Finding Their Own Words
Author's Note:
a) I don't own squat. Nothing. Nada. Nope. Don't sue me 'cause my best friend is an amazing lawyer who'll kick your ass.
b) This story is a sequel, as in part of a series. Please read the companion piece "Lyrics & Love" before reading this, as you might get confused otherwise.
c) I welcome, and love, reviews of all kinds. Tell me if I'm stupid, tell me I'm a genius or anything in between. Also, if you're gonna tell me something is OOC (out of character), please consider the companion story which resolved most of the issues that seem OOC.
d) I will try my very hardest to respond to your lovely reviews, especially if you sign in. If I don't, please understand that I still love y'all!
e) When possible, these chapters will be betaed by KatieBeth, who's just amazing.
f) In a moment of either sheer genius or wild insanity, I decided to name each chapter after a song. The lyrics may or may not appear in the chapter but the song title will at least give one of the themes for the chapter.
Chapter 1 Dancin' in the Moonlight
Temperance Brennan finished drying the last dish and placed it in the cabinet with a smile. She straightened up the kitchen slowly, lying out the dishtowel to dry and preparing the coffee pot for the morning. I love this house, she thought to herself, a gentle smile playing across her lips. It's so quiet and peaceful. Her eyes skimmed the kitchen, recalling earlier that morning when Booth had insisted on making her pancakes. You can't have Saturday morning brunch without pancakes! he'd insisted, serving her with a smile before they continued to unpack the boxes that littered their new home.
Turning off the light and walking slowly, Temperance passed the kitchen's built in breakfast nook, a feature Booth insisted on in their early house hunting. Smiling, the anthropologist dropped the case files that were scattered on the table from the previous week's cases into her Jeffersonian bag, leaving only her laptop and latest manuscript out for work on Sunday.
She turned to the living room, a sizable space with a comfortable window seat that afforded a view of the large backyard. She barely noticed the half dozen bookshelves filled with her artifacts and books or the big screen television Booth had installed. Temperance came to pause by the couch. It was a large couch, one that had made the trip from Booth's old apartment to their new home. She ran her fingers along its fabric, recalling many nights spent snuggling close to Booth, nights reading to Parker. Though it was older, they both wanted this couch to stay. It was on this couch that Temperance told Booth she'd move in with him, the place where Parker gave her the engagement ring on her finger and where they were a family.
A relaxed smile graced her lips as Temperance imagined the future in this place. She could see herself in the kitchen working on case files or her latest book, a place where she could sit and keep her eye on Parker in the living room. She could see Booth cooking one of his fabulous dinner creations or just sashaying around the kitchen humming 'Do You Think I'm Sexy?' as he did when he was a little tipsy. Temperance wanted to go to every room, to envision the future there. With Booth, for the first time in a long time, Temperance felt secure, safe to dream, safe to trust in the future.
Temperance resisted the urge to wander around upstairs, as Booth was already asleep. She knew the rooms up there already. There was Parker's room, where boxes cluttered the closet and only the bed was set up for her partner's young son. Drop cloths covered the floor so Angela could paint a mural for Parker as soon as the artist returned to D.C. There were two other rooms, quite empty at the moment. One was her office, a space Booth had insisted on giving her-despite her preference for the kitchen table-and the other a guest room, empty save for a lamp. They'd been reluctant to call it a nursery yet. Although, that unnamed nursery was the reason they bought this house at this time. Sure, they planned on moving eventually from Booth's small and increasingly crowded apartment. But for a baby, if they were going to have a baby, Temperance wanted a house. Their master suite was the last room upstairs, filled with their furniture and cozy, the room where she could spend all day, wrapped up in her fiancée's arms.
No more of that, thought Temperance with a grin as she recalled the look of astonishment on Booth's face earlier that evening.
Flashback
"Do you mind? Would you? Can we wait until after the wedding?" Her eyes pleaded with him as he understood her request. His heart was torn between doing things her way and not wanting to go a day without her.
"But… But… we haven't even started planning yet!"
"Two weeks, Booth. Angela and Jack and Davey get back in two weeks. Let's get married then."
"What? Where? How?" He stammered, looking at her as if she'd grown another head.
"Let's get married. In two weeks. Parker will be here for the weekend, we'll have our squints and your parents can come if they want. Please? Let's get married."
"In two weeks?" She smiled at his incredulous tone.
"Yes."
"Two weeks to plan a wedding?"
"Yes."
"That's not enough time, Bones."
"Plenty of time."
"Two weeks without…" His brow furrowed in concentration, trying to remember the last time they'd gone more than two days without, well, you know.
"Yes, Booth."
"Okay."
"Okay?" She frowned; it wasn't like him to give up this quickly.
"Okay. In two weeks we'll get married with everyone who's important to us and then we'll start trying for a baby."
"Booth, we don't know if I can even get pregnant, you know, after…"
"Then we'll have fun trying." Temperance's grin matched Booth's perfectly as they sealed the deal with a kiss. Without warning, Booth pulled away, his head lying on her shoulder as he muttered with a curse,
"Two weeks!"
End Flashback
Temperance kept walking, this time into the downstairs master bedroom. It had been sparingly furnished with just a bed and dresser, remainders from Temperance's old apartment. Someday it might be transformed into a playroom for the children. Children, Temperance paused at the thought, I still can't get used to wanting children. She walked again, passing the formal dining room. The large table was set with three place settings; maybe we'll add another place setting soon. The room was feeling stuffy, warm even, to the scientist who opted to walk more outside, in the cool night air.
Should I have stopped taking my birth control so soon? she wondered. Is it too early to do this, to want this? Temperance ran her hand along the shrubs that lined the walkway to the front door, smiling down at the ring that Booth had given her. We've been together almost three years; it's not about time. The question is… am I ready?
Making her way to the backyard, Temperance was soothed by the gentle scent of pine. The yard was exquisitely landscaped with towering hydrangea plants on the far side of the expansive yard and manicured flowerbeds lining the fence. Temperance gazed up at the full moon and decided to lay down on the grass in order to see it better, the sharp edges of the blades tickle her arms and feet. Looking up at the beautiful flowers, her favorite, which glowed in a bright blue hue in the moonlight, she thought some more.
I've never seen hydrangeas in the moonlight… they're quite beautiful. The grass is pokey, as Parker would say, and I think an ant is crawling across my toe. Temperance grinned, wishing she had Parker with her now, to show him the flower, the ant in the moonlight. I want to see again, see through the eyes of a child, beautiful things. She shivered involuntarily and her mind recalled the nights she spent alone, in one foster home or another, experiencing things no child should. They took away my childhood. And Temperance knew, a peace within herself she had not felt in a long time, that things would be okay. She had a home again, a real home with a family. Soon she would have a child in Parker and a husband in Seeley.
Seeley Booth was, at that moment, watching his fiancée from their upstairs bedroom, watching her bathe in the moonlight. Damn! This night was supposed to be special! We should have celebrated setting the date, danced in the moonlight, made love under the stars. He continued to watch Temperance in the yard wishing he could lay beside her, warm her in the cool night. Cool it, he told himself sternly, you promised her you'd wait. Two weeks. Two weeks! Fourteen days, three hundred thirty-six hours and twenty thousand some odd minutes! Booth watched her gently reach for a flower and his heart skipped a beat. Turning reluctantly from the window he walked swiftly to the bathroom. Reaching the shower, he stepped in fully dressed, gasping as the freezing water soaked through his nightclothes.
Two weeks. Two weekstwoweekstwoweeks. The mantra repeated in his head incessantly, torturing him slowly. Slowly, he stripped away his soaked clothes and let the water run warm, pushing thoughts of Temperance from his mind. When that failed, he prayed, his voice dangerously low and rough.
"Hail Mary, full of grace…."
When Booth was finished, after an especially long request to Saint Jude, he redressed and fell into bed, alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that ranged from the pure joy of wanting a baby with Temperance to the deep loneliness he felt without her next to him. And as he drifted off to sleep, his mind knew just one thing: it was going to be a long two weeks.
END Chapter
AN: This picks up the same night as chapter 66 of "Lyrics & Love"; new chapter up soon. Who's excited besides me? Oh, and two points to the first person to identify who Saint Jude is the patron saint for…
BN: I'm betaing again! Do I hear cheering? Why, yes, I believe I do :) I just got back from volleyball… what better way to get over your aching thighs than to read an incredible story? Yeah, I can't think of any other options, either. Don't forget to review, people. Reviews make us happy. More Kraze than me, but still.