Author's Note: Next chapter. I am running a little behind on some of the updates that I had planned for this week, but hopefully a fast update on this one helps to make up for it. :) On a side note, I am curious to know, have any of my readers not been getting story notifications or alerts? I noticed that I've been having problems getting notifications from the site and have been wondering if anyone else has been having that problem.
Anyway, onto the story. :)
I do not own Bones or any of its characters.
Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.
1917farmgirl: Agreed. I know that I never enjoyed it within canon when members of Team Jeffersonian were feuding with each other, but on the other hand, I have wondered at times how long Sweets can continue to be "long-suffering" in his interactions with his friends/family before it starts to get to him. Plus, it has always seemed like he's been reluctant to discuss his own worries and feelings despite how eager he is to work with everyone else on theirs (as evidenced in episodes like The Bullet in the Brain or The Bones on the Blue Line and so on). So yes, very frustrating indeed...Thank you for the well-wishes at hitting two years. As I noted in my profile, according to the site I've submitted about 900,000 words. :O It hasn't always been fast, but it has been fun. :) So I hope to keep doing it for a while and I hope you and the rest of my readers enjoy it.
Peanutmeg: Thank you for the review. Yes, angsty might have to become a new word so as to describe this fic. Granted, there are some lighter points in this chapter, but I will warn you now that things are not going to improve much for now. As to how Sweets is going to handle Daisy's curiosity...this and the next chapter will reveal that...
D: And that is the thing. Ideas that can sound good when the mind is clouded by grief, fear or alcohol often can be very destructive. Given Sweets' track record over the last couple of seasons, I could really only come to one conclusion as to what direction he would go in this situation...After that, it's going to be a matter of just how much he can surmount what life has given him...
Lives in the now: Thank you. I know that in the iPad app thing for Bones (the Sweets' Final Thoughts Journal) he mentions being worried about his relationship with Booth after the whole bit where Booth attempted to propose to Hannah, but nothing more was said about it in canon. Much like many events in the The Pain in the Heart episode, there was a lot of potentially volatile feelings flying about that never were resolved to my satisfaction, thus why I sometimes wonder if they ever were completely resolved...As to what Sweets will do next, stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this update.
The Break in the Ties—Chapter 6
The next morning, Sweets cracked his eyes open and immediately wished that he hadn't.
Last night, he had continued to alternate between crying and vomiting while Daisy was gone. Thankfully, both his tears and his nausea began to abate by the time she showed up again. Soon afterwards, she helped him crawl into bed, and he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. He had no idea how long he had slept after that, but the light stinging his eyes told him that it was morning, and lack of warmth in the bed indicated that he was alone.
He rolled over and stared at the dents in the pillows and the creases in the sheets that had been left by her body before putting a hand over his eyes in an attempt to ease his throbbing head.
'What was I doing last night?' he asked himself. 'I must have gotten drunk. There's no way that feeling this fiercely wretched could not equate intoxication…But why did I do that?'
Sweets moaned and pulled his blanket over his head. Right now, thinking hurt almost as much as the bright light did, but he wasn't able to stop himself.
'I know why I did what I did. I do. It was so that I could stop thinking about…about it. That was stupid of me. Daisy, she….Wait, she had plans for last night. Dinner, a movie and after that….What did I do last night? Did I make a fool of myself? Did I crash my car? Did I make a huge mess? Is she…is she mad at me?'
Sweets closed his eyes, and he was unsure if it was the alcohol or something else inside him that made his eyes tear up. So many things had gone wrong in his personal relationships this week. Too many. Sweets was beginning to feel like a failure as a friend or a loved one. He began to contemplate how he might beg Daisy for forgiveness when suddenly he felt the sheets around him being pulled away. He turned over and blinked vigorously to see Daisy sitting on the bed with a glass of greenish, thick-looking liquid in one of her hands.
Sweets groaned again. It was clear to him that forgiveness was out of the question and that she had come to poison him.
"Good morning, Lancelot," she beamed at him. "How are you feeling?"
"Terrible," Sweets mumbled.
"Well that shouldn't be a surprise," Daisy replied, her face suddenly stern. "Overconsumption of alcohol has numerous adverse effects for the liver, stomach and brain cells. The way you feel now is your body's way of telling you how toxic your systems have become."
"I know," Sweets nearly whispered. "What I did was stupid and I totally ruined your evening. And I am so sorry for that, Daisy….and for anything else I might have done."
"Apology accepted," Daisy said with a curt nod. "Now, I have something for you to drink. It will help your body recover from this hangover."
"What is it?" Sweets gulped.
"The result of some research I did on hangovers," Daisy grinned. "I came up with it myself. I considered all the issues surrounding alcohol poisoning and analyzed some folk remedies that have been used over the years. I devised this recipe from what I learned and from what I could find in the kitchen. So drink this and you'll feel better soon."
Sweets tentatively reached for the glass and took it into his hand. He couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she hadn't actually told him what was in it. He then glanced up to see her expectantly waiting.
"Don't worry," she said. "I made sure to sweeten it with some strawberries."
Sweets nodded and swirled the liquid around.
'I suppose that this couldn't be any worse than the calamari fiasco I made her endure last month,' he told himself as he closed his eyes and prepared to drink.
Three hours later, Sweets was still in bed, half asleep.
He had managed to drink all of Daisy's concoction in one gulp and had been relieved to discover that he couldn't make out any discernible flavor other than a slight aftertaste of strawberries. After he had finished, he had plopped back down into bed, hoping that he wouldn't get sick again.
To his surprise though, he started to feel marginally better after drinking it and had decided to try and sleep some of this hangover off. After a little over an hour, his sleep became fitful and remained that way from that point on.
Sweets looked over at the clock and yawned. He considered trying harder to go back to sleep, but then Daisy jumped onto the bed.
"Come on sleepyhead," she said cheerfully. "It's time for you to get up. You can't stay in bed all day."
"But Daisy," he whined. "My head…."
"May hurt now, but that will pass over time," she continued for him. "Fresh air and mild activity will be good for you. Although, granted the pollution levels in DC do not allow for a completely wholesome environment."
Sweets stubbornly curled up and tried to yank the sheets back over him.
"Come on, Lancelot," she coaxed. "You need to get up to take a shower at the very least anyway."
Sweets sniffed and realized that she wasn't inaccurate on that assessment, but was still unwilling to move.
"Hey Lance," she purred, leaning close to him. "If you need me to, I can help you take that shower….since you are still debilitated by alcohol and all."
Sweets moaned again and then sat up, pouting the entire time. No matter how terrible he felt, he just couldn't turn down an invitation like that.
Some time later, Sweets and Daisy walked slowly in the park. The shower had turned out to be relaxing and invigorating at the same time, and Sweets started to feel human again. The two of them got dressed afterwards and took the subway over to this park for a stroll. Daisy was careful to keep her pace leisurely, and Sweets appreciated the effort.
They walked in silence, arm in arm and hand in hand, and Sweets took in his surroundings. Now that the sunlight was no longer agonizing to look at, the psychologist had to admit that it really was a nice day outside. He watched children play while under the watchful eye of nearby parents, saw street performers serenading for spare change, and glanced at other couples who were also draped against each other as they walked or sat together.
Sweets pulled Daisy closer to him, and she responded by wrapping her arms around his waist. Seeing all of these people enjoy some carefree time made him think back to the advice his father had given him once he had commenced with his college studies.
It had been a sunny day and Lance had gone on a picnic in the park with his mother and father. The three of them had had a leisurely lunch and had spend time watching the clouds go by. At one point, his mother had gone off to get the three of them some ice cream treats, and Lance's father turned to speak to him.
"Sport, even though the studies and the work you plan on pursuing are important, they are not more important than you. You are every bit as valuable as your vocation, if not more so. Remember to take care of yourself and to take time to live life no matter how demanding your path becomes."
Sweets clung to Daisy a little bit more. Truthfully, ever since his parents' deaths, he had not been too concerned with making sure that he wasn't too wrapped up in his work. Now he was starting to wonder if he had made a severe mistake in making that decision.
"Lance, what's wrong?" Daisy asked, noting his downcast face.
"Just tired, I guess," he mumbled.
"I know what you need," she said. "You haven't eaten at all today. Let's get some lunch." Sweets swallowed hard.
"I don't know if I'm up to eating," he said.
"You may not feel like eating, but that doesn't change the fact that you need something," she replied. "Even a cup of soup or a sandwich would be better than nothing. Come on, let's head over to the Diner and see if we can find something that sounds appetizing to you."
Over at the Royal Diner, the two of them sat across from each other at a table next to the window. Daisy was enjoying a hearty salad while Sweets nibbled at a sandwich. Daisy chatted about the latest work on her dissertation and what she had been doing in the lab. Sweets felt a strong pang in his heart while she talked about her favorite subject: her work with Brennan. Despite that though, he tried to retain a cheerful demeanor and was relieved when she moved on to safer subjects like the feud she was having with another member of her yoga class.
"I'm telling you, Lancelot, she purposely disrupted my balance while I was trying to perform my opening Downward Dog pose," Daisy said. "But I'm not worried. She will regret doing that when we practice the Flying Pigeon pose again next week."
Sweets smiled and after finishing his sandwich, he reached over to take one of her hands into his while she continued to eat and talk. The sound of her voice and the feel of her skin were a soothing balm to his troubled mind, heart and body.
His calm was soon interrupted, however, by the sight of Angela sitting down next to Daisy and Hodgins sitting next to him while maneuvering a stroller that carried Michael. Sweets blinked at the stern expression on Angela's face.
"Oh, Angela, Doctor Hodgins," Daisy smiled. "How are you?"
"Ok, what's going on with you Sweets?" Angela demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. "I talked to Brennan. She said that you refuse to do hers and Booth's evaluation so that they can keep working together and that you send them to this stubborn, pig-head shrink who is screwing with them."
Sweets let go of Daisy's hand and narrowed his eyes at Angela.
"Really?" he said. "Stubborn and pig-headed and screwing with them. Is that what she said?"
"Well no," Angela replied. "She actually pulled out this whole tribal analogy thing and used a lot more words, but that's what it boils down to. Sweets, this guy Ellis is threatening to assign Brennan to another agent. Why aren't you doing something about it?"
"Angela," Sweets said, his tone icy. "I've known Doctor Ellis for a while now, and I can assure you that while he is a bit conservative and more of a stickler for protocol, he is a fair-minded and non-judgmental therapist. As long as Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan show some restraint, respect and a reasonable amount of cooperation, he won't recommend severing their partnership, especially after he reviews their record."
"Respect for psychology?" Hodgins said. "Like that is ever going to happen for Doctor B."
"And since when have you known them to be all about blind cooperation when it comes to personal stuff?" Angela said. "You know that they have their own way of doing things. And the fact that you do know that is why you need to be the one doing this. I mean, I thought that they were your friends, Sweets."
"So did I," Sweets said quietly. There was a loaded silence that no one, not even Daisy, was willing to break for several minutes until Sweets stood up and pulled out his wallet and grabbed the check.
"My supervisor, Agent Warner, assigned Doctor Ellis to this evaluation and the Bureau is requiring it," he said. "It's out of my hands if Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan refuse to cooperate."
"Not according to Brennan," Angela shot back. "She says that you're the one who asked for this. She also said that you had some kind of argument with Booth and that's he's been stewing over it for the last couple of days."
"Yeah, trust me, Booth is not someone you want to cross paths with right now," Hodgins agreed.
"She's scared, Sweets," Angela snapped. "So is Booth. It's just that he's too guy-guy and macho to admit it. So you need to get your priorities straight before our team is ripped apart."
Sweets flinched as if he had been slapped before hardening his features and making his way out from the table with a confused looking Daisy following him.
"You're right Angela," Sweets said as he started to walk away. "That is exactly what I need to be doing."
The psychologist then threw a couple of bills onto the table and went to the cash register for a moment before leaving. Daisy gave Hodgins and Angela an apologetic look in response to their stunned expressions before taking off after him.
The two of them immediately went back to Sweets' apartment, the psychologist silently brooding the whole way. Once they were there, Sweets took off his shoes and went into the bedroom, plopping down onto the bed. Daisy followed him in and sat down beside him.
"Baby, what is going on?" she asked as she put her arm around him. "First last night and now that whole thing at the Diner. You have to talk to me about it."
"What…what did I say last night?" Sweets asked, suddenly pale.
"Something about a test and how you were worried about the result," she said. "Lance, I need to know what is happening." Sweets reached over and took her by the arms as he faced her.
"Daisy, I need you to trust me," he said. "I can't tell you right now, but I promise that I will tell you everything very soon. But for right now, I…I just need…."
"What?" Daisy breathed.
"I need you," Sweets replied. He then leaned over and kissed her while wrapping his arms around her. Daisy immediately responded by grabbing him and guiding him to lie down on the bed with her. The two ended up spending most of the rest of the day there.