Okay, this is the final chapter. I hope you like it.

I don't own Bones.

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Sipping coffee from his Styrofoam cup, Booth noticed Agent James Aubrey approaching him down the path. His cup mostly full, Booth decided to throw it away anyway. He wanted to concentrate on what he had to do and he didn't need any props to help him or distract him. Once he tossed it in the trash can, he sat back down and waited.

Curious why Booth wanted to meet him on the Mall, Aubrey stopped at the coffee cart and bought a cup of coffee and a donut. His purchases in his hand, he moved down the path and stopped at the bench where Booth was sitting. "So, I thought it'd be a while before I saw you again. Aren't you supposed to be golfing or fishing or something?"

Irritated, Booth shifted on the bench and tried to be patient. "I'm not retired, Aubrey. I plan to get another job."

Amused at Booth's apparent irritation, Aubrey sat down and took a bite from his donut. "Want to come back to the FBI?"

Booth shook his head and turned to face the younger agent. "The reason why I asked you to meet me here is personal . . . I, uh . . . I'm doing my 12 steps and I'm up to step 9."

Familiar with the steps, Aubrey nodded his head. "Make direct amends where possible. That's good. That means you're almost through the steps. That's great." Aubrey took another bite of his donut. "So do you need me to help you find someone? Just let me know who it is and I'll see what I can do."

Slowly shaking his head, Booth realized that Aubrey didn't understand that Booth was there to make amends to him. "No, I'm talking to the person I need to talk to. The first apology I made was to Bones. She was the one I hurt the most and she was the one I had to talk to first . . . you're second on my list."

"Me?" Aubrey almost dropped his donut. "Why me? You didn't do anything to me when you were gambling."

Embarrassed, Booth knew that Aubrey didn't think he was a victim, but he was. "Of course I did. You risked your career paying off my bookie for Bones. My gambling endangered your career and your trust in me. I broke your trust and I want to apologize and let you know that I know what you did for me and how big it actually was. I'm sorry. All I can say is that I'm doing the best I can and I hope I never gamble again and I owe that to Bones and to you. Thank you."

His cheeks a rosy red, Aubrey stood up and threw the rest of his donut in the trash can across the path. Buying a little time, the agent sipped some of his coffee and then threw that away too. Jamming his hands into his pants pockets, he turned to face Booth. Grimly, he knew that Booth had to talk to him because he considered what he did a betrayal, but Aubrey didn't feel that way at all. Resolved to get it over with, he walked back over to the bench and sat down. "I backed you up because you would have done the same for me. I promised you when I started working with you that you could trust me and I'd always have your back. Paying Jimmy Kosinski off was just me having your back. Dr. B trusted me to take care of things and I did. Enough said."

Slowly shaking his head, Booth knew Aubrey was trying to let him off the hook, but he didn't want that. He needed to make amends to his friend. "No not enough said. You went above and beyond and you jeopardized your career. That could have blown up in your face and not only would I have gone down the drain, so would you have. Let me thank you for that . . . Please . . . I have to apologize and . . ."

"Okay." Aubrey was embarrassed that he'd forced Booth to plead with him. He knew that Booth was making amends and his own embarrassment just made Booth anxious. "You're right. I did jeopardize my career, but you know what . . . sometimes you got to do things that are risky for a friend. You and Dr. B are my friends and the shit you two have been through is . . . anyway, okay. I forgive you and you're welcome." Aware that Booth was rigid with shame, Aubrey needed to make him see that everything was okay between them. "You know what . . . I threw away a perfectly good donut because of you . . . you owe me a donut."

A little surprised at the turn of the conversation, Booth pulled his wallet from his back pants pocket and fished out a twenty dollar bill. "Um, sure, buy a box of them . . . I um . . . here."

A slight smile on his lips, Aubrey took the money and placed it in his jacket pocket. "You probably were expecting me to give this back to you or just tell you I'll buy one and give you the change, but that's not happening. I think part of your amends is you really do owe me a box of donuts, so I'm keeping the money and I'm going to drive over to Dunkin Donuts when I leave here and buy six frosted chocolate crème donuts, three glazed apple maple donuts and three glazed fritters. So thank you very much."

Chuckling, Booth placed his wallet back into his pants pocket. "Do you have the menu memorized?"

Not ashamed at all, Aubrey nodded his head. "Of course . . . Booth, you made a mistake . . . we all do that sometime in our lives, but not all of us recognize that what we did was wrong and hurt other people. You're on the right road now. You're going to your meetings. Dr. B let you move back home. You quit the FBI to get away from the insane shit that happens there. You're going to make it. A guy like you, sure you make mistakes, but you learn from them. I'm proud to call you my friend."

Aubrey's words a relief to him, Booth smiled. It was a slight smile, but a smile none the less. "Thanks Aubrey. I . . . uh, thanks."

Standing up, Aubrey looked up and saw that the clouds were starting to move in overhead. "It's supposed to rain, so I guess I'll go. I got to go get my donuts before I go back to work. See you around."

Thankful that Aubrey and listened to him and forgave him, Booth stood up and walked over to the coffee cart. "Hey Mike, how about another cup of coffee and a donut too."

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