A / N – This is my first story ever! Well since I was at high school which was half my life ago. Please review, constructive criticism very welcome. It is inspired by Coldplay's Violet Hill. The lyrics seemed perfect.
Disclaimer – Not mine
Seeley Booth sat on the edge of the lumpy mattress. As his dark eyes scanned the room he observed the patches of black mold spattered the wall and ceiling, yellowing paper peeling at the edges, a crack ran through the solitary windowpane.
Despite being alone he let out an audible sigh. Holed up in a squalid bedsit he pondered the events of the past week.
When Cullen first made the request his instincts told him to do whatever it took to get out of it. But as he thought about his situation he rationalized...
'Damn it, I don't rationalize! That's her job...'
He rationalized that they where getting too close. That the way he felt towards her was making it harder and harder to remain professional. Mentally he was so far over the line that he couldn't even see where it was anymore. Creating a distance between them would be for the best, but just maybe...if she felt the same...maybe...
Of course there was Parker to consider. It would kill him not to see his son. But this was his job, and he knew it was expected. After all, in the army they had all had a tour of duty, away from their families, uncertain that they would ever return home. And going undercover, this was a rite of passage in the FBI. He knew he had been chosen specifically because of his background. If he didn't go now they would ask again, maybe in a month, six months, a year.
This way it's over and done with and I can carry on with the rest of my life. His mind was made up. Now he just had to find a way to say goodbye.
Was a long and dark December,
From the rooftops I remember, There was snow, White snow
He walked towards Temperance Brennan's office. The door was open and she was sat rapidly tapping at the keyboard, her brow furrowed, deep in thought. He lent against the door frame, reluctant to disturb her, just watching. The words were coming thick and fast. He knew it wouldn't be that easy for him. He glanced around and smiled at the small Christmas tree he and Parker had decorated for her. The fairy lights twinkled against the black backdrop that was the outside world. The movement in the late afternoon sky drew him out. It was snowing again.
"Hey" she smiled as she looked up from the screen. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Hey Bones, you wanna take a walk?"
Clearly I remember, From the windows they were watching,
While we froze, Down below
We walked, making small talk, for what seemed like hours. She could see I was bothered about something. But she didn't push. She waited until I was ready to tell her. We sat on a bench in the grounds below the lab. Above us I could make out the silhouettes of Angela and Sweets, watching us from a stairwell window.
When the future's architectured, By a carnival of idiots on show
You'd better lie low
"I have to go away for a little while"
"What?" Her brow furrowed again, as if this was a scene in her book, playing out before our eyes.
"Undercover, Cullen's orders. Best man for the job and all that." I looked away, at a point in the snow, as if I was trying to focus.
She put her hand on my arm, as if to check that I was still there with her. "How long?" Her voice was shaking.
"Six months, maybe more..."
"Oh!" It was almost a whimper. She placed her hands together on her lap and leaned forward, focusing on the same spot in the snow. Any one who didn't know better might of thought she was praying.
If you love me, Won't you let me know?
And so we sat in silence for what seemed an eternity.
Was a long and dark December, When the banks became cathedrals
And the fog, Became God
And as we sat my mind drifted. To the first time she had come with me to church. She had sat and watched me pray. She had been so close to death when the gravedigger had buried her and Hodgins. and she thought that I was thankful for her life alone. But the truth was that with any one of us gone we would not have enough strength to have that faith in science, in justice, in God, in each other. And now with Zack gone she was faltering. Why was I doing this? Why now? I knew this was going to hurt her, Christ, it was hurting me. But we felt like a lie. And I'm sick and tired of lying.
Priests clutched onto bibles, Hollowed out to fit their rifles
And the cross was held aloft
My thoughts drifted to the assignment. It was going to be dangerous, no question. I was to infiltrate a gang suspected, yeah right, guilty of armed robbery, with witnesses to scared to testify. It was almost familiar, reminding me of the past she tried so hard to forget.
The last agent had come home in a coffin.
Bury me in honor
When I'm dead and hit the ground
A love back home unfolds
I prayed to God, and not for the first time that day, to keep me safe.
For her.
I saw how much believing I was dead had affected her. Not at my funeral.
But after.
The way she's acted with me since. Something has changed.
If you love me, Won't you let me know?
And as she shivered in the icy breeze I took off my overcoat and slipped it over her shoulders. I want to protect her always, to keep her safe and warm.
I don't want to be a soldier
Who the captain of some sinking ship, Would stow, far below
I had always been aware that my past would haunt me, that I would feel like I was drowning in a sea of souls. The souls I had taken in the name of justice, in the name of God. But when I was with her I knew she accepted that and believed in me. Not the Army Sniper, not the FBI Agent. In me, Seeley Booth, the man.
So if you love me, Why'd you let me go?
I fight the urge to shout and scream at her to say something, anything, to ask me not to go, to stay here with her.
But she doesn't.
I took my love down to Violet Hill
There we sat in snow
All that time she was silent still
I wanted to wrap my arm around her shoulders so badly but the walls I had spent the last three years taking down, brick by brick, were back up. I stretched out my arm along the back of the bench. This was the closest I would get until she was ready to let me back in. A plaque glinted at me from the soft light bouncing off the walls of the Jeffersonian. 'In memoriam.' I read to myself. 'Violet Hill, 1923 – 2001 Truth, Honor, Knowledge, Love.'
Our time is up.
So if you love me, Won't you let me know?
I breathe in the courage to speak.
"You do know that I love you, right?"
If you love me, Won't you let me know?
Angela Montinegro bit her lip and sighed. Dr. Lance Sweets remained intently focused on the couple seated in the blanketed gardens below. And as the darkness enveloped the heavy December sky, they observed a simple confession.
"Damn, I would kill to know what he just said" Sweets muttered.
"He just told her he loves her" whispered Angela sadly.
From the landing where they stood they saw Temperance Brennen allow the words to wash over her. Nothing more was said. And they both watched as he stood and walked away leaving her delicate frame in the solitude she needed.
A / N - So...any good? I have ideas to follow through...if you want me to. Maybe you could take 30 seconds to review?
Or not.
No pressure.
Please?...