A/N: This story is for Faith in Bones because she's awesome!
It had been eight days since Brennan had told Booth he was going to be a dad again. The last week had been a whirlwind of emotions for both of them, they had so much to figure out before the baby arrived, like where they were going to live. Neither of their apartments were really big enough for a baby and all the stuff that one required and on occasion Parker. They had time to settle that issue and all the others, but right now Booth had one thing on his mind. He and Brennan had come home to his apartment after a long day at work and ordered Thai. Booth put his empty takeout box on the coffee table and turned to Brennan," Bones, let's go on a date..."
Brennan stirred her container of noodles without looking up, "no."
"What?"
Brennan looked at Booth then, "I would love to go on a date with you, Booth, but I can't..."
"Why can't you go on a date with me, Bones?"
"Because I'm not ready to tell everyone about us yet..." Brennan subconsciously put her hand on her stomach. "...about the baby..."
Booth smiled a little, "Bones, if we see anyone we know while we're on our date they'll think we're just going out as partners, like always..."
"No, they'll know... you've been different since I told you. I'm different now too."
Booth could see that Brennan was really worried and maybe a little upset about someone finding out about the two big changes in their relationship before she was ready to tell everyone. He didn't really understand why she was against anyone finding out now, but he wanted to ease her fears so she didn't run from him and shutdown.
"Okay, how about I cook you dinner and we have date night in? We could maybe dance a little or something. I'll come home early and get dinner started so by the time you get here it will be almost done."
"That would be acceptable..."
"Good. What about tomorrow night?"
"That would be nice. I need to go to my apartment and get some more of my things if I'm going to be staying here more..."
"Bones, I can stay at your place if you want to stay there."
"No, I like staying here with you and all of your knickknacks. Your apartment feels more like home to me than mine does most of the time."
"Okay, if you change your mind, let me know."
"I will."
The next night Brennan came home with a huge wheeled suitcase and a few other bags, Booth rushed to take them from her. "Bones, you should've called me before you left your place, I would've met you in the lobby so you wouldn't have had to lug all this up here yourself."
"Booth, I'm perfectly capable of carrying my own luggage…"
"I know you're capable, Bones, but you shouldn't have to especially now."
"Booth, I'm pregnant, not incapacitated!"
"I know, Bones!"
"I don't know why I brought all of this with me, most of it isn't going to fit in a few weeks…"
Booth squeezed her hand, "I rearranged my closet so you have room to hang stuff. The dresser against the wall across from the bathroom is yours."
"You bought another dresser?"
"No, I moved Parker's into our room, he's not going to be visiting anytime soon. His clothes are in plastic bins in his closet… it's one less thing I have to pack when I move out of here."
"Booth…"
"It's fine. Becca said he'd visit in the summer, you're due in April so we'll be moved into a new place by the time he needs his dresser again."
"Still, I wish she'd let you see him more."
"Me too, but I'm thankful for the little time I do get."
Brennan nodded, "I'm going to go put my stuff in the room and change."
"Okay." Booth carried Brennan's bags to their bedroom and returned to the kitchen. Brennan returned ten minutes later dressed in yoga pants and a long sleeve t-shirt.
"What smells so good?"
Booth looked up from the pot he was stirring, "spaghetti and meatballs with Pops' homemade sauce."
"Booth, I can't eat-"
"I got you kale and quinoa 'meatballs' and that vegan spaghetti you like. I also left the garlic and onions out of your pot of sauce in case they were an issue for you. I cut the acid from the tomatoes for you, too."
"You went to the organic market?"
"No, my local market has a good organic, gluten free, vegan section now. I got you other stuff too, it's all in the cabinets and the refrigerator and freezer. If I missed something we can go get it this weekend."
Brennan looked though the cabinets and the refrigerator and freezer. When she faced Booth again she had tears in in her eyes. Booth turned the pots down and went to her. "Hey, hey what's with the waterworks, huh?"
"No one has ever gotten me organic vegan stuff before. When I lived with Michael I always had to buy my own groceries. When I got them home they went on their own shelf in the refrigerator and in one cabinet. He never cooked me dinner much, usually it was just a salad…"
"Well, Michael Stires is an ass. It's not hard to cook you things besides a salad. Why wouldn't I get you things you can eat at the grocery store? It's what people who are in a relationship do. I'm short on cabinet space so I couldn't confine your food to one cabinet if I wanted to, where ever I had space for something I put it there." Booth kissed Brennan's forehead and went back to the stove.
"Thanks, Booth."
"You're welcome, Bones."
"Do you need help?"
"You can check the garlic bread to see if it's getting brown. The half of the loaf on the pizza pan has no garlic, vegan cheese and butter for you."
"Booth, you don't have to make me my own garlic bread."
"When I have Parker I make him some without garlic so why are you any different? Vegan butter isn't that bad, but vegan cheese is nasty!"
Brennan laughed, "vegan cheese is an acquired taste, but I happen to like it. "
"Good. Another five minutes and the spaghetti will be done."
"Same for the bread."
"Perfect." Booth moved to the freezer and filled two glass with ice and then with water. Five minutes later he carried over two plates of spaghetti and sat one plate in front of Brennan and the other in front of his place before going back to the kitchen for a saucer with a few strands of spaghetti and one meatball on it.
"Booth, why do you have another plate?"
"I wanted to try your spaghetti…"
Brennan smiled and twirled some noodles around her fork. Booth grinned and took a bite of Brennan's spaghetti and 'meatballs' and chewed. "It's not bad, I like the spaghetti more than I do the 'meatballs'. I wouldn't want to eat it all the time, but if I had to I could. That said I'm going to look through Grams' recipes, she had an eggless pasta recipe. You really are missing out."
"I'd like that, Booth. The sauce is excellent. "
"Thanks, Bones. I'm glad you like it."
After cleaning up and putting the leftovers in the refrigerator Booth walked over to the couch and sat next to Brennan, putting his arm around her. "Did you enjoy your dinner, Bones?"
"Yes, you did a very good job, Booth. It is one of the best meals I've had lately."
"Thanks, Bones."
"You're welcome, Booth."
Booth picked up a remote off the coffee table and pressed a button, a few seconds later soft music filled the room. "Dance with me, Bones?"
"Yes." Booth stood up and led Brennan to the empty space by the couch, they danced for a few minutes until Brennan pulled back. "Booth, stop!"
"What? Are you okay?"
"No. The movement has made me nauseous." Booth frowned and guided Brennan to the couch, once she was settled Booth went to the kitchen and came back with a can of ginger ale. "Parker gets carsick sometimes so I keep a 6 pack in the fridge. He says it helps some."
Brennan smiled a little and took the can, "thanks, Booth." Brennan took a small sip and settled back into Booth's arms, he reached for the remote to turn the music off. "Leave it on, Booth…"
"Okay." Booth sat back on the couch and pulled Brennan close and started rubbing her arm. For the next few minutes they sat there in the silence listening to the music. "Feeling better, Bones?"
"Yes, mostly. This is nice."
"That's good. What's nice, Bones?"
"Just sitting here with you listening to the music. You're very comfortable."
Booth chuckled, "thanks, Bones. Did you like your spaghetti?"
"Yes, it was good. I'm proud of you for trying some of mine, not many of my dates have attempted trying my 'weird' food."
"Bones, your food isn't that weird, I don't understand a lot of it, but I don't think it's weird. I respect your desire to eat it. I will eat some things on occasion."
"Thanks, Booth."
Booth just nodded and kissed Brennan. They spent the rest of the evening on the couch just enjoying being with each other. Booth still couldn't believe that after 6 years of wanting it so badly, he was finally in a relationship with Brennan, and to top it off they were going to have a baby.
B&B
A week later Booth came home to find Brennan in the kitchen. "Hey Bones, what are you cooking?"
"I'm making you meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes. I'm making myself meatloaf substitute. I thought we could have another date night in and watch a movie or something."
"Sounds good to me, Bones. Do you need help?"
"No. Everything should be done in fifteen minutes if you want to change out of your suit."
"Okay. I think I will." Booth headed to the bedroom. He came back a few minutes later dressed in a faded grey t-shirt and jeans. Booth wordlessly grabbed two glasses from the cabinet and filled them with ice and water and sat them at their places. "The candles are a nice touch, Bones."
"I thought they'd make our date night in more romantic."
"They do." Brennan smiled and picked up their plates and headed to the table. She sat one in font of Booth. "It looks great, Bones."
"Thanks, Booth." Brennan put her plate on the table and sat down. She took a sip of water and picked up her fork only to quickly put it down, stand up and head toward the bedroom. Booth sighed, he knew what had happened and resisted the urge to go after her. He took a bite of the meatloaf, it was the best he'd ever had. After he ate a little more, Booth got up and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed for the bedroom. Booth quietly knocked on the bathroom door, "Bones are you okay?"
"Yeah…"
"I brought you some water."
"Thanks." Booth opened the door and sat the bottle on the sink.
"Sorry I ruined date night…" Booth entered the bathroom and leaned against the doorjamb. "Bones, you didn't ruin date night. It's just one of those things that can happen."
"Still…"
Booth shook his head, "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes." Booth grabbed Brennan's hands and helped her slowly stand up.
"I'm going to lay down for a little while."
"Okay." Booth kissed Brennan's forehead before she could walk away. "I love you, Bones."
"I love you too, Booth." Booth watched Brennan walk to the bedroom before heading back to the kitchen. Booth finished his dinner and put the leftovers away before going to check on Brennan again. He found her still laying down with her eyes closed, not wanting to wake Brennan Booth tried to quietly leave the room. He got almost to the door when Brennan spoke, "Booth?"
Booth turned, "Yeah, Bones?"
"I wasn't asleep, you don't have to leave…"
"Okay." Booth crossed back to the bed and slipped his shoes off before joining Brennan.
"Did you like your dinner, Booth?"
"Yeah, it was the best meatloaf I've ever had…"
Brennan smiled, "I'm glad you liked it. I called dad and got mom's recipe. I remembered how good it was…"
"Yeah it is really good, you'll have to show me how to make it. I put the leftovers in the fridge, there's enough for us to have it tomorrow."
"I will. Sorry I couldn't have dinner with you tonight. Handling meat normally makes me a little nauseated, but I've never gotten sick. I guess being pregnant and my normal aversion to meat made everything worse."
"Don't worry about it, Bones. When Becca was pregnant she couldn't handle meat either, so maybe it's a Booth genetic thing. I did all the cooking until I got deployed, then she ate out most of the time. I can do that again if I need to."
Brennan smiled and kissed Booth's cheek, "Thanks, Booth. We'll see, I should be okay in a few weeks. I need to eat something, but I don't want meatloaf."
"We have some of that veggie soup from last night, or I can make you something else."
"No, the soup sounds good." Brennan started to get up.
"Don't get up, I'll bring it to you."
"Booth, I'm fine and capable of getting my own soup."
"I know, I just want to bring it to you. Please?"
"Fine. Brennan settled back on the pillows. Booth kissed her cheek and left the room. He came back ten minutes later with a bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich on a tray.
Brennan smiled, "Booth, you didn't have to make me a grilled cheese."
"You can't have soup without a grilled cheese sandwich, Bones." Booth sat the tray on Brennan's lap and went around to the other side of the bed and climbed in. Once he was comfortable, Booth picked up the remote control and brought up Netflix on the TV. Once Brennan finished her dinner she leaned back against Booth and started watching whatever Booth had chosen. Brennan have every intention of watching the movie but quickly fell asleep. Booth looked over at Brennan questionably when she wasn't debating the plot of 'rumor has it' once he saw she was asleep Booth turned the sound down and pulled the blanket up around Brennan. It probably wasn't what she had in mind for date night, but to Booth it was perfect, he had a fantastic dinner and Brennan was asleep in his arms.
B&B
Two weeks later Booth came home to Brennan making dinner again. "Hey Bones."
"Hey, Booth. I thought we could try having another date night in, since the last one didn't go so well. I'm making vegetable stir fry with tofu for me and with shrimp for you..."
"Sounds good Bones, but I thought we agreed that I'd do most of the cooking at least the things that involved meat."
"I know but normally seafood doesn't make me nauseated. So I tried it and I'm fine…"
"Okay, that's great, Bones."
"Go change if you want, dinner is almost done."
"Okay." Booth went to the bedroom only to come out ten minutes later dressed in a navy t shirt and jeans. Brennan had their dinner on plates in front of the TV. "I thought we'd watch a movie while we eat."
"Good idea, Bones." Booth sat down next to Brennan and handed her, her plate. "Thanks Booth."
"You're welcome, Bones. This looks good." Brennan nodded and brought up the movie
"I know you've already seen it, but I slept through it…"
Booth smiled, "it's okay, Bones. 'Rumor Has It' is a classic I can watch it again." Booth picked up his plate and took a bite of his dinner. "This is really good, Bones."
Brennan smiled, "I'm glad you like it, Booth. I got you an apple pie from the bakery you like. I got myself a slice of their vegan chocolate cake to try."
"Thanks, Bones."
"You're welcome, Booth." They ate their dinner and watched the movie when it was over Booth turned to Brennan. "Did you enjoy the movie, Bones?"
"I liked it mostly, there were parts that I didn't understand and/or were highly improbable."
"Yeah well it's a movie, that's kinda the point. Do you want your cake?"
"No, I ate far too much, especially with being pregnant."
"You're okay though, right?"
"I'm fine, Booth. I'm not going to vomit if that's what you're wondering." Brennan smiled a little. Booth returned it.
"It was and I'm glad. I think I'll save my pie for later too." Brennan nodded and settled back against Booth, he wrapped his arms around her. "What do you want to do now, Bones? Watch another movie?"
"Can we just sit here? For the past few weeks I find that I'm most comfortable siting with you just like this."
"Sure, Bones we can sit like this as often as you want for as long as you want." Booth kissed Brennan's hair "Did you enjoy our date night in, Bones?"
"I did. I made it through dinner and the movie without getting nauseous or falling asleep…"
Booth chuckled softly, "I love you, Bones." They kissed. Brennan got more comfortable in Booth's arms.
"Did you enjoy our date night in, Booth?"
"Yes, it was perfect. I had a fantastic dinner, watched a classic movie, and got to spend the night relaxing with my girlfriend. "Brennan smiled and picked up the remote control for the sound system and turned on some music.
B&B
A few weeks later they'd told everyone at the lab about the change in their relationship and that Brennan was pregnant over drinks at the Founding Fathers the night before. They'd just gotten back from dinner with Max at the diner. Max was overjoyed with the prospect of being a grandpa. He breathed a sigh of relief when Brennan told him that the baby was Booth's and that they were in a relationship. Max also told Booth in no uncertain terms that if he hurt Brennan he was as good as dead. Brennan sat down next to Booth on the couch and laid her head on his shoulder.
"I don't think I've ever seen dad so happy."
"He just found out he's going to be a grandpa that the second best thing you'll ever be told in your life. The first is being told you're going to be parent…"
"Yeah, I think he's equally happy that you're the father and that we're in a relationship…"
"He is. He asked me years ago if we were sleeping together and when I told him we weren't he asked me if I was gay. Once I told him I wasn't gay he asked me if you were attractive enough. I told him you were beautiful…"
"Thanks, Booth."
Booth grinned, "You're welcome, Bones. Since everyone knows about our relationship and the baby, let's finally go on a real date."
"Okay, but not a place too fancy or with spicy food. The baby doesn't like those right now."
Booth grinned and kissed the side of Brennan's head, "Okay. I have the perfect thing in mind."
"What?"
"I'm not telling, Bones. It's a surprise."
"Booth, I don't like surprises, you know that."
"You'll like this one, Bones. Trust me."
"Okay."
"Thank you."
A few days later Brennan was in their bedroom getting ready for their date. "Booth, dressing for tonight would be a lot easier if you told me where we were going…"
Booth came out of the bathroom and walked up behind Brennan and put his hands on her shoulders. "Bones, what you wore to work today is fine. Just bring a jacket or sweater, you might need it later. Make sure your shoes are comfortable, we have to walk a little bit for the second part of the night."
"Okay."
An hour later Brennan smiled at Booth as he pulled into the parking lot of a new vegetarian restaurant that had recently opened. "Booth, I've been wanting to come here."
"I know, I saw the clipping with the address on the bulletin board. They have eggplant parmesan that I can get with real or vegan cheese…"
"That's your favorite."
"Yeah. I just hope the food is good."
"Me too."
They enjoyed their dinner and afterward Booth drove them to the park. "Booth what are we doing here? The park closed hours ago…"
Booth grinned and pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket and handed it to Brennan. "You got a permit for us to be here after hours, why?"
"You'll see in a few minutes. Wait for me to help you out of the SUV, its dark."
"Okay." Booth got out of the SUV and grabbed some things from the back before helping Brennan out of her seat. Booth intertwined his fingers with Brennan's and led her to an open area of the park. He stopped and began to unroll the sleeping bag that he carried.
"Booth, what are you doing? This isn't some sex under the bleachers fantasy of yours is it?"
Booth's head snapped up, "hell no, Bones! I don't do that crap now!"
"A pity…"
Booth chuckled and walked over to Brennan and took her in his arms. "Maybe another night, Bones. Tonight I thought we'd look at the stars. I got a new double sleeping bag so we can both lay in it."
"You're going to have to help me up and down."
Booth grinned, "Ready?" Brennan nodded. Booth carefully lowered her to the sleeping bag. "Comfortable?"
"Yes."
Booth sat down next to Brennan and pulled one of the other bags he brought over and opened it. "Pillows in case you need them."
"I don't right now, but thanks for bringing them. What's in the other bag?"
"You're welcome, Bones. It's a cooler, with water, ginger ale, crackers, and popcorn…"
Brennan chuckled and snuggled closer to Booth. "Thank you, Booth."
"You're welcome, Bones."
"What made you decide that we'd go stargazing tonight?"
"Parker. When he was about six he got obsessed with the stars, not the constellations and stuff, but he loved to look at them and try to count them. We came out here a lot, we'd both get in the sleeping bag and he'd just look at them until he'd fall asleep. I remembered how peaceful it was to just sit out here and I thought you'd like to come out here. He mentioned it last time we talked…" Booth shrugged.
"It will be nice to sit here looking at the stars. I enjoyed dinner. It was really good."
"It was. My eggplant parm was almost as good as what my grams made. The hummus was good too."
"It was. We'll have to go there on occasion."
"Yeah."
They spent time looking at the stars and talking about things not related to work. After a while Booth noticed Brennan was starting to nod off. He reached over and brushed her hair back from her face. "Hey Bones, it's getting late let's get you home before you fall asleep."
"Okay." Booth climbed out of the sleeping bag and helped Brennan up. He quickly rolled up the sleeping bag and grabbed the bag of pillows and the cooler. He wrapped an arm around Brennan's waist and led her to the SUV. Once they were home and in bed Brennan turned to Booth, "Booth, I had a really good time tonight. Thank you. We'll have to do it again before the baby gets here."
Booth smiled, "I'm glad you had a good time tonight, Bones. I did too. We'll do it in a few weeks."
"Okay. I love you, Booth. Goodnight."
"I love you too, Bones. Goodnight." They kissed.
B&B
They were at the end of a long and hard week, their last case had involved a child. Cases with children always were harder, but now that Brennan was pregnant they were extremely hard. Brennan knew the case was harder on Booth than her, the child was the same age as Parker and shared his hair and eye color. Brennan looked up from the casserole dish she was topping with parmesan cheese and butter when she heard Booth come in the front door. "Hello Booth."
"Hey, Bones. I thought we were going to get Thai and eat on the couch."
Brennan smiled, "We can eat our macaroni and cheese on the couch if you'd like…"
"You're making macaroni and cheese?"
"Yeah, it's comfort food and after this week I think we need it."
"Yeah…"
"I emailed Rebecca, she's letting Parker stay up late so you can skype him later."
"I already talked to him on Monday…"
"I know that, Booth, but you need to do it again…"
Booth smiled, "I'm fine, Bones."
"I know…"
Later that night after they finished their dinner and talked to Parker until the boy fell asleep, Brennan dropped an envelope in Booth's lap. "What's this, Bones?"
"Open it and see, Booth…"
Booth opened the plain blue envelope and pulled out a pair of Washington Capitals tickets. "Bones?"
"The game is on your birthday, I was going to give you the tickets that morning, but after this week I thought you might need something to look forward to. I know it's not the Flyers, but I thought you'd still enjoy the game."
"I will thanks, Bones."
"You're welcome, Booth."
"Are you coming with me?"
"Yes, unless you would like Jared to come with you."
"No, a hockey game with my girlfriend is the best way to spend my birthday…" Brennan smiled.
Two weeks later Booth and Brennan were seated center ice waiting for the puck to drop. "Bones, these seats are great."
"I'm glad you like them. The woman at the box office assured me these were good seats." Booth grinned and kissed Brennan's cheek. "Are you sure you're warm enough?"
"Yes, Booth. In fact I'm a little too warm with my all my layers on." Brennan took off her coat.
Brennan found she enjoyed the game more than she thought she would. She enjoyed watching Booth watch the game, he was having the time of his life. Later as he was driving home, Booth asked, "Did you enjoy the game, Bones?"
"Yes, but I like to watch you play more. Did you enjoy the game, Booth?"
Booth grinned, "You like to watch me play, Bones?"
"Yes, I find it enthralling, something about you playing a game that has the tendency to escalate to violence rather quickly…"
Booth blushed and cleared his throat. "Good to know Bones, good to know. It would have been better if it was a Flyers game, but I still enjoyed it."
"I'm glad, Booth."
B&B
Christine was five weeks old, the last five weeks had been the best of Booth and Brennan's lives. They were exhausted but neither one of them would trade them for a second. Christine was down for the night and Booth and Brennan were relaxing on the couch. "Bones. Let's go on a date before you go back to work Monday."
"I would love to do that, Booth, but I can't leave Christine. I'm not ready…"
"Bones, you're going to be leaving her at daycare all day next week…"
"I know, but if she needs me I can be there in less than five minutes…"
"Okay how about we just go have dinner at the diner and come home as soon as we're done. We'll only be gone an hour, hour and a half tops?"
"I can do that… I think…"
"Great! Are you going to ask Max to watch her?"
"No, I'd feel better if Angela watched her. I still have trust issues with dad."
"Okay."
Three days later Brennan handed a sleeping Christine to Angela, the artist smiled. "Sweetie, Christine will be fine. Go enjoy dinner with Booth."
"I know. Thanks, Ange…" Brennan made no move to leave.
"You're welcome, Sweetie. Booth, get Bren out of here!" Booth gently guided Brennan to the door. "It's just dinner, Bones. We'll be back soon."
"I know…"
They were just finishing their dinner when Brennan got a text from Angela, she read it out loud. "Ange says Christine is fine and is currently sleeping in Hodgins' arms. She also says we should go do something else…"
"What do you want to do?"
"Can we go home?"
"Bones, Christine is fine…"
"I know. I'm too tired to go anywhere else…We can leave Christine at Angela and Hodgins' for a while and watch a movie or something. "
"Sure we can go home."
When they got home Brennan snuggled into Booth on the couch while he looked through Netflix. Not even five minutes into the movie Booth noticed Brennan was asleep, he smiled and turned the sound down. Two hours later Booth carefully got up to go get Christine from Angela and Hodgins'. He was almost to the door when Brennan woke up. "Booth?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to get Christine…"
"I'll come with you…"
"Why don't you stay here and use the 40 minutes it will take to get ready for bed? You can take a long bath… you know Christine will be ready to eat and go to bed when she gets home."
"A bath does sound good." Booth grinned and headed out the door. Forty minutes later he carried a slightly fussy Christine into his and Brennan's bedroom and handed her to Brennan who was relaxing in bed reading an anthropology journal. "Angela said she was perfect. She started fussing when I got her out of her car seat."
"That's good. It's time for her first late night feeding anyway." Booth smiled as Christine settled against Brennan and calmed down. "I'm going to go take a shower…."
"Okay." Brennan didn't look up from Christine as she ate.
"I love you, Bones."
Brennan looked up and smiled at Booth. "I love you too, Booth."
