Chapter 24. The End and the Harbinger.
"People say you only live once, but are as wrong about that, as they are about everything. In the darkest moments before dawn she returns to her bed. What life is she leading? Is it the same life she was leading half an hour ago? A day ago? A year ago? She doesn't know.
"She wonders, who is this man really? Do they lead separate lives, or is it a single life shared?
"A storm approaches. But right now there is a still over the horizon, the air thick with electricity, lightning striking in the distance. Are either of them aware of the gathering turbulence? Can the feel the crackling of electricity in the wind? Or are they only aware of the power they generate between themselves? The first hint of the storm was not a thunderclap. It was a knock.
"… She had never seen a dead body before. He was in the Army and has seen too many. Violent death... Murder. It sends out shockwave, it changes you. The closer you are to it, the greater the shock, the more things change.
"But when you love someone, you open yourself up to suffering; that's the sad truth. Maybe they'll break your heart; maybe you'll break their heart and never be able to look at yourself in the same way. Those are the risks. But right now they aren't thinking about those risks. they're only focus is on loosing themselves in each other. Completely unaware.
"And that's the burden. Like wings, they have weight, we feel that weight on our backs, but they are a burden that lifts us. A burden that allows us to fly."
Brennan looks over at Booth then back to her computer. She considers what she has written, and then deletes it.
"…such a weird dream." Booth said hoarsely opening his eyes.
"Booth? Booth! You're awake!" Brennan said jumping up and standing by his side.
"…it was so real."
"You're operation was a success… but you reacted poorly to the anesthesia. You've been in a coma for the past four days. What took you so long to wake up?"
"It felt so real." He said mostly out of it.
"It wasn't real." Brennan said smiling. "this is real. I'm real." She said kissing him sweetly.
"…Who are you?" Booth looks confused.
Brennan steps back looking hurt as Cam walked in.
"Hey!" Cam said smiling. "oh my god. You're awake."
Brennan ran out pushing past her and Cam watched as she ran out.
8 weeks later. Angela dragged Brennan to her psychic reading after picking her up from the airport.
"Angela what are we doing here?" Brennan asked with a sigh.
"I thought it would be fun to see what Avalon thinks about what happened between you and Booth. Maybe she can help clear things up." Angela said leading Brennan to the picnic table where they were meeting her.
"Fine. Can we make it quick though. I really want to get home."
Angela laughed. "we'll see how it goes."
"Angela hello, and you must be Temperance." Avalon said smiling as she met them.
"yes." Brennan nodded as they all took a seat.
"…shall we begin?" Avalon asked setting her deck of cards on the table.
They nodded watching as she flipped over the 'temperance' card.
"Temperance"
"the first card she turns over is literally your name. Are you going to tell me this is a coincidence?"Angela asked looking to Brennan.
"Yes it's a 1 in 78 chance."
"It was on top. and It's not really speaking to me." Avalon shrugged turning over another card. The card was the IX of swords showing a man sitting and weeping in bed. "Ok, I see a sick man in a hospital. He takes refuge in a dream life." She turns over a third card. The II of cups, a couple stands infront of a hill facing each other and reaching for the others hands. "You're there in the dream and you're helping him to create that dream life by tellin' him a story." She continues flipping over a fourth card. The X of penticles, a couple happily pass under a bridge in the market, they gaze into each other's eyes. "You're both so happy in the story, so happy it's almost sad when he wakens."
"Ok, no offense to you and your psychic, but I just got off of a flight from Guatemala. I wanna go check in with Cam and then shower and change." Brennan said not wanting to accept that Avalon was on point.
Angela and Avalon ignore her resistance and she flips over another card. The Lovers, a naked Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden looking up towards the sky.
"Ohhh." Angela said smiling and looking to Brennan again.
"The man whose life you saved is really excited to see you again." Avalon read.
"I bet." Angela commented amused.
"No, I don't save lives. People are already dead when I get to them." Brennan denied.
"I'm pretty sure you saved somebody's life." She flipped over a sixth card. Strength, An angel petting a lion on the head and smiling. "A man with the heart of a lion."
"Booth has a lion heart!" Angela said excited.
Brennan looks between Avalon and Angela then stands uncomfortably. "are we done here?"
"come on sweetie, you promised." Angela said giving her a look and Brennan sat back down.
"This man was lost. You brought him the light that showed him the way home. Without it, he would've died."
"Oh! Booth was in a coma. Brennan read him the book she was writing. When Booth woke up, he had no memory of her. Then as he started to remember things he thought that they had a whole different life together. He thought that they were married for like 2 weeks."
"you were joined at that time. And you still are joined in many ways." Avalon said looking at the cards.
"Nothing either of you is saying makes sense." Brennan said watching closely as Avalon flipped another card. The X of cups. Showing a couple embracing as they look up at a rainbow, and two children play around them.
"Were you pregnant?" Avalon asked curiously looking up at her.
"What? No, of course not." Brennan said surprised.
"what about in your book."Avalon questioned.
"No, I deleted the book. I-I'm tired Angela. I'm gonna go check in at the office and then go home. …Nice to meet you, Ms. Harmonia." Brennan grabs her suitcase and walks away.
"Underneath the icy exterior beats a very warm heart." Angela said with a sigh turning to Avalon.
"her life is at a very critical turning point, between great happiness…" she flipped over another card. Death.
"That's death." Angela said her face falling as she stared at Avalon.
Booth is sitting in Sweets office attempting to regain certification once again. "I do not like cats either."
"Well that's consistent with the person you were before your brain surgery." Sweets nodded.
Booth sat on the couch opposite Sweets. "I don't own a nightclub, I'm not married to Bones, you are not a zany singing bartender, and I hate clowns. So, can I go back to work now?" Booth asked hopefully.
"When our sense of reality is challenged, you know, really challenged, it can take some time to regain our footing."
"Look, it's been eight weeks since I put my brain box through the blender, ok. I am back baby, huh?" he said smiling and hopping to his feet. "Special Agent Seeley Joseph Booth."
"Have you been in touch with Dr. Brennan since your release from the hospital?" Sweets asked curiously.
Booth sits and lets out a deep breath. "Uh, no. She's… y'know in Guatemala, digging up Aztecs."
"Do you miss anything about the alternative life you experienced while in a coma?"
"…Yeah. ...The clothes. Mm, I miss those clothes. They were great clothes." He nodded with a grin.
"Ok, I am certifying you as fit for duty." Sweets said handing him a briefcase containing his gun and badge.
"haha. Fantastic." He said taking his gun and flashing his badge then leaving.
The Jeffersonian. Brennan walked in with her bag, heading towards her office.
"Dr. Brennan! Would you care to hug?" Cam asked meeting her and smiling.
"Why?" Brennan asked confused.
"Ok. I'm… good with that. Welcome home."
"Thank you. What did Booth do while I was gone, solve boring normal murders?" Brennan asked curiously.
Cam shook her head. "He hasn't been reinstated yet."
"The doctors told me that he'd be fine in a couple of days."
"Sweets is examining Booth today, fingers crossed." Cam said walking into her office.
Hodgins walks out of his office hugging Brennan happily.
"Oh, uh, I'm happy to see you too." Brennan said surprised.
"Oh, I'm happy personally and professionally. Unsolved murders have gone up a thousand percent since you've left." He said smiling widely.
"Well, I find that hard to believe."
"Rough estimate. Welcome back!" he nodded.
"thank you!" Brennan called as she walked into her office smiling.
Brennan leaves her suitcase by her desk and crosses to the couch, taking off her coat and scarf as she starts to sit down, unknowingly sitting on Booth. Booth jumps up surprised.
"Whoa! Oh! Booth!" Brennan turned looking down at him as he jumped up to his feet.
"Bones!" Booth said smiling as he hugs her. "I missed you." Brennan nodded and Booth pulls away awkwardly as the hug lengthens.
"Look at that, I'm reinstated on the day that you come home. That's the weirdest coinkidink ever."
"No, it's not even the weirdest… coinkidink today. …But if you were reinstated why are you dressed like a furniture mover?" She asked confused.
"Well Sweets he just, um, cleared me so I came straight over to tell ya the great news."
"What took you so long to recover?"
"Oh, um, don't worry, nothing wrong with me. I'm 110%." He said smiling lightly.
"you know there's nothing more than 100%, right?" Brennan pointed out as Angela walked in.
"…Hey, Brennan. Hey Booth."
"Hey." Booth said smiling at her.
"Listen guys, there are a bunch of bodies buried under the Taversham fountain."Angela said with a sigh.
"How do you know that?" Booth asked surprised
"Avalon told me."
"Who's Avalon?"
"Avalon is Angela's psychic." Brennan informed him giving him a look and an eye roll. Booth laughed. "See, even superstitious Booth doesn't believe in psychics."
"That's interesting because she says that you two were linked in a very profound and spiritual manner." Angela smirked.
Booth looks at Brennan, unsure how to react. And Brennan rolls her eyes again.
"Oh really, well she also says that in your weirdo-alternate-shared-life-experience-thing that Brennan was pregnant." Booth looks at Brennan again, then down at the floor. "It's… odd that neither of you mentioned that." She said raising an eyebrow. No answer. Angela laughed and walked out.
Brennan gives Booth a look, but Booth is still looking down. She looks away and Booth gives her a look. Brennan catches him this time.
"Let's go check it out." Booth said excitedly.
"What? No. Why?"
"eight weeks Bones, I'm going stir crazy here okay? Look, let me suit up."
"Can I at least take a shower?" She asked with a sigh.
"Yeah, I need to shave." He said talking to himself and noticing her bags. "…you need a ride?"
"sure." Brennan said smiling.
"ok." Booth smiled taking her bag over his shoulder.
An hour later.
Brennan sighed laying her head on Booth's chest, content. "I needed that" she smiled.
Booth laughed. "yeah me too."
"drinks tonight?" Brennan suggested. "we can… catch up"
"are we talking 'catch up' or 'catch up'?" Booth asked waggling his eyebrows.
Brennan laughed. "what's the difference?"
"whether or not we have sex."
Brennan laughed kissing him. "depends on how well it goes."
"ooh I like the sound of that."
"I'll bet you do." She smiled kissing him.
Booth's phone vibrated and he sighed pulling away. "…we got the GPR… whatever that is. We have to meet Caroline in 15 minutes."
"ground penetrating radar. So we can see if there is anything there." Brennan said standing and pulling her jeans on.
"do you, uh, think there's anything there?" Booth asked buttoning his shirt.
"honestly? … not at all." She pulled her shirt on. "you?"
He shrugged grabbing his coat. "who knows?"
"…what are you wearing?" Brennan asked confused.
"What do you mean? This is regulation FBI."
"Well what about the garish socks and the gaudy tie? What, you don't remember? You resist regimentation with these tiny symbols of rebellion." Brennan explained.
"Nah, I remember. I remember, okay? Let me just re-acclimate myself at my own speed here, okay?"
Brennan nodded "ok. …we have to go."
15 minutes later. Booth and Brennan were scanning the ground.
"do you see anything?"
"Nothing. Because there's nothing here. Because there's no such thing as a psychic."
"In my coma dream you were pregnant."
"Sweets said that your dream was nothing more than your comatose brain processing what I read to you from my book." Brennan rationalized.
"…the point is how did the psychic know that if she isn't psychic?"
"Oh." Brennan said surprised when the GPR started beeping. "there's something here."
"What about us being linked in a very profound manner? No one knows about us except you and me" Booth whispered looking at Brennan seriously.
"she said we were linked not that we were involved." Brennan clarified looking at him then back to the screen as it beeped louder.
"What is it? What do you see?"
"human remains. …Lots of human remains."
"What's all the ruckus about?" Caroline asked walking up to them.
"Bones sees dead people."
"At least eight, maybe more." She said ignoring his reference.
"Is there any chance these are very old remains of settlers or Indians who should be left in peace?" Caroline asked hopefully.
"no" Brennan shook her head. "does that look like a CD to you?"
"…yeah …it does."
"I'll get the warrant." Caroline nodded walking away.
Brennan turned to Booth. "Seeley…" she sighed.
"I know. you've gotta work tonight." He nodded. "no biggie we'll do it tomorrow."
"I'm sorry."
"don't worry. …you can make it up to me later." He said stepping close to her.
Brennan laughed pushing him away.
10 pm. Booth and Cam sat at the bar of the founding fathers,
"First drink since the brain operation?" Cam asked curiously.
"Yeah and since, uh, y'know getting back to work."
"I'm honored. An auspicious occasion." Cam laughed. "…So what do you want?"
"Just wanna share a drink, y'know, with one of my closest and dearest friends who I can trust, um, with certain things."
"Oh god. There's lasting brain damage isn't there? Something you haven't told anyone." She asked dreading what was coming.
"What?"
"Are you hearing voices?"
"No."
"Seeley if you're hearing voices that's really quite serious."
"That's not funny." Booth shook his head.
"Never said it was Seeley." She said sipping her drink.
"I'm not hearing voices Camille, all right. so you can relax. It's just… I forget that I wore goofy socks, …so we can do one for that huh?" Booth and Cam took a shot.
"The things that make you a good cop have nothing to do with the socks. What's really on your mind?" She asked seeing through the act.
Booth lets out a sigh."…All right, um, that place that, I went to, y'know, in my coma dream, it was just Bones and I…. It was so real."
"You're in love with Dr. Brennan." Cam nodded.
Booth stares at her for a long time. "What I'm wondering is… am I the same guy?"
"A sweet, kick-ass, FBI murder-solver with hard fists and a lion heart? Yeah, you're still him. My advice, for what it's worth: forget the bruised brain, and go with your lion heart." Cam said telling him what she knew he needed to hear.
"Right, yeah, and, uh, tell Bones how I feel."
Cam thought for a long moment about whether to tell him the truth or not. "Yes… except be sure about your feelings because if you crack that shell, and you change your mind, she'll die of loneliness before she'll ever trust anyone ever again." Cam warned.
Booth nodded. "Right." taking another drink then standing. "thanks Cam"
She nods and he leaves.
The shaft 3:30 am. Booth climbs down sitting on the ladder for a minute watching Bones work, completely oblivious to his presence.
"Hey Bones." He said smiling.
She jumped surprised and turned to him as he walked over to her."What time is it?"
"Oh it's early."
"What are you doing here?" she asked looking at his watch then up at him.
"couldn't sleep." He said smiling lightly. "thinking of you all alone underground. Thought I'd keep you company."
Brennan smiled. "thanks."
He nodded "Anytime. …y'know, I…I hate this part of the case, when you're doing stuff and I'm just at home doing nothing…"
"well when the sun comes up I have something for you do to."
"and what is that?" he asked curiously.
"the minidisk we saw on the GPR." Brennan said holding up an evidence bag. "you can bring it back the FBI crime lab."
"wow that's exciting." He laughed sarcastically.
"I know it's not very interesting." She nodded.
Booth nods watching her work and his mind begins wandering to the events of the afternoon then to wondering if what he felt for her was really real.
"well, a minidisk is definitely 90's technology." Booth said with a sigh. "I should get this in."
"don't you wanna go to breakfast?" Brennan asked smiling.
Booth shook his head. "No time, I gotta y'know… get this to my people so they can find out the manufacturer and all that hooey and get it to Angela so she has all the information she needs to…" he trailed off walking to the ladder.
"But no one is awake except you and me." She called after him as he climbed out. She stared watching where Booth had stood and felt the lonely emptiness in her reappear, stronger than it had been since she had left Booth in the hospital nearly 8 weeks ago.
9 am. Booth walks into his dark office turning on the lights to find Sweets sitting in front of his desk, playing with his bobble head.
"Whoa, easy, don't touch the bobble head." Sweets turned to him. "Hey, Sweets. I'm working. Everything's great, I'm fine, m-my brain's feeling good, so, uh, bye."
"Well I've been informed that your brain still thinks that it's in love with Dr. Brennan." He said standing and placing his laptop on the desk.
Booth sighed. "Great, Cam ratted me out." He guessed taking his golf club and walking behind his desk.
"No, I found out through Avalon. …You told Cam?"
"Oh, great, she finds your watch so now all of a sudden you believe everything that she says?" Booth rolled his eyes swinging his club.
"Ok, you just admitted that you told Cam you're in love with Dr. Brennan." Sweets pointed out, Opening his laptop on Booth's desk. "Do you know what you're looking at?"
"Yeah and I'm pretty sure you haven't been this close to one in a long time." He said smiling and swinging again.
"It's a PET scan of your brain." Sweets informed him, ignoring the comment.
'Hmm, then I was wrong." He swung again.
Sweets pushes a button on the laptop. "This is called the ventral tegmental area. This is the dorsal caudate body. Now these two areas have been proven to be linked to romantic love and sexual arousal."
"Okay, if this is your version of dirty pictures, it's really not working for me right now." He said closing the laptop.
Sweets opens it again, continuing. "Now this," he brings up a picture of Booth's brain. "…this scan was taken before your operation. The green and blue colors indicate moderate activity but nothing that screams love." He pushes another button. "The same scan while you were in a coma. Just lit up like the 4th of July. You were dreaming of being in love, of being married, right?" Booth just stares at him. Sweets presses the button again. "Same scan. Three days ago. …Before your operation, you weren't anymore in love than a… horny love-struck teenager. After your operation it shows love. Conclusion: your feelings are not truly real and will fade away like every other symptom of your coma. Now, I think you and I both know that Dr. Brennan's hyper-rationality is really just a cover for a very vulnerable and sensitive core."
"Ok, great so we're talking about Bones's brain too here." He nodded looking from the screen to Sweets and back.
Sweets closed the laptop. "So, if you breach those defenses and it turns out you don't really love her…" he shook his head. "…I left you hard copies." He said pointing to the desk and walking out.
5 pm. Booth met with Avalon on the steps of her apartment to talk about the case.
"I always thought that Jenny was alive and happy somewhere. Some psychic I am." Avalon said with a sigh sitting on the steps.
"Look, I don't know if you're psychic or not."
"Then why would I send you to the fountain in the first place?" She questioned.
"Remorse." Booth said sitting next to Avalon on the stairs.
"But that's not really why you're here… is it agent Booth?"
He sighed and pulled out his brain scans. "The neurosurgeons tell me right here that this part of my brain shows love. And this…"
"Hmm." She nodded.
"…What?"
"Let the neurosurgeons have your brain. They know about your brain. They don't know jack about your heart." She pulled out her deck of cards. "Here, cut the deck."
"Come on, seriously?"
"Cut the cards."
"Alright, fine." He sighed and cut the deck.
Avalon turned over a card labeled 'The devil'. "She's in terrible danger. You gotta go to her now."
"Oh come on Avalon…"
"No, no. you gotta go to her."
"I'm still a cop, I know when someone's looking to escape." Booth said rolling his eyes.
"So chain me to the railing. Do what you gotta do." She shrugged. "But you better go to her now, Agent Booth. Go to her now. Go to her right now. Go to her now! Now! Right now!" She said growing hysterical.
"Bones…" he gasped realizing she wasn't faking and turning to go.
Brennan opens the door to the empty clinic.
"Hello?" She called stepping in. "Dr. Leacock, it's Dr. Brennan with the FBI."
"Dr. Brennan, come back to my office. Lock that door behind you please… this isn't the best neighborhood." He called back and she locked the door heading to his office.
"There's been an interesting development in the Harbinger case. It appears that the victims were poisoned. But is there any chance that what appeared to you to be MCS was actually the result…" she walked into his empty office pausing confused. She saw the files on his desk, some of the folders open and empty. "…You're shredding the Harbinger files?" she asked stepping closer and realizing what was really going on.
Leacock enters the office, holding a scalpel. Brennan turns just in time and throws the desk lamp at him and he falls to the ground. She runs out of the office into the hallway, but Leacock grabs her legs and trips her. Brennan scrambles to her feet with him right behind as she made a run for the door, pushing a cart in front of him hoping to slow him down.
She reaches the locked door, but Leacock catches up to her, knocks her to the ground and slashes at her with the scalpel, but misses. Brennan reaches for a nearby tray and hits him in the head knocking him off of her. Leacock quickly recovers as Brennan gets to her feet and knocks her down again slashing at her once more. Brennan raises her arm to defend herself and the scalpel embeds itself in her arm.
Booth breaks down the door at that moment and shoots Leacock multiple times in the chest. Booth watched as he crumbled to the ground, unable to move and mad that he had to kill the bad guy once again.
"Booth" Brennan pulls herself to the desk and Booth moves to her focusing on what was really important. He realizes shes hurt and kneels down behind her taking her arm. "oh my God. Bones. Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm all right, I'm okay."
"No you're not Bones, your arm. Look." He said holding her arm steady.
"Oh my god."
"No! Don't touch that!" he said watching her pull it out with a scream. "Easy, I gotcha. It's gonna be all right." he promised putting pressure on her arm.
"Thank you." Brennan nodded leaning back into him.
"the ambulance is on the way." He said resting his chin on her head.
"Don't let go Seeley. You have to keep the pressure on it."
"I got it. Just relax. …trust me, alright? I'll take care of you. …I've got you. Just breathe. I'll take care of you." Booth kisses her on the top of the head "…I'm right here. I've got you, baby."
6:30 pm. Booth sat in his office, covered in Brennan's blood, texting her.
'how are you?'
'i'm ok. They're discharging me right now.'
"That's a lot of blood." Caroline observed walking in.
"I'm fine. This is Bones's blood." He sighed texting. 'I'll be there in 10. give you a ride.'
"That supposed to be good?"
'no. its ok. I'll take a cab. See you tomorrow Seeley.'
"She's fine. They fixed her up and uh, she's home." He said tossing his phone onto his desk and staring down at his hands. "…I should've been there for her."
"You were there! You killed the bad guy dead. I know you hate that but it always makes me a little glad. Does that make me a bad person?" Booth gives her a slight smile. "…I guess that closes the case then."
Booth stands up. "no it doesn't."
8 pm. Brennan walked into Avalon's office.
"Hello? Miss Harmonia?"
"Dr. Brennan. How are you feeling?" She asked concerned for her well being.
"they gave me medication so I feel how I imagine people of average intelligence feel all the time. …I came here to see if you'd run away."
"No, I'm here looking for clues. Something I might've missed." She said gesturing to her 10 card layout infront of her.
"in your cards? …Because that is a waste of time." Brennan said taking a seat infront of her.
"You say that after I sent Agent Booth to save your life." Avalon pointed out smiling.
"you knew where the bodies were buried and you knew Dr. Leacock would attack me." Brennan rationalized.
Avalon shakes her head sadly and turns over a tarot card. The VIII of cups, depicting a man wanderer in a field. "You are an abandoned child." She flipped over a second not allowing Brennan to object to the reading. 'The Hanged Man.' "The world scares you, so you wrap it up neatly in bonds of reason, education, and proof. All riddles are solvable to you except for one. …The riddle you can't solve is how somebody could love you." She finished looking up at Brennan's face.
Brennan laughs uncomfortably. "Well, I'm beautiful and very intelligent."
"The answer to the question that you're afraid to say out loud is, Avalon draws another card. The sun. "yes, he does love you…but he is very conflicted whether or not it is real."
Brennan nods, considering the possibility that she may actually be right about some things. She stood and left pulling out her phone as she went. 'how about a walk?'
'meet you at your place in 15'
9 pm. Booth and Brennan are walking to the diner.
"Fargood is going to get away with mass murder." Brennan sighed, annoyed that there was nothing else they could do.
Booth shook his head. "You know, I don't wanna talk about work."
"Well what do you want to talk about?" she asked chancing a glance up at him hopefully.
Booth stops at the street corner, followed by a curious Brennan.
"You all right?"
"Not really. I just… I have something that I wanna say to you from inside my heart."
"blood is in your heart." Brennan said nervously. "The idea that the heart is the seat of love and strength of character is ancient, but metaphoric. I mean, in reality these qualities are based in the amygdala, which is part of the brain."
"I mean, ever since I've woke up from my coma I've been wanting to say something to you… about you. …I- I just, I just wanted to finish this case. Y'know, to make sure that I'm really back, so that you know I'm… me again."
"does the fact that we didn't close the case give you doubts?" Brennan asked beginning to walk again.
He shook his head following. "No, we did the best that we can. Hold on," he runs infront of her and stops her from walking. "…you don't, you don't think that I'm fully back?"
"No, I know you're fully back."Brennnan nodded.
"You do?" he asked almost surprised.
"Well… you're wearing your socks." She pointed out simply.
"Oh… yeah."
A briefcase lands noisily infront of Booth and he turns to see a clown standing infront of him.
"Oh no." she said as the clown sprays him in the face with water from a plastic flower."Oh, Booth, do not kill the clown." She said grabbing his arm as he straightened up. "Oh…"
Booth squeezes the clown's plastic nose and laughs as Brennan stares at him.
"Come here." Booth said squeezing the clowns nose again as he continued to laugh amused. The clown packs up the rest of his gear and leaves as Brennan continues to stare.
"…Booth, you hate clowns. You do not think they're funny."
"Right, oh, before my coma I shot a clown off an ice cream truck." He said remembering.
"Yeah. …Well I'm sure in a few weeks you'll hate clowns again. …Be back to normal."
"Yeah, a few weeks." He nodded as they began walking again.
"What did you want to tell me?" Brennan asked remembering their previous conversation.
"You two got a moment?" Caroline asked pulling up next to them in her little rabbit.
They turn. "yeah Caroline. What's up?"
A half hour later. Brennan and Avalon stand in the observation room as Booth talks to Fargood.
"I'm sorry we couldn't get him for killing your sister." Brennan apologized honestly.
"Sometimes you gotta just settle for the second best situation."
"I'm sorry too for how we manipulated you into scratching his face." She apologized again.
"It was rational" Avalon shrugged.
"Yes… and yet irrationally I still feel bad about it."
"The cards say only your top layer is rational. Underneath you're as crazy as I am. And that's a complement." Avalon said with a laugh.
"Doesn't sound like one." Brennan said confused as Booth walked out.
"You two are going to keep doing things as usual?" Avalon asked as Booth met them.
"Sometimes you gotta settle for second best." He said smiling.
Avalon nods. "By the way, my cards tell me this all works out eventually." She said exiting.
"What all works out eventually?" Brennan asked still confused.
"come on lets go get that drink." Booth said smiling and leading her out of the building.
11 pm. Booth and Brennan sit at the bar of the founding fathers.
Brennan smiles looking into his eyes for a long moment. "Seeley… there's a reason I asked you out for drinks, well a reason aside from sex." She admitted.
"really?" he asked smiling. "and what would that be?"
"I want to give it another shot."
And by 'it' you mean….?" He gestured between them and she nodded.
"yeah. …I wanna see where this goes. Give it a try."
"…oh." Brennan nodded knowing what he was going to say. "no Tempe. I-its not… like that… you were right I'm not completely myself again and I don't want to mess things up with us because my brain's still wonky. …do you get what I'm saying?" he asked looking her square in the eye.
She nodded. "…yeah. So …I should go then. …before I make things more complicated." Brennan said standing and walking out, the lump in her throat threatening tears if she didn't get out of there soon.
Booth sighed watching her go, knowing there was nothing he could do right now. He didn't know if the feelings were real or a consequence of what they had experienced together. And he wasn't about to risk it all to find out. Brennan was on the verge of losing herself to love and he didn't want to lose her. He did the only thing he could think of. Wait until he was certain.