taxonomites | 8 | [ location: the jeffersonian institute ] / [ visual ]

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8 | [ location: the jeffersonian institute ] / [ visual ]

The feed flickers to life as Brennan turns on the record function, giving Taxon a quick glimpse of her office couch that has clearly been slept on if the blanket and pillow combination is anything to go by, as well as a dog on the floor that's chewing halfheartedly on a toy. Brennan leans back a little as she straightens the tablet and regards the screen, her expression carefully neutral.

"For those of you who were acquainted with her and may not yet be aware of it... Angela Montenegro was sent back home yesterday."

Brennan looks like she's about to add something to this, but decides against it. Instead she presses her lips together into a tight line as if to keep from saying anything further and lowers her gaze, reaching out for the device and fumbling with it for a second before tossing it back on the coffee table in front of her. Brennan's attempt was to turn it off, but she doesn't quite manage it in her distracted state. Instead, the tablet keeps on recording, albeit now only showing a steady view of the ceiling. The audio is still clear as day, however.

The silence is punctuated only by the dog gnawing on her precious toy until Brennan speaks up a moment later.

"Looks like it's just you and me now, Tuesday."

There are no tears in her tone, but the words come out very softly and are followed by a forlorn sigh.

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"I... don't really like to think of it as losing her. Eventually I'll be sent back home myself and everything will be as it used to be. In the meantime, I'll simply have to adapt."

She hopes. Brennan has heard stories of people being stuck here for a year, a year and a half, two years. There are so many what-if's attached to that line of thinking Brennan would rather not go there. She prefers believing that her own turn will come sooner or later.

"It's nice to meet you, as well. I don't mean to be rude, but I'd prefer it if you would call me Brennan like everyone else," the anthropologist replies after a brief pause. Rose seems kind and friendly, yes, but Brennan isn't one to warm up to new people very quickly. 'Temperance' just seems too familiar; no one but her father and brother call her by her first name. Them, and most importantly, her partner Booth when he really had something important to say to her.

Edited 2011-04-03 16:36 (UTC)

"That was a poor choice of words, I'm sorry. But there's a chance that you will get sent back, I suppose."

If Rose were to go back, then there's a high possibility that she would be dead, just like Lexi. A part of her wishes that she could go back just before that time and change everything, but that would have consequences for Elena and the Salvatores. Rose's sacrifice meant something.

She waves it off. "No, you're not being rude at all. I'll call you Brennan." Rose waits for a few moments before addressing her with another statement. "I am curious as to what kind of doctor you are though."

Brennan perks up at Rose's question, grateful for the change of topic. This is something she can do, talk about her job. It's a welcome distraction.

"I'm a forensic anthropologist," she says, her spine straightening a little in obvious pride at her work, as unconventional as it is. She's used to having to explain her job description, and so she doesn't think twice about doing so in this instance as well. "I study human skeletal remains for research and identification purposes. I mostly examine remains that are suspected to be homicide victims nowadays, working in collaboration with the FBI in Washington DC. They call me in when they have a body that's too decomposed or damaged for traditional identification methods. I also authenticate ancient remains for museums and other institutes, as well as lend my expertise on anthropological digs, sites of natural disasters and civil war conflicts, for example."

It's a lot to take in, so she pauses and waits for the other woman to respond.

Rose feels that perhaps a distraction was needed, hence the reason she asked about Brennan's title. She listens carefully and waits for her to finish before she replies. It was a lot of information to process but it was also quite fascinating to her.

"That's quite an interesting profession you have. I've heard of forensic anthropology but I wasn't entirely sure what it was. So, thanks to you I have a better understanding."

Rose didn't exactly have time to learn everything. Being on the run for over five hundred years had hampered that.

"I have another question for you if that's okay. What prompted you to become a forensic anthropologist?"

"Glad to have clarified it," Brennan smiles a bit. "It's interesting, yes, but also quite demanding. Taxing even, at times. But it is also very rewarding, returning these people who can't speak for themselves back to their families and bringing justice to those responsible of their deaths."

Rose's follow-up question makes Brennan sober just a little, although she doesn't mind the question. God knows she's been asked that enough times during her career, and especially since she begun writing her novels. It seemed to be a staple question in every interview she had to do.

"My parents went missing unexpectedly when I was fifteen. Nobody seemed able to help, to give answers. I wanted to become that person I never had. That someone who had answers and could explain what had happened."

"I can only imagine how hard of a job it can be," Rose replies, rapt with attention now. "Helping to answer questions about the circumstances of people's death and catching the bad guys is very noble indeed."

She can respect Brennan for choosing a career like that. It also made Rose think of the lives she took before she came to Taxon and what impact that had upon their families. Rose felt remorse almost immediately after realising what she had done, but the memory still lingered.

"A very personal reason then." Rose didn't expect her to be so honest about it. "At least now you can give others hope."

"It has its good and bad days," Brennan nods. "But thankfully, there are usually more good days than bad. I couldn't do it alone, though; I'm fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists working with me."

Most of the time, Brennan's pride and sense of accomplishment at a job well done outweighs the occasional bad day when a suspect gets away scott-free due to a technicality or a lawyer's fancy trick, or when another one of her dates (though those have been very sporadic lately) goes awry when the guy hears about what she does for a living.

"Yes. Having that personal reason gives my job a further purpose and myself a continued belief in the rightness of my decision to specialize in what I do."

"Always good to have people around you for support." Rose wasn't sure if Angela was one of the specialists, but she thought that she might be.

Rose herself didn't really know what she would do for a career, given the choice. Back in 1400s, women didn't have much of a choice. And when she was on the run, Rose didn't have much time to think about settling down, too focused on helping Trevor.

"Do you ever think that you would do anything else? Another career, perhaps?"

Brennan thinks about this for a moment. "I can't remember having any specific occupational dream as a child, but I was always very interested in sciences. That and my father was a high school science teacher and so encouraged any scientific curiosities I had. Anthropology as a discipline was fascinating to me, and when my parents went missing, it seemed natural to specialize in forensic anthropology."

That is, he was a science teacher after he was done being a bank robber with her mother, but that detail is too personal to get into with someone she'd only just met. It was a touchy subject even to her closest friends.

"Although, a few years ago I ventured into novel writing and wrote a book, just to see if I could. It was a crime novel based loosely on my work. It was quite successful and I wrote a few sequels to it that were also popular, so you could say I'm a best-selling author on the side."

Brennan never was one for excess modesty.

Rose continued to listen to her intently, expressing an interest like she did with Spencer when he told her about wormholes in the library. One thing that Rose always enjoyed was acquiring knowledge. "It makes sense to pursue something that you have a keen interest in. And if you enjoy it, then that makes it even more worthwhile."

Maybe Rose could find something to occupy her time with in Taxon. Which was one of the reasons why she went to the library in the first place.

"You're an author too?" She repeats with a smile. "You've certainly done well for yourself, Brennan."

"This is true. I'm quite acclaimed and independently wealthy," Brennan responds factually, nodding in agreement. Which may not have exactly been the point Rose was making, but Brennan has always been overwhelmingly literal.

"What about yourself, what is it that you do?" she asks after a long moment, her synapses firing enough to prompt some polite inquiry although Brennan generally disliked smalltalk.

Brennan's question makes Rose pause for a while as she tries to figure out how to respond. What exactly could she tell the other woman? Rose couldn't tell her what she really was or what happened in her life. Eventually, she settled on a answer.

"I'm in between jobs at the moment, so I don't really have a chosen field. But I've done a little of everything."

Rose hopes that it is a satisfactory answer.

Brennan nods her head slowly in acknowledgment of Rose's answer. To her, having several jobs was an indicator of either having no formal education or lack of concentration and/or ambition. But she's not about to say any of that aloud. Brennan's fairly certain that would be rude.

"I see," she replies politely. "Well, in that case you're not missing out on anything while here."

She's not sure that's any comfort, but it's the only thing she could think to say.

Rose was uncertain on what Brennan would reply to that, but given her background and what the other woman did for a living, it might not have been good. She couldn't blame her though really.

"I'd love to find something to do here, though. Perhaps even find a job."

She was struggling to find things to occupy her time with in Taxon.

If Brennan knew of Rose's true nature, her outlook on that issue would be different. She considered Angel a friend and understood that certain exceptions could and should be made with vampires. Of course, it had taken her a good while to wrap her scientific head around the fact that vampires weren't just fictional creatures from myths and bad movies.

"I'm sure there's something here you could do, as far as finding occupation goes," Brennan says, tilting her head slightly. "Have you any experience in retail or customer service in general? There are several establishments in Taxon that hire for such positions, I believe."

Edited 2011-04-08 17:47 (UTC)

She has no choice other than to lie to Brennan. Rose couldn't risk telling her that she was a vampire. No one here knew apart from the Mystical Falls residents. Then there was the fact Brennan was a woman of rationality and science; she mightn't believe that Rose was a vampire.

"I have a little experience, yeah. I'm quite good in dealing with people as well." Rose muses for a moment-it wouldn't be a bad place to start. "Thank you for telling me."

That gets a small but genuine smile from the anthropologist.

"You're welcome. Establishing some routines and finding something to occupy oneself with daily does quite a bit in regards to helping one settle in."

Rose nods in agreement, her smile a little brighter than before.

"I think it will help me adjust to this place some more. Perhaps get to know the other residents of Taxon as well."

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8 | [ location: the jeffersonian institute ] / [ visual ]

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