(Between seasons 5 and 6)
This story is AU as are most of my stories.
Oooooooooooooooo
Daisy had observed her mentor writing letters for weeks, but the fact that Dr. Brennan never mailed them made her curious and she wanted to know why the letters were in a box under Brennan's bed. On a day when almost everyone was at the dig site, Daisy feigned a headache so she could remain behind and took the opportunity to read some of the letters, careful to note the placement of the box the letters were kept in. She wanted to put everything back the way she'd found them so Brennan would be none the wiser about the invasion of her privacy.
Careful, her hands freshly washed to keep the paper clean, Daisy opened one of the envelopes and read the letter inside.
Booth,
I am writing this to you to let you know that I'm fine. The project is going well and Dr. Anderson thinks we're getting closer to finding the proof he's been looking for that hominids and cro-magnum may have inhabited the same place at the same time here in Maluku. As you know, if that happens that will prove the crucial link in the evolutionary chain. So far, we've only found bits and pieces of pottery and charred animal bones, but usually where there is pottery and signs of controlled fires, there are remains of dwellings so we may make our break thru fairly soon.
I hope that you are not taking undue risks in Afghanistan. I don't want you to get hurt since you have family obligations back home that require you to return safely.
I received a letter from you three weeks ago and have received nothing since then. I have been remiss in not answering your letters, but I find that I don't know what to say to you. I have written four letters to you, but so far, I have not sent any of them. Two of them were extremely personal and didn't seem appropriate between friends for that is all we are, aren't we? The other two letters contained questions that I know you cannot answer. What is between us must remain so, but I have so many questions about our relationship and whether we actually have one or not.
What is there to say to you? I am still trying to decide if I will be returning to the Lab. I want to continue our partnership, but I have found myself in an emotional turmoil about the situation. You wish to catch 'bad guys', you have stated so many times and I thought I wanted to help you do that, but I still have doubts that I want to continue. I am a trained forensic anthropologist and have used that skill in the past to study various cultures around the world. It is what I do and yet I have had little time to do that since I began working with you. There are many forensic anthropologists available that could work with you albeit not with my abilities but still reliable enough to help you close cases.
I hesitate to write this next section of the letter, but I am not a coward and it must be said.
I don't have many friends and I can count the number I have on one hand. I have tried to protect my friendships because I value them so highly. I worry that you or Angela or Dr. Hodgins will grow tired of me and walk way from me as so many have done in the past. Lately, I have tried to protect myself by erecting a metaphorical wall between me and my friends. I know it seems counter productive, but it will be heart crushing when you finally see who I really am and sever your ties with me. By distancing myself from you and Angela I am preparing myself for the day I find myself alone once more.
I will close this letter and I know I will not mail it. I guess I am a coward after all.
Brennan
A little shocked, Daisy placed the letter back in the envelope and bit her lower lip. She had a decision to make, and it could be life altering for her mentor and Agent Booth as well as herself if she did what she was contemplating. Uncertain, she removed the other letters from the box and read them too. Some of them were very intimate and Daisy realized that Dr. Brennan loved Agent Booth. She had always suspected it, but these letters confirmed it and they made her feel sad.
She had given up her engagement to Lance by coming to the dig and she'd wondered if she had made a mistake more than once, but this wasn't about her. This was about someone she admired who was in emotional pain and who didn't know how to fix it.
If she intervened it might help Dr. Brennan or it might hurt her, but at least her mentor would be on firmer ground regarding Agent Booth. This limbo Brennan was living in wasn't healthy for her or anyone else. Do I have the courage to mail them or not? Perhaps I do. I want to help and I know if I don't Dr. Brennan may never get what she really wants and that appears to be Agent Booth.
Ooooooooooooooooo
Booth had gone to mail call and much to his surprise he had found a large envelope waiting for him. Curious, he'd carried it back to his bivouac, sat beside the entrance and opened it. He found five letters from Brennan and a sheet of paper signed by Daisy.
Dear Agent Booth,
I have decided to intervene between you and Dr. Brennan. You both clearly like each other and as far I can tell, that like may have turned into love. I have read the letters you have sent to Dr. Brennan and clearly, you're fond of her and wish to expand your friendship in a more intimate way.
Dr. Brennan has written you several letters, but she has not mailed them to you. I know this isn't really my business, but I have decided to make it so and I am sending these letters to you. Please do not tell her I mailed them to you. By intervening, I am putting my future in your hands. I do this out of friendship for you and Dr. Brennan and I will rely upon your discretion to protect me from Dr. Brennan's wrath.
I admire Dr. Brennan and she is a friend even though she may not realize it. After all, I'm an intern and not a part of her peer group, but she has so few friends, it worries me. No one should be alone, Agent Booth.
Daisy
Shocked that the intern had actually mailed him Brennan's letters, he wondered if it was ethical for him to read them. He knew that his partner valued her privacy, but he needed a sign from her that she cared for him and that his partnership was safe. The letters might tell him what was on Brennan's mind. Once he knew what she had written, he would know what do about their situation. One way or another, he would know if he was still her friend or not and that would help him move on if he had to.
Oooooooooooooooo
Brennan had noticed that the letters she had written to Booth were missing from the box under her bed and that worried her. Was someone using her letters as a source of amusement, she hoped not.
As soon as she could, she confronted her tent mate, but Daisy claimed not to know about the box of letters. The intern seemed sincere, so Brennan was left with the thought that one of her colleagues was a thief and she would write no more letters to Booth or anyone else. She would not contribute to the amusement of anyone in the camp with her personal problems and hoped whoever took the letters would not let others see them. Her privacy was important to her and it was unethical for anyone to intrude upon that privacy by stealing and reading her letters. Clearly, she could not trust anyone in the camp anymore. It made her sad and she felt more isolated, but she was used to being alone and she could accept that.
Oooooooooooooooo
They met near the coffee cart and much to Brennan's surprise, Booth had held her in his arms and told her that he had missed her.
"I've missed you too." It had felt wonderful to be held by Booth in such an intimate manner, even if he did call them guy hugs. She had missed her partner and now that they were together, it seemed like they had never parted. "I am glad you're unhurt."
Sitting on the steps that led up to the park, Booth took Brennan's hand in his and waited for her to sit next to him. "It was quiet enough and I was never in any danger."
She was certain that Booth was lying to her, but she wouldn't call him out. It was a Boothy thing to do and she was used to him protecting her. "I had a few exciting moments, but I too have come away unscathed."
"Exciting moments? What do you mean exciting moments?" That didn't sound like a good thing to the Agent.
"Daisy and I were attacked by some armed guerillas, but I beat them up." Brennan had been proud of herself. She had saved herself and Daisy and that was no small feat.
A little worried, Booth stared in wonder at his partner. "You beat up some guerillas?"
"Yes, I had to, you weren't there to save me." She'd meant that to be amusing, but clearly her partner didn't take it that way. "I am unharmed."
Slowly nodding his head, Booth knew that Brennan could take care of herself and she didn't need him, but he knew he needed her. She helped him be a better man and he knew it. "Bones . . . I missed you. I wrote you a few times, but you never answered my letters." Technically, that was true since Daisy had been the one to mail Brennan's letters to him.
"I tried a few times, but I didn't know what to say." Brennan sighed. "I am better at face to face communication."
"I don't think that's true, but that's water under the bridge." He saw the confused look on Brennan's face and he knew he had missed that questioning look. "It means that's the past, so don't worry about it."
Biting her upper lip, Brennan wasn't sure how to proceed. "Did you meet anyone? Did you find someone to move on with?"
He felt a little sick. Booth knew he shouldn't have said that to Brennan when she had rejected him outside the Hoover, but at the time, he hadn't seen any future that included Brennan. He had hoped to keep her friendship, but her rejection had meant there would be nothing else between them and it had hurt him.
When she had told him she was going away for a year, he had floundered and wondered what he had done wrong to drive her away. He'd found himself in Afghanistan because he didn't know what to do with himself and the Army claimed they needed him, but he'd known it was a mistake after a few weeks away from home. He'd written Brennan several letters and when she hadn't replied he assumed their friendship was over and then Daisy had sent him the letters. Those letters had helped him to have the patience he needed to wait to see Brennan again before making any future plans.
It was those letters that told him that Brennan might be open to a relationship after all and he needed to do something about it. "No, I didn't move on . . . I didn't want to . . . Um, Bones . . . well, I've been waiting for you. I know you said you didn't want me outside the Hoover, but I'm hoping being away from me made you rethink my offer." He shifted on the step to get a better look at his partner. "I love you, Bones. I know you don't believe in love, but I hope my love for you is enough for both of us." He stopped uncertain what else he could say.
Surprised, Brennan felt her heart begin to beat faster. She had fantasied about having a conversation like this one, but she had never dreamed that it would come true. "I . . . I haven't changed Booth. I don't believe that love is real and that it is something that will keep a personal relationship strong, but . . . but I do believe in friendship and I know we have a strong friendship, battle tested . . . I am right, aren't I, we have a strong friendship?"
Booth hadn't expected Brennan to jump into his arms when he told her he loved her, but the fact that she hadn't got up and left was a good sign, wasn't it? "Yeah, we've been friends for a long time and it's something I value . . . Bones, if I asked you again, would you give us a chance? I think what we have is special and I believe, I really believe that we could have a personal relationship and it wouldn't ruin our friendship or our partnership . . . I think I'm worth it Bones. I think you should give me a chance."
"You are worth it." She wanted to say yes, but she still felt that any relationship she had would end with Booth leaving her. "I want to say yes, but someday you're going to realize that I am not what you are looking for in a mate and you will walk away or I will . . . I don't want to hurt you."
"Hey . . . hey, Bones. I promised you that I'd never walk away from you and I meant it. I know who you are. I've known for a long time and believe me, you are what I want in a partner in a mate . . . I love you. I love you and I don't care if you don't love me. I know you like me a lot and I can live with that. It's who you are and I'm fine with that. Really, I am." He hoped he'd said the right things. "Most good relationships are built on a strong friendship. People fall in out of love all the time, but friendship . . . Bones, friendship is the glue that would keep us together."
His words resonated within her and she knew she would give him a chance. Those long months in Maluku helped her see just how much she loved him. She wasn't sure she could tell him that she loved him, at least not yet, but she did want to give him a chance. He really was worth it. "I think we should try for those 30 or 40 years you mentioned outside the Hoover." Moving closer, Brennan leaned over and kissed her partner.
Her words washed over him and he knew he was the happiest man alive. His partner was going to give them a chance. Returning her kiss, Booth knew that they were finally where they both wanted to be. Not separated by miles of ocean, but in the arms of someone that loved them. "You'll see, Bones. We're going to be fine. I promise."
Ooooooooooooooooo
Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.