AN: Hey there now. I know that it's been a while. I'm so sorry about that. I assure you that I am very much alive. School may be over for me, but I still got to work. I hope that I didn't loose any of you, if I did…mea culpa. But if you're still here kicking it and knocking back a cold one with me, then I thank thee with sincerest gratitude. *Here have another beer. Or what ever it is you're drinking*

Anyways going about business, this chapter is completely different from the one I had originally written for Promises. Personally, I like this chapter very much because we see a different side of Achilles that we didn't know existed. It's like that saying goes "nothing is ever as it seems."

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of its affiliates. I just own the characters of Achilles and Annalyse.


Chapter 29: The Façade Comes Down

Booth pulled up to the Brennan household and looked over to Achilles. The teenager was still lost in thought, the guilt burning in his eyes. "Are you ready to talk to your mom?"

Achilles just sighed and nodded pushing the passenger door open. The walk from the SUV to the front door seemed like torture. And when Achilles finally stood inches away, it was as if the door was mocking him.

Booth watched as Achilles took his house key out of the front pocket of his newly washed jeans and unlocked the front door. They were met by complete silence and the faint glow of the kitchen light from down the hall. Achilles kicked off his shoes and stepped through the threshold. Booth followed and closed the door behind him.

"Mom," Achilles called out tentatively. "Mom I'm home."

"I'm in the kitchen," Brennan replied back. "Are you and Garrett hungry? I just started on some egg whites and bacon for you boys. Angela and Hodgins will be by soon with Anna."

"Garrett's not here mom. He had to go to a thing," Achilles replied back as he walked into the kitchen where his mom was standing at the stainless steel electric range stove.

"Oh okay. Did Garrett just drop you off," Brennan asked turning around. She was surprised when she met the sight of her partner standing behind her son.

"Hello Booth. What are you doing here," Brennan asked.

"Why don't you have a seat and then we can talk about that," Achilles replied nervously.

A puzzled look came across Brennan's face as she turned the stove off and moved the frying pan to a cooling rack. She wiped her hands on a towel and grabbed her cup of coffee. "Would you like some coffee Booth?"

"No thank you Bones. I already had a cup this morning," Booth smiled, a twinkle in his eyes as he remembered their date.

"So, care to explain why you seem to be metaphorically walking around on egg shells this morning," Brennan asked getting right to it.

"Yes…well basically I wasn't where I said I was going to be last night," Achilles started.

Brennan was a bit confused. "So, you didn't go to the hockey game? Because I got that picture message from Garrett."

Achilles shook his head. "We went did go to the hockey game. But I didn't stay at Garrett's house last night. I…I was at Booth's apartment last night."

"Booth's apartment," Brennan asked quizzically looking at her partner.

Achilles swallowed a lump in his throat and briefly looked at Booth who silently encouraged him to continue. "The Rangers pretty much had the win last night so we decided to leave the game a little early. After I assured Uncle Jack that I was going to be at Garrett's, he left with Kori and Kaden offering them a ride to the train station."

"So it was just the me and the guys left. We talked for a bit and tried to figure out what we wanted to do for the rest of the night. Axel suggested we go to this party out at Stanton Park where a bunch of college kids were hosting. We all agreed and headed up that way. There was a ton of people there when we got to Stanton park and we stood in the parking lot debating if we should go or not."

"Garrett and I went into the party after Sterling, Axel, and Diesel backed out at the very last second and left. As soon as we walked in, people were handing us drinks left and right. We didn't want to drink at first, but they kept egging us on. They called us names and I was just getting so pissed off. But the temptation was eating away at the back of my mind. I needed to know what it was like. So I gave in."

"I only intended it to be just one. But the drinks kept coming and they were cheering me on. They told me to keep going so I did. I wanted to be able to keep up. Garrett tried to stop me, but I didn't listen. I just kept drinking. Garrett was stronger than I was. Next thing we know, some of the high school and college kids started bringing out all these pipes, some bags full of weed, pills, and some other crap. That's when Garrett and I realized that we needed to get the hell out of there."

"When Garrett and I finally got to the parking lot, we saw this girl passed out on the ground just barely breathing. We didn't call 911 because it would've taken them too long to get to Stanton Park and it might have been too late, we weren't sure how long she had been like that. Garrett ran to get his car while I stayed behind with the girl."

"I tired. I tried like hell to get her to wake her up, tried to get her to open her eyes, but she wouldn't. I was so scared that she could be dead," Achilles paused shuddering at the memory.

"Garrett finally showed up and we put her in there. I just was about to get into the car when all these police cruisers came blazing in. All these cops began swarming the area and this one guy was hot on our tail. I slammed the car door shut and told Garrett to get the hell out of there and get to the hospital as fast as he could."

"Since I was too drunk to too anything else, I let the cop slap the cuffs on me. He gave me a Breathalyzer test and found my prescription Vicodin in my back pocket. The cop put me in the back of his cruiser with two other guys and hauled us into Metro PD headquarters. We were allowed our phone call so I called Booth and he came to get me. And because it was so late, he had me stay over at his place. So that's where I was last night and that's why Booth is here."

Brennan was quiet for a moment and she tried to wrap her head around everything her son had just told her. Staying out late at night partying and drinking and possibly experimenting with drugs? Lying about his whereabouts? What was going on in her son's head? This was not like him to do such activities, unless…she didn't really know her son at all.

"The girl, where is she? What hospital did Garrett take her to," she asked calmly.

"George Washington Memorial. Garrett told me he stayed just long enough to give the police a statement. He left as soon as the girl's parents arrived."

Booth stood up sensing he shouldn't be in the room. "I'm going to call GWM to check on her status," Booth murmured as he whipped out his cell phone and walked out.

Achilles watched Booth leave the kitchen and turned his gaze back towards his mother. She was still silent, but he could see it in her eyes, all the conflicting emotions she was feeling. Achilles hung his head. He knew he had screwed up royally. The silence was killing him and he quietly begged his mom to say something

"I obviously do NOT condone your actions. But, you and Garrett did the right thing getting that girl immediate medical attention. However, I would like to know what in the world were you thinking last night?"

Achilles remained silent as he took his mom's words blow for blow. "You were probably not thinking rationally at all! You lied to me Achilles. You betrayed my trust. You were acting stupid, and reckless! And what were you doing with prescription Vicodin? The Doctor said that you're not supposed to be on that anymore. Please don't tell me you're still taking it. That is a narcotic. It's highly addicting."

Achilles' silence gave Brennan her answer. She shook her head sadly. "Drinking, drugs, and lying? Your father and I raised you to be better than that Achilles."

Achilles mentally kicked himself at the mention of his dad. "I don't know what your father would say if he were alive. But I imagine that he would be just as disappointed in you as I am."

Achilles felt sick as he hung his head in shame because he knew. He knew that the worst thing he could ever do than make his parents upset, was to be a disappointment.

Brennan rubbed her temples warily. "What I'd also like to know Achilles…is why? You are a very smart and brilliant and talented young man. You are an amazing son and an equally amazing brother, why are you wasting your potential by making immature and irrational choices?"


Achilles sat in quiet contemplation. His mom's "why," ringing loudly in his head. All sorts of feelings and emotions started to course through his body. His mom may or may not know that he didn't really like to his own personal feelings (he didn't want anyone worrying about him,) but Achilles could no longer contain it. The damns burst and he just broke down.

"I just wanted to be able to forget how screwed up my life has become…how screwed up my life has been for the past fifteen years," he exclaimed as angry tears blurred his vision.

A shocked look came across Brennan's face as Booth walked back in and sat next to his partner. Achilles crudely wiped the tears away suddenly feeling so vulnerable, exposed, and weak. He didn't like it.

"I was shot at when I was two years old. I watched my biological parents die right in front of me. They had said that I wouldn't remember, that I couldn't remember. But I do. I remember every last second of it."

"There was my motorcycle accident last winter that screwed me up. God I can still hear him. I can still hear dad pleading as I ran out the damn door to drive his truck because it was safer. But I didn't listen to him. I was in such a hurry to get where I was going, I just grabbed my bike keys and left. And then what happens? I spin out on black ice, this car comes barreling into me, and I go flying. I get a concussion and a back surgery."

"I lost the most important man in my life back in May and then I get my brain rattled again in October, which ultimately kills my future. Now I have no freaking idea what I want from life. These things have been eating away at me for such a long time. I thought I had a handle on it all. I thought I had made my peace with it everything, but it seems like I can't let it go."

"And after everything that I have been through, I realized that shouldn't even be alive today. There isn't a single day that goes by where I wake up and ask myself 'how the hell am I still breathing?' Fifteen years! I've been living on borrowed time and dancing with death."

"It was all so much to deal with, so I popped a few pills here and there and I drank. I drank and I drank and I drank hoping to erase the pain I've felt all my life. I wanted to feel numb. Just one time, I wanted to be able to not feel anything at all. I just didn't think that I would end up in jail."

Achilles let out a shaky breath. "So yeah, you're right mom. I wasn't thinking at all last night. I did act reckless and selfish and immature. I didn't think twice about how my actions would affect my family. I didn't think about the repercussions, but I do know now."

"There are absolutely no excuses for my actions. I don't expect you to forgive me or believe me when I say that I am truly very sorry for my actions last night. I'm truly sorry for being a disappointment to you and this family."


After hearing Achilles' confession, suddenly everything hit her like a ton of bricks. Brennan looked at her son with tears in her eyes. Achilles' occasional mood swings, his anxiety and panic attacks, his trouble sleeping, the substance abuse, and his sense of a limited future; everything made sense now.

How did she not know how greatly those past events have affected him? A toddler, just two years of age witnessing the ruthless murder of his parents, was a greatly traumatic event. Of course, the people in his village would not have the proper resources to help Achilles deal with such events had he begun to remember.

Achilles was such a happy boy when Brennan and Christopher first met him three years ago. He was just so full of wonder and curiosity without a care in the world. They were informed of what had happened to his parents and to the boy himself. How he had been caught in the crossfire as well. They told her that because Achilles was so young, he wouldn't remember it at all. And now as the realizations hit her, Brennan felt a load of guilt.

Fifteen years, her son had suffered in silence, an eternal battle eating him away inside. He must have been so hurt and confused in those years prior to adopting him. She should've known! She was a scientist after all! She should've known that almost anything could trigger the memories of a childhood trauma.

Fifteen years he had suffered in silence. Three years since welcoming him into their family, without a single word to her. Adding to his already existing childhood trauma, Achilles had endured two concussions, multiple surgeries including his back and brain, and the loss of the most important man in his life. How could she not see the signs of post-traumatic stress? How could she have been so blind? She is a mother. She is supposed to know when her child is in distress?

"I'm so sorry," Brennan, sobbed unable to bring her self to look at her son.

Achilles looked up at his mom dumbstruck. "What are you apologizing to me for? I'm the one who did wrong," he asked so confused.

"No. I did you wrong. I am your mother. I'm supposed to know when you are in distress. And I am a scientist. I'm supposed to know that you have been suffering from PTSD almost your entire life. All of the signs point to post-traumatic stress stemming from your parents shooting. How long have you remembered?"

Achilles wrung his hands. How long has he remembered? There had been brief flashes and sounds since he was five. But it wasn't until he had his motorcycle accident last winter when he saw it in greater detail.

"I remembered brief glances since I was five. It wasn't until after my motorcycle accident that I started remembering it in full detail," Achilles whispered suddenly feeling ashamed.

"Why didn't you come to me about it? Why did you keep this to yourself," Brennan asked.

Achilles buried his face in his hands and let out a shaky breath. "Because I didn't want you to worry about me. You were pregnant, preparing for dad's deployment, and already dealing with me being in the hospital. I didn't want to add my psychological problems to the already emotional draining plate you had in front of you.

Brennan shook her head. "You are my son. My son. Your well being, both mental and physical is just as important."

Achilles sighed and nodded. "The only good thing that has ever happened to me was coming into this family and I've failed you all."

Brennan leaned over to hug her son. "You didn't fail us, it was a lapse in good judgment. But I promise you that I'll get you the help you need. And we'll get through this together."

Achilles rested his head on his mom's shoulder and closed his eyes. "Okay."


When everything was said and done, it was time for Booth to make his exit. Achilles and Brennan followed him to the door.

"No words can express how thankful I am for you helping me out Agent Booth. I owe you my life."

Booth shook his head. "You don't need to owe me anything. But, I know you were supposed to hang out with Parker today. I think that you should just take the day for yourself to sober up some more and relax. You can see him another day."

Achilles sighed. He was looking forward to spending the day with his little buddy. But Booth was right; he needed to sober up. Achilles didn't want Parker around him when he was like that. "Yes sir."

Booth turned to look at Brennan after watching Achilles bound up the stairs and disappear down the hall. Brennan looked run down emotionally so he wrapped her in a big hug.

"Thank you for getting him," Brennan sighed.

"I'm glad that he trusts me enough to call me," Booth admitted.

"I'm not sure I understand," Brennan looked at Booth quizzically.

"Bones I think I've made it pretty clear how much I like you."

"Yes I like you too Booth."

Booth chuckled. "Well the way I view this dynamic is that we're two people coming into a blossoming partnership with children from previous relationships. Achilles is much older and mature than Parker. Therefore he might have certain qualms against me. Achilles is staying guarded and trying to protective himself because he doesn't want to get hurt by getting too attached."

"Achilles might not like me because to him, I'm the guy who is taking up residence in your heart. He thinks that you're going to replace his dad with me. And I would never in a million years try to replace Christopher, but if we were to give us a chance and Achilles will accept me in his life, than I will do my damnedest to be the best father figure he could have in his life. I don't know where I stand with him. But I sure as hell hope he will know that I already see him as a son and I see Annalyse as my daughter.

Brennan remained silent as she took in everything Booth said. Her stoic and unchanged gaze made Booth nervous and he mentally kicked himself in the head. Had he jumped the gun by confessing that to her? Was it too soon?

'Way to go Seel! You two were just starting out and you fucked it all up. She'll probably go running for the hills now.' He thought.

Booth was shocked and relieved when Brennan wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He wrapped her arms around her and breathed in the scent he knew he would tire of.

Booth kissed the top of Brennan's head. "We'll get him through this Bones. Everything will be okay."