Fantasia on Booth

Brennan's eyes blinked open. Having worked in Limbo all day, she had identified several remains. They had included a Bronze Age warrior and two WWI soldiers. The last body had been a young runaway, who had left her parents at the age of 15, so she could earn a living while working on a boat in the Caribbean. Brennan wondered what kind of life this young girl had at home, that would make her want to leave her family for an unknown life at sea.

All of this had led her to working late yet again. She had sat down at her desk then folded her arms before laying her head down. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

Trying to stifle a yawn, Brennan made her way over to her filing cabinet to officially erase the mystery of the lives she had discovered. As she opened the second drawer from the top…

…she found herself standing in Sweets office. Completely confused, Brennan turned to find Booth sitting in his usual chair. He looked as though it was completely natural for a man to look so at ease in a suit. Dr. Sweets was sitting behind his desk looking up expectantly at Brennan with a grin.

"Awesome! I'm glad you could finally make it Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth and I were beginning to think you stood us up."

Booth smiled up at Brennan. "Yeah Bones, I knew you wouldn't knowingly stand me up, but Sweets here has had a bit too much rejection from other pretty girls. I think this would have put him over the edge." Sweets tried to maintain his smile, but it was only a step away from a grimace.

"Um...sorry," was all Brennan could say. She was still slightly confused as to how she ended up here, but sat down anyway. She was certain their next appointment wasn't until Thursday, and today was Monday.

Booth turned to look back at their psychiatrist. "So what kind of torture do you have lined up for us today Sweets?"

Glaring at the FBI Agent in front of him, Sweets replied, "Agent Booth, I hardly think of our sessions as torture, frustrating and difficult maybe, but that's a far cry from torture. Today, we are going to conduct a trust exercise."

"Uh oh," Brennan thought as her eyes widened in fear when she saw the look in Booth's eyes. He quickly stepped in to diffuse the situation. "No way! Sweets! Do you remember the last time we tried one of your 'trust experiments'? I seem to recall falling on top of Bones the last time, which caused her to end up with a broken finger."

Sweets held his hands up defensively. "Now you know that was a complete accident. That experiment has never injured anyone before. I have every confidence that the exercise today will not cause any further physical harm." As Sweets finished this thought, he looked to the strangely quiet woman sitting in front of him. "What do you think Dr. Brennan?"

Brennan glanced down at her hand briefly before responding with confidence, "I'm completely capable of taking care of myself." She paused, then looked at Booth, "provided you don't go out of your way to land on top of me again." Booth noticed the twinkle in her eyes as she looked at him.

"You sure Bones?"

"Don't you trust me Booth?"

His eyes locked on hers as he continued with a smile, "With everything."

Sweets looked between the two partners before he interrupted their exchange. "Ok then, great. We'll start with Dr. Brennan since she seems to be the most comfortable." As he stood up, he indicated to Brennan that she should mimic his movement. He took out a scarf he had tucked away in his desk and handed it to Booth. "I want you to blindfold Dr. Brennan."

Booth hesitated as he stood up, "Okay…"

Brennan looked at Booth with warm eyes. "I trust you completely Booth. Go ahead." Turning her so he could walk up behind her, Booth slipped the scarf around her head and tied it gently but securely in the back.

"What now Sweets?"

"You're going to spin her around a few times to confuse her sense of direction. Then, with only your words as direction, you are going to lead her down to the lobby."

A slight hint of panic crept its way into Brennan's voice, "All the way downstairs?"

Booth heard distress in her voice and knew immediately he needed to reassure her. "Don't worry Bones. You know I won't let anything happen to you. I'll be right here beside you the entire way."

At the calming sound of his voice, Brennan instantly relaxed. She took a deep breath. "Alright, I'm ready." She sensed him coming towards her and felt his strong hands grip her shoulders. He gave them a gentle nudge as he spun her around a few times. She started to feel dizzy and hoped he was nearly done. Just as she felt the lack of balance overcoming her, he stopped her. She waited for him to say something to lead her out of the room.

Hearing nothing, she called out to him. "Booth?"

No response.

She called out with a little more curiosity in her voice. "Booth? Are you there?"

Silence.

Her voice was more forceful this time. "Booth! This isn't funny. Where did you go?"

Finally fed up with this 'exercise' of Sweets she tore off her blindfold…

...she was instantly transported to a beach that had to be located somewhere in the Caribbean; the water was too blue. She looked down and noticed that her slacks and sweater that she was wearing earlier had been replaced with a knee-length skirt and tank-top. If Brennan thought she had been disoriented before, now she was baffled. She had a slight inkling that she might be dreaming, but the glorious landscape around her edged those thoughts from her head.

Deciding that she might as well enjoy the scenery, she began walking barefoot through the waves along the beach. She studied the way the sand shifted around her feet as she walked. The soft rhythm of the waves relaxed her nerves and the wind blowing through her hair felt cleansing to her soul. She breathed deeply and noticed the wind carried with it a familiar rustic scent. Looking up, she caught her breath. Walking slowly but confidently towards her was her best friend. Not wearing his usual suit, Seeley Booth looked completely comfortable in linen slacks and black shirt, loosely buttoned and sleeves rolled up. The gentle breeze licked at his clothes and he wore a slight smile just for her. His eyes drew hers up and they held their gaze as he stopped in front of her.

"Hey Bones," he said sweetly.

"Hi." It was the only thing she could think of to say.

As he reached out his hand to brush away the hair from her face he told her, "I've been waiting for you."

"Really? How long?" She didn't remember him not being in Washington D.C. She had no idea he had been gone and she was annoyed she didn't realize this fact.

Booth cupped her face with his hands. "Too long." He barely had time to utter the words before he closed the distance between them and kissed her. Brennan froze for about a millisecond before responding. As she returned the kiss, her arms slid around his waist and pulled him closer.

Moments lasting forever enveloped them until they slowly pulled apart and Booth's hands came down and rested on her hips. She looked up into his eyes and saw everything and nothing she expected. She saw friendship, hope, reassurance, faith, and greatest of all, love.

Brennan released him from her grasp and turned in his arms to face out to the endless ocean. Booth stepped forward and drew her to his chest, placing his head next to hers. Staring out at the ocean together, Brennan felt complete and couldn't help but smile. There were no thoughts of worry or running, only absolute happiness. She released a sigh that held feelings of contentment and bliss. She leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Immediately she felt a cold rush of air and she quickly opened her eyes…

…to a completely absurd sight. She was standing in the midst of what she could only categorize as a circus. Now she knew she was dreaming. That realization was slightly upsetting because she knew the wonderful experience she had just been ejected from on the beach wasn't real.

Not without an edge of frustration, she began looking around for anything that might tell her exactly where she was. Currently, she was standing in some sort of field where they had erected the circus. Behind her was a large tent that appeared to be the main attraction and people were quickly walking in and out of the entrance. She also noticed a large cage containing lions currently napping in the corner. *Do felines do anything but sleep? No wonder people find cats soothing.*

There were carnival games located off to the right where several high school aged boys were attempting to throw darts at balloons. Brennan assumed these boys were trying to impress the five giggling girls standing off to the side. Despite the fact the boys were lousy shots, the girls didn't seem to mind.

Continuing her perusal of the circus, she came to a halt as she spotted some people surrounding a tall man swallowing a sword. Ironically, it wasn't really the person with the sword that caught her attention; it was the two familiar scientists arguing loudly in front of him. Hodgins and Zach were discussing the material and contour of the sword as well as the sharpness and how much damage it could actually cause if pulled out incorrectly. She smiled to herself; well at least that seemed normal. For some reason, Brennan didn't walk over to the two, but instead kept looking around the circus.

A small group of people had gathered over to her left in front of a stage. A man dressed in a very bright red suit was talking loudly to his audience. Interested, she walked over to the edge of the crowd and noticed a large sign that said "The Magnificent Max!" and realized she was watching a magic show.

She chuckled as the image of her father pretending to be a magician came to her head. She looked up at the man and actually saw her father looking back at her, winking. She returned the smile and watched as a very familiar Angela walked out on stage in a sparkly purple outfit with her hair drawn up with a peacock feather.

Brennan observed as Angela climbed in a box laid out on a table. As Max talked to the crowd about the innocence and simplicity of the box, Brennan thought about how fitting it was that Max was entertaining his audience with lies he effortless spilled from his mouth. She turned and walked away as Max began sawing her friend in half. Part of her thought that maybe she should be concerned, but a larger part had faith in her father and a disbelief in magic.

She continued wandering around the circus until she found her. Brennan hadn't realized that she was looking for anyone until she saw the old lady sitting at the table. A poster next to a small round table announced that "Madame Sirena" was telling fortunes to anyone willing to pay $3. Madame Sirena was dressed like a gypsy with yards of fabric draped over her and countless amounts of jewelry dripping from her neck and hands. Her face was hardened with years of life and experience; her eyes were an icy blue.

Her intense gaze immediately drew Brennan over to the table. Brennan put no faith in such ridiculous superstition. However, the woman's eyes had an essence of truth in them and she found herself intrigued with Madame Sirena.

"What do you wish to know, my dear?" Madame Sirena looked directly into Brennan's eyes, as if to find the answer without requiring spoken words.

Brennan went to reach into her pockets only to remember she was wearing a skirt. "I don't have any money with me," she replied sheepishly.

Madame Sirena paused a moment then said, "That doesn't stop you from looking for answers." She paused another moment, then continued, "I'll tell you the question you have, because you don't know it yet."

Brennan was about to question how this woman knew something about her thoughts that she herself didn't know yet when Madame Sirena reached under the table to pull out a crystal ball. Brennan had never actually seen a crystal ball before, but there was no question as to what was sitting on the table before her.

Brennan looked up expecting to see a smile, but only saw a woman with a sense of duty. Madame Sirena needed to share her wisdom with this young, confused woman with the sad blue eyes.

"You want to know what he wants. You want to know what you mean to him when you don't even know what he means to you. You wonder what his life would be like if you weren't in it."

Indicating the crystal ball between them, Madame Sirena continued, "Looking in here will tell you what you already know."

When Madame Sirena observed the skepticism in Brennan's eyes, she reached out her hand and gently grabbed the young woman's chin. "You don't see the point of looking at something you already know, but that won't stop your curiosity."

The gypsy was right. Brennan didn't really didn't believe anything Madame Sirena said, but that didn't stop her from wondering what she might see. Even thinking that she might see something told Brennan that she wasn't acting normal.

Questions were flying around in her head. *Was the woman talking about Booth? She did seem to know what I've been thinking about recently. That kiss a moment ago assured her that Booth was the only 'him' she'd been thinking about recently. Wait…that kiss wasn't real. How long had she been thinking about Booth?* Before Brennan completely lost herself in her thoughts, Madame Sirena spoke again.

"Stop."

"Stop what?" Now Brennan was confused for a completely different reason.

"Stop and look. This is the future."

As Madame Sirena pointed to the crystal ball, Brennan was immediately drawn into another scene. Somehow this experience was different, it was as if she was watching from a distance as opposed to actually being in the moment.

Brennan looked at the blue two-story house in front of her. It was nicely landscaped with colorful flowers framing the pathway to the front door. In the yard was a carelessly placed bike as well as a basketball. In the driveway was a shiny red minivan with LA county license plates. So she was in California. One less thing to figure out.

She watched as a young teenage boy walked out the front door towards the van. She smiled as she noticed how well Parker Booth had grown up. He walked with confidence despite the awkwardness of being thirteen. Following him out of the house was a tall woman with long blond hair. Despite the fact she was only wearing green shorts and a t-shirt, she was stunning. Brennan also did not fail to notice the sparkle of a wedding ring on her hand. However she was not the most beautiful girl in the scene.

The woman was holding the most adorable little girl Brennan had ever seen. She was maybe two years old with curly blond hair pulled into pigtails and was wearing a pink dress with daisies on it. The little girl turned and Brennan gasped as she saw the little girl's deep brown eyes. She recognized those eyes. They were unmistakably Booth's eyes. Brennan's horror was confirmed as Seeley Booth walked out of the charming little house. Her heart broke a little as she sighed aloud, "Booth."

"Are my two favorite girls ready to go?" Asked a beaming Booth. "I can't believe I have the most beautiful wife and little girl in the world."

He reached over the little girl to give the women a tender kiss. Brennan saw him give his daughter his signature charm smile, but it didn't reach his eyes for some reason. That didn't make sense. There's something different about him. Not just different, but atypical.

Parker rolled his eyes from the van. "Dad, come on. Can't we just leave already." Booth laughed. "I almost forgot about my wonderful son over here." Booth ruffled Parker's hair.

"Geez dad, stop it!" Parker said with limited attitude. She could see that he secretly enjoyed the attention from his father.

The entire Booth family climbed in the van as Brennan looked on from a distance. Her world was slowly falling apart. Something was definitely wrong here. Why is Booth in California with a family? Why is he driving a minivan? He hates driving minivans; he only drives big SUVs.

Watching her best friend and partner start driving away broke her from her thoughts. She earnestly tried to get his attention before he left the driveway, "Booth."

He didn't seem to notice her. The minivan began driving down the street. Now she panicked. Why was he leaving her? Did he really love this new family? Did she even matter to him anymore? There were so many questions to ask him. She needed to know why he was here and where her place was in his life…and he was simply driving away from her.

She called out to him in desperation as tears threatened to escape from her eyes. "Booth! Come back! Don't go away!"

Special Agent Seeley Booth had walked into the Jeffersonian with a confidence that comes with years of familiarity with the building. He wasn't sure how to describe it, but every time he entered this building he felt a sense of calm wash over him. He felt like he was coming home.

Looking up to her office, he had seen her light on. Sighing to himself he thought, "Well at least she's still working." Any normal person would have left work by 9 pm, but not Dr. Brennan. He supposed he should have felt relieved that he didn't have to go to her apartment to bother her with a new case. He had walked up to her door with her name on the edge of his lips when he had frozen at the image of her sleeping on her desk.

Booth watched from the doorway as his partner dreamed at her desk. The case file he held in his hand was momentarily forgotten as he was mesmerized by the emotions flitting across Brennan's face. With the experience that comes from years of interrogating hundreds of witnesses and criminals, he continued to stare at his beautiful partner and wondered what her subconscious mind was thinking about.

She looked peaceful. Her normally alert features void of the stress and anxiety that she often wore while she was at work. She probably thought she hid her feelings from her colleagues, but He knew her too well.

As she slept, a smile formed on her lips and was quickly followed by a sweet sigh. He couldn't help but smirk and foolishly hoped that she was dreaming of him. He continued to watch as her forehead wrinkled in a look of confusion. While her dream continued, he could sense her distress and he started moving towards her desk. He was startled as she softly called out his name. He placed the file on her desk and crouched down beside her chair.

Booth noticed her breathing had quickened and her body was tense. He wasn't sure what to do to calm her down; he didn't want to startle her. He was about to reach his hand out to her face when she cried out louder this time.

"Booth." Her voiced was laced with panic. His eyes widened in shock as he tried to imagine what she was dreaming about that would cause her call out his name like that.

"Booth! Come back! Don't go away!" At these frantic words of admission he finally reached out to awaken her.

He tried a soothing voice to gently wake her from her dream, "Bones, wake up." At the touch of his hand on her cheek, she immediately relaxed and the familiar sound of his voice woke her. She looked at him with relief that warmed his heart. He drew her into his arms to calm her nerves.

She hadn't realized how distressing her dream had been. When she finally woke to the sound of her name on his lips and saw her best friend looking at her with concern, she felt a wave of relief crash over her. Her rapidly beating pulse and quick breaths reminded her that the dream had seemed very realistic at the time. As Booth pulled her into a comforting hug, she was grateful he couldn't see the fear hiding behind her eyes.

Booth gently ran his hand up and down her back. "Hey…it's ok. It was just a bad dream." He could feel her relax slightly, but he sensed she wasn't entirely back to her normal self. Remembering the words she had cried out, he pushed her back slowly to look directly in her eyes.

"Bones, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

She heard the truth to the words and searched his eyes for confirmation. These were the eyes she knew. These were the eyes from the dream that she had seen on the beach, not the ones from the man in the suburbs. She took a deep breath and everything fell back into place. She smiled weakly back at him. "Thanks."

Looking now at the woman he knew, he returned the smile. "All better now?"

She laughed softly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He stood up and grabbed the folder.

"Great, cause I've got a case for us. A woman found this body near Annapolis in a fishing boat that washed up after that big storm last night. Since the boat is registered to a family from South Carolina, it falls to the FBI. Now since I let you take a little nap, we're running a little late here. So we have to leave, now."

Still being slightly groggy from just waking up, all Brennan heard was "woman…South Carolina…have to leave now." Confusion and alarm crawling back into her mind she looked at him with apprehension. "What?"

He didn't miss the quiver in her voice. Figuring she was still slightly on edge from the dream he replied calmly, "You and me, we have a new case. So come on."

"Oh." Her mind was getting clearer now. "Right, give me a second to get my things."