A/N: All right, here I am updating this fic…finally! It won my update poll, so I figured I'd better get a move on. I rethought the plot since I'd forgotten it completely, so hopefully it'll still be decent. Please accept my apology for the delay and enjoy!
Chapter 4: Monkeys in a bar
The moment Sam pushed the door to the bar open, Brennan was in hell. The place was loud, packed, and smelled like beer. How could Booth even expect her to observe, much less think straight? Sam, apparently comfortable in their surroundings, disappeared into the crowd immediately. She turned around and grabbed Brennan by the hand, tugging her after her into the mass of people. Booth followed, also appearing to be at ease.
"It's a little crowded, don't you think?" Brennan called over the noise.
"It's like this every year. People need to unwind after the start of a new semester. It's like tradition," Sam replied. "Over there!"
"What?!" she responded at equal volume.
Her roommate pointed to an inexplicably empty table in the far corner. "There!"
She tugged on Booth's sleeve to get his attention and the three wove their way around the crowd to the table, where Brennan discovered the reason the table was empty. She yelped and jumped out of her seat, giving Booth a clear view of her backside.
"Leslie?"
"Yes?" Brennan replied through clenched teeth.
"Your ass is wet."
"I know that. There is beer or some sort of drink on my seat."
Then he started laughing and she wanted nothing more than to smack him for it.
"Want me to clean it up?" He was reaching for the napkin dispenser in the center of the table.
"What? No!" How dare he?
Ignoring her, he grabbed a napkin and cleaned up the chair for her.
"Oh."
"Oh, what?"
"Never mind. Thank you." She sat down and squirmed uncomfortably, hoping her pants would dry quickly. Sam, watching the whole exchange, gave her a knowing look, then skipped to the bar to order them something to drink.
"This was a mistake," Brennan commented once she was gone.
"Coming here? No way, it brings back memories."
"Maybe for you. Drunken fights, clandestine trysts in the corner with some mystery woman?"
"Yeah."
Brennan scoffed and thought of her physics book. It was basic physics, but reviews were always nice. She'd rather be reading. She felt hideously out of place here, and it was beginning to wear her earlier confidence down a bit.
"Hey there beautiful," a voice said. Brennan glanced up.
"Excuse me?" She was not the only one who'd said that. She looked at Booth, whose look of suspicion matched her own.
She glared at him briefly before turning to the owner of the voice. "Were you addressing me?"
"You're the only beautiful girl I see around here. Wanna go somewhere and talk?"
"I am not a girl. And I'm also not interested."
"Damn right you're not."
Another icy glare was sent in Booth's direction. The guy shrugged. "All right, your loss." He walked off and Sam returned with a pitcher of beer.
"Did I just see you turn down a perfectly nice specimen of the male persuasion?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Brennan.
"You did. He was presumptuous."
"Uh...huh." She leaned close to Brennan's ear. "Got it bad for Riley?"
Got what?
"Got what?" she voiced her mind's question.
"It Les, the hots, you wanna take him home and jump him, you know?"
"No, I don't know, but I certainly do not want to do either of those things."
"If you say so." She glanced up. "Hey, where'd tall, dark, and studly go anyway?"
Brennan looked around and saw Booth by the entrance talking with Brad Runyan of the basketball team. He led them over to the general area they were occupying and another empty table. The guys pulled out chairs and one of them went to the bar. Booth stayed chatting with them for awhile, then spoke again to Brad. The guy pointed to a row of bar stools and Booth was gone.
Confused, Brennan tried to follow his route through the crowd but lost him immediately. Usually he stood out in a crowd, but not in this one. Perhaps it was the casual clothes. Those jeans did fit him rather nicely. Her musings were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. Sam.
"C'mon girl, get some beer in you! Don't worry; he'll be back. You look too good to ignore."
"I'd rather not drink. I am going to change this awful music though." She got up and made a beeline for the jukebox, scrolling through the various choices until she found one that was a little less noise, and a little more music.
Booth approached the bar stools and hopped onto one next to the redhead. "Hey Erica."
She turned from her drink, a smile instantly lighting her face. "Hey! Riley right?"
"That's right."
"It's good to see you. Thanks again for…you know."
"No problem. So, you from around here?" She hadn't made eye contact once. Maybe Bones was onto something. Nah, what did Bones know about crushes?
"No, I'm from Pennsylvania. Far enough away for independence, but not too far from family."
He nodded. "That's where I'm from too."
"No kidding?"
"Nope."
Her smile, if possible, grew. "That's so cool." They continued the small talk, finding they had a lot in common. She wasn't good at physics, but it satisfied a gen ed credit, she liked graphic novels, and loved hockey; her cousin even played in the minor leagues. But, all that was irrelevant. Time to get down to business.
"So, tell me about Jake."
She flushed at that, and took a deep breath. "We met last year. He was so nice, a really cool guy. But, during the summer break, he got really possessive, and I decided I'd had enough. I was going to break up with him, and he found out. You know the rest."
"Has he ever tried to hit you before?"
"Maybe a couple of times, but never in public like that. He has a real short temper, and this past summer we fought a lot. He doesn't really treat girls well. I've seen how he acts around them. It's pretty barbaric. Another thing I grew to dislike about him. But he wasn't always like that," she added quickly. "He used to be so sweet."
Yeah, they all used to be so sweet. Booth had heard that before. "Have you ever thought of pressing charges? For assault?"
"Oh god, no! I couldn't do that. I know what he does is wrong, but…"
"You love him?"
"No. I can't believe I'm telling you all this." She thought a moment. "Maybe I could."
"You can. I'll help you." This would get Jake in for questioning, and maybe force him to own up to what he'd done to the poor girl. He'd call ahead to the department and make sure that when they brought him in, they questioned him as to his whereabouts when the murders occurred. Just to cover bases. Erica's statement about his treatment of women made him seem more suspicious. If he had connections with the victims, then…well, progress on the case could be made. It also meant Erica could be in danger.
"Come on, we can get it done right now."
"Now? I'm not sure I'm ready now."
"If you don't now, then you never will." He took her hand and gave her a smile, which worked like a charm. He felt a bit guilty for practically forcing her to do this, but lives were at stake, including her own. He had a job to do, after all.
Sam glared icily at the bar doors as Booth and Erica exited. "What's he doing leaving with her? Cradle robber huh?"
"It would seem so," Brennan replied, observing the crowd. The more alcohol was imbibed, the more the people at the bar were reverting to their baser instincts. Several fights had already broken out, two of them over women. It reminded Brennan of primate behavior. This would make a most interesting journal article. But she hadn't brought her notebook to jot down observations!
"Man, I thought he was into you. I was so sure."
"Don't worry about it. As I said, I'm only interested in friendship. If he wants to leave with Erica, he has every right to." She'd find what that was about later. She'd known he wanted to talk to her about Jake.
"That her name? If you ask me, she's got nothing on you." Sam finished her glass of beer and cast around for a dance partner. Finding a suitable one, she glanced at Brennan. "You want me to find someone for you too?"
"No, thank you. I'm fine." She continued to watch as Sam approached the guy she'd picked out. She had thought she'd changed since college. Grown more confident, sure of herself. But this, this whole evening, had caused her to revert to her past self, the Temperance Brennan who wanted to do nothing but hole up in her room, study, and never have contact with anyone else. Sure, it all paid off during finals week, but she remembered hearing that college was supposed to be a time where friendships were made, and she'd missed out on that. And now, she was living it all again.
Walking Erica home from the police station, Booth said, "That was very brave of you."
"Well, like you said, if I didn't do it then, I never would have. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."
"You gonna be ok?'
"Yeah. He was a jerk to me and he's gonna pay for it, right? Even if he doesn't get fined or get jail time or anything like that, at least he'll be really humiliated when the cops pick him up."
Booth nodded. He'd give anything to be able to bring Jake in for questioning himself, but that damned word 'assimilate' kept popping up in his head whenever he had the urge to be a cop.
They continued walking until Booth noticed movement behind some shrubs. He put out a hand to halt Erica and whispered, "stay still." She did so, and Booth crept forward, expecting a mugger or something of the like. Either that or it was a rabbit and he was going to be embarrassed. It was neither.
"Chuck?!" Booth's roommate was sprawled behind the shrub, clutching a cloth bag of what looked like potato chips and Twinkies.
"Dude! Am I ever glad to see you! I was just going to the store for some munchies and I think I tripped over my shoelace or some shit and the next thing I know I'm behind this shrub!" He held up his bag. "See? Environmentally friendly!" He dug his other hand in his pocket. "Also, I don't have the key to our room."
Booth rolled his eyes and grabbed the room key out of his own pocket. "Here. Go back to the room, and do not lose that key."
"Hakuna Matata man. No worries." He began to hum the tune to the song of the same name until he noticed Erica. "Hey! Who's the senorita?"
"None of your business."
"Hey lady! I'm Chuck."
Erica smiled and gave him a wave. "Hi Chuck, I'm…"
Booth cut her off, whispering close to her ear. "Don't encourage him, please."
Chuck walked off, staring intently at a small cut on his left hand.
"Sorry about that. He's my roommate and he's…" He couldn't think of a word to describe Chuck.
"Permanently stoned?" Erica supplied.
"Yeah, that covers it," he said with a grin, making that smile light up her face once again. When they arrived at her dorm, she stopped in front of the door.
"Thanks for walking me back, and going with me, and just, well, for everything. I'll see you in class."
"Hey, did you wanna get together and study sometime?" He asked, worry about her being the next victim prompting his invitation. She would be the next likely target if Jake was to blame. The cops wouldn't be able to hold him for long.
"I would. How about later this week?"
"Sounds good. Friday ok? We can meet in the library." He had to get going. Get back to the bar before Bones gave up on him and left.
"K. See ya!"
"Bye."
After arriving back at the bar to find it devoid of Sam and Brennan, Booth headed back to his dorm to make sure Chuck wasn't dead, or worse, snooping through his things. He might have a hard time explaining the gun buried deep in the dresser drawer. He found him crashed on the other bed, his bed, surrounded by crumbs and Twinkie wrappers. Great. No way in hell was he sleeping in Chuck's bed. He tried several times to wake him up, but was unsuccessful. Then he gathered up a change of clothes and his key and left the room.
When Sam opened the door after insistent knocking, she was surprised to find Riley Jordan on the other side.
"Came crawling back, didja?"
"Excuse me?"
"The May-December thing not doin' it for ya?"
"What are you talking about?"
Brennan's voice came from within the room. "May-December refers to a relationship taking place between someone of advanced age and someone significantly younger."
"I'd say she's a little pissed," Sam said quietly.
"What? Advanced age? I am not of advanced age!"
"That depends on one's perspective," came Brennan's curt reply.
"What the hell did I do?!"
"You were so adamant about not allowing Sam and myself to walk by ourselves to the bar, yet you abandon us without even telling me what's going on, leaving us to walk ourselves back, which, by the way, yielded absolutely no problems whatsoever."
"Sorry. Look, can I crash here for the night? My roommate fell asleep in my bed with food crumbs everywhere, and there is no way I'm sleeping in his bed."
"You'll have to sleep on the floor," Brennan said at the same time as Sam said, "I'm sure Les could squeeze you in."
"The floor Riley," Brennan reiterated as Booth sat on the edge of her bed and untied his shoes.
"But Leslie," he began, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.
"Stop it. Floor."
"Fine." He gave in a little too easily, he was just that tired.
Once all three occupants were settled and the lights shut off, Brennan said, "You could have slept on the floor in your own room."
"I know."
"So why are you here?"
"I was hoping to convince you to give me the bed."
"Did you two know each other before now?" Sam's voice broke in. "Cause it sure seems like it."
"Yes, as a matter of fact. We met briefly at orientation," Brennan explained quickly.
"Ok, that makes sense. I met a guy at orientation too. Of course, this was last year and he dropped out, but he was amazing!" She would have gone on if Brennan hadn't cut in.
"Good night Sam."
"Good night Les. Good night Riley. Too bad we have classes tomorrow morning. Otherwise we could play Truth or Dare or something."
"Hey, that might not be a bad idea." Truth or Dare with Bones could be interesting.
"Good night Riley!" Brennan's voice stated firmly, putting an end to that idea.
Silence.
"Ya know I could really go for some popcorn. I noticed you guys had a microwave."
"Riley!"
"Sorry. Fine. Good night. Relax."
The next morning Jake Schrader was taken into custody, questioned, and released with a warning. All assault incidents had occurred awhile ago, and it was Erica's word against his. Nothing was found out to keep him in custody pertaining to the murders. That night, Booth called Zach for help on his physics.
"Zach?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"It's Booth." Chuck was out on a food run, so he could speak freely, use his real name for a change. Not that Riley Jordan wasn't an awesome name.
"How's the investigation coming along?"
"It's coming. Look, I need your help."
"With the case?"
"No, with physics."
There was silence.
"Physics?"
"Yeah, I'm taking Physics 101 and can't understand any of it. I need an overview."
"But wouldn't you be exempt from failure since you're merely undercover? If that's the case, you wouldn't need to know anything."
This was not going to be easy. "Just tell me physics stuff Zach. Nothing complicated. I can't look like an idiot." Not again, he thought. Never again.
"Are you trying to impress a member of the opposite sex, because I have observed that that is a common reason for trying to obtain unnecessary knowledge."
"Just make with the facts Zach."
"I take it from your lack of response to my question that the answer is yes."
"Fine! Yes! Is that what you wanted to hear?"
He could almost see Zach's smirk. "Who is she?"
"That is none of your business."
"Is it Dr. Brennan? Because that would make the most sense."
"No!" he yelled a little too quickly and a little too loudly.
"Another yes. I'm satisfied. We can begin."
The morning after, Booth met some of the basketball for a little game of HORSE. It was during this game that he received a phone call. He went to the bleachers and listened in silence for a moment.
"Thank you," he said evenly, swallowing back the nausea that hit him like punch to the gut. Taking his leave from the guys without explanation, he phoned Brennan, who was getting in some early morning studying before their next class.
"Bones? It's me."
She noticed the hitch in his voice and the tone. Something had happened.
"What is it?"
"Erica Timmerman was found dead on the quad this morning. The local PD's already there."
A/N: Please let me know what you think. I'm not up on laws about holding people for things and about assault procedure and all that, so if I'm wrong, please ignore it. Thanks for reading!!