Bones Fanfic: Show Me What I'm Looking For (22/?)
Title: Show Me What I’m Looking For
Author: biba79
Disclaimer: Characters aren’t mine, they belong to Hart Hanson.
Pairings/Characters: Booth/Brennan
Rating: T
Spoilers: None
Summary: When Brennan fears she may be incapable of truly making love, she asks Booth for help only he can provide. What will his answer be? Season Six. Booth/Brennan.
Word Count: 2,974
Previous Chapters: One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Eleven - Twelve - Thirteen - Fourteen - Fifteen - Sixteen - Seventeen - Eighteen - Nineteen - Twenty - Twenty-One
A/N: Here is a new update, brought to you by Gina (BrennaBooth), she convinced me I needed to update. Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing, and a special thanks to my awesome beta Jen (JSQ79), she’s incredible. Talking about my beta, chapters 24-29 are in her hand being betaed, so I only have one more chapter to update, so I can’t promise when that will happen, and I won’t rush her for the other ones, so hopefully it will be soon, maybe a week. I have been super generous with twice a week updates, just be patient please, another one is coming soon. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
Song “Never Say Never” by The Fray.
Some things we don't talk about
Rather do without
And just hold the smile
Falling in and out of love
Ashamed and proud of
Together all the while
Picture, you're the queen of everything
As far as the eye can see
Under your command
I will be your guardian
When all is crumbling
To steady your hand
You can never say never
While we don't know when
Time, time, time again
Younger now than we were before
Chapter 22
Booth’s phone rang later that evening. He jumped for it as he had two other times, hoping it was her.
“Booth.”
“Hi. It’s me... I’m sorry I had to hang up earlier.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Bones...”
“Booth, I want to come home.”
“Tonight?” He asked surprised.
“No... but earlier tomorrow... I don’t suppose you’d be... I need...” Her voice was obviously racked with pain. She waited for his response. ‘Please don’t turn me down Booth, I need you,’ she thought.
“I’ll be here...when will you get home?”
“Probably not till at least 7pm. Unfortunately, I need to go to the reunion, but I can cut out of there early.”
“By seven?”
“Yeah... Oh, God. I forgot... you’ll be with Hank.”
“I’ll change my plans with him, don’t worry, he won’t mind...”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to mess up...”
“He won’t care Bones, trust me. I’ll be at your place at seven sharp.”
A soft sob escaped from Brennan’s throat.
“Are you okay? Do you need to talk now?” He was ready to listen.
“No, I’m okay. I just wish I was home.”
“Bones, I’m sorry, things didn’t go well...”
“Me too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye.” Booth put down the phone, wishing there was some way to wrap his arms around her and give her the comfort she so deeply needed.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Hank and Booth were sitting in his home; they had just arrived from Church. Hank had come to have breakfast with Booth.
“Are you okay, Shrimp?” His grandfather read the somber mood.
Booth gave Hank an affectionate pat on the shoulder.
“Fine, Pops. How is everything with you?”
“Good. Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“I’ll set the table.”
Hank looked at Booth, knowing something serious was on his mind. They sat down to their meal, and following tradition, they began with grace.
“So, how is everyone at the work?” Hank asked every week, always getting the same answer until recently.
“Everything’s going pretty good, Angela and Hodgins have been pretty busy with Nico. Sweets is actually not as annoying as he used to be, and that’s a miracle.” Booth smiled.
“And Cam, is that sweet woman holding all of you together?”
“Great - you know Cam, she keeps everyone in line and somehow manages to do it without us realizing it, most of the time.”
“And how’s Temperance doing?”
There was something special about Brennan. Booth had never come out and admitted it, he never would, but Hank could tell by the way his face changed and those somewhat jaded chocolate eyes’ softened whenever he said her name.
As if tuning into his Grandfather’s thoughts... “Bones and I are working overtime on the latest case...”
“Really, don’t you always work overtime?”
“Well... uh... yeah.” Booth smiled a little, thinking of how his overtime ended every night.
“So, Temperance’s really something... huh?” Hank was fishing.
“She’s amazing.” He cleared his throat to cover his enthusiasm a bit. “I mean... her knowledge of forensic anthropology. She’s a genius, she can handle herself in the field, even though she can be a little wild sometimes - just give her a good case and she gets her teeth into, and Pops, she packs her own one two punch, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“She really is amazing,” Hank agreed, certain that Booth was choosing wisely.
“Yeah... she’s really something.” Hank heard the pride in his voice and saw that look in Booth’s eyes. Hank remembered it well, what it felt like to be falling in love.
“I’d like to see her again sometime, Shrimp.”
“Oh, Yeah, of course Pops. I’m sure she would love to see you again too.”
“Shrimp, what does Temperance mean to you exactly?”
“What?”
“You never lose an opportunity to talk about her, and when you do...”
“So, if I happen to say a woman’s name more than once, that means I’m madly in love?”
“Does it, Shrimp?”
Booth wasn’t ready to divulge the truth; he wanted to wait until things became more solid with Brennan. But he knew deep down, Hank already had some idea just how much he was in love with her.
“I like her Pops, she’s a great woman, and we work well together. End of story.”
“If you say so,” Hank said smiling to himself. He had no doubt about it, the more Booth denied it, the surer Hank was that this was a lot more than Booth had admitted, probably even to himself.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Booth was nervous. He checked his watch, it was two minutes to seven. He hoped she wasn’t upset to find him already in her apartment.
As he adjusted the table one more time, he started an argument with himself - why did he feel what he felt; he questioned whether being here, waiting like this was the wisest move he had ever made, but then since meeting Brennan, he seemed to be questioning everything in his life. Why should this be any different?
The apartment door opened suddenly and Booth spun around. Brennan saw the perfectly set table complete with candles. He wanted to get flowers for her too, but he was pretty sure it would give her the wrong idea, which was actually the right idea. The way Booth’s thoughts were going, it was no wonder he got headaches so often.
“You’re here.” Brennan smiled for the first time since the cell phone call during the wedding.
“Hey... I hope you don’t mind, I thought you might be hungry... so, I made some dinner.”
“That’s nice, Booth.” Brennan managed a smile. “Didn’t you already have dinner with Hank?”
“We switched to church and breakfast this time...”
“You did that because of me?”
“No, it was strictly for selfish reasons.” He knew she was holding it together by a thread; he could hear the strain in her voice and he saw the circles under her beautiful eyes, which revealed more than she realized.
They looked at each other silently. Brennan slowly lowered her garment bag to the floor. She bit her lip, as she did whenever she was nervous. Why did she feel so shy seeing him again? It had only been two days.
“So, was it your Dad who interrupted us?” Booth tried to make it easier for her to talk.
“Yes.” Her voice was a whisper.
“And?”
“It was one of the worst days of my life. I wanted to be anywhere but there.” The tears were surfacing in her voice.
Booth moved towards her, just a couple of steps, and she opened her arms to accept his solid comfort, something she had grown to expect and cherish.
“It’s okay...”
“I found out... My Dad... gave... he gave Joanna my Mom’s favorite necklace.” She got out of Booth’s embrace. “Can you believe him? It was supposed to go to me, not a random girlfriend of my Dad’s. I hate him.”
“You don’t hate him.” Booth looked into her disillusioned eyes. “You love him, that’s why it hurts so much.” His eyes held hers, filled with understanding and compassion.
“I knew I wasn’t going to like her... she was very condescending and just as snobby as Aunt Mary, and too many family members I never met before were trying to give me advice about my life. It was just too much.” Her tears resumed. Her life, what she thought had been the foundation of her life, had turned out to be nothing more than a false front, a house of cards.
Brennan touched his face affectionately. She missed him so much; she needed him more than ever.
“Are are you hungry... even a little?” Booth asked persuasively.
“I haven’t eaten anything... I’ve been way too upset.” She felt the tension of the last two days begin to slide away. She was exhausted. She had returned to the wedding out of consideration for Russ and somehow made it through the day, but the emotional fallout had left her drained, in need of rejuvenation. Seeing his face again, feeling his arms around her, took the chill away, giving her a ray of hope.
“Then it’s high time I fed you, Bones.”
“Did you bring your apron?” She loved it when he blushed.
“No, no apron tonight, sorry.”
“It’s good to have a friend to come home to, with or without an apron.” She smiled.
“Are you always going to give me a hard time about that?”
“Always,” she agreed, happy to hear that word.
“Guess what happened to me... my first wedding... ” He pulled out her chair. Sitting down across from her he waited for her critique. She took the first bite of food, “The chef hasn’t lost his touch.”
“I would hope not... so, tell me what happened?”
“Somebody pushed me into the line during the bouquet toss... and I caught it.”
“Well, you were just following orders.”
“It’s so ironic because I’ve never not wanted to get married so much before in my life.”
“You can’t judge marriage by what Max did, Bones. Just because he is dating someone else and gave...”
“I can’t imagine committing myself to a relationship... thinking it will last forever... only to have it deteriorate overnight. How can love just end like that... disappear without warning... it’s just sad.”
“It doesn’t always end up that way,” He assured her, deciding it was time to concentrate on the positive. “Tell me about the wedding.”
She began to talk about all the details, speaking of how in love they looked and how beautiful everything was. Looking at him across the table, she found herself feeling happy again.
He cleared the table and insisted she relax while he put the dishes in the dishwasher. When he returned, he found her sound asleep on the couch. Bending down to pick her up, she stirred in his arms.
“Booth... I’m sorry... I guess I was a little worn out.”
“That’s okay... you go ahead and sleep... I’m going to take you to your bed.”
“I’m sorry... I... are you leaving?” Her voice told him it was the last thing she wanted him to do.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed her softly.
He caressed her cheek as he lay next to her in the bed.
“Booth...”
“Get some sleep, Bones.”
Booth gave her a warm embrace and a soft cuddling touch. Brennan, in spite of her fears and doubts, felt her heart open up to him all over again.
X-X-X-X-X-X
It was morning already, and the phone rang interrupting their sleep.
Booth rolled over - Brennan was dead to the world, and his brain was heavy with sleep... he needed to stop that incessant racket, or it would wake Brennan.
“Halllloooo...” his voice sounded unfamiliar even to him.
“Booth?!”
“Olivia?!” Suddenly it hit him. God what was he thinking, it could have been anybody. Thank goodness it was just Olivia.
At the sound of Booth’s exclamation Brennan sat straight up in bed. “What’s the matter?” She looked at Booth, not realizing the phone was in his hand, then her eyes widened, and she whispered, “Who is it?”
“Liv... uh... how are you?” Booth continued, ignoring Brennan, who was pushing hair out of her face and looking at him nervously.
“Did I hit the wrong numbers?” Olivia smile was wide; she knew perfectly well she had the number right.
“No... it’s me.”
“Well, what do you know... you’ve finally come to your senses!”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing... is Temperance available, or are you keeping her exceptionally busy?”
“No...Yeah...” Booth was still trying to wake up, “she’s right here.”
“Hello Olivia.” Brennan felt guilty. She hadn’t even told Olivia about her arrangement with Booth. She was too insecure in it; she didn’t want Olivia to read more into it and get both their hopes up for nothing.
“So you and Booth, don’t tell me - you are working late?” Olivia giggled.
“I’m sorry, I...”
“Why are you sorry? I’m so thrilled, I can’t tell you...”
“It’s... not what...”
“Oh please Temperance, don’t tell me it’s not!”
“Uh...”
“Well, you can tell me exactly what it is this afternoon when I get to DC,” Olivia said decisively.
“Really... today?”
“I was hoping that you could get away to the Art Museum for awhile... they want to display some of my work...”
“That’s wonderful... today... I should be able to meet you there. What time?”
“Is Booth still there?” Olivia asked.
“Yes...”
“Shoot! Putting a pregnant woman under this kind of suspense isn’t good Temperance. I feel heartburn coming on...”
“Olivia... You should take some anti-acid...that always helps. I’ll talk to you later?” Brennan promised discreetly.
“Some friend you are!” She groaned. “Ok... Tell Booth John’s coming too and would like equal time together.”
“Will do.”
X-X-X-X-X-X
The two women were walking after Olivia’s very successful meeting with the museum’s curator.
“Oh...” Olivia rubbed her lower back... “Whose idea was it to walk thru an entire museum?”
“Yours...” Brennan laughed, pointing to a bench in front of one of the paintings.
“Let me tell you, when you are nearly eight months along...” She sat down on the bench. “Oh... that’s better... imagine a watermelon with legs kicking you all day and a rope pulling at your back... it’s like your body is playing tug a war with itself... mind you I’m not complaining.” She was glowing with happiness.
“Thanks for telling me Olivia... it will help stop the ticking of my biological clock.”
“Ok Temperance... I’ve been extremely patient, which is quite a feat for a woman in my condition. We’ve covered everything there is to cover... art, me, John, the baby, the weather, you can’t avoid it any longer... What’s going on with you and loverboy?”
Brennan was nervous. “First of all, Booth is not a boy, he’s a grown man, and nothing is going on.”
“Oh... so, he’s just stopping by to answer the phone every morning?”
“Olivia... I would have told you, really, it’s just that... we’re continuing where we left off... nothing new has happened.”
“Well, something has to be happening, because when we last spoke...”
“We talked and decided to keep... we are together for purely physical reasons, to satisfy our biological urges... until somebody better comes along...”
“Temperance, are you sure that’s what he wants?”
“That’s all he said he wanted...”
“So, you’re content with that?”
“Yes...” Brennan said it decisively, then shook her head miserably. “No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“Olivia... it’s... he’s not... he doesn’t ever say... what or how he feels...”
“I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not. Something happened when Booth was younger - I think it closed him up inside.”
“His mother...” Brennan supplied.
“Oh, so he told you about her?”
“Yes.”
“Everything?”
“What do you mean?”
“She had cancer Temperance.”
“I know...”
“He’s the one who let her go when nothing more could be done...”
“What?” Brennan couldn’t believe it. “How do you know that?”
“When the baby died, Booth wanted us to know he understood, so he told us. He was only fifteen years old... his eyes when he spoke of it, I don’t think he’s been the same since that day.”
“Oh my God... I had no idea...”
“No, I didn’t think he had told you everything, and it’s not my place, except that you need to understand he has a lot buried inside, and it’s going to take a lot of love to get it uncovered.”
“Olivia... I...”
“You love him, Temperance...”
“Our agreement doesn’t include love,” Brennan said quietly.
“So, you’re not allowed to change the agreement?”
“We’ve never discussed changing it.”
“Booth’s never brought up or indicated...”
“No, nothing. I still hope... sometimes I get a glimmer, and then, not a word. He’s very good to me, but I don’t think he’s in love with me.”
“Temperance, look at this painting, what do you see?”
“I don’t know... ocean, sand...”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah... it’s a seascape.” Brennan wondered what it was she was missing.
“No, look closely,” Olivia advised. Brennan got to her feet looking at the painting again.
“I’ve never seen that before, and I’ve looked at it quite a few times.”
“Sometimes things are much more than what appears on the surface - you just have to look until you see it all,” Olivia said, smiling encouragingly.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily that way with Booth.”
“Keep looking.”
Brennan nodded her head, wondering if she would ever find what she was looking for.
A/N: There you have it. So, what did you guys think of Hank’s scene with Booth and Olivia’s scene with Brennan? Well, review away. I would love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter. Thanks for reading.
Author: biba79
Disclaimer: Characters aren’t mine, they belong to Hart Hanson.
Pairings/Characters: Booth/Brennan
Rating: T
Spoilers: None
Summary: When Brennan fears she may be incapable of truly making love, she asks Booth for help only he can provide. What will his answer be? Season Six. Booth/Brennan.
Word Count: 2,974
Previous Chapters: One - Two - Three - Four - Five - Six - Seven - Eight - Nine - Ten - Eleven - Twelve - Thirteen - Fourteen - Fifteen - Sixteen - Seventeen - Eighteen - Nineteen - Twenty - Twenty-One
A/N: Here is a new update, brought to you by Gina (BrennaBooth), she convinced me I needed to update. Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing, and a special thanks to my awesome beta Jen (JSQ79), she’s incredible. Talking about my beta, chapters 24-29 are in her hand being betaed, so I only have one more chapter to update, so I can’t promise when that will happen, and I won’t rush her for the other ones, so hopefully it will be soon, maybe a week. I have been super generous with twice a week updates, just be patient please, another one is coming soon. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
Song “Never Say Never” by The Fray.
Some things we don't talk about
Rather do without
And just hold the smile
Falling in and out of love
Ashamed and proud of
Together all the while
Picture, you're the queen of everything
As far as the eye can see
Under your command
I will be your guardian
When all is crumbling
To steady your hand
You can never say never
While we don't know when
Time, time, time again
Younger now than we were before
Chapter 22
Booth’s phone rang later that evening. He jumped for it as he had two other times, hoping it was her.
“Booth.”
“Hi. It’s me... I’m sorry I had to hang up earlier.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Bones...”
“Booth, I want to come home.”
“Tonight?” He asked surprised.
“No... but earlier tomorrow... I don’t suppose you’d be... I need...” Her voice was obviously racked with pain. She waited for his response. ‘Please don’t turn me down Booth, I need you,’ she thought.
“I’ll be here...when will you get home?”
“Probably not till at least 7pm. Unfortunately, I need to go to the reunion, but I can cut out of there early.”
“By seven?”
“Yeah... Oh, God. I forgot... you’ll be with Hank.”
“I’ll change my plans with him, don’t worry, he won’t mind...”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to mess up...”
“He won’t care Bones, trust me. I’ll be at your place at seven sharp.”
A soft sob escaped from Brennan’s throat.
“Are you okay? Do you need to talk now?” He was ready to listen.
“No, I’m okay. I just wish I was home.”
“Bones, I’m sorry, things didn’t go well...”
“Me too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye.” Booth put down the phone, wishing there was some way to wrap his arms around her and give her the comfort she so deeply needed.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Hank and Booth were sitting in his home; they had just arrived from Church. Hank had come to have breakfast with Booth.
“Are you okay, Shrimp?” His grandfather read the somber mood.
Booth gave Hank an affectionate pat on the shoulder.
“Fine, Pops. How is everything with you?”
“Good. Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“I’ll set the table.”
Hank looked at Booth, knowing something serious was on his mind. They sat down to their meal, and following tradition, they began with grace.
“So, how is everyone at the work?” Hank asked every week, always getting the same answer until recently.
“Everything’s going pretty good, Angela and Hodgins have been pretty busy with Nico. Sweets is actually not as annoying as he used to be, and that’s a miracle.” Booth smiled.
“And Cam, is that sweet woman holding all of you together?”
“Great - you know Cam, she keeps everyone in line and somehow manages to do it without us realizing it, most of the time.”
“And how’s Temperance doing?”
There was something special about Brennan. Booth had never come out and admitted it, he never would, but Hank could tell by the way his face changed and those somewhat jaded chocolate eyes’ softened whenever he said her name.
As if tuning into his Grandfather’s thoughts... “Bones and I are working overtime on the latest case...”
“Really, don’t you always work overtime?”
“Well... uh... yeah.” Booth smiled a little, thinking of how his overtime ended every night.
“So, Temperance’s really something... huh?” Hank was fishing.
“She’s amazing.” He cleared his throat to cover his enthusiasm a bit. “I mean... her knowledge of forensic anthropology. She’s a genius, she can handle herself in the field, even though she can be a little wild sometimes - just give her a good case and she gets her teeth into, and Pops, she packs her own one two punch, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“She really is amazing,” Hank agreed, certain that Booth was choosing wisely.
“Yeah... she’s really something.” Hank heard the pride in his voice and saw that look in Booth’s eyes. Hank remembered it well, what it felt like to be falling in love.
“I’d like to see her again sometime, Shrimp.”
“Oh, Yeah, of course Pops. I’m sure she would love to see you again too.”
“Shrimp, what does Temperance mean to you exactly?”
“What?”
“You never lose an opportunity to talk about her, and when you do...”
“So, if I happen to say a woman’s name more than once, that means I’m madly in love?”
“Does it, Shrimp?”
Booth wasn’t ready to divulge the truth; he wanted to wait until things became more solid with Brennan. But he knew deep down, Hank already had some idea just how much he was in love with her.
“I like her Pops, she’s a great woman, and we work well together. End of story.”
“If you say so,” Hank said smiling to himself. He had no doubt about it, the more Booth denied it, the surer Hank was that this was a lot more than Booth had admitted, probably even to himself.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Booth was nervous. He checked his watch, it was two minutes to seven. He hoped she wasn’t upset to find him already in her apartment.
As he adjusted the table one more time, he started an argument with himself - why did he feel what he felt; he questioned whether being here, waiting like this was the wisest move he had ever made, but then since meeting Brennan, he seemed to be questioning everything in his life. Why should this be any different?
The apartment door opened suddenly and Booth spun around. Brennan saw the perfectly set table complete with candles. He wanted to get flowers for her too, but he was pretty sure it would give her the wrong idea, which was actually the right idea. The way Booth’s thoughts were going, it was no wonder he got headaches so often.
“You’re here.” Brennan smiled for the first time since the cell phone call during the wedding.
“Hey... I hope you don’t mind, I thought you might be hungry... so, I made some dinner.”
“That’s nice, Booth.” Brennan managed a smile. “Didn’t you already have dinner with Hank?”
“We switched to church and breakfast this time...”
“You did that because of me?”
“No, it was strictly for selfish reasons.” He knew she was holding it together by a thread; he could hear the strain in her voice and he saw the circles under her beautiful eyes, which revealed more than she realized.
They looked at each other silently. Brennan slowly lowered her garment bag to the floor. She bit her lip, as she did whenever she was nervous. Why did she feel so shy seeing him again? It had only been two days.
“So, was it your Dad who interrupted us?” Booth tried to make it easier for her to talk.
“Yes.” Her voice was a whisper.
“And?”
“It was one of the worst days of my life. I wanted to be anywhere but there.” The tears were surfacing in her voice.
Booth moved towards her, just a couple of steps, and she opened her arms to accept his solid comfort, something she had grown to expect and cherish.
“It’s okay...”
“I found out... My Dad... gave... he gave Joanna my Mom’s favorite necklace.” She got out of Booth’s embrace. “Can you believe him? It was supposed to go to me, not a random girlfriend of my Dad’s. I hate him.”
“You don’t hate him.” Booth looked into her disillusioned eyes. “You love him, that’s why it hurts so much.” His eyes held hers, filled with understanding and compassion.
“I knew I wasn’t going to like her... she was very condescending and just as snobby as Aunt Mary, and too many family members I never met before were trying to give me advice about my life. It was just too much.” Her tears resumed. Her life, what she thought had been the foundation of her life, had turned out to be nothing more than a false front, a house of cards.
Brennan touched his face affectionately. She missed him so much; she needed him more than ever.
“Are are you hungry... even a little?” Booth asked persuasively.
“I haven’t eaten anything... I’ve been way too upset.” She felt the tension of the last two days begin to slide away. She was exhausted. She had returned to the wedding out of consideration for Russ and somehow made it through the day, but the emotional fallout had left her drained, in need of rejuvenation. Seeing his face again, feeling his arms around her, took the chill away, giving her a ray of hope.
“Then it’s high time I fed you, Bones.”
“Did you bring your apron?” She loved it when he blushed.
“No, no apron tonight, sorry.”
“It’s good to have a friend to come home to, with or without an apron.” She smiled.
“Are you always going to give me a hard time about that?”
“Always,” she agreed, happy to hear that word.
“Guess what happened to me... my first wedding... ” He pulled out her chair. Sitting down across from her he waited for her critique. She took the first bite of food, “The chef hasn’t lost his touch.”
“I would hope not... so, tell me what happened?”
“Somebody pushed me into the line during the bouquet toss... and I caught it.”
“Well, you were just following orders.”
“It’s so ironic because I’ve never not wanted to get married so much before in my life.”
“You can’t judge marriage by what Max did, Bones. Just because he is dating someone else and gave...”
“I can’t imagine committing myself to a relationship... thinking it will last forever... only to have it deteriorate overnight. How can love just end like that... disappear without warning... it’s just sad.”
“It doesn’t always end up that way,” He assured her, deciding it was time to concentrate on the positive. “Tell me about the wedding.”
She began to talk about all the details, speaking of how in love they looked and how beautiful everything was. Looking at him across the table, she found herself feeling happy again.
He cleared the table and insisted she relax while he put the dishes in the dishwasher. When he returned, he found her sound asleep on the couch. Bending down to pick her up, she stirred in his arms.
“Booth... I’m sorry... I guess I was a little worn out.”
“That’s okay... you go ahead and sleep... I’m going to take you to your bed.”
“I’m sorry... I... are you leaving?” Her voice told him it was the last thing she wanted him to do.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed her softly.
He caressed her cheek as he lay next to her in the bed.
“Booth...”
“Get some sleep, Bones.”
Booth gave her a warm embrace and a soft cuddling touch. Brennan, in spite of her fears and doubts, felt her heart open up to him all over again.
X-X-X-X-X-X
It was morning already, and the phone rang interrupting their sleep.
Booth rolled over - Brennan was dead to the world, and his brain was heavy with sleep... he needed to stop that incessant racket, or it would wake Brennan.
“Halllloooo...” his voice sounded unfamiliar even to him.
“Booth?!”
“Olivia?!” Suddenly it hit him. God what was he thinking, it could have been anybody. Thank goodness it was just Olivia.
At the sound of Booth’s exclamation Brennan sat straight up in bed. “What’s the matter?” She looked at Booth, not realizing the phone was in his hand, then her eyes widened, and she whispered, “Who is it?”
“Liv... uh... how are you?” Booth continued, ignoring Brennan, who was pushing hair out of her face and looking at him nervously.
“Did I hit the wrong numbers?” Olivia smile was wide; she knew perfectly well she had the number right.
“No... it’s me.”
“Well, what do you know... you’ve finally come to your senses!”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing... is Temperance available, or are you keeping her exceptionally busy?”
“No...Yeah...” Booth was still trying to wake up, “she’s right here.”
“Hello Olivia.” Brennan felt guilty. She hadn’t even told Olivia about her arrangement with Booth. She was too insecure in it; she didn’t want Olivia to read more into it and get both their hopes up for nothing.
“So you and Booth, don’t tell me - you are working late?” Olivia giggled.
“I’m sorry, I...”
“Why are you sorry? I’m so thrilled, I can’t tell you...”
“It’s... not what...”
“Oh please Temperance, don’t tell me it’s not!”
“Uh...”
“Well, you can tell me exactly what it is this afternoon when I get to DC,” Olivia said decisively.
“Really... today?”
“I was hoping that you could get away to the Art Museum for awhile... they want to display some of my work...”
“That’s wonderful... today... I should be able to meet you there. What time?”
“Is Booth still there?” Olivia asked.
“Yes...”
“Shoot! Putting a pregnant woman under this kind of suspense isn’t good Temperance. I feel heartburn coming on...”
“Olivia... You should take some anti-acid...that always helps. I’ll talk to you later?” Brennan promised discreetly.
“Some friend you are!” She groaned. “Ok... Tell Booth John’s coming too and would like equal time together.”
“Will do.”
X-X-X-X-X-X
The two women were walking after Olivia’s very successful meeting with the museum’s curator.
“Oh...” Olivia rubbed her lower back... “Whose idea was it to walk thru an entire museum?”
“Yours...” Brennan laughed, pointing to a bench in front of one of the paintings.
“Let me tell you, when you are nearly eight months along...” She sat down on the bench. “Oh... that’s better... imagine a watermelon with legs kicking you all day and a rope pulling at your back... it’s like your body is playing tug a war with itself... mind you I’m not complaining.” She was glowing with happiness.
“Thanks for telling me Olivia... it will help stop the ticking of my biological clock.”
“Ok Temperance... I’ve been extremely patient, which is quite a feat for a woman in my condition. We’ve covered everything there is to cover... art, me, John, the baby, the weather, you can’t avoid it any longer... What’s going on with you and loverboy?”
Brennan was nervous. “First of all, Booth is not a boy, he’s a grown man, and nothing is going on.”
“Oh... so, he’s just stopping by to answer the phone every morning?”
“Olivia... I would have told you, really, it’s just that... we’re continuing where we left off... nothing new has happened.”
“Well, something has to be happening, because when we last spoke...”
“We talked and decided to keep... we are together for purely physical reasons, to satisfy our biological urges... until somebody better comes along...”
“Temperance, are you sure that’s what he wants?”
“That’s all he said he wanted...”
“So, you’re content with that?”
“Yes...” Brennan said it decisively, then shook her head miserably. “No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“Olivia... it’s... he’s not... he doesn’t ever say... what or how he feels...”
“I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not. Something happened when Booth was younger - I think it closed him up inside.”
“His mother...” Brennan supplied.
“Oh, so he told you about her?”
“Yes.”
“Everything?”
“What do you mean?”
“She had cancer Temperance.”
“I know...”
“He’s the one who let her go when nothing more could be done...”
“What?” Brennan couldn’t believe it. “How do you know that?”
“When the baby died, Booth wanted us to know he understood, so he told us. He was only fifteen years old... his eyes when he spoke of it, I don’t think he’s been the same since that day.”
“Oh my God... I had no idea...”
“No, I didn’t think he had told you everything, and it’s not my place, except that you need to understand he has a lot buried inside, and it’s going to take a lot of love to get it uncovered.”
“Olivia... I...”
“You love him, Temperance...”
“Our agreement doesn’t include love,” Brennan said quietly.
“So, you’re not allowed to change the agreement?”
“We’ve never discussed changing it.”
“Booth’s never brought up or indicated...”
“No, nothing. I still hope... sometimes I get a glimmer, and then, not a word. He’s very good to me, but I don’t think he’s in love with me.”
“Temperance, look at this painting, what do you see?”
“I don’t know... ocean, sand...”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah... it’s a seascape.” Brennan wondered what it was she was missing.
“No, look closely,” Olivia advised. Brennan got to her feet looking at the painting again.
“I’ve never seen that before, and I’ve looked at it quite a few times.”
“Sometimes things are much more than what appears on the surface - you just have to look until you see it all,” Olivia said, smiling encouragingly.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily that way with Booth.”
“Keep looking.”
Brennan nodded her head, wondering if she would ever find what she was looking for.
A/N: There you have it. So, what did you guys think of Hank’s scene with Booth and Olivia’s scene with Brennan? Well, review away. I would love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter. Thanks for reading.