I do not own Bones


Chapter Seven

"What do you mean it's 'the man Goodman got into a fight with' the other day?" Booth asked, looking around at all the squints with Cam. They just received news on the murder victim and all the squints seemed to be freaking out.

"Ohhh. No. Oh no," Angela cried out, rubbing her eyes. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening."

"You actually believe this? That Goodman, our Goodman, murdered someone!?" Booth asked astonishingly, looking for answers still. "You guys can not be serious! This is Goodman we're talking about!"

"Well, Booth you didn't see the fight like we did," Brennan muttered, being the first to speak up. "I don't hate Goodman, but the source of evidence points to Goodman. He looked like he hated the man, Booth."

"I agree with Brennan," Hodgins said, holding Angela's hand tightly. "I love Goodman like another dad, but what we're saying is...It doesn't look good for Goodman."

"I agree with Seeley, I doubt Goodman would be responsible for something like this," Cam chimed in, jerking a thumb towards Booth. "I could never ever see him murdering someone."

"No one is accusing him," Angela piped up, sniffling. "It's just that, elaborating on what Bren said is that even though he probably didn't do it, the evidence of the fight and their relationship make Goodman a prime suspect. Plus there were other witnesses besides us, so even if we didn't want to say anything someone would speak up about it. It was a pretty loud fight."

"Look kids, shouldn't you be telling this all to the police?" Pops questioned, looking around at them all. "This doesn't sound good."

"It doesn't." Booth sighed, rubbing his eyes as he took a seat on the couch. "Not at all."

"You never know, maybe he is innocent. It's just the evidence is all pointed at him now. Plus you never know, there could be more solid evidence that can prove Goodman's innocence, but for now he is a prime suspect," Brennan explained to Booth. "Trust me, I like Goodman. I never met anyone like him in all my time in fo- in a um school did I meet a kind teacher like him, so I know it hurts but we don't know a thing yet to start placing judgements on anyone. Goodman is innocent until proven guilty. May I remind you."

"Yeah, I know," Booth said, sighing as he sat down on the couch. "I know."

They all sat in silence for a few moments before Cam got up, "Look I need to go home. My parents might be worried about me and so might Felicia since she's in the elementary school now. I'll see you guys later...I really hope it's not Goodman."

"I need to go too, my dad should be here any minute. Angie, Zack, Brennan need a ride?" Hodgins asked as they all headed towards the door. Brennan bit her lip as she looked back at an upset looking Booth, sitting all alone now on the couch.

"No, I think I'll stay here for a little bit. Go, I'll see you tomorrow," Brennan told them, earning a wink from Angela as she then took a seat on the couch. Brennan just rolled her eyes at her in response. Ange was still set on her and Booth being in love. Like Brennan would fall in love.

"I'm going to make us something to eat, Shrimp," Pops announced, getting up from the couch. "You want to stay for lunch Tempe? I'm making some mac 'n cheese."

"If it's okay, I would love to," Brennan said to him and Booth. "I hope I'm not a burden though. It's just my parent's aren't home yet and-"

"No need, dear. You're welcome here any time," Pops said, smiling at her. He liked Temperance Brennan. She was good for his grandson, plus her relationship with Seeley reminded him of how he first met his Elouise. The two were polar opposites, but after working in the field together it turned into a love Pops will probably hold with him for the rest of his life.

Brennan then turned to Booth who was nodding in agreement. Brennan decided to take a seat right next to Booth, lying against the couch with him in silence for a little bit.

"I just...I just don't believe this Bones. Goodman...When I moved here, Goodman took me under his wing. He made sure I would make it through the school year. He is a good man, Bones. A damn good, very good man," Booth ranted all of a sudden, spooking Brennan a little bit.

"I know Booth, but if the evidence points to Goodman-"

"Well screw the evidence then!" Booth shouted, standing up from the couch. "Bones, do you really believe that Goodman, Goodman, would kill someone let alone commit a crime. It's not him Bones. It's just not."

"It doesn't matter what I believe Booth, if there is evidence well then that's how I base things. I'm a scientist, not officially yet, but I considered myself one because it's how I live my life. I believe in logical principles, and one of those principles is seeing something for my self. I don't believe in anything, I know things. So I won't state my opinion on this case until there is some evidence. Tangible evidence," Brennan explained to him.

"Oh come on, Bones, he's a freaking deacon on the weekend. He has two twin daughters and a beautiful wife...He just wouldn't..." Booth trailed off, feeling rather lost and angry.

"So that doesn't mean anything, Booth. We don't know everything about him!" Brennan cried out. "Anyone can be a killer!"

"So you're saying he could've done it?" Booth asked, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Look Booth, Goodman is a great man and an amazing teacher. There is no doubt about that," Brennan told him gently. "But we don't know everything about him and well, we can't be thinking irrationally like this if we want to help him."

"Bones, at least...Do you think he could've done it?" Booth asked her, his voice raw.

"He could've," Brennan said softly, approaching him. "But I think I understand what you mean. Would someone like the Goodman we know, kill someone? A good man? Then no. I want to believe that Goodman didn't do anything, but I need to see it for my very own eyes before I do."

"I know, I just...I just really hope he isn't," Booth muttered, sitting back on the couch. Brennan sighed, sitting next to him. She then gently took his hand in hers and held it tight.

"We can help Booth. I know it doesn't seem like we can, but maybe there'll be something we can do. Convince the officers if they do question us that Goodman is a good man, but in the meantime we have no control," Brennan said, comforting her friend. He sighed, holding tightly to her hand now as he nodded.

"Okay. We are going to help him though," Booth said determinedly. "We are going to do this."

"Alright," Brennan agreed softly, trying to be the best friend she could be right now. "That's what partners do Booth, they help one another. I have your body-"

"I think you mean back, Bones." Booth chuckled, looking up at her with a small smile. "I know, I got your back too."

"Okay. Great," Brennan said, glad to see he was better. Booth smiled back at her as they both sat there for a little bit, letting the news run still. Their hands were still intertwined with one another's.

"I wish I could see the body," Brennan blurted out quietly.

"Bones, that's kind of morbid..." Booth said, glancing at her with an eyebrow raised. "He's still a human being."

"I know, but I wish I could see it because...Because I wish I could maybe find evidence on there. I could even look at fractures or markings. Anything that could help the case."

"You know what Bones, there probably won't be any evidence of Goodman because he's too nice of a guy to do anything, but if not that's maybe when I say we take drastic measures."

"Drastic how?" Brennan questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not sure," Booth said, sighing.

"You mean taking the case into our own hands?" Brennan questioned softly. "I could examine the body and the others could too. We could do something. I am a genius, the police could use my brain anyway."

"It's crazy though," Booth muttered. "They would never let us."

"Kids! I made some of my famous mac 'n cheese for you. Let's eat up!" Pops called out to the two from the other room, cutting them off before they could think of any other ideas.

"Let's go, come on. Probably a good idea to get our minds off of this for a bit," Booth said.

"Agreed," Brennan said as the two them went to help Pops set the table up.

After a nice lunch prepared by Pops, Brennan and Booth were left with a free afternoon to do anything they wanted.

"Let's do something that doesn't involve thinking about murder," Booth suggested as they took a seat on his front step. They were both in their winter coats contemplating on what to do as they sat in the brisk October cold. "We could see a movie or go to the diner."

"We just had lunch Booth," Brennan pointed out. "What would we do at the diner?"

"We could always get pie," He teased, a cheeky smile on his face as he looked at Brennan. She just smiled back, chuckling as well as she playfully nudged him. "We could just go for a walk. Maybe we'll think of something along the way."

"Okay. It is a nice day to be out, better than being indoors all day," Brennan agreed as the two walked down Booth's lawn. "Besides walking is a good form of exercise."

As the two walked along the sidewalk they got into all kinds of conversation. Mostly it was Brennan trying to explain something scientific to Booth while Booth was trying to explain something to Brennan. For example he spent a thirty minutes trying to explain who Rocky was to her. They completed each other though. Even though they bantered, being with each other was the first time any of them felt happy in a long time.

"Hey Bones, if you could go anywhere where would you go?" Booth asked her randomly as they trailed up the sidewalk.

"I don't know. There's a lot of places in the world I would want to go to," Brennan said, shrugging. "I want to travel the world and go on exhibitions. I want to study bones for the rest of my life. I could go anywhere like the Maluku Islands or somewhere in Central America. Meet a couple of tribes, learn their customs...Why?" she asked, looking back at him.

"I was just asking." Booth shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the ground.

"Where would you go?" Brennan asked him curiously. "Since you brought up the question I assume you have something you want to say."

Booth chuckled as he looked back up to face Brennan. "Well sort of...It's just I've been thinking about my hometown lately. That's all."

"Philadelphia, right?" Brennan asked, earning a nod from Booth.

"Yeah. I haven't been there since I left and it's just been hitting me lately that I haven't been home in such a long time," He confessed to her.

"Isn't D.C your home?" Brennan questioned, clearly confused.

"It is, technically Bones it is. But I'm not from here, I didn't grow up here..."

"I still don't see your point though," Brennan told him, slowing down a bit. "D.C is my home yet I didn't grow up here. I grew up in Chicago. Even though I wasn't born here, I love it here. I have all of you and it's been the longest time since I've had friends," She confessed to him, shrugging.

"You have a point Bones, I just miss it. That's all," He muttered, kicking a pebble with the top of his boot.

"I miss Chicago. It's where my life was before this move and I miss my friends, family, the science club, and even my old library. But here in D.C there's Angela, Hodgins, Zack, Goodman, and you Booth. If we never moved here we wouldn't have met each other," Brennan told him, smiling shyly.

Booth sent her a smile as he then wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "You're right Bones, but I have to disagree. Somehow I feel like we would've met each other one day. It could've been sixteen years from now or even ten. Somehow I think I would've meet you one day."

"That's highly unlikely Booth," Brennan pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him. "The likeness of that happening is very low."

"It's fate. Simple as that," Booth replied, chuckling.

"Fate is ridiculous. I don't believe in fate," Brennan told him. "I believe in facts and science. We met because we were assigned as lab parents."

"Yeah, okay Bones," Booth said, causing Brennan to roll her eyes as the two walked up the street together.

The two walked all the way into the city, watching all the tourists observe the monument buildings. Booth and Brennan kept walking until they got to the Lincoln Memorial, taking a seat on the steps as they looked out at the reflecting pool.

"I haven't seen a lot of D.C yet since I moved here," Brennan confessed to him. "It's nice being at the Lincoln memorial. I wanted to see it."

"This is one of my favorite places because you can see the Washington Monument right across from here and the rest of the city," Booth said, motioning to the tall structure in front of them. "Pops took Jared and I here our first day in D.C. He was able to get us to go all the way to the top and I remember I never wanted to leave. Loved it there," Booth mused at the memory.

"You know I remember my brother, Russ, had to do a report on Lincoln in the third grade and wanted to come here to the memorial since then. We planned on going here on vacation when I was fourteen, but some things happened after that..." Brennan trailed off.

"What kind of things?" Booth asked her softly after a couple of seconds of quietness.

"It's a long story. I rather not talk about. You wouldn't be interested in it anyway. My life isn't that interesting."

"I tend to disagree. You study bones and you're really smart. You're one of the most interesting people I know, Bones," He told her genuinely. "And you don't need to talk about it if you don't want to. I don't want to push you or something."

"No, it's not that. I just don't want you to think any less of me," Brennan blurted out to him.

"I won't think less of you," Booth told her. He paused for a moment before he slowly let the words come out of his mouth. "Goodman and Pops are like dads to me, because well my dad isn't in my life anymore. He's a jerk and my mom, she didn't want this life with us anymore. Pops and Jared are the only family I have left."

Brennan looked up at him with wide eyes, surprised he'd share something personal with her. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Booth."

"That's why I moved to D.C," Booth explained to her softly. "And when your ready, I hope you one day tell me more about yourself. Why you moved here. But for now, we'll talk about other things."

"Yeah, I'd like that very much," Brennan agreed as they both looked out at the monument.

Brennan felt a tightness in her chest as she thought about her family. It's been almost two years since her mom and dad left her and two years since Russ abandoned her. Her own brother hasn't even talked to her. It hurt her and she wasn't sure if she was ready to tell anyone about it. She sighed, leaning against Booth's side.

"I think everything's going to be okay at one point," Booth said, as the two sat their quietly. Brennan just nodded, not even objecting for once, as the two stayed there until sunset.

Even though Booth and Brennan both knew things didn't look good for Goodman, they were going to try. After all, they were partners and they planned to protect their friend.


A/N: Hey guys! I hope you liked it! Just some B&B fluff with some stuff about Goodman. There will be more regarding the murder investigation next chapter. Btw who is dying from this hiatus? I am! I miss Bones so muchhhhh mehh, I need to see more of my babies lol. In the meantime I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading, please review, and be on the lookout for the next update!

Also a little note to the anon, Julianne: Glad you liked it & thanks for the review, but to point something out Brennan did move around a lot in foster care. She moved out of her home state, of Illinois, to Burtonsville, Maryland in the series. Then again it might not be completely accurate being a T.V show. And secondly, I know how security can be in a school considering I go to one, but I think back in 1989 they were a little more loose plus if it's after school Hodgins can easily have access, and same goes for when he's there during lunch break. It's pretty easy for him to get in there, considering it's also the backdoor of a library. Like an emergency exit door. But thank you for your review, much appreciated :)