Best Laid Plans of Agents and Anthropologists Chapter 2, a bones fanfic

The Best Laid Plans of Agents and Anthropologists

By LizD

Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you all for you vote of support and confidence. And look at what an international group you all are: USofA, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, Aruba, Brazil, Philippines, Netherlands, Poland, India, Ireland, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, Argentina, Russian Federation, Hong Kong, Belgium, Singapore, Sweden, South Africa, Hungary, Virgin Islands, Uruguay, Kenya, Greece, Finland, China, Switzerland, Israel, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Panama, Maldives, and Qtar. There is even a place listed as "Satellite Provider" - is that off the planet, do you think? Very impressive to know that Bones and FanFixtion is a global constant. Here's hoping that this will be an interesting ride for all of us. As always comments are encouraged.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

January 2011

Booth watched as the boat eased into the slip at the dock. He watched her handling the boat, working the ropes, dealing with the clients. She had mastered it all. She was tan and tone – thinner, leaner, stronger. Her hair was lighter, longer and pulled back off her face. She had definitely lost weight, but more than that she seemed to glow. He didn't allow himself to think it consciously, but she was more beautiful than he remembered. Or maybe she had changed – maybe she actually was more beautiful. She jumped down onto the dock and greeted Sully with a bright happy smile and a kiss. Had she ever looked at him that way? Maybe that wasn't Brennan. Maybe that wasn't the person who invaded his thoughts, his dreams, his past. Maybe that wasn't the person he saw in his future. Maybe that wasn't the woman he had been searching for for three days and nights from the jungles of Maluku to the Caribbean. But it was. It was Dr. Temperance Brennan - as per usual she was oblivious to the danger she was in, oblivious to the consequences of her actions, oblivious to him. He was standing less than five feet from her and she had no idea. Oblivious. Had she thought about him once since they went their separate ways? Was Maluku just a lie to get away from him? Was this the plan all along? Fear and relief were replaced with anger and something else ... something he could not name. Check it! he told himself. It didn't matter what his feelings were - it never did. There was a job to do.

"I've got her," Booth said into his phone. Their eyes met. In all the time they had been apart, in all the ways he had imagined their next meeting, never had he suspected that he would find her in the arms of another man, much less Sully. He imagined tentative. He imagined overjoyed. He imagined normal, as if no time had passed. He imagined the super slow-mo run with arms outstretched with the music, the sunset and the kiss. He had imagined the hero save;swooping in at the last moment to save her life and being rewarded for his efforts. He had imagined that one more than once. He had fantasized about it just hours before. Fool! Idiot! Sucker! Check It! "We'll be back on the next plane." He snapped his phone shut.

"Booth?" Her voice was the same. It was unmistakable, unshakable, undeniable. It had rung in his ears from the moment they had parted. Don't be a hero. Don't be you.

"Get your stuff ... we need to get back to DC," he barked stuffing his feelings down again. That was familiar. How often had he hidden what he was feeling or thinking from her? How easy it was to do with her because she didn't want to know. She knew that he would kill for her; that he would die for her. But she didn't want to know that he would change his life for her in ways more profound than life and death. She didn't want to know. She didn't want him. To be with him would require change and he clearly wasn't worthy of change - Sully was - at least that was Booth's impression.

"Nice to see you too," she said sarcastically. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, you are ... Taffet is out." He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that. He regretted it as soon as he did. It was clear that the information hit her like a baseball bat in the solar plexus. He had known what Taffet had cost her; how that lunatic had affected her. Forced her to rethink her life, leave her friends, end her partnership with him. He never should have dragged her into that life. Of course she had to get away from the Taffets of the world. How could he be so callous, so cold, so mean? Check It! He needed to remember that it wasn't her fault that she left. It was his.

"Out?" she asked.

"Out ... as in escaped. You would know that if ..." The near debilitating fear he had been living with for the past five days was full on him again. He had fought with himself and everyone around him to believe that Taffet hadn't gotten to Brennan though the possibility was very real. It terrified him. This time Taffet wouldn't be making the phone call. This time there would be no demand for ransom or follow up call with coordinates. This time there would only be death - worse than death there would be silence as no clue would be left as to where Taffet had taken her victim. Brennan. She could have been beyond his reach. She could have been unsavable – rather than on an island with a lover for the past eight months. Check EGO! "She is out and looking for payback," he said as calmly as he could. They had to stop her and they had to do it together - it didn't matter that his heart had just been ripped out of his chest and stepped on. She was alive and safe and he would do everything in his power to keep her that way. "So get your stuff, we are headed back to D.C. Chop! Chop!"

"Booth," she started to protest.

"Tempe," Sully interjected. "Booth is right. If Taffet is out, you need to be someplace where you can be protected. If Taffet is out looking for you or any of your crew, you need to help find her and put her back where she belongs."

"Ok." Brennan nodded. Booth hated that Sully was able to talk to her and get her to change her mind - change her mind about a lot of things apparently. She took the bag that Sully had packed for her and hugged him. "Let's go!" she stated to Booth.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The past eight months had been no vacation on a tropical island for Booth.

By the time the plane had touched down in Afghanistan Booth realized what a mistake he had made - professionally (personally would come later). Yes, they had given him a promotion, but it wasn't to officer status. He was still enlisted and with that came order taking and the inability to affect the planning of a mission. Those were the reasons that had prompted him to leave the last time. Since then Booth had spent too many years making his own rules, exerting his independence, stepping outside the box to get the job done to go back to being a 'yes sir' soldier. He was too old and had spent too much time in the world for his experience and opinion not to matter. The first moment that hit home was when he returned to base after seeing Brennan off. The way his commanding officer came down on him he would have thought he had undermined the entire war effort. Booth found it very difficult to keep from blurting out one of a hundred arguments. The second time the message was driven home was when he started training his men and deviated from the standard military issue format. He was confined to his quarters for a month following the discussion (read: insubordinate remarks) he had with his CO about the use of forensic science and proper interview techniques in getting the job done. Apparently they didn't ask him back for his expertise, they just needed another body to fill a billet.

"You are in the Army now BOOTH … you are not an FBI Agent with $1500 suits and a pretty partner to do all your work for you." Apparently Booth and his partnership with Brennan had gotten his CO's attention and not in a good way. "I realize that this is just a little year-long field trip for you to feel good about yourself again – but this is war. And not the kind of war you are used to. You won't be sitting on a hill top with a long range rifle waiting to take your shot. This is the real deal. This is life and death - every minute of every day. This is about duty, honor, service to your country and saving the ass of the guy next to you. There will be order and discipline or people will die. You might be one of those people."

So his CO didn't think much of him. Everyone else seemed to liked him but showed it with over the top Booth/Brennan Razzing. His peers called him Agent Andy. The soldiers he was training often slipped in questions about the sex in the books. Every time he mentioned anything about forensic science, there were hoots and hollers and all kinds of "bones" comments that were less than appropriate. Of course there was only a couple of guys who had actually read the books (probably only one) but that was enough to get all of them talking. That was the least of Booth's problems.

First and foremost - war was hell. It may be an old sentiment - old as war itself, but as true in 2010 as it was when time began. War was hell. The death. The dying. The killing. The maiming. The blood. The pain. The loss. The hyper-vigilance. The paranoia. The anger. The fear. The control. The chaos. The inaction. The pre-action. The action. The after action. The noise: booms, pops, thuds, moans, cries, shouts, silence. The dirt. The heat. The cold. The exhaustion. The hunger. The lack of privacy. The isolation. The homesickness. The camaraderie. The benevolence. The humanity. The brutality. The vengeance. The mercy. The reality. The surreality. The power. The powerlessness. War was hell.

Booth had been to war before. He knew about it. He hadn't forgotten - not for a day, not for a moment. He thought he knew what he was signing up for this time - but apparently his memory had softened the experience at least around the edges. He was older now. He was supposed to be wiser. He wanted to keep his head back home – the justice, the humanity, the relative safety, but there was no way to do that and survive in a war zone. He knew about that too. He had to survive. He had to help others survive. He had to get home and help others get home. In order to do that, he had to be there - he had to be fully present in the moment and focus. That meant leaving home behind.

The soldiers he was training were bright and dedicated even if they had seen too much of this war. What right did he have to teach them anything? Most of the soldiers had been there for two tours already. They had lived the horror and survived so far. What did Booth have to teach them? The real answer was that he had a lot to share. He could help them refocus and stay alive. He could help them get home even though home would never be the same - the war would never leave them. He knew about that too but maybe it would soften around the edges in time.

Booth's private battle came during the wee hours of each morning. It was never quiet, but that was the stillest time and allowed him to think, think too much. Communication with the people back home (or in the jungles of Indonesia) was all but cut off. He was able to speak with Parker less than once a week. He had gotten one email from Brennan, but that was it. He hadn't expected her to write at all. It was an unstated understanding between them. Trying to communicate would be harder to take than the silence. What could she say, what would he? Was there anything that would help the time and separation OK? No. They had said their good-byes and would see each other in twelve months – however that turned out. They had no obligations. They were both free. There was no guarantee (only a promise) that they would meet in the allotted time. There was no guarantee that either one would make it home or pick up where they left off. But Booth had a plan. He expected they would make it home. He expected that they would renew their partnership and with some luck, patience and a single minded effort a lot more.

Long about September – October, Booth met an old colleague, Margaret "Maggie" Walker. He had known her in DC about seven or eight years prior. She was FBI then. They dated on and off for about six months before she left DC and ultimately the bureau. They weren't serious but they had fun. She was working DCIS (Defense Criminal Investigative Service) and was a civilian consultant tasked to Afghanistan to aid in tracking terrorists. She had been there over a year and was headed home in two months. Since last they saw each other she had been married and divorced. She was actually married to her work – just like Booth. It was why they got along so well back then, and why it never went further. She held a rank equivalent to a colonel and Booth was considered enlisted, but they pushed the limit of the CO's tolerance – keeping any liaison between them on the down low.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

At first Maggie was just nice to talk to; like a friendly face in a hostile environment. But after a little while it got to be more. It wasn't love, it was two people finding comfort a long way from home. The best part for Booth was that he could be totally honest with her more than he had ever allowed for himself.

"So why did you reenlist?"she asked him one night.

"Request from the Secretary of Defense," he said casually.

"Wasn't the first one of those you have gotten, so why accept this time?"

"They sent somebody to see me ... recruit me ... old friend ... sort of."

"If you don't want to talk about it, just say so," she challenged him. Booth pondered an answer. "It is about a girl," she told him. "It is always about a girl. Parker's mother?"

"No," Booth answered slowly.

"Then your scientist partner." Booth gave her a look. "Come on Booth ... I know you ... you don't work with women you don't want to sleep with."

"Is that really how you see me?"

"You wouldn't have taken her on as a partner if she weren't ... yah know ... doable." He was annoyed but only mildly so. "It's not a character flaw, Booth. It is just how you are. You respect women, sure. You're not a misogynist or anything."

"I like women ... most of them."

"But let's face it ... you like to mix business with pleasure."

"Bones is different."

"Aren't they all?"

"Bones is special ... a damn genius." He laughed. "Smartest person I have ever known."

"And pretty?"

"Possibly the most beautiful woman I have ever met in real life." He shot a look at Maggie. "Present company excluded."

"Of course," she laughed. "And I bet three days dust and these fatigues really do it for you."

"I am a man of many tastes." He leaned in to kiss her.

"Yes you are." She pushed him away. "Don't change the subject. So she is smart and beautiful, but what .. five years to too much for you ... time to move on?"

"She left first."

"Right ... so instead of staying put and moving on, you went to a war zone to what? Do your duty?"

"Seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"Hey, don't get me wrong. I am glad you are here. Felt like I was spitting in the wind with these guys, but having two of us echoing the same message, something might get through."

"Maybe."

"So about this partner slash lover."

"Nope," he said ruefully. "Partners only."

"Losing your touch there, Booth."

"As I said Bones was ... is special."

"Special ... as in Special Class? Special Bus?" Booth made a face that said he would neither confirm nor deny her assertions. "So ... what ... Idiot Savant?"

"No ... full on Genius ... and apparently no issue with sex."

"A lesbian?"

"No ... but," he grinned slyly and scanned Maggie up and down letting his tongue slide over his lips. "Interesting idea though."

"Puhlease." She slapped at him. "Not interested ... I need something hard between the sheets."

"I remember that about you."

"Stop changing the subject." A realization washed over her. "OH MY GOD ... you fell in love? Sucker. You should know better by now. We are not the marrying kind."

"Yeah well ..."

"Was it love at first sight or was it something that you got sucked into like quicksand?"

Booth shook his head. "Little of both, I guess."

"So?"

"So ... she wasn't interested."

"Did you ask?"

"Yeah," he hedged.

"Did you ask?" she repeated.

"Sort of ... yeah ... I mean ... not in so many words. Close enough. She knew what I meant."

"You really are losing your touch."

"You have to go slow with Bones. She had a pretty rough time of it as a kid and figured out a way to live in the world that didn't include trusting people."

"Join the damn club ... we meet on the second Thursday of every month." She shook her head. "So she trusted you ... as a partner ... and you couldn't figure out how to bridge the divide."

"I think she would have eventually ... but the job got to her. She wasn't cut out for that kind of life."

"Temperance Brennan? Dr. Temperance Brennan was not cut out for death and destruction? Are you kidding?"

"What do you know about her?"

"I Googled her, brother," she stated like it was a dumb question. "Before you and she ever hooked up ... Anthropologist. Identified bodies of genocide in parts of the world that are too dangerous for me to go. Even before she met you, she was digging up bones and dealing with all kinds of mayhem. And those books, please ... only read one or two ... but she knows about the sick and twisted mind of murders. And she taught me a thing or two about sex, I am not ashamed to say." Booth shook his head. "Tell me you are not Agent Andy."

"Nope ... well at least not that part."

"Well whoever he is, I'd like to meet him."

Booth got a faraway look in his eyes. "The job got to her." He was responsible for that.

"The Gravedigger?" Maggie asked. "Please! Boy they say men are stupid, but you really are dense."

"How do you know about the Gravedigger?"

"The internet is a powerful tool, son ... Need to learn how to use it."

"She was having nightmares."

"Look I don't know this bitch, and I will probably never get to meet her."

"Really would prefer you don't call my partner a bitch," Booth scolded.

"Term of endearment, Boothy-boy. But she was doing that kind of work long before she meet you."

"In a lab."

"I don't call Guatemala a lab ... cesspool maybe ... at least the part she was in. I don't know what you think you know, but I haven't laid eyes on her and I can tell she left because of you."

"Don't think so."

"Think so ... think you cracked that shell and she got scared and ran ... and you, you big dumb idiot, let her."

"You don't tell Bones what to do."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself to help you sleep at night, Booth."

Maggie's words hit home - not that Booth would let on. It was pretty much the only time they talked about Brennan. The rest of their time together was spend working the mission, talking strategies and occasionally finding some solitude. The conversation was safe and easy. She was a friend with benefits but that was all Booth needed. God knows, Maggie needed it. It wasn't romantic. It wasn't picnics and handholding. On the handful of times they could, the sex was raw, dirty, quick and barely satisfying. If they were back in the states rather than in a war zone, Booth could see it being a really good companionship. Not love and marriage, but two lonely people asking just enough of the other to take the edge off the loneliness.

December came and Maggie when home. Was going to be a long six months without her and it gave Booth more time to think.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

January 2011

Booth had just come back from a six day mission that was not the by the book scenario that was promised. (When was it ever?) Before he had a chance to put down his gear or grab some chow, he was called to his CO's office. That was never a good sign.

"Booth ... phone call from the states."

Booth was confused and before the panic could set in, he took the phone. Naturally his CO didn't leave. "Booth," he said.

"Booth? Jesus - God!" It was Maggie Walker. "You need to get back here to DC. There is a transport waiting for you. Two MPs will be coming with you. I cleared it down the chain of command. Go! We can talk when you get here." She wasn't making any sense. Booth demanded some answers. "The Gravedigger ... Heather Taffet, she escaped. Yesterday."

"How are you involved with this?"

"Temp assignment to the FBI to work this case. You can thank me later, get your ass on that transport." Booth needed a little more prompting. It was so out of the blue. "We found something in her cell, Booth. It's bad Booth. "Your people are in danger. Hell you are in danger, but that seems redundant. "

"My people?"

"Anyone who worked the case with you."

"Brennan?"

"No."

"No?" It was time to panic.

"No ... I don't know where she is. Not on Maluku, not for months. I got some people working on it."

"Where the hell is she?"

"Get on that transport, Booth. Maybe I will have something by time you get back."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Maggie did seem to have taken all the necessary precautions and had been working on where Brennan was. Booth was brought up to speed, but couldn't deal with Taffet until he found Brennan. Because no one had seen her in that length of time, Booth chose to believe that Taffet hadn't gotten to her. On the other hand, Taffet appeared to be the only one looking for her. It took some doing but he found that she had left Maluku less than two weeks after she arrived but according her accountant, hadn't been back to DC or in contact with him. That was where Booth started. It took some doing and a court order, but he got her financial records and found that the last thing she charged was a plane ticket to Florida. Then nothing. He finally found a K Reichs on a hopper to one of the Caribbean Islands. Then one phone call to one official netted him the answer he was looking for - Brennan was there.

He arrived in the morning, found her bungalow and was told she was out on a charter. It wasn't until that moment that Sully entered his conscious mind. It had been back there since the moment he discovered the Florida flight. He found him down the beach from Brennan's bungalow.

"Booth?" Sully said easily. "Was wondering when you were going to drop by. Thought you were fighting a war or some such."

"Where is she?" Booth demanded surprised by how angry he was getting.

"I'm fine ... fine ... you?" Sully teased.

"I don't care why she is here ... or what is going on ... I need to find her?"

"She'll be back in a few hours ... sunrise charter around the island." Sully realized that Booth was not jealous, he was scared and mad. "What is going on, Booth?"

"Heather Taffet escaped."

"Taffet? The Gravedigger." Booth nodded. "And you think she is coming after Tempe."

"There is compelling evidence."

"So what is the plan?"

"I need to get her back to DC - protective custody," he tried to sound like it was all business. "Then we need to find Taffet and put her back where she belongs."

"Or kill her trying."

"Whatever works."

"I'll call her back," Sully said. Booth was tired of waiting, but at least Sully seemed to be sure that she was fine a few hours previous. Booth didn't recognize her voice on the radio. There was a lot of static, but he would have thought he would be able to pick her voice out of a crowd of a million. "We can meet her at the dock in an hour."

"Fine." Booth started to walk away.

"Booth," Sully called him back. "Whatever you are thinking about this ... don't."

"Thinking about what this?" he feigned disinterest.

Sully couldn't tell Booth what he believed since it was based on some information that Tempe had given him in confidence. "Give her a chance to explain and go easy when you break it to her about Taffet, OK?"

"I have known Brennan longer and better than you have ... in spite of whatever they hell is going on here."

"See, Booth ... that's what I mean. Don't jump to conclusions."

Booth blew him off. He would be damned if he was going to take advice about his partner from her lover. Soon he could focus on what was important - finding Taffet.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Forty-Five Minutes Later

"I've got her," Booth said to Maggie Walker. "We'll be back on the next plane." He snapped his phone shut.

"Booth?" She was more surprised than anything.

"Get your stuff ... we need to get back to DC," he barked.

"Nice to see you too. I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, you are ... Taffet is out."

"Out?" Brennan's voice was weak and strained.

"Out ... as in escaped ... you would know that if - She is out and looking for payback. So get your stuff, we are headed back to D.C. Chop! Chop!"

"Booth," Brennan protested.

"Ok. Let's go!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Ok ... so now we know how they each got to that dock on some Caribbean Island eight months after they said their goodbyes. Anyone still interested in what comes next?