(Bodies in the Book)

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I really don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooo

"So you discharged your firearm." Gordon Wyatt folded his hands and cocking his elbows on the arm rests stared at Booth over his clasped hands.

"I knew you'd be pissed, but I had a job to do." Booth thought it was unfair that he was being questioned about how he did his job. "I had a murder suspect that refused to cooperate in my investigation. The man is a loon, a stalker and I've had run-ins with him before. He slammed the door in my face and refused to let me in his apartment, I had probable cause. It's a good thing too, you should have seen the psycho bullshit he had in his apartment. He's the one you should be talking to not me."

Amused that Booth was being so defensive, Gordon smiled. "I merely stated that you discharged your firearm, there was no censure in my words, Agent Booth."

Confused, Booth stared at his therapist and finally shook his head. "If I'm going to be questioned every time I fire my weapon then yeah I think I have a right to be defensive. I shot an ice cream truck . . . once and no one was hurt, so now every time I shoot my gun I'm being questioned like I'm losing it?"

"Again, I merely stated a fact, Agent Booth." Gordon studied Booth and tried to figure out why he was so upset. "I do know you are required to fire your weapon occasionally in the line of duty. That is not why you are seeing me. You are seeing me, because you chose to shoot your weapon in an inappropriate manner."

"Once." Booth was tired of seeing his therapist. He wanted his life to go back to normal. "I apologized and I paid for the clown's head even though I could barely afford it. I've been seeing you for weeks and I think we should be done by now. I'm not going to shoot my weapon at ice cream trucks anymore. It causes nothing but trouble and it's not worth it."

Curious, Gordon lowered his clasped hands and rested them on his stomach. "When you grow frustrated, how do you plan to handle it in the future?"

This was the first time Gordon had actually asked him that and Booth was ready. "I'm going to the firing range and let off a few. It seems to help a lot."

"Controlled violence, very good." Gordon knew about the Agent's increased time at the shooting range and had wondered if he was using it to vent his frustrations. "I actually think that is a good idea."

Surprised, Booth smiled. "Yeah thanks. I need the practice anyway and a little extra shooting makes me feel better. It's productive." His frustration levels were high lately and he needed a way to control his impulses. Shooting at paper targets was safe and no one got hurt or questioned his sanity.

"Productive, yes." Gordon pursed his lips and placed his arms on the arm rests of his chair. "How are you and your partner doing? You just solved a rather interesting case."

"Um, we're good." Booth was worried that he was going to lose his partner, but he wasn't sure if he should mention it. Brennan's friendship with Sully seemed to be getting stronger every day and he thought if it went too far, she might ask that Sully to be named the liaison between the Jeffersonian and the Hoover instead of him. "Bones is dating someone. She seems to like him a lot."

The odd tone in Booth's voice alerted Gordon to the man's inner turmoil. "As a friend, I'm sure you're happy for her."

"Yeah, I am. She deserves to be happy." Booth stared at the painting on the far wall and debated whether he should say anything else. "You're my therapist and I can say anything. You won't tell anyone right?"

Curious, Gordon nodded his head. "That is correct up to a certain point. If you told me things that led me to believe that you were dangerous and may harm others then I would be obligated to tell the Deputy Director. It is why I was assigned your case."

"But besides that, I can tell you stuff and it's between you and me?" Booth needed to make sure before he said anything further.

"Yes of course." Gordon was now intrigued. "I am here to help you."

Torn between keeping his private life private and getting someone's opinion, Booth decided he didn't really have anyone else he could talk to without being judged. "Sully is a friend of mine and he's the one who is dating Bones . . . He's a nice guy and Bones couldn't do better if she tried . . . I think she's getting serious and I'm afraid I might lose her as my partner . . . Maybe she'd like to work with Sully instead of me."

Gordon witnessed Booth remove his poker chip from his pants pocket and started to flip it between his fingers. "Have you talked to her?"

"Nah." Booth stared at the poker chip and tried to get his thoughts in order so that he didn't sound like a loser. "I'm her friend and I like it . . . I don't want to her lose her friendship and that could happen if she gets more serious about Sully . . . She may not need me around anymore . . . I really like Bones and to lose her friendship . . . it would be bad I think."

"Bad?" Gordon knew that Booth was struggling to tell him something and his friendship with Brennan was apparently part of it.

"Yeah . . . I gave up gambling because of Bones." Booth continued to look at his chip. He was afraid to look at his therapist. "I knew I had to be the best to work with someone like her because she's the best . . . If I lose her friendship, maybe I'll gamble again . . . I don't want to, but Bones is the reason I don't gamble anymore and if she's not in my life . . . I'm worried."

Booth's confession worried him. Gordon knew that Booth had been through a lot in his life and a lot of it was very bad. He was sure that gambling was a way to try to control part of his life. In the vernacular, Booth was a control freak and he had a compulsion to try to control everything and everyone around him, but he did have difficulty controlling some of his more harmful urges. Gordon was of the opinion that Brennan helped him control those urges whether she knew it or not. "I think you should talk to Dr. Brennan about your friendship, Booth. See what she thinks about the matter. It may not be as bad as you think it is. Your friendship isn't one sided I can assure you. She seems to value your friendship just as much as you do hers."

"Yeah?" Booth pocketed his chip and finally looked at Gordon. "You think so?" He certainly hoped that was true.

"I do. Talk to her." Gordon knew it was his job to make sure the partners worked together in harmony and right now that harmony was starting to crack. If Booth wouldn't talk to her, Gordon thought he might have to find a way to talk to Brennan himself.

"Okay, maybe I will." Booth noticed the time on the clock near Gordon's desk and stood up. "I got work to do, Doc. See you around."

Gordon watched Booth leave and stared at the door once the man was gone. He hoped Booth would talk to his partner and soon.

Ooooooooooooooooo

They were filling out paper work in Brennan's office, Booth sitting on the couch and Brennan at her desk. The final report signed, Booth placed the paper work on the coffee table and stared at his partner. "So you and Sully . . . you're doing okay?"

"Yes, we are." Brennan continued to work on the last form she was required to fill out for their latest case.

He was nervous and he was afraid that the conversation they were about to have was going to go terribly wrong. "Um . . . you like being my partner don't you?" Please say yes.

Not sure why Booth was asking her that particular question, Brennan placed her pen down and looked at her partner. "Yes, of course . . . why are you asking me that?"

His cheeks dusted by a light red stain of embarrassment Booth looked away, unable to look at her. "Um, well, I thought maybe since you and Sul were um . . . doing well together, maybe you might want a new partner, with him, maybe." There I said it. Please say no.

A little wary of Booth's topic of conversation, Brennan stared hard at him and tried to determine if he was trying to tell her something she just didn't understand. "Do you want me to work with Sully instead of you?" I don't understand. Are you tired of our partnership? I hope not.

"What? No, absolutely not." Booth turned to stare at his partner, his heart rate higher than normal. "I just . . . I just don't want to be in the way if you want to um . . . not work with me anymore." God, I'm making a mess of this. Fuck me!

"We're partners Booth. I don't want that to change that just because I'm in a sexual relationship with Sully." Brennan saw Booth suddenly relax and she knew that he had been worried that she might have wanted a new partner. His sincerity was obvious and she knew he meant it when he said he would step aside for her if she wanted him to. "Our partnership is very successful. You're my friend and my partner and I don't want that to change." I hope that is clear. I don't want to be Sully's partner.

"Okay, good." His heart beat had returned to a normal rate and Booth was now confident that his partnership wasn't in trouble after all. "We make a great team, you and me. I'm glad that you still want to be my partner."

"I do." Brennan realized that Booth had been tense since he had entered her office and only now realized it. She hadn't picked up on that fact until now and it embarrassed her that she was so terrible when it came to body language. Apparently, she had given him the answer he wanted to hear, because clearly the tension was gone. "Don't doubt my friendship for a moment, Booth. I like Sully. He's nice, but you're my partner and I don't see why I would change that."

I do, but I'll worry about it another time. "No, I was just asking just in case . . . but, yeah, I don't see why you'd change it either." God thank you. Booth reached over to the coffee table and picked up the forms. "Well I'm done. As soon as you finish let's go to lunch. I'm hungry."

"Alright." Brennan signed the form, piled the reports into a neat stack, stood up and handed them to Booth. "I think I'm hungry too."

As she got her jacket from the coat tree, Booth waited for his partner near the doorway. He was relieved for now, but he would continue to be on his guard. Sully could still steal his Bones away from him and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop it, of that he was certain. He prayed that he would never lose her because if he did, well he would just have to try to handle it. His life was a mess and something was always going wrong.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

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