Author's note: thank you for reading! I'm seriously thinking of writing an epilogue, so I'd like glad and touched to see your opinion about it!
Booth was filled with resolve when someone knocked the door. He felt necessary forces running through his veins, because he was ready to struggle and suffer everything in the name of Brennan.
Christopher went downstairs to open the door.
Temperance was standing next to the threshold, pale and terrified as never before. She was nervously clenching a bag full of clothes with her thin, trembling fingers.
"He's upstairs. Thanks for coming," Christopher invited her inside, and she just stepped forward silently; "The temperature had raised twice since yesterday, every time I lowered it, but now there're no guarantees Booth's condition is stable."
Brennan nodded and ruched towards the stairs, without asking any useless questions.
Seeley spent a lot of gains for persuade her that Pelant didn't injure him. On the contrary, he let him in and healed after Booth was critically wounded. Seeley realized how awkward the situation was, but the fact remained. And Brennan believed him. She couldn't not to believe the person she loved to the narrow of her bones and for who she was capable sacrificing a lot. Christopher wasn't breaking in. He didn't even get upstairs, just was waiting in the living room until Temperance came to him all alone. She sat carefully at the sofa next to him, keeping her hands on her knees, and then she was silent for a while, forcing herself to say something she really wanted.
"I'm… Thankful to you as much as almost to nobody," she said finally. She dropped her eyes and was going to add something, but the criminal interrupted her:
"That's because I'm fair," he answered before he heard the question, and smiled; "Smart and fair. Sometimes. Agent Booth was extremely lucky to catch me in a good mood."
He's never lied to her and he never would, because she was the only person in the world — as he thought — who could listen him and understand truly. Temperance amazed him with her gorgeous face, incomparable expressive eyes and attractive lips, but much more Christopher fell for her greatest mind. And deep down inside he knew she felt the same interest in him.
"Are you smart sometimes as well?" Brennan asked. She was smiling too.
"Okay… Let's say I can do mistakes," Pelant sighed, feeling a little unwonted confusion somewhere under his ribs. He pointed at the top of the stairs, where Seeley's footsteps was perfectly heard, and silently said: "And maybe this one is my biggest, who knows."
Temperance laughed delicately. She turned and wrapped her arms around Christopher's neck, and Pelant couldn't even let himself touch her back — anything to make her stay like this as long as possible.
If Booth has died yesterday near his house, Brennan would never forgive him, and those thin thread between them he has been weaved for long would be cruelly cut for ever. But Pelant saved a life, so the thread became thicker, and it was a nice detail to note.
Booth joined them few minutes after, swaying, limping, grabbing the railing. He asked Brennan to wait for him somewhere outside.
"Goodbye, Christopher," she turned out, having stepped over the threshold. It was the first time she ever called him by his name; "I think you'd better do these "mistakes" more often, if you know what I mean. It suits you."
"Excuse me?" Seeley stared at her, than he stared at Pelant, but nobody answered him, what made him tensed.
When Temperance sat in the car and Christopher closed the door again for a while, the agent looked at him with greatest enmity. Not that he felt jealous - Pelant is absolutely not his rival in charming women, however Booth was worried anyways.
"What were you talking about?"
"Nothing personal or intimate, relax. If you still don't trust me, trust her at least."
Christopher has always found correct words for arguments, and this time wasn't an exception. By the way, he was literally shining by some unknown reason, but he was doing his best to hide it.
"Do you wanna tell me something? Or… You just don't want to say goodbye?" Pelant laughed, loudly and fervently, but his laugh wasn't insane or spooky, it was sincere and catching.
"One thing I will really miss in you is your irritating resourcefulness," he crossed his arms on his chest, scratched his nose and suddenly said: "But seriously. I have a deal. Can you find bastards attacked me last night?"
The criminal got shocked until speechless, despite the fact nothing could surprise him for real, and he was about to tell Seeley to go elsewhere, when he continued:
"It's not for me, but for her. For 'Bones'. These guys won't leave me alone, that's obvious and I take it, but I'm afraid Temperance may draw their sick attention."
Pelant twitched. Of course he was curious to figure out what was really happening with this dangerous case, and the last thing in the world he wanted is to see in breaking news Brennan was kidnapped, tortured… or worse…
"So, guess I'm agree, what's next? You're the main hero while I'm backstage?"
"Depends on what you call 'heroic'. I'll tell her about your contribution, I promise."
"Not what I exactly meant, but sounds nice."
Better than nothing. And hell much better than arrest, prison and so on.
"Listen, yesterday morning I couldn't imagined myself, laying on the floor in your bedroom, bleeding and barely breathing. However, it happened, and now I have to admit that I would be… ugh… grateful if you would like to help me with this itchy pain in my neck."
"Wow, gratitudes. Impressive. Okay, I admire you're inviting me, but I don't understand how can I be useful for you when my methods, you know, aren't saint, to say the least. Besides, it's so boring to hunt bad guys without a chance to do something more."
Booth looked through the peephole, making sure there were no more ears around, then stepped forward to Pelant, so close so they're foreheads almost collided, and said with unexpectedly rigid voice:
"Surely you think I'll let these people go after what they did? They're a huge menace, and every menace must be liquidated."
The longer he was talking, the brighter Christopher's eyes went.
"What can I see, agent Booth," he smirked, satisfied; "Somebody's going to break up the rules."
"I didn't start this, but I'll do everything for protecting my co-workers, friends and family," his voice became confident as never, and his eyes looked controversially; "So, deal?"
"Don't hurry, agent Booth, things like these don't solve in a second. We need more time to speak privately if you really want to get some kind of cooperation with me. Come down here next evening if you won't change your mind and we'll talk about it again, but I warned you, working with me is kinda difficult. So, deal?"
"Deal. It's impossible to terrify me that way, but nice trying. So, see ya," there wasn't a shadow of doubt on his face.
Pelant chuckled, but then reminded Seeley that it seemed like he has to go. Whatever it was, the last two days morphed into morality challenge for such pathological indifferent person like he. Seeley broke his iron principles unexpectedly fast, so Christopher needed time to recover and muse more about all of it. At first, what he's about to involve himself in this time. But in heart he was absolutely assured that his choice was made and he couldn't help himself reject Booth whatever it'll cost him. Just because… Just because it'd be less boring, and he'd have some more reasons to live except his main obsession.