Disclaimer- I only own the weird and wonderful stories that float around inside my head.
I want to say thank you to all of you who reviewed my first fic, 'Fallen', and persuaded me that I should put some more of my stories out into the big wide world. Your support meant a lot, so thank you; this second story is for you!
By the way, remember for this story, Brennan and Booth have been dating for about two months.
Also, the title of this fic may seem a little obscure, but it is actually a line from the REM song 'I'll Take the Rain', the relevance of which will make itself apparent pretty quickly! (Just to make absolutely clear though, this is not a songfic, although if you listen to the song, it just fits quite well, I think. And it's a great song…)
The summer rainstorm had started suddenly at lunchtime, and was yet to cease, so that as the black SUV pulled into the Jeffersonian car park, the windscreen wipers were on full, each making a vain attempt to keep the rain away by swinging repeatedly like an uncontrollable pendulum.
The headlights were on, despite it being only early evening in July, highlighting in their beam the continuous rain drops, which seemed to mark out the route the car was following. The vehicle began to slow and, before it had even stopped, the passenger side door was flung open and a woman stepped out, slamming the door behind her and storming off across the sodden grass in no particular direction, just away, making no attempt to protect herself from the violent rain.
Inside the now stopped car, Seeley Booth closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. Then, quickly, he pulled the keys from the ignition, jumped out of the door, and commenced to follow the rapidly disappearing woman.
"Temperance! Temperance!" He had to shout loudly over the noise of the rainstorm, even though he had run to catch her up so they were now only metres apart.
"Temperance, please." Her walking had already slowed considerably. Now she came to a stop completely, and turned to face Booth.
"Temperance, please tell me what's wrong." They had just been having one of their normal arguments, the kind they had everyday. Just silly, jokey banter, really, or so Booth thought, that today had escalated. He couldn't even remember why it had started.
The two of them were both already soaked to the skin with the powerful rain. Booth's hair had been spread flat over the shape of his head, and Temperance had rivulets of water streaming down her face. She just looked at Booth in response to his question, something resembling fear on her face.
"Talk to me, Bones, please. Tell me what the matter is. Tell me what I've done."
"You know."
"No I don't Bones, no I don't. Not at all. Please tell me."
"You…you didn't let me drive again."
"But I never let you drive."
"Exactly! You never let me drive. You tell me what to do Booth. You want to be in control. But you can't be Booth okay? You can't be!"
"Bones, I don't understand. Is this what's wrong? You think I'm trying to boss you around or something?"
"Yes. No…I don't know. I don't know, okay!" She paused for a moment.
"I'm scared, Booth" She said it quietly, so Booth could barely hear her over the pounding rain.
"Well then let me help you, Temperance, please. Please tell me why" He took a step towards Brennan and tried to reach for her hand, but she in turn took another step back.
"I'm changing, Booth. I'm different. Because of you" Booth looked slightly confused.
"Changed how?"
"Changed from everything I built up around myself after…after my parents and Russ left me. I told myself I would never let myself need anyone again, because the people I need just run away."
"Temperance…" Booth again reached out to hold her hand, but again she pulled away.
"And now I'm with you and you're breaking down the wall I built up around myself, brick by brick, and I'm frightened that this means you will run away too. Because I'm starting to like having someone who cares where I am, and wants to look after me, and I'm starting to think things that I never allowed myself to think about before, like… like soul mates-"
"But I thought you didn't believe in soul mates?"
"I didn't, before"
"But now you do?" Temperance paused and looked at her feet.
"Yes Booth, now I do"
"Why?"
"Do I have to spell it out?" She forced herself to look at him. He was silent, just looking back at her, waiting for her to speak again. Brennan, frustrated, felt all her emotion well up inside her. She paused before saying:
"I believe because of you Booth. Because… because I love you, okay? And because, even though it's not rational, when I'm not with you, I miss you, so much, even if you've just left. So much it aches." Now she couldn't stop the flow of emotion. She had never opened so much of herself to anyone before. Tears ran down her cheeks, indiscernible from the rain.
"And when I'm with you I just feel so…safe, and like I belong and like I want it to stay like that forever. That's why I believe, Booth. Because I know that I need you. And that scares me so much"
Her voice cracked with this last statement. She felt like sobbing, just to let the emotion that was filling and hurting her to escape. For a moment, she looked directly into Booth's eyes, which were reflecting the orange glow of a streetlamp, showing that they were also glistening with tears. Brennan turned and began to walk slowly away from Booth.
"Marry me"
Brennan stopped where she was, just a few metres away from Booth, and turned around.
"What?"
"I said 'marry me'" They were both having to shout over the noise of the still pouring rain. Brennan didn't know what to say. Her mouth hung open, and her mind had gone completely blank, except for that question, spinning around inside it.
"I…what? Booth, I…I…" Brennan put her hand over her mouth, and closed her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them, Booth was standing right in front of her. He took both her hands in his.
"You're shivering"
"Yeah" But it wasn't because of the cold rain. She looked into his eyes, and he looked back, calmly.
"Bones, I promise you, I swear on my life, that as long as you need me, I am not going anywhere. Because I need you too Bones. I don't think life would be worth living without you. And I'm scared as well, so scared, but we can look after each other, forever, I promise. I hope that asking you to marry me proves that to you. That there is not a chance in hell I'm ever going to leave you on your own."
Now she knew, however irrational or against her beliefs it may be, what was the right thing to do. She looked down at their hands entangled together.
"Ask me again" Booth's face showed a mixture of disbelief, surprise, happiness.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, smiling. Booth paused, just looking at her, and then knelt down on one knee, in his best suit, on the sodden, muddy grass. He took her hands in his own again, and looked at her. They were both struggling to suppress the happiness already on their faces. He took a deep breath.
"Dr. Temperance Brennan, will you marry me?"
Brennan paused momentarily before saying:
"Yes, yes I will"
Brennan pulled Booth up and towards her, kissing him with all her love and emotion. As they broke apart, Booth looked up.
"Hey look Bones, its stopped raining" Brennan followed his gaze upwards. Above them, the clouds had broken apart, and the first stars were visible in the darkening blue sky.
I hope you liked it!
Please review, I will be eternally grateful to hear what you think, good or bad!
Was it too soppy? Because I think it came out a little bit soppier than I intended!