A/N: Here is the tenth chapter! It would have been soon but I am still being derailed by the flu. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter Ten"No." Max replied.
"What?" he said.
"No." Max repeated. "If I tell you, she will be in danger, Russ will be in danger."
"She has the FBI to protect her, me to protect her." He said. "She will be fine."
"You can't guarantee that." Max said.
"Yes I can." He replied in a steely tone. "Your daughter is a strong woman. She has been kidnapped, buried alive, accused of murder and she has survived through it. She would be able to survive through this as well."
Max remained silent.
"You know what?" Booth said. "I will be back." He got up and strode out of the room, heading for the observation room. He walked inside.
"Something's going on." He said.
"I get that feeling." Cullen replied. "You aren't getting anything from him. Take a break, refocus and head back in there."
He nodded and turned to look to where Temperance was standing. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off.
"Is there family visitation?" she asked, not taking her eyes away from her father.
"What?" Cullen said confusingly.
"I want to go talk to him." She replied.
He stepped towards her. "Temperance." He said.
"He is trying to protect me." She said. "He needs to know that I don't need to be protected. Not by him."
He stood next to her and looked at Max who was staring down at the pictures.
"I'm not allowed to let you in there." He said.
"I know." She replied. She turned to face him. "So how does this work? You keep interrogating him until he confesses?"
"That would be ideal." He said. "But he is going to request a lawyer at some point."
"He doesn't want a lawyer." Cullen said.
"This doesn't make sense." He said. "He knows we have no physical evidence to tie him to the murders, other than the Columbus coin. And yet he allows himself to be arrested and then asks to speak to me but won't give me any information. What does he want?"
He mulls over the conversation. Suddenly he dashes out of the room and back into the interrogation room. He opens the door and stands in front of the table. "Is Temperance in danger?" he asks.
"What?" Max said.
"Is she in danger?" he replied. "You requested me and yet you will give me no information. You kept asking questions about her, so my question to you is; is she in danger? Right now?"
"I told you…" Max started.
"No you told me that she would be in danger if you told. But she is in danger now, isn't she?" he stated.
"Yes." Max replied. "She is."
Booth grabbed the chair and took a seat.
"You told me before you got in that car and drove off, that I should take care of her." He said. "If you want me to do that, then I need to know details. Who is after her? Why? What is still going on that we don't know about?"
"If I tell you," Max said. "It's likely they will kill me."
"So you are willing to put your life before hers?" Booth said. "Before Russ's?"
"I can tell you don't have a problem with that." Max replied.
"To be honest, no." Booth said. "I would rather have you die then keep coming back into Temperance's life, and leaving her, over and over again. You cause her pain."
They fell into silence.
Booth finally pushed his chair away from the table.
"I'm done." He said. "Clearly you do not want to talk to me, so my presence on this case is no longer needed." He got up and strode to the door. He turned around. "But don't doubt it for a second. I will protect her."
"Can I see her?" Max asked.
"I don't know." He replied. "You should think about getting a lawyer."
"She's watching, isn't she?" Max said, turning to look at the glass.
Booth's eyes flicked towards the glass and back again but he said nothing.
Max turned his head away from the glass and focused back on Booth.
"I need to speak to her." He said. "Then I will tell you everything."
Booth just nodded and headed out the door. Walking back into the observation room, he turned to Cullen. "Well?" he said.
"I'm not entirely comfortable with putting Dr. Brennan in there with him." Cullen said.
"You think he will hurt her?" Booth said. "No offence but Bones broke Howard Epps' wrist, she could definitely take him."
"I'm standing right here." She said. "You are talking about me if I am not in the room."
"Half an hour." Cullen said. "That's all she gets. Fully observed and recorded."
"Of course." He replied.
Cullen nodded. "Well then, let's take a ten minute break so I can get a coffee and then we will let Dr. Brennan in." Cullen turned and walked out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.
"So…" she said, trailing off.
"Are you okay with this?" he said, reaching out and placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Booth, I will be fine." She replied, sounding more sure of herself then she actually felt. She was let her gaze drift from the floor to the wall, anywhere but him.
"Temperance." He said, cupping her cheek with his hand and forcing her to look at him. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She sighed against his chest.
"Thanks." She said.
"For what?" he asked.
"For all of it." She replied, pulling away from him.
"Do you need anything?" he asked.
"Water?" she said. He nodded and left the room, leaving her alone.
She stared in the mirror at her father. She didn't know where to start, what to say first.. She didn't know whether she wanted to hit him or hug him. But she knew one thing. She wanted him to confess. She wanted it for her own peace of mind but she also wanted it for Booth. Booth who put his energy into this case, who got fired because of it, who was always there for her. She shifted her gaze to the door as it opened and Cullen and Booth walked in.
"Ready?" he asked, handing her a bottle of water. She nodded and headed past him out the door.
She reached for the handle of the interrogation room, took a deep breath and walked in.
"Temperance." Max said.
"Max." she replied as she sat down.