Secret No More
Chapter 2
Booth finally caught up to her at her car. It always amazed him how fast she could move when she was upset. "Bones, wait!" he called.
She rounded on him with tears in her eyes, "Why didn't you stop him?" she demanded, relieved to have a target for her anger and frustration. "You promised! You told me you'd find a way to convince him to let us stay partners." She knew she wasn't being fair, but she couldn't seem to help herself.
Booth grabbed her arm as she turned to unlock the car door. "I know, babe, and I will. Trust me. I just—I guess after six months I started thinking there was nothing to worry about. I was blindsided."
A pair of tears slipped down her cheeks as her anger vanished, leaving only sadness. "How am I going to do this? I don't know how to do this without you," she said brokenly. "I don't want to do it without you."
Booth's heart broke as she burrowed into his chest, seeking comfort. He laid his cheek on her hair, wrapping his arms around her. "I know, baby. I don't either," he whispered.
Tuesday morning Brennan was finishing another unknown soldier report when Angela popped in. "Hey, Sweetie, how are you doing?" she asked gently. Booth had called her last night to tell her the news and.she had taken it in stride. She wasn't surprised that the secret had come out—to be honest, she was surprised that it had lasted this long. She was relieved that she hadn't had anything to do with the reveal.
Brennan glanced at her, frowning at the unwanted sympathy on her friend's face. "Fine. Is Zach here yet?" she asked to forestall any pointless discussion of the situation.
Angela suppressed a sigh at Brennan's stubborn refusal to face the problem. "Yeah, he and Hodgins are up on the platform." Brennan had already returned to her report but Angela wasn't done yet. "Bren, if you need someone to talk to—" she began.
"I said I'm fine. We're handling it," she said sharply. She sighed at the hurt look on Angela's face and gentled her tone. "It's okay, Ange, really. We'll come up with a way to deal with it. In time, Cullen will realize that he's made a mistake. In the meantime, I have Booth."
Angela held her gaze for a long moment. "That's right, you do. And don't you forget it." With a sad little smile and a wave she was gone.
A man in a sharp black suit and slicked back blonde hair knocked on her door jam. Brennan took a deep, calming breath. "Come in, Agent Phillips," she said, trying for a congenial tone and failing miserably.
Phillips came in and stopped in front of her desk. "Dr. Brennan, I don't know if you remember me. We met at a crime scene four months ago." He seemed to be having a hard time looking her in the eye, and Brennan felt a flash of sympathy. It was obvious he was uncomfortable with the situation. She decided making it more difficult for him wouldn't be fair.
"I remember," she replied, not exactly friendly, but far from the icy tone she wanted to use.
Phillips smiled a little and finally looked her in the eye. "Good. So, you can call me Carl," he offered in an effort to ease tensions.
Brennan shook her head. "Thank you, but I think we should keep it professional. I'll call you Agent Phillips and you can call me Dr. Brennan," she said firmly.
Phillips looked a little hurt at her rebuff. "As you wish. Are you available to go to a crime scene?" he asked politely.
"Sure," she replied, grabbing her kit and her jacket. She thought with longing about the brisk way Booth used to 'kidnap' her when they had a case. "You can fill me in on the way."
The crime scene was in a dank alley in a poor section of town. A city crew cleaning up some trash had found the body under a bunch of debris. Brennan ducked under the yellow tape and crouched by the remains, taking in the immediate area and the overall condition of the body. Gloving up, she pulled out an evidence bag out and began.
"Victim appears to be between sixteen and twenty-five years old. I'm guessing he's been dead at least three weeks…" she trailed off, looking over her shoulder. Where's Phillips? she wondered irritably. Finally she spotted him questioning one of the city workers, notepad and pen in hand. 'I guess hovering is just a Booth habit, either that or Phillips was absent the day they taught that.'
"Agent Phillips, would you please come here?" she called. He gave her a distracted glance, said something to the guy he was talking to, then came over to her.
"Yes, Dr. Brennan?" he asked, studiously avoiding looking directly at the body. His face was pale and she hoped if he was going to be ill, he would do it away from her crime scene.
"Don't you need to take notes on my preliminary findings?" she asked patiently. 'It's his first day, Brennan. Give him a chance,' she told herself, trying to stay calm.
"Uh, yes, I suppose so. What do you have so far?" he asked, keeping his gaze locked on her.
She repeated everything she had said before and waited expectantly. When he didn't ask the usual 'so how did he die?' question Booth always did, she turned back to the body, disappointed. 'Maybe he was absent when they taught that too,' she thought dispiritedly.
Driving back to the Jeffersonian several hours later, Brennan was uncharacteristically silent. She missed the discussions she and Booth used to have after leaving the crime scene. Okay, so Booth would call it bickering, but she'd always enjoyed the challenge of their verbal sparring. She glanced over at Phillips, who drove with both hands on the wheel and a look of intense concentration on his face. She wondered what he'd do if she turned on the radio. A smile quirked her lips. Probably nothing. She sensed he was somewhat intimidated by her. She could probably call the shots, as Booth would say, in nearly every situation and he wouldn't argue. She suppressed a sigh of boredom.
Brennan dropped her purse and keys on the table inside her front door and smiled. There was a heavenly smell emanating from the kitchen and 'Hotel California' was playing on the sound system. She found him in the kitchen, pulling stuff out of the fridge. He was wearing a pair of gray sweats and an old black T-shirt and she thought he was the best thing she'd seen all day.
"Honey, I'm home," she sing-songed teasingly, unable to suppress a smile of pure joy.
He straightened and put the peppers down, grabbing her up into his arms. Brennan couldn't stop smiling as she savored the thrill of being held by him. She'd really missed him today. He trailed kisses up her neck and finally found her lips and kissed her thoroughly, until they were both breathless.
"Wow, I guess you missed me too," she said in her sexy, husky voice.
Booth couldn't stop grinning at her. "Sure did." He dropped another kiss on her lips. "How was your day?" he asked softly as his eyes drank her in like he hadn't seen her in weeks.
She sighed. "It was okay. I missed you," she admitted, kissing him softly.
He smiled, pleased. She missed him! Even better, she had admitted it. His heart felt lighter than it had all day. "God, what a boring day! Cullen put me with Adams. Nice guy, but not much personality." Squeezing her tight one last time, he let her go and picked up the bell peppers and turned to the cutting board. "Did Phillips bring you a case?" he asked as he started chopping. Brennan came to lean against the counter next to him, the need to be near him nearly overwhelming. She snitched a piece of bell pepper and munched on it.
"Yes, it was a body found in an alley under a big pile of debris. A young man, probably murdered and dumped there." She paused thoughtfully. "How long has Phillips been with the Bureau?" she asked casually.
Booth lifted a shoulder. "Almost as long as I have. Why?'
"Nothing. We probably just need to get used to each other." She tried to shrug it off.
Booth glanced at her. "What do you mean?" he asked, ready to get mad if Phillips had done anything wrong.
"He was just so—different. He didn't hover like you do and I had to remind him to take notes. And he drives like an old lady," she finished disparagingly.
Booth smiled. "So you like my hovering?" he asked teasingly.
Brennan rolled her eyes and opened a cupboard to get a glass. "I guess I got used to it," she admitted, pouring herself some orange juice from the fridge. "At least I always knew you were interested in what I was doing. He gave me the impression that he really didn't want to be there." Finishing the juice, she rinsed the glass and left it by the sink.
"Of course I was interested. It was my case too. Phillips just doesn't realize how important working as a team is." He added the chopped peppers to the pan simmering on the stove and stirred the contents.
Brennan smiled and came up behind him, sliding her arms around his waist and laying her head on his back. "Neither did you when we first met," she reminded him gently. Putting down the spoon, he turned in her arms to look down into her sparkling eyes.
"I learned soon enough," he said with a cocky grin. Looking up into his dear, handsome face, a lump came to her throat. She loved him so much. He saw the sheen of tears in her eyes and reached up to stroke her soft cheek. "Hey, it's gonna be okay," he said softly.
Blinking back the tears, she smiled. "I know. I'm so glad you're here," she confessed.
He kissed her again. "Me too. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."