Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. You all made my day. Enjoy chapter seven.
No Exception
Chapter Seven
Despite his fairly quick agreement to Brennan's request, the actual task of searching for Jared was going to be much harder than Booth had previously thought. The older man had run off two months after finding out about Katie being pregnant, and no one had talked to him since.
Booth had been staring at the same screen for an hour without punching a single key. He knew where to begin. Typing in "Jared Booth" was bound to bring up some sort of entry, but he hesitated. Searching for his brother would undoubtedly bring back all of the hurt that had been locked up for so long. He knew Brennan had only wished for him to help his niece, but he couldn't help wondering if she also wanted him to be reunited with his past.
The cursor flashed in the search box, and Booth held his fingers over the keyboard. He took a deep breath and pressed the proper letters. The results came up with Jared Ignatius Booth as the first of 237 options. "Ignatius," Booth said, "Strike one."
The next fifty pages were as unhelpful as the first. A headache began to form as he scrolled past one Jared Booth, a known drug dealer and circus clown, to the next Jared Booth, a mass murderer who was currently sitting in a California jail. He rubbed his temples and begged for the pain to go away.
"You know, Advil works wonders," came a female voice from the door.
He looked up and smiled, his throbbing skull forgotten. "Hey, Bones. How's it going?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing." She walked over and her heels clacked on the floor.
"I am no closer today to finding my brother than I was seventeen years ago. This isn't going to be easy."
She rested her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry. You're not going to give up, are you?"
Booth tilted his head to see her better. "I'm FBI; I never give up. I've just got to figure out what parts of him would be in the system. Jared had a knack for getting out of things he didn't like."
Brennan left him fifteen minutes later and he returned once more to his computer screen. He typed in a few more distinguishing facts about his brother and was pleased when the new results had been narrowed down to just fifteen persons.
There, on the bottom of the second page, was the decade-old photograph of Jared Booth. Seeley stared at the man he had long ago learned to put from his mind. The last known address was just a year old, and Booth had high hopes he'd find his brother there. He picked up his desk phone and dialed a familiar number.
"Hey, pack your bags. We're going to Boise." He hung up and hit the print button on his computer.
Brennan met him at his apartment, holding two suitcases by her sides. He gave her a quick kiss before picking up his own bags and lugging them down the stairs to his car. Once everything was loaded, they climbed in and began the drive to the airport.
"Are you going to tell me exactly what's going on?" She questioned. "You were pretty vague on the phone."
Booth switched off the radio. "Jared's last known address is in Boise, Idaho. That was a year ago, but he could still be there. If not, it at least gives us some sort of starting place. Someone's bound to remember him. He is the type of person that leaves a lasting impression."
"So what's the plan? We just show up at his place and demand he comes back to D.C. with us to meet his daughter?"
"Not exactly. Jared isn't going to come that easily. He ran away for a reason." Booth's last sentence ended with a note of bitterness that was recognized by his partner.
"Booth," she started softly, "are you sure that you can handle this? I never meant for this whole thing to make you feel bad."
"Hey, look, I might not have gone about it in quite this manner, but I had to see my brother sooner or later. If it had to be sooner in order to get him to see Dani, then so be it." He sounded resolved, but did grasp the steering wheel a bit tighter.
They didn't speak much on the flight. Each person seemed to have a lot on their mind. Booth was imagining what it would be like to see his brother for the fist time in over a decade, and Brennan was caught up in the thought of meeting someone in Booth's immediate family. Their usual exploits were searching for her family, and it was odd for her to see the shoe on the other foot.
Images replayed in Booth's mind.
He was twenty and walking into the bar for the first time. He'd picked out the girl with red hair almost instantly. Katie had a large smile and a loud laugh. She was bold, flirting with him before he sat down.
He was being sent off to training and kissing Katie goodbye at the door. Tears ran down her face even as he reminded her once again that it would only be a week.
He was home early, a bouquet of flowers in his hand and a smile on his face, stepping over the threshold into his house. He checked the living room where Katie could usually be found with her nose in a magazine, but she was not there. Nor was she in the kitchen, cooking herself her favorite style of pasta. He heard her voice in his bedroom and pushed open the door. He dropped the flowers on the ground, grabbed the keys to his car from the dresser, and stormed out.
Booth opened his eyes at the sound of the stewardess's voice. They would be landing in a few minutes. He looked at the woman beside him and grinned: she was fast asleep. Brennan was so unlike Katie. Where Katie was the first one to make friends in a crowded room, Brennan stood in the back studying the people and waiting for someone she recognized. Where Katie was loud and open, Brennan was quiet and a lot harder to get something out of. It was not the first time that Booth realized he liked the latter of those options much better. He put a hand on her shoulder and gently shook.
She glanced up at him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. We're getting ready to land."
"Oh, good." She sat up straight and made sure her seatbelt was secure.
"Hey, Bones," he said a moment later, "thanks for coming with me."
"I'm the one that asked you to look for Jared. I couldn't very well leave you to do it all by yourself. Besides, did you really think I'd let you go off by yourself?" Her rare smile peeked out.
They rented a car at the front desk of the airport, and Brennan didn't even mind that Booth had chosen a fancy sports car. The luggage was thrown into the back seat and Booth drove off.
"These roads aren't great," she said as they went over cracks and bumps.
"You'd think that the state wasn't doing anything about it, but I checked the traffic report. They've got about fifteen projects going on in this city alone."
"Are you going to be able to navigate your way to his house?"
"Of course I am. I am a master navigator. And, I've got my cell phone with turn-by-turn directions." He chuckled.
211 Ellis Street was a small home that looked as though it had been built in the 1940's. The brick was cracking and some of the shingles were peeling off the roof. Booth put the car in park and got out. Brennan followed allowing him to take the lead.
Before reaching the path, he turned to face her. "Just follow my lead, okay?"
"What are you going to tell him?" she inquired.
"That's not the point. Just go along with it, alright?" Booth frowned.
"Okay."
He stepped up to the front door and rapped his hand on the wood three times. He fought the urge to announce his presence in standard FBI manner; he knew it wouldn't help. When no one answered, he knocked a few more times and stood back with his hands on his pockets. At last, movement sounded inside and the front door was pulled open.
The man inside had a dark five-o'clock shadow and bags under his eyes. He held a beer in one hand and a cigarette stuck out of his mouth. He took in the appearances of the two clean-cut individuals standing before him and arched a brow. "What do you want?" he growled.
Brennan guessed that they had arrived at the wrong house. This man looked to be far older than the 42 years Jared Booth was. She was ready to return to the car when Booth spoke.
"Hello to you, too, Jared. Aren't you going to invite us in?"
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Until next time. :)
