Brennan stared into the mirror and let go a sigh...

She pulled a face and poked out her tongue. It was the first time she had stood and really looked at herself in a few weeks. Her pregnancy was progressing well, the babies were growing fast. Six and a half months and I look like I should be giving birth any day! she thought to herself, trying to remember how big she was with Christine at the same point in her pregnancy.

"Do you have any idea what you two are doing to me?" she asked, staring at her naked body in the mirror, her hands pinching at her cheeks, her face full and rounded.

"No. I don't suppose you do. Well, I can tell you, it's not very attractive from where I'm standing right now. Just look at these! They're positively pendulous! And so painful to touch. How on earth I'm going to feed you if they stay this sore I have no idea." she said lifting and dropping her swollen breasts, wincing.

Her hands explored her belly "And look at these stretch marks! Your sister didn't cause any! And I can't even see my feet any more. Which is probably just as well. They're always swollen."

Brennan wrapped her gown across her bare body and shook her head, sitting down on the bed, lifting her feet up where she could see them.

"And I need a manicure!" she said to the babies growing in her belly. She let her feet drop down to the floor and flopped backwards onto the bed.

"This probably was a bad idea" she thought to herself as she pondered how she was going to get back up onto her feet.

"Booth!" she called out.

No answer.

"BOOTH!"

Nothing.

Brennan lay staring at the ceiling for a moment then took a deep breath and rolled onto her side, then shuffled herself backwards off the bed, using her hands to push herself up. Sighing loudly, she adjusted her dressing gown, slid her feet into fluffy slippers resembling yellow chickens. Christine had given them to her for Mothers Day last year. She hadn't really liked them at the start, but she knew that her daughter had spent all her pocket money buying them for her, and that made them the most wonderful gift. Right now, they were the most comfortable thing she owned and gladly pushed her feet into them and shuffled out of the bedroom into the kitchen.

"Didn't you hear me calling?" she asked Booth who was sitting at the breakfast bar poring over his laptop and drinking coffee. No response. She flicked out a foot and sent one fluffy yellow chicken flying across the room, straight at Booth.

"huh?" Booth jumped as it hit him in the thigh. He turned and stared at her blankly.

"I called for you Booth" she said, her bottom lip pushing out. oh no. don't cry over this Brennan she thought to herself as her eyes pricked. Her hormones were a little more than out of control lately.

Booth frowned, then he reached up and pulled a set of earbuds out of his ears "What? I was listening to the news" he said holding up the pink plugs that had been embedded in his ears.

Brennan stared at him, her hands flopping against her thighs. "They're my headphones!" she said, her face screwing up.

"What? Bones, I use them all the time! What's the matter?" he asked as she burst into tears. Booth took a breath and stood up. He sucked in his bottom lip and walked over to her, arms outstretched. He had to approach her cautiously when she had these emotional breakdowns. Sometimes she would allow him to hold her and comfort her. Other times, she would lash out. He had been the recipient of several slapped cheeks and a very painful knee to the groin. Today she walked into his arms and pushed her face into his chest. "I'm only wearing one slipper!" she cried, making him grin widely, out of her line of sight. Laughing at her to her face, could be tantamount to death by any means she could manage.

Oh boy, I'm going to have to change my shirt again he thought to himself as he petted her on the back gently, feeling the wet patch forming under her face. If he patted her too hard, he could end up with a kick to his shins.

Brennan's emotional state had been quite a roller coaster ride this pregnancy. And she was only a little over half way through it. He knew that it was something to do with all the hormones her body was producing because of the twins. But neither of them had been ready for the mind shattering highs and depressingly morbid lows she was experiencing.

Booth was getting used to sleeping only about five or six hours a night, and they were broken hours. Brennan was having weird dreams that would wake her up. She would be crying or giggling depending on the nature of the dream. The one's that made her cry usually were about something going wrong with the birth, or the babies. She would be shaking and sobbing and it could take a hour to help settle her down and convince her that the twins were fine. Then she would get upset because she wasn't acting or thinking rationally and would cry about that.

Other times, she would be giggling about something funny that she had dreamed, but couldn't recall exactly what, that made absolutely no sense to Booth. Or she would simply wake up three or four times a night to pee, which of course meant Booth would end up getting up too because the sound of her peeing made him want to pee too. This was nothing like when she was pregnant with Christine. It was pretty much a lose, lose situation.

There was one thing he was sure about. This was going to be a very, VERY, long pregnancy.

Christine had begged to go to Angela and Jacks for a couple of weeks during the summer vacation break. Booth had agreed immediately. Brennan had been against it. She didn't want Angela to feel obliged to look after Christine, but thankfully, Angela had told her that she welcomed having Christine come to stay. It was good company for Michael who was still an only child, and got bored during school holidays.

Angela and Jack had been trying for another baby for a while now. So, Booth and Brennan's news when they had returned from their vacation had both surprised and saddened Angela at first.

Of course in the big picture, she was extremely thrilled for her best friend. But deep down, it had brought her feelings of inadequacy to the surface. Jack of course, didn't think anything of it. He tried to tell her that they would have another baby soon. And he absolutely believed that. The problem was that she had fallen pregnant so quickly with Michael, that she was having trouble accepting that it wasn't happening as easily again.

So, Booth and Brennan were alone for two weeks. Booth had taken the time off work to spend with Brennan who was off work on medical advice. Plus Cam was insistent. Brennan had made a couple of very silly mistakes recently. Nothing major, but it was enough for Cam to stop and take notice. She was exhausted. Her morning sickness, or more accurately, all day sickness, had eased, finally, but she was physically depleted. A couple of weeks rest and relaxation Cam told her, and no argument. She had even gone so far as to take Brennan's ID and access swipes so that she couldn't sneak back into the lab. They would assess her fitness to return to work at that time.

Brennan, of course, had been extremely offended at first. But Cam and her doctor, had assured her that it was for her own good. Brennan eventually gave in. They were both right. She was tired. Very tired, mentally, physically, emotionally. She knew that she had been acting a little crazy lately. She just couldn't seem to get a handle on her emotions. Her doctor had assured her that there was nothing wrong with her. It was the hormonal surges her body was experiencing. It was something that some women pregnant with twins experienced. Not all, some. It would settle. Brennan just wished she wasn't one of the ones it did happen to, and she really hoped it would hurry up and settle soon.

So, she agreed to take two weeks off to just relax and do nothing. She would eat well, rest, and get a little sunshine. And Booth was determined to make sure that was exactly what she did.