(The Bullet in the Brain)

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooo

This had been the first time Sweets had ever seen anyone murdered in front of him and it seemed to be a life changing moment for him. He'd been in a funk since Daisy and he had separated and he was still angry with Booth about taking Daisy's side, but suddenly he felt that anger melting away.

He had been standing near Heather Taffet when her head had been blown off. The sight of her head disintegrating had been shocking, but thankfully, Booth had pulled him next to the side of a truck out of the line of fire just in case the shooter planned to kill more people.

Staring at the headless body, the young psychologist had felt a cold chill run down his back. He had seen his parents die, but they had taken weeks to pass on. Taffet had ceased to exist in mere seconds and that made him realize that planning your life wasn't really possible. You could have hopes and dreams, but someone could take those away from you in a moment.

He had known that Taffet was going to try to use him in some way and their conversation in the truck had appeared to be an effort to shake his confidence. For a few days, he'd dwelt on her death and his inability to prove to her that he wasn't the weakest link in Booth's team, but Caroline had talked to him and made him realize that it didn't matter what the Gravedigger had told him. She was dead and she couldn't use him or anyone else ever again. He had nothing to prove to her.

Sweets was grateful for the prosecutor's kind words. Booth had tried to talk to him after Taffet had been killed, but he hadn't felt like sharing what he thought about the situation. The agent had tried to be his friend and he needed Booth to know he appreciated it. Their friendship had been strained lately and it was time for him to let go of his anger about Daisy and her trip to Maluku.

Standing outside Booth's office door Sweets sighed, straightened his tie and entered the office. "Do you have time to talk to me? I can come back."

Surprised to see the younger man, Booth pointed at the chair in front of his desk and waited for Sweets to sit down. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah . . . I was a little shook up when Taffet was murdered in front of me, but . . . well, she was a very dangerous woman and now she isn't. I can live with that." Sweets crossed his legs and ran his fingers along the crease of his pants leg. "Look . . . I'm sorry I let my relationship disaster with Daisy influence our friendship. You were giving me sound advice and I wasn't ready to take it . . . Taffet . . ." He shook his head. "You tried to tell me that we don't have control over someone else's life and we shouldn't try, but . . . well, Taffet is dead. Even though she was in prison she planned to fight the justice system until her dying breath . . . I don't think she counted on someone murdering her although the irony of that is . . . well anyway, look. You're right. Daisy is training to become a forensic anthropologist and she needs the experience to get her doctorate. I just didn't want to see her side of our problem . . . she said I was selfish and I realize now that I was. I would have raised hell if someone I was dating interfered with my education and . . . well, anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been your friend lately. I just let my selfishness get in the way and it won't happen again . . . Whoever killed Taffet could have killed you and me and maybe Ms. Julian. At that moment, we didn't have control over our own lives and I get it. I get it Booth. I'm going to talk to Daisy and straighten this whole thing out."

"Good." Booth knew his friend had been shaken, but apparently seeing Taffet murdered in front of him was a game changer. "We all have to make adjustments when we're in relationships. Bones may go on a few digs in the future and I'll have to accept that if it happens. I may not be happy about it, but I'd never interfere with her job. She has told me that she will make sure they're short projects if she goes, but that's up to her. That's what it means when you're in a relationship with someone who is smart and ambitious. I tried to tell you that and I'm glad you can accept that now . . . Even if she's not willing to become engaged with you again, I think it's important to fix your friendship with Daisy. It was a good friendship for you and her and well . . . it's nice to have someone in your life that cares about you. Believe me."

Slowly nodding his head, Sweets knew that Booth was right. "Yeah, I miss watching 'Saved by the Bell' with her. That show totally rocks and she totally understands that." He noticed his friend look at his watch and he knew he needed to leave. Standing, Sweets placed his hands on the back of the chair. "Thanks for listening to me . . . You've seen men die and I have too, but . . . This was my first time seeing someone murdered and it . . . it made me think."

"Yeah, it made us all think." Booth turned to face his PC. "You'll be okay. Just give it time. Time fixes most things or at least that's my experience."

"Thanks." Feeling better after talking to his friend, Sweets patted the chair and left the office. Okay, that went a lot better than I thought it would.

Ooooooooooooooo

Uncertain if he was making a mistake seeking out Daisy where she worked, he knew that his bridges were badly burned and he didn't think she would meet him anywhere if he asked her too, so he didn't have a lot of options. Finding the intern in one of the examination rooms, Sweets knocked on the door frame and waited for Daisy to acknowledge his presence.

Startled, Daisy looked up and saw her former fiancé and wondered why he was there. "What do you want? I'm busy."

Aware that Daisy was not happy to see him, Sweets stepped inside the room, but stayed near the doorway. He didn't want her to feel intimidated or concerned by his presence. "I know you're busy, but I don't think this will take long . . . I've come here to apologize to you. I was being a little self-centered when I objected to you going to Maluku and I should have considered your side of things . . . It's been pointed out to me that you're trying to get your doctorate and that means you have obligations like going on digs to get training. I know the dig was unsuccessful, but I was informed that you could still learn working on a failed dig just not as much as a successful one. It would have been awesome if you had actually found something that would have ended up in history books, but still . . . you did gain experience and that is the important thing."

Surprised, Daisy took her gloves off and threw them in the bio-hazard bin. Facing her former fiancé, Daisy gave him a cautious look. "Really?" Not sure what Sweets' visit meant, she shook her head. "Why the sudden change in attitude?"

"I was standing next to Taffet when her head was blown off . . . It was kind of a life altering moment for me . . . You see, Taffet still had plans. She was actively trying to overturn her conviction and she was confident her plans might actually work and then . . . she ceased to exist. One moment she was filled with plans and the next minute her plans were destroyed by someone else . . . I had plans for us. Big plans and you kind of stepped on them, but now I realized you had your own plans and we never really talked about what we expected in our relationship. I told you mine and sure you had yours but I didn't listen and that was my fault not yours. I'm sorry that I treated your goals and dreams as if they were of little consequence. Of course they're your plans and they're your goals and they're important. Not just to you but to me too . . . Can we still be friends? I miss you."

Surprised that her former lover was conceding that he had been wrong, Daisy moved over to where Sweets was standing and hugged him. "Of course we can still be friends, Lance . . . I've missed watching TV with you and going to movies and restaurants . . . Outside of work, there aren't a lot of people that I know that interest me like you do." After she pulled his head down and kissed his cheek, she laughed. "I'm sorry you had to be there when the Gravedigger was killed, but she was an awful person and I for one am glad she can't hurt anyone else."

"Thanks and yeah . . . Taffet was horrible and she got the ending I thought she would get, just not exactly that way."

Oooooooooooooo

Before he took a bite from his ham and cheese Po'boy, Booth smiled at Brennan. "Sweets was shook up when Taffet was murdered beside him . . . He had an epiphany and realized that he really screwed up his friendship with Daisy and wanted to fix it . . . The kid said he talked to your intern and they're friends again."

Sighing, Brennan sipped some of her iced tea and placed the glass back down on the table. "Yes, I know . . . I was quizzing her about a set of remains she was working on earlier and all she could talk about was Sweets . . . I finally told her that if she couldn't concentrate then she was dismissed for the day . . . I hope that her enthusiasm over her renewed friendship with Dr. Sweets doesn't interfere with her exams next week."

Amused, Booth laughed. "Oh, it probably will, but Daisy will calm down if she gets a B or a C on her test."

"It would certainly calm me down." Brennan had never got a B on a test in her life and she knew it would have had a sobering effect on her if that had happened.

Ooooooooooooo

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