A Pain That I'm Used To—Chapter 7
Disclaimer: By now it should be obvious that I don't own them.
Author's notes: I hope you all are enjoying this story because it seems like it's going to pretty lengthy…I don't know if that good news or not. Once again, thanks for reading and special thanks for reviewing. And for those of you waiting for fluff, I promise, at some point there will be fluff...lots and lots of fluffiness…you'll feel like you're floating a cloud!
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Entering the lab around 9 am the next morning, Booth did his cursory search for Brennan on the platform area before walking toward her office. He approached her door quietly unsure what type of mood he would encounter. He found her sitting at her desk, staring at the monitor absorbing whatever information was displayed on the screen.
His knock on the door startled her and he noticed how quickly she exited out of whatever had been on the screen before turning to face him. "You're not dating online again are you?" he teased gently as he walked into the office and took a seat across from her.
"What? No…no…I was just doing some research, that's all."
"For your next book? Am I going to be in that one too?" He couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face.
"Yeah," she agreed quickly, averting her gaze. It wasn't a complete lie, she reasoned silently. She had been doing research…on panic and anxiety attacks.
Booth pointed his finger at her, his smile even bigger than before. "Ah-ha! So, you admit that Special Agent Andy Lister is based on me?"
Glancing back up at her partner, she noted his happy and smug expression which caused her to roll her eyes. "No, all of the characters and events in my books are completely fictitious…"
"But you said 'yeah'…" Booth began to pout.
"I meant 'yeah' I was doing research. Not 'yeah' the hot FBI agent in the book is based on you, Mr. Ego." Brennan quirked an eyebrow at him as Booth crossed his arms and sat back in his chair.
"And just how many other 'hot' FBI agents do you know and have contact with?" The question was playful but Booth found himself enthralled at her usage of the word 'hot'. He knew deep down that the character was based on him, even if she didn't want to admit it.
"I know Cullen." She smirked as she watched his mouth fall open.
Booth uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, pointing his right index finger at her. "That's not funny Bones."
"Really? I found it rather amusing myself." She smiled her first genuine smile for the first time in a long time. Brennan enjoyed these types of moments with Booth where she could be herself and the rest of the world just fell away.
Booth grinned back at her and chuckled. He was glad to see a glimpse of the Brennan he knew…she'd been gone too long for his taste.
The moment was shattered when Zach appeared at her doorway, interrupting their friendly banter. "Uh, Dr. Brennan, an Agent Michaels has arrived with the remains from Chicago."
The casual teasing Brennan of a few moments ago disappeared before Booth's eyes. He noticed her jaw tighten at Zach's news as she pushed herself away from her desk. Zach moved away from the office and made his way to the platform.
"Bones, we're going to Willow Lake this morning remember? I mean, I know this is important too but your team can handle it."
The sympathy in his chocolate eyes was unmistakable as Brennan turned her gaze to him. She didn't want sympathy or pity. She wanted this whole nightmare of her parents' past…her past…to be over. She wanted life to go back to normal. Normal was a concept that consisted of coming into the lab, working on interesting finds, helping Booth put killers in prison and hanging out with Booth and her team at Wong Foos on a Friday night. She sighed as she nodded her head.
"You're right Booth. Let me speak to Zach and Hodgins and then we can go." Brennan exited the office to search for her assistant.
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When Brennan couldn't locate Zach or Hodgins on the platform, she made a quick turn in the direction of their offices. As she passed Angela's office, she heard three distinct voices speaking in hushed tones.
"How did she take the news about the arrival?" Angela questioned the young protégé.
"I'm not sure," Zach said with a shrug. "I interrupted a conversation between her and Agent Booth…"
"You mean an argument," Hodgins corrected him quickly.
Zach shook his head. "No, a conversation. Dr. Brennan was actually smiling…well, at least until I told her about her grandfather."
"Jacob Curry is not her grandfather," Angela replied quickly. "It would be in your best interest not to refer to him as such in the future."
Angela sighed as she glanced at the two men. "What? What's wrong?" Hodgins questioned.
"I don't know…it sounds like she was kind of getting back to 'normal Brennan' before Zach interrupted." Angela shook her head sadly. "And poor Booth. He's been her verbal punching bag for well over three months now."
Hodgins placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed slightly. "She'll be okay…eventually all will be right with Brennan again, I promise. She'll be back to turning down your insistent offers to go out clubbing and ordering us around…."
"I need you and Zach to receive the remains from Chicago," Brennan said from the doorway of Angela's office. All three of them jumped at the sound of Brennan's voice. "And then proceed with extracting DNA so we can run it through the database just in case Angela's sketch doesn't yield an identification."
Angela studied her friend, attempting to gauge how much Brennan may have overheard but as usual, Brennan's stoic expression was unreadable.
Hodgins smiled at Angela. "See? Ordering us around…I told you." He winked at her as he and Zach turned to leave. Hodgins stopped at Brennan's spot in the doorway and handed her a file. "You might want to take this with you on your trip to Willow Lake. The basic gist is that Ronald and Katherine Thompson were buried in those graves two years ago. I'm still looking at the fibers and pieces of clothing we recovered so those reports should be ready in the next day or so."
Brennan accepted the file and nodded at Hodgins. "Good work."
Angela watched as Hodgins exited the office and Brennan slowly walked in. "Are you and Booth leaving now?"
"In a few minutes," Brennan replied, chewing slightly on her bottom lip. She fiddled with the file looking around Angela's office as though she had never been there before.
Angela smiled slightly, knowing that Brennan wanted to say something but was having a difficult time forming the words. She placed a notepad and pen in front of Brennan, who had made her way over to Angela's work station and was standing beside her. "I know you're more eloquent on paper…do you want to write down what you want to say to me?" she teased the anthropologist.
"Funny," Brennan mumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, I've thought about doing stand-up."
"I don't know what that means," Brennan replied. She looked at Angela for a brief moment before finally blurting out, "'Verbal punching bag'? I know that I've not been the easiest person to deal with lately but…"
"Sweetie, you've never been the easiest person to deal with," Angela piped in. "But yeah, lately…" Her voice trailed off as she watched Brennan look down at the floor. "Bren, have you thought about talking to someone, you know, professionally?"
Brennan's head shot up as she directed a glare at her best friend. "Angela…" she began, her tone icy.
"Hey Bones, come on let's get this show on the road. And before you say 'what show?', it's just a saying," Booth interrupted from the doorway. "Oh hey Ange, are you going to have that sketch done by the time we get back?"
"Yeah, I'll have it done," Angela answered as she continued to watch Brennan, who had, in turn, continued to stare daggers at her. Brennan suddenly turned away and began walking toward Booth.
Angela had a feeling that Brennan had needed to talk…not that she necessarily wanted to talk…but Brennan had no clue how to approach the subject of what was bothering her. She sighed as she watched the couple leave her office, knowing that Brennan was now upset with her for even suggesting the idea of seeing a therapist. She had often wondered why her best friend found the subject of psychology distasteful.
Angela had noticed in the last few months that Brennan tended to lash out when a subject or something in a case hit a little too close to home…too close to her past. And with the trip to Willow Lake to inform the family, the children of Ronald and Katherine Thompson, of their demise, Angela knew that Booth had placed himself in the maelstrom of emotions and anger that Brennan had kept buried for so many years. She just hoped that Brennan would attempt to reign in her anger and irritation now that she was aware of her treatment of a certain special agent.