Brennan ducks under a yellow line of crime scene tape, straightening and then walking onwards to the shell of the building previously recognised as a dockside warehouse. As she nears the building she sees Booth standing talking to another agent, his hands on his hips. He turns and on catching sight of her allows a lazy smile to spread across his features. He turns back to the agent and after a beat walks away from him and over to her. Once he is by her side he reaches down and takes the forensics case from her and she smiles gratefully as they wander back toward the building.
"We've almost got the building secure enough for you to start collecting the remains…some of the fire crews are still working to make sure that we're able to get in and out as safely as possible."
"Good, the quicker we get the bodies out of there without risking further damage the better." She looks at him with a cautious expression. "How many agents?"
Glancing down at her he is confused by her question, the look on her face confirms her meaning however. "We didn't lose a single one….we were very lucky.. Just some burns and smoke inhalation…… So, just you? No more squints?"
"Zack is bringing some more equipment and bags…should be here any minute."
He nods thoughtfully. "Listen, about this morning… I didn't mean to make you feel awkward, I realise how it sounded. Guess I'm not all that articulate in the morning." He chuckles light-heartedly and she gives him what she can only hope is a reassuring smile.
"I know you didn't mean anything by it…..So will Jared be back here too?"
As she looks up she sees his face fall and knows immediately that she has said the wrong thing, regardless of how innocent her question may have been. Booth shrugs and gives her a smile.
"I should head back, Cullen has me overseeing the operation, lead agent is in hospital being treated at the minute….Let me know what you need."
She nods mutely and watches as he trudges through the snow and back to the buzz of the FBI crowd. She mentally curses herself for mentioning his brother and looks around for her elusive assistant.
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The weather had been blisteringly cold and she had been happy to finally be able to return to the lab, Zack had made good work of the remains so far, but there was still a lot to be done before any sets of bones could be worked on. She'd sent him home about a half hour ago and now shutting off her notebook she too is about to head home. As she picks up her coat from the back of her chair she scans the office quickly as normal. As her eyes scan to the door she is startled by the form of her partner. He leans against the jamb and smirks.
"Booth!"
"I thought you heard me come in."
Her eyes narrow, flicking off the lamp she shrugs on her coat and walks over to him.
"You know I never heard you…." He chuckles and nods. "What are you doing here?"
He looks at the ground, breaking eye contact "Just wondered if you wanted to maybe, grab a beer?" Instead of answering him she waits for his eyes to travel from the floor and back to her face before she smiles in acceptance. His face lights up and he flushes slightly. She, looking down at the cell in her hands, doesn't notice. He watches curiously as she switches the cell off and slides it into her pocket.
"So where are you taking me?"
"Bones, wherever you wanna go."
She smiles and takes his arm as they turn to leave the Jeffersonian halls.
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Sliding next to her Booth places their beers on the table, she smiles gratefully and he raises his bottle prompting her to do the same, the bottle necks clink before they raise them to their lips to take a sip. A waitress leans across their booth to clear empty bottles and Brennan smiles in thanks. Scanning the bar she lets out a sigh.
"I like it here."
He nods and places his bottle on the table, peeling the label absent mindedly. "Yeah, I used to come here quite a bit with Jared whenever he came home for Christmas… Good atmosphere, pool table…"
Brennan grins and nudges him with her shoulder "Women."
Booth grins into his bottle as he lifts it against his lips again. "Yeah, I guess that the women helped in bringing us back again and again….. Jared's the one with the charm though, so more often than not, he was the one leaving with a date or number."
Brennan smiles and nods. "You're not without your charms Booth."
He grins cockily "You think I'm charming Bones?"
She rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her beer, her shoulders rising in a nonchalant shrug. Glancing up towards the bar exit an unreadable expression crosses her features and her hand pauses mid air with the beer, Booth frowns and follows her gaze. Four men are entering the bar, amongst them is none other than Jared Booth. Booth lets out an exasperated sigh.
"You call Jared?"
"I switched my cell off, I haven't spoken to him since this morning."
At that moment Jared catches sight of them and bustles over to the booth pulling his hat and gloves off on the way, he flashes a dangerously charming smile at Brennan and she can't help but return it.
"Seeley, Tempe… Dad said you were coming by here tonight… I thought I'd try and catch up with you, me and some of the guys were going for a few anyway."
He slides into the booth across from them and taking Brennan's hand places a chaste kiss on her knuckles. Booth stares ahead at the front door.
"Good day at work?"
She smiles and nods. "I was a little tired but yeah, we managed to retrieve a large proportion of the remains… we start the identification process tomorrow. Booth thought that I needed a break so…"
"Yeah, Seeley's always thinking." Jared's eyes meet his brother's across the table. Something passes between them that Brennan doesn't understand, after a few seconds of silence Booth pushes up from the table. She looks at him in question and he smiles gently.
"I'm kinda tired again Bones. How about I drop by tomorrow and see what you've found out."
She looks from one brother to the next, unsure of what to say or do. She feels that she should make her excuses and leave with Booth, but then wouldn't know how to explain to Jared her reasons for leaving with his brother on two consecutive evenings. She instead settles to smile and nod at Booth.
He grabs his jacket and slides it on. Jared picks up Booth's half finished beer and takes a swig. "Did Booth tell you that this is where we used to come to pick up women when we were younger?"
"Yeah. He mentioned it just before you arrived."
"In fact, you might know someone he met here… Rebecca?" Her eyes snap up to meet Jared's, he smiles at her and takes another swig of the beer. "According to Mom, he reckons he'll always be in love with her… never talks to me much about her though. Guess we used to be closer."
"I don't think Bones wants to be bored by Rebecca stories."
She looks up to meet Booth's eyes and sees a sadness there. Jared shakes his head "Probably not."
Booth nods his farewell and she watches as he retreats out of the bar. A feeling of uneasiness passes through her and she subconsciously begins to pick at the label on the beer bottle. Jared watches her with hidden amusement. "You ok Temperance?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Long day."
Jared slumps back in the booth and watches her carefully. "My real reason for coming here was to talk to you…. I think there are some things that we should discuss."
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Booth closes his door behind him and tosses his keys onto the lamp table. He shrugs off his coat and lets it slide to the floor kicking off his shoes and allowing them to drip next to the jacket. Walking up the hallway he pulls his suit jacket off and loosens his tie as he disappears into the bedroom.
A few moments later he reappears from the room, his suit and shirt replaced by a tshirt and jeans. He walks through to the lounge and collapses onto the sofa. Leaning his head back against the leather he lets out a sigh. He is angry, ashamed, guilty…. Jared let him know tonight that he is more than aware of his feelings for Brennan. The few seconds in that bar had been long enough for Booth to see the challenge in his brother's eyes. He'd left to avoid a confrontation, he knows his brother well, he knows that Jared would have no dispute with bringing Booth's guilty secret to light in front of the object of his affection. He left to spare her the embarrassment.
During the ride home he'd been hit with a barrage of emotions. Shame for having feelings for his partner, guilt for still trying to win her affections despite her attachment to his brother and anger, anger that Jared had appeared out of nowhere and stolen her from under his nose.
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Jared watches Brennan carefully, he notes the confusion and conflicting emotions playing across her fine features and reaching across the table hooks a finger gently under her chin. Her eyes meet his reluctantly and her eyes portray the raw emotion that she is experiencing.
"How did you know?"
"Oh come on Temperance, the only blind party in this affair is you. If you took a second to really see how he looks at you, there'd be no denying it…. He's my brother, I admit that probably makes me slightly more of an expert… I can't carry this on. Not when I know how he feels." Jared's eyes are downcast but he lifts them gently to meets hers, pinning her gaze with his own. "Not when I know that you return those feelings."
Her eyes widen and she is comparable to a deer caught in headlights. He smiles gently, his gaze offering her some semblance of understanding. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologise Tempe…. Had I met you first, maybe things would be different… I just can't risk falling in love with you, knowing that I'll only ever be second to him."
"How did you know?" Her eyes have dropped to her hands.
He takes a sip from his beer and sits back. "I didn't… I just guessed. Last night, when he came out of that building… I saw you both, holding on.. I guess something just clicked. I'd had my suspicions… You can't lie to yourself."
He leans across the table and squeezes her hand. "Now go on, go home, give him a call."
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Booth comes into the lounge with a bowl of fresh popcorn and a beer in his hands. The telephone ringing causes his to path of travel to alter over to the telephone table and he places down the popcorn replacing it with the phone to his ear.
"Hello?"
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Brennan sits on her sofa with her phone to her ear, the tone on the other end indicates that the other caller is engaged. She sighs and clicking the phone off returns it to her table. After a couple of seconds she pushes up from the sofa determinedly and heads for the door.
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Booth click the TV off when he hears knocking at his front door, he clears his throat and moves that way to answer, a slow easy smile spreads across his face as he greets his guest and ushers them inside.
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Brennan pays the cab driver and walks up the drive to Booth's home. She is relieved to see the lights are still on and sees a shadow move past the window in the kitchen. Smiling to herself she takes a deep breath as she prepares to knock the door and finally let Seeley Booth take her over the line that they have been dancing around for the past year and a half. As she knocks she exhales and clenches her fists nervously. As the door opens the carefully practised smile disappears from her features.
"Dr Brennan…Hi"
"Rebecca." She finally manages to stumble. Her heart seems to plummet to the pit of her stomach.
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Uh oh….. must suck showing up and having the ex answer the door! If you've read it this far, please review it. :D