He Shouldn't Have Done That

By: Lesera128

Rated: M

Disclaimer: I own nothing... Obviously. Just playing in someone else's sandbox for a bit.

Summary: Brennan ends her partnership with Booth after she considers his confession to Hannah about her the ultimate betrayal. AU.

A/N: I normally detest writing author's notes, but I feel it necessary to anticipate the questions I know that are coming. So, first... no, this is not turning into a Brennan/Wendalll story (not really). Second, again, no I am not trying to assassinate Booth's character. Third, please read carefully or you will miss things. Last, I *always* welcome constructive criticism (even if it seems counter to what my opinions are on things in my writing), particularly if there is a question or something that is unclear. However, to those to whom that does not apply... a good piece of advice... if you don't like or agree with the story (be it premise, writing style, plot, characterization, or INSERT RANDOM GRIPE HERE), stop reading, hit the back button, and happy hunting for other stories. It's that simple. :)~

Chapter 6 – Six Months After

We took things slow. For the first month, we never did more than hold hands or share a few chaste kisses. I think he knew I wasn't ready for more than that… for more than I could give him at that moment. But, he also knew that I wanted to… I desperately wanted to give him more. And, he said we had time… time enough… and so he was patient. And, we had time.

Those first few weeks with Wendall…time, it just went by so quickly. I-I… I was surprised at first, the feelings I was having, the reactions to things that kept occurring. They were positive… so positive, not negative. And, I was enjoying myself. I... I don't know how to describe it. It started out innocently enough only because Wendall had asked. *He* obviously saw something in me, *something* that caught his attention. And, when our professional obligations, those that had made such an interaction inappropriate were removed – setting aside the fact that I'm not sure what I might have done if he had asked before his dissertation defense, given the fact that I had done the same thing to Michael, once upon a time – Wendall pursued it. He pursued *me*. God, it felt good to be wanted… to be desired. To be known for who and what I was, and Wendall still came after me. It was a novel experience.

So, for those first few weeks, it was like I was a teenager again, or at least as I had imagined a typical teenager's life was like when she began dating, had my own experience not been interrupted by my stint in the State of Illinois' foster care system. He called me, not often, but randomly, just to see how I was. On nights when we didn't go out (which weren't very frequent), he called me, and we would stay up late talking on the phone. Sometimes, sometimes even after I left him or he left me, he'd send me a text, or I'd send him a text, just to say goodnight. And, then he'd make an offhand comment about something from earlier, or I would, and then, before I knew it, four hours would have gone by, and it would be 3 o'clock in the morning. And, the talks… they were so great. Wendall already spoke fluent-Brennanese. And, so he didn't tease me too much when I needed something translated into my vernacular. He was so good… so kind… so gentle.

We spent our time doing typical things that people who have just begun to date have always wanted to do when they were single, but couldn't, because they didn't have that magical +1 number to put them into the appropriate label of couple, not single. It started with dinners and walks on the Mall. But, at some point, we added other activities to it. Wendall wanted to go see an action film, and so I went with him. We both decided to attend the occasional lecture at either American or the Jeffersonian followed by a rousing game of mini golf and ending the evening with a pint of beer at a bar near the mini golf course. We went bowling, and he didn't laugh at me when I was horrible at it. We would go to this sports bar that he knew, and we would end up playing pool or darts… and he didn't complain too loudly when I actually legitimately beat him. Once or twice, because he thought I wanted to, and because I thought he wanted to, we went to a club to go dancing. However, we only went once or twice because, really, once you've been a couple of times, how many times do you really need to go?

As more time passed, I realized how much of my free time I spent thinking about him when I wasn't with him. At some point, I had started to smile this unintentional smile… and I was happy – happier than people had seen me in a long time. And, although, they didn't initially know who was the cause of my euphoric behavior (except for Angela) – it *did* eventually become patently clear when Wendall showed up one day at the lab with a bouquet of daffodils and an offer to take me to lunch. It was a loud, bold, brash statement of his intentions towards me. I received a curious look or two from Cam, but all in all, once the change was registered, people seemed to be happy that I was happy.

It also, coincidentally, was that day that Wendall suggested that we go to the diner for a bite to eat. I only felt a momentary sense of hesitation before I nodded. When we entered, and we sat down (not at a certain table, it should be said, but not by any doing by my part on that one), it didn't hurt me as much as I thought it once might have. I didn't panic. I didn't want to start crying. I felt only a sense of nostalgia and a bit of regret as we ordered. And, when Wendall ordered a burger and fries, and offered me some of those fries, I ate one for the first time in months. And, I actually *enjoyed* it. The french fry tasted good to me, and it didn't get stuck in my throat like I had originally envisioned it might when I first tried to swallow it. After that, although I didn't forget anything that had happened in the past… I just didn't care as much. We started going to the diner more frequently, and eventually, I remembered more of my meals with Wendall there than long ago hours spent at another table in front of another man's plate of French fries. Later, shortly after I resumed eating at the diner, on the day I switched on the radio and randomly caught the tail end of a Foreigner song - even if it wasn't "Hot Blooded" - and I didn't immediately have to quickly change to another station – I knew then… I was going to be okay.

I started watch the clock more during the day. I rarely came in early anymore… although I was there promptly by 9 am every morning. I didn't stay very late anymore… and never past 6pm. My marathon sessions in limbo during the weekends seemed to be a thing of the past, and for once, I didn't really care.

And, then, one morning after we had met to go jogging on the Mall, things just happened. It had started to rain, and we were caught in the down pour. My apartment was the closest, and so we took refuge there… and laughing, I pulled Wendall inside… my cold hands on his clammy ones... and *something* else changed in that moment. And, although we had held hands and kissed before… this time, this time it was different. He reached for me, pulled me to him, and he kissed me. It was a sweet kiss, tentative – almost nervous at first… but, at some point, I'm not sure if it was because of me, or because of Wendall, but one of us accidentally had one of our tongues slip out, and then we were kissing. And, that kiss turned from nervous to frenzied and hard and desperate with desire and want on both our parts. And, when we pulled back, he had this look in his eyes. It was, again, tentative, but, also… I saw want in his eyes. Wendall *wanted* me… and he was asking, even though he hadn't said a word. Then, I realized that I wanted him, too … and so I nodded, shyly… and blushed a deep red… and gently reached out to take his hand, and we spent the rest of the morning making love.

It was one of the best days of my entire life. I should have known that things wouldn't last – they never do. But, the universe was kind to me this one time because the metaphorical other shoe didn't drop because of Wendall… but because of *him*.

Brennan was standing next to Sully on the banks of the Potomac River at the edge of an estuary that came under federal domain because of it's proximity to an EPA-protected agricultural zone of influence. The late spring/early summer rains had swelled the rivers and lakes and bays of the DC area during what was usually drought season. And, for once, Brennan was mildly annoyed when Sully dragged her out on this case because it meant she would be staying at the lab a lot longer than she had originally envisioned when she had woke up that morning in Wendall's arms. However, ever the professional that she was, Brennan did prepare herself when Sully warned her the find was particularly gruesome and would be difficult, both metaphorically and forensically.

"Okay, Sully, I'm here. What've got?" Brennan said, as she felt her boot squishing into the soft mud of the river bank.

Gesturing Sully said, "I, ah… you just better see for yourself, Tempe. An EPA official found it when she was coming out to check how much of the river water had risen because they're afraid of contamination in the estuary."

He pointed to pile of what looked to be rocks and shells that sat on the muddy river bank.

Bending down, Brennan pulled on her latex gloves as she tried to figure out what she was looking at.

Sully came to stand behind me and pointed with a sigh. "It is human, right?"

Brennan squinted at the pile of what she could only describe as a mass of... *something*. She could see slime and dirt and shells - absentmindedly she thought how happy this case would make Hodgins - and, then, still squinting at the mass, she saw it… the calcified dull glint of bone. Brennan began to prod the mass as gently as she could to see if she could get some idea of what she was seeing besides something that she knew was made of bone. Eventually, moving around it and quirking her head, yes, Brennan did finally see it. She saw the beginnings of a small jaw bone, detached from a smaller skull, protruding from the amorphous block that had been hauled from the river by the rising waters. Brennan sighed as she looked up and nodded. "Yes, it's human. I won't be able to give you a sex until we can free more of the bones from the fusion they've been compacted into here, but, it's definitely human. From what I can see, I would say Caucasian… and an infant. Less than a year old from the look of what I can see of the jaw."

"Any idea how long it might have been down there?" Sully asked.

Slowly, Brennan shook her head. "No… not… Hodgins will be able to tell us when he does his thing with the sea creatures and other stuff, but, if I were to guess… yes, a very long time. Years, possibly."

Sully looked at her, amusement and surprise evident on his face.

"What?" Brennan asked, looking up at him.

"'Does his thing'? If you were to *guess*?" he asked with a smile. "Since when do you 'guess', Tempe?"

Standing up, she snapped her gloves off as she said, "I am a very highly evolved creature, Sully, thank you, very much." And with a smile of her own, she turned and walked past him as Sully informed the techs about what needed to go back to the Jeffersonian, i.e., basically everything.

Cam stood next to Brennan on the platform as they considered best how to proceed. Almost a week after it's initial discovery, the infant's skeleton had been freed from the block of matter that represented a cross-section of the Potomac River's maritime environment that *had* made Hodgins the giddiest Brennan had seen him in a long time. The bones had been cleaned and lay arranged on one of the examination tables staring back at the scientists.

Brennan was shaking her head in frustration as she said, "We should be able to know more about this than the fact that the baby was a Caucasian female less than three months old."

Cam looked at her with a reassuring nod. "And, we will, Dr. Brennan. But, her bones *were* down there for a long time."

Nodding, Brennan said, "Did the fetal bones have enough genetic material left to try for a DNA match?"

Cam nodded. "Yeah. I don't know how, because it doesn't make any logical sense if they've been in the water that long - Hodgins thinks some of the bones may have been protected by the slime secreted by a nest of snails that settled on the bones, but that wouldn't have kept this intact like this for more than a year or so, so he's stumped. Some of the particulates he found are fairly confusing as well."

"Is it possible that the remains were moved from one location to the river at some point?" Brennan asked.

Cam shrugged. "I think that's what the Bugman thinks, but he doesn't want to come out and say it just yet in case he's wrong. So, Hodgins just said that he's 'still working on it'. As for the DNA, yes there was enough marrow in one of the bones that we got a viable sample. Angela's running it now to see if we get any hits on the CODIS database to any of the DNA profiles that are on record. Maybe if we can find out who she's related to, we can figure out where to start looking for reasons as to when someone put her at the bottom of the Potomac and why."

Almost as if she had conjured her, Angela appeared, pale… she was so white, she looked like all the color had simply drained out of her face. She nodded to Brennan as she said, "Bren, can I see you for a moment, please?"

Looking up, Brennan saw her friend and nodded. Moving off the platform, Angela's hand latched tightly on to hers.

"We have a problem," Angela said in a hushed and low voice.

"What?"

"I, ahh… I'm not sure how to tell you this, but… it's Booth, Bren," Angela said.

Brennan immediately stopped walking and looked up at her friend, realizing that her reaction wasn't so much at how she reacted to hearing the name that no one had really mentioned to her for months, but that because Angela had *actually* spoken his name.

"What about him?"

"The case, Booth—"

Shaking her head, Brennan said, "I already made it patently clear to the FBI that I would not be working any cases with him, Angela. Months ago. They have to go through Sully—"

"No, you don't understand," Angela said, taking her friend's arm and pulling it toward her office.

Once they were inside, and Angela pointed to the large computer screen, Brennan didn't realize that she had actually gasped.

"It's not a case to work *with* Booth, Bren… it's the—the remains, on the platform… oh, honey… I think this might actually be a case *about* him," Angela said breathlessly.

And, to confirm her words, the monitor had Booth's profile highlighted and staring back at us. Angela had obviously paused the search when his profile resulted in a hit for the DNA markers of the remains. His smiling face – the old Booth, not the one that she didn't know anymore – the one that had been taken several years ago and adorned his FBI ID badge… it was that image that stared back at her with a CODIS hit, and a partial genetic match percentage blinking in red in front of them.

-TBC-