A Bride for Booth

By LizD

Written May 2010 - July 2010

Chapter 4

Early July

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Three days later, Booth and Elizabeth had dinner at Wyatt's restaurant. Elizabeth called ahead and dropped Wyatt's name a few times ensuring that he would be told of their reservation. She did not take Brennan's advice and be direct and honest with Booth; opting for the accidental encounter with Booth's old shrink.

If Booth remembered that Wyatt was the chef at that particular restaurant he didn't let on. When dessert was brought out, Chef Wyatt made an appearance in the dining room. He made his rounds at the tables ensuring that the guests were satisfied with the culinary creations he had provided. Eventually he made it to Booth's table.

"Why Agent Booth, you did not tell me you would be joining me for dinner this evening."

Booth stood automatically. "Chef Wyatt," he said extending his hand. "I did not know myself, my fiancée made the reservations." He gave her a brief scolding glance. "Elizabeth Darrow, please allow me to introduce you to Chef Gordon Wyatt. We have him to thank for this excellent meal. Chef, my fiancée." Wyatt noticed right away that Booth did not have his typical joie de vivre when referring to him - no Gordon Gordon, no smile, no je ne sais quoi.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear."

"And you Chef." She looked nervous. "Dinner was fantastic. The duck melted in my mouth. Do you have a moment to join us for some coffee?"

Booth shuttered at that request but didn't say anything. Wyatt of course accepted the invitation. They chatted about food, wine and whatnot for a few minutes – purely superficial topics. Elizabeth excused herself from the table claiming the need to return a phone call. Booth was fully aware that he had been set up, but he was unsure by whom.

"She is lovely, Agent Booth."

"Yes, she is." He smiled but added nothing else.

"So where did you meet?"

Booth decided that there was no reason to be annoyed or lie. The chef's head shrinking days were over. He told him about being injured but not the extent of his injuries or the details of the incident. He said that Elizabeth was the physical therapist that helped him recover; but that once he was well he found he enjoyed her company and asked her to marry him. There was no passion in his voice; he could have been talking about two other people or the weather. Wyatt did not press for the details either.

When asked how Booth had gotten from the FBI to active duty in Afghanistan, Booth explained that his services were requested by the Secretary of Defense. He was compelled to go; to serve his country. Wyatt did not press the notion that he had already served his country at quite of bit of personal cost and was continuing to serve his country as an investigator with major crimes at the FBI.

Booth volunteered that he was out of major crimes and assigned to Counterterrorism. When asked how he liked that kind of work, Booth simply said that it was important work that needed dedicated vigilant people. Wyatt didn't inquire further.

Finally Wyatt got around to asking about Dr. Brennan. Booth's expression did not change. He did not miss a beat. He explained about Maluku and the amazing scientific discovery there adding that Brennan would be famous – in the anthropological circles.

Wyatt then inquired after Sweets to which Booth very curtly said that the book was a bust and that he had not seen him since he had been back. Wyatt of course had spoken to Sweets many months before that and knew about his book, the conclusion, the first case that Brennan and Booth worked together and that Sweets had chosen not to pursue a re-write.

"So, if I am hearing you correctly, you chose accept the government's assignment because Dr. Brennan was leaving for her expedition and you didn't want to be left behind and all this came about after you read the estimable Dr. Sweets' manifesto on your partnership which concluded that you two were in love. What effect did that revelation have on you and the lovely Dr. Brennan?"

Booth had his answer. Brennan had been the one to suggest Wyatt to Elizabeth. "As we have discussed before, CHEF - Dr. Brennan was not in love with me. So Sweets' interpretation had no effect."

"Right, right," Wyatt nodded. "Of course. And now you are engaged to a lovely woman and planning a future. And how does it feel to be back? Are you adjusting to your new life? Resuming old acquaintances, like myself?"

Booth leaned back in his chair and took a very deep cleansing breath, choosing his words very carefully. "Chef, I had an excellent meal. Thank you," he started. "I will tell all my friends. I really appreciate your hospitality and I don't want to be rude, but my career choices, my relationships and my coping mechanisms are not any of your concern. You are a chef, correct?"

Chef Wyatt nodded once. "You are absolutely correct, Agent Booth." He stood up and extended his hand. "Agent, it was a pleasure seeing you again. I hope you will not be a stranger." Booth stood as well. "If you will indulge an old friend, you might want to consider making it someone's concern besides your own." Booth's jaw clenched preventing him from saying anything. They men shook hands. "Please tell your lovely Elizabeth that I wish her a good evening." He bowed slightly and returned to the kitchen.

Booth sat back down slamming his napkin down on the table. Elizabeth returned to the table almost immediately. "I'm sorry I missed your friend."

"Whose idea was this?" he asked. Booth's tone was cold; colder than she had ever felt before.

"Excuse me?"

"Elizabeth, there is one thing you can never do, you can never lie or manipulate me. I would have thought you – of all people – would know that. In all the time we have known each other, you have never lied to me – at least not to my knowledge. I can't have it. I won't tolerate it. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said simply. "I'm sorry. My intentions were good. I think you are in a great deal of pain, pain that I can't help you recover from. I would really like you to speak with someone."

He smiled slightly. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"All you had to do was ask. You are my priority, my only priority," he said flatly. "Do you understand?"

She nodded. She understood the words, but she didn't understand the distance in his voice, the warning in his eyes.

He had to ask, but he knew the answer. "How did you find Dr. Wyatt?" he asked.

"Dr. Brennan."

Booth felt anger slowly crawling up his spine that he needed to control. He would not have it. He would not have Brennan interfering in his life. He would not have Elizabeth and Brennan bonding over his mental health. "How did you two meet?" he asked.

"I went to see her," she owned. "I was trying to help."

Booth just nodded. He would take the matter up with Brennan.

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Booth stood outside Brennan's office door. She was working with someone he had never seen before. They were clearly familiar, almost intimate. The man - tall, sandy brown shoulder length hair, lanky - was standing behind her and they were working on her laptop. It must be the colleague who was writing the paper with her. Booth watched as the stranger leaned over her, putting his hand over hers on the mouse redirecting it. They laughed. From where he was standing, he saw no sign of discomfort or embarrassment from her. They were more than colleagues he concluded.

"Booth?" Angela asked. "It is you!" He turned to see her bright smile and laughing eyes. She was a stunningly attractive woman; he had forgotten. "My God, I wondered when we would see you here." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He returned the embrace without the same level of exuberance.

Hodgins had seen Booth across the lab and approached. "Hey Booth, good to see you man." He thought about hugging him too but there was something very closed off about Booth. He stuck out his hand for a firm shake.

"SEELEY BOOTH!" Cam called from the other side of the lab as she walked with great determination toward him. "It is about time you dropped by here." She pulled him into a rough embrace that he accepted but did not return. "You look great."

It was Booth's turn to say something. "It is nice to see all of you again."

"Hasn't been the same without you, Big Man."

"Yeah, Booth ... you coming back?" Angela asked. She knew the answer but thought she had to ask.

"I am working Counterterrorism."

"And how is that going?" Hodgins thought about making some crack about the government and conspiracies and the complete lack of interdepartmental cooperation, but changed his mind.

"Good, it is good. Different, but important."

"Right, Right ... keeping us safe for democracy - or capitalism."

He turned back and saw Brennan and her colleague standing in the doorway. They had stopped their work when they heard the commotion.

"Temperance," he said looking at the man standing a little too closely to her.

"Booth," she surveyed him for some sign of why he was there. She noticed that he wasn't looking at her. "Booth, this is Dr. Geoffrey Winthrop Pearce of Oxford. He is the co-author on the Maluku project. Geoff, this is Special Agent Seeley Booth, my partner." It slipped out before she could stop herself. Booth had no reaction, Angela, Hodgins and Cam all exchanged looks.

"Ah, yes ... Booth. Heard a great deal about you, old man." He put out a limp hand to shake. "You're reputation precedes you."

Booth returned the handshake and was less than impressed with Dr. Geoffrey Winthrop Pearce. "Do you have a moment, Temperance?" Booth asked. Again Cam, Angela and Hodgins exchanged a look.

"Sure," she said hiding her nervousness with her usual façade. "Geoff, please continue with what we were talking about, making those changes." She stepped out of her office. "Let's take a walk." She stepped in front of Booth expecting him to follow.

"Come back and see us," Cam called.

"Better yet ... Founding Fathers ... tonight ... eight o'clock. We'll toast your homecoming."

Booth turned back and waved but didn't consent to the meeting.

-xx-

They walked the grounds outside the Jeffersonian in silence for a while getting the maximum amount of distance between them and the other people. It was a very hot day in Washington but the gardens were full.

He stepped in front of her and turned back to her - very confrontationally. "You told Elizabeth to bring me to see Dr. Wyatt."

It wasn't exactly what happened, but to pick apart the details would only feel desperate on her part to maintain his good opinion. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I was told that you were -."

"That I was what? How do I appear to you, Temperance? I am doing everything I can. I am working and productive. I see my son as often as I can. I go to mass every Sunday and confession every Saturday. I am in a relationship with a woman and we are planning a future. I keep moving forward. What else do you want from me?"

"You are not your old self," she protested as if she had some knowledge of that.

"Neither are you," he accused.

"No, I suppose that we have both changed." She shifted her position wondering if she should broach the next part. "Given what you experienced -."

"What do you know about what I experienced?" he snapped back at her.

"I read the After Action report," she confessed honestly.

"You what? You had no right ... how did you ...?"

"My clearance is higher than yours, Booth. I drew a string."

"Pull some strings," he corrected automatically. "Well, don't ... don't pull any more strings for me or about me. It was wrong."

"I know," she said tearing up. "I was worried about you. I still worry about you - all the time."

"I am fine, Temperance," he asserted. "I need some time, OK ... just time."

"And distance apparently," she added. "Will you talk to somebody?"

He looked hurt. "I thought I was?"

"Are you? This does not feel like a discussion, this feels like a reprimand."

"Can I talk to you?" he asked earnestly.

"Yes," she said thinking that she should say 'no.' "Of course ... we are partners - friends."

"Are we?"

"Yes."

Her simple honest declaration was too much for him. After all he had done, said and thought about her - how could she possible still think of him as a friend? He had to get away. "I have to get back to work. They don't like me out of the office for long periods of time." He gave her a tentative nod and turned away.

She waited until he was out of sight. She had no idea if she were supposed to initiate the next contact between them or if she should wait for him. It would have been so much easier if there was a case to distract them yet keep them together. That was how they worked through everything in the past- through a case.

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Dr. Kathy Reichs stood over her partner's hospital bed. A monitor blinked out his vitals, a machine pumped air into his lungs, IV bags dripped medicine and sustenance into his veins. He had been unconscious for days. They said it was a coma, and they were talking about removing all life support. Lister had left very explicit instructions and Reichs was responsible for making it happen. Intellectually she knew what she had to do, what he wanted, what she would have wanted if the positions were reversed, but she found she couldn't give the order. She had to believe that he was going to recover.

"Dr. Reichs?" the nursed said. "Visiting hours are over."

Kathy nodded but did not turn to see the nurse. She pressed Lister's hand and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "You are not dying, partner. You will get well. I need you." She kissed his forehead and slipped from the room before the tears came.