Booth stared at his partner who had just entered the interrogation. She had promised him that she would stay in the observation room; that she wouldn't have any interaction with Larry. He honestly could care less about how it affected the investigation, especially after her admission earlier that day.
When he first looked at her, she looked at her foster father the way she did at Booth when he 'rescued her from airport security' the day their partnership began, the look full of anger and some disgust. She was the smart, independent woman Booth had known for the past several years. But the moment he looked a little deeper into her eyes, he saw the scared girl he had met in Chicago. The one that had been hurt by the man sitting across the table from him.
"I asked what the hell you were doing in here, girl!" Larry repeated himself, beginning to stand up and move threateningly moving towards Brennan.
"Larry, shut up and sit down!" Booth wouldn't have let a suspect talk to anyone like that, but the fact it was Larry speaking to Bones just about made him lose it again. And with him moving towards the woman, it took every ounce of self control Booth could muster not to pull out his gun and shoot Larry. Instead he positioned himself protectively between Larry and Brennan. He looked at her and asked, "Can I speak to outside?" She simply nodded in reply.
The moment the door closed behind Booth, the woman started trying to explain herself. "I'm sorry, Booth. It wasn't a good idea for me to go in there, I know that. But I couldn't think of another way to get you out of there. Cam called me with something I think you should know." She waited to judge his reactions.
"And…?"
"Hodgins was able to find some skin under Kirra's finger nails, and he compared the DNA to the hair sample they processed when you arrested him. There was a 99.3% match. That's enough to convict him in any reasonable court." Booth heard what she said, but was more interested in the emotions she was trying to hide, more than anything, her vulnerability.
"Are you okay?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because that's the first interaction you've had with Larry since you testified against him."
"Yes, but I can compartmentalize."
"Bones…" His tone made it obvious that there was no reason to hide anything from him.
"Fine, I'll admit I'll feel more comfortable when he's put back in prison."
"We always get the bad guy. This time won't be any different." They both knew he would do everything in his power to keep that promise. "We've got enough to arrest him, now. Let me go and tell him, and then we can gather all the squints and go to the diner or the bar."
She agreed, and Booth opened his arms for a guy hug which Brennan readily accepted. They stood there for a minute, enjoying the warmth the other provided. Booth hadn't realized how much he had missed this feeling. He and Bones had been back in Washington for months, but he had felt a little guilt whenever he and Bones had exchanged any intimate hugs or touches. So he had avoided all of them since he and Hannah had been reunited. But that was no longer a factor.
Finally, Brennan pulled away. "Thank you, Booth."
Before the agent had a chance to respond, she slid back into the observation room leaving him alone in the middle of the hallway. Booth sighed and entered the interrogation room.
"You got her watching this?" Larry asked the moment Booth came in.
"Yeah. She's a consultant for us. But she came in to tell me that the lab happened to find some skin cells underneath what was left of Kirra's fingernails. And since they took some DNA samples from you recently, they went ahead and compared it to yours. It came back a 99.3% match; do you know how the possibility that it's not yours? About zero percent. How would you like to explain that?" Larry paled immediately, though he looked as though he was trying to intimidate Booth with a stare, even if his own nerves were getting in the way. "At this point, you don't have to admit anything; we've got motive, means, and opportunity. We can place you with her near the time of her death, and you've the rage for it. It won't take the jury ten minutes to convict you."
Larry hung his head, and quietly said, "Damn it."
Sorry this chapter is a little short, but I thought it should end here... But what are you guys think about this so far?