All The Crime Show Imagines

Back Burner - Seeley Booth

The lab bustled with activity, the usual buzz of different scientific analysis and an investigating fervor echoing off the walls. It seemed to be like every other day that I had stepped foot in the place. But today... today there was a heavy silence that hung in the air. It was a tension that spoke volumes in place of the words that weren't dared to be spoken. For the past few days, we had been knee-deep in a case, Bones and her team studying extensively the remains of a young woman that had been found just off the shore of the Potomac.

As I stood there observing the team as they worked diligently on the case, I noticed YNN, my girlfriend, standing at the entrance of the large room. Her eyes darting between the multiple activities going on within.

Dr. YN YLN, who was known for being one of the youngest world-renowned forensic analysts, as well as Brennan's good friend and partner, was normally a major part of the team. But today, just like every day for the past week, the young scientist did not put on her lab coat. Though I knew she desperately wanted to be working on this case, YNN could not be an active participant with this one. Not when it was her little sister's body that had been recovered.

It wasn't until Cam approached me that I finally was able to get my head back into what was going on around me. But as I turned around, I noticed that Dr Saroyan's concern was evident on her face. "How's YNN holding up?" she asked as she looked over at her colleague that stood there in the entryway with a dazed glare in her YEC eyes.

I sighed and rubbed my hand over my tired eyes. "She's trying her best to be okay for everyone else's sake," I admitted. "But deep down, the girl's barely holding on. Stella, though I never got to meet her with her always traveling and what not, was her best friend. YN's been pushing everything to the back burner since she identified her just because she doesn't want to be a burden to anyone else."

Camille nodded and her brow furrowed with empathy as she began to understand the gravity of the situation. "She's here, trying to distract herself, isn't she?"

I nodded solemnly in response. "Yeah. She didn't want everyone to worry about her because she was sitting at home. But this... watching this is... it's tearing her apart. She's not sleeping, Cam, if she does, it's not through the night. More like a three-hour power nap. In the last week, YNN's ate maybe four whole meals collectively. The sooner we find this son of a bitch, the better."

The dark-eyed woman in front of me sighed and said, "I can't imagine standing there watching us work this and her not being able to isn't helping the situation or her mental state much either."

"It's not. It's really not. Neither is diving headfirst into the ungodly amounts of other work she has. I just wish there was more I could do to be a comfort to her right now." I confessed as I let my gaze drift back over to the YHC haired girl who leaned against the wall looking lost within her own mind.

The look in Cam's eyes softened at my confession, her voice filling with compassion as she said, "Seeley, though we all want to be able to do more than we are able, sometimes all we can do is just be there for her when she needs us the most. We'll catch this guy one way or another but until then, maybe even after, she needs the time to process what has happened to Stella. All you can do during that time is stand by her. That's all she needs from you right now,"

I watched as YN mustered up a sad and forced smile when she noticed me walking up to her after my talk with Cam. Though it wasn't fooling me, or anyone for that matter, I knew that she was trying to put on a mask to make everyone believe she was fine.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, I pulled her close, sensing the turmoil boiling her alive. "You should go home, sweetheart."

"Can't." she said into my chest. "Being alone in the apartment makes it worse. At least being here, where I can distract myself with work I know needs to be done, helps keep my mind from all this."

I sighed and looked down at her. "YNN, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that the more you keep yourself busy, the more you keep your mind off of what happened to Stella that will all turn out be a sick dream that you're just going to wake up from." I said in a soft tone, so she knew that I wasn't upset with her. That was the last thing she needed to think about right now. "But, baby, it's not. I know you want to figure out what happened to her, we all do. Bones, me and everyone else is doing their absolute best to help catch the asshole who did this to her for you." Pulling her away from me slightly so I could see those YEC eyes that I loved so much, I stated, "We're not going to stop until we do. But until then you need to stay away from the lab."

"Stay away from the lab?" She questioned. "How can I stay away? I work here. Hell, you tell me all the time I basically live here and not at home. How do I stay away from that?"

For a moment I was silent. I knew that as long as she was in the Jeffersonian or anywhere near it and Stella's bones were still laying on Bones' examination table, YN was not going to be able to get through this major shock the way she needed to. That was until I got an idea.

"Why don't you grab your laptop and paperwork from your office then you can go with me to headquarters and get your work done there? That way you're still getting work done but you don't have to be here." I proposed as I pushed a stray piece of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear.

"You sure Stark wouldn't mind?" she questioned.

Shaking my head, I said, "Given the current circumstances, I'm sure that it won't be a problem." I kissed her forehead gently and then looked back down at her. "Go get your things. I'll be right here. Just go the long way around. Don't pass the bone room. Okay?"

YN nodded as another sad smile made an appearance. "Thank you, Seeley. For everything. I know I probably haven't been easy to take care of the past few days, and everyone has been taking that in stride. But you still haven't forgotten that I'm still a person and not a porcelain doll. That means a lot."

I returned her sad smile with one of my own and said, "You don't have to thank me, baby. Now go get your things so we can get you out of here."