Title: Wake Up Calls
Author: MonaCK
Rating: Adult
Pairing: Booth/Brennan
Spoilers: If you that Booth has a brother, you're okay. If you don't, well, I've spoiled you anyway so you might as well read.
Word Count: 2975
Warnings: Smut; Character Death.
Summary: When Booth loses someone close to him, he turns to the person who matters most.
Author's Note: Special thanks to Nini, Libby and Yvette for reading this over for me. I could not have done this without them.
The phone rang, jarring him out of an otherwise restful sleep. He audibly cursed as he ran his hands over his eyes and groped for the phone. Three AM. Unknown caller.
No good news ever came at Three AM.
He grumbled a hello into the telephone, and by the time the conversation ended, he found he was fully awake. He jumped out of bed, throwing on clothes that he had most likely just worn the day before. Grabbing his cell phone, keys and wallet, he flew out the door, heading towards his vehicle.
As he threw the car into gear, the words from a moment before formed in his head. They still weren't registering. A car accident. His brother. Get down to the hospital right away.
He groaned. What had his brother gotten himself into this time.
The emergency room doors slid open and Booth rushed inside. His hair was slightly askew. His face a slight shadow of stubble from not shaving. Eyes darting around the room wildly, his eyes settled on the admit desk.
"I'm Seeley Booth. I got a call about my brother...?"
The nurse did some typing, but did not say a word as she quietly made a phone call. A few moments later, a doctor appeared and ushered him towards a set of chairs in the waiting room.
The words washed over him in disbelief. Certain phrases echoed in his ears. I'm sorry. There was nothing we could do. Too many injuries. Dead. Dead. Dead.
His brother was dead. If he was not sitting down, his knees would have buckled. He took a moment, exhaling hard, feeling his tenuous grip on his emotions rapidly sliding away. The doctor was still talking, but Booth did not hear a word that was said. Effectively ignoring him, he stood, staggering with emotion as he made his way towards the front doors of the awful place - the awful place that told him that he no longer had a brother. The awful place that...
Finally outside, he took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from completely collapsing. So instead, he found himself punching his hand into the brick facade of the building, the pain in his hands finally allowing the pain in his heart to escape.
The phone rang, jarring her out of an otherwise restful sleep. Her hand groped for her cell phone and her eyes widened as the time registered. Four thirty in the morning. While she was adept at waking up an hour later than this in order to fully prepare her mind mentally for whatever tasks might face her in the day ahead, she knew intellectually that there must have been an emergency of some kind. Answering the phone, she took a sharp intake of breath. And wordlessly she dressed, making her way out of the house and towards her automobile.
She drove to the hospital in record time, and after a quick consult at the admit desk, she made her way to one of the exam rooms where a stoic (and yet emotionally drained) Booth sat before her, looking down at his bandaged and bruised hand. He had called her. He'd said that he needed her. Needed her. So she had come, no questions asked, just like she knew he would do for her.
"Booth..." She took a step into the room, and his eyes finally lifted, meeting hers. His eyes were wet with unshed tears, bringing tears to her own. She took another step into the room, finally landing at his side. It was when she reached out, gathering him into her arms that she felt him break, emotion leaving his body in a manner that she had never seen prior. It was a rare occasion when Booth allowed himself to break down.
"He's gone," he managed to eek out. "My God, Bones. Jared.. car accident. Gone..."
She was momentarily confused. It was not long ago that she might not have gotten the meaning behind his words. Gone could mean that he had left, deciding to return to India for another escape. Or it could mean that he had come up missing somehow. But here, in the hospital, with this broken man in her arms she caught his meaning and felt her own breath catch in her throat.
"I'm sorry, Booth," she whispered, her lips in his hair as she allowed him to fully take comfort in her arms.
The sun was rising, and the sky was full of color; reds, oranges and yellows filling the air. He was silent on the drive, his good hand nursing his bad one as he watched the scenery pass before his eyes. Bones had insisted on driving, spouting something about how his state of mind was not stable enough to allow him to arrive at his home safely. He would figure out how to get his car home later. He didn't care. She pulled into a spot in front of his apartment and cut the engine. Turning towards Booth, her eyes were full of worry. She made another snap decision.
"I am not letting you go in alone," she explained, as she pulled the keys into her hands. "I am coming upstairs with you."
He didn't disagree.
He fumbled with his keys momentarily before finally swinging his front door open, allowing Brennan in before entering himself, shutting and locking the door behind him. It didn't feel quite real yet - despite the pain in his hand, his heart, his mind. He didn't want to talk, but he didn't want to be alone either.
He was glad that he did not have to ask Bones to stay.
The room was still dark with early morning just beginning to filter light into the room. Booth made no effort to turn on a light as he crossed the distance between the front door and his couch, sitting down as he gave Bones a pleading look. It was an intense one - one that seemed to speak volumes without words being needed at all. Booth needed her. She was not good at reading people, but she had grown exceptionally good at reading him.
She joined him. Booth reached for her and Bones did not resist. He needed her. She would not deny him this, not in his darkest hour.
The day wore on, and Bones did what she could to try to make Booth feel more at ease. It was something that did not come easy to her. She knew how to read bones. She knew how to be analytical. She knew how to be logical. She was still learning how to deal with matters of the heart.
They ordered in Chinese, neither really feeling up to the task of mastering the kitchen. And they ate in comfortable silence. Bones was not sure what good she was doing, just being there, but Booth seemed comforted by this. Bones had said something - something that had made Booth laugh for the first time that day, and it had caused Bones to laugh as well, the two of them sitting next to each other, watching some television show that Bones, without a doubt, had never seen before in her life. It was then that Booth turned towards her, reaching for the remote and muting the TV sounds before speaking.
"I really don't know how to thank you," he began, his eyes seeking hers. "I mean... not thank you. But I... this day. I couldn't have gotten through this alone. What I mean is, I couldn't have gotten through this without you."
She was silent for a moment, trying to find the appropriate words to say. She reached out, and laced her finger with his. "It's what partners do for each other, right?" she quirked her head to the side. "Partners... and friends. We are friends. I know you would be there for me. I wanted to be there for you."
A half smile crossed his lips and he squeezed her hand in response. He picked up the remote, keeping her hand tightly within his grip as he focused his attention back on the television.
She did not pull her hand away.
The hour grew later, and shadows filled the room. Bones was left to her own thoughts, Booth excusing himself from her company for a few moments. Those few turned into many, and Bones was just about to check to make sure that he was alright when she heard him call her name from behind where she sat. She turned around, and was surprised to see him standing there, leaning against the door jamb. He had changed into a pair of sweat pants and had removed his shirt. She blinked, unsure of what to do. He was obviously ready for bed.
"I should go," she began, her eyes meeting his.
He returned her gaze. She swallowed then, licking her lips as she finally broke the stare, her eyes darting around the room and focusing on anything but his intensity. "I mean, if you want me to. I... I want to be there for you. But don't want to..."
"Stay with me." he interrupted her speech, forcing her to turn towards him again, once again their eyes locking. "I don't want to be alone tonight."
It was his eyes that ultimately convinced her to stay. Exhaling, she took a step forward. And another. And another. Until his arms found her and she held him. He was letting her hold him up for once. She would not let him down.
They had shared a bed together before.
Of course, the circumstances were vastly different. They were undercover, and had to stay in the same small trailer together. The attraction had been alive between them then, but it was not something that was acted on. That was work. This was... emotion. Pure emotion. Pure need.
They laid next to each other, not quite touching. Booth had let Bones borrow a t-shirt that fit him fine, but she wore like a nightshirt. Bones was not a modest person, but she felt strangely shy as she tentatively reached out, grabbing Booth's hand and once again lacing her fingers between his. He immediately squeezed her hand, and he blinked. He was blinking back tears that he was refusing to shed, fearful that his heart would follow and he would be left completely raw and vulnerable.
But this was Bones. Bones would never intentionally hurt him. This Booth knew not only from an intellectual sense, but especially from an emotional sense.
He exhaled deeply. "I have no family," he finally managed to eek out, licking his lips as he did so. "There's Parker. I'll always have Parker. But..."
His voice trailed off and Bones blinked, trying to assess what to do in this situation. She did not have enough experience in being a caregiver, and most of the role models she had been given as a child were not what she would rank as the most positive. She had learned at an early age to compartmentalize. She had learned that it was better not to feel than to feel pain. Booth had taken great pains to show her that love was worth it, and she was beginning to believe it. Watching Booth break down again, before her eyes, was showing her once again why she had spent years pushing it away.
It was not her going through this. Booth was relying on her to say the right thing, and to take the pain away. What would Booth do if it was her, though? What would Booth do? Words swirled in her mind as she reached for him with her free hand, brushing fingers down the side of his face. It caused his eyes to shutter closed, a stray tear spilling out onto his cheek.
She caught the tear with her finger.
"You have family, Booth. You were the one who told me, a long time ago, that there was more than one kind of family. In many ways..." she paused, searching once again for the right words. "In many ways, you are more family to me than my own father and brother. In many ways you know me better than anyone who has ever been a part of my life."
What would Booth do?
It was not often that Bones pushed the logical part of her brain aside. It was not often (if at all) that she acted on impulses rather than weighing the situation over and over again in her mind. She did just this as she reached for him, pulling him into her arms and brushing her lips lightly over his. Surprised, his eyes widened, but he responded, pulling her fully into his arms before crushing his lips onto hers.
The kiss deepened, his bad hand resting on her shoulder as his good hand pulled her more firmly into his grasp, and they were both breathless as the kiss ended, his face still dangerously close to hers. Their eyes locked, and Booth was amazed at what he saw. This was full, raw exposure of Bones' full emotions. She was opening herself up for him, and he decided not to take the time to analyze it. He decided to just feel.
Moments before they had been worlds apart, both afraid to make the first move. Once that had been breached, there was nothing between them. They fell into each other, their clothing falling into a heap onto the floor, intermingled just like their hands, limbs, and arms. They kissed like neither of them had ever been kissed before, breathless, full of passion, full of love.
A moment passed and Bones found herself gently pushing Booth onto his back, careful to avoid further injury to his already hurt hand. She was taking charge. She was taking care of him.
What would Booth do?
She kissed him then, her lips at first meeting his but teasing him, she began to paint a trail of ecstasy down the length of his body, stopping to brush her tongue over each of his nipples. Booth shuddered in response, his mouth opening and then closing as he exhaled. It was all about the senses for him, and right at that moment, the sense of touch and feel was absolutely overwhelming him. His emotions were on the edge of the surface, right below the skin. And each brush of her hand, flick of her tongue, brought everything closer and closer to the edge of something that he knew he would never be able to put into words.
Don't think... feel.
As she made her way down the length of his torso, her hands brushing over his muscles as she continued her trail of his body, she hesitated, but only slightly, when she reached the point of his arousal. Her tongue darted out, and she flicked it against the tip.
He shuddered again, moaning out her name. Her given name. He hadn't meant to do it, but so often she had been an object of his dreams, and that is what he had called her in those. And this felt like a dream. A dream that was a reality, as she continued to brush her tongue against him, finally (and mercifully) taking him completely into her mouth.
"Oh... God..."
Lifting off of him, she smiled, her hands taking the place of where her mouth had just been. If she had been in thinking mode, she would have stopped completely, stopping to explain that there was no such thing as the manifestation of God, and that she was the one doing this to him, not some extreme being that really didn't exist anyhow. But she was not in thinking mode. She was in feeling mode. She was in Booth mode. She wanted to make Booth feel better, and if Booth felt better by crying out to a supreme being, she was not going to be the one to deny him that.
Instead, she moved back up the length of his body, her lips once again painting a trail to the top of his body. She kissed along his strong jawline, noting that his breathing had increased, and his heart rate had as well. His arms encircled her. She breathed against his ear.
"Booth... tell me what you want..."
"You, Bones. God.. it's always been you..."
She straddled him, and then took him fully, positioning herself so that she could easily let him enter her. She gasped at first, surprised by the warmth that she felt. He gasped as well, the tightness fitting around him like he was home. Like this had always been his own. Like she belonged here, in his arms, their bodies together.
They rode over the hill together, climaxing with a gasp, a scream, and a cry. He held her tightly, as the waves finished, and he sighed, kissing the nape of her neck as she fully collapsed on top of him.
They were silent for a few moments as their breathing regulated, and she rolled off of him, but kept herself closely pinned to his side. She lifted her head, his eyes meeting hers. "Thank you," she whispered, emotions right on the surface, spilling out in the aftermath of years of unresolved tension between them.
"I should be thanking you... " his voice trailed off as she placed her finger over his lips, a smile tracing her features.
"No... remember those years ago? We had that talk... about the difference between having sex and making love. I... I think I understand now," she explained, as she rested her head against his shoulder.
There were very few times in his life when Booth has been stunned silent. It was also a rarity when a day of such sadness could also be filled with a day of hope. Every end starts a new beginning. He would give anything to have his brother back... but sometimes things happen for reasons that can not be explained.
"I love you too, Bones."