(The Crank in the Shaft)

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I don't own Bones.

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Aggravated because of the turn in the conversation, Booth protested Brennan's views. "Look, I do not work for some faceless bureaucracy, okay? I work for the United States government and so do you. Which makes you a drone too."

Brennan was not going to allow that statement to stand." No . . . no, I'm a completely independent contractor operating out of the Jeffersonian. In the hive, I would be the queen bee."

His annoyance growing, Booth shot back. "Still in the hive!"

With a lift of her chin, she made sure he didn't equate her with drones. "In which I am the queen."

His hands clinched in fists, he stepped in the copier room and tried to ignore his partner. She drove him crazy sometimes and all he could do was move on.

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Later that weekend, Booth was sitting in his grandfather's living room and talking to him about his partner. "She's so damn stuck up sometime. Don't get me wrong, I really like her and she's probably the best friend I've ever had, but still, she's so damn stuck up. She called me a drone in a hive just because I work for the government, but hell's bells she works for the government too. Does that make a difference? Hell no, she says she's the queen of the hive and I'm her drone or a drone."

Hank let his grandson speak unhindered. He actually found the whole thing very funny. Once Booth wound down enough, Hank shook his head. "Well you did say she's beautiful and a genius and she doesn't take shit from anyone. Maybe that does make her the queen of the hive."

Exasperated, Booth leaned back against his chair. "Hey, whose side are you on any way? I'm telling you I've been insulted by my partner and you take her side."

Amused, Hank sipped his beer and the watched his grandson sulk. "I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm just making an observation." The old man placed his beer bottle down on the coaster on the coffee table and leaned back against his couch. "I've been thinking about Temperance . . . about the things you've told me. Ever consider that the reason why she can't admit she's a drone or part of the establishment is because of her experience with Foster Care?"

"What?" He was definitely a little confused with his grandfather's question. "Why would that make her consider herself better than me?"

"Not better than you." Hank clasped his hands on his lap. "She's trying not to be part of the government."

Not sure he followed his grandfather's reasoning, Booth shook his head. "What's your point?"

Hank leaned over and picked up his beer bottle. While he sipped some of the cold brew, he considered how he should answer the question. "When she was a teenager, she was dumped in to Foster Care. From what you told me, she was treated pretty badly. In fact, you said her records showed that she was hurt by one set of her foster parents and she ended up being hospitalized. They arrested the foster parents and then they dumped her in another home . . . right?"

Booth nodded his head and sipped his beer.

"Okay." Hank thought he was on the right track. "Well, when she was rescued she was placed with families that didn't treat her like a family member."

Unable to prevent it, Booth snorted. "Those assholes were in it for the money, at least the foster parents she had did it for the money. Foster Care is better now because they inspect the homes and the backgrounds of people before they get to take care of kids like her."

"My point is, Temperance was treated like a cog in a wheel." Hank placed his beer bottle back on the coaster. "The government controlled her life. They told her where she could live and who she could live with. What schools she could go to. They didn't make sure she was taken care of properly . . . the government let her down. She doesn't want to be associated with something like that and who can blame her?"

His grandfather's words made sense and Booth knew it. "Maybe. Also she's damn smart and she's the top of her field. If she was in a hive, I guess she would be the queen."

"She probably would be." Hank smiled at his grandson. "And you could be her drone."

Not amused, Booth shook his head. "I wouldn't be some damn drone. I'd be the king of the hive."

Hank shook his head and laughed. "Okay if you say so."

His thoughts suddenly on his own childhood. Booth became tense. His body almost rigid. "If it hadn't been for you, I would have either died or I would have ended up in Foster Care. You saved me from that Pops. I can never thank you enough for what you did for me and Jared."

Hank didn't like to dwell on the past too much especially the awful things done to his grandsons and daughter-in-law by his own son. "No way you would have ever ended up in Foster Care, Shrimp. Your mother's sister Ruth would have took you kids in if I hadn't been there and she had found out what was going on. Ruth would never have allowed the government to take you."

Solemnly, Booth nodded his head. "Yeah . . . I miss her. She died so young. Damn cancer. It like to broke my heart that I couldn't go to her funeral, but I was at Walter Reed at the time because of my feet and I had those operations to get through . . . she was the best."

"She really was." Hank had met Ruth a few times along with her roommate Frannie and had considered them both to be good people. "Your father hated Ruth, but she was really nice and so caring. I wouldn't have minded her being my daughter. A daughter would have been nice to have around, but we only had the one chick. Your Nana wanted more kids, but she couldn't have any."

"Yeah." Booth knew he'd been blessed when it came to how his life had turned out. "I had it a hell of a lot better than Bones did. I guess she has a right to be queen of the hive."

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