Who: Booth and Crowley What: Meeting at the crossroads in the middle of the night, breaking Belas contract. When: the night of Crowley's post. Late late. Where: Said aforementioned crossroads. Warnings: Probably mature content. Soul trading. Rating: A is for angst.
Booth had things to consider before he made the deal with Crowley as he did. He considered his son, Parker. He loved him with all his heart, but everything that happened lately made him more and more convinced that he would never get to see him again. He had his partner, Bones. He hadn't seen her in almost a year. The things he cared for were back in D.C. Chances were they'd all moved on. He would have wanted them to be stuck on the past. But he did feel residual bitterness. He was only human. They weren't together, they never would be the way that he wanted either. He loved her, she didn't love him. Not that way. That was how it always happened. Then he found Bela. He knew he wore his heart on his sleeve, was a hopeless romantic, all that jazz. But he cared about her. He wasn't sure love was the word, but that didn't matter. The fact of the matter was, she deserved a second chance. She told him that she had made a deal as a child. She couldn't have known at the time what it really meant. Booth had a soft spot for her. Despite how angry and disappointed he was. Children were innocent. He was not.
Lucifer had told him she had blood on her hands, that her deal was her own, Booth wasn't so sure of that. He was a sniper in Iraq. He was trained with a license to kill. Not literally, but he'd taken so many lives, been tortured as a P.O.W., and survived an abusive childhood, and all he wanted to do was help people. He'd tried to make up for his past by being a better person. By helping as many people as he could. He believed in heaven, or at least he used too until recently. His faith was shaking and hanging on a wire. Typically he would have prayed, but considering what he was getting ready to do he didn't believe it was appropriate. He did what Crowley asked. He got a small box, graveyard dirt and drove to the crossroads slightly out of town. He didn't want to risk anyone he knew showing. He had a shovel in his crossover. A small box from his office. Fear running in his blood. He was summoning a demon.
He couldn't have reservations about what he was going to do. But he had questions. Getting out of the crossover as he turned off the engine and pulled out the keys, he stood in the open area under the stars and looked up at the sky as if trying to get an answer from the stars. How could he possibly ask God if this were the right path after what he was about to do? Booth pulled the shovel out of the car and slammed the door shut with more force then he meant. "..Damnit." He breathed as he looked around making sure he was alone. He started digging. He was so in over his head. Bela deserved another chance. Dust began to rise up and cling to his black slacks. He promised her she wouldn't go back to the pits. He didn't like to be made into a liar.
When the hole was deep enough, Booth tossed down the shovel and reached for the small box he'd put on the hood of his car. With his free hand he reached for his wallet and took his I.D. It was the only picture he had on him. He tossed it into the box and the box went into the dirt. Booth began to shovel it over and cover the box. He wasn't sure what would happen next. He'd never done this sort of thing. Did he need to send out a flare or something? The dirt road was quiet. The only lights in sight were from the stars above. At least it was warm. Where he was headed ten years down the road he wasn't going to have to worry about weather. He looked up and down the crossroads. His heart sunk.