(The Mummy in the Maze)

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I don't own Bones.

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"Why didn't you tell me you're afraid of clowns?" They were standing outside the funhouse writing up a few quick notes before they got back into Booth's SUV and Booth took Brennan to the Jeffersonian to examine the mummy they had found in the house of horrors.

"I'm not afraid of clowns. I don't like them." Booth wasn't about to admit that clowns made his blood run cold. Staring into the face of a clown you couldn't see the emotions on the face of the person wearing the makeup. There was no way to read the face of the individual and that just left Booth confused and yes afraid. He couldn't help how he felt and reacted, but it bothered him that it made him look weak. "There is a difference you know."

Brennan was terrible at reading body language and facial expressions, but she did recognize fear when she saw it. Booth's body had been rigid, his eyes wild as he had stared at the mechanical clown and his inability to move until the clown had moved told her that her boyfriend was indeed afraid of clowns whether he admitted it or not. "Alright."

Irritated that she seemed to disbelieve him, Booth sighed, closed his notebook and started walking towards his truck. This case was bizarre and Booth wanted to close it as soon as possible. Two mummies, both of them teenage girls and so far no clues who had killed them or why he or she was turning them into mummies. "I just hope there aren't any more mummies out there. Two young girls . . . this is bad. I'm having that creep dressed as death brought in by Agent Romero. Maybe he has something to do with it, who knows, but it's a place to start."

"Alright." Brennan looked back at the fun house and shook her head. Perhaps Booth had a good reason to hide his fear of clowns, but she couldn't think what it could be. Perhaps he didn't really trust her. She thought their relationship was strong, but now she was beginning to worry that it wasn't.

Ooooooooooooooooo

"Booth is afraid of clowns, but I didn't find that out until he was confronted by a clown replicant at a fun house last night." Brennan hadn't meant to say anything, but the fact that Booth didn't completely trust her enough to tell her about his phobia was very worrisome to her.

Appalled that Brennan would betray him and talk about him to their therapist, Booth turned to glare at her. "I'm not afraid of clowns. Why would you tell him that?"

Surprised that Brennan had revealed Booth's phobia, Sweets nodded his head. "Coulrophobia is not as rare as you may think Agent Booth and it isn't anything to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed of anything and I'm not afraid of clowns." Booth considered leaving, but he knew that would mean they would talk about it in the future. "I hate them that's all and I don't like being around them. That doesn't mean I'm afraid of them." His eyes glittering like sharp glass, Booth continued to stare at his girlfriend. "And I don't know why you're telling Dr. Geek about it anyway. What does this have to with Zach or your Dad? Sweets said these therapy sessions are to help you get over the fact that your father is getting ready go on trial and I arrested him." Turning his attention on Sweets, Booth continued. "And I didn't do anything wrong. It was my job to arrest him. How can I be blamed for doing my job for God's sake?"

Before Sweets could answer, Brennan butted into the conversation. "I may have trouble picking up facial expressions like anger or irritation in most people, but I do recognize fear and I've been with you long enough to be able to read your emotional responses. You displayed fear of the replicant clown. Don't you trust me? Why didn't you tell me you're afraid of clowns? You could have actually imperiled our lives. I need to know about things like that just in case we're ever confronted by an armed clown."

"Trust? You think this is about trust?" Booth was flabbergasted. She was talking about him in front of the kid and it was humiliating. "I didn't tell you I'm afraid of clowns because I'm not afraid of clowns. I do not like them."

Starting to feel like she may have misunderstood what had happened at the fun house, Brennan bit her lower lip and thought about what had happened.

Thankful for the sudden silence, Sweets use the opportunity to say something. "These therapy sessions are not just for Dr. Brennan to talk about her father or her assistant. There are pressures on her and you, Agent Booth that will continue to build as the trial grows closer and you and she may speak about anything that is bothering either of you. Clearly, right now she thinks you don't trust her."

Frustrated, Booth stood up and stalked over to the window. Flipping the blinds up, Booth stared at the street below. The silence in the room lasted for a while until Booth turned away from the window and looked at Brennan ignoring Sweets. "Bones, I'm not afraid of clowns. I trust you okay? I do. You're my partner aren't you? You're my backup. Would I let you be my backup if I didn't trust you?"

"So you really aren't afraid of clowns?" Brennan thought it over and decided that it was possible that she had misinterpreted Booth's actions in the fun house and perhaps she should have talked to him and not Dr. Sweets. "Perhaps I should have talked to you about this earlier."

"You think?" Booth was very annoyed that he had been the topic of conversation in this therapy session and he was still afraid she might say something else in front of the psychologist to humiliate him. Brennan was socialy clueless and sometimes he felt there wasn't a governor between her brain and her tongue. "If you want to ask me something then ask me. Don't bring the kid into this."

"Dr. Sweets." Sweets was getting tired to Booth calling him a kid. "I am a licensed trained psychologist."

Brennan was now staring at the younger man. "A degree and license in a field of psychiatry has little value since psychiatry is a soft science and doesn't have hard data to back up your field of study. I might as well roll dice, it would certainly have the same rate of success as your guesses do."

Amused, Booth sat back down next to Brennan and stared at Sweets with a look of glee on his face. Sweets on the other hand was insulted and almost speechless. Almost. "Just because you hate psychiatry doesn't mean that my field of study is without value. If what you said is true, then why mention Booth's phobia? You mentioned it for a reason. Perhaps you wanted my help in trying to understand why he didn't trust you with the knowledge of his phobia."

His smile gone, Booth glared at Sweets and tried to control his temper. "I'm not afraid of clowns for fucks sake. I hate them. Drop the subject."

Brennan stared at Sweets for a few seconds and then at Booth. "I'm sorry, Booth. I should have talked to you in private. I was worried that you didn't trust me with certain aspects of your life, but I also know that I am not adept at reading faces and I probably misinterpreted what I saw."

Feeling guilty, Booth glumly nodded his head and was thankful that their hour was up with Sweets. Standing up, he offered his hand and was grateful when Brennan clutched his hand and stood up. Brennan picked up her purse and slung it across her shoulder. "Would you like to stop off and buy dinner on the way home? We could eat the leftover soup we made yesterday."

"The soup is fine." Booth followed Brennan out of Sweets' office without looking back. He wasn't sure if Sweets was fine with the session or not, but Booth knew he wasn't.

Once the couple was out of the room, Sweets made a few quick notes and then dropped his notebook on the coffee table. "Someday, I'm going to control one of these sessions and then look out."

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Lying in bed, Booth couldn't sleep and he knew that he was keeping Brennan awake with his tossing and turning. "Look Bones, I'm sorry . . . You were kinda of right. I'm a little afraid of clowns, but it isn't enough for you to worry about it. I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want you to think that I'm a coward . . . I'm not always afraid of clowns, mostly I just hate them. It just depends on the makeup I guess . . . think about it. These guys wear makeup and that hides their facial expressions. No one knows what they're thinking. Sure they can be harmless, but what if they aren't? I mean how would I know? They could be getting ready to attack me or someone else and I wouldn't be able to pick up on it . . . I trust you, Bones. I trust you a lot, but . . . this clown thing it's . . . it's stupid."

She heard him out and when he was finished, Brennan turned over on her side and stared at her boyfriend. "I don't think you are coward Booth just because you don't like clowns . . . I wish you would have trusted me though. How can I protect you if I don't know what I'm protecting you from?"

Booth turned on his side and stared at his girlfriend. "You're going through a lot of shit right now, with your Dad and with Zach being away for a while and I just didn't want to add whacko boyfriend to the list." Booth placed his palm on her arm and gently ran his hand up and down it, from her shoulder to her elbow. "Everyone is afraid of something. It's human nature to hide it from everyone because it can make you look foolish. I'm sorry, I didn't tell you . . . okay? I trust you."

His words seemed heartfelt and Brennan knew that Booth wouldn't do anything to hurt her on purpose. It just wasn't something he'd do. "I think I understand, Booth and I'm glad you trust me."

"I do." Booth leaned over and kissed her. "I trust you. The next time you have questions about me or us, just ask me. Please don't spring that stuff on me in front of Sweets. Give me a chance to talk to you first. If you don't like my answers then maybe we can talk to the kid, but give me a chance first."

Brennan kissed Booth and smiled. "That seems fair."

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Once their case was over and they were home standing in the living room, Booth turned to confront his girlfriend. "Oh my God, Bones, why didn't you tell me you're afraid of snakes?" The fight with the clown had been a close call and for a while Booth hadn't been sure he or Brennan would survive. He had been up against a man armed with a pump shotgun and he had been down to his last bullet when he'd killed the EMT dressed up as a clown. During that nightmare he had been confronted with the fact that Brennan was afraid of snakes.

Still shocked with the discovery, Brennan could only shake her head. "I didn't know I was afraid of snakes. It makes absolutely no sense. I've been confronted with snakes on digs and I've never reacted like I did tonight. Never. I just don't understand it."

He saw how embarrassed she was about the situation and Booth wanted to end the conversation. "Maybe because it was a room full of them. I mean that's not normal. You usually just come across one or two once in a while not hundreds all at once. You had a right be afraid."

"Thank you, Booth." Brennan appreciated that Booth was being so understanding and his logic sounded correct. "Perhaps. Also I think I owe you an apology. You were confronted with someone dressed up as a clown and you didn't freeze or run away. You stayed and you fought him. You saved our lives. I guess under certain circumstances you aren't afraid of clowns. It is odd, but similar to my situation and completely understandable."

"Thanks Bones." Booth smiled and moved closer to his partner. "You know this Wonder Woman costume is so damn hot . . . I mean, it's taken a lot of will power on my part to keep my hands to myself tonight . . . I guess you could call me Superman because damn you're definitely my kryptonite."

Amused, Brennan placed her arms around him and leaned against him. "I've read the Superman mythology and I understand your reference. It is very flattering."

Holding her in his arms, Booth stared at the glass daffodil sitting on the bookcase and felt sick every time he thought about how close he had come to losing Brennan that night. He had been afraid of the clown, but he had fought him with all of his strength because he had too much to lose. He couldn't lose Brennan and he would die protecting her. "Well, it's the truth."

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