Disclaimer: Not mine. Taken from the events and transcript of episode 'Two Bodies in the Lab' season 1 ep 15.
Author Notes: I have recently fallen in love with this show. I'm currently only up to the second episode of season 2 so I have a long way to go (not complaining!) My guess is that this kind of story has been done before, but thank you for taking the time to try mine!
I did a little anthropological research for the 'interrogation' scene, trying to put Bones' training into her views on the way Booth and David interact. I was hoping for something along the lines of the way animals fight for a mate, but more Brennan in style. Instead I read a lot more than I expected about remote tribal life and was pretty horrified by some of the things. Although most of it wasn't right for this story, I was too sickened to use any of it. Let me just say that in some places, jealousy causes more than just tension and heartbreak.
Thanks: Go out to SnowyBones for the reviews. Thanks too for the follows and favourite listings and to all those I can see having a look (and hopefully reading!). I'm feeling very new to these characters in every sense so please let me know how I'm doing!
Rating: T - Mainly for description of crime scenes and the occasional mild bad word. Romance the rest of the way, I promise!
Connected To You.
By Rianne
Chapter Three
She followed Booth with arms stiffly crossed, out of the Jeffersonian and into his SUV.
Her frown was as ridged as her arms.
At the last minute she had realised that in taking off her Lab coat she was not only freezing, but also revealing the slash in her jacket that the bullet had made.
She liked this jacket too. Another item of clothing lost to the job.
It was still dark out and if she was honest she could not be completely sure that the shivers she felt weren't some delayed residual reaction to the shooting.
She didn't respond, when Booth reached over and turned a dial on the dash, turning up the heat.
She was too annoyed to thank him.
And too annoyed that he had noticed her discomfort.
Nothing was secret with him.
Nothing private.
He noticed everything.
Instead she glared out of the window as if being in the vehicle with him was the very last place on earth she wanted to be.
When instead the last place was probably in an interrogation room with an irate Booth the first time she met a potential date, she realised a few moments later when she was escorted inside the FBI headquarters and towards the back of the building.
The very last place on earth she wanted to be.
She had dated enough to know that all the standard awkward first moments of a date should be as private as they could be. No one wanted to be observed in those initial nervous, niggling, self-conscious moments. Especially by someone who was a colleague and maybe a friend.
Friends and colleagues were supposed to be introduced to people you were dating after you had started seeing them! When you had taken the time to get to know said date and were able to give both parties notice and time to prepare.
Although Booth had never really shown any courtesy in that area of their lives.
The remembrance of the night she met Tessa came to her as the perfect example.
She had arrived at Booth's apartment with a file, and if she admitted it to herself a little bit of encouragement from Angela. She could still recall the surprise she felt when her friend had intoned, I think he likes you. She could also remember the uncertainty of being sideswiped into fumbling, by the fact Booth opened the door barely dressed, bare chested, with his hair dishevelled, and was closely followed by his tall, leggy Blonde girlfriend, who was dressed only in expensive underwear and one of Booth's shirts! A girlfriend he had never actually mentioned in all the weeks that they had been working together!
She had managed to cover her surprise somehow.
And to stamp down on something that had fluttered up inside her and had felt suspiciously like hurt.
She had made a point of asking him about Tessa later, admitting that she was wrong to have assumed that due to his consuming passion for his job, that he would have no time left in his life to be in a relationship, and therefore he would be single. He had not been impressed to hear her theory that his alpha male attributes were usually associated with a solitary existence.
It had occurred to her later, in a way that she could not deny, especially after Angela's reaction to her retelling of the story, that something was amiss. In an odd way the encounter had started her considering the amount of importance she held in Booth's life. As she knew nothing about his girlfriend, but the girlfriend had heard a lot about a Dr. Temperance Brennan.
That had made her feel smug for a moment, but only a moment. Then it brought confusion.
And a little bit of anger too as she remembered him saying, 'Temperance, partners they, share things, builds trust.'
Clearly he had double standards.
As they approached the interrogation room door she straightened, realigning herself in the present.
It was her fault that David was in this position, and she felt the need to put a good face on it. The David she had conversed with online and on the phone had sounded so very nice and he deserved her apologies, her respect and her best self.
She secured her smile in place, feeling awkward, as Booth opened the door to the interrogation room for her.
He was handsome.
That was her first thought; which was a good thought.
He stood to greet her.
Tall. That was good too.
Called her Temperance.
And smiled.
Good firm handshake.
Warm fingers.
Looked her in the eye.
"Someone shot at you?" David murmured, real concern in his voice and his expression.
Looking at her like he could not believe something like this happened in her life.
She hoped that wasn't going to be a negative mark against her.
"Yeah," she murmured as casually as she could.
"Oh my God!"
She reached out as he spoke, and self-consciously brushed against the hole in her jacket that had caused him to stare.
Just as Booth had done, the actions eerily similar, but David wasn't looking at her with eyes filled with guilt.
Booth blamed himself every time something unfortunate happened to her and really, statistically, that could not possibly be correct.
What was she doing comparing David to Booth?
She gave herself a small shake.
Angela would have a field day.
"I know." She admitted, keeping her eyes on David, it helped to pretend that Booth wasn't in the room.
"What can I do?" David asked her, with genuine sincerity.
There was nothing she could think of, but it was very kind of him to offer.
He had kind eyes.
The dark shadow of Booth's charcoal suit broke into her view of them as Booth purposely stepped in front of her.
Literally, stepped in front of her, blocking her from David.
"Excuse me, I'm special Agent Seeley Booth. I'll be asking the questions. You want to sit down?"
Oh, Booth!
She knew her partner was only worried about her safety, but she had serious doubts that this was necessary. Especially the tone he was currently using.
"Sure, I mean I didn't see anything." David said, taking Booth seriously enough, probably out of respect for her. She did not like that David was now forced to look up at Booth as the FBI Agent loomed over him, but the banker took it in his stride. "When I got to the restaurant I saw the cops but I had no idea that it had to do with you."
Guilt made her press her lips into a line.
She would need to apologise for not calling David sooner.
If Booth would ever let her get near David again.
"You're an investment banker, good looking guy but yet you find your women online."
Whoah! Hold on a minute!
That was another line crossed. Booth's third tonight.
"Excuse me?" David spluttered.
"Can't you find any women at work?" Booth persevered, acting like he was ferreting out actual clues.
What had David and inner office relationships got to do with someone shooting at her?
Booth couldn't possibly be following the avenue of a jealous lover/ex-lover of David's having intentions to shoot her, not when they were working a murder linked to the Mob!
She pondered the theory bemused, knowing from Angela and her own experience with Michael that many relationships did begin at work, her friend's favourite ploy to encourage her in a pursuit of Booth was along those lines, but she also knew that a lot of people wanted to look in other places for companionship. For someone who did not know everything about them already, who would not ruin professional standing over a few misbegotten moments.
But before she could challenge Booth's question David spoke up, looking at her intently, "Well she was online too and she's a great looking doctor."
It seemed David could hold his own.
Impressive.
"Your picture doesn't do you justice by the way."
That brought a blush of heat to her cheeks and a ghost of a smile to her lips and deserved a return of compliment.
"Thank you. Yours either. The resolution must not be very good online."
She moved around the table, and ignoring the seething Booth took a seat beside David.
She had a sneaking suspicion that it would rile Booth no end, and look like she was taking David's side, but it felt right to be sitting beside the calm and rational grownup in the room.
Someone who didn't purposely try her patience.
"Bones!" Booth growled out, and she knew he was annoyed at her choice of seat and not at her diversion from the questioning at hand.
"Oh he's a Luddite." She told David, again attempting to soften Booth's approach and perhaps rile him at the same time.
"Hey!" Booth cried.
Gotcha!
She turned to Booth, "That's someone who's afraid of technology." She told him in her most un-condescending tone.
"I know what a Luddite is." Booth growled out. Aiming his words and his glare at David.
"So you're saying that you were stuck in traffic?" Booth asked him with a growing tendency towards disbelief in his voice.
"What? You think I shot at her?" David's calm reserve of patience was growing low and exasperation was tightening his features.
Very nice features actually, a touch of Roman, strong jaw, and defined nose, high forehead.
"I'm a fundraiser for the Brady campaign against gun violence." David told Booth, annoyance at this interrogation clearly beginning to get to him.
She knew that about him, his charity work, she should have told Booth that, but the thought had not come to her.
"Do you think I tried to kill you?"
David's attention had swung back to her and his incredulous expression made a guilty disturbance churn inside her.
"He has to do this." She heard herself say.
Standing up for Booth, even when he was behaving like this.
But she knew she wasn't going soft, she knew just how scared Booth had been as he had rushed to the scene of the shooting.
The expression of fear in his eyes clear in her mind even now and still flickering there every so often when he looked at her, despite the fight they were currently embroiled in.
That did not excuse the fact that she had seen him interrogate hardened criminals with more respect than he was currently showing David.
"Yeah I have to do this," Booth barrelled forward, almost sounding like he was trying to convince himself, "so what time did you leave work?"
"About six forty-five." David told him.
"Any witnesses?" Booth pressed on.
"Yeah, yeah, my assistant; Margaret Jenson, the client I was with, the valet that saw me pull out of the parking garage." David reeled off, "I mean unless they are all suspects too."
There was a flicker of temper in David's words towards the end, and she saw Booth catch it too.
"We'll be talking to everyone." Booth replied.
She had to wonder about that. It was borderline wasteful to use FBI resources to question those people.
"Well did you check the traffic report?" David's brows raised in question. "It was a mess."
The Beltway was always a mess.
"He did." She told David as softly as she could.
Before realising that she didn't know that for sure.
She turned to Booth, "You did."
"Do I have to get an attorney?"
The residual surprise in David's voice had hardened into a tone she imagined he used to broker banking deals.
"Just stay close in case we need you for anything else." Booth damn near threatened. Brows dipping to stress his insistence.
Oh, she'd be lucky if she ever heard from this guy again.
If she hadn't been trying to keep a good face through all this she would have been head in hands at this train wreck.
"Yeah, sure. I mean anything I can do to help." David told Booth, which made her smile as he stood; clearly agreeing that now was the time for him to be leaving.
She stood too, with the intention of grabbing just a few minutes of privacy with him and the chance to apologise, but they had barely made it a few steps before Booth cut in with, "So this whole online thing, how long does it last, because if it's just a way to," he whistled "hook up. I gotta tell you. It's pretty low."
She wanted to kick him, instead she glared so hard he should have burst into flames.
That was it, the very last straw!
How many times was she going to let him cross the line like that and get away with it?!
"You know one of my partners met his wife online."
David, the voice of reason shattered the tension and brought calm with just a few words.
"You're kidding?" She asked him, masking the uncertainty she felt in realising that marriage might be what David was looking for, with a voice she didn't quite recognise as her own, clearly choosing to side with rational this time.
She ignored Booth with her entire being.
"No, they've been married for five years." David confirmed.
"Doesn't mean it's not creepy." Booth jibed.
Both she and David turned to Booth in disbelief.
He was leaning against the edge of the table. Arms crossed in a huff.
But she did not take the bait.
"Okay, I'm sorry." David said on an exasperated sigh, waving his hands at the sudden tension between her and Booth.
"Did I miss something? 'Cause I don't want to get in the way between you two…"
"What?" she said in guilty surprise.
At the exact same moment Booth declared, "Oh no," and shook his head so vehemently she should really be offended.
"No," she reinforced and Booth turned away.
She could hear him murmuring, "No, God!"
"Then, maybe we could reschedule dinner?" David asked her, a little more hesitant, but ploughing ahead.
"No!" came the surprise, and possible slip of the tongue from Booth.
Just as she replied in the affirmative.
"Sure."
"Great," David confirmed.
He was smiling again and she found she was actually looking forward to going on a date with him, especially considering he was still interested in her, even after the last few minutes.
No one had interrogated a date of hers before.
It was an experience she hoped not to repeat.
"You know I think someone needs this room." Booth interrupted, taking hold of David's arm and guiding him towards the exit.
"Yeah, sure," David went with the flow, but his eyes still smiled at her over Booth's shoulder.
"Well, I'll email you," David told her, as Booth tried his best to walk the guy backwards out of the room. "Stay safe."
See, that was sweet.
He was concerned for her, rather than controlling.
"She will stay safe." Booth put in.
She knew what that meant.
Booth would be following her around the Lab again.
She watched David walk away over Booth's shoulder.
"He's nice, don't you think?"
She was asking the wrong person. Where was Angela when she needed her?
"Yeah, he's nice..." Booth's version of nice did not sound like hers, and when he turned on her she realised that it wasn't,
"...as a suspect." He finished.
She could not believe he was still going at this!
She should kick his ass for his behaviour back there.
But now was not the time for violence.
"What?" He asked her.
But she was already working on her way to get him back and she too had a will of iron and enough stubbornness to win.
She knew something now that she hadn't before this whole disaster.
She knew that her dating was a sore spot with Booth.
She had no clue as to why.
Brotherly protection, frustration at his own break–up with Tessa, maybe even a touch of jealousy?
But it was definitely a weakness she could use to get him back.
"Hello?" he intoned, waving a palm across her vision.
She just gleefully ignored him, watching David walk away with what she hoped was a dazed, girlie sort of expression.
It riled him so much he put his arm up to hide David from her view.
Ha!
The smallest of ideas were sometimes the best!
To Be Continued...