(The Hole in the Heart)
This is a sequel to chapters 199, 200, 203, 204 and 205.
I don't own Bones.
Ooooooooooooooo
It was the little things that gave them away. She was used to seeing them together, necks bent and heads close together talking quietly or Booth standing nearby, observing his partner working. Nothing they hadn't been doing for the last several years and yet some things were different. She hadn't noticed the changes until she had witnessed the kiss in the garden and now she watched them more carefully when she was around them.
They had stopped bickering with each other. She couldn't remember when they weren't bickering or fussing about something, but now, they were congenial, they listened closely to what the other said and if they disagreed, they talked it out. The sarcasm wasn't as prevalent as before and Booth seemed to be unable to keep his eyes off of his partner when he was around her. More than he normally did, anyway. The odd thing that stuck out was, they weren't touching each other as much as usual and that seemed to be a deliberate calculated choice. Now when they touched they seemed to do it secretly, as if they didn't want anyone to see them.
These things by themselves meant little, but add those to the kiss she had seen and she knew that Booth and Brennan were in a relationship and they were hiding it.
It pleased her. She knew that they had been attracted to each other for a long time and they had fought that mutual attraction up until and including Booth's affair with Hannah. Something had changed that. Hannah leaving the District? Perhaps or it could have been something else that she knew nothing about. She wasn't sure, but she found it a relief that Booth and Brennan had stopped fighting the inevitable. It had been a long wait, but she was happy for both of them. She wasn't sure why they were hiding their new relationship, but when they finally told everyone, she was pretty sure no one was going to be surprised. Absolutely no one.
Oooooooooooooooooo
Vincent Nigel-Murray had died before their eyes, his blood pooling beneath his body as he desperately tried to stay with them. He had not wanted to die and his plea to the universe to let him stay almost broke Booth's heart. He had been with comrades in arms who had died on the battle field and it was always the same. One minute they were alive, denying what was happening to them and fighting the inevitable then a minute later, they were dead, their eyes dull, their spark gone because there was no longer thoughts behind those eyes.
Brennan had taken her intern's death badly and the wall between her and her partner came down. That evening, she had climbed into Booth's bed and while she cried, he held her in his arms, sad that he couldn't fix the situation. Vincent was dead and the only thing he could do was go after the man who had killed him. It was revenge he wanted, but in those dark hours, he held Brennan in his arms until she had finally slept. He knew that bullet had been meant for him and he was going make sure that Brodsky paid for what he had done.
Early the next morning, the sun still below the horizon, they both woke and had made love for the first time. It was a promise of things to come, but they both knew that Brodsky had to be found first before the next chapter in their lives could play out. They weren't in a hurry and when they were both satisfied, they lay in bed and waited for the alarm clock to ring. "Are you okay?" Booth wanted to make sure that Brennan had no regrets.
"Yes, I'm fine." Brennan rolled over onto her side and placed her hand on Booth's chest. "I'm sad that Vincent is dead, but I know that you will find Brodsky and end this. If you have to kill him Booth then do it. Don't risk your life for him. You do not have my permission to die."
Amused, Booth smiled while he touched her hand. "No, I won't let that happen." He would have loved to have stayed in bed the entire day with Brennan, but when the alarm clock rang, he moved to turn it off then left his bed. Looking down at Brennan, he knew that they were finally in the relationship he had dreamed of. "I have work to do or I'd stay with you. If you want to stay in bed for a while, then that's fine. I'm going to go take a shower and then cook us some breakfast. We may be too busy today to get lunch."
"No, I'll get up and join you in the shower . . . if that's alright."
A grin on his face, Booth moved towards the bathroom door. "You know I have an old bathtub and we might um . . . bump into each other, but sure, come on."
"Is 'bump into each other' a euphemism for sex?" Leaving the bed, Brennan followed Booth into the bathroom.
"Well, if you want it to be." Booth would never turn Brennan down, not if he had a say in the matter.
"Then I won't mind bumping into you."
Oooooooooooooooo
Brodsky was in custody and there was still one more task to be done. Vincent's body had been released and was being sent back to England so his parents could bury him there. The team had stood in front of the loading dock at the Jeffersonian, helped load the casket into the funeral car and watched it drive away. Cam had brushed away a tear that had escaped her lashes and inhaled deeply, trying to regain her emotional balance. Though Vincent had been a strange man, she had liked him and found him a fascinating individual. She knew that she would probably never meet someone like him again and that was a shame. The world needed people with a thirst for knowledge, who loved facts and used those facts in such interesting and yet benign ways. Hodgins may have been the King of the Lab, but Vincent had been the King of Trivia.
As she walked into the building, she looked back and saw Brennan hook her arm around Booth's arm and noticed the warm smile they gave each other. So they don't mind if anyone knows now. Good. It'll be fun to see how everyone reacts. It had been a week since she had seen the kiss in the garden and she had wondered when the partners would let everyone know about the change in their relationship. It now seemed that Vincent's death had been the catalyst they needed. It hadn't taken a genius to understand that Vincent hadn't been the intended target when Brodsky shot through the glass ceiling. Booth had been the target and that fact must had made the partners see that life was too short to waste time.
The truth be told, the consequences of that fatal shot would be felt by everyone that worked at the Lab. She'd had two members of her department hand in their resignations, their reason being their fear that the Lab wasn't secure and they didn't want to work there anymore. Cam had told them she understood and gave them a glowing recommendation. Oddly enough, none of Brennan's interns had quit and all of them had called her to let her know they planned to work their rotation. They're a brave bunch of people. They really are. Professional all the way.
Cam had already been contacted by the Board of Directors about the shooting and it had been decided that the glass ceiling would be replaced with bullet proof glass. It would be more expensive, but the safety of everyone that worked at the Lab was important. Their reputation was important and they would not give in to terrorists. Dr. Woodworth had made that quite clear. He considered Brodsky to be a terrorist, not just an assassin and he would insure that the Lab would be safe for everyone to work at. Cam had appreciated his promise. Dr. Woodworth had mentioned that the Cantilever Group was going to pay for the new ceiling and they wouldn't have to make any adjustments to the budget set aside for the Lab. She had said a quick prayer for the members of the Cantilever Group for that very generous offer. Turning to face the door, Cam walked into the building and headed to the Lab where they planned to have a drink in Vincent's honor.
Booth and Brennan followed the group back into the building. As they entered the hallway, Brennan moved to remove her arm from Booth's arm. "No Bones. It's time for everyone to see that we're a couple now. We don't need to make any major announcements or anything, but I think we can be ourselves now. I've already talked to the Director and he told me he's fine with our relationship. He said that as long as we keep it professional in the field then we can continue to work together."
As they moved down the hallway leading to the Lab, Brennan moved her arm back around Booth's arm. "Alright. Angela knows already . . . I told her this morning."
"You did?" Booth wasn't really surprised after all Angela was Brennan's best friend. "Well, if she knows then Hodgins knows so all we have left is Cam and Sweets. Everyone else can figure it out on their own."
"I'm sure Sweets will have some advice for us." Brennan liked the younger man, but his unwanted advice could be very annoying sometimes.
Not worried about Sweets or anyone else, Booth continued to walk towards the Lab. "He can offer all the advice he wants, it doesn't mean we have to take it . . . We're going to be okay. We'll have to take a ride over to the retirement home to let Pops know about us. He likes you. He'll probably want to give us some advice too, but his advice is usually pretty good."
"Yes, it is." Sad her intern was dead, Brennan was also happy and she found the mixed emotions rather disconcerting. "I want to go to Vincent's funeral. I'm going to call his parents tonight and see what their funeral arrangements are."
"I wish I could go with you, but I don't have any vacation time left." Sighing, Booth shook his head. "Poor guy, he was shot because he answered my phone."
Brennan had thought about that quite a few times since Vincent had died and she knew that she would never forget just how close she had come to losing Booth from her life. "Yes, I know."
Pausing at the entrance to the Lab, Booth turned to face Brennan. Moving his arm from her embrace, he reached up and placed the palm of his hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry that Vincent died . . . Sometimes bad things happen so good things can happen. That's my experience anyway . . . I love you, Bones."
"I love you too, Booth." Leaning up, she kissed her boyfriend. "It's been a long day. After we've had our drink with everyone, I think we should go home."
"Yeah, we should."
Ooooooooooooooo
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