LoveShipper (I'm sure the boys did enjoy it), Phyllis, RobinAngelena, Caroline's Bones – Dolphins (thank you!), Lauwy(yeah different), kareneb (lol, sorry I interfered with your sleep), Felinxx (PDA = public display of affection), 554Laura, ZinaR, FaithinBones, aadams00 (yeah, so would I), adorkablesalad (we're all hoping for a revival), mendenbar (yes very true), gatewatcher, GalaxieGurl, jsboneslover, yoshimi0701, Monique Sampson, regbride12, mphs95.
Some time back, there was a request for me to write on Brennan getting Booth to go back to church after his release from prison. I tried but couldn't find who was the reviewer who requested for it was, and I doubt this chapter meets the brief entirely but whoever it was, I hope you enjoy this. First instalment of this series for 2018. A little angsty fluff. If there's such a thing.
Prison
Booth had always known that due to the nature of his work he would one day have to be back. Today hadn't been the first time he had to enter a prison again since his release years ago. But this time, the unwanted memories came back with a greater vengeance than the first time he had to return. He wasn't sure why, but he chalked it up to the fact that this particular correctional facility was more similar in appearance to the one he had been imprisoned in for three long, lonely months. From the prison uniform to the cells, everything looked disconcertingly familiar. As he walked past the jail cells, he remembered what it was like. He remembered enduring the long, painful recovery from almost dying alone. He remembered worrying about Brennan and Christine. He recalled what it was like to always have to look over his shoulders, knowing that almost every inmate wanted a piece of him and every prison guard saw him as a traitor.
As the interview room door closed while they waited for their informant to be brought to them, Booth fought the claustrophobic feeling of suffocation. He fought the urge to knock on the steel door, asking to be let out. Instead of sitting relaxed in the chair, he folded his arms across his chest, pacing round the room, his gaze seemingly fixated on the small glass window of the reinforced steel door.
His gaze fell on Brennan. He had noticed a subtle change in Brennan's demeanour and concluded she had to had been affected by their visit too. She looked back at him with concern, but before she could speak the door opened. The prison guard led the prisoner they were to interview in. The orange prison uniform reminded her of worse times.
The prisoner slumped into the chair opposite her as Booth took the seat next to her. She took in a deep breath. They were following a lead and had been tipped off that an inmate could provide information much needed in their current case. They were there to get a job done and the sooner they finished, the sooner they could leave.
Their interviews concluded, Booth and Brennan climbed into the FBI standard-issue SUV that was parked outside the correctional facility. The visit to the prison had indeed proved fruitful and the couple had obtained the information they needed. On the long drive back to the FBI, both were uncharacteristically quiet, lost in their own thoughts. Brennan finally broke the silence.
"It must have been hard for you to be back."
"Not really." Booth shrugged. "I mean, at least I'm not the one behind bars this time."
"Still, it must have been difficult being reminded of those months incarcerated. I noticed."
Booth sighed audibly. "I guess."
"I know you say you've gotten over it but those months after you were released and after Sweets died… it was a significant series of events that changed you irrevocably."
"It changed the way I think about the people I arrest, sure. And yeah I was a pain in the ass for awhile… but irrevocably sounds really permanent."
"That is the meaning of the word. But you were not the proverbial pain in the behind. You were however changed to a certain extent. I also know those series of events led you to gamble again."
"Wasn't an excuse."
"It was a tremendous stress to you Booth. I was afraid for a time I wouldn't get the Booth I knew back."
"Cause of the way I was behaving."
"Yes."
"Did you? Get him back?" Booth asked, afraid of the answer.
"I did." She smiled at him. "It took some time but I got him back. And I love him more than ever now."
Booth grinned. "He's a lucky man."
"I'm very fortunate to have him too." She reached over to her husband, smoothing a hand along his thigh. It was her turn to reflect.
"Going back there today… to be reminded of the situation you were in, the people around you, the conditions you had to live in and to know you were recovering from injuries that could have easily taken your life…"
Booth placed his hand over hers as she continued to speak.
"You were an FBI Agent in prison. I was terrified you'd die in in there. Every night, I lay alone in our bed, in our brand new house, worrying over the conditions you had to survive in. Worrying that someone would harm you, or worse, kill you. I wanted nothing more than to get you out of there."
"And you blackmailed a judge to get me out." Booth laughed. "That was hot."
"As I recall, you were incensed at me for doing that. Hot, was not what you thought of my actions then."
"Yeah but now thinking back, it was pretty hot." His tone grew serious. "It must've been hard on you too. Having to move all our stuff into a new house, taking care of Christine, worrying about me."
"Yes. I have no desire to relive those months without you. But I had help. Our friends were all there for Christine and I."
"People must've talked. You were the wife of an FBI Agent who they thought had betrayed his fellow agents. Everyone thought I had killed them in cold blood."
"They did, but I maintained your innocence."
"Still."
"You should know I don't usually give much thought to what other people think of me, neither am I bothered by it. I was however, concerned that it would adversely affect Christine. I was worried mothers would not allow their children to play with her at the playground. Or that she would get mislead by others intent on gossiping into thinking that you were really a criminal. On hindsight, it was fortunate that we moved. Our new neighbors did not know us and so the repercussions on Christine were minimal. Other than the fact that she missed you terribly."
"You were right you know. About having to look over my shoulder all the time. People wanted me dead… I didn't want you to worry… it was the thought of coming home to you and Christine that kept me going."
"I know."
"I was angry for so long. Even after I got released from prison. But you saved me, like you always do."
"What did I save you from?"
"I wasn't going to church, I wasn't sleeping, I was just a very angry man. You weren't going to get the Booth you married back."
"Isaiah chapter fifty-five verse eight."
"Yeah. You reminded me of that. And somehow you got me to go back to church and you got me back on the right track. Even when I gambled, you gave me a second chance. I'll forever be grateful to you for that, for not giving up on me. You know Bones, for someone who doesn't believe in God, you made a pretty good argument for me to go back to church."
"The human mind isn't always able to fathom what God decides. That is, in essence what that verse meant. You needed to be reminded of that."
Booth nodded, agreeing. He took his eyes off the road, glancing at her, grinning.
"Your faith is what makes you, you. You needed an anchor. You needed to believe in a higher power. You always had. Your faith in your God. You had to get it back to be Booth again. I was simply the facilitator."
"And that's why you're so amazing Bones. You know I love you right?"
Brennan laughed. "Yes. I know. I love you too Booth."
"You don't have to say that twice. You put your own beliefs aside for me. That… could only be love."
He glanced over at her again, his heart swelling with pride for how far she'd come. She wore a contented smile on her face. The Temperance Brennan he first knew would never have done that, but now, she was his loving wife and mother to his children. He would always thank God for her.