Brennan had been gone a couple of hours when the gang arrived. They saw her car parked near the end of the small motel and Angela immediately ran to the room directly in front of the car. She knocked feverishly and when she did not get an answer she looked through the window. The room was in shambles; Angela thought she had been knocking on the wrong door until she saw the dolphin ring sitting on the table. This is not like Bren, what has happened?"
Cam was in the lobby talking to Mrs. Tipton when Angela entered. Cam turned to see Angela.
"Mrs. Tipton, this is Angela Dr. Brennan's best friend."
Mrs. Tipton smiled at her. "Nice to meet you dear."
Angela just nodded.
Mrs. Tipton invited them back into her small living area to talk. She knew Tempe wouldn't be back for a while so they had time. Maybe these people could shed some light on Tempe's world before she came there.
"Mrs. Tipton" Cam began "We are very worried about Dr. Brennan, what has occurred over the last month is beyond out of character for her. We are extremely concerned."
"You keep calling her Dr. Brennan. Who is she?"
Cam looked a little shocked. "Um, She is a forensic anthropologist, the best in the world…in fact, and she is also a best selling author." Brennan had not told them who she was.
"I had no idea." Mrs. Tipton smiled, "Here she is just Tempe."
Cam continued,"Dr. Brennan works for the Jeffersonian Institute. We have an agreement with the FBI. Her and Agent Booth work homicides. They are very good, her ability to find the answers in skeletons and his investigative skills make them the best."
"Well, she was pretty distant when she came here, but she seemed to be getting better until that Agent showed up. I am hoping you three can shed some light on that relationship."
"So Booth was here." Angela interrupted more as a statement than a question.
"Yes honey that was his name. Nice looking man. It is obvious he has feelings for Tempe."
Cam, Angela, and Hodgins looked at each other. Mrs. Tipton watched them exchange glances.
"Mrs. Tipton, what I am about to tell you is just our suspicions, neither of them will confirm those suspicions. They danced around each other for 5 years. Finally Booth told Brennan he wanted to give them a chance and she rejected him. The reason she rejected has to do with abandonment issues. She was abandoned by her parents when she was 15 and it has caused her to keep herself in check. But that is another story."
"Oh that poor child." Mrs. Tipton look visible upset by what she just learned about Tempe.
"Anyway" Cam continued "Booth said he had to move on and they both ran to opposite sides of the world, returning 7 months later, but Booth had brought a girlfriend with him." She continued on with the story and Mrs. Tipton was crying by the end.
"Oh, I would have never guessed it was so heartbreaking. My poor Tempe."
"Mrs. Tipton, I am sorry if we upset you, seems you and Bren have become close." Angela knelt by the elderly woman took one of her hands. "We are not sure what happened, but Bren has asked to resign her position at the Jeffersonian Institute. We saw Booth before we left, that is how we knew where she was. He is also a wreck. Can you please tell us what happened here?"
Mrs. Tipton relayed everything that happened from the time Booth arrived in their small town. She chuckled when she recalled Brennan slapping him in her defense. She told them how their fight was so painful to listen to, all the emotion between them. The hurt and pain in the eyes when they looked at each other and finally how Booth had agreed to leave, but only after he said his peace and told her he loved her. "I will never forget his face just before he pulled out, watching her almost begging her to look at him. When she wouldn't, he looked so defeated and he left. Tempe spent the next 2 days in bed, barely eating and doing nothing but crying or staring at the wall. She'd still be there if not for Liv dragging her out to ride. Liv would not take no for an answer."
Angela and Cam were crying at the end of the story and Hodgins was fighting the tears that were threatening his eyes. They had never seen Brennan is that shape, she usually could compartmentalize everything and go on. After they found what had happened they were more concerned than ever for her.
Brennan was thankful for the quiet ride and just being able to feel the horse move and listen to the sounds of nature, but they didn't do much to improve how she was feeling. They had finally stopped and laid out the blankets they had tied to their saddles. Liv grabbed the saddle bags and started pulling out their lunch.
"Okay Tempe, it is just you and me and the waterfall, time to tell me what is going on between you and Agent Booth?"
"Nothing is going on between me and Booth."
"Tempe don't give me that, have you seen yourself in the mirror? You look horrible and that happened after Agent Booth left. It plain to anyone that can see that you two love each other, so what is the problem?"
"It would not work. Booth and I are too different."
"Opposites attract, but you aren't opposites, you are more alike than you think. I can see that and I don't even know the man."
"No it is over. I will be fine it will just take time."
"Tempe, you are a stubborn woman and that stubbornness is going to cause you nothing but pain."
Brennan didn't answer; she just turned her attention to the waterfall. Liv also went silent and her look became very distant. Brennan turned to look at her friend and saw tears starting to fall.
"Liv I didn't mean to upset you. I am sorry. It is just that Booth and I…we…can't."
"Tempe I am going to tell you something, no one here knows. I came here 4 years ago, much like you I came to get over a broken heart. I wasted time and lost something precious."
Brennan just looked at her. How could she possibly understand what I am going through?
Liv closed her eyes took a deep breath and continued. "I was top in my class at Harvard." Brennan snapped her head towards Liv." Yes, I went to Harvard, and I passed the bar on the first try and was hired by one of the most prestigious law firms in Chicago. I was going to be the youngest partner of this firm and nothing was going to get in my way. I meant Ed there" a slight smile crossed her face. "Oh Tempe, he was handsome, charming, sweet, sensitive, tough, and gentle. He was a Chicago police officer. We fought much like your Agent Booth and you. Everything between us was passionate. A relationship would have gotten in the way of my goal though, so we did this dance around each other for 3 years. Finally, I convinced him that we were from two different worlds, too different." She wiped the tears away.
"Liv you don't have to…"
"No you need to hear this. For the next 2 years we saw each other sporadically and every time, my heart went to my throat at the sight of him. God, I loved that man. Then one day he showed up with this beautiful woman, his wife. I tried for the next 6 months to continue, but all of the sudden no matter where I went I saw him, not literally, but in everyday life I saw him. I couldn't take it anymore and I left and I ended up here. I got word a year later he had been killed by a burglar. We could have had several years together or maybe he wouldn't have been there that particular night if him and I would have been together. I threw any years we could have had away, because I thought we were too different. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband, but I will never love anyone like I loved Ed. When he died part of me went with him. I will never forgive myself."
Brennan just stared at her friend sitting next to her crying, like this Ed had died just yesterday. Liv had never shared this with anyone and all the emotions she had locked away for so long were consuming her whole body. "Liv I had no idea."
"No one did. No one would have known about you if your Agent Booth hadn't shown up. Don't make my mistakes Tempe, you will regret them. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't apologize to Ed for making him go away."
The sat in silence for a long time, Liv figured Tempe needed to think and she needed to put her mind at ease before they started back.