We know you're all very anxious to have Booth and Brennan reunite (we are too!), and it will happen! We promise. It's just not going to happen quite yet. There are some things we've got planned before they get reunited. Thank you for sticking with this story!
April 22, 2011
Booth had no idea where he was going, but at the same time, it all felt so familiar. Cooper was following him, and when the FBI building came into view, Booth suddenly stopped, causing Cooper to crash into him.
"Whoa! You okay?" Cooper asked, collecting himself from nearly falling over.
"I don't know what I'm doing," Booth admitted. He swiveled to face Cooper. "I mean, I'm dead. I can't just walk right in there. Everyone will freak out. It will take away our attention on what's important: Broadsky."
"Soo...what do we do?" Cooper asked. He looked around nervously, expecting Broadsky to jump out at them.
"I say we lure this guy ourselves and take him out," Booth said.
"And what, you stay dead?"
"No. Once Broadsky is gone, I will come back to life," Booth promised. Lately he had been experiencing glitches of images, and now he was realizing they had to be memories. There was always the same woman in them too, and her eyes haunted him.
"I'm with you, mate," Cooper said. "I have nothing, remember? Church took it all away from me."
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Booth asked.
"Not right now. I'd rather get off the street and out of plain view first," Cooper pointed out.
"Right," Booth said. They made their way to an abandoned building and went inside. It was time to make a new plan.
Brennan
Florida. That's where the geniuses at the FBI sent them to live. Brennan felt even more frustrated that she wasn't allowed to contact anyone back at home either. It made her even more glad that Angela and Hodgins had come with her. The best part was Rebecca was living in a different house than theirs, so she didn't have to see or talk to her if she didn't want to. Parker spent all his time with them, which Brennan could only imagine was infuriating Rebecca even more. Brent was always off fishing. He didn't make much of an effort for family time at this present moment. He was angry for having to relocate, which Brennan was annoyed with as Parker was just as much his son in an adopted way, so he should want his safety and his own safety along with Rebecca and their unborn baby's. Brennan didn't understand Brent at all.
"There," Angela said, showing her the finished drawing. "What do you think?"
"It's amazing, Ange," Brennan said, taking it. Angela had drawn the twins with Max she had taken on their birthday right before everything became chaotic and messy.
"Liam certainly looks more like you every day," Angela noted. "I also detected a grin on Lindsay's face that looked an awful like the one Booth used to give you."
"Yes, she is becoming much like her father," Brennan agreed.
"I have to give you credit for staying so strong all the time," Angela said, taking her hand in hers.
"I have to. There is no choice," Brennan told her. "If I'm not strong, then I can't look after the twins. I need to be there for them."
"And you are," Angela assured her.
"Thanks," Brennan smiled at her. She laughed as Parker tried to teach Lindsay how to play patty cake. Liam was watching, fascinated. Brennan wanted this whole nightmare to go away so she could return home. She hoped it wouldn't be too long.
Five Months Later
Booth
Broadsky was turning out to be more of a pain in the ass than anything. Booth and Cooper had been on the run and trying to bring the guy down for five months now, and they'd only had three chances so far. Broadsky did not play well with others, and he did not show his sniveling face very often. Booth had had a very close call on one of the times, and he wasn't about to have that happen again.
"This is insane," Cooper said, collapsing onto the chair. They were in a different motel room. Cooper had emptied his bank account as soon as he was able to since he was technically still alive. They had hightailed it to a different city after that to avoid anyone asking questions and moved around from there. Booth had no idea if he and Cooper were on a CIA watchlist besides Broadsky's, and they didn't want to risk it.
"I know. I wish I had more help," Booth said, running his hands through his hair.
"You could get help," Cooper pointed out.
"No, no. We already talked about that."
"I know, but we're dying out here, Booth. This guy is a professional."
"I'm a professional too," Booth snapped. "We will get him. He can't play chicken much longer. I think we need to bait him."
"I'm confused as to what we've been doing so far," Cooper said sarcastically.
"We haven't been doing it right," Booth said, getting an idea. "This should work better." He filled Cooper in on his plan. If this didn't work, then Booth wasn't sure what else to do.
Brennan
She was sitting quietly, watching the rain fall. She missed home. She missed her job. She hated that they were stuck here waiting for someone to tell them it was okay to come home. How long did it take to find someone who was trying to hurt them? If it was her, they'd be in custody already. If Booth was alive...
"Stop it," she told herself, banging the heel of her hand on her forehead. When was she going to stop thinking about him every second of every day?
"BREN!" Angela shouted. "Bren, get in here!"
Brennan leaped to her feet and rushed to the living room where Angela was watching stare at Lindsay with a shocked expression on her face. Then, Brennan realized why.
"Oh my," she said, gasping. Lindsay was standing all on her own with no help. Liam was observing from his sitting position. They were 17 months old now, and Brennan knew this day was coming. Lindsay had been crawling for the past five months and pulling herself up the past few weeks. Liam was crawling now too, but he didn't have much of an interest in standing yet. She tried not to be concerned. Dr. Wilson had transferred their file to a doctor in Florida so they could have regular check ups. The doctor had assured her he was fine.
"Come on, baby," Angela murmured. "Come on. Walk for the mamas."
Brennan chuckled a little. Hodgins had dubbed them The Mamas, and it had stuck. Lindsay sucked on her fingers for a moment, giving Brennan a mischievous look before taking her first step. Then another. And another.
"Ooohh!" Angela squealed, holding her arms out. Lindsay tottered into them, collapsing into Angela's arms as soon as she reached them. Angela smothered her in kisses and praises. Brennan got down onto the floor to hug her and congratulate her too.
"You're next," Angela said to Liam, smiling. Liam gave a slight shake of his head and grinned. Brennan wished they were home so her father could be with them. She hoped he was staying out of trouble.
Parker
The last five months had been challenging for Parker. At first, he had not wanted to be happy about his mother's pregnancy, and he had lashed out a lot to both his mother and Brent. He had vented his frustrations to Brennan, and after a while she told him that Rebecca was his mom, and the baby was coming no matter what, that he had a choice of what kind of brother he could be. Parker had been angry for a while, but then one day, he felt his unborn baby sister kick, and after that, he couldn't help but feel a little bit excited about another baby. He loved babies after all. They were cute and innocent. He could teach them things. Lindsay and Liam were learning a lot from him already. He allowed himself the possibility that perhaps this baby would be all right after all.
"Ooohhhh!" Rebecca cried out, clutching her abdomen.
"What?" Parker asked. Brent was out fishing again. That's what he always did. He had only invited Parker once, and Parker hadn't wanted anything to do with it.
"I think...I think the baby is coming," Rebecca huffed. She recognized the pains.
"I'll get Bones," Parker said, rushing to the door.
"Wait!" Rebecca called after him, but she was too late. He was already gone. Parker burst into Brennan's apartment and found her on the floor with the twins.
"Hey, bud," Brennan said, smiling at him. "Lindsay just walked!"
"Really?!" Parker exclaimed. "Wow! Aww, I missed it!"
"It's all right. Soon she'll be walking all the time," Angela promised. Then Parker remembered why he'd even come over.
"Mom's having the baby," he blurted out. Both women snapped their heads at him.
"What?"
"She's in pain."
"Okay. Where's Brent?"
"He's not there."
"Figures," Angela muttered.
"All right. I'll go help her. You stay here with Angela," Brennan instructed. As much as Rebecca grated her nerves and made her wish the woman had been born into a different life, she couldn't let her suffer through a birth alone.
...
"You did it," Brennan said, wiping Rebecca's brow with a cloth.
"Don't," Rebecca said, swiping at Brennan's hand. She was furious that Brent hadn't shown up. She hated that Brennan was the one here during all this. She despised their whole situation together. Brennan bristled a little. Couldn't the woman have any goodness inside of her?
"Hey," Angela said, poking her head in. "Parker wanted to meet his little sister. Hodgins is looking after the twins."
"They're just cleaning her up," Brennan advised.
"Hi, Mom," Parker said, coming in. Rebecca smiled weakly at him.
"Hey, bud. You'll get to meet your sister very soon, okay?"
"Okay."
He sat on the chair beside the bed.
"I'll give you guys space," Brennan said, leaving. She filled Angela in on what had happened during the delivery. After a moment, nurses were racing to the nursery, and commotion was everywhere.
"What's going on?" Brennan asked.
"I don't know," Angela answered. They looked at each other. Was Rebecca's baby all right?
Booth
"That's it, Coop," Booth breathed, watching his friend give Broadsky full eagle eye on him. "Lure him out." It was a huge risk, but it was one Cooper had wanted to do in order to end this thing. Booth kept watching, and then, it all happened so fast. The shot came from a different direction than the one Booth had planned. He heard gunshots and saw a figure running out from a building two blocks away through his scope. He knew who it was. Broadsky was gone again, and Cooper was lying on the ground with a pool of blood flowing from under him very rapidly.
"Cooper!" Booth shouted, rushing down to him. More gunshots echoed off in the distance, and he jerked his head to look. Seeing nothing, he put his attention back to Cooper.
"Coop, come on man," Booth begged. He pulled Cooper into his lap. "Come on!"
"It's all right," Cooper gasped. He felt his life fading fast. "You'll get him next time."
"Damn it, you can't leave!" Booth shouted. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"I knew...what I...was getting...into," Cooper managed to say.
"He...he shot from a different direction. He was supposed to be right here," Booth said. How could he have messed this up? What was wrong with him?
"You'll get him...then your...life back," Cooper finished. Booth could hear his breathing become a struggle.
"Thanks for having my back, man. I will never forget you," Booth promised.
"See you...in the...next life..." Cooper croaked. Then he was gone. Booth sat there, feeling desolate and horribly guilty. His mistake had cost a man his life.
"Are you just gonna sit there all day or are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?" a voice asked. Booth turned. A man in his fifties was standing there sporting a rifle, and he was now gaping at Booth.
"My friend just died, that's what's going on," Booth growled.
"Booth?"
"Who are you?" Booth asked, frowning. He didn't recognize the man in front of him at all.
"It's me. Max," the man urged. "Brennan's Dad."
Booth stared at him. The names did not register in him at all. As though his mind was trying to help, he had a small flicker of a flashback where he was being sucker punched in the privates.
"You punched me," he said.
"Well, I'm glad it was memorable," Max retorted. "Is that all you remember? Where the hell have you been? Everyone thinks you're dead! Temperance..." He trailed off. Oh God, Temperance. The twins. He couldn't believe he was looking at a dead man, and he couldn't even tell her because of her protection plan by the FBI goon squad. Booth didn't seem to know her at this point anyway. Max had some work to do.
"Were you shooting at Broadsky?" Booth asked, cutting into his thoughts.
"Yes. He's keeping my family apart, so he had to go. I missed, though. We better get you off the street before he comes back."
"Cooper," Booth said, looking down at his friend.
"Ah yes. I think we have to leave him."
"I know." Booth hated to just leave him there, but hauling him around in a car with all that blood would make it appear they killed him, and he didn't have anything to bury him with.
"You're going to explain everything to me and why you don't remember us," Max went on. "And then we're gonna take down this son of a bitch Broadsky."
Parker
His mom couldn't stop crying. The doctor had come and explained to them that his sister had died from cardiac arrest. They said her heart hadn't developed properly. Parker sat there feeling very guilty, like it was his fault his sister had died. After all, he hadn't wanted her. He didn't know what to say or think. He wished he could go back in time and take back all the bad things he had said about his unborn sister. Maybe then she'd still be alive.
Brennan
They were back at their place, and Brennan couldn't get the image of Parker out of her mind. She wished she could take this pain away from him. She stood over the cribs of her children and thought of Lacey, the little one they had lost to miscarriage. She could sort of imagine how Rebecca was feeling. Losing a baby, even if it hadn't been born yet, was such a difficult loss to work through. She wiped a tear away. Lacey was with Booth now. She had to believe that they were together. It was what made her feel better a little bit when she was sad. She stared out the window at the full moon. She was beyond ready to go back home.