluable assistance via video link. If you'll recall, he was able to help solve a case even from a jail cell, using antiquated equipment. I highly doubt he would have had to settle for such oppressive conditions in Paris. And sending samples should have not been difficult, either."
"You know, Bones, sometimes you take the best things and just analyze them until they are nothing but crap. It reminds me of some of the good things that came of our months apart.''
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Just quit ragging on Cam, okay?"
"Booth, when Cam was hired, you attempted to reconcile me to the situation by lauding Dr. Saroyan's political savvy as well as her skills as a pathologist, which does not at all fit with her loss of our lab at the Jeffersonian."
"Are you kidding? How are those two even related? She was absolutely right, that you're the star of the show, and if you're gone, the Jeffersonian has no incentive to keep that huge space open.
"It was my understanding that the Medico-Legal lab existed to support and justify the institution's position as a necessary recipient of large amounts of public funding, not to give its 'star' a venue for wardrobe changes and book promotions."
Booth's head dropped back, as though he were begging for divine intervention with his heathen partner. "Do you even know what goes on when you're not there, Bones? Without you and me, it's all cavemen and Chinese emperors. Yech." He glanced at her once before returning his eyes to the road. "You've just never been good at seeing the real importance of your position in that team."
Brennan was quiet for a few moments. She did not concede his points, but at least she recognized that there would be no further gain by more argument about Cam's apparent incompetence. Yet there were still things that irritated her empirical sensibilities. After ruminating quietly for a while, she allowed her thoughts to burst forth. "Did you notice how wrong Sweets was about the father? He said the father wasn't lying."
Booth gave a snort of dissatisfaction and slapped a hand on the steering wheel. "See? There you go again. Instead of just being glad we're all back together, you're trying to pick it apart."
"Doesn't it bother you, Booth? His error to correctly identify the mendacity of the child's father could have resulted in a kidnapper getting away with the crime!"
"Technically, Sweets was right. The father was stating facts. He just didn't say anything about when he last saw his son."
"And why didn't you ask those questions? Seriously, Booth, this case was as simple as opening and shutting, but no one seems to have been functioning at even minimal professional capacity."
"Guess they should just kick all our butts back out and can the whole operation. Great to be home with you, too, Bones." Booth's mouth settled into a grim line across his face, and for the first time, Brennan allowed herself to focus on the deepened lines around his eyes. She knew she wasn't saying what she needed to say, what she wanted him to understand.
"I can see that perhaps another thing that was lost while we were separated is the small gains I had made in being able to communicate effectively to you more of my heart, as you would say." She turned to stare out the windshield, unwilling to see any more of the sadness and pain on Booth's face. She wasn't so deeply buried within herself that she didn't know that part of it was her fault. If she hadn't pushed Booth back so hard, he wouldn't have felt the need to run from everyone, including Parker. "I just find that I am frustrated by the almost Rube Goldbergian machinations employed by Caroline to engineer our return The disappointment that such a ruse was required makes me feel empty and dissatisfied. We are not children who need to be tricked." Brennan stopped again, hoping that he would say something, but still there was silence. "I am more glad than you will ever know that you came home safely, Booth. My ability to compartmentalize when it comes to you and our team has become less...dependable over the years, and I wonder whether I would have been able to continue working with the Jeffersonian had something happened to you."
"Aw, don't say that, Bones." His chipper smile once again pasted in place, he looked over and gently punched her in the shoulder. "The important thing is that we all came back together, everyone either the same or in better shape, and we're ready to go back out there and catch us some major bad guys!"
Brennan narrowed her eyes, examining the smile he offered her. It was not a real smile, definitely not the one she used to get when she was finally successful in showing him her feelings. Things had most assuredly not come back in better shape than before everyone scattered to the winds. "Catching bad guys is a worthy motive, and it will be stimulating to reengage our extremely efficacious partnership to thwart them." These were not the things that were in her heart. She'd tried to share them, but he'd let them go by, untouched. For the first time in a long time, Brennan realized that she felt alone. Despite what he had promised her, when Booth went away, he took something, and it had not come back from Afghanistan. Whether it could ever be recovered or reconstructed was a puzzle she didn't have the energy or impetus to address right now.
Right now all she felt was a burning need to get back onto the familiar footing of years before. Back to the give and take that had always been between them, their way of showing respect and affection for one another. "Booth, how long has it been within Caroline Julian's purview to assign office space in the Hoover? What does she mean, she 'told Agent Whipple' you needed your office back?" Again comfortable with herself and the logic of her argument, she wrapped this comfort around her and pushed onward. "That sounds more like the job of a facilities manager than a Federal prosecutor."