Hello my dear readers! I am very very sorry for the delay. I promised I'd have the next chapter up by Wednesday at last. Well I got back Wednesday afternoon from my vacation but my internet connection decided not to acknowledge that. Argh. I got it back on track yesterday, but I didn't have much time for this stuff. Anyhow I'm posting this chapter today, although I still didn't get a chance to triple (I think that would be it) check it again. So I already apologize fiercely for any errors in there. Feel free to let me know, I'll edit it immediately.
Big thanks again to anyone who has read the first part and an even bigger thank you to those who took the time to review. I hope you'll do the same this time.
Disclaimer: I still don't own the show, any of its characters or the actors.
A little while later Doctor Wyatt is preparing himself for his session with Agent Booth. He knew that Agent Booth wasn't the easiest person to receive information from, but he did always like their sessions, cause they tend to be extremely interesting.
Booth's making his way back into the Hoover building after a quite long lunch break. For some reason he doesn't know himself he's smiling ear to ear. Of course the beautiful weather and happy singing birds don't do anything but improve his mood. He whistles along with the bird's song as he walks through the main doors of the building he works in.
Barely a minute later, there's a knock at Doctor Wyatt's office door. "Come in." Agent Booth enters the room and closes the door behind him. He takes a seat at his usual spot and smiles at Doctor Wyatt. "So Gordon-Gordon, what's up?"
"Well Agent Booth, today I'd like to talk to you about Doctor Brennan." Booth is kind of flustered by the doctor's topic choice. "What…why do you want to talk about Bones?" Doctor Wyatt eyes him carefully. "She is your partner, a big part of your job and even your life. Or am I wrong here?" Booth shakes his head, still a little shocked, and honestly also a little uncomfortable. "N…no. Okay what do you want to know?" He tries to get a grip on himself again, actually a little curious about this too. "I'd like to hear a little more about you and her, how you feel about her…" Doctor Wyatt is careful not to use the word 'relationship', but Booth responds right away nonetheless. "Bones and I are just partners!" Doctor Wyatt has to hide a smile. "I didn't think anything different. Why are you so defensive about this?" Booth sighs. "People tend to assume other things, I just wanted to spare myself of hearing false assumptions again." Doctor Wyatt decides not to interrogate Booth about his remark that he sounded a lot like Doctor Brennan just before. "Why do you have problems with these assumptions?" Booth sighs again, more audible this time. "It's just…frustrating you know, hearing it over and over again."
"Well there must be a reason people make these assumptions. Maybe you give the impression of liking Doctor Brennan as more than a partner." Booth's reply comes fast, way too fast and defensive he states afterwards. "She's my best friend, okay!" Doctor Wyatt nods and decides to go a little bit further.
"I've heard there's a so called 'sexual tension' between you two." Booth rolls his eyes. "I wonder who that came from! I'm really going to have to shoot some people!"
"Maybe those people our very perceptive." Booth sighs, wondering about how many times he has done so since he arrived here. "Look, I'm not going to say Bones isn't attractive, she's beautiful. And of course there's tension sometimes, look at our jobs!" Wyatt figures it might be better to approach this a little differently.
"Fair enough. How do you feel about her boyfriends?" Booth rolls his eyes dramatically. "She has this freaking way of choosing complete morons! She's had a few guys that were okay I guess, but sometimes they're real idiots. I really don't understand why she would do that to herself, you know, she can do so much better! She's smart, beautiful, honest…"
"Cold hearted?", Doctor Wyatt supplies. "No! That's just what people think, what she lets people think sometimes. But actually she has such a big heart!" Doctor Wyatt is kind of happy with the turn-out of the conversation now. "You're very protective of her honor."
"Because she deserves some credit. She only defends her honor when it's about scientific stuff, about her qualities as an anthropologist, but she's already so much better when it comes to the emotion stuff too."
"Do you mind that she doesn't want to get married?" Booth's a little flustered at the sudden change of topic and has to take a few moments to get his head around the situation. "I respect her ideas, even if I don't really agree. I think she deserves to feel like a princess for just one day, like every woman wants to feel once. But if she doesn't want that, who am I to judge?" Doctor Wyatt nods, taking the question back to her relationships. "It's part of how she feels about relationships in general though."
"I think we've already showed her that it can be different. But we all wish she would open up to the concept of love a little more." Doctor Wyatt's trying to place the 'we' in Booth's explanation but concludes it might be best to ask for reassurance. "Mainly the Squints and I.", Booth clears out for him. "Alright."
Before Gordon-Gordon can continue his questionnaire, Booth starts talking again to Wyatt's surprise. "I know she's scared of being left alone again and I wish I could make her understand that I'm not going anywhere, like lots of people who are in her life now, but it's very deep. She shouldn't deny herself happiness, she deserves it more than anyone. Unfortunately you can't have happiness without pain, I know that just as well. I like to think that it may be worth it eventually you know. I hope she'll think about it that way once too. Some of us suffer more pain than others, like her, and I admire her strength. It's about time she feels some joy, cause I know she always says she's coping with everything and she can compartmentalize, but I know she does hurt…a lot. I'd do anything to give her that joy." Doctor Wyatt is still wondering where this all came from, but he's very pleased with it.
"Agent Booth, do you love her?" The room stays quiet for a while, Booth not being sure how to answer this question or if he should give an answer in the first place. "Honestly Agent Booth?" Deciding it would be useless to lie, Booth replies quietly, as if no one else is allowed to hear the reply while there's nobody there. "I…I guess I do." Doctor Wyatt nods, trying not to show how happy he is with this progression. "Why haven't you told her this?" Booth's voice volume rises instantly. "You're kidding, right? She'd kick my ass!" His voice softens again then, fear clearly visible in his eyes. "I don't want to lose her, she means too much for me to risk that." It's almost ironic how similar their ideas about this are, Doctor Wyatt thinks. "Why would you lose her?" Booth's staring at something, as if to avoid Doctor Wyatt's gaze and as if he can read his thoughts on that exact spot on the wall. "She doesn't see me that way. And if she ever would, she'd never admit it, not even to herself. And she's right, she shouldn't." This time Gordon-Gordon is a little surprised by Booth's answer. "The fact that you think she doesn't feel the same way is not really the issue, is it? Why do you think she shouldn't admit to those feelings?" Booth tears his eyes off of the wall to look at Doctor Wyatt, but only momentarily. Before speaking up again, he turns his eyes at his lap, bowing his head. "Because she can do much better." Doctor Wyatt already knows that he has to do with two people who seem very confident on the outside but are actually very insecure on the inside sometimes, but he didn't know yet how frightened they both really are to admit to their love. "Why would you say that?" Booth looks up again, exasperation clear in his eyes and voice. "Oh come on! She's brilliant, she could get a much smarter and high placed guy than I'll ever be. Not a former sniper and gambler with a screwed up childhood. She could get anyone she wants!"
"What if you are exactly what she wants?" Booth snorts for just a second. "Then that probably confirms what I said before, she always picks losers." Doctor Wyatt realizes this is Booth's real issue.
"Do you think that's how she sees you, as a loser?" Booth shrugs. "A while ago I thought so. She practically called me a loser, because of something Jared said. She apologized later, she said she didn't mean it, that Jared just confused her, but maybe it was the truth all along." Gordon-Gordon knows Booth has to stop thinking that if he ever wants to make this work. "You're scared you won't be enough for her, because you think the world of her. The fact that you think she doesn't want you, is a result of that. But maybe you're precisely what she needs. You two know each other and you understand each other. Her life didn't go over roses either, you can imagine what is was like, not every man can do that."
He gives Booth a few moments to take that all in. "Agent Booth, you know I'm having sessions with Doctor Brennan as well. If you both agree, I'd like to do a session with the two of you together, to talk about these things. I'm having another session with her tomorrow and I'll ask her as well. I don't expect you to answer this now, just think about it, I think it would be a good idea for both of you. That's it for now, you may go."
Just as his partner had done before, Booth just nods and leaves the room without saying another word. On his way out he contemplates everything Doctor Wyatt has said, hardly noticing the sun's warm rays and even though the birds are still singing, no whistling is heard anymore. He's completely engrossed in his thoughts, cause no matter what he tries, they won't let him go, not even for a second.