AN: I don't like this chapter. But that's okay, b/c I've been busy doing real life stuff like officially becoming a California resident...YAY! Oh, and I've been busy baking. I've got a batch of cookie brownies, Mississippi Mud bars, and two dozen cookies to prove it! But that doesn't change the fact that I still dislike this chapter, except for maybe the first paragraph. I quite like that one! Now read on...
Chapter 21:
Saying goodbye is never easy. Nor is it a pleasant experience. Oftentimes, goodbyes are filled with tears, the exchange of words of love and encouragement, and the offer of empty promises. Nobody enjoys saying goodbye, yet it is a situation that is never easily avoided. Goodbyes are inevitable. But every goodbye provides an opportunity to offer up a glimmer of hope; the hope for a brand new start, a clean slate. So that's what she did. By kissing Vincent at the airport, Morgan gave him hope for the future he once dreamed of in the past.
The afternoon had went fairly well, as far as she could be concerned. She spent a pleasant morning with Vincent, before taking him to the airport. Dr. Sweets, though much younger than she had anticipated, seemed like a nice guy whom is good at his job. Despite the fact that his job dabbles into the realm of a soft science.
But mostly, she was glad that Vincent had the opportunity to meet Riley. It could have gone terribly wrong. But, thankfully, that wasn't the case. For whatever reason, it seemed important to her that Vincent approved of Riley. And despite some slight tension between the two men, their meeting seemed to flow smoothly.
The only thing that bothered Morgan was the fact that Riley became somewhat possessive of her. He would answer questions on her behalf before she had the chance to speak up on her own. He also increased the level of intimate physical contact between them as the afternoon had progressed. To state it mildly, Riley certainly wasn't afraid of public displays of affection. Normally, it may not have bothered her. But, today, Morgan found herself upset by the fact that Vincent was present to witness these events. She could easily see the hurt and discomfort written on his face at the sight of these actions.
"What's on your mind, Rose?" Riley asked, interrupting Morgan from her thoughts.
Morgan was unsure of where to start. A part of her wanted to set Riley straight, starting with the issue of her identity. She was Morgan, not Rose. But at the same time, she was Rose. At least here, with him, that's who she was. But instead of dealing with her identity issues, she decided to confront Riley on his behavior. "Why were you acting so weirdly, earlier?"
"What do you mean?" Riley asked, already knowing what she was referring to.
"Ri," Morgan sighed. "Did you have to be so clingy while we were at the airport? Were ya...were ya threatened by my past with Vincent?"
Riley tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He wasn't proud of his earlier behavior. And yes, he did feel threatened. "I'm sorry, Rose, but you don't know what you're getting yourself into there."
"Now what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" Morgan asked. "Vincent is a nice guy, Ri. I thought you'd be happy to know that. To get first hand knowledge of it. It's why I wanted ya to meet him."
"He is a nice guy," Riley admitted, somewhat reluctantly. "He is. But he's not the right one for you. You deserve better, and I'm that guy."
"Really!" Morgan scoffed. "You don't even know him!"
"I just don't want you to feel pressured by him," Riley explained. "Before...you know...what happened to you, you were in a serious relationship with the guy. You told me this yourself. I just don't want you to feel pressured to pick things up where they left off."
"He's not pressuring me to do that," Morgan said. "In fact, he left because he realizes that I need space to figure things out."
"Well, then I'm sorry," Riley said.
Morgan nodded her head. "He's a sweet guy, who after 2 years, still loves me."
"He told you that?" Riley choked out. "That he loves you?"
"Yeah," Morgan admitted.
Riley sat in silence, digesting this new information. After a few moments, he decided to voice his own feelings. "He's not the only one, you know."
"Only one, what?" Morgan questioned.
"Who loves you," Riley answered. He reached over and grabbed Morgan's hand. "Listen, I just want you to know that there are people who care about you. I'm one of them. And I'll be here for you whenever you want me."
Morgan blushed. "Thank you. I...I care for ya, too."
Riley pulled his car into the employee parking lot at the hospital. He turned his emerald green eyes on Morgan, staring at her intently and somewhat nervously. "Are you still mad at me?"
Morgan smiled and shook her head. "Not so much. Just don't act that way anymore. I don't belong to anybody. I don't need anybody to protect me. But I do need to sort things out for myself."
The two of them climbed out of Riley's car and walked towards the entrance of the hospital. Morgan stepped closer to him and grabbed onto his hand, lacing her fingers with his.
"So, when do ya get off shift tonight?" Morgan asked.
Riley shrugged. "I'm done at 11, unless they need me to stay longer."
"Do you have plans after?"
Riley shook his head. "Nope."
"How about you stop by Maggie's place on your way home and pick me up?" Morgan suggested. "I can cook you a late dinner. Then we can chill out, watch a movie."
"Sounds real nice, Rose," Riley agreed. "I look forward to that."
Morgan smiled and leaned up to place a kiss on Riley's cheek. "Alright, call me when you're on your way over."
"I will," Riley said. He smiled and then made his way inside the elevator which would take him up to the maternity ward. He waved at Morgan as the doors closed.
Morgan released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Riley had been right about one thing. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. Everything was just so confusing. She needed someone to talk to, but she didn't know who that someone should be.
Knowing it was shift change, Morgan made her way over to the admissions counter of the ER, hoping to catch Maggie before she left for the day. As she arrived, she saw Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan huddled around the admissions desk talk to Maggie.
"Hey, Dr. Brennan. Agent Booth," Morgan greeted as she approached the trio. She looked between Maggie and the two she had previously greeted. "What's going on here?"
"Agent Booth wants to look at our hospital records, for a car accident victim," Maggie answered as she took in the girl's troubled appearance. "Honey, you're lookin a lil' down. How'd everything go at the airport?"
Morgan forced a smile. "Things were...stressful. Riley stopped by. He was...you know...protective, and stuff."
"Well, ya know," Maggie started, wrapping an arm around Morgan's shoulders, "when ya got two young, adult males competing for a girl's affections, there's bound to be a testosterone spill somewhere along the line."
Morgan smiled. "You could say that."
"How is Mr. Nigel-Murray doing?" Brennan asked. "You know, minus his increased testosterone levels."
"He seemed fine," Morgan answered. "Dr. Sweets seems like he can handle any problems that might pop up."
"Yeah, Sweets is good at that kind of thing," Booth said, lifting his eyes up from the folder in his hands. He turned his attention to Maggie. "Is this all you have on Sarah Shepherd?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Maggie said. "She was barely alive when she was brought in here. She flatlined twice on the drive over. You see, this is a Level IV trauma center. We're equipped to handle a large number of emergencies, but we were unable to handle the severity of Mrs. Shepherd's injuries. She died on the table."
"Oh, I remember that one," Morgan stated. "Her husband was inconsolable."
"You knew Mr. Shepherd?" Booth questioned.
"I only met him the one time," Morgan answered. "Why?"
"Mr. Shepherd is our victim," Brennan explained. "He committed suicide. But somebody brought his body to the morgue and started the fire."
"Somebody with a grudge against the hospital, maybe?" Morgan asked. "If Mr. Shepherd committed suicide, then it was probably due to depression caused by his wife's death. He blamed the hospital for her death, ya know. He has that lawsuit, right Maggie?" Morgan looked over to Maggie for confirmation, which she received in the form of a nod. "So maybe somebody else also blames the hospital for Sarah Shepherd's death, and in effect, Mr. Shepherd's death as well."
Brennan's eyes widened. "Booth, his son."
"Isaac?" Booth questioned. "He's just a distraught kid."
"Who lost both of his parents because this hospital failed to save his mother's life," Brennan pointed out.
"So he desecrated his own father's remains?" Booth said, some of his earlier, unresovled irritation with Brennan beginning to resurface. "I highly doubt that."
"If he did it as an act of protest," Brennan explained. "He may not have viewed it as desecration, and therefore may have been more comfortable performing the act."
"I just don't know," Booth countered. "I didn't get that kind of vibe from him. If he had done it, I would know."
"Booth, that's illogical," Brennan scolded. "You can't rely on your gut for everything. That's just guesswork."
"Oh, and saying the kid did it with no real evidence is what, based on fact?" Booth snapped.
"No, it's an intuitive leap based upon the knowledge that the Shepherd family blamed the hospital for Sarah Shepherd's death," Brennan defended, her voice rising in reaction to Booth's anger.
"Right, because that's so much better than guessing," Booth scoffed.
Brennan crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows at Booth's behavior. "It's only logical that if Abraham Shepherd killed himself due to grief over the loss of his wife, then their son would extend the hospital's blame onto his father's death as well. I was merely positing a scenario in which we should provide further investigation."
"Isaac Shepherd is a good kid," Booth argued. "Good people don't take a dead person's body and light it on fire."
"Booth, you met the boy once," Brennan stated. "What makes you in any way qualified to say that he's a good kid?"
Booth exhaled loudly and clenched his fists in barely contained anger.
Brennan's eyes bore into his own, seeking to understand why he became so upset with her.
"Is this because of the whole religion thing?" Brennan asked, understanding starting to dawn upon her.
"Don't start," Booth warned. "I think we've discussed that enough for one day."
Morgan watched this entire scene unfold with widened eyes. She couldn't believe how out of control the argument between Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan had gotten. Maggie had slipped silently away, offering up some semblance of privacy in the busy emergency room.
Brennan nodded her head, her voice softening as she spoke. "I see. I'm sorry that I upset you earlier, but I'm not going to change my mind about religion. And just because a person or family has religious artifacts and iconography on display throughout their home does not necessarily mean they're a good person."
Booth scoffed. "No, you don't understand, Bones. You think that because a person has faith in something other than science and logic that they are capable of doing-"
"Agent Booth," Morgan said, deciding to step in to help end the argument. "I don't think that's what she means."
Booth looked briefly at Morgan before he brought his eyes upon Brennan once more. "How could you have doubted me like that, Bones?"
Brennan was momentarily confused. "I would never doubt you, Booth."
"Yeah, you did," Booth said. "You practically told me that you believed that I would murder my children."
"What!" Morgan squeaked, shock momentarily taking control. "I can't believe you told him that, Dr. Brennan."
"That's not what I meant," Brennan tried to explain. She took a step closer to Booth, but he backed away. "I know you would never intentionally harm Lily, or Parker."
"Then why-" Booth started.
"It bothers me sometimes," Brennan stated, her eyes glistening with tears. "Try as I might, but I just simply don't understand how intelligent people can believe in the existence of a greater power. Sometimes...sometimes I even envy your ability to have faith in something without empirical evidence. And it worries me, because I...I just don't understand."
"Bones-" Booth said, taking a step closer to his wife in an attempt to offer comfort. His anger had pretty much dissipated the moment her soulful blue eyes started shedding tears.
"No," Brennan said, rejecting his embrace. "I know that religion is a difficult subject for us to discuss, and I'm sorry that I even brought it up. But, I really think we should look into Isaac Shepherd as a possible suspect."
"I think she's right," Morgan said, throwing her two cents into the conversation. "So what, the kid's a practicing Christian. So were John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and Ed Gein. And they did much worse things than lighting a dead guy on fire. In fact, most serial killers were raised on strict religious backgrounds."
"Don't you start on religion," Booth warned, turning around to face the girl.
"I'm not," Morgan said, laughing. "I live with a hardcore dedicated Baptist. I know better than to speak ill of religious beliefs. I've gone to church every Sunday for the past two years. Maybe longer, but I can't remember."
"She's correct, though," Brennan added. "About most serial killers being raised on a strict religious upbringing."
The glare Booth gave her was enough to make her realize that she had, once again, overstepped her boundaries. She gave him an apologetic look. Most of the time she enjoyed slightly provoking Booth on subjects he was uncomfortable discussing, but she knew she went too far today with her thoughts on religion. She honestly didn't mean to upset him. But, perhaps it would be best to avoid the subject all together in future conversations.
"I don't remember meeting Isaac," Morgan stated, getting back to the reason for Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan's visit. "So I can't offer any first hand knowledge about him; but, like I said, I think it's worth it for you guys to look in to."
"Alright, we'll do that," Booth sighed. He looked up at the ceiling, a security camera catching his eye. "What about security tapes? They must've caught something."
"I can introduce ya to the security company's supervisor," Morgan said. "But I'm not sure if you'll get anything. There are no cameras down in the morgue. They're only in the public areas of the hospital. And there are several areas within the hospital, as well as out back in the alleyway, that aren't covered by the cameras."
"Okay, well it's a start," Booth said. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find something on them. What about surrounding businesses? They must have cameras too."
"True," Brennan agreed. "It's standard practice for businesses to protect themselves by installing surveillance equipment. Booth, you can go speak with hospital security and I'll give Angela a call to inform her that she should expect to receive surveillance footage sometime this evening for her to examine."
AN: Next time we return to our friends in DC. After that, we return to Kentucky where Morgan heads out for an evening with Riley. B/B will make an arrest, successfully closing the case. And then we'll bring the entire team back together in DC for the trial (which is planned to last a few chapters). Will Morgan testify, and what would happen if she does? Will Tristian be set free, based on a technicality or lack of evidence? Or will the team get a successful conviction? And if so, what are Tristian's plans for revenge (b/c we all know he has them!)? I'm thinking maybe around 10-15 chapters left to go...