Inspired by my own experience with insomnia. I'm sure if you've ever experienced it you'll be able to identify with this story. This is also my first real attempt at writing a story in the past tense – I have a habit of writing in the present which I appreciate is not the correct tense unless writing in the first person, or something like that. Feel free to let me know if it doesn't flow or I've made mistakes. I'm trying to learn :)
Temperance Brennan wanted to sleep. Her eyes were stinging and her body felt heavy. But as she lay in her bed in the dark, tossing and turning, she just could not drift off to sleep. What bothered her most was not her inability to sleep but the reason for it. Normally when she found herself unable to sleep it was because a case was bothering her and she knew that as soon as they solved the case her insomnia would be gone. But she and Booth and closed their latest case two days ago and she had spent her time since then working on an exciting paper for the Journal of Forensic Science. It had been going well and nothing else was bothering her so she could not fathom the reason she was unable to get rest. Perhaps thinking about the cause itself was preventing her from relaxing but her mind wouldn't shut down. After trying fruitlessly for over three hours to sleep, Brennan rose from her bed and padded through to her lounge. She felt a slight chill in the air and as she reached the kitchen she flicked on the kettle to boil water for some tea.
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A few minutes later Brennan carried her hot cup of camomile tea to the couch where she sat down and turned on her new television. Using the remote, she flicked through the channels for a few minutes, slowly sipping the tea, until she realised that at three in the morning there is very little on television to watch. Well perhaps there would be for some but a lifetime movie about a man with five personalities is not something Brennan would watch even during normal waking hours. With a heavy sigh she lifted herself off the couch and walked back to the kitchen where she began opening and closing cupboard doors and drawers, not really looking for anything in particular. Finally she opened the fridge, stared at the meagre contents then closed it with a noticeable slam. She was frustrated and she knew it.
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She stood in the middle of the kitchen fidgeting for a few minutes until she decided that she couldn't really stand being in her apartment anymore so she made her way to her bedroom and pulled on a pair of jeans and a grey FBI hooded sweater which she never got around to returning to Booth after he leant it to her at a crime scene when she got damp from examining remains in the rain. The sweater swamped her but she liked the feeling of being wrapped up so warmly. After locating her sneakers, Brennan stuffed her credit card and some cash into her pocket, picked up her keys and made her way out of her apartment building and into the moonlit night.
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Her walk took her through the dark and empty city streets. Most buildings were dark or only had a few lights on and all the stores she passed had their shutters down. At 2.45 am she didn't really expect any of them to be open. Her feet carried her another mile or so until she came across an all night market. She stood staring up at the bright flickering neon sign for a few minutes before making her way to the entrance, deciding she could just wander around for a while undisturbed.
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The night security guard gave Brennan a small nod as she walked through the doors. She immediately realised that the store was practically free of customers, with only a young couple at the check-out and an old woman struggling with a basket behind them. There were, however, a lot of employees re-stocking shelves and sweeping floors. The store was also void of the usual sounds Brennan heard in a market; screaming children, couples arguing over what wine to buy, friendly chatter between employees. Brennan found the silence somewhat discomforting, ghostly even, yet she continued inside and began to wander up the first aisle. She didn't know what she was really shopping for; she just figured she'd know it when she saw it. But clearly the fruit in this aisle was not what she was looking for because she walked straight past it all with barely a glance at the various fruits and vegetables on display.
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The next aisle was the dairy section and Brennan could tell it had just been stocked as all the shelves were full to capacity. She walked past row upon row of different kinds of milk and cheese until she came to a stop at the yoghurts. She leaned forward, picked up a strawberry yoghurt, read the label, then went to put it back before changing her mind and keeping it in her hand. She wasn't sure if she was actually going to eat it but she decided that she couldn't really walk out of the store empty handed.
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As she turned the corner into the next aisle containing various meats, she spotted another shopper at the end of the aisle, carefully examining a packet which she judged to be steaks by the sign above where he stood. His back was to her but she would recognise those shoulders and that back anywhere, even if they were disguised in a large sweater. She stood rooted to the spot for a moment just watching him. He flipped the packet over, glanced at the back label then dropped the packet into his kart. As he started to turn around, Brennan wasn't sure if she should move so he wouldn't see her. He was already overly protective, getting on her case when she worked too much or skipped lunch. It won't help her if he thought she didn't sleep either. But as he continued to turn slowly towards her, Brennan's feet would not move and she stood in the same spot with her arms limp at her sides as he finally faced her.
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The look of surprise on his face was one Brennan knew she would never forget. His furrowed brow quickly uncreased and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he moved his kart towards her. His first thoughts were about what Brennan was doing in the market in the middle of the night but his thoughts quickly changed to how cute she looked in his sweater. He knew right then that he would never ask for her to return it in the hope that he'd see her wearing it again.
"Bones, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" he asked with his smile widening.
"I couldn't sleep." She replied, feeling a little embarrassed. She tucked her hair behind her ear as her eyes dropped to the floor momentarily.
"So you though you'd do some shopping?" he leaned forward, bracing his arms on the kart as he stared at her. The dark circles under her eyes were clearly visible but he wasn't going to comment on them.
"I'm not buying much." She held out the yoghurt and shrugged. Then she gathered her wits and cocked her head. "What are you doing here?" It suddenly occurred to her that Booth didn't seem like the type to get insomnia and to see him in the market was actually quite a surprise to her.
"Couldn't sleep." He laughed. "And I never get time to go to the store during the day so I thought I'd make the most of my time." He began pushing the kart forward and Brennan fell into step beside him. As they rounded the next corner, Booth reached out and took the yoghurt from Brennan's hand, placing it in the kart.
"So, why can't you sleep?" she asked him quietly.
"I don't know Bones. Just can't." He shrugged. "You?" he turned to wait for an answer but all she did was shrug. She didn't know so there was no point trying to make up an answer. Booth seemed to accept her silence as he did not push the subject, knowing she would tell him if there was something bothering her eventually.
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Twenty minutes later the pair exited the market and Brennan followed Booth to his car. She helped him load his bags into the trunk of his SUV, shivering a little in the cool breeze. When he was done he turned to her.
"Thanks Bones." He said gratefully. "I'd better get this stuff home before the ice-cream melts." He smiled and Brennan saw a little sparkle in his eyes.
"Sure, and uh thanks for this." She held up the small paper bag with her yoghurt in it. Booth had paid for it with his groceries and refused to let her pay him back, mumbling something like 'It's only a yoghurt.'
"No sweat Bones." He started to move towards the drivers' side of the car but came to a sudden stop. "Hey, where's your car?" he asked, realising he couldn't see her silver sports car in the parking lot.
"I walked here."
"In the middle of the night? From your apartment?" he then gave her the 'What were you thinking?' look.
"Relax Booth, I can take care of myself." She rolled her eyes, part of her thinking how often she used that phrase in his presence.
"I know you can but you shouldn't really be putting yourself in a position where you have to." He didn't let her respond to that, he just put his hands on her shoulders and walked her round to the passenger door. "Get in, I'll drop you home." Brennan tried to glare at him for his alpha male behaviour but the appeal of a ride in a nice warm car instead of a long walk in the cold night air was too much and she simply allowed Booth to open the door, usher her inside and close the door.
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A short ride later Booth pulled up at Brennan's apartment. She glanced at the clock in the car to see it just turned over to read 3.48 am. She took off her seatbelt and glanced over at Booth. He looked just as awake as she felt and an urge came over her.
"You want to come up?" she asked, thinking maybe the rest of the night would go by quickly if she had some company. Booth hesitated just a moment then nodded.
"Okay." He replied with a smile. "You mind if I bring my frozen stuff up, I don't want it to melt."
"Sure." Brennan found herself smiling as she exited the vehicle. What she thought was going to be a very long and lonely night suddenly started looking up. Booth disappeared to the back of the SUV as Brennan approached the front door to her building and found the correct key to let them in. As she pushed the door open, Booth was behind her, a brown paper bag in his arms.
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Once inside her apartment, Brennan took the bag from Booth's arms and brought it to her kitchen. She carefully placed the items in her freezer and made sure the door was closed properly before returning to him. He stood a little awkwardly in her lounge, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
"So, got any idea how to pass the night?" he asked sheepishly. He had spent a lot of time with Brennan outside of work but never in a situation quite like this so he was unsure what to do. Not to mention he rarely had trouble sleeping like this so had no idea what people do when it happens to them.
"I already tried television. There isn't much on." She moved over to the couch and began to adjust the cushions. "I have some movies on the shelf, you can see if there's anything you want to watch." She suggested. Booth looked a little surprised and curiosity carried him to the shelf she had pointed to. His finger trailed over the DVD's as he took in the movies Brennan had. Only a few months ago she didn't even have a TV so to find such a large collection of DVD's was a surprise. He smiled as he saw she had some educational ones which look like they were ordered from a catalogue, as well as box office movies and old classics.
"Action, comedy or romance?" he asked, turning to Brennan.
"Anything, I don't mind." She replied. She really didn't. She knew whatever she would watch would be good as long as Booth was there. She trusted his taste and knew he would explain anything she didn't understand as well as provide a sparring partner for when she didn't agree with that she saw. He quickly selected a movie and brought it over to the TV which had a DVD player underneath.
"I'll be right back." Brennan announced. "I'm just going to change." She added, feeling the need to explain what she was doing. Booth nodded as he began to fiddle with the remote and buttons on the DVD player.
When Brennan returned to the lounge, Booth was sitting on the couch looking very comfortable. The television was on and a large DVD icon was displayed on the screen. He was waiting for her to return before starting the movie. She padded over to Booth, suddenly feeling a little self conscious in her pyjamas. She tugged down the fitted white t-shirt to meet the waistband of the baby pink bottoms which rested low on her hips, and settled herself on the couch beside Booth.
"So, what are we watching?" she asked as she curled her legs up under her.
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Two short movies and a mammoth debate later, Brennan headed off to take a shower and get ready for work as Booth tidied up the lounge. He washed their drinks glasses and put the snack packets in the trash before retrieving his frozen goods from her freezer. By the time Brennan emerged from her bedroom all ready for the day ahead, the clock read 7.15am.
"You feel okay?" Booth asked. Despite a refreshing shower, Brennan still looked tired and Booth was pretty sure she felt as sluggish as he did.
"Nothing some strong coffee won't cure." She smiled. "I'll walk you out." She nodded as she gathered her bag and jacket and headed to her door. Booth picked up the bag containing his frozen foods and followed her, unable to shake the thought of how natural it felt to leave for work with Brennan. They rode the elevator to the ground floor, said a polite good morning to the doorman and pushed through the front doors taking them out onto the side walk and into the bright morning light.
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Once outside, Brennan pulled her car keys from her bag and turned to Booth.
"I'll talk you later then." It wasn't a question, more of a statement, as she knew he would call her later whether it was because they had a case or just to check in. He did that a lot these days.
"Yeah, say hi to the squints for me." He added as he began moving away from her to go to his car. "And thanks for last night."
"Anytime." She nodded.
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Unbeknownst to both of them, Angela Montenegro was driving past Brennan's building at that exact time. She didn't normally go to work that early but she had a project she needed to make some headway on so decided one early morning wouldn't kill her. What she saw nearly made her crash her car. Right in front of her eyes, she saw Temperance leave her apartment building with Booth; the one person Brennan kept insisting she didn't have any feelings for. At six thirty in the morning there could only be one reason for this sight and Angela knew she would have to confront Brennan about it at work.
I couldn't sleep the other night so to pass the time I wrote this. I actually did go to a 24 hour market, wander around the aisles and bump into a friend of mine there. Unfortunately it wasn't Booth and he didn't come back to my place (makes a sad face). We chatted in the cleaning products aisle for half an hour then I went home, baked scones, drank a lot of coffee and went to work when it was a reasonable hour to go in. Shame I don't get flexi time credit if I go in before 7am.
I started to continue this story to show what happened when Angela confronted Brennan at work but decided to leave it here as it ended quite nicely. I might be convinced to write another chapter if the reviews demand it. So if you want more you need to tell me. Jemb.