This takes place after the "Past in the Present" and before "The Future in the Past".

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Booth hadn't known what the FBI higher ups would do with him when they found out that Brennan had run to evade the arrest warrant; but, kicking him out of his office and making him fill his days doing paper work had been a little bit of a surprise. They hadn't taken his title or pay from him and for that he was grateful; but, taking his office away from him and his not being in charge of Major Crimes was asinine as far as Booth was concerned. The FBI was forgoing his expertise and Booth really thought that was like cutting your nose off to spite your face.

Well, Booth was a pragmatist if he was anything. He knew sooner or later Brennan would be cleared of all charges and when she was he'd get his position back. He'd bide his time, push paper and watch Flynn try to run his shop. Booth knew that when it was all over, Flynn's reputation would take a hit and he, Booth, would be back on top. How did he know that? He knew the people he worked for and the people that worked for him. If there was anything he was certain of in this world, it was that the squints would resist Flynn as much as they could and they would clear Brennan.

Amused, Booth remembered how he had once told Brennan that the pyramids were more excepting of change than she was. The fact was, all of his squints were like that, whether they were Jeffersonian squints or FBI squints. He was counting on that and the fact that all of his squints really considered themselves his property. They definitely didn't play well with others.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Every evening since Brennan had left, Booth worked out until he was exhausted and then watched TV. The fact that he was finding baseball games to be boring was actually a shock to Booth. He'd never dreamed that could happen; but, then again, he'd never dreamed that he'd be left behind by the woman he loved and forced to live in their house by himself.

ooooooooooooooo

The mail had become a major source of irritation to Booth. He knew that his and Brennan's mail was being intercepted and read. There wasn't anything he could do about it; but, that didn't mean he had to like it. Arriving home one evening he'd found several letters to Brennan in his mail box. The fact that they were all post marked the previous week just told him that the FBI had found the mail to be innocuous and had decided that he could have them. Looking through the mail, Booth found a request from a professor from some university in Austria. The guy had lent out his copy of one of Brennan's books and the borrower had lost it. Since the book was out of print; he was hopeful that his good friend, Dr. Brennan had an extra copy that he could have.

Booth, deciding that Brennan would have helped the professor out if she could, searched her library and found that she had three copies of the book. Feeling like playing with his bosses, Booth took the book to a FedEX office and mailed it to the professor. Booth could imagine the mad scramble to send someone to Austria to interview the professor and the FBI techs intercepting the book and pouring over it looking for clues about Brennan and her whereabouts. Booth smiled and hoped they wasted a lot of time and man hours on that.

oooooooooooooooooo

Another week went by and Booth was almost desperate for something to do to take his mind off of his problems. Wandering into Brennan's library, or as she affectionately called it, her Lab Cave, Booth started looking at all of the books sitting on the shelves. He'd known that Brennan had written extensively for journals; but, he'd never realized how many books she'd written. Impressed, Booth pulled out a book and carried it over to the couch across from Brennan's desk.

Opening the book, Booth started reading. At first he had been intimidated with the subject matter; but, the more he read, the more he realized that he really did understand what she'd written. Well some of it. When he came across a word that was unfamiliar to him, he looked it up in his Collegiate dictionary. When he came across a phrase that didn't make sense to him, he wrote it down in a notebook. He knew that Brennan would be more than happy to explain the meaning of these puzzles when she came back home.

Oooooooooooooo

Slowly as the weeks crawled by, Booth waded through three of Brennan's books. He some how felt closer to Brennan while reading her books. He could hear her voice inside his head as he read each sentence. He felt comfort in knowing that Brennan really was a genius and that she was going to outsmart Pelant and Flynn. All he had to do was hang on, keep his temper in check and wait.

Oooooooooooooooooo

From the beginning, The FBI had decided that they would invade his home once a week, copy all of his files located on his and Brennan's home computer and laptop and then do a quick search of his house. When this happened Booth would sit in Brennan's library and read. It was the only way he could contain his anger. They never did the search when he was at work. They always waited until he was home. He knew that Flynn was trying to keep him off balance. Since Booth practically wrote the book on some of the ploys that Flynn was using, Booth just ignored them.

The fourth time Booth found his house invaded, Marcus walked into Brennan's library and noticed Booth sitting on the couch reading as usual. "Hey, Booth, watcha reading this week?"

Looking up, Booth held up the book he was reading and let Marcus read the spine.

Whistling, Marcus exclaimed, "Wow, you're really reading that?"

Putting the book down on his lap, Booth smiled, "Sure, I did go to college you know? It may not be my field; but, I've been working around Bones for a long time and I guess I must have soaked in some of the stuff she's always lecturing me about."

Laughing, Marcus walked over to Brennan's computer and booted it up to copy all the files he could find. Sitting down in front of the computer, Marcus turned to Booth and after glancing at the door, leaned towards Booth, "This is such bullshit."

Nodding his head, Booth looked down at his book and continued to read.

Marcus, irritated that Booth's talents were going to waste, "I want you to know something, Booth. I'm your guy. I don't believe any of the crap that's being said about Dr. Brennan. No way. Me and my guys will be happy when Dr. Brennan is back and you two are allowed to do your jobs again. Flynn thinks he's such hot shit; but, his solve rate is 78 percent. Believe me, he doesn't know how to use his experts and he's driving us nuts. It's damned embarrassing. I don't know how you're putting up with all of this bullshit."

Looking back up, Booth remarked, "Yeah, well, my grandfather gave me a good piece of advice when I was in high school when I was having problems with things I didn't have any control over. It's something that Winston Churchill said, If you're going through Hell, keep going."

Nodding his head, Marcus put his flash drive in it's USB slot and said, "Yeah, well my grandmother told me, The glory which is built upon a lie soon becomes a most unpleasant encumbrance. How easy it is to make people believe a lie and how hard it is to undo that work again. That's from Mark Twain."

Seeing the puzzled look on Booth's face, Marcus continued, "Flynn is so busy accusing Dr. Brennan of murder, it's going to be hard for him and the FBI higher ups to save face when it's proven Dr. Brennan is innocent. No matter what they say, the FBI is going to get a black eye and we're all going to have to live with it. . . Well, not you . . . But the rest of us."

Flynn, standing in the doorway, glared at Marcus and asked, "Is that right?"

Turing around, Marcus smirked at Flynn and remarked, "It sure is and by the way, your fly is open."

Blushing, Flynn, looking down quickly, saw his pants were intact and looked back up.

Laughing, Marcus pulled the flash drive from it's slot, saluted Booth and walked past Flynn. "I'm the head of my department, Agent Flynn. Try anything against me and you'll see what happens when you piss off squints."

Laughing, Booth watched Flynn turn around and leave the doorway. "Thank God for friends. " Booth thought. "Even the foolishly brave ones."

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

I liked that we found out that Booth was reading Brennan's books while she was gone. It somehow seemed so romantic in a sad kind of way. So let me know what you thought of this one. I'd be interested in your opnion.