("The Woman in the Car" and after "The Pain in the Heart")

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I don't own Bones.

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Ms. Pickering from the State Department was interviewing Dr. Zach Addy and she found him to be worrisome. More so that anyone else at the Lab. "Hypothetically, you have a piece of information."

Intrigued, Zach looked up from the bones he was examining. "Secret and meaningful?"

"Yes, the security of the nation is at stake." Ms. Pickering watched the younger man closely. "Could I bribe you to give it to me?"

"No." Zach found the question ludicrous.

Not to be dissuaded, Pickering asked a series of questions, trying to find out if there was anyway Mr. Addy would betray his country for any reason. "What if I made a rational argument. Irrefutable. I make an irrefutable argument as to why you should give me this piece of information. Would you do so?"

Amused, Zach stared at the woman from the State Department and gave her an honest answer. "Not without checking with Dr. Brennan or Angela first. See what they'd say, maybe Agent Booth if he talked to me, he probably wouldn't. I'd check with Dr. Hodgins but he'd say it was all part of a conspiracy so I mostly would only take his advice on women."

"Why didn't I do that?" Zach was sitting in his room at the sanitarium and thought about the poor decisions he'd made lately. "When Gormogon approached me, why didn't I talk to Dr. Brennan or Hodgins? Even Angela would have been a good sounding board, but instead I let myself be dissuaded by his logic, his reasoned seemingly irrefutable logic. I was foolish and I've lost everything."

Gormogon was dead and Zach now found himself in a mental institution. He knew it was better than being in prison since Hodgins had assured him he would not have survived in a place like that, but still, he was in an institution for the mentally insane and he had no future to look forward to. "Why didn't I talk to Dr. Brennan?"

Ooooooooooooooo

For the life of him, Sweets didn't know what to do about Zach. The man had told him that he hadn't killed anyone, but he didn't want anyone else to know about it. Zach was afraid that if anyone found out, he'd be tried as an accessory to murder since Gormogon had killed the lobbyist and he had given the serial killer information that could have killed his mentor Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth.

Ethically, Sweets couldn't betray his client's wishes, but he knew that Zach was innocent and he felt awful for the man. Zach's fear of prison seemed to be pretty strong and that was influencing his decision. On the other hand, he wanted to do the right thing, but what right did he have to betray Zach and risk him being convicted and sent to jail? "What a mess."

Pacing outside Booth's office, Sweets knew he didn't have a right to do what he was about to do, but he was going to do it anyway. As Booth walked across the bullpen and entered his office, Sweets stopped his pacing, straightened his tie, took a deep breath and followed the agent into his office. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Not sure what the psychologist wanted, Booth wondered if the young man wanted to butt into his or Brennan's personal life like he seemed to do on a regular basis. "Bones is fine, Sweets and so am I." Sitting down behind his desk, he hoped the younger man would go away.

"I'm not here about you or Dr. Brennan." Sweet closed the door behind him but didn't move further into the room. "I have a problem and I don't have anyone else to talk to about it. I need help."

Curious, Booth pointed at the chair in front of his desk. "What kind of help?"

"I have a client . . . he's been institutionalized for something he didn't do." Sweets sighed. "He claimed he did something awful and now I found out he lied to keep from going to trial for something else. He'd rather stay in the institution if telling the truth meant he could end up in prison. It's wrong what he's doing, but he won't let me tell anyone and I'm trying to find a way to help him."

While Sweets was explaining the situation, Booth realized who the younger man was talking about and he knew that Sweets was probably guilty of breaking an ethics rule that could get him into serious trouble. "If your client didn't do this thing he was institutionalized for, but he doesn't want you to tell anyone then you shouldn't tell anyone. If he's not looney then he can still be tried as an accessory to murder and if he's convicted, he'd be in prison for a hell of a long time. Especially since he helped a cannibalistic serial killer. I can assure you Zach wouldn't last very long in prison."

"Oh, you know who I'm talking about." Sweets was surprised. He had thought he was being circumspect. "Dr. Addy says he didn't kill that lobbyist. Gormogom must have killed him instead. I just think he's afraid to risk prison, but the man didn't kill anyone. He doesn't belong in an institution. He's not insane. He's just afraid."

"No, he's stupid for getting involved with a serial killer." Disgusted, Booth leaned back against his chair. "What do you want from me? Bones would worry herself sick about her protégé if he ended up in prison. I'm not going to help you get him out of the loony bin. Bones would never forgive me."

The Agent seemed to be firm in his reply and Sweets knew that Booth could be very stubborn when he wanted to be. "But he didn't kill the lobbyist."

"He told you that he didn't kill the lobbyist, but he confessed to Caroline that he did." Booth glared at the psychologist. "Don't you think it's possible that he's playing you? He's smart, smarter than Bones. I know that because she told me he is and she doesn't lie to me. He's a weird dude and God knows why he told you anything, but maybe you should just forget about it. We don't know what game he's playing, but I say we shouldn't be playing his game at all. If he didn't kill the lobbyist then he was still Gormogon's apprentice and that would leave him open for prosecution for a lot of serious shit . . . He almost got Bones and me killed when Gormogon left that satchel bomb on the road . . . I'm not about to forget that and neither is Caroline. He told you he didn't kill the lobbyist and he also told you you can't tell anyone. Why are sitting in my office telling me? That could get you into big trouble if anyone found out about it. You know that. Do you want to lose your license?"

"No, no I don't, but he's been institutionalized for something he didn't do." He could see that Booth didn't care. "I just wanted you to know."

Leaning forward on his desk, Booth knew that Sweets was upset, but there was nothing they could do about it. "You should have kept your mouth shut. You have that client doctor privilege thing you're supposed to uphold. Have you blabbed about me and Bones to other people after you've talked to us?"

"No of course not, but neither of you have confessed to a crime you didn't commit." Appalled and embarrassed, Sweets stood up. "Zach Addy says he didn't kill the lobbyist."

"And he told you to keep that a secret. I recommend you do that from now on." Booth shook his head. "Look, you only have his word that he didn't do it. Maybe he didn't do it and maybe he did, but you're his doctor and you can't betray his trust. If you make a mistake and tell someone else, you could lose your license."

Frustrated, Sweets clenched his fists. "You're not going to do anything?"

"Not a damn thing." Booth shook his head. "Leave it alone. He made his bed and now he has to sleep in it."

"Sure." Turning, Sweets walked over to the door and opened it. "Thanks for talking to me." Booth hadn't been of any help, but he knew he couldn't take it further. Zach would have to live with his decisions.

Oooooooooooooooo

He didn't know why he was standing outside Zach's room, but he knew this was Sweets' fault no matter what happened. Opening the door, he stood just inside the room and stared at Brennan's friend. "Zach."

Shocked, Zach looked up from the book he was reading and stared at the agent. "Why are you here?"

"I've been asking myself the same thing since I entered this building . . . Sweets came to see me." Booth stared at the young anthropologist and wondered if he'd have to explain himself.

"Oh, he told you." Afraid, Zach closed his book and carefully placed it on his desk. "I deny I told Dr. Sweets anything." The last thing he needed was for Booth to pull him out of the institution and take him to the Hoover to be remanded for trial. "He had no right breaking doctor client privilege. He could lose his license to practice."

Slowly nodding his head, Booth could see that Zach was worried. "He only told me and I haven't told anyone else . . . Did you or did you not kill the lobbyist?"

That question was probably the most dangerous question anyone had ever asked him. If he answered it wrong it could get him sent to prison. "I can't tell you." He decided to be noncommittal. That way his answer couldn't be used against him.

Pursing his lips, Booth stared at Zach for a full minute before he responded. "You confessed to killing him and as a favor for Bones, Caroline sent you here instead of prosecuting you. This was done for your benefit." He wasn't going to force Zach to say anything, but he needed the doctor to remember why he was in this place.

"I know . . . Hodgins said I would never survive prison." Zach knew that Hodgins knew more about how the world worked than he did. "I believe him."

"You probably wouldn't survive although crazy people are usually left alone." Booth sighed. "Are you crazy?"

Zach wasn't sure if this was a trick question or not. He really didn't trust Booth since he worked for the FBI. "Caroline says I am."

"Right." Booth knew he was wasting his time. "I don't know what game you're playing Zach, but I'm done. You told Sweets you're not guilty, but you told Caroline you are. Bones doesn't deserve this, so don't try this bullshit with her. You were Gormogon's apprentice. You gave him information that could have got us killed when he set off that bomb on the road. That cab we were in rolled and Bones was hurt. If you ever leave here, I'll make sure you're prosecuted for attempted murder. You could have killed Bones, Zach. I can't forgive you for that. Even if you didn't kill the lobbyist."

He heard the warning and he believed the agent. "So, you are my enemy now." It was clear the agent didn't like him and would never help him if he needed any help in the future.

"I'm not your enemy Zach. I'm not anything to you." Booth turned, opened the door and looked back. "You betrayed Bones' trust. You were the one person in this world that she thought she could trust, but you destroyed that trust. You hurt her and I can't forgive you for that. I'm not your enemy, but I'm not your friend either. Not after what you did to Bones. She loved you. She probably still does."

Once the agent was gone, Zach placed his hands over his face and cried. Why didn't I talk to Dr. Brennan when Gormogon approached me? Why was I so foolish?

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A/N: in season 12, Zach said that Booth wasn't his friend. I found that an odd thing to say, so I decided to write a story that explained his statement.

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