Author's Note: I really should be studying for my last two finals tomorrow, considering one of them is math, which is my hardest subject. But, I got distracted and decided to finish this chapter instead. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for all the reviews and favorites!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, and I never will. It, unfortunately, belongs to Fox.
"I should have told you sooner, but I didn't know how to. They're shipping me out on Monday." He answered, raising his eyes to hers. "To Iraq. For six months."
Her mouth fell open before she could stop it, and she stared at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief on her face. Iraq? How could they be sending him to Iraq? Didn't they know how much he was needed here, protecting the country from its own internal enemies? They had the best record in the FBI, for God's sake. They couldn't send him to Iraq. "Why? Aren't you needed more here than over there?" She managed to choke out, her voice thick.
"You're the brains of the operation, Bones." He replied, giving her a wry smile. "I'm just the agent who arrests the bad guys. I'm expendable. When your country calls you to defend it, you go."
"Well, aren't there other men they could send? This is a country teeming with young men who could be called to arms. You've already done your time." Even as she attempted to reason with him, to show him that this was completely unfair, that he shouldn't have to go over there again, she knew that he had already accepted the reality of the situation. It was her that was in denial.
He was a man of honor. She knew that. She also knew that if his country called him to fight, he would. And there was nothing she could do about it.
"Monday is in two days, Booth. It's in two days, and you didn't tell me until now? Didn't you think I deserved to know this as soon as you knew about it? I'm your partner. You can't just drop this on someone and expect them to be okay with it." She said, her tone revealing her anger. "And what about Parker?"
"What about him?" He asked, his eyes growing dark with emotion. "I already explained all of this to him."
"You did?" She said disbelievingly. "Did you tell him that you might never come home? That you might die fighting a senseless war that was started based on false evidence? That he might-"
He cut her off. "You know what, Bones? You don't know anything about this." He pointed an index finger at her, and his voice rose. "I'm fighting to keep this country safe, and if you can't understand that, then those three PhD's you have mean nothing. All that science crap you learned over the years that you can spout out any time you want, it means nothing. Because if you're not loyal to your country, then you're just as bad as they are." He spun away from her, and stormed over to her front door, pausing only to grab his jacket.
She stood in the middle of her kitchen, stunned by the intensity with which he had spoken. She knew that he strongly supported, if not the war itself exactly, then those who were sent away to fight it. She should have respected his beliefs; but the news had come as such a shock. It did little to justify her behavior towards him, but those had been the first words to pop into her head.
She was a fighter and a runner. Her years in the foster system had taught her to be that way. She fought against anything that stood in her way, and ran from anyone who got too close. It was the way she had programmed herself, and she didn't know any of the codes to change those programs.
Sighing, she made her way into her bedroom. She knew that she had to apologize to him, but it would probably be in her best interest to let him cool off a little. Sliding between the cool sheets of her bed, she soon drifted off into a deep, silent sleep.
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She stood outside his apartment at exactly noon. She reached down and smoothed out her shirt; it was just a simple, long-sleeved, blue V-neck, but Angela had mumbled something once about it being his favorite, which made absolutely no sense. Still, she figured that she should do anything to get ahead right now, and if nothing else, it was comfortable.
She had raised her hand to knock when the door swung open.
"How did you know I was here?" She asked. He didn't answer, just motioned for her to step inside. She did, pausing awkwardly about halfway to the living room. He shut the door behind him, and turned to face her, arms crossed over his chest.
"Are you here to throw some more anti-war propaganda in my face?" He said coldly, his eyes dark. "Because I really don't want to hear it."
"No, Booth, I came to apologize." She replied softly, lowering her gaze under his intense scrutiny. "I shouldn't have spoken so irrationally. I should have respected your beliefs."
His eyes softened, and he let his arms fall to his sides, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I just didn't think I would hear it from you, Bones. I thought by now, you'd get it."
"I reacted badly, I know that. And I do get it, I just…" Her voice trailed off, and the emotions she wanted to portray were lost as she found no words to speak. She always knew what to say when it came to science, or logic, but with her emotions, her tongue locked up tighter than if a cat really did have it. "I didn't…I just didn't like the thought of you having to go over there again. You've already done your time, and it was a huge surprise to just drop on someone. Especially if the person is leaving in two days."
"I know…I guess I just didn't want to have to tell you." He said sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders. "So I procrastinated, which was even worse. I'm sorry."
His explanation made sense. He knew that she hated working with sub agents (they could never quite rise to his level, in her opinion), and that she wouldn't want to face the fact that when he got on that plane, it might be the last time she saw him alive-or ever. He knew her too well, by now, and even if she didn't want to admit it, it was true. She wouldn't have wanted to face that reality then, but she especially didn't want to now. There were only two days before his departure. Two days, forty-eight hours, 2,880 seconds, to spend with the person she just might not be able to live without.
"It's fine, Booth. I get it. I probably would have reacted that way even if you told me last week." She wanted to fix things, move past this argument they'd had this morning.
He smiled softly. "Thanks, Bones." The words hung in the air between them as silence fell. His chocolate brown eyes met her own icy blue ones, and she felt warmth spread through her, something that was happening more and more when she was with him. He reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her face, his hand moving to cup the back of her neck. She felt herself unconsciously lean into him, and she saw that he was doing the same to her. Her eyes began to close as the distance between them decreased, and their lips were just about to meet when a string of knocks echoed through the small apartment. She pulled away, cheeks burning, and took a step back. He stared at her in shock for a few seconds, then spun around and opened the door, not even pausing to look to see who it was.
"Daddy!" His son, Parker, flew through the door. "What took you so long?"
"I was just talking to Bones." He said, bending down to give Parker a hug. "Hello, Rebecca."
"You can have him for the night, too." Rebecca replied, standing awkwardly in the doorway. Reaching out, she ruffled Parker's hair. "You have fun with your daddy, all right? I'll see you tomorrow."
"'Kay, Mom." Parker replied before turning towards Brennan. "Are you coming with us too, Dr. Bones?"
"Yeah, Bones, you want to come?" He looked over at her hopefully, and she couldn't resist the two of them.
"Sure." She replied, not meeting his gaze. "That sounds fun." She quickly covered the distance between them, and they all headed out of the apartment. Booth slung an arm around her shoulder, and leaned over.
"Thanks, Bones." He whispered softly in her ear, and she inhaled sharply at the shivers that ran up and down her spine. "It means a lot." His arm fell away, and he turned his attention back to his son. She was left feeling confused and uncomfortable, and she could sharply feel the tension radiating between them. She pulled herself out of her thoughts, and turned towards Parker, who was throwing a string of questions of various animals at her. She felt a small smile grace her lips, and quickly answered the first one. There was nothing quite like science to get her mind off things.