The Rings in the Heart
Chapter 16 - Dancing around the Truth
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The Hoover Building, Washington D.C.
Through the one-way glass, Lance Sweets was observing the mute and willowy Asha Mubarak as she sat alone in the Interrogation Room; her tall thin frame dressed in unrelieved black, her black lacquered fingernails worrying her now empty plastic cup. A cardboard box containing folders was on the table next to her.
The door to the observation room opened, admitting Brennan, Booth, and the tail end of what was a fascinating conversation.
"Bones, I won't allow you in the Interrogation Room when you're high on pain meds, period" said Booth.
"I've only taken a half-dose, Booth, so the effects are less likely to impair my judgment. It is unlikely that I would embarrass you again, by having someone else asking if I am pregnant with your child" she said in an attempt to reason with him.
"Now wait a minute. I was not embarrassed. I was just taken by surprise earlier, plus you'd just thrown up over me. Then there was that whole 'nothing is 100% certain' thing, for a minute it made sense y'know?"
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Sweets' jaw dropped. He couldn't resist interrupting. "You're pregnant, Dr. Brennan?"
Booth and Brennan, turned their heads simultaneously to look daggers at Sweets. "No!" they replied in unison.
"Although you can never be 100% certain, right?" said Booth directing a teasing smile at Brennan.
"Ri-ight," replied Brennan with a secretive smile in return.
"Okay. Now I'm totally confused" said Sweets, suppressing a desire to throw his hands in the air. "So you're not pregnant, but there's always a chance that you might be, and even if you are, you're not saying. That whole 'will they, won't they' relationship thing that the two of you had going on for years is being replaced by speculation over your desire to procreate."
"You've got it in one, Sweets. He's pretty good at this stuff, don't you think, Bones?" asked Booth.
"I'm impressed at how quickly he caught on" said Brennan in mock seriousness.
"Guys. You know how annoying it is when you do this. I'm in the room" said a now frustrated Sweets.
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"Okay, enough" said Booth with a chopping motion of his hands. "I am going to interview the Emo, Sweets. You need to tell me what is going on in her Emo-brain through my earpiece. You know the drill."
Brennan made an attempt to follow Booth, as he opened the door, but he held up a single finger to stop her.
"Nah-ah-ah, Bones. You, are staying here, with Sweets, because you're high, remember? Don't let him use his shrink-tricks to make you divulge any baby stuff, okay?"
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Brennan, who Sweets observed was more visibly relaxed than usual, and most definitely glassy-eyed, gave an uncharacteristically evil chuckle.
Raising her voice as Booth exited the Observation Room, Brennan announced loudly "I am not high, and I won't tell anyone about us having a baby together, Booth."
Seeley Booth stood in the corridor of his workplace, still holding open the door the Observation Room, as a dozen FBI staff did a collective double-take. The voice of Camille Saroyan interrupted his attempt to will a hole to open up in the floor and swallow him.
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"So. Am I to expect a request form for Dr. Brennan to take leave to go into Rehab, to go on Maternity leave, or both?" asked Cam.
"Funny, Cam. You're here to do the samples?" asked Booth.
"Yes. Here are the consent forms. I'll be waiting in here until you're ready" replied Cam with a smirk, knowing that the wait was going to be entertaining.
"Okay. Give me five minutes, ten tops?" said Booth, as he turned and headed toward the door to the Interrogation Room.
Apartment of Dr. Temperance Brennan
The door to the apartment clicked closed, kicking off their discussion…okay, the bickering again.
"Booth. It has only just gone five. I would like to go back to the Lab for a couple of hours" complained Brennan.
"Not happening, Bones. Cam busted you when she showed up at The Hoover to take Asha's DNA samples" he replied, placing the box of folders that Asha Mubarak had provided them with onto the floor.
"I only took a half-dose of the Vicodin with my lunch. I don't believe that I was impaired"
"Trust me, Bones. You were impaired. Announcing our intention to have a baby together? We haven't even had time to talk it through…"
"It wasn't an announcement. I simply provided you with reassurance that I wouldn't talk about it with Sweets…"
"Yeah, I know. It was a pity that there were a bunch of FBI staff, and Cam who witnessed that 'reassurance'. They will be sure to put their own spin on it, and before you know it, people will be springing surprise baby showers on you."
"That is wrong. It would be pure conjecture, based upon hearsay…" Brennan was interrupted by the ringing of her cellphone. Manipulating her phone with her good hand, she took the call. Before she could even say her name, she pulled the phone away from her ear as a high pitched squealing came from the receiver. It wasn't a wrong number from a fax machine; it was Angela Montenegro.
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"Ahhhh! Sweetie, Sweetie…I can't believe you didn't tell me…" screamed the voice of Angela, loud enough for Booth, and pitched high enough for any dog within a two block radius to hear.
Booth mimed Brennan an 'I told you so' and softened the blow by trailing his fingers down the side of her face, as the realisation hit her. She spoke into the phone.
"Ange. I'm not pregnant. I will have to call you back." Brennan disconnected the call without waiting for a response. The sounds of protest were cut off abruptly.
"Ouch, Bones. You just hung up on your BFF there" observed Booth.
"I know that. Booth, if I am unable to navigate the social mores around simply considering parenthood, am I even fit to become a mother?" she asked.
Booth pulled her into a Guy Hug Plus, it was the same as the standard Guy Hug, but it permitted a little more grab-ass. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed his cheek against her hair.
"You know the answer to that question, Temperance. Besides, you don't need a license to make a baby, all you need is…" he began. "Ouch!" said Booth as he was poked in the ribs with a cellphone.
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"This experiment that we embarked on together, Booth, it has too many variables. I believe that we are achieving what we set out to do, but sometimes it appears that success or failure, are not as measureable or predictable as I postulated."
Booth gave her squinty assessment some thought, as he ran his hands further down her back to rest on her hips. He pulled his head away from her hair so that he could look into her face and tell her the truth as he saw it.
"When you're making your way through life, there are decisions to be made. Some people use their heads. You prefer hard facts and experiments to help you make decisions. Most people use their hearts, or their gut to make a choice, and it's a gamble. Experiments are a lot like gambling, there's an element of chance whatever method you use. Your method only works to a point, Bones. When there are too many factors involved…"
"I need to take a chance?" she asked, with uncertainty in her eyes.
"You need to trust your heart" he said, his own eyes conveying only love and sincerity.
"What if I can't bring myself to trust my own heart? What if I'm still unsure what that means?"
"Then you need to trust mine, until you do" he replied.
"I need to take a chance with you?"
"That's only the very first step. You take a chance with me, then we're taking a chance together. It's easier that way"
"We've been here before, Booth. Giving 'us' a chance" she realised, her memory of the smell of rain, the wet flagstones, and the darkened plaza outside the Hoover returned to drive the message home.
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He rewarded the moment by giving her a brief kiss on the lips.
"Relationships aren't about straight lines; like your logic, like the bullet from my sniper rifle. It goes around in circles, like a dance. The song ends, you're back where you started, and it's time to make a plan for dancing the next number."
The metaphor appealed to the writer in Temperance Brennan, and she felt a twinge in her chest as she recalled the night when Booth had burned the 'Lil Bones' effigy. He had wished her a dance. Another piece of the relationship puzzle fell into place, as she comprehended the significance of that wish.
"If love is dancing, then I want to dance with you, Seeley Booth"