AN- Not much to say this week… just thanks to everyone who is hanging in there with this story that is a little out of my normal realm. I can't tell you how much your reviews mean to me… I've been really worried about this one. Thanks SO much for taking the time read!
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The Family in the Fieldwork
Chapter Eight
Brennan and Sweets stood in the observation room watching through the one-way glass. Booth was pacing as he questioned an increasingly irritable Abbi Kleinman.
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"Ms. Kleinman," he said. "What can you tell me about Brooke Larsen's drug use?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. "Why?"
"I'll ask the questions, if you don't mind," Booth said, not sounding rude or cavalier at all. In fact, his wife recognized the tone in his voice as being one that he thought was particularly persuasive or even seductive. "You seem to be a bit agitated," he said. "Is something going on?"
"Yes," she said. "My best friend is missing and our roommate is dead. Excuse me if I'm not up to sparkling conversation."
"Miss Kleinman," he tried again. "We have reason to believe that your roommate died from a drug overdose."
Abbi scoffed and mumbled under her breath.
"What was that?" Booth asked.
"I said, 'that figures'," Abbi replied.
"So, you're not surprised by this information?"
"Brooke was a party girl," Abbi told him. "She enjoyed what she called 'pharmaceutical recreation'."
"So she used drugs frequently," he prompted her.
"I guess," she answered. "Depends on your definition of 'frequent,' but she was by no means a stranger to the world of party drugs."
"Which brings me back to my first question," Booth said.
"What do you want to know?" she asked.
"Do you know what types of drugs she normally took?"
"The usual," she said. "Mostly cocaine, E… lately she was into doing mushrooms…"
"What about prescription drugs?" he asked casually. "Did she ever do anything like that? Pain killers?"
"No way," Abbi answered with a dark chuckle. "Not nearly trendy enough for our Brooke. Remember, she was trying to fit in with the elite crowd that Kay attracted. Prescription pain killers are for street addicts and desperate housewives, not girls like Brooke Larsen."
"What about Michaela," Booth asked. "Did she ever indulge in… pharmaceutical recreation?"
"What?" Abbi replied, incredulous. "Of course not. I already told you Kay isn't like that. Or, she wasn't…"
"What was that, Miss Kleinman?" Booth asked. "I didn't hear that last part."
"I said Kay isn't like that," Abbi repeated. "That whole 'party girl' thing was something her dad's publicist cooked up."
"I know that you said that, Abbi," Booth said, once again laying on the charm. "Can I call you Abbi? You said that, but what about all the pictures and magazine articles? She was there, wasn't she? In those clubs? At those parties?"
"Well, yeah…" Abbi answered, hesitating. "She was, but…"
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"She's hiding something," Sweets said.
"I know," Brennan replied. "Before, when she mumbled under her breath, she said 'Or, she wasn't.' It sounded as if Michaela was doing something that Abbi didn't approve of…"
"How did you hear that?" Sweets asked, awestruck.
"Mother of a teenager," she said, smiling. "Reading mumbling lips is a prerequisite."
Sweets shook his head, smiling at her.
"You've come a long way, Dr. Brennan," he said.
"Yes," she answered. "I suppose I have."
She excused herself to go into the interrogation room. After a quick rap on the door, she opened it and motioned for her partner to come to the door.
"Director Booth," she said, "may I have a word?"
Booth gave a brief nod before turning back to Abbi.
"Excuse me for a moment, Miss Kleinman," he said, turning to join his partner outside in the hallway.
"What is it, Bones?" he asked, after closing the door behind him.
"She's hiding something," Brennan replied.
"Yeah, I'm getting that, too," he said. "But what makes you think so?"
"She mumbled something under her breath," she told him. "Michaela was doing something she didn't approve of."
"I heard that," Booth said, "but I didn't catch what she said."
"She said 'Or, she wasn't,'" Brennan said.
"Meaning that she thought Michaela had changed, or was changing…"
"Yes," Brennan replied. "But either way, Miss Kleinman knows more than she's saying."
"I agree," he said. "Good work, Dr. Brennan."
"Thank you, Director Booth."
She gave him a wink and turned to go back to the observation room.
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Angela sat in Cam's temporary office, watching the pathologist as she went over lab results.
"This is weird, isn't it?" she said.
"What do you mean?" Cam asked.
"Us," Angela replied. "Working here together again."
"Yeah," Cam agreed. "It is. A little."
"Do you miss it?"
"Yeah," Cam answered. "I do. But when Paul and I decided to get married, we had to compromise. I mean, with our crazy schedules, we barely saw each other. It made the most sense for me to make a change, especially when the offer came up at American."
"Are you happy?" Angela asked. "Being the Dean of Forensic Science is a pretty big deal, right?"
"Sure," Cam answered. "It's interesting and the work is worthwhile. I suppose it depends on who you ask how much of a big deal it is," she said with a smile. "The academics think it's a very big deal, but there are some who find being the administrator of the Medico-Legal lab at the Jeffersonian to be a more prestigious position…"
"I can see that," Angela said with a smile.
"And then," Cam added with a twinkle in her eye, "there are those who find my biggest achievement is being the wife of the head of Obstetrics at Georgetown University Hospital."
"Right," Angela said. "I can relate. I apparently give the best dinner parties in Cantilever history. So, how's Michelle?"
"She's amazing," Cam said, her face and her voice full of pride. "You know that after graduating top of her class at Columbia, she was accepted to Harvard Law…"
"And how are the wedding plans coming?" Angela asked, interrupting.
Cam rolled her eyes.
"Painfully," she answered.
"I can't imagine Michelle being a Bridezilla," Angela offered.
"Oh, she isn't," Cam told her. "It's Jeremy's mother. He's her only child, so since she doesn't have a daughter… she's apparently been dreaming of his wedding a long time."
"Yikes."
"I know. But the kids are being really great. They're more concerned with getting moved to Boston than the particulars of the wedding. I think they'd be happy to have it in the backyard."
"Well, I am an excellent event planner," Angela said. "And I've got some time on my hands, I'd be happy to help."
"Thanks," Cam replied. "I might just take you up on that. How's that going for you? Staying home, I mean?"
"It's working out," Angela said. "I really don't want the twins here in the lab. I know everyone thinks I'm being ridiculous, especially since Mia is practically growing up here, but I just don't want them around all of this… death…"
"No, I get it," her friend responded. "You never were able to deal with it like everyone else, and they're so little…"
"Exactly," Angela said. "And with Wendell and Clark doing most of the lab work along with all the new students, there isn't always work for Jack to do, either. He's been getting more involved with the Foundation work, and the Cantilever Group…"
"That still amazes me. He was always so against 'the machine'," Cam replied with a smile.
"I know, but a lot changed when MJ and Katie were born. Cantilever is his legacy and he can't really get away from that. Now that he's a father, he's decided that he needs to be more involved so that he can build on that legacy for our children…"
"Wow," Cam said, shaking her head. "When did we all grow up?"
"About the time Brennan decided to go to Maluku," Angela replied with a sigh. "I think that year we spent apart was really a turning point for all of us."
"It really was, wasn't it?"
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Brennan looked up from her computer to see her husband standing in her doorway.
"Hi," she said with a smile.
"Hey," he answered, walking over to greet her with a quick kiss.
"What's going on?" she asked, glancing down at her watch. "I thought we were meeting at home."
"Yeah," he said. "We were."
"Were?" she asked, eyebrows raised.
Booth leaned in against the inside of her desk, crossing his feet at the ankles. He was obviously trying to look casual.
"NCIS got a hit on some Morgan Hill activity out in Bethesda," he told her. "I'm gonna ride out there with DiNozzo to check it out."
"You're going to run down a lead with Tony?" she asked, not quite sure she'd heard him correctly.
"Yes," he answered. "I still don't like the guy, but he's good at what he does and my wife told me I should play nice…"
"Your wife sounds like a very intelligent woman," she said with a grin.
"Oh, she is," he answered. "The smartest, and I'm a really lucky guy 'cause she's even sexier than she is smart."
"Wow," Brennan replied. "That's saying a lot."
"It is," he answered. "It really is."
He leaned in for another kiss. This one was neither quick nor casual. This was the kiss that he always gave her before he left to do something potentially dangerous. This was the kiss that said 'I love you, and I'll be back' but it also said something else. This was the something that always made Brennan nervous. She knew he could handle himself, and she worried less when she was the one who had his back… but she always felt uneasy when he went into a situation like this without her
"Be careful," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Always," he answered with a cocky grin.
"I mean it, Booth," she said sternly. "I have to trust Tony to have your back out there," she went on. "And that means that you have to trust him, too."
"I'll be fine, Baby," he said. "And I'll be home in time to read Mia her bedtime story."
"You'd better be," she answered.
He smiled, loving when she looked at him with that little girl pout.
"I love you," he said, leaning in to rest his forehead on hers.
"I love you, too."
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"Bones, is everything okay?" Parker asked as he set the dinner table for three. He could tell that she'd been a bit preoccupied since they'd left the lab. She hadn't even objected when he asked for Cocoa Puffs and Oreos when they'd stopped at the grocery.
"Everything's fine, Parks," she answered without looking up from the pot of pasta she was stirring.
"Where's Daddy?" Mia asked, noting that Parker hadn't put a plate in front of Daddy's chair.
"He's working late tonight, Angel," her mother answered.
"He don't get supper?" Mia asked.
"Doesn't," her mother corrected. "And yes, Daddy will have supper when he gets home."
"Mimi, why don't you go and get washed up for supper?" Parker suggested to his little sister. "I'll come up to check on you in a minute."
Mia looked to her mother for approval. Brennan nodded.
"That's a good idea, Sweetheart."
"Okay, Mommy."
They watched as the little girl bounded out of the kitchen.
"What's up, Bones?"
"Nothing, Parker," Brennan replied. "If you've finished setting the table, why don't you start on the salad?"
"Okay," Parker replied.
He went to the refrigerator and started taking out the vegetables to prepare a salad. He set them out on the kitchen island and turned back to his step-mother.
"I'm not a little kid, you know," he said. "You can talk to me. I can tell that something is bothering you. Where is Dad, really?"
"He's working," Brennan replied. "You know I would never lie to you."
"Yeah," Parker admitted. "I do know that, that's one of the things that I've always loved about you. So, I'm going to ask you again… where's Dad?"
"He's working, Parker," she said again.
"Is he at his office?"
"No, he isn't."
"So, he's out in the field," Parker surmised. "That's why you're freaked out. You're worried about him. Is he doing something dangerous?"
"I don't know," Brennan answered. She let out a long sigh. She knew that her husband wouldn't want her talking to their son about dangers in an investigation. But Parker was right, he wasn't a little kid… and he'd already surmised that something was going on. He was an intelligent young man and she also knew that if she didn't want him to focus on worst case scenarios, then she had to tell him something.
"He's gone with the NCIS team to check out a lead on the case," she told him.
"I thought it was something like that," Parker said, tearing lettuce for the salad. "You always act weird when he goes in the field without you."
"Do I?" she asked with a smile.
"Yep," he answered, nodding. "But it makes sense. You're his partner. Dad always said you were the best partner he ever had and that he'd never trust anyone to have his back the way you did."
"And I feel the same way about him," she answered.
"That's why you guys are the best," Parker said. "Not just the best crime solvers, but the best parents, too. Me and Mia are really lucky."
"Mia and I," Brennan corrected. "And your dad and I think we're pretty lucky, too." She reached over to take the lettuce from his hand. "I'll finish this up," she said. "Why don't you go and make sure that Mia doesn't end up soaking the bathroom."
"Sure thing," Parker said. "And don't worry about Dad. He's the best FBI agent there is, right? He'll be fine."
"I certainly hope so," Brennan said to herself as Parker left the room.
