Chapter 14: It's Not Easy Seeing Green
By twelve-thirty, Booth had exercised, showered, finished the work he'd brought home, mowed the postage stamp of a backyard, cooled off in the community pool, and was currently eating lunch and wondering what he was going to do with himself for the next five hours until he could drive to Georgetown and pick up Bones.
She'd taken a cab to the lab after breakfast and had texted him as the team rode in the van on their way to the seminar. She'd taken her fancy clothes to change into and he was meeting her so they could drive to the dinner together. That had been her idea so they could spend a little time with each other before she got busy again, and he'd had no objections whatsoever.
When he finished lunch he concluded that he was completely and utterly bored without either Brennan or Parker around to do things with. He was up in their room, considering taking a nap when he spotted a few boxes that still hadn't been unpacked and decided to make that his next project instead. Bones had made a few off-handed comments about how nice it would be when they didn't have to maneuver around the boxes anymore and while he didn't tell her he still had boxes in his apartment in DC that hadn't been emptied since he'd last moved, he figured he might as well empty these ones since he had the time.
Most of the stuff was his anyway, he discovered as he got to work. There were some of his favorite books, including the one she'd dedicated to him, along with a few movies in the first, and the second held a good-sized stack of LPs. He actually enjoyed sifting through the box of vintage t-shirts and even found a few of his flashier socks and ties he thought he'd left in DC.
The last box he got to had been underneath a few of the other boxes at the back of their closet. He smiled when he pulled out Brainy Smurf, remembering the bidding war he'd gotten into on E-bay with an avid Smurf collector from Delaware to get it for her, and smiled even wider when he found Jasper too. The pink plastic pig had come from Wal-Mart after he'd wandered all of the other aisles in search of a gift that said, "thank you for saving my life," to a woman who could buy herself just about anything.
Palming them, he went over and set one on either side of her alarm clock for her to see in the morning. It was only when he came back to the closet and reached into the box again that it registered in his mind that this box was probably all her things, and she might see it as an invasion of her privacy for him to keep unpacking it. Just as he was taking his hand out, it brushed against something he recognized and he couldn't help but grab it and pull it free.
A piece of paper fluttered to the floor as he took it out but he didn't even see it as his eyes fixed on what was in front of him.
"Aw, Bones," he let out a jagged sigh.
The familiar green material was stiff with blood in places and had been crudely cut up one side, most likely by the EMTs hurrying to save the person wearing it. On second thought, he wondered why they had because he knew he hadn't had it zipped that night- he almost never zipped his jackets unless it was bitter cold out. His fingers brushed against the pockets in one of the sleeves, remembering how he used to hide little treats for Parker to find in them, and the breast pocket that was perfect for tucking away his notebook and pen.
It took more effort than he'd thought it would to drag his eyes to his left, though once he did, he couldn't take them off of the circular bloodstain that seemed both larger and smaller than it should've been. His left hand reached up unconsciously to touch the spot just beside where his jacket used to rest and for a moment he swore he could feel the pressure of her palm there too. With his eyes closed he could picture her face above him, her voice wild with fear as she begged him to hang on.
"I tried," the words slipped from his lips so low he wasn't entirely sure he'd spoken them aloud.
A smaller bundle fell onto his lap as the jacket unfurled all of the way. Curious, he laid the jacket on top of the box and picked the other ball of fabric up. It too was stained with his blood, but instead of the black shirt he'd expected, he saw green and knew that it belonged to her. Again, his eyes closed, this time watching a lively, happy Bones, with sleeves so long they wrapped around with her hand on the mike, her chunky necklace bouncing as she did, letting go in a way she never had around anyone but him, and his chest swelled with the same pride and love as it had two years before.
The harsh beeping of the alarm clock he'd set for his nap startled him out of the memory and he carefully folded the soft shirt and set it back in the box, then did the same with his jacket. It was only then that the card on the floor caught his eye and then sight of his smiling face underlined with the dates of his birth and his death sent a chill up his spine and he quickly tossed it on top of the rest, pushing the whole thing to the back of the closet where he'd found it.
As he dressed mechanically in the hand-tailored tuxedo she'd insisted on buying him, he tried to imagine what it must've been like for her during those two weeks. He knew for himself the only thing that had gotten him through was the thought that he'd see her soon. The only reason he'd obeyed his superiors and not contacted anyone from the safe house they'd put him up in was because he thought that the people he loved- Parker, Pops, and Bones- knew that he was alive; that he hadn't abandoned her like everyone else important to her.
Had she called Max, who they had just freed, to tell him what had happened? Had she let Angela come over and take care of her? Questions he should've known the answers to years ago assailed him during the hour-long drive to Georgetown's downtown grad school, making him feel as if he'd failed her completely at the time. Looking back it was easy to see why she'd gotten mad enough to break into his house and chew him out in his bathroom, clothes or no clothes, and she'd had every right to too.
But all he had focused on at the time was that he'd done the best he could've with the intel he'd been given and he couldn't have changed it, no matter how much they both might've wanted him to. He hadn't had the luxury to dwell long on it back then, though, because not even a week after he'd come back, she'd had to deal with a fresh round of grief with Zack's betrayal. Now that he had the time, he wondered just how raw her heart had been scraped, and if it had ever fully healed.
He wove through the city and found the Maluku Project van easily enough and shook his head at the driver who was sound asleep even though the windows were wide open. He'd made better time than he'd thought, and after flashing his badge at the seminar's rent-a-cop, slipped into an empty seat at the back of the huge lecture hall in time to catch the last of her speech.
From the way she kept shift her weight from one foot to the other he could tell she was flagging, but nobody else could, and her voice certainly didn't give any hint of fatigue away. She gave a few closing remarks, thanking them for coming and saying that she hoped to visit again with even more exciting finds to share, then stepped down. The lecture hall erupted with applause and he stood to his feet with the rest of them to honor her.
Down at the lectern, Brennan gave a shy wave and a nod of thanks, making eye contact with as many as she could as she panned the crowd. A much more genuine smile burst across her face when she spotted Booth in the back row, clapping heartily along with everyone else. He gave her a little wave and she waved back just before she turned and left the stage.
A group of eager grad students crowed around her almost immediately, each with several questions they still had for her. She replied as diplomatically as she could that she needed to leave for another speaking engagement, and was never more thankful than when Booth's broad shoulders cut through the crowd toward her.
"Dr. Brennan, this way," he called to her as if he were her bodyguard, flashing his badge and ordering people politely, but firmly, to step back.
She stepped willingly into the pocket of protection his body created for her and in less time than she thought possible they were ushered out a side door and away from the masses. They found Marcie who showed her to a side room where her formal wear was waiting and she was not at all surprised by the complaints she heard Booth logging with the assistant while Brennan changed. He was still going at it by the time she'd finished all but putting on her jewelry, so she stepped out of the room, thanked Marcie and promised they would meet her in Richmond, and beckoned Booth to come in and help her finish up.
The door closed behind them and he pressed her gently up against it as his lips devoured hers as soon as they were alone. She kissed back, calming whatever irrational fears he seemed to have for her safety, and assuring him with her touch that she was every bit as glad to see him again as he was her.
"Your tuxedo fits you very nicely," she breathed when they separated, running her palms down his chest appreciatively.
"You look hot too," he grinned, stealing another kiss.
They exchanged inane details about their days as she fumbled with the clasp on her necklace, eventually letting him move her hands and take over. He planted a soft kiss on the back of her neck as he finished and declared her fit to go, hefting her garment bag over his shoulder and offering his free arm to her as they walked out.
He was still hyper-vigilant as they exited the building and walked over to where he had parked but no one bothered them and she waved politely to her colleagues as they climbed in Booth's SUV and drove off.