(Season 11)

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Ooooooooooooooooooo

Back from the crime scene, Booth logged onto his PC and found an email from Brennan. The DNA test had come back and it was confirmed that Andrew Arsenault was the wood chipper victim after all. After he made a phone call to Richard Arsenault and asked him to come down to the Hoover, Booth checked the rest of his email.

Aubrey had also done a quick check of his email once he was in his office, answered several and logged off his computer. Thirsty, he grabbed his mug and carried it down the hallway to the breakroom where he filled the mug with coffee with a sprinkle of cinnamon. The snack machine recently refilled, so he bought two candy bars and a bag of Doritos. His pockets now filled with snacks he made his way to Booth's office and entered the room while Booth continued to stare at his monitor. "Um, I'd like to talk to you."

"I called Richard Arsenault and he'll be in later this morning." Booth had assumed that Aubrey still wanted to work the Arsenault case. "I'd rather you handle the new case from this morning and I'll handle the Arsenault case."

Work hadn't been on his mind, but Aubrey forced his mind to take in what Booth had said. "Yeah, sure . . . um, look that kiss last night . . ."

"Aubrey, look I know I've been giving you a hard time, but this really isn't any of my business." Booth regretted giving his friend a hard time and he had vowed to himself to bow out of it. "Bones was doing a little match making with you and Jessica and I went along with it because we both want you to be happy like we are, but we aren't trying to push you into anything either. You have to make up your own mine about what you want to do. If you're just friends with Jessica then great. Hey, me and Bones have been friends for a long time. We were friends a hell of a long time before we finally decided we wanted more."

Surprised with Booth's little speech, Aubrey placed his mug of coffee down on the front of Booth's desk and leaned back against the chair. "Thanks Booth, I appreciate it . . . look, I don't know what I want. How did you and Brennan know it was time to give a relationship a try? I mean weren't you worried that you might lose your best friend if something went wrong?"

Booth could see that Aubrey was anxious and he knew that it was time to get serious about the situation. "Of course Bones and I were a little afraid, but we had six years of friendship behind us and we knew . . . we really knew that no matter what happened we were always going to be friends. The thing is, our friendship is the glue that keeps us together. We've been through some incredible shit, shit that would have normally torn couples apart, but we're more than just a couple. We're friends first and we know that we can rely on each other no matter what happens. We know each other's ticks and when we're having some issues we know what to do to fix it or at least how to start to fix it. That six years of friendship helped us set up a solid partnership and it just made our relationship stronger. Bones has been my best friend for a long time and I know for a fact that she's in my corner and I'm in hers no matter what happens."

"Yeah I can see that, but Jessica and I don't have those years like you do." Aubrey was very uncertain what he should do. He thought it would be great to have a relationship with Jessica, but then he started to think about all the ways that things could go wrong and how those problems could end his friendship with Jessica. He didn't have any family left in his life and few friends. He didn't want to give up his friendship with Jessica if he could avoid it, but he wanted more at the same time. "What a mess. If I ask her to have a relationship with me and it all goes wrong . . . "

Not sure what else he could say to his friend, Booth leaned back against his chair. "Life is risk. Let me tell you a little story . . . When Bones and I were in the fifth year of our partnership, I tried to push her into a personal relationship with me. She wasn't ready and . . . well, it kind of went bad for a little bit. She took off for a dig in the Maluku islands and because I didn't want to be here by myself, I volunteered for a tour in Afghanistan. Basically, I scared the shit out of Bones and she ran and I ran. It was just a big mess . . . well, when we came back I had a new girlfriend because I thought that was the answer to my problem. It wasn't, but I'm human and I make mistakes. Bones and I had some work to do to put our friendship back together, but we did it. It was slow work and I probably didn't help the situation having Hannah living with me. I wanted Bones in my life and I wanted our friendship to be the way it used to be, but I was afraid too. I was afraid that if I . . . if I let myself feel about Bones the way I did before we ran then that would be the end of our friendship. Because I was afraid, I was gruff and impatient with Bones and I didn't know how to fix it, but somehow Bones overlooked my shit and well, it helped me to see that she wasn't going to give up on our friendship and I relaxed. I was in a really messed up situation though. I wanted Bones, but I couldn't have her and at the same time I thought I was in love with Hannah too and . . . well it all went wrong for a while when I asked Hannah to marry me. Bones was there by my side though. That's what I mean when I say our friendship comes first. I was a complete mess after Hannah turned me down and Bones stayed in my corner helping me get through it all. She was my best friend when I needed her the most. That's why I knew when we finally got together that we'd be okay. We'd already been under fire and we came through it fine. I absolutely knew that nothing we did in the future would screw up our friendship and Bones knows that too . . . I don't know what to tell you about Jessica. You're going to have to work that out on your own."

Aubrey was shocked that Booth had given him such personal information and yet he was so glad that he had. "Thanks for talking to me about this . . . I'm not sure what I'm going to do right now, but this talk really helped me. I'd love to have a friendship like you have with Brennan. I really would."

There was nothing else Booth could say to help the situation and he'd surprised himself that he'd actually told Aubrey about his past. Normally he never confided in anyone but Brennan or Cam and there was still things he wouldn't talk to Cam about. "I wish there was something I could do to help you, but as you can see I'm lucky to have what I have. It took time and patience on my side and Bones' side, but we made our relationship work because we treat each other as friends above everything. You and Jessica have to figure out what you want and go from there. I think the key to the whole thing is talk to each other. God knows I know that secrets are the worst thing you can do. Just make up your mind and talk to Jessica . . . That's all I got."

His mind racing through the possibilities, Aubrey grabbed his mug and stood up. "Thanks. That's good advice. I need to make some decisions and I need to talk to Jessica before I do."

After Aubrey was out of the room, Booth shook his head. "I'm glad Bones and me are through all of that shit."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Richard Arsenault was nervous. He had been shown into a conference room on the fourth floor of the Hoover building and was offered a cup of coffee or a Coke, but he'd been too nervous to accept. His stomach had been a clinching mess since Agent Booth had called and he was terrified that the news wasn't good.

Entering the room, Booth was careful to slide the glass door closed behind him. "Mr. Arsenault, I'm Agent Seeley Booth." After they shook hands, Booth sat down and was careful not to wipe his hand on his pants leg. The man sitting across from him was very nervous and his palm had been very damp. "Sir, I have some bad news for you. The identity of the body found behind the Canadian Embassy has been confirmed, the victim is your son . . . I'm sorry for your loss."

Nauseous, Richard swallowed convulsively and tried not to throw up. Booth recognized that the man across from him was feeling sick, stood up, retrieved the trash can from the back of the room and gave it to Richard. "Here . . . take your time. I can get you a Coke or a Sprite if you'd like one."

Jerking his head no, Richard held the waste can in his lap and waited for his stomach to settle down. After a few quiet moments, he placed the can down next to his feet. "Okay . . . what happened to him?"

Booth had dreaded telling the man what had become of his son, but he needed to tell him. "Sir, he was killed in a wood chipper. It looks like he tried to pull a limb or something from the chipper while it was running and it pulled him back in. I'm sure this was an accident, but what I can't figure out is why the police weren't called. Someone wanted to cover up the accident and they dumped the body behind the Canadian Embassy. I don't know if they thought no one would find the body or if they just panicked. I think this whole thing was just a horrible accident."

Calmer than he expected to be, Richard nodded his head. "Andrew has been working for a friend. Tim has a tree service. Andrew met the guy when he moved down here. My boy wanted to get into construction, that was what he did at home, but it's seasonal up there and he thought working further south would mean he could work all year round. He worked construction in the D.C. area, but he needed extra money to help with expenses, it's so expensive to live here . . . You need to talk to Timothy Elmore. I don't know the name of his company . . . When can I take Andrew home?"

He appreciated the help Richard was giving him and Booth knew that was taking a lot of effort on Richard's part. "I need to talk to Mr. Elmore, but I think you can take Andrew home in a day or so. I should know for sure by tomorrow. I'll call you and let you know. Thank you for your help. I can have someone drive you to your son's apartment if you'd like."

Slowly shaking his head, Richard sniffed and felt tears start to slide down his cheeks. "No that's okay. I drove over here . . . I would like to stay here for a bit though. Get my act together."

"Of course." Booth stood up and moved over to the door. "I'll let Agent Parks know that you can stay as long as you like." After he was back in his office, Booth did a search for Timothy Elmore and found out the man had no criminal record. He then did another search and soon found out Tim's business was called 'A Cut Above the Rest'. "Okay Tim, you've got a lot of explaining to do."

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