A.N. I do not own Bones
Rebecca had brought over Parker's card and Seeley was right, Parker should not see her like this. Now her being furious with Seeley for acting like a prick, she was not going to interfere.
"Thank you Rebecca, they are talking about moving me to a rehabilitation hospital within the next five days"
Her speech did sound off. "Good, Parker will love to hear the news."
Booth had tried to visit again but she was not in the room. One of the nurses not knowing he is on the restricted list said "She is having physical therapy."
Having done his research, he was not surprised that she needed to have it. It also sounded like she needed to have speech therapy as well.
Twenty minutes later, Brennan was wheeled back up stairs into her room. Her physical therapist James seemed to have a look of promise in his face. "Temperance, you are progressing faster than what I had expected. You are about two weeks ahead of schedule. If you continue at the rate you are going in, the time you will need to spend at rehab will be short."
"Thank you"
Booth had truly gotten a good look at Bones. Today she had the bandage off of her head. Half of her beautiful hair was missing. She had a huge scar that looked like she was in the mouth of a shark. She was so thin, so pale.
He had thought her being subhuman, a person with robotic emotions and it turned everyone against her. The more time had flown by with him acting like an asshole, the more he learned. She is a human and she held her ground. He had cursed her for bringing her interns out to crime scenes to observe but he was reminded that she is the professor and they are her students. The Squinterns never physically interfered but once away from the initial scene, he could hear her quizzing them.
There were more reminders of her being the teacher with hearing her discuss meeting times with her interns to check progress into their thesis. She had slapped him in the face a few times with her interns was the anthropologists solving a few cases without him, without the rest of the squints, or the FBI. He swore one of those times Fisher had a malicious look in his eyes.
He had known about the mass amount of identifications being identified in limbo with the aid of the squinterns. There were 90 bodies that were able to be returned to family. He had thought she was taking her anger at him out on the interns but the interns wanted to identify even more bodies.
Wendell telling him to go to hell was the start of the wakeup call. His teammates were pissed at him for being responsible for the loss of one of the top scorers on the team. He saw Wendell out on a date with a woman. He went to say hello and he was ignored.
He had been doing research on Bones while she was in her coma. He learned of the program she started to help high schoolers in the foster care system get out early and she has had success. She also had drop outs getting their g.e.d. Bones had started a scholarship program for these kids as well. He understood her drive to help foster kids and she was not doing this to show off. She had been keeping it under the radar. The only way he learned about it was through Caroline.
The house she bought is in a gated community in Georgetown, he knew why the gated community. It is to keep him out. She had not had that apartment for months now.
He knew she is always working on her latest book and he knew while she was not good at verbalizing her emotions physically, she could take her wrath out on him in her latest book. He owns them all. Parker wanted to read them but he said no, the content in those books are not for kids.
"Booth, why are you here?"Her speech did not sound any better.
""I came to see you, I wanted to know how are you feeling?"
There was a look of pure anger. "Why, so you can have more material to use against me. I know it was you who started I am not even human Booth and you began the process of turning everyone against me. Guess what Booth, I bleed and break down just like the rest of you. When I recover I will be submitting my letter of resignation since all of my interns are ready to defend their thesis. You can solve your own damn crimes."
Oh he deserved it and he knew it too. "Bones, I came here to apologize. I made mistake. I should have never have let it come this."
Brennan was livid "Maybe you should think first. Really think Booth, are you actually sorry or are you here out of guilt? "
Booth was stunned "Believe it or not Bones, I was worried about you. Everyone is. Do you know how horrible it was to hear second hand how sick you were. That aneurysm damn near killed you. It is my fault, I should have reigned in everyone when you were being alienated. That was rude and we acted like some petty high school students."
Brennan was not impressed. "The only reason you even started giving a damn was for the fact that I nearly died because if this did not happen, you and everyone else would go on doing the same thing you have been doing. All I am good for you is to make sure your career advances and to figure out how someone died. You used me Booth. That is why once my interns are done with their thesis I am out of here for good. You showed me how replaceable I am. That is all I need to know about you and everyone else. Now get out of here before I have security come in. My brother should be here any moment anyways."
Booth took one last look at Bones and she turned her head into her pillow and he heard soft sobbing. He did this to her. He walked out quietly. "I am not giving up on you, us Bones."If she gives him the chance, he will spend the rest of his life making it up to her. He will show her that she is not expendable, that she is worth it. He should know she used her brain first and she values what her brain says over anything else. Now he is reaping what he has sewn. He has sewn a loss of a friendship and partner, his actions nearly killed her. He did this to her as did everyone else. He knew high blood pressure can put you at risk for aneurysms and what they all had been doing contributing to it.
Hodgins and Angela were at the lab working when Hodgins tried to talk to Arastoo. He got coldness and hostility from him. "You care now? Funny, you have a way of showing it and it is a little too convenient that you show your concern after she nearly died. If you think you are going to get information out of me, Daisy, Vinny, Wendell's, and Fisher; you are sadly mistaken."Arastoo had gone back to working on a case with dwarfism that the body was in shatters. He had been video conferencing with Clark for help. Clark had agreed to video conference with any of the interns while Brennan is on sick leave. It goes behind Cam's back, but even Clark was beyond caring what Cam thought.
Cam had gone into Angela in her office and shut the door. "Angela, I can't take it anymore. I know I screwed up, we all did. I have tried to visit her three times but I can not even get near her. The first time it was Max and Russ, the second time it was Sweets, the third time is Wendell. I have threatened the interns with firing them but Arastoo can easily go over my head to the higher ups of the Jeffersonian. With the help of Clark and his reasons why he left, we all could be out of a job for our lack of professionalism."
Angela whispered "If she comes back. I would not be surprised when Bren comes back from sick leave and tells all of us to go to hell. I tried to talk to Daisy and she had overheard me calling Bren a bitch months back. I went to talk to Wendell when Sweets was here, Wendell and Sweets became tight lipped and went off into the subject of a case. I have been having nightmares over seeing her on the floor like that."
Hodgins had knocked on the door to Angela's office and Cam let him in. "Have you overheard anything on Dr. B? The interns are even more tight lipped."
Angela and Cam shook their heads. "After Caroline ringing us out to dry, getting information may not even happen. The only thing I know is that she is awake and nothing else."
Minutes later, Cam had gotten a text from Booth. "Booth wants to meet us at the diner in a hour. He said he got to speak for her for five minutes."
That was something "We will take it."
The hour was up quickly and Booth was sitting there and the look told it all. "I saw Bones, she is so weak and has trouble walking. Her speech is slurred. The left side of her head was cut into and she has a scar the size if a saucer on her head. They had to shave half of the hair off of her head.
She is very angry at us and she tore into me. She said she feels used and she said we all showed her how replaceable she is. Bones said that once her interns have completed their thesis, she is gone and they are nearly the hell are we going to do? Sweets is not going to help us. I left because she said Russ was coming."
Everyone's fears were confirmed, they had driven her out. No one could fault her and with her expertise, she can work anywhere she damn well pleases.
Hodgins had the most guilt because he could have reigned in Angela and had given Angela a wakeup call at what she is doing but he chose not to. Angela and himself were trying to visit but Arastoo was in her room. He knew if the interns were not at the lab, or at their homes, they were with Dr. B. He learned something else about her, she had started an organization to help foster kids get out of the system early and help them get into college early. She makes them all look bad, unintentionally.
She volunteers to help identify victims of genocide and disasters, she stays late to identify bodies in limbo. He had known about the 90 remains that had been identified by her and the interns. Now she is helping foster kids. This was not a look at me situation but she genuinely cares. Angela said she did not have human emotion but that is not true. He knew she was working on another book and this time with everyone being assholes to her, she will probably get revenge on them in the novel and her fans will enjoy it.
Angela was thinking of how she can even get near Bren to apologize. What she did is inexcusable and it might just be too little, too late. Over the past months she has seen Brennan become a shell over her former self. She saw how pale she was, her losing weight, the dark circles and bags under her eyes. She had been rubbing her friendship with Hannah in her face but learned that Hannah is so shallow and there is no substance to her. When she learned that Hannah was hoping Brennan would die so she could have Booth completely, she punched her in the face.
It is like the lab has divided into two factions. The anthropology factions have been getting far more done without Cam, Hodgins, and herself. The murder that Bren solved with Fisher was the biggest slap in the face, especially with that malicious glint in Fisher's eyes.
Cam came right to it. "I think in actually talking to Dr. Brennan, we are all going to have to take a huge risk and jump in the shark tank."
Hodgins was frustrated by this whole mess, he could have stopped 70% of the crap. He knew why a health nut like her had an aneurysm. It was the extreme stress that raised her blood pressure that caused it all.
"I don't think we should do it as a group but as individuals. It will look like we are gaining up on her if we do. We have to watch what we say and be crystal clear about it. We can't do it on the same day either."
Booth did talk to Rebecca earlier that day and was holding back. It had involved getting Parker to see Bones. "Rebecca had stopped by her room with a card from Parker. Bones said they were looking to send her out to a rehabilitation hospital within the next five days. I can't pull medical information unless it relates to a crime. I don't have that type of power. I don't think she will go far because of Max, Russ, and the interns. She will most likely be at the best of the best in the area."
What none of them knew was that Daisy and Fisher were done writing their thesis. Arastoo and Wendell had another three months worth of work. Vincent Nigel Murray has another five months until his is done. Daisy's was confirmed and she would be defending hers in six weeks. However, Daisy was back to the drawing book again for her book for inconsistencies and to spice up the plot because it gets dull in some areas.
Sweets was over the moon but he would not be making a big announcement about Daisy completing her thesis. He had a plan, he felt they were finally ready to get married. He found her a ring and a ring that she can wear with her gloves on. Daisy had seven interviews lined up with museums in the DC area, she just does not want to work with the Jeffersonian. What Sweets has helped her out on is calming her nerves for when she presents her thesis. It is scary as hell.
The next day Hodgins went over to the hospital to try to talk to Brennan and what he saw broke his heart. The aneurysm sucked the life out of her and it looked like a shark bit her in the head. She did need to go to a rehabilitation hospital. That much was clear to him.
Her door was open so he walked in. Brennan was typing away on her laptop and not noticing him. When she looked up,she saw him.
She sneered with her speech being off "What are you doing here?"
Hodgins knew he fucked up "Dr. Brennan, I came here to apologize. I know it is too little, too late."
Brennan was furious with him. "You, I am disappointed in you Dr. Hodgins. You had the power to stop some of the crap and you could have said something to Angela and Cam. Instead you were iddle. So why now? What motivated you now, I know it is out of obligation because I am in recovery."
He knew she was right about it all, he should have stopped it. It was time for one more risk. This was to feel her out. He had known her for a long time now. He knew her before even Angela came on to the scene.
"I know about you planning on handing in your letter of resignation once all of your interns have presented their thesis. Why, we can work this out."
Brennan shook her head. "No, there is nothing that can be fixed. I have made up my mind. I will be better off away from the Jeffersonian. If I stay with all of the bull shit, I will be at risk for another bleeding aneurysm. The sooner I leave the better."
Hodgins knew Cam, Angela, and Booth were not going to like what she said.
Later that afternoon, Booth stopped by the lab. He knew Hodgins was going to see Bones. "How did it go?"
A grave expression came over his face. "I have known Dr. Brennan the longest, even before you Angela. She is very angry and told me I had the power to stop some of your crap and she is right. I stood idle and I will never forgive myself for that. She is determined to leave. She says she stays with all of our bull shit, she is at risk for another bleeding aneurysm. She is right about that one. With the interns not speaking to us unless necessary, she said she is leaving once all of them are done with their thesis. I know all of them will be done in less than a year with how they have been full speed ahead all of these months."
This was worse than what any of them could have imagined. "We are going to have to work like hell to convince her to stay and we all need to bury the hatchet with the squinterns and Sweets. It will be a step in the right direction."
That very same day, Temperance Brennan finished the book she had been working on for months. "Betrayal in the Bone."Writing had become an outlet for her when she was abandoned by her "friends". Andy tosses Kathy aside for a woman who turns out to be a terrorist. Her friends had turned against her. The support she had were a few others that were around her who she had been were the ones to solve the crimes. She decided to put the of all cliffhangers, Kathy being in a car accident caused by a drunk driver and she codes on the operating room table.
Her editor replied quite quickly, she loves it and the cliffhanger will be torture leaving her fans in speculation whether Kathy lives or dies. Now the book was done, Brennan could focus on recovering. She had set a date for recover and a vacation planned. She was going to go to Costa Rica for two weeks. She has 297 days of vacation, she can use it.
A.N. I do think subconsciously, Brennan does incorporate her life into her books. It may seem a little vindictive but I think the book is something she could pour her heart and soul completely into. This book will be dedicated to her interns and Sweets.