Plan "A": Redux
By LizD
Winter 2011
Chapter Twelve
-P-L-A-N-.-"A"-
"Thank you, you may step down," the judge ordered.
Booth looked to the prosecutor and then over at Jacob Broadsky who was looking at him with an amused smile.
"Reserve the right to recall this witness at a later time, your honor."
"So ordered," the judge said. "Agent Booth?"
Booth nodded and stepped out of the witness box. There was more he wanted to say. More evidence he could give. He had all the evidence about Caroline and the three other people Broadsky killed after Caroline: the weapons, the maps, scope shots, proof that Broadsky was in each town at the time. He had evidence that proved that Broadsky was planning to take out a senator, a congressmen, two governors, three army generals and a White House staffer, not to mention Temperance Brennan and Camille Saroyan. He wasn't allowed to present any of that testimony. Broadsky was only being charged with the murder of Heather Taffet and Tracy Lavek. The case for Caroline Julian, Matt Memphis, Adam Newland, Jan Diego were still pending even though Booth had him dead to rights on all of them and he had a taped confession though it was obtained illegally so would not be allowed in court. He kept his eyes on Broadsky as he passed the defense table. Broadsky's amused expression did not change.
Booth stepped into the gallery he saw Brennan sitting in the back left corner watching him. He didn't know she was there. They made eye contact and acknowledged each other. Booth took his seat behind the prosecution table. There was more posturing by the defense attorney to discredit Booth's testimony. The USADA was not firing back with as much force as Booth wanted. It was as if he didn't think he had a case; that Booth indeed was biased from a past relationship with Broadsky. Booth was becoming infuriated. Finally the judge called court for the day and ordered everyone back the next morning. After the judge left and Broadsky was escorted out in chains, Booth pulled the USADA off to the side demanding to know what was going on. Brennan watched as the two men held a heated discussion with their voices checked as not to be overheard. Brennan decided to wait outside.
She was on the steps when Booth emerged. He was so frustrated he wanted to punch a wall; Brennan was the furthest thing from his mind. He nearly punched her when she touched his shoulder from behind. He flipped around with his fist balled and ready to strike.
"Booth!" She stepped back holding up her hand to block the punch that was immediately stopped when he realized who she was.
"Bones, I'm sorry." He stepped back and relaxed his hand. "I want to kill that guy."
"The prosecutor?"
"He's an idiot. Don't know how the hell he got the job. I take back everything I said about Edison; it was not his fault that cases weren't close. This guy ... THIS GUY is a screw up."
"Caroline could try this case in her PJs and get a conviction."
Booth looked over at her deadpan expression echoes of Caroline in the Big Easy few through his mind. He had to smile. "Thanks Bones."
She nodded and smiled slightly too. It was good to remember her with fondness and not grief.
"The only good thing that this ADA did was not lump all these deaths into one trial."
"Meaning if he loses this case, there are others?"
"Yes ... and if he tanks this case, he's going to be trying the next one from the hospital."
"That would be ill advised."
"Yeah, I know." He reached out and touched her arm. "Thanks for coming, Bones. I didn't know you were going to be here."
She nodded thinking that there was a time when he knew what she was going to do before she did it - or so it seemed at the time. Booth had been back working major crimes since the middle of January, about three weeks. Brennan was spending all of her time at that lab and working on his cases under Edison's supervision. It was an odd dynamic by anyone's estimation. Booth hadn't invited nor had Brennan asked to go back out into the field. They had been talking fairly regularly since Christmas but mostly about work. There were a few lunches, some coffee at the lab, one drink after work. She and Angela were able to help him identify the five other women from the fire. It was rather sad actually. No one was looking for these women. In two cases both parents were dead and the siblings and extended family didn't care where she was. In three cases only one parent was living and never expected to hear from their daughter again nor did they seem to care about how she lived or how she died. Booth and Brennan were just grateful that they were given proper burials.
Brennan never made it to the snow with the Booth boys, but did have them for dinner a couple of weeks later. Parker was very excited to see Brennan again and pretty much dominated the conversation with all that had gone on in his life in the past year. In a private moment Parker told Brennan that he was glad that Hannah was gone. He never liked her and felt that she never liked him and that his father seemed happier with her gone. Of course Brennan assured him that Hannah did like him, but didn't bother to press. It was a perfect moment to mention her own pregnancy and that he would be getting a sibling soon, but since Booth hadn't claimed the baby, she didn't want to speak out of turn. She didn't blame Booth. She told him that the baby was hers. There was a large part of her that was grateful that he was respecting her wishes knowing that it was probably difficult for him.
~!~
"I'm sorry, Bones."
"Sorry?"
He led her over to a bench away from the entrance to the court house. "Yes. I never should have cut you out of the Broadsky investigation. I broke our partnership and it was just wrong not to mention just bad police work."
She sat back. She wasn't going to press but if he wanted to talk about it, she would listen.
"I felt responsible, you know."
"I know."
"Broadsky was here because of me. Taffet and Lavek died because of me. And Caroline - she was a friend, a mentor. I knew her for years. She saw me at my lowest and dragged me back up kicking and screaming. She was the one who forced me to go to my first GA meeting."
"I didn't know that."
"I'm sure you can imagine that she was not all touchy feely about it. She pretty much told me to get my shit together or she was going to get me fired." He reached out and took her hand. "I didn't quit completely until I met you, but Caroline at least knew I was in trouble."
"Why did you?" she asked. "Why did you cut me out of the investigation?"
He took a deep breath. He knew. He had known for a long time. It was just wrong thinking. "I couldn't bear to see the look in your eyes that blamed me for all these deaths."
"Booth!" she sat up. "If I ever gave you the impression -."
"No, no you didn't. It was all me. I just couldn't stand to see it in anyone's eyes. It's why I cut everyone out. Everyone." His second 'everyone' implied Hannah. He needed Brennan to know that he was not turning to anyone else when he turned away from her - at least not in that way.
"I'm sorry you went through it all alone. I'm sure it brought up a lot of your own sniper past. You shouldn't have had to relive that."
"With or without Broadsky, I relive it every day, but you and me ... us ... our partnership ... we were tipping the scales in the other direction." He ran a hand through his hair. "After Caroline, the scale was broken. All our good work was forgotten. I was right back into it and saw no way out but to slog through it on my own. To find Broadsky and drag him in. The night we buried Caroline, I was planning on killing Broadsky the moment I found him. In hindsight I should have."
"No, Booth. You are not an assassin."
He laughed. "That is exactly what I am."
"Then you are not a murderer. Killing Broadsky without provocation would have been murder, you know that. It's the same reason we didn't kill Taffet, and believe me I wanted to kill her. Hell, we could have killed her, gotten away with it and slept like a baby." Her hand went reactively to her abdomen. Booth noticed.
"I'm sorry I cut you out. It would have been a faster and cleaner collar if you were involved. I'm sorry."
"Accepted." There was more to talk about. But they had finally addressed it.
~!~
"Can I give you a ride back to the lab?" Booth asked.
"No," she said. "I'm done for the day. I have an appointment to get an ultrasound."
"Ultrasound?" Booth was worried. "Is anything wrong?"
"No, no. Everything is fine. Just procedure."
Booth wanted to question it further. He was under the impression that an ultrasound was done around twenty weeks; Brennan should only have been eighteen weeks. Maybe he did he math wrong in his head.
"This will be the second one I've had," she explained.
He hesitated. He wanted to ask but was afraid she would turn him down and remind him that it was not his place.
Brennan saw his ambivalence. She would be the one who had to make the move. She set the ground rules and if they were to change, she needed to change them; of course she also needed to be prepared for him not to want to change them. "Would you like to come with me?"
"YES," he almost shouted. "Yes, I would like that very much. Thank you."
-P-L-A-N-.-"A"-
Brennan drove and they talked around a lot of subjects but not the baby or the pregnancy. The weight of that elephant should have dragged the car down. The technician was late so they had to sit in the waiting room for a long fifteen minutes. There were other couples there; other expectant mothers and proud fathers. Booth just smiled and nodded at the men.
When it was their turn the receptionist demanded to know who Booth was. What was his relation to Brennan?
"Just a friend," he claimed.
Brennan corrected him. "He's the father."
"The father?" the receptionist questioned. "I have down here you were artificially inseminated, so he is the husband, not the biological father."
Booth was a deer caught in headlights.
"He's the biological father who donated his sperm for insemination."
"Very peculiar," the receptionist claimed. "Out of the ordinary."
"Be that as it may," Brennan wanted to move on. "May we begin?"
"Yes, yes ... please ... exam room one. Please remove-."
"I know how this works, miss," Brennan dismissed and headed back to exam room one.
Booth did not know how it worked. He didn't go through this with Rebecca, but followed along with Brennan and waited for her cues.
-P-L-A-N-.-"A"-
Booth walked out of there when it was over in stunned silence. It was one of the most amazing experiences of his life; outdone only by the actual birth of his son in which he was present. He hadn't noticed but he held Brennan's hand throughout the procedure and nearly cut off the circulation to her hand when they heard the heartbeat. The tech asked if they wanted to know the gender of the baby. Brennan said yes before Booth could stop her. They were having a girl - correction she was having a girl. Booth was thrilled. He assumed she was having a boy but to have confirmation that it was a girl was nice too; really nice. Brennan was unconvinced that the technician knew what she was doing, but didn't challenge her on it.
Brennan drove Booth back to his vehicle. Little was said between them.
"Thank you," he said. "That was really amazing."
She smiled. "It was, wasn't it?" She had discovered during the ultrasound that she enjoyed experiencing her pregnancy through Booth's eyes. He was so strong and hard; tough and jaded when it came to most aspects in his life. But with Parker and with this, he was sentimental and very soft. It softened Brennan. She was looking at her pregnancy as a doctor would, as physical changes in her body. Booth saw the miracle of life. She wanted to see that too, with him she did.
"Yeah," he nodded. He didn't want to leave her. He really wanted to talk more about everything, anything - but had court the next day.
"Dinner?" she asked simply.
"I could eat," he said quickly. It was almost as if she read his mind.
-P-L-A-N-.-"A"-
