The Next Day
The woman I love won't wake up. The doctors said her operation was successful, but she's still unconscious.
Please, Bones. Baby. Please wake up. I hate seeing you in this hospital bed, connected to all these machines. I wish it were me lying there instead; I wish I'd gotten injured protecting you. You know I can handle physical pain. I've had plenty of practice at that. But seeing you looking so weak and knowing there's not a damn thing I can do to help you get better…it's too much, Bones.
I faced death a bunch of times in Afghanistan and never felt this scared. Remember the time you said: "I wish you wouldn't keep letting me hug you when I get scared" and I said: "I get scared and I'll hug you. We'll call it even."? I wish I could hug you right now. I'll settle for holding your hand. I hope that's okay.
I'm so sorry I didn't go to the banquet with you. I'm sorry I've been such a terrible friend lately. Just wake up and I'll do anything you want to make amends. Deal? Spit in my hand, we're Scully and Mulder.
I know you don't know what that means. And that's okay. That's one of the things I love about you.
That's right, Bones, I said love. I love you. And I didn't say that just because I'm terrified of losing you. I said it because it's true. It's as true as anything you can prove scientifically in the lab. Just wake up and I'll show you. I'll spend the rest of my life showing you.
"You really love her, don't you?"
I looked up to see Hannah standing in the doorway of Bones' hospital room. "Yeah. I have for years. But when she turned me down last year, I told myself that I needed to move on. I really thought I had, but I realize now that I just buried my feelings. When I got the call last night that she was hurt, they came rushing to the surface. I'm sorry, Hannah. I was going to tell you."
"I can't say I'm surprised; I'd suspected it for a while. Seeing you holding her hand and the way you were looking at her just now confirmed it." She reached into her pocket and handed me a pair of sunglasses. "Will you give her these when she wakes up?"
I was pretty sure I recognized them. "Are these Brennan's?"
"Yes. It'd be wrong of me to keep something that obviously belongs to her."
I knew that she was talking about more than just sunglasses.
XXXXXXXXXX
A few hours after Hannah left, I got a call from Agent Kal Roberts, the senior agent who was heading the investigation into Brennan's attack. "How's she doing?"
"Out of surgery, but still unconscious."
"Do they have any idea when she'll wake up?"
"No." One of her doctors had told me to be patient. Easy for him to say. It wasn't the woman he loved lying in that hospital bed. "Do you have any leads?"
"The security tapes from last night have mysteriously gone missing, but we do have a suspect. His name is William Dickinson. He's the son of Grant Dickinson, the CEO of Dickinson Industries. According to witnesses, he and Dr. Brennan left the Donors' Banquet together. Our guys are bringing him in now."
"I want to interrogate him." Not entirely true, I admit. I didn't want to interrogate him; I wanted to kill him.
"Sorry, Agent Booth. You're way too close to this one. I'll call you when I finish questioning him."
"Come on, Roberts. What if it was your partner who'd been attacked? Would you want to wait around for a phone call?"
He was silent for several seconds. "As a professional courtesy, I'll allow you to observe my interrogation. We'll start in an hour, interrogation room three. Alright?"
That would give me enough time to go back to my apartment and change into a clean suit. "Alright. Thanks."
I hung up and went to the lobby in search of the squints. The only one I found was Angela. "Did everyone else go home?"
"No, they went down to the cafeteria. I didn't feel like going, so Hodgins offered to bring something back for me and the baby." Her eyes filled with tears. "I told Brennan if we had a girl I'd name her Temperance. I want my best friend around as my child grows up."
I put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Bones is a fighter. She's going to be fine, okay?" She nodded. "The FBI might have the guy who attacked her, so I'm going to go check it out. Would you sit with her? If she wakes up while I'm gone, I don't want her to be alone."
"Of course. If it is the guy, give him a kick in the balls for me."
I laughed. "I'll see what I can do."
XXXXXXXXXX
I hated William Dickinson the second I saw him behind the two-way mirror of interrogation room three. He looked so arrogant, like he felt he could get away with anything. Probably because he always had.
"Do you know why you're here, Mr. Dickinson?" Agent Roberts began.
"The agents who brought me here said you wanted to ask about Dr. Brennan. I heard about her attack on the news this morning. I only met Temperance last night, but I was saddened to hear that something so terrible had happened to her."
Really? You don't look sad to me.
"According to witnesses, the two of you danced at the Jeffersonian Donors' Banquet, then left together. Where did you go?"
"She said she wanted to go someplace private, so she took me to a room in the museum and we started making out…and doing other stuff."
In the museum? No way. Bones respects her work too much. If she really wanted to…do stuff…with you, she'd have taken you back to her apartment.
"These activities were entirely consensual?" Roberts asked.
Her doctors said there were no signs of sexual assault. Thank God for that at least. The idea of someone hurting Bones that way makes me sick.
Dickinson laughed. "Of course they were consensual. I'm good looking, charming, well-educated, and rich; I've never had to force myself on any woman. Temperance was more than happy to be with me. She was amazing, by the way. She has such a skilled mouth, skilled hands…and that smoking hot body. It's like a piece of art. No, I take that back. She's better than a lot of art I've seen. Seriously. She has the most beautiful breasts I've ever- "
Shut your mouth right now or I swear to God I'll come in there and kill you with my bare hands.
"I get the picture, Mr. Dickinson," Roberts interrupted. "What happened after you two were finished fooling around?"
"We went back to the party and went our separate ways. I didn't see her again. I wonder if she ran into an old boyfriend, or maybe even a current one, and told him what we'd done to make him jealous. He got pissed and ended up attacking her."
Ha! Interesting theory, Billy boy. But I'm thinking it's more likely that YOU attacked her. Maybe because she didn't find you as charming as you think you are.
"If you didn't attack Dr. Brennan, may we take a DNA sample to eliminate you as a suspect?"
"Go ahead. I have nothing to hide, Agent Roberts." He opened his mouth so a squint could swab his cheek. "Considering some of the things we did in that museum room, I'm sure you'll find my DNA all over her." He had the nerve to smile.
You sick bastard.
"The Jeffersonian's security tapes from last night have gone missing. Do you know anything about that, Mr. Dickinson?"
"Sorry, but I don't. Maybe Dr. Brennan took them so her colleagues wouldn't see her indiscretion."
Or maybe you used Daddy's money to bribe someone at the Jeffersonian to destroy them.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Dickinson. I'd appreciate you staying in town until this matter is resolved."
That's it? You're going to let him go?
"I will. Good luck in your investigation." As Dickinson stood up, a look of pain flashed across his face. Roberts didn't notice it, but I did.
What's wrong with him?
He put pressure on his right wrist when he stood up.
His wrist must be broken.
Bones broke it, just like she broke Epps'!
That's my girl!
Knowing what I had to do, I raced into the interrogation room. "Hold on a minute, Billy boy."
"My name is William. Who are you?"
"This is Agent Booth," Roberts said before I could introduce myself. "You shouldn't be here, Booth."
"Agent Seeley Booth?" Dickinson asked. "You're Temperance's partner, the real life Andy Lister; she dedicated one of her books to you. The two of you have a history together." His eyes widened. "YOU attacked her when she told you what we'd done!"
The bastard who attacked my partner was trying to blame ME? I grabbed him by his shirt collar. "You lying sonofa-"
"Booth!" Roberts yelled. "Let him go. NOW."
Knowing I'd get suspended if I didn't, I released him. "I'm here because-"
"Where were you last night, Booth?" Roberts asked.
"You can't be serious."
"Answer the question, Agent."
"I was with my girlfriend." Well, ex-girlfriend now. "I would NEVER do anything to hurt Bones! I'd give my life for her!"
"Maybe you didn't mean to hurt her," Dickinson said. "But it's obvious that you have a temper. I'm guessing you have a history of violence as well."
I wanted to grab him again and throw him against the wall. But using violence against him would only prove his point, wouldn't it? I forced myself to calm down as I addressed Roberts. "I came in here because I just got a call from the hospital. Dr. Brennan woke up and identified William Dickinson as her attacker."
Dickinson's face showed no emotion. "She's lying. She's covering for you because she doesn't want you to get in trouble. You see that a lot in cases of domestic abuse."
I laughed at him. "Dr. Brennan's reputation is solid. No jury is going to believe that she's lying."
"If she's not lying, then she's just confused. Traumatic injuries such as the one she suffered can affect one's memory."
"She remembers breaking your wrist. She wasn't confused about that. Will you let us examine your wrist, Billy boy?"
When I reached for his wrist, he jammed it into his pocket. "That's right. She did break my wrist. She attacked me first! I was only defending myself."
"You call beating a woman nearly to death 'defending yourself'?"
"I would have stopped hitting her if she had stopped hitting me. Your lovely Bones is mentally unstable and would have killed me if she had the chance." He smiled. "She got what she deserved."
"No, she didn't. But you will." I watched Roberts handcuff him and read him his rights.
You better hope Bones wakes up for real, Billy boy, because if she dies, I'll have Caroline push for the death penalty. The squints and I will make sure you're convicted and, when the day of your execution comes, I'll be the one sticking the needle in your arm.
XXXXXXXXXX
Thanks for reading! All comments are greatly appreciated.
P.S. D.C. doesn't actually have the death penalty, but I tend to ignore reality when it gets in my way.
