A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who left a review for Learning you, it means a lot to me!!! I'm trying to work on more chapters for it, but it's gonna take a while. This is my second fic and it will have four chapters. It will take some time for a update because I just got a job, so I won't have time to write thge second chapter until the weekend. Sorry!!!
A special thanks to Juniper375 for helping me with my bad English!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Bones.
The soft wind was blowing through the open windows of Brennan's office when she stepped through the door. Pulling the windows shut she rubbed her arms in a failed attempt to warm herself up, considering the fact that in the morning rush, she forgot to take a warm jacket for the upcoming strong wind. Turning on the computer she began her routine in the lab: check e-mails, finish paperwork, study and identify the victims of long ago wars.
The lab was relatively quiet, but she didn't expect anyone there on a Saturday morning. Her colleagues had better things to do when all she had was her beautiful sterilized lab. Walking to the Bone Room, she placed a white plastic box on the table. Opening the lid, she skillfully arranged the bones in their right order, assembling the skeleton. She sighed, contemplating her work.
Brennan loved her job, she knew that. Her eyes lit up every time she grasped an opportunity to study a new specimen. Whether it was from the Iron Age or a week old, she would never flinch. Diving head first into the new case was her first response. She asked questions later. But lately her days were bittersweet, despite her efforts to ignore the feeling. Looking out every window she would see her "could have been" kind of life and she would sigh, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, once again becoming immersed in her work
While writing her findings in the Jeffersonian Standard Report form her eyes found themselves unfocused. Crossing the lab back to her office she was drawn to her windows, where the gold light of the fallen leaves caught her attention. Without a second thought she crossed the lab and burst out of the glass doors, stepping out of the Medico-Legal Lab, her feet carrying her to the outside gardens of the Jeffersonian.
She walked through the trees, her eyes admiring every last leaf on the branches. Their gold color contrasted with the rough brown color of the tree's trunk. The ground was covered in leaves, golden and in shades of brown, and they would fly as the wind blew. A breeze came softly, playing with the free locks of her hair while she hugged herself to keep the cold out, not having the heart to return just yet to her warm office.
As she laid herself in one of the benches her eyes wandered through the blue sky, the clouds in their soft shade of gray toying with her mind with the many different forms they would take. And as she relaxed herself into oblivion the wind continued to caress her face, and she forgot about the cold. She just lay there with her eyes closed, listening to the soft wind, trying to catch one of its whispered secrets.
"Thought I would find you here" came a voice from behind, startling her, bringing her to full awareness. As she opened her eyes, she found herself face to face with the one and only Seeley Booth.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she brought herself up to a sitting position, her eyes unfocused, starring at nothing in particular.
"Cam wanted to pick up some things in her office. I asked the guard about you, he told me where you were," he took in her vague eyes, her pale skin "What are you doing here, Bones?" he asked.
"What do you mean, Booth? I work here," she said in her monotone voice as she stubbornly continued to avoid his eyes. He could feel that something was wrong he knew her enough to see her strange behavior.
"You know what I meant." The look in her eyes told him she wouldn't be answering his question "Some wind hum?" as soon as the words fell from his mouth he wanted to slap himself, feeling as stupid as he appeared now. She smiled, knowing he just wanted to lighten the mood.
"The wind in Chicago is worse. It can cut your face while you're walking," she said as she stood up, careful not to stand too close. She feared he would instinctively know what was on her mind, and she wasn't ready for him to know the secrets she kept there. The wind blew and she shivered, now again aware of the lack of warmer clothes. Seeing this Booth took off his caramel leather jacket handing it to her.
"Booth, there's no need, I'm fine".
"Yeah, I can see that, just put it on. Amuse me just this once, ok?" he said that using his charm smile for the full effect. She took the offer, sliding her arms into the jacket as she sent him her own charm smile.
"See, why do I need the jacket with all this human heat?" she playfully hit him in the arm while he pretended to be hurt, rubbing the offending spot "You hit me again and I'll take the jacket back!" he said in a loud voice and she laughed.
"You can't take it back because now I'm warm, so I'll fight you for it!" she said with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"Evil woman," he said, enjoying their playful banter. She smiled to him, her first true smile in days now.
"What are you doing for the weekend?" she wasn't sure if that question was appropriate considering the fact that he was probably spending his time with Cam, and no one knew better than Brennan how sensitive he got when his relationship was mentioned.
"I have Parker for the weekend." His tone was light and she knew he was happy to finally have his son for some time, even if was never enough.
"So Cam is meeting Parker?" Her innocence never faded as she watched him. Booth looked uncertain, starring at his shoes with his hands shoved in his pants pockets.
"No, I'm… ah… I'm dropping her off at her place and then I'm picking Parker up at Rebecca's." Brennan remained quiet, making Booth grow nervous "It's complicated".
"What do you mean?" He wasn't surprised she didn't sense his hesitation in the matter.
"It's just Parker is at an impressionable age, and I…" he couldn't find the words to describe his feelings.
"Oh… no, I get it. You don't introduce your son to a girlfriend until you know your relationship is going somewhere so Parker won't get attached. That way, if the relationship doesn't work out, your son won't get hurt." She spoke like a scientist but the fact was she was using psychology. He let it slip for this time.
"That's exactly what it is," he was surprised at her analyses, "but you've met him," he said.
She was shocked with his comment but pushed it aside. "I'm your partner and friend, not your girlfriend." Her words were soft and her tone was sweet, but their meaning screamed inside his head. He didn't need her to remind him of that. Those words were currently like a mantra in his mind.
"No, you're not my girlfriend. You're a friend that I trust enough with my son." She blushed, smiling shyly at him. He smiled back but his face grew serious as he noticed her eyes focused on a point behind him. Turning around, Booth could see the distinctive thin figure of Cam, standing at the steps of the museum by the far side of the gardens. He sighed, and turning around he faced Brennan again.
"Why don't you spend some time with me and Parker?" he tried to hide his hope failing miserably.
"I don't want to intrude on your time with Parker. Besides, I have a lot of work to do," she answered; she knew he was disappointed, but to avoid conflicts between herself and her boss she decided to skip that one out. "Can I take a rain check?"
"I'll hold you to that," he replied; he saw her discomfort, sensed her hesitation.
"You'd better go. Don't want to keep Parker waiting," she said.
"If you change your mind, you know where to find me," he said as he tossed his poker chip, picking it up in the air. Brennan began to take the jacket off but Booth stopped her. "You can give it back to me another day. Don't want you to catch a cold or something".
"Thanks. Have a great weekend. Give Parker a kiss for me," she said as she backed away towards the bench she previously occupied.
"I will. Have a great weekend too," he turned to leave and began to walk, "Bye Bones".
She watched as he walked away from her. "Bye Booth".
As he walked away, he couldn't help but look at her. Her brown clothes and copper hair mingling with the autumn view as she seemed to fit in the season, as if she belonged there, surrounded by the gold colors of the fallen leafs. Booth wondered where their relationship was going. It was constantly changing, growing stronger everyday, but as their eyes locked together, they knew they weren't ready. In the back of his mind, he kept all his thoughts about her hidden from the world.
For now, he resigned himself with her friendship and partnership, because any form of connection was better then being out of her life. Feeling the cold blowing around him, he quickened his steps, willing his mind to concentrate on the wonderful weekend ahead of him.
From afar, Cam watched the interaction between the partners as she had been doing since she first got the job. He changed a lot from the last time she saw him back at New York, but as they tumbled to bed together, she really believed they could pick up where they left off. But she could always tell his mind was elsewhere every time he was in her presence. His body was hers for now, but his mind and heart where never in synchrony.
As the wind blew stronger, fighting with the dark locks of her hair, its whispers announced the soon coming cold of winter. Her eyes found the ones of her lover and she felt inside herself the prelude of a different kind of winter, and as he took her warm hand in his cold one, sending her a smile, she predicted in her heart that, by the end of fall, she would find herself sleeping alone under her own cold bed sheets.
So she led herself be guided out of the Jeffersonian, keeping her eyes down, and in the silence of her mind, she now knew the bittersweet taste of defeat.
Brennan waited until they were out of sight to pull herself together. Out of sight, out of mind. Whoever said that was wrong, because his absence didn't stop her thoughts from coming full force. She crossed the gardens back to the Jeffersonian in the direction of her office, deciding in her mind to get more work done. But as she crossed the door, her body compelled her to sit by the window and her mind once again drifted back to Booth.
She wasn't jealous, she knew that. But she also knew she was missing something. She wanted the smiles, the hugs, the kisses, the late night talks, the love making. And as her eyes wandered, she asked herself if she would ever live life instead of watching it through the glass windows in front of her.
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