A/N: I was so overwhelmed by the reviews I got that I had to write another chapter!! So here it is, and I hope you like it!!
A huge thank you to everyone that left a review: rosyle, Bsquared19, inonolimits00, omg, Katie Lupin, Lu78, BB-Jate-MiSA, SplishSplash, laslady, AtMyBehest, bb-4ever, Queen Isabella, TVObsessee, TemperTemper, Boneslover123, Julie, AJMfan, ForRomance and mj x2010. This chapter is for you!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.
For too long she sat in the shadows for the last seven months. And now finally Temperance Brennan was glad to contemplate light again as her days had been hazy for as long as she could remember.
For seven months she stood strong on the outside while inside she feared every ring of her phone, feared the nine o'clock news as she visualized a bombing on an American Training Camp. She had to keep herself controlled; she had to convince her mind that everything would be okay. That he would come home safe.
Like Angela promised her.
But faith wasn't as easy to keep as she thought. In one hand, she had the love she could never rationalize or explain and in the other, she had all the facts and logic that she always believed to be loyal to her. Facts never betrayed her, and her emotions always left more scars.
But then again, if she had been rational, she would have never found love. If she had been rational, she would have never known how sweet his lips tasted against hers. And that was enough to keep her going. The thought of another chance in life renewed her faith every morning she woke up, drenched in sweat as her dreams were plagued with images of him dying half way across the world.
And then they began to come. As a special request from the Military, she started to identify Iraq casualties. There was nothing casual about that, and all they said about collateral damage just enraged her.
And to her, every skull she held belonged to a soldier that fought with Booth, by his side. And that man left someone who loved him like she loved Booth. And that someone was a woman just like her, who feared the day her world would fall apart. Someone who would receive a visit from two soldiers, mourning her lost as they handed her a gold medal, a symbol of bravery.
And in every day that she scribed a soldier's name on one of the reports, her heart would hurt just a little bit more, and her skin would feel just a little bit colder with his absence. Because this was not what she wanted for herself, this was not the future she envisioned, and she feared that fate more than anything. She feared the loneliness she once preferred.
The letters she got weren't enough, always too short for comfort. She couldn't see his eyes, or hear him laugh. And then she started to forget his charming smile, the one he saved just for her, the one that told her everything she needed to know. And so she tried not to forget who he was, fighting hard to keep him alive within her, fighting to hang on to everything she could to keep herself from falling. She knew that she was stronger than this.
And every night Angela forced her to go home, and she would curl up on her bed, protecting herself against the cold that threatened to turn her back to who she was before he came along. She didn't want to go back, because for once in her life, she preferred to feel the pain than to be numb.
And every memory she had was a shield, something she used to keep her promise. She had faith, not the spiritual kink, but, for her, an irrational believe that went against everything she knew to be truth. And it was okay for her, because if she had faith he would come home.
It was that certainty that held her up as she stood outside the same doors she crossed before seeing him for the last time, walking away from her. And as the wind fought with her hair, Brennan stood still, not bothering to brush her locks away from her eyes.
Behind her, Cam, Angela, Zach and Hodgins waited patiently for Booth's arrival. And as the plane began to land, Brennan's heart stopped inside her chest.
Sensing her friend's distress, Angela took Brennan's hand in hers, squeezing it tightly as the anthropologist turned to her, "I told you so," Angela whispered, smiling. And Brennan smiled back, but she still wasn't convinced. She would only let herself believe that he was fine when she saw him, touched him. She needed proof that he was there. That he was home.
And then the soldiers began to descend the stair.
Everyone said that seven months would pass quickly. But Seeley Booth no longer believed that. Seven months was a lifetime to be away.
Parting from Brennan was hard. He left her standing in that airport, her eyes saying goodbye, her lips calling him back as he tried to walk away. He wasn't leaving her forever, it was just seven months. And that became his mantra. It was just seven months.
When the plane landed on Iraq, things started to get more real. And once again he was drawn back to the world he tried so hard to escape from. Once more he was facing the choices he tried so hard to leave in the past. Who lives, who dies? He never liked to play God.
And being away from her just made everything that much harder. Over the years, he had grown used to seeing her everyday, bickering and laughing over Chinese or Tai food. And now he ate alone, imagining what she was doing so far away, picturing her in her lab coat, hunched over a skeleton as she "bonded" with the dead.
Phone calls weren't aloud, everything was traceable. And the few letters he managed to send to her and Parker were too short, too impersonal to be enough. They all said the same thing, over and over again telling her that he was fine, that everything would be okay. He told her that he was coming home soon. Was he?
He wanted to keep his promise, wanted so bad to go back to her, to kiss her with the same passion as he did in that airport, but the odds were against him. He tried to keep himself from thinking like that, but then came the day that he took a bullet in the shoulder, and for the first time since he landed, Booth began to regret asking her to wait for him.
How could he have asked her that? How would she cope if he died? Would she break? Would she close herself again? All these thought were running through his mind as they patched him up that night, praying that an infection wouldn't plague him, praying that his flesh and skin would start to heal before sunrise.
Booth was a man of faith, and his prayers were very strong. He didn't get an infection and his wound was healing fast. Fast enough for him to stay, for him to want to stay. And he kept fighting, would keep fighting until his last day in Iraq. He would withstand everything to go back to her.
And the days went by, and slowly her smile began to fade away in his mind as he held tight to every single memory he had of her, draining strength from her, keeping her alive inside him.
And she was his shield against the horrors he witnessed. She kept him sane, safe and sound. And every time he began to break, his memories pieced him together again like Brennan did with the bashed skulls on her metal table.
Brennan and Parker were the reasons why he stayed alive for the seven months he was away. And they were the reasons why he was sitting in that chair, inside the plane that was soon to land on Washington DC. His home, and the home of those he loved most. He nervously tapped his fingers on the armrest, trying hard to keep himself cool.
Sitting beside Booth was the same officer that was saying goodbye to his pregnant wife as they parted from DC. Booth didn't know him very well, only that his name was Tommy. Said soldier turned towards Booth, a huge smile on his face as he reached inside his chest pocket.
"This is my baby girl," he said, handing Booth a black and white sonogram picture, "Last time I saw her she looked like this so I can only imagine how she looks now". The man was deliriously happy, grinning from ear to ear as he took the picture back.
"I'm sure she's beautiful," babies were all alike to Booth, but it seemed to be the right thing to say.
"If she looks like my wife, I'm sure she is," he said, glancing at his clock, "Do you have children?"
"Yeah, one boy, five years old," said Booth, a wide smile on his face as he thought of Parker. He missed him so much, but he would only see his boy latter as Rebecca and he decided that it was best for Parker to see him away from the airport. In compensation, Booth would have the entire weekend to spend with his son.
"You married?" Tommy asked.
"No. But I have a girl waiting back home," Brennan would kill him if she ever found out that he called her a girl.
"Nice. They really make all the difference. You fight harder when you have someone to go back to," Tommy looked at his watch for the third time.
"Yeah," whispered Booth, turning his face towards the window, his eyes catching sight of Dulles airport. "We're back," he said as they felt the plane land beneath their feet. Slowly all the soldiers started to get up, moving on the very narrow corridor, each wearing matching grins as they anticipated a loving reunion.
But Booth was suddenly apprehensive. Many questions were running through his head as he took each step that would carry him outside. Was she okay? Did Angela make sure she didn't get sick or too tired? Did she get herself in trouble while he was away? Did she wait for him?
He had to calm himself down; he needed to be prepared for anything. Collecting his duffel bag, Booth threw it over his shoulder as his eyes squinted against the sun. Taking each step very slowly, he descended the steps, his eyes searching the airport for any signs of her.
Her breath caught in her throat as the first soldier stepped on firm ground. Behind him the rest followed his steps, the straight line they made slowly fading as they set themselves on their paths to their waiting families. Stretching her neck she looked over their heads, trying to find him as an irrational fear gripped her, and she began to believe that he wasn't there.
Taking her hand from Angela's, Brennan took three steps forward, her eyes searching for his. As the mass dissipated, closer to the plane she saw him. With his bag thrown over his shoulder, he made his way to her with his head down, slow steps taking him closer. She stopped, waiting for him to see her there.
And as he lifted his head, they found each other.
When his right foot touched the ground, Booth observed as Tommy ran towards his wife, their beautiful child waiting for him, wrapped safely in her mother's arms. His wife cried, hugging him tightly as she kissed him over and over again, whispering words of love that were whispered back.
"I'm your daddy," Tommy whispered to his daughter, holding her for the first time, "I'm your daddy, Katie," kissing her forehead, he opened one arm to hold his wife closer, kissing her on her lips as he cried.
Sending a smile to Tommy as he looked at Booth, he turned his head back to the airport, taking steps forward as he scanned the crowd. And suddenly something hit him. What if she wasn't there? A heavy weight landed over his chest as he believed that to be true. Lowering his head, he felt his muscles burning with fatigue, his bag heavier over his shoulders as all his strength was drained from his body.
Taking just one more step, he lifted his head. Standing over the other end of the airport he saw her. His eyes found hers and all the weight he had been carrying was lifted from him.
For a moment they stood still, watching each other from afar. Brennan was the first to move, taking a slow tempting step in his direction. Guided by her action Booth began to walk towards hers, and just a few steps ahead they met halfway. He took in face, her pale skin, her baby blue eyes and her hair, now longer since he last saw her, reaching her breasts.
Standing before him now, everything felt surreal to Brennan. Was he really there, or was she imagining it?
With a final step towards him, Brennan just stared at him. Taking her arms up, she took her hands slowly up to his face, afraid that he would disappear right before her eyes. When her palms finally made contact with his cheeks she gasped, a tear rolling down her face as she felt his warmth against her hands. "You're here," she whispered softly.
Happiness couldn't describe what he was feeling at the exact moment her hands touched his skin. A maze of emotions boiled inside him, and his heart sped up, pounding against his chest like a drum. "I told you I would come back," he whispered back to her.
Lifting his hands to his face, he touched her fingers, slowly descending to her forearms until he reached her elbows. Looking at her face, he saw her eyes were closing, her cheeks moistened with the very few tears that escaped.
Brennan opened her eyes when she felt Booth's hands going from her elbows to her back, and suddenly she was being pulled closer to him. Looking into his eyes, she laughed, "I missed you," she said when his forehead touched hers.
"I missed you too," he said, his smile wide and infectious and she smiled wider at him, taking in his scent, his warmth, everything she missed terribly while he was gone. Pulling her as close to him as possible, he felt her heartbeat against his chest, the rhythm matching that of his own heart.
"Don't leave again," she whispered softly, lifting her head to look into his eyes. Her face was just inches from his as he felt her breath, hot and sweet, mingling with his.
"Never," he said as his lips descended on her, so soft at first that they barely felt it. But all those months spent away left him wanting her with urgency. And now she was here, in front of him, burning for the same comfort he needed.
And so his lips pressed harder, more insistent against her soft ones, until she opened her mouth. And all the horrors he saw, all the pain he felt for those months didn't matter anymore. Because he was back, and she was his.
As Booth's tongue touched hers, all her pain subsided, and all her fears and doubts melted away with his touch. And at some point of their passionate kiss, she realized that she could no longer feel the ground beneath her feet. Laughing against his lips she broke the kiss, watching him grinning like a fool as he held her up from the floor, his grip tight on her waist.
"Let me go," she said, laughing while glaring at him playfully.
"I can't," he said, tightening his grip on her, his meaning not lost on Brennan. She smiled softly at his little confession.
"I can't let you go either," she said, kissing him again, more passionate this time.
They were both lost in each other, not caring that the squints were behind them, not caring if the whole world could see them right then. It didn't matter, because the world finally made sense again. And life never felt sweeter.
So, what do you think?
