Well, you all knew I couldn't stay away for too long, so here's a little oneshot that was dying to get out there :) Btw, I put a little pic of our new son in my profile. His name's Luke and he's growing like a weed. Newborns take a lot of time though, so I'll probably just be doing oneshots for a while.

Hope you're all doing well,

Gum :)


There were times, Brennan mused as she exited through the lobby doors, that she and Booth spent more hours in the hospital than out of it. This time it was his turn and she was more than relieved to know that he had suffered no severe injuries during the course of his imprisonment on the battleship. In fact, when she had left he was alert and joking- not to mention consuming hospital pudding at a rather alarming rate.

He'd begged for her to help "break out" of the room that night, complaining that he was healing fine and that there was nothing wrong with him that couldn't heal just as well at home, but she had refused. His face was too pale for her liking and she'd come close enough to losing him that she wasn't comfortable taking that risk just yet. Tomorrow, on the other hand, she just might acquiesce as long as he looked as if he were improving.

As she traversed the short distance back to her car, she wondered if she should purchase anything for Booth on her way home. Angela had designed a "Get Well" card for him, Sweets visited bearing an armload of fresh fruit from "Edible Arrangements", Cam had snuck in his laptop so that he could file his report, and Parker had loaned him his DS for when the elder Booth became bored. Even Agent Perotta had brought him a garish bouquet of flowers and a Mylar balloon. And while Brennan knew that the items had no intrinsic healing powers they did seem to please Booth.

For the next several hours, she meandered through several different shops, searching for an appropriate gift. Several things caught her eye, but she rejected them one-by-one as not being fitting enough for the occasion. What did one buy for one's partner who already had an apartment full of unusual odds and ends?

As dusk swept over the city, she entered a small store called Vestis Virum Reddit. The teenaged clerk nodded in greeting as she began perusing the cramped aisles. There were several t-shirts with sayings that she knew Booth would find amusing, but again, nothing seemed appropriate. Finally, her eyes fell on a singular item that might have otherwise escaped her notice had it not been so familiar.

She fingered the cool metal in her fingers, tracing the pattern with her finger. The provocative belt buckle was the one thing that her partner had returned from the battleship without. A wry smile spread across her lips, knowing how much he had been teased about the buckle over the years and yet how much a part of his external persona it had become- a shield to hide the insecurities that his childhood had left him with. He had bemoaned the loss extensively in the hospital earlier that day.

Impulsively, she moved to the counter and slid the buckle onto it. The clerk lifted one pierced eyebrow at her as she drew out her credit card, but she ignored him. Tucking the bag into her jacket pocket, she moved back into the growing darkness toward her car, confident that Booth would appreciate her gift far more than a card, or fruit, or flowers.