Remember how I said The Blackout in the Blizzard took away all my anger? And all I could manage over the hiatus was a sad-trying-to-be-angry piece? Well, it's your lucky day, because The Feet on the Beach reawakened some of my season six rage!

I'm not saying every episode needs to be a life-changing, soul-searching episode. And I certainly don't expect something of BitB's caliber anytime soon. But did one of my new top 10 episodes really have to be followed with an episode that was 76 percent crap and 110 percent out of character for everyone? Me thinks not…

Folks on Twitter were clamoring for me to yell at insert character here after this episode, so I lumped the last two scenes into this retake, placing everyone in the Founding Fathers for post-case drinks (cause we know Booth hasn't stepped foot into the lab in quite some time)… and the whole cast in attendance is in for a verbal spanking. And this IS dialogue-wordy, so… paddles ready…

"You were pretty mean to him Bren. I mean, the man is so stressed out he can't even use his arm," Angela said.

"Bones, come on, here's your chance. Just tell the man you're sorry…" Booth said, nudging her shoulder and nodding his head in the direction of Dr. Filmore, who was preparing to leave.

Brennan looked at them incredulously, before shaking her head and walking over to the doctor.

"Oh god, what now Dr. Brennan? Have I embarrassed you, in some way Dr. Brennan? I know the only reason I was here was because you wanted the feet that I possessed.

"Dr. Filmore…"

"Do you deny it? Was it my expertise you sought when you called?"

"No. It wasn't."

"You are brilliant, Dr. Brennan, I won't deny it, but you are also close-minded and a thoughtless person.

"Yes, I have heard that before, which is why I wanted to address the issue of the article I wrote in the journal."

Oh," Filmore moaned.

"While I don't believe that forensic podiatry should be recognized as a separate specialty, I was remiss in my article, not to have noted your remarkable skill and expertise. You are exceptional and I strongly doubt we would have solved this case without your help. For that, I am very grateful and pleased to have had the opportunity to work with you.

"Many of my colleagues have said they believe I owe you an apology for discrediting your article. I think you should know that while I stand by my assessment, as long as you continue to disagree with it, I encourage you to write a new article defending your stance, countering my arguments to defend your beliefs. I understand that I have offended you with my position on the subject; however, the best scientists don't give up. I stand by what I have said and will continue to do so until someone else provides an argument to convince me otherwise. I am one of the foremost forensic anthropologists in the world, but I am not the final word on scientific discussion. If you believe that forensic podiatry should be considered a field of its own, rather than a subset of forensic anthropology, than I will look forward to reading a new piece from you defending your beliefs and refuting mine. I don't know that you would be successful, but if you really believe you're right and I'm wrong, at the very least, you should try."

She extended her right hand to shake and Dr. Filmore extended his right hand, not knowing until this point that use of your right arm for a man was directly related to have the balls to act like a man. Through Dr. Brennan's final speech, indicating that the man should grow a set, use of his arm magically returned and Dr. Filmore skipped off into the netherworld of situations solved.

"That was nice, Bones, but you know it wasn't quite an apology?" Booth said, breaking the team's silence as Brennan rejoined them to gather her things.

"You know what? I feel a level distress given that each of you seem to be disapproving of my handling of this situation," she said, looking from face to face in the group, before landing back on Booth. "There have been many times since I have known you when I have turned to you for guidance as to the right thing to say or do in personal or emotional situations. But, on this subject, you are wrong. I am an expert in my field, I stand by my well-researched and articulated conclusions and I do not owe Doctor Filmore an apology.

"I am a scientist. And the reason I am held in esteem, the reason the FBI values my service to their organization is because I am the best at what I do. And I am not the best at what I do because someone handed it to me. I didn't wake up one day and announce to the scientific community that I'm going to be the best forensic anthropologist there is, and they simply said 'okay.' I have worked incredibly hard to establish my place in my field, just like I worked hard to justify my position that forensics podiatry is not a legitimate field of its own. It is at best a subset of my field and while I do acknowledge that Dr. Filmore has a great talent for the work he does, being good at what he does doesn't make his argument more valid. If I am wrong and Doctor Filmore is right, I look forward to reading his justification and having the rest of the scientific community join me in acknowledging that. But my argument against is stance is not invalid just because Doctor Filmore's feelings are hurt…"

She paused to take a breath. "There may not always be absolute conclusions throughout a person's life, but in science we accept that there are absolute truths, until such absolutes are proven otherwise. And in this case, I am right and he is wrong. And I would think there are other members on this team who would agree with that way of thinking, scientifically, rather than rebuke me for harming another scientist's ego."

She turned her attention away from Booth, and in her best teaching voice, asked, "Dr. Hodgins, can you explain to me how a hypothesis works?"

Suddenly under the spotlight while being quizzed by the professor, Hodgins stuttered his answer. "Uh… a hypothesis is a hypothetical conjecture. It's an idea or belief based primarily on deduction rather than adequate evidence."

"And Dr. Saroyan, how does one test the accuracy or inaccuracy of a hypothesis?"

Cam sighed before answering, "You repeatedly test your hypothesis to prove or disprove it, usually through experimentation."

"And when your experiment fails, what do you do?" Brennan asked.

"You reformulate your hypothesis, and test it again," Cam replied.

"Yes. Doctor Filmore hypothesized that his field is a science of his own and hypotheses are only strong when they can survive challenges to its legitimacy. If Doctor Filmore is a scientist, I expect him to understand the most fundamental principles of scientific inquiry. First, he stated his hypothesis, once, then I refuted it, and he has yet to retry or retest his theory on a vast scientific community. If his hypothesis can't handle my critique, if he can't contest or defend the points I made, then his hypothesis is, by definition, a failure. And everyone here is acting like it is my fault that he doesn't have the resolve to defend his position. Honestly, if he can't bare the pressure of scientific scrutiny without incurring a physical ailment, he's better off finding something else to do with his time. Doctor Filmore was wrong. And as a representative of my science, it was my duty to say so. I didn't intend to hurt feelings or paralyze anyone. I just told the truth."

After another breath, she continued. "So, I find that I take exception to your statements that being factual makes me 'mean.' I'm the best at what I do for a reason. I have often dealt with jealousy, resentment and cruelty among my peers, but I never considered I would have such issues among the group of people before me. I was taught and trained to do what I do in conditions where my supervisors demand nothing but the best work, incontrovertible results, and I know it is a lot to live up to when I demand it as well. It's why I've always found it refreshing to work with this team, with people like Dr. Hodgins and Dr. Saroyan who, like me, are very good at what they do. Angela, who is an immensely talented artist, Booth who is considered by his superiors one of the best agents the bureau has to offer, and Doctor Sweets, who while I don't always agree with the legitimacy of your field, constantly strives to prove me wrong. That's the difference between you and Doctor Filmore, Doctor Sweets. Psychology may be a soft and often inaccurate science, but it's your constant strive to prove to me and others its usefulness that makes you an asset to the people you work with.

"I assumed, wrongly apparently, that those of you here know me well enough to know that I expect the best and perhaps wouldn't judge me for my expectations. My demanding standards and knowledge, combined with the various skills of this team have helped us solve many cases over the years. Doing our best work is how we get justice for victims and their families, and if wanting to do everything I can to make sure justice is served makes me cold-hearted and mean, than I suppose I will just have to accept your view of my character. But if I whined or cowered every time someone challenged something I have done or said, I would be ineffective at my job. I honestly believed you understood that. I apologize for my incorrect assumptions and, as Booth put it, my apparent inability to 'be a person,' like the rest of you."

"Bones, that's not what… what I meant to say was…" Booth started, but he was swiftly cut off by Brennan while receiving dual hits from Angela and Cam.

"You'll have to excuse me, for I have other work I need to see to and students who need to be challenged so that I am not responsible for sending more Doctor Filmores out into the world, unable to defend their work to their peers."

"Bones!" Booth shouted, simultaneously with variations of Brennan uttered by the rest of the group to gain her attention as she turned and walked out of the bar.

Brennan moved quickly down the sidewalk and hailing a cab as she went. Booth had followed her out, but was steps behind her when the cab came to a stop and she opened the door. Halfway in, Booth caught her, grabbing her arm to stop her progress into the cab. "Bones, wait…"

"Don't, Booth," she said, snatching her arm from his grasp. "Out of everyone in there, I assumed you, at the very least, would understand my work, my motivations. Obviously, that was a hypothesis that has failed and I will need to rework it for the future considerations."

Brennan got into the cab and shut the door, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. This time, as Booth watched her drive away, she didn't turn back to look at him.

I know, that last part with the cab was a little mean, but by the time I got to the end of this story, I was even angrier for Brennan than when I started. So, suck it Booth. And maybe more to the point, didn't this episode feel completely out of context, re: where the show and its characters seemed to be going? It was back to attitudes reminiscent of a team just forming back in early season one.

On the bright side, this episode made me angry! Maybe next week's will be better, and in that case, I really ought to get to finishing up some more "Anger" pieces before that time comes. So, stay tuned this week…

Thanks to OwlStory and Mali Bear's Buddy for the read through! :D