(The Pain in the Heart)
I want to thank roses-i-love, tanargue, daisesndaffidols, devotedfan206, Tamarakv, mendenbar and Lroy44 for the reviews. They are very encouraging and much appreciated.
We've finally reached the end of season 3. It took me seven months; but, we made it. At least four more seasons to go (if you're still interested).
This story is being told from Booth's point of view.
I don't own Bones.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooo
You know, I can't believe what I can get myself into sometimes. She was supposed to know about me being alive. She was on my list. What was the point of asking me for a list if they weren't going to use the damn thing? She was so pissed at me she hit me. As far as I can tell, she's still pissed at me.
Those two weeks in hiding were terrible. They wouldn't let me call anyone, not Pops, not Parker and not Bones. If they ever try to talk me into this kind of shit again I'll punch the bastard who asks me. Never again, no way, no how.
Cullen set up my funeral and then had me put in the Honor Guard. The idea was for me to be able to grab Stamos if he showed up at my funeral. Since I would be on the Honor Guard I would be close to the casket and the idea was if the guy showed up, he might want to get close enough to my body to make some final gesture, you know savor the victory of my death. Crap like that.
I was so surprised when Bones showed up for my funeral. She hates funerals. She never goes to funerals unless she really has to. Since she was on my list and I knew she knew I was alive, I just couldn't figure out why she was there. I'd seen Angela and Cam were there and they were crying; so, I thought maybe Bones came to the funeral for their support. I knew that once Cam found out I was alive she might be mad; but, I didn't picture how the whole thing would really go down.
Once my funeral started I glanced at Bones to see how bad of an acting job she was going to give. She's pretty good if she's pretending to be someone else; but, don't ask her to act as herself, she's really bad. When I looked at her, I saw she was acting angry. That didn't seem right to me. Why would she pretend to be mad at me at my funeral?
Sure enough, Cullen had been right. Stamos showed up. The smug bastard even tried to put a flower on my casket. When he got close enough, I went after him. That part of the plan was kind of dumb. I'd almost died two weeks ago from blood loss and I ended up in a fight at my funeral. The guy was kind of winning and I was wondering when the other agents were going to step in to help me when Bones picked up part of the dummy that had been in my casket and hit Stamos across the face with it. She knocked the bastard out cold. I was pretty grateful and I told her nice shot; but, she turned around, slugged me and then just walked away. To say I was shocked would be an understatement.
I got up and ran after her; but, she didn't want to talk to me. She was so mad at me and I didn't know why. I followed her to her car and I finally managed to get her to talk to me and that's when I found out that Bones thought I'd died. How is that my fault? She was on my list.
I tried to get in her car and talk to her; but, she threatened me and I knew not to push her at that minute. I drove back to the Jeffersonian with Cam. Now, Cam was glad to see that I was alive and although she wasn't happy about not being on my notify list she said she understood. Not Bones, God forbid, not her.
When I got to the Jeffersonian I caught up with her and the rest of the squint squad walking into the Lab. I tried to explain about Stamos; but, she told me she didn't care. That's when she told me that she knew she shouldn't have gone to my funeral because it was a complete waste of time. I was shocked. She thought I'd died and she thought my funeral would be a waste of time. That really hurt. I thought I meant more to her than that. I'm hoping she didn't really mean it.
Cam told me that she thought my funeral was nice; but, I told her I thought more people would be there. I mean my "He's not dead" list was short. I guess I know who my friends are now. I don't have many. Of course, I guess I knew that.
Anyway, Bones said she wouldn't go to my next funeral. She was so mad it's a wonder she didn't have a stroke. I kept telling her she was supposed to know I was alive; but, she wasn't interested in what I was saying. I told her she was on my list more than once. Cam wanted to know who was supposed to tell Bones; so, I told her the bureau had the list and they were supposed to tell her. Bones was blaming me and it wasn't my fault.
Sweets was there and he said that when Bones hit me at the funeral she was displaying hidden feelings for me. It was a passionate act. I repeated that to Bones; but, she just said it was anger at being manipulated. She wasn't giving me a break at all. I was so frustrated with her I was going to tell her that I didn't have to explain what happened anymore because I'd made myself clear; but, Zach interrupted us and gave Bones a package that had been delivered for her.
Bones opened the box and found a jaw bone and two screws. As soon as I saw it I knew what it was about. The screws were silver. It couldn't be anyone else but Gormogon. That damn serial killer was trying to get our attention again. Bones and Zach looked at the mandible and Zach said he'd noticed tooth marks. Bones tried to say that evidence of cannibalism didn't mean it was Gormogon; but, she was just kidding herself. We all knew it was Gormogon.
I had Bones put the mandible down and everyone leave the platform. I called my some of my guys and had them come to the Jeffersonian and guard the platform until I could figure out what to do. The platform was a crime scene; but, I needed Bones to be able to use the platform area. I had Charlie bring me my overnight bag that I had stashed in my office. I keep a change of casual clothes in the bag just in case. I wanted to change out of my uniform and it would be easier to use those clothes than to go home and change and then come back.
I kept everyone off the platform; but, finally Cam asked me what I wanted and I told her identity. That was all they needed. Everyone came back onto the platform. They knew what they needed to do and I knew I was just going to be in the way; so, I left.
I wasn't feeling too good by the time I got home. I mean, I'd been shot two weeks ago, I had blood transfusions, I had a fight with a terrorist in a cemetery and my partner had to help me take the guy down. I was sore, I didn't feel well and my partner and best friend was pissed at me. I needed a hot soak in the tub and I needed beer, lots of beer.
I'd been in my tub for a little while, reading a comic book, smoking a cigar and drinking beer, when Bones barged into my bathroom. I wanted to know how she got into my apartment and she told me she used the spare key I keep in my fake rock. I'm a FBI agent and everyone in my apartment building knows it. I just keep the key there for a spare. I guess I won't do that anymore.
Anyways, Bones just walked into my bathroom, scratched my record that was playing and then she started criticizing me. She didn't like my beer hat and she didn't like my cigar I was smoking. I'm in my bathroom, in my bathtub and she's criticizing me about what I'm doing in my tub. It was crazy.
I asked her what she wanted because I wasn't exactly feeling relaxed with her standing there fuming at me. She told me that I should have told her that I wasn't dead. I'd already explained it to her more times than I cared to and here she was wanting another explanation. I told her I was just following protocol and that just set her off. She told me that I'd broken protocol before putting her life in danger and then she accused me of not having any concern for her. That just pissed me off. I stood up and reminded her that I'd taken a bullet for her. God, I was pretty mad. Her answer? That it was just once. That whole conversation was just wrong. I care for her a lot and she was acting like I'd deliberately not told her I wasn't dead.
I was so mad I forgot that I was naked. Bones asked me if I wanted a towel. That was a little embarrassing; so, I sat down. What else could I do? She wasn't leaving the room until she'd had it out with me, I could see that. I asked her what I should have done. She said I could have called her and then she asked me if I trusted her. Of course I trust her. I told her that too. She should know that by now. She shouldn't have to hear me say it. I told her I didn't know why she wasn't told; so, she asked me if I was curious why she wasn't told. I told her I was and I asked her if she wanted me to find out why she wasn't told. She said she wanted me to do it if it was important to me. Of course it was important to me, besides, I knew that if I didn't find out who screwed this whole thing up, she'd keep blaming me.
I guess she just needed to vent. I promised her that the next time I died, I'd tell her. Of course, there isn't going to be a next time. I'll strangle anyone who tries to make me go undercover like that again. No more bullshit.
I thought she'd leave; but, she stood there and then she asked me what I was reading. I told her that I was reading a graphic novel. That's what comic book dealers call them now, graphic novels. They do that so they can charge you an arm and a leg for them.
Bones had to give me a parting shot before she left. She was still pissed I guess. She said my lack of Puritan modesty was refreshing. Truthfully, we'd been so busy arguing, I'd forgot I was naked. I know that sounds stupid; but, that's what happened. I lowered my book over myself to quit giving her a free look. She left after that. I'm definitely moving my key. I don't want a repeat of that. That wasn't fair of her to do that to me. If I'd done that to her; she'd have murdered me. She's got a weird double standard.
Cam called me while I was still in the tub. I was draining the water when she called me to let me know that the mandible that Bones received in the mail belonged to the lobbyist. I told her I was wondering when a part of the guy was going to show up. Gormogon had sent us the knees of the Father so I knew he'd send us something belonging to Ray Porter. Cam asked me what the sucking sound was she was hearing. Instead of just saying I was draining my tub; I blew up at her. I shouldn't have done it. I guess I was still mad a Bones. I just couldn't win.
I didn't get a lot of sleep that night. I hate it when Bones is mad at me espcially when it isn't my fault.
Bones, Sweets and I met up at the Jeffersonian the next morning. We met down in the vault where we're keeping the Gormogon stuff. Sweets told Bones that we should put the mandible on the skeleton because it might make Gormogon give us something in return. I don't know what that would be unless it was the rest of Ray Porter.
Sweets wanted to know if we'd seen him on TV. Bones may have; but, I didn't. I wanted to know how Gormogon would know if we added the mandible to the skeleton and Sweets said since the skeleton is his obsession, Gormogon would have a way to find out.
Bones decided to be a smart ass and said that maybe Gormogon was dead and we just weren't on the list of people who get to find out. It kind of pissed me off. She just wouldn't let it go. I told Sweets that Bones broke into my house all angry at me because no one told her I wasn't dead; but, Bones just said she used my key, like that made it alright, which it didn't. I was following protocol and she didn't care about that. I told Sweets that she just barged into my bathroom and he just thought that was funny. I told him I was taking a bath; so, Bones told him I was drinking beer and reading a comic book, like that was a bad thing. Sweets had to be a smart ass too about the beer and the comic. I know people read in the bathtub. I didn't see why he thought it was weird to do that. He wanted to know why I didn't ask her to leave and just sat in my tub naked. That seemed like a stupid question to me. It was my bathroom and I was taking a bath and he doesn't know Bones very well if he thinks telling her to leave when she isn't ready to leave will work. That's a laugh.
We had gone back upstairs and were walking towards Bones' office when we heard an explosion. Cam later told me that Zach had thought that the mandible had been chewed on by Gormogon using artificial dentures and he and Hodgins had wanted to recreate the dentures.
We ran to where we'd heard the noise and found Hodgins lying on the floor with Zach lying on the floor near him with a small Plexiglas wall on top of him and his hands stuck through some holes. Zach's hands were badly burned. I pulled the wall off of him and Bones was getting really upset. I told her that Zach was in shock. She really loves that guy and she was really shook up.
Cam called for an ambulance and they took Zach away. Bones and I went and got my truck and we drove over to the hospital to be there for Zach. We were at the hospital for quite awhile when they finally let us see him. He was in ICU and he looked pretty bad. I tried to be optimistic; but, Zach and Bones know too much about the kind of injury that Zach sustained and neither of them wanted to look on the bright side. Zach was alive and it might be possible to fix him; but, they wanted to dwell on how serious his injuries were.
Cam, Hodgins and Angela came by and tried to cheer up the kid. Hodgins and Zach talked about what happened and even though I didn't understand what they were saying it sounded like they were trying to downplay whatever they did. I had to remind Hodgins that Zach had third degree burns. Cam decided to come up with a schedule so that Zach wouldn't be by himself while he was in the hospital. I thought that was a pretty good idea. Zach is kind of a kid in some ways and he needed someone to watch over him.
I had some of my techs go over to the Lab and try to figure out what had happened. I was worried that it might be connected to Gormogon. If it was just one of Hodgins and Zach's experiments gone wrong then I wanted to know that for sure. Agent Madison is one of our top techs and I knew he'd figure it out.
I finally found out who was supposed to notify Bones about me not being dead and I was pretty pissed off when I found out who had the list. I wanted to beat the shit out of Sweets; but, I decided Bones should do it instead. I found out that he was at the Lab and drove over there. I found him on the phone and I dragged him into Bones' office. He complained about my tight grip on his arm. He's lucky it wasn't around his damn neck.
Once we were in Bones' office, I told Sweets to tell Bones what he'd done; but, he tried to pretend that he didn't know what I was talking about. That just made me madder. I told Bones that the Bureau had given my list to Sweets and he was the one that hadn't told her about me being alive. I told Bones that she should have slugged Sweets and not me. I really wanted her to hit him as hard as she could; but, the pipsqueak started to justify what he'd done. I kept trying to get her to deck him and he kept giving her reasons not to. I really wanted him to pay for what he'd done; but, somehow, he convinced her that he had done the right thing. It was absolute bullshit. I should have beat the shit out of him right then and there; but, I didn't. I still don't know why I didn't.
Bones said that Sweets was right not to tell her because she could compartmentalize. That just floored me. I asked her, if it was ok then why did she get mad at me. It was like I was on a merry-go-round and I couldn't get off. She said I should have told her personally that I was alive. I was supposed to ignore National Security and FBI protocol and call her. She didn't care that Sweets hadn't done his job right. My head was starting to hurt.
I told Sweets that there had to be more to it than what he said. There just had to be. I told Sweets maybe paranoia or transference was involved in this whole mess. I mean he's always looking for deeper meaning in everything we say. I ask Bones if she wants pie and Sweets says I want something else. The worm was trying to protect himself so he said I was changing the subject to avoid my feelings. Instead of being mad at Sweets she was still mad at me. It really didn't make any sense to me. I wanted her to slug him like she slugged me and she wouldn't do it.
While we were arguing, Cam came to Bones' office to let us know that something was wrong in the Gormogon vault. I walked around Sweets and out of the office; but, I heard Sweets tell Bones that my effort to get Bones to enjoy pie was a form of seduction. I wanted him to stop that crap; so, I turned back and told him to shut up. He's lucky I didn't deck him right there.
We followed Cam down to the vault to see what the problem was. Bones and Sweets took their time coming downstairs. I thought I was going to have to go back and get them when they showed up. Sweets was probably telling Bones some more bullshit about me. I really hate him for doing that. He meddles too much.
The silver skeleton was gone. Hodgins said he'd gone to the vault to see if the silver screws that Bones got in the mail matched the silver in the skeleton and that's when he found it missing. Cam said all of the security cameras failed and that the theft of the skeleton wasn't recorded. All of the cameras failed right after the explosion that hurt Zach. Hodgins said that the loading bay door was unlocked at the time. Cam said that the guards followed Jeffersonian protocol so when the explosion occurred it was considered a chemical leak and security secured the lab and the museum to make sure that no one else was hurt or killed. This was bad. This all pointed to an inside job. Either Gormogon or his apprentice worked at the Jeffersonian.
I called the Hoover and I had a full forensic team sent over to the Jeffersonian. The Lab was compromised and I couldn't trust anyone that worked there, well except for Bones and Cam.
I called Caroline to let her know. God, she was so angry.
Bones and I went over to the Royal Diner for coffee. We needed to talk in private and away from the Lab. I told Bones that everyone in the Lab plus her and me were being looked at. The FBI was going to be thorough while they looked for whoever was the inside man.
Bones wanted to know why I didn't have pie with my coffee. Yeah, like I was going to eat pie after that smart ass remark by Sweets about pie. It just makes me so angry how he says stuff like that to her and she takes him seriously.
Sweets showed up at the diner and he said that he thought he knew who might be Gormogon. He had a stack of folders and each folder contained info about some of the people at the Lab. Bones wanted to know if he'd been spying on us and if this was just more experiments. I wanted to know what she meant by experiments; but, Sweets just said the dynamics of our work environment affected Bones and me so he studied the people at the Lab too. Not his exact words; but, it was what he meant.
Anyways, Sweets told us that he thought Hodgins was Gormogon. He said that Hodgins was full of paranoia and consumed by conspiracy theories. Bones didn't want to hear it; but, I did. Hodgins was the one who figured out where the silver skeleton was and where the vault was. He worked with Zach and had access to the chemicals that hurt Zach. It seemed possible to me. Bones really got upset with me because I was listening to Sweets about his theory. Bones said she had access too; but, Sweets said she has a reverence for life and an emotional connection with me. She did what I expected. She got up and left. Sweets pushed her and she ran. It's what she does. He should know that you can't push her; but, he does that stuff anyways and then I have to clean up the mess. I knew why she didn't want Gormogon to be Hodgins. Ever since they'd almost been killed by The Gravedigger, Bones and Hodgins have been friends. She really likes him and besides Zach, I don't know of anyone she likes or maybe loves more.
I walked back to the Jeffersonian with Bones. I talked to her about Gormogon and the fact that it had to be someone at the Jeffersonian. I thought that Sweets might have a point about Hodgins and even if he was wrong about Hodgins he might be able to help us figure out who Gormogon is. Sweets has a good track record as a profiler and I didn't think we should just trash his theories. I was still pissed at Sweets for not telling Bones about me; but, that wouldn't prevent me from using his professional expertise.
Once we got to the Lab, Cam followed us into Brennan's office. Bones told Cam that Sweets thought Hodgins was Gormogon. Cam thought that was clever of Sweets to throw the suspicion from him. She said that she thought Sweets was Gormogon. She pointed out that we didn't meet Sweets until after the Gormogon vault was found and Cam thought Sweets played Bones and me all of the time. I denied that he played us; but, truthfully, he does. He sure played Bones when I was shot by Pam. Bones pointed out that Sweets had been here just before Zach and Hodgins' experiment and Cam pointed out that we couldn't account for his time after the explosion. Bones wasn't happy that Cam was pointing the finger at Sweets. I don't think Bones would have been happy if we had suspected anyone we knew.
Cam called me later that day to let me know that Hodgins had tested the mandible for trace elements to see if he could pinpoint what water supply had been used to boil it in. It was kind of creepy; but, he pointed out that the water came from his neighborhood.
I needed to eliminate Sweets as a suspect; so, Bones and I found out that Sweets was at the Royal Diner and went over there to talk to him. When we got there, Bones sat on one side of him and I sat on the other. I asked him where he was after the explosion. He said that he had gone to Bones' office and dialed 911 and then went to the door to meet the EMTs to let them know where to go. Bones said that he didn't come in with them. I guess Sweets figured out why Bones and I were questioning him. He made the remark that he went down to the vault and stole the silver skeleton because he was Gormogon's apprentice. I told Bones that was a confession and I could lock up Sweets for 72 hours.
Sweets smart ass remark was all I needed to get him out of the way while I tried to figure out who Gormogon's inside man was. I didn't really think Sweets was our guy; but, I needed to move my investigation along and locking up Sweets for awhile would allow me to concentrate on other things. Of course, Sweets didn't like my plan at all. He said I was projecting my hatred for Gormogon on him. He was wrong. I was still pissed at him for what he did to Bones; so, if I could get a little payback then more power to me. Yeah, I can be petty when I want to be. I know Bones was fine with it. Sweets make me cuff him though. What an idiot.
Bones went back to her office to work on something and called me later that night. She said she had noticed something weird about the Lobbyist's jawbone and she thought that the bone may have actually been at the Jeffersonian in Limbo before it was sent to her. She said since they have over 10,000 sets of remains; she's going to have to figure out a way to see if any more of the Lobbyist's bones are in Limbo. I called Caroline and let her know.
Bones and Cam came up with a plan and Caroline went over to the Jeffersonian to hurry things along. Bones and Cam decided to use Bones' grad students to go through every bone box in Limbo and see if they could find the Lobbyist's bones. I stayed away. No way I was going to get involved in that search.
While they were searching for the bones, some grad student found out that the canine teeth on several skulls in Limbo were missing.
Cam did some DNA tests and confirmed that the extra bones the grad students found belonged to the Lobbyist. That just confirmed that there was an inside man and we needed to find him before someone else was killed. Cam looked at the bones and saw that they'd been gnawed on. I guess Gormogon ate the Lobbyist. God I hate cannibals. They are so sick.
Cam called me to tell me to tell me that Bones said that Zach was wrong about the dentures that were used to chew on the Lobbyist. Bones didn't think they were artificial teeth.
I drove over to the Jeffersonian to talk to Bones about Zach's mistake. Bones had made up a model of the dentures and she said that the dentures had been made from real canine teeth and Zach would have known that. She told me about how canine teeth are linked to wolves and other stuff that I didn't care about. I told her that she'd told me enough about the wolf and I wanted to know what was going on. It hurt her to tell me; but, she told me that Zach had lied. She thought that he had taken the teeth out of bones storage and had made Gormogon the set of dentures. I put two and two together and knew that Zach was our inside man. He arranged the explosion. Bones was really upset. She loves that guy and he was a killer.
We drove over to the hospital to talk to Zach. Cam was there visiting Zach. I asked her to leave. I was so mad I had to keep a tight rein on my anger. Zach knew we knew as soon as he saw us. He said that his original plan was to sneak out of the hospital; but, his injuries were more severe than he'd counted on. I guessed that he was going to steal the mandible and add it to the silver skeleton. Bones wanted to know about the explosion. He'd designed it and he should have know how bad it would be; but, he said that Hodgins argued with him and that delayed the experiment so the explosion was more powerful than he'd counted on.
I wanted him to cut the crap and tell me who Gormogon was. He decided to correct me and tell me that Gormogon calls himself the Master. I asked for the name again and he just started talking bullshit about how he was expendable. I was losing my temper and Bones knew it. She took over the interview and tried to reason with him; but, he said something about the Master's logic being irrefutable. That really pissed me off. I told him that I had seen Gormogon try to drown a small child at the bottom of a swimming pool; but, Zach wasn't listening to me. He said we'd be proud of him if we knew whatever bullshit logic Gormogon used on him. I was about to lose it and Bones took over again and used her own logic on Zach. He finally understood that what he'd been doing was wrong. Finally. I asked for the name of Gormogon and Zach said he didn't know it; but, he knew where the guy lived. That was all I needed.
I drove over to the Hoover, called in the Swat team and then we drove over to where Gormogon lived. Zach knew how to get into the house and had told me before I left the hospital. We found the bastard eating. When he saw us, he threw a knife and it hit Agent Swenson. I shot the bastard in the chest. I always hate when I kill someone; but, not this time. Not this time. The bastard got what he deserved.
I went over to the hospital to let everyone know that it was over. Zach confessed to killing the Lobbyist and Caroline allowed him to plead insanity. Zach said he never ate anyone. Thank God for that. I'm not sure Bones would have handled that very well.
Sweets didn't think that Zach should be able to plead insanity and I had to intervene and get him to drop it. I told him he was going to give that one to Bones and he agreed. Sweets is afraid of me; so, I knew he'd go along with it.
We all went back to the Lab. I guess we were all depressed about the whole thing. Hodgins collected all of Zach's stuff from his office and had put it in a box. We started to look in the box and it was pretty much stuff all of us had given Zach over the years. He even had the harmonica that I'd given him when he went to Iraq. I told them that I'd probably failed Zach. I could have made an effort to help him get along better in the world; but, I never did. I had always thought it was better to ignore the guy since he was such an egghead. I know he was a little afraid of me. I liked it; but, maybe I shouldn't have done that. Hodgins and Angela were also feeling a little guilty about Zach. Cam lost patience with us and told us that there wasn't anything we could have done for him. That upset Bones. She told Cam that we love Zach. Cam said she'd known he would cause her pain the day she met him. I think I know what she meant. Zach was too smart for his own good. He didn't fit in and all it took was for someone as smart as him to lead him away from what he knew was right. He was just too naive to live in this world.
While we were looking at Zach's stuff I noticed that there was a letter from Bones to Zach in the box and took it out and looked at it. We were talking about the stuff in the box when Bones stormed off, saying that she never gave Zach anything.
I followed her and found her sitting on the stair case. I sat down next to her and showed her the letter and then read it to her. It was her letter accepting Zach as her intern at the Jeffersonian. I wanted her to see that she had given Zach something. I gave her the letter and she just leaned against me. She was so sad. I guess I was sad too. She really loves that guy and he betrayed her. Too many people have betrayed Bones and it isn't right. I hate Zach for what he did to Bones. I really do.
Oooooooooooooooooooooo
I wrote this chapter from an angry Booth point of view. I was sure that by this time, Booth was angry at Sweets, Zach and in a way, himself for letting Cullen talk him into the undercover assignment.
That was the last episode of season 3. This story is going on hiatus for a few weeks. I am going on vacation on the last week of this month and I want to write some extra chapters for the other stories I'm working on. I may not have access to a computer while I'm on vacation; but, if I do, I want to keep the other stories moving along.
I'll start this story back up in September some time. I am not abandoning this story. Here is your chance to tell me if you like this story or not. All reviews are appreciated.
