Disclaimer: I don't own "Bones" and the title is taken from Section XCVII of Tennyson's "In Memoriam".
Author's Note: Everything I write is not Beta'd so please keep that in mind if you review.
They closed a case late Thursday night and spend most of Friday filling out paperwork and compiling notes. It was almost two in the morning when they finally put their pens and papers away and Booth, ever the gentleman, gave her his bed. Brennan, the voice of reason, forced him to share it with her. "You are not sleeping there just so I can fix your back in the morning," she had said to him.
This is not the first time they have shared a bed and it will not be the last.
It is Saturday morning and he wakes up to find his curled up in his arms; he can tell by her breathing that she is awake too. They have nowhere they need to be anytime soon and both are far too comfortable to move. They lie in easy silence and watch shadows move in tandem with sunbeams while she traces the scar on his chest. 'Her scar,' he thinks while he plays with the ends of her hair.
They force themselves out of bed twenty minutes later. He tells her about the day he has planned for himself and Parker as he watches her brush her teeth with a toothbrush he didn't know he had. Before she leaves she agrees to a 3-D movie in the evening and, after she's gone, he realizes that she left wearing one of his old dress shirts. She continues to wear it though out the day and to their movie. He allows himself to feel a small sense of thrill at seeing her wear something of his like his skin. He never asks for its return and she never offers it.
~ * ~
Russ and Amy's home is small but comfortable and most importantly, Brennan thinks, it feels like a home. It is Hailey's tenth birthday and they are celebrating it with a small family barbecue before Russ takes his girls away for a weekend at Disney World. Booth and Parker are with her today and she spends most of the afternoon watching them while sharing stories with Amy.
She watches Booth and Russ talk football and fatherhood with much more ease than when they first met. She watches her father try to teach his grandchildren how to juggle and tries to recall exactly when he became Parker's "Grandpa Max" and how it came to be. Then, Brennan remembers that there's more than one kind of family and decides that it must have happened sometime between her father's acquittal and Parker's first blue ribbon science fair project.
Later, after burgers and cake, they gather in the living room to watch Hailey open her presents.
"Daddy, where's our present?" Parker asks as he climbs onto Brennan's lap.
"Yeah, Uncle Booth," Hailey says coyly, "did you forget about me?"
Booth chuckles and gives a charming smile, one he saves only for certain Brennans. "I did not; I just forgot it in the car. Why don't you open up your Aunt Tempe's present while I go and get it, kay?"
"Honey, while you're there can you bring me my camera? I think I left it in the glove compartment," Brennan asks and Booth wordlessly nods his head.
It isn't until he is out the door that he realizes what she just called him and wonders if he noticed at all. When he comes back she can tell he did by the silly his silly grin and the way he drapes his arm around her shoulders. Sharing his smile, she decides not to correct herself.
~ * ~
It is another Jeffersonian banquet and there are enough obscenely rich people there to make Hodgins want to crawl under a table and disappear. Booth, on the other hand, is enjoying himself. He finds that most of those in attendance to be fairly nice people and he gets the added bonus of seeing his gorgeous partner in an equally gorgeous dress.
'That,' he thinks, 'is worth wearing the monkey suit.'
He spends the majority of the evening by Brennan's side, although neither of them remembers ever deciding to go together. One of the few times they are apart is when Angela and Cam call her over for a quick chat. When she returns to him she has a grin on her face and two drinks in her hand.
"Thanks, Babe," he tells her and it isn't until the scotch passes his lips that he realizes what he has just called her.
When she says nothing Booth decides that she must not have heard him. However, he changes his mind when two semi-drunk benefactors call them a "lovely couple" and Brennan doesn't bother to correct them. She simply says "thank you" and he smiles into his drink.
Neither one of them openly acknowledges the steps they are taking. They have been moving towards inevitability for years and Booth thinks he can see the finish line from where they stand now.
~ * ~
Angela never thought she'd see the day Temperance Brennan would willingly try on wedding dresses. She figures, though, that when the day (miraculously) does arrive, it would all be for an undercover assignment.
Someone stabled a young bride named Peggy Martin in the neck with a pair of fabric shears, wrapped her up in her wedding dress, stuffed her into an old wooden trunk, and then dumped her into the sea. They would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for the tide. Luckily, for the team at least, it was fairly easy to get an ID and ascertain the cause of death; it was actually finding the killer that was proving to be difficult. The primary subject at the moment is Kelly Morgan, the groom's ex-girlfriend, who just so happens to have made Peggy's wedding dress. This is how Brennan and Angela have come to spend their Tuesday afternoon at the K Street Bridal Shop.
Brennan decided that a fruitful approach to the investigation would be to go undercover as a bride-to-be searching for a wedding dress. Angela is accompanying her to help and play the part of the Maid of Honor.
"You know you can't, like, act yourself while you're there, right? You have to act like Jaime Stemple: happy, excited, and slightly nervous bride," Angela tells her as they drive to the boutique.
"I have been undercover before; I know how I'm supposed to behave. And your name is Fran. Remember that. Fran."
"I'm just saying that you can't go in there with the anti-marriage mentality you have."
"And, again; I have been undercover before. It's just that…"
"What Sweetie?"
"I understand monogamy, what I don't understand is why any intelligent woman would want to bind herself to a man and be dominated by him for the rest of her life. Even you, Angela, you wanted to get married and you're just as much a feminist as I am."
"That's not what a marriage, Bren."
"But anthropologically – "
"That's how it may have started out, but it's not how it is anymore. It's not how I see it, anyways. Marriage is a partnership and a wedding is a celebration of that partnership. It is when two people decide to let the world know that they are committed to each other as life partners," she explains. "Also if you get married you get tax breaks and spousal privileges."
"Oh."
Angela drops the conversation there. She can feels that she can almost see the wheels turning in Brennan's mind and asks herself if she has managed to get the, arguably, most stubborn woman on earth to change her mind.
She gets her answer an hour and a half later.
After a twenty minute consultation and three dresses they come to the conclusion that Kelly Morgan could not have possibly murdered Peggy Martin. However, this did not stop Brennan from trying on one more dress.
"This is the one!" she announces as she steps out of the dressing room. "I'm sure of it!"
"Oh!" Kelly practically squeals, "I guess this means fourth time's the charm for you! Do you want to get a few other things or do you want me to start the check out process now?"
"I'm ready now."
"Are you really sure about this, Jaime?" Angela asks. "I mean you've only tried on four dresses. What if you find one you like even more at somewhere else?"
"I won't."
"You really shouldn't argue with her, Fran. A bride just knows," Kelly tells her. "Now, Jaime, why don't you go ahead and change while I start ringing you up, okay?"
Brennan eagerly nods her head and Angela follows her back into the dressing room with a frown.
"Sweetie-"
"This looks like my mother's dress. My parents only had one picture from their wedding day and this dress looks like hers," she explains with a sigh. "Please don't tell Booth."
Angela smiles in understanding.
"Okay."
Three days later the case is closed with a tearful confession from the groom's mother and Booth and Brennan spend another night writing reports at her apartment. At some point in the evening Booth stumbles across a curios receipt while searching for a pen.
"Did you buy a wedding dress?"
She almost drops the cups of coffee she's carrying into the living room but manages to look him in the eye when she answers, "Yes, I did."
"Why?"
"Because it reminds me of my mother's wedding dress," she explains as she sets the cups down on the coffee table.
"Oh." He thinks for a moment. "Can I see it?"
"No. You're not supposed to."
"Why not?"
"Because its bad luck and, although I am in no way superstitious, I know you are. Also, its tradition and I know how much you love tradition."
Handing her back the receipt he smiles and wonders about how far they have both come. Seeing her smile back he thinks about a small outdoor wedding; no churches or priests (he's learned to compromise), just a judge and their families and friends. The Squints will be beaming, all of them thinking finally. Max and Angela will cry (and maybe Cam too), Hodgins will pat him on the back, and Sweets will want to hug them both. He can see Parker being preoccupied with this duty as ring-bearer and then by the prospect of cake. He can't imagine a wedding of any other kind now.
"So, I guess this means you've change your mind about marriage. How'd that happen?"
Brennan feels her cheeks blush, although she can't understand why. "Angela and I had a conversation about it on the way to the boutique and she gave a few very convincing arguments concerning the financial and legal benefits of marriage."
"Way to go, Angela!"
"And, ideally," she continues, "marriage is a partnership built on respect, trust, and love which is exactly what we have."
"I love you, too," he tells her, pulling her closer to him. "But, I have to point out a flaw in your reasoning there, Bones."
"What's that?"
"Our partnership isn't exactly like a marriage. You see, married couples make love and we don't."
Wrapping her arms around his neck she smiles almost devilishly. "Well, then we're just going to have to change that, won't we?"