AN: Thanks to Renee, Mrs.JordanHoyt, BandBelong, suedo, YouAndMe Kelly, Merdeka21, awilystar, and Lu78 for the reviews! And shouts out to Kasper!!!
Chapter Four: A Proposal
Brennan closed her eyes and leaned against the wall outside the Deputy Director's office inside the Federal Bureau of Investigation building, debating on whether she should block out the raised voices, or try hearing the private conversation that was at hand. Correction, Booth is the one yelling. Cullen would never have allowed this kind of insubordination. She looked to the sign painted on the wooden door and thought grimly, and neither would she.
She could tell Booth had a problem. Of course, it didn't take a genius to figure out by his frantic hand gestures and rapid-fire babbling to know that, but she detected other warning signs. Warning signs, she contemplated sadly, that she was seeing much more frequently. His shoulders were stiff and his eyes were narrowed and filled with a darkness she did not wish to explore. She supposed, that the vortexes of confusion and anger were better than what she normally saw--which was little more than a deadpan lifelessness. He needs a vacation…and help. He's going to force me to take drastic measures pretty soon…
"Slow down, Booth," Deputy Director Camille Saroyan asked, her face stern and unrelenting.
Booth let his hands drop to his sides and he exhaled, "We have a major issue, Camille."
"I can see that--you barging in here and ranting about a coma patient, your insubordination--yes we do have an issue," Cam commented dryly.
Booth put his hands in his pockets and fought back a retort. He sighed audibly and mumbled, "I apologize, ma'am." Cam offered a small smile, breaking her strict appearance. Being the youngest in that position ever at forty-two, she needed to prove on a daily basis she was the best choice to carry on as Deputy Director. She would not allow someone ranked under herself to plow her over--even if they were old friends. But because Booth did have a place close to her heart, the two of them once being lovers many years back, she was more willing to let him cross some lines. It was her only weakness.
"Please, Booth, tell me what's going on," Cam asked, her voice calm and even.
Booth nodded and began again, more controlled, "Howard Epps' second victim--Tempe Brennan--woke up from her two year coma. I have convinced her that she needs to be in a safe house while the worst serial killer in the history of this city is still out there. We both know he will come back after her."
"She was coherent enough to understand the gravity of the situation?" Cam questioned.
Fire flickered across Booth's face as he snorted, "Oh, she was more than coherent. She walked right out of the hospital less than two hours of coming out of it."
"Is that even possible?"
"Well, she stunned the doctors. But there's more--far more. She knows things," Booth raised his voice again.
"You're being a little bit too vague for me, Booth," Cam prompted.
Booth's hand flew up to his forehead and he began pacing, clarifying, "She believes she's a forensic anthropologist and author at a fictional place called the Jeffersonian Institute and Medico-legal lab. But the creepy part is, she knows her things. She stood out in the middle of a frigging sidewalk and pointed out bone disorders--she could tell just by looking at me that I was military, and she knew that both of my feet were broken."
Cam's brows furrowed in uncertainty. "How could she know that?"
"Oh, wait, that's just the icing on the cake. She knows things about Epps--his M.O., and about the one chance we had to find the live girl, Helen. She's convinced that her and I were partners and friends. She even mentioned the Cleo Ellers case, an-and when Jack Hodgins came in, she knew who he was right off the bat. How do you explain that?" Booth paused and answered his own question, "You just can't! I mean, she went as far as going to the place she thought was the Jeffersonian, but it ended up being the Plaza. And she was genuinely shocked discovering the mall instead of this museum. The woman is downright scary, in my opinion."
Cam mulled over what Booth claimed. She added, "I've heard about head trauma patients who've woken up and they suddenly gained capabilities they didn't have before. Hell, my own brother--a math failure--got nailed in the noggin with a baseball, and when he woke at the ER, he could multiply ten digit numbers together in his mind without even trying. But this…it's mystifying, to say the least." Booth's account almost sounded as if he were on the brink of insanity. He saw the doubt creeping into her face when he whispered, "She thought that I had a son. Parker."
Cam's eyes shot up and held his with pity and concern. "Seel, you really need to talk about--"
"I will," Booth interrupted. "And I'm fine, anyway." The blankness came back and his eyes became filled with nothing. Cam sighed, disappointed and conflicted.
"Booth…we're getting close to Epps. When this is over, which I pray will be soon, you're going to take a vacation, at the department's expense," Cam announced.
Booth grimaced and he accused, "You think some time off is going to fix the past--"
"And you're going to talk with someone," Cam continued, hardening her voice, "or I will be forced to retract your badge and gun and have you undergo a mandatory evaluation."
"You're doing that now," Booth seethed.
"But you're not suspended, yet," Cam pointed out.
"Can't I be allowed to do things my own way? This is my problem, not yours," Booth rasped quietly, obviously knowing he would be defeated.
"It becomes my problem when I can't handle seeing a friend in pain. You need help," Cam tried to reason with him. "You really do."
The door creaked open and Brennan stepped in. Booth shoved his hands back into is pockets and stared at the floor. Cam stood and asked, "May I help you?"
Brennan cleared her throat, and replied, "Sorry, I tried knocking, but on one answered. I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan, and I couldn't help but overhear some of what you were saying." I wish I could have heard all of it, but when they stopped yelling, I had no choice but to come in.
"How much have you heard," Booth demanded.
"Just the parts about me," Brennan defended. She turned to Cam and declared, "I cannot, and will not accept this reality where Booth and I aren't partners, and Epps isn't dead. I live in a better world. But…" she paused, and met Booth's eyes for a moment. She searched for any old side of him, however the glint of mischief usually in his face and the almost-always present charm smile were nonexistent. She turned back to Cam, still trying to get over the fact that she was Booth's boss, and finished, "…but I will go along with it to help catch Howard Epps. We've done it before, and with me, we can do it again. This is my proposal, and I until I figure out what's wrong with me, I can aid Booth in Epps' capture." Cam leaned back, annoyance and skepticism clearly written on her face. Booth chewed his bottom lip and began pacing again. Brennan crossed her arms over her chest and thought bitterly, okay…this is going to be harder than I thought…
AN: I tweaked Cam's age slighly for the job she has.