"Don't forget, my appointment is at four o'clock today," Annie said as she buttoned up her shirt. It was her first day back at school, and she couldn't wait to see her students. Booth glanced out of the bathroom as he finished dressing.
"Four o'clock got it. Hey Annie, could you grab me a tie?"
"What suit are you wearing?"
"Grey with a white shirt." Annie moved to their closet and after looking over the ties, she grabbed one with a playing deck on it. She handed it to Booth, who looked over it for a moment before heading to the closet himself. "You want me to pick you up or meet you there?"
"You can meet me. That way I can get everything I need together without rushing."
"Okay, I'll see you then." He came back out with a plain red tie instead of the more novelty one. Annie looked at his choice and approached to tie it for him.
"What, you didn't like the other one?"
"I dunno, it just didn't seem right with the suit." Booth shrugged as she made a last adjustment to it.
"Love you hon."
"You too." He gave her a distracted smile and kissed her cheek before leaving the house. Annie watched him leave and sighed. Something seemed to be bothering him but he was so close mouthed sometimes. With a shrug she finished getting dressed for the day and left for work.
XxXxX
Max Keenan sat out on the front porch of the three bedroom house he shared with Russ and Temperance enjoying the sunshine as he watched the passing neighbors and cars. He pulled out a cell phone and dialed the number to his FBI handler. After a few rings, the call was answered.
"This is Charlie," the agent answered. Max had only met the chubby, slightly ill put together agent once, and it had been when his FBI file was handed over by Booth.
"Charlie, this is Max Keenan. Do you have those addresses for me?"
"It's not exactly our policy to do something like this…"
"Please tell me you're bending a little rule to help out one of your star witnesses."
"Look Max, I really want to help you but…"
"You know, Agent Booth would have done this for me. Come on Charlie, no harm, no foul. Just get me the addresses." Max could sense the agent wavering. He'd seen the admiration for Booth that the other agent had and fully intended to exploit that. "Look. Don't think of this as something for me. I'm doing this for Temperance."
"I'll see what I can do. Just give me a little time and I'll call you back, okay?"
"Fine. Just please do this." Max got off the phone just as Temperance joined him outside with her computer.
"Who was that?"
"Weekly check up with my handler is all." Brennan frowned at her father as she got comfortable and opened up her word files.
"Why are they keeping an eye on you? You were acquitted."
"And I'm a witness in a couple of high profile cases. The FBI is just trying to keep me safe. I thought you'd understand Honey."
"I do. I just wish that they could leave you alone."
"The support's appreciated. Now, what do you say the two of us go take a walk and see if your brother is available for lunch?" Temperance looked unsure, but finally closed her computer and put it back inside.
"Sure. Besides, I could eat." She gave a small smile and stepped off of the porch along with her father for a stroll through the town.
XxXxX
Booth stepped into the Jeffersonian to get an update on his current case. His stomach gave a small turn whenever he came in now, knowing he wouldn't see Brennan there. He gave a quick glance up to the platform and didn't see Cam there. It was a relief to him. He didn't need to see the others on the team, nor face Brennan's replacement. With a quick turn, he made his way over to Camille's office. As he knocked on the door, she looked up, surprised to see him.
"Seeley, what can I do for you?"
"Any updates on the case?" He made his way over to a chair and sat down heavily. Camille looked at him with her eyebrows raised.
"Something wrong?"
"Why didn't she ever call me? I thought she was supposed to be my best friend."
"I can't answer that. You know that I knew Dr. Brennan less than anyone else here. I wish I could give you an answer, but I can't."
"I wasn't exactly looking for an answer to that."
"Ah. Well, onto the case then?" Camille pulled up a folder with the Jeffersonian's findings.
"I mean, if the situation were reversed I would want to keep in touch with her. She's my partner you know? How could she leave that? We're…"
"Please don't say symbiotic."
"All I'm saying is that you don't just abandon a friendship like that. Annie told me that if I felt I'd be happier with Bones, then she'd understand and we'd split with no hard feelings." Cam's eyebrows shot in the air.
"That's a bit more understanding than I would be. I would have kicked you to the curb for even having thoughts about another person…you know, that's not true. I suppose I always knew I was the other woman when we were together."
"Yeah, well I love Annie, and I never did act on the thing with Bones, so…"
"You don't sound happy with the solution."
"Annie's pregnant. I just want to do the right thing." He heard a gasp from behind him, and turned to see Angela standing in the doorway with a sketch in her hands. She opened her mouth to say something, but Booth just turned back to Camille. "Oh, and one last thing…this is my last case working here. I'm having another agent assigned." The agent stood and approached Angela, taking the sketch from her hands. With one more nod back at Cam, he left the office and headed out of the building.
"He can't just…" Angela looked at Cam in shock.
"I think he just did. Was there anything else Angela?"
"No, no. That's all." With that, Angela left the office and headed for her own. There had to be something that could be done in this situation. She picked up the phone and dialed, hoping that Brennan would allow this conversation. The line rang a few times before it was picked up.
"Hello?"
"Bren, we need to talk."
"If this is another attempt to get me to speak to Booth…"
"I can't believe you. You're taking this whole thing way too far. He's one of your best friends and you refuse to talk to him. Has that changed, or are you just going to keep punishing him for not confessing his feelings earlier?"
"I'm not punishing him."
"Oh really? Then have you talked to him at all because I know he tried to get in touch with you."
"No. I haven't. It's best if I just stay out of his life."
"Sweetie, I say this as your friend and because I care about you. Even though he's married to someone else, he's still your friend and he still needs you. He's floundering right now and I think it's only going to get worse, so suck it up and give him a call."
"Ange, I'm not going to. He has his own life now. He chose her, and I'm letting him have his choice."
"Quit being stubborn. I'm telling you right now that if you don't try to fix this, he's gonna break and it's not gonna be pretty."