10.
Brennan had just sat down on the couch after pacing for the last half hour when an incessant knocking started at the front door.
"Open up Bones I know you're in there. If you don't open up I will break through the door and we all know how much that hurts my shoulder. I'm giving you to the count of 5. 1,… 2,…. 3,…. 4,…."
When he was about to reach five the door opens. "Thank you." Booth says as he saunters into the house with his duffel bag but without invitation.
"I only did it because I don't know where the nearest hospital is and I didn't feel like dealing with you hurting yourself again."
Booth went into the kitchen without invitation found the cups and poured himself some coffee.
"Booth, what are you doing here. I really don't want any company right now. Thank you for coming and checking on me but you can go home to Hannah now. I will contact you when I get home and we can all go out for drinks."
"Not gonna work Bones. I'm not going to let you get rid of me that easily. You are going to talk to me. It may not be today but before we leave you will talk to me."
"We leave? You think you are staying here. Booth, go. I don't have the time or inclination to deal with this and you right now. "
"What is this that you are dealing with?"
He walks up close to her, places his coffee cup on the table, puts his finger underneath her chin and says in a low voice, "Bones, baby, what happened? Talk to me. Who did this to you?"
And with that last statement the flood gates broke open. As Brennan started to cry, Booth wrapped her up in his arms to sooth her. After a while he picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the couch to sit down. He positioned her across his lap and whispered nonsensical things to her to get her to calm down. He knew it was really bad when she didn't make a comment about not being an invalid and could walk herself. When the worst was over, Brennan lifted her head off of Booth's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost control like that. I am fine now Booth, go home to Hannah before she gets mad at you." And with that statement Brennan tried getting up off of Booth's lap.
Booth held her close, "Stop, just stop ok Bones. I am not going anywhere until you tell me what happened to you. I had to resort to checking your credit card statements and doing background checks to find that my partner has flown halfway across the country with her best friend without as much as a word and I finally find her and she looks like she has had the shit beat out of her. What the hell is going on with you?"
"It's nothing Booth, just nothing. Wait a minute you ran my credit cards and did a background check on who exactly? You had no right. I told you I was ok. I sent you an email."
Booth was about to answer and loosened his grip on her just enough for her to jump off of his lap and race to the other side of the room.
"And you thought and email would be enough for me. That I didn't deserve to at least have a call returned. I left you thirteen messages Bones, thirteen. I figured I was still important enough for you to at least call me back. I guess I was wrong on that assumption."
"No Booth, you are still that important to me. I did not want to upset your life anymore than I had to. I know that your time with Hannah is special and you are moving on with her. I do not want to get in the way of that. That's why every time Angie asked to call you I said no. She was with me when they took the pictures and held my hand when I was crying. She even made me go to her house instead of a hotel when mine was still an active crime scene?
"Wait a minute, what, crime scene? What are you talking about Bones, why was your house a crime scene? Why wasn't I notified? Is that why you're covered in bruises? What the hell happened?" With Booth's mounting frustration at Brennan he yelled the last question at Brennan. She just stood there and didn't say anything.
"OK you know what. I'm going to find a guest room. I'm going to take a shower, then a nap. We are then going and getting something to eat. And eventually, I will get the information out of you that I want. I am not leaving here before I have it. If that means I am here for a month, then I am here for a month. And don't try running, I will just find you where ever you go. You know I will." With that being said he then left the living room to go down the hall to find an unoccupied bed room.
Once Booth was in a guest room, Brennan goes outside to the porch and calls Angela. Angela looked at her caller id, she was waiting for Brennan's call.
"Hey sweetie. How's everything at the house?"
"Not good Ang. Booth is here. He found me by tracing my credit cards and doing a background check. He won't leave. "
"What's he doing right now?"
"Taking a nap in a guest room. Then he wants to go out to eat and talk. He wants to know what happened. I don't want to talk to him Ange but if I leave he will just hunt me down."
"That's what he said?"
"Yes! Why now Ange? He has ignored me for the past five months. Why does he want to talk to me now?"
"I don't know sweetie. Why don't you talk to him and find out? What could it hurt? He's your best friend; he should be allowed to help."
"No Ange, you're my best friend. You were here when I needed you. You helped me through it. I don't want Booth here; I want him at home with Hannah. How can I move on like he did if he is around me all the time? I just want him gone. I want to get on with my life!"
"I know sweetie and I'm sorry."
"I know Ange. Thanks! I'm gonna go. I think I'm just going to go out by the pool and sit for a while in the sun before it gets too cool out."
"OK, I'll talk to you later. Oh Bren, try and go easy on him. He loves you and doesn't like it when you are hurt. "
"No Ange, he doesn't love me, he loves Hannah. She is not a consolation prize. She is who he loves not me."
"Bren, a man does not fly half way across the country if he doesn't love you."
"He does love me but only as a friend, Ange. Anyway I have to be going. I'm going to lay by the pool while he sleeps. Then I'll figure out how to get rid of him. I have already decided that I'm not going to tell him."
"Tell him what, Bones?" As Brennan hears the voice she jumps considerably. "Ange I have to go, it seems Booth is awake and eavesdropping. Bye now."
"Booth, you know you're not supposed to listen into other people's conversations, it's just rude."
"Well it seems to be the only way to get information out of you. So you do not plan to tell me what happened, you were just going to figure out a way to get rid of me. Have I really been that horrible to you Bones that you don't even trust me anymore."
"Booth, I trust you with my life, don't even think that I don't. But you are with Hannah now and you are not supposed to have to deal with my silly little problems. I am fine Booth; you can see that with your own eyes. I am eating and exercising and going out to ride horses or for long walks. I am good really, very relaxed."
"What I see Bones is that you are trying to get rid of me. You won't let me into the house until I threaten my way in here and then I find you all bruised up and within 10 minutes of being inside you are crying on my shoulder and don't ever complain when I pick you up and carry you to the couch. That is not what I call relaxed. Bones, I am not leaving here until…."
Booth's phone began to ring. Without looking who was on the caller id he answered the phone rather forcefully, "Booth"
"Well hello to you too Seeley." Shit its Hannah. I thought she would be gone by now. Didn't she say she was leaving if I went after Bones?
"Hi, Hannah, what can I do for you?"
"Well you can end this foolishness and come home to me where you belong. How much longer are going to be only God knows where because you didn't tell me?
"I don't know Hannah it could take up to a month."
"A month! You didn't say anything about a month. Seeley come home. I'm sure you already found her and I am sure she told you she is ok. Why can't you believe her and come home to me?"
"Because she was black and blue when I found her. She has this huge bruise on the side of her face and she won't tell me what happened to her. I'm staying until she tells me and I can bring her home."
"Who knows maybe she likes it rough, you never can tell?" Hannah realizes that those were the wrong words as soon as they came out of her mouth.
While looking at Brennan the whole time Booth as calmly as he can states into the phone, "Hannah, I am going to hang up the phone now. Do me a favor, be gone out of the apartment by the time I get back and don't ever call me again." And with that he hung up the phone.
"Booth, call her back. You were angry. Tell her you don't mean it. You're in love with her. You can't throw that all away because of me. Now call her back and tell her you're coming home. I don't need you here Booth. I'm fine. Why won't you believe me?"
He starts to stalk over to her. She backs up as he comes forward. "Because I know you Bones. You say your fine but you're really not. I won't ask right now, but we are going into the kitchen and we are going to have a beer, find something for dinner and watch a movie. Tomorrow though you are going to tell me what is going on in the beautiful brilliant brain of yours." He holds out her hand to her, after a few moments of just staring at him, processing what has happened in the last few hours, walks to Booth, takes his hand, and goes into the kitchen with him.
