Letters Written & Promises Kept
Part 3
Being in Booth’s bed had finally given her enough peace to sleep. Even though he wasn’t physically there, she was having a hard time denying that there was a presence that soothed her. Reluctantly she pulled herself from the covers in early afternoon and returned to her apartment to shower and change, listening to worried voicemail after worried voicemail on the drive. Not ready to talk to anyone, she sent Angela a single text. “I’m ok. Be in later.”
It had been so long since Booth had asked her to make sure Parker got his letter that she hoped Rebecca hadn’t moved. Pulling up in front of the apartment building, she held the envelope in her hands for a moment. It was time to part with another piece of Booth and follow through with her promise.
Knocking firmly on the door, she was painfully aware that her face bore the after effects of her many tears. She imagined it wouldn’t matter because Rebecca would surely look the same, but as the door opened, it wasn’t Rebecca she was looking at.
“I’m sorry, I think I have the wrong address,” she fumbled through her words.
“You might not, I don’t live here. I’m the babysitter. Who are you looking for?”
“This is the address I have for Parker Booth and his mother, Rebecca.”
“You’re in the right place. Would you like to come in?”
Facing Parker wasn’t something she thought she could handle without Rebecca there, so she politely declined. “Could you please make sure Rebecca gets this,” she reluctantly handed over the envelope. “It’s for Parker, but she’ll know when it’s the right time for him to have it. I promised his father I would get it to him.”
“Of course I will. Can I tell Rebecca your name?”
“Dr. Brennan. Agent Booth was my partner. He was shot protecting me…he… I need to go now.”
Keenly aware that the babysitter looked at her like she was crazy, she turned on her heels and bid a hasty retreat back to her car, so intent on not breaking down that she never saw Rebecca and Parker walking up to their front door as she drove off.
Back at the lab, her friends waited anxiously for her to walk through the doors. They had carried out her wishes and set up a case from limbo. At least when she was in the lab and working a case, they could keep an eye on her. Without warning, the doors opened and she walked briskly past them to her office. One minute. She just needed one minute.
Angela knew her friend and watched through the glass, waiting for her to grab her lab coat before she walked in. “Sweetie? You gave us a scare.”
“Sorry Ang, there was something I needed to take care of and you were sleeping.”
“Which is typical in the middle of the night. Did you sleep at all?”
“Yes,” not wanting to tell her where.
“Bren, is there anything you want to tell me?”
“I kept a promise,” she admitted quietly. “I had made him a promise and I kept it. Now, can we please get to work?”
Angela did what she could and followed her friend into the lab. She knew Brennan needed something to be normal and working in the lab was normal. Her friends understood, so back to work they went right up until the day of the funeral when she wouldn’t stop working. Why did they insist? Why didn’t they understand that she saw no point? dn Angela for playing the best friend card. She couldn’t turn her back on Ang.
She hated being there, hated hearing Caroline remind her that he was dead because of her, hated that at any moment there would be a 21 gun salute to remind her of the gunshot that took his life. dn them all for making her be there. She was still seething as the guard burst from behind her and tackled a mourner to the ground. She would know that fight style anywhere. dn him.
Fight or flight wasn’t an issue for Brennan, she just did both. Giving Booth a taste of her right hook, she stormed off still unsure if she wasn’t more relieved than angry but knowing above all else how badly she hurt knowing he had been alive all this time, that she had been lied to.
“Bones! Wait!” he got up and yelled to her but she wasn’t stopping. “Bones, please!”