The Name Game
A/N: Multiple disclaimers for this one!
Disclaimer 1: As I'm sure it will be painfully obvious, I must admit that this is my first Bones fic. I'm very, very new to the fandom – I've been watching the show for about a month. I devoured the entire series in about three and half weeks, and now this silly idea has been plaguing me. Pure fluff, written because the only thing I love more than baby names is the fact that Booth and Brennan will be needing one in a few months! Constructive criticism is always welcome, especially since I'm still trying to get a handle on how to write these two.
Disclaimer 2: I own nothing related to Bones. If I did, Seeley Booth would be standing before me as I write this. (Specifically Seeley Booth -not David Boreanaz, because he seems kind of douchey in real life.)
And now, as they say, on with the show.
"Katherine?"
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Pure? That would be a difficult ideal for one to uphold throughout their lifetime."
Booth sighed, "Okaaay. Elizabeth?"
Dutifully, she thumbed through the book. "God is my oath. Religious connotation!"
"C'mon, Bones. Can't you imagine little Libby, running around with curly, brown pigtails and big blue eyes?"
"Booth, we agreed on no religious connotations!"
"Fine!"
Both parties involved had agreed that it would take quite a while for the two to agree on a name for their four month old baby (fetus, as Bones insisted on referring to the unborn child). Their mutual hunch seemed to be correct, as they'd spent the better part of a month poring over pages and pages of names. Booth was determined not to fall asleep tonight without a name decided upon.
He sighed, hesitant to bring up the next line of questioning. "Did…did you want to throw your mom's name in there somewhere? Christine…or Ruth? I've sort of got to put my foot down when it comes to Max. First of all, he'd never let me live it down-"
"No, Booth", Brennan cut him off. "No thank you. Culturally speaking, family names were passed down as a way of ensuring one's legacy. For most people throughout various civilizations, children were viewed as the most valuable asset. Naming one's child after oneself was a way of ensuring that your achievements would be linked with theirs. This child happens to have been conceived by two extraordinarily talented professionals. Though I anticipate that our offspring will achieve great things, to ask him or her to live up to our accomplishments, or contend with our somewhat traumatic pasts, would be extremely unfair."
Booth grinned, "Two extraordinarily talented professionals?"
Brennan rolled her eyes, though the slight upturn of her lips betrayed her amusement. "You know I am impressed by the level at which you perform your job. Additionally, your loyalty, confidence and heroism are all traits I hope our child inherits."
"I love you too, Bones."
The forehead scrunch that followed was to be expected. "But I didn't-"
"Just go with it, Bones. So, agreed. No family names. Any suggestions?"
A long pause followed, and her voice was small when she finally spoke. "For a girl, Emma. It means universal. For all the time I've spent studying people, ancient to modern, one end of the earth to the other, the one conclusion I've always come to is that there is a universal thread that runs through all humans. Our child will be a continuation of that thread, and I'd want her to grow up knowing about our connections to one another."
"Emma is a beautiful name", Booth smiled. "If I could make one request?"
Brennan raised her eyebrows, urging him to continue.
"Abigail, for her middle name."
"That's...negotiable. What's the validity behind the stipulation?"
"The...what?"
"The reason. What's the reason you're so intent on using the name Abigail?"
He cleared his throat before continuing. "It means joy of the father. I'm...joy is exactly what I feel, every time I think about her. About the fact that she exists. I love her so much already; I want her to know that the feeling was immediate." He leaves out the other fact in his mind, the connection between child and mother. Joy was her given name after all, and he knows how much of it she's given to her own father. Joy is who she began as, and he wants his daughter to have a piece of every part of her incredible mother.
"Those terms are acceptable. Abigail is a lovely name."
"Thank you."
"I'd also like to add a second middle name. Angela is…my sister. I'd like to honor her, if we have a girl. Evangeline is a form of Angela that I think might fit with our previously agreed upon names."
"Emma Abigail Evangeline Brennan-Booth", he tested the name out on his tongue. "A very big name for a very special little girl. I love it." He leaned down to kiss his girlfriend.
"I know you're convinced it's a girl", she began after breaking away from the kiss, "but we do have to come up with a boy's name as well."
"Did you have anything in mind?"
Her voice took on a shy tone, and he could swear he saw a light blush color her cheeks. "Owen. It means desire born. It seemed rather fitting."
Booth let out a low laugh. "Desire born, huh? Sounds accurate. Owen Booth, I like it."
He began to page through the name book lying between them, in search of a middle name.
"David is nice, strong. For a middle name, I mean."
She took the book from him to read the meaning. "Beloved. That would be nice. For him to always know he is loved." Left unspoken was the fact that love was something each of them had doubted while growing up.
"Booth, I'd like to amend an earlier statement. There is one person I'd like to honor with a permanent link to our child. I feel I owe him a great deal."
"Who?"
"Hank. For everything he did for you and Jared. For us. Owen Henry David Brennan-Booth."
Booth cleared his throat before speaking. "I think he'd love that, Bones."
Four and a half months later as tiny Emma lay in her mother's arms, her father resting beside them, Brennan looked over at her husband, weariness mixed with pride adorning her face. "Maybe in a year or two we'll try for an Owen too."
Seeley Booth held his girls just a little tighter and smiled.