Chapter 3.
The Meeting Of Swords.
Temperance Brennan loved her job.
That was strange considering it mostly involved dead people.
But the dead didn't bother Brennan. They were no trouble at all.
They didn't talk back to her, they didn't let her down and they didn't play games. She got to discover all their secrets and they didn't complain.
On the whole, Temperance Brennan preferred bones to people.
When it came down to it, you couldn't rely on people to tell you the truth, but at least you could rely on their bones to tell you scientific fact.
Brennan just happened to be gifted at understanding those scientific facts but she had long since given up understanding actual people.
She just wasn't so gifted with them.
Brennan's team had just finished taking the preliminary exam of the crime scene. Everything had been done in the careful and methodical way Brennan liked.
Zach and Hodgins knew better than to question Brennan's decisions. They knew she liked to be in control. She liked people doing things her way.
Brennan didn't see it like that of course. She just knew she was more intelligent than most, which usually meant her way was the best way.
Under her guidance, DNA had been preserved, photographs taken, the scene around the area combed for further evidence and soil and insect samples taken for Hodgins to play with.
The bones at Brennan's feet were safely in evidence bags and ready to be transported to her Medico Bio Legal lab at the museum - when the van got here.
Brennan heard footsteps behind her.
"Is the van ready Zach?" She asked, turning. "The bones are ready to go to the Jeffersonian- Oh, it's you again."
She had turned around and seen, not Zach Addy, but that annoying cop from earlier.
What was his name again?
Booth.
He said nothing for some time, just stared at her.
Brennan began to think he made a habit of such things so she prodded him again, saying slowly, "Your - back - then."
On the return drive to Welding's Park, Booth had been calming down after his rough morning.
The scene he witnessed in front of him and the words he had just heard only made his temper flare again.
"Your taking the body back to the Jeffersonian." He said, through gritted teeth.
It was not really a question and Brennan completely missed his tone.
"Yes. We've just finished the preliminary exam of the crime scene. The bones are ready to go back to my lab."
"And why , may I ask, are they going to your lab?"
Brennan was confused by both his question and his tone, so she stated the obvious. "Because that's where we examine bones."
Booth struggled to remain calm. "I meant as you have only been asked to assist the FBI in this case-"
"So you spoke to Cullen then?" Brennan interrupted, but Booth carried on like she hadn't spoken.
"-these bones will be going back to my lab at the FBI and you can get me my I.D there."
Brennan frowned.
"I don't work for the FBI, Booth isn't it? The Jeffersonian is where I work. We have state-of-the-art equipment and resources that your FBI can't provide. I must say I find your tone very condescending."
'Pot. Kettle. Black.' Booth thought.
He almost said it aloud but remembered Cullen's words and decided a different tactic was needed.
He stepped up beside Brennan and threw an arm around her shoulders.
"Look Lady..." Booth began, he smiled the charm smile, that usually worked so well at getting him his own way. "Brennan-"
"Doctor Brennan." She corrected, eyeing him suspiciously. "I have a doctorate."
"Right. Whatever." Booth shrugged. "Look, all I want is an I.D for the bones. Once you've done that I can take it from there. So just take the bones to the FBI crime lab, do your... er... teeth thing -"
"Teeth thing?" Brennan echoed, offended, but Booth was going on.
"- and then you can go back to your Jefferson place. I'll get on with the case and everyone's happy, deal?"
Brennan's eyes flashed in anger.
"Jeffersonian." She corrected.
"Huh?"
"Jeffersonian not Jefferson." She shrugged off his arm from her around shoulders. "And I'm not here just to get you an I.D! I'm here to help find out what happened to the victim. Something I don't think you care at all about!"
With this, Brennan marched off in disgust.
Booth stood still a moment, startled by her sudden departure.
Then he went after her.
"Hey!" He called out. "Hey!"
"And my name is not 'Hey' " Brennan snapped, unable to stop herself as she whirled around at once. "There are other ways of getting people's attention."
"It worked this time, didn't it?" Booth retorted with a smirk, as he pointedly looked down at her feet, to indicate that she had indeed stopped.
Brennan narrowed her eyes and scowled at him.
"So I am right... you don't care about this case." She accused heatedly. "You only care about being a jackass."
Booth found himself standing alone again as she stomped off for the second time.
"For heaven's sake! Of course I care about the case!"
She didn't answer.
Just carried on walking.
Now Booth was offended.
He caught up to her in a few strides, manoeuvring himself in front of her.
"Hang on a minute. Wait-"
Brennan only made to push past him.
"Listen-" Booth put his hand on her arm in an attempt to stop her.
It worked.
Brennan stopped, but her eyes dropped to his hand and she said dangerously "Get... out... of ...my ...way."
Booth heard the challenge in her tone.
He met her gaze and was taken aback by how furious she looked.
He took a step to the side, so he was no longer in her way.
Brennan started walking again.
"Of course I care about the case." Booth's repeated, quietly, to her retreating back.
"Do you?" Brennan called haughtily, over her shoulder. "You couldn't even arrive on time this morning!"
Booth remembered Parker and his temper grew.
"Now wait a minute! That's none of your business!" He declared, following her. "As soon as I got the call I made very hasty arrangements to get down here!"
Brennan scoffed.
"Why did you bother?"
She stopped to look at him.
"When you arrived you did nothing but... but... sulk about me being here."
"Sulk!-" Booth began, outraged, but Brennan spoke over him, her voice heavy with disgust.
"You didn't even notice the bones at your feet!"
"Of course I noticed the body!" Booth shot back. "I just noticed you first!"
As soon as the words had left his mouth, Booth realised how they sounded.
Brennan stared at him.
"I... I mean..." Booth struggled to explain. "I mean... I noticed you because... I didn't... er... know who you were..."
Booth felt himself going red.
"Look, of course I care about this crime." He added quickly. "I just don't like it when people make plans without telling me first. Like Cullen did with you and now your doing with the remains. Everything goes by me. It's my case. I'm in charge."
Brennan looked at him.
She processed everything he had just said, drew her own meaning from it and came to a conclusion.
Then she nodded in apparent understanding.
"So you have a problem with change." She declared aloud.
Booth stared at her. "Excuse me?"
"You have a problem with change." She stated again, matter-of-factly. ""Anthropologically speaking, in a cultural hierarchy it's natural for you to feel threatened against what could be perceived as a challenge to your status."
"What the hell are you going on about?"
"I'm just saying that as an FBI agent your used to having power over others which would make it difficult to accept change."
Booth was shaking his head and spluttering in reply.
"It does not-"
"It's nothing to be ashamed off."
"I'm not ashamed!-"
"Many people have a problem with change. The phobia's called-"
"The phobia!" Booth spluttered, goggle eyed.
Brennan carried on like he hadn't spoken.
"Metathesiophobia. Your job allows you to exert authority so you would be sensitive to changes that are not implemented by you-"
"I'm not sensitive!" Booth bristled.
"It's natural for you to dislike a change that threatens your authority."
"My authority is not being threatened!"
"The fact I'm here has threatened your authority. As I said..."
Brennan stressed the point.
"You have a problem with change."
Booth's eyes flashed.
"That does it!" He declared angrily.
Now he was the one walking away from her.
"Where are you going?" Brennan asked, bewildered.
"I can't listen to another word of that!" Booth declared, crossly. "I can't work like this!"
Brennan's eyes narrowed.
"And that's my fault?" She retorted hotly. "You're the one who keeps being so sensitive-"
"I told you I'm not sensitive! Stop saying that!" Booth scowled as he whirled back around. "How can Cullen actually expect me to work with you? It would be like... like Wile E Coyote falling in love with the Road Runner!"
Brennan frowned. "I don't know what that means."
"It means your driving me Looney Tunes!"
"I don't know what that-"
"Your driving me crazy!" Booth burst out. "Totally dam crazy!"
"The only place that I want to drive you is away from me!" Brennan retorted, her own temper rising.
"Well that's fine by me because I don't want to work with you either! Let's face it Bone Lady, we are never going to agree!" Booth raged. "On anything!"
"Too right!" Brennan declared, nodding.
And then she froze.
Booth' eyes widened.
They stared at each other in shock.
They were both thinking the same thing.
Oh My God. Did we actually just agree on something?
There was an awkward silence.
A long awkward silence.
Say something. Booth thought. Then...
Say anything.
"So er... Bones... " It just came out. "I guess you'd... er... better fill me in... on the case..."
Brennan raised an eyebrow.
After a pause she asked. "At the Jeffersonian then?"
It was not really a question.
Booth sighed. "Yeah okay... not that I'm agreeing with you or anything though."
Brennan smiled at him for the first time.
She turned to walk away but stopped when she remembered something.
"Oh and Booth?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't call me Bones."