The Rings in the Heart
Chapter 15 – Enter the Emo
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Disclaimer: BONES belongs to FOX & TPTB. I've covered the apologies from pretty much every angle that I can think of…
Botany Lab – Hurst Building, ANU, Washington D.C.
Slouched on a couch in the office of the late Professor Nizam Mubarack, Seeley Booth sat waiting and wiggling the stripy-socked toes that were at the end of his outstretched legs. His 'lab boots' had been whisked away by an Emo female intern, who was taller than he was, and excepting her large brown eyes, she could have been Fishers' sister. She had promised to return with a replacement pair of boots for him. Brennan had also been spirited away to freshen up, but not before she had announced feeling immediate relief from her episode of emesis over the boots of her partner. Brennan was the poster-child for the concept of a cast-iron stomach, so two cookie-tossing incidents in one week was tantamount to lightning striking twice in the same place. It probably meant nothing, but the investigator in Booth was still worried enough to want to find out what was going on. Since the moment he had laid eyes on Temperance Brennan, he had pegged her as the type who pushed herself relentlessly. But following the accident in Tightsqueeze, and within the context of their longer term experiment, there were now times when he could almost see her pushing her emotional limits as well her physical and mental ones.
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Brennan entered the office a couple of minutes later, and glanced a little sheepishly at Booth's toes, devoid of footwear. He patted the space next to him on the couch, indicating that she should take a seat. She still looked a little washed out, but the greenish tinge and blotchiness had disappeared.
"Hey, Bones. Feeling better?" he asked, as she sat down. He placed a hand just above her knee and gave a supportive pat, not really knowing what mood a sick Bones would deal him. Surprisingly, she placed her own hand over his and gave it a squeeze, bumping her shoulder against his with a small grin of chagrin.
"The painkilling meds are disagreeing with me, Booth. Vicodin puts me to sleep, the acetaminophen with codeine fails to provide adequate pain relief, and the tramadol, while effective as an analgesic makes me as sick as a puppy."
"Eh, that would be either 'a sick puppy' or 'as sick as a dog'. Do you want me to take you home?" he enquired.
"Absolutely not, we should continue on with our work here today. I actually do feel better" she replied, placing emphasis on her improvement by intertwining their phalanges.
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At that moment, Connie entered the office with a bottle of water for Brennan.
Brennan addressed Connie, "I apologise for vomiting in your lab. It happens frequently with visitors to my own lab, but we deal with human remains rather than plants."
"Think nothing of it Doctor Brennan. I thought that you might like some cold water" replied Connie, proffering the water and realising belatedly that the cookie-tossing Anthropologist would not be able to open the bottle with her left arm in a sling. Add to that the fact that Brennan's only free hand was in the grip of the FBI agent beside her, and Connie became a little unsure about what to do next. Booth extended his free hand to take the bottle from the Botanist, as Brennan reluctantly freed her hand from his.
"Thank you" said Brennan, to Connie for bringing the water, and to Booth who removed the lid of the bottle for her.
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"You look much better now. This is morning sickness, yes?" asked Connie, after seeing their display of affection, and immediately jumping to what appeared to be an obvious conclusion. Brennan almost choked on her mouthful of water.
"Wait, what? Slow it down, and back it up for me," ordered Booth.
"The two of you, you know. You are obviously lovers, yes? She is having your baby, right?" said Connie, drawling out the word 'lovers' in her Columbian accent, making Booth blush prettily. Brennan gave a short laugh.
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"Yes" said Brennan, "…and to my knowledge, no."
"To your knowledge?" squeaked Booth.
Connie nodded sagely. "Well, you can never be 100% certain."
"That is true" agreed Brennan.
"Whoa!" said Booth. Raising his hands in the air and turning to Brennan. "You're pregnant?"
"No. My vomiting is a side effect of the painkillers that I'm taking" said Brennan, now perplexed that she was repeating herself.
"Oh", said Booth and Connie in unison, for wildly different reasons. Booth dropped his hands back onto his lap as his eyes locked with Brennan's in one of their famed 'unresolved issues we haven't talked about yet' staring contests. It had been a while. Their longer term experiment had given them plenty of other important issues to work through together emotionally. On the physical side of their relationship, they had been focussing on recreational rather than procreative issues, and making attempts to break the Laws of Physics of course.
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Brennan broke the impasse by blurting "I still want a baby, Booth."
"You do?"
"Yes."
"You mean, with me?
"Yes, obviously. I'm not having intercourse with anyone else."
"Good to know, Temperance."
"I mean, that I'm only interested in having sex with you, Booth."
"Feeling's mutual here, and if it's what you want..."
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Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. The Emo intern had returned with clean boots for the FBI Agent. Connie, who was standing stunned at the content of the conversation that she had just witnessed. Booth and Brennan glanced sideways at the Botanist and looked back at each other.
"Maybe, we should discuss this later?" suggested Booth.
"Agreed," said Brennan decisively.
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Connie looked at the Emo intern and beckoned her into the room. A pair of clean boots were placed on the floor next to Booth.
"Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan, this is Asha. She is…pardon me, was, Professor Mubarak's intern. We are all very sorry for your loss, Asha" said Connie with genuine sympathy.
"Death comes to us all, Connie. Without fear, I await its' cold, terminal embrace" stated Asha in a monotone.
Brennan stared at the intern all thoughts of procreation placed aside. Looking past her pale face powder, black lipstick and heavy eye make-up. The evidence was irrefutable.
"You, are a relative of Professor Mubarak, and like him, you also have physical markers of Marfan's Syndrome" said Brennan to Asha.
"Yes, Doctor Brennan. You are very observant. Nizam was my brother. He was a great man, and it is my fault that he is dead" said Asha in a resigned tone.
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Booth gave a sigh of frustration. Now he was going to have to interrogate the Emo; a scenario which he didn't want to contemplate. If there had of been a clown handy, he would have happily squeezed off a few rounds, or under the circumstances, perhaps cutting would be more fitting.
Maybe he could get Sweets in to work his Psychological mumbo-jumbo instead, because he really needed to talk to Bones.