AN: Thanks again to all my phenomenal reviewers, and to my dear CalleighAryn for her feedback and suggestions. I hope this chapter answers a lot of your questions!
"Detective, I can file a formal complaint against you for harassment," Brennan said when the initial shock of seeing him in front of her apartment had dissipated. "Step away from my door."
He held up his hands as if he were a suspect surrendering to the authorities. "I don't mean you any harm, Dr. Brennan. I came here to apologize. The things I said to you during our last encounter were totally inappropriate. I've never done anything like that before, please believe me. I'm so sorry if I offended you."
Brennan knew that she couldn't read live people as well as she could read the dead, but she thought that he sounded genuine. "Okay, I accept your apology. You can go now."
"Wait!" He said, a note of panic in his voice. "Just give me a minute of your time and then I'll leave, I promise. Merely saying that I'm sorry doesn't seem enough...Let me take you out for a nice dinner. We'll go to a really fancy restaurant and you can order whatever you want."
The intensity in his eyes was starting to scare her. "That's not necessary. I've already accepted your apology, so you don't owe me anything." Her instincts were telling her to hit him, but she ignored them. She knew how bad it would look for Booth if she attacked his arresting officer, yet if he wouldn't leave she might not have a choice.
"I'll be honest with you, Dr. Brennan. I don't want to take you out just because I feel I owe you something. I like you a lot. In fact, I can't get you out of my head. Give me one date, one chance to show you that I'm really a decent guy. If at the end of that date you're not convinced, I'll never bother you again."
Brennan backed away from him, her body preparing itself to fight. "No. You've had your one minute, so leave."
His face contorted in anger. "You went out with Nathan for three weeks and you won't go out on one date with me? I know I'm not as handsome as he was, but unlike him I've NEVER hit a woman. He abused and then murdered Melissa Kincaid! I'm a police officer; I lock murderers up. Can you honestly say he was a better man than I am?"
"You're right that Nathan wasn't a good man," she said fiercely. "But neither are you."
"You don't want to insult me, Dr. Brennan. Don't you realize how much I can hurt your beloved Booth?"
She remembered his lie about the tape in the interrogation room. "You're bluffing. If you had any real evidence against Booth, you would have given it to the prosecution."
"I don't need evidence to make him look bad. You do realize that it doesn't matter if he's acquitted in the end. The longer this trial goes on, the more damage it does to his reputation. If you'll go out with me, I'll pull some strings and make sure the trial comes to a quick end. After everything he's done for you, you won't go out on one date to end his suffering? Are you that ungrateful? Think about it. This is your chance to help him."
She thought back to the mental debate she had had in the shower after Carter's first offer. Booth would do anything for you; wouldn't you do anything for him? Yes, she would do anything for him...but she couldn't do this. If Booth discovered that she had gone out on a date with the man who arrested him for murder, he would feel betrayed. She refused to hurt him that way. "My answer is still no."
"You're making a big mistake."
"If you think that you can use my concern for my partner to get me to sleep with you, then the mistake is yours," she snapped. "Booth doesn't need any help; his trial is going well."
"We'll see about that." He glared at her for a few seconds before walking away down the hall.
Brennan entered her apartment and locked the door behind her. Her heart was racing and she took several deep breaths to calm herself. She needed to tell someone what had happened. Normally that someone would be Booth, but she knew he would feel the need to hurt Carter or at the very least threaten him, neither of which would help his case. There was only one other person she could talk to. Picking up her phone, she dialed Angela's number.
"Sweetie! Did you and Booth have a good time at the diner?" Angela asked excitedly when she saw Brennan's name come up on caller ID.
"It was fine. But--"
"Did the whole 'Booth being secretly in love with you' thing come up in conversation?" She interrupted.
"Yes, I told him that I thought it was ridiculous. But that's--"
Angela groaned. "Please tell me you didn't use the word 'ridiculous.' Oh, hon, you probably broke his heart. You should--"
"ANGELA! That's not what I called to talk to you about!"
Angela was stunned; she rarely heard Brennan shout. "Something bad happened, didn't it? I promise I won't interrupt you again, just tell me." For the next few minutes she remained silent, except for the occasional gasp, as Brennan told her about both encounters with Carter. "OH MY GOD! What a creep! I'm coming over to your place right now."
"You don't have to do that. I don't want to interrupt your evening with Hodgins."
"Hodgins and I have already done it twice tonight, and right now this is much more important. I'll be there in about twenty minutes. Fifteen if Hodgins lets me borrow the sports car." She hung up before Brennan had a chance to argue.
XXXXXXXXXX
"I know you like to keep things to yourself, but I wish you had told me about this six weeks ago," Angela said fifteen minutes later when she arrived at Brennan's apartment and sat down on the couch beside her. "I could have helped you deal with it."
" I didn't think I needed help," Brennan replied.
"You didn't want to need help. But sweetie, you're my best friend. I'm happy to do whatever I can to–Oh my God!" Her eyes widened as the thought hit her like a proverbial ton of bricks.
"What's wrong?" Brennan asked.
"Sweetie, what if...what if Carter killed Nathan?" She stood up and started walking around the room, her mind working feverishly to put the pieces together.
"He does have a rather unhealthy obsession with me, but it's a leap to say that he's a killer."
"I know, but making leaps is something Booth would do, and since you won't tell Booth I'll have to be the leap maker for the moment." Several minutes of silence and several laps later, she sat down again. "Okay, I think I got it. Carter waiting for you to get home...that's something a stalker would do, right? What if Carter's been stalking you for a while now? He wants to make a move on you, but there are two men in his way: Nathan and Booth. He knows that he doesn't have a chance with you while either of them are around, so he watches and waits.
"Then one day opportunity smiles on him. He finds out that Booth threatened to kill Nathan. He kills Nathan himself and then arrests Booth for the crime. Now he has the perfect excuse to ask all of your friends and co-workers everything he wants to know about you. He learns how close you and Booth are, so he figures that you'll sleep with him to help Booth. When you turn him down, he stays away for a while to reconsider his strategy. Tonight he decides it's time to try again."
"And I turn him down again. It's a good story, Ange, but we don't have any proof."
"What if you pretend that you changed your mind? You could get him to repeat his offer while you wear a wire."
Brennan thought for a few minutes before answering. "I don't think he'd believe that I'd really changed my mind. But we could search his house. If he's been stalking me, he might have pictures of me or newspaper clippings about the Jeffersonian."
"Booth could get a warrant."
"Booth's been suspended, remember? Maybe I could ask Agent Ryan to get one."
"Booth's friend? The agent who testified about him shooting Kenton?"
Brennan nodded. "I'll go talk to him tomorrow morning before the trial." She gave Angela a hug. "Thanks for your help, Ange."
"Anytime, sweetie," she said as she returned the hug. "I think you should stay with me and Hodgins tonight, just to be safe."
"I don't want to impose on--"
"Bren, Hodgins' house could swallow the Jeffersonian and still have room for dessert. He has plenty of room to spare; we'll give you your own wing if you want. Please say yes. If not, I'll be awake all night worrying about you."
"Okay, I'll stay with you. Let me pack some of my things." She went into her bedroom to grab a pair of pajamas, then headed to her bathroom to collect her toiletries. She threw everything into a bag and rejoined Angela in her living room. "I'm ready."
"Alright, let's go." As they walked out of the apartment, Angela asked, "You are going to tell Booth about this at some point, right?"
"Yes."
"Good, because Carter needs to get his ass kicked."
Thanks for reading! All comments are greatly appreciated. :)