(After 'The Secrets in the Proposal')

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This story is AU.

I don't own Bones.

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He couldn't stand it. Brennan had asked him to marry her and he'd been quick to say yes, then Pelant had found out about it and threatened to murder five random people if he didn't tell Brennan he couldn't marry her. His life had become twisted and broken ever since and he feared that Brennan was beginning to hate him.

Of course, she had said she understood when he told her they shouldn't get married, but clearly Booth had hurt Brennan deeply and it tore him up that he was the one who was making her so unhappy. She didn't deserve the abuse she felt that his rejection had caused, but Booth didn't know what to do to fix the problem. If he told Brennan Pelant was behind his change of mind, there was a chance the serial killer might go through with the murders and that blood would be on his hands forever.

"If only you had a poker face Bones, but you don't. You wear your heart on your sleeve for anyone that cares to see it. I can't take the risk. I just can't take the risk." Sitting on a stone bench in the park, he stared at a young couple walking past him and could see they were in love. "That should be me that should be us." He cursed the day Pelant had barged into his life. The man was obsessed with both Brennan and him. He kept raising the ante with each crime he committed and Booth wasn't sure just how far Pelant would go.

I can't live like this. I can't risk losing Bones, but how do I fix this and not risk Pelant finding out? I need to come up with something before my life is ruined. I don't know how much time Bones is going to give me before she completely loses her trust in me. I'm hanging by a thread and I know it. Staring at his feet, he knew that his major problem was Pelant could hack any camera, any phone, anything that transmitted pictures and sound. The serial killer was using his computer skills to stalk both him and Brennan and anything he did could be seen by the serial killer. When Booth made his move, it would have to be done where electronics didn't exist to record his actions. That was a tall order and he had to work out a solution on his own. He had no one he could trust, no one he could talk to. Whatever solution he came up with would have to be dreamed up by him.

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Fortuitously, he'd met an old friend, his former priest in the Army and it seemed like his prayers might be answered. He needed an unbiased person to talk to and since Aldo was his former confessor it seemed to him that fate had intervened to have him run into the man at this time. Aldo was a connection to his past and contacting the former priest helped him connect with a different time, a time in the past before the FBI, before dealing with brutal serial killers, before being caught up in a nightmare. He felt like a puppet in Christopher Pelant's play and he was sick of it. He needed advice and who better than the man who used to take his confessions?

Using the opportunity to talk to someone who had nothing to do with his job, Booth convinced Aldo into talking to him in his cold room of the bar. Once there, he had told the bar manager about what was going on and asked for help.

"So, you and Temperance go on a camping trip. You get lost in a cave and you whisper the truth in her ear." It seemed simple enough to Aldo.

Booth knew that would never work. "Pelant? And she would come out of the cave and she would look all happy." It was frustrating. It should be that simple, but it wasn't.

"No poker face?" Aldo could see that Booth was upset, but he didn't think he could help Booth. He didn't know Brennan well enough to know what Booth could do to fix his problem.

"None whatsoever." He and Aldo talked it over and Booth finally came to the conclusion that he was going to have to kill Pelant. As terrible as that sounded, Aldo agreed that that was probably his only option. The agent would kill Pelant and the threat would be finished.

But did he have time to find Pelant and do that before Brennan gave up on him and left him? That was a huge risk and not one Booth was sure he could take. His gambling days were over and this could be the biggest gamble of his life. If he didn't tell Brennan soon, he was going to lose her. He could see the signs of unhappiness in his partner and he was terrified she might give up on him.

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Though she had been reluctant, Booth managed to talk Brennan into taking a ride in his SUV with him. He had said little during the drive which was fine with Brennan. At the moment, she wasn't feeling charitable towards her partner and not having to commit to small talk was easier for her.

To her surprise, Booth pulled over onto a verge that led onto a narrow dirt road and parked his SUV. The place looked familiar, but Brennan wasn't quite sure why. "Do we have a case? Why have you stopped here?"

Unwilling to say too much, Booth opened the door, hopped out and turn to face Brennan. "Bones, I need you to come with me. Leave your purse and phone behind. Just put them under the seat and I'll lock up." While he spoke, he removed his phone from his jacket pocket and placed it under the driver's seat.

"Why?" Not sure what was going on, Brennan stared at Booth, not moving from her seat.

Aware that Brennan might not trust him anymore, Booth sighed, leaned on the seat and stared at her, trying to talk to her without saying anything significant. "Bones, I know you don't trust me right now and I understand why, but just this once, just for this moment, trust me enough to do what I ask you to do. I need you to do this for me, for us."

She could see the look of sadness and resignation and wondered what Booth planned to do. Was he about to break up with her? Did he need to do it privately? Slowly nodding her head, she knew that if this was the end of their partnership, then it would be best to end it now. Once the door was open, she slipped out of the door and placed her purse and phone under the seat, locked and closed the door. Stepping around the truck, she caught up with her partner and followed him down the shaded dirt road.

Soon she spotted an old stone building and knew where she was. The building had been where they had found the glowing remains of Carly Victor, a famous chef in the District who had been murdered by her best friend. "Why are we here?"

Stepping into the building, Booth didn't look back. Either Brennan would trust him and follow him or she wouldn't. Once they were in the building, Booth looked around and made sure it was still the old dilapidated building it had been when Carly's glowing body had been found there. Relieved that it looked worse than before, Booth felt safe and turned to face Brennan. "I have a lot of explaining to do, but first, I have a very important question I have to ask you. I need you to be honest with me. It's important."

"Alright. Ask your question." Wary, Brennan stood just a foot from the entrance. Her partner was acting very oddly and she didn't know why. His actions worried her. They had for weeks.

Grateful, Booth nodded his head. "Okay, I need to know if you think you're acting skills are better or worse now. This is important. If you can do it, if you can act, if you can make it believable, it might mean the difference between life and death. If you can do it then I can continue this conversation."

Uncertain, Brennan stared at Booth, considered what he had just said and nodded her head. "I will not commit to anything until I hear you out, but I am capable of acting a part if lives are involved and it will seem believable."

Relieved that Brennan was still standing there talking to him, Booth took a deep breath, released it and spoke. "Okay . . . After you asked me to marry you, Pelant contacted me and told me that he'd kill five random people if I didn't tell you I'd changed my mind. He wanted me to call off our wedding and he's willing to kill strangers to make me do it. He didn't want me to tell you why either."

Her hand pressed against her throat Brennan now understood the odd behavior Booth had been exhibiting since she had asked him to marry her. "Five strangers?"

"Yeah. He's been monitoring our actions by tapping into cameras, phones, laptops, anything that communicates. That's why I asked you to leave your phone in the truck." Brennan was still listening and Booth knew he might have a chance to fix this after all. "I was afraid to tell you because I was afraid he'd know I told you. He can listen to any conversations, use cameras from stores, the street, computers, phones . . . this is a damn nightmare and it's not over. When we leave here and get back to the truck, you have to act like you're still mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you." Brennan lowered her hand and pressed the palm of her hand against her thigh. "I was disappointed and confused, not angry."

Booth knew she probably thought that was true, but he knew better. She had been angry for weeks and her anger had been getting stronger. "I'm looking for Pelant, Bones. I need to find him and when I do, I'm going to kill him. I need to stop this nightmare. It's the only way it will end."

"I understand." She had no intention of talking Booth out of his plan. Pelant had killed too many people already and he needed to be stopped. "When we leave, I will continue to show disappointment in you and your actions. I am a very good actor and Pelant will not know anything has changed between us."

God, I hope so. If she can't pull this off then five people are going to be murdered and it will be my fault. "I'm counting on you Bones. If you want to be mad at me be mad at me. Don't let your guard down. If we screw this up, five people could die and who knows, he might escalate it and kill five more. The guy is insane."

"I don't think he's insane." Brennan shook her head. "Pelant has a plan, he knows what he wants to happen and he will use whatever means he can to achieve it. He has decided that killing people will get our attention and threats to kill more will focus our attention on him." Brennan paused, smiled and stepped closer to Booth. Placing her hand on his chest, she leaned closer and kissed her partner. Desperately lonely, Booth returned her kiss, holding her body against his body. It had been weeks since Brennan had touched him and he had been certain that would never happen again.

Their kiss was long and passionate and once they were both satisfied, they separated. Exhaling deeply, Booth kissed Brennan once more, a quick loving kiss that spoke of promises to be kept. "Remember when we leave, don't touch me, don't look at me very much. Just be mad or indifferent or disappointed, but don't give in and show me affection. It's going to be hard, but we can do this. I'm going to find that bastard and I'm going to kill him. I'm going to shoot him between the eyes and there will be no way he can survive that. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand." Brennan knew she could be a great actor when she wanted to be and this performance was going to be critical to everyone around them. "Come, I need to get back to the Lab and you need to continue to look for Pelant." Stepping outside, Brennan looked around, set her shoulders back and marched back to the truck. Following behind her, Booth kept his eyes on her back, his face emotionless. They were about to go undercover and it was probably the most important undercover job they had ever done.

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