A Pain That I'm Used To—Chapter 23
Disclaimer: I still don't own them.
Author's notes: Thanks for reading and special thanks for reviewing.
(looks at the cookie from the tangoing-mango-addict)—Dang it, why do these have to be so good?
To Howdylynn—Enjoy your BONES party! I like the idea of the skeleton decorations. (LOL)
To siapom—Sorry about killing Howie but he appeared for a reason. (grin)
To jaed621—I think your request for some fluffiness seeped into my thought process so this chapter is for you…hope you like it.
And to BonesDBchippie—See what happens when you leave me alone for a few days? That's right—explosions! Car bombs! And an injured Booth and Brennan! Hopefully I've made up for any anxiety I caused with this chapter. (wink)
Be sure to hit the little review button and let me know what you think.
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Brennan suppressed a groan of irritation as Booth and her team followed her into her apartment. She moved slowly toward the dining room table and gingerly sat down in one of the chairs.
She understood her friends' need to ensure that she and Booth were okay but the constant barrage of questions was grating on her already frayed nerves. The only moment of silence she had enjoyed since reaching her apartment building came in the stairwell after Booth had revealed that McVicar had died. Brennan decided that although the two story journey of stairs had been physically excruciating, the silence had been nice.
"Angela could you please bring my bag over here and place the files that are inside on the table," she requested, noting her best friend's disapproving look.
"Sweetie…someone just tried to blow you up. Perhaps you need to take the rest of the day off." She dropped the bag on the table and removed the folders.
"I did take the rest of the day off from the lab Ange but that doesn't mean I can't examine the contents of these files in my own home," she snapped. "Now you can either help or you can all leave so that Booth and I can work on this."
Angela sighed as she looked over at Booth who was slowly removing his jacket, wincing slightly. "Fine, I'll help…if you'll take at least one pain killer."
"No," Brennan said as she shook her head. "We're overlooking something on this case and if I'm medicated in some way I might miss it."
"Half of one then, Bren. You're obviously in pain and you're taking it out on us." She glared at Brennan, daring her to deny the accusation.
"Fine," she said as Angela walked to the refrigerator and retrieved several bottles of water. "If I keep racking up the prescriptions, I'll never get to drink alcohol again," she grumbled.
Booth moved to the table and took a seat beside Brennan. He grimaced at the sight of the ugly purplish-blue bruise forming on the right side of her forehead. He didn't even want to imagine what her side looked like.
Hodgins and Zach took their seats while Angela passed out the bottles of water and retrieved Brennan's pain medication from Booth's jacket. Breaking a tablet in half, she handed it to Brennan. "Here."
"Thanks," she muttered as she took the tablet and placed it in her mouth.
Angela sat down on the other side of Brennan and began removing files and photographs from the folders. "Any particular order you want these arranged in?"
Brennan looked over at Booth who shrugged and then winced again. His shoulder was going to be sore for a few days.
"Since we don't know what we're looking for, let's just start at the beginning," Brennan decided.
"Okay, here are the photographs that I took at the grave sites including the surrounding area." Angela carefully laid out each photograph allowing the others at the table to study them.
"But that's not really the beginning of this case," Zach said after several minutes as he glanced around the table. "We're forgetting about the map and the letter."
"The people in Documents said a right handed male wrote the letter and drew the map," Booth interjected.
Angela's dark eyes skimmed the copy of the letter. "Whoever wrote this…there's a feeling of remorse. 'Please forgive me for what I've done' and 'Every person deserves a proper burial'—does that sound like something a cold blooded killer would write?"
"My guess is that whoever wrote that letter and drew that map was involved but they didn't kill Ronald and Katherine. That map was so detailed there was no way those bodies couldn't have been found," Hodgins agreed.
"Okay, that's good work for a couple of squints," Booth congratulated the team with a smile. "So we've got a killer and we've got a remorseful accomplice. I think we can cross off the theory of Elaine putting a hit out on Katherine and then Ronald getting caught in the crossfire. If she had hired someone, they wouldn't be local and it would have been one person."
"Agreed," Brennan said as she stifled a yawn.
Angela smiled at her knowing her best friend's low tolerance for medication and alcohol. "You doing okay sweetie?"
"Not bad at all," she responded as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
"I'll bet you're feeling pretty darn good about now." She grinned as Brennan propped her head in her left hand struggling to stay awake.
"Not as good as I felt last night after I stubbed my toe." Brennan's gaze fell upon Booth who was blushing and grinning at the same time. Angela's interest was immediately piqued.
"Really? I don't usually feel that great when I stub my toe…" she said as she raised her dark eyebrows at Booth.
"Well you've never kissed Booth," Brennan replied in a drowsy tone.
Angela could barely contain her excitement at her best friend's drug induced confession.
"Okay, I think it's time for you all to leave," Booth stood up and began to walk toward the front door to escort the squint squad out. "The injured parties in the room need to recuperate."
"What the hell are in those things—truth serum?" Hodgins picked up the bottle of pain killers and studied the label. "Whoa-ho-ho-ho man…they gave her some really good stuff! This is the kind of stuff they gave to Keith Richards when he fell out of that coconut tree and I bet that even knocked him on his ass!"
"Should we take her back to the hospital?" Zach glanced over at his mentor with great concern.
"Nah, she'll sleep it off. Let's ask her a few more questions," Hodgins said as he sat down across from Brennan whose blue eyes were now glazed over.
Suddenly the entomologist felt a hand grabbing the collar of his shirt, lifting him out of the chair. "I repeat—it is time to leave," Booth said as he hauled Hodgins to the door with Zach following close behind. "That's means you too Angela."
With a heavy sigh, Angela stood and looked down at Brennan. "I love ya sweetie," she said as she leaned down and kissed the top her best friend's head.
"Love you too Ange," she mumbled in response.
The artist walked toward the door which was being held open by Booth. She reached out and placed her hand on his right forearm as she stared at him. "You two be careful," she said softly. "Call if you need anything."
He smiled at her and nodded as she exited the apartment and then shut the door firmly behind the squint squad.
When Angela entered the hallway she held her hand out in front of Hodgins. He rolled his eyes and reached into his back pocket to remove his wallet.
"I'm beginning to think you have some type of psychic power Angela," he said as he handed her twenty dollars.
"Nope…I'm just a keen observer of human nature." She grinned at him.
"Wait, what are you two talking about?" Zach studied them attempting to understand their 'code'.
"A man and a woman with the amount of intense sexual attraction that Bren and her G-man have cannot live together without certain….events occurring," she explained.
"What events?" Zach questioned innocently.
Angela and Hodgins glanced at each briefly. "I'll explain when you're older Zach," she said as she pushed his shoulder to turn him around. As the trio made their way to the stairwell, Angela felt Hodgins' hand on the small of her back. As a self-proclaimed keen observer of human nature, she knew the gesture meant more to both of them than either was ready to reveal quite yet.
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After tossing out Brennan's team, Booth ambled to the dining room table and found Brennan staring at him with a smile on her face.
"You're really stoned aren't you?" he teased as he looked into her eyes.
"I don't know what that means," she replied in a happy carefree tone.
Laughing at her, he moved to her side and helped her stand. "It means it's time to rest and let our injuries heal a little bit."
Booth guided her down the hallway to her bedroom. Brennan walked over to the bed and pulled down the comforter before lying down. He shook his head and chuckled as he walked over and removed her boots, placing them on the floor at the foot of the bed. After staring at her for a few moments, he turned to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To sleep on the couch Bones."
She moved over a little further to the right side of the bed. "Nope…bed."
The woman would never cease to amaze him. He carefully removed his dress shirt, trying to minimize the movement of his sore left shoulder. After kicking off his shoes, Booth carefully took his place in bed beside her.
He positioned himself on his right side with his right arm cradling her neck and head while he intertwined his left hand with hers, resting on her abdomen.
"Booth?" she mumbled as her eyes slowly closed.
"Yeah Bones?"
"I'm glad you're okay."
Booth watched her for a moment as her breathing evened out and smiled. "I'm glad you're okay too Bones."
"I love you," she muttered as sleep finally claimed her.
Even if she didn't remember it, Seeley Booth would never forget the first time Brennan said she loved him. His heart swelled with happiness as he kissed her forehead.
"I love you too," he whispered.
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The first thing Brennan noticed as her drug induced fog lifted was how much her right side hurt. She attempted to control her breathing to minimize the ache that occurred with each breath. The second thing she noticed was Booth's handsome face very close to hers. A small smile spread across her features as her eyes filled with tears.
Ignoring the pain, she slowly raised her right arm and used her hand to caress his left arm. In response to her touch, Booth's left hand, still intertwined with hers, squeezed her hand. She allowed her hand to travel up his arm to his shoulder and then grazed his chest before traveling up to his face.
Gently outlining the small cuts he'd received from the falling debris and glass, Brennan realized how much this particular man meant to her. She had refused to think about it earlier. But now, in the darkness of her bedroom with the moonlight shining on Booth's features, Brennan knew that her world would have shattered if anything had happened to him.
A few tears escaped from her eyes as she continued to softly trace the outline of his jaw and then his lips with her fingers. Love….that was the feeling that she had been unable to pinpoint. Now it hit her as hard as the explosion in the garage had. She loved Seeley Booth….she was in love with Seeley Booth.
Her complete opposite was also her perfect match. He challenged her, riled her, encouraged her, tempted her, took care of her and….loved her. Brennan suddenly realized how blind she had been to Booth's actions. Looking back, she knew that every day, every moment they had spent together, Booth had in some way let her know how he felt.
As Booth's eyes fluttered open, he saw tears falling down Brennan's face. "Temperance? What's wrong?"
Placing her hand on his cheek, she stroked her thumb across his lips. "Absolutely nothing," she whispered.
He moved to pull her closer to him and they both groaned slightly in pain.
"Ow, what a pair," he said as he winced. The soreness of his entire body now matched the soreness of his shoulder.
"Don't make me laugh," she warned as she slowly moved her right hand from his face.
"Ugh…how do you feel?" He let his head drop back on the pillow as he nuzzled his face close to hers.
"Like I got blown up. You?"
"Yep, pretty much the same."
"I think a nice long hot shower is in order," she said wistfully. The only problem was moving her hurt body off the bed and into the bathroom.
"That's sounds good," Booth agreed. "Is your shower big enough for two?" He displayed his full charm smile for her benefit.
"Hmmm….maybe if we both weren't injured," she teased.
Booth groaned slightly. "Oh you're not playing fair."
"All's fair in love and war." They stared at each, allowing the word 'love' to encompass them. After a moment, Brennan cleared her throat. "Can you, uh, help me get up?"
He smiled and then winced as he slowly climbed off the bed and then assisted her. As she gradually made her way to the bathroom, Booth grinned. He remembered that Angela had had to help her get dressed at the hospital. "You need help with anything else Bones? Clothing perhaps?" He winked at her as she turned to face him.
"Maybe later Booth." Brennan returned his wink with one of her own and then entered the bathroom.
God, I love that woman, he thought as he watched the bathroom door close.
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After they had both showered and changed their clothing, the couple sat at the dining room table pouring over the papers and photographs from the Thompsons' case. Booth studied each photograph that Angela had taken of the grave sites while Brennan reviewed Hodgins' fiber analysis and the sells records from the gun dealer they had interviewed.
Each sat quietly, lost in their individual tasks. Booth's sable eyes scanned the photographs carefully. His gut told him that Brennan was right—they were overlooking something. It was something obvious but what?
He picked up the next photograph which was of a group of trees near the graves and quickly placed it back in the pile. Suddenly the something obvious registered with him and he grabbed the photograph from the stack again.
"Bones have you got the letter and the map over there?"
She opened one of the files, located the items and handed them to him. "You found something?"
He nodded as he placed the photograph, the letter and the map on the table in front of her. "What do you see?"
Brennan studied each item carefully. Her gaze met his as the connection he had made registered with her. "How did we miss that?"
"It was hidden in plain sight…the best way to ensure that no one ever sees it."
"Well I think that may be the case with this too." She placed the folder with the gun sales in front of him. "Mark Gentle highlighted all of his sales to Ronald Thompson. Initially that's all we looked at, remember?" Booth nodded as she continued. "We should have checked out every person on the list who purchased guns on the same day as Ronald Thompson. There's only one name that appears every time Booth."
She pointed to the name listed below Ronald's and watched as Booth's eyes widened in surprise.
"I bet one of those guns will match your reverse engineering thing-a-ma-bob."
Brennan smiled at him slightly. "It's funny how you can manage to remember 'reverse' and 'engineering' but you always conveniently forget 'image'."
Grinning sheepishly, he shrugged.
"Do you think you'll feel up to a trip to Willow Lake tomorrow? A couple of interrogations?" He watched as she slowly stood and walked into the kitchen.
She nodded as she opened a bottle of water. "I think that catching a killer will make me feel much better."
"That's my girl," he said as he pointed at her.
Author's notes: Again I apologize for the shortness of the chapter. I was literally typing with my eyes closed at one point. Please excuse any errors…it's all due to sleep deprivation. (LOL)