("El Carnicero en el Coche")

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I don't own Bones.

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Drumming his fingers on the bar, Booth waited impatiently for Aldo to come back from wherever he'd gone. After a few minutes, Aldo exited the cooler and reentered the front of the bar, "Hey, when did you get here?"

His fingers now still, Booth answered, "About ten minutes ago. You know if I had wanted to, I could have taken some bottles of scotch and emptied your cash register while you were gone."

A smirk on his face, Aldo carried the case of beer behind the bar and placed it on the floor. Unloading the bottles into the cooler beneath the bar, Aldo assured his friend, "And you would have been arrested and you'd have lost that cushy job of yours tomorrow." Pointing towards the cameras, the bar owner smiled, "I do have cameras you know."

Glancing at the camera, Booth shrugged his shoulders, "That wouldn't stop someone if they really wanted to take the stuff while you were gone."

The case now empty, Aldo carried the box back down the bar and placed it in front of the cooler door, "The register is locked. I lock it when I leave the room."

Pointing at the bottles of liquor on the shelf in front of him, Booth curtly ordered a drink, "Scotch."

Puzzled at Booth's attitude, Aldo moved back down the bar, pulled the bottle of Scotch from the shelf and poured Booth a drink. "What's wrong?"

Sipping his drink, Booth glanced towards the main entrance as two young ladies entered the bar. The young women nervously looking around, sat down at the bar and smiled at Aldo, "We'd like beer please."

Turning to face them, Booth pulled his badge from his jacket pocket and held it up for them to see.

Her face turning scarlet, the taller of the two ladies coughed and waved her hand, "On second thought, we'd like a Coke please."

Annoyed with Booth, Aldo handed the two girls each a can of coke, "You know you can order beer if you're over 21."

Clearing her throat, the smaller brunette blushed, "We know. It's just . . . well we just turned 21 yesterday and this is the first time we've tried to buy beer and well . . ." Glaring at Booth, the young lady frowned, "He scared us."

Now embarrassed, Booth placed his badge back into his jacket pocket, "Sorry, I thought you were under age. I should have let Aldo card you that was a mistake. . . . May I buy you both a beer as a belated birthday present?"

Uncertain, the taller woman whispered to her friend and then glanced at Booth. Nodding her head, she finally turned and smiled, "Okay." Handing Aldo her driver's license, the young lady assured him, "We really are 21."

Checking her ID, Aldo handed it back and then took the proffered card from the brunette. Handing the card back, Aldo smiled, "What kind of beer would you like?"

Nervous, the taller girl replied, "Well, Tina and I have been curious about that beer where the guy on TV says he's the most interesting guy in the world."

Tittering, Tina shook her head, "We've tried beer before but we've never had the choice in what brand we drank. We just drank whatever our boyfriends bought. Mina thought it might be interesting to try an imported beer."

Placing two bottles of Dos Equis on the bar, Aldo smiled, "Happy birthday." Moving back down the bar, Aldo picked up the money that Booth had laid on the bar to pay for the beer. "So, you look a little more frazzled than the last time I saw you, what's going on?"

Turning back to look at Aldo, Booth sighed, "A friend of mine is taking a sabbatical from his job at the FBI. You know the kid that lived with me and Bones for a while. I'm worried about him." Placing more money on the bar, he ordered a drink, "I'll take a Guinness Blonde please."

"Does this have something to do with you know who?" Placing the bottle of beer on top of the bar, the bar owned leaned against the bar.

The cool bottle now in his hand, Booth sipped some of the beer and replied, "Nah, Sweets is having a crisis I guess. He's a little confused about his life right now. He wants some space to decide whether or not he's going to leave the FBI. I guess I don't want him to leave, but, it's up to him. He's got to make up his mind what he wants to do, I just hope he doesn't make a mistake. He's damn good at his job and I really rely on him."

Glancing at the young women, Aldo noticed that they had barely drunk their beer. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to his friend, "He's young, Booth. You remember what that's like. God knows you had your crisis of faith more than once in the Army. You finally realized that you'd had enough and left. Maybe that's what he needs to do. It's his life."

His fingers peeling the label from the bottle, Booth nodded his head, "Yeah, I know. It's just . . . well he's like a little brother to me and I know he's really good at what he does. I'd hate for him to just throw that away because he's confused. He's kind of in a limbo. He's a psychologist, but I think he wants to be an FBI agent full time. I think if he goes with that it, he thinks he would be betraying his parents because they wanted him to be a doctor. At least I think that's what the problem is. Sweets is a very secretive guy. Hell I'd known him for a long time before I found out that he'd been adopted when he was a young kid."

Shaking his head, Aldo remarked rather sarcastically, "Yeah, it's so annoying when our friends are secretive. God knows I've been in that boat."

His finger rubbing the sweating bottle, Booth shook his head, "Yeah, it's tough to help people when they hide the important things from your friendship." Drinking some of the beer, Booth placed the bottle on the bar, "Yeah, it's tough."

Rolling his eyes, Aldo turned and walked back towards his cooler, "Watch things while I go get some more beer for the cooler."

Sipping his beer, Booth's thoughts were interrupted by one of the girls. Curious, Mina pointed at Booth's bottle of beer and asked, "I've never seen that beer before, is it any good?"

Finishing the beer, Booth placed the empty bottle on the bar, "I guess. Look, I have some advice for you, you can take it or leave it. Don't let strangers buy you drinks. You have no idea the trouble you can get into doing that. Strange men you don't know and alcohol . . . it's a bad combination."

Amused, Tina laughed, "But you're an FBI agent."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth shook his head, "Sadly, that doesn't mean anything. You need to be careful, okay? I investigate murders for a living and it's sad the number of times I've had to investigate the murder of a young person because he or she trusted someone they shouldn't have. I'm not saying don't trust anyone. I'm just saying be careful, okay? Buy your own drinks and make sure you keep an eye on your drink when you're with other people."

A thoughtful look on her face, Mina replied, "Sure, I get it. My Dad has told me the same thing."

"Then you should listen to him." Spying Aldo reentering the front of the bar, Booth stood up, "Just be careful." Waving at his friend, Booth smiled, "Got to go, I promised Bones I'd pick something up for dinner tonight."

Carrying his box over to the cooler, Aldo placed it on the floor. Leaning on the bar, the bar owner smiled at the birthday girls, "Did you like your beer?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Tina replied, "It was okay. We'd like to try what that FBI agent was having next. He was really nice. He reminds me of my Dad."

Amused, Aldo placed two bottles of Guinness Blonde on the bar in front of his patrons, "I'm sure he'd love to hear that."

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