To all those amazing fan fic readers who support my stories and especially to those who take the time to leave a review. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart. pasha54, Vmf447, Lauwy (lol, good one), LoveShipper, dms517, GalaxieGurl (Gollum, good analogy), kareneb, Poppyblue5, 554Laura (you got that right, we sure don't want to let him go), jsboneslover (yes, made mention of his passing or something in memory of him would have been good), FaithinBones (yeah agree, poor Booth), mendenbar (yeah too bad), ZinaR, mphs95 (happy tears I hope), regbride12 (I like to think he does too).
Thank you for patiently waiting.
Painting II
As Booth drove along the street lined by large, opulent houses, he mentally tried to prepare himself for what he would say. Angela had come back to him with the address of the man who had purchased the painting of Brennan in the nude. It had to be a rich perv, Booth thought to himself, shaking his head slightly as he pulled up along the street to the address Angela had texted him. At times like this he hated to be right. The house was huge. And that was an understatement. It looked more like a mansion. The expensive sports cars lining the driveway was another indication of just how rich the owner was. He climbed out of his SUV, straightened his tie and took a deep breath. He had decided that his first approach would be to be nice and attempt to ask for it back politely.
He strode up the driveway purposefully, before pressing the doorbell. After a few seconds a young man opened the door. Booth wondered how a man this young could afford all the wealth he saw.
"Hi, I'm FBI SAC Booth. I'm looking for a Seth Rodgers?" Booth flashed his badge.
The young man swallowed audibly. Booth sensed his nervousness and quickly added, "I'm not here in an official capacity. It's something more personal."
The young man nodded, "Seth Rodgers is my Dad. I'll get him."
The man disappeared and moments later a older man with greying hair appeared. "I'm Seth Rodgers. My son Derek tells me you're FBI?"
"Yes." Booth flashed his badge again.
Booth noticed Seth sigh. "What did Derek do now?"
"It's not about your son Mr Rodgers. It's more of a personal matter. See, I've come to the knowledge that you're in possession of a nude painting of a woman?"
"Yes. I am. As far as I know, that's not illegal. I bought it at an auction, many years ago."
"Right. I know this might sound strange, but do you think I could see it?"
Seth laughed. "I didn't know it was that famous a painting, though my colleagues who come by, often take time to admire it's beauty. It's not some stolen piece of art is it?"
Booth tried to quell his rising jealousy. "No, it's not. But, it must be a really amazing work of art. Since people seem to like it."
"Oh it is. The woman in the painting is quite exquisite. Her body is really something…" Seth chuckled, "…and she's very beautiful."
Booth clenched his fists, fighting the urge to slug the man.
"Since you came all this way, I'll let you take a peek."
Seth stepped back, motioning for Booth to follow. Taking in his surroundings, Booth was taken aback by the sheer size of the mansion and the myriad of expensive works of art and furniture. He was led up a spiral staircase and into a large room which Booth assumed was a study.
"This is where I work, in private. I'm the CEO of a multi-national advertising firm. Built my company up from almost nothing. I hold meetings here instead of the office sometimes."
Seth pointed at the painting hanging above the large desk. "I believe this is what you came all this way to see."
Booth stared up at the painting. It was indeed her, naked. Very naked. Brennan had her face set in an enticingly sexy pout. She had a hand resting on her hip that was thrust slightly outwards at a provocative angle. A pose undoubtedly taught to her by the artist. As expected with an artist as talented as Angela, every intricate detail was captured on the canvas. The painting was truly a reflection of the skill of the artist and the beauty of the model, who happened, in this case to be his wife. He felt his mouth go dry and fought his body's instinctive reaction to the image of naked Brennan.
Seth seemed to notice and laughed. "Oh no need to be embarrassed at your typical male response. Most men react this way when looking at this painting. After so many years, I do too."
Seth's words snapped Booth out of his thoughts. "That painting… uh the woman in the painting… that's my wife."
"Then you're an incredibly lucky man."
"I was wondering, if I could have the painting? You know, it's my wife up there and she's naked. You're married right? You know what I mean. You wouldn't want guys gawking at a naked painting of your wife."
"I'm currently divorced. But I've been married four times. And all four times, the marriages didn't end too well. So I don't know what you mean."
Booth sighed. He was hoping he wouldn't have to buy the painting back. "How much did you buy it for?"
"Eleven thousand dollars. As you know with art, I think it would be worth maybe thirty or even forty grand today don't you think?"
"I'm sorry sir, but I can't afford that."
"I didn't think so, not with a G-man's salary anyway."
"Maybe you can re-consider and sell it to me for maybe a lot less? Please?"
"I didn't get this rich by breaking my resolve every time someone said please."
"I really don't have that kind of money Mr Rodgers."
"Then I'm afraid the painting stays with me."
Booth toyed with the idea of playing the FBI card, but he knew he shouldn't abuse his authority. "Is there anything I can do to make you change your mind?"
"Unless you have the money, I don't think so."
Booth pursed his lips, now angry. He hated the thought that the naked painting of Brennan would have to remain there, hanging on the man's wall. "I had to try. I love my wife, very much and I'm kinda possessive of her."
"Like I said, forty grand."
Booth fished out his name card from his jacket pocket. "If you ever change your mind."
"I don't think I will. But thanks." Seth accepted the card.
…
Three days later, Booth got home later than usual. As there wasn't a case on hand, Brennan had surmised that he had been busy with paperwork.
He entered their bedroom with a large, rectangular object wrapped in a cloth. Brennan who was in bed, typing on her laptop, working on her next book, looked up at Booth.
"What did you buy?"
Booth grinned. "I didn't buy it, but it's mine."
He pulled off the cloth that had been draped over the object, revealing the naked painting of her. "Ta-da!"
"How did you find it?"
"After you told me about it's existence, I begged Angela to help me find the person who bought it at the auction."
"And you bought it back?"
"Nope." Booth shook his head. "Turns out the guy who bought it was this rich guy. He had bought it for eleven thousand dollars. He wanted to sell it to me for forty grand."
Brennan raised her eyebrows. "That's a lot of money."
"Yeah. And the guy who bought it, he wouldn't sell it to me for anything less."
"No wonder your mood has been foul the past couple of days."
"Cause he was telling me how he looked at the painting and how his colleagues looked at it… he had no right talking about you that way."
"So how'd you get the painting?"
"So this guy Seth Rodgers has a teenage son. The kid got pulled over by Metro this morning for driving erratically. The officer found out that he was drunk and had drugs in his car . Rodgers had his son's future all planned out, Ivy League colleges, take over the family business… it wasn't the first time he had been caught. A DUI conviction would ruin all those plans. So Rodgers called me and I called Metro and made it all go away. In return, I got the painting."
"On no Booth! What if the boy drives under the influence again? And the drugs?"
"He's seventeen, hardly a boy. I told Rodgers I'd only help make it all go away if his son gets himself cleaned up and never repeats the offense again. Rodgers agreed, he's sending his son to a rehab facility somewhere in Spain. I didn't even ask about the painting. Rodgers himself offered to give it to me in return for the favor."
"So it was a stroke of luck then."
"Or divine intervention. Hey, I thought you didn't believe in luck."
"I was merely expressing it from your point of view. So this painting is worth quite a sum of money." Brennan smiled.
"Yeah."
"We could auction it off again, donate the money to charity?"
"You kidding me Bones?! Like I said, this painting's for my eyes only. I'm gonna keep it in the back of our closet. Admire it every now and then." He held it up for Brennan to see.
"You certainly went to a lot of trouble to get it back."
"Yeah I'm possessive like that when it comes to you." Booth paused. "You mad?"
"No. It is rather flattering to think so many men want a naked painting of me."
"You know you belong only to me right?"
Brennan rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "I know."
"So you think you could re-create this pose for me?"
"Now?"
"Yeah, no better time right?"
"I think I can manage that." Brennan bated her eyelids seductively at him as she climbed out bed, proceeding to unbutton her pyjama top.