Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, but I am obsessed!
Author's Note: Hello friends. I finally got around to another chapter of this story. There is one more planned from Angela's POV, but it will take awhile to type it up as I am focusing on If I Needed Someone at the moment. I'm afraid that the last episode of Bones really made me dislike Hannah. I was trying to give her a chance, but I give up. But, I just can't give up on the show and it fueled my angsty muse. I hope that this was worth the wait. Enjoy.
Chapter 4: Useless
Sweets now knows why Dr. Wyatt became Chef Wyatt. His fiance has chosen her career over their relationship and his surrogate parents have for all intents and purposes, divorced. As he strokes the piano keys at the mall, he laments how he has failed his profession, his family, and his life. He tickles the ivories and thinks at how useless he's become. He hits a discordant note and several patrons look up from their own lives and notice him for the first time. He ignores them and continues on, nobody is perfect after all. As he finishes his song, Sweets thinks that it might be time to see a psychologist of his own. Pulling him from his musical reverie, his phone rings. It's Ms. Julian. Booth is coming home five months ahead of schedule and he is dealing with PTSD. Sweets hangs up the phone, walks away from the piano without even finishing his set and makes his way to the Hoover Building. His sabbatical is over, and he hopes that he can be of use again.
It isn't difficult to become reactivated. He is surprised by how easy it is, actually, he hopes that pulling the team back together will be just as easy. It is, and it isn't. Everything is the same, and everything is different. Booth is not suffering from PTSD, Ms. Julian has lied, lied to him in order to get the team back together. Sweets is touched by the gesture, but any happy feelings associated with this reunion are quickly washed away. The Jeffersonian had dissolved the department after the team had scattered, and they are stuck in a crappy, dark lab, with crappy inadequate equipment.
The people are reunited, but they are distracted. Dr. Saroyan is worried about losing her job, Ms. Julian is worried that the team won't be able to pull themselves together, and Angela and Hodgins are worried that the other wants to be back in Paris more than they want to be back at home. Daisy is trying to re-establish a relationship with him, but he can't deal with that issue at the moment because it is Brennan and Booth that worry Sweets. Something is different with the partners. He can't place his finger on what is wrong at first, but then he hears of Hannah, and he sees the picture of Hannah, and then he meets Hannah.
Sweets can see why Booth likes, correction, loves her. She is beautiful, intelligent, courageous, and baggage free. Dr. Brennan is three out of the four. He tries to bring up the issue in partners' therapy, but the duo avoid talking about it, claiming that there is no problem. Then the two of them also catch wind that the FBI never demanded that they resume therapy and they stop coming. They welcome Sweet's advice on professional cases, but he is no longer welcome to comment on their personal life. Sweets lets the subject drop for now, but no one can stop him from observing. Maybe someday the observations will come in handy.
He is invited to Angela's baby shower and has a nice time. He stays in the background mostly, able to get away with it solely on the basis that he is male. He bows out of the silly party games and takes careful note of the competition. He can tell that Hannah let Dr. Brennan win, and that Dr. Brennan is clueless to that fact. The small flicker of emotion that passes over Dr. Brennan's face when Booth congratulates Hannah on her second place finish is not missed by Sweets, but there is nothing that he can do about it. Dr. Brennan has made it clear that she hates psychology, and it is these moments when he feels useless in his profession that makes him hate psychology just a little bit too.
The new order stands for awhile. Sweets is a little bit on the fringe of things, as always. But still, he feels like something else is missing, but the partners are still successful and cases are still solved, so there isn't much he can do about it. And then one day Ms. Julian barges into his office and demands an explanation. She has just come from an important meeting concerning an appeal that would mean a cold-blooded killer walking away scot-free. A case that every one of the squints had had a personal stake in. And Dr. Brennan had acted like she had acted the first time that she had ever met Ms. Julian, a scientist through and through. Dr. Brennan had left Booth in the lurch, and Booth knew that her feelings had been hurt. Sweets has no explanation for the behavior, not one that Ms. Julian couldn't see through, anyway. Ms. Julian tells him to fix this problem, yesterday, but Sweets just shakes his head sadly. If only there was something he could do.
Sweets casually reconnects with Daisy, and so he starts to spend a little more time around the Jeffersonian. He overhears Dr. Brennan telling Angela about her Wednesday night dinners with Hannah and Booth. Sweets is curious about this new tradition, but no one directly mentions it to him. It annoys him to no end. He knows that he has a bad habit of muttering under his breath, but he can't help it. These people drive him crazy sometimes.
And so Sweets is a little bit shocked when Booth invites him to lunch, and keeps inviting him. Sweets spends the first two lunches trying to casually observe the partners, but fails miserably. They are seemingly so curious about his life, his work, his relationship with Daisy that they don't stop pestering him with questions. Eventually, the three settle into a routine, but Sweets is brilliant after all. He knows what his role is. He is a babysitter. In his surrogate family metaphor, Dr. Brennan and Booth are staying together for the kids, and even with a licensed therapist in their midst constantly, they don't take advantage of the free couples therapy. Still, Sweets feels like he is being useful during these lunches, trying to keep his Mama and Papa Duck together.
He can't hide his excitement when they ask him to join them out in the field on a regular basis. The partners have no idea how much flack he has to take at the Hoover in order to clear his schedule in order to be with them as often as they ask. He goes to his superiors and uses his best jargon to convince them that an intense observation of these partners in the field could be used to enhance partnerships all over the FBI. He talks about successful collaboration with consultants and liaisons. He blathers on about how this duo has a high close and conviction rate and that the lessons he learns from their observations would be useful in training, books, and positive publicity for the FBI. The powers that be eat it up, completely oblivious to the evolving, and frankly crumbling partnership. He logs a lot of overtime trying not to ignore all of his other patients and fun times with Daisy become a distant memory. She doesn't seem to mind all that much, as her devotion to Dr. Brennan still borders on ridiculous.
One day, an agent has a crisis of conscience and confesses to accepting a bribe. Sweets' presence is demanded and he is unable to get away to join the scientist and agent on a field trip. Two days later, Sweets sees the paperwork from the incident. Dr. Brennan had been hit by a ricocheting bullet, and according to back-up on the seen, Booth had nearly had a stroke while Dr. Brennan had remained stoic, despite being the one injured. Sweets attempts to broach the subject of the incident with Booth, but one glare from Booth forces him to back down. Sweets mutters something about just trying to do his job, but bows out of Booth's office, not missing the clenched hands or the look of panic that crosses Booth's face.
Over lunch the next couple of weeks, Sweets hears of Anthony, Dr. Brennan's new "boyfriend," for lack of a better term. As their lunches and field work continue, Booth's reaction to any mention of Anthony becomes more and more pronounced. It looks like Booth has taken to eaten lemons with every meal, his expression is so sour. Sweets tries to confront Booth about it, but Booth denies that anything is wrong. Dr. Brennan can date whomever she wants, Booth growls at him. Booth then has to convince Sweets that nothing is wrong with Booth and Hannah, they are perfectly fine and happy, thank you very much.
Booth strolls into Sweets' office whistling and flipping his poker chip one afternoon, collecting some random paperwork. He gives no explanation to Sweets for the sudden turnabout in mood, but two days later, Sweets finds out from Daisy that Anthony is no longer in the picture. And no one seems to care.
Sweets is called into a meeting with several bigwigs at the FBI. Agent Monroe is retiring, and Agent Booth is on the list of potential replacements. He has turned down two promotions in the past and they want Sweets' honest opinion as to whether or not they are wasting their time by considering Booth. Sweets takes a long time to consider his response, but he was asked for honesty and that is what he will give his bosses. He thoroughly recommends Booth for the position, knowing that staying together for the kids really isn't going to cut it much longer. And despite Sweets' opinion, Booth is not offered the job.
Three days later, Booth practically shoves Sweets into his office and locks the door. He tells Sweets everything, more than Sweets ever wanted to know, really. He tells Sweets about standing Dr. Brennan up and not being able to find her, the panic that hit him when she took that bullet, his hatred of Anthony, her drunken confession of love, his drunken tirade and his drunken relapse. Finally, he is silent for a moment and Sweets is speechless, unable to help. He doesn't know what to say. Booth understands the silence, he's just dumped a lot on Sweets. He only asks that Sweets keep an eye on Dr. Brennan as he doesn't know how to anymore. As soon as Sweets nods his agreement, Booth stands up and walks out of the office, leaving a stunned Sweets in his wake.
It takes Sweets a day to build up the courage to talk to Dr. Brennan. And when he finally does, the hits just keep on coming. She, too, tells him everything. But mostly he focuses on the fact that after all of this time, she has confessed to loving Booth. She doesn't go as far to say that she is in love with him, but the implication is there. She has grown so much, and by letting her walls tumble down she has opened herself up to this pain. He is so proud of her for finally admitting her deep feelings, for no longer denying her emotions. And he is horrified because she has realized everything about a year too late. Sweets doesn't know what to say, so he just gives her a hug. Surprisingly, she accepts it, with a few tears running down her face. He sees a flash in her eyes, and knows that some piece of the puzzle that is her life has clicked into place. But she is done talking for the day, and she smiles bravely at him as she returns to her paperwork, swiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand.
Sweets takes to distracting her after solving cases. Mostly, they sneak some of Hodgins' bootlegged liquor and drink out of beakers in her office. Sometimes, they grab a bite to eat at an Italian place that somehow Booth has never heard of. He doesn't press Dr. Brennan for much, but she constantly surprises him by talking about her feelings and emotions. She even casually tells him one night that she sees the value in psychology. And he knows that she can't pull off sarcasm. That one confession almost makes all of the turmoil worth it.
He misses hanging out with the rest of the squints, but he knows where his priorities lie. And Sweets sees the look of gratitude that Booth gives him whenever he passes by Sweets in the halls of the Hoover. Booth looks tired, but Sweets is unable to question him. In this divorce, Dr. Brennan has full time custody of Sweets, Booth barely gets a supervised visitation. Sometimes that is life. And Booth has had plenty of experience with limited visitation.
Being a rather brilliant mind, Sweets keeps up with current events. He isn't surprised that Hannah is chosen to cover a major news story halfway across the world. He is surprised to find out that she isn't planning on coming back. But he is floored that the news is delivered after Booth calls his secretary to make an appointment for therapy. And when Booth walks in for his scheduled session, Brennan walks in with him holding his hand. The smile on her face is mirrored in Booth's expression and after a few question, Sweets' face adopts the same look.
They continue to come in willingly for couples therapy. They are open and honest and actually listen to everything that Sweets has to say. They have to first rebuild their partnership, and then their friendship, and finally they start to build a romantic relationship. And its funny, now that they are finally sitting on the couch and doing the work, doing what Sweets has always wanted them to do, Sweets realizes that they don't actually need him. They are doing it all on their own, partners to the very end. Dr. Brennan gives him a hug good-bye after one session and Booth gives him a friendly clap on the shoulder and invites him to lunch the next day. As they walk out of the door hand in hand, Sweets mutters one last time under his breath, "Yep, I'm completely useless." But he can't keep the smile off of his face.