A/N : Takes place after the ending credits of the season 7 finale.
Special Agent Seeley Booth was beyond exhausted. It had been a very trying week and now he'd been in the interrogation room for 23 hours. On the wrong side of the questions. On the plus side, he wasn't being physically restrained or abused, so in the rational part of his brain (see Bones I can be rational thought Booth), he could regard the whole situation as an annoyance and exercise in futility rather than anything more sinister.
"One more time Booth, where is your partner?" asked Flynn for what seemed to be the thousandth time.
"I don't know. We had our daughter baptized. We came out of the church, I went to get the car while Dr. Brennan and Christine waited in front. The car wouldn't start. I opened the hood and determined that the engine had been tampered with. I went back to the front of the church and she was gone. The baby carrier was on the steps. That's all I know. " He had repeated these statements with minor variations several times over the past day.
"She never mentioned that she was fleeing?"
"No."
"Did you notice anything unusual about her behavior in the past day?"
"No. She was perfectly fine being accused of murdering her old friend." Booth replied sarcasticly.
Flynn was exasperated. Booth was revealing nothing they didn't already know, and with Booth's knowledge of interrogation techniques Flynn wasn't expecting him to slip up in any way. He wasn't lying, but he wasn't going to be more forthcoming either. The techs had combed through his phone records, banking statements and searched his house. While they had found large withdrawals from Brennans accounts, the couple had no joint accounts so there was no evidence that Booth was aware of his partners actions. Unable to find anything to charge him with, they were going to have to let him go. Flynn really didn't think that Booth was guilty of abetting his partner, but knew the best way to get Dr. Brennan back to face the charges against her would be to arrest Booth, but he had nothing to legally hold him.
"Ok", Flynn sighed "you're free to go".
Booth left the room. And nearly collided with Caroline and Sweets. "Come on Cher, let's get you outta here." Booth was about to protest when his foggy brain came to the conclusion that he didn't have a car. His Mustang was missing some engine parts thanks to Max, Bones' car had been impounded and he had had to give up the FBI SUV two days ago when he'd opted for suspension rather than desk duty. Taking advantage, Sweets grabbed one arm and Caroline the other and the trio marched to the elevator.
He was still trying to form a coherent thought when they exited through the lobby. Cam was waiting out front in her car. Caroline opened the passenger side while Sweets put a duffle bag in the back seat that Booth hadn't noticed before and belatedly recognized as his. Caroline shoved him in the front seat. "Dr. Saroyan is going to take care of you tonight. Don't be a pain in the ass or you'll have to answer to me, and you already know that I'm not in a mood to be trifled with." Booth recognized that there was no way he was going to win this battle and was too tired to try anyway. Sweets leaned into the car and said "if you want to talk, as a friend, call anytime." He then shut the passenger door and nodded to Cam. Booth leaned back against the headrest and shut his eyes as Cam pulled away from the curb.
They drove in silence and he dozed a bit. She nudged him gently when they arrived at her place. "We're here." Booth looked up in confusion, this wasn't the Mighty Hut. He glanced at her quizzically but before he could say anything she held a hand up. "You haven't slept in at least 36 hours that I know of, and you probably weren't sleeping well since we found Sawyer's body. I'm also guessing that the only thing that has gone in your stomach since the baptism has been bad FBI coffee. Besides, even if you begged me to take you home, I am NOT facing the wrath of the others if you were to be left alone tonight. The care and feeding of Seeley Booth has been the topic of many text messages today."
"And you drew the short straw?" he asked, exiting the car, and taking the bag from her. He figured that was the least rude of the comments floating through his head. He intensely disliked being the topic of conversation.
"I was the obvious choice. Caroline's daughter and some friends are in town so she has a full house. Wendall and Sweets don't have a spare room, and while Daisy's roommate is out of town, once Hodgins wanted to start a pool on how high your blood pressure would be in the morning, we figured that wasn't a good idea. And Hodgins thought..." she trailed off.
"Thought what?"
"That being around Angela and Michael Vincent would be difficult for you. Angela is not taking Brennan's disappearance any better than you are" she stated bluntly. "Michelle is staying at a friend's place tonight so her bed is free. So, unless you want to go stay with Daisy and Lance at her place, you are here for the night." She crossed her arms and gave him a look that dared him to argue.
"Ok, ok" he gave in as they headed into the kitchen where she poured him a scotch. The doorbell rang and she left him in the kitchen contemplating the liquid. "What the hell am I going to do now?" he finally allowed the thought to creep into his head. "She left me. She took Christine. She..." his panic was interrupted when Cam returned with Wendall in tow. Wendall placed take out counters on the table. "Just dropping these off. Cam said she didn't have much food at her place and I figured you might be hungry. It's a couple of your favorites from the diner." He placed a hand on Booth's shoulder "we'll get this figured out and bring them home. See you tomorrow." Booth mumbled his thanks to Wendall's back as he left. He wasn't hungry, but he appreciated the gesture. He was also grateful that his friend did not stay to talk. He was barely holding onto his sanity here and the fewer folks he had to pretend in front of the better.
"Tuna melt or burger?" Cam asked. "We'll split the fries. Whatever you don't want I'll take, but you will eat something." She made it clear that her word was final. Again Booth didn't try to argue.
"I don't care."
"Then here's the burger. Now eat."
"What did Wendall mean, see you tomorrow?" he asked after choking down a few bites.
"Tomorrow we're all heading to your place. Hodgins has your car fixed and will drop it off. The FBI techs have been searching your house and we all know they are not always the best at cleaning up after themselves. We'll help you get it put back together, and then we'll start figuring out how to fix the rest of this mess."
"I can take care of the house on my own. I don't need to be everyone's community service project."
"Yea, well, you made your bed so now you get to lie in it." Cam replied a little annoyed that she had accurately predicted his response.
"What?"
"Since Christine was born how many Sunday dinners have you and Brennan been alone?"
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" He was too tired to follow the sudden shift.
She continued as if hadn't spoken. "Michelle and I have been over a couple of times. I know Angela, Hodgins and Michael Vincent have been there at least twice as well. Caroline has been invited. You've even had Daisy and Sweets and Wendall. You two have created this extended family and we are all the better for it. So you don't get to share the good stuff with us and then shut us out when things go to shit."
He opened his mouth to speak and she held up her hand. "I'm not done yet. If Hodgins were in your shoes would you leave him alone? Would you let me be if Michelle ran away? No. Every single one of us knows that you would walk through fire to help us if we needed it. Hell, you'd even help Daisy if something happened to Lance and she drives you up a wall. So Seeley Joseph Booth, you don't get to do this on your own and you have no one to blame but yourself."
He opened his mouth and then shut it, unable to form an argument. She met his stare until he nodded and muttered "Ok. Geez, you've got the mom voice perfected."
They finished their sandwiches in silence, Cam figured she'd lectured him enough for the evening and it was obvious he was struggling to process his thoughts and emotions. She refilled his scotch as needed hoping that the combo of food and liquor might be helpful in letting him sleep. When he finished the burger she pushed the fries towards him. "Save my figure. Eat up." He ate a few, clearly because she told him to and not because he was hungry. When it became apparent he was done, she stood up, grabbed the bag and led him down the hall. "Clean towels are in the cupboard. There are clean clothes in the bag. Take a shower and go to bed." He stared at her. On the one hand he was irritated to be treated like he was Parker's age, but on the other, it was nice to not have to think.
Cam breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the shower start. She needed a few minutes to collect herself - the last thing he needed was to see how upset she was. She had been a little harsher than she intended with her stubborn friend. Intellectually she knew that he wouldn't have heard her otherwise, but he was just so so...broken was the word that came to mind, that she felt like she had just kicked a puppy. Once again she cursed Pelant. This was just so damn cruel and unfair. Seeley had endured a lot over the years and always managed to bounce back, but she knew this time was different. He had been at his happiest the last few months so had much further to fall now that it had all gone south. He was strongest person she knew, but there were limits.
She heard the shower stop and the sounds of him getting dressed. The bathroom door creaked open and she waited a few minutes after Michelle's door opened. Figuring he was safely tucked in she padded down the hall to her room. It was only 9:30 but the events had taken a toll and she was exhausted. She stopped short at Michelle's door - it was ajar, the lights were still on and Seeley was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at his phone. Every muscle in his body was clenched, and his chest heaved erratically as he tried to contain the sadness. She debated leaving him be, knowing that he'd be embarrassed to be this vulnerable, but found that she could not ignore his pain. Gently she rapped her knuckles on the door. When it became obvious that he was too far gone to hear, she sat next to him on the bed. One hand on his knee, she stroked his back with the other and glanced at the phone. It was a photo of the family taken yesterday at Christine's baptism. Trying to keep her voice steady she talked to him softly. "It's going to be ok, we'll get them back, they love you, you're not alone." Over and over she repeated the mantra even though he gave no indication of hearing her. Eventually his breathing became more normal. Whether that was due to her presence or his exhaustion she didn't know. Taking a deep breath, he leaned into her a bit and covered the hand on his knee with his own. "I'm sorry" he whispered "didn't mean to lose it like that". "No worries, you needed to get that out Big Man. Do you think you can sleep now?". He nodded wearily, and she hugged him and then chuckled.
"It didn't register earlier that we don't have any manly soap in the house." she explained to his raised eyebrows. "You smell like a cookie, Seeley." "Better than a damn flower garden" he said wryly "and don't call me Seeley, Camille."
She felt a weight off her shoulders with that remark. He wasn't okay and wouldn't be till Brennan and Christine were back, but there was a shadow of her friend still there. She kissed his cheek, stood and waited for him to get situated under the covers. Turning out the light she said softly "Don't call me Camille".
Her confidence that it would all work out lasted down the hallway. Once she closed her bedroom door behind her, she grabbed a pillow off the bed and sobbed into it.
She woke the next morning to sounds of puttering in the kitchen. Staggering down the hallway she met his bloodshot eyes with her own. He handed her a mug. "Have some coffee."
