Chapter One: If You Let Me

Author: Duckypantz

Disclaimer: I own nothing, maybe a Starbucks card with about $20...oh and a puppy, maybe a pair of shoes or two. No way could I own the show Bones or its characters. Any characters that are not from the show in the story are my creations and free for me to own :).

Author's Note: Hi people! This is my first Bones fanfic! Let's hope it's a good one. Happy reading!

Temperance Brennan studied her computer so intently that she did not hear anything her assistant Zack Addy was saying. She was looking at the draft of her latest book on the computer the same way she looked at evidence under a microscope, very unusual for Brennan and her writing. She wrote for entertainment and it turned out she was good at it too. But this draft was irking her for some reason. Something was off with this draft. She couldn't pinpoint where it was off but something was different.

Brennan left off right at Chapter 4 on her second reading before she left last night and she had been confident with her work. Now something made her wary. It's like those "hunches" Booth always had. Why would they partner me up with him anyway? He and I have almost nothing in common and he is just so frustrating. I am not having the hair on the back of my neck stand up nor is there any gut feeling about what is wrong with this section. The grammar must be horrendous and it's giving me a stomach ache thinking about all the corrections. But the only problem with that hypothesis is that there aren't any mistakes. It just doesn't seem like I wrote this. But I obviously did since it's here in the chapter and no one can get in here onto this computer.

Tempe had a deadline for the first draft of her latest novel. Since she was more than your average perfectionist, she had to go over the draft so closely that it took the editor at least five read-throughs to find even one error, if there were any. Work at the Jeffersonian had been rather slow so she had time to work on her book without burning the candle at both ends, not that she would have understood the expression anyway. She actually hadn't seen her partner, a one Seeley Booth, in almost one week. She was wondering if he'd been reassigned to another part of the FBI. Could an FBI agent be MIA or is that too many acronyms? I definitely need to use that one on someone. And they think I don't know pop culture stuff.

Ever since both his and her superiors had put them on that first case, there have been many more cases, which made them work together on almost a daily basis. The partnership was beneficial for both the FBI and the Jeffersonian because the FBI got a group of the best forensic scientists in the world who would work day and night to solve a case. The Jeffersonian Institute got much more recognition for solving current cases, not just cold and ancient cases, which translates into more frequent donations for even better equipment and FBI protection if the cases got too hot.

Tempe did not want to like her partner at first. He was a little too arrogant and everything she believed an FBI agent to be. He was so sarcastic which was frustrating for Tempe because more than half the time she didn't pick up on it and felt like a fool when he would explain it to her. But after a few years as partners, she was slowly learning and picking up on colloquial phrases that she was too busy to learn when she was trying to get her doctorate in forensic anthropology as quickly as possible.

Grudgingly Tempe admitted to herself that she was learning a lot from her partnership about herself. Even though she was learning, she never ever would admit it to him because he would hold it over her head for the rest of both of their lives. He was such an arrogant ass. But he's a good ass, not having a good ass, not that she knew because she never noticed it, but that's not the point. The point is that he has her back and she trusts him enough to let him guard her back, which is no small feat. Tempe won't let anyone get close and her partner Booth, along with her friend and coworker Angela are the only two people she has let in past some of her walls.

All this thinking about Booth and their partnership seemed off topic with Tempe re-reading her manuscript but actually it mirrored her characters and their relationship. She brought in a male character into her books after she and Booth became partners because it added another level to the story that made things much more interesting on a personal level than just a scientific one. The main character was based off of Brennan's own experiences in the lab with cases, but her personally life was much more lively than the author's.

Tempe almost lived vicariously through her protagonist's exciting life inside and outside of the lab. She had intrigue personally and professionally. I would love her life but seriously, I would be exhausted one week into it. I could not work that much and play like there is no tomorrow. Lord her sex life is more in one month on one case than I have ever had. Maybe I am channeling Angela in that part of the protagonist. That thought made her smile. She hadn't caught up with Angela in a while. They saw each other every day at work, but still needed that personal connection to talk about life outside of the lab once in a while. But Angela's personal and private lives were starting to collide in the lab. Maybe I should mix business with pleasure in my book and have her get involved with someone on the case...hmmmm.

Even with new ideas brewing, Tempe was debating about ones already written in this newest book. She had written it two different ways because she wasn't sure if she wanted to take this new route in her writing. With this new avenue she would have to really dig deep and focus more on the interpersonal relationships between the characters, which not only did not necessarily have to do with sex, it also scared her a little bit. She would have to research and learn more of those colloquial phrases that Hodgins, Angela and Booth use all the time so she could make her characters sound more human.

Or she could just use the second version and not have the personal relationships. She needed someone else's opinion who wasn't her editor. Maybe I'll ask Booth to read it. While he does tease me all the time he would give me an honest and straight-forward answer. For all the teasing and hard time that Booth gave her, Brennan trusted him implicitly. Luckily the more personal aspect of the novel didn't directly come from real life or else she would never ever let Booth read her book. There wasn't any romance but a hint of a more personal relationship between the forensic anthropologist and coroner she frequently worked with.

There was a FBI agent partner but he played a minor role. She didn't want to boost Booth's ego too much by giving him a bigger role because he was obviously based on Booth because he was the only FBI agent she really knew. But there would be no romance with the partner, just like real life. If she ever made a hint of romance between the FBI agent and the scientist, Booth would read way too much into it and either act weird or an even bigger head about how he is not only amazing but irresistible to women as well. She laughed out loud at Booth with his chest all puffed out strutting around like the big rooster of the pen.

Even as the silly idea of Booth as a rooster made her giggle, she was still confused about what was so off in the book that caused warning bells to go off in her head. Last night, when she had read it the first time she felt confident that there were hardly any mistakes and that it was a good story. As she was trying to pinpoint where the story seemed off, Zack Addy, her assistant interrupted her, placing the manila folder on her keyboard asking "Dr. Brennan? What was so funny? And did you hear me?"

When Brennan shook her head no, Zack continued, "I was just summarizing my findings on the most recent back case we had about those unidentified soldiers from World War I. I wasn't sure how much autonomy you were willing to let me have. Have I overstepped my bounds?"

Tempe shook her head, "No Zack. The whole reason you became my assistant and then received a permanent job here was so that you eventually could become the head scientist one day. I am glad that you are taking initiative to do these lower priority cases on your own. Now let me look over your work and if I don't see any faults, which I don't expect to find, then you can continue working through the older cases without me looking over your shoulder every minute. But don't hesitate to ask any questions. In my mind asking questions if you need help is not a sign of weakness, the pride that bullies you into not asking for help is the fault and weakness that I will not tolerate in my lab. Clear?"

"Cristal Dr. Brennan." Not that I need to ask questions, Zach thought. I have WELL over average intelligence or even a genius level of intelligence. While Zach was confident about his intelligence, maybe a little cocky about it, he did not go out of his way to flaunt it, he just wasn't as knowledgable about interpersonal relationships as he was about forensic science, math, music, history, physics, and the list goes on and on.

As she looked through the file, Zack let his eyes wander over her office. There used to be no personal belongings in the office, except for a sweater or jacket hung on the coat hook on the back of the door. Over the last couple of years or so, the office started picking up some personality. She had a hand-woven blanket that she picked up in Las Vegas for one of her undercover missions with Agent Booth, as well as some sort of laughing alligator that sat on the end table by her couch that she got down in New Orleans after that whole voodoo incident. Actually Zack surmised, a lot of the trinkets around Dr. Brennan's office were related to Agent Booth in some way. Before Zack could delve further into that thesis, he spotted some pictures on the bookshelf to the side of her desk that had a picture of Russ and a few of Angela with Dr. Brennan through the years. The two women had met during college internships and formed a very unique bond that surpassed their differences. Zack loved being the observer of others, he felt much more comfortable observing than participating.

"Zack? Are you paying attention?" Zack mentally shook himself out of observation mode.

"I was just observing how much your office has changed since you became partners with Agent Booth. It has more personal affects than it did a few years ago. I can't pinpoint when the changed happened, but it was gradual enough not to catch my attention earlier. I am sorry for my lack of attention, Dr. Brennan. What did you say again?" Zach does love to observe, but I am not going to let that distract me from the praise I was giving him, even though I have no idea what he is talking about. My office hasn't changed. Even though he knows how smart he is, he is not yet the foremost expert in his field and since I am, giving him praise is a great way to encourage this independent behavior.

"I was just telling you how impressed I have been recently with your work. You have really stepped up the quality and quantity of your work since you got the permanent job. I didn't think that was possible. It takes a lot to surprise me, in a good way, and you definitely have. Continue the excellent work."

"Thank you Dr. Brennan. Praise like that coming from you means more to me than anything. I'll get back to work and leave you to writing."

"Thanks Zach," Tempe said distractedly as her attention was once again caught by the words on her monitor. She worked straight through from the moment Zack walked out of her office until late afternoon, luckily without anymore interruptions.

She hated being interrupted, unless it was by something more interesting then the thing she was already working on, like a new case or a breakthrough in another one. Other than those two exceptions, she detested being taken away from her work.

Tempe was a very intense person who focused one hundred percent of her attention on the thing in front of her, which was why she was so good at her job. She expected more of herself than anyone else, because the only person she could depend on was herself.

But times were changing. She had this "partner" who was forcing her to open up more and feel intuitions about cases, something she neither could not nor would not do in the past because Brennan defines her entire existence on logic. But her frustrating partner was pushing all of her boundaries and challenging her in ways no one else has ever even attempted to challenge her in her entire existence. Booth's not even a true partner because we work in two completely different fields. Both complement one another to solve the mystery usually involving a murder, but he is so frustrating!

"What could you be possibly writing that was funny?" Booth said as he folded the newspaper he had been reading.

"Booth! When did you get here?" Tempe asked very startled at his presence, as she had just been thinking about him.

"Oh I've been here for about 10 minutes. I tried to get your attention when I first came in but I decided that I needed time to get caught up on the Post today so I waited. I haven't seen you or the squints in a while. Did you miss me?"

"I missed you like menstrual cramps." She said the statement so deadpan that his mouth opened a little bit before he had a chance to cover his suprised reaction.

"What did you just say? Did you just try to make a joke Bones?" Booth laughed.

"It's research, you know for the book." Instead of pausing, like most would for comedic effect, Bren charged ahead.

"Actually I was wondering if you could help me with that. Could you read my manuscript before I send it to the editor and see if you like the new direction I am taking with the story and characters. Do you think you can help me?"

"Seriously? You actually want my help on your book? I would love to, thanks for asking me. Now what should I be looking for?"

"You shouldn't be looking for anything, I just want your opinion on the whole thing, what you liked and disliked." Tempe laughed. "Thank you so much for so readily agreeing to read the novel."

"Of course I'd agree! I'm your partner, and besides, I want to read about the devastatingly handsome Ryan, even if you've said he isn't based off of any amazing FBI agent you know." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"I like your books, even though there is a lot of science that I need a dictionary or you to explain. You explain it really well but I still need help…maybe a glossary in the back or you can just be available to answer any of my questions." He smiled. "When do I get it and how long do I have to read it?"

"I told my editor I would have it in by Monday so you have a little less than a week. Is that enough time for you?"

"Plenty. I am actually excited to read, who would have thought? I know my opinion is everything to you, it's the reason you get up in the morning but I didn't realize that my power over you spilled over into your writing. So, do Ryan and Kathy get horizontal yet?"

"Goodness! You need to put that ego on a diet before it gets too big to fit through the door. Maybe I should ask someone else to read the manuscript; I bet Hodgins has time and would love to check out any possible hints of conspiracies that I didn't write."

"No no. I want to read it. There is no ego. I see no ego at all. I am a humble man who constantly eats humble pie around you, Bones."

"I am amazing, what can I say?"

"Now didn't we just have a conversation about overly large egos?"

"I believe we were talking about yours. I have great self-control and I am extremely smart. I deserve some ego."

Booth's phone rang interrupting the very important conversation that the duo was having. He held up his finger to indicate silence, or quiet as he answered.

"Booth." He waited.

"Yes, sir. Right away." Another pause.

"Can you give me some preliminaries?" He nodded.

"Ok we'll gather the team and meet you there as soon as possible. Thanks." And he hung up. "Bones?"

"Yeah?"She looked up from her computer.

"We have a case." Brennan tried not to look excited.

"What are the deets?" When Booth looked at her as if she was crazy, she held up her colloquial dictionary and asked, "Too much?" and Booth laughed in response.

"A body was found at the bottom of one of the ponds on the Congressional Country Club golf course. They drained the pond for remodeling." He leaned in a little closer so no one outside of the office could hear. "He had been drawn and quartered." As he stood up and put his jacket on, Bones just sat there looking a little shell shocked.

"Bones what is it?"

"We won't know if that actually happened until I get there to examine the body… but that's rather a unusual conclusion for your people to arrive at. People haven't been drawn and quartered in any regularity for quite a few centuries," Tempe said, forgetting to keep her voice down, which caught Angela's attention as she was about to enter Brennan's office. The artist paled at the image her mind conjured up, turning on a heel to go back to her own gore-free zone of an office.

Booth smiled at Angela's strong aversion to the graphic details of the case as the forensic scientist continued, "It is a very gruesome and unique way to kill someone; and it's very messy. Hopefully this'll be an open and close case. It would be really hard for a single person to draw and quarter another, especially without leaving any trace or DNA evidence."

"Open and shut case, Bones. And if anyone can find the trace evidence to nail this perp, you and the squints can."

"Obviously. Now where is the body? A golf course?"

"Not just any golf course, it's THE golf course in the DC Metro Area. They play the U.S. Open there every couple of years. Tiger Woods has his own tournament there every year."

He plucked his imaginary suspenders, "Maybe after I solve this case the country club will be so happy that they'll give me free membership or let me play the course a few times."

"The club is not a 'they,' Booth, and it does not have the capacity as an inanimate object to give you membership or do anything for that matter. And YOU don't solve the case, WE do." Brennan quipped. "Team work, remember?"

Booth was about to respond when Bones held up her hand to silence him. Something was bothering her about the preliminary summary of the case. She shook her head to clear her mind. She needed to have an open mind each time she went to a crime scene or else her preconceived notions could cloud her judgment. Maybe my preliminary examination of the body and scene will alleviate whatever is bothering me about this case.

Author's Note: So what did you all think? I would love to hear all of your comments because I really want to see what I can do better or where I should go with this.