Title: The Multiples in the Family
Disclaimer:
I own nothing, nothing at all. Thanks for all the reviews! This is just fluff before the case, I needed a running start in order to build a case.Chapter Two:Settling In
As they exited the terminal and headed towards baggage claim, a young man wearing a nice dress suit stood just outside the terminal exit holding a sign with their names written in a well practiced penmanship waiting for their arrival.
Booth approached him and pulled out his badge. "Welcome to Salt Lake City, Mr. Booth and Ms. Brennan, My name is Clark Reynolds and I'm with the Grand America Hotel." He said.
"Thank you, Clark." Booth said, shaking his hand and following him towards their carousel, placing a hand on her lower back. As if luck was on their side, their luggage came out with first and next to each other, leaving Booth to pull out his own bag along with both of hers and the young concierge held out his hand to the doctor offering to hold her bag. "I wouldn't do that." Instead Booth handed him his own bag while taking her field kit.
Clarke said nothing and led the way towards the long, white standard hotel van. "Are you here on vacation?" Asked the man, starting the van and pulling away from the curb.
"No, we are here on business." Said Booth with a shrug as the city came into view. The mountains on both sides of the car created a huge valley as the population fit in between. "If you look to your left you will see down town, home of the 2002 Olympic games." The downtown held a small amounts of skyscrapers that were nowhere near as big as seen in New York or Washington D.C. and a small white temple stood out against the city line, almost begging the eye to look at it.
They took in the valley as the sun began to rise from the east, creating a glow on the buildings. "Have you ever been here?" Asked Booth, glancing at his partner who sat silently next to him looking over the western side of the valley.
"No, but I hear that Utah has some amazing skiing." She said with a smile. "Have you?"
"I don't think so, I might have drove through northern Utah when I was a kid." He said.
"Are you folks into hiking or biking?" Asked the driver, the pair looked at each other and nodded. "Well if you get a chance to head down south to Moab or Arches, they have some amazing trails. My personal favorite is Zion that has some pretty amazing waterfalls."
Brennan nodded and considered the option. "That sounds nice, maybe we'll get a chance to go see it." She said as they pulled into a large entrance for a hotel, almost catching Booth off guard.
They got out of the van and loaded their things onto the small trolley and headed to the check in counter. A middle aged woman stood at the desk, her glasses slid low on her nose. "Welcome to the Grand America Hotel, I trust you have a reservation?"
"Yeah, two rooms under Seeley Booth." He said.
The woman typed quickly on the key board and frowned at the screen. "We have your rooms ready, but we have a note on the account." She said, looking up. "We had woman call last night looking for a room and we are completely booked, we were wondering if we could place you in a two queen sized bed room and we will make it worth your while with a free meal at our five star restaurant and spa."
"That's fine." Booth answered, gaining a nod from Brennan.
"Is there something big going on in the city?" Asked the anthropologist.
"It's Conference weekend which is a general meeting for members of the LDS church, pretty much every hotel in the valley is booked for it, because it's the first conference with the new prophet." The woman explained. "We might have a spare room if you want to wait, but you might lose the one we have for you now."
"Don't worry about it, we'll be fine." Said Booth, the woman handed him the keys and directed him towards the elevator towards their room.
The elevator took them to the ninth floor as they turned right and headed to the last room on the end, he slid the card into the reader and they both took steps into the room. They stood in awe at the size of the room along with the furniture, two matching beds in the middle of the room with a huge TV sitting on a borough across from the beds and in the corner sat a small table and chairs.
"They must've really needed us to put us in this hotel." Brennan said in her candid bluntness.
The bathroom, that was next to the entrance, held a large jetted tub in the corner and a separate shower on the opposite. "I agree." Booth answered. "Our ride will pick us up at eight thirty, do you want to take a shower first?"
"Yes, did someone leave a message with the Jeffersonian that I was here?" She asked, setting her things on the closest bed and rummaged through her things to pull out an outfit and her shower necessities.
"I'm sure someone did, but I will double check." He responded, pulling out his cell phone. "I'm going to see if the continental breakfast is open this early and grab some food." She nodded and walked into the bathroom with the small click of the door.
He quickly dialed the number for her supervisor and it rang two times until a voice came on the other end. "Doctor Saroyan." She answered.
"Good morning, Cam." Booth said, opting to take the stairs towards the bottom floor.
"I got the voicemail about your and Doctor Brennan's flight plans at almost one thirty this morning, I assume you made it to Utah alright?" Cam asked, he could hear the papers shuffling on the other end.
"Yeah, we landed about an hour ago and we checked into our hotel, just about to get dressed and eat breakfast." Booth said.
"Didn't get dressed this morning?" She asked, a hint of teasing in her voice.
"It was early, but I wasn't the only one." He retorted, she chuckled on the other end almost surprised. "I know, but she hasn't been sleeping well since . . . you know."
"Yeah I know, it's going to take some time to get over it." Cam said and after a long moment she spoke again, "All I can sat is stay out of trouble."
"Yes mom." Booth answered with a sigh. "We will call you as soon as we get the scene secured." They said their goodbyes as he reached the lobby, just as they were setting up the continental breakfast. He selected corn flakes and fruit along with soy milk to feed her new vegetarian habits and he picked up some pieces of bacon with pancakes.
"Would you like some coffee, sir?" Asked a young attendant as he reached the end of the line and he looked at both plates in his hands, frowning. She smiled sweetly before grabbing her pad of paper. "I can have it brought freshly to your room."
He flashed a smile. "That would be great," He looked at her name tag. "Natalie, can I get two cups please?"
She nodded somewhat in awe as she wrote down the room number, he turned and walked back to the elevator and hit the button with his elbow.
When he made it to the room, he skillfully balanced a plate on his arm and inserted the key. It chirped and he opened the door to see his partner sitting on the bed, wearing black slacks and a white camisole, her hair wrapped up in a towel and watching the TV.
She turned her attention on him as he placed the plate in her hand. "Thanks, did you know that Brigham Young created a grid system out of the roads that go higher the farther away from the Mormon temple?"
He sat next to her on the same bed, taking a bite of the bacon. "I don't know who he is, but his football team completely shut out UCLA two weeks ago."
Before she could say anything, a small tap on the door caught their attention. Booth handed her his plate and stood up to answer it. It was the young girl from the lobby with another girl at her side. "Here's your coffee." She said, handing him the tray.
"Thank you." Booth said, but was interrupted by his partner.
"Ask who Brigham Young is." She shouted from the bed, watching the TV screen flash to different activities to do it the city.
"Bones!" He scolded, turning to look at her.
"What? He's a predominant figure in Utah history, it's only right that they should know who he is." She turned to look at him, taking a bite of her cereal.
To save argument, the second girl spoke up. "He led the Mormon pioneers to Utah valley and stood on a rock saying 'this is the place' from Nauvoo, Illinois and practiced polygamy, which is probably what he is known for. He was the prophet of the church after Joseph Smith was martyred. . ."The first girl elbowed her and she went quiet.
"Well, thanks ladies." Booth said, handing the girls the tip and shutting the door. "Now we know."
The doctor shrugged and continued eating until Booth handed her a cup of coffee and a napkin. She smiled as she noticed writing on the napkin that was inked in sharpie, which included the name and phone number for one of the girls. "Working your charm on the ladies already, Booth?" She asked showing him the note.
He picked up his plate and smiled. "Natalie, she was serving coffee down in the lobby."
"She's much too young for you." Said Brennan, placing a grape into her mouth. "What I think is that you charmed your way into having her bringing coffee up to our room, which is probably not her job, using that damn smile of yours."
He frowned almost playfully. "Well, who asked you what you thought." He snapped as the tips of his ears turned red. He finished the rest of his pancakes and tossed the plate into the garbage can in the corner of the room.
"It would be cradle robbing, you know. You are at least twelve years older if not older than her judging by her . . ." She said as he stood up and began rummaging for his things to shower.
"Where did you learn that term?" He interrupted in shock, giving her the once over and not allowing her finish the analysis of the girl who seemed to have a crush on him.
"Hodgins said it once, did I use it properly?" She asked, setting her plate on the bed.
He didn't know how to respond to her inquiry, he opened his mouth and closed it a couple times. "Yes, you used it properly and in the sense that Hodgins used it." He said, shutting the bathroom door and preceded into the bathroom to take a shower.
