Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. If I did, Brennan would have told Booth about Hank's contribution to his abandonment already. Because I really want to hear how that turned out!
COURAGE
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Courage – Without a doubt, the alpha male is courageous, meaning he is willing to take on any problem to reach resolution without worry. He will do whatever it takes to solve the problem with the best possible outcome for all involved.
Booth and Brennan had just been hanging out, enjoying a beer together after an unusually easy case. They had been joking about how stupid the killer had been when Booth's phone rang. He answered it with a smile, but that smile soon faded from his face. Something crossed his face that Brennan had never seen before, something that she didn't even have a name for. After a few more minutes, Booth hung up the phone and stood frozen. Then, after a minute or two, he went to the fridge and pulled out two six packs of beer. He brought them over to the table and slumped onto his couch. They sat in silence for an impossibly long time before Booth reached over and opened two beers. He put one in front of Brennan and gripped the other tightly in his hands. He said only three words, but they were enough for Brennan to understand everything far too well.
"Pops is dead."
Brennan didn't know what to say to make it better, or if it was even possible to make it better. Booth chugged down his beer, dropping the empty can on the table and reaching for the next before Brennan was even halfway done. She'd never seen Booth drunk before, and wasn't sure if she actually wanted to, but they were in his home, and she more than anyone knew what it meant to lose the people who defined your life. So she finished her beer and waited as Booth emptied a second can and reached for a third.
After a time, Brennan finally spoke. "Hank wanted me to tell you something."
Booth looked at Brennan incredulously. "When did you talk to Pops?"
"The first time we met." Brennan answered. "He told me a secret, and he said that I should tell you when the time was right. He said I would know when to tell you."
"And now is the best time?"
Brennan paused, then nodded slowly. "When my parents disappeared and Russ left, I was put into foster care. I remember thinking that every time my family told me that they loved me was a lie, because they left me anyway. I would have given anything to know, without a doubt, that they did love me." She looked down at the beer in her hand. "While the situations are not the same, I imagine that it would be a comfort to know the fact that Hank loved you."
Booth stared at her for a long moment, then slowly nodded. Brennan took a deep breath. "Hank said that he never had the nerve to tell you that it was his fault your father left." Booth jerked back, but Brennan kept going. "He said that if he were a better man, he would have figured something else out. But when he saw your father hitting you, his grandson, he didn't know what else to do. He told your father, 'Get out. You don't deserve to be a father. Get out.' When your father didn't come back, Hank took care of you and Jared instead."
Booth stared down at his drink. "He. . . got rid of my dad?"
Brennan nodded, suddenly unsure that it really was the right time. "He said that he loved you. That he was more proud of you than anybody in the world. And he really wished that he could have found another way. But his son was beating his grandson. That was something that he couldn't let happen." Tentatively, she reached out to take Booth's hand. "I think that you and Hank are very much alike. He wanted to protect you, and so he did what he had to do. Even though he thought that you would hate him."
Booth gripped Brennan's hand hard, and Brennan saw that his other hand was shaking. She leaned over and pulled him close, squeezing him tightly. She held him as tears slipped down his face, as his shoulders shook, and as he eventually fell asleep. Then she gently laid him out on the couch and cleaned up the mess they'd made. She placed a blanket from his bed around him, and hesitated, wondering if she would be overstepping if she stayed for the night. But one look at the man in front of her, and she pushed that anxious voice aside. She took one of his blankets from the couch and settled herself in a chair.
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Brennan woke up to the smell of bacon and coffee. She tried to roll over and bumped into something hard. Grumbling, she opened her eyes and blinked at an armrest. As her sleepy brain realized that she was not in her bed, she jolted upright. After a moment, she relaxed, recognizing Booth's apartment. A moment more and she remembered the night before. Sounds from the kitchen told her that Booth was up and awake, which probably meant that it was seven or eight in the morning.
Booth entered his living room and grinned when he saw her. "Morning, Bones!" He put a mug of coffee in front of her, and she took it gratefully. "It's not your fancy coffee, but it'll do the job."
Brennan chugged down a good quarter of it before taking a breath, waiting for the caffeine to do its job before she spoke. "Are you alright?" She asked tentatively.
Booth's smile faded, and Brennan instantly regretted asking. "I'm upset." He said, sitting down with his own mug. "And I'm angry that I won't get to see him anymore. But I'm going to be okay." He looked over at her, and Brennan was relieved to see a small smile on his face. "You were right to tell me, Bones. And knowing that helps more than you know." He took her hand and gripped it tightly. "Thank you. For telling me. For helping. And thank you for staying."
Brennan smiled at him and squeezed his hand back. "Though I know that it is what is called a 'party line,' it is the truth. Please tell me what I can do to help you. You are my partner. I want to help."
Booth smiled for a moment before it faded again. "I have to go to the nursing home to arrange all the. . ." He stuttered, then shook his head and pushed forward. "All the funeral details. Will you come with me and help?" Brennan nodded, and Booth smiled back before getting up. "I'll get dressed, and then we'll swing by your place so you can get ready. I'm sure you don't want to walk around in day-old clothes."
Brennan watched him go, and she couldn't help but be in awe. She knew that Booth must be hurting, and remembered quite well that the first morning she woke up with the knowledge that her family was gone, she had curled up and refused to move. That Booth could manage to still be himself, and to keep moving forward, was an act that she couldn't help but admire and worry over. She shook her head at the realization that he was most likely compartmentalizing until the emotions wouldn't interfere with what had to be done.
"Stupid alpha male."
