Sweets had been quite amused when he found out that Doctor Brennan and Agent Booth were living together. Then he realized he'd have to deal with them both 24/7 until Doctor Brennan was happy with his recovery. He sighed inwardly. This was going to be a long couple days.
He was currently sitting on the couch in Booth's apartment. He was dully skipping through channels on the TV.
"Hey, Sweets, are you hungry?" Booth called from the kitchen. They'd just arrived at the apartment about an hour ago. Booth had figured that now that Sweets was settled in he'd whip up some grub.
"Kind of." Sweets replied. A news channel flashed on and he saw a picture of himself in the top right corner.
"Good! Because I am going to make the best grilled cheese you'll ever eat in your entire life."
"Uh huh." Sweets responded dully. His attention was on the screen. The news wouldn't filter out parts of the story that it thought might offend him. Sweets still didn't know the full story about Brennan's abduction or about Daisy's hostage situation.
The title of the one hour special was 'Accounts of The Gravedigger.' (Sweets wasn't sure how a story like this could be called a special.) The reporter was saying how some details had not been released due to privacy, but that Dr. Lance Sweets of the FBI had been buried alive only to be saved by the same group of people who had worked on the case of Heather Taffet. Pictures of Brennan, Hodgins, and Booth flashed onto the screen. They said how this case had probably reopened old wounds for previous victims of the original Gravedigger. And then they went to the new Gravedigger. Everyone was interested in the acts of the brother of Heather Taffet. It varied from how he used a common date rape drug to black-mailing the victim's girlfriend with pieces of clothing.
Sweets was unaware that Booth was talking to him, and both Booth and Sweets were unaware that Brennan had silently entered the apartment. "You know, Sweets, you don't have to be shy. You don't have to say you're not hungry and not eat food because you think you're taking advantage of me. I know! I'm a good resource to take advantage of and I do make excellent food, but that's beside the point. Mi casa is su casa! … Sweets?" He flipped the sandwiches that were on the griddle. "Sweeeeets?" he called again.
Sweets suddenly saw picture of where he'd been buried. The picture was from a distance away. You could see the ambulance, FBI standard issue SUVs, and some vans. What stood out the most to Sweets though was the sign with the name of the cemetery.
That's when Booth made his entry. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he'd put a cooking apron on. He glanced from Sweets' expression to what was on the TV screen.
"Why did you tell me?" Sweets demanded with a sudden burst of anger as he stood up.
"I don't know what you're-"
"That's where my parents are buried!" He pointed to the TV screen. He was livid. "That… that monster buried me beside my parents and you didn't bother to tell me?" Sweets' eyes were welling up with tears but he still kept his offensive position.
Booth chewed his lower lip as he tried to think of the right answer. "I just… I didn't want to upset you."
"Ya, well you can see how well that worked!" Sweets retorted.
"Look I think we need to ease into this, alright? Just take the whole thing little bits at a time." Booth eased his way towards Sweets with his hands up in a passive gesture.
Sweets' hand went to his chest. "You didn't think that I needed to know that?" His bottom lip quivered. "You didn't think that I need to know that I was twenty feet away from the bodies of my parents? That if I wouldn't have…" the words caught in Sweets' throat. He cleared it and continued. "That if I wouldn't have made it I probably would have been buried in the exact same cemetery?"
Booth grasped hold of Sweets' shoulders with both of his hands, but was careful not to touch the kid's injuries. "Look at me, Sweets."
His chocolate eyes were shiny and a tear had spilled over onto his cheek. Sweets stared hard at the G-man. What gave him the right to withhold this kind of information from him?
Booth saw the question in his eyes and continued. "Once you're recovered I promiseI will tell you everything you want to know. Don't find out from a stupid television reporter that has no idea what they're talking about." To prove his point he reached over and clicked the power button on the remote and then put his hands back on Sweets shoulders. With complete sincerity he said, "I care about you, Sweets, and I'm trying to do this the easiest way possible. You get me?"
Sweets blinked hard and nodded. He then fell forward into Booth's shoulder and Booth embraced the psychologist with a hug. Sweets started sobbing. "That's it, kid, get it out." Booth said quietly. 'Justimagineit'sBones,justimagineit'sBones…' Booth said to himself. The hug was way out of his comfort zone and he was glad no one else was here to see it.
Brennan was though. She watched from her secret vantage point. She was smiling. The scene had given her a warm fuzzy feeling inside. This proved that Booth was going to be a great father, not that she had doubted it before. She'd seen how he'd interacted with Parker. Now it was just up to her to be a great mother. It was also a great display of Booth's compassionate side that rarely anyone was privileged enough to see. But it also showed how damaged the young doctor was.
Sweets sniffled slightly and pulled back from Agent Booth when suddenly a thought struck him. "Can I ask one question?"
"One." Booth emphasized.
"Do you and Doctor Brennan refer to me as your baby duckling?" Sweets asked as he recalled the reference from one of his drug induced dreams.
"What?" Booth laughed as his cheeks tinted slightly. "That's ridiculous! Where'd you hear that at?"
"Oh, nowhere in particular." Sweets replied with a crooked smile.
"I've gotta go flip some sandwiches." Booth said as he dodged into the kitchen.
"I'm back." Brennan decided to announce.
Sweets frantically rubbed at his eyes to get the moisture off his face before Doctor Brennan could see. Booth also acted as if nothing had happened. "Hey, Bones!" Booth greeted.
"Anything of interest happen while I was away?" Brennan questioned.
"Nope." Sweets replied hurriedly.
"Nada." Booth agreed just as fast.
A/N: Viola! The last normal chapter. :) I really liked how this chapter turned out and I tried to keep everyone as in character as possible. The next chapter shall be the epilogue! :D Thanks for reviews! I love them and give virtual cookies to all you review! (They're pumpkin chocolate chip to keep the Halloween spirit.)
Important Information about NaNoWriMo: Yes, I shall be participating in this grueling event. XD Yes, I will be writing a Bones fanfiction. No, it will not be a sequel to this fic. Yes, it will be Sweets-centric. Here is the description I have posted on my NaNoWriMo profile:
The Siblings in the Nightmare
"A case starts out just like any other until Dr. Lance Sweets recognizes the man who identified the body as a man from his abusive childhood. When the investigation leads to the psychologist's biological father the whole team is in for a quite the case. Especially when an unexpected surprise turns up. With Brennan on maternity leave, will the case ever be solved?"