Grave Man - Part 2 of 2
Summary: The Gravedigger trial has begun bringing up old wounds and reopening newer ones.
Spoilers: For 5.12 (I didn't see more than the promo, but just in case)
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, Fox, Kathy Reichs (that would be involuntary servitude) or anything of that great value.
Alright folks, hold on to your hats!
B&B
"All rise."
The courtroom rose, paying respect to the honorable Judge Patterson. Within the last few hours, the temperature in the room had risen a full three degrees; not much on paper, but a whole heck of a lock when stuck in the middle.
Booth stood, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. Moisture beaded on his brow from both heat and anxiety. His suit jacket hung on the back of his chair, damp from humidity. As much as he longed to know the content of Bones' letter, he knew it could be a game changer.
"You may be seated."
Why hadn't he read it earlier? Respect be damned, it would have been better not to hear it as the same time as the general public.
"Booth, you can sit down no," Angela whispered, nudging him in the thigh.
Embarrassed, he dropped to his seat. Was he really that unfocused?
Brennan took her place once again at the stand, sipping from a large glass of ice water. Her façade was strong, but for how long it would remain that way was the true question. She was like a shattered porcelain doll meticulously glided back to its original shape. But yet, it was not without cracks, without weak points, or without visible scars.
"Prosecution," Judge Patterson announced, "you may proceed."
"Thank you Your Honor," Caroline stood from the counsel table. "Temperance, would you please continue to read where you left off?"
Brennan stared down at the book in contemplation. Time seemed to still to a grinding halt. Eyes, like beams of focused photons, beat down upon her form, waiting for her to speak.
"Your Honor," she broke the thick silence. "May I preface the remainder of my testimony with a few brief statements?"
Justice Patterson looked to a nodding Caroline. He removed his spectacles, wiping his forehead. "I don't see why not."
"Thank you," Brennan began. "It is important to note that the passage that I am about to read was intended to private." She paused, surveying the dead-silent room. "I warn the court that it is highly likely that I will unable to control my emotional response."
"Is that all Dr. Brennan?"
"No," she gulped, "one last item. While there is no way to enforce this, I would like Agent Seeley Booth to leave the courtroom before I begin."
"No way!" Booth leapt to his feet in protest.
"Please!" She pleaded.
"Bones, you can't run from this!"
"Please… for me."
Judge Patterson stopped the chatter with a pound of his gavel. "You, Agent Booth, are out of order."
"You can't make me leave!"
"You know well know that I can have you removed!" the normally stone-faced judge hollered. Regaining his composure, he wiped his brow, "I would much rather have you leave on your own."
"Fine," Booth stood. "Fine!" he threw his hands up in exasperation.
"I am sorry, but if this testimony cannot continue with you in the room…" Patterson motioned for the guards to stand down. "I would rather have testimony than you."
Booth stormed down the aisle, his discarded suit-jacket trailing behind him.
"I'm sorry!'
He turned to see Brennan, standing. At this moment, he couldn't say he was sorry. He couldn't say he understood. He wasn't even sure if he could get his lips and vocal chords to move in synchronization well enough to say something coherent.
Wordlessly, he pushed through the courtroom's solid oak doors.
Damn! He kicked the adjacent wall. How could she even do this? Did she not trust him or something? What could the rest of that stupid letter have that he couldn't hear?
With no better place to go than home, Booth wandered out of the courthouse. It was five o'clock already after all. He dragged himself into his SUV and pulled out of the congested parking garage. Halfway home, his mind was still blank. It was as if a black hole of confusion and grief swallowed any well-formed thought his mind could produce.
Soon enough, he found himself stumbling through his apartment door, kicking it roughly shut with the sharp jab of the heel. He collapsed in to his worn couch in a heap. He grabbed the remote control, flicking the television on to ESPN, NBC 4, C-SPAN; it didn't even matter. All he needed was the sweet distraction.
Booth had no idea what the hell could was in that letter. He knew what he wanted it to say. Heck, he wished it hadn't ever been written, meaning Bones was never captured by the Gravedigger. It would have prevented a lot of grief.
God, it had been a long day. Between the last minute court preparations early in the morning to the bathroom ordeal, his body ached and throbbed. He squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to will away the aches; it did not help. If only he could-
His cell phone buzzed and vibrated in his pocket.
"Catherine," the display shined.
"Hello?"
"Hey Seeley!"
"How are you?" he sat up from a reclining position.
"I was wondering, do you want to get dinner tonight?"
"I don't know…"
"We can get Mexican."
"Nah."
"Indian?"
"Nah."
"Thai?"
Thai…that was between him and Bones. Bones, who had forced him out of the trial he had worked so hard to bring to court in the first place.
"Catherine, I'll call you later bye!" he hung up without warning.
Booth once again lay down on the cushioned sofa. What now?
B&B
Someone was knocking incessantly at his door. How long had that been going on? Booth looked to the clock. 11:10? He must have fallen asleep!
"Coming!" he croaked, hopefully loud enough for whomever that person was at the door to hear. Who visits at eleven o'clock anyway?
He pulled himself from the cushions' grasp, arching his back in a vain effort to alleviate the soreness.
Booth stumbled to the door, groping for the wall in search of a light switch.
He pried the door open, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He squinted at the sudden influx of fluorescent light from the hall.
"Bones?" he rubbed his eyes again to make sure he wasn't hallucinating and/or still dreaming.
Booth eyed her head to toe and back again; she still wore that beautiful dress from earlier in the day. Its neckline plunged to her bosom; her lean legs disappeared just above the knee beneath the dress' hem.
"Can I come in?"
He stepped to the side, granting her silent entrance.
"I am ready to talk," she dropped her purse to a nearby counter, rummaging through it for something.
"And I'm listening," he plopped down on to his recliner.
"Well I-"
"Stop. Tell me why you kicked me out of the court room."
He watched her shoulders rise; she froze.
"Go on, tell me."
"I assure you that I did not kick you on any part of your body-"
"You know that wasn't what I meant," he crossed his arms.
"Do you know what this is?" Brennan spun, hardback book in hand.
It wasn't just any book, it was the book.
"T-That's evidence."
"It was released to me."
"Oh…"
"Do you want to know why I asked you to leave?" Brennan sat down across from him on the couch.
"Yes."
"You know when you said that some things are just between us?" she flicked open the book. "Well this is one of those things."
Instinctively, Booth reached out, stilling her hand from turning the pages. "You don't have to-":
"I want to," she smiled weakly.
He moved beside her, "I'm ready."
"Booth…"
"…It is irrational to say that one is sorry for one's own death. Do I wish I had survived? Certainly. However, I am more sympathetic on whatever effect my death has on you. We deal in death daily; we regularly watch family and friends of victims crumple in grief at the news of their loved one's fate. With your religious beliefs, I know you believe that I continue on in to a sort of afterlife. If this comforts you, feel free to think so. But, I believe that my life is over and the only things left are the things I have done.
Over the years…"
"I-I can't do this," Brennan dropped the book to the ground. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Booth pulled her into an embrace, gently rubbing her back to soothe her sobs.
"I want you to hear what I said," she choked.
"I'll finish," he picked the book of the ground, re-opening it.
He looked over the familiar handwriting looking for where she had stopped. His fingers traced over the page littered with tiny droplets of dried tears. She was crying freely when she wrote this.
"Over the years…"
"…that we have worked together, have become what I consider to be good friends. You are the best friend I have ever had. But, I can't help but feel a deep attraction to you; one I cannot explain. I believe that this feeling is the concept of 'love' that you have taught me so well. Yes, I love you. It is something I would never have had the courage nor the strength to tell you in person.
I don't blame you if you do not feel the same way. But please, regardless of your feelings, move on. I love you enough that having you happy is one of the greatest rewards I could ever hope to obtain…"
"Y-You love me?" Booth turned to her, his own eyes in tears.
Brennan weakly nodded.
"Love, Your Bones…" Booth trailed off.
They sat in silence for a few moments; the giant leap forward they had together taken hung heavily over their heads and hearts.
"I love you too, you know how I feel," he seized her shoulders, forcing her gaze to meet his. "We have something! We have something great!"
"You are right. We have our friendship."
"But we can have more!"
"I can't risk our friendship!"
"Bones!" he shook his head with a grin. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"But how could you know! I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow, or two days from now, not even a year."
"No buts. Let's start with one day. One day!" He smiled. "We take it day by day."
Booth leaned in, capturing his lips in hers, twisting his arms around her slender torso. She reciprocated; wrapping one arm around his neck, the other ran through his short-spiky hair.
They broke apart breathlessly, looking deeply into one another's eyes.
"Tomorrow," he pulled her into an embrace. "You. Me. Thai food."
"It's a date."
B&B
Wow! I wrote like mad to get that out before tonight's episode. Hopefully all the English Honors Society stuff doesn't run over tonight or I'll have to watch it tomorrow on Hulu! That's all for now! See you in the next one and review if you enjoyed it!
-Objective Mistress