"Some people are just born human. The rest of us, we take a lifetime to get there."
~ Chuck Palahniuk (Rant)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Emotional Rescue

Cam followed Gus into the Woods home, dropping the day's newspaper on the table by the door. She pointedly ignored the headline declaring Clayton's recovery from his kidnapper, and walked towards the rear of the house, intending to go to the den and begin collecting and packing the investigative tools and evidence from the case. When she reached the threshold of the room however, she was stopped dead by the vision of Gus standing in front of the whiteboard they had used to keep track of the evidence and clues, a pensive look on his face.

"We almost didn't get them back." He said quietly, simply.

Cam considered the more gentle approach, but discarded it. "That's true."

Gus turned his head, eyebrows raised. "Not going to sugar coat it, huh?"

"Nope." She crossed the room to stand next to him, both taking in the sight before them, the remnants of a desperate race to save two people they both cared about. "I don't think you're the type of man who would appreciate my blowing smoke up your ass, so yes…it was damn close." She laid her hand on his arm, squeezing slightly. "But only close. We got them back, safe and sound. Just like we promised Charlie we would."

Gus nodded absently. "Yeah. Not a promise I was looking forward to breaking."

"And you didn't have to."

"Thanks to you and your team."

"We worked well together."

"We did."

"We do."

"Stay the night?"

"I'd love to."

B&B

Booth eased the door to Brennan's hospital room open, suitcase in hand. He peeked around the doorway and watched, smiling, as Brennan spoke to Parker on the phone.

"I am perfectly fine, Parker. Your father was able to find me and except for a dislocated wrist, I am completely healthy. Please don't worry." She paused as the boy continued to talk, the look on Brennan's face showing Booth that his son was not quite convinced of his stepmother's well-being. "Parker. Have I ever lied to you before?" She waited for his answer, and then smiled. "And I never will. Your father is on his way to bring me some clothes because the doctor is discharging me in the morning. Now would they let me leave if everything weren't alright?" Once again, Brennan waited as Parker spoke; finally noticing that Booth had entered the room. "Okay, Park. Your dad is here. Please tell your mother that I said thank you for the flowers she sent, and we will see you next weekend, okay?" She smiled at Booth and accepted his hello kiss as she wrapped up her phone call. "I love you, too. Have a good week. Bye." She closed her phone and patted the bed next to her. "Come sit. The children are all settled, Rebecca took Parker home and Alex is at Angela and Jack's. I told them we would pick her up in the morning."

Booth brushed an errant strand of hair off Brennan's forehead. "You missed her a lot, huh?"

Nodding, Brennan lay back on her pillow. "Of course. We've barely seen her in the last three weeks. And this is prime growth and development time for a toddler, so we're missing vital milestones in her life." Brennan sighed, taking in the raised eyebrows of her husband. "And…I just want to hold her."

Booth nodded and took her hand. "Me too, Bones. Me too." They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, sharing a look that said everything they felt for each other without the need to vocalize. When the moment passed, Booth leaned down and kissed her, almost chastely. "Love you."

"And I, you."

Booth stood and waved her suitcase around. "I brought your things from home so you could change before we left tomorrow."

"Thank you, Booth. Did you happen to bring a blouse with cuffs?"

"Absolutely. I knew you'd want something you could unbutton over your cast." He turned to place her bag in the standing closet the hospital provided, missing the look of adoration he was receiving from his wife. Brennan was wholly aware of Booth's caring, open heart but sometimes his generosity of spirit and thoughtfulness floored her…and made her eternally grateful to Booth's God that he chose to share his life with her.

"Thank you, Seeley."

Booth turned sharply, as usual on the lookout for something wrong whenever she invoked his given name. "Everything okay, Bones?"

Nodding, Brennan swiped at an errant tear. "Everything is perfect."

"Hey…" Booth crossed back to the bed quickly and gathered her in his arms. "Hey, what's wrong sweetheart?"

Shaking her head against his chest, she smiled. "Nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is very, very right."

Booth pulled back and took in her face, surprised at the happiness radiating from her. "Are you sure, babe? You don't usually cry when you're happy."

Brennan reached over to the nightstand for a tissue. "I know, I think you're rubbing off on me in that aspect."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Bones." Booth tried to look hurt, but couldn't contain his delight.

"Never. You are a good influence on me, you always have been. Especially emotionally. I appreciate that more than you know."

"Ah, Bones…" Booth pulled her into another embrace. "Believe me; you've given me more that I could ever give you. I am a lucky, lucky man."

Smiling, Brennan nodded against his shoulder. "You really are."

Booth chucked as he moved off the bed and reached for the bag he'd brought in with him. "And since I know how lucky I am, I come bearing gifts for the love of my life." He opened the bag and pulled out a bright orange muffin.

"Oooh…vegan pumpkin muffin! You really are good to me." Brennan moved quicker than Booth had seen in a very long time and snatched the treat from his hand, immediately pulling the paper away form the bottom and taking a huge bite. "Mmmmm….delicious."

"You're welcome." Booth said, amused at her gluttony.

"Thank you." She mumbled, mouth full. Sitting up fully and crossing her legs as she ate, she pointed to the chair next to her bed, where Booth obediently perched. "So…"

"Yes?"

"What are you and Clay going to tell the press about the abduction?"

Booth blanched a bit, dreading her reaction to what he was about to tell her. He wasn't worried about drawing her ire, simply because he knew that he could make her understand the reasoning. But he also knew that his wife valued the truth above all else, so he was going to have to handle this topic very carefully to avoid hurting her. Taking a breath, he launched into an explanation of the scenario he, Clay and President Obama's advisors decided would be in everyone's best interest. When he was finished, he looked Brennan in the eye and waited for the inevitable questions.

"Are we covering this up because of who Clay is?"

"No."

"Because of his political aspirations?"

"No."

"Is it because they don't want your past relationship with Charlotte made public?"

"Of course not. In fact, this was my idea."

Brennan appeared deep in thought. "Because of the children."

"Yes."

"Alright."

"That's it?"

"That's it. I trust you, Booth. And when I've followed your lead, I've rarely been lead astray. Why should now be any different?"

"Thanks, Bones."

"You're welcome." Having finished her muffin, she patted the bed next to her again. "Now, come here and sit with me. Visiting hours are almost over and I am still feeling the need for physical contact."

Booth stood quickly, moving her tray table before settling next to her on the bed, pulling her to him so that she was lying on his chest. "I'm glad you're home, Temperance."

"So am I."

B&B

Exiting Brennan's room the next morning, Booth ran into Sweets, who was striding purposefully down the hallway towards Clay's room.

"What are you doing here?" He asked him.

Sweets stopped in mid-step, "I wanted to check on Charlie and see if she wanted to talk."

"Charlie's fine. Clay is safe, she's fine." Booth crossed his arms in front of him.

"I haven't even seen her since we left her house and I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty she is not fine."

Booth shook his head, "I talked to her last night and she was good. I mean, she was worn out and needed to get some sleep but she was good. She'll be ok."

Sweets scoffed, "Do you really believe that? Are basing that on the woman you knew four years ago or who she is now?

"Who people are at their core doesn't change." Booth swallowed hard, "Charlie's tougher than most people you'll ever meet. She took control in the end and I think that's the most important thing."

"She took a man's life, Booth. You of all people know the toll that takes on a person even when it's justified."

Booth nodded as he jammed his hands in his pockets.

"This is something she will live with every day for the rest of her life. Not just the shooting but the fact that she was followed and watched for so long. There's no telling how the anger and anxiety she must feel will manifest itself and because of that she needs to talk about it."

Booth nodded again, "Yeah, but she's not the kind of… She won't talk to you about it – she probably won't talk to anyone about it except maybe Clay."

Sweets squared his shoulders, "Look, if she doesn't want to talk to me I'll leave but I think we should at least give her the option to talk to someone."

With slight amusement at the kid standing up to him, Booth watched as he gently knocked on Clay's door. Sweets stuck his head in and was greeted by Charlotte.

"Sweetness! Come in." She smiled and urged him with a waving hand to enter the room.

Charlotte perched on the edge of the bed and laid her hand on Clay's leg, "Baby, this is Dr. Lance Sweets – the one I was telling you about."

Clay, stronger thanks to the night of secure sleep and IV fluids, sat up in the bed and offered Sweets a hand to shake, "I have heard very good things about you. Thank you for everything."

Sweets smiled and hoped the blush he felt wasn't visible, "Your welcome, sir. I just wanted to stop by and see how you guys were."

"We're good." Charlotte assured him with a tight jaw as she looked back over her shoulder toward her husband. "They want to keep him another night just to be safe but he's fine," she placed a hand on her stomach, "and so are we."

"That's good to hear. I just-" Sweets' words were cut short by the phone at Clay's bedside. As he picked it up, Charlotte ushered Sweets out into the hall to give her husband privacy.

"The phone hasn't stopped ringing. I never knew trying to keep something quiet would involve so many people."

Sweets leaned against the wall, "Booth called this morning and briefed me. You must be relieved about them withholding the more personal information."

Charlotte looked down and studied her hands, trying to not let the fact that there was a conspiracy to withhold the truth from the public brewing at the highest level of the government just because of her overtake her emotions. She looked back up with a tight smile and glassy eyes, "It's for the best. For everyone involved."

"Oh, I totally agree. There are things that nobody needs to know."

"Exactly."

He stepped toward her tentatively, "But there are things you need to talk about, Charlie."

"No, I don't." She took a deep breath and as she exhaled she began to speak in a rapid, almost manic, manner, "Look, an obviously unstable psycho followed me and recorded my daily activities for four years and then, when I finally had everything I ever wanted for my life he killed Lou, a man I loved like a father, and then kidnapped my husband and my ex-boyfriend's wife in some backwards twisted plot to get me to revert to the way I was when he first met me four years ago but then when he discovered I was pregnant, he set out to kill me, leaving Clay and Temperance to burn alive but luckily Seeley is who he is and saved them while I was stuck in the car having to listen to him explain his twisted thought process and then I killed him. End of story." She turned around to head back into Clay's room and saw Booth and Brennan standing a few feet away, having heard her rant.

Sweets ignored the new occupants of the hall and focused on Charlotte, "That's not the end. It's only the beginning, Charlie."

She tilted her head and shrugged slightly, "Not for me, it isn't."

He watched her walk quickly back into Clay's room and close the door behind her, and then he turned toward Booth and Brennan and tried to hide the defeated look he knew was covering his face.

Booth shook his head, "I told you so."