AN- Hey, Sorry it's been so long. Finals week and the week before were brutal and then I traveled across the Pond to Spain, where I'm at right now… And my other stories just come easier it seems. I've really dug myself into a hole with this President thing… still not sure how that's going to work out. Any ideas are welcome. Sorry its so short, but here's the update!
Temperance and Booth headed back to the lab, escorting Zach as a tag-along. Halfway there, Booth received a call from the Bureau about a skeleton behind a theater.
"We'll drop you off at the lab, Bones," Booth said, "It's on the way."
"Actually," Zach interrupted from the back seat. He was silenced by a death glare from Booth.
"Booth, what I think Zach was going to say," Temperance said, "Is that it doesn't make sense for you to go all the way out to the Jeffersonian on your way to that crime scene. I promise to stay out of the way, but I'm not made of glass you know. Neither is our baby." Booth seemed reluctant, but grudgingly agreed.
"But you are staying in the car," he insisted, pointing his finger commandingly at her. Temperance reluctantly consented.
They drove to the scene in silence. Temperance could tell that Booth wasn't happy with her, so she threaded her finger through his. She ran her thumb along his finger, trying to convey her apology without words. He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, in the silence speaking his forgiveness. He moved their clasped hands to her lap, where they rested against their very active baby. He smiled his charm smile at her and she flashed him a grin in return.
When they reached the crime scene, Temperance did as she had promised and stayed in the car. She was shocked to find an unusual amount of FBI vehicles present. As she surveyed the scene, her breath caught. There, next to Booth, dressed to the nines in a suit she would wager was designer, stood Timothy Sullivan. She shrank back, hoping he wouldn't see her, but her position had already been betrayed by a simple nod of her husband's head. Sully headed toward her. It was now or never. And she would have preferred never.
"Tempe!" Sully called out, raising his hand in greeting. The baby gave an extra strong kick to Temperance's ribs, so she ran her left hand across her belly to calm the child while returning Sully's greeting with her right.
"So, why is Zach doing your crime scene work?" he asked. Temperance fumbled for a moment before coming up with an excuse.
"In order for Dr. Addy to become proficient in this field he needs to do some work without me hovering over his shoulder." She pulled Evan's case folder open, holding it like a shield between window level and her baby. She wasn't entirely sure what it was, but something in her maternal instincts was rebelling against the thought of Sully discovering this child.
He finished closing the distance and leaned against the open window frame. It was unseasonably warm for February and the sun shone brightly.
"What case file did you drag along then?" he asked cheerfully. He leaned to read over her shoulder, but she swatted him away.
"Isn't that the case from before I left?" he asked. The way he said it made the stinging ache of disappointment she already felt that much more painful. She felt her baby move gently and it felt as thought the child was trying to comfort her.
Dear one, she said in her head, You have your father's heart.
"If it is, the boy just deserves justice that much more," she said, trying to keep emotion out of her voice. Sully nodded, agreeing with her. Then, something caught her eye.
It was tiny, nearly imperceptible, but it was there. A shadow on the skull. She turned the folder to confirm it wasn't merely the shadow of a leaf or one of Sully's hairs. Her ring caught the sunlight and momentarily blinded Sully. He caught her hand. Anger and hurt flashed in his eyes.
"What is this, Tempe?" he asked, being a little rougher than usual with her hand. She pulled it back.
"I told you before you left," she said, defensively, "A lot can change in eighteen months."
"But your fundamental belief about marriage?" Sully asked. He took a step back and threw his hands to his sides.
"I came back here for you, Tempe!" he said, "There was someone else down there, but all I could think about was you. I come back to D.C. for you. I even put up with the world's worst assignment so that I could come back to you!" By this time, he had drawn the attention of many around them, including her husband. His eyes met hers and she tried to tell him to stay back. Sully continued on this vein for several minutes, until Temperance decided she'd heard enough.
"You left!" she yelled at him suddenly, "All my life, people have left me. You were no different than any of them. But I found someone who was different. Someone who is different. And if you can't handle that, then you need to leave." Sully did, storming off to his own car.
"Bravo, Bones!" Booth exclaimed, crossing to her side and rewarding her with a kiss.
"You are different, aren't you?" she asked, suddenly feeling a bit unsure. Booth kissed her again, deepening it. He reached into the car and wrapped one hand behind her head while caressing her pregnant form with the other. She relished the way the baby seemed to sense its father's touch and kick gently in response.
"Does it feel like I'm going anywhere?" Booth whispered as they came up for air. She shook her head, still in a haze from his kiss. He gave her another peck on the lips.
"Good, 'cause I'm not." he turned back to the crime scene.
It was another couple of hours before Booth and Zach were ready to leave. Temperance left the car after about half an hour to stretch her stiff legs. She then took up a position in the diner across the street to wait it out. She studied Evan's case file until she felt herself grow impossibly tired. She set her head down on the table and was soon fast asleep.
She awoke to her husband's soft voice.
"Come on, Bones," he said, "Let's get you home into a real bed." she nodded, then looked down at the file.
"Wait, Booth!" she exclaimed, "I found something on Evan's bones, on his skull. It could be the break in this case!" Booth was extremely reluctant but drove them to the Jeffersonian anyway.
On the way, Temperance grew introspective.
"Today's his birthday," she whispered in awe, "February 6th. I can't believe that Kenna was born on Evan's birthday." He watched as she sat thinking.
"April 10th," she said, "That's when he disappeared."
The rest of the drive was silent. As soon as they parked, Temperance headed for the bathrooms. Upon her return, she found Booth hovering over the remain they'd uncovered that day. Reverently, she took Evan's skull to the microscope and scanned it, studying at the image onscreen. Booth smiled at her, the very picture of a squint, leaning in so her nose was nearly in contact with the screen, her eyes half shut, for lack of a better term, squinting. She motioned him over.
"Booth, look at this," she pointed to the magnified image, "I think we may have found Evan's true COD."
AN- I loved this week's episode up until the ending. Last week's was amazing! Let me know what you think of this story… P.S. Emma, if you're reading this, hope you like, I thought of you as I wrote.