A/N – This is my first Bones fanfic! I hope you guys all enjoy it. I welcome all reviews – it truly helps me to become a better writer. I don't own anything "Bones", only my own creative license. Here we go… There are spoilers from the last episode, Aliens in a Spaceship…
The Woman Who Broke
Chapter 1:
Going back to work only two days after having been buried alive slightly unnerved Dr. Temperance Brennan. Though she put on her usual face of cool and calm, inside something was different. As she walked down the hallways of the Jeffersonian, making her way towards her office, she noticed the looks, the whispers. She tried to dismiss them as she always did, marching on purposefully, but in her head, she knew that her latest brush with danger was just one more burden from the past she was going to have to carry.
Temperance arrived at the Medico-Legal lab, not surprised to see her coworkers already there. Zack and Angela both welcomed her with a smile as they noticed her walk into the room, though she could see that they were analyzing her; watching to see how she was handling everything. Hodgins, on the other hand, offered an empathetic smile. Of anyone there, she knew that he understood best.
"How are you doing Sweetie?" Angela asked, as she gave her best friend a quick hug as she made her way up onto the platform, pulling on her lab coat.
"I'm alright Ang. I just want to get back to work. Do we have any new cases?" Zack piped up,
"Nothing yet Dr. Brennan, but Booth told us that we're supposed to make sure you and Hodgins don't work too hard…" He stopped as Angela elbowed him. She hissed at him,
"You weren't supposed to tell her…" Brennan rolled her eyes.
"Booth isn't in charge here. If I feel unfit to perform, I will remove myself. Otherwise, I have been given a clean bill of health."
"He's just looking out for you Sweetie." Angela said, "You weren't here when you guys were…you know… missing. I'm not surprised he's worried." Hodgins looked at Brennan at the mention of what happened. He had talked a bit about it with Angela, and it had made him feel better, but knowing his friend and coworker, Jack also knew that she probably had pushed it to the back of her mind. Temperance only confirmed his thoughts, as she replied,
"Could we not mention what happened two days ago? I don't see how it's relevant anymore. There are thousands of people waiting to be identified; let's get started on one of those cases until something comes up." Zack nodded, and without a second thought, left the platform to find them a new victim to identify. Angela left shortly after, knowing that now was not the time to get Brennan to open up. She resolved just to keep an eye on her. Sometimes just moving on and forgetting was Temperance's best way of dealing with things. Hodgin's, however, lingered.
"If you need more time Jack, let me know. I understand." Brennan said. He shook his head, though he noticed that Brennan had used his first name, something she rarely ever did.
"I need to work. Are you sure everything's okay with you?" She offered him a small smile.
"Fine. We made it and that's all that matters. Life goes on." He nodded, not quite believing her, but letting the subject slide. He knew the nightmares that plagued his thoughts, he knew the fears he felt, and he knew that he couldn't be alone - that she must be having similar side effects from the traumatic experience. As he watched her walk away, he knew that sooner or later, she was going to have to deal with it.
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Bones didn't even have to look up from her desk. She recognized the footsteps making their way purposefully into her office. She continued writing, mounds of paper hovering, waiting for her attention.
"What is it Booth? New case?" She didn't even look up from her paperwork, as Booth glanced at her.
"You didn't even see me come in. How did you know it was me?" Brennan finally looked up at her partner.
"You walk differently than everyone else. Cam and Angela walk lighter and normally with heels. Zack and Hodgins are either much slower, or much faster. Therefore, by process of elimination, I figured it had to be you." Booth just looked at her. Again, she felt him watching her, just as Zack and Angela had. Wondering what was going through her head, how she was coping.
But Temperance knew how to cope. She had learned quickly as a 15 year old left without any parents, without any brother. She had fought her way to becoming a famous forensic anthropologist and renowned author. Temperance had coped through losing her parents, through being kidnapped by Kenton, through waking up bloodied in New Orleans, through finding her mother's remains, and most recently, through being buried alive. She coped the only way she knew how; ignore the pain, and the fear and concentrate on the one thing she had – the one thing that would never change, the reliability of her job.
"How are you doing?" Booth finally asked, genuinely. Brennan knew he was concerned, and she appreciated it. She had been touched when he had brought her to church with him the day before, but she didn't understand his worry. The doctors had released her soon after they had been found. She had no physical injuries, except for a few scrapes and bruises from the explosion of the air bags, and the burns on the back of her neck.
"I'm fine. Why does everyone keep asking me that?" She asked. Booth moved a bit closer, and sat down.
"Because Bones… it's alright not to be okay after what happened." She gave him a smile of reassurance.
"We made it Booth. We survived. How could I not be okay?" Booth looked at her searchingly. She knew she wasn't fooling him entirely, but he did return the smile she gave.
"Dr. Brennan?" Zack said, poking his head into the office. "I have some remains ready. Do you want me to start putting them together?" Dr. Brennan nodded.
"I'll be out soon Zack. I have a bit more paperwork to do first." He nodded, and made his way over to the platform. Booth piped up,
"You know you could take it slow, your first day back." Temperance rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I heard you told Zack and Angela not to let me work too much…"
"Obviously they didn't listen. Seriously, Temperance…" Brennan knew he was being serious. He rarely used her first name. "… Take it easy. You've been through a lot the last few days…"
"I'm fine." She said with a tone of finality, grabbing more paper from the stack that loomed on her desk, starting to read so she wouldn't have to look into Booths piercing eyes that continued to watch her. "Is there some reason that you came? Do we have a new case?" Booth sighed.
"No, we don't have a new case. I came to check up on you." Bones looked up from her work again.
"Booth – I promise I'm alright." He got up from the chair and started making his way out the door, before pausing and turning around. Temperance was already crouched over her work, immersed into what she was reading. He wondered how long it would be until everything that happened caught up with her. Not just what happened two days ago, but from over her lifetime. No one should have had to go through what she had been through, and Seeley Booth knew that her detached reaction to what had happened only days previous was proof that things weren't as "fine" as she claimed.