Author's Note: I'd like to take a minute to thank those of you who have been reading and reviewing since the beginning. I know that until recently my updates haven't been coming at such a regular pace. I know what it's like when you get into a story and then end up waiting weeks for an author to post an update. Likewise, thank you to those who have found this story later on and chose to keep up with it. While I know that I've been behind in thanking all of you personally, I'd just really like to say thank you and that I hope you continue to keep up with this story.
Anyway, since I know half of you probably skip past the author's notes anyway, I'll get on with the story. There's a little bit of progress made in this chapter as well that you might like. As always, enjoy and please leave a review.
The doors to the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal lab slid open, causing Cam to lift her head up from the work she was doing on the platform. Booth wasn't expected to come by until later, and with the rest of the squints off performing other duties, she couldn't think of who else it might be, until she saw the woman standing awkwardly just steps away from the platform. "Doctor Brennan," Cam began slowly as she peeled off her gloves. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what are you doing here?"
"I work here." Brennan replied firmly, but a sudden look of alarm crossed her face. "Unless I've been fired in my absence due to my injuries. I wasn't aware of such a decision."
Cam shook her head as she scanned Brennan into the restricted area. While Brennan had probably brought her card with her, she figured it was just as easy. "No, as far as I and the board are concerned, the job is still yours if you want it. After the accident, Zack took on your work, and you were basically placed on sabbatical until you're given the all-clear." She replied, watching in curiosity as Brennan walked around the platform. "If you don't mind my asking, what are you doing here? I don't mean to sound rude, but as far as I knew you were still supposed to be recuperating at home."
Brennan nodded in reply as she stared up at the balcony over their heads. "I am," she agreed. "I'm staying with Angela and Hodgins for the time being. However, I had an appointment with Sweets today who suggested that my examining things that were my own might help to trigger some memories."
Cam smiled as she walked over to Brennan. It made perfect sense that the first thing she'd think of would be the lab. Even though she herself was still the boss, she knew how much Brennan was respected and thought of in the lab. When she was gone, even Cam herself felt the loss very keenly. "Anything yet?"
Angela rounded the corner, her attention focused on the papers attached to her clipboard. "Cam, when you get a minute, I'd like to-" Angela looked up and her eyes momentarily went wide. "Bren, what are you doing here? I mean, not that I'm not glad to see you, but how did you even get here?"
Brennan cleared her throat as Angela wrapped her tight in a hug. "I took a cab, but don't worry about it, I'm fine. Sweets suggested that seeing some of my things might help me to remember something. While I haven't recovered anything yet, I suppose there is still some hope." There was a slight tinge of disappointment laced in her voice, but she hoped they didn't hear it. It was illogical, but Brennan had hoped that simply by being in the lab, everything would come flooding back.
"Well, there's still the whole of the lab left, Doctor Brennan. You've only been on the platform." Cam replied. She gestured toward the objects she had been working with on an examination table. "I'm going to put these away, but maybe you should check out your office. It's bound to have something in there that might help you."
Angela nodded in agreement as she grabbed hold of Brennan's arm. She smiled and turned to face her best friend. "That's a great idea, Cam. Come on, we should go check it out."
"Actually-" Brennan stiffened against Angela's touch. She offered a look of apology. "You came out here with something to ask Cam, so I'm sure it must have been important. That, and I think I'd prefer to check out my office alone. If you don't mind, that is."
She understood, even if she was a little surprised by the request. Angela hugged her clipboard to her chest and moved aside so Brennan could walk by. "Of course," Angela said. "I'll be here if you need anything."
Brennan walked past her and into the hall. While it had been over a year since she'd been there, she still knew her way. The door was closed but unlocked, so she let herself in. After turning the lights on, she was a bit surprised to see what she found. While a few things such as files on the desk and books on the shelf had changed, the majority of artifacts in the room were almost just how she remembered them. From the mummy in the corner to the skulls sitting in their cases, it was almost as if she had simply stepped out for a while. After walking behind the desk, she sat carefully down in the chair. Obviously, she noted, it was suited for someone of a different height, which was when she noted the open file sitting on the desk. A careful, concise signature was scrawled at the bottom. Zachary Addy. She smiled and felt a small sense of pride at the realization that one of her own students had risen to such a high level in their profession. Of course it made sense that he use her old office while she was gone, even if by the looks of things he didn't change much.
Her fingers lightly grazed the desk top, and her eyes took everything in. There were things there she might expect to find in any office; a computer, files, pens and notepads, along with a calendar and a list of important times and dates. There were no personal photographs, but the sight of a few small figurines made her let out a laugh; those she remembered. Brainy Smurf and Jasper the Pig sat alongside a few other small trinkets, and they were the only personal effects that decorated the desk. Pausing momentarily, Brennan picked up Jasper and settled him into her palm. It had been years since Booth had given him to her, but she could remember the look on his face just the same.
Before the meeting with Sweets ended, he started talking about a few things. Among them, he had mentioned her connection with Booth. Even though she had at least a little reason to doubt him, Sweets had said the reason Brennan reacted the way she did after remembering the accident was because of the emotional attachment she had with Booth. Even if the memories weren't all there, the one she gained had certainly been filled with worry and fear for him as well as herself, and if Brennan could get past the mental block she had, it was entirely possible she would accept that.
Brennan sighed and set Jasper carefully back down next to the others sitting on the desk. She opened the top drawer and began looking through its contents, hoping to find something she recognized as familiar. The drawer for the most part was fairly empty save for a pack of gum and an old spiral notebook. Her fingers caught hold of something in the back of the drawer. When Brennan pulled it out to see what it was, she recognized it as an envelope with Angela's handwriting neatly written on the front.
Brennan,
I thought you might like these. I made doubles and made sure to keep my copies.
Angela
With her curiosity peaked, Brennan carefully opened the envelope. Why they were still in the envelope she wasn't quite sure, but inside were several photographs. They were taken at a party she supposed, and a Christmas one from the looks of the decorations. There was one of the whole team standing together, smiling happily. The next was of Angela and herself, both holding glasses of eggnog and with cheeks slightly blushing, as if they had been talking discreetly and had gotten caught in the middle of an embarrassing comment. She flipped through the pictures and found herself smiling at a few, but stopped at one of Booth with Parker. Parker was sitting next to his father, proudly holding up a gift he had apparently received. It was a science kit, and she could practically hear Booth in her head telling her she was trying to turn him into a squint already. If that picture made her pause, the final one made her falter even more. Her and Booth, wrapped tightly in one another's embrace, were practically beaming as they smiled for the camera. When Brennan moved to slip the pictures back into the envelope, it was that picture that fell to the floor.
As she picked it up, the writing on the back caught her eye. 'Booth and Brennan, Christmas 2009'.
Brennan sighed and thought of the time she had lost. Placing the pictures into their envelope, she quietly slipped it into her purse. She began walking around the office, anxiously taking in her surroundings. When she came to the coat rack, the sight of her familiar blue lab coat made her freeze. It was indeed as if she had simply stepped out for a minute and planned to come right back. After taking a look to make sure no one was coming, Brennan slipped the coat over her shoulders. It was a little bit looser around the middle, but that was to be expected. Waiting wasn't easy, but she stood there for a few minutes and smoothed out all of the wrinkles, silently wishing that something so familiar as her lab coat would cause something to happen. A flashback or an inkling of something familiar was all Brennan found herself hoping for, but nothing came.
Feeling defeated, Brennan slipped the lab coat from her shoulders and settled it back on its hook. Maybe coming to the lab wasn't the greatest idea, as all it had given her so far was nothing but even more realization that she still couldn't grasp the life she had before. She walked back to the desk, intending to grab her coat and her purse and leave, but paused when she heard Angela coming up behind her.
"You know Zack refused to officially make this his office?" Angela spoke softly from the doorway. She watched as Brennan turned her head before finally facing her. Taking that as a sign she was welcome, Angela stepped further into the room. "I'm being serious, Bren. I mean, he keeps all of the important files in here and utilizes the computer as well, but..." A shrug was simply all she could offer as a sad smile crossed her face. "I guess he was like the rest of us, and he kept waiting for you to come back."
Brennan went about zipping her purse until she remembered the envelope of pictures she stuffed inside. For a moment she considered slipping them back in the drawer, but if bringing the images with her might somehow have a chance in helping, Brennan wanted to believe it would be worth it. "What if I never recovered? You certainly shouldn't have kept this place as a shrine if that were to happen."
"Well-" Angela began, momentarily in shock by her friend's cold response. "I guess it was because no one really knew how long you'd be in the coma. It could have been a few days or maybe a few weeks, but no one wanted to believe it could last forever. With the stipulation that you had, the one where you expressed your desires to be taken off of any form of life support system after a year's time in the event such a occasion should come to pass, all of us wanted to keep things as they were. Brennan-" Angela sighed and sat on the couch.
Watching Angela from where she was standing made it difficult for Brennan to decipher the look on her face. After waiting a few moments, she made the decision to sit down next to her. "I made that decision because I didn't want you to suffer. Medically, I realize there is only so much a team of doctors can do. I know there was a risk involved, but I felt it was the right decision."
Angela tilted her head in Brennan's direction and took a moment to simply study her. She was the strongest, most passionate and focused woman Angela had ever known, and even in the midst of her own crisis she was trying to make someone else feel better. Brennan's kindness concerning the well-being of others had always warmed her heart, but when that attention was focused on her, she wasn't quite sure how to respond.
There was a knock at the door. "Angela, Cam said I would find you in here. She said something about you wanting to speak with me." Booth paused at the sight of the two women sitting on the couch. "Bones, what are you doing here?"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Brennan asked as she stood suddenly. "If I'm no longer wanted here, perhaps I should just leave."
"That's not how I meant it at all, Bones. I'm just surprised to see you here is all that I was trying to say." Booth offered, already knowing it wouldn't help. He watched as she started picking up her coat before slipping her purse strap over her shoulder. "Wait just a second, will you? What's going on?"
Brennan paused, a bit ashamed by her sudden actions and her desire to leave. The lab had always been her home and her solace when nothing else made sense, and in the state she was in, it was the only place she felt she could truly be. However, a sudden wave had washed over her that begged otherwise. Of course there were memories at the lab; hours carefully examining a set of remains, or late nights with cartons of take-out food as they poured over evidence. There was a hole however, and it was one that couldn't be filled simply by standing there. "I thought coming here might be of some assistance, but clearly I was wrong. I have to go."
"Bones, wait-" Booth called, trying and failing to catch her before she brushed past him. "At least let me just drive you home." His offer fell on deaf ears, as she was already halfway down the hallway. He turned when he felt a gentle shove on his arm. "What?"
"Go after her, Booth. Before she gets a chance to run away." Angela ushered, already trying to push him through the door.
Booth braced his hands on the door frame to resist her pushing him out any further. "So I can get pushed away again and get yelled at? I don't think me trying to get through to her right now would be the best idea, Ange. If time and space is what she needs, I have no choice but to give it to her."
Angela sighed, wanting so badly to disagree with him, but she knew he was right.
Brennan was halfway across the platform before Cam stopped her. "Is everything alright?"
Immediately, Brennan halted her progress, unsure of what to say. "I'm leaving."
"Wait," Cam urged. In the state she was in, Cam knew better than to let her simply be alone. "I know what you might say to this, but you came in a cab, right?"
Suspicious, Brennan slowly nodded. "Yes, why?"
Cam set down the container she had been working at carefully putting everything away in. "The forecast was calling for rain this afternoon, and it's a little cold as it is. I wouldn't like you to have to wait for another cab in that type of weather. Hodgins took off with Zack not too long ago, and Angela has an appointment in regards to the art show she'll be taking part in soon, so she'll be leaving within a few minutes anyway. Why don't you let me just give you a ride?"
"I'm tired of everyone feeling as if they have some obligation to usher me around. I may still be recovering, but I'm not completely invalid." Brennan replied as she crossed her arms. "However, that does sound nice. Thank you, Cam."
"Great," Cam said as she snapped the lid back on the box. "I'm just going to put this back, and then we can be on our way."
I know that not everyone is all that fond of Cam, and I get that. I didn't use to really like her that much to be honest, but I've grown kind of fond of her lately, so I decided to put her to more use in this story. In the next chapter, her and Brennan share a conversation the clears a little bit up in regards to the time line, so I'm hoping you all can stick with me for that. A huge thanks to you again, and I do hope you have a quick moment to send me a few of your thoughts in regards to this chapter. I might get the next update edited and done with before the end of the week, but I don't want to make any promises. Thank you!
