Volume I, Scene Fifty-nine
It is almost Christmas. Everyone needs cracky fic project updates around the holidays, right? Right.
"Chief?"
Wren looked up from her computer to find Lucy standing in the doorway. "Is it done?"
"We got it," Lucy grinned, giving her a thumbs-up. "Romo and Felix may or may not be celebrating in the staff room as we speak. There may have been some high-fiving. You making the call?"
"I'm making the call," Wren acknowledged, and Lucy came in and perched on the arm of Wren's couch. "Booth, you're gonna want to be in here," Wren called, and her bodyguard sidled in from the hallway and closed the door.
"Ma'am?"
"Don't mind her," Lucy laughed. "She just wants witnesses for how brilliant she thinks she's about to be."
Wren raised an eyebrow. "Did I ask for your sass? If I wanted that I'd call Eliza, you know."
"I wasn't aware the President hired me to be your sycophant," Lucy teased.
"You are about to be on the list, Deputy," Wren said, wrinkling her nose, and Lucy just laughed.
"Nothing happens on the list," Lucy explained to Booth, who just shook his head.
"What is it that you do here?" Wren asked her.
Lucy tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, Chief, I pretty much wrote my own job description, so..." she spread her hands and shrugged. "Whatever I want, really."
"I see," Wren drawled. "Keep doing what you're doing, I suppose. Booth, I'm calling your Bones girl about Kobol. Victory will be mine, et cetera, et cetera. Thought you might want to listen in." Booth nodded, and Wren hit a button and paged Amalia. "Get me Temperance Brennan, please," and after a quick response from Amalia, she was through to the lab.
"Dr. Brennan. Wren Parker. We spoke earlier." There was a pause while Wren waited for Brennan to finish speaking. "No, Doctor, for the last time: this administration is not sending you to Kobol. Yes, I understand that you are possessed of a vastly greater intelligence than I am, but unfortunately for you, I am possessed of vastly greater political power than you are." She rolled her eyes at Lucy, who grinned. "I'm sorry if I feel that your giant brain can best be used for the good of this society while you are on this planet." Wren pulled the phone away from her ear and made a face at it while Booth tried not to laugh. "No, I don't like you either, but you do good work, and the President would prefer that you keep doing it. Here. On Earth." She listened for a few more moments, then sighed heavily and said, "And the best of luck to you with that. Have a good day," she added snippily, and hung up the phone.
"That sounded like fun," Lucy said.
"Right. Never tell her that some vicious part of me respects her tenacity," Wren sighed, rubbing her temples.
Booth shuffled his feet. "So... she's not going, right?"
"Not while I'm still breathing," Wren told him. "Figured I'd give you an incentive to keep doing your job. Eliza's been after to me to use more carrots, or something."
"Thank you," Booth said quietly. "It means a lot to me."
"Think nothing of it," Wren told him, waving her hand. "We've got every cubit we can spare funneled into securing a decent life for the people we have left. Maybe in a hundred years we can do what she wants, but for now? It's just not feasible. I'm not sending one of the brightest people we have left into certain death just to assuage her insatiable curiosity. We won't even get their data. She has to know that."
"She's just very... focused. Look, Wren, if I know Brennan, she'll just go around you."
"And I've spent my morning trying to make sure that she can't," Wren explained. "Look, it's a rare day when Tom Zarek and I agree on something, Booth, and it seems we agree on this, so I think that if our mutual disdain for your friend's idea is any indication, she'll be keeping her feet on the ground for the foreseeable future. Lucy?"
"I believe I mentioned the high-fiving and the celebrating," Lucy said, smiling warmly at Booth. "We don't do premature celebration." She winked at Booth, who chuckled, and nodded to Wren. "I've gotta see a guy about a thing," she said, and Wren nodded back.
"Get out of my office and do your job, whatever it is," Wren teased. She checked her watch and sighed. "I've got to run to the President's office with a Kobol update."
Felix walked past on his way out of the staffroom. "You hear the good news? We got Zarek for the Kobol thing?"
"Yep. Heard and on my way to deliver," Wren told him. "I hear there's a strong possibility that someone around here may give me a high five, but it hasn't happened yet."
Felix held up his hand and she reached over and slapped her palm against his. "Now it's official. We're good at what we do, you know," he said, smiling.
"On this day," Wren amended, but she grinned the rest of the way to Lee's office.
"Chief?"
Wren looked up from her computer to find Lucy standing in the doorway. "Is it done?"
"We got it," Lucy grinned, giving her a thumbs-up. "Romo and Felix may or may not be celebrating in the staff room as we speak. There may have been some high-fiving. You making the call?"
"I'm making the call," Wren acknowledged, and Lucy came in and perched on the arm of Wren's couch. "Booth, you're gonna want to be in here," Wren called, and her bodyguard sidled in from the hallway and closed the door.
"Ma'am?"
"Don't mind her," Lucy laughed. "She just wants witnesses for how brilliant she thinks she's about to be."
Wren raised an eyebrow. "Did I ask for your sass? If I wanted that I'd call Eliza, you know."
"I wasn't aware the President hired me to be your sycophant," Lucy teased.
"You are about to be on the list, Deputy," Wren said, wrinkling her nose, and Lucy just laughed.
"Nothing happens on the list," Lucy explained to Booth, who just shook his head.
"What is it that you do here?" Wren asked her.
Lucy tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, Chief, I pretty much wrote my own job description, so..." she spread her hands and shrugged. "Whatever I want, really."
"I see," Wren drawled. "Keep doing what you're doing, I suppose. Booth, I'm calling your Bones girl about Kobol. Victory will be mine, et cetera, et cetera. Thought you might want to listen in." Booth nodded, and Wren hit a button and paged Amalia. "Get me Temperance Brennan, please," and after a quick response from Amalia, she was through to the lab.
"Dr. Brennan. Wren Parker. We spoke earlier." There was a pause while Wren waited for Brennan to finish speaking. "No, Doctor, for the last time: this administration is not sending you to Kobol. Yes, I understand that you are possessed of a vastly greater intelligence than I am, but unfortunately for you, I am possessed of vastly greater political power than you are." She rolled her eyes at Lucy, who grinned. "I'm sorry if I feel that your giant brain can best be used for the good of this society while you are on this planet." Wren pulled the phone away from her ear and made a face at it while Booth tried not to laugh. "No, I don't like you either, but you do good work, and the President would prefer that you keep doing it. Here. On Earth." She listened for a few more moments, then sighed heavily and said, "And the best of luck to you with that. Have a good day," she added snippily, and hung up the phone.
"That sounded like fun," Lucy said.
"Right. Never tell her that some vicious part of me respects her tenacity," Wren sighed, rubbing her temples.
Booth shuffled his feet. "So... she's not going, right?"
"Not while I'm still breathing," Wren told him. "Figured I'd give you an incentive to keep doing your job. Eliza's been after to me to use more carrots, or something."
"Thank you," Booth said quietly. "It means a lot to me."
"Think nothing of it," Wren told him, waving her hand. "We've got every cubit we can spare funneled into securing a decent life for the people we have left. Maybe in a hundred years we can do what she wants, but for now? It's just not feasible. I'm not sending one of the brightest people we have left into certain death just to assuage her insatiable curiosity. We won't even get their data. She has to know that."
"She's just very... focused. Look, Wren, if I know Brennan, she'll just go around you."
"And I've spent my morning trying to make sure that she can't," Wren explained. "Look, it's a rare day when Tom Zarek and I agree on something, Booth, and it seems we agree on this, so I think that if our mutual disdain for your friend's idea is any indication, she'll be keeping her feet on the ground for the foreseeable future. Lucy?"
"I believe I mentioned the high-fiving and the celebrating," Lucy said, smiling warmly at Booth. "We don't do premature celebration." She winked at Booth, who chuckled, and nodded to Wren. "I've gotta see a guy about a thing," she said, and Wren nodded back.
"Get out of my office and do your job, whatever it is," Wren teased. She checked her watch and sighed. "I've got to run to the President's office with a Kobol update."
Felix walked past on his way out of the staffroom. "You hear the good news? We got Zarek for the Kobol thing?"
"Yep. Heard and on my way to deliver," Wren told him. "I hear there's a strong possibility that someone around here may give me a high five, but it hasn't happened yet."
Felix held up his hand and she reached over and slapped her palm against his. "Now it's official. We're good at what we do, you know," he said, smiling.
"On this day," Wren amended, but she grinned the rest of the way to Lee's office.