(The Hole in the Heart)
Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.
I don't own Bones.
Oooooooooooooooooooooo
With every law enforcement agency looking for Jacob Brodsky, Booth hoped it would just be a matter of time before someone spotted the assassin and he was brought down. Because Brodsky had tried to assassinate him at the Lab, Deputy Director Fairburn had now assigned two FBI Agents to follow him around and Booth was losing his patient. He made it clear to Agents Brown and Park that he didn't want them under foot, but he knew the agents would do their job and ignore what he wanted if they had to.
Added to his trouble was the fact that Brennan was taking her intern's death rather badly. No one else seemed to see it, but he did. When she spoke, she did it stiffly with little emotion in her voice. She was fighting tears and that upset Booth. He wanted her to mourn her intern, but he knew she wouldn't do it in front of her friends and employees. As soon as he could, he took her home and once they were in their house away from prying eyes, he turned to her and opened his arms wide. "Temperance." He spoke softly and hoped she would understand.
She did.
Moving into his embrace, Brennan let herself weep for her intern. "He kept saying 'Don't make me go'".
Her words were blurred with emotion which made it hard to understand her, but Booth knew she was pouring her heart out to him. He just needed to understand. "What?"
"Vincent. He was looking at me and he was saying 'Don't make me leave'. Why would he think I'm the one making him leave? What kind of person am I?"
Horrified that Brennan thought Vincent was talking to her, Booth knew he had to make her understand. This situation was worse than he thought. "No . . . No, you got that all wrong, Bones, all right? You got it all wrong. He wasn't talking to you. He was talking to God. He didn't want to die."
"No, Booth." Brennan clutched Booth's coat and sobbed. "No, Vincent was like me. He was an atheist."
"Okay, then he was talking to the Universe. He didn't want to go, he wasn't ready." Booth held his partner in his arms and let her cry. He was there to protect her and comfort her. "He wanted to stay. He was pleading with whatever or whoever he considered to control the universe not you."
Suddenly angry, Brennan stood back and dashed her hands against her cheeks trying to wipe away the tears. "Well, if there was a God, then he would have let Vincent stay here with us." She was angry that if Booth's God really did exist, he had taken someone kind and intelligent like Vincent. As far as she concerned, the world needed more people like her intern, not less.
He recognized her anger and knew that he'd had the same thoughts when his buddies had been killed by an IED or a stray bullet. He'd agonized over why God would take their lives when they were trying to protect people and destroy the evil in the world. He had come to realize that the world may not make sense to him, but it did to the designer of everything and he had to accept it. "That's not how it works, Bones." He didn't know how he could explain it when he barely understood himself, but he would try if she asked.
Moving back into his embrace, Brennan wrapped her arms around Booth's chest and felt his arms move around her giving her a safe place to mourn. This was what she had needed. "I know." She did not believe in God and she knew that no one had control over what happened in the world. Chaos reigned most of the time and it was up to her to find balance and a refuge from that chaos. She did when she was with Booth. He understood her when no one else did and for that her she was grateful.
Oooooooooooooo
With Hodgins' help, Booth was able to track down Brodsky to the Port in Wilmington. Once he was there with his temporary bodyguards, he had Park close down the main gate and not allow anyone in or out while he and Lester headed for the ship 'The Persophone'. Park called HRT to head to the port for backup and stood in front of the gate control preventing the port security guard from reopening the gate.
Armed, Booth and Lester moved towards the ship using caution. They knew that Brodsky was in the port, but they didn't know if he was on the ship or in the yard. Since they were visibly armed and didn't have time to announce to the men and women they met that they were agents their presence caused a certain amount of confusion and bedlam. People working in the yard had no idea what was going on and their only concern was to escape the yard by heading to the gate. The chaos being caused by the agents drew Brodsky's attention and he knew it was time to confront Booth. He didn't want to deal with two agents at once, so he quickly set himself up on top of a stack of trailers and as soon as he spotted the two men, he shot at Lester.
Fortunately for the younger agent, the bullet meant for the middle of his head grazed the side of his head instead. It caused him to fall and to blackout temporarily which worried Booth. After he made sure Lester was just grazed, he waited for a few moments, saw a security guard staring at him a few feet away, flashed his badge and pointed at the downed agent. "I need you to watch Agent Brown. I'm after a wanted murderer." Once the guard was standing next to Lester ready to guard him, Booth called Agent Park to let him know to send help for Lester and he continued his hunt for Brodsky. He couldn't stay with Lester and risk losing Brodsky. This needed to end and end today.
Determined to find the assassin, Booth stalked him through a portion of the yard filled with tractor trailers. Wary that Brodsky might go for the high ground, he kept his eyes upward as he moved through the yard. After weaving through a pile of the trailers, Booth noticed Brodsky on the top of a trailer looking outward. Feeling uncharitable, he shot the man in the leg and watched him fall. It had been his intention to let Brodsky give up, but after the English Interns' death and Lester's injury, Booth decided that Brodsky needed to be treated like a terrorist. No sympathy, nor quarter given. Brodsky had tried to kill him twice and he was not going to play anymore games.
After Brodsky fell, Booth moved around the trailers and found Brodsky on the ground, his hand over the wound on his leg. With blood seeping around his splayed fingers, Brodsky looked up at Booth with a look of pure hate. "You're really so damn positive you're the good guy in this?"
Staring down at a man that he used to call his friend, Booth knew that Brodsky stood for everything he hated. "Positive as you are. Difference is, I'm right." Patiently, Booth called Agent Park and let him know he had Brodsky and where to find them. "Leishenger was our brother in arms, Jake. He served with you for four years . . . you murdered a good man. You turned into the evil we fought together, that Leishenger fought against."
Brodsky lay on the ground staring at Booth and didn't respond. He had no answers for Booth.
Ooooooooooooooooo
The danger over, Booth took Brodsky to the hospital to be treated then to the Hoover to be processed. Once that was done he drove over to the Lab to check on his partner. Once he was in the building, he noticed Cam standing in her office and waved at her but didn't stop to talk to her. Striding down the hallway, he ignored several greetings from various techs and squints and kept moving. Once he was in Brennan's office, he smiled at her as she turned to look at him. "Hey, Bones."
Relieved to see him whole and unhurt, Brennan rushed across the room and into his waiting arms. "Harris called me and told me you were alright."
"Yeah, Lester got a nick on his head, but he's going to be okay. He's at the hospital and his wife is there." Glad that Brodsky was no longer a danger to him or his partner, Booth knew he could relax, at least for now. "It's over, Bones. Brodsky is in lockup and he's never getting out."
They held each other and enjoyed the freedom of being close and not having to worry about anyone but themselves. Before they became partners, they had kept a distance between them they considered safe for their partnership. There had been a certain mutual attraction, but they had both been afraid to do anything about it. They didn't want to risk their partnership or their growing friendship, but it took a bullet from a stalker to make them realize that what they were doing was wrong. They had a choice to make, they threw caution to the wind and let their relationship evolve into something they both wanted and needed.
"I still have a meeting to attend with Fairburn in an hour, so we can't go home, but I didn't want to go another minute without seeing you." He continued to hold Brennan against his body, relishing the feel of her arms around his body. "I love you Bones and I was never going to let Brodsky hurt you."
"I love you too, Booth and I made the same vow. If Brodsky had come into my presence, I would have done everything possible to kill him." Brennan loved Booth too much to lose him and she needed him to know that.
"I know." Booth waited a few more minutes then moved away from Brennan. "I have that meeting." Moving back to stand closer, he kissed her. "I really do have a meeting."
Chuckling, Brennan gently pushed him away. "Then go to your meeting Booth." Before he left her office, Brennan she called out to him, moved over to the doorway and kissed him. "Go to your meeting."
"Yeah." One more kiss and he finally left the room calling out to her. "I'm going to my meeting."
She watched him walk away, but she knew she would see him again in a few hours. It was easy to let him go when she knew he was safe.
Ooooooooooooooooo
Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.