Title: Crack My Back
Characters/Pairings: canon couples
Genre: Drama/Romance
Warnings: none
Episode: post 6x12 Sin in Sisterhood
Rating: T
Chapters: 1/3
Status: complete
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones nor the characters. Just playing with them.
Summary: Hannah makes Booth sleep on the couch aggravating his back in the process. Needless to say neither Booth nor Brennan are happy with her. Or how Thai Massage fixed season six. Inspired by FaithinBones' Hannah Stories. Complete.
AN This (not so little) one-shot-turned-three-shot was inspired by the wonderful FaithinBones and her series Hannah Stories. Thus it is dedicated to her for inspiring me with her wonderful work to write something of my own.
Enjoy!
xxx
Part One
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Booth wasn't exactly sure how this has happened, one moment he and Hannah were eating a dinner and the next one he found himself on his couch with a pillow and a blanket, his bedroom door closed shut. Really. He blamed that time of the month. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to get comfortable on the old couch in his living room. The springs were uneven and it was too short for his long frame, but it will have to do. He tried to ignore the protests coming from his back and sighed. This was going to be a long, long night…
It was the click of his apartment door closing up that finally woke him the next morning. He had tossed and turned and woken up a few times during the night, but in the end was able to sleep some on the old couch in his living room. Now, the Sun was shining into his apartment and he squeezed his eyes, trying to block its' blinding harshness. He turned, trying to get up only to stiff as piercing pain hit his lower back.
Uh-oh.
He breathed in and out slowly, preparing himself for the pain as he tried to get up, then hissed and groaned. This was not good.
"Hannah?" he called, the pain in his voice evident even to his own ears.
But only silence greeted him.
"Uh, Hannah?" he tried again, but realized she must have left and that was it what woke him up in the first place.
He sighed resignedly. This was going to suck. A lot.
After a fair share of groaning and hissing and stiffing and yelping, finally he managed to get up from his couch, standing raggedly. He took a few slow breaths and walked painfully to the kitchen, his back stiff and straight, his movements restrained as he tried to move it as little as possible.
There, on the counter in his kitchen, he saw a yellow post it note.
Got a breakthrough on my story. Will call you later.
Figures. He sighed again, putting the note down. When he needs her, she's not there. Again. He pushed the memories of his latest confrontation with Broadsky after Taffet's unauthorized execution. He did not need to be reminded of the loneliness of his empty apartment after he had returned from his post-case dinner with Bones while Hannah was still on her assignment. Then his face softened. But Bones came in the morning with breakfast and coffee and for checking his bandages before leaving for her lab. His face fell and his heart squeezed painfully. He did not need those memories either. He was not going down that line of thinking.
He shook his head, hissed in pain, and swore, finally noticing the time.
"Damn it!" Bones was going to kill him. He was supposed to pick her up fifteen minutes ago. They were scheduled to meet with Caroline today to review the latest case she wanted them to testify on.
He turned cautiously, trying to hasten his moves, but couldn't really do anything more than his stiff gait with small even steps. He needed to get ready. He was so la-
Bring, bring.
He jumped slightly, whimpering painfully in the process. He tried to locate his ringing cell phone but it was nowhere in sight. Finally, he noticed it near the TV. Before he crossed half the distance to it, it has silenced. He cursed once more and checked the last caller. Bones.
He sighed again and hit the speed dial.
"Booth?! Where are you?!" he heard before he could even introduce himself.
"Uh, Bones…" he started not sure what to say to her.
"Are you alright? You sound like you're in pain." Her tone of voice changed immediately from angry to worried.
"Nooo, I'm fine. Really." He tried to sound normal, but the growing pain made his reply more sarcastic than he intended.
"Are you sure?" she asked, and he could hear the frown in her voice.
"Yes!" he tried to assure her, but his voice came a pitch too high. Something that did not escaped his partner.
"It's your back, isn't it?" she asked knowingly.
"Nooo, why would you say that?" he denied, but knew she'll see right through his futile attempt.
"You sound just like you did when you hurt your back a few years ago." She told him.
"I…"
"Are you still at home?" she asked him and he could hear the telltale sound of car being unlocked.
"Um, yes." He finally relented.
"Alright, stay there." She told him.
"No, Bones-"
But she disconnected already.
He sighed once more. Better put on some decent clothes. Then he looked at himself. He was wearing his old FBI t-shirt and sweats, it will pass. She had seen him in less. He wasn't sure what to do with himself now. He knew sitting down was going to be very painful and was not a real option anyway. He walked cautiously back to the kitchen and tried to pour himself a glass of water. Bones should be here soon.
It took her ten minutes to get to his apartment. She opened the doors using the emergency key he had given her sometime after the Gravedigger kidnapping fiasco.
"Booth?" she asked, closing the door behind her.
"Uh, Hi, Bones!" he tried to sound natural as he looked at her walking into the kitchen.
She spared him one glance and raised an eyebrow.
"You sure you're feeling ok?" she asked him, folding her arms.
"Of course." He tried to sound nonchalant.
"Cause you stand as if you've strained your intertransverse ligament. Again." She informed him, her arms still crossed.
"No, I'm fine." He protested, his voice once again turning the sarcastic undertones.
She just stared at him, pointedly.
"Really." There was a pause. "Fine. You can crack my back and we can get to the court before Caroline has our asses on her plate."
"Alright." She uncrossed her arms and moved toward him, while he turned around slowly. "Actually, I learned a Thai massage. It will help your back even more so. But you need to lay down." She finished standing behind him.
"I can't lay down." He tried to look over his shoulder but quickly stopped with a hiss. "You'll have to crack me up the old fashioned way. Come on, Bones, hit the back, chop, chop."
"But the Thai massage is so much more efficient for your injuries." She protested.
"It took me fifteen minutes to get up from the couch this morning." He grumbled at her. His back was really hurting now.
"Why were you sleeping on the couch?" Brennan asked, disbelievingly. "You know it's not good for your back."
He was silent for a moment, before he admitted reluctantly. "Ah, Hannah closed off bedroom last evening."
"Then why didn't you open it?" she asked puzzled.
He sighed. Why him? "No, I… she threw me out. So I ended up sleeping on the couch."
"What? How could she? Doesn't she know about your back?" Brennan asked.
Booth looked away without saying anything.
Brennan sighed. "The bed should be the best place for the massage." She said and started walking toward the back of his apartment.
"Ah…" Booth stopped. His bedroom?
Brennan turned to look at him. "You do want me to help you with your back, right?" she asked.
Booth sighed. They really were going to cut it close with Caroline if they won't hurry up. He moved cautiously behind her to his bedroom.
This was just not his day!
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End of part one.
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Tbc, Next: some people get a pretty big surprise. Stay tuned!
And review! :)
