A Pain That I'm Used To—Chapter 21
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of the story and the shifty characters of Willow Lake…and the weird short balding waddling man from the parking garage…he just came out of nowhere and appeared on my computer screen.
Author's notes: Special thanks as always for reading and extra special thanks to those who continue to review. You are all great!
To immalee—When you go to iTunes, you will need to do a power search of Television shows. Just type in BONES and it will tell you the price for buying the whole first season or individual episodes. You'll have to open an account and give them a credit card number before you can download anything.
To jaed621—I only spoke the truth when complimenting your writing. There's no need to thank me. (wink)
To BonesDBchippie—Anytime you tell me that your daughter ran into the room to find out what you were laughing at, well I feel I've done my job. And thanks for the champagne! Now everyday will be "Champagne Thursday" (that's from Failure to Launch for those of you who don't understand the reference) Cheers!
To Howdylynn—Put the mouse down. (looks through the phone book for a rehab center) Just kidding. I'm glad you're still enjoying this story. And hey, the new season of Bones is just days away!
To the-tangoing-mango-addict—Your cookies are ruining my diet! (LOL) But they are still appreciated.
And to elliot02uk (dear, dear Jean B.)—I don't know if I have the same "heart of gold" that I'm certain you do. Yeah, the hostile comment was the result of my saying "What the hell are you smiling at?" instead of "Good morning" to one of my co-workers (whom I really like). In my defense, when this guy smiles at people it's because he's done something to them, plans to do something to do them or plans to say something to embarrass them in front of everyone. I just beat him to the punch that day…and no, I didn't literally hit him. (big grin) Glad you liked the last chapter. I know the images of a naked Booth may have sent you reeling but hey, wasn't it worth it?
Everyone, just remember to push the button and let me know what you think after you read this chapter. Enjoy!
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Angela and a now fully awake, and still clothed, Hodgins sat on the couch side by side while Booth and Brennan had moved two chairs over to sit across from them. Zach picked a spot on the floor at the end of the coffee table in front of the couch.
Leaning back in his chair, Booth took a bite of kung pao chicken from one of the containers that he and Brennan were sharing. After swallowing the bite of food, he waved his fork in the air. "Okay, we've stepped back from the subject of the Thompsons' murder for the past forty minutes. Whaddya say we play a game of conjecture?"
"You know how I feel about conjecture when discussing a case Booth," Brennan said as she skillfully maneuvered her chopsticks, loaded with stir fry vegetables, to her mouth.
"Bones, we don't have anything else to go on here. The kid determined that none of the weapons in the house were used and the ones we seized from the sheriff didn't provide any help either."
"I say the sheriff did it," Hodgins stated as he leaned forward to pick up the container of sweet and sour shrimp.
Angela placed her chopsticks in the container and retrieved one of the shrimp as Hodgins leaned back. "Because he was sleeping with Katherine?"
"Supposedly," Brennan corrected. Booth shot her a questioning glance. "He denied the affair. Everyone else—Natalie, Elaine, everyone in town—they only surmised that there was an affair due to their past."
"But Fife admitted that he tried to kiss Katherine and Elaine walked in," Booth countered.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean that he killed Katherine or her husband."
"What about Elaine?" Angela questioned.
Booth shook his head. "No, as I said before if Katherine had been the only one killed, then I would definitely put Elaine at the top of the list. She was obsessed with Ronald's happiness. She wouldn't have hurt her own son."
The artist leaned toward Hodgins and took another piece of shrimp from the container. "Okay, let's say that she did hire someone to take out Katherine but Ronald somehow ended up in the crossfire by accident. Would that track?"
Booth chewed thoughtfully on his food for a moment. "I'm going to need to pull Elaine's bank records…"
"Oh, oh, what about the daughter?" Zach asked as he raised his hand. "I still say that Agent Booth's hypothesis concerning the daughter is feasible."
"Put your hand down Horseshack," Booth mumbled as he took another bite of food.
Brennan shook her head as she looked through the containers sitting on the coffee table. "When we spoke to her she had an iPod which she was playing extremely loud. She said she was listening to it the night her parents disappeared."
"She may be lying Dr. Brennan," Zach said as he engaged in a battle of chopsticks versus moo goo gai pan.
"The kid's got a point. But our killer could also know that Natalie used her music to block out her parents' arguing….and that would track with Elaine." Booth picked up his bottle of water and took a sip.
"I'm still not buying it." Brennan leaned forward and placed an empty container on the table.
"Why not? It's a perfectly plausible theory Bones."
"It's pure conjecture Booth. There is no hard core evidence to support any of it. We need to sit down with all of the files and start from the beginning." She eyed the container in his hand. "Are you going to eat all of that?"
Smiling, he handed the food to her and watched as she ate the last few bites.
"Finally! I was beginning to wonder where you were," Dr. Goodman said as he entered the office.
"Ha, see Bones. I'm not the only person who thinks it's odd that Angela's office is the new hangout." Booth pointed his fork at her as he grinned.
"Yes especially when I'm so used to seeing you in Dr. Brennan's office annoying only her Agent Booth." Goodman stood in a rigid position with his hands behind his back.
The grin slowly faded from Booth's lips. "Oh…"
"Do you wish to enlighten me as to why you commandeered Howard Nouvelle's parking space earlier?" Goodman watched as the agent lifted himself out of his chair and turned to face him.
"The guy doesn't even have a car…" Booth began.
"No but he has a parking space," the administrator countered.
Booth glanced around the room. "No one else here finds that odd?"
"Howard Nouvelle is a valued employee of the Jeffersonian Agent Booth. He requested that parking space and it was issued to him. Now I have an extremely agitated archeologist cursing your name in my office."
"Well I need an assigned parking space that is not in the parking structure that time forgot and I do have a vehicle." Booth placed his hands on his hips as he stared at the other man. "So how about I make a request for that space now and you say okay?"
"If you desire a parking space closer to the lab, you will need to fill out the proper paper work Agent Booth."
"Or you could just issue that space to him temporarily," Brennan offered.
"That is not going to happen Dr. Brennan," Goodman said as he turned his gaze toward her.
"Or Booth could just use Bren's parking space while they're living together," Angela said with a devilish gleam in her eyes.
"Oh dear lord, when did this occur?" Goodman looked from Booth to Brennan for an answer.
"It's only until Booth is certain that my life is no longer in danger," Brennan explained in a casual tone. "You know with the whole McVicar situation..."
"Well that certainly makes me feel so much better Dr. Brennan," Goodman replied sarcastically.
"It should. Booth is an excellent FBI agent," she said ignoring Goodman's tone.
"I'm sure he's excellent at other things too," Angela muttered causing Hodgins to laugh.
Goodman took the opportunity to glare at the artist and entomologist seated very close together on the couch. "Fine, Agent Booth. For the time being you may utilize Dr. Nouvelle's parking space until the matter of Dr. Brennan's safety is resolved. I now have the unpleasant task of informing him of my decision."
The group watched as Goodman left the office. "After meeting that weird little guy today, I do not envy Goodman right now," Booth said.
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"Just let me grab a few things Bones and I need to make sure that all of my phone calls are forwarded to my cell phone." Booth guided Brennan through the front door of his apartment. As he made his way down the hall to his bedroom, Brennan ambled into the living room.
The numerous picture frames around the room intrigued her. She walked over to the large bookcase and picked up a large frame that held a picture of a slightly younger Booth, another young man who had similar bone structure to Booth and an older man and woman. Brennan surmised that it was a photo of Booth's family and she smiled at the obvious happiness shared amongst the family members.
As she placed the frame back on the shelf, Brennan was reminded of the lack of photographs around her home. She displayed the one of herself and Angela because Angela really was like a sister to her. She had a shoebox full of pictures from her childhood of her parents and Russ. After reconnecting with her brother, Brennan had purchased a small frame which now held a photograph of Russ and her together in happier times. She found it difficult to even look at the photographs of her parents anymore—they were complete strangers to her at this point.
Booth emerged from the hallway with a large duffel bag and a bag containing several of his suits and dress shirts. He found Brennan studying a picture of him and Parker and he noticed the sad expression on her face. He quietly placed the items in his hand on the floor behind the couch and approached her.
"That's my favorite picture of Parker," he said quietly as he came to stand behind her.
"It's not a bad one of you either," she said as she placed it back on the mantle. As she turned to face him, Booth saw the tears shimmering in Brennan's bright blue eyes.
"Temperance, are you okay?" He moved a lock of her hair that threatened to fall out of place.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…I'm fine." She smiled at him, touched by his concern. "We should probably go."
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"Exactly how many suits do you own Booth?" Brennan grunted as she opened the door to her apartment carrying the large heavy bag. She draped the bag over the back of her couch and heard Booth chuckling behind her.
"I told you that I could manage both bags Bones," he said as he dropped the duffel bag on the living room floor.
"Well you're always insisting on carrying a piece of equipment or a bag when we're out in the field together…the least I can do is carry a hundred pounds of specially tailored brand name suits up two flights of stairs." She sauntered into the kitchen and took two bottles of water out of the fridge.
"It's not my fault the elevator in this building is broken," he teased as she tossed him one of the bottles. "Still no beer?"
"I'm not rewarding your alpha male behavior with a beer," she replied cheekily.
"So where should I put my stuff Bones?" He picked up the suit bag carefully and looked over at Brennan. "I really don't want these to get wrinkled…it's bad enough they've been handled by you like they were a bag of potatoes."
Rolling her eyes, she turned to walk down the hallway to her bedroom. "Follow me," she ordered.
Wagging his eyebrows playfully, Booth did as he was told. "Yes ma'am," he whispered.
As he entered the bedroom, he found Brennan in her closet shoving part of her wardrobe to the side. "Do you think that will be enough room?" she asked as she glanced over her shoulder at him.
"That should work." He began removing the clothing from the bag and carefully smoothing down each item before hanging them in the closet.
Brennan took a seat on her bed and watched his meticulous attention to his wardrobe with amusement. She picked up one of her pillows and hugged it to her chest. "Booth, did you find anything else on Patrick Kava?"
She saw his back tense at the mention of the man's name and she immediately knew that he had new information that he hadn't shared with her. Booth slowly turned toward her and stared at her for a moment.
"Yeah, Bones I did." He made his way over to the bed and sat down facing her. "I spoke with one of the original agents on the case. Patrick Kava was apparently a pretty big player in the syndicate. He's the person who brought your parents into the mix."
Brennan chewed on her bottom lip, deep in thought. "So he knew my parents before?"
"It appears that way. When your parents took you and Russ to Chicago and changed their identities…Patrick Kava supposedly died in a car accident."
"But no body was found…"
Booth nodded his head. "Agent Andrews said the rumor at the time was that Kava…with assistance from your father…had stolen five million dollars of the syndicate's money."
"This just keeps getting better and better," she mumbled. Booth placed his left hand on her thigh as he watched her digest the news. "Five million dollars? What did they do with the money? When he took me out of foster care, we lived in a small modest house on a fixed income Booth. He didn't splurge on anything."
"I don't know where the money is Bones. But Kava was smart….he knew that if he lived the high life, someone would get suspicious." Booth sighed as he scooted his body closer to her. "Bones, don't get mad but I spoke with Russ today…."
She glared at him. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him about McVicar and I told him to be careful. Other than that I told him I couldn't share anything with him until I spoke to you first." He saw the anger in her eyes diminish slightly. "He said he remembered your father going on fishing trips once a month with someone named 'Pat'."
"Pat…I completely forgot about that. Do you think…?"
He nodded again. "I think it was Patrick Kava. I think your father and Kava continued to associate with each other but always away from your family so that nothing would happen to you and Russ."
"Fishing trips," she whispered. "It's amazing the lies that children will believe. I remember now…he never came home with any fish. Russ would give him grief over that."
After watching her for a few moments, Booth squeezed her thigh gently. "I think it's been a long day and we could both use some rest. Let me finish putting my things away, we'll watch some television, veg out for awhile and then grab some shut eye."
"Veg out?" she asked as he stood and continued putting his suits away.
"Oh it's an art form that takes years to perfect." He turned and winked at her. "Lucky for you I'm a master of the whole vegging out phenomena."
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"I still don't understand why we can't watch the Discovery Channel. There's supposed to be an intriguing new documentary on the Aztecs and how they captured, ritually sacrificed and ate people who were part of the invading Spanish forces in 1520." Brennan tried to grab the remote control from Booth's grasp.
"Okay, first, eeewwww. Why would want to watch that?" he said as he slapped her hand away. "And second, you cannot veg out watching the Discovery Channel. That channel has programming that is meant to stimulate and make you think….the exact opposite of vegging out."
He grinned as he watched her lean back and cross her arms with a small frown on her face. Booth decided that she looked cute in her blue silk pajamas, pouting over his choice of shows.
"Come on Bones, The Andy Griffith Show is a staple of Americana. It's like apple pie, baseball…"
"It's completely unrealistic Booth."
"It's a television show Bones. It's just like those John Wayne movies you love so much…you have to suspend your belief of reality for a little while to enjoy it."
"Fine."
Booth laughed at her. "Don't show so much enthusiasm there Bones, you might hurt yourself."
After two hours of watching Barney Fife bumble around the town of Mayberry, Brennan yawned.
"Ready for bed?"
"Yes," she said as she stood and stretched. Booth did the same as he placed the remote control on the coffee table.
"Where do you think you're going?" she questioned as Booth moved around the couch toward the hallway.
"Bed," he replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Nope, couch." She pointed to the plush area they had occupied moments before. "I'm not rewarding you for forcing me to watch that piece of Americana," she said with a smile as she moved past him down the hallway.
Hearing him grumble about her decision made her smile even more. As she reached her bedroom door, Brennan turned to look down the hallway. She caught a glimpse of Booth removing his shirt, his pajama pants hanging precariously on his slender hips. She quickly entered her bedroom before she changed her mind about rewarding the special agent.
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After two hours of staring at her ceiling and thinking about Booth's physique, Brennan decided to get up and find something to read. The only problem was the book she was currently reading during her downtime was lying on her desk ten feet away from the half naked special agent.
She quietly entered the hallway and crept along until she reached the living room. Glancing over at the couch, Brennan saw that Booth was fast asleep, his bare chest rising and falling with each soft breath. She noticed that his right arm was lying above his head while his left arm was draped across his waist. Nice muscle tone, good definition….no doubt that he was strong, she thought as she stared at him. Stop that, she scolded herself, that is not helping at all!
Quickly moving toward her desk, Brennan stubbed her toe on one of the bar stools. "Ouch, son of…."
Booth sat up, his eyes darting around the dark room until his gaze landed on Brennan who was hunched over, clutching her left foot, cursing.
"Bones? You okay?" He quickly lifted his body off the couch and rushed to her.
"I'm fine….just stubbed my toe."
He grinned at her. "Couldn't sleep huh?"
She looked up at him, her gaze falling on his chest. "Uh…no…"
"Come on, let me take a look at your toe," he said as he took her arm and guided her to the couch.
"I stubbed my toe Booth…I didn't amputate it. There's nothing you can do."
He sighed as he pushed her to sit down. "Just have a seat Bones." He took a seat close beside her and lifted her left leg, placing it across his lap. He examined her toe and then turned to her with a grin on his face. "You're right there's nothing I can."
She swatted his shoulder playfully, enjoying his close proximity. "Sorry I woke you up."
"Not a problem….you wanna tell me why couldn't sleep?"
She shrugged, hoping that he would drop this particular line of questioning.
He leaned in close, bringing his face within inches of hers. "You know you can tell me," he whispered.
Staring into his dark brown eyes, Brennan didn't respond verbally. Without thinking or overanalyzing the situation, she let her heart take precedence over her mind as she leaned in and softly placed her lips on his.
Her action caught him by surprise but Booth quickly recovered and gently reciprocated the kiss. He didn't want to do anything to scare her off.
Brennan didn't move away from him. Instead she laid her hands on his chest as she brushed her lips against his again.
The thrill of her hands on him was cut short by the shrill ringing of his cell phone. Brennan leaned away from him slightly and looked at the phone.
"Guess you need to get that…" she said softly.
"Ah…yeah, I guess," he whispered. He leaned over and grabbed the phone, silently promising to kill whoever had interrupted them.
"Booth," he answered gruffly.
"Agent Booth I'm sorry to disturb this early in the morning," Cullen's voice boomed in his ear. "I just received a phone call….McVicar is dead. Thought you would want to know."
Author's notes: It only took 21 chapters….was it worth it? Let me know! Press the little button now!