Why did Booth have to be so…symmetrical? And why did he have to have such attractive musculature? And why did his face have to be so…. Hot. It was irritating really. Not as annoying as Valerie with her perfect body and her silky hair. But annoying none the less. And why did he have to schedule two dates in one week. The one date was painful enough, she couldn't imagine going through it all over again on Friday. The old Booth would've never done anything like that. But this wasn't the old Booth. Everything was different now. He had shut her out. Sure he was keeping up appearances for work but she'd shut out enough people in her life to recognized the signs. This was her first time on the receiving end of a 'shut out' though, and she found it quite painful. Especially coming from the man who'd broken down her defenses and taught her what it was to trust.
"Booth…" Booth answered his phone as they all walked together back to their cars in the parking garage. "Hey Sadra, what's up?" His voice softened. "Sure. Yeah we could do later. I'll push back the reservations…you like Italian? Great see you tomorrow."
"Who was that?" Cam asked.
"Oh, you didn't know? Booth is actually dating two women now. He went out with a secretary on Wed. and that was apparently the teacher he was speaking to just now. He's taking her out tomorrow. He's becoming quite the Don Juan."
"She's a clerk…" he snapped and then caught himself. "You know what? Let's just focus on the case okay? We need a crime scene squints or we might as well give up right now so get to work." He clapped twice before hopping up into the SUV and driving off without so much as a goodbye. He didn't even ask her to come with. Sure she had driven her own car this morning, but he didn't know that. She got into her car and called him. He could shut her out of his personal life, but he couldn't shut her out of the case.
"Where are you going?" She asked before he could answer.
"Back to the office."
"Aren't we working this case together?"
"Not much we can do without a crime scene Bones."
"We could talk to the family again…"
"About what Bones?" She didn't have an answer. "Just…Get me that crime scene."
"Fine." She snapped and hung up. He was right. They needed more forensic evidence before the case could move forward. She was not being her usual logical self. She was putting her feelings in front of her work. And this wasn't about her. It was about Carla Santori, and she deserved her full attention. And so she threw herself into her work, re-examining their conclusions from every angle. She slept in her office from 1am to 5am and got back to work the second she woke up. When Booth checked in at two that afternoon, she still had nothing new to report. Everything new she'd discovered just seemed to confirm what they already knew. She was killed between 9 and midnight with a folding chair, a brutal attack that left her body battered and broken before the fatal blow was delivered. Sweets said that kind of rage indicated a personal connection to the victim or some sort of mood altering substance or psychosis.
As she poured over reports that evening, she heard a yell from Dr. Hodgins' office. Moments later he appeared with a glossy 8x10 picture of a brown shag carpet.
"I found a synthetic fiber embedded in the wound." He was clearly excited. "It had to have been planted during the murder or post mortem."
"Did it belong to a carpet that looks like this?" She grabbed the picture to get a closer look.
"It did. Now we just need to find an old ugly rug and we've got our crime scene." He grinned.
"That is one of numerous possible conclusions Dr. Hodgins but I do agree that it could lead us to the location of the murder. Perhaps we could narrow it down further?"
"I'm waiting to hear back from the manufacturer, they might be able to tell us who installed that type of carpet in DC and from there we can pinpoint specific locations, hopefully one of those locations will be linked to Carla Santori."
"I'll go show this picture to Booth. Perhaps he has seen something like it during the course of his investigation."
"Isn't he on a date?" Hodgins asked.
"He won't mind. He wanted this information as quickly as possible." She grabbed her coat and headed for Booth's favorite Italian restaurant.
She stopped just outside, watching him smile and laugh with a tall dark haired woman whose face she couldn't see. Booth used to look at her that way. With that look that made her feel like she was the only person in the world. She missed him, but she'd known it would be this way. It was her own fault that he was on this date in the first place. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door. He was facing the entrance so he spotted her the instant she walked into the dimly lit room.
"Bones." He stood up, surprise and concern etched his features. "You okay? Everything okay?" She handed him the picture and managed a half hearted smile and greeting for his date. She was striking. Dark, Hispanic features, high cheekbones, excellent bone structure, warm smile…Her heart sank. This was the type of woman Booth should be with. Beautiful, intelligent, warm, loving.
"Have you seen this carpet in any of the suspect's homes or…anywhere?" She felt awkward and was grateful for Hodgins' impeccably timed phone call. She didn't turn away as she answered her cell.
"They stopped making this carpet in 1972. It was used in residential new construction in the Cleveland Park and Forest Hill neighborhoods." She repeated the neighborhoods to Booth, who was still standing, staring at the picture in his hands.
"Forest Hill…that's the victim's house…I didn't see any carpet like this though….it was all remodeled."
"Perhaps there is some of the old carpet left somewhere on the premises. Thank you Dr. Hodgins." She hung up as Booth apologized to his date. Sadra appeared to be highly irritated by his desertion.
"I'm sorry about your date," she lied as she got into the passengers seat of his car.
"No you're not Bones." He said softly, his eyes fixed firmly on the road in front of them.
"I am Booth. She was quite lovely." She tried to sound sincere but didn't quite manage it.
"You come all the way down here to show me a picture of carpet? You could have sent the picture to my phone." She hadn't thought of that.
"It wouldn't have been recognizable on a small screen in a dimly lit restaurant." She rationalized.
"You couldn't have called first?" He didn't sound annoyed, just deadpan. No emotion whatsoever. It was bizarre. She'd never known him to speak without emotion. He was an emotive person.
"I didn't think you'd answer since you were on a date, and it was important."
"I always answer. When have I not answered?" Okay, so he had a point.
"Look, I'm sorry about your date Booth. I'll call her, I'll explain, I'll apologize."
"You think I don't know what this is Bones? You think I haven't interrupted enough of your dates to know what this is."
"I told you Booth. I came down to show you the photograph to see if you recognized the carpet so that we could identify the murder scene, which YOU requested if you'll recall."
"You came down here because you're jealous Bones." He didn't sound accusatory, didn't get worked up. Just said it, in that hollow emotionless voice that was really starting to creep her out.
"I was not!" She lied again.
"You were to." He shrugged. "I get it Bones. It's just like Megan St. John… this girl who liked me in high school. I wasn't into her at all, but the second she started going out with my buddy Carson, I suddenly wanted her back. I was jealous of something I didn't even want. And that is EXACTLY what is happening here. Only the thing is Bones… it's actually really hard for me to move on. It actually killed me to make those two dates with those women. I felt like I was cheating on you or something. But I did it. I did what you wanted me to do, and you have to pretend like it doesn't bother you. Because it kills me…. It kills me when you look at me like that." God he was incredible. Why did he care about her so much? She wasn't worth it.
"I am so bad for you Booth." She wiped away one of the ever present tears that had haunted her all week.
"You're not Bones. You're perfect for me. You know it and I know it. But if that's not what you want, you have to let me try and find something else."