His words had haunted him since the moment he had said them in the SUV.
Sure, he had been worried about Cam. Despite the fact that there was always going to be the emotional baggage of a failed relationship between them, Cam and him had been friends first and foremost. The moment he had found out about Andrew, it was never a question that he was going to be concerned. Cam, he knew, might glare at him but she would accept his coddling only because she knew that was the way Booth showed that he cared.
Amidst all that, he had forgotten about Brennan. That is, until he had caught her trying to sneak out of the Jeffersonian to see Michelle.
At first he had tried to dissuade her from going to see the young teenager. It was bad enough that she had found out her father had been murdered and then eaten by a tiger. Booth was fairly sure a strange woman she had never met turning up on her porch at night wasn't something Michelle would welcome.
But Booth had seen something in Brennan's eyes and so he found himself by her side.
His partner had laughed almost painfully earlier in the SUV when he had told her that Cam needed to be out of the lab on this case. Brennan had given him a tight smile and said she belonged in the lab anyway. Cam had opened the door then, and once Booth had seen the sheen of tears on his ex-girlfriend's face, the need to find the person who had killed Andrew had all but consumed his mind.
Unsure of what to say, Booth killed the engine and pushed the gear into park.
'Cam knows I'm here, if that's what you're worried about,' Brennan's sudden declaration almost made him jump out of his skin.
'Really?' Booth asked skeptically. He winced.
'Yes,' Brennan's reply was short as she knocked on the door. Before he could say anything else, the wooden panel swung open to reveal Michelle.
'Hi,' Brennan started uneasily. 'I'm Dr Temperance Brennan. This is my partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth.'
'I know who you are,' Michelle said, eyes cutting back and forth between the two of them. 'Cam said you were coming.'
Brennan must have noticed the faint bitterness colouring Cam's name as well. 'Is it alright if we come in? I promise that we won't be long.'
Michelle wordlessly left the door open. Stamping his shoes on the welcome mat, Booth heard the girl call out to the housekeeper Cam had mentioned was living with Michelle.
What was her name again?
Brennan, he saw, approached the living room almost with trepidation. After waging an internal war with himself, Booth finally opted to just do what he always did. The moment his hand found its way to the small of her back, Brennan looked surprised but gave him what looked like a small smile.
Michelle sat on a large, plush arm chair, face set in a surly expression.
'Did you come here to tell me how much Cam loves me? Because she's already told me all that.'
'I know Michelle,' Brennan replied, surprising Booth who couldn't for the life of him recall hearing Cam and Brennan exchange words not relating to a decomposing body. 'It's…its part of the reason why I wanted to speak with you.'
'If you're going to sit there and tell me how you understand me, save your breath,' Michelle bit out.
'Hey,' Booth protested. 'I know it's been difficult but that doesn't mean you can be disrespectful.'
'It's okay Booth,' Brennan murmured, briefly touching his arm as he slowly reclined back on the loveseat that they were sharing. Brennan had removed her coat, exposing the low cut black v-neck she had been wearing the whole day. The expanse of creamy, unblemished skin and hint of décolletage had made interviewing the red-headed doctor earlier tricky.
Michelle continued to glare at Brennan with a small measure of hate. Brennan seemed to draw some kind of strength from the fingers he had lightly brushing her shoulders.
'When I was fifteen, my parents left,' Brennan started, leaning forward.
Don't look at her chest you insensitive jackass.
The teenager's scowl softened somewhat.
'I woke up and they were just gone. I walked around the house, thinking that maybe they were outside or still asleep. My big brother Russ just told me that Mum and Dad left and that they weren't coming back. The next day, Russ got in his car and left as well.'
Booth wanted to kick himself.
'I know what it's like to be alone Michelle,' Brennan said in a low voice. Booth watched in fascination as Brennan laid her hand over Michelle's dark one, her delicate fingers curling around the girl's to offer comfort from the anguish painted clearly across Michelle's face. Brennan let her words hang in the air for a moment, before she drew in an inaudible breath.
'Right now, you think there's no one. Cam's a good person who wants to make sure that you're not alone. She's never going to be your father or your mother. But you have someone who genuinely loves you Michelle. When my family left and child services turned up, I didn't have someone like Cam wanting to take care of me.'
In his mind, Booth saw the innocent, happy girl in the photo in Brennan's file, the one she had given him when she had asked Booth to find out what happened to her parents. It was now being replaced by a forlorn figure, clutching a garbage bag like the one she had described to Sean Cook, staring down an empty driveway hoping and praying for someone, anyone, to appear.
'I just…I don't know,' Michelle mumbled thickly.
'Someone once told me that there was more than one kind of family. And I'm not trying to make you do something you're uncomfortable with. But I know how the system works and unlike me, you have a choice. Just…consider what Cam and I have said,' Brennan finished. Patting Michelle's hand somewhat awkwardly, Brennan rose to her feet. Booth and Michelle looked on quietly as Brennan fished out a card from her coat pocket.
'You don't have to use it if you don't want to, but if you ever need anything…' Brennan trailed off, pressing her business card firmly into Michelle's hand. The girl stared down at the scrap of cardboard, looking somewhat lost.
'Thank you,' Michelle told her softly, eyes still downcast.
'Thank you for listening to me,' Brennan retorted. 'Just remember Michelle that you're not alone right now, no matter how much you feels like you are.'
To everyone's surprise, Michelle abruptly flung her arms around Brennan. Booth watched, mouth slightly agape, as Brennan self-consciously returned the embrace, leaning down slightly to whisper something into Michelle's ear. Feeling Brennan tug at his coat, Booth followed her wordlessly out of the house, hearing the front door click gently shut behind them.
Brennan stood on the sidewalk in front of the SUV, hands buried deep inside her pockets and head titled back to look at the night sky. Booth mimicked her, taking in the dark velvet speckled with bursts of light. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Booth couldn't but move closer when he took in the sad girly look on his partner's face.
'I'm sorry Bones,' Booth started. Brennan wrinkled her nose.
'Why?'
'Because I should have seen how Michelle's situation would have affected you.'
Brennan bristled slightly. 'You aren't my keeper Booth. I'm a big girl. Besides, Cam was the one needed our support. Just because there is a small possibility that I might identify with Michelle-'
Booth couldn't help but snort. Brennan glared at him, but then seemed to wilt.
'I just…if there is even a possibility that I can prevent that girl from becoming another statistic, then I have to try.' Brennan's tone was almost pleading, as if she was trying to make him understand. Booth thought he could feel a lump forming in his throat.
'You're not a number anymore Bones.'
'I know.' Booth could tell that she didn't really believe that herself.
'You got out of there and you made something of yourself Bones. I don't care what you think, that's something to be proud of right there,' Booth said, inching closer towards her until their shoulders were touching.
'Why is it you always try to make everyone feel better?' Brennan asked, leaving Booth wondering when she had gotten so perceptive.
Because someone needs to make sure you're alright.
Booth shrugged nonchalantly. 'It's what I do.'
'Perhaps you should consider that sometimes other people are trying to make you feel better.'
Booth remembered telling her about Kosovo, about his father. How she had reached out and touched him and made some of the shadows bearable.
'You always do Bones. You always do.'
Feeling her arm wrap around his waist, Booth looked down in surprise. Brennan kept her face away from him, looking up at the stars with a small smile on her face. Looping his arm over her shoulder, Booth drew her to his side, trying to ignore the way her curves pressed pleasantly against his chest and ribs.
Paladin, Bones. Paladin.
