Remember When, part two
As he drove, Booth filled us in on the details of the case, including his beliefs on the identity of the remains and how they got to where they were.
"I really wish you wouldn't try to prejudice me like that," I interrupted him.
"What? What am I doing now?"
"You know that I like to form my opinions without any outside influence. You know that I don't like to work with assumptions." I could feel my face heating as I expressed my anger.
"Look, I appreciate your whole 'scientific approach' and 'unbiased findings' and all that," he raised his voice in conjunction with mine. "I just think that it's a little too coincidental that we find a body where he used to live. That he's moved after his wife has gone missing for nearly two years. Wouldn't it make things easier if you knew what you were looking for?"
"He's right, Dr. Brennan," Zack added from the back seat. "You often say that narrowing a search field isn't prejudicial. It just prevents unnecessary investigation by eliminating irrelevant possibilities."
I knew that both Zack and Booth were making logical arguments, that I was the one being irrational. I wasn't sure why I had interrupted his explanation of the details of the earlier investigation. I think that I might not have wanted to hear anything further about the man who might have killed his wife of seven years. That it was believed that she was pregnant at the time of her disappearance and that her pregnancy had been evidence of an affair and thus served as a motive for her murder. I knew that it was in no way related to my own personal situation, but for some reason, I didn't want to listen to him discuss it any further.
"Why didn't you find the body two years ago when the case first originated?" I asked, trying to divert his attention from our argument - an argument that he had clearly won.
"We didn't have enough evidence for a warrant and he refused to allow us to dig on his property without one."
We arrived at the former home of Jon Adams only to find two television crews and several reporters had filled the tree-lined street. I could already sense the anger rolling off Booth at the intrusion of the newsmen and shared some of the anger myself as I thought of the damage they may have done to the crime scene.
"What the hell is going on here?" I heard him rage at the local police as Zack and I approached the remains. We worked efficiently, quickly uncovering the full body of the skeleton buried in the shallow grave.
"Booth," I called to him, rescuing the officer he had been harassing. "Initial inspection confirms your suspicions. This is a female between the ages of twenty-five and thirty. Hodgins will be able to tell more specifically, but the level of decomposition matches that of someone who had been buried two years ago. I hate to admit it, but all cursory indicators lead me to believe that this is Samantha Adams."
"That's just wonderful," he responded sarcastically and I couldn't ascertain the reason behind his sarcasm. "Okay, you and Zack bag the remains and I'll get one of the locals to bring you back to the Jeffersonian."
"Where are you going?" I asked, knowing that I would be next asking to accompany him, regardless of his answer.
"I'm going to question Jon Adams before he gets wind of this on the local news."
It was then that I understood why he had been so upset by the reporters. His investigation was being hampered by their desire to get the lead story. I rose quickly, pulling my gloves off as I chased after him.
"I'm coming with you," I stated. Then, remembering the remains, over my shoulder I called to Zack: "Take them back to the Jeffersonian and clean them. Call me as soon as you determine a probable cause of death."
The half hour drive with Booth had been a quiet one. I assumed that his mind was on our case, but I couldn't seem to keep my mind focussed on it as well. I kept returning to my decision of that morning - my decision to tell him about the pregnancy. Now that I had decided, the words seemed to demand that I speak them. They were at the forefront of my every thought. Even at the crime scene, I had almost blurted it out.
'All cursory indicators lead me to believe that this is Samantha Adams and by the way, I'm pregnant… and it's yours.'
I actually had to smother a smile as this last thought had passed through my mind. I'm sure that I would have given him quite a shock then. Of course, then he would have given me a lecture about being too blunt and how I should think before I opened my mouth. If only he knew the discretion I was using now; he would be so impressed with my progress.
"Bones, is there something funny here that I'm missing?"
I pressed my lips together, physically erasing the evidence of the amusement I had found in my inner dialogue.
"No, just something I was thinking about," I vainly attempted to cover for my thoughts, all the while searching my mind for an answer to the question that I knew was forth-coming.
"Oh yeah? What exactly were you thinking about to make you grin like that?"
"Nothing," I answered, smothering another grin. Now I was smiling more at having been caught in the lie than anything that I might have been thinking - and at his curiosity. I had known the instant he had interrupted my thoughts that he would relentlessly question me until I offered a viable response. The problem was that I was too distracted to come up with a reasonable alternative to my actual thoughts. This was exactly why I didn't lie. It required too much effort and energy.
"Booth, shouldn't you be concentrating on your driving?" I countered in an effort to divert his attention. "Or would you rather that I drive?"
"You're not driving, Bones and nice try at distracting me. Now, what did you find so funny?" He paused a moment before continuing and I could imagine the wheels turning in his mind as he tried to determine the source of my amusement. "Was it me? Did I do something, or…," he snuck a quick glance at his reflection in the rear view mirror. "Is there something on my face or in my teeth?"
I couldn't help myself and I laughed aloud as he continued to peer at his reflection. "No, Booth, there's nothing on your face or in your teeth or anything like that. Now, keep your eyes on the road. I don't want to die because you were paranoid about your appearance."
"Okay, but you do know that you're supposed to tell me, right?" He glanced quickly at me and must have read the confusion on my face because in that instant, I thought he was referring to my condition and that he had somehow guessed that I had been debating whether or not to tell him.
"That's what partners do, Bones. They watch each other's back. They don't let them show up at crime scenes with bagel in their teeth. I don't know how it works in the lab, but that's how it works out here, okay?"
"Booth, you don't have anything wrong with you, okay?" I had said this last laughingly, but the words gave me pause. 'You don't have anything wrong with you.' It was true. He was far from perfect, but his imperfections made him better… more real. He didn't have anything wrong with him, so what was wrong with me that I didn't want to have more of him in my life?
"I hope we get a chance to have a real lunch today," I stated simply and in my mind I added: 'so I can tell you that I'm pregnant.'
"Geez, Bones," came his answer, "did you skip breakfast today, because if you did and you're that hungry, I can hit a drive-through on the way."
I knew that I had to give him some reason for my odd behaviour, so I said simply: "There's something I have to talk to you about and we'll have a chance to talk over lunch."
Silence settled into the space between us and I chanced a quick glance at him before turning my focus to the world outside my window. The neat houses of the suburban neighbourhood flashed quickly by and in the back of my mind I realized that we were nearing our destination. I wondered a bit why Booth didn't question me further, but then realized that he must have recognized something in the inflection of my voice or in my body language to prevent any further discussion.
The short time remaining in our drive was spent in silence - he with his thoughts and me with mine. It wasn't until we pulled into the driveway of Jon Adams new residence that he finally broke the silence.
"Temperance, I don't know what you need to talk to me about, but I hope we're okay. We're okay, right?"
I nodded my head and spoke the affirmation aloud, hoping to have given him some peace of mind. He needed to direct his attention to the task at hand and he would have more than enough to worry about later.
A/N: So… what do you think? Please press the button and let me know. This is, after all, my first Bones fic - I can more than use the advice and I'll admit that I am a little insecure. Thanks for your feedback. Scarlet.