Brotherly Love?
By wired2damoon
Chapter 11: Love, Faith And "The One"
A/N: Okay, so I'm getting a little addicted to writing this story, I admit it. But I have some down time before my 'study-buddy' gets here so I'm typing this chappy extra fast as its considerably longer then the others, enjoy!!
-wired2damoon-
"Hey Tempe, thanks for coming," smiled Tim "Sully" Sullivan as he saw the radiant beauty that was Temperance Brennan walking towards his table.
Brennan smiled softly at him, but her eyes were now darting to where he was sitting.
In the diner, at her and Booth's table.
"Uh Sully, could we maybe sit at a different table?" Brennan asked lightly, completely ignoring her 'rational' brain that was telling her that a table was a table and it didn't matter where they sat.
For no matter how much she tried to ignore it, it did matter to her, a lot.
"Sure…" Sully replied, jumping up out of his seat as if scalded and making his way towards a table up the front of the diner.
"That better?" he asked, his voice slightly high-pitched, his hand reaching up to loosen his tie considerably.
Brennan's piercing blue eyes followed his every move with caution, getting clouded with confusion at his odd actions.
"Sully are you okay?" she asked quietly as his continued to fidget.
The man opposite her flashed her a wide smile suddenly and his hand reached out to clasp her's over the table. "Never better," he murmured.
Brennan looked down at their intertwined hands with interest. It felt…different then when he held her hand two years ago. Something was…missing…
"So…tell me about your trip", she said quite stiffly, removing her hand from underneath his to 'craftily' pick up a menu.
Sully, having noticed this, frowned for a moment (as she could have easily picked up the menu with her other hand) before plastering on his fake smile and saying cheerily, "oh it was great, the Caribbean is really beautiful Tempe".
Brennan nodded robotically, as her eyes stared at the menu, not really reading it.
She couldn't help but cast her mind back to the conversation she and Booth had the night before.
-Flashback-
"You still haven't answered my question Booth…" Temperance Brennan murmured as the sat at their table at the diner, waiting for their food.
Booth's eyes darted to the window for a moment and he looked quite pensive, his expression conveying as if he was having an argument with himself in his head.
"Do I think you should get back together with Sully?" he asked, hoping that he sounded braver then he felt.
"Yes", Brennan replied confirming the question, trying and failing to catch his gaze.
Booth heaved a deep sigh and replied almost inaudibly (so much so that Brennan had to lean forward to hear him) "its not really up to me Bones, its your decision."
Brennan bit her lip as she heard this.
This was definitely not what she wanted to hear.
True, she didn't entirely know what 'it' was exactly that she wanted to hear, but it certainly wasn't that.
Anger flowed through her, seeping dangerously to the surface.
"I'm asking you Booth, as a friend to give me some advice about what I should do and the best you can come up with is that?" she hissed, leaning forward so that she was nearly half sprawled across the table.
Booth, who seemed to notice her sudden movements, grimaced a little but still looked out the window as he spoke.
"Maybe it's Angela you should talk about this with Bones…not me…"
Brennan closed her eyes to calm herself. After a moment she opened them and took a deep breath.
"But it isn't Angela I'm asking now Booth, I want to know what you think".
Something changed in Seeley Booth's face as he heard those words leave her mouth. His expression grew dark, hardened, his jaw set.
He whiled around to face her suddenly, and his dark-chocolate eyes pierced her's with an alarming glare.
"Fine! You want to know what I think? I think-"
Suddenly he was cut off by the arrival of their food.
Brennan leaned back from the table to let the waitress place her food on front of her.
Booth it seemed, was trying to calm his rapid breathing and immediately began to eat just for something to do.
Brennan surveyed him for a moment over her coffee cup, wondering (but not wanting to pressure him) what he was going to say.
Her partner lay down his fork after a few moments and sighed again, although this time it sounded more defeated then aggravated.
"Look Bones, it's like I said, it doesn't really matter what I think, it's your life and you're a strong, independent woman who doesn't need anyone to make her decisions for her…" he mumbled, picking up his fork and piercing his slice of apple pie antagonising slow.
Brennan considered these words for a moment. He was right of course, she was an independent woman, and she had made decisions like this before on her own.
Why was it now that she seemed to run everything by her partner?
What had changed?
Why was it any of his concern?
These were questions that flowed through her mind as they sat in silence.
Why was it suddenly so important to her that Booth have an opinion on her life?
It always bothered her before when Booth butted in…didn't it?
Why was she suddenly so desperate to hear what he thought?
Why were things different now?
As Brennan looked across at her partner, his eyes locked on his coffee cup, she was well aware why…
He was her partner. She cared about him, a lot. Over the last near-four years they had been through so much together, pain, grief, sadness, near-death-experiences, suffering, heart-ache, betrayal, more near-death-experiences…
Suddenly she was snapped out of her reverie as Booth began to speak again, this time his voice sounding a bit more confident.
"Look, Bones, if its that important to you, I'll let you know what I think…"
Brennan nodded encouragingly, suddenly eager to hear what he had to say.
He leaned forward across the table, resting his elbows, his nose mere inches from her's, his chocolate eyes piercing her bright blue one's as he spoke softly to her.
"I think, that in life we have to make choices, choices that aren't always easy to make. Sometimes we get things, situations thrown at us that we aren't entirely ready for and then sometimes we're left hanging around, wondering when or if something is ever going to happen. You don't want a life like that Temperance. You don't want a life were you're constantly waiting around for something to happen but when it does you're stumped on what you should do. You wanna know what I think? I think you use this opportunity with Sully to make something happen. Be in the moment, not waiting around for next time because there might not ever be a next time. There's only one thing to consider though and it's like I said, the only way you can truly know if you're doing the right thing, taking the right opportunity is if you listen to you heart Bones. I know you're a head person but just, just this once, listen to what you're heart is trying to tell you…is Sully the one that you want? Do you want a relationship with him, do you want to be back where you were two years ago? Because if it is…then…yeah… you should get back together with him…"
Brennan's heart lurched.
As Booth trailed off, his eyes having darted away from her's to take a sip of his coffee, Brennan's breathing almost ceased.
How could he make her have such a reaction with just his words?
Having taking a moment to process his words Brennan found herself still wanting to ask him something, something that she knew if she didn't ask him, she may very well regret it.
"Do you believe in love Booth?"
Booth seemed to still, tense at her words. His eyes became unfocused as he stared at some far away object over Brennan's head.
"Yeah, yeah I do…you don't I get it…" he murmured stiffly taking another bite of his pie.
"Do you believe that there's a person out there for everyone?"
Booth closed his eyes for a fraction of a second and replied softly, "yes, yes I do…"
Brennan's breath hitched slightly as she heard this, but she still had to ask him one more thing.
"And do you think Sully's the one for me?"
Booth's gaze snapped up to meet her's. A moment's silence passed as the two partners stared softly at each other, a million thoughts flowing through their brains.
Suddenly Booth leaned forward and again his face was mere inches away from her's as he asked so softly, his breath tickling her cheek.
"Do you?"
-End Flashback-
Brennan nodded as Sully continued to tell her about his time in the Caribbean, but her thoughts were otherwise occupied by what Booth had said to her last night.
Everything he said was so…well, she didn't really know how to express it but, she knew what he meant about taking opportunities.
The only problem was she wasn't able to answer him last night when he asked did she think Sully was the man for her.
She always said that she didn't believe in love, faith or a 'one'…
Faith, that was just an allusion set by religions to give people a false sense of security in their respected Gods.
A 'one' seemed highly miscalculated as there are six billion people in the world, surely there's more then just one person out there for another person?
And as for love, well, that was merely a high level of dopamine and various hormones intruding the brain giving a sense of false happiness…
They were Temperance Brennan's arguments on those topics…at least they used to be, until she started to feel things differently, her mind, her…heart changed over the years due to a certain someone's input. A certain someone that was probably hauled up in the J. Edgar Hoover Building behind his desk doing paper-work when he should be sitting here, opposite her, eating lunch, except she would never, never admit that she thought such a thing.
It was irrational, illogical, and just plain wrong, they were partners, nothing more…
She contemplated now however, as she gazed at the man sitting opposite her, that no matter how much she tried to fool herself into thinking otherwise about her partner, she knew she couldn't do the opposite with Sully.
She had made up her mind. Or as Booth would say, her heart had made up her mind.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled at her companion before starting probably one of the hardest speeches she would ever have in her life…
"Sully we need to talk…"
Temperance Brennan heaved a deep sigh and closed her eyes, resting her head against the back of her office chair.
It had been one, long, day…
"Hey sweetie I was just wondering if-"
Angela stopped abruptly in her tracks as she glanced over at her friend who was sitting quietly, eyes closed in her office chair.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice filled with concern, making her way over to her friend and kneeling beside her chair.
Temperance bit her lip, her eyes still closed.
"Is it all the stress with the Grad students hunny? I know how you feel, its just not the same without…Zack…" Angela mumbled sadly, stroking her friend's arm with care.
At the mention of her former grad-student and fellow anthropologist Brennan bit her lip even harder and her voice shook as she replied, "n-no…no it's, it's not about Zack…"
Angela looked deeply apologetic, "oh I'm sorry sweetie, I just assumed…wait, has this something to do with Booth?"
Brennan's eyes snapped open and she looked down at Angela who still kneeled by her chair.
"Why do you say that Ange?" she asked, her voice slightly higher then normal.
"Well…I don't know…I just had a feeling…" she murmured in reply, although Brennan could now see a little smirk poking through her 'serious' expression.
"So…is it about our sexy FBI candy?" she asked, her smirk transforming into a full blown smile.
Brennan in spite of herself couldn't refrain from laughing lightly.
"Ange! Don't call him that! And no, it's not…I…I went to see Sully today…" she mumbled, straightening up in her chair slightly as a look of understanding passed over Angela's face.
"Oh Bren…how did it go?" she asked, managing to sound excited, worried, apprehensive and utterly impatient all at once.
"Well…I told him that I, I wasn't ready to be back in a relationship, and that maybe, it would be better, if we-we just stayed friends…" Brennan muttered, not looking her friend in the eye.
Angela sat back onto her knees and let out a big breath.
"And how did he take it?"
Brennan looked at her for a moment before replying, "well…he-he told me that he was planning on going back to the Caribbean if he had no reason to stay here…"
"And that reason would have been you?" Angela asked, although her tone almost confirmed it.
"Yes.." Temperance replied folding her arms nervously, "he sails back on Saturday…"
"But isn't Saturday when you and Booth are on that case thing?" Angela asked, not knowing the full details of it.
"Yes, so I won't be able to see him off…this time…"
Angela nodded her head several times before standing up and patting Brennan's arms.
"You know sweetie, I am totally with you on this one, but I still think you should change your opinion when it comes to Booth…I mean he's just like a big bowl of chocolate ice-cream, you could lick all over. The taste would be so amazing and sweet and-"
"Are you talking about Booth or the ice-cream?" Brennan interjected with a small smile on her face.
Angela paused for a moment to ponder it, "I don't even know anymore sweetie…"
The two friends laughed heartily, Brennan reaching forward and giving Angela a hug, she was just what she needed right now…
Breaking apart Angela realised Brennan's phone was ringing.
Pointing to it she said, "you might want to answer that, I have a feeling it's our very own knight in shinning FBI standard issue body armour".
Brennan rolled her eyes to the ceiling before picking up her phone.
"Brennan".
"Bones, it's me…"
Temperance frowned as she heard the urgency in his voice.
"Booth what's-"
"-They've taken him, he's gone!"
"What? Booth what're you-"
"-The people involved in the case, the guys that probably took Mike, they've taken him, they've taken my brother!"
Temperance gasped as Angela eyes bulged with shock, having heard what Booth said.
"Booth where are you?"
"On my way back to my apartment…"
"I'll meet you there in ten minutes", she replied before snapping her phone shut.
"Bren what-"
"I gotta go," she almost yelled, jumping out of her chair and bolting for the door.
Angela watched in awe as she departed at record-speed.
This was turning out to be one hell of a case…
The first thing he felt when he started to come around was the major pain in his head.
Then, he started to realise other things.
One, there was something stuffed in his mouth.
Two, he arms were tied behind his back and his legs were tied to the chair.
Three, he was blinded-folded.
And four, he could hear voices…one of which he'd recognise anywhere.
"Mike?" he croaked, turning to his left.
"Jared, my man, nice of you to join us…" replied his so-called friend, the sneer evident in his tone.
Jared's heart panged.
This was not happening, this was so not happening…it was a dream…no, it was a nightmare…
A/N: Okay so I decided to leave the Tony+Roxie thing until the next chapter because it was getting rather big. So that's next. Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are love xx