A/N: Hey, guys! I'm just a fellow bonehead trying to make you feel better about THE finale because writing about it has helped me. English is not my first language so I'm sorry if you spot any mistakes I might have missed. I would like to want to thank thaischrist and Sharon De Wolf for beta reading this and giving me their opinion. Thank you, girls!
I hope you like it, guys! Reviews are appreciated!
The Plan in the Wedding
Angst/Hurt/Romance
Booth & Brennan
The plan was perfect. The idea had popped up in her head while she read the new Jeffersonian memo in the stillness of her office. It was about their annual mandatory fundraise party and at first, she just sighed loudly.
It meant she would have to get all dressed up, spend time with the whole team and Booth and since they called off the wedding, there were a million questions and accusations between all of them. It also meant dancing with him, holding hands, pretending they were as strong as they were before. The best crime duo in Washington DC and now, partners in life. How could anyone beat that?
But as the plan unfolded in her brain, she felt like she could finally beat him. Christopher Pelant. A small smile graced her lips for the first time in weeks and she could barely wait to put it all into action. If this was all a game to him, two could play it.
BB
She thought it was ironic how she always felt nervous before these Jeffersonian's parties. Years ago, she knew it was because she was going with Booth, even if she couldn't admit it to herself back then. One year, it was due the new status of their relationship and how everyone would react. The next year, she showed up very pregnant. Now, she was about to change everything and her partner didn't have a clue.
He glanced sideways more than once but didn't say anything. Not that she was expecting something different.
Silence was part of their relationship now. It filled the space between them while they were at home. He would play with Christine while she read something. She would feed Christine while he watched TV. He would pretend to be asleep while she did the same. Never really together, always in silence. For the world outside, they went back to pretending and years of practice had made them the best in this field. Only people close to them were able to notice the subtle changes. The way they didn't stand too close anymore. How she spent more time in the lab and him in the field. The way they pretended to be partners while they weren't.
When they arrived, they walked side by side and only when they were close to the entrance, they held hands. They made the way through the crowd, identical fake smiles plastered in their faces and did what was asked of them. When the slow songs started playing, she knew it was time to do what was asked of her. She was the genius and it took a genius to defeat the other. It was her time to win.
"Would you dance with me, Booth?" – Brennan asked softly.
He looked surprise but she also saw hope in his eyes.
"Yes, Bones. Of course." – He smiled, a tentative but genuine one and she just nodded, taking his hand and leading him to the dance floor.
They stopped and for a moment, just stared at each other. For a split second, she thought he would run away – she knew he was aware of how much he had hurt her and the hard time he was having to live with himself – but he took a step forward, taking her in his arms. Their bodies collided and Brennan felt a shiver ran down through her spine.
How she had missed him. His strong arms and the protection and comfort they offered. His distinctive scent and his solid body against hers. She closed her eyes, holding him tightly and in that second, she forgot about everything. She forgot Pelant, her crushed heart and her sleepless nights. She forgot her pain, her insecurities and his words ("I don't think we should do it"). But she didn't forget her plan.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" – She whispered accusatorily in his ear and felt when his body went rigid. He wasn't expecting her to speak, let alone her choice of words. He was about to take a step back, to look at her, but she didn't allow him, keeping him in place. – "I'm a genius, Booth. The smartest person in the world. Isn't that what you said?"
"Yes, Bones but what are you,"
"Shut up, Booth. Just…" – She took a deep breath. She couldn't let her anger screw this up and just like she had done for days, she controlled it. – "I know why you called off the wedding."
"I told you, I don't think we should do it." – His stomach fell and once again, it was as if someone had just pushed a knife right through his heart. It hurt and he couldn't begin to imagine how she was feeling.
"You do realize I know that you're lying, right?" – She echoed his words from that day back at him. She listened as a song ended and another began. His heart was beating wildly and she could feel it through the fabric of their clothes. – "I didn't at the time. My pain was blinding me, metaphorically speaking of course, but once I could think clearly, I had to understand. That's what I do best, Booth. I understand things but I wasn't understating you."
He managed to back away from her, and in his eyes, she saw how desperate he felt.
"Bones, can we go somewhere else? We need to,"
"No." – She told him firmly, pulling him to her. – "I know Pelant made you do that and I don't think he can hear us here. Not like this." – She resumed whispering in his ear and for everyone around, they looked like a couple in love, saying sweet nothings in each other's ears. – "I know you never meant to hurt me."
Booth closed his eyes, relief and fear racing through his blood. She knew. She wasn't going to run away from him, from them. She wasn't compartmentalizing like she had grown used to, her easiest way out. No. She had tried to understand him, his reasons and had succeeded. In every way, she had fought for them. And he hoped with everything in him that she could win. That they could win. He felt his heart flooding with his love for her, for this woman he fell for so long ago and had never stopped amazing him.
He held her impossibly closer, a hand in the middle of her back, the other in the base of her neck. He turned his own head so he could speak directly into her ear.
"I love you." – She trembled. He increased his grip on her. – "There is nothing I want in this world more than marrying you." – She nodded, telling him she was listening, telling him she wanted it more than anything too. – "I'll find him, Bones and I'll kill him. And then we can go on with our plans."
"No, Booth. I don't want to wait." – He was about to protest, to explain why they couldn't, but she shushed him, urging him to listen to her. – "Do you trust me?"
"You know I do." – Their closeness and her hot breath were driving him crazy. It was hard to argue, to convince her otherwise even if all he wanted was to drag her to the nearest church and make her his wife.
"Pelant is responsible for those three months I had to take our daughter away from you. He's responsible for taking Hodgins' fortune. I don't want him to be responsible for this. I'm tired of him winning, Booth." – So was he. So damn tired. – "Let's not change our lives because of him. We did last time. Let's not do it again."
He understood her, her need to take back the control of their lives. He was obsessed with this idea since Pelant had made him spent three months without the two people he loved the most. He just didn't know how.
He pulled away, his hands now on her hips. There was an undeniable excitement in her eyes and he smiled his first real smile in what felt like years. Maybe when he closed his eyes that night, he wouldn't see the pain he had put in those marvelous ocean blue eyes. Maybe he would see this.
He just nodded and it was all the answer she needed. They would do it. Her plan was on and the rules were about to change.
BB
He was an intelligent man. Not as brilliant as her, but just enough to understand that the only thing he had to do was follow her every step. They both knew Pelant had ears and eyes everywhere, probably even inside their own house, and for that reason, she remained distant whenever they were alone, pretending they never had that conversation.
On Monday, she casually said they had an appointment together the next day. The word 'together' did it for him. He knew what it meant. They would drop Christine off with Brennan's dad and meet with Hodgins and Angela at their house. She never said what they were going to do nor where the four of them were going but he got the message: their wedding ceremony would happen on Saturday at Hodgins' mansion.
It was a good place, he thought. Even if Hodgins and Angela were not as rich as before, they decided to keep living there. Their salary could afford the amount of money needed to take care of the place and it was big enough to provide Michael Vincent a wonderful playground and outside area.
Booth also knew the choice had to do with all the technology Angela had made sure to install there since Pelant had broken in. There was no way he could have bugged the place twice.
The next day, confident that they were safe, he drove them there. It didn't go unnoticed by him how nervous she was feeling the whole way to Hodgins' house. She changed position in her seat every minute or so, unable to stay put. She cleared her throat but didn't say anything. She tapped her feet non-stopping. And he didn't care. He was gripping the steer wheel so strongly that his hands were disturbingly white. He wanted to break all the laws, turn on the siren and go one hundred miles per hour. He just needed to get there before it was too late. Again.
They sighed in unison once the mansion came into view. Booth made his way through the front lawn and parked in the first spot available. And they both flew inside. It was time. The game is on, Brennan thought, a smile almost playing on her lips.
BB
It was far from anything Booth had ever dreamt of. There were only Hodgins, Angela, Cam, Arastoo, Sweets and Caroline present to witness what was about to become one of the best moment of their lives. There wasn't beautiful background music. Bones wouldn't go down the aisle but somehow she had managed to get a bouquet (and a priest), and she gave him a shy smile when he noticed the daisies and daffodils.
As he looked into her bright and shinning eyes, full of love and happiness, a reflection of his own, he knew nothing else mattered. They didn't need emotional songs. They didn't need a crowd to watch them. They just needed each other. He just needed her, for the rest of his life.
They stared at each other the entire ceremony, as if afraid that one look away would mean the end of a dream. Booth committed to memory every emotion crossing her face and couldn't help but feel delighted that not once he saw fear or regret. She was so sure about this. About him and spending the eternity with him (though she might argue that such thing as forever didn't exist).
"The groom may now kiss the bride."
They met halfway and instead of kissing him, Brennan quickly whispered into his ear what was probably the most important thing that day, even more vital than the "I do" she just had said to him.
"Pelant is going to burst into that door any second now. There's a gun inside my bouquet. Take it now. Be ready to shoot him." – She took a breath. – "Do not miss him, Booth."
He didn't have time to be confused. Her words registered in his mind, his fingers touched the gun the minute the door opened and the special agent in him kicked in. He didn't heard what Pelant said. He just turned, aimed and took his shot.
BB
Pelant is dead. It was the only thought racing frenetically through his mind for the minutes he just stood there, motionless. He watched as Cam checked the serial killer's pulse and stepped back. Dead. As Hodgins and Angela embraced each other, relief all over their faces. As Sweets exhaled, and he was so pale, Booth thought he might faint.
"Booth, are you okay?" – He almost jumped at the sudden contact of her hand on his wrist, his heartbeats still out of control. What the fuck had just happened? He turned to look at her, bouquet firmly in her hands and for a moment, he forgot all the questions he had.
Bones is your wife. Pelant is dead.
"I can explain it, Booth." – She touched his arm again, a hint of fear in her voice. Was he mad at her?
"Please, Bones. Do." – He was feeling a lot of things at the moment: anger for not being included in her plan; fear for what might have happened to her if it all went wrong; bliss for getting rid of the only thing stopping them from being fully happy. So it was better to hear her and focus on her logical voice as she explained everything.
"I figured something was wrong with you three days after you called off our engagement." – She paused, her heart clutching at the simple reminder of that night. It still hurt. – "Ever since I know you, you want to get married. You believe in it like nobody else I know. So even if your whole speech was very logical, it didn't belong to you. Years ago, it belonged to me. You learned it well. There is no one who knows me the way you do and you used it to throw my argument right back at me. I know you thought that somehow I would find solace in your well constructed arguments. Well, it happens I also know you like nobody else. And that's where Pelant made his mistake."
He could see where she was going and couldn't feel more proud. Here was the woman who claimed to be social inadequate proving she was wrong. She was good at this. She was good at seeing right through him and Pelant had underestimated her.
"I relived that day many times in my head, trying to pinpoint the moment you changed your mind. If I knew when, I might would have been be able to figure out why. Then I remembered the phone call. One moment, you were talking about paying to marry me with giraffes and in the next, you said we shouldn't do it. Does it sound consistent to you, Booth?"
He shook his head. Of course it didn't and it was no surprise she had seen it. She lived for the details and she knew every single one of them related to him. He was a consistent man.
"That's when I figured out it wasn't your mom on the phone. It must have been Pelant and once again, he had changed the rules of the game. But I'm a scientist and I needed my evidence. I still had some burner phones from the time I was a fugitive and when Caroline's mate visited me at the Jeffersonian – he wanted to discuss the release date of our documentary – I asked him to give a package to Caroline. I stated it was something she had given us as a wedding gift and he should tell her it was no longer happening. I texted her that night from the lab's bathroom and she managed to get a list of your phone calls. I was sure she knew what was at stake and she did it very carefully. I had all the confirmation I needed, since it was clear it wasn't your mother calling that day, and even if I didn't know what Pelant had said to you, I could understand you had a reason."
"I did, I would never hurt you like that, Bones, I,"
"I know, Booth." – She took one of his hands and squeezed it. – "Since I didn't know what he had threatened you with, I decided to keep on pretending. When I realized Pelant would do anything to keep us from getting married, I knew that was exactly what we needed to do to get him. I know it doesn't make sense."
Booth looked from Pelant's body and back to Brennan. Well, it surely did now.
"I was never trying to hide this wedding from him, Booth. I knew he'd be listening during that party. I even facilitated his life. He was allowed to breach the organization's security and temper with the cameras. He felt he was still superior to us, he thought he was winning because I let him. We had to do this two days after that party so he didn't have a chance to make a move from his hideout in time. His only next move was confronting us and he thought he had the surprise element in his favor. He was wrong, Booth. We got him."
There were still a lot of things he wanted to know. One million questions popping up on his mind every second but right now, he was satisfied with the truth in her words: they got him.
BB
He had a strong sense of déjà vu as he entered their living room and found her reading an anthropology magazine. She put it down on her lap as soon as he came, a tentative smile on her lips, and a single question in her eyes: what happens next? He hated that question but now, he almost dared her to ask.
"That priest… he was an FBI agent, wasn't him?"
She bit her bottom lip, as if she wasn't sure of the right answer.
"Yes. I'm sorry you thought we were really getting married, Booth."
He almost smiled at the irony of it all: even dead, Pelant had stolen away another moment from them. He took a deep breath, paced a little more and came to stop right in front of her. He extended a hand, which she accepted and pulled her up, making her stand only inches away. He examined her tired face, tracing her cheek with a finger and then her lips. God, how he loved her and that genius brain of hers. Once again, she had saved the day.
"Bones," – He whispered against her lips and she closed her eyes. She just wanted to kiss him, lead him upstairs and make love to him all night until they forgot the last couple of weeks. – "There's a lot of things I still don't get, and a lot of questions I need to ask you." – She opened her eyes, his soft voice a contrast to where he seemed to be going with the conversation. – "But there's only one I need to ask right now." – In a flash, he had a velvet little black box in one hand, the other on one side of her face. – "Will you marry me, Bones?"
She felt the tears filling her eyes and was surprise to see his eyes also filled with them.
"You said you just wanted me to be happy and damn it, Bones, there's nothing else I want but see you happy. I never thought we shouldn't get married. That's all I ever wanted, Bones. That's all I," – He was cut off by her lips, kissing him ravenously, her hands griping his shirt and bringing him closer. When they stopped for air, he continued. – "I love you and I've been in love with you right from the beginning." – She smiled at that, that old discuss now making her want to run to him not away from him.
"I want you to be my wife. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
She remained silent, the tears streaming down her face and his words erasing the hell it was the last days.
"Yes, Booth. Of course. Yes."
They both laughed, their bodies colliding once more and their mouths fusing. One thing didn't stop to race through their minds: they were fine now. More than fine. They were engaged. And no one would take it away from them. In sickness and in health, with or without serial killers, until death do them part.