Thank you all for the reviews! I've had a busy weekend but wanted to get a post up today! I hope you enjoy :) - Mac

Chapter 18

"It is you. Temperance Brennan. Well, I'll be." Gary took a step back from Brennan and quickly looked her up and down, letting out a low whistle. "You clean up nice."

Brennan did not smile. She did not flinch at his small hint at the last time he saw her, muddy, wet and hurt. Crying. "I can't say the same about you," she said, honestly. He was not the handsome young man she remembered. Her memory of that night had darkened the picture anyway, taken his boyish, handsome features away and replaced them with hard eyes, and a mean exterior. And this grown up version was every bit as hard and mean-looking. But he looked like someone who charmed his way through the world – most probably never knew of what he was really capable of.

Rob took a step closer to Brennan and put an arm around her casually – yet there was something protective in the action.

Amy stepped closer. "Did you two know each other?" Amy asked, looking confusedly between Brennan and Gary. "Hello, Gary."

Gary smiled down at her and looked at her very pregnant belly. "Married?" he asked.

Brennan noticed Amy's cheeks flush as she murmured 'no'.

"Figures." He laughed. Rob took a step toward Gary and stood tall, at least two inches taller than Gary. In that moment, it looked like five inches, for how Gary clamped his mouth shut.

"You haven't changed at all since high school," Gary said, looking up at Rob. "Still defending her. Dude, you could've been popular and everything that comes with that. A million doors open for people who move in the right crowd. The families we have, the connections that could've been yours. That little restaurant on the lake could've been a chain of restaurants across the country. But you could never think big."

Rob shook his head and smiled – and Brennan saw actual amusement in his expression. His words had no power over Rob. Rob was confident in every choice he'd ever made. Amy, on the other hand, looked like every word out of Gary's mouth was a physical strike. And at once, she understood. This man represented every sacrifice Amy believed Rob would ever make to choose her – in any capacity – over other, bigger opportunities.

Rob took a step back and looked at Amy, smiling with pride at her. "If it saved me turning out like you, then I'm truly grateful I was able to think beyond those little temptations. Because, sure, success is nice. But giving your soul away is something you can't get back." He put one hand around Amy and the other around Brennan. "I couldn't be happier with the life I live."

"I'm really sorry, Gary," Amy said. Brennan looked at her confused. Why on earth was she apologizing to someone who was so awful to her? And likely was in high school as well?

"And why's that?"

"I'm sorry that you won't ever know what it feels like to be successful because of what you can do and how well you do it – and not because of who you know. But," she said, looking up at Rob. "Self-made success is hot as hell and I can just tell looking at you that yours was made by others."

Rob took a deep breath and looked like he wanted to both laugh out loud and beam with pride, scoop Amy up and kiss her senselessly. Brennan could see that Amy had trouble standing up for herself. But she clearly had no problem standing up for Rob.

Gary looked like he wanted to punch something – or someone – so he took an angry swig of his beer and went to walk away. But Brennan grabbed his arm.

"Not so fast."

He stopped and looked down at her hand on his arm. "You want to rethink this?"

"No. I don't. I want to talk about prom night. Because you owe."

"I owe you?"

"An apology, an explanation. Something. Yes. You owe me."

A gorgeous brunette walked over to them, looping her arm through Gary's and looked down at Brennan's hand on his arm and at Brennan with one eyebrow arched. This was his wife. Maybe she shouldn't get into this… but…

But he'd never been held accountable. She still sometimes had nightmares about drowning. And… if he'd just taken her to the prom, like he promised, she never would've had to go home in the state she was in – the perfect punching bag waiting for more. To be kicked unconscious after…

He'd promised her a nice night at the prom.

"Why did you do it?"

He rolled his eyes. "Tempe, that was years ago. Kids do stupid things."

Brennan's eyes filled with tears of anger. "Stupid things include underage drinking, driving without a license too fast on the freeway, trying to jump from the roof of a home into a swimming pool… stupid things do not include asking someone to go to the prom and then taking them to the lake. To be taunted by at least ten other kids about being a foster child. And then grabbed and thrown into the lake by that same prom date. And then having you and everyone stand around while some girl began to choke and drown me. I nearly died in that lake. And you just… stood… there. That's not a stupid kid thing. That's evil."

Rob stepped toward Brennan and Gary. "What?" he said, so quietly, looking at his former friend, with venom in his eyes.

"Oh my god," Amy said, quietly, emotionally. "Temperance…"

But Brennan wasn't done. "If Jana hadn't shown up, I would've died in that lake. Do you know what I do now? I investigate crimes that start like this. And find the evidence to remove evil people like you from our society. People capable of acts like that – it's my privilege to take them out of this world and let them rot in prison."

"Tempe, shut up," Gary hissed angrily, noting a small crowd that had caught wind of their conversation.

"Oh, you didn't want people to know what you did that night?" she asked. Gary's wife was looking up at him, alarmed, her arm falling loose from its formerly possessive hold. "I can see you've grown accustomed to categorizing these behaviors as kids being kids."

"Your perspective is a bit more dramatic than my recollection."

"She's saying it like it was," Jana cut in, walking toward them. "You guys sat by and let Molly nearly kill her. Drown her. I believe when I arrived you all were laughing."

"I wound up in the hospital that night and then I left this town forever," Brennan spit out, nearly shaking at the raw memory of all of it – the night of her nightmares, rushed now to the surface.

"Then why are you back?" Gary asked, looking like he wanted to slam her across the face, but holding back – probably because there was a crowd.

"Because. I am no longer seventeen years old. I'm not scared of you or this place." She looked briefly at Jana, then at Rob and Amy. "Not anymore."

Suddenly, Gary's wife walked away. Gary looked over at her, and took an intimidating step towards Brennan, his anger about to boil over, but the moment he was close – and just as she saw Rob move – she grabbed his arm swiftly and swung him so she had his arm behind his back. And right in his ear, she said, "You're a coward. You've always been a coward. I'm strong – stronger than you will ever be. I'm back now and I'm done pretending this place never existed. I'll be paying attention to you and if I ever hear a thing about how you treat people that doesn't add up, I will make sure my friends at the FBI get involved and you are held accountable. Workplace harassment, domestic assault… I highly suggest figuring out how to not be you anymore, because you are the kind of person who doesn't always win. In my experience, and because good people make it their job to do this – people like you always eventually lose."

She let him go and he grabbed his arm. He looked around the room for a second and took off, without another word.

Shaking, Brennan walked over to the bleachers and sat down. Rob and Amy were right there, beside her. Amy began rubbing her back while Rob pulled her into a strong, fierce hug.

She felt like a weight had been lifted – something that had held her down for so long. Their chants that night, their taunts. The hurt she'd carried with her. These new friends were proof that no one had that power over her. Not ever again.

B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B**B*B

Booth laid down in his bed at the inn, a swirl of emotions coursing through him. The relief at seeing Bones was strong. He'd been so anxious – if that was even the right word – since she'd left DC. She was safe. She was with friends. But mixed with that relief was fear and sadness. Guilt. Anger.

She was hurting still – facing this past. And… he had no right to be there for her anymore in any kind of way that mattered. Their relationship was broken and that was on him. And seeing her breaking broke him. When all he wanted was to pull her in and hold her – face everything that ever hurt her with her, he was faced with the reality that he was yet another person who had abandoned her in her life. Another reason to not let people in. He was all the proof she needed that people who loved you eventually left.

How he used to despise Max on some level for having done that to her. Her own father had let her down over and over. And he'd been grateful to be someone who could reassure her and hold her up. Help her understand that she was worthy.

Why had he ever let himself leave?

He thought about his one minute. She gave him one minute. He wanted to say so many things. That he was sorry. That he'd been a jerk. That he'd thrown away their friendship and now wanted nothing more than to get it back. He wanted to say he knew she'd heard him dismiss her feelings with Hannah. He wanted to say he understood why she didn't want to be partners anymore.

But he'd heard her – she thought that was why he was there. To throw her termination of partnership in her face. She thought he only cared about that. So…

He said nothing. There wasn't time. It wasn't the time. Sweets said. This was about her. So he asked the one thing that really mattered. Despite the storm inside he was feeling and the millions of things he'd needed to say, he only wanted to know if she was okay.

And he wanted to be there because he knew he'd been gone too long.

He hoped that being there for her meant something. Though he knew now…

If it look the rest of his life, he'd continue showing up. He'd be there. This whole week, that thought was there and he knew. But the moment he saw her look up and saw the hurt and tears in her eyes, saw her wipe them away to hide her feelings from him, he knew… he could never leave again.

He grabbed his phone and sent another text to her 'work' phone. How many messages were just collecting in the empty office, he didn't know.

Bones, you matter. You've always mattered the most. And I'm sorry I haven't made that clear.

The relief at her safety was the reason he was finally able to fall asleep and sleep well. The next morning – he'd go back to that lakeside restaurant. Then… he had one more stop before heading back to DC.