FlashbackRecap: 1x15 - Fun With Kidnapping, Part I
I popped in the DVD, and it should be noted, I checked out the last of “The Woman in the Garden” before I got to work on this. As if I need to tell you why. But I will.
It contains a Top Five Hottest Booth Moment. The unrestrained anger, his protective instinct, the absolute, definitive, overwhelming lack of doubt that Booth means what he says. And the look in his eyes…God. Anyway. Just wanted to throw that out there. Then, he shows up late to the funeral, and the look on his face when he says, “I thought it was at the time.” The LOOK. Oh, they look younger then, less sure of themselves, less sure of one another, and the fact that they’ve grown up some, and if there is anything they are sure of now, it’s one another.
I think I just mini-recapped. God. It’s like a sickness.
1. This episode starts with Brennan internet tarting it up. She is, as we know, talking to David, who Booth tells us about a year after this ended up trying to recruit her to a cult. We know that couldn’t have possibly gone well, and I’d have loved to have seen that shit go down.
2. Goodman!
3. God, he was kind of amazing. I miss you, Goodman. He also expresses what I believe to be discontent that Brennan has never met her internet boy toy. I’m with him, and that leads to Story Time with O’Brien.
4. When I was 14, I was all over Yahoo!Chat. I lived in a tiny town, 30 minutes away from school, 30 minutes away from my friends, and I couldn’t drive yet, so Yahoo!Chat was pretty much where it was at (booyah for rhyming!). Anyway, what do you do when you are 14, and the internet is new?
5. You get an internet boyfriend.
6. Of course you do.
7. Mine claimed to be a botany major at the University of Michigan. I told him I was 17. When my mother learned of this, years later, she was horrified.
8. However, I highly doubt he was actually in college. He said his favorite TV show as Hang Time. Do you remember it? It was about a boys’ high school basketball team, and there was one girl on the team, because they didn’t have a girls’ team. Is that, like, for real? Are there parts of the country where there seriously isn’t a girls’ basketball team in co-educational public school where there is a basketball program? I found that element ridiculous, but it was on with California Dreams, and then later, with whatever generation of Saved By the Bell they were showing on Saturday mornings on your local NBC affiliate. Anyway.
9. On another note, a gay friend of mine in high school could never meet guys anywhere but the internet, because, you know, we were teenagers in Mississippi. He didn’t know where to meet people, let alone people who weren’t exactly putting themselves out there. So, he met this one guy he talked to on the internet, and I freaked out about the entire thing, made him call me every 10 minutes while he went to meet him. The dude ended up being a dud.
10. So. That’s a bunch of shit you didn’t really care about, but isn’t it fun to get these little nuggets?
11. Probably not.
12. Whatever.
13. And Saved By the Bell is so much better than any other imitator that it is ridiculous.
14. Back in the Land of Anything But This Shit (you’re welcome), there are bones on the table on the platform. In this scene, Brennan’s hair is in a ponytail, and ED tells us on the commentary that she did it all by herself!
15. Emily. Sweetheart. I hate to break it to you, but…it shows. That ponytail is somewhere between shacker chic and an extra from Bring It On.
16. (Note: A “shacker,” at least where I went to college, meant a girl who shacked up/stayed over at a guy’s house for the night, then rolled out of bed, stole a too-big polo shirt and a pair of his boxers, and somehow found her way in class. The writer of this piece, yours truly, may or may not have shacked, but never, ever took other people’s underwear.)
17. It is revealed to all that Brennan’s going on a date with a guy she met on the internet, which Booth (hi, Booth!) finds hilarious. Angela sees the tall drink of water that is Adam Baldwin next to Booth (Adam Baldwin is in one of my favorite all-time scenes from Angel, btw, come on, you know the one), and immediately introduces herself, because Season 1 Angela is all about the sex.
18. Booth informs the group that the guy he’s with, Special Agent Kenton, has been working the Cougini case, with which the remains are associated.
19. Then, he switches gears almost immediately, asking Brennan, “What if you’re computer date’s a psycho?”
20. Here, we have the opportunity to examine an important change in the B/B dynamic, as well as Booth, since the beginning of the show to now.
a. The Constant: Booth is overtly protective. That does not change. He will fuck your shit if you mess with Brennan, and if you’re not certain about that, just try him. He will, as he told Vega when the Gravedigger kidnapped Brennan, “end you.”
b. Past!Booth: The way he shows these protective instincts, as on display in this episode, and at this particular moment, is through the cocky and brash exterior which he portrays to most of the world and, at this point, to Brennan as well. Just watch him swagger up to her, asking her, “What if you’re computer date’s a psycho?” He’s not saying, “You’re insane if you think that this is safe, and it’s driving me nuts,” but that’s certainly what he’s thinking.
c. BackToTheFuture!Booth: If he were faced with this exact same situation, all these years later? He’d shut this shit down in an instant. Observe.
“I have a date with someone I met on the internet.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. I just told-“
“Do you actually think I’m going to let you go out with some crazy psycho person who might kill you or hurt you or…Christ, God knows what could happen.”
“’Let’ me. Booth, I don’t need your permission-“
“I know you don’t need my permission. But I also don’t need you going out with some nut who will murder you.”
“No one’s going to murder me.”
“Damn right they’re not.”
“Booth-“
“No way. Not happening.”
“I don’t know how you think you’ll stop me.”
“Easy. Bones, please don’t go.”
“What?”
“I’m asking you.”
“Asking me what?”
“Not to do this. Not to go on this date.”
“I….”
“You what?”
“You really don’t want me to go on this date, do you? You’re really that worried?”
“Yes. I think terrified wouldn’t be overstating it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay. I won’t go.”
“Well, good. I mean, I’m sorry that you won’t get to have a date, because I know you wanted to…hey, you know what?”
“What?”
“I…well, I could take you to dinner.”
“We go to dinner all the time.”
“I mean, like a nice dinner. To make up for the date you’ll be missing out on.”
“You want to take me on a date?
“What?! No, I’m just saying, let me take you to a nice dinner. To make up for your date.”
“So this is not a date.”
“No. It’s just two friends going to a restaurant for a meal. It’s…no, that’s not a date. Not nearly a date. It’s not even a dat.”
“A what?”
“Nothing.”
See. That’s how it would go now, I think. Another opportunity for them to sublimate their actual desires while masking it as some sort of friend-type activity.
21. Whoo, boy. I really got off the rails there.
22. Booth: Whatever happen to seeing someone across a crowed room? Eyes meeting? That old black magic gets you with it’s spell.
Brennan: There’s no such thing as magic (Ironically, she says that in a very Hermione-ish tone).
Booth: Oh, there’s magic.
O’Brien: See what I’m talking about? With the swagger? The mockery used to talk her out of doing that which he doesn’t want her to do, instead of just coming out and saying he doesn’t want her to do it? I just get knocked over with how this show has handled the evolution of this relationship so thoroughly. Fantastic.
23. Booth explains to Brennan that there’s ANOTHER murder he’s there for, and Show introduces you to what is definitely one of the most horrific murders they’ve ever shown. Booth explains the Kevin Hollings situation, and you know, it’s one of those things he carries with him. God, Booth is hot when he’s all pissed off and angsty, and multiply that by his needing to be protective? People, there’s a reason Angel is a widely-beloved fictional character, and it has a great deal to do with DB being fucking smoldering when this trifecta is in play.
BackToTheFuture!Booth - Less angst, more funny, and that, my friends, is the most attractive thing of all. Because no matter how attractive Booth is when he’s hopped up on testosterone and anger…he’s about 10x better when he smiles, I swear to you.
24. Brennan’s phone rings, and it’s David, the internet boy toy. Booth exhibits his grave concerns by starting a fight about it (of course he does; that’s such a dude thing to do, I swear), but in the end, he tells her, fine, you know, go get yourself killed or whatever.
25. BackToTheFuture!Booth would, I think we have established, no do that.
26. You know, it really shouldn’t bother him this much.
It shouldn’t.
She’s just his partner. For work.
They work together.
He’s not even sure that they’re friends.
Well. He sort of hopes they’re maybe friends. It feels sometimes like they are, like when she gave him her parents’ file-
But shit. They fight, what, 85% of the time? And the rest they don’t understand each other at all. NOT AT ALL. She’s insanely literal, and a workaholic, and she doesn’t know what anything means other than science stuff and she gives him shit about every damned thing in the universe. She’s unbearable. Totally. She does not compromise, she never listens to him, and a great deal of the time, he’s not even sure that he likes her, really.
And, okay. So, she’s beautiful. Look, there’s no getting around that one; she’s very pretty. And smart. Really, crazy smart. She works really hard, and cares a lot about the cases. She’s loyal. She stands up for herself, and for other people. She’s brave, and not quite funny, but sometimes she really does make him laugh….
No.
It’s-
Unbearable. Her. In a lot of ways, she’s just unbearable.
It really all shouldn’t bother him quite so much.
But it damn well does.
27. Brennan goes to meet her date, but he calls her, telling her he’s later. Brennan gets shot at a lot, and looks far too calm about it.
28. Of course, she goes back to work. I get this about Brennan. When bad stuff goes down in my life, like big, huge, massively bad stuff, I do the same thing. I get tunnel vision for some sort of academic/work-related activity, and I block everything else out, because it just feels better to channel fear/anxiety/sadness into something meaningful. Whenever Brennan wants to go back to work right after bad shit goes down, I am totally picking up what she’s throwing down.
29. Angela: “You know, Booth’s pissed that you came here.” Angela then goes on to say something about more questions at the scene, but we all know Booth’s pissed because she got shot at, and as in all things, some way or another, he’s going to feel responsible for it.
30. Brennan snaps at Zack, and I’m telling you, I do that stuff too. It’s easier to lash out rather than to just say you’re scared/freaked out. It’s so, so much easier to get angry at someone in front of you, who you know will put up with it, then to consider the possibilities of whatever bad thing is going on.
31. Booth breezes in, the voice of reason, telling her she’s freaking crazy to be working at a time like this. Brennan continues to go at 110 miles a second, and Booth speaks in a calm, somewhat reassuring, but firm tone. I think it’s a good moment in their early relationship, that he understands that she’s freaking out, but that she’s not going to say it, so it’s best to try to at least sound patient with her.
32. Then he tells her they’ve got to check out her date. This, from Booth, I love, “Look, Bones, I know it’s hard for you to admit you might be wrong about something, but I really don’t care about your feelings right now; I’m more concerned about your life.” That part? It’s shades of BackToTheFuture!Booth, for sure.
33. Also, a wardrobe note: I am glad they switched Booth’s suits from the pleated pants to the flat front. It’s more modern. I’m just saying. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a thing about suits. I mean, I became a lawyer, so I’m surrounded by them constantly. It’s a glorious thing.
34. Booth: “Bones, I’m not letting you out of my sight until I find out who is trying to kill you.” Brennan and Angela share a look. You can only see Brennan’s face, but I would pay actual American dollars to see Angela’s. You know she’s got that “Holy Shit He’s Hot” look on her face. You just know it.
35. They head to the interrogation room (which is way, WAY less nice than the ones the show sports these days), where David, Brennan’s internet boy toy, sits. Brennan moves into the room, trying to meet him, and Booth cuts that shit off directly. “I’m going to be asking the questions,” he says, towering over David in the best possible way, attempting to put him through the ringer. David, to his credit, is not impressed, and Brennan is quite impressed…with David.
36. Booth takes another shot at the online dating thing, and David says that one of his partners met his wife online, which Brennan thinks is interesting. Booth: “Doesn’t mean it’s not creepy.”
37. David, who doesn’t seem like that daft of a dude, finally gets to what everyone else just assumes from the start, nowadays: “Did I miss something? Because I don’t want to get in the way….” B/B doth protest too much, and I may be wrong about this, but is this the first time someone straight up asks them if they’re dating? Please comment about this; I’m trying to remember.
38. The way Booth turns his back on them, still shaking his head, saying no…it’s hilarious. He’s just barely holding on, and you can see it. The man is a mess.
39. Booth decides he’s had enough of this shit, and ushers David out of the room. Brennan looks on, her attraction on prominent display, and Booth all but tackles her to get her attention off of David and on to him.
40. Seriously. Booth. Just tackle her. Do it. And save the rest of us the four years and more of torture that’s to follow.
41. At the Jeff, Angela tells Brennan that the second victim was a really nice 19-year-old girl who was about to go to Haiti to work at a medical clinic. Brennan laments that Booth will think this is all his fault. I really like this moment; I think it’s one of those little things that really show off how Booth is already very special to Brennan - the fact that she would know that this would get to him. It’s not a far stretch, of course, but Brennan’s not exactly great with getting from A to B with people.
42. However, she’s great at getting from A to B with Booth. Unless “B” is Booth’s bed, where they could have sex, but let’s hope to God and Hart that we’re getting there.
43. Angela asks about David, and Brennan says she likes him…then directs the conversation back to Booth (isn’t that always the way?).
44. Angela, for her part, has one of my favorite lines from Show, ever: “Booth is a big, strong guy who wants to save your life. I mean, you actually have a knight in shining FBI standard-issue body armor.”
45. HELL YES. He also wears suits, flashy ties and socks, and later, The Three-Piece and…the Jacket. Oh, that Jacket.
46. Booth comes in, looking fantastic in blue (I really wish they’d go back to dressing him in blue more often), and feeling the weight of the death of the 19-year-old girl. Zack, for his part, says something that is sort of icky and bad, given what we know happens later: “I’ve cleaned the bones, Dr. Brennan. You could eat off them.”
47. OUCH.
48. Remember that recap about bad timing?
49. On the platform, Booth’s knowledge of guns and Brennan’s knowledge of bones comes together, and it’s dorky and awesome. Everyone’s got a job to do, and both investigations are moving along, so you know what that means.
50. Booth’s going to insist that Brennan stops working and come with him.
51. He sort of tries to slip it in there, walking past her, saying, “Okay, let’s go,” like she’s actually going to follow him and be compliant.
52. You know, especially in S1, Booth must have constantly felt like he was banging his head against the wall, in some feeble attempt to knock it down. And he never really tries being nice about it, never says to the wall, “Hey, Wall, could do me a solid a just move?” He just keeps ramming his head into it at high speeds, and expecting results. Which he eventually gets, of course, but damn, his head must hurt.
53. And wouldn’t we have all been better served if instead of his head, he would have been banging something (someone) else against the way?
54. HEY-O.
55. At the Hoove (I’m trying it out…the Hoove), Booth tries to scare the shit out of Brennan. He had to know that wasn’t going to work, but back then, it was worth a go. Now, he wouldn’t even think of it.
56. You know, I really love this episode for the fantastic opportunities for comparison.
57. B/B take a trip to Hollings’ apartment. The guy has creepy door-to-door salesman written all over him. If someone comes to your door who looks like this guy, and is "selling encyclopedias," DO NOT LET THEM INT. They find the keys, and Booth does his Fourth Amendment Flash Dance. My favorite part: “Oh, and this one looks like a key used in a burglary around the corner.” Booth continues pushing Hollings in the interrogation room, and really, the actor playing Hollings does a good job of looking totally stoked about the gruesome photos.
58. This show often reminds me that there are complete sickos in this world, and I become extremely disconcerted by it.
59. Brennan watches on, and Kenton walks in. She exhibits concern that Booth won’t be able to deal if Hollings walks away again. She also tells Killer Kenton about her awesome reverse bullet bone thingy theory, about which he says, “Sweet.”
60. By “sweet,” he means, “FUCK. ME.”
61. Booth talks with Goodman, and y’all, there were too few scenes with Booth and Goodman. I think these two men could have really done some great work together, but they brought Cam in because it amped up the drama. The truth of it is, with Goodman around, there are two Alpha males instead of one. Goodman’s mere presence carries with it a sense of gravitas. Booth needs to be the man with the strongest amount of gravity on the screen. It is for this reason, I believe, we have never seen Goodman come back.
62. Goodman does his awesome badass archeologist trick, looking at the arrangement of the keys. Guys, it’s really cool. I mean, like, REALLY. I wanna do it, too. I wanna be an awesome badass archeologist.
63. Hodgins makes a tie from the Cougini murder to Carlo Romano. I kind of love this moment for this reason: we get to see Zack be snarky. Observe:
Hodgins: smarty smart fly ash, and this is very interesting.
Zack: Not yet.
I miss S1 Zack. He was more in touch with the world than they later made him out to be. You guys know I’m unapologetically in love with Show, but I’m also unapologetically honest with my friends, and Show? Fucked up Zack majorly. Eric Milligan is a really interesting actor, and I think they didn’t use him quite as well as they should have. Zack started off as hyper rational and literal, but he wants to connect. He has a huge family who loves him. How did he spin off so completely? The whole Iraq thing has never really been explained, and the Gormogon connection was a total shit show. I feel like, by the end of S3, the writers had written Zack into such a corner that they didn’t know what to do with him anymore, so they got rid of him. I mean, that’s Show’s prerogative, to do that, and Show is not going to be perfect (though there’s a scene coming up which presents an argument contrary to that position); it’s just too bad.
64. We next see Romano waiting to be questioned. Brennan notes that he doesn’t look worried, and Booth says, “That’s hubris,” to which Brennan responds, “Good word.” Now, Brennan, you’re right, it is a good word, but there’s something bothering me here, and I think we need to address it.
65. This is the second time this episode you have exhibited disbelief that Booth’s vocab is lackluster (see “luddite” in the David interrogation scene). Brennan, Booth’s not an idiot. Is he as smart as you are? Like, IQ-wise? No, he’s not. But the guy went to college. He may even have a post-graduate degree (I wish Show would tell us what his education background is, and when it was, exactly, that he went to college. Can someone twitter that or whatever the fuck you call it to HH? I refuse to get on twitter, for reasons that are too lengthy to explain, but it would help my life out if someone could do that, thanks). He, as you will learn later, reads your books. He is one of the top agents in one of the top investigative agencies in the world. He has what I assume to be a pretty high security clearance (I can’t remember how high we learn it is in 5x02, “The Bond in the Boot,” but I’m assuming it’s pretty high if he can waltz in and look at CIA records). My point: Booth is not some dude off the street. He’s a high flier. It’s five years almost gone, and I still don’t know if you give him enough credit for that. Gordon-Gordon knows it (i.e. the totem discussion in “Mayhem on a Cross”), that he’s probably a really bright guy who keeps his smarts on the DL so that people underestimate him and he can get a jump on them, but Brennan, I’d like to see you realize that about him, too.
66. Just saying.
67. Can I also say I’m not wild about how much of Brennan’s button up is showing under the sweater? It looks haphazard for some reason. I don’t know. That’s my fashion comment for the moment.
68. Booth gets a call - they’re going to release Hollings’ keys. Brennan has a eureka! moment, realizing that the keys are probably what he used to gouge out his victims’ eyes.
69. Brennan pulls out her keys - attached to which is a little skull key chain - and Booth questions her need for keys. People, I’m with Brennan. I’ve got a key for my car, my apartment, two for my office, my mother’s house, my boyfriend’s car, my mail box, my mother’s mail box…the list goes on and on. If only I could find them when I needed them, but anyway, a woman needs her keys, okay, Booth?
70. Kenton plays dumb, but he’s probably peeing himself. He says to Booth, “She’s good.” Booth looks satisfied: “Told ya.”
71. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
72. Still, one of the best scenes ever.
73. OMG.
74. Okay.
75. I’m breathing. I’m calming down. Seriously. I will not squeal or do anything that might frighten my neighbors. WILL. NOT.
76. So, they go to Brennan’s apartment, which is not Brennan’s apartment as we now know it, or as we saw it in the pilot, but maybe she moved. It’s still gigantic, and I still say the property value on it has to be outrageous. Booth insists that Brennan sleep, and he’ll crash on the couch-
77. He’ll crash on the couch.
78. Oh, Brennan. Why are you not taking his clothes off already? I do not understand.
79. Booth’s being unshockingly over protective (READ: HOT), and asks where the TV is. Brennan says it “broke,” instead of saying, “I hit the hell out of it when my long-gone ex showed up to take it in the middle of the day, and then tried to hit on me.” Probably because Booth would look at her like a crazy person about it.
80. You know he would.
81. And then he’d act like he didn’t care about the ex, didn’t want to know about him.
82. Dude, he’d SO want to know about him.
83. Anyway.
84. Brennan seems a little awkward, “I mostly just read and listen to music,” she says, sort of…shyly? I think that’s accurate. Booth, clearly sensing the potential for awkwardness in this situation, turns on his charm smile and heads to the music collection, trying to make the situation more comfortable. Booth might scoff at Brennan’s collection, but it actually sounds pretty decent: Kanye, Cat Power, Jazz. That indicates to me that Brennan doesn’t feel the need to be locked into one genre - she’ll try different things out. Which is entirely indicative of her personality.
85. Except for when it’s not. Like when she’s made her mind up about something, and not any force on Earth will move her. I get this part of her personality. It’s called being stubborn. I got a doctorate in it. It’s called a law degree.
86. “The artist has to live within a set tonal structure and trust his own instincts to find his way out of an infinite maze of musical possibilities, and the great ones do.” This is one of my favorite things Brennan ever says, especially with the passion with which she says it.
87. It’s one of Booth’s favorite things she ever says, too.
He didn’t know she could be like that.
That she could be…
So…
He doesn’t know what it is, the way it makes him feel, for her to look like that, and speak like that, with so much passion about something that isn’t her work. That she could feel that way about anything other than bones.
That she could be more than he thought she was.
It’s a little bit shame, for not thinking enough of her, and a little bit surprise, and a little bit…
It’s a little bit attractive, he knows.
But like the boy who touched the hot stove after his mother warned him against it, he jumps back as fast as he can.
88. FOREIGNER.
89. Booth finds Foreigner.
90. Brennan feigns ignorance about how on earth that ended up in her house, but Booth’s not buyin’ - he’s too busy rockin’ out.
91. Oh, hell yes.
92. Just.
93. HELL.
94. YES.
95. He plays air guitar while headbanging, and dammit…just, dammit. He’s got to stop doing this. My poor boyfriend, he’s never going to be able to catch up.
96. Look, when Booth gets Boothy, Boothing it up with his meaningful talks about love and commitment, and then shooting things, and getting all manly and intense, it’s pretty much the hottest thing ever.
97. But do you want to know what might actually be better than being hot?
98. Being fun.
99. When a truly good, attractive guy is willing to act like a dork, when he’s just so awesome that he’s not preoccupied with trying to be awesome, that’s it. I’m done.
100. Brennan looks a little done, too.
101. She doesn’t understand Booth most of the time. His references to movies she’s never seen, people she’s never heard of.
He is very affable. People like him easily. He is attractive, and has no trouble talking to people, no matter who they are. He does not intimidate.
Brennan likes that last part the most about him. He drives her insane, but she secretly likes that he is not intimidated by her intelligence, her job, her success. So many people are.
She doesn’t understand Booth most of the time, but right now? She does. This is a song he likes, this is a song she likes, and this is the first time they’ve had something like that in common. She hesitates, unsure how to proceed, but she decides to follow Booth’s lead for once. She recognizes he is more socially adept than she is. It only makes sense that she try.
It only makes sense.
102. Brennan’s high kick is BAD ASS, people. And they start singing in one another’s faces…God. Stupid cock block David. Were it not for his phone call, the intensity of it all, the danger, the fear, the awkwardness, the FOREIGNER, they might have ended up dancing and laughing and whoops, oh, lost a shirt there, here I’ll hand it to you, well the damnedest thing, seems like I lost my pants.
103. SEX people.
104. That’s what I’m saying.
105. Anyway, Cock Block David (that’s his name no), talks to Brennan as Booth tries DESPERATELY to get her attention back on him. Seriously, I’ve seen neglected four year olds with more restraint.
106. Whatever. He’s currently airdrumming his way into my heart.
107. As if he didn’t own it already.
108. Brennan puts down the phone, smiling, but that smile is more about Booth than Cock Block, I’m sure. Booth’s all, “I hope he didn’t think….”
109. Even though, he probably hopes Cock Block DID think…you know. That they’re…something. And this is probably the first time that he feels that wave of emotion, and…yeah. Later, he’ll think, “It’s a good thing I got blown up when I did, because otherwise, things would have gotten-“ and then he realizes he was thinking it was good he got blown up.
110. Booth babbles on, “Because I wouldn’t want to ruin things for you, and….” Oh, shut the fuck up, Booth. Yes. You would like to. You don’t know it yet, but you want to ruin things for Brennan and every other man who is not you. BackToTheFuture!Booth crashes dates, arrests dates, gives Brennan good reason not to leave on sailing trips with perfectly good-looking men, etc. This is just the first of many, Booth. Just the first.
111. Things are then, like, so awkward that you seriously can’t even look. You know what I’m talking about. It’s cringeworthy in the best possible way.
112. And that’s when Booth goes to the fridge.
113. Or:
114. THE DEATH BOX.
115. (except Booth did not die, THANK GOD).
116. At the Not Death But Close Enough Box, Booth gets blowed up, good and proper.
117. Brennan luckily thinks quickly, grabbing a blanket since BOOTH IS ON FIRE (and not in the good way that he usually is). Brennan really is good in a crisis. You’ve got to give her credit for that.
118. At the hospital, Booth is all bruised and battered and WITHOUT HIS SHIRT. He looks vulnerable, and I feel compelled to offer to hold him WITHOUT HIS SHIRT. In typical Boothy fashion (as this is a trait of the Ghosts of Booth Present, Past, and Future), he freaks out entirely about Brennan’s safety while evidencing a complete disregard for his own.
119. Brennan, in response to Booth’s wondering if they collected all of the evidence: “Booth, I was there. They were very thorough. And I was very annoying.” I love that. It’s so, so perfect.
120. Booth makes the most pitiful move for the pudding, and that voice he uses? That little boy voice? This is why boys and men will always be able to get to me. The majority of my friends are men. I am probably destined to have 5 sons or something (even though I feel I need a girl to pass my great knowledge on to). And it is because they can get me every time with that pitiful voice. I melt. I’m a puddle.
121. And so is Brennan, because she gets him the pudding forthwith.
122. Brennan pulls out Booth’s x-rays (of course she has them. I’m pretty sure there’s a serious HIPPA violation due to that), and we learn that Booth’s been tortured, and tried to shield somebody from getting blown up.
123. Booth doesn’t tell people things.
You learn that, early, when your dad beats the shit out of you. When you try to keep him from beating the shit out of your little brother, and you fail.
You learn that you can’t really trust people with your secrets. That it’s easier to trust them with your smiles, your easy manner, your quick jokes. It’s easier to trust them with those things, because then you’re trusting them with the person who you want them to think you are.
Never the person you actually are.
Or the person you want to be.
But she’s sitting there, demanding the truth, the way she so often does, but this time, she’s demanding it from you. She’s laid out the facts, and she wants the answers.
The truth falls from your lips, before you even think about it. While it stumbles out, wobbly on its legs from lack of use, you think that when you’re done, you might feel that sense of shame, the same one you always felt when one of the nuns asked you where you got a bruise.
You don’t.
In fact, you feel a little bit…relieved. At least that’s what you think it is; it’s been so long since you felt it, it’s hard to tell.
124. Kenton strolls in, and Booth tells him, in no uncertain terms, to keep Brennan safe. God, that serious look on his face, Brennan’s “Don’t you think I should be consulted?” and Booth’s swift, “No. Keep her close.” PEOPLE. The ferocity of his care for her is just completely hot.
125. At the Jeff, Zack is totally freaked out, while Brennan remains calm. And by “calm” I mean “focusing on nailing the killer to the wall.” Angela, of course, multitasks her high tech gizmo-ing and blatant hitting on of Kenton.
126. Also, this bullet cross-reference stuff sounds amazing. Just saying. And far more plausible than anything I’ve ever seen on CSI. There’s a logical basis for this.
127. Oh, Show. You spoil me.
128. Brennan, in a Michael Jackson move, wears only one glove when she goes with the FBI to Hollings’ apartment. Zack calls to tell her that he’s found the key (because he’s awesome like that), and she actually tells him, “Good work.” I mean, these interns these days? Would be so thrilled to hear that. Zack, instead, tries to persuade Brennan to come back.
129. See what I’m saying about Zack? He’s not intimidated by her. He likes learning from her, and acknowledges her as an excellent teacher, but he’s not after constant praise.
130. I miss Zack. L
131. At the hospital, Booth watches UCLA play…someone. Hodgins drops by in a truly awful cap. He goes for a pudding, and Booth looks like he might take Hodgins out with a spoon. The fact that they found a map at Hollings’, it freaks him out. Hodgins blabbers on about a conspiracy theory, and Booth tells him, “You’re right,” officially making Hodgins do a double-take and confess his love to Booth.
132. Whatever.
133. Booth starts getting his broken ass out of the bed, and tells Hodgins that he’s driving. As we learn later in “Aliens,” Hodgins is all about breaking out of a hospital, so he doesn’t even blink.
134. Cut to Kenton driving Brennan to where he’s made her think Hollings is. Brennan starts to call Zack, and Kenton pulls a gun.
135. Now, I want you to consider that you’re driving down the freeway.
136. You look to your left, and you see some person singing along to the radio. You think, oh, that’s cute.
137. You look to the right, and you see some asshole screaming into his cell phone. You thing, God, I hope he doesn’t run into me.
138. You look in your rearview, and you see some guy pull a gun on the woman sitting next to him in the car while he’s driving, and you think, OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT.
139. I’m saying, this wasn’t a great day to be in the car on the freeway.
140. Hodgins drives his Mini Cooper, which Booth has somehow folded himself into (I love the part in “Yanks,” when he’s had to get in the back of one, and he gets out, and says, “That was like being born.” Anyway). Booth is trying to get someone on the phone and Hodgins looks like a douche with a bluetooth (because it automatically makes people look like a douche). Booth is totally freaking out: “It was my job to protect her.”
141. Kenton takes Brennan into a scary looking warehouse or whatever. He takes her into a room, where she tries to kick his ass. She temporarily channels Sayid from Lost, and for half a second, you think she might take him out with her feet around his neck (read: awesome). But she eventually gets knocked out with Kenton’s gun (read: not awesome).
142. Booth is at DEFCON 1 (“Crack heads tend not to be detail-oriented” or something, whatever it is, is one of my favorite things), and Brennan is screaming her head off. She’s terrified as Kenton tells Brennan the freaky shit about Hollings. Booth shows up, insisting on getting his gun, and because he’s a BAMF, they give it to him. He hands the bulletproof vest off to Hodgins; it’s go time, and-
143. WHAT THE BLUE FUCK IS THAT MUSIC?!
144. Talk about something that came out of nowhere. It’s jarring, and not in a good way.
145. Booth finds Brennan’s keys just as Kenton is about to kill her. Off balance and in pain, he shoots Kenton, saving Brennan.
146. He goes over to her, trying to lift her off the hook she’s hanging on. He can’t do it with his hand, so he slips his head between her hanging arms, pulling her up with his neck and back.
147. She holds him tight, and he keeps telling her, It’s okay, I’m right here.
148. There’s a whole room of agents watching them.
149. Hodgins watches them.
150. Hodgins sits in a car with Brennan, waiting to die. She tells him Booth will find them. He tells her that is faith; she tells him she has proof.
And this is the difference between Hodgins and Brennan. They are both logical people, grounded in facts and science. But when Hodgins saw Booth leave a hospital after being blown up, then charge into a building without a vest, then shoot some guy and save Brennan….
Look, Hodgins might like science, but better than science, he likes love. He appreciates it. He believed he would die in that car, from any number of things, but he wanted to be sure, damn sure, that someone knew he loved Angela. That through the letter he wrote, Angela would know he loved Angela.
He thinks about what Booth did to get to Brennan in that warehouse, that it was pretty much superhuman, and he thinks that faith is a far more appropriate term. You have faith in things that are improbable, but you believe will happen anyway. Booth’s mere existence is improbable, and the fact that he’s in love with Brennan is even more so.
Because sitting in the car, Hodgins knows Booth’s in love with her.
He knew when he saw them in the warehouse.
And that’s the story of how Hodgins was really The First To Know.
151. Also, Booth’s comforting words remind me of “Harbingers,” when he breaks down the door, and then holds her as she bleeds. Just wanted to throw that out there.
152. Look, we all know this scene by heart. I don’t really even have to tell you about it. But I’m telling you the thing I like best about it. Brennan asks Booth how he got out of the hospital.
153. That’s it.
154. That’s my favorite part.
155. Because she’s been kidnapped and nearly killed, and her first thought is how he got out of the hospital.
156. At that point, he evidences some real pain, sort of hanging his head, and she just hugs him harder. There they both are a fucking mess, and Booth to this point has always been so entirely steady, unflinchingly alright all of the time, but in this moment? He is vulnerable. He is open.
157. Show isn’t just about Brennan’s trust issues, you know.
158. And it all reminds me of something that I really like about Show, and how it has grown - on the surface, it looks like Booth does all the work, that he helps Brennan, and she does little for him, but people, she gives him confidence. In himself, in other people. Booth, to me, is a sad character in a lot of ways until he starts working with her. He is constantly missing the boat on happiness. He keeps hanging on, through all of the shit, and maybe if Brennan doesn’t come along, he eventually gives up on faith - on faith in people, and love, and all of it. She challenges everything he tells her - it’s probably the first time in his life that he doesn’t get away with people buying what he’s selling (just like it is for her); he can’t be used to being questioned - but Brennan makes him prove every single thing. As much as Booth’s saved Brennan, she’s saved him, too.
159. We end back in the hospital, thank God, because poor Booth does actually need medical treatment.
160. He tells Brennan that Kenton is spilling the beans on everything, no doubt in an attempt to save his own very sorry ass. He then proceeds to do that thing he does when he thinks everything is his fault, blaming himself for Brennan’s almost getting dead and stuff.
161. BackToTheFuture!Booth, as we know, does this, too.
162. Brennan’s remark? What a pair.
163. And I turn to mush.
164. Brennan’s phone rings; it’s David. Brennan, her head bandage, and a truly atrocious dress with a huge fucking bow on the back are planning to go to dinner with him. In the most pitiful way possible, Booth smiles, saying, “I figured you didn’t get all dressed up for me.”
165. OH, BOOTH.
166. I’m mush again, people. I am approximately the consistency of Gerber baby food.
167. Brennan walks out, and we have a super depressing moment of thinking about Booth all alone in the hospital, after saving her life, watching tv all by himself. You see what I’m saying? Booth is just alone as Brennan is. He’s a likeable guy, but he keeps to himself, because of the trust issues.
168. O’Brien’s new book, “The Psychology of Booth,” should be hitting the shelves of your neighborhood bookstore any day, btw.
169. But.
170. Y’all.
171. Brennan comes back.
172. She comes back.
173. She’s ditched David for the evening, claiming she has a headache. Neither of them are at the point where they can openly admit that she’s staying for him.
174. They can’t admit it a year later, either, when she doesn’t leave with Sully.
175. But somehow, between then and now, Brennan becomes the person who takes Booth to the doctor when his back goes out, or when he slams his head into some ice, or when he has a brain tumor. Somehow, she becomes that person, and they both know it, and they both pretty much admit it.
176. I guess Brennan never gets sick or something, but if she did, you can be your ass Booth would fucking cut someone before he let them take care of her instead of him. He has always felt like that was his job, anyway.
177. Instead of their admitting anything outright, Booth says, “You can watch some TV if you like,” and now they’re doing the very thing that Booth suggested earlier at Brennan’s apartment. She sits in the chair next to him, pulling it closer to the bed. She leans an elbow on the bed, and it makes him hurt, so she moves it.
178. This is how they spend the night.
It’s awkward at first.
Really awkward.
They’ve had drinks together after cases, the occasional meal, but there’s always the case to talk about, the work.
This is not about work.
This is not about work, and even if they don’t say it, they know it. It’s undeniable. She’s cancelled her date to sit with him, and they’re watching TV, and they don’t have a case right now, or a cause….
She doesn’t know what to say, and this is always her problem; she never knows what to say. She does not have that skill he has, to figure out how to start a conversation, how to say something the other person wants to hear. And this is just one of the reasons she is sort of fascinated by him, because he can so adeptly do something for which she has no talent.
“I’ve always liked this movie.”
“What?”
“The movie.” Booth gestures toward the screen, wincing in the process.
“Booth, you should try to remain still.”
He rolls his eyes, and she can’t help herself; she smiles in response.
“I’ve only ever read the book.”
“It’s a good book.”
“You’ve read it?”
“You say that like you’re surprised. You know, I do read, Bones.”
“Booth…I didn’t mean-“
“Bones, I know. I was just kidding.”
“Oh.”
So she gets quiet again. Because she was trying to make conversation, and she failed, completely, insulting him in the process. Or at least she thought she had, and she hadn’t…she should leave.
She should.
Being around him makes her feel like she’s in a foreign country, and she doesn’t understand the language at all.
“I…Bones, I want to say….”
“What?”
“Just…thank you. For staying.”
“I told you; I have a headache.”
“Well, thanks anyway.”
She feels embarrassed, all of the sudden, and she’s smiling and she doesn’t know why.
“You’re welcome, Booth,” she says, because it feels like she should. “Though I’m sure you’ll have plenty of visitors.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
She’s not good at reading people’s tones, but the way Booth says it, it doesn’t seem like he believes it. She wonders why. His disposition is clearly very well liked in society. He has several physical characteristics which are easily deemed attractive. He appears to make friends quickly. Why wouldn’t he have plenty of people to visit him?
Why does she feel like she might be the only one?
“I’ll stay as long as you like.”
She finds herself saying it, without even realizing it.
She finds herself wanting to stay.
“Bones, you don’t have-“
“I have one condition.”
He raises an eyebrow, amused, but not surprised that she might have a caveat.
“What is that?”
“You have to share your pudding.”
He laughs, even though it makes his body hurt, and he ends up wincing again.
She made him laugh, and it makes her feel…well, it makes her feel good.
That he laughed.
That she made him.
“Okay, Bones. I’ll share it with you.”
They go back to quietly watching the movie, and she thinks:
She does not understand his language at all.
But more than anything, she wants to.
-
Okay, y'all. Hope that's at least a little bit of a timekiller to get through That Which Shall Not Be Named. I'll try to do another this week - I'm narrowing down episodes from Season 2.
Also, in case you haven't heard? NEW PROMOS. Thank God.
It contains a Top Five Hottest Booth Moment. The unrestrained anger, his protective instinct, the absolute, definitive, overwhelming lack of doubt that Booth means what he says. And the look in his eyes…God. Anyway. Just wanted to throw that out there. Then, he shows up late to the funeral, and the look on his face when he says, “I thought it was at the time.” The LOOK. Oh, they look younger then, less sure of themselves, less sure of one another, and the fact that they’ve grown up some, and if there is anything they are sure of now, it’s one another.
I think I just mini-recapped. God. It’s like a sickness.
1. This episode starts with Brennan internet tarting it up. She is, as we know, talking to David, who Booth tells us about a year after this ended up trying to recruit her to a cult. We know that couldn’t have possibly gone well, and I’d have loved to have seen that shit go down.
2. Goodman!
3. God, he was kind of amazing. I miss you, Goodman. He also expresses what I believe to be discontent that Brennan has never met her internet boy toy. I’m with him, and that leads to Story Time with O’Brien.
4. When I was 14, I was all over Yahoo!Chat. I lived in a tiny town, 30 minutes away from school, 30 minutes away from my friends, and I couldn’t drive yet, so Yahoo!Chat was pretty much where it was at (booyah for rhyming!). Anyway, what do you do when you are 14, and the internet is new?
5. You get an internet boyfriend.
6. Of course you do.
7. Mine claimed to be a botany major at the University of Michigan. I told him I was 17. When my mother learned of this, years later, she was horrified.
8. However, I highly doubt he was actually in college. He said his favorite TV show as Hang Time. Do you remember it? It was about a boys’ high school basketball team, and there was one girl on the team, because they didn’t have a girls’ team. Is that, like, for real? Are there parts of the country where there seriously isn’t a girls’ basketball team in co-educational public school where there is a basketball program? I found that element ridiculous, but it was on with California Dreams, and then later, with whatever generation of Saved By the Bell they were showing on Saturday mornings on your local NBC affiliate. Anyway.
9. On another note, a gay friend of mine in high school could never meet guys anywhere but the internet, because, you know, we were teenagers in Mississippi. He didn’t know where to meet people, let alone people who weren’t exactly putting themselves out there. So, he met this one guy he talked to on the internet, and I freaked out about the entire thing, made him call me every 10 minutes while he went to meet him. The dude ended up being a dud.
10. So. That’s a bunch of shit you didn’t really care about, but isn’t it fun to get these little nuggets?
11. Probably not.
12. Whatever.
13. And Saved By the Bell is so much better than any other imitator that it is ridiculous.
14. Back in the Land of Anything But This Shit (you’re welcome), there are bones on the table on the platform. In this scene, Brennan’s hair is in a ponytail, and ED tells us on the commentary that she did it all by herself!
15. Emily. Sweetheart. I hate to break it to you, but…it shows. That ponytail is somewhere between shacker chic and an extra from Bring It On.
16. (Note: A “shacker,” at least where I went to college, meant a girl who shacked up/stayed over at a guy’s house for the night, then rolled out of bed, stole a too-big polo shirt and a pair of his boxers, and somehow found her way in class. The writer of this piece, yours truly, may or may not have shacked, but never, ever took other people’s underwear.)
17. It is revealed to all that Brennan’s going on a date with a guy she met on the internet, which Booth (hi, Booth!) finds hilarious. Angela sees the tall drink of water that is Adam Baldwin next to Booth (Adam Baldwin is in one of my favorite all-time scenes from Angel, btw, come on, you know the one), and immediately introduces herself, because Season 1 Angela is all about the sex.
18. Booth informs the group that the guy he’s with, Special Agent Kenton, has been working the Cougini case, with which the remains are associated.
19. Then, he switches gears almost immediately, asking Brennan, “What if you’re computer date’s a psycho?”
20. Here, we have the opportunity to examine an important change in the B/B dynamic, as well as Booth, since the beginning of the show to now.
a. The Constant: Booth is overtly protective. That does not change. He will fuck your shit if you mess with Brennan, and if you’re not certain about that, just try him. He will, as he told Vega when the Gravedigger kidnapped Brennan, “end you.”
b. Past!Booth: The way he shows these protective instincts, as on display in this episode, and at this particular moment, is through the cocky and brash exterior which he portrays to most of the world and, at this point, to Brennan as well. Just watch him swagger up to her, asking her, “What if you’re computer date’s a psycho?” He’s not saying, “You’re insane if you think that this is safe, and it’s driving me nuts,” but that’s certainly what he’s thinking.
c. BackToTheFuture!Booth: If he were faced with this exact same situation, all these years later? He’d shut this shit down in an instant. Observe.
“I have a date with someone I met on the internet.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. I just told-“
“Do you actually think I’m going to let you go out with some crazy psycho person who might kill you or hurt you or…Christ, God knows what could happen.”
“’Let’ me. Booth, I don’t need your permission-“
“I know you don’t need my permission. But I also don’t need you going out with some nut who will murder you.”
“No one’s going to murder me.”
“Damn right they’re not.”
“Booth-“
“No way. Not happening.”
“I don’t know how you think you’ll stop me.”
“Easy. Bones, please don’t go.”
“What?”
“I’m asking you.”
“Asking me what?”
“Not to do this. Not to go on this date.”
“I….”
“You what?”
“You really don’t want me to go on this date, do you? You’re really that worried?”
“Yes. I think terrified wouldn’t be overstating it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay. I won’t go.”
“Well, good. I mean, I’m sorry that you won’t get to have a date, because I know you wanted to…hey, you know what?”
“What?”
“I…well, I could take you to dinner.”
“We go to dinner all the time.”
“I mean, like a nice dinner. To make up for the date you’ll be missing out on.”
“You want to take me on a date?
“What?! No, I’m just saying, let me take you to a nice dinner. To make up for your date.”
“So this is not a date.”
“No. It’s just two friends going to a restaurant for a meal. It’s…no, that’s not a date. Not nearly a date. It’s not even a dat.”
“A what?”
“Nothing.”
See. That’s how it would go now, I think. Another opportunity for them to sublimate their actual desires while masking it as some sort of friend-type activity.
21. Whoo, boy. I really got off the rails there.
22. Booth: Whatever happen to seeing someone across a crowed room? Eyes meeting? That old black magic gets you with it’s spell.
Brennan: There’s no such thing as magic (Ironically, she says that in a very Hermione-ish tone).
Booth: Oh, there’s magic.
O’Brien: See what I’m talking about? With the swagger? The mockery used to talk her out of doing that which he doesn’t want her to do, instead of just coming out and saying he doesn’t want her to do it? I just get knocked over with how this show has handled the evolution of this relationship so thoroughly. Fantastic.
23. Booth explains to Brennan that there’s ANOTHER murder he’s there for, and Show introduces you to what is definitely one of the most horrific murders they’ve ever shown. Booth explains the Kevin Hollings situation, and you know, it’s one of those things he carries with him. God, Booth is hot when he’s all pissed off and angsty, and multiply that by his needing to be protective? People, there’s a reason Angel is a widely-beloved fictional character, and it has a great deal to do with DB being fucking smoldering when this trifecta is in play.
BackToTheFuture!Booth - Less angst, more funny, and that, my friends, is the most attractive thing of all. Because no matter how attractive Booth is when he’s hopped up on testosterone and anger…he’s about 10x better when he smiles, I swear to you.
24. Brennan’s phone rings, and it’s David, the internet boy toy. Booth exhibits his grave concerns by starting a fight about it (of course he does; that’s such a dude thing to do, I swear), but in the end, he tells her, fine, you know, go get yourself killed or whatever.
25. BackToTheFuture!Booth would, I think we have established, no do that.
26. You know, it really shouldn’t bother him this much.
It shouldn’t.
She’s just his partner. For work.
They work together.
He’s not even sure that they’re friends.
Well. He sort of hopes they’re maybe friends. It feels sometimes like they are, like when she gave him her parents’ file-
But shit. They fight, what, 85% of the time? And the rest they don’t understand each other at all. NOT AT ALL. She’s insanely literal, and a workaholic, and she doesn’t know what anything means other than science stuff and she gives him shit about every damned thing in the universe. She’s unbearable. Totally. She does not compromise, she never listens to him, and a great deal of the time, he’s not even sure that he likes her, really.
And, okay. So, she’s beautiful. Look, there’s no getting around that one; she’s very pretty. And smart. Really, crazy smart. She works really hard, and cares a lot about the cases. She’s loyal. She stands up for herself, and for other people. She’s brave, and not quite funny, but sometimes she really does make him laugh….
No.
It’s-
Unbearable. Her. In a lot of ways, she’s just unbearable.
It really all shouldn’t bother him quite so much.
But it damn well does.
27. Brennan goes to meet her date, but he calls her, telling her he’s later. Brennan gets shot at a lot, and looks far too calm about it.
28. Of course, she goes back to work. I get this about Brennan. When bad stuff goes down in my life, like big, huge, massively bad stuff, I do the same thing. I get tunnel vision for some sort of academic/work-related activity, and I block everything else out, because it just feels better to channel fear/anxiety/sadness into something meaningful. Whenever Brennan wants to go back to work right after bad shit goes down, I am totally picking up what she’s throwing down.
29. Angela: “You know, Booth’s pissed that you came here.” Angela then goes on to say something about more questions at the scene, but we all know Booth’s pissed because she got shot at, and as in all things, some way or another, he’s going to feel responsible for it.
30. Brennan snaps at Zack, and I’m telling you, I do that stuff too. It’s easier to lash out rather than to just say you’re scared/freaked out. It’s so, so much easier to get angry at someone in front of you, who you know will put up with it, then to consider the possibilities of whatever bad thing is going on.
31. Booth breezes in, the voice of reason, telling her she’s freaking crazy to be working at a time like this. Brennan continues to go at 110 miles a second, and Booth speaks in a calm, somewhat reassuring, but firm tone. I think it’s a good moment in their early relationship, that he understands that she’s freaking out, but that she’s not going to say it, so it’s best to try to at least sound patient with her.
32. Then he tells her they’ve got to check out her date. This, from Booth, I love, “Look, Bones, I know it’s hard for you to admit you might be wrong about something, but I really don’t care about your feelings right now; I’m more concerned about your life.” That part? It’s shades of BackToTheFuture!Booth, for sure.
33. Also, a wardrobe note: I am glad they switched Booth’s suits from the pleated pants to the flat front. It’s more modern. I’m just saying. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a thing about suits. I mean, I became a lawyer, so I’m surrounded by them constantly. It’s a glorious thing.
34. Booth: “Bones, I’m not letting you out of my sight until I find out who is trying to kill you.” Brennan and Angela share a look. You can only see Brennan’s face, but I would pay actual American dollars to see Angela’s. You know she’s got that “Holy Shit He’s Hot” look on her face. You just know it.
35. They head to the interrogation room (which is way, WAY less nice than the ones the show sports these days), where David, Brennan’s internet boy toy, sits. Brennan moves into the room, trying to meet him, and Booth cuts that shit off directly. “I’m going to be asking the questions,” he says, towering over David in the best possible way, attempting to put him through the ringer. David, to his credit, is not impressed, and Brennan is quite impressed…with David.
36. Booth takes another shot at the online dating thing, and David says that one of his partners met his wife online, which Brennan thinks is interesting. Booth: “Doesn’t mean it’s not creepy.”
37. David, who doesn’t seem like that daft of a dude, finally gets to what everyone else just assumes from the start, nowadays: “Did I miss something? Because I don’t want to get in the way….” B/B doth protest too much, and I may be wrong about this, but is this the first time someone straight up asks them if they’re dating? Please comment about this; I’m trying to remember.
38. The way Booth turns his back on them, still shaking his head, saying no…it’s hilarious. He’s just barely holding on, and you can see it. The man is a mess.
39. Booth decides he’s had enough of this shit, and ushers David out of the room. Brennan looks on, her attraction on prominent display, and Booth all but tackles her to get her attention off of David and on to him.
40. Seriously. Booth. Just tackle her. Do it. And save the rest of us the four years and more of torture that’s to follow.
41. At the Jeff, Angela tells Brennan that the second victim was a really nice 19-year-old girl who was about to go to Haiti to work at a medical clinic. Brennan laments that Booth will think this is all his fault. I really like this moment; I think it’s one of those little things that really show off how Booth is already very special to Brennan - the fact that she would know that this would get to him. It’s not a far stretch, of course, but Brennan’s not exactly great with getting from A to B with people.
42. However, she’s great at getting from A to B with Booth. Unless “B” is Booth’s bed, where they could have sex, but let’s hope to God and Hart that we’re getting there.
43. Angela asks about David, and Brennan says she likes him…then directs the conversation back to Booth (isn’t that always the way?).
44. Angela, for her part, has one of my favorite lines from Show, ever: “Booth is a big, strong guy who wants to save your life. I mean, you actually have a knight in shining FBI standard-issue body armor.”
45. HELL YES. He also wears suits, flashy ties and socks, and later, The Three-Piece and…the Jacket. Oh, that Jacket.
46. Booth comes in, looking fantastic in blue (I really wish they’d go back to dressing him in blue more often), and feeling the weight of the death of the 19-year-old girl. Zack, for his part, says something that is sort of icky and bad, given what we know happens later: “I’ve cleaned the bones, Dr. Brennan. You could eat off them.”
47. OUCH.
48. Remember that recap about bad timing?
49. On the platform, Booth’s knowledge of guns and Brennan’s knowledge of bones comes together, and it’s dorky and awesome. Everyone’s got a job to do, and both investigations are moving along, so you know what that means.
50. Booth’s going to insist that Brennan stops working and come with him.
51. He sort of tries to slip it in there, walking past her, saying, “Okay, let’s go,” like she’s actually going to follow him and be compliant.
52. You know, especially in S1, Booth must have constantly felt like he was banging his head against the wall, in some feeble attempt to knock it down. And he never really tries being nice about it, never says to the wall, “Hey, Wall, could do me a solid a just move?” He just keeps ramming his head into it at high speeds, and expecting results. Which he eventually gets, of course, but damn, his head must hurt.
53. And wouldn’t we have all been better served if instead of his head, he would have been banging something (someone) else against the way?
54. HEY-O.
55. At the Hoove (I’m trying it out…the Hoove), Booth tries to scare the shit out of Brennan. He had to know that wasn’t going to work, but back then, it was worth a go. Now, he wouldn’t even think of it.
56. You know, I really love this episode for the fantastic opportunities for comparison.
57. B/B take a trip to Hollings’ apartment. The guy has creepy door-to-door salesman written all over him. If someone comes to your door who looks like this guy, and is "selling encyclopedias," DO NOT LET THEM INT. They find the keys, and Booth does his Fourth Amendment Flash Dance. My favorite part: “Oh, and this one looks like a key used in a burglary around the corner.” Booth continues pushing Hollings in the interrogation room, and really, the actor playing Hollings does a good job of looking totally stoked about the gruesome photos.
58. This show often reminds me that there are complete sickos in this world, and I become extremely disconcerted by it.
59. Brennan watches on, and Kenton walks in. She exhibits concern that Booth won’t be able to deal if Hollings walks away again. She also tells Killer Kenton about her awesome reverse bullet bone thingy theory, about which he says, “Sweet.”
60. By “sweet,” he means, “FUCK. ME.”
61. Booth talks with Goodman, and y’all, there were too few scenes with Booth and Goodman. I think these two men could have really done some great work together, but they brought Cam in because it amped up the drama. The truth of it is, with Goodman around, there are two Alpha males instead of one. Goodman’s mere presence carries with it a sense of gravitas. Booth needs to be the man with the strongest amount of gravity on the screen. It is for this reason, I believe, we have never seen Goodman come back.
62. Goodman does his awesome badass archeologist trick, looking at the arrangement of the keys. Guys, it’s really cool. I mean, like, REALLY. I wanna do it, too. I wanna be an awesome badass archeologist.
63. Hodgins makes a tie from the Cougini murder to Carlo Romano. I kind of love this moment for this reason: we get to see Zack be snarky. Observe:
Hodgins: smarty smart fly ash, and this is very interesting.
Zack: Not yet.
I miss S1 Zack. He was more in touch with the world than they later made him out to be. You guys know I’m unapologetically in love with Show, but I’m also unapologetically honest with my friends, and Show? Fucked up Zack majorly. Eric Milligan is a really interesting actor, and I think they didn’t use him quite as well as they should have. Zack started off as hyper rational and literal, but he wants to connect. He has a huge family who loves him. How did he spin off so completely? The whole Iraq thing has never really been explained, and the Gormogon connection was a total shit show. I feel like, by the end of S3, the writers had written Zack into such a corner that they didn’t know what to do with him anymore, so they got rid of him. I mean, that’s Show’s prerogative, to do that, and Show is not going to be perfect (though there’s a scene coming up which presents an argument contrary to that position); it’s just too bad.
64. We next see Romano waiting to be questioned. Brennan notes that he doesn’t look worried, and Booth says, “That’s hubris,” to which Brennan responds, “Good word.” Now, Brennan, you’re right, it is a good word, but there’s something bothering me here, and I think we need to address it.
65. This is the second time this episode you have exhibited disbelief that Booth’s vocab is lackluster (see “luddite” in the David interrogation scene). Brennan, Booth’s not an idiot. Is he as smart as you are? Like, IQ-wise? No, he’s not. But the guy went to college. He may even have a post-graduate degree (I wish Show would tell us what his education background is, and when it was, exactly, that he went to college. Can someone twitter that or whatever the fuck you call it to HH? I refuse to get on twitter, for reasons that are too lengthy to explain, but it would help my life out if someone could do that, thanks). He, as you will learn later, reads your books. He is one of the top agents in one of the top investigative agencies in the world. He has what I assume to be a pretty high security clearance (I can’t remember how high we learn it is in 5x02, “The Bond in the Boot,” but I’m assuming it’s pretty high if he can waltz in and look at CIA records). My point: Booth is not some dude off the street. He’s a high flier. It’s five years almost gone, and I still don’t know if you give him enough credit for that. Gordon-Gordon knows it (i.e. the totem discussion in “Mayhem on a Cross”), that he’s probably a really bright guy who keeps his smarts on the DL so that people underestimate him and he can get a jump on them, but Brennan, I’d like to see you realize that about him, too.
66. Just saying.
67. Can I also say I’m not wild about how much of Brennan’s button up is showing under the sweater? It looks haphazard for some reason. I don’t know. That’s my fashion comment for the moment.
68. Booth gets a call - they’re going to release Hollings’ keys. Brennan has a eureka! moment, realizing that the keys are probably what he used to gouge out his victims’ eyes.
69. Brennan pulls out her keys - attached to which is a little skull key chain - and Booth questions her need for keys. People, I’m with Brennan. I’ve got a key for my car, my apartment, two for my office, my mother’s house, my boyfriend’s car, my mail box, my mother’s mail box…the list goes on and on. If only I could find them when I needed them, but anyway, a woman needs her keys, okay, Booth?
70. Kenton plays dumb, but he’s probably peeing himself. He says to Booth, “She’s good.” Booth looks satisfied: “Told ya.”
71. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
72. Still, one of the best scenes ever.
73. OMG.
74. Okay.
75. I’m breathing. I’m calming down. Seriously. I will not squeal or do anything that might frighten my neighbors. WILL. NOT.
76. So, they go to Brennan’s apartment, which is not Brennan’s apartment as we now know it, or as we saw it in the pilot, but maybe she moved. It’s still gigantic, and I still say the property value on it has to be outrageous. Booth insists that Brennan sleep, and he’ll crash on the couch-
77. He’ll crash on the couch.
78. Oh, Brennan. Why are you not taking his clothes off already? I do not understand.
79. Booth’s being unshockingly over protective (READ: HOT), and asks where the TV is. Brennan says it “broke,” instead of saying, “I hit the hell out of it when my long-gone ex showed up to take it in the middle of the day, and then tried to hit on me.” Probably because Booth would look at her like a crazy person about it.
80. You know he would.
81. And then he’d act like he didn’t care about the ex, didn’t want to know about him.
82. Dude, he’d SO want to know about him.
83. Anyway.
84. Brennan seems a little awkward, “I mostly just read and listen to music,” she says, sort of…shyly? I think that’s accurate. Booth, clearly sensing the potential for awkwardness in this situation, turns on his charm smile and heads to the music collection, trying to make the situation more comfortable. Booth might scoff at Brennan’s collection, but it actually sounds pretty decent: Kanye, Cat Power, Jazz. That indicates to me that Brennan doesn’t feel the need to be locked into one genre - she’ll try different things out. Which is entirely indicative of her personality.
85. Except for when it’s not. Like when she’s made her mind up about something, and not any force on Earth will move her. I get this part of her personality. It’s called being stubborn. I got a doctorate in it. It’s called a law degree.
86. “The artist has to live within a set tonal structure and trust his own instincts to find his way out of an infinite maze of musical possibilities, and the great ones do.” This is one of my favorite things Brennan ever says, especially with the passion with which she says it.
87. It’s one of Booth’s favorite things she ever says, too.
He didn’t know she could be like that.
That she could be…
So…
He doesn’t know what it is, the way it makes him feel, for her to look like that, and speak like that, with so much passion about something that isn’t her work. That she could feel that way about anything other than bones.
That she could be more than he thought she was.
It’s a little bit shame, for not thinking enough of her, and a little bit surprise, and a little bit…
It’s a little bit attractive, he knows.
But like the boy who touched the hot stove after his mother warned him against it, he jumps back as fast as he can.
88. FOREIGNER.
89. Booth finds Foreigner.
90. Brennan feigns ignorance about how on earth that ended up in her house, but Booth’s not buyin’ - he’s too busy rockin’ out.
91. Oh, hell yes.
92. Just.
93. HELL.
94. YES.
95. He plays air guitar while headbanging, and dammit…just, dammit. He’s got to stop doing this. My poor boyfriend, he’s never going to be able to catch up.
96. Look, when Booth gets Boothy, Boothing it up with his meaningful talks about love and commitment, and then shooting things, and getting all manly and intense, it’s pretty much the hottest thing ever.
97. But do you want to know what might actually be better than being hot?
98. Being fun.
99. When a truly good, attractive guy is willing to act like a dork, when he’s just so awesome that he’s not preoccupied with trying to be awesome, that’s it. I’m done.
100. Brennan looks a little done, too.
101. She doesn’t understand Booth most of the time. His references to movies she’s never seen, people she’s never heard of.
He is very affable. People like him easily. He is attractive, and has no trouble talking to people, no matter who they are. He does not intimidate.
Brennan likes that last part the most about him. He drives her insane, but she secretly likes that he is not intimidated by her intelligence, her job, her success. So many people are.
She doesn’t understand Booth most of the time, but right now? She does. This is a song he likes, this is a song she likes, and this is the first time they’ve had something like that in common. She hesitates, unsure how to proceed, but she decides to follow Booth’s lead for once. She recognizes he is more socially adept than she is. It only makes sense that she try.
It only makes sense.
102. Brennan’s high kick is BAD ASS, people. And they start singing in one another’s faces…God. Stupid cock block David. Were it not for his phone call, the intensity of it all, the danger, the fear, the awkwardness, the FOREIGNER, they might have ended up dancing and laughing and whoops, oh, lost a shirt there, here I’ll hand it to you, well the damnedest thing, seems like I lost my pants.
103. SEX people.
104. That’s what I’m saying.
105. Anyway, Cock Block David (that’s his name no), talks to Brennan as Booth tries DESPERATELY to get her attention back on him. Seriously, I’ve seen neglected four year olds with more restraint.
106. Whatever. He’s currently airdrumming his way into my heart.
107. As if he didn’t own it already.
108. Brennan puts down the phone, smiling, but that smile is more about Booth than Cock Block, I’m sure. Booth’s all, “I hope he didn’t think….”
109. Even though, he probably hopes Cock Block DID think…you know. That they’re…something. And this is probably the first time that he feels that wave of emotion, and…yeah. Later, he’ll think, “It’s a good thing I got blown up when I did, because otherwise, things would have gotten-“ and then he realizes he was thinking it was good he got blown up.
110. Booth babbles on, “Because I wouldn’t want to ruin things for you, and….” Oh, shut the fuck up, Booth. Yes. You would like to. You don’t know it yet, but you want to ruin things for Brennan and every other man who is not you. BackToTheFuture!Booth crashes dates, arrests dates, gives Brennan good reason not to leave on sailing trips with perfectly good-looking men, etc. This is just the first of many, Booth. Just the first.
111. Things are then, like, so awkward that you seriously can’t even look. You know what I’m talking about. It’s cringeworthy in the best possible way.
112. And that’s when Booth goes to the fridge.
113. Or:
114. THE DEATH BOX.
115. (except Booth did not die, THANK GOD).
116. At the Not Death But Close Enough Box, Booth gets blowed up, good and proper.
117. Brennan luckily thinks quickly, grabbing a blanket since BOOTH IS ON FIRE (and not in the good way that he usually is). Brennan really is good in a crisis. You’ve got to give her credit for that.
118. At the hospital, Booth is all bruised and battered and WITHOUT HIS SHIRT. He looks vulnerable, and I feel compelled to offer to hold him WITHOUT HIS SHIRT. In typical Boothy fashion (as this is a trait of the Ghosts of Booth Present, Past, and Future), he freaks out entirely about Brennan’s safety while evidencing a complete disregard for his own.
119. Brennan, in response to Booth’s wondering if they collected all of the evidence: “Booth, I was there. They were very thorough. And I was very annoying.” I love that. It’s so, so perfect.
120. Booth makes the most pitiful move for the pudding, and that voice he uses? That little boy voice? This is why boys and men will always be able to get to me. The majority of my friends are men. I am probably destined to have 5 sons or something (even though I feel I need a girl to pass my great knowledge on to). And it is because they can get me every time with that pitiful voice. I melt. I’m a puddle.
121. And so is Brennan, because she gets him the pudding forthwith.
122. Brennan pulls out Booth’s x-rays (of course she has them. I’m pretty sure there’s a serious HIPPA violation due to that), and we learn that Booth’s been tortured, and tried to shield somebody from getting blown up.
123. Booth doesn’t tell people things.
You learn that, early, when your dad beats the shit out of you. When you try to keep him from beating the shit out of your little brother, and you fail.
You learn that you can’t really trust people with your secrets. That it’s easier to trust them with your smiles, your easy manner, your quick jokes. It’s easier to trust them with those things, because then you’re trusting them with the person who you want them to think you are.
Never the person you actually are.
Or the person you want to be.
But she’s sitting there, demanding the truth, the way she so often does, but this time, she’s demanding it from you. She’s laid out the facts, and she wants the answers.
The truth falls from your lips, before you even think about it. While it stumbles out, wobbly on its legs from lack of use, you think that when you’re done, you might feel that sense of shame, the same one you always felt when one of the nuns asked you where you got a bruise.
You don’t.
In fact, you feel a little bit…relieved. At least that’s what you think it is; it’s been so long since you felt it, it’s hard to tell.
124. Kenton strolls in, and Booth tells him, in no uncertain terms, to keep Brennan safe. God, that serious look on his face, Brennan’s “Don’t you think I should be consulted?” and Booth’s swift, “No. Keep her close.” PEOPLE. The ferocity of his care for her is just completely hot.
125. At the Jeff, Zack is totally freaked out, while Brennan remains calm. And by “calm” I mean “focusing on nailing the killer to the wall.” Angela, of course, multitasks her high tech gizmo-ing and blatant hitting on of Kenton.
126. Also, this bullet cross-reference stuff sounds amazing. Just saying. And far more plausible than anything I’ve ever seen on CSI. There’s a logical basis for this.
127. Oh, Show. You spoil me.
128. Brennan, in a Michael Jackson move, wears only one glove when she goes with the FBI to Hollings’ apartment. Zack calls to tell her that he’s found the key (because he’s awesome like that), and she actually tells him, “Good work.” I mean, these interns these days? Would be so thrilled to hear that. Zack, instead, tries to persuade Brennan to come back.
129. See what I’m saying about Zack? He’s not intimidated by her. He likes learning from her, and acknowledges her as an excellent teacher, but he’s not after constant praise.
130. I miss Zack. L
131. At the hospital, Booth watches UCLA play…someone. Hodgins drops by in a truly awful cap. He goes for a pudding, and Booth looks like he might take Hodgins out with a spoon. The fact that they found a map at Hollings’, it freaks him out. Hodgins blabbers on about a conspiracy theory, and Booth tells him, “You’re right,” officially making Hodgins do a double-take and confess his love to Booth.
132. Whatever.
133. Booth starts getting his broken ass out of the bed, and tells Hodgins that he’s driving. As we learn later in “Aliens,” Hodgins is all about breaking out of a hospital, so he doesn’t even blink.
134. Cut to Kenton driving Brennan to where he’s made her think Hollings is. Brennan starts to call Zack, and Kenton pulls a gun.
135. Now, I want you to consider that you’re driving down the freeway.
136. You look to your left, and you see some person singing along to the radio. You think, oh, that’s cute.
137. You look to the right, and you see some asshole screaming into his cell phone. You thing, God, I hope he doesn’t run into me.
138. You look in your rearview, and you see some guy pull a gun on the woman sitting next to him in the car while he’s driving, and you think, OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT.
139. I’m saying, this wasn’t a great day to be in the car on the freeway.
140. Hodgins drives his Mini Cooper, which Booth has somehow folded himself into (I love the part in “Yanks,” when he’s had to get in the back of one, and he gets out, and says, “That was like being born.” Anyway). Booth is trying to get someone on the phone and Hodgins looks like a douche with a bluetooth (because it automatically makes people look like a douche). Booth is totally freaking out: “It was my job to protect her.”
141. Kenton takes Brennan into a scary looking warehouse or whatever. He takes her into a room, where she tries to kick his ass. She temporarily channels Sayid from Lost, and for half a second, you think she might take him out with her feet around his neck (read: awesome). But she eventually gets knocked out with Kenton’s gun (read: not awesome).
142. Booth is at DEFCON 1 (“Crack heads tend not to be detail-oriented” or something, whatever it is, is one of my favorite things), and Brennan is screaming her head off. She’s terrified as Kenton tells Brennan the freaky shit about Hollings. Booth shows up, insisting on getting his gun, and because he’s a BAMF, they give it to him. He hands the bulletproof vest off to Hodgins; it’s go time, and-
143. WHAT THE BLUE FUCK IS THAT MUSIC?!
144. Talk about something that came out of nowhere. It’s jarring, and not in a good way.
145. Booth finds Brennan’s keys just as Kenton is about to kill her. Off balance and in pain, he shoots Kenton, saving Brennan.
146. He goes over to her, trying to lift her off the hook she’s hanging on. He can’t do it with his hand, so he slips his head between her hanging arms, pulling her up with his neck and back.
147. She holds him tight, and he keeps telling her, It’s okay, I’m right here.
148. There’s a whole room of agents watching them.
149. Hodgins watches them.
150. Hodgins sits in a car with Brennan, waiting to die. She tells him Booth will find them. He tells her that is faith; she tells him she has proof.
And this is the difference between Hodgins and Brennan. They are both logical people, grounded in facts and science. But when Hodgins saw Booth leave a hospital after being blown up, then charge into a building without a vest, then shoot some guy and save Brennan….
Look, Hodgins might like science, but better than science, he likes love. He appreciates it. He believed he would die in that car, from any number of things, but he wanted to be sure, damn sure, that someone knew he loved Angela. That through the letter he wrote, Angela would know he loved Angela.
He thinks about what Booth did to get to Brennan in that warehouse, that it was pretty much superhuman, and he thinks that faith is a far more appropriate term. You have faith in things that are improbable, but you believe will happen anyway. Booth’s mere existence is improbable, and the fact that he’s in love with Brennan is even more so.
Because sitting in the car, Hodgins knows Booth’s in love with her.
He knew when he saw them in the warehouse.
And that’s the story of how Hodgins was really The First To Know.
151. Also, Booth’s comforting words remind me of “Harbingers,” when he breaks down the door, and then holds her as she bleeds. Just wanted to throw that out there.
152. Look, we all know this scene by heart. I don’t really even have to tell you about it. But I’m telling you the thing I like best about it. Brennan asks Booth how he got out of the hospital.
153. That’s it.
154. That’s my favorite part.
155. Because she’s been kidnapped and nearly killed, and her first thought is how he got out of the hospital.
156. At that point, he evidences some real pain, sort of hanging his head, and she just hugs him harder. There they both are a fucking mess, and Booth to this point has always been so entirely steady, unflinchingly alright all of the time, but in this moment? He is vulnerable. He is open.
157. Show isn’t just about Brennan’s trust issues, you know.
158. And it all reminds me of something that I really like about Show, and how it has grown - on the surface, it looks like Booth does all the work, that he helps Brennan, and she does little for him, but people, she gives him confidence. In himself, in other people. Booth, to me, is a sad character in a lot of ways until he starts working with her. He is constantly missing the boat on happiness. He keeps hanging on, through all of the shit, and maybe if Brennan doesn’t come along, he eventually gives up on faith - on faith in people, and love, and all of it. She challenges everything he tells her - it’s probably the first time in his life that he doesn’t get away with people buying what he’s selling (just like it is for her); he can’t be used to being questioned - but Brennan makes him prove every single thing. As much as Booth’s saved Brennan, she’s saved him, too.
159. We end back in the hospital, thank God, because poor Booth does actually need medical treatment.
160. He tells Brennan that Kenton is spilling the beans on everything, no doubt in an attempt to save his own very sorry ass. He then proceeds to do that thing he does when he thinks everything is his fault, blaming himself for Brennan’s almost getting dead and stuff.
161. BackToTheFuture!Booth, as we know, does this, too.
162. Brennan’s remark? What a pair.
163. And I turn to mush.
164. Brennan’s phone rings; it’s David. Brennan, her head bandage, and a truly atrocious dress with a huge fucking bow on the back are planning to go to dinner with him. In the most pitiful way possible, Booth smiles, saying, “I figured you didn’t get all dressed up for me.”
165. OH, BOOTH.
166. I’m mush again, people. I am approximately the consistency of Gerber baby food.
167. Brennan walks out, and we have a super depressing moment of thinking about Booth all alone in the hospital, after saving her life, watching tv all by himself. You see what I’m saying? Booth is just alone as Brennan is. He’s a likeable guy, but he keeps to himself, because of the trust issues.
168. O’Brien’s new book, “The Psychology of Booth,” should be hitting the shelves of your neighborhood bookstore any day, btw.
169. But.
170. Y’all.
171. Brennan comes back.
172. She comes back.
173. She’s ditched David for the evening, claiming she has a headache. Neither of them are at the point where they can openly admit that she’s staying for him.
174. They can’t admit it a year later, either, when she doesn’t leave with Sully.
175. But somehow, between then and now, Brennan becomes the person who takes Booth to the doctor when his back goes out, or when he slams his head into some ice, or when he has a brain tumor. Somehow, she becomes that person, and they both know it, and they both pretty much admit it.
176. I guess Brennan never gets sick or something, but if she did, you can be your ass Booth would fucking cut someone before he let them take care of her instead of him. He has always felt like that was his job, anyway.
177. Instead of their admitting anything outright, Booth says, “You can watch some TV if you like,” and now they’re doing the very thing that Booth suggested earlier at Brennan’s apartment. She sits in the chair next to him, pulling it closer to the bed. She leans an elbow on the bed, and it makes him hurt, so she moves it.
178. This is how they spend the night.
It’s awkward at first.
Really awkward.
They’ve had drinks together after cases, the occasional meal, but there’s always the case to talk about, the work.
This is not about work.
This is not about work, and even if they don’t say it, they know it. It’s undeniable. She’s cancelled her date to sit with him, and they’re watching TV, and they don’t have a case right now, or a cause….
She doesn’t know what to say, and this is always her problem; she never knows what to say. She does not have that skill he has, to figure out how to start a conversation, how to say something the other person wants to hear. And this is just one of the reasons she is sort of fascinated by him, because he can so adeptly do something for which she has no talent.
“I’ve always liked this movie.”
“What?”
“The movie.” Booth gestures toward the screen, wincing in the process.
“Booth, you should try to remain still.”
He rolls his eyes, and she can’t help herself; she smiles in response.
“I’ve only ever read the book.”
“It’s a good book.”
“You’ve read it?”
“You say that like you’re surprised. You know, I do read, Bones.”
“Booth…I didn’t mean-“
“Bones, I know. I was just kidding.”
“Oh.”
So she gets quiet again. Because she was trying to make conversation, and she failed, completely, insulting him in the process. Or at least she thought she had, and she hadn’t…she should leave.
She should.
Being around him makes her feel like she’s in a foreign country, and she doesn’t understand the language at all.
“I…Bones, I want to say….”
“What?”
“Just…thank you. For staying.”
“I told you; I have a headache.”
“Well, thanks anyway.”
She feels embarrassed, all of the sudden, and she’s smiling and she doesn’t know why.
“You’re welcome, Booth,” she says, because it feels like she should. “Though I’m sure you’ll have plenty of visitors.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
She’s not good at reading people’s tones, but the way Booth says it, it doesn’t seem like he believes it. She wonders why. His disposition is clearly very well liked in society. He has several physical characteristics which are easily deemed attractive. He appears to make friends quickly. Why wouldn’t he have plenty of people to visit him?
Why does she feel like she might be the only one?
“I’ll stay as long as you like.”
She finds herself saying it, without even realizing it.
She finds herself wanting to stay.
“Bones, you don’t have-“
“I have one condition.”
He raises an eyebrow, amused, but not surprised that she might have a caveat.
“What is that?”
“You have to share your pudding.”
He laughs, even though it makes his body hurt, and he ends up wincing again.
She made him laugh, and it makes her feel…well, it makes her feel good.
That he laughed.
That she made him.
“Okay, Bones. I’ll share it with you.”
They go back to quietly watching the movie, and she thinks:
She does not understand his language at all.
But more than anything, she wants to.
-
Okay, y'all. Hope that's at least a little bit of a timekiller to get through That Which Shall Not Be Named. I'll try to do another this week - I'm narrowing down episodes from Season 2.
Also, in case you haven't heard? NEW PROMOS. Thank God.