Thank you all so much for the reviews. This has been a fun story to write.
Booth pulled up outside Temperance's familiar front door just before five. The lights were on inside, so he assumed that she was home. His eyes flicked to his rear view mirror and he grimaced, the long drive wasn't going to follow the plan he'd envisaged after speaking to her earlier.
He was about to get out and knock, when the front door opened and Temperance stepped out. He smiled involuntarily at the sight of her. She had a small overnight bag over one shoulder and her laptop over the other. She was wrapped up in a voluminous down-filled jacket and was wearing the same woolly hat as on Saturday. She locked the door and then walked over to the SUV, smiling at him.
Booth leant across the passenger seat and opened the door as she arrived.
"Afternoon Dr Brennan," He said, taking her bags as she handed them up to him.
She looked at him in surprise, her brow knitting into a frown. Then she noticed his apologetic smile. Before she could comment, he said, "Dr Brennan - I'd like to introduce Special Agent Pete O'Sullivan and Special Agent Adriana Davies." He motioned to the back seat of the car, "They have particular expertise in dealing with incidents involving communities and protest situations. They'll be joining us for the trip."
Temperance looked into the back of the car. The two agents waved in a friendly manner.
"Pleasure to meet you Dr Brennan," One of them said, Special Agent O'Sullivan, Temperance guessed. He was a tall, blonde haired man, a bit older than Booth. Good looking, she supposed. His associate, Special Agent Davies, was younger. She had a calm face and wise eyes, which Temperance suspected wouldn't miss much. Both of them were wearing dark blue, conservatively cut suits.
Temperance forced herself to smile, "Hi. Good to meet you." She slid into her seat and peeled off her coat, smiling gratefully when Davies took it off her and hung it over the back of her seat.
Booth turned to her, "All set?"
She nodded, clipping her seatbelt in and sinking back against the headrest. She wondered if there was any chance that their chaperones might fall asleep - somehow she doubted it. She cast a sideways glance at Booth, who rolled his eyes and mouthed 'Sorry'. She smiled and shrugged slightly. That talk she'd promised Angela that they would have, would just have to wait.
The two agents proved to be chatty companions. O'Sullivan, in particular, was flatteringly interested in her work and declared himself a fan of her books.
"Any chance I could get a cameo in one of your novels, Tempe?" He asked, patting her shoulder familiarly.
"My characters are not based on real people, Agent O'Sullivan." She replied.
"Really?" He queried, "No similarities at all?"
"No. The characters and relationships in my books are quite separate from those in my real life. It would be very difficult to keep things clear otherwise." She didn't understand the significant look O'Sullivan directed at Booth following that statement.
The conversation continued on in a similar vein, before shifting onto the FBI cases Temperance had worked on. O'Sullivan continued to heap flattery on her for her contribution to solving the cases.
Booth's grip on the steering wheel tightened as O'Sullivan continued to flirt with Temperance. Jesus - another couple of minutes and he'd be asking if she had a man and exchanging phone numbers! Booth thought angrily. His only comfort was that Temperance wasn't giving him any encouragement, just answering politely.
Davies watched the by-play with some amusement. Her partner was a notorious flirt, but she had to give him points for persevering with Dr Brennan, who seemed to be utterly unaware of the undertone to all his questions. She also noticed that the doctor's attention kept drifting back to Booth, who was largely silent. Davies smothered a smile. Rumours about the two of them were rife in the Hoover building and now she could see why, Booth's expression was getting darker and darker as O'Sullivan's charm offensive continued. Any second now and he'd be grinding his teeth!
As they arrived outside their hotel in the town, Booth reflected that the drive had been one of the longest three hours of his life. The traffic had been terrible, so he'd had to concentrate, while putting up with some guy trying to hit on his partner. Still, one thing the experience had taught him was that he wasn't going to screw around anymore. He needed to know where he stood with her. He set his jaw belligerently as he caught sight of O'Sullivan in the mirror as he parked. If he had his way, where he stood would be the sort of place where he'd have the right to tell guys like O'Sullivan to back the hell off, with his fist if necessary.
Temperance looked at Booth in concern. He had been very quiet throughout the journey. His usual banter almost entirely absent. In fact, he had been looking more and more morose the longer the journey had gone on. Even O'Sullivan's amusing comments hadn't raised a smile. She hoped that he was okay.
Booth swung round in his sear and he looked at his watch, "The public meeting starts at nine. We've got just under an hour 'till then, but we need to catch up with the local authorities to get an update first and we want to get to the hall about 15 minutes before the meeting begins." Booth and the other two agents had spent most of the afternoon in a phone conference with the sheriff and other local officials, planning the meeting.
O'Sullivan spoke, "Look, let's quickly check into this place and then make our way over the sheriff's office."
"Good idea," Temperance replied, "I hope we'll be able to find some food after this meeting ends!"
"Don't bet on it," Booth muttered.
Temperance looked at him questioningly, but he'd turned away. She shrugged internally and opened the door and reached for her bags. O'Sullivan offered to carry them and Booth could feel a vein starting to throb in his forehead. He was relieved when she just smiled and said, "No, I'm good thanks," and walked off towards the hotel.
Booth and his FBI colleagues followed her across the road. The hotel was small, with rooms on a couple of floors. It was quite old, but the interior was clean and well maintained and the lobby was warm and welcoming. They endured the usual rigmarole while their last minute reservations were confirmed. Booth was relieved to find that he and Temperance were in adjacent rooms on one floor, but the other two agents were on the floor below. They walked up the stairs, agreeing to meet O'Sullivan and Davies in the lobby in a quarter of an hour.
Temperance looked at Booth out of the corner of her eye as they walked up the stairs, he still looked tense, "Booth, are you okay?"
Booth looked at her suspiciously, "I'm fine, why?"
"You just seemed very tense on the way up here." She touched his arm lightly.
Looking into her wide green eyes, Booth realised that she was genuinely concerned. He felt a felt a strange thrill that she should worry about his moods - he also felt guilty as he knew she had no idea why he was so irritable. He smiled reassuringly, "Sorry, the change of plans threw me off a bit and O'Sullivan really ticks me off." That wasn't a lie. "I'll try to regain my good humour in the next ten minutes - I think I'm going to need it this evening!"
Temperance nodded and stopped outside her door, "Knock when you're ready to go down to the lobby."
"Okay, see you shortly." He replied, as she unlocked the door of her room and stepped inside.
Booth dumped his bag as soon as he got into his room and then used the bathroom to freshen up. He flicked the TV on briefly, then changed his mind, pulling out his phone. He pressed an entry from his phone book and waited for someone to pick up while he rifled through the papers that he had brought with him, working out which ones he needed for the meeting. Suddenly a voice answered at the other end.
"Hello Margaret. It's Seeley here. I was wondering if I could speak to Parker." He paused, and nodded slightly.
"Yeah - is he being good?" He smiled, "Really!" In the background he could hear his son's excited voice approaching the phone.
"Daddy!" Parker exclaimed.
"Hey champ! How're you doing?" Booth listened with a gentle smile on his face as his son told him about his day, commenting encouragingly every now and then.
"So d'you build a snowman?" He listened some more, "Just the carrot and scarf left, huh?"
Booth paused for a moment and then said, "Well, it is time for bed... Uh-huh... No, Daddy'll be going to bed a bit later...Sleep tight... I love you."
Booth sat listening to the dial tone with his eyes closed for a couple of seconds and then shut his phone. He wondered if it would get any easier being apart from Parker most of the time. Melancholy though that thought was, Parker's enthusiasm had raised his spirits and displaced his earlier irritation.
He looked down at the flyer for the evening's meeting. The map indicated that it was only a short walk away and that it should be easy to find. His attention was caught by the date -13 February. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day...
In her room, Temperance was sitting with a fruit tea and going over the notes for her presentation. She was still wearing her coat. She wished that she'd had more time to prepare, and she wondered if she could reassure the concerned families. Then, there was a knock at her door.
"Just push it, it's open." She called.
The door opened and Booth stepped in, "Ready?" he asked.
She caught her lip between her teeth, "Two minutes?"
"Sure." He replied and she waved him over to sit on the bed. He sat quietly, watching as she finished going through her notes, pausing every now and then to jot a correction or add an extra phrase. Her lips forming the words of the presentation as she read it through. Booth found himself staring at her lips.
After a couple of minutes she folded the cards together and looked across at him, "Okay, I'm done."
Booth stood and waited for her to proceed him out the door, his hand settling comfortably on her back. Neither of them said anything as they walked down to the lobby. The other two agents were already there. Booth dropped his hand discretely, but Davies had already spotted it. She suppressed another smile and wondered if she ought to warn O'Sullivan to ease off.
The four of them made their way over to the sheriff's office. It was a small, nondescript redbrick building just around the corner from their hotel. The sheriff was as unprepossessing as his office, although he looked thoroughly relieved to see them.
Booth made the introductions, "Good evening Sheriff. We spoke this afternoon, I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth." He nodded in Temperance's direction, "This is my partner, Dr Temperance Brennan. Dr Brennan is a forensic anthropologist and one the foremost experts in that field. She's here to provide your people with a bit of credibility." He paused as the Sheriff shook hands with Temperance, "You spoke with Special Agent Pete O'Sullivan," He said gesturing to him, "and Special Agent Adriana Davies" he nodded in her direction, "this afternoon. They are experts in handling protest situations in communities - let's hope that we won't have to draw on their expertise too much this evening."
The Sheriff continue to smile nervously, rubbing his bald patch absently, "Good, so glad to see you. Things have quietened down a bit now." He looked around his office, "They've vacated all the buildings they were camping out in..." His relief was obvious. "Pretty much everyone will be there tonight."
With that, they made their way over to the town hall where the meeting was taking place. The Sheriff took them in through a back entrance, to avoid the crowd.
Booth looked out from a curtain behind the stage. The hall was packed. There were a lot of angry faces, and a number of placards and banners. The small table and row of chairs in front of the microphone looked very isolated. His brow furrowed as he recalled that he'd be up first, explaining what the FBI were doing. He knew that many residents were not going to be satisfied with the limited intervention currently envisaged. He turned to look at Temperance, who was scanning her notes again, he'd better give her a good intro - her expertise and reputation was their trump card.
He walked over to her, "Are you ready?"
She looked up with a start and then smiled wanly.
Booth felt a stab of concern, "Seriously, are you okay?"
Temperance nodded and then said, "I just wish I'd had chance to try my presentation out on you." She paused, "I've tried to make it accessible, but I'm not very good at knowing what most people will understand." She looked down at the floor.
Booth felt a wave of guilt. That damned jury consultant on the Maggie Schilling case - she'd really done a number on Temperance's confidence in talking to 'ordinary' people! He took her hand, "You'll be great. Just let them know that you understand how they feel and that your role is to help them get closure." He paused, and brushed her cheek, making her look up at him. Her eyes were wide and vulnerable. He smiled gently, "I know that your presentation will be great."
Her shoulders straightened and she looked more confident as she realised that Booth believed in her. She smiled in return, "Okay, let's get it over with."
He grinned and walked out onto the stage. The room fell silent as Temperance, the other FBI agents, the sheriff and a number of other officials trooped out.
Booth stood in front of the small lectern and looked out across the sea of faces, "Good evening. I am Special Agent Seeley Booth, FBI. Thank you for attending this meeting this evening and giving us the opportunity to talk to you about the situation at the Abbey Mill cemetery and what we are doing to help resolve it. We'll be happy to answer questions, but I hope that our brief presentations will provide some of the information, and reassurances, that you are seeking." He paused and looked out at the room. The audience hadn't thawed at all, but he didn't think that anyone looked any angrier either. "Our primary role is to ensure that the identification of individuals is carried out swiftly, accurately and respectfully. Dr Temperance Brennan, who is sitting on the far left of the table, will provide more detail how that will be accomplished in her presentation in a minute. Dr Brennan is one of the country's leading Forensic Anthropologists and has worked on countless difficult identification cases. She has also run large scale identification programmes in many of the world's most troubled areas, providing vital evidence to successfully prosecute the perpetrators of violence. It is that experience in ensuring the highest standards of practice, even in the most difficult circumstances and with limited resources, which she will bring to the situation here." He paused again, noting that people were looking at Temperance with interest. "Dr Brennan?"
Temperance swapped places with him, giving him a tight smile as she passed. She stood at the lectern and tapped the cards together, "Good evening. Firstly, let me say how sorry I am to be standing before you in these circumstances and I'd like you to know that ensuring that you have the answers you need is right at the top of my priorities." She paused glancing out at the audience, it seemed to be going okay. She went on to outline the identification protocol and the training she had planned for the following day. She delicately explained how her team would assist if there was any shadow of doubt in an identification and then, at the end, she pasued again to reiterate her commitment to resolving the awful situation the families found themselves in.
Booth had to fight back a proud grin - she'd done a brilliant job. The mood of the crowd was still tense, but the hostility had died away and that was down to Temperance convincing them that she was working for them.
Booth stood up again to explain how the FBI would be keeping an eye on what was happening and would be considering what further action was needed. There were mutterings of complaint at his words, and a few anonymous shouts for people to be fired or locked up. He listened sympathetically, but didn't make any commitments before opening up the floor for questions.
An hour and a half later the questions had dried up and people were beginning to make their way from the hall. Booth sat on the edge of the table next to Temperance, relieved that they seemed to have won the crowd over.
"You were brilliant," he said. She smiled at the compliment. "Mind you," he added, "agreeing to start work at 6:30 tomorrow was a bit much!"
Temperance shrugged, "I may as well get on with it. Hopefully we might be able to leave a bit earlier and get home."
He nodded in agreement, before turning to the sheriff for some hints on where they might get some food at nearly 11 on a cold winter's night.
The options were limited, so they found themselves standing in line in a pizza place a block away from their hotel.
After staring at the menu, Booth turned to Temperance, "D'you want to share a large one?"
She nodded, "Absolutely no anchovies though."
He pretended to think it over, "Okay, deal." He ordered a huge pepperoni pizza and a couple of cans of cola. They waited in the corner, leaning against a rail while the pizza was heated, watching the customers file past.
"The other two not pizza fans?" She asked.
"Don't know, they came prepared apparently." Booth shrugged, "Packed lunch or something."
Temperance raised an eyebrow and then levered herself from the rail to collect the big box. As they arrived outside the hotel, she put a restraining hand on Booth's arm, "Do think we're allowed to take this in?" She queried.
He grinned, "We'll smuggle it. You hide it and I'll run interference!"
She shook her head with a laugh and followed him as he led the way, checking out the terrain with exaggerated care. Their laughter drew more attention from the night porter than a more subtle entry would have, but they got the pizza up the stairs without being challenged.
They stopped outside their doors, and then Booth grinned, "Come on, you come into my room. You've done all the hosting of late." With that he unlocked the door, secretly thankful that he hadn't had chance to unpack.
Temperance followed him in, and cleared a space on the desk to put the pizza. Soon they were both sat on the bed eating pizza slices and drinking coffee.
They chatted casually about the meeting and Booth told her about his conversation with Parker. She felt touched by his obvious delight in his son and his willingness to share that with her. She wondered if it was significant, after all Booth hadn't even admitted that he had a son for months, yet now he was happy to tell her about Parker's snowman and lack of enthusiasm for peas.
Booth watched her as they ate and chatted. She looked gorgeous. She was gorgeous. As they finished the final slice of the pizza he came to a decision, "Temperance," He spoke quietly, hoping his voice sounded more confident to her, than it did to him, "I was wondering if maybe we could have that talk?"
She gaze snapped up to his, and she nodded, even as she felt herself falling into his brown eyes.
Booth swallowed, "So..."
Temperance looked at him, her heart starting to thump in her chest, "So?"
He licked his lips, "I wanted to talk to you about us..." He stopped, she was looking at him expectantly "... uh and... well... our relationship."
She nodded, inching closer to him on the bed.
"I've realised that I don't..." He paused, putting in the negative wasn't right, I need to be more positive, he moved towards her and took her hands, "I mean, I've realised that I do..."
They were sitting very close together now, and Booth found that her proximity was making forming sentences almost impossible. He opened his mouth to try again, but was caught by the look in her eyes. All of her defensive barriers were down and suddenly he realised that he didn't need to say anything. His hands moved up her arms to cup her face and stroke her cheek. Their faces were inches apart and awareness of everything else around them fell away. All they could see, and all they could feel, was each other. Slowly, Temperance reached up and ran a hand through his hair, pulling him closer.
Their eyes slowly closed and their lips met in a kiss.
(TBC)
