Rated: T
Pairings: Booth/Cam (although I hate to do it) Brennan/other Angela/Hodgins
Dr. Sayoran forces Brennan to make a decision that has repercussions for everyone. Now, Booth has a choice to make. Will he be too late?
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"I don't buy it. There really is nothing you can say that can justify what you did to Bren. No one with a brain would put themselves in that situation unless they really wanted to hurt someone. So, which is it? Did you want to hurt her? Or, do you not have a brain in that huge head of yours?" Angela was still really pissed.
"I wasn't thinking, ok? Bones doesn't seem to think of sex like everyone else does, so it didn't seem like it would be such a big deal."
Angela pffft. "You're right. She doesn't see it like you or I do. To her it's a biological function to release a rush of serontonin to feel good. But, she knows what it means to you. So she sees it through your eyes when it comes to YOUR relationships.
She knows you don't do 'casual'. Or so you've repeatedly told her. She believed you.
So, you're fucking Cam. Cam means much more to you than anyone else does short of your little boy. Only you continue to confuse her by denying the truth of that vocally but proving the truth of it physically. She knew as soon as Cam started working here and we found out you had a past that she would come out on the losing end. She didn't have the shades pulled over her eyes that the rest of us did." She looked at the man she used to admire. "I don't think I've ever been more disappointed in any one in MY life."
"Angela." Booth stood up and stepped toward the artist.
"No." She lifted her hands in defense. "I don't want any patronizing words or little awkward smiles from you. You are not getting the chance to change my mind about how much of an ass I think you are." She stopped speaking as her phone rang. Checking the i.d. she picked it up. "I'll take this in the other room."
She went to the end of the hall and closed herself in.
Booth pulled out his cell phone and hit a number. "Do you have that trace going? Yes.
Yeah, I'm at that site right now. How much longer? None from the primary cell number, yet? No, keep a trace on all of them but notify me immediately if the cell is used. I mean immediately, Chuck. You got it?" Booth pulled a card out of his pocket and grabbed a pen from Angela's table. "What country code is that? Netherlands? Why would Bones be in The Netherlands? Yeah, I know, it could be anyone. Angela knows a lot of people.
Thanks, Chuck, just keep me notified. Gotta go." He hung up as he heard the door open.
"Do I get any answers?"
"What?"
"I asked earlier if we could trade answers. I think I've given you some but I haven't even asked a question. So?" He raised an eyebrow.
Angela stared at him. "Ask. Whether I answer depends."
"Did Bones have a relationship with Jamie Kenton?"
Angela rolled her eyes. "They had six dates. Over a couple of months. I wouldn't call it a relationship."
"Did they sleep together?"
"I don't know. I didn't find out that they dated until after your boss told Bren that he had been killed."
"Why? Why didn't she tell you?"
"Because she knew I would have disapproved. Because I thought the two of you belonged together."
"You encouraged her to do the online dating thing!"
"Because you backed off. And, she was getting twitchy and nervous. She gets like that it's either because she hasn't been out on an assignment for a while or she needs sex. I was taking a chance. I don't like it when she takes off on these trips of hers. Especially by herself."
"She's not, this time."
Angela's head jerked around to stare at him. Oh, shit! How much did he know? "What?"
"I heard her tell Cullen she has a body guard on this trip. I have no idea what she meant. I don't like it, I can tell you that much."
Angela closed her eyes in relief. She thought he was talking about Kenton. Booth realized he had her off balance. He struck before she could get her bearings.
"Why is she in The Netherlands?"
"How, huh? She's not in The Netherlands! She's identifying some ancient burial site. Look, Booth,
if you really have to know, she's somewhere in The Northern Territories. Something in the climate shift uncovered a good sized nest of bones. They want her to identify sex, ages, try to find out how long it was used as a burial place, things that she does best. The only body guard she needs is from the bears and walruses maybe the local hunters. Why don't you just get back to Cam and forget about Brennan and the rest of us?" She was pushing him toward the door.
He turned on her leaning down so he was nose to nose. "Angela, you're not fooling me. I will find out where Bones is. I will bring her back home. She will go back to the Jeffersonian. We will be partners again. We will all work together." He took her hand and placed it on his chest near his heart. It was a pledge as a friend. "I love Temperance. I know I screwed up but I will do everything in my power to make that up to her. To all of you. I haven't been involved with Cam since the shooting.." He dropped her hand as he remembered something.
"Why didn't anyone tell me that her heart stopped?"
"Twice. She didn't want us to. She actually left the hospital AMA." Angela looked away. "I don't believe she's completely healed, yet. But, she's Brennan. What can you do?"
"What did Russ have to say about that?"
"He said she was the same way when she broke her leg ice skating when she was five. What he said about you, you don't want to know." She pushed him out the door and closed it behind him.
He walked to the stairwell and up a few steps. Angela opened the door and checked to make sure he was gone. He was back at the door by the time she started dialing. The small gadget he had gotten from his buddy could hear through the door like he was standing next to her. It wasn't Bones she had called.
The next best thing, though. Jack Hodgins answered and he was on speaker phone.
"Ang! Hey."
"Booth was here. The jerk."
"Calm down,babe. Did he try to find out where Brennan is?"
"Of course. He still thinks he has the right. He also tried to tell me that he and Cam were just an accidental case of old friends 'reminiscing'. Reminiscing doesn't usually get people killed."
"Hey, we're lucky. Brennan didn't die."
"No, Booth's lucky Bren didn't die."
"He doesn't know how lucky. So, did he say anything about his girlfriend?"
"JUst that she hasn't been since the shooting."
"Wonder if she knows that? The board kept her on, DEPENDING. She's no longer over Brennan. Brennan has to agree to her staying on and she has to pass an evaluation every month. I'm thinking she's not going to last long."
"Good. I can't believe any of us really liked her at first."
"She was carrying an apple and we had scales on our eyes."
"Don't. Bren would shoot you. Funny thing, though. He knows where she is."
"How the fuck?"
Booth pumped his fist. This was what he was waiting for.
"I don't know. He asked me what she was doing in The Netherlands."
"What did you say?"
"I told him he was wrong, of course. I told him she was in Canada fighting polar bears and walruses."
Jack laughed at that. "You think fast on your feet! How am I ever going to know when you're lying to me?"
"That's my secret. Are you coming over?"
"I'm on my way. I picked up some Chinese, and some travel brochures."
"Travel brochures?"
"Yeah, I thought maybe Brennan could use a little help digging up those fishermen."
Brennan closed the hotel door behind the helpful bellhop and fell onto the bed. She groaned as she realized that there were things she should do before she could sleep. Wash her face, take off the clothes she had worn for the better part of a day, call Angela to let her know she had made it. Groan.
She could do that while taking care of the rest.
The phone only rang twice before her friend picked it up.
"Ang, hey.'
"Hey, hold on."
She could hear her friend's rapid footsteps over the phone.
"Okay. Booth's here. I wanted to get away from where he could hear."
"Why?"
"Why is he here? Or why don't I want him to hear? He's here to find out where you are. I don't want him to overhear because I don't want him to know where you are."
Brennan groaned. "I'm too tired to decipher that."
"He's trying to find out where you are. Just like he usually does. Only nothing is like usual."
"Look I just wanted you to know that I made it here safe. I'm in a hotel in Bad. The dig is in Dorp but I'm not even going to go out there until tomorrow. I have got to get some sleep."
"Couldn't sleep on the plane, huh?"
"No, but I got three chapters written on the book."
"Who are you going to dedicate this one to?"
"Ang!"
"So, how are your travelling companions?"
"They're fine, Ang. Really, we haven't had any problems." She couldn't hide a huge yawn. "I'm going to go. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Okay, sweetie. Goodnight."
She hung up the phone. She was sure her friend could take care of Booth.
She woke to a hollow pit in her stomach. When did she eat last? She knew she didn't eat on the plane.
She never could stand airplane food and she hadn't planned ahead to bring any fruit to snack on. So, two sodas and um, oh, yeah whiskey.
She finished up her morning ablutions and dressed. Stepping out of her room she ran right into a solid chest and two strong arms steadied her.
"Sorry." She looked up into startling blue eyes. "Agent Stevens, good morning."
"Dr. Brennan. Please, call me Eric."
She smiled and looking to his right said, "Good morning, Jamie."
"Tempe. Did you sleep well?"
"Very well. But, now my stomach is complaining it's empty."
"Well, you didn't eat yesterday, then all the time changes probably have your system all messed up."
Jamie looked at the agent who was staring him down. "We've settled things, Stevens. Tempe's probably the best friend I've got in the world right now."
Temperance's hand still lay on the agent's arm. She lightly squeezed it. "He's right, Agen..Eric. We have made our peace. We're moving forward. I wouldn't be here with the two of you if I weren't comfortable."
He looked down at her and nodded. Then a slow sexy smile spread across his face and she answered with one of her own. Jamie sadly shook his head. He knew that Tempe would be happy with another physical relationship to pass the time. But, if Stevens was anything like himself, the man was a goner.
Two hours later Brennan was deep into doing what she loved most in the world, digging bones out of the earth and matching them together to form whole skeletons. Preparing to identify the whys and whens of their deaths.
The team of scientists and students who had found the skeletons were amused as they watched the two tall, blue eyed men watch the forensic anthropologist. They were as involved in their classification of her body parts as she was of the skeletons' she was finding. And, she seemed as oblivious to them as the skeletons were of her.
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