Chapter 2: Mistake
Booth woke up with a pounding headache inside his skull. The light shining into the room wasn't helping the situation either. He groaned as he flipped onto his back. As soon as he was on his back, he realized that something was wrong. A glance at his clock showed that it was 6:37 in the morning. That couldn't be the problem because he wasn't due for work until 8. Then he knew what the problem was.
A look around the room confirmed his suspicions. Oh, crap, he thought. Please let this be a dream…
He pinched his arm. Nope, it was most definitely not a dream. He looked over to his right, where someone was sleeping. Oh, no.
He lifted the covers and his heart jumped into his throat. He was naked. In a strange bed. Next to Cam. He realized that he was at Cam's place when he saw the familiar wallpaper and bureau. Not to mention the fact that she was sleeping next to him.
He slowly crept out of bed, careful not to wake her up. He picked up his clothes from the floor. As he dressed, he searched his brain for an explanation of how something like this had happened. All he could recall was ordering drink after drink, trying to drown his worries about Parker away in a sea of alcohol. He vaguely remembered talking to someone. He almost dropped his shoe when he figured out who it was. Bones.
She had tried to comfort him and he yelled at her. He yelled at his fiancé when she tried to soothe his doubts away. Then he went to bed with someone else. Idiot! he mentally yelled at himself.
He quietly let himself out of Cam's apartment and walked down the steps. He realized that his car wasn't there. It was probably still at Sid's. He called for a cab on his cell phone and sat down on the sidewalk as he waited for it to arrive.
He propped his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. He rubbed his tiredness from his face. He sighed heavily.
He managed to screw everything up. After months of pursuing and dating Bones, he messed everything up in one night. He felt like shooting himself with his own gun. Bones would probably feel that way too once I tell her.
He considered not telling her but he knew how she felt about secrets. After the discovery about her parents' identities, of her real identity, she buried herself in her work. She tried to convince herself that she was Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist, not Joy Kennan. She felt that she was living a lie; she had lost her identity. Booth knew all of that. That was why he resolved to tell her the truth.
Booth knew that when he tell her, she would probably use her martial skills on him. Then Angela and the rest of Squints would dispose of his body. Nobody would ever know where he would be.
A cab pulled up in front of him and he got into it. He needed to stop by Sid's to pick up his car before going home to get dressed. Then he would face the execution squad when he would tell Bones the truth.
When he pulled into his parking space at the Jeffersonian, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror. The first thing he noticed was the guilt that was clearly written on his face. Beneath that laid a layer of self-disgust. He fixed his face into what appeared as a blank expression before he got out of the car. He needed all of the strength he can get as he prepared himself for the assault.
The first thing he noticed when he stepped into the lab was that all of the squints were standing around a body on the examination table. Apparently the museum had a new body for Bones to identify. But what bothered him more was that Cam was there with them.
He swiped his card before he stepped onto the platform. They all looked at him when they saw him. He noticed that Bones' face brightened up a bit when she saw him. That made him even angrier with himself.
"Hey," he said, careful to keep emotions from entering his voice.
"You look like hell, man," Hodgins said candidly.
I feel like hell, Booth added mentally.
"We have a new case?" Bones asked.
"Nope." Nope, not yet. "I need to talk to you Bones."
"Sure, as soon as I'm done," she said as she bent down to look at the skull more carefully.
He shook his head. "No, Temperance," he said, intentionally using her name to get her attention. She looked up at him. "I need to talk to you now," he paused, glancing quickly over at Cam. "Privately," he added.
Brennan nodded. She knew that something important must have happened for him to use her first name at work. "Zach, I need you to finish the preliminary examination. Then add the face markers before giving the skull to Angela. Ange, I need a facial reconstruction. Hodgins, you are to examine the soil where the body was found," she said before she walked towards her office, completely missing the sly look that Cam shot her fiancé.
Booth followed her into the office, closing the door after them. He didn't need anyone to witness his death sentence.
"What's wrong?" Brennan asked as she sat down at her desk. Booth realized her defensive immediately. Her desk served as a barrier between them, a shield for her.
Booth remained standing. He paced in front of her desk. She followed him with her eyes as she tried to figure what was bothering him. No one talked for several moments.
"Temperance, you know that I would never hurt you, right?" he asked, silently adding, Until now, in his brain. He kept his eyes on his feet. He didn't want to see her expression when he tell her what he did to her.
She nodded slowly. Brennan didn't like where this was going.
"I would do everything I can to protect you." The only thing I can't protect you from is myself.
Brennan still didn't say anything. She began to grow uneasy.
"I care about you…a lot. And I would never---"
"Seeley."
His name brought his head up. He swallowed thickly before he turned to face her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, worry lines creasing her forehead.
"I…I made a terrible mistake." He had a hard time maintaining eye contact with her.
She folded her arms around her midriff as if to protect herself from whatever was coming.
"What?" she asked quietly.
"Last night, I…I…" He took a deep breath before continuing. "I s-slept with Cam," he finished quietly.
Time froze in the room. His confession kept repeating itself in her mind. I slept with Cam, I slept with Cam. The single phrase kept floating around. "Oh," was all she could managed to say. Her one-worded response said all that she needed to say. Disillusionment, pain, anger, and betrayal all flashed in her eyes.
She leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes to ward off the assault of emotions she felt. She tried to maintain her cool, aloof exterior when she laughed wryly and tried to joke, "And here I thought we were dating exclusively." She failed miserably.
Booth can't stand to see her pain any longer. Her obvious efforts to mask them were unsuccessful. He looked away. "Temp--"
"Agent Booth," she interrupted, intentionally using his formal name, which made him wince. "I would like to be left alone at this moment. Please leave my office."
"Te--"
"Please," she whispered hoarsely, her eyes still closed. "Leave."
He knew he had really hurt her. When she was angry, she would react physically. He was prepared for her to kick him from here to Japan. But she didn't hit him. She had simply sat there, closing her eyes, trying to keep her tears at bay. The only other time that he knew of when she acted like this was her encounter with McVicar in his barn. Both times she tried to mask her disappointment, her anger, her feeling of betrayal. The only difference was that she allowed him to comfort her the first time. This time she wouldn't even look at him.
Booth gave her one last look before leaving the office. He closed the door behind him. He took half a step forward before he turned around to look at her closed door. He was one son of a bitch. He had slept with her boss, the boss she hated. He raked his fingers through his hair before he turned around and walked briskly out of the lab. He didn't even notice the other squints as he walked past them.
Angela, Zach, and Hodgins were still standing around the table, pondering what Booth wanted to talk so badly to Brennan about when Booth left Brennan's office. Cam had left soon after Booth and Brennan. Angela didn't miss the look she gave Booth as he walked past. She knew something was happening with those two. She just hoped that whatever happened won't destroy the relationship between the Special FBI agent and her best friend. Her optimism dashed when she saw Booth's expression as he left the lab.
She glanced worriedly over towards the other two, both of which were wearing similar faces. Her gaze traveled over their heads towards Brennan's office. She instinctively knew that whatever Booth told her best friend, it wasn't good news.
Author's Note: I know you guys don't want Booth to cheat, but this is crucial to the story. Besides, if you continue to read the story, you will discover that...