In Which Booth Teaches Her

Season 5, Episode 2

The Bond in the Boot

BOOTH: Right right. So what you need to do is apply some pressure and hold it there for a minute (places his hand over hers to hold the pipe in place; both of them looked at each other) Right. You know, just making sure that it’s in place. Student-teacher, student-teacher.

(Brennan laughs; followed by Booth laughing along)

BOOTH: You know, Bones, I'm.. I'm glad that, uh, we don't have any secrets between each other.

BRENNAN: Yeah, I like that.

BOOTH: I mean if we have something on our mind we just, we just share it.

BRENNAN: Sure. (pauses) Even with all of the financial and intellectual contradictions I, still feel close to you

BOOTH: Right, because you know, none of that really matters anyway.

BRENNAN: Sometimes looking at it through your eyes, I believe that.

(They both look into each other eyes for a while before Booth speaks again)

BOOTH: Alright, pipe seems tight and secure. (removes his hand from the pipe) Hold on there, let me just open up the water (reaches for the taphead and turns it on) There. You can take your hands off now, Bones.

BRENNAN: (hesitating) You sure?

BOOTH: Bones-

(Brennan lets go her hand quickly)

BOOTH: Look at that, huh. Nice and secure.

BRENNAN: No drip.

BOOTH: No drip. (Brennan chuckles) You’re a …you’re a good student.

BRENNAN: Oh. Only as good as my teacher (smiles)

(Pipe suddenly burst out with water)

BRENNAN: Ahhh! (covers herself from the water) Turn it off!

BOOTH: (covering his eyes from the water) Huh? Ahhhh. Ahahahah!

BRENNAN: (already out from under the sink) My watch is ruined!

BOOTH: What do you mean your watch is ruined? It’s a Rolex!

And here we have another little underrated gem of a scene. So thoroughly underrated.

First: when he puts his hand over hers and they look at each other. And when he's all “it's student-teacher” afterward. Seriously, guys, I think you need to be a little more obvious. Really.

And when he starts talking about how they don't have any secrets... oh, dear. He's still all shaken up about his whole realization that he's in love with her. And he's not entirely sure what to do about it. And, I mean, on the one hand, hur durrrr, of course they have secrets from each other. They can't and won't admit their feelings for each other to each other. But, at the same time, I think on a very, very subconscious level, they know. Or they at least think they know. And they know that other knows as well. They can't articulate it out loud, because it's such a feeling thing, such an abstract, subconscious thing, that to try and put it into words would be ludicrous for any person, rational or “go with your gut”.

And then, one of my favorite lines from Brennan ever: “I still feel close to you”.

Holy. SHIT.

It may not seems like that huge of a deal, but think about it for a second: How often do you say to someone “I feel close to you”? It's quite a risk emotionally. What if you feel close to this person, but they don't feel close to you? It's, in a way, like saying “I love you” on a smaller scale.

It's a risk for a normal person; now think of how much of a risk it is for BRENNAN.

And not only for her to give up so much emotionally, but for her to be so sentimental, so abstract...

I repeat:

Holy. SHIT.

And then, as if this whole cake of a sweet scene wasn't enough, we get some frosting to go on top - “Sometimes looking at it through your eyes, I believe it.” To have her admit not only that she realizes clear markers of status in society, like intelligence and money, aren't (always) what matters most in life, but to have her say that Booth is the main reason she has realized this, shows a great step of progress for her.

And plus, it's just damn sweet. The phrasing of it all is very sentimental. “through your eyes”, and that taboo word for Rational!Brennan, “believe”. And the fact that her tone indicates that she sees it as a good thing... it's like getting Emotional!Brennan without an emotionally devastating situation. Baby steps add up after awhile, friends.

And we have to mention the whole fact that he's teaching Bones how to fix pipes at all. Well, he's only doing it because she suggested he do it because Sweets suggested to her that she suggest that Booth teach her. But Sweets suggested it because he understands that Booth needs to have reassurance right now that he's still good at the things he's good at. After his coma, after losing some of what he was good at, well, anyone would need reassurance (imagine if it had been Brennan, and she had forgotten... some important thing about bones? My god, she'd go insane!) And this is especially true of Booth, because he doesn't have many “concrete” things he's better at than Bones to begin with. Yes, of course he has the upper hand to the extreme with emotional things, people skills, etc., but those things abstract, and although he knows that just because they are abstract, it doesn't mean they don't count... he still has to have some concrete things to impress her with, in a way. Like she said, he always used to boast about how handy he was. He can teach her all he wants about emotion, but right now, in this time when he needs real reassurance that he is still himself, he needs to teach her something concrete, something easier to understand as actual teaching. He needs to be the teacher, and she needs to be the student, so he can demonstrate to himself in an easy to understand, direct way that he still has things to offer.



And not only does he need to reassure himself of his own skills, he needs to reassure himself that him and Brennan are still equals. And he is assured of this when she says “Only as good as my teacher”. She affirms that they are still equals, and that's exactly what he needs to know.



If that makes any sense at all. Which I'm not sure it does.
But, there have you.