A/N Howdy gang! I'm so scared about putting this story on here, want to know why? I have been working on this for EIGHT MONTHS. Yeah. Crazy, no? It has gone through numerous rewrites, has then been rewritten again from scratch because I lost the whole darn thing, and has finally emerged as a shadow of its former self (it started very dark and angsty, now it's a bit more light-hearted but still true to life, I hope). So I really hope you like it, because if you don't, all that trauma will have been in vain. Now, be forewarned, if you've read any of my other Bones stories, you'll know that I'm not exactly up to speed with the latest episodes (I'm getting better though!) – so if anything you read here doesn't exactly gel with what you've seen on TV, that's out of my hands. For God's sake don't flame me! Second note at the bottom, so I don't give anything away yet…

November 2nd 2008

Temperance Brennan leaned back on her best friend's sofa and rested a hand on her stomach. Gently, she traced a pattern around her naval with her index finger, not really thinking about anything in particular. She found herself doing this more and more often, especially when she was in a particularly relaxed state.

She stretched out her long legs and crossed them before her at the ankles. She looked down at her feet, studying them. 'Remember how they look now, Tempe, 'cause you're not going to be seeing them for a while,' she thought, feeling both excited and nervous once again; it had been that way for the past two months, and she didn't think it would end anytime soon. She was definitely more excited than anything else. She hadn't felt that way at first, oh no, at first she had been so scared she had considered backing out, more than once. And more than once, she had been turned around when she thought about how amazing this was going to be. Even though she was a scientist and had become, dare she say, blasé about biological processes, she still found nothing more amazing than the creation of life.

It had taken two tries, and numerous visits to doctors and clinics, but they had finally got there. She had finally gotten pregnant, and when those little blue lines finally showed up on that plastic stick after the most excruciating five minutes of their lives, they had both been totally swept away by the jumble of emotions that surged through them. Excitement, fear, ambivalence, worry, wanting, sheer happiness. Temperance had done some remarkable things in her life, but carrying a baby was the best so far, by miles. Multiple miles.

When she thought about it rationally, she theorized that for most couples the odds were that it would take more than one night of passion to make a baby. So maybe there wasn't anything wrong with her, having to make more than one attempt was just how it was supposed to happen – it wasn't like she had any past experience to compare this to.

When she started on this journey that she never thought she would ever embark upon, she had, perhaps naively, thought it would be simple. Procreation had occurred every day for millions of years, so why would it be different for her? When it didn't work the first time, she felt like she had failed for the first time in her life. But more than anything, she felt like she was letting one of the most important people in her life down.

She just couldn't help but feel like this was going to end too soon, and that was where the fear she constantly felt came from. She didn't know what she would do if she lost this baby. She didn't know what they would do. This was so much bigger than just her. But for now, she was happy to sit on this sofa, this ugly but very comfortable piece of furniture that she had sat on so many times before, and enjoy this moment. Still rubbing her stomach, waiting for the bowl of popcorn to be brought out and the movie to begin.

Would there still be quiet Thursday evenings like this when the baby came? Neither of them had really thought that far ahead; they wouldn't let themselves. She hadn't planned out the baby's future like she assumed most pregnant women had. She had a friend from college who, before even becoming pregnant, had planned out her future offspring's lives, picked out schools, mentally decorated their nursery, decided on names, and hand-picked potential godparents. Temperance had barely thought beyond her morning meeting tomorrow. The truth was, it wasn't her future to plan.

She was shaken out of her trance-like state by the seductive smell of buttery popcorn being carried towards her in a big blue bowl. "Hot stuff, coming through! And I got drinks too – beer for me, diet Coke for you."

"Diet? What are you implying?" she accused good-naturedly, taking the glass and snaffling a handful of popcorn. Angela did the same as she sat down beside her.

"Nothing at all! It's just healthier than that sugary crap. How's squishy?"

"Squishy? I thought we said no nicknames."

"Well, I'm not going to ask how the fetus is. That's just silly."

"No sillier than squishy. But he or she is fine. So long as I'm not vomiting, it's fine."

"Good. Are you happy, sweetie? You seem like you are, but I just want to be sure. Sometimes, you can be hard to read."

"I am, Ange. The influx of hormones can put a dampener on that sometimes, but overall I'm very happy. If you need any more favours, just ask."

Angela laughed and placed her own hand on Temperance's stomach, her wedding and engagement rings from Hodgins sparkling in the light reflected from the TV. "I'll let you finish this one, first."

A/N2 Did I make it clear that she is Angela and Jack's surrogate? Or did you not pick up on that at all? Well, if not, I just clarified that for you! OK, so I love a pregnant Bones – it adds another interesting element to an already emotionally complex character (get me with my big words). It's not as out of character as my previous story, so I hope I get way less flames than last time. Part of the reason it took me so long to write this was that I was uncertain at how it would be received – a lot of people do struggle with infertility, and I didn't want anyone who might be reading to either be offended or think I'm making light of such situations. I'm really not. I've done my research and I know people who have had difficulty with fertility, so I hope that that shows through in what you read here. Well, I think I've rambled on enough, let me know what you think/whether you'd be interested in reading more etc. Thank you!