Author's Notes:
Welcome readers old and new. For the followers thanks for coming back I know it has been a really, really long time and for the new readers welcome and hello. This is my first story in a long time. Hope you guys enjoy it and leave me some love in terms of a review. I like this song and then heard it on Country Duets a couple of weeks ago and my muse say hey here's a little somethin' something for you. This is set between episode 10.15 and 10.20. So if you haven't seen any of those episodes yet you might want to stop right there because this story covers what is going on with Booth and Brennan. I don't have a beta so I apologize for the errors. Ok enough of me gabbing. Time to read. Enjoy!
**Disclaimer: I do not own anything with BONES or any songs in my stories. I just love Booth and Bones love story. **
There's A Stranger In My House
Sung by Ronnie Milsap
There's a silence here between us
I've never heard before
And I can't find the love
In her eyes anymore
There's some changes going on
I'm beginning to understand
When I'm holding her
I swear I feel the presence of another man
There's a stranger in my house
Somebody here that I can't see
Stranger in my house
Somebody here trying to take her
Away from me
She sits staring out the window
A million miles away
And when I ask if she's all right
She never has too much to say
Is it somebody we both know
Or somebody she just met
Is she loving him in her mind
While she's lying here in my bed
There's a stranger in my house
Somebody here that I can't see
Stranger in my house
Somebody here trying to take her
Away from me
Suspicions lead to questions
And questions to alibis
Is it just my imagination
Or has her love turned into lies
There's a stranger in my house
Somebody here that I can't see
Stranger in my house
Somebody here trying to take her
Away from me
There's a stranger in my house
Somebody here that I can't see
Stranger in my house
Somebody here trying to take her
Away from me
Stranger in my house
Somebody here trying to take her
Away from me
Booth hasn't been the same for a while now, but it finally came to the proverbial head. Brennan couldn't find the right adjective to describe what she saw in Booth's eyes. Even though not before the Lauren Eames' case did she believe you could see things by just looking into people's eyes, she could she it in Booth's. The best way she could only describe it was as the weeks have passed was the light that used to be there was turning dim. She couldn't put her finger on it exactly when. Did it all start when she told him NO in front of the Hoover building or when he was released from prison? With so much going on in their lives good and bad and with Booth keeping it under control for so many years she took his sobriety for granted. Maybe they both did. In the last five years, Booth has had numerous stressful and devastating events occur even the strongest man without the disease of addiction could handle. She should have seen it earlier, metaphorically kicking herself for not. Brennan prided herself with being observant, but this blind-sided her. She did her research on the disease when he felt that he needed to confess to her about his gambling addiction before that kiss in the rain outside that seedy bar when he fired her and the Jeffersonian because she punched the judge. Not knowing why she would want to research it when all the evidence pointed to that they would never work together again, but yet they did.
Getting lost in her thoughts, "Did Booth know he was losing against the urge when I told him to take my advance? Not his alpha male pride to tell me it was mine and not his. Is that why he didn't want to have a joint account? Did he realize then his demons were back rearing their ugly head? Did he know that he was fighting a losing battle that this time he couldn't win? Was she to blame?" She shook that thought from her brain. As she had learned from her research and some of Sweets' journals that were left behind in their bathroom, it wasn't her fault, it wasn't Christine's fault and it wasn't even Booth's fault per say. He had an illness. This was an everyday battle. He had to work keeping it in check. This was his Achilles' heel for the strongest, bravest man she knew. The one thing that could ruin him, break him and have him lose everything, everything that he has become, earned and loved more than life itself. Finally realizing that she had been holding the same tibia she had been holding for the last twenty minutes while in Limbo and not getting anything accomplished. Brennan put the bone down, took off her gloves and picked up her cell and texted Aubrey.
"Fuck her can't she see we are providing for our family! How dare she kick us out of our home! BITCH! Treating the man of the house, the provider like a piece of shit. She surely wasn't bitching when we gave her that necklace did she?" Booth just wanted the "demon" to shut up. This was in no way Bones' fault. With the risk of too many prying eyes at the Founding Fathers, he headed to another familiar place instead. Not that alcohol was going to solve his problems but at least numb them for the night. Standing outside the front of the dimly lit establishment, Booth looked up at the sign. Paradise Lost, he laughed to himself and mumbled, "Yeah, that is an understatement".
The gentle jingle of the bell hitting the door of the quiet bar got Aldo's attention. He looked up from the beer stein that was in his hands that he was drying. He was happy to see his friend, but wondered why Booth was there at such a late hour without his beautiful wife, Temperance. Noticing Booth's body language, shoulders slumped and head down. This was no time making small talk. Aldo had seen "this Booth" before and this wasn't good. Booth found a bar stool in the most dimly lit part of the bar. Before his butt had hit the badly worn padding of the seat, Aldo had placed a bottle of scotch and a glass all ready full in front of his friend. Booth didn't make eye contact just looked at the amber liquid. Knowing that this was not the time to lecture or what Booth would perceive as a lecture, Aldo just walked away to finish drying the beer steins that were still sitting in the sink. He had seen this before with his friend but this time, this time Booth had so much more to lose. Aldo knew that Booth's interior battle with himself was worse than anything he would have to say.
The hours flew by almost as fast as the liquid emptying from the bottle. As closing time neared Aldo wasn't quite sure what to do. Was he to call Temperance to come and get Booth? He just wasn't sure. The whole night Booth hadn't said a word. He just sat there with his head in his hands only raising it to pound back a drink or to refill the glass.
Booth got up from his seat and stumbled to the bathroom. As he entered the bathroom, the bell on the door jingled. A tall, lanky dark head man entered someone Aldo had never seen before. By the looks of this man, he couldn't decide what was his story, Aldo just hoped he wasn't a bookie and looking for Booth. After stepping through the threshold the man made a bee-line for Aldo.
"Hi Aldo, I'm James Aubrey. Aubrey will do. I work with Booth. Temperance sent me to make sure Booth got "home" safe." Aubrey explained to Aldo what was going on, which he had pretty much figured out on his own except for the part that Temperance had kicked him out of the house.
Standing there in the bathroom by himself, doing his business or at least trying to do his business, Booth turned and looked in the mirror. "What the hell is that BITCH'S problem?", the "demon" reared its ugly head again in his head, "It isn't like you were banging some whore. You didn't cheat on her. Just placed a couple of bets that's all. NO BIG DEAL. And we won more than we lost. Just look at that necklace she wears. We gave that to her, with the money we won. Big deal we lost 30K that's nothing. NOTHING! We didn't deserve to be kicked out of the house. Ungrateful BITCH! You didn't cheat on her, you weren't fucking around. She doesn't appreciate all we do for her. That necklace isn't some cheap piece of shit, no cheap change to say the least. THAT BITCH! This is all her fault trying to make us feel like less than a man." Just wanting the "demon" to shut the fuck up, Booth zipped up (whether he was finished or not) in his alcohol induced haze headed for the bathroom door not before punching the mirror leaving glass shards everywhere. It did not make the "demon" shut up it just made him laugh and it also left an awful mess for Aldo to clean up and his knuckles a bloody mess and maybe even broke his hand again. Trying to exit the men's room, Booth made more noise than ten men (not that shattering the bathroom mirror was quiet). Grabbing a bowl of pretzels that were on the bar, Aubrey beat feet before he could be spotted by Booth and grabbed a booth hidden from Booth's view so he could observe him. Booth stumbled back to his seat in the darken shadows unaware of the newest patron.
Closing time came and went. Booth stayed seated not moving. He had no desire to move why should he? He had no where to go anyhow. Waiting a little while longer the man from the shadows, pretzels in hand, emerged.
**Thanks for reading and in advanced for those who leave reviews and favorited/alerted this story. I appreciate it greatly. Happy Reading! :0) **