AN: If anyone ever told me that I would be writing fiction, I would have laughed them out of the room. Now, I can't seem to stop. Obviously, this is something that I NEED to do. Go figure. I know that I said it might take me a day or two for the next chapter, but I was on the bus today and the story just kept pouring out of me. I really love this chapter. Someone commented that I was successful at reading Booth just the way he is without taking him out of character. Interestingly enough, I wrote this chapter before reading that comment—thanks 'CassTheCurios' it means so much to me. I hope everyone is enjoying it as much as I am!!

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Chapter 10 – Teamwork and Sacrifice

He could no longer work to full capacity without her. This was not entirely accurate—he just didn't want to work without her. Although they each had cases that did not involve each other, their shared cases occupied more and more of their time. He truly felt at his best when they worked together.

If there is one thing that he learned over the course of his 36 years, it was that teamwork was an essential facet of life—at least it was essential to his life. When the right team was in place, there is almost nothing that could not be accomplished. From the ball field to the battlefield, teamwork was the key to victory.

Whether it was little league baseball or high school football and basketball, he was frequently regarded as a star athlete; but he knew that it was never a matter of a single player, it was all about the team. When his professional sports aspirations were shattered by shoulder injuries, the transition to the military had been a natural one. He simply transferred from one team to another. What was it that Bones said about team sports—they were a way for boys to practice their battle skills. He secretly recognized how right she was in her assumptions. He would not credit her with knowing the whole truth for every situation and particularly this one, but her special insights were invaluable to him.

Overall, his military career was fulfilling. He was proud of his accomplishments. Although there were definitely things about his military experience that weren't easy and there were moments that still frightened and even haunted him, his experiences only reinforced his belief in teamwork. It was in the military that he found his first sense of purpose and direction—his calling is you will. He loved his country and he loved the idea that he was doing something to keep it safe and together.

He also knew that teamwork involved sacrifice; just as the batter in baseball flies out to sacrifice himself for the sake of the score, there were many aspects of life that required sacrifice. He was more than willing to make those sacrifices in sports, the military, and now for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

He joined the FBI as a way of maintaining an active role in supporting the country he loved and because he recognized the Bureau as a winning team. He always succeeded in his work at the FBI, but he also knew that there was something more that he could offer—something special. While he did what he was told and absorbed as much as he could from those around him, he patiently waited for the time to come to establish himself as an indispensable force to be reckoned with. He didn't immediately recognize the moment that truly changed his life as the very moment that he met Dr. Temperance Brennan. He had almost missed the moment completely because their first interactions were tense at best. He just couldn't acclimate himself to her way of doing things. He just couldn't shift gears fast enough to keep up with her at first. She was so obstinate and forceful. When that first case ended and he had time to contemplate the results, he began to realize that he had found and perhaps lost something special—he needed to find out what made it special and, ultimately, he needed to sacrifice anything to forge a lasting partnership with this woman.

As he told her yesterday—was it only yesterday—he worked with partners throughout his career. In fact, partnership was a significant part of each aspect of his adult experience. In the military, a sniper works closely with a partner—the spotter—and relies heavily on this partnership to accomplish specific goals. They must develop a system of silent communication that will help them get things done. He had relied on others to help him and he had lost two good partners in the Gulf War. He was also saved by partners on more than one occasion. In the military, partnerships are forged out of need and availability. He rarely had a choice about the people he worked with, but the bonds and trust were firmly in place as a result of military training.

Within the FBI, he knew that teamwork and partnership were equally as important even though they were more difficult for him to navigate. This is not to say that he did not give his all to each and every pairing, but rather that the establishment of trust was more difficult to pin down. There was a lot of competition in the FBI. People had personal agendas and goals that often had very little to do with the work at hand. He felt that without fully understanding an individual's personal agenda, there was no way to achieve equal footing and establish trust. He took his duty and commitment seriously and regardless of the accolades and honors bestowed upon him, he was first and foremost focused on the particular task and assignment in front of him.

Dave Samuels had been the best of his partners at the Bureau. He was an older man with integrity and true grit—he often called him The Duke because of this trait. Booth wasn't sure why he felt the need to attach nicknames to the people in his life, but he did not dole out these endearments frivolously. For him, nicknames forged intimate connections between him and those he respected and cared about. When he lost The Duke in an undercover operation, he was devastated. He was still in contact with the man's family so that they would always know how much the man meant to him. In many ways he felt responsible: if only he had entered the building from the front or they had entered together, then maybe …

Because he felt responsible for the loss of people around him, he resigned himself to working alone or with temporary assignments after Dave's death. He wasn't sure if he felt jinxed but everyone around him seemed to be in constant danger. He wanted to keep people safe and if anyone was in danger because of him, then he would take himself out of the equation. He would simply keep people at a distance professionally. Unfortunately, that also meant keeping people at a distance personally. He had such difficulty separating the professional from the personal because he was so dedicated to his job—in many ways, he was the job. He never realized how strong or large the walls he built around himself were until those walls started to crumble. Dr. Temperance Brennan—Bones—was dismantling him brick by brick and not only was he powerless to stop it, it was the best thing that ever happened to him. She was slowly releasing him from years of penned up guilt.

It took several months and several cases for him to realize how special his connection was with Bones. It wasn't just about her: Angela, Hodgins, Cam, and even Zach when he was with them contributed heavily to their success. They were a team and each member had proven their worth time and time again. It was hard for him to relinquish so much control to Bones and the Squints but he knew that they were only successful because each had a role to play—each held a position on the ball field. Granted, he and Bones occupied the central positions on this team but they would be lost without each other and the rest of the Squints.

He knew that his entire life had prepared him for this particular team and this particular purpose. He found his place and he loved it. He sacrificed for them and they sacrificed for him. Together, they were a perfectly oiled machine. This team was better than any that came before it because there was always more there than the tasks they performed. He was not talking about achievements and accolades. He was talking about something far more personal. Like him, this team was composed of players that carefully intertwined their personal and professional lives. They were not only a team—they were a family where the personal and professional merged. He had no doubts that this merging was in large part due to the relationship that continued to grow between Bones and him, and he was proud of his role.

He was contemplating the meaning of teamwork and sacrifice while sitting in his SUV outside the Jeffersonian trying to figure out his next move. He pulled into the parking structure and noted that her car was safely tucked into its space. He was parked and ready to get out of the car but hesitated—she was so mad at him earlier today. Although he spent a few hours at the Bureau compiling and considering the data that he hoped would help them solve this case, he knew that this was only half of the work. He needed the input from the team, and more importantly, the input of his partner. He was nagged by her reaction earlier. She was clearly trying to tell him something that he was not hearing.

The one thing he did know was that they were not going to solve this case until they sat down and laid everything out on the table. They were at their best when they worked together bouncing ideas off one another, arguing with one another, correcting one another, and finally reaching the right conclusions. It was very simple actually; he needed her and would sacrifice anything to keep their team together and on their winning streak.

With a renewed sense of purpose, he got out of the SUV and headed to her office.