I am so excited about this story because it's my first entry into the Cullen's Bull Pen Challenge. I had a lot of fun writing it and it was such a different experience because I had a format and idea to work from. First person is not what I normally write in so definately found this a challenge. But that's the name of the game isn't it :)
'64 V-8 MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE
I never imagined I would actually get my heart's desire. I'm Dr Temperance Brennan, Forensic anthropologist and workaholic. I have never never lucky like other women who catch the man of their dreams. But despite what I thought, here I am and just a week ago this was all just a dream. A dream I had kept to myself for so long.
xxxxxx
It was Wednesday evening and I had been staring at my computer screen for hours without finding what I was looking for. If I was forced to look at that screen for one more minute I thought I might have actually gone blind. How could it be so difficult to locate a steering wheel? I mean it's just a wheel. Hundreds of cars are made every day and they all need steering wheels. Okay, so maybe this wasn't just an ordinary steering wheel but still. Exhausted, I had closed down my computer and gone home to get some sleep. It had been a very long day, in fact a very long week despite it only being half over. And it had all started on Monday morning when Angela reminded me it was Valentines Day in just over a week.
xxxx
"Sweetie, you have to give Booth a Valentine." She said to me. The look in her eyes told me she wasn't going to let me say no even though I was already thinking about how I could give him something and not freak him out. So I just stood and stared at her, my arms folded across my chest; my usual stance of defiance.
"It doesn't have to be a card if you think that's too corny." Angela added, a cheeky grin crossing her face. The thought of me giving Booth a big red card in the shape of a heart with a 'Roses are Red' poem on the inside made me want to laugh. If that's the way I chose to let him know how I felt about him then I know he would have laughed me out of the building, in fact out of DC itself.
"Angela, I am not giving Booth a Valentine. The whole concept of St Valentine's Day has been distorted over time and it's now just a day where people buy each other ridiculously expensive gifts to show how much they care. If they really cared they would buy each other gifts all the time." I had told her. What I didn't tell her was that I thought about buying gifts for Booth all the time. When I saw a CD he talked about wanting to get or a shirt I just know he would look good in I had to tell myself that we didn't have that kind of relationship.
"Sweetie, giving Booth a token of your affection is…"
"I do not have 'affection' for Booth." I denied immediately. It was a variation on my standard response of 'we're just friends' or 'we're just partners' but that didn't make it true. In fact, it was so far from the truth I was beginning to wonder if I should have had a career as an actress instead of a forensic anthropologist.
"What I mean is, you can give him a Valentine and it doesn't have to mean any more than you want it to." Angela continued. She obviously wasn't going to back down so easily.
"Angela." I sighed. "Do we have to go through this again?"
"I know Bren. You and Booth and just friends bla bla bla." She waved her hands in the air. "Just don't say I didn't tell you that you should get something for him when he turns around and gets something for you."
"What? Why would Booth get me something?" I asked. This time I wasn't acting. I was under no illusions that Booth had any feelings for me other than friendly ones despite what Angela believed.
"Oh sweetie, you have so much to learn." Angela fluttered her eyes and left me with my thoughts. Thoughts I really shouldn't have been having.
xxxx
The next day Booth turned up at the lab, swaggering into my office like he owned it with that cute smile of his plastered all over his face.
"Hey Bones." He greeted me. I glanced up from the papers on my desk and raised my eyebrows.
"Why are you so happy?" I asked.
"I'm happy because in about five minutes I'm going to get a call telling me I've got the steering wheel I need to finish my 1964 V8 mustang convertible." He grinned and leaned back in the chair, watching me.
"So why are you here?" I asked. He wasn't carrying a new case file and we weren't working on a case at that time.
"I was in the neighbourhood." He smiled at me and I had to stop my heart from pounding. He had stopped by just to see me. As I frantically tried to formulate a response I was 'saved by the bell' so to speak. Booth got his phone call.
"Booth." He answered. I watched his face as he listened to the caller on the other end. A minute into the call and I knew this wasn't what he was hoping for. "You're kidding." He sighed. "Okay, thanks for trying."
"You didn't get it?" I asked.
"What?" he asked.
"The wheel."
"Uh no. I didn't." The disappointment was written all over his face and I felt a twinge in my stomach. He had seemed to excited just moments ago and now he looked dejected.
"Sorry." I said, not knowing what else to say.
"Thanks Bones. Listen, I have to go. I'll see you later." He rose from the seat and left my office quickly. It was at that moment that I knew what I was going to get Booth for Valentines Day. I was going to find him that steering wheel.
xxxx
After several days of fruitless searching I caught a break when Hodgins came to work one morning all excited about a car he just bought. Thinking back he had been talking about it for a while, I was just never interested so it didn't occur to me earlier to ask him. The car was a classic mustang and I wondered if maybe he would know someone who could get me the steering wheel.
"You want to get hold of a 64 mustang steering wheel?" Hodgins had asked. The look in his eyes was one of pure confusion. "What do you want that for?" I had to think fast. I wasn't ready to admit the real reason I wanted it, least of all to Hodgins. It would only be a matter of minutes before he told Angela and then I would have some real explaining to do.
"A friend, I have a friend who's looking." I said. That wasn't a lie. "Can you help?"
I think Hodgins was still suspicious but nonetheless he supplied me the name of a guy in California who dealt in classic cars and who might have what I was looking for. Three days later and a very large charge to my credit card later, it arrived by Fed-ex.
xxxx
After work on Valentines Day, I took a big step. I knew that the chances of Booth returning my feelings were practically zero but I knew if I didn't do it, I'd never get the courage again. I stood at the entrance to his garage just watching him and the way he moved the cloth continuously in circles over the hood of the mustang, gently buffing the red paintwork to perfection. I could see the smile on his face. Not the charm smile he uses on me, not the flirty smile he uses to get women to do what he wants and not the forced smile he uses when he pretends that he's okay with whatever guy decides to hit on me. No, the smile he had on his face was just genuine.
xxxx
He didn't talk about it much but from the little he did, I knew how much this car meant to him. He'd spent four years building it up from scrap metal into the powerful machine before me. Booth doesn't have much spare time, what with running around catching criminals and saving my life when I get into trouble, which inevitably I do if left alone for any length of time. So I knew how important it was to him that this car was almost ready to leave the confines of the garage and hit the open road.
He moved around the car and it was only when he paused to wipe his brow that he noticed me.
"Bones." He seemed surprised to see me. "Hey, what are you doing here?" I became very conscious of the brown parcel in my arms and I glanced down at it.
"I was uh, in the neighbourhood." I replied. Stupid reply Brennan.
"In the neighbourhood huh?" he looked like he was trying not to laugh. He knew that I was nowhere near his neighbourhood.
"So, what's in the parcel?" he asked me as he wiped his hands on his already dirty blue jeans. I realised I was going to have to give the parcel to him but I didn't know how to. What was I supposed to say? 'Happy Valentines Day Booth, I love you?' And then I saw how he was staring at me.
"Bones?" he asked as he walked closer to me.
"Uh, here." I practically shoved the parcel at him. He must have thought I was crazy. But he took it.
"Is this something to do with a case?" he asked.
"No, no case." I told him. I saw his smile widen as he realised that this was a gift for him. I hoped that smile stayed when we were done.
"What is it?" he asked, sounding like a little kid a Christmas.
"Open it." I managed to smile. He held the parcel in one hand and tore at the wrapping with the other. He glanced up at me every few seconds, obviously trying to gage from my expression what this was all about. He was not getting anything though. I was frozen to the spot, motionless and terrified. I watched as he dropped the wrapping on the floor and opened up the box. Please like it, please like it, I kept thinking.
"Bones, is this?" he looked at me and all I could manage was a nod. My throat was dry and I wasn't sure if I would be able to speak again. I watched as he pulled the '64 v-8 mustang steering wheel I had spent the better part of my week tracking down.
"The guy I got it from assured me it was authentic." I croaked out.
"Bones." He had sighed. Then his voice changed and he looked at me strangely. "Bones, is this a Valentines gift?" he asked. My stomach twisted into knots and I thought I was going to be sick.
"Why would you ask that?" I responded, defensively at that.
"Well Bones, for another…" he glanced at his watch. "…five hours it is Valentines Day and this is a gift." He grinned.
"I just heard you talking about it and it sounded like you really wanted it. Hodgins told me about a guy…" I knew I needed to stop talking or I was going to really dig myself into a hole. It was time to come clean.
"Yes." I stated.
"Yes what?" Booth didn't seem to want to go easy on me. It did not help that he was closing the gap between us and staring at me with those intense chocolate brown eyes.
"Yes, it's a Valentines gift." I couldn't look at him.
"Bones." He sighed. "This is…well this is just…it's amazing." He stood right in front of me, looking at me so intensely I could practically feel his eyes boring holes in my skull. "Why?" he asked. I was thrown and my jaw opened but no words came out. I knew I had to give him an answer and if I wanted my heart's desire to come true I couldn't let this moment pass.
"Because I wanted…" I paused, sucking in a deep breath. "I wanted to show you how I feel." I told him.
"And how's that?" he asked. I hated that he was forcing me to say the words but I knew they had to come out eventually.
"I'm…I…" somehow the words just wouldn't come out. He reached out and brushed my hair behind my ear, sending tingles all over my body. "I'm in love with you." I blurted out. It wasn't romantic like in the movies. In fact, I wasn't even sure the words came out intelligibly.
"Hmm." That was his reply. I told him I was in love with him and that's what he said. I thought for a terrifying moment that my fantasy was crashing down around me and I reacted…strongly.
"That's all you have to say?" I demanded, planting my hands on my hips and glaring at him. "I bear my soul and that's all I get?" I was furious, more through embarrassment than anything else.
"Bones." He said softly. "Give me a moment here. You've just told me something I've wanted to hear since the day I met you. I need a second." As he smiled at me I was stunned. Did this mean he felt the same about me? I was about to find out.
Booth drew closer to me, leaning in and cupping my cheek with his warm hand. I felt my eyes flutter closed and anticipation bubbled up from my stomach through my chest. I knew he was about to kiss me and at that moment, there was nothing I wanted more in the world. And then it happened. I felt his soft lips on mine, gently pressing down. I couldn't prevent my arms from sliding up and wrapping around his neck as he deepened the kiss. Thoughts and feelings were being thrown around my head and I could feel my knees going week.
The kiss felt like it lasted an eternity but finally Booth pulled back, breaking our intimate contact. I immediately missed it.
"Is that better?" he asked. He had that charm smile on his face. I could only manage a nod, my body still shaking from that kiss. "Come on, I want to go fit this." He said suddenly as he drew his arms away from me. I did a double take. He just kissed me, like that, and now he wanted to go fit a wheel to his car? I know it was a great gift but please.
"Booth, shouldn't we talk ab…" he cut me off.
"We can talk when we take her for a ride." He looked over at his car with such affection it made me smile. I knew that guys were obsessed with cars but Booth really seemed to love this car. Booth turned back to me and held up his precious wheel.
"But we can't do that until I fit this." My face broke into a smile and I followed him across the garage to the car, watching him as he worked.
xxxx
So here I am, sitting in the passenger seat of Booth's mustang with his arm around my shoulders, holding me close as we drive. We aren't talking but there's no need to. We both know we have our heart's desire.