This Relationship Ain't Big Enough for the Two of Us - Wink Production Authors: I hart Booth-Willgirl

Holy Freakin Black Beans And White Rice!! How effing long has it been since I've dropped in? Like forever??

More like … a MILLENNIUM!!!! you know … the things that one needs to do to get at least a minute of your highness’s attention! As Booth would say JEEZ!!

First off, the mob was, while frightening, very amusing. But I do feel I must ask Space...why would I clear the snow from my backyard? And where exactly would you like me to put it chica? lol.

You could send it to FLA Cuzzin Tink! … that way it will actually look like winter came for at least a few days!. Now I know I know … you all tell me that I shouldn’t complain that you have snow coming out of your ears; but it isn’t my fault that for most of the winter the temperature here has been middle to upper 80’s… so SUE ME!

But now on to more important issues.

OH BOY!

First my squirrels (which I am NOT happy about btw. thin ice people. thin. ice.)

Well in my defense you guys needed a little slight kick in your behinds to get that new chappie to us! and besides we didn’t harm them or anything… you could say we borrowed them while you finished revising the chappie!... see… we squirrelsat for you basically!.
And I took a bite in the arm from one of them! so it’s not like it was easy you know!

now my crown??? Oh no she di'int. I'm a hafta go alllll karazy kliffie on your sunny little butt.

You couldn’t possibly be referring to this SHINY thing that I am holding right?... ‘cause you KNOW it’s yours…. but…. I will refrain myself from typing anything further since I fear the reaction of Red and other reviewers .... since we have been told you are bad enough on your own(which I have to face it we know) and that you don't need further encouragement or taunting!

But my strategy WORKED! ‘cause you posted a reply!! so YYYYYYYYYYAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!! hehehe … see I had it ALL planned out!. I knew taking the crown will get your attention!
BTW I loved that last comment! LOL. sooo funny!! ‘cause I could picture you saying it …. even though I don’t actually know how you sound! you probably typed it with the neck roll and everything!. Attituted PORES out of those words! LOL;P

Beware. Princess Angstia has OFFICIALLY entered the building.

So does that mean that Agnus is with ya? ‘cause if so then:

MOBBERS WE MUST PLAN A MUSENAPPING!!!... For those of you who don’t know Agnus, she is Hart’s angst musie so if she is here we MUST GET HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! before it's too late!
WHO’S WITH ME!?!?!??!
You can have Izzie but not Agnus 'cause when they get together ..... it's open season on Brennan and Booth and the squints and the B&B relationship.

Side note: a2b … so loved your post! … you should work that into a rhyme or a poem! LOL … I haven’t seen any in a while!. turi

[g]Sorry for the delay guys (thanks for not shooting old tuna at us and tieing up our muses, they get very testy when you do that...) so here's a supremely long chap to make amends. [/g]
Brennan was still trying to recover her composure as she approached the crime scene, and therefore didn’t notice that Booth had stopped short and nearly ran into him. Sidestepping, she looked at him, frowning slightly and began to ask something along the lines of ‘what the hell?’ but before she could she saw the body at her feet.

Shivers ran across her skin. “You okay?” She asked simply, not looking up. Booth cleared his throat and shifted, pulling his paper and pen from his inside jacket pocket.

“Yeah. Fine. Go ahead.”

With a slight nod, she stepped foreword and squatted, pulling on gloves as she scanned the body calmly.

“Male, young. Maybe…seven or eight years of age. Clothing is in tact and doesn’t appear to have been tampered with. The body was moved though.”

“How can you tell?”

“These fractures in the limbs and lower extremities. Classic post-rigor movement. The muscles become brittle and don’t give as well when jostled, causing the bones to break more easily.” She sighed and sat back on her haunches. “There’s still a lot of flesh, it’s probably has only been here for a week or so.” She glanced up at Booth, but he didn’t see, still concentrating as he furiously took notes, “I can’t tell much else without disturbing the scene, we’ll have to have…wait a second.”

“What is it?” Booth knelt beside her and came close enough that she could smell his aftershave over the smells of human decomp.

“It looks like a bracelet of some kind.” She reached out and plucked a shiny metal object from the body, quickly slipping it into an evidence bag for Booth. The pendent on the bracelet had a red hexagon on the front and engraving on the back.

“It’s a medical alert bracelet.” She surmised. “He was allergic to Penicillin it looks like. There’s a phone number too.”

Booth agreed. “I’m gonna call in this information, see what they can give me.”

She nodded and stood, supervising the export of the body while Booth spoke on the phone.

“Wait! Stop.” She held out a hand and the forensics team immediately paused from wrapping the body in a black bag, looking at her with irritation crossed with expectancy.

Brennan took her camera and snapped several photos of the back of the head, which had just been revealed as the body was moved. “Booth, come look.”

Booth came to her side and knelt, his phone at his ear. “Is that a gunshot wound?”

Brennan nodded. “To the back of the head. Execution style.”

They exchanged a grim look, realizing the stakes had just been raised.

---

“The bracelet belonged to one: Kyle Duncan age: 8.” Booth read from his phone. They stood outside his SUV, the flashing lights illuminating the alley, which was dark and ominous even at eleven in the morning. A few yards away, the coroners were loading the black body bag with it’s tiny cargo into the truck.

“At least Angela won’t have to do a reconstruction. She hates cases with kids.” Brennan muttered, unzipping her blue suit.

“We all do.”

She looked over but he didn’t look up and returned to reading.

“The mother Adrian Duncan is deceased, the father Jeremy put out a missing persons last week Thursday. He lives just a few blocks from here. Lets go talk to him, shall we?”

Jeremy Duncan was, understandably devastated to hear the news about his son, and several minutes of the interview were spent with Brennan and Booth trying to console the man down far enough from hysterics so that he could answer their questions. The apartment where he lived was small; shoebox-like in fact and in the state of disrepair that places run by slumlords tend to be. But it was clean, and apparent that the man was making an effort to redeem himself, but after yet another bad breakup, he’d fallen on hard times.

“There were beer and liquor bottles all over the place and a pile of laundry in the corner nearly as tall as the couch.” Brennan stated when the two were discussing the case, somewhat heatedly, after the interview.

“His son was missing for nine days!” Booth was quick with a retort, somewhat relieved to be back in the old swing of things for a while.

“And what about this casino he told us about? Certainly doesn’t sound like a place to find suitable companions to help you get clean.”

Booth sighed. “He was doing the best he could in the situation.”

“The man is obviously an inadequate father, the boy is better off without him.”

“Temperance, listen to what comes out of your mouth alright?” Booth snapped, “Nobody is better off dead, and that’s exactly where Kyle Duncan is.”

Brennan realized her mistake and bit her tongue. She was once again affirmed of her belief that God did not exist, because surely if he did he would have installed a filter between her brain and her mouth. “Booth, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant.”

Booth sighed deeply, and ran a hand through his hair, bringing it down over his face to scratch his jaw.

“Yeah, I know.” He said, after a moment. “It’s just this case...”

“It’s going to be hell.” Brennan finished. “But we’ll get him Booth. We always do.”

Her confidence inspired his own and he threw a small smile in her direction as she exited the car when he dropped her off at the Jeffersonian. When she disappeared inside, he pulled a U-turn and headed back downtown to run with the few leads the father had given them.

“You got an appointment?”

Booth rocked on his heels and nearly rolled his eyes. The question had come from behind a locked door above the restaurant whose alley the body had been found in. Inside it was the No Name Casino of which Jeremy Duncan was a patron.

“If I say ‘yes’ will you let me in?” There was a long pause before finally the sound of at least a dozen locks being undone was heard and the door swung open to reveal a tiny casino of the Speakeasy variety. In fact, it was just a craps table, a poker table, two black jack tables and a bar. All entirely illegal Booth was sure. The smell of liquor and smoke was thick in the air and everything was lit with cheap florescent lights that made everyone look sickly beneath them.

At the moment the place was empty, save of one blackjack dealer and two hunched over bodies at the bar talking quietly.

“I’m Federal Agent Seeley Booth,” he said, introducing himself with a flash of his badge to the craps dealer. “You ever seen this man?”

The blackjack dealer, a man of about thirty with a large scar marring the whole right side of his face, looked up from where he was shuffling cards mindlessly on the table.

The man raised his eyebrow, “I can’t talk. I’m working.”

Booth laughed humorlessly, “What a coincidence, so am I. I’m investigating the murder of an eight year old boy,” he stated severely, “Now, have you ever seen this man?”

The dealer was unfazed by Booth’s words and merely motioned with is head to one of the stools at the table.

“The boss don’t like people to be in here snooping around and I got a daily quota to fill. Why don’t you sit down, play a few hands. I’ll see what I can remember.”

Booth tensed visibly and refused to look in the direction the man had indicated. His stomach fell and he had the distinct claustrophobic feeling one gets when they have no choice but to do something they don’t want to.

He could always haul the guy down to the HQ for questioning, but he didn’t really need to be making enemies with a place he was sure would become necessary to have cooperation from later on down the line. So the question, in his mind, became what was he more afraid of, letting a child murderer go free, or a deck of cards and a green felt table?

Gritting his teeth, Booth swallowed and sat on the stool.

“Deal me in.”

---

At 2:30 pm Booth sat at his desk, staring at his hands, which had been shaking ever since he left the casino. He’d gained a bit of valuable information, but it had come at a price. And what was worse, Booth didn’t think that would be the last time he saw that place, or those cards.

A knock at his door brought him out of his dark thoughts and he looked up. Brennan stood there wearing a tentative smile, their case file in her arms.

“You look like you’re thinking pretty hard about something.”

He shrugged and made an effort to relax. “It’s nothing.” He cleared his throat. “I ran a few leads, turns out Jeremy had some outstanding debt at that casino he mentioned and obviously couldn’t pay up.”

“Do you think they killed the boy as some sort of…warning?”

“No way to know right now, but it’s possible. What have you got?”

Brennan took this as her invitation and crossed his spacious office to join him on his side of the desk. Opening the file, she spread it out before them. This time it was he who noticed the smell of her perfume as she bent close, indicating where on the paper the things she was telling him were documented. But truth be told, he was having a hard time concentrating.

“But at any rate, Hodgins says the bug activity confirms the timeline and backs up the father’s story about when the missing person’s report was filed. Zach and Cam and I also went over every inch of that body and the post-rigor fractures and the gunshot wound are the only visible injuries. That would seem to be the cause of death.” She straightened with her hands on her hips, “At least it was quick. He didn’t suffer.”

Booth glanced at her, she looked deep in thought. Those quiet, sensitive things she said sometimes about the victims were something he still was getting used to. He assumed they were the kind of things she said all the time in her head, but after they had gotten together and she’d become more comfortable with him, she would sometimes say them out loud when he was around. It filled him with a strange sort of pride that she did this, that she trusted him that much.

With a sigh the thoughtful look was gone, replaced with all-business as she gathered up the file.

“Well, I’ve got to get back to the lab. Those test results will be in soon and I have to look them over with Zach.”

She reached for her purse and then bent over, kissing him. It was quick and innocent, done out of habit, but it snapped something in Booth. She pulled away, slightly awkward at what she’d done. They’d fallen into an old groove after beginning the case and she was very unsure as to which side of the ‘fighting’ or ‘not fighting’ fence they stood on. It had just been pushed aside for a while.

She turned to leave, muttered some excuse and something that sounded like an apology when Booth suddenly reached out and caught her hand, pulling her back to him with such force that she lost her balance and fell into his lap. He took both hands and slid them into her hair on either side of her head, pulling her lips to his, rough with desperation. He kissed her for several long seconds, unwilling to let her go.

When she finally pulled back she was short of breath. “What was that for?”

He let his hands drop to hers and they leaned their foreheads against one another. “I just don’t want to fight anymore.”

“Me either,” she responded quickly, she hated it when they fought. Arguments and stimulating debates were one thing, fighting was completely different and decidedly more unpleasant. But she also knew they should talk about why they fought, and almost said so.

“I still love you, you know, Bones.”

And that was it. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything else because he’d called her Bones. And that made her think that maybe everything else would just sort itself out.

“Love you too.” She whispered back. With a smile, she stood and gathered her things, which had ended up abandoned on the floor once more. On her way out of the office, she exchanged greetings with Travis whom she passed coming in.

“I see all is well in your Utopian lit’l world.” He teased, settling himself in a chair in front of Booth’s desk, “me and the whole Bullpen in fact.”

Booth looked up and could see a few cheeky agents giving him thumbs up or making kissy faces from beyond his glass wall on the far end of the office. He rolled his eyes.

“What? You guys don’t have enough of your own business, you’ve got to be minding mine?” he grumbled, shuffling papers on his desk to keep his hands busy.

“Eh, juss call it an un’ealthy pastime.” Travis shrugged.

“You’ve got a lot of those don’t you?”

“Well, we’re in a wee bit o’ a snit today aren’t we?” He asked, raising his eyebrows at the sharp tone of Booth’s words, “It can’t be trouble in Paradise, can et? I mean, if what I juss saw is trouble, I’d love to know what et’s like when yer on good terms.”

Booth leaned far back in his chair and ran both hands across his face. The lack of response troubled Travis and he sat forward.

“Is there trouble in Paradise, Seeley-boy?”

Booth sighed, shaking his head, “Not Paradise, Trav. Nowhere near in fact.” He shrugged, staring off into space, “It’s just…hard.”

“Well of course it is, if relationships were all pansies and unicorns everybody would do it. But they’re not, et takes effort lad, I thought you knew that.”

“I do know I just…I thought it would be different with Bones.”

“Well, don’.” Travis was looking at him like he was deranged and it was starting to irritate him, “You’re only kiddin’ yerself if you think your stubborn arse and her stubborn arse in a relationship are going to make for smooth sailin’. That juss won’t be the way of it Seeley. It’s going to take lots of work.” He sat forward, frowning with his elbows on his knees. “So what brought on this little tizzy anyway?”

Booth shrugged. “I don’t remember honestly. I think we just…got on each others last nerve and we had a fight last night. We hardly spoke this morning. That kiss, that you just saw? That was the first today.”

Travis nodded, “So what brought on the liplock then?”

Booth shifted uncomfortably in his chair, they were venturing dangerously close to two subjects he didn’t really want to discuss, his feelings and his gambling.

“I just…we, with this case.” He shrugged and averted his eyes. When Travis dipped his head to capture his gaze, he knew he was caught.

“This case, you say, what is it about?”

“An eight year old boy was murdered.”

“I see. Any leads so far?” he asked as nonchalantly as possible.

Booth set his jaw, frowning hard at the floor and refusing to talk.

“Seeley…what did you do?”

“What makes you think…” his eyes flew up to Travis’ but the man could read him like a book and he knew it. He cut off his own protest and sighed, returning to his origin position of head-in-hands. “A casino, alright? The vic’s father has ties to this cruddy little casino and the only way I could get any information was to play a few hands.”

“Oh bollocks. Seeley, how daft are ya’?”

“I know, I know.” Booth said half heartedly, knowing he deserved the brow-beating he was about to receive.

“What? Didn’t learn your lesson well enough last time? You feel you’ve got to have another go at gamblin’ away your life’s savin’s?”

“Look it was two hands, okay? It’s not like I made an all night trip to Atlantic city. I’m trying to catch a murderer here.”

Travis’ glare went unchanged and he pursed his lips. “Well how ‘bout you catch up to reality and hold onto et with both hands, eh? Don’t play with fire Seeley, you will get burned.”

He stood and started to leave, but stopped just short of the door, “And I’d put in a call to that genius sponsor of yers, if I were you. Don’t be an eijit Seeley, that lass is the best thing that’s ever happened to you. Don’t go and screw it up.”

Booth closed his eyes when Travis left, and sighed. His friend was a self-centered, juvenile bastard. So why was he always right?

---

Brennan entered Angela’s office at a quarter past five when the artist was still working studiously on a drawing of an Incan mummy for an exhibit.

Dropping into the seat opposite her desk, Brennan was a picture of discontentment.

Pulling her ipod headphones from her ears, Angela sat forward in her chair.

“Everything okay?”

Brennan frowned and then shook her head. “Booth and I had a fight.”

“Oh.”

“And then we made up.”

“Well, that’s good…”

“Not really. We didn’t actually talk or do anything. We were angry last night. We said some pretty mean things to one another, we were still mad this morning and then we got this case and…everything else just sort of got pushed to the side. I went to give him an update on the case at his office and out of nowhere he kisses me and just says ‘I don’t want to fight anymore’ and then we aren’t fighting. I mean no resolution, no finding out what happened so we can easily resolve it next time. Nothing.”

Brennan was out of breath and uncharacteristically near tears by the time she was done and the artist gave her a serious look.

“Six-thirty, my apartment. I’ll bring the wine.”

The deadpan delivery made Brennan laugh and it made her feel a little better.

“Thanks Ange.”

Angela winked and Brennan got up and left the office.

A little over an hour later, after Brennan was trudging up the stairs to Angela’s apartment, the weight of the day heavy on her shoulders.

“Come on in, Bren, the door’s open.” She heard Angela call when she knocked, so she let herself in. The smallest of smiles made it’s way to her face when she saw the coffee table in front of the plush, vintage orange couch was nearly full with a box of Kleenex, two wine glasses, a pint of Cherry Garcia Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and two spoons.

“Hey you, come on in.” Angela smiled, emerging from the kitchen with a freshly uncorked bottle of red wine, Brennan’s favorite year.

“Ange, you do realize we didn’t break up or anything. You didn’t have to go through all this trouble.” She protested in a way that made it seem like she probably was glad her friend had took such time and effort. She dropped her things at the door and joined Angela on the couch.

“Who said it was any trouble?” Angela poured herself and Brennan a glass of wine. She sat Indian style on the couch, her red leggings peaking out from beneath a comfy purple cotton dress, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Brennan again gave her the ‘you shouldn’t have but I’m glad you did’ smile, and took a long sip of her wine. She frowned as she kicked off her shoes and relaxed into the surprisingly cozy cushions, she had no idea where to start.

“Relax, Sweetie.” Angela said, reading her mind, “You called this meeting, you decide when to start.”

Brennan nodded, returning to sipping her wine thoughtfully. After a moment of exhausting churning in her mind, she sighed.

“What?” Angela looked up from painting her nails an iridescent shade of blue.

“I’m not sure…it’s just so calming, not having men around for a while.”

Angela’s smile broadened. “It’s supposed to be. You know, sometimes I think lesbians have totally got it right. I find it hard to believe they deal with dirty socks on the bedroom floor.”

“You’d be surprised.” Brennan muttered.

Angela’s eyebrows flew to her hairline and she nearly choked. “You!”

Brennan shrugged self-consciously. “I’m a scientist, it was college, I was…experimenting.” she responded, as if that explained it all.

“Brennan! How could you keep this from me?” Angela unfolded herself and scooted closer, looking like a kid in a candy store, “you’re going to give me details right? Please?”

“You never gave me details about yours.” Brennan accused half-heartedly.

“Oh, Sweetie, you never asked.”

Brennan rolled her eyes, but took the bait. Before long the ice cream was gone, along with half the wine and she was laughing until she had tears rolling from her eyes.

“Oh my God, Temperance Brennan you are a tease! Does Booth know about any of this?”

“No way, I can only imagine what my by-the-book devout-catholic boyfriend would think of this.” She said, rolling her eyes, her smile faltering just a little, “Like we need one more thing to fight about.”

Sensing the mood had changed, Angela set aside her glass and leaned her head on her head, propped up on the back of the couch.

“So how are things with you guys anyway?”

Brennan sighed, studying intently the swirling patterns of wine in her glass. “We had a fight last night. I don’t remember what started it, just everything I guess. Everything that had been annoying us up until that point sort of…blew up en mass like…Mt. St. Helens all over again.” She let her head drop back and spoke to the ceiling, “Then today we weren’t speaking, he left the apartment without a kiss ‘goodbye’ which, well it bothered me more than I thought it would.”

“Yeah, you should never leave the house angry, especially not with jobs like yours. You’re in the line of fire way to often…anything could happen.”

Brennan’s insides seized at this thought and she wondered why it hadn’t occurred to her before. She’d realized earlier that Booth could leave her, but she hadn’t imagined it could be in more than one way. She took a shaky breath. “I know. I understand that now. I guess that’s why I was so eager for the fight to be over, even if nothing was resolved. I just…I don’t like it when we’re mad at each other. I thought…I thought it would be different with Booth. Easier.” She shook her head and blinked her blurry eyes, “It supposed to be easy this time Ange. I mean, weren’t you the one who always said we were perfect for each other? This…this doesn’t feel perfect for me. Not by a long shot.”

Her chin trembled so she sat up, busying herself with putting down her glass and wiping at her eyes, ashamed of the tears that had collected there.

Angela’s face changed from sympathetic to distressed. “Oh, God, Sweetie, that was just talk. I…I was joking; I wanted you to get with Booth. I didn’t mean for you to take me literally. Nothing is perfect, nobody. I’m sorry if what I said gave you false expectations.”

Brennan licked her lips but didn’t look up. “It’s not your fault Ange. I’m a big girl. I should have known…perfection is…irrational. It’s a fairy tale.”

“Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you can’t have a happy ending.”

Brennan looked up, skepticism written on her face and Angela reached for her hand.

“I mean it. Booth cares deeply for you, and you for him. Talk to each other and don’t give up. Do that, and this time will be different.”

Brennan took a deep breath and let it out slow, afraid to ask for the promise that what she said was true. Afraid that it would make her best friend a liar. Instead she leaned imperceptibly forward and Angela welcomed her into the hug she was wordlessly asking for.

---

When the taxi dropped her off it was almost eleven o’clock. She’d set down her keys and purse inside with care, knowing Booth’s overdeveloped senses would kick in at even the slightest noise and she didn’t want to wake him. She assumed he’d be asleep by then, she’d called and told him she would be going over to Angela’s for a while and not to wait up. He tended to sleep more when they had difficult cases and she’d expected him to be in bed a little after nine.

That was why she found it so odd that she could hear his voice coming softly from the spare bedroom at that hour. It sounded like he was talking to someone.

“No, I don’t want her to know.” He was talking quietly so she leaned closer to the door, trying to hear better.

“I know but she just…she wouldn’t…I just don’t want to.”

Who was he talking to? Or, better question, who was he talking about?

“No, I told you I’ll be fine…I’ll just, I’ll try and find one tomorrow, okay? I’ll figure it out somehow…Look, can I call you tomorrow?”

She frowned and a small part of her, deep inside where she didn’t like to wait for evidence, panicked.

He said goodbye and she gasped. Not wanting him to know she’d been listening, she rushed down the hall to the bedroom and began taking off her clothes.

A few minutes later Booth entered, she could hear him breathing in the doorway.

“How long have you been here?”

Of course, he knew how long she’d been there, he’d heard her come in. That was why he cut the call short with his sponsor. Greg had been thoroughly pissed to hear that he’d been gambling that day after doing so well for so long, but after being pissed he’d been supportive enough, asking him what had led to his relapse, trying to help him get back to an equilibrium of some kind. He also suggested some other outlets for the stress Booth said was part of his problem, one of which being to talk to his ‘partner’ about his difficulty and all but ordering him to find a meeting to attend ASAP.

The second issue Booth had had no trouble with, the first was staring him in the face now, with wide blue eyes like she’d been caught red handed. Doing what, he didn’t know.

“I, um, I just got back. I thought, you’d be in bed. By now.” She told him haltingly. At least it wasn’t a lie. She wanted to congratulate herself on this, but it didn’t seem worth it.

Booth, who was too tired to worry about whether or not she’d heard him, rubbed his face and shuffled to the bed. Pulling off his undershirt and sweatpants, he sat down heavily, his head in his hands.

Brennan finished changing and watched him from the closet doorway. The room was dark, none of the lights were on, but the misery in his posture was obvious. So she decided to forget it all for the night. The fight, the make-up, the case, the talking. All of it.

She crawled across the bed toward him and wordlessly pulled him under the covers with her. She laid down and wrapped her arms around him, he sighed and kissed her hair, squeezing her gently.

Perhaps the words could wait, at least for one more night.

awww I do hope it gets better.

dbangelfan

awesome update!!!!!! great characterisation and I love both TRavis and Angela in their roles!!!

cheesebk

Thanks for the loooooong chappie! Wow, this has really turned into something, y'kno?!? more than just a relationship story... we've got a case now, we've got gambling problems resurfacing, and, well, the relationship seems to be looking for it's handbasket to hell right about now... but I'm really liking it, can't wait to see where you are taking us next! Thanks for more talks with Travis (just wanna pinch his cheeks and make him talk) and Ange... such pearls of wisdom from those two!!
*patiently waiting for more* space

hi!
great (loonnnggg) update! i LOVE the tension that's running through this story.. its putting me on edge. now, with booth knowing brennan was listening to the conversation, and her overhearing, but not admitting it - wow, i can practically hear them both jumping to conclusions!

travis is written so well - love that yo write the accent

as for angela, i could see her clearly in my head with the descrïption of her sitting cross-legged on the couch.

fantabulous, as per usual. can't wait for the next chapter!

ehbee

Realized I did not commment. Thanks for the chapter....which was great, lots of angst, a case. I like Travis and of course Ange lays it on the line. It has taken them so long to get together, I think the truth from Booth is in order and Bones.....well she will probably freak at first, but then her logical, rational self will take over, not without inserting foot in mouth I am sure. Love, love, love it and can't wait to see the next chapter.

otismotis

A/N: Hooray! The next chapter. Sorry for the delay, I hope you enjoy.
[s]
[g]Brennan the Babysitter[/g][/s]

The next day wasn’t any better than the last. Parker was supposed to be coming in the afternoon because Rebecca had a conference. Booth had taken the afternoon off work but had just found out about a last minute meeting with the Director and now couldn’t take it off.

“So you want me to take care of Parker?” she asked, hands on her hips, standing in the doorway of their bathroom. Her mind ran through all the things she had to do today and she sighed. She loved Parker but…

“Please, Temperance, I won’t be long.” Booth sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Just keep him here for a couple of hours, let him play, watch tv, whatever. I’ll be back as soon as I can. You can afford to take one afternoon off right? You work like crazy.”

He didn’t mean for that last part to come out harsh, but it did. One of their sticking points in the relationship was about how much she worked.

“Fine.” She replied. “I can do it.” She turned into the bathroom to finish getting ready for work.

As she put on her makeup, she felt an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. In the six months that she and Booth had been dating, this was the first time she’d really been alone with Parker. And while Booth told her that she was doing good with him, she always had a feeling of inadequacy when he was around.

She barely knew what to say half the time, the other half had to be translated by Booth. Looking in the mirror, she sighed. She wasn’t going to get anything done today.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Her fears were confirmed four hours later when she opened the door and came face to face with Parker and Rebecca.

“Dr. Brennan.” Rebecca said. “Is Seeley here?”

“He had a meeting.” She replied awkwardly.

“Oh. Well I’m sure you two will have fun.” Rebecca said with a warm smile and handed her Parker’s backpack.

Brennan nodded. She wished she had as much faith in herself as Rebecca seemed to have in her.

“You be good for Dr. Brennan, okay?” Rebecca said, kneeling down and giving Parker a hug. Parker nodded in return and planted a kiss on his mom’s cheek.

“Hi Tempe.” Parker said, skipping into the living room.

“Hi Parker.” She nervously replied. “Your dad will be back soon, but in the meantime we can play something.” The words felt awkward when she said them aloud.

“Like what?” Parker asked, flopping down on the couch.

“Umm…” she frowned as she tried to think of something, setting his backpack by the door. “Why don’t you get a game from your room?”

“No I don’t want to.” He replied.

“We could read a book?” she suggested, still standing near the door, as if she was afraid to approach him.

Parker shook his head ‘no’.

She thought again about the things that they did together, mentally berating herself for not having thought about this earlier when she had the chance. They couldn’t go to the zoo or play in the park, the drizzly rain outside prevented that.

“I’m bored.” Parker said, and dramatically dropped his head back against the couch, staring at the ceiling and apparently trying to touch his nose with his tongue.

“What do you want to do?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Your dad said you could watch a movie. Do you want to do that?” ‘Please say yes.’ She thought to herself. ‘Please.’

“Okay.”

Parker went over to the cabinet and pulled out the Madagascar dvd. She put it in and sat down on the couch leaving a good deal of space between them. About fifteen minutes into the movie, she realized she could probably get more work done then she originally thought.

“Be right back.” She said.

He nodded, not tearing his eyes from the screen.

She headed into the kitchen, where her laptop was. Booting it up, she opened her latest chapter and began to work. Soon she was immersed in her chapter, trying to get as much done as possible. Her editor was really bothering her to complete it, and lately she hadn’t had much time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Booth fiddled with his pen as he tried to concentrate. He couldn’t help but think of Brennan and Parker back at home. Sure, he believed that Brennan could take care of him, if he had any doubts, he wouldn’t have left her alone with him. But at the same time, his girlfriend wasn’t the most kid friendly. And while he hoped she would take to parenthood like a duck to water, she still seemed rather awkward around Parker, and he had to admit the boy could be a handful from time to time.

‘They’re fine.’ He thought to himself. ‘Just fine.’

He got pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a throat clearing. He looked up to see his boss staring at him.

“Sorry, sir…”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She sat typing away, half listening to the tv in the living room. Parker had been pretty quiet once she’d given him a snack and some juice and she had managed to get half of her chapter done. The trouble was, she was basing her story on a recent case and she couldn’t remember the specific details required to give the feeling of authenticity she so prided herself on.

A loud crash came from the living room and she was up on her feet.

“Parker.” She shouted, running in.

The little boy stood in front of the bookcase, a shattered mess on the floor in front of him.

Her heart was hammering, she was terrified something was wrong with him but after looking him over, it appeared he was alright.

“Are you okay?” she asked, taking him by the shoulders and moving him out of the mess at their feet.

He nodded sadly, eyes glued to the floor.

Her eyes then turned to the mess on the floor and her heart lurched. It was a earthenware mask she had received during one of her trips to Ethiopia. It was hand carved by the village elder and was completely unique. It was one of her favourite pieces.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Bones.” Parker said plaintively.

“What were you doing?” she asked, crossing her arms and standing straight.

“I just wanted to see….” He trailed off.

“Did your dad and I not tell you that you aren’t allowed to touch anything on the bookshelf?” she asked, her voice rising. She couldn’t help but be angry. The terror she felt for Parker’s safety had caught up with her.

“I’m sorry.” He said, pouting a little.

“I can’t replace that. It’s…you…” She shut her eyes and counted to five. When she opened her eyes, she saw tears streaming down his face.

Resisting the urge to shut her eyes again, she took a deep breath and knelt down in front of him.

“Don’t cry.” She said, reaching out to pat his shoulder awkwardly. “Don’t cry, it’s okay.”

Her wish that this would make him stop crying did not come true as he just began to wail harder.

“Please, it’s okay, it doesn’t matter…” she babbled. She went to her knees and reached over to push the curls out of his eyes. “Please, Parker…”

He hiccupped and let out a gulping sob.

“Why don’t we play something else?” she said panicking as she racked her brain of things they could do that would allow her to continue her work. She needed to get this chapter done today and most of the research she needed was at the lab…That was it! She could take him to the lab, let him play with Hodgins and his bugs and she could finish her chapter.

“How about we go to the lab?” she asked, hoping that he would agree.

“Really?” he asked, the tears beginning to cease.

“Really.” She replied, sighing internally.

Five minutes later, she had packed up her laptop and got Parker’s coat on and they made their way to the lab. She was exhausted already.

‘This is why I shouldn’t have children.’ She thought as she drove along the streets of D.C.

Although Booth had insisted that he was fine with just Parker, somehow she knew that part of him, even if it was just a tiny bit, wasn’t. He was a good dad, of course he wanted more children. And look at her, she couldn’t even take care of one five year old for an hour.

She dreaded the day he would see how bad she was with Parker, realize he wanted a woman he could have more children with and decide to leave her. No matter how much she tried to push the thought away, it seemed inevitable.

Oh, they are getting into deep sh*, that's for sure. Too real I must say. But surely things could be resolved, couldn't they? B&B are good at understanding each other, so there must be a way.

Willi, the angst is killing me. But I love where you with har are leading with the plot. In general, when we talk about deep feelings, it's not only about bliss and joy, we have all had experiences in the field. However, making things up, tackling with seemingly unresolvable problems could just as well be sweet and heartbreakingly beautiful, and not to mention worth reading! And this is the reason why I would like to see these two in a relationship on the show. I have heard and read many comments about the show being killed after getting BB together. I personally don't believe in it, but of course, everybody is entitled to have his/her opinion about this. It's a good thing you are challenging reality. Just my thoughts.

Your writing skills are just superb. I just skip those stories where things are getting dealt with all too quickly, or the layout is messed up (e.g. lack of paragraphs, lack of quotation marks, no indication whether actuals words are spoken or thoughts are displayed, or the reporting words are just too simple, etc.). You, however, deal with all these aspects naturally, and I don't feel I am missing something. More like the opposite! My impression is that you don't try hard finding the words, you don't want to use elevated and sophisticated language, you just organise your thought in the simplest possible way in order to present a clear and natural plot. Another thing. The application of dialogues and descrïptions is balanced beautifully, so the story never gets boring.

All in all, I am in love with the topic itself, with BB naturally, with the thick tension you created, not to mention your style of writing, and you'll make me a happy woman if you update soon.

This is the first time I have commented on any of your stories. Earlier I told to you I don't give my thoughts about stories often and it's not 'cause I don't like what I read. I do understand redrider's comment on lazy and lurking readers, I highly respect her words, but I have my own way. Let me explain. You might have noticed I haven't used the word 'review'. It's 'cause I am not a professional, I am not a writer or editor or columnist or whatever, I'll never be any of them. Yet, if I make myself write my thoughts on a story as a reader, I prefer organised and relatively long comments to few words or mere sentences, so that writers could actually get a feedback on whatever they have written. But the problem is it takes a while to persuade myself to get the job done.

In the end, only one thing concerns me. PLD don't think I am lecturing you or anyone at the board. Never would I do that! Honestly. Nevertheless, I am ready to promise one things: I'll try to be less lazy to comment on your and other writers's work I like since I am well aware of the fact that our encouraging words make you work faster. Love and peace. Have a nice day! [Only admins are allowed to see this image] mary

Wow. I know you said you don't like to use the word 'review', but that was a kick ass review!! Lol. And I don't know for sure about Willie, but I got no problem with lurkers. I like to get feedback, but I understand that some people just don't have the time or inclination, and that's fine too. (I'm responding to this 'review' btw, because I'm the co-author and I feel so inclined, [Only admins are allowed to see this image] )

Anyway, I for one am very glad you finally persueded yourself to respond adn i hope you continue to enjoy this fic! hart

Damn Hart! That's a big ass sig!!

And loved this installment Wink... craving more BB interaction, but this is a very plausible situation and you gotta know that Bren can't just turn into Mommy overnight... I don't care how steep her learning curve is! Can't wait to see how Booth reacts...

space

I don't mean to make such short reviews but I'm trying to make them longer.

dbangelfan

Don't worry about it DB! I'm a short reviewer too!

willi

[g]Hmm...is it just me or are we always apologizing for the delay? Well I'm turning over a new leaf...no more apologizing! We're gonna be delayed and you're gonna like it...Okay, so maybe I should lay of the sugar…and the angry pills…much luv!! [/g]


----------------

Writing was something Brennan had been tempted to try and give up many times growing up. The way writing could so completely consume her, so that she didn’t even think of eating for hours on end, used to bother her. Her love and tendency toward writing was one of the few things in her life she couldn’t control, and it both attracted and repelled her from the craft.

Times like this were part of the reason writing was such a love/hate for her. From the moment she’d sat down at her computer, after dropping Parker off with Hodgins who, thankfully, had no problem entertaining the boy for a while, she hadn’t stopped in tapping at her keys even long enough to look up from her screen.

It was in this trancelike state that Zach Addy found her, spotting her through the barely ajar office door.

“Dr. Brennan, I wasn’t expecting to see you anymore today,” he said, surprised expression matching his tone.

It took a moment but Brennan did finally look up at him. “What? Oh, yes, I had to watch Parker this afternoon but I needed something from the lab.”

“Actually I’m glad you’re here. I’ve found some interesting fractures on some of the bones of the remains.”

“Whose remains?”

“Your murder victim? What I see on the x-rays almost look like occupational stress markers.”

“OSMs? On an eight year old?” Brennan frowned and rose from her seat, reaching for her blue lab coat near the door, “Okay, why don’t you show me what you’ve got.”

Brennan pulled back her hair and followed Zach to the platform.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What’s this?” Parker asked curiously, peering at a pinned bug behind a pane of glass in Hodgins’ office.

“A beetle.” Hodgins muttered.

“No, what’s it’s real name?”

“Oh, um,” He rubbed his eyes and took a closer look at the insect the boy indicated, “Anoplophora glabripennis.”

“And this?”

He looked up from his computer slowly. He honestly liked Parker, but he really really had to get done with this report that was due yesterday. “Pachydiplax longipennis.”

“And-”

“Tell you what, Park. You look at this book while I finish my paperwork, and then I’ll tell you everything you want to know about any bug you like.”

Parker shrugged and took the book over to Hodgins’ couch. He flipped through it for a few minutes lingering on the large photos of ants and spiders, but was quickly bored. He looked up and saw Dr. Hodgins typing furiously on his computer. He’d been excited about coming to the lab, and was disappointed when he’d been stuck in an office for the entire time. Now he saw his chance, and with a mischievous glint in his eye, he left the office, determined to do a little exploring.

Hodgins clicked ‘save’ and then clapped his hands triumphantly. “Ok, Parker I’m done…Parker?” He looked around the room, but didn’t see the boy in question. The sound of the security alarm on the platform going off sent him careening out of the office.


------

“You’re right Zach, these marks on the joints and extremities are unusual in a child of this age, but not altogether inexplicable.” She paused her tape recorder and looked at Zach, “They look to me like athletic injuries…soccer maybe.”

Zach stepped around Angela, who was perched on a stool at the end of the table reconstructing the decomposed face for their files, and bent low and squinted. “That seems like a lot of old fracturing for a soccer league an 8 year old would be in. What about abuse?”

Brennan nodded. “That’s also a possibility. Why don’t you take some x-rays for me, and I’ll take them with me the next time Booth and I go to talk to the victim’s father. I’ll see what I can find out.”

Zach moved to begin this task, when both scientists were startled by the sound of a voice from behind.

“Bones I’m bored again, can we…” Parker was taking the stairs two at a time, casually approaching Brennan on the platform.

“Parker don’t!” Her words were cut off by the deafening noise of the security alarm as he tripped it on the top step. Rushing past him, she swiped her own card to stop the alarm, not wanting the noise would scare him.

With a deep breath she turned around, intending to quickly escort Parker off the platform and then read him the riot act for leaving Hodgins.

Parker was standing stone still, three feet from her exam table, and right at his eye level, were the remains of a badly decomposed body hardly larger than his own. Parker’s eyes grew wide and the color rushed from his face, he couldn’t look away. The smell was like nothing he’d ever experienced, but the sight of it was more than he could take. It looked vaguely like something he should recognize, but at the same time, like a monster from a movie his parents would never let him see. His stomach started to churn uncomfortably.

Angela, seeing that Brennan had froze, stood quickly and tried to turn him away.

“Don’t look at that sweetie, let’s just get…”

Before she could finish her sentence Parker doubled over and vomited up the grilled cheese and milk Brennan had made him an hour earlier.

Springing back to life, Brennan stepped past him, moving all the tools and remains she could reach further away. “I need a Biomatter Containment Crew on the platform right now!”

The lab suddenly sprung into action, scaring the boy further when he was quickly ushered down the steps and away from the remains. Brennan heard Parker crying over the noise and commotion and turned to try and find him. She spotted him a few yards away with Angela who was desperately trying to calm him down.

“Oh no.” She said to herself, when she saw how clearly distraught the little boy was. But before she could even take a step in their direction, a deep, angry, familiar voice bellowed throughout the lab and everyone looked up.

“What the hell is going on here?”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Booth could tell something was wrong as soon as he walked into the Jeffersonian. The normally peaceful and quiet Fortress of Science was bustling with noise before he even got to the Medico-Legal lab doors. A few skittish techs rushed past him and he noticed the security guards standing away from their station and peeking inside. His first thought was that Hodgins and Zach had managed to blow something up, which would have ordinarily been somewhat comical. But in his left pocket was the note Brennan had left him at the apartment that said she’d taken Parker to the lab, and the last thing Booth wanted was to have his five-year-old hanging out with Tweedledee and Tweedledum when they had C4 and too much time on their hands.

His bad feeling got worse when he finally got to the lab and saw that all hell had broke loose. At first he couldn’t distinguish one blue lab coat from another, and all the rushing and yelling were distracting at best. But his hearing, made sensitive not through army training but through fatherhood, caught hold of the sound of Parker’s wailing almost immediately. His eyes darted around, his heartbeat speeding up, as he tried to locate his son in the chaos. A couple of guys in white, plastic suits crossed his path and then he saw him. Angela was kneeing in front of a nearly hysterical Parker trying to soothe him, but failing.

Worried, he yelled a little louder than he had intended, making a beeline for Parker.

“Daddy!” Parker looked up and saw his father rushing toward him he off Angela’s hands, reaching for his dad.

When Booth scooped up his son he could see that the boy had been sick, but hugged him close anyway, knowing a large dry cleaning bill was in his future and not caring one iota.

“Temperance! What happened? What are you guys doing here? I thought you were going to watch a movie at the apartment.” He cradled Parker, who was now hiccupping, to his shoulder and tried to soothe him as best he could.

“We were but…” She tried to explain as she approached.

Booth looked past her, at the platform. Techs rushing up and down the steps, alarms, lights blinking on and off. Zach and Hodgins and beyond them, the remains of Kyle Duncan.

His eyes widened when he put two and two together.

“Temperance, was Parker on the platform?” He asked, his voice dropping dangerously low, a cross between anger and horror on his face.

Brennan looked briefly at Parker, who was clutching his father with all his strength, his face pressed hard into Booth’s shoulder. “Yes. But it was an accident, he was with Hodgins and…”

Booth shook his head, gritting his teeth, “I don’t want to hear it,” and the he turned and stalked away.

Brennan watched him until he disappeared behind the men’s bathroom doors. She took a deep breath and glanced around the lab. The noise and chaos had died down, but it would take at least half an hour to reset the system. Normally this would have upset and annoyed her to no end. But in that moment all she cared about was Parker and Booth, and knowing that she’d screwed up so badly made her feel worse than any biomatter contamination ever could have.

“Sweetie are you-” Angela started to lay a hand on Brennan’s shoulder but she shrugged it off.

“I’ll be in my office.”

And that’s where she went, immediately shutting and locking the door.

Several minutes later Booth emerged from the bathroom carrying Parker and started for the exit.

“Booth!” Angela spotted him before he got too far, “Booth wait, please.”

“Angela I don’t want to talk about it.” He said, not slowing his stride.

“Please Booth don’t do this.” She reached out to touch his arm and stopped him just short of the doors.

“Angela…”

She interrupted, seeing that he was still agitated. “I understand you’re upset-”

“Damn right I-”

“And rightly so,” She continued quickly, not wanting to give him a chance to protest, “but she locked herself in her office and hasn’t come out.”

“If she wants to sulk then that’s her business I just need to get Parker home.”

“Booth please.” She took a deep breath and glanced once again back at Brennan’s closed office door. Booth flickered his gaze in that direction but quickly turned away.

“Look, she screwed up, alright? She knows that, and she’s sorry. Please don’t leave with things like this Booth, this could break you.” Catching his attention she made sure to lock with his eyes so he understood the gravity of their current situation, “You have to talk with her Booth. Don’t leave it like this.”

Booth stood silently for several minutes, shifting Parker in his arms. He looked up at Angela’s pleading face proffering one last excuse.

“What am I supposed to do with Parker?”

“I’ll take him,” she answered quickly.

He sighed, then turned his toward his son, who’d been resting his head against his Booth’s shoulder and had begun to doze off. “Alright bud, you want to stay with Ange for a few minutes? I’ll be right back, I’ve just got to talk with Bones.”

Though reluctant at first, after a bit of coaxing, Parker finally released his father’s neck and took hold of Angela’s hand as she led him to her office.

“And Angela-”

“I won’t let him out of my sight, I promise.”

Booth stood outside Brennan’s office door for several moments before knocking, instead staring a hole in the tile floor below him. He was still angry, he couldn’t deny that. And trying to ‘talk’ about anything with his girlfriend when either of them was angry was never a good idea. But he also knew it was possible that Angela was right. Brennan was insecure about spending time with Parker, and while he always tried to encourage her, this whole ordeal hadn’t done much to put either of them at ease.

He knocked softly and waited, one hand on his hip near his badge, the other massaging his brow slowly.

“Bones, it’s me.” He said, when there was no answer.

After a few moments he heard the click of the lock being disengaged but the door didn’t open. When he entered her office she was standing with her back to him, seemingly perusing her plethora of forensics books.

He stepped inside and watched her for a moment. At first glance she seemed completely disinterested in his presence. But he was inclined to look a little closer than the average person and he could see that her shoulders and spine were rigid and that she wasn’t actually perusing the books, but staring at one title and probably not really reading it at all.

“How’s Parker?”

He tilted his head at the tightness in her voice. “He’s with Angela. Probably sleeping by now, he was a little worn out.”

She nodded and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her lab coat, still facing away from him.

“You want to tell me what happened?” He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms, trying to speak in a tone that was a little more gentle than what he felt.

She looked skyward and shrugged helplessly. “We were at home, watching a movie. I’d gone to the kitchen to-”

“Can you at least look at me please?”

She froze and after a moment, turned slowly to face him, studiously avoiding looking at his face.

“I’d gone to the kitchen to write and then I heard a loud crash and I was worried he’d hurt himself but when I got to him he was fine but he’d dropped my Ethiopian tribal mask and shattered it.” She paused and sniffed, giving Booth the first indication of why she wouldn’t look him in the eye. She’d been crying. “I got upset and he started crying and he wouldn’t stop and the only thing that would calm him down was the idea of coming to the lab.”

His anger began to quickly melt away and he dropped his arms, slowly moving toward her. When he was inches away he reached up with one hand and tilted her head.

“I’m sorry he broke your mask.” He said quietly, drawing his thumb across her cheek to wipe away a few fresh tears. “And I forgive you.”

She searched his eyes for several moments, and when she found truth she let a small smile slip across her lips.

“But I need some time with him, okay? I need to talk to him, do some damage control.”

Her eyes and her smile dropped. When he saw this he let his forehead rest against hers and rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

“Why don’t you…go out for drinks with Angela or something?”

She nodded dejectedly and Booth used his finger to tilt her face up to his once more and kissed her softly. “You’re still my favorite girl. And I love you. Just give me some time, okay?”

She nodded and smiled for his benefit, kissing him one more time before he left.

Angela came in soon after and tentatively knocked on the door. Brennan looked up from where she was staring at her computer, her chapter and deadline long forgotten.

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’m fine.” She shrugged and sat leaned back, “Booth said to give him some time alone with Parker, so I’m just trying to finish up on this chapter.” That was what she was trying to do, but since Booth and Parker had left, she’d been mostly unsuccessful.

“Why don’t you just get out of here, huh? You work too much.”

Brennan’s eyes flew up to Angela’s, remembering Booth had made a similar remark that morning.

“I do not.” She replied a bit too defensively.

Angela raised her eyebrows at the sharp tone. “Sorry sweetie, I didn’t mean to offend.”

Brennan closed her eyes and put her head in her hands. “No, it’s not your fault Ange. I guess I just…this whole thing with Parker, it’s got me a little…”

“On edge?”

“Yeah. It’s just that…Parker - and in a way, all kids - they’re so important to Booth. And over and over today I did everything wrong.”

Angela waited several seconds before responding, and then did so in as gentle a tone as she could. “You’re right. They are important. But you know what else is important to Booth?”

Brennan looked up. “What?”

“You.” Angela waited, hoping to see the light bulb of hope flicker on over her friend’s head, and was more than a little concerned when she didn’t right away, “Listen, I’m staying at Jack’s tonight. That means I’ll have practically a whole mansion to myself. I’ll be lonely without you. Come over, you can tell me more about your college experimentation.”

This got a bit of a smile from Brennan but she shook her head. “Thanks Ange, but I think I’ll just stay here for a while.”

“You’re sure?”

Brennan nodded and proffered as much of a smile as she could and Angela shrugged.

“Okay. If you need me you know where I’ll be.”

“Thanks.”

A half an hour later most of the people from the lab had gone. There were still a few other doctors and techs rummaging around, preferring the tranquility of night rather than the commotion of day to get their work done, but for the most part the place was deserted. Brennan spent another fifteen minutes trying to write something, all with no success.

Finally, in a little bit worse of a mood than she had been in before, she shut down her computer, grabbed her purse and headed for the parking lot. The ‘get a drink part’ of Booth’s suggestion was beginning to look very appealing.
TBC

Well I'm turning over a new leaf...no more apologizing! We're gonna be delayed and you're gonna like it...

Really now?[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

Loved this chapter - Parker seeing the body on the platform was brilliant... I've often seen fics where he has been carefully shielded from viewing remains, etc. But never seen one where he was exposed and with his reactions... which I think you handled perfectly, btw. And Booth's reaction? Spot-on. I could feel his anger and disappointment radiating in waves. God, I felt so bad for Bren! And thank God for Ange stepping in and making him talk to her... they seem to be on such thin ice right now anyway, it wouldn't take much to push them over the edge. Things still aren't 'perfect' between them though... can't wait to see where you go with this!
Great update! Thanks Wink!
~Space

[cit] The ‘get a drink part’ of Booth’s suggestion was beginning to look very appealing.

TBC

[/cit]

Uh-oh.....me thinks that Dr.Brennan is going to get herself in trouble. I feel like the angst train is still going full steam ahead isn't it? Still a really great chapter and I like how real it seems. Don't get me wrong I'm still a full-on fluff fanatic but a little tropical storm (or angsti-cane) makes you appreaciate sunny skies later. There will be sunny skies later right?? hifi

Yeah we better get fluff later on

dbangelfan

ughhhhhhhh i hate to admit it.....but i agree with the angst train coming on........oh those two are soooooooooooo evil arent they......and then hart telling us to get used to delays........oh yeah..........have you checked the squirrels.......and that is supposed to be said in a very creepy voice over the telephone.....i would check on them if i were you hart.......never know what can happen to the little ones............now back to the fic......of course its brilliant.......they always are......but i hate telling you that........because of all the turmoil you put my two fave people thru.......for the love of booth.....cant they just go to the zoo.....have some ice cream......and actually have fun and laugh.........noooooooooooooooooooo of course not......like i keep saying.......you two were abused children.....that answers a lot of questions for the readers......now we would like another chapter......but of course we will have to wait........this time we have to wait on willi.....geesh.........may as well start knitting something....by the time she posts i can make a blanket that covers manhattan......*breaks out knitting needles and begins*....