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Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The chapter title comes from the song "Nothing is Written" by Mumford and Sons.
"Marv, what the hell are you doing?" McVicar shouted again. His crazy eyes darted between the gun Barlow was holding and Brennan and Ruth. "This wasn't part of the deal!"
"You need to get over yourself, Vince!" Barlow snapped. His eyes were hard, and it was easy to see that even though he had spent the past thirty years working with McVicar, Barlow really only viewed the man as a pawn. "Ruth Keenan isn't going to leave Max and start a life with you, and Joy or Temperance or whatever the fuck her name is isn't going to pretend that you're her father. You've had thirty years to get over this shit, and you haven't let it go!"
Barlow's hand tightened around the gun, with the barrel aimed directly at Ruth's forehead. Brennan had been in the middle of loosening the last knot binding her mother's wrists together, but she hadn't quite gotten it done. Part of Brennan ached to whip out the gun in her ankle holster; she was in the perfect position to reach it, crouched as she was behind the chair Ruth was bound to. Brennan was a good shot, and she knew to hit the biggest target on a person—center mass. With Barlow standing a mere few feet from them, she was more than confident she'd be able to make the shot.
The other, more logical part of her reminded her that Barlow had already turned the safety of his own gun off, and had his finger hovering dangerously close to the trigger. Even if Brennan moved as fast she could, she doubted she'd be able to properly aim before Barlow squeezed the trigger. That would end with a bullet in her mother's head, and that was simply unacceptable.
She was ever aware of the codeword that Booth had drilled into her head, but it didn't seem like the right time to use it. Booth had gone silent in the earpiece, and Brennan was positive that the eyes he had on the building were able to see what was going on.
Max used the argument happening between McVicar and Barlow as a way to step closer to his wife and daughter. Barlow and McVicar saw Max move at the same time, but it was McVicar who responded. Barlow remained still, calmly pointing his gun towards Ruth and Brennan. It was like he had known what McVicar was going to do all along.
McVicar launched himself towards Max, knocking him to the ground with an uppercut to the jaw. Ruth and Brennan screamed at the same time, with Brennan taking an instinctive step towards her father.
"Don't!" Barlow ordered as he swung the gun towards Brennan.
Brennan froze and sank back down to the ground, crouching next to Ruth's chair in the way that she had before. Satisfied, Barlow turned back towards McVicar, who had hauled Max to his feet by the front of his shirt. He was preparing to hit Max again, but Barlow stopped him with a noise in the back of his throat.
Brennan took the opportunity to undo the knot binding her mother's left ankle to the chair. She paused for a moment, unsure of whether or not she should go for the second one, but Barlow was still trying to talk McVicar down. Brennan tugged on the knot on Ruth's right ankle, pulling and working her fingers under the soft leather until the knot became undone. Now all that remained was the one that Brennan hadn't been able to get undone on her mother's wrists. Still, that leather tie had become loose enough that Brennan hoped Ruth would be able to work her way out of it.
"You got to hit him, Vince," Barlow was saying when Brennan finally tuned back in to the conversation. "Let him go and get back over here."
"I don't know," McVicar mused. He was still gripping the front of Max's shirt and looked at him in a considering way, his eyes more than a little crazed. "Maybe I should kill him now. And then you."
Barlow rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "Don't be so dramatic, Vince. We had a plan, remember?"
"A plan that you're not sticking to! It was never the plan to kill Ruthie!"
"No, that was your plan. It was always my plan, though. I need to make Keenan suffer before we kill him."
"What is your obsession with killing Max Keenan? You want to do it so badly, just do it already!"
"What is your obsession with Ruth Keenan? I'm sorry you didn't get to fuck her thirty years ago, Vince. You gotta let it go, man."
Brennan blinked as she shared a look with her father. Good lord, Barlow was just as unhinged as McVicar. This whole situation had well and truly deteriorated, and there was no way that they would be able to come back from this. Brennan wasn't big on gut instinct, but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone in this room might end up dying.
They had one opportunity to end this all, and all Brennan or Max had to do was say one word. She knew that her father wasn't going to say it, but Brennan had no problem making the call on her own.
Barlow and McVicar were still arguing, while Max inched closer and closer to Ruth and Brennan. So, crouched on the floor, Brennan whispered "Paladin," into her earpiece.
Somehow, even over the hysterical ramblings of McVicar, Barlow heard her. "What did she just say?" he shrieked as he swung the gun back towards Brennan. His eyes were wild, his finger already wrapping around the trigger.
Ruth had gotten her wrists free, and planted her hands on her daughter's shoulders as she shoved her hard. "Duck!" Ruth shouted just as Barlow fired his first shot. He fired a second one quickly as soon as he saw Brennan dive to the side, but her ears were ringing, and it was a little hard to focus on anything else.
The sound of the gun going off rang too loudly in the space as Brennan flattened herself to the floor and scrambled behind the couch. Max threw himself at Ruth, covering her body with his as they knocked the chair over and tried to hide behind it as best as they could.
It all happened very quickly after that. With a roar, McVicar launched himself at Barlow, tackling him to the ground. Barlow was still doing his best to shoot at anyone he could reach, and was just firing off shots as best as he could around McVicar. Despite being bigger, McVicar couldn't quite get a hold on the gun in Barlow's hand.
Brennan pulled her own firearm from the ankle holster and took aim just as the door to the room they were in burst open. Led by Booth, FBI agents and the members from HRT swarmed the room, shouting for Barlow to drop the gun. By that point, he had already run out of bullets in the small handgun, and with no more shots being fired, the agents were able to take control of the situation without any further violence. Although Booth privately felt that the world would be a better place without people like McVicar or Barlow, the higher ups at the FBI wanted them brought in alive. As bad as those two were, they did hold quite a bit of information.
It took four agents to separate McVicar and Barlow. Brennan slowly rose to her feet from behind the couch. Somehow, Barlow hadn't ever shot McVicar, but he had clubbed him over the head with the gun a few times. Blood was streaming from a nasty cut on his forehead, and he was still yelling at Barlow even as he was being handcuffed.
As soon as Booth spotted Brennan, he was instantly at her side. He took her hand, and Brennan was startled by the sudden warmth that spread through her body. It seemed as though she had been viewing the last several minutes through some kind of filter that made it difficult to feel anything. With Booth's touch though, the floodgates were open.
"Hey," Booth murmured. "Bones. You okay?"
Brennan turned to face Booth, and immediately hissed at the unexpected pull in her left shoulder. Booth saw it just as she turned, and his eyes widened before they went dangerously dark. Blood was steadily blooming on Brennan's cable knit sweater, on her bicep where a bullet had grazed her.
Booth reached out with careful, gentle hands, inspecting the wound as thoroughly as he could through the layer of her sweater. Having seen plenty of gunshot wounds in his life (and having had more than his fair share of them), Booth knew that this would only need a simple patch job, maybe only a stitch or two. Still, his chest was tight, and it took everything in him not to turn around and beat the living shit out of Marvin Barlow.
Adrenaline was still pumping through her system, but the pain from the graze was becoming more apparent as well. "I… I hadn't even realized…" Brennan began as she blinked owlishly at the blood stain.
Booth squeezed her right hand as he waved a medic over. "It's going to be okay, Bones."
Brennan cleared her throat as the medic came over and quickly inspected the wound before she directed Brennan to take her sweater off. "Of course I know that everything is alright, Booth." She pulled her sweater over her head as carefully as possible, but she did wince at the tugging in her left arm. "Although I must admit that I wish that these vests came with sleeves."
Despite the distant roaring in Booth's ears at seeing his Bones hurt, he couldn't help but chuckle at her disgruntled comment. After everything that had just happened, she was still Bones. He took a seat next to her as the medic numbed the area and put a couple of stitches in. She taped a bandage over the graze, gave Brennan and Booth a few after-care instructions, and left to check in on McVicar.
Due to the fact that Ruth had been held captive, and the shiner that Max had, the two had been checked out by another set of medics. It had been nonnegotiable, though Max and Ruth had continually demanded that the medics hurry up so they could go check on their daughter.
When Max caught sight of Barlow's smirking face, however, he couldn't help but react violently. "I can't believe you SHOT MY DAUGHTER, you BASTARD!" Max shouted as he dove for Barlow. It was only because of the quick actions of Ruth and Aubrey that Max hadn't succeeded in strangling Barlow with his bare hands.
Booth was glad that he was in the middle of leading this op and had to remain as professional as possible (barring his reunion with Brennan, because there was nothing in the world that was going to stop him from being at her side). Otherwise, Booth would have gone for Barlow as well.
It seemed that McVicar hadn't realized what had happened either, given how dazed he was from the blows to his head. As soon as he heard that Brennan had been injured, however, he immediately tried to throw himself at Barlow. Despite the fact that his hands were cuffed behind his back, he managed to tackle Barlow to the ground.
"YOU SHOT JOY?" McVicar roared.
This time, it took five agents to pull McVicar off of Barlow. Brennan had gone completely still next to Booth, and had gone ghostly pale as soon as McVicar started screaming. She managed to keep it together for everyone in the room watching her before she spun on her heel and walked briskly out of the room.
Brennan started running as soon as she was out of sight of everyone else, and she didn't stop until she was outside of the warehouse. Of course, there were even more agents in front of the building, so she ran into the alley way just around the corner of the warehouse. Brennan tried to suck in deep breaths through her nose and release them through her mouth, but it seemed that nothing could calm her down.
Booth had taken off after Brennan as soon as he had passed on a few quick orders to Aubrey and Charlie. Ruth and Max had called out that they wanted to follow, but a quick, intense look from Booth and a sharp shake of his head made them stay behind for a few minutes at least.
Booth made it into the alley just as Brennan hunched over and vomited. He cursed under his breath and rushed forward, slinging an arm around Brennan's waist to support her while his other hand rubbed soothing circles over her back.
There hadn't been that much in Brennan's stomach to begin with, and it wasn't long before she was dry heaving. Booth supported her and pushed her hair back from her face as her body shook, and it was a few minutes later that she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and stood upright.
Before Booth could say anything—ask her if she was okay, tell her that she did an amazing job, tell her that he loved her so much—Brennan took a deep, shaky breath and said, "My name is not Joy."
"I know." Booth pulled Brennan close, tangling the fingers of one hand in her hair while the other stroked over her back. "Oh baby, I know."
Closing her eyes, Brennan buried her face in Booth's chest. "My name is Temperance Brennan."
"I know."
"I work at the Jeffersonian Institute. I'm a forensic anthropologist. I specialize in…" Brennan choked off on a sob, struggling to find her voice. Her arm hurt, but the pain in her heart was far worse. "… in identifying people when nobody knows who they are. My father was a science teacher. My mother, a bookkeeper. My brother…" Brennan began to cry harder, her shoulders shaking. "I have a brother… I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan."
Brennan dissolved completely into sobs then, her knees buckling beneath her. Booth caught her easily, sinking to the ground in the alley with her as he gathered her to him. Despite their bulky vests and the rifle still strapped to his chest, Booth held Brennan close to him. She burrowed into his chest, wrapping her fingers around some the straps on his vest as she clung to him for all she was worth.
"I know," he whispered again in her ear as his hands rubbed over her back, stroked over her hair. "Hey, I know. I know who you are. Shhh…" Booth pressed a kiss to Brennan's temple. "It's okay. It's going to be alright."
It was finally over.
Well, more or less. There was still that disturbing bit of information that Max had revealed earlier, when he had been talking to Barlow. There had been something about a former deputy director of the FBI, someone named Kirby. Brennan would ask those questions later, though. Right now, all she wanted was her bed, and Booth's arms wrapped around her.
The ride back to Booth's apartment had been taken in silence. Booth had held her hand the entire way there, with Brennan gripping his fingers tightly. Once they had arrived, Booth had wrapped his arm around Brennan's shoulders as they headed into the apartment.
"Bones…" Booth began, but Brennan shook her head.
"I'm so tired, Booth," Brennan admitted. Her eyes felt so heavy, and she was positive that her knees were moments away from buckling beneath her, though this time from sheer exhaustion as opposed to emotional distress. Brennan's mind was still running a mile a minute though, and she simply didn't want to think anymore. "I just… Can we sleep? Please?"
As if Booth could ever say no to Brennan… especially not when she looked at him with those big blue eyes. "Of course," he murmured as he brushed her hair back from her face. "You should take a shower first, though."
Nodding her head, Brennan allowed Booth to guide her to the bathroom. He turned to leave, thinking that she needed some time to herself, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. She looked into his bottomless brown eyes, finding warmth and comfort and love there. Even though she felt at her wit's end now, Brennan knew that Booth was right: everything would be alright, eventually.
"Stay with me," Brennan whispered.
Booth nodded his head and unclipped his vest, letting it drop to the floor. He stepped around Brennan, moving to turn the shower on to its hottest setting, before he touched her shoulder and turned her to face him. He was gentle, but his touch was firm, sure. Even though Brennan was past the point of exhausted, she still felt a current run under skin at the feel of his fingers moving on her.
Brennan's sweater had been left at the scene, leaving her in the bullet proof vest and her long-sleeved, black t-shirt. Booth unclipped the fastenings on Brennan's vest as well and slowly pushed it off of her shoulders, being ever careful of her left arm as he guided the limb through the hole. He did the same with her black shirt, pulling it gently over her head.
Booth's eyes were on the bandage taped to her left arm, and he felt another flare of white-hot anger at the sight of his Bones injured. He absolutely despised the fact that Brennan had even been put in this situation, but as he took a deep breath, he had to remind himself that Brennan was alive and with him. Booth's hands grazed down her sides to settle at her hips and Brennan's eyes closed briefly as warmth spread through her. He pulled her close, pressing a tender, lingering kiss to her forehead before he dropped to his knees.
Booth undid each zipper on her boots, then tapped her right foot. Putting her hands on his strong shoulders to steady herself, Brennan lifted her right foot and Booth pulled off the boot. He repeated the action with her left foot and then reached up, undoing the button on her jeans. Booth tugged the denim slowly down her legs, and then Brennan was left in a pair of black cotton panties, with a matching bra.
Standing, Booth drew Brennan into his arms and held her as steam filled the bathroom. She pressed her face to his t-shirt covered chest, with her own hands coming to rest on his hips. Brennan's fingers tangled through the loops of his tactical pants, tugging him closer to her, until there wasn't even a breath between them. She was pressed fully against his strong, solid body, and it was perfect.
Booth simply held Brennan for a several long moments, enjoying the feeling of her being in his arms. For a few terrifying minutes earlier that day, when he had heard the sound of gunshots ring through his earpiece, he had been so afraid that he wouldn't ever get the chance be this close to her again.
As Booth's hands swept over her back, he undid the clasp of her bra. Brennan pulled back to let it fall down her arms and to the floor, and then Booth's hands were at her hips again, sweeping her panties off. She stepped out of them and into the shower, tilting her head back as the hot water ran over her body.
Quickly stripping his clothes off himself, Booth joined Brennan in the shower. Her back was to him as she stood facing the water raining down on her, running her hands through her now wet hair. As soon as Booth tugged the shower curtain shut, Brennan turned around to face him. Stepping forward, she rested her forehead against his broad chest and slipped her arms around his waist.
Once again, Booth's arms closed around her. He waltzed forward two steps, so that they were both under the stream of steaming water. The two of them had been carrying some amount of tension, even before they had arrived at the warehouse, and they could feel it seeping out with each pelt of water.
Booth and Brennan stood under the water together like that for almost half an hour. Finally, the water began to cool slightly, and that was when Booth reached for Brennan's shampoo. Lathering some of that citrus-melon shampoo in between his hands, he worked it through Brennan's long hair, massaging her scalp.
Moaning softly, Brennan dropped her head back into Booth's hands. He supported her easily and ran his hands through her hair, rinsing the shampoo from it. He spotted her conditioner but figured with the rapidly cooling water, it would be best to go for her body wash. This shower was more about comfort than anything else, after all.
Her body wash was the citrus-scented one that Booth had found himself buying for her last week, and he used his hands to smooth it over Brennan's body. She moaned again as she swayed towards him, her eyes fluttering shut in lazy pleasure. The feel of Booth's strong hands stroking over her body felt incredible, and she wanted it to last.
The water was more cold than warm now, though, and she knew that they would have to get out of the shower soon. While she rinsed off, Booth quickly grabbed his own soap, lathered his body up, and rinsed off. He reached around her, pressing the front of his body to hers as he turned the shower off. Brennan sucked in a quick gasp at the feel of Booth's harder lines against her softer ones, and the corner of his mouth tilted up in a small smile.
Booth handed Brennan a towel and then helped her step out of the shower. She dried herself and squeezed the extra moisture from her hair as she watched Booth rub his own towel over his body. He tossed it over the towel rack, leaving it a little bunched up so there was space for Brennan's. Fully naked, Booth walked to the bathroom door and then held his hand out, beckoning for Brennan to join him.
For a long moment, Brennan simply stared at Booth. Everything about him was truly beautiful: from his dark eyes, to the golden skin covering his sculpted muscles, to his gentle and strong hands and his broken feet, to his incredible heart. Temperance Brennan loved everything about Seeley Booth, and she was amazed that she was going to get to build a life with him.
When Booth curled his long fingers at her, Brennan snapped out of her trance. She hung her towel up as well and joined Booth, slipping her hand into his. He led her into the bedroom and pulled the covers back on the bed. Still holding on to his hand, Brennan climbed onto the bed and tugged Booth with her.
He followed her easily, willingly. As Brennan settled in the center of the bed, Booth drew her into his chest. Every part of their bodies lined up: scapula to scapula, ilium to ilium, patella to patella, metatarsals to metatarsals. There had shared so much between them already, but there was something wholly intimate about the way Booth was holding Brennan now, something new and deeper.
Booth's forehead pressed against hers, and they were sharing the air between them. Brennan's chest was tight when she thought about just what had transpired earlier that day, but when she opened her eyes and looked at Booth, she felt the pressure lessen. Reaching up, she stroked his cheek.
"I love you, Booth," she whispered.
Booth's eyes were a little glassy as he gazed at her, and he pressed a kiss to the tip of Brennan's nose. "I love you too, Temperance Brennan."
With that reminder of who she was, Brennan closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.
It was nearly five in the morning when Brennan's eyes opened.
Her heart was beating quickly in her chest, and her skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Her head had been resting against Booth's chest, and she buried her face against his warm skin now. Despite the heat radiating off of Booth, Brennan was shivering uncontrollably as she attempted to burrow further into Booth's arms.
The remnants of her nightmare was entirely too fresh in her mind, and she felt her stomach roll at the thought of what might have happened, had Vince McVicar been successful with his plans. Brennan would have been at the mercy of that psycho, because he would surely hold her mother over her head until Brennan complied with whatever McVicar wanted. God only knew what he would have done to her mother, as well.
Brennan hadn't wanted to think about any of that, but it seemed that her subconscious had no trouble conjuring up all sorts of horrible images for her. Remembering the details of her nightmare now had her gasping for air, and she pressed her lips together in an effort to keep quiet. There was no need to wake Booth; she was positive that he was just as exhausted as she was.
As always, Booth seemed to know exactly when she needed him. He shifted, his arms tightening around her even as Brennan tried to calm her breathing. Opening bleary eyes, Booth ran a hand down Brennan's bare back as he brushed his lips against her temple.
"Bones?" he slurred, still half-asleep. "You okay?"
Brennan struggled to keep the shakiness out of her voice. "I'm fine," she managed after a moment.
She should have known that Booth would see right through her. Now sounding a little more awake, Booth rolled Brennan to her back and propped himself up on his elbow. He rubbed his face with his other hand and looked down at her, peering at her with knowing eyes.
"Bones, come on. It's…" He glanced at the clock. "4:47 in the morning. You're awake, and you're pale as a ghost. Something is up."
"I don't know what that means," Brennan tried, even though she did. She had heard the colloquialism of someone saying that something was up when something felt off, but she was trying her best to distract Booth.
Booth snorted. "Yeah right, Bones. Come on, come clean."
Well, Booth obviously wasn't going to let this go. Looking into his warm brown eyes, Brennan knew that she wouldn't be able to hold this back from him. "I had a nightmare," she whispered.
Booth's eyes went soft and he rolled Brennan towards him once again, tucking her against his chest. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head and she closed her eyes, relishing in the feel of his arms secure around her, along with his endless support.
While it was the first really bad nightmare she had in his presence (there had been one or two after the car almost running her over), Booth had had quite a few since they had started sharing a bed. What with his past as a sniper and the obvious capture and torture he had endured in the army, along with what he had witnessed as an FBI agent, it was no surprise that Booth suffered from nightmares.
The first time it had happened, he had left the bed and had tried to brush it off. Brennan had struggled with trying to give him space versus offering her support. In the end, she had decided to join him in the living room, where she had found him in an uneasy slumber on the couch. Brennan had curled up next to Booth on the couch and when he had woken up hours later, he had been touched that she had come to him. From then on, whenever Booth had a nightmare, Brennan would hold him, and Booth would press his head to her chest until it had passed. He had begun to share his feelings with her over that time, bit by bit, and it touched her that he had chosen to open up to her.
Of course Booth wanted to do the same for her now. "Tell me about it?" Booth prompted gently. If she didn't want to talk about it, that was fine. He would wait until she was ready, as she had done on more than one occasion with him.
A full five minutes passed before Brennan finally spoke. She traced her fingers over the hard lines of Booth's sternum as she took a deep breath. "McVicar was there," she admitted.
Booth remained silent, but he pressed another comforting kiss to Brennan's forehead. Booth knew that more than anything, Brennan just needed to get this out. He could only begin to imagine just how hard this was for her, and he hated that even after those assholes had been apprehended, they were affecting her even now.
"We were in the warehouse one second, and in the next… we were in an abandoned house. Me, my mother, and McVicar." Brennan shuddered. "He kept calling me Joy. He spoke of how much he loved my mother, and of how I was really his daughter." Tears welled in Brennan's eyes then and she fought to keep them from spilling over. "I just… I don't understand why he thought those things. How could he have created lies that were so obviously removed from reality?"
There were a lot of specific names for what McVicar had done, for just how unhinged he was. It was clear that Barlow had taken advantage of McVicar and had used him to carry out his dirty work for years. In part, McVicar had latched on to Ruth Keenan and Temperance Brennan for whatever reason, as a way to keep his focus off of the horrible things he had done. For thirty years, McVicar had viewed Max Keenan as the obstacle keeping him from Ruth and Brennan. Barlow had also used that in his quest for revenge against Max.
"I'm sorry, Bones," Booth whispered as he ran his hand through her hair. The words didn't seem like enough, but all she really needed was his arms wrapped around her. The look of love in his eyes was more than enough as well, and she reached up to touch his cheek.
"I just want to understand why he said what he did," Brennan muttered. The scientist in her reared up in times of emotional distress, and this time was no different. If only Brennan could understand, then maybe she could accept it and move on.
"Baby…" Tucking his fingers under her chin, Booth tilted Brennan's face up so that he could look her in the eye. "I don't think you'll ever understand McVicar's obsession with you or your mother."
Brennan's jaw jutted out in that stubborn way, and Booth knew that she was gearing up to argue with him. "I want to talk to him, Booth," she demanded. Her voice left no room for argument. "When they interrogate him, I want to be there. And I want a chance to ask him about all of this."
Booth sucked in a deep breath through his nose, fighting his immediate reaction to tell Brennan that there was no way in hell he was going to let her near that man. Brennan had proved how strong and capable she was long before she met Booth, and he had known that she could handle just about anything from the day he first met her. That didn't stop Booth's desire to protect her, though, and it something that he would never get over.
"Can we talk about it tomorrow?" Booth finally asked. It wasn't a real answer to her demand, but it was the best he could give. When Brennan's eyes softened and she kissed his lips gently, he knew that she understood.
Brennan supposed that Booth was stalling, and she had a feeling that there was going to be quite the argument in their future. In the end, though, Brennan knew that Booth would be right by her side when she sat in on that interrogation. He hadn't sheltered her from anything else in this case, and he certainly wasn't going to start now.
To thank her for not pushing the issue, Booth returned Brennan's kiss with one of his own. Deciding that this was a much better thing to focus on, Brennan wrapped her arms around Booth's neck and deepened the kiss. Her naked body pressed against his, and he let out a little groan of appreciation.
Booth was well aware of using this tactic to push away remnants of nightmares. He himself had used it more than once with Brennan in the past, and she had always welcomed him into her body trustingly, without question. He could do the same for her now and, truth be told, he needed this as well.
Sliding his hand down her body, Booth stroked his fingers along the outside of her thigh before he hooked his hand behind her knee. He hitched Brennan's leg around his hip, opening her up to him. They both gasped as his hardening length came in contact with her soft, damp center, and she rolled her hips into his.
The way Booth had wrapped Brennan's leg around him worked to her advantage, and she used it as leverage to roll him to his back. He gazed up at her, his eyes dark with arousal, nearly black. The look in his eyes made Brennan's breath catch. Straddling him, Brennan rubbed her wet center along his now fully hardened cock, teasing them both.
Booth's hands fell to her hips as she moved over him. As easy as it would be for him to press up into her, he was enjoying this too much to really interrupt it. She was so soft and warm and wet, and it was obvious how aroused she got just from touching him. That only served to turn Booth on even more as well, until he felt like he was going to come undone underneath her.
"Baby…" Booth rocked against Brennan, and the slick, easy glide of his dick through her soft folds made him let out a ragged groan. She moaned, throwing her head back as she dug her fingers into his chest. He could feel her throb against him and when her eyes opened, they were that dark, deep shade of blue that signaled her impending orgasm.
"Oh God, Booth," Brennan panted as she used his hard length between her legs to work herself over. Pitching forward, she pressed her hands into the mattress above Booth's shoulders and kissed him hard. "You feel so good," she breathed against his lips.
Tightening his grip on her hips, Booth pressed Brennan down, grinding her harder against him. "Come for me, Bones." He wouldn't last long once he got inside her, and he wanted her mindless with pleasure before then.
Snaking his hand between their bodies, Booth pressed his calloused thumb to Brennan's clit. She gasped against his mouth as her body seized, and she came in rush. Booth swallowed her long moan of pleasure with another deep kiss, continuing to rock her gently against him.
As Brennan tried to catch her breath, Booth rolled her underneath him. Starting at her lips, Booth laid another kiss on Brennan that left her breathless before he made his way down her body. His lips stroked down the pale column of her throat, stopping to suck at her pulse point. Booth sucked hard enough to leave a light pink mark, one that that would disappear by morning. The ones that would last for days would be left in much more private places.
Brennan hummed in pleasure at the gentle suction, and Booth moved down further, nipping lightly at her collarbone with his teeth. He scattered kisses over her chest and then made his way down to her breasts. As his tongue traced the underside of one rounded globe, Brennan stroked her fingers down his strong back.
She loved touching him, loved feeling him against her, covering her. Brennan felt so at home with Booth, so completely safe and loved, and she wondered if she would ever be able to find the words to tell him that. With the way Booth touched her, though… Brennan had a feeling that he already knew.
Booth's mouth closed around one tight nipple, sucking deeply, and Brennan gasped his name. Her hands moved up his back and tangled in his hair, where she tugged gently. Booth groaned against her breast, grinding his hips into the mattress beneath them. He made his way over to her other breast, giving that one the same treatment. His mouth moved lower then, skating over her belly.
Brennan sucked in a quick breath, eagerly anticipating where he was headed. Booth surprised her though by taking her by the hips and flipping her carefully on to her stomach. This time, Booth started at her injured left arm. Even with the passion coursing through her body, Brennan still felt tears burning in her eyes at the tender way Booth feathered his lips over her bandage. His hand settled at the small of her back, stroking lovingly, and Brennan let out a shuddery sigh.
"I love you, Booth," she murmured. She wished there was more that she could say to him, a way that she could express just how much he meant to her, because she wasn't sure that the words alone were enough. Brennan tried to put all she was feeling in her voice, in the weight of her words, and as always, Booth understood her.
Booth's lips moved to the nape of her neck as his body settled over hers, blanketing her. "I love you too, Bones."
He continued down her body then, tracing the line of her back with his lips and hands. When he got to the small of her back, he lingered there, placing sucking kisses on the place where his hand so often found a home. Brennan moaned again, and she wasn't that surprised that Booth had managed to turn that spot into an erogenous zone for her.
With his hands on her thighs, Booth encouraged Brennan to part them. She did willingly, letting his name escape on a breathy gasp as Booth settled between her legs. He placed a hard, sucking kiss on one thigh, surely leaving a mark. He did the same to the other one, and Brennan's hips rotated towards him. From behind, Booth attached his mouth to her soaked center, causing another rush of wetness to hit his tongue.
He groaned at the taste of her, and Brennan cried out as she arched her hips back towards him. He licked at her, tonguing her clit until she was right on the edge. When she was begging and pleading, panting his name, Booth finally turned Brennan over once again.
Brennan's thighs parted and Booth was there instantly, sliding inside her in one smooth thrust. They both cried out, and Booth held himself still as her slick walls gripped him tightly. He dropped his head to Brennan's shoulder, breathing harshly, and she wrapped her arms and her legs fully around him.
Overwhelmed at their connection, Booth began to move inside Brennan with deep, even thrusts. Her thighs tightened around his hips, pulling him closer as she rocked up to meet him. Her hands clutched at his strong shoulders, fingers digging into the smooth contour of muscles.
"Booth, oh…" The feel of him inside her was like nothing else. "Oh, yes. Yes. Yes!"
Losing his rhythm, Booth's thrust harder, faster. Brennan's eyes were that shade of blue again and she cried his name out, tilting his hips so that he hit the most perfect spot inside of her. She began to ripple around him, and she bit down on his shoulder as she moaned her pleasure. The feel of her coming around him sent Booth over the edge and his hips jerked against her.
When they were finally able to catch their breath, Booth's body was still covering Brennan's like a blanket. Her arms were wrapped around him, holding him close, and it was clear that she wasn't planning on letting go any time soon. When Booth pressed his hands into the mattress and tried to lift up and off of Brennan, she tightened her arms around him and let out a sleepy, "No."
Booth chuckled. "Baby, I'm crushing you."
"No, you're not," Brennan retorted. She pressed her lips to his neck. "You feel good."
Wrapping his own arms around her, Booth rolled them to the side and held Brennan just as close as she was holding him.
They had dozed for about an hour, but neither of them had really fallen into a deep sleep. Not long after their nap, Booth and Brennan were laying in bed, talking about her parents. It wasn't an easy conversation, but Booth figured that it was long overdue for Brennan.
"Objectively, I know they did what they thought they needed to in order to keep us safe," Brennan said. It seemed that she was trying to reassure herself more than anyone else. She was using that clinical voice she often adopted at the lab, and Booth knew that twelve years later, she was still trying to compartmentalize the lies her parents had told her.
"Sure, it kept you safe," Booth conceded. For all of Max and Ruth's faults, they did end up keeping their children away from harm, and their family together. How were they to know that McVicar and Barlow would spend over a decade trying to hunt them down? "But Bones, I doubt that I'm the first one to tell you that there were any number of other things they could have done."
Brennan snorted at that. "Sure. They could have not started robbing banks in the first place."
"Bones."
"Yes, I know." Brennan sighed heavily, and then looked up at Booth with those guileless blue eyes. "Would you have done the same with Parker? Changed his name, changed your name, all to keep him safe?"
"I…" Booth swallowed hard, and his heart hurt at the even the thought of Parker having to experience anything remotely similar to what Brennan had gone through. "Shit, Bones. I don't know. I wish I could sit here and tell you that I wouldn't want to put Parker through anything like that, but… as a parent, you want to do anything necessary to protect your child. Anything."
Biting her lip, Brennan ran her fingers over Booth's chest. "I'm not a parent, so I suppose that I can't really understand what happens when your child is threatened. Even so… When we have children—" She stopped herself abruptly when she realized just what she was saying, and her cheeks flushed bright red. Of course, there was no hiding from her little slip.
Booth's mouth dropped open and though he looked surprised, he seemed rather pleased with himself as well. He traced his fingers along the curve of her cheek and then slid his hand into her hair, tilting her head back so he could look her in the eye.
"You want to have kids?" Booth murmured.
"Well…" For a second, Brennan didn't make eye contact with Booth. Then she took a deep breath, licked her lips, and looked right into those brown eyes that always seemed to see to the very center of her. "Yes."
"With me?"
Whatever hesitancy had been holding Brennan back disappeared instantly. "Of course, Booth," Brennan confirmed immediately. She looked confused as to why he was even asking that question. "I love you. There's no one else I'd rather have children with."
Closing his eyes, Booth pulled Brennan close and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. His lips lingered there as his arms tightened around her. "Bones, nothing would make me happier," he whispered against her skin.
Booth sounded a little choked up, and Brennan felt tears burn in her eyes as well. For the first time in nearly forty-eight hours, though, they were happy tears. When Lucas had been born they had discussed children very briefly, and it had seemed like something that was a little far off. Now, though… Brennan could see Booth cradling a brown-eyed little boy very clearly. That warm feeling spread in her chest again, making her feel grounded and weightless all at the same time.
Booth's hand drifted down to her stomach, and he covered the slight curve of her belly with an open palm. While it wasn't like they were planning on having a baby immediately, it was still wonderful to think about happening sometime in the near future.
"We could have a little baby Bones," Booth told her, and he sounded so happy that Brennan was pretty sure she fell in love with him all over again. "What's the smallest bone in the human body?"
"The stapes," Brennan rattled off easily. "It's in the middle ear." Her hand covered his on her stomach, and she imagined that Booth would touch her belly quite a bit when she did eventually get pregnant. It just seemed like something he would do.
"Our little stapes," Booth breathed. Sliding down the bed, Booth pressed his lips to her belly. Brennan threaded her fingers through his thick hair, stroking lovingly. Moving further down, he nipped at her hip.
Brennan had other ideas, though. She tugged on his hair and, getting the hint, Booth moved back up her body. With a saucy little grin, Brennan quickly switched their positions. She moved down his body, trailing along those sculpted muscles with her lips, only stopping once her face was level with his quickly hardening length. She wrapped her hand around him and stroked. Sure enough, Booth's hips rocked towards her, and his breathing turned rather erratic.
"It's my turn," she told him as her tongue snaked out and licked the tip of his cock.
Booth's head fell back and soon, the only thing he could focus on was the incredible pleasure Brennan was giving him. He'd return the favor soon enough, though.
"You said I could go."
Booth took a sip of his coffee and flipped the page in his newspaper. "No, I said that we'd talk about it tomorrow."
Brennan wrinkled her nose, and her jaw jutted out in the stubborn way. "It's tomorrow."
"I know, Bones."
"I don't need your permission, you know."
"I'm not…" With a sigh, Booth set the newspaper aside. "Christ, Bones, I know that. I'm not trying to tell you what you can and cannot do, and you know that."
Brennan did know that, of course. Booth was a classic alpha male and was overly protective, but he had never tried to dictate her life, nor would he ever think about trying it. That didn't stop her from being irritated now though, and she wasn't afraid to let Booth know it.
"I just… God, Bones, you were so upset yesterday. Do you really think seeing McVicar again will help?" He raked a stressed hand through his hair, his eyes full of compassion. "It kills me to see you hurt like that."
Eyes softening, Brennan reached up moved closer to Booth until she could place her hands on his chest. "Thank you, Booth. I love you for caring, I do. But I need to know. I'm always going to wonder, and I just... I can't stand not knowing."
She was a scientist after all, and if Brennan decided that she needed to know the answer to something, she was going to do everything in her power to find it. Booth understood that about her, which was just another reason for her to love him. He could see her, like no one else ever had.
"Don't you think you should talk to your parents first?" Booth tried. He was sure that Max and Ruth would somehow find their way to McVicar's interrogation as well, which would only add another layer of stress. "We haven't seen them since we left the warehouse last night."
"I don't want to see them," Brennan said immediately. She took a deep breath and dropped her head forward so that it rested on Booth's chest. "Not yet, anyway."
"They're probably going to be there," Booth reminded her. "Cullen will definitely pull some strings to get your dad in the observation room, at the very least."
Brennan just shrugged her shoulders at that, unwilling to face the fact that she'd be seeing her parents sooner than she wanted to. Instead, she shook that off and batted her eyelashes at Booth, well aware that he had trouble saying no when she turned her blue eyes on him.
"So when are we leaving?" she asked with a little pout.
Booth groaned and very purposefully looked away from her. "Come on, Bones, where the hell did you learn how to do that?" He could never deny her when she gazed at him with those baby blues, and that pout was impossible to resist.
Brennan just continued to pout at him, and she slid her hands up his chest until her arms wrapped around his neck. She stepped closer, pressing her body fully against his. When Booth still didn't say anything, Brennan stretched up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his jaw.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Booth wrapped his arms around Brennan. "We can go in fifteen minutes."
Grinning, Brennan kissed Booth's cheek and went into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. When she saw looked into the fridge and found her favorite creamer alongside all of her favorite vegetables and her veggie burgers, her smile widened. Whatever else happened today, Brennan knew that she would have a home to come back to with Booth.
They should have known that Sweets would be waiting for them when they got to the Hoover.
He was hanging out by the interrogation room, looking particularly eager with his hands tucked into his trouser pockets. This reunion between daughter and mother and father, twenty-four hours after a very tense and dangerous situation, was what Sweets lived for. It was like his psychologist spidey-sense was tingling, and Booth and Brennan sighed in unison.
"Not now, Sweets," Booth told him before Sweets could open his mouth.
The young psychologist looked a little put out. "But, Agent Booth, I just—"
"I don't know if now is the time, Sweets," Brennan added. Her voice was remarkably even, especially given the fact that she had just spotted her mother and father walking down the hallway. Sweets followed her line of sight and practically lit up the sight of Max and Ruth.
This whole case had been very fascinating, from a psychological standpoint. After their little impromptu session in the armory the day before, Sweets viewed Booth and Brennan less like patients, and more like… well, not friends, exactly. But colleagues for sure, and he cared about their well-being.
"I just wanted to offer my help," Sweets continued. "I know that this has been difficult, and you were injured, Dr. Brennan…" He looked very pointedly at the sling that Brennan was (very grudgingly) wearing. By that time, Max and Ruth had joined them. Sweets added, "My schedule has been cleared for the next two days. If you want to talk about what happened, I'm here."
Max, of course, just gritted his jaw and looked away. He still wasn't thrilled with the fact that Ruth had given herself up in the first place, or about just how much McVicar was obsessed with his wife and daughter. Talking about what happened was the last thing he wanted to do. Ruth, on the other hand, gave Sweets a motherly pat on the shoulder.
"I think that we'd like to schedule some time with you, Dr. Sweets," Ruth told him. Her voice was pleasant, but her eyes were like steel—Max and Brennan wouldn't be able to get out of this.
Brennan's eyes went wide, and then she bit down on her bottom lip. Booth slid his hand over the small of her back, offering wordless support. So Brennan took a moment to think about it and realized that it was actually quite a big step for her mother to want to talk about what had happened. It was an olive branch, the least Brennan could do would be to meet her halfway.
"I agree," Brennan added. Sweets' head swiveled towards hers, and he stared at her with his mouth hanging halfway open. The young psychologist truly thought that he would never ever hear Brennan willingly agree to accept psychological help. Then Brennan added, "After you meet with my parents first, of course."
Sure, Brennan was willing to meet with her mother and father and talk about their issues. Her parents very obviously had some things to work through first, and Brennan wasn't above using it as a bargaining chip.
Behind her, Booth let out a chuckle and nudged her hip with his. He liked when she got sneaky and playful like this, and it was so subtle that most people didn't notice it. His thumb stroked at the small of her back in little circles, and their contact wasn't lost on anyone.
Making an annoyed noise in the back of his throat, Max clapped his hands together. "Are we going to get this show on the road, or what? Don't we have an interrogation to get to?"
He moved to open the door to the observation room, but Booth leaned forward, pressing his palm to the door. Booth effectively kept Max from opening it, and the two men stared each other down. Max, in his agitation, broke first.
"Booth," Max gritted out.
Booth studied the older man for a long moment. "Are you going to be able to handle this, Max?" The conversation was rather reminiscent of when they were talking about rescuing Ruth from that warehouse. "Because you can't be in that observation room if you're going to cause any problems."
Max crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled, "I'm not going to cause any problems."
Patting her husband's chest, Ruth added, "I'll make sure he doesn't."
Brennan rolled her eyes and batted Booth's hand away from the observation room door, opening it herself. Sure, there was some tension between her and her parents, and it would likely be there for a while. In the end, though, it was nice to know that some things would never change.
Aubrey had already started the interrogation by the time Brennan, Max, and Ruth got into the observation room. Unsurprisingly, McVicar was just talking about Ruth, and how he wanted to know whether or not she was okay.
"She's just fine," Aubrey assured McVicar. Booth opened the door to the interrogation room, joining Aubrey at the table. He watched the Strong Arm hit man, noting that he looked even more unhinged than he had at the warehouse the day before.
McVicar didn't even acknowledge Booth's entrance. "I want to see her. I want to see Ruth."
"I'm sorry, that's not possible," Aubrey stated in a calm, even voice. It was clear that McVicar wasn't all there, but he still possessed quite a bit of knowledge about what he and Barlow had been up to for the past twelve years. They needed to get him talking, and they weren't quite ready to get into his face just yet.
Slamming his cuffed hands on the table, McVicar jerked the chair his ankles were cuffed to. They had to restrain him earlier, given that he almost knocked out one of the other agents when they had tried to bring him into the interrogation room. The chains keeping him attached to the chair rattled ominously, but held.
"LET ME SEE RUTH!" McVicar roared. "I WANT TO SEE HER!"
On the other side of the two-way mirror, Ruth took a deep, shuddering breath and shook her head. "I can't be here," she muttered before she turned on her heel and spun away. She didn't go far, given the fact that her husband and daughter insisted on staying in the observation room. One or both of them would need her sooner or later. At least Sweets was waiting in the hallway, so she wasn't out there by herself.
Aubrey managed to calm McVicar down enough that he wasn't yanking on his restraints any longer. Booth was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, and the vein in his jaw was throbbing. His eyes were stormy, and Brennan wondered if he was going to actually ask any questions. It kind of looked like he was going to play bad cop just by standing there, looking incredibly menacing.
"Where is Joy?" McVicar finally asked.
Brennan tensed immediately, sucking in a deep breath through her nose in an attempt to calm her suddenly racing heartbeat. She instead focused on Booth, and how well she could read him. She could see from the tick in his jaw indicating that he wanted to say something, but for the sake of professionalism, was holding back. Even though Booth was very obviously upset, Brennan still took comfort from the fact that she knew him so well.
It went on like that for another few minutes. With whatever questions Aubrey asked, McVicar responded with another one about the whereabouts of Ruth or Brennan. Aubrey and Booth shared a look before Booth turned on his heel and left the interrogation room.
He shot Ruth a concerned glance but frankly, his focus was on Brennan. Besides, Sweets was talking quietly with Ruth anyway, so Booth knew that she was in good hands. He made his way past them and into the observation room, where Brennan was chewing on her thumbnail while Max watched her with fatherly worry.
"We're going to leave the rest of the interrogation to Sweets," Booth explained. "That guy is like a psychologist's wet dream. He's just… he's…" Booth tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Wow."
"Did he tell you anything?" Max demanded. His eyes were dark and foreboding, and there was a very real chance that Max was going to find a way into that interrogation room and beat McVicar to within an inch of his life. Hell, Brennan wouldn't be surprised if her father found some way into the prison they were eventually going to put McVicar in.
Eying Max warily, Booth told him, "He didn't. He was asking for… well, you heard him."
Looking through the window into the interrogation room, Brennan could see that they were getting ready to move McVicar. It would be better for all of them if neither of her parents were around when that happened, so Brennan attempted to employ a bit of tact.
"Dad, why don't you go check on Mom?" Brennan suggested. "You could take a few moments in Booth's office, and then we'll come meet you there."
A stubborn look came over Max's face, and it was easy to see where Brennan inherited hers from. "But I want to ask Booth—"
Brennan quickly lost all attempt at being subtle and tactful. "Dad, just take Mom and go to Booth's office, alright?"
Holding his hands up in surrender, Max wisely chose to heed his daughter's words. Seeing Ruth would probably help him calm down anyway, and she would be the person most likely to talk him out of doing something stupid. So it was a win-win for everyone involved.
Brennan took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. Booth crossed the observation room and pulled her into his arms for a brief but fierce embrace, smoothing his large, warm hand over her back. Sighing, Brennan buried her face in Booth's chest and inhaled his comforting scent.
When they pulled apart, Booth gave her a small smile and jutted his chin towards the door. Nodding her head in return, Brennan wordlessly agreed that they should leave the observation room. Maybe, once her parents calmed down, they could all go and get lunch at the diner.
Naturally, because the universe was the way that it was, Booth and Brennan left the observation room the same time that McVicar was being led out of the interrogation room. Brennan froze next in the hallway, her shoulders tensing. She paled considerably when McVicar caught sight of her and shouted, "JOY!"
Booth's hand found the small of Brennan's back and she stepped closer to him, feeling as though he was her anchor in that moment. Of course, Sweets was still lingering in the hallway, watching the whole exchange. Brennan bit her lip in an effort to keep silent, because she knew that anything she would say to McVicar would go in one ear and out the other.
At that point, McVicar was being forcibly led away. The whole time, he was shouting, "Joy, you're here to get me out, right? And then you'll bring me to Ruthie? Ruthie is waiting for us, isn't she? Joy? JOY?"
Before he was led away entirely, Brennan said in a loud, clear voice, "My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan."
Of course, that only made McVicar yell the name Joy over and over again, in between shouts for Ruth. Eventually, McVicar was too far away for them to hear him properly. Well aware that she was now standing in the hallway of the Hoover where anyone could see her, Brennan sucked in a long breath through her nose and forced herself to compartmentalize. It was less than twenty-four hours since the incident in the warehouse, and the feelings were still raw.
Standing next to Brennan, Sweets watched Charlie and Aubrey lead McVicar away. "It's the illusion that he created for himself," he explained quietly. "He's in too deep. He built this life with you and your mother in his head as a way to cope with the things he had to do, and with what Barlow put him through. He spent so many years using that illusion as a coping mechanism, he can't differentiate between that and real life anymore."
Even though Sweets had no tangible proof for his theory, his words made Brennan feel better anyway. She patted his arm, took a deep breath, and turned away from McVicar. Booth, as always, was waiting for her, watching her with warm eyes. She moved to stand beside him, and Booth slid his hand over the small of her back once again, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Sweets watched them go with a small smile playing on his lips. God, the two of them were fascinating. He just hoped that he would get to continue to work with them, because he had a feeling that Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan were going to do amazing things together.
As Booth and Brennan crossed the bullpen, they were pleasantly surprised to find Russ and Amy in Booth's office, along with the kids. Even little Lucas was there, being held by Ruth. Max and Ruth looked calmer than they had in days, and for the first time in months, it felt like the storm was finally passing.
Tugging gently on Brennan's hand, Booth pulled her to a stop. "Why don't we pick up some takeout from the diner and take it back to your parents house? We can celebrate getting your mom back, and having Russ and Amy and the kids back too."
Brennan squeezed his hand and looked up at him with shining blue eyes. "That sounds perfect," she agreed.
At that point, her nieces had caught sight of her, and they ran forward screaming, "AUNT TEMPE!"
With a smile that lit up her whole face, Brennan ducked down and hugged Hayley and Emma tightly. Booth grinned at the scene, glad that they had gotten to this happy ending. After everything that Russ and Temperance Brennan had been through, they deserved this—a chance for their family to be together and truly happy, without their parents' secrets hanging over their heads.
Speaking of… When Max caught sight of Booth out in the bullpen, he patted his wife on the shoulder and left Booth's office. Brennan allowed her nieces to pull her into the office as well, where she hugged her brother and sister-in-law and then took her new nephew into her arms.
"So. It seems as though we have a few things that we have to talk about," Booth told Max pleasantly, though his voice was rather even, given what they were about to discuss.
"I guess that we do," Max acknowledged.
Tucking his hands into his pockets, Booth said, "You have to know that I heard what you said about Kirby. We have to talk about that, you know."
Max shrugged his shoulders. "It's been taken care of."
"Max…" Booth sighed and eyed Max warily. Ten years ago, Kirby had been killed under some very suspicious circumstances. Some journals had been discovered with Kirby's mangled body, revealing years of corruption and secrets. The FBI had been rather embarrassed, to say the least—even more so when they never found a solid suspect for the murder. The whole incident had been somewhat swept under the rug. As a former deputy director, Kirby deserved a proper investigation into his murder. At the same time, though, it was obvious that the man had sold state secrets and allowed himself to be corrupted by criminals. Instead of acknowledging what had happened, a small, private investigation was still "officially" taking place. No one had really given it much thought in years, though.
"Look, it's over now," Max said in a quiet voice. "It's been ten years. We've finally caught the people threatening my family. Can we just…" Max trailed off, but his meaning was clear.
Booth dragged his hand through his hair. In the end, Max hadn't actually (technically) revealed anything with this conversation. There really had been no proof left at the scene, and ten years ago the FBI didn't have someone like Temperance Brennan to help them solve those cases. In all likelihood, Booth would have to revisit this conversation with Max later. Now, though, there was no point in bringing a ten year old case up, just to cause more problems.
"Eventually, we're going to have to talk about this," Booth said. Because they would. Even if some of the higher ups clearly didn't to be bothered by the murder of a disgraced former deputy director, Booth couldn't just let it go in good conscious.
"Yeah, I know." Max grinned at Booth, looking thoroughly unconcerned at the prospect. Whatever Max had done—and frankly, Booth didn't really want to know—he wasn't going to get caught for it.
With another sigh, Booth turned his attention to his office. It should have looked odd, with all of the people and the children in there, but the truth was… it didn't. Every member of the Keenan/Brennan family looked as if they belonged there, in Booth's life. Especially Temperance Brennan.
Still cradling her new nephew, Brennan gestured for Booth and her father to come join them. Pushing the conversation he just had with Max away, Booth joined the Keenan/Brennan family in his office. He kissed Brennan's cheek and smiled as she passed little Lucas to him.
This family was going to keep Booth on his toes for the rest of his life. As he looked at Brennan, who was watching him hold her nephew with soft eyes and a bright smile, Booth found that he didn't mind at all. In fact, he was looking forward to it.
Yeah, I know that I kind of brushed over the whole thing with Max and Kirby, but he got away with it on the show. That could turn into a whole separate story, so this conversation is the only reference we're having to any consequences regarding what Max did.
And Brennan's injury would probably be a lot worse in real life, but this is Bones, where people apparently don't suffer from gunshot wounds for too long. So we're just going to go with it.
We're going to have two-ish more chapters after this. Thanks for reading!