(After "The Beginning in the End')

This is a sequel to chapters 188 and 189.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooo

What Booth feared would happen happened. He was obligated to ship out to Afghanistan, but he did have options. As a member of the Reserves he couldn't refuse to deploy but he did have the option of requesting that he be discharged through the commanding officer of his unit. As soon as he arrived in Afghanistan, he made a formal request in writing to Colonel Nelson that he be discharged. Since he had to have a reason for the discharge, he used the reason that he had been promised that he would be training local troops, but instead he had been informed when he arrived that he was expected to act as a sniper. That was not part of his MOS anymore and he felt that violated his contract. If that failed, he planned to change his status in the Reserves to Individual Ready Reserve. That meant he wouldn't be assigned to a unit and would be relieved of future military obligations other than general muster and national emergencies when Presidential Reserve Callup was invoked. He knew that wouldn't fix the situation he was in at the moment so he knew his next move would have to be to contact several people he knew at the Pentagon who might be able to get him released from his assignment in Afghanistan. With his status change, they might be inclined to help him go back home. He might be a Sergeant Major now, but he had contacts in the upper ranks from his long years of service and those contacts might feel they owed him some favors. At least he hoped they did.

Colonel Nelson wasn't happy with the situation. He had been trying for months to get Booth to sign up to train the locals in Afghanistan to be better soldiers, to be better trackers and to be better at making successful raids in enemy territory. He had made a few friendly phone calls to Booth and he had been turned down. Next, he had made several phone calls to the Pentagon to get someone from there to take a swing at Booth and Colonel Pelant had agreed to try. The man had been successful and Nelson felt that his prayers had been answered. Now Booth was sitting in front of him asking to go home. It was disheartening. Colonel Pelant had promised him that he would get Booth to sign up and now he could see that it wasn't going to pan out. "Why do you want to leave, Sergeant Major? You were given a promotion and your record is exemplary . . . why do you want to back out now?"

His eyes on the Colonel, Booth didn't want to seem to be evasive or lying. "I was pressured to come here, Sir. Colonel Pelant even had the Secretary of State write me a letter asking me to sign up for this mission but in the end, I realize that I should have ignored him and the Secretary. The Colonel approached me when I was having serious personal issues and even though I declined twice he persisted in trying to recruit me. I'm not a sniper anymore. I changed my MOS and he knew that."

"You're a sniper in the FBI." Colonel Nelson felt that Booth wasn't being honest with him.

"I'm the head of Major Crimes at the Hoover and yes I'm rated as a sniper which gives me a bonus, but I am not a sniper. I run my own department." Calmly, Booth shook his head. "In an emergency I can be used for that purpose, but that is not my job description. It hasn't been for quite a while."

"I see." Leaning back against his chair, Nelson stared at Booth and tried to think about his options. He knew they were limited and after he got the phone call from the Pentagon a few short hours ago, he knew that he probably only had one option. "I got a call from General Butler."

Not sure if that was good or bad, Booth nodded his head and decided to remain silent.

"General Butler wants me to let you go. He wants to change your status to Individual Ready Reserve and he wants to make that effective as soon as I release you from your duties here." He continued to stare at Booth trying to understand what had changed in a man he used to know in the past. "You're a fine soldier. You've successfully completed some jobs for the Army and the CIA that I thought were impossible. We need you here. Men are dying and you could stop that or at least slow it down . . . You're not a coward . . ."

Bristling, Booth glared at his commanding officer. "I've done my duty, Sir. I have the medals to prove it. I have the scars to prove it. I want to be released and allowed to return home. I'm not a young man and war is a young man's profession. Pelant should have accepted my first two answers when I said no. You should have accepted it when I told you no . . . I shouldn't be here . . . Sir."

The anger was palpable and Nelson could see that Booth was barely under control. Sitting quietly, he watched as Booth took a deep breath and leaned back against his chair. The man was tense if not dangerously on edge, but he was trying to contain the rage he was obviously feeling and Nelson knew that he would let Booth go. He needed someone willing to be here and Booth clearly didn't want to be. The man was in the Reserves and wasn't full time Army anymore. He had changed and there was no going back. He was older and he probably could see his mortality. "Alright . . . I'll sign your release papers. It's what General Butler wants and well, why buck the brass when you don't have to . . . I was counting on you, but I guess I can't do that anymore."

"No, Sir, you can't." Booth was both relieved and sad. He was getting what he wanted, but he knew that this chapter in his life was finally closed. He wasn't a Ranger anymore. He didn't fit in and he felt sad about it. "I'm a good soldier . . . I was a good soldier, but I have a lot of responsibilities including to my son. He's just a boy and he needs me more that the Army does. There are men out there that want to be here. Find those men. You don't need me, Sir. You don't need someone whose 38 years old who has bad feet . . . I have bad bones and I'm so stiff in the morning I can barely move. That isn't the soldier you're looking for, Colonel. I can train men and I'd be good at it, but you wouldn't have someone that is one hundred percent. I'm in good health right now. I work out, I run when I can, but I pay for that every morning. There isn't a day goes by that I'm not in pain . . . that isn't something I'd normally admit to anyone, but I'm laying all of my cards out on the table. I shouldn't have agreed to come here and I appreciate you letting me go."

Opening his desk drawer, Colonel Nelson removed some papers from his desk and signed them. "I'll cut your orders this afternoon to allow you to leave. Pack your bags, you should be on a flight out of here in the morning, if not then probably the day after . . . The next time don't waste our time like this Sergeant Major. We've wasted enough money and time on you."

Coldly, Booth stood up and braced his shoulders back. "Sir, I wasn't the one that wouldn't take no for an answer."

Waving his hand towards the door, Nelson sighed. "Get out, Booth. Just . . . leave."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Once he was in his quarters, Booth made a call with his cell phone.

Brennan.

"This is Booth . . . hey, I'm coming home." He heard a gasp on the other end and he knew he had surprised his partner. "I called in some favors from General Butler. He talked Colonel Nelson into letting me come home. I'll explain what that means when I get home, but it's okay. I'm going to call Hacker and let him know. I don't want to waste too much time when I get back getting my office back.

This is wonderful news Booth. I'm glad you were able to arrange to come back so quickly.

"Yeah, it pays to know people in high places." Booth smiled. Sergeants may be enlisted men, but if they've played their cards right during their careers, they've made friends with the up and coming officers and that could come in handy sometimes. "I'll be home in a few days. It depends upon if I ship out tomorrow morning or not and what my connecting flights will be when I do leave. I'll call you before the last leg of my journey . . . I can't wait to see you, Bones. I . . . I think I missed you more than I thought possible . . . It will be good to see you, in person."

Yes, I have missed you too. There was a pause and Booth was beginning to think he had lost the connection. We have things to talk about . . . about us and if there should be an us.

Not sure what that meant, Booth felt a little nervous. "Bones, I meant what I said, I love you. I want to give us a chance. I think we can be an us . . . if you're willing to try. I mean, I'm not trying to pressure you . . ."

Booth, stop. I still don't think I can change, but I did say I trust you and I did say that we can be an us as oddly worded as that sounds. I just feel that you're going to be disappointed when you find out that I'm not who you think I am. I . . .

"Stop Bones! Just stop. I know who you are. I've known who you are for a long time. I just needed to know who I was. After the brain surgery, I was confused and I thought I wasn't me anymore . . . that didn't come out right . . . Look, I had to find me again and when I did, I had to . . . well . . . never mind, I'm not making sense." He didn't know why he was having a hard time saying what he meant. That wasn't normal for him. "I think we can do this. I know we can do this. I love you and I want to be with you." He wasn't asking her if she loved him. Booth knew that was a line she might not be able to cross for now. He knew she liked him a lot and she trusted him, something she could do with few others in her life. With hope, he thought that in time, she might learn to trust that his love was real and she might be able to say those words to him. He had time. He could wait.

I love you, Booth.

His heart rate increased. "You do . . . I mean, um, thanks . . . God, Bones, I can't wait to get home. We have stuff to talk about, but I think we've already said the important things. I love you and you love me. We're going to do this, Bones. We're going to be more than partners. Much more."

Yes, much more, Booth. I'll see you in a few days.

"Yes, you will, Bones. Just a few days."

Oooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.