Chapter 15. Stargazer in a puddle.

"So, Hodgins asked, uh, Angela to, uh, marry him?" Booth asked their fingers intertwining.

"Twice" she nodded staring at their hands.

"And she turned him down both times."

"I heard all this from Angela." She said looking up from his chest.

"Yeah but did she tell you that he said that he wasn't going to ask her to marry him?" he asked smiling.

"Yes."

"And she said?" he asked smile widening.

"I'd like to marry you."

"Kinda sudden Bones. Let me think about it." He said kissing her lightly.

"What? No. Booth, that's what Angela told Hodgins… "She trailed off noticing his laughter.

"You tricked me." She accused smacking his chest with a smile.

He laughed. "I did. And you walked right into it. I love you Tempe but you're so easy to mess with."

Brennan ignored the 'I love you' comment, knowing it was a figure of speech. "You know, a lot of psychologists say that jokes are the way that we manifest a lot of our hidden desires." She said smiling up at him and kissing along his neck.

He shook his head. "No hidden desires here. …I've already got what I want" he said pulling her in.

She smiled as there was a knock on the door.

Booth sighed. "Who the hell is here at 7 am?" he asked frustrated.

"Damn it. It's Angela." She sighed climbing out of the bed. "We're going dress shopping or something."

"At 7 am?" he asked surprised as there was another knock.

"We're going to this place in New York" she said searching through her closet and pulling on dress.

"New York. …wow. How are you getting there?" he asked curiously.

"Hodgins private jet." Brennan said with a small laugh, pulling her shoes on.

"Gotta love those privileges" Booth laughed.

"Gotta go. I'll be back later" she promised kissing him. "And we'll pick up where we left off." She said smiling suggestively.

"Bye baby." He said smiling and pulling her back in.

"Bye." She said walking out "and don't call me baby" she called back.

He laughed as she closed the door then walked to the front door opening it then stepping out. "Let's go."

"Alrighty then." She said smiling and following her.

The next afternoon. Booth and Brennan are in her office discussing the latest case and looking at the x-ray of a head and half the spinal column.

"Do you even know what you're looking at?" Brennan asked raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "It's a neck bone… connected to the shoulder bone."

Brennan laughs and turns back to the screen pointing to a spot on the upper spinal column, just under the skull. "There's arthritic lipping here, and here, on the posterior dens."

"She has Arthritis?" he asked surprised.

"For this to occur she had to look up like this" she said looking up at the ceiling and meeting Booth's lips. She smiled sitting up and kissing him back. "We've gotta stop doing this at work." She said laughing.

"At least where everyone can see anyways." Booth said with a smirk, kissing her again.

Brennan smiled. "Professionalism Seeley." She reminded him.

He nodded. "Right sorry…what was the question?"

"Why would she be looking up like that all the time?" Brennan said shaking her head.

"Maybe she prayed a lot." He suggested leaning over and looking at the X-ray more closely.

"Four to six hours a day? What did she want so badly?" Brennan asked confused, looking up at him.

"Her father?" Max suggested entering her office and they turn to look at him.

"Hey baby." Max said smiling.

"Dad?" Brennan said surprised standing.

"Booth." He said with a nod.

Booth whips out his gun pointing it at Max. "Put your hand up."

"Booth!" Brennan said surprised.

"I was hoping we could get a drink or something before this part." He said putting his hands up.

"Max Keenan, you're under arrest as an escaped felon." Booth said walking closer to him, gun still drawn.

Max's smile faded. "Oh …okay then. I guess that's no on the drink, huh?"

"Bones, grab the cuffs out of my back pocket there." He said looking back at her for a moment.

"No" she said annoyed.

"What do you mean no? ... Bones!" he said surprised.

"It's okay, baby." Max said looking to Brennan.

"I don't want to handcuff my own father." She said seriously "…Plus, remember when he saved your life?"

"Hey just throw 'em over here I'll do it myself." He suggested.

Booth rolled his eyes. "Just put your hands on the wall Max." Max complied and is handcuffed.

"Dad what are you doing here?" Brennan asked with a sigh.

"I heard you were getting married" he said simply.

Booth stops frisking him and looks questioningly at Brennan. "What? No! Angela's getting married… to Hodgins… I'm not…"

"Oh, the bug guy. Oh, that's great. Good for her."

"Will you shut up, please?" Brennan glares at him and he looks back at her. "Long enough to Marandize him." He explained.

"You got the right to remain silent, got it." He said rolling his eyes and looking to his daughter. "We'll talk more later."

"Look, I'm sorry Bones, but he killed the deputy director of the FBI, I'm just doing my job." He said apologetically.

She nodded looking at her father. "He's right."

"Kisses, baby." Max said being led out as Angela walks in looking confused.

"Uh, sweetie? Was that your dad?"

Brennan nods sitting in her chair. "Yeah."

"Oh my god! …that sucks."

"He thought I was getting married…"

"…oh. Sweetie I'm so sorry."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault. …it was only a matter of time until Seeley found him anyways."

"Seeley?"Angela asked raising an eyebrow.

"…yeah. I know it sounded weird to me too." She lied.

Angela nodded. "Yeah."

An hour later. The FBI Interrogation Room.

Booth throws a folder and wallet down in front of Max and uncuffs him, pulling Max's water glass towards him with the end of the cuffs. "Oh. You checking out my prints?" Max asked smiling. "Not that you have anything to get me on."

"Max you know I like you and I hate to hurt Bones, but it's my job to catch you … and I'm very good at my job." He said smiling back

"Well you'd have to be to work with my daughter." He said standing. "What do you say? Shake hands with an old con. Or… or is that bad for the FBI image?"

"You abandoned her as a child. You don't think she feels that? Every time you pop in and out of her life?"Booth said coldly.

Max stared at Booth for a while then laughed. "You're just saying that so I'll hit you. Then you got a reason to lock me up. …Twenty years ago that would have worked." Max said patting Booth on the shoulder and walking out.

Back at the lab.

"Hey Brennan, I'd like to ask you a favor." Angela said walking up onto the platform. "Well it's not so much ask a favor as, as, as extend an honor. …I mean I hope you see it as an honor, and you don't think of it as some onerous duty, which I don't think you will, but then again I've never done this before and of course-"

"Angela, just ask." Brennan said interrupting the ramble.

"Will you be my maid of honor?" Brennan hugs her. "Is that yes?" Angela asked laughing.

"Yes. I'm completely, totally honored."

"Really? I thought I'd have to tell you what a maid of honor- "

"I don't even care how awful the bridesmaids' dresses are" she said interrupting and hugging her again. "I'm so glad you asked me."

That night at Brennan's apartment. Max and Brennan are sitting on the couch talking and showing Brennan a picture of him and Russ.

"I have your brother set up in a little auto mechanic shop situation."

"Where, Oregon?"

"It's better that you don't know, he's in violation of his parole."

"Because you made him leave the state." Brennan pointed out.

"Your brother is in a slippery slope, and yeah I know, I know, the irony of me being a good influence on him… but it's true I am." Brennan couldn't help but laugh. "It's so good to see you smile… that's something."

"Booth is going to find proof of who you are, and then he's going to arrest you." Brennan said sadly.

"Eh, not till later." He shrugged.

After a beat. "Did you come here just to tell me that Russ is okay?"

"No… actually I have something for you." He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a silver ring with three twists in the front. "This …belonged to your grandmother." He said handing it to her. "I know your mother and I told you that you didn't have grandparents but… try it on."

Brennan stares at it for a while then puts it on the table. "I-I have to go to bed, there are some inconsistency's with the remains, which I have to address, first thing in the morning."

"Okay." He said standing.

"You're welcome, to stay here, if you want."

"The couch would be great." He said smiling.

"No dad, I made up the guest room, in case you…" she trailed off. "Goodnight." Max looks like he wants to say something, but doesn't, and she walks away.

Brennan sighed dropping down on her bed as her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket rolling her eyes when she saw the caller ID.

"What do you want Seeley?" she asked with a sigh as she began changing into her pajamas.

"To come in would be nice." He said knocking on the window causing her to jump.

She opened the shades and then the window, letting him in. "Seeley what the Hell are you doing on my fire escape? You scared me."

"Apparently getting here at bed time." He said smiling and taking in her bra and panties look.

"Shut up." She said pulling her robe on.

"You're mad." He observed sitting on her bed.

"You arrested my father." She pointed out, annoyed.

"I had to. You know that."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I'm sorry Tempe." He said standing and taking her hand. "I should have waited… given you some time together." He apologized.

"Yes. You should have." She said trying to stay mad at him.

"I'm sorry." He apologized kissing her lightly. "I'm sorry." He apologized again kissing her neck.

"Stop it. … You know I can't stay mad when you do that."

He smiled. "I know. … That's why I do it." He said kissing her.

The next afternoon. Booth and Brennan were on the way to lunch when his phone rang.

"Booth." He answered

"Hey man will you stand up for me on Saturday?"

"Sure, against who?"

"No, no I mean will you be my best man?" he said sitting on the couch in the lounge.

"Sure… wow."

"Yeah I know, big honor."

"No, no yeah that, but you didn't give me much time to put a bachelor party together."

"No, no. No Bachelor party." Hodgins said seriously.

"Is that Hodgins?" Brennan asked curiously.

"Yeah, he wants me to be his best man." He said looking to her momentarily. "Well if there's no Bachelor party what do you want me to do?" he asked confused.

"Stand there, make a toast, hand over the ring, tongue kiss the maid of honor at the reception when people clink glasses." He said smiling.

"Nice. Excellent. Okay. So who's the maid of honor?" he asked curiously.

"No idea, but most of Angela's friends are really hot." Hodgins pointed out.

"…I'm the maid of honor." Brennan said curiously. "Why?"

Booth grinned widely."…Uh, uh listen do you need me to, y'know, connect with the bride's father? Put together the toast and speeches, all that?" Hodgins froze realizing he hadn't talked to her father. "Hodgins? You there?"

"Oh Angela's father, I forgot all about him." He said hanging up.

"Hello?" he closed his phone realizing he'd been hung up on.

A little while later they were sitting in the diner.

"Do you like your father?" Brennan asked out of nowhere.

"…um… yeah… I love my father. Why?" he asked blindsided.

"I think I love my father "

"Well that's normal." He nodded reassuringly.

"But he ran out on me and Russ, he robbed people… he's a murderer. …He got my mother killed, how does he expect me to…"

"It's hard to trust someone who's abandoned you, especially a parent." Booth said understandingly. "Look Bones, your father is going to do something tomorrow that's going to hurt you. How do you forgive that?"

"Am I a bad person for not wanting to care about my father Seeley?"

Booth shook his head kissing her lightly. "You're not a bad anything."

Two days later. The parking lot of the Jeffersonian. Max is walking to his car when Booth walks up to him. "Am I gonna need to use my gun Max?" Booth asked unsnapping his holster.

"Got your piece of paper?" Max asked turning with a sigh.

"Max Keenan I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of Deputy Director Kirby." Booth said slamming the warrant down onto the trunk of his car.

"Alright, alright. Fine. You can take me…I'm not going to abandon her again."

"You're not going to resist?" Booth asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "It's your lucky day, I guess."

"Okay great." Booth said pulling out his cuffs.

Max steps back "No you know what? …I'm wrong, I can't go quietly. It's not my nature."

"Max, I got a gun." Booth reminded him.

"It's not my nature. You're going to have to shoot me. You understand?" he said watching Booth takes out his gun. "Call it a character flaw. "Shoot me. Shoot me if you want … but in the leg if you don't mind." He places it onto the trunk and pulls off his jacket, getting ready to fight Max and punches him in the face. "Hey, hey that's good kid, you're throwing." He said punching him back causing Booth to stagger a little. "What's the matter kid? Got a glass jaw?"

"You know what? You talk too much." Booth said punching him again harder than last time.

"Damn, right in the face? Time! Time!" he said leaning over.

"You had enough?" Booth asks moving closer to him and pulling out his cuffs again.

"Wait I'm old." He said feigning exhaustion.

"There's no time-outs during an arrest." Booth said reaching to pull him up and being met with a fist to the face.

Booth gets him in the gut, finally knocking him to the ground. "Okay that's it… that's it I've had enough."

"Okay" Booth said grabbing one of his arms and Max punches him in the groin, his face scrunches as he falls to the ground. "Oh god." He said as they both lay on the ground in pain.

Back at Brennan's Apartment. A couple hours later.

"…my Dad. Gave me this tape." Brennan said when Booth walked in.

"What is it?" he asked sitting next to her.

"I don't know." She shook her head looking up at him. "…what happened to your face?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." He promised.

She nodded knowing what happened. "…he said it was from my mother and that I should watch it when I'm ready."

"…are you ready?"

She shook her head. "I don't think I'll ever be ready."

"Do you want to be alone?"

She shook her head again. "no." she said standing and putting it in. she sat back down and watched as her mother appeared on the screen.

"Hi Temperance, it's mom. I don't know when or if you'll ever see this, but I hope to put it in your hands myself and see you again, with my own eyes. This is a hard, hard world. Your father and I left you and Russ to save your lives. People would have killed you to get us. That's not what this is about. Today is your sixteenth birthday. I'm so sorry not to be there to tell you all the things a mother should tell her daughter when she turns sixteen and sorry not to give you this" she said holding up the ring her father gave her. "It's an heirloom. And starting today, it's yours. I don't know how long it will take me to get it to you, but I promise you I will. You're going to hear a lot of things about your parents, especially your father. He is a good man. It was my insistence to leave you kids. Max would have kept us together, fought until the end, I'm not sure he'll ever forgive me for that. So please Temperance, I need you to forgive me and if you can't forgive me, I beg you honey, if you can't forgive me please forgive your father. Remember you were loved in this world, cherished. What I did to you may have been wrong, but I did it out of love, I did it out of love."

Brennan shuts off the T.V. with tears in her eyes and leans back into Booth's arm, silent.

Saturday. The back room of a small church. Brennan comes down the stairs where Booth, Zack, and Cam are all waiting, a huge bow on the front of her dress.

"How do I look?" she asked knowing the answer already.

"Good" Booth lied.

Brennan notices that Cam's dress looks a lot better. "What? ...how come yours looks so much better?" she asked jealous.

Cam walked around behind her "because I took this and yanked –" she said as she got to work fixing the dress.

"Booth, have you been to Iraq?"

"That's classified information, you aren't cleared for that." He said watching them.

"Does it hurt to get shot?" Zack asked being more specific.

After a beat. "What?" he asked turning to him.

"I've been blown up, that wasn't as bad as I expected, but I've never been shot."

Booth looks unsure how to answer.

"Booth?" Cam called.

"Yeah?" he asked turning.

"Better?" she asked smiling.

Booth whistles a smile spreading across his face. "Wow, you look great."

"You said I looked good before." Brennan said confused.

Booth doesn't know how to respond and decides to change the subject. "Who's day is it, huh? It's Angela's." he heard the music start. "Come on lets go." He said lacing their arms.

Booth and Brennan start walking down the aisle, followed by Zack and Cam.

"Bones?" Booth whispered a smile on his face as they walked.

"Yeah?"

"Listen, you know I'm sorry I had to arrest your father … again."

"…Do we have to talk about that right now? You did what you had to do, I understand."

"Yeah, but-" They separate at the altar, unable to continue the conversation. "Bones?" he whispers as Angela walks down the aisle.

"What?" she asked annoyed.

"He could have gotten away." He confessed.

"What?" she asked confused.

"When we got into a fight your dad could have escaped capture."

"So he beat you? And still let you take him in?"

"No I didn't say that." He shook his head.

"What? So you beat him but you gave him a chance to escape?"

"No I didn't say that." He said stepping closer to her.

"Well I don't see any other alternative."

"No he didn't run away because he felt if he abandoned you… he would have lost you forever. Just thought you should know." He confessed and he couldn't help but smile as she hugged him.

"Thanks Booth" she said grateful.

"Um hi, I'd uh like to get married now." Angela said giving them a look and they part with a sheepish look.

"Welcome everybody, we have come together to join in matrimony Jack Stanley Hodgins, and Angela Pearly Gates Montenegro. Who gives this woman?" the minister greeted.

"I give you this beautiful woman." Angela's dad said with a kiss on the cheek.

"Angela and Jack have invited us here to share something beautiful, two people have invited their friends and family to say, you are the one I love. You are the one whom for I forsake all others." she said smiling as an agent from the state department enters with a file.

"Excuse me. Is this the Hodgins/Montenegro nuptials?" he asked walking up the aisle.

"It's trying to be." Angela said frustrated.

"Well I need to speak with you before these proceedings, proceed."

"Come on then. Let's get this figured out." Caroline Julian said standing and leading them out.

"We'll uh, be right back." Hodgins said following.

"Booth?" Zack asked as they sat on the edge of the alter.

"Yeah?"

"Is there any sense in ducking when someone shoots at you?"

"Your body ducks whether it wants to or not." After a pause "why?"

Zack handed him the letter. "You can read this later, and explain it to everyone."

"Why me Zack?"

"You know more about duty and honor than anybody else I know."

Meanwhile.

"Oh my god. I made this huge deal out of getting married and they all, they all…"

"Run." Caroline advised.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Run. Flee. Skedaddle."

"I like it." Hodgins said smiling. He stood offering her his hand and she took it smiling.

They walked back in and everyone moved back to their places, looking towards the doors.

"Change of plans, go directly to the reception, on us." Hodgins said smiling.

"Thanks for coming" Angela said smiling and they ran out, hand in hand, leaving Booth and Brennan at the alter.

"What do we do now?" Brennan asked smiling.

Booth smiled. "…free champagne?"

"Sounds good to me." Brennan nodded smiling, their arms lacing as they walked back down the aisle.

11 pm. Booth and Brennan finally arrive at her apartment after the almost wedding.

Brennan laughs as she nearly trips over her own dress and Booth catches her.

"That was so much fun." she said picking up the bottom of her dress and kicking her heels off.

"I know it was like a real wedding but no one actually got married." He said grabbing them beers.

"I can't believe you kissed me like that infront of everyone."

He shrugged. "They thought we were drunk and they were clinking. I didn't have a choice." He said smiling and kissing her.

She laughed sitting on the couch, her head spinning a little from the kiss and the liquor. "Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly serious.

"anything." He nodded.

"When we were left at the alter this afternoon infront of the minister… what was the first thought that ran through your mind?"

"'Damn Brennan looks hot in that dress, I just wanted to rip it off with my teeth.'" He admitted with a smile.

Brennan laughed. "Ok the second thing?"

"…I was thinking about marrying you." He said knowing that's what she wanted to know. "I thought… 'God I love this woman. I just wish she loved me like I love her. And if she did… maybe this would be us one day.'" He said looking into her eyes. "It's the same thing I've been thinking nonstop since your dad thought it was us getting married. …I need to know Temperance… is there any chance that we could ever get there? I don't care if its 5 years from now. Is there any chance at all?"

"…Seeley… I-I can't answer that question." She said surprised that he was telling her all this.

"It's not a difficult question Tempe. All I want to know is if there is even the slightest possibility of anything more ever happening… and if you can't do that…. Then I can't do this." He said standing. "I'm sorry Temperance. Take care." He said walking out.

Brennan pulled the dress off angrily, wanting to strip herself of everything that reminded her of him, and climbed into bed falling apart as she smelt his scent on her pillow.