Authors note - this one is short, but i wanted to touch on how the group was feeling. The next chapter will tell what happened with Booth. Please read and review. it is inspiring :)
Jared had to go make the arrangements for Seeley. He didn't feel like he should be the one doing it. He was his brother, but after becoming adults they really didn't interact all that much. He had others much closer to him. People who were local that knew him so much better. He was blood but they were his true family.
He flipped through his brother's rolodex. He thought it would be better if he could get everyone together to make the final decisions. Temperance would be the one he would think best, but she had refused to see him since the whole ordeal, except to say thank you for saving her life.
He didn't want her thanks; he only did what was right. Sweets had told him that her attitude towards him could be related that both of the Booths had saved her and blamed herself for what had happened to them. That it probably stemmed from guilt over the situation. It sounded reasonable, but he was never much into the psychological mumbo jumbo.
None of this was Tempe's fault. It lies all on that Broadsky fellow. He is the one all the blame should be placed on. He jotted down some numbers. He would ask for their input. Seeley deserved the best. The next day everyone had agreed to meet at the diner to discuss the arrangements. Angela and Hodgins said they would bring Brennan but didn't know if they could get her to stay. This was the most Jared could ask for.
It seems the incident caused a rift in all the friends. Each was trying to cope in their own way, but they couldn't seem to bring themselves together. Tragedy could go in two directions; it would either bring people closer or tear them apart.
They wanted to talk to each other, but each one carried guilt over everything that happened. They even had feelings of blame towards the others.
Cam - I knew it wasn't like Dr Brennan to not stay in contact. I should have decided to look into it sooner. If I hadn't waited so long things wouldn't have turned out like this. If Brennan hadn't been so abrasive with the local rangers, Booth wouldn't have sent them away like that. There would have been witnesses or people checking in.
Angela – I told Cam I didn't like it that Brennan hadn't called. I should have been more assertive about it. I should have insisted she looked into it. I should have done it myself. Brennan was her best friend; she may never cope with all this. She was already shutting her out. She was surprised she had conceded to allow her and Hodgins to bring her home from the hospital. She barely talked to any of them when they stopped by the hospital to visit. She was receding so far into herself.
Hodgins – I should have listened to Angela. I should have done something. We all knew Dr Brennan couldn't not be a major part of an investigation. She would have called frequently to check on our progress no matter how busy she was. We all put it off. We could have been there sooner. I should have found a better way t excavate the area. Maybe I could have found a way to secure the area better. Lives were in his hands and he blew it. People were hurt and killed because of his inadequate actions.
Sweets – He should have addressed their issues more completely. He knew Dr Brennan had control issues. He knew Agent Booth had a hero complex. If he had helped them through these, they may not have been put into the position they were. If he had profiled Broadsky better maybe they would have been on a higher alert.
Wendell – I should have volunteered to go with them. Once they knew how many bodies they could be dealing with he should have gone to help. They could have called someone else to work in the Lab. If they had had more help things would have been better. They wouldn't of had to be separated. He had wanted to go, but his fear of implying Dr Brennan wouldn't be able to handle it all over shadowed his desire. He couldn't even find links between all the bodies to at least get retribution from all the events.
Caroline – Damn that man and his heroic acts. Damn that woman for being so stubborn. When the found Broadsky's latest victim she should have went and hunted them down. That team of theirs should have known something was wrong. When didn't the good doctor not have her nose in everything? She didn't like many people, but she had grown to care about those two. She had found herself hoping they would find themselves in each other's arms. Crying shame what happened. It affected so many.
Brennan – How could I have not heard what was happening. I pride myself on my intelligence and I didn't even here the explosion. If I had paid more attention I could have ran and Booth would have been safe. If I weren't so belligerent to the park rangers there would have been people there to help us. If I didn't make Him feel so awkward we could have left and been at the hotel. There were so many things she could have done differently to change the outcome. Her shortcomings almost ended both the Booth men's lives.
Jared – I wish I had taken the time to get to know my brother. He had done so much for me when I was a kid. He had always taken care of me. Then I grow up and I just leave to do my own thing. Even though Seeley didn't have the safest jobs in the world he had never imagined anything like this could happen. He never thought that they wouldn't be able to get together and catch up.
The group started filtering in slowly. Angela had called Jared to let him know they were running behind because the paperwork was delayed by an emergency. They hadn't told Brennan what was going on and hoped she would stay. They all needed each other to heal, but they were all having problems taking the first step. Jared hoped that in getting everyone together it might help. They had all been silent at the funeral. They had all known the plan. But the sorrow over everything was real. Like the death card doesn't always mean actual physical death, things as they had known them had come to an end.