(The Wannabe in the Weeds)
A/N: this is a reminder that this story is AU.
I don't own Bones, not even a little bit.
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The trial was over and Max was a free man. Brennan didn't know what to expect now that her father was free. Would he go back to Coos Bay or would he move to the East Coast? Only time would tell since he disappeared after the trial and she hadn't heard from him since then.
Booth took the time to drive out to the cemetery to lay some flowers on Christine's grave. It had been two years since her body had been found at the Jeffersonian and Mother's Day was coming up. He wanted to honor Brennan's mother and make sure her grave site was being taken care of. When he arrived at the grave, he found a cement urn sitting on top of the grave with wilted fading flowers in the urn. After removing the wilted flowers, he placed his flowers in the container, crossed himself and said a small prayer for her. That done, he looked around and liked what he saw. "They keep this place mown and everything looks nice. I'm glad we chose this place for you . . . Your husband was placed on trial for murder, but he was found not guilty and he's a free man. I'm not sure what his intentions are towards his daughter, but he needs to tread carefully. If he hurts her again, he'll find out that I can fight dirty too . . . Anyway, Happy Mother's Day Mrs. Brennan. Your daughter and son are fine, so you don't need to worry about them."
As he walked back to his SUV carrying the wilted flowers, Booth knew that Max must have visited his wife before he disappeared. He hoped Max understood that abandoning Brennan again would be a mistake. She might be inclined to forgive him once, but not twice.
Oooooooooooooooooo
While they were trying to solve the murder of a singer, Booth became the object of obsession of the victim's stalker girlfriend. Pam Noonan had been in Booth's office for an interview and had seen the picture of Brennan on his credenza along with the picture of Parker, but that didn't seem to deter her. She had asked about Booth's marital status from one of the other agents at the Hoover and she had been told he was single. Single meant available to Pam and she knew that Booth was meant for her.
Unaware that he was being stalked, Booth continued to work with Brennan on their case. They determined that the victim had been obnoxious when dealing with other singers at the karaoke bar he sang at and the fact that he thought it was okay to steal a loan that he and Jason Bergman had got to start up a business made him a less than a sympathetic victim. Tommy Sour had many enemies, but amazingly his murder had been caused by being a bad neighbor. Tommy had irritated his next-door neighbor with loud singing all day and all night and that neighbor had been frantic to stop it. He had killed Tommy to shut up his excessive singing.
The case was closed and Booth decided that he wanted to hear Brennan sing. He had never heard her sing, but while they had been working on their case, she had told him and Sweets that she was an excellent singer and her mother had considered her a better singer than Cindy Lauper. He had tried to get her to sing at that moment, but she refused since she needed a proper venue and a sense of frivolity. The karaoke bar that Tommy had sung in was available and Booth considered that a place of frivolity.
After arranging to have Cam, Sweets, Angela and Hodgins meet them at the Karaoke bar, Booth had driven Brennan to the bar under a false pretense. Once they were there, he cajoled her into singing, daring her to prove that she was better than Cindy Lauper. Not one to turn down a challenge from anyone let alone Booth, Brennan moved onto the stage and started to sing 'Girls Want to Have Fun'.
Surprised, Booth had to admit that his partner had a beautiful singing voice. Excited that his girlfriend was jumping up and down on the stage with such unfettered enthusiasm, he clapped his hands and grinned at her antics. The crowd was smiling and nodding their heads in time to the music while Brennan continued singing. Booth was so proud of her.
Pam Noonan had followed Booth and Brennan to the bar. Furious that Booth was paying attention to Brennan and not to her, Pam had pulled a gun from her purse and shouted at Booth. "Seeley look at me. I'm doing this for us." She aimed her gun at Brennan but was surprised when Booth stood in the way of the bullet that was meant for Brennan. As Booth fell to the floor, she witnessed Brennan throw her microphone to the floor and rush to Booth's side. Pam couldn't bear that Brennan was touching Booth and aimed her gun once more.
Aware that she was in danger, Brennan pulled Booth's gun from his holster and shot Pam in the throat. Dismissing Pam from her mind, she knelt next to Booth and pressed her hands over his gunshot wound while Hodgins called for help.
Stunned, Cam moved over to where Booth lay and knew that he needed professional help. Moving outside onto the sidewalk, she waited for the ambulance to arrive. She hoped to direct them to Booth as soon as they arrived. While she waited, she called Caroline Julian to let her know what had happened.
Hodgins and Angela hovered near where Booth lay and listened to Brennan plead with Booth to stay and not leave her. Tears falling down her cheeks, Angela hugged her chest and stared at Booth while he labored to breathe. Hodgins knelt on the other side of Booth and watched as Brennan's hands became covered in blood. He wanted to take over, but he knew that Brennan would not allow that. He assumed that was why Cam had not interfered and he wouldn't either. His attention torn between Booth and the exit, he was relieved to see two paramedics and two policemen enter the bar with Cam leading the way. "Dr. Brennan, help is here." He was certain that she had heard him, but Brennan continued to talk to Booth while pressing against his wound.
Time of the essence, the paramedics moved Brennan to the side and took over Booth's care. Unwilling to let Brennan remain alone, Hodgins moved over to where she was standing and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Dr. Brennan, he's going to be fine. As soon as they take him out of here, we'll follow the ambulance over to the hospital."
Feeling detached from reality, Brennan monitored the paramedics until they moved out of the building. Running outside, she raced over to Booth's SUV and jumped in with the intention of following him. Realizing that she didn't have the keys, she left the SUV and frantically looked around. Standing next to his car, Hodgins waved at Brennan. "Dr. B over here. Come on, we're going to the hospital." Racing over to Hodgins' car, Brennan opened the back door, dived into the back seat and slammed the door shut. "Go Dr. Hodgins, drive."
Back in his car, Hodgins made sure that Angela had closed the passenger door, started the car and raced after the ambulance. "He's going to be okay. He's going to be fine. He's going to make it. He has to."
Oooooooooooooooooo
The next few hours bordered on the bizarre. Booth was operated on as soon as his vital signs were stabilized. Once he was out of surgery, Brennan found herself in a tug of war with the FBI and the State Department. Deputy Director Jordan Bishop entered Booth's recovery room an hour after his surgery. "Dr. Brennan I need to talk to you about a matter of national security. A few years ago, Booth was working on a case that involved an international terrorist. Booth almost captured the man, but due to some last minute interference by a local police department in Virginia, the man escaped and vowed that he would come back to spit on Booth's grave. No one including Interpol has been able to track the man down and we think we know how we can get to him. We'd like to pretend that Booth is dead and set up a funeral for him. In two weeks, we'll have that funeral and we hope the terrorist will show up and we can arrest him."
"You wish to use Booth as bait?" Brennan stood next to her partner and turned to face the Deputy Director. "Booth is recovering from a wound located in the right side of the pectoral region. The bullet narrowly missed his lung, but it did hit his clavicle. You may not use Booth as a decoy for anything. I have his medical proxy and you may not remove him from this hospital without my permission, if you try, I will contact my lawyer and he will make a lot of noise. That noise will stop whatever your plan happens to be."
Shocked that he was being denied something this important, Bishop tried to reason with Brennan. "It is a matter of national security. The State department has requested that Booth . . ."
"There are always matters of national security, Deputy Director Bishop." Brennan crossed her arms against her breasts. "Booth has served his country both in the Army and in the FBI and he has done many terrible things in the name of national security. I will not allow you to risk his life on the off chance that a terrorist would be stupid enough to attend Booth's funeral. Booth was shot, Deputy Director. He has lost a lot of blood. I will not let you endanger his life for a impromptu plan that may or may not work."
At an impasse, Bishop stormed out of the room and out into the hallway. Pacing up and down the hall for a few minutes, he weighed his options and realized that he had none. Booth was in a relationship with a popular mystery writer. The woman had a lot of fans and if she called any newsroom in the area, she would be in front of a camera in a matter of minutes. Removing his phone from his jacket pocket, he stepped into an unoccupied room with Agent Smythe by his side and made a call. "This is Jordon Bishop. I checked into the situation and Agent Booth is badly hurt. We can't move him without endangering his life. We won't be able to use him as a decoy for your plan . . . Sorry, I won't risk a man like Booth. He's done a lot for his country . . . I'm sorry you feel that way, but I have the final say in this, Booth works for the FBI not the State Department." The call ended, Bishop turned to Agent Smythe and shook his head. "He's not thrilled, but too bad. If they want Carlos then they better come up with a better plan."
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After ten hours of waiting, Booth awoke with a groan. Brennan immediately stood up and leaned over the bed. "Booth . . . Booth you're in the hospital, but you're going to be fine."
His mind a little fuzzy, not sure why he was in the hospital, Booth opened his eyes and moved his head until he could see Brennan. 'Why . . . why am I in the hospital.?' His chest hurt and when he moved his right arm, he felt a little faint. "My chest hurts. Why?"
"You were shot, Booth. Pam Noonan shot you." Checking the monitor, Brennan could see that Booth's vital signs had improved since the last time she had looked at them. "We were at the karaoke bar and I was singing when she shot you . . . She's dead." Brennan regretted having to shoot Pam, but she had done what she had to do to save her life and the lives of the patrons in the bar. "You were shot in the chest. The bullet missed your lung. You should recover quickly."
Her words were reassuring. This wasn't the first time he'd been shot, but it wasn't something you got used to. He was grateful that Brennan was there to watch over him. "I love you, Bones. I won't leave you."
"Yes, you won't leave me. I will remind you that you told me that we're together, we'll always be together and I mean to hold you to that promise."
A slight smile on his lips, Booth closed his eyes. "I always keep my promises Bones." His chest throbbing, his smiled disappeared and was replaced with a grimace. "Any chance I can get something for the pain?"
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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.
