(Season 6)

This story is AU. The idea for the story came from JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett.

I don't own Bones.

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The beer was flowing easily and the ladies were having a lot of fun. Angela was drinking a lot of club sodas, but that's what happens when you're pregnant and you don't want a drunk baby. Still she was with her friends and for the most part all was right. The little fly in the ointment was Hannah.

Angela had actually argued with Brennan that inviting Hannah on one of their girls nights out was a bad idea, but Brennan had insisted that the reporter was her friend too and she was included after all. Angela didn't want to deal with Booth's girlfriend, so she chose a different tactic to avoid having to be too chummy with her. She asked Cam to come along and was grateful that the coroner had accepted. With four women in the party, Angela felt safe enough. She was not happy with Booth at the moment and she didn't want to take it out on Hannah. Cam was there to be a wall between Hannah and Angela and for the most part it worked.

At first Cam had been surprised at the sudden request by Angela to join her in a girls' night out, but as soon as she heard Hannah was included, Cam knew she couldn't refuse the offer. She had met Hannah a couple of times, but she really hadn't talked to her for more than a minute or two. Cam was curious about Booth's new girlfriend and wanted to see what he saw in her. It also crossed her mind that she might be able to question the reporter and see just how serious she was about Booth. Cam was worried that her old friend had jumped into another relationship that wasn't meant to be. He'd been lonely and in a dangerous place while stationed in Afghanistan. It made her feel sick to think that he had latched onto a relationship that might hurt him in the end. Cam had known Booth for a long time and she loved him. The last thing she wanted to see happen was another failed Booth relationship. He was very unlucky when it came to matters of the heart and so far this didn't seem to be any better than the others he'd been involved in. It was obvious that Booth was trying too hard to make this relationship work and Cam knew that a real relationship shouldn't be that hard, at least not in the beginning.

Her own sexual relationship had ended with Booth because he'd felt guilty about using her emotional ties to him and his son to influence her into making an unwise decision during the Epps case that had almost killed her. She had always blamed herself. She was the one who overrode proper protocol even though she knew better. She never once blamed him, but Booth did and she knew that their sexual relationship had to end because of it. They had remained friends and that had been more important to her than their physical relationship had ever been. You don't throw away old friends. Now she was drinking with her friend's new love interest and she wasn't sure what she thought of the situation.

Hannah was surprisingly relaxed. She considered Brennan a friend. They had instantly bonded when they met since they seemed so alike. It wasn't often that Hannah met strong independent women who knew their own self-worth and she loved the feeling of camaraderie. Angela and Cam also seemed to be of that same mold which was utterly fascinating to Hannah. She had lost track of how many drinks she'd had, but she knew that she was starting to get drunk. So far it was just a buzz, but it was a pleasant feeling and it made her feel like sharing. Finishing her beer she waved to the bartender and asked for a shot of whiskey. That task taken care of, she started to tell stories about her boyfriend that she thought were cute.

"So we went to see a retro movie last weekend and Seeley was so lost poor thing." Hannah laughed, accepted the shot from the bartender and drank the glass empty. Placing the glass on the table, she pushed it away and placed her hands around her new glass of beer. "We went to see 'Houseboat' with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. Poor Seeley, I had to translate when Sophia spoke Italian. I know he speaks some Pashto, but I guess he's just your typical American soldier. English is about all he can really handle."

Brennan snorted and sent some of the beer she had been drinking spraying across the table. Grabbing a napkin, she wiped her chin and mouth and grinned at her friend. "That is very amusing. Clearly you are making a joke by using a stereotype about American soldiers when clearly that doesn't fit Booth at all."

Angela and Cam stared at Hannah and both realized that the reporter wasn't joking. Hannah sipped some of her beer and turned to face Brennan. "What do you mean? I wasn't joking."

Unable to stop herself from commenting, Angela sneered and shook her head. "Boy have you got the wrong number."

Her confusion growing, Hannah took in the amused looks of her companions and knew that she was missing something. "I don't understand. Seeley isn't stupid I know. I mean he is the head of Major Crimes with the FBI, but he's clearly just average when it comes to the brains department and that's fine. It's just that some of the things he says sometimes makes me wonder how he graduated from high school let alone college."

A little shocked that someone could actually live with someone and not know that person, Brennan decided to correct Hannah about some of her misperceptions. "Booth's ancestry is one quarter Italian. One of his grandmothers was a second generation American. Booth can speak conversational Italian. He is a devout Catholic and he was an altar boy at his church. He was able to pick up quite a bit of Latin from his priest plus he took Latin in high school. When he's inclined to, he can use it in a conversation . . . true its rudimentary Latin, but he can make himself understood if he has to. Yes he speaks Pashto and I believe he can also speak some Serbian and Croat plus a few words of Somalian. Booth served in quite a few foreign posts while he was in the Army and he's always managed to pick up some of the language where ever he was stationed."

"Seeley can speak Italian . . . and . . . and Latin?" Hannah noticed Cam nod her head and she was suddenly sober. "Why would he pretend to not understand Italian? I don't understand."

Unable to keep silent, Angela leaned back against her chair and folded her arms against her breasts. "Booth is a genius at playing stupid. He likes everyone to underestimate him. I don't know why, but he does."

Cam saw the confusion on Hannah's face and shrugged her shoulders. "He has his reasons, but I don't think it's right to talk about it behind his back. Let's just say, it's a protective cover and he's been like that since he was a child."

Suddenly enlightened by what Cam was saying, Brennan finally understood what Angela had been trying to tell her for years. "It's his childhood isn't it? He learned to do that to protect himself from his father . . . Angela now I understand what you meant and I agree. Booth likes to portray himself as of average intelligence, but we all know that he is not average. He isn't a genius like I am of course, but he is very intelligent . . . yes, that makes sense."

"Well it doesn't make sense to me." Hannah was growing very frustrated. "What happened in his childhood? He had to protect himself from his father? What does that mean?"

Brennan held up her hand as if to forestall any explanations from her friends. "Booth would be very upset with us, if he knew we were talking about him."

Sober enough to recognize that Brennan was right, Cam nodded her head. "No, she's right, we can't talk about Booth. He'd be so angry with us if he found out, he wouldn't talk to any of us for a week."

Growing angry, Hannah slapped the palm of her hand on the table in front of her. "Wait a minute. You can't bring up something about Seeley and not explain what you meant. That's just wrong."

Angela shook her head and sighed. "No, it would be wrong to talk about Booth's past. He really really hates gossip when it's about him. If you want to know about his past, you'd better ask him. Yep . . . no way I want an angry Booth on my ass . . . nope."

Cam nodded her head. "Amen to that." Cam finished her beer, looked at her watch and knew that she had better go home. "It's getting late ladies. I have a daughter at home who is probably ready to call out the National Guard because I'm not home yet." Standing, Cam patted Angela's shoulder. "Would you like to share a cab with me?"

Since the night had taken a rather unexpected turn, Angela stood up and cleared her throat. "Bren I'm going to go home now. I'm tired and I'm sure Jack is wondering when I'll be home. He's such a worrier since my pregnancy began."

"I understand." Brennan smiled at her friend. "I hope you enjoy your weekend."

Angela leaned over and kissed Brennan's cheek. "I will. If you get lonely come over Sunday. You can join us for dinner. Just let me know tomorrow, so I can cook something healthy for you."

"Thank you." Brennan didn't think she would take Angela up on her offer, but she did appreciate it. "I plan to work on my latest novel this weekend. I have a scene I'm having difficulty with and procrastinating is not helping the situation."

"Well, the offer still stands." Angela grabbed her purse from the floor and turned to face Cam. "Okay, let's go."

After her friends left, Brennan sipped some of her beer and stared at the bartender who was trying to throw his shaker in the air with panache. He barely caught it and Brennan thought it would be a better idea if he just served drinks and stopped trying to be a showman.

Still trying to cogitate about what little she had learned about her boyfriend, Hannah decided that she didn't really know Booth at all. "I don't really know anything about Booth's past. I know that when he was in Afghanistan he was recovering from a broken heart. He had asked someone to start a relationship with him before he left state side and I guess he was devastated when she said no."

Her heart beating faster, Brennan swallowed and fought to remain calm. "Yes . . . I suppose that's true. The woman he asked wasn't ready for a relationship. She . . . she didn't think their relationship could work since they were so disparate."

"Oh . . . you know who he asked. Of course you do." Hannah leaned forward, placed her elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her open hand. "I think he still loves her. At least he did when we were in Afghanistan. I mean he says he loves me and I believe him, but I think he still loves her too. I think that's why he doesn't really talk about his past too much. I think it still hurts him to think about it."

Feeling very uncomfortable, Brennan shook her head. "We're talking about Booth's private life again and we mustn't do that. He is a very private person and hates when people gossip about him. I try not to do that out of respect for our friendship."

Disappointed Hannah shook her head. "You and your friends really are so protective of Seeley. He's a big boy you know. I'm sure he's been talked about plenty of times . . . plus he isn't here, how would he know?"

Wisely, Brennan knew that she had to be careful about what she said next. "I have talked about Booth in the past to someone I was dating and Booth found out about it. He was very angry and he told me so . . . I will not betray our friendship. I promised I would never gossip about him again and I have kept that promise."

Since their girls' night seemed to have come to a close, Hannah picked her purse from the floor and fished inside for her wallet. "Well, I guess I should go home. Apparently the dumb soldier I'm living with is only playing dumb . . . I think he and I need to talk."

After Hannah was gone, Brennan finished her beer and paid her bill. Not really drunk, Brennan chose not to go home in a cab. After she walked back to the Jeffersonian, she found her car in the parking garage, unlocked her car and entered it. Once she was settled and she was sure no one could see her, she leaned over the steering wheel and cried.

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