Jumping ship? Nah, not gonna happen! Even though...

Ok, regarding Pet’s last post, I have two things: 1. Yes and, 2. No.  All clear?  No?  Need more clarity?  

Ok, here goes:

Yes, I do believe that Booth is trying to change, or maybe even test Brennan – but not in the ‘aww.. sweet’ way he did in previous seasons.  In the latest episode, 'The Truth in the Myth', he came across as just plain mean.  There is a nasty feel to it, which just might be my personal interpretation of the entire ‘teach-a-squint’ thing.  I use the terms ‘mean’ and ‘nasty’ because it seems like he is playing with her beliefs, and using her feelings towards him as a kind of test as to how far he can push her.  When she is having a hard time accepting his claims to have seen the Yeti, he says to her “you are no different than the people who believed the sun revolved around the earth”.  You can see it affects her. His opinion is important and she therefore searches for a way to believe him, and stay true to her science and to herself.  Also, the jokes she made in the car and his refusing to laugh at them is totally opposite the Booth of seasons past. 

Lets take for example one of my favourite episodes of season 5, episode 6 (mainly my fave cos Gordon-Gordon was in it!!!). In the kitchen scene towards the end of the episode, Booth asks Brennan to do him a favour and she responds with “as long as I don’t have to shave my head”.  Lame joke, but he laughs!  He acknowledges that she is trying, and he makes an effort to laugh at her jokes.  See! Different Booth!

However, sticking with this scene, before Bones arrives Booth has a conversation with Gordon that includes the following lines:

GORDON: Temperance Brennan. You’re in love with her. You’re building a world around her, a family.

BOOTH: We’re not compatible. She sees the world one way, I see it the other way.

GORDON: No of course, it’s absolutely ludicrous the idea of you together, but the heart chooses what it chooses, doesn’t it? We don’t really have any say in the matter.

BOOTH: She doesn’t love me. I would know if she loved me.

GORDON: May I counsel patience on this front. Hope and patience.

Hope and patience!  Then, a few episodes later he goes all gambler on her ass.  I also re-watched that scene, as painful as it was. 

BRENNAN:  I am not a gambler; I'm a scientist. I can't change. I don't know how. I don't know how.

Kind of breaks your heart.  Well, my little shipper heart broke for Booth, and for Brennan.  It was painful to watch – the desperation in Booth and the sorrow in Bones. However, he knows her, he knows it was too much too soon.  His response should have been to go about proving to her that his love is secure, it is there to stay, and not set up house with the first blond he grabs under a tree!

In Season 6 ‘The Blackout in the Blizzard’ he admits that he is angry, but says he is not angry with her.   But, sometimes, it kind of seems like he is.

2. No, I don’t believe that Brennan is not willing to bend for him (no, Pet – not that kind of ‘bend’ – but feel free to fanfic that image you now have in your head).  I don’t think that she is being too rigid.  I’ll give you a couple of examples:

The paper burning scene:

Brennan tells him that she is improving.  She is strong.  She was an impervious substance when they met (a substance that is impervious to damage, does not need to be strong), now she is a strong substance.  And a time could come when she is strong enough to risk loosing the last of her imperviousness.  Sounds to me like she is working on allowing her heart to be as open as his is.

In the following episode, the foot-bone specialist is so affected by Brennan’s opinion of his occupation that his arm no longer works.  In another lovely scene-in-car Booth asks Bones to apologise to Dr. Foot.  She listens to his arguments that ‘sometimes being a grown man makes it hurt more, and what makes us human is that we can feel compassion and regret’.  She then asks him why it is so important to him, and he says that he knows her, he knows what kind of person she is and he wants other people to see it too.  He wants her to share some of that with the people around her.  And she does, but in her own way.  She does what Booth requests, but in a way that she can still feel she has remained true to herself.  She did not apologise, she was “remiss” or “contrite”.  I love this in Bones, she is willing to listen to him, she is willing to accept his ‘improvement suggestions’ and attempts to make her more ‘compassionate’ – but she is not willing to give up herself, or her science to do it.  She’ll do it for him, but she’ll do it in her own way!

I could add a few more.  The Angela and the pig issue in episode 6 of season 5.  Even though Sweets has already advised her to just help Ange save the pig, she only does so once Booth also tells her that it is better to just “let Angela have this one”.  Without hesitation she follows Booth’s advice.

However, all our character analysis aside, the only thing that will get these two together is if HH picks up a pen and MAKES IT HAPPEN!

D