Title: Baring It All
Author: Tom's gg
Chapter: 6/?
Chapter Title: Cry
Characters: Brennan/ Booth
Rating: M - Strong Sexual Content
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Bones and its characters belong to FOX, not me. This story is purely meant to entertain. No copyright infringement is intended.
I do not own the characters- that distinction belongs to FOX… but God I wish I did!
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Angela had Hodgins drop Brennan and her by Brennan's apartment before sending him off to get food. She'd made it clear, in that secret language that all lovers share, that she didn't want to see him back any time soon.
Brennan poured her heart out to Angela; she revealed everything that had transpired in Daytona over the last 7 days. She berated herself for her own stupidity and Booth for his betrayal. She sobbed desperately in her friends arms for the loss of what might have been.
She hadn't intended on telling Angela everything, but she needed her friend. She needed a guide to help her navigate the turbulent sea of human emotion she found herself adrift in. She could already feel her heart being slammed against the cliffs, and she had no idea how to make her way back to safer water.
Angela listened sympathetically and nodded; supported her friend. Only when the emotions were completely spent could the real truth be garnered.
"Poor Booth," Angela whispered. "I wonder if I should send Hodgie over to talk to him?"
"Poor Booth! He betrayed me Ange."
"Well," Angela hesitated, "he certainly didn't handle things very well… I'll grant you…"
"I'd say," Brennan scoffed.
"But I can see where he felt like you'd backed him into a corner." Angela added, preparing for the battle that lay ahead.
"Are you taking his side?" Brennan charged; flabbergasted by the things she heard come out of her best friend's mouth.
"I'm not taking his side sweetie, but the world isn't black and white. There are shades of grey Bren. All I'm saying is that Booth responded in the only way he knew how; his first instinct was to protect you. He put a bullet through the head of the guy that hurt you. You of all people know what that cost him."
Brennan's relaxed her posture. She had known how much it cost Booth to take a life; even the life of someone who was so willing to hurt others.
"I couldn't hate him for trying to protect you sweetie."
Brennan looked at her friend. She knew that Angela was one person who told her what she needed to hear, but didn't necessarily always want to hear. Angela had always been the one to help her catch up with her own reality.
"Unless you really need me to," Angela relented after a short pause. "You know I'm there for you."
Brennan laughed. "I don't want you to hate Booth Ange. You know I could never hate him. I just need to be angry right now."
"Babe, you know he'll feel the full force of the Angela Montenegro wrath for this little beauty." Angela touched her friends chin. "But do you suppose while you're being angry we could talk about the sex… 'cause you know you went over that part way too fast."
The two women laughed together. Two friends, completely different, yet they complemented each other so well.
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Hodgins had driven around for a bit and found himself on Booth's doorstep. The two men weren't in the habit of spending time together outside the office, but they had developed a bond over the past two years of mutual respect, and Hodgins figured Booth was one guy who could use a friend right now.
Booth answered after several knocks and allowed Hodgins into his house.
"Hey man," Hodgins greeted. "The girls are yakking, so I thought you might want to go grab a pizza and some beer."
Booth eyed the shorter man suspiciously for a moment before replying. "Normally I would think you were here to have some kind of a girl talk about my feelings, but since my fridge is bare, and I could really use a beer right now, I'm gonna let that slide. Let's go." Booth grabbed his jacket from the chair where it had been dropped and they headed back out the door.
Several beers and pizza slices later the two men had taken up their post at the pool table and the conversation had made its way around to Daytona.
"She drives me crazy!" Booth exclaimed. "She refuses to admit she is capable of making one single mistake. Leave it in Daytona, huh. Let's just see how easy that brilliant idea is gonna work for her."
Hodgins wasn't quite sure what Booth had been talking about specifically, but he wasn't so naïve that he hadn't known it had a whole lot to do with sex. These two had been circling around each other like a couple of big cats, and we all know how cats mate. They become single minded in their need to scratch the itch, and it can be fierce, with the male biting at the female's neck during intercourse.
"Woman," Hodgins agreed, "can't live with them… don't wanna live without them."
"I mean… I know I screwed up," Booth continued. "I let my duty to the job trump my loyalty to Bones, and that was a huge mistake. I just wanted to make sure she'd be safe. She pushes… she always pushes, and I can't control her or predict what she's gonna do next. How the Hell am I supposed to protect her if she'll never listen to me?"
Hodgins knew that Booth was mostly having an internal argument with himself; a response hadn't really been required.
"Dr. Brennan doesn't really strike me as the type of woman who wants or needs a man protecting her," he advised.
"Yeah," Booth scoffed, "only she happens to need it more than any other person I've ever met."
The two men continued to shoot pool and drink. When Booth excused himself to go to the restroom, Hodgins pulled out his phone and dialed Angela.
"Hey sweetie," he soothed, "I'm with Booth, and the guy is a mess. I'm gonna send a driver over with some food for you two, and I'll pick you up myself later. I'm guessing Bren needs you pretty bad right now too."
"You marvelous man," Angela squealed. "You practically read my mind. You get bonus kinky points for this mister." They exchanged a few more sexual barbs before hanging up.
"Bonus kinky points?" Brennan quizzed.
"Oh it's just a little thing we do," Angela dismissed. "He's sending over some food. He has to take care of some Cantilever business. So I guess it's just you and me for a few hours sweetie. Give me all the dirt."
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Booth entered the Medico Legal Lab on pins and needles. He hadn't seen or talked to Bones since their return from Daytona, and he was both nervous and excited. His sleep had been fitful.
Brennan looked to be hard at work on the platform.
The Institute had received a shipment of 1200 year-old human skeletal remains from The Well of Time, one of Mexico's most significant underwater archaeological discoveries. The site contained 18 human skeletal remains of Mayan sacrifice, and dozens of ancient pottery relics. Brennan and her team had been asked to create a theoretical model of the rituals that led to the victim's demise based on the surviving evidence. This was being done at the behest of the Mexican Government, and The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
Booth stepped onto the platform and silently observed her at work.
"What do you see?" Brennan asked.
Booth looked around to be sure he hadn't missed anyone else, but they were clearly alone for the moment.
"Huh?" Booth grunted.
"On the screen," Brennan replied. "What do you see?"
Booth studied the images on the screen closely. "They look like bones, Bones."
"Yes Booth, I know they're bones, but look closer. Do you notice any anomalies?"
Booth squinted at the screen again. "That one on the right looks a bit different from the rest of them."
"Exactly," Brennan nodded. "This bone is newer than the rest."
Booth attempted to think of something intelligent to say, since Bones appeared to wait for a response, when there was a thunderous clamor. Zach and Hodgins raced up the platform; they vied to impress Bones with their respective discoveries.
Booth stepped back and observed the interaction. Lost by all the technical mumbo jumbo, he'd been around the lab enough to get the gist; both squints had confirmed, in their own way, that some of the bones were recent, less than 5 years old.
"This is fascinating," Booth interjected, "but we actually have a case Bones."
Brennan finally looked directly at him. It was only then that he noticed the carefully disguised circles under her eyes, and the tension across her brow; not to mention the prominent purple bruise on her jaw. He wanted to hold her. To reassure her that everything would be alright.
"I really need to do a couple of more things here Booth, can Zach do the recovery?"
Normally he would have thrown her a couple of snarky remarks, but he knew he'd just feel like a bully.
"Sure Bones."
He grimaced at Zach, "Get your stuff squint."
Booth marched out of the lab while Zach scurried to keep up.
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Zach was overly excited. He knew he was talking a thousand words a minute, but he loves going out on cases with Booth. Zach's spent his whole life on the outside looking in. Booth is the first 'cool' person who's ever been his friend.
He'd accepted at a very young age that he was likely to always be the smartest person in any room. He also discovered that this wasn't necessarily an advantage. During graduate school he'd been fortunate enough to catch the attention of Dr. Brennan. She was attractive, and smart, and genuinely seemed to appreciate his intelligence. Zach had to admit that he'd had a major crush on her for a long time.
It wasn't until he had been caught in the middle of several conversations between Angela and Hodgins that he understood that Booth and Brennan were meant to be together. Cosmically, it made sense. The universe wasn't able to create the perfect person, so it had created the perfect couple. They represented a kind of perfect symmetry. Everything he lacked… she had, and visa versa.
Booth was quiet, grateful for Zach's nonstop chatter for once. Bones had looked bad… well, not bad; he was pretty sure that wasn't possible. She'd looked affected. Whether it was remnants from her ordeal in Daytona or missing him wasn't clear. He hated being so distant from her. He didn't know how to bridge the gap.
His phone rang, pulling him out of his reverie.
"What the Hell do you think you're doing," Angela roars through the phone line.
"Look Angela, I'm sorry that Bones got hurt; I really am. I was just trying to protect her."
"I'm not talking about what happened in Daytona you dolt, we'll get into that later! I'm talking about you leaving this lab without her this morning."
Booth is stunned. "I… she-"
"She is hiding! The same way she did after my unfortunate wedding fiasco. Do you not remember how long it took you to get her back the last time? Brennan does not need you to give her space right now. She needs you to fight for her. Now… when you get that damn body in the lab, I expect you to stick next to her like glue. I expect her to get so tired of your face that she threatens to report you for stalking. Am I making myself clear Mr. FBI guy?"
The phone clicks before Booth has a chance to respond. Zach, who'd stopped talking when Booth got on the phone, resumes his monologue; Booth groans. This was going to be a very long day!
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Alex Parks - Cry