Author's Note: Sorry about the huge delay on this one. Life was pretty crazy there for a while. But I think I have this fic sorted out now.
I do not own Bones or any of its characters.
Thank you again to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.
Writerchick786: I hope that since both SN and JFD has mentioned that they would like to do more with Sweets' character, there might be an episode in the future that will delve more into his past. I'd love it to happen in Season Seven, but we'll have to wait and see since it's a short season...Yeah, I can see Sweets being one of those inquisitive types of kids seeing as he can be pretty nosy as an adult. :) ...Sadly, we are dealing with a kid who is very gifted and thus, it didn't seem like a stretch that he'd do something like this on his own. Fortunately, the rest of the Jeffersonian team is not too far away...
TimeWitch93: I did toy with that a little (his response being angrier) but I figured that fear and sorrow would win out in the end...As far as what will bring his memory back...we're not there yet...
Rankor01: Given his past actions, it did make sense to me too that he would run in the face of news like that...I'll confess, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could bring the Sweets I was developing in the pre-teen years in my THotF fic into the present Bones setting. I do think by this point that he was starting to become the person we see at the Jeffersonian and Bureau... I completely agree that Booth is thinking in terms of his own childhood when considering what to do with Sweets and as this chapter illustrates, he's not the only one...
Awesomenerd95: Thank you! :) I'm glad you enjoyed my work thus far and I'm sorry that I've put off updating this one for so long. I hope you can enjoy this update.
Lives in the now: Booth has always struck me as a real protector type, even if he's not always comfortable with being open about it, and I do think it shows in his treatment of Sweets (the episode The Bullet in the Brain is a perfect example of this). And you're right about the others rallying around him...
Yarra: Yeah, well I think Sweets has that effect on people. He certainly has it on the rest of the Jeffersonian team. :) It's been fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Peanutmeg: Thanks for the review. It would be difficult, I think, for Sweets to return to his childhood years, especially without his parents to care for him as we will see in more of this fic.
BrilliantGreenEyes:Thank you for the wonderful review of this and the rest of my work. I love spending so much time inside the minds of the characters of Bones, so I'm glad you enjoy that aspect of my work. I know that I've been putting this one off for a while, but I hope that my other updates have helped with the wait.
Charlotte Thornton: Yeah, if this were to happen on the show, I could see this being a nightmare for Booth even if he would want to help. :) But then again, I think Booth is starting to adapt to the idea that nothing ordinary happens at the Jeffersonian. :D
Expat19: Thank you. I know that it took a while to get here, but I hope you enjoy the new chapter.
Voiceless Night: I agree that it is a bit of cliche and was a little reluctant to do this story at first as a result. But it's still turning out to be a lot of fun, so I'm glad I went with it. :) Besides, despite it being a cliche, there is so much story potential there, it's hard to resist doing it...Thanks for this and all the other reviews.
The Confusion in the Ducking—Chapter 7
Booth and Brennan walked down the back corridors of the Jeffersonian toward the storage rooms. Brennan pointed out the one that housed the Egyptian artifacts and the two of them noted that there were signs that someone had run through here recently.
"Sweets," Booth called out as they walked among the boxes and display objects scattered about. "Sweets, where are you?"
The agent ran and hand through his hair as he watched Brennan begin a more systematic search. The room was vast and with all the things stuffed inside it, there were many places where the psychologist could hide. He started to worry about how long it could take to find him.
A sound interrupted Booth's reverie, however, and he held out a hand toward Brennan to get her attention. Soon they both heard it. It was faint, but it was definitely the sound of someone crying.
The two of them carefully moved toward the direction of the sound to find Sweets huddled up on the floor next to an elaborate sarcophagus. His legs were drawn up near his chest and his arms were crossed over his shins. Sweets' head was buried against his knees while he wept, and he didn't lift it as they approached.
"Sweets?" Brennan said softly.
"Go away," he sobbed, still not looking up.
Booth and Brennan looked at each other for a moment before they both sat down on the floor on either side of him.
"I'm sorry, Sweets," Booth said quietly. "I know that doesn't mean much to you right now, but…."
"Booth and I were hoping that you would get your memory back before we would have to inform you about your parents' deaths," Brennan interrupted.
"Bones!"
"I know that technically it was purposeful omission on our parts," Brennan continued. "But it was done with good intentions. We wanted to spare you from any…unnecessary pain."
Sweets said nothing for a while, but his tears had quieted down by this point. A few moments later, he looked up at the anthropologist with swollen, red eyes.
"Mom loves the Egyptian exhibits at the Jeffersonian," he sniffed. "She said…she said that when she was a girl, she used to read about all about life in ancient Egypt and the pharaohs."
"I did that too when I was child," Brennan said gently. "Did she have a favorite?"
"Um, Amenhotep the IV," Sweets said, wiping his face with his arm.
"Ah, the pharaoh who became Akhenaten in 1348 BCE," she smiled. "He was a very interesting ruler."
"His wife was Nefertiti, the famous queen," Sweets sniffed again as he turned his body toward her.
"That's correct," Brennan nodded. "Akhenaten abandoned Thebes to build his own capital to the north and establish the priesthood of Amun."
"Mom said that someday she wanted to see the bust Akhenaten had made of her," the psychologist said. "But she…she really enjoyed seeing the things on display here."
"The Jeffersonian does have a comprehensive collection of Egyptian artifacts," Brennan said. "I'm sure your mother was able to discover much during her visit here."
Sweets nodded a couple more tears slipping out which he wiped away.
"I…I think she did," he warbled. "She…she said that she wanted to come here again with me. I…I hope she did."
The psychologist started to cry a little more and Brennan put her arm around his shoulders. At first he grew tense, but soon he relaxed and leaned against her a little.
"Sweets," Booth said, carefully laying a hand on his shoulder. "Would you like to come back to the lab with us?"
"I guess so," he quavered. "You…you're going to stay with me, right? You and Brennan?"
"Of course we will," Brennan said, rubbing his arm.
"Sure," Booth added. "We'll go back and we'll work something out, all right? But no matter what, we're not leaving you alone."
Back in the lab, Sweets settled in on the couch in Brennan's office and stared at the walls while Angela sat with him, holding his hand. Just outside, Booth, Brennan, Cam and Hodgins gathered to talk about what they wanted to do next.
"Poor kid," Hodgins said, shaking his head. "Finding out about his parents that way."
"Did he remember anything after you talked to him?" Cam asked.
"Nothing," Booth sighed.
"What are you going to do now?" Hodgins asked.
"We need to work on this case," the agent said. "Have you guys made any progress yet?"
"Tox screens showed nothing," the pathologist said.
"I'm still waiting for the latest round of results from the mass spec," Hodgins said.
"Well I need to check on some leads at the clinic," Booth said. "I called them on the way over here, and the secretary said that Felton's personal assistant was there and that he could meet with us. Apparently his assistant saw him just about every day so he might have something we can use."
"What about Sweets?" Brennan asked. "I don't think we should leave him here again."
Booth sighed, his posture sagging. He wasn't entirely sure about taking Sweets along with him, but he was sure that Brennan was right in saying that it wasn't a good idea to leave Sweets at the lab after what just happened.
"Ok, he'll come with us," Booth said. "But help me keep an eye on him, all right?"
"Ok," Brennan said as she went to the office to fetch him. Hodgins left to go back to his office and Cam walked over toward the agent.
"I think she was right to invite him," Cam said. "He does seem to trust you more…and Doctor Brennan has been good with him."
"Yeah, you're right," he said as he watched Sweets stand up and walk with the anthropologist. While he waited for them to join him, Booth pondered how he sometimes thought that Brennan did not give herself enough credit for her caring heart.
"Come on, Sweets," Booth said once they arrived. "You're going to help us some more with our case."
The three of them arrived at Felton's clinic and the secretary waved them back to the assistant's office where he was waiting for him. Booth and Brennan sat down in a pair of chairs in front of his desk while Sweets went back to the reception area to wait.
The man introduced himself as Martin Wright and mentioned that he had worked with Felton for over five years.
"The longest anyone was willing to be his assistant, I might add," Wright said tersely.
"Is something wrong with your right shoulder?" Brennan asked.
"Injured in a car accident a couple years ago," Wright answered. "How did you know?"
"The way you hold your arm when extended suggests trauma to the deltoid muscle," the anthropologist explained.
"Mr. Wright, your secretary mentioned before that Felton had a lot of unhappy patients," Booth said. "Was there anyone else who had reason to harm him? Past associates or disgruntled co-workers?"
"Felton was not the easiest person to work for, that's for sure," Wright nodded. "We've a quite a few people come and go around here. Our secretary, Ginger, she's only been here for about three months."
"Did he have problems with anyone recently?" Brennan asked.
"Well there was some of his patients," Wright mused. "But between you and me, most of them did not have a legitimate gripe. I mean, yeah, Felton didn't always have the best of bedside manners, but he did his job well enough. I'll tell you who you should look at though: his old partner, Doctor William Arnold."
"Why him?" Booth asked, writing the name down on his notepad.
"Let's just say that they didn't part on the best of terms," the assistant said. "Felton was no saint, but Arnold had a nasty habit of cutting corners. Even I was glad to see him gone."
"When did they part ways?" Booth asked.
"About four years ago."
"And you think Felton held a grudge this entire time?" Brennan asked.
"Well a couple of Arnold's patients recently met up with Felton," Wright said. "I don't know all the details, but it sounded like Felton was thinking of helping them file some kind of class action suit against him."
"That could ruin him," Brennan nodded.
"Yep and it makes for a pretty good motive for murder," Booth said.
After Wright gave them Arnold's current address, Booth and Brennan decided to stop off at the diner for a quick bite. On a whim, Booth ordered a large ice cream sundae for the three of them to share. While they were waiting Booth called Arnold's office and set up an appointment to talk to him later this evening. Once the food arrived, the agent rubbed his hands together after handing everyone a spoon.
"Ok Sweets eat up," Booth said.
"Booth, this is rather decadent for lunch," Brennan said.
"Which is exactly why it's a good idea, Bones," Booth grinned. "You need to do this sort of thing once in a while."
Brennan nodded and she and Booth started to eat with Sweets eventually joining in. They ate for a few moments silently before Brennan cleared her throat.
"This is pretty good," she said.
"There, you see," Booth grinned. Brennan then looked over at Sweets.
"Are you enjoying yours?" she asked.
"I guess, yeah," Sweets said as he scooped up some more ice cream with a chunk of banana. Brennan looked over at Booth for a moment before reaching across the table and placing her hand onto Sweets' arm.
"It's scary, I know, to wake up one day and have your family taken away from you," she said quietly. "You wonder why this happened to you and it's hard to know who to trust."
Sweets looked up at her, his brown eyes shiny but clear.
"You know?" he asked very quietly. Brennan nodded. "Did…did you ever see them again?"
"I found my father," she said. "But…my mother died before I could see her again."
"I'm sorry," Sweets murmured.
"Thank you," she said. "But the point is that family is not always just the people you grew up with." She glanced over at Booth before looking back at him. "Family can also be the people who you become close to. People who share in your life experiences, both positive and negative. The important thing is to be willing to allow yourself the chance to see these people for who they are."
"Yeah, Dad said something like that once too," Sweets said. The psychologist took another large bite of ice cream and then finally started to smile a little.
"Thank you Brennan," he said softly. "And you too Agent Booth. For the ice cream and…everything."
"You're welcome Sweets," Booth smiled at him. "Now help me finish this up. We need to get Bones back to the lab so we can work on catching this murderer."