Booth glanced over at her as she stared straight ahead at the windshield.
"Bones...I...what I meant was how can you like someone who's in prison who has tortured and killed five women," he said, trying to dig himself out of the hole that he had created.
"What exactly are you hoping to gain by going to talk to him?" Bones asked, ignoring his comment.
"I just want him to know that he's being watched."
"By whom?"
"By me, Bones."
"You're going to watch him?"
"If that's what it takes."
"So...you're going to stalk him."
"He's a murderer, Bones."
"It's still stalking."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is too. You know, I think you're becoming just a little too obsessed with this case."
Booth slammed on his breaks. He didn't care that they were in a middle of a busy street and the car that was behind them nearly crashed into them. Instead, the car swerved around them and the driver began honking and yelling all sorts of obscenities at them.
"I'm not obsessed," Booth stated through gritted teeth.
"Clearly you are since you nearly killed us in the middle of..."
"You've never seen what this man can do!" He yelled.
"I saw the pictures. I know…"
"You don't know, Bones," Booth said, his voice quieter. "You don't know until you walk into a crime scene and you see a woman that's unrecognizable because she's been starved and beaten and burned and her hands are tied together above her head and she's hanging from that hook. You don't know."
"You're right. I don't. I'm sorry." Brennan paused, giving Booth a moment to accept her apology. She had been working with him long enough to know when she should talk and when he just needed time.
"I'm sorry," he finally said quietly. "This case is just…"
"Creepy really got to you back then, didn't he?" Brennan asked.
Booth smiled. "Are you really going to call him creepy?"
"Yes," she answered, smiling back.
Booth started driving again and they both sat in silence.
"You're right," he finally said. "The case did get to me. I was young and stupid. I should have found more to go on than a crappy eyewitness to put him away forever."
"You blame yourself for him getting out of prison," she said as a statement and not as a question.
"I thought you didn't believe in psychology."
"I don't, but it's obvious that you feel some kind of guilt for him getting out of prison and you're willing to do almost anything to make sure he goes back to prison. I understand that. It's rational."
"It is?