In the Blink of An Eye
By LizD
Winter 2011
Chapter 17
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Booth and Brennan went to the diner for lunch, a late lunch - very late, almost dinner. It was probably the first time in months that they went there together and did not expect anyone else. He ordered a burger, she got a salad; they split fries. He only peppered her half and she put ketchup on his side. Just like old times.
The conversation was a little stiff. They talked about the cases they were working. Brennan seemed to have a lot to share. Booth had a lot of questions. It was all very familiar. But there was a huge elephant in the room, or was that a Mastodon?
"Bones, let's not … Let's not talk about work ... right now." He flashed a tentative smile.
"Oh." She looked down at her plate. "How's Parker?"
Another safe subject but at least it was personal. Booth nodded. "I think he's OK. There was only a half day at school today so he went to his friends Sylvia and Dylan."
"He went to school?"
"No, not yet. He went over this afternoon. I think it is good for him to get out with his friends. I'll pick him up in around seven. Think we'll do pizza tonight. Do you want to join us?"
"Thank you, but I'm still pretty tired." She glanced away. He was doing that intense eye contact thing again and she was feeling uncomfortable. "You know Booth, you are going to have to learn to cook. You can't live on take out."
"I know. I know. I'll have to pick that battle next week." He grinned. There was an awkward silence then Booth said, "I'm not sure how I'm going to tell him that his mother was murdered."
Brennan just nodded. She had some experience in that area - not the telling part, the hearing part. "It will help if you can also tell him that everyone involved was arrested."
"Agreed." Booth didn't want to talk about the case. He started to take a bite from his burger, but he really wasn't hungry. "Wanted to say thank you again for the other night. You were great with him."
"Not really ... I just told him the truth."
"He needed that." He fixed his eyes on hers. "We all need some truth."
She broke eye contact to play with the lettuce in her bowl. "Thank you for ... for last night," she glanced up at him quickly. She didn't want to bring up last night or given an opening to finish that conversation. Would Sweets call that a Freudian Slip? "You took care of me and I needed that."
His lips pulled into a sweet smile and his eyes sparkled. There were so many ways he could respond to that but he didn't want to push too hard. She had opened the door; he needed to walk through. "I wanted to." There was a stiff silence again. "I want ... I think ... I'd like to ...," Booth stammered. "Wow this is so hard. It never used to be hard."
"Do you want to continue our conversation from this morning?"
"Yes, very much. Seems like a life time ago." He leaned toward her and attempted to keep his voice down. "I'm sorry if I confuse you. I don't mean to."
"I wasn't suggesting that you were confusing, just my reactions to you were confusing. I found myself being drawn to you in ways that ... that would've been inappropriate given your stated feelings for Hannah."
"Right, Hannah." He leaned back. This was all such a mess. Where could he start? "Bones, look, we can tiptoe around this and hope that maybe we might hit the right words at the right time, but the truth is I don't want to wait, and I don't tiptoe. I know we have a lot to work through. I've made some mistakes and said some things that hurt you. You've said and done some things that hurt me, but I don't believe that was our intention. I think we were just ... I don't know ... scared? It is too important to screw up."
"Booth."
"I think we just need ... honest communication." He couldn't believe he was using Sweets' words. "I know that this is exactly the wrong place, the wrong time, the wrong words - wrong everything. The only thing that is not wrong is us - you and me together. That's how it should always be."
"Booth, I agree that there are amends to be made for past acts that will aid in reconciling our partnership, but any discussion of a different relationship between us, if we are to have one, is too premature at this time."
"I don't believe that."
"You know that I'm correct."
"Bones, please ... don't shut me out again."
"I'm not. I'm suggesting that we deal with what is urgent."
"This is urgent." He took her hand.
"Arresting the senator is urgent. Finding justice for Rebecca is urgent." She slipped her hand away. "Parker is urgent."
"Bones ..."
Booth's cell vibrated on the table. He was about to hit ignore.
"That might be important, Booth."
Booth reluctantly answered it. "Booth ... where? ... Keep him there we're on our way ... Thanks man." He stood and pulled some money from his pocket and tossed it on the table. "That was a CI I had watching George Kirkland. He's getting out of town. We gotta go."
"Geoffreys said he wasn't involved." Brennan remained seated. "That it was the brother and the senator."
"You're going to believe a hit man over my gut? He's into up to his eye teeth. He's the weak link. Let's go put some pressure on him, see if he will break." Booth came around and stood by her chair. "Come on. Let's go."
"Where are we going?" She allowed him to pull her chair back as she rose.
"We're going to have a little chat with Mr. Kirkland about the family business." He handed her the coat and allowed her to walk out in front of him. The simple polite gestures that used to be so natural were again second nature.
"Booth you're not supposed to be working on this case. You could be suspended."
"I'll risk it." They reached the spot where his SUV was parked. "You wanted more evidence against the senator and Kirkland? We are going to get the other son to flip on them." He opened the passenger side door but stopped her from climbing in. He needed to clarify something first. "Bones, I agree that we have some things to take care of that are ... time sensitive. But I don't agree that we are premature ... in fact we're long overdue. I love you - always have."
"Please don't say that to me."
"Why not?" His heart clenched. "Because you don't ... you don't love me?"
"No, I didn't say that. I have very strong feelings for you." She stumbled over her words. "But I have little faith that that word has a consistent meaning. It seems that it ebbs and flows with a person's mood. I'm only beginning to accept the concept of love as valid and not just a chemical reaction."
"But you are accepting it." His eyes searched hers looking for something - anything.
"Yes."
There it was. That was the flicker of hope that he was looking for. They would work it through. It was only time away. "That's a step in the right direction," he grinned.
A giant step, but for the moment they had some killers to catch.
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Booth and Brennan arrived at George Kirkland's home just as he was driving away.
"Going somewhere, Mr. Kirkland?" Booth said as he approached the car.
"Business meeting in Atlanta. I will be back in a couple of days."
"Why don't you step out of there ... we need to have a little chit-chat."
It was clear that Kirkland was running; one small bag packed and sweating up a storm. It wouldn't take much for the link to break.
Brennan saw his passport sticking out of his breast pocket. She pulled it out and handed it to Booth. "Atlanta must be international."
Booth got in his face. "Kirkland, I don't have time to play with you. I need to pick my son up in an hour, OK? So this is how it's going to go. We have Lacey Carroll who has the proof that you forged the environmental studies to get this project pushed through. We have your hit man; he can't shut up. Should have paid for his lawyer."
"He's not mine. I never hired him. I didn't know anything about that."
"You didn't know that your mother hired a man to intimidate and kill innocent women?"
"No, no ... it was never supposed to happen like that. That Stinton woman was a mistake."
"That Stinton woman is the mother of my son!" Booth blasted him.
"I'm sorry ... She should never have been involved."
"And what about Ephraim Cohen?"
"That was an accident."
"No it wasn't. You know it wasn't. And the car bomb. Did you really think that there wouldn't be collateral damage with a bomb like that? Roger Danvers had a wife and two children. Ben Clifford was getting married in three weeks. Do you know who they are? They were two techs who worked for the FBI. They had nothing to do with your little scheme. They are dead now because you had to put a bomb in Carroll's car."
"It wasn't supposed to happen like that," Kirkland protested.
"Tell me ... what was supposed to happen?"
"It's all Lacey's fault. I told her ... I told her to keep her mouth shut. But she wouldn't take the money. They always take the money. I don't know why she didn't."
Perotta and Langostino rolled up on the scene just after Booth got Kirkland talking. Booth would let them take credit for the collar on Kirkland in exchange keeping his name out of the report. He didn't need credit, he need them convicted and sent to jail for the rest of their lives.
"Interesting interview technique," Brennan said with a smile as they drove away before the rest of the FBI team showed up.
"What?"
"I'm late to pick up my son, so talk."
"Worked didn't it?"
"I never had any doubt that you would get the confession."
He smiled at her. "I am late though. Can I drop you at the lab?"
"Home. I think I can sleep now."
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Kirkland was brought in for questioning. It didn't take much more to get him to flip on his mother and brother. He even waived his right to counsel hoping for leniency. It seemed that Geoffreys was right. The bridge project was only the tip of the iceberg. There was a history of corruption, bribery and probably murder that led back decades. Every time Kirkland opened his mouth he implicated someone else and re-implicated mommy dearest. The good thing for the FBI and the bad news for Senator Huff was that Kirkland kept very accurate records - a second set of books. He gave them up thinking he was protecting himself. It would take a forensic accountant a day or two to make a case against them, couple that with some recorded conversations with the senator's voice proving that she was not only aware of what was happening, but calling the shots.
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That night after Booth and Parker had cleaned up the dinner dishes, Booth told him about Rebecca.
"Buddy, I have to tell you something about your mom's death."
Parker didn't want to know. He was starting to feel guilty; guilty that he went to school, that he didn't see her the night before she died, that he should have done something that would have saved her life. Booth was prepared for that. He was feeling the same way.
"Parker, there was nothing you could have done." Booth explained all that had happened; from Rebecca trying to help Lacey Carroll and that leading to some very bad people murdering her to keep her from doing the right thing. But his mother did prevent the project from going forward which saved hundreds if not thousands of lives when the bridge fell and an ecosystem. Not only that but it exposed corruption that had been going on for a very long time. Booth left out the details of the physical fight Rebecca and Geoffreys had or that Parker was threatened or that she was killed by an injection of morphine. He could learn all that in the coming years. It wasn't lying, it was selective truth telling.
Parker listened to all that Booth had to say. He asked a few questions. Booth answered as honestly as he could.
"So you caught the people that killed mom?"
"We did," Booth said. It didn't feel quite as victorious as he looked into his mother-less son's eyes. "It won't bring your mom back, but it was what we could do."
Parker thought for a long moment and Booth waited. "Dad, I don't think you should quit the FBI. There are a lot of bad people and if you aren't there who will catch them?"
"There are other agents, buddy."
"Not a good as you and Dr. Bones."
Booth smiled. "No, we are the best, right?"
"Yeah."
"It would mean some late nights, early mornings. I would miss some of your games and I may not be able to pick you up from school every day."
"I know. That's OK. I'm proud of you, Dad."
Booth's heart soared. "I'm so proud of you, buddy." He hugged him hard.
"Dad," the kid squeaked out. "Dad, too tight." Booth loosened his hold on him. "So you will stay ... you will keep catching bad guys?"
"Yeah, for now ... we'll see how it goes, OK?"
"Ok." Parker sat back. There was a burning question at the back of his mind. They had talked about it before, but he wasn't sure if things had changed now that Hannah was gone. "Are we going to live here?"
"I think we should, don't you?"
"All my friends are here and I don't want to change schools. And I like this house. Your apartment is too small."
"It's your house now, Parker. We can stay if you want to."
"Yeah."
That night Booth entered Rebecca's bedroom for the first time. There was almost nothing left in there of hers. Sherry had cleaned it out and packed it all away. Booth sat in the chair looking out the window remembering Rebecca for the bright, beautiful, sexy woman he had known and the loving mother she had become. He grieved for her, for his loss of her and vowed that he would do right by their son. It was all he could do.
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The next morning friends, family and colleagues gathered to memorialize Rebecca Stinton. It was a celebration of her life and all that she had given to the world. As poems were read, songs sung, stories retold of how Rebecca had touched the lives of the people there, warrants were issued, and arrests made. Most people at Rebecca's service would never know the part she played in bringing down Senator Huff. In the coming days they would read about another corrupt politician using their position to make money and they would be frustrated and angry and vote for change. They would hear that there were murders ordered, but the victim's names would not be released. But the people closest to Rebecca knew that while her death was senseless they had the cold comfort of knowing that no one else would die at the hands of her murderers.
Sherry came up to Booth during the reception afterward.
"It was a beautiful service, Sherry," Booth started.
"Rebecca was well liked," she said looking over the crowd of people including her husband and children. "I loved my sister, Booth."
"I know you did. I loved her too."
"I want to honor her last wishes."
"Thank you." That was one more weight off Booth's shoulders.
"You're a good man," she said not as reluctantly as Booth would have thought. "You're a good father."
"Thank you."
"Can we please stay in touch? I don't want to lose Parker in my life."
"Of course."
She started to walk away. "You caught the people who did this, right? They will pay for what they have done?"
"Yes."
"Not enough, but it will do," she said. "One more thing, are those Rebecca's ashes?" She nodded to the urn next to a picture of Rebecca. There was some concern that they wouldn't have them in time for the service but it couldn't be changed without telling people the whole story.
"Yes." The Jeffersonian had finished with Rebecca's remains the day before and sent them for cremation. "Yes, they are."
"Good." She forced back the tears which had been fighting to get out all morning. "We leave on Brent's boat at three. You will be joining us, of course."
"Of course."
She nodded slowly and moved away. It would take her sometime to get through the grieving process, but she was a strong woman. Booth really did feel sorry for her. She was alone in a crowded room.
The Jeffersonian crew, Sweets, Max, Jared and Padme were also in attendance to pay their respects and to lend support to both Parker and Booth. Booth watched as Parker sat with them talking. The poor kid was running through a range of emotions, but they were his village. They would help him; help Booth to help him finish growing up without a mother.
Booth caught Brennan's eye. She slipped away from the group to join them.
"Are you OK?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm good ... OK," he corrected. "Thanks for everything, Bones."
"You don't need to keep thanking me."
"Rebecca wanted to have her ashes spread on the ocean. Brent has a boat and will be taking us out this afternoon. It will be Sherry, Brent, Parker and me." He wanted to ask her to come, to be there for him, but it wasn't about him. "We should be back by six. Will you join us for dinner?"
"Oh no ... no ... that's for family, Booth."
"You are family, Bones. It would mean a great deal to me and Parker if you were there."
She smiled. "You can't keep using Parker as an excuse."
"I don't need an excuse to want you to be with me." He took her hand very discretely. "Please?"
She nodded. His hand felt good in hers. It felt natural. It felt right. But Brennan still felt that it was too soon. She had too many unanswered questions. She saw that Booth was looking at her that way again. She searched his eyes - the answers were in there, she just had to know where to look, how to look. Maybe Booth could show her.
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A/N: Wrapping up some loose ends here and a few baby steps for Booth and Brennan. They are not home free yet. One more chapter to go. Stay tuned.