Brennan was at her apartment showering and thinking about what she saw earlier that day at the rock concert with Sweets. The scars on Sweets' back appeared in her mind every time she closed her eyes. It made her wonder just what happened to him. She thought about her own journey in her teenage years with foster parents. Some things were too difficult to think about, and she refused to dwell on those thoughts. It only brought up feelings of hurt and anger towards her parents for abandoning her in the first place and exposing her to that type of lifestyle. None of the events would have happened if they had just stayed or taken them along.
"Bones?" Booth asked, cutting into her thoughts. She jumped, startled. She had forgotten he was there.
"Yes?" she said, pretending she hadn't been frightened.
"Are you okay? You look distracted," he replied.
"Just...thinking," she told him. She wasn't sure if she should reveal to him about Sweets.
"We're meeting Wyatt in an hour," Booth told her. "Just wanted to let you know."
"Okay," she said. He left while she finished showering and dried herself off. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. If you looked closely, you could see the past hurts behind her eyes. It was why she didn't allow many people to get that close to her. She hadn't really shared certain things with Booth for the simple reason that he'd become unsure of what to do or say. She knew him well. Once she was ready, she joined him in her living room. He was surfing the internet and watching some shows of the metal band they were investigating.
"I still don't get how people can listen to this," Booth winced. "It grates my ears."
"For some people it's a release," Brennan replied simply.
"Some release," Booth muttered. "Why can't they go for a run or do something less...shocking to the ears."
"To each their own," Brennan justified.
"All right," he agreed. "Let's go shall we?" They headed to the Royal Diner to meet Gordon Gordon Wyatt. It was during this meal that he spoke of Sweets' book of the two of them and how as the writer, Sweets was revealing more about himself than about his subjects.
"What does that mean?" Booth asked.
"Well, it infuriates him to no end that you refuse to speak of your childhood traumas," Gordon pointed out. "I can only presume it's because he has suffered some of his own."
"The scars," Brennan said, getting it.
"What?" Booth asked her. Gordon even looked curious.
"Oh," Brennan said, noticing she had spoken out loud. "I, um, saw scars on Sweets' back earlier. They looked like marks from a whip."
"A whip?" Booth asked, stunned. He stopped eating, his appetite suddenly missing.
"Hmmm," Gordon mused.
"What?" Booth asked him.
"Explains his obsession with your childhood traumas, doesn't it?" Gordon asked. Neither Booth or Brennan had anything to say to that.
Later
"Do you think he knew?" Booth asked her once they had returned to her apartment. Brennan looked over at him. They were sitting on her couch thinking about the conversation from earlier.
"Knew what?"
"That we were together?"
"I...don't know," Brennan answered. "I thought we acted pretty casual."
"He's very intuitive," Booth said. "I wouldn't doubt he'd have figured it out."
"I guess we'll find out won't we?" she smiled. "He'll no doubt bring it up."
"Maybe not since he's leaving the world of psychiatry," Booth sighed. "Still don't get it."
"Sometimes a person gets tired of the field they're in," Brennan pointed out. "It's better to get out before you burn out."
"Do you ever get tired of what you do?" Booth asked, serious. She thought about it.
"Sometimes," she confessed.
"Me too," he confided.
"You ever think of just leaving it all behind? Go away to some far away place and forget about all the murders and how horrible people are to one another?" she asked.
"I do, but I'd never go without you," he replied. She smiled at him, chuckling softly.
"So what do we do about Sweets?" Booth asked.
"I don't know," Brennan admitted. "I'd hate to treat him differently. He doesn't deserve that."
"So...just leave it alone then?" Booth asked. "I'm okay with that. I really don't want to bond or share my stories with him."
"We'll see what happens," Brennan said. She leaned in to kiss him.
"Is that my cue to leave and let you sleep?" he asked after.
"It's your cue to bring that cute butt of yours into bed with me," she laughed. He grinned in return. She got up and headed to her bedroom with him galloping behind her in a silly manner. She laughed even harder when he pushed past her as though he was winning a race and threw himself onto the bed. She fell down on top of him and proceeded to push all thoughts of Sweets and her memories out of her head.
Angela & Jared
For the past week, Jared and Angela had made good of their promise and kept things slow. Dates were longer and full of laughter and story telling. Angela realized that besides Hodgins, this was the second time in her life she had gotten intellectually deep with someone she was romantically involved with.
"You seem different from Booth," Angela said once Jared had finished a story. The were sitting at a restaurant and sitting leaning towards one another.
"Is that good or bad?" Jared asked, his eyes twinkling.
"It's neither. Just an observation," she replied. He grew serious.
"Seeley was my protector. He took the majority of the blows for me," Jared told her. Angela raised her brows in surprise.
"Blows?" she asked.
"Yea," Jared answered, bowing his head slightly.
"Oh," she said, understanding. She had no idea.
"Don't tell him I mentioned it," Jared said, looking at her seriously.
"I won't," she promised. He nodded and took a sip of his wine. She sat there with her mind trying to process what Jared had just told her. It made some things about Booth make more sense.
Zack & Cam
They were preparing to leave for the evening. Clarke had already left earlier. Zack was feeling nervous because he felt pretty sure tonight was going to be a big step for him and Perotta. Zack's nervousness reflected everywhere, so Cam couldn't help but ask him if he was all right. Her question made him hesitate, but he thought she might actually have some good advice.
"I might be having sex with Perotta tonight," Zack blurted out. Cam winced. He blushed. That was not how he wanted that to come out at all.
"Wow," Cam said. "Um, I get it now. The nervousness."
"I just don't know if it will ruin things," Zack said. "I've never felt this connected with a woman before."
"You're afraid it could end things?" Cam asked.
"Yes!" Zack said, glad she understood. "Should I say no?"
"Maybe discuss it with her?" Cam suggested. "I'm not sure what else to say."
"I feel like she's Booth," Zack said.
"What now?" Cam asked. She hadn't seen that coming.
"She's very much like Booth, and I'm like Dr. Brennan," Zack explained. "We don't really make sense, but in a way we do."
"Ah," Cam said, getting it. "You feel like your differences will break your relationship."
"Possibly. I feel I am concerned about that," Zack sighed.
"How about you just let things happen the way they are and go from there," Cam said. "Don't stress about it."
"That is a logical approach," Zack nodded. "I find I'm trying a less logical perspective on things lately, and I don't know how I feel about that either."
"Let's save that one for another day," Cam said before he could continue. "I've got to get home to Michelle."
"Okay. Thanks, Dr. Saroyan," Zack said. She smiled and left him standing there feeling a little at ease, but he was still worried.
Sweets
He was sitting in his office squeezing his stress ball. How could he have messed up and let Dr. Brennan see his scars like that? What must she think of him now? He was certain Gordon Gordon would have filled them in if he was any good at his job. Sweets knew Booth and Dr. Brennan would treat him differently now. It was too bad. They were really growing on him.
"Yo, Sweets," Booth said, poking his head around the door. Dr. Brennan was behind him.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sweets asked.
"Duck hunting," Booth replied. Sweets was confused at this. He assumed it was a shared joke because Dr. Brennan had to hide a smile behind her hand.
"We want you to join us for dinner tonight," Brennan said.
Here we go, Sweets thought. The sympathy begins.
"I'm quite all right here," Sweets replied.
"No, you're not," Booth said. "Up you get." He attempted to dump Sweets out of his chair, but Sweets held fast.
"You're just here because you feel sorry for me," Sweets said. "Not because you care about me."
"Quite the contrary," Booth said. He looked at Brennan for help.
"I was locked in a trunk for two days because I dropped a dish," Brennan spit out suddenly. Sweets froze. "I was so clumsy. They had warned me, and I knew the consequences, but the water was just so hot...so hot..." She was crying now. Booth stood there stunned. Sweets couldn't believe she had just shared with him. Brennan wiped her eyes.
"Booth," she gestured.
"Uh," Booth said, stalling. Sweets looked at him expectantly.
"It's okay, Agent Booth," Sweets said. "I can tell you're uncomfortable."
"If my grandfather hadn't saved me and Jared, I probably would have killed myself," Booth blurted out. Sweets felt a very strong connection with these two suddenly. They did care about him. Nothing else would make them decide to share their deepest, darkest hurts with him.
"Wow," Sweets said. "I really appreciate you sharing." He bobbed his head at them.
"Yup, okay, come on now," Booth said, hauling Sweets up by the arms. He did not like these kind of moments. He especially didn't like being vulnerable with Sweets. If he didn't man things up soon, they'd be stuck in this weird, sad relationship of shared traumatic experiences.
"We got steaks!" Booth said gleefully. "Gordon Gordon is gonna cook 'em properly this time." Sweets flashed him a grin. He knew what Booth was doing, and he appreciated it. These two really were like his family.
A Week Later
"Bones! What are you doing?!" Booth hissed. He was watching her feel up Hank in his coffin. People were beginning to stare. He yanked her back and hauled her off to the side.
"Hank was murdered," Brennan insisted. He gaped at her.
"No, he died of a heart attack," Booth corrected.
"No, he was murdered. His ribs are cracked," Brennan argued.
"Heart attack!"
"No!"
"Shhhh!" Booth plastered a fake smile on his face when a guest looked at them funny. He turned back to Brennan once they were unnoticed again.
"I need to examine him at the lab," Brennan told him.
"No. You need to act sad and give your condolences," Booth muttered.
"Booth!" Brennan said indignantly. "He was mur-"
"Stop saying murdered!" Booth ordered. "Use a different word like translated or something."
"Fine," Brennan snapped. "Hank was translated, and I need to find out how."
"What's going on over here?" Max asked, strolling over subtly. He had rather liked Hank and was sad to have seen him die so young.
"Bones thinks Hank was translated," Booth answered. Max looked at him funny.
"He means murdered," Brennan clarified. Max's eyebrows went up.
"Really? How can you tell?" Max asked.
"I was fixing the rose that fell and I felt his ribs. They were cracked," Brennan explained.
"Still can't believe you touched him," Booth muttered.
"I do it all the time, Booth..."
"Do you think it happened from CPR? I mean, Amy was really upset that she couldn't revive him. Maybe she did it wrong?" Max asked, interrupting their squabble.
"No. Your ribs don't crack in that spot from CPR," Brennan answered.
"So what do we do?" Max asked.
"Bones here wants to sneak the body out," Booth said. "And thus end up scarring this entire family for life."
"I'll help," Max said immediately. He moved through the crowd with Brennan right behind him. Booth groaned to himself as he followed. This was going to be a disaster. He caught up to them before they could act.
"Let me try to get an injunction first before we go body snatching, all right?" he said to her.
"Fine, but hurry up. Hank is going to be cremated after this," Brennan added.
"Great," Booth said, rushing outside to make the call.
Hodgins & Zack
"Poor Hank," Hodgins said, taking a swig from his drink. "You know, you think you've got life by the ass, and then something like this happens."
"I didn't know him very well," Zack said logically. "I'm not sure why I'm even here."
"Because everyone else is!" Hodgins said, exasperated. Then he caught sight of Angela. "Oh, swell. She brought the Jarhead with her."
"Hey, guys," Angela said, approaching with Jared behind her. "What did I miss?"
"Booth taking the money that Hodgins put on Hank's body," Zack replied. "That's the only exciting thing that's happened here so far."
"He what?!" Hodgins asked, outraged.
"Where is big brother anyway?" Jared asked, looking around.
"He was with Dr. Brennan," Zack answered.
"Of course," Jared nodded. Angela wondered why he said it like that.
"There you all are," Cam said, coming up to them with Sweets in tow. "I thought you'd ditched me."
"And miss free booze?" Hodgins asked. "No way." He was still sore that Booth had taken his money.
"Dr. Hodgins," Cam admonished.
"I'm down for that," Jared said, going in search of a glass.
"Cheers," Sweets said, clinking his glass with Hodgins. "Man, funerals are so...interesting."
"I'm not really even focused on what's going on here," Cam said. "I keep thinking about how I'm going to get Michelle to stop smoking."
"She is a teenager," Angela replied. "She's bound to rebel if you bring the hammer down."
"Don't I know it," Cam sighed.
"People really just let loose, you know?" Sweets went on, not even listening to the others.
"Bathroom?" Jared asked, coming back with his drink. He had spilled some on his shirt when another guest jostled into him. Cam pointed upstairs, and he left.
"Payton will be glad she missed this," Zack mused. She had feigned another obligation, and even if she had made it up, Zack didn't mind. He wasn't enjoying himself either. He was thinking about their date last week and how well it had gone. The sex had been amazing.
"You and Payton huh?" Angela asked, smirking. "How's that going?"
"Very well, thank you," Zack answered.
"Yo," Jared said, coming back. "The widow is screwing the undertaker. Don't ask how I know that."
"Funeral sex in the bathroom," Angela sighed. "I miss those days."
"I don't even want to know," Cam said, holding up her hand. There were a bunch of things she didn't want to know, like how Brennan discovered that Hank had been murdered. She had agreed with them, though, that corpses don't bruise, and they should be talking to the undertaker.
"That's hot," Jared grinned. Angela laughed in return. Hodgins chucked back another drink, glowering at them both.
"Speeches!" Hank's wife, Helen called, entering the room again. They all noticed she looked brighter than before. At least they knew why.
Booth & Brennan
"Booth! Booth!" Brennan called, gesturing with her hands.
"What? What?!" Booth said back. He watched her hands, confused.
"The widow and the undertaker," Brennan said, doing her gesture again.
"They're dancing?" Booth asked.
"They're having sex, you moron," Max cut in.
"See?" Brennan said. "Even my dad understood that."
"How the hell do you get sex out of that?" Booth asked, mimicking her gesture. "And don't call me a moron."
"Moving on," Max said. "So we don't have an injunction. What do you want me to do?"
"We talk to the undertaker," Booth answered. Helen walked by them then, giving them a glare. Booth snagged the undertaker before he could join her.
"Speeches!" they heard Helen call out from the other room.
"FBI," Booth said to the undertaker, Franklin. He showed him the picture of Hank. "Wanna explain those bruises?"
"You undressed Hank?" Franklin asked, astonished.
"Untucked him," Brennan clarified.
"The bruises," Booth said again. Franklin explained them.
"I'm not convinced," Brennan said.
"The cracked ribs then?" Booth asked. Franklin explained those too. Brennan pressed her lips together, shaking her head in the background.
"Can I go now?" Franklin asked.
"Yea sure. Go comfort the mother too," Booth said sarcastically.
"He's lying," Max said. "I can smell it on him."
"You can't smell lies," Booth replied, annoyed.
"Booth, come on! We have to get him out of here," Brennan said.
"Arrgghh fine," Booth caved.
Hodgins and the Gang
"Hank was..." Hodgins trailed off, looking out the window and seeing Max and Booth carrying Hank while Brennan ran ahead. "Oh my God! Hank is...leaving us! Who knows where he's going. Oh, God, Hank! We miss you so much! Your death has made me realize I need to live and love!" Hodgins rambled on a little more until they were out of sight. He stepped down, embarrassed, ducking his head to get out of sight.
"What the hell was that?" Angela asked.
"Yea man, you sounded a little loony," Jared agreed.
"I think it's from all the alcohol," Zack chimed in.
"You would be loony too if you saw Hank being carried away by Booth and Max," Hodgins hissed.
"What?" Angela asked, laughing. "No way."
"Yes way!" Hodgins argued.
"But...why?" Zack asked.
"Because Dr. Brennan thinks Hank has been translated. Murdered," Cam corrected, overhearing them. "That's my cue to leave." She took off, leaving the others standing there stunned. Booth re-entered, looking casual.
"What's going on, bro?" Jared asked.
"You're gonna guard a casket, that's what," Booth said, pulling him along.
"Sweet," Jared laughed, following.
"Oh my God," Angela said. "Only Jared would think this is funny."
"It is a little," Sweets said.
"This event just got more interesting," Zack mused, more to himself than anyone else. Amy came in just then to congratulate Hodgins on his speech. He used this advantage to gain information about Hank's death. They learned he had gone to lunch for sushi.
"I hate sushi," Zack muttered when Amy had left.
"Yea, well. Now we know she didn't kill him," Hodgins said. "Let's hope Cam and Dr. B find out something."
Booth & Jared
"So how are we gonna do this?" Jared asked, looking at the empty casket. "Want me to crawl in and pretend to be a dead body?"
"That's hysterical," Booth replied sarcastically. "Use your head, Jared." Jared was about to reply when the door opened and an elderly looking woman entered.
"Hi," Booth said.
"I've come to see my son one last time," Anne Reilly said. Booth felt his heart sink.
"Not a great time," Jared cut in. "You don't want to see him like this." Anne gave him a curious look.
"I just saw him earlier," Anne told him.
"Well, the undertaker is a bit of a novice," Jared explained. "The...materials used on Hank's face are...are sliding around. It looks ghastly."
"Ghastly," Booth echoed.
"And his hair...well it looks like Hitler's," Jared threw in. Booth almost snorted with laughter.
"Hitler?" Anne asked.
"Yea. Frankie is gonna fix him up though," Jared explained. "Come back in an hour or so."
"There you are," Anne's husband said, coming in.
"We can't see him like this," Anne said, rushing past him.
"Like what?" her husband asked, following.
"Like Hitler!"
"Have you been drinking?" they heard the husband ask before they went through the door. The brothers burst into laughter finally.
"Hitler?!" Booth asked Jared. "Really?"
"First thing that came into my head," Jared grinned. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. It worked," Booth said. "Stay here while I go get some answers."
The Jeffersonian
"Bet Hank thought he'd never be back here," Max mused as they loaded Hank onto the table.
"If you're not going to be helpful, then leave," Brennan ordered.
"I'll keep watch," Max offered, leaving. Cam and Brennan examined the body thoroughly, discovering stab wounds.
"This was done after they thought he was dead, but he was still alive," Cam noted. She went through the list of things in her mind as to what could cause such a phenomenon.
"I'll call Booth," Brennan said, walking away.
"He was poisoned first!" Cam called after her, figuring it out suddenly.
Booth
"A poisoner and a stabber," Booth repeated. "That's just great. All right. I'll get Franklin again." Booth hung up and snagged the undertaker who was on his way to get another drink.
"Let's go," Booth instructed, frog marching Franklin back to the coffin. Jared sprang into action when the door opened, but relaxed when he saw Booth.
"A lot of people really want to see Hank," Jared told them. "This is a tough job. What are you doing?" Booth was setting up a conference with Cam.
"That's Mr. Reilly!" Franklin exclaimed. He looked into the empty coffin for confirmation.
"Explain the stab wounds," Cam said to Franklin.
"I did my job! I did my job!" Franklin cried, visibly upset.
"What happened?" Booth asked.
"I was getting ready to start working on him, and then he sat up you know? It was like a horror movie! I panicked and stabbed him," Franklin explained. "I think I took too much acid in school..."
"Dude, you stabbed a live person?" Jared asked. "Not cool."
"He was dead!" Franklin defended himself. "I stabbed a dead person!"
"Dead people don't sit up on a death tray," Jared noted.
"All right," Booth said, interrupting and closing the laptop before Cam got too in depth with her work on Hank. He didn't like watching that stuff.
"Can I go?" Franklin asked.
"No," Booth said, handcuffing him to the coffin. "You stay here and keep people out."
"How?" Franklin asked.
"Tell them he looks like Hitler," Jared suggested. "It's been working for me."
"Just say there's a leakage and the body is not to be viewed at this time," Booth said as they turned to leave.
"Why didn't you come up with that earlier?" Jared demanded. "Letting me scare the people with Hitler talk, geez."
"I just thought of it," Booth confessed.
"Jerk," Jared muttered.
"Doofus."
"Nimrod!"
"Whoa, what's going on?" Sweets asked, coming across the brothers hurling insults at each other.
"Looking for a poisoner," Booth explained, pushing past.
"A what?" Sweets asked, not hearing clearly.
"Hank's been killed twice," Jared offered. He left, patting Sweets on the shoulder.
"Why am I so out of the loop?" Sweets asked nobody.
Later-Cam & Max
"I can't believe they went for sushi!" Cam exclaimed. "They were all, 'Hurry up, Cam!' and now I'm sitting here with a corpse and no ride back to the house."
"I think he's smiling a little too much," Max noted, examining Hank.
"I'm not an undertaker," Cam snapped. "Making them look nice isn't my job description! You wanna fix him, be my guest."
"All right, all right," Max soothed. "Take it easy."
"I'm sorry. I'm just super stressed right now," Cam sighed.
"Michelle?" Max asked. He'd been overhearing about Cam's problem with Michelle for a while now.
"Yea. Do you know how to get her to stop smoking?"
"Sure do. Quit yourself," he told her. She stared at him.
"How did you...?"
"You're not as subtle as you think," Max winked. "Set her an example. See what the results are."
"O-okay," Cam said.
"I'm here!" Sweets called. Booth had instructed him to pick up Hank before he went to talk to the Cleopatra looking woman.
"Great," Max said. "Here we go." The three of them lifted Hank and carried him to Sweets' car.
"Buckle him in," Max directed.
"But, he's dead," Sweets said. "He should be lying down."
"You get pulled over with him lying down, you got a corpse. You have him like this, he looks drunk," Max explained.
"Have you done this before?" Cam asked.
"No comment," Max replied.
"Oh. Oh I see. Yes, very good," Sweets said, climbing into the driver's seat. Cam and Max got into the back. When they arrived back to the house, Max went ahead to make sure the coast was clear.
"Come on, come on!" he hissed from the window, gesturing. Sweets and Cam shoved him through the window before they climbed in after.
"Lord almighty!" Franklin exclaimed.
"Get him in!" Cam said urgently. They settled Hank back down into the coffin.
"Where's his glasses?" Franklin asked.
"He had glasses?!" Cam gasped.
"Right here," Max said, pulling them out of his pocket and handing them over. He'd seen them on the floor before they left the Jeffersonian.
"Oh good," Cam said, relieved. They heard shouting in the other room. They ran to see what was going on, and they found Anne and Amy shouting at each other about Hank loving the other more.
"Enough!" Booth shouted. "Hank would NOT want to see this! He'd want us to...to...uh..."
"Sing!" Jared threw in. He started singing "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." Booth joined in, and slowly everyone else began singing too. Brennan took this cue and grabbed Hodgins and Zack, who had helped figure out the type of poison Hank had ingested.
"This is totally crazy," Hodgins laughed.
"Look for tea," Brennan ordered. They obeyed.
"I can't believe you didn't let me go with you to the lab," Zack said, annoyed.
"The less people that left the better," Brennan answered. "They would have been on to us." They searched until Brennan found what they were looking for. Hodgins tested it for fugu. When it turned purple, all three looked at each other.
"Hank was killed by a cup of tea," Brennan vocalized.
Later
"It's not Barney. He was too surprised about being able to pay to publish his book," Brennan mused.
"It's not Cleopatra. She merely said they were arguing over lawyer stuff," Booth sighed.
"Amy was there when he actually died. The first time anyway," Hodgins added.
"Could be the wife," Jared suggested. "She was quick to start banging someone else. Maybe she's been having affairs."
"She denied knowing anything about the tea," Booth told him.
"How are we going to get the killer to confess?" Brennan asked. Booth shrugged.
"You get them all to drink it," Max piped up. "The person who doesn't drink it is the killer."
"They'd let everyone else get poisoned?" Booth asked, surprised.
"Well, I'm not the killer, so I wouldn't know," Max shrugged.
"I'll get cups," Angela said.
"I've got the 'tea,'" Hodgins added. They went off together, Angela grinning at something Hodgins was saying.
"This had been the weirdest day," Jared muttered, sipping his drink.
"Okay, you're done with that," Booth said, taking it from him.
"Hey!"
"Don't make a scene," Max warned. Jared made a face instead.
"Please follow us to the graveyard," Helen was saying at the door. "Where we will say our final farewells to my dear husband." Amy snorted, making Helen shoot her a death glare. Max took Amy's arm to accompany her and prevent her from attacking Helen again.
"Payton has expressed jealousy at missing out on the action," Zack commented to Cam and Sweets, who were left standing there.
"I bet," Sweets snorted.
"Let's go," Cam ordered. The others rejoined them with the cups and tea. Brennan knew what the plan was. At the graveyard, she stood, raising her cup. Angela and Hodgins had handed out drinks to the crowd for her.
"I didn't get to do this at the house," Brennan said. "But I know Hank was all about his tea, and I'd like to honor this tradition by drinking his favorite tea as a way of saying goodbye." She saw Barney go to sip the tea, and Anne shouted and swatted it out of his hand.
"Mother?" Barney asked, surprised.
5 Days Later
"So it wasn't his brother or his lover or his wife," Booth said as they watched Barney Reilly stand in front of his brother and mother's grave. "It was his own mother."
"She wanted Barney to get at least half," Brennan shrugged.
"So...weird," Booth said.
"I feel better knowing we solved it," Brennan said.
"When I die," Booth started. "Please make sure I'm really dead. Like, poke me every so often or something."
"I can do that," Brennan agreed. "But I'm keeping you in the fridge or else you'll smell."
"Oh thanks," Booth said. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"I'd come visit you too," she promised. "Because that way I'd feel close to you and know that a part of you is still here."
"I think that's the nicest thing I've ever heard," Booth smiled. "Shall we?" They left the graveyard and went to have some dinner.
Cam
"So I've quit smoking," Cam said to Michelle, who looked up at her from her book.
"Really?" Michelle asked.
"Yup. It's not healthy. I should know better. Maybe you can help me find a better way to alleviate stress?" Cam suggested.
"Hmmm," Michelle said. "I think I can." She sat there thinking for a moment before going to her backpack and pulling out her cigarettes.
"Whatcha doing with those?" Cam asked, trying to be nonchalant.
"I figured we could cut them up. Pretend they're stress," Michelle shrugged.
"Excellent idea!" Cam crowed. She went over and hugged Michelle hard.
"I also don't want to be tempting you," Michelle said. "So I'll stop too."
"Oh, thank you," Cam smiled. She loved Max suddenly. Why hadn't she thought to ask him advice sooner?
Jared & Angela
"I can't believe you told people Hank looked like Hitler," Angela laughed as they finished dinner at his place. "That is totally something I would have said too though."
"You're rubbing off on me," Jared smiled. He sat there watching her. He had seen how Angela had interacted with Hodgins before. He had a feeling that she still cared about him. Jared was beginning to think that perhaps he was simply in the way.
"What?" Angela asked, noticing his quietness suddenly.
"Nothing," he said, smiling. "Just glad we're alive."
"Hear, hear," Angela agreed.
Hodgins & Zack
"You really think Angie is happy with Jared?" Hodgins asked Zack. Zack was busy preparing for his date, so he was half listening.
"I don't know," Zack answered absently.
"I don't know why I'd ever think she'd come back to me," Hodgins went on sadly. "I blew it. We blew it. God, I miss her so much."
"Then tell her," Zack suggested.
"I can't. She's happy. I'm not gonna be the one to ruin her happiness," Hodgins replied. "I just have to figure out how to move on." But he didn't know how. Even when he had gone out with Wendell and a bunch of women, his heart wasn't into it. He believed he'd forever be stuck on Angela.
"I have to go now," Zack said, standing by the door.
"Have fun," Hodgins waved. He felt jealous. Even Zack was in a relationship. That somehow just felt wrong. He sighed and threw himself down onto his couch. It was going to be another long and lonely night.
I hope you enjoyed it! I had tons of fun writing it. Love the Double Death of the Dearly Departed episode it's so funny :p
Anyhow, the next chapter might get a little more somber. I hope you bear with me!