Disclaimer: I wished they were, but nope, they're not mine.
A/N: Well, here's the fic I promised. This is the idea that first came to me after watching the last two eps of the season. Unlike most of my fics, I think this one, like the last one, is going to be on the short side. I'm not sure if musie has decided on a new path after such a long break, if it's just to get back into things after such a long break or if it's just what works for these particular fics. This should be about 3/4 chapters, depending on whether I break up the third chapter into two - because that one does promise to be on the longer side and I might break it up to keep the length of the fic somewhat constant. Anyway, I'm about to start the second chapter in a little bit and with luck, it won't be too long until I post it. However, those of you that liked Not a Mistake, will be happy to hear that inspiration struck again and I will be adding a couple of chapters to that story. It wasn't my plan at all, but a couple of songs came on my mp3 on the way to and from work and well, now the scenes are pretty well defined in my mind and probably won't leave me alone until I write them. That being the case, I might get those out before I get to finish this story. As I've said before, my usual beta is way too busy w/RL so this has only been betaed by me. Please excuse any mistakes. This is set immediately after the team watches Vincent's body being driven away. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1
As the group headed back into the lab, their singing slowly died down until only Sweets was left muttering the last few notes. They stopped walking when they reached the platform.
"Well," Angela said, standing next to Hodgins. She looked around at the group and noted that they were all standing there, looking at each other, not knowing what to do. "Well," she said once more, for once at a complete loss for words.
"Should we go have a drink in Vincent's memory?" Hodgins asked.
"Since we won't be having a memorial," Sweets started to lecture them, "having a reunion when we celebrate the memory of our fallen comrade will be appropriate …"
"Sweets," Hodgins said, giving the psychologist a look that had the younger man give a nod and stop the lecture.
"I'm game," Sweets said instead.
"I'm in too," Cam said with a shrug. "Michelle is out with friends and I don't really want to go to an empty house."
"Sweetie? Booth?" Angela asked the partners. Booth shrugged and looked down at Brennan.
"Sure," Brennan said after a slight hesitation. "But just one drink. The events of the last few days have been … very tiring and I am really not in the mood to stay out late."
"An early night sounds good to me," Booth agreed.
"I need to stop by my office first," Brennan said. "We'll meet you there in a little while." And just like no one seemed to think it strange that Brennan was hugging Booth's arm and all but leaning into his side, no one thought anything of the fact that she was making plans for both of them without talking it over with Booth first. But that was probably due to the fact that the two partners had been spending most of their time together – in and outside of work.
"Ok, sweetie," Angela nodded, "we'll see you there in a bit."
As the rest of the group headed towards the exit, Booth and Brennan silently started towards her office. She only let go of his arm once they were inside her office and she headed behind her desk to pick up the bag she'd left there early. The silence between them was both comfortable and fraught with expectation. Part of Brennan wanted to wait for Booth to say something first but another part couldn't handle the not knowing and in the end that part won.
"Are you still angry?" she asked him as she was checking if her bag had everything she wanted to take home with her - not looking at him made it easier to ask the question.
"Are you still impervious?" he asked instead of answering him. The part of him that was alpha male and that considered himself courageous and traditional and that believed the man should make the first move flinched at what, in any other circumstances, he would think was the coward's way out. But the part of him that had been rejected one too many times, the part that had been hurt and that was still raw and vulnerable (as much as it might pain his ego to admit any such thing), that part just couldn't find it within himself to put himself out there yet again. He'd come a long way since Hannah left, since the day of the blizzard. And the night before had all but erased whatever was left of his anger and yet, something still held him back, waiting to see where she was first.
Brennan turned around, intending to admonish that one shouldn't answer a question with a question but the look on his face stopped the words before they came out. She could see in his eyes the internal battle he was waging and with an internal sigh, she realized that, if she wanted them to move forward, she was going to have to go first. After all, she had rejected him once already and, despite the events of the night before, he still wasn't confident enough to offer himself again. She had hurt him too badly for him to risk rejection once more. And though he had hurt her too, it was her original rejection that had set in motion most of the hurtful events of the last few months.
"No," she finally answered, quietly but firmly, looking him straight in the eyes. "I … I think I am strong enough now to let go of the last of my imperviousness."
At first he just stared at her, seemingly frozen in place; the brilliance of his eyes the only sign that he'd heard her. After a few moments, he breathed deeply and took a couple of steps forward.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'm not angry anymore."
She took a deep breath and almost closed her eyes in relief but couldn't bear to lose the connection with his eyes. Instead, she took a couple of steps forward of her own and before she knew it, she was in his arms and they were kissing and it was everything she'd ever dreamed of but would never have admitted – not even to herself. The dreamy, loving feeling of the kiss soon changed, however, as the passion they'd kept under tight control for the last seven years threatened to finally burst free.
They never knew just how long they were kissing or how long they'd have kept it up if Angela hadn't interrupted them by knocking on the door to Brennan's office and clearing her throat loudly when the knocking alone wasn't enough.
"Sorry to interrupt," she said with a wide smile when the no longer just partners broke apart. Booth blushed while Brennan calmly turned to face her friend.
"Angela, I thought you'd gone ahead," it was as much a question as a statement.
"Yes, well," Angela answered with a slight grimace, "we got as far as the parking garage before we realized we didn't really want to be in a crowded bar. So, we decided to just hang out in the lounge upstairs. I just came by to let you guys know."
"Thanks, Angela," Brennan nodded. "We'll be right there."
"Or you could just go on home," Angela suggested. "I'll just tell the guys that you were more tired than you thought and Booth's going to take you home."
"I … you sure you guys wouldn't mind?" Brennan asked.
"No, of course not," Angela assured her. "You just go on; we'll get together later in the week." Brennan shared a look with Booth before nodding.
"Ok, then, thanks. We'll see you tomorrow." Brennan told her and with a last nod, Angela turned to leave. She didn't get two steps out, however, before she turned and, moving faster than what Booth thought a heavily pregnant could move, hurried towards and threw her arms around both of them.
"I'm so happy for you guys," she told them, sniffling. She took a step back and wiped her face with one hand while she waved the tears away. "Don't mind me; it's the hormones. And I'm just so happy for you guys that all I can say is 'it's about damn time." With a wink and a final pat on both their shoulders, she stepped back. "Well, I'll see you guys later. Have fun! And I hope you guys do everything I would do!" she called with a laugh as she walked out of the office.
"Why do I get the feeling that Angela knew something was up before she saw us kissing?" Booth asked with a half puzzled, half knowing look.
"I … might have mentioned something earlier today about last night," she confessed. "Are you upset?"
"She's your best friend, Bones," Booth told her. "I expected you to say something; I just hope you didn't get into too much detail."
While Brennan didn't exactly like the fact that he 'expected' her to do something, she decided there were worse things than having someone know you so well that they knew what to expect from you.
"I didn't really go into any details," she informed him. "She did ask for them but there really wasn't much to tell, was there?"
Though they had spent the rest of the night together after she'd crawled into bed with him, they'd done nothing but sleep together. It just hadn't been the right time for them to make love. Brennan had been too distraught over Mr. Nigel Murray's death and Booth had been too preoccupied with the hunt for Broadsky for them to do more than just hold each other tight. And the fact was that Booth's romantic side would have been more than a little disappointed if, after a seven year wait, their first time happened under such a dark cloud and Brennan's possessive side wouldn't have been pleased if Booth thought of anything but her while they made love.
And leaving the emotional considerations to the side, they also hadn't been in the best physical shape to engage in any kind of sexual activity. The stress of looking for Broadsky, knowing he was out there and could kill an innocent at any time, combined with the incredibly long day meant they were beyond tired. But Brennan's brain hadn't shut down enough for her to get any rest and, while Booth had been able to fall asleep, it hadn't really been a restful rest. It wasn't until he had Brennan in his arms and she felt surrounded by him, until they could feel each other's body heat and hear each other's heart beat that they were finally able to really rest.
"Ummm, maybe not," Booth answered her, giving her a thorough once over. "But what about when there are details to tell," he added, pulling her to him once more, "are you going to tell them to Angela, then?" he asked as he leaned forward and started kissing her neck. Her eyes widened in surprise before they closed in pleasure; this was a side of Booth she hadn't seen before, hadn't really known it existed. She had a feeling a seductive Booth could get her to agree to things even a charming Booth couldn't and a charmingly seductive Booth … well, that would just be trouble.
"Didn't you just," she broke off with a gasp as he found a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. Oh, yes, she was in a whole heap of trouble; but, Dr. Temperance Brennan wasn't one to give up. "Didn't you say that, since she's my best friend, you expected me to?" she asked in lieu of an answer.
"I said that I expected you to tell her something," he corrected her, pulling back to look into her eyes. "But that I hope you won't go into any details."
"We've agreed that what's ours is ours," she reminded him. "Angela might be my best friend and I might tell her a lot of things but the details of what goes between us remain between us," she assured him firmly. She knew that that was important to him but, surprisingly, she found herself possessive of those moments too and unwilling to share them with anyone, including Angela.
"That's good," Booth murmured before leaning down for another kiss.
"Shouldn't we go somewhere and see about creating those details?" she asked, gasping, when they came up for air and he'd gone back to kissing her neck.
"I think that's probably a good idea," he grinned at her, "a very good idea; so, my place or yours?"
"My place is closer," she grinned back.
"So, it is," he dropped a quick kiss on her lips before taking a step back. "Shall we?" he waved a hand towards the door and she nodded. She then made to pick up the bag she'd dropped sometime earlier but he was faster. "I've got it, Bones," he said as he leaned down and picked it up. At any other time, she'd have argued that she was capable of carrying her own bag but she decided it to let it go for that one time, knowing how much it meant to him to act like a gentleman.
"Let's go," with a last nod, she turned towards the door and led the way out the office.
The sight of the partners walking shoulder to shoulder, his hand on the small of her back, across the lab was a familiar sight and lifted, if only for a moment, the solemn mood that had descended on the lab since Vincent's death. The squints that remained, which were more than a few regardless of the late hour, and the team sitting on the upstairs lounge, followed their progress until Booth and Brennan walked out the door. They saw it as a sign that things would, in time, return to normal – or what passed for normal at the lab at any rate. Because if Booth and Brennan could act as they always had in the face of the last two years, if they could talk, tease and bicker after all the tears, fears and misunderstandings, if they could work, solve cases and still be there for each other despite the seven months apart, the blonde reporter and ill-conceived proposal, if they could get over rejecting each other, breaking each other's hearts and trying to move on then there was hope that the lab would, one day, be the same haven that it had always been. They were, after all, the center of it all – and the center held.
A/N2: I know everyone agrees they slept together that night, and I even wrote a fic along those lines, but, truthfully, I prefer to think that they waited at least a day because of the reasons I wrote in the fic and because I just think it would habe been more respectful to wait. And yes, I am aware that is probably very old fashioned, conservative thinking but that's me - old fahion and conservative. There are a lot of other issues that I want to see them address but I will get into them little by little over the next two chapters. Please, let me know what you thought!