Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, except the ones in my body.
Rating: PG
Pairing: BB
Author's Note: This is a sequel to Unexpected. It came to me randomly when I was in the shower, and had no pen and paper or a computer to write it down with. Figures, right? I hope you enjoy and I may do a third installment. May being the key word.
Dedication: To Ems for her encouragement.
The sunlight fell through the window, glinting off the white and blue tiles, the chrome fixtures, warming her drawn form. She was sitting against the wall, feeling the cold seep through her thin tank top and permeate her body, just as the floor was doing to her legs. She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, before letting it out in a rush. She bowed her head, drawing her knees up so she could rest her chin on them, auburn hair, still tangled, tumbled down her back and fell over her shoulders.
The quiet surrounding her was broken by the ringing of her cell phone. She gave no sign of noticing the piercing sound, beyond the initial tenseness brought on by the first ring. The phone continued to shrill before finally letting out a single beep to inform her of a missed call. Almost as soon as the phone clicked to voice mail the main phone began to ring. Three rings and the answering machine came on, filling the quiet apartment with the worried voice.
"Bones? Bones are you there?"
She shifted on the floor but didn't move to get up, to reach for the phone.
"Angela called; she said you never made it in to work today. Temperance, if you're there, pick up the phone."
Her eyes fluttered closed and she began to rock slowly, reaching up with a hand to press her fingers firmly against her temples.
"I'm heading over now Bones. If you get this message...stay there, okay?"
She exhaled slowly, head lolling back to bang against the warming tiles dully, mind not registering the brief flare of pain. The sunlight was getting brighter and she wished she could block it out, pull the blinds, but she had no energy to move. Cold and warmth warred within her, fighting to be dominant and she shivered, slipping a little farther down the wall.
He entered the apartment quickly, checking the answering machine and seeing the number five blinking over and over. The place was silent as the grave and he winced at the analogy. In his line of work, in both their lines of work, that term was something they encountered frequently, though it was never as quiet as one would expect. Light spilled in through open blinds and a mug filled with water and a tea bag sat steeping on the counter next to the refrigerator.
"Bones?" he calls softly as he enters the living room, laying his jacket over the back of the couch.
He's met with silence and he wonders if something happened, even though he knows she's still there. Her car is in its usual parking spot and he didn't take her in to work today. There's no way she could not be home unless she went out walking. He saw her bed first, noticed the way the covers were still tangled, she hadn't gotten around to making it.
"Bones?"
He turned the corner, entering the bathroom and saw her, scrunched into a corner with her head resting on her knees, hands gripped tightly around something he couldn't see. She was shivering but didn't seem aware of it, the sunlight slanting in through the window at just the right angle to bring out the red and gold of her tangled hair. It was half past one and Temperance Brennan was still in her pajamas on a work day.
"Bones!" He dropped down next to her, hesitating, fingertips inches away from the bare skin of her shoulder. "Bones, look at me."
Her head turned slowly, hair falling into her face, and he watched as she drew her bottom lip in, chewing it slowly, eyes downcast. He wanted to hold her, to run his fingers through her hair, to rub her back soothingly, but he also knew that probably wasn't the best idea to approach her at this moment. Instead he sat down next to her, leaning back against the wall and stretching his legs out until his feet touched the wooden cabinets opposite them.
They continued to sit in silence until finally she shifted closer and he moved as well, letting his arm drape around her shoulders, sighing as her head rested on his shoulder. The silence continued to stretch but he felt better, felt her relax against him, and enjoyed the scent of her shampoo invading his air space as he tried to figure out what was wrong.
Her cell phone rang again, a different ring than last time, then he felt his ringing seconds after hers shut off. He shifted, reaching over and taking it, turning the power off without checking the caller id. If it was Cullen, he would suffer the consequences later, if it was Angela, well, he still didn't have any answers. He smiled into her hair as the main phone began to ring, the answering machine picking up just like it had done earlier.
"Sweetie? Bren? I know you're there Brennan." There was a pause in which they could hear the daily activities of the Jeffersonian. "Temperance Brennan if you do not call me back within the next hour, that's by three forty-five, I am going to have every F.B.I. agent I can reach out there looking for you. And if Booth's there with you...lets just say you better have a damn good reason to make me worry like this."
He chuckled quietly as they heard the hasty disconnection from the artist. "She's...touchy," he said finally, keeping his voice low.
"She worries," Brennan replied slowly.
He let his hand run over her shoulder and arm, rubbing at the cold skin beneath his fingers, pleased to get a response out of her finally, even if she had hardly moved. "Bones? What's wrong?" She remained silent and he shifted her slightly, in order to meet her eyes. "Come on Temperance, what is it?"
She shook her head slightly. "It's completely improbable," she murmured softly.
"Improbable? What are you talking about?"
Her eyes fixed on a ray of sunlight, watching the dust motes dance in the golden light. The air conditioner kicked on, blowing cool air into the confined space, caressing the exposed flesh of her arms and she shivered, drawing in closer to herself, seemingly wanting to disappear into the blue-and-white patterned tiles at her back.
He deserved a response, an answer, probably a reason but her mind wasn't functioning, not in explanation mode anyway. It was stuck in neutral and all she could do was sit there and periodically freeze and thaw, watching the dust float and listen to the soft drip from the faucet that Booth had promised to fix when he got the chance. Apparently it hadn't come yet.
"Bones, come on, what is it? You can tell me, you know that."
"I know," she murmured softly. "It's just," her eyes turned hard and her eyebrows drew together, "it defies all logic. All reason. I don't know how to explain it to myself."
"Maybe if you tried explaining it to me?" He waited for a response but all she did was extend her arm, hand clutched tight around something. He reached over, and she dropped it into his open hand. He looked at the plastic instrument before looking back up at her. "Bones?" His voice was a soft whisper and he noticed, somewhat irritably, that his hands were trembling.
"It's positive." Her voice matched his, her trembling mirroring his own and he tightened his grip on her. "I don't know how..."
"Bones, you're a doctor, I'm sure you of all people would know..."
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, you remember what I told you?" He nodded, mind flashing back to her confession of more than two years ago. "I can't get pregnant Booth. The doctors all assured me of that."
"Doctors make mistakes sometimes."
Her eyes flashed as she turned to him. "I'm a doctor and I've never made a mistake."
"Not everyone is as perfect as you," he pointed out. His mind seemed numb, unable to form around the thought that Temperance Brennan, the woman who went on national television and said she was never going to have a child, was currently pregnant. He felt the train of thought catch as one option he hadn't really considered forced itself to the surface. "Do you want to keep it?"
"I...I don't know," she whispered finally. She let out a breath, turning around fully to face him so his arm dropped from her shoulder and she caught it in her hand, entwining their fingers together. "I don't know anything at the moment. I never expected the option, the chance to have a child. Twenty-five percent at best, but that was always so statistically improbable. I should have used better protection, should have monitored myself more, should have..."
"Sh. There's nothing you can do now beside decide whether or not you want to keep it," he told her, tightening his grip on her hand.
She shook her head slowly, looking at him. "No. It's not my decision. It's our decision, it's our child, we both deserve an input on its fate," she murmured softly.
He didn't know what to say so he only reached out, brushing back her dark hair before pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her. She sighed, letting her eyes close, as she rested against him, feeling the tension ease out of her body, feeling the warmth of his body warming her.
"What are we going to do?" she asks finally, voice muffled against his shirt.
"I don't know Bones." He sighed, letting his head rest against the cold tiles. "I guess the first thing to do is decide if you," he felt her stiffen, "if we, want to keep it." She nodded slowly against him but didn't say anything. "Come on Bones, have you eaten anything?"
"Eaten?"
"Yeah, you know, ingested any food since last night?"
"No…" she replied slowly, thinking about it. She had been running late, he had made her late, and she had left a cup of tea to steep while she had gone to shower and…and take the test. "I'm not hungry."
"Uh-huh. Well I am, so come on."
He stood, pulling her up with him, and set the plastic instrument on the counter top, looping an arm around her and leading her out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. She took a seat at the table, watching as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, busying himself in the kitchen, turning on the stove, finding a frying pan, gathering eggs. She felt her stomach twinge and her mouth water as the smell of the cooking omelets filled the room. He joined her after a few minutes, setting a steaming plate in front of her.
"It looks good," she commentated, picking up her fork and nudging it.
"Then eat it," he instructed.
He watched as she picked at the food, only eating half, while he ate his own. To say the news was shocking would be the understatement of the year. To say it was unwanted or undesired would be a lie, at least for him. He knew how she felt about children, she had told him all about her feelings on the subject many times, but he knew deep down that she would be a great mother.
"Booth?"
Her voice startles him out of his thoughts and he glances up at her. "Yes?"
"When you found out about Parker…" she trails off and he watches her, urging her to go on silently. "Were you scared? Did you know immediately that you wanted to keep him? Did Rebecca?"
He smiled at her, hoping it was a reassuring one. "You're always scared Bones, at least I was. I couldn't believe I was going to be a father. All I could think of was all the mistakes I was going to make. I didn't even know how to change a diaper," he joked. She gave a tense smile. "I'm scared now too, even though I know what to do, how to hold them, change them, feed them. I was scared but I knew that I wanted to keep him, and Rebecca knew she wanted him too. I think she was scared as well, I think everyone is."
She sighed, hand resting lightly on her abdomen as her eyes closed. "Rebecca had you to help her, probably her parents as well. She probably knew more about kids than I do."
"You have me too Bones. I'm not going anywhere." Her eyes opened when he reached over, grabbing her hand and entwining their fingers. "And you have all your Squints. I'm sure Angela would love to help out, to shop for everything." She smiled faintly, imagining her friend's ecstatic face. "And trust me; babies need a lot of things for some reason."
"Angela always did love shopping…"
"She'll do plenty."
She took a deep breath, squeezing his hand, before letting her eyes meet his. She saw the concern, the muted happiness. Booth wanted this child, he loved children, he told her he loved her, she had no doubt he would be there for her every step of the way. She was terrified though. She didn't want her child to go through the same things she had, and with both of them having high risk jobs, that option was entirely possible at any point in their careers. Booth's more than hers.
But she also knew this was an once-in-a-lifetime chance. The doctor had told her she had a twenty-five percent chance at conception and she had beat the odds, albeit unwittingly. She could look forward to birthday parties, Christmas through the eyes of a child who still believed whole heartedly that Santa was real, watching their child grow and change, deciding what he or she wanted to do in life. Did she really want to throw the chance away? Her eyes were drawn to their hands, to his thumb rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand. He would be a great father, he already was. She sighed, letting her eyes return to his, a small smile tugging at her mouth.
"We'll have to find a bigger place," she said with a resigned sigh. His eyes brightened immediately, joy and happiness lighting them up.
"You mean…?"
"Yes Booth, I'm going to keep it," she whispered. He grinned widely, jumping to his feet and pulling her into his arms, kissing her deeply. She laughed when they broke apart, resting her head on his shoulder. "You're going to have to help me," she added. "I won't know anything."
"It's okay, I'll be more than happy to help."
"Good." She felt him running his hand through her hair and sighed, enjoying the sensations caused by it. She opened her mouth, about to say something, when they heard her doorbell ring. She frowned, glancing at him and he looked confused as well, following her to the wooden door. She opened it to reveal a man dressed in a suit, looking slightly annoyed. "Hello?"
"Doctor Brennan?"
"Yes."
"I'm Special Agent Harris and I was sent by Deputy Director Cullen who has been receiving anxious calls by a," he paused, glancing at a notepad, "Miss Angela Montenegro. She says she hasn't heard from you and was worried that you were injured or had suffered from some other injury."
Her eyes widened as she remembered Angela's answering machine threat. She hadn't thought her friend would go through with it. She heard Booth's muffled chuckle and her face flushed involuntarily. "Er, no. I'm sorry but I'm fine."
"Is there someone here with you?" He looked suspicious suddenly.
"It's okay Bobby," Booth said, coming into view. "Miss Montenegro called me as well and I came to check on her, I guess I forgot to tell her and Cullen. Sorry." Agent Harris looked even more annoyed than earlier and Brennan suppressed a smile.
"Okay Seeley," he grumbled. "Check in next time, will you? It's my lunch break and all."
"I will, don't worry," Booth promised. She somehow doubted that he would though. He closed the door, laughing quietly after she had locked it.
"I don't see what's so funny! I'm going to kill her!"
"Aw, Bones, she was just worried about you." He reached over, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, watching her relax. "I probably should have told Cullen I was going to check on you anyway."
"Yeah." She hesitated before stepping closer, grabbing his hand in hers. "Booth?" He looked at her and she took a breath. "You know…I won't do what Rebecca did. I won't…" she paused again, searching for the words. "I want you to be involved with this child; I don't want you to have to fight to see it like you do with Parker."
He gave her a small smile, pulling her close and just holding her, letting his head rest on top of hers. "I know Bones, I know."
"Good." She relaxed against him, wondering what Agent Harris was going to tell Angela, if he was going to tell her anything, wondering what she herself was going to tell Angela, wondering how she was going to tell Angela what was really going on. She had no doubt that Angela would be thrilled with the turn of events, albeit surprised. She still hadn't told the artist the full extent of her relationship with Booth. "You know…" she mused quietly.
"Hm?"
He let her pull back so that their eyes met and he saw them dancing. "You proposed to Rebecca when you found out she was pregnant." He raised an eyebrow, wondering where she was going with this. "You haven't with me."
"You don't believe in marriage," he reminded her.
"You do though," she pointed out. She smiled then and he knew what she was about to say next would be something unexpected; it usually was with Temperance Brennan though. "And anyway, I never believed in having a child either."
"Bones…are you suggesting…"
She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his quickly. "I'm going to go call Angela before she sends the SWAT team."
He stood there, staring as she disappeared deeper into the apartment, wondering what had just happened, how his life could be turned so completely around. Doctor Temperance Brennan was definitely full of surprises. "Bones!" he yelled, chasing after her.