Swallowing Razors - Bones fanfiction

[doc_3]

Title: Swallowing Razors
Author: Doc_3
Pairing: B/Bish
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Anything up to this week’s ep is fair game
Summary: I of II of missing scene ficlets from Con Man in the Meth Lab

A/N:  A little mini ficlet of a missing scene that swirled around in my head all weekend.  Thanks to my f-list for the gobs of encouragement they've heaped my way to get me writing again.  This may not be an epic masterpiece, but it felt good to put words on paper (well, onscreen if we must be technical about it ...)

 

 

I.

His heart was pounding so loud in his ears that he felt as though the ear drums should burst to relieve the pressure. But his hands never shook.

“Bones!”

He felt rather than heard her thump to the ground, his eyes never leaving the sheriff or his hostage. Rule number one was to never take your eyes off the target. He tried to angle his head so he could see her in the periphery of his vision without turning his head.

“Bones!”

At her answer, he felt his vision narrow on the target, everything else fading away as he closed in.

***

Slowly he reached in the car and withdrew the man’s weapon and observed him for a moment. Dead. Even the agonal breathing had stopped – a shot appeared to have severed the carotid.

Turning slowly, he could see her standing in the fading light, a bit paler but with her chin still lifted defiantly. The blood was running down her hand, dripping onto the white concrete, and seeping slowly through the fingers of the hand she pressed to the wound.

Everything around him faded once more, the shotgun and pistol were placed on the grass. Grasping both sides of her face in his hands, he held her there, lowering his forehead to hers. He inhaled her for a moment, allowing himself this measure of comfort that she was okay.

***

Cam found him leaning against the high counter in front of the ER nursing station.

“Next time, try to leave a more cryptic message.”

“Sorry. I didn’t want to scare you.”

Taking in the blood on his shirt and the hard lines around his mouth, she let it be at that.

“Yours?” She tried to gesture nonchalantly at the brownish stain on the blue oxford.

“Hers. It was a single shot, through and through, to the upper arm. The orthopedic guy is in there now looking at it, to make sure there’s no muscle damage. ER doc wanted to consult a plastic surgeon but she told him if he could sew it up straight she wouldn’t need plastic surgery.”

Cam was struck by a sudden urge to weep for this man. He was trying to make a joke about his partner’s notoriously prickly nature while his eyes were drenched in guilt.

Her compassion and tears were the last things he needed, she knew better than to offer those.

“I need to know exactly how this happened to one of my people in the field, Booth.”

“You will have my report on your desk by tomorrow, Camille.” He straightened and matched her tone of professionalism.

“Excellent. Now tell me what really happened.”

His eyebrow asked the question for him.

Softening her voice she repeated, “What really happened out there, Booth?”

A long sigh and then he answered, “I had a pump-action shotgun on him, couldn’t fire because he had a hostage. Bones grabbed my sidearm and held it on him as we advanced. She must have taken her eyes off of him long enough to give him an opening. I saw him swing the barrel her way but still could fire. She was down and he made a go for the car, and then pushed the hostage out into the street as he tried to drive off. I stopped him.”

“This is not your fault, Seeley.”

His only answer was a snort. “Make sure you call my boss and tell him.”

She didn’t answer, instead turning to face the curtained off exam room where the muted voices of Brennan and one of the physicians could be heard. They stood in silence as the minutes stretched out, and Cam waged a silent battle with the voice in her head. They reached a compromise and she turned back to him, now facing his profile.

“How long can you do this, Seeley?” she whispered.

“Do what, Camille?” his voice was flat, but she saw him swallow hard then clench his jaw.

“How long can you let her scare years off your life without owning up to your feelings?”

She thought he wasn’t going to answer. And a part of her was terrified she’d pushed too much, said too much, implied too much. He wasn’t one to allow people – even friends – to poke around in an area of his life he had deemed off-limits. Cam knew she was now firmly in off-limit territory – his feelings for his partner.

“As long as it takes.”

End Part I

Part II

 

Comments

[labsquint.livejournal.com]

First of all, so glad to see that you've put hands to keyboards after you've expressed trouble getting going with your writing again. Sometimes it just takes a little push to get the inspiration going and if this ep did it, then hurrah! Now I like it even more (and that's saying something because I liked it a lot!)

First of all, to me there was a big gaping hole in this episode. I know, I know, there's only 42 minutes to tell the tale, but there really was room to see the immediate reaction to this shooting (I would have gladly given up time with Jared to see more of this...). So both at the scene and later at the hospital, you've nicely filled in some missing moments.

The way you've sketched Booth before and right afterwards is wonderfully intense. He felt his vision narrow on the target, everything else fading away as he closed in. The man knows that he has a job to do and he'll get it done. But he can only do it well once he knows his partner is not seriously hurt. Then he uses the intensity of his own fear as a weapon. And it works like a charm.

Grasping both sides of her face in his hands, he held her there, lowering his forehead to hers. He inhaled her for a moment, allowing himself this measure of comfort that she was okay. This...this was what we were all waiting to see. It didn't need to be an over the top moment, but the intensity that you've shown in this moment is really wonderful. I wish we'd seen just this in canon.

I like Cam and I like the way she appears in this fic. For starters, she's sassy, even in a crisis: “Next time, try to leave a more cryptic message.” And this line particularly struck me: Cam was struck by a sudden urge to weep for this man. He was trying to make a joke about his partner’s notoriously prickly nature while his eyes were drenched in guilt. This is the Cam that we saw in the Pathology Suite, the one who called Booth 'Big Man' and tried not to break down because her heart was breaking for him. I love this Cam...what a great friend she is. And what a great way to so clearly draw Booth's agony following the shooting. Very nicely done.

But for me, the best part of this missing scene was Cam actually have the guts to ask the question we'd all like to ask: “How long can you let her scare years off your life without owning up to your feelings?” And Booth's answer is very telling. He doesn't play dumb, not with Cam; he actually owns up to the truth. And in admitting “As long as it takes.” he has, for the first time, admitted something out loud that one wonders for how long he has admitted to himself.

Very nicely done, and I'm looking forward to Part II....

ETA: As long winded as I am, you'd think I'd get it all in one go, right? Apparently not. The other thing I wanted to mention is that I really like the title you've chosen for this piece. It's expressive and it perfectly sets the mood and has the reader slightly off balance right from the beginning. Very good choice!

Okay...I'll shut up now! ;)

[doc-3.livejournal.com]

You write such great reviews *hangs head in shame* - I'm a terrible reviewer in comparison :)

Seriously, thanks so much for taking the time to chew on this a little bit. (I really did feel rusty). I'm glad that I'm not the only one that felt very strongly about that scene right after she was shot. Not showing them connecting in some way at that moment was a real injustice - and it just felt wrong.

And Cam has turned into one of my favorite characters this season, with this ep cementing that. If anyone can ever point out the obvious to Booth - it will be Cam.

And the title ... Throughout writing this - and while watching the ep - I felt like Booth was having to absorb or "swallow" a lot of pain for a lot of things, both in the present and in the past. I'm thrilled beyond belief that the title works.

Thanks a million for such a great - and detailed - review. You're the best!

[labsquint.livejournal.com]

You write such great reviews *hangs head in shame* - I'm a terrible reviewer in comparison :)

Thank you...and you're welcome. A good review is not supposed to make you feel guilty though. I just know the kind of meaty reviews I like and I always try to return the favour because I know other authors like it too...