Thanks for all the enthusiasm for the first chap. Your reviews make my day! My week...my year!!
A/N: It was brought to my attention when I posted this on another site, that Philly is close enough to DC to drive to, but I didn't know that when I wrote it and the chap really doesn't work any other way, so let's just say they absolutly had to take a plain for some reason...maybe all the roads are torn up and unusable or something...
1986
A young man with dark hair and jeans with the knees torn out shifted the heavy bags of groceries once more in his arms. The cold January air encircled him and he counted the steps until he could enter the warmth of his families apartment.
His father or mother usually picked up the groceries on every Sunday, but today he'd been sent to do it. His mother was home with the flu, his father was taking care of his mother and Jared was out with friends. Again.
He frowned and squashed an abandoned fast food cup before him. Oil stains near the curb made swirling rainbows on the ground and the dreary gray fog that had descended the city made everything feel more ominous than usual.
Jared always got to run off with friends, staying out till all hours of the night, never saying where he was going or when he'd be back and leaving his younger brother to pick up the slack at home. Seeley tried never to complain, knowing it would only make things harder on his parents, but sometimes he wished he could have even a measure of the freedom his brother enjoyed.
The boy was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of a voice behind him.
He turned, and found three well-dressed teenagers coming his way. Furrowing his brow, he studied the boys as they approached. One wore an expensive leather jacket, another was letting his stupidity show by allowing that flashy watch to be visible in a neighborhood like this.
"You Seeley Booth?"
Seeley, a thin boy who'd recently pleased himself by shooting up an inch and a half in two months, straightened to his full height. The boys continued to approach.
"Maybe." He squared his shoulders as one of the boys blocked him from continuing down the street toward his home. The other two took positions to his front and side, sufficiently boxing him in with the back wall of Hickston's Hardware behind him in a small alley.
"You know a kid named Charlie Phillips?" The boy directly in front of him folded his arms and grinned insincerely, showing off two rows of perfectly straight teeth.
Seeley narrowed his eyes in suspicion and hesitated, giving he boys a quick once over. He found all three wearing matching pairs of black slacks and pricey patent leather shoes, a stupid idea in the slippery brown slush of melting snow. All three also donned the same green polo shirt with the Lion emblem on the collar. Oxford Duke Academy.
"I might." Seeley finally responded, continuing his pattern of non-committal answers.
The blonde boy who'd been speaking threw his head back in a forced chuckle before suddenly unfolding his arms and shoving Seeley back into the wall.
Stunned, Seeley dropped the heavy bag he'd been holding, causing the glass bottles in it to break and the ground around them grew moist with his mother's cough medicine.
Seeley recovered quickly and returned the gesture. The boy stumbled and Seeley drew back for a hard right hook but never got the chance to follow through as the boy on his right caught his arm and twisted it around behind him.
"No fair!" Seeley immediately protested to being outnumbered in this fist fight. He didn't mind fighting, as long as everyone followed the rules of a fair play. No hits below the belt, and no double, or triple, teaming.
He quickly found these other boys did not play by the rules as the boy on his left pulled back his head by his hair and held his other arm. Seeley watched in horror as the boy he'd pushed wound up and planted a hard hit in his stomach.
The boys released their grip and Seeley fell to his knees, the loose gravel on the pavement dug painfully into his skin but all he could focus on was recapturing the air that had suddenly escaped his lungs. A firm kick in his ribs sent him down further and he used his hands to keep from falling to his face, and in the process ground tiny peices of glass into them.
The first boy knelt down next to his ear. "Make sure Charlie gets our message Boothy."
Seeley had his eyes screwed shut, but forced them open when he heard the footsteps leaving. He turned his dark brown eyes up at his attackers as they walked away without looking back.
Right then the child Seeley died, as he forced himself to his feet, biting back a grunt of pain at the effort. He scowled and furiously wiped away a few silent tears with the back of a bloody hand. Tears shed for a pride wounded and an innocence lost.
"You did not!" Booth doubled over in laughter, or at least as doubled over as he could be in the cramped coach seating.
"I did. Hit him right in the nose. It bled for an hour, I'm told." Brennan blushed slightly, but couldn't help but smile at the memory.
"That's my Bones. Never backs down from a fight, whether it's gang leaders, serial killers or obnoxious high school football quarterbacks." Booth wiped his teary eyes while shaking his head.
"Oh I'm you're Bones, am I?" Brennan raised an eyebrow. Why does that not upset me the way it should. I'm not property. I don't belong to anyone. And yet…
Booth just grinned and shrugged.
"Did I say that?"
Both were slightly punchy, as it was nearing nine pm and they'd been awake since five that morning getting everything ready to go. Before the flight they'd been ready to kill each other, spending four hours at a busy airport waiting for a delayed flight would make anyone irritable.
But after spending a few hours bickering and teasing on the plane, they were starting to feel like themselves again, even if they were hyper from all the day's activities.
Now they were just sitting, waiting to be allowed off the aircraft. A flight attendant appeared at the front of the plane and soon the small space was a flurry of activity as people gathered their belongings and began to file off.
Booth stood and reached up to retrieve his and Brennen's carry-ons from the overhead compartment.
"Booth, I can get my own." Brennan protested and lunged at her partner to get back her bag.
In seconds Booth had shifted his weight slightly and moved his shoulder to dodge her hands. Surprised, Brennan stumbled into the large woman across the aisle who glared daggers at her.
"Sorry." Brennn mumbled.
"Booth I…" She turned around but Booth wasn't there. Looking toward the front of the plane, she spotted his brown shirt a few rows up. He'd fallen into step with the other passengers and was moving off the plane.
"Booth!" Brennan tried, as politely as possible, to push herself around the people between herself and Booth, but to no avail. The aisle was simply too small.
"See ya at baggage claim Bones!" Booth threw a grin over his shoulder and winked, before disappearing through the hatch.
Brennan folded her arms across her chest and scowled.
I'm gonna break his arm.
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"Are you kidding me?!" Booth shouted, using all his self-control to keep himself from climbing over the counter and strangling the airport clerk.
Brennan grinned smugly, biting her lip to keep quiet.
When she'd finally caught up to him at baggage claim, he had her two bags stood next to him and waiting, but he was still watching the carousel for his own luggage. Upon seeing the annoyed look on his face she decided against breaking his arm and settled for an, 'it serves you right' when his things were declared officially missing.
Booth took a deep breath and set his teeth.
"C'mon Bones." He turned and headed for the doors, where an SUV very similar to his own was waiting for them in the parking lot.
Brennan followed and waited until they were in the car for a few moments before attempting conversation.
"What will you do about your clothes?"
Booth glanced slowly at her, he'd heard the smile in her voice. He didn't like it.
"My parent's still have some of my clothes, I'll use those." He saw Brennan tense up out of the corner of his eye and added, "I'll drop you at the hotel first."
Nodding, Brennan continued to stare out the window, glad he hadn't invited her to meet his parents.
Even in the dark she could see the traditional architecture indicative of colonial America in most of the buildings' lining the streets.
I wonder if we'll have time to visit some museums while we're here?
She turned to ask Booth this very question but found that they were stopped in front of the hotel.
"I'll be out here to pick you up at seven tomorrow."
"You're not staying here?"
"Nope. I've decided to stay at my parent's house. I haven't seen them in a while and that fifty bucks a day will go a lot farther if I'm not wasting it on room and board."
Brennan frowned, "That doesn't seem completely ethical since you're…"
"Bones," Booth raised one hand to silence her, "Just be ready at seven. We have a case to solve and I doubt our victim really cares where I sleep."
His face suddenly brightened, "If we get a break or two I'll take you around to see the sights."
Brennan smiled.
"Could we visit a few of the historical museums?" She was almost bouncing in her chair.
God she's cute..Wait! Don't do that. There's a line. I drew a line. Partners. Partners aren't cute.
Booth sighed. "Bones. Not those sights. You want to do what every other tourist does, get a brochure, a map and a disposable camera. You wanna see the real Philly, you come with me."
Brennan rolled her eyes and exited the car.
"Fine Booth. But first, we have a case to solve."
"Haha Bones, I know that."
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He hadn't been back home since Thanksgiving the previous fall, but everything on his street seemed the same.
Booth hardly paid attention as his hands steered the vehicle on a route he knew like the back of his hand. His parent's had moved out of the town to this little subdivision a little while after h e turned sixteen.
A series of upsetting incidents had convinced Mr. And Mrs. Booth that intercity Philadelphia was no place to raise their sons.
"Mom?" Booth was a little worried to find the front door unlocked after dark. When he stepped inside and was greeted by the sound of humming and dinner being prepared in the kitchen, he knew all was well.
"Mom?" He called again, kicking off his shoes by the door.
"Seeley!" Caroline Booth appeared in the kitchen doorway, wiping her hands on her apron. "You're here!"
She met her son half-way between the kitchen and the front door in the middle of the dining room.
"Hi mom." Booth leaned down and hugged his mother tightly, relishing in the familiar scent of hairspray and lavender that lingered on her clothing.
"Nevermind that 'Hi' Seeley. Have you eaten?" She lead the way to the kitchen. "How was you're flight? How is Parker? You should really have him call me you know. Oh, what am I saying? You never call either." She turned around with her hands on her hips, teasing in her brown eyes.
"Oh, I call Mom. Give me a little credit here."
"Seeley, why is you're hair sticking up like that?" She licked the tips of her fingers and reached up to smooth his hair.
Booth ducked away from her and moved toward the stove.
"Leave it alone Mom. I did it that way on purpose." He lifted the lid on one of the pots and inhaled a soothing aroma of Tomato and Basil.
"Watcha cookin'?"
"Spaghetti and Meatballs."
"Mmm, my favorite." Booth grinned like a little boy.
"Seeley," she patted his cheek, "who knows her son?"
"You do Ma'." Booth pecked her on the cheek and moved out of the way so she could finish dinner.
He shed his coat and tie and pulled open the refrigerator.
"Oh, hey, where's Dad?" Booth found a can of beer behind leftover Pasta Primavera and quickly claimed it.
Caroline went rigid and hesitated before responding.
"He…went hunting Sweetheart. Last Wednesday."
Booth frowned, leaning against the counter as he took a few sips thoughtfully.
"Mom, hunting season ended a week ago." Booth watched his mother's back. She still stood at the stove, but the spoon in the pot no longer moved in a slow swirling motion.
"Mom?" Booth crossed the kitchen toward her, worry starting to seep into his stomach.
Caroline turned abruptly and moved toward the refrigerator.
"Let's eat, shall we Seeley? Do you want Garlic bread with your spaghetti?" She asked brightly.
Booth set down the can, his face contorted in confusion.
"Mom, what's going on?" Pulling her out of the refrigerator he turned her toward him, and looked down into her brown eyes. He was surprised to find them slightly fearful.
"Let's not talk about this now Seeley, okay?" She tried to move out of his grip, but he held her steady.
"No, mom, not okay. Where's dad? Truth." Booth's tone was level, but demanding, his inner cop not allowing him to take another vague answer.
He held his breath when she looked up at him. He found her looking surprisingly tired and…old.
"Mom?" His voice was now almost pleading, the tough guy cop melted with his determination. All he wanted now was to know what was bothering his mother.
Caroline shook her head and looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry Seeley."
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