A/N: Well, this story all came about because of a lovely author here who goes by the penname stevieLUVSAlex, if you aren't familiar with her work please check it out! stevieLUVSAlex and I tossed around some ideas and decided to co-author a story and this is our brain child. Thanks so much stevieLUVSAlex, this wouldn't have been possible without you!
A/N 2: Thank you so much for the reviews, alerts and favorites! They mean the world to us!
Disclaimer: Still unable to claim Bones as my own.
Two hours later Brennan found herself in a familiar Booth at Sid's unsure of how she got there. Portions of the conversation with Father Thomas and Parker replayed in a loop, blocking out everything around her.
Sid took one look at the bone lady Booth brought in all the time and sensed that tonight would be a turning point. Something about her behavior screamed for extreme amounts of chocolate to sooth her soul, with a soft smile Sid slid a truly decadent molten chocolate cake, swirled with three different varieties of heated chocolate confections, topped with a raspberry/strawberry/pomegranate sorbet. This particular delicacy was a dish that had haunted Sid since he'd seen this strange lady's sad emotion ridden face flash briefly with pain before she quickly covered it under her normally controlled façade after her return from the Luku Islands, or where ever it was that she'd run off to. This moment had been a long time in the making and now if he could prep her just right and perhaps if she ingested enough of the aphrodisiac riddled confection in front of her, if he waited till just the right moment to call the dummy, just maybe the genius and FB stupid would finally face reality. Sid kept an eye on the bone lady who was so lost in her own thoughts she didn't even seem aware of the fact that she had been served or that she was eating. Perhaps the Powers That Be had finally decided to smile on the partners.
"Bones" Parker had called her rushing over and wrapping his arms around her.
"Parker what are you doing here? Is everything alright?" Brennan hugged him before drawing back slightly and quickly checking for any injuries or signs of trouble, Parker meant the world to her and she would protect him with her life. She didn't know Father Thomas, sure she'd heard Booth talk about him, but after the whole fiasco with Father Michaels, she wasn't willing to take any chances and maneuvered her position so that she was between this stranger and Parker.
"Dr. Bones I'm fine, but Dad's been getting some bad advice"
"What?"
"Father Thomas." Parker prompted causing Brennan to turn around and face the man in question.
"Yes, well … I can't speak of specifics because I'm bound by the seal of confession, but if someone had come to me for advice and I had encouraged them to say read something, then it would be my fault if that advice angered another." The blushing priest said softly, glancing at the floor every so often.
"I don't understand"
"I'll explain it to you Bones. See a while ago I found a note a friend had written and I came to Father Thomas for advice on what to do. When I thought about what happened with you and Dad, I started to wonder if maybe Dad had gotten the same advice." Brennan's face was creased in confusion as she tried to follow the young man's thoughts. "Father Thomas told me to read the letter and use what I learned to help my friend." Parker watched Dr. Bones' face as the words sunk in and knew the minute she got it. Her eyes widened and she whipped around to face the priest so quickly, he wondered if she was going to slap Father Thomas, although at this point he wouldn't have blamed her.
"I'm sorry." Father Thomas whispered softly.
It took a moment for Brennan to respond, and she found that when she allowed the words to sink in, she didn't want to slap the priest, anymore than she wanted Marie's mother free to roam in society again. Maybe… just maybe, Father Thomas had bettered the situation, just this once, not minding his own business had been better for everyone.
"It's alright," she told the priest. "I think I owe you my gratitude. You must care about Booth an awful lot to go through all this for him."
"I care about all my children," he replied.
Brennan's attention was on the window, as she watched the pedestrians go by, her mind on her partner and all that they had been through together. Was this how it was supposed to be? Was this what Booth meant when he said amazing things can happen?
Brennan felt like she'd had a revelation.
She was an anthologist, she dealt in facts… science facts, and yet she could never explain the pull she felt towards Seeley Booth. That feeling didn't deal in science, at least not in a way that was satisfying to the logical part of her brain, but it was all… all she knew was that it was real.
Across the restaurant, Sid was watching the Bones lady. She had been there for hours, the concentration span this woman had, floored him. It was incredible. He had never seen someone so lost-looking before. He had to do something about it.
He went into the backroom, and flipped through his address book, his finger scanning down the page until he hit the right name. He dialed the number and held the phone to his ear.
"Agent Seeley Booth!" came the response.
"Seeley," he replied. "It's Sid. Listen, your Bone lady has been sitting in your booth for 4 hours now, staring out the window, looking quite… well, you'll see when you get over here. This is your mess. You clean it."
Sid hung up before Booth could respond, and Sid smiled to himself. That ought to do it!
B & B & B & B
Booth waltzed into Sid's, his eyes directed straight towards his usual booth under the window, and just as Sid predicted, there she was, staring out at the people rushing by. She had this lost look on her face, like she didn't realize she was even in a public place.
He approached her with caution, and it wasn't until he sat down beside her and gently touched her shoulder that she acknowledged his presence.
"Booth, what are you doing here?" her smile was weak.
"Hey, Bones… Sid told me you've been here a while."
She glanced at her watch, and was genuinely surprised at how much time had passed. "I didn't realize. I was very distracted."
"Are you alright?" he asked gently.
Brennan took her time answering the question, her gaze moved back to the passing pedestrians.
"I don't want to turn out like Marie…" she whispered.
"What do you mean?" Booth asked gently as he laced his fingers through hers.
She forced her eyes to meet his. "Marie and Puck… regret… I just- I don't want that to me, Booth. All my life I find that withdraw from anything emotionally intense, and in doing so I miss opportunities that could somehow better me as a person, I could mature, and grow. I am not naïve enough to believe that I am without flaws. I know that I have areas where there is room for improvement. "
His heart rate increased instantly. "And you think emotional intensity is one of them?"
"No," she replied. "Regret is one of them. This entire case has changed my views on a lot of matters, Booth. It has touched me in a way that no other case has. I can't help thinking how alike Marie and I were," she sighed deeply. "I watched Puck lose Marie and he told me something, Booth, when it happened, he told me that nothing was worse than feeling the regret of saying nothing…" she told him honestly.
"And what aren't you saying, Bones?" he held his breath in anticipation of her answer.
She only stared at him.
One more chapter to go after this and then our journey is complete. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, your words have meant a great deal to us. It's refreshing for a well published author on this site to receive such wonderful words of encouragement and as a first time author publishing on this site it makes me want to write more. Never doubt that your words as readers effect us, they have the power to elevate, inspire, motivate, and some times crush so use them wisely and reap the benefits they bring.
