I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the first chapter to this one. Here is the last chapter. Here Booth sees the house that Bones likes. Gregg.
Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, the characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Booth had arranged to get the day off and he was driving Bones to the house she had said they were going to be looking at. He was following her directions and the more he saw, the more anxious he was getting. The homes they were passing were very high class luxury homes. They had talked about his concerns, especially after the totally mind blowing revelation about her net worth, and while he was feeling a bit better due to her personal confidence in him, he wasn't so sure about it personally. He'd promised her he would have an open mind, though, and he was not about to go back on that.
"Turn right at the next gate," Bones told him. "It should be open."
Booth cringed at the word "gate" as that told him that this was going to be a pretty big home. He pulled into the long driveway after passing by the gate and he gaped as they approached the home. It was a freaking mansion! It looked to have two stories, and the house itself was long and wide as he could see the more three dimensional aspects from the angle of the drive towards it. The grounds were sprawling and he could see what appeared to be a par three golf fairway. Coming to the front of the mansion, he took a look at the separate garage and saw that it was a four car garage.
"What the Hell is this place, Bones?" he asked when his voice returned.
Bones looked at Booth to gauge his mood. He seemed more shocked than anything, so she was hopeful. "I know it's large, but it has some amenities that I thought would be very good for us," she told him.
"But a mansion?" he asked as he got out of the SUV.
"Give it a chance, Booth," she said as she joined him. "I have the key from the Agent so we're able to look by ourselves since I already saw it."
When they entered the home Booth was surprised at the homey feel to it. He was expecting a large, open foyer that spoke of massive space and opulence, but instead it was a small, warm area that branched of in different directions. He looked through a large set of French doors and saw a good sized room that would make for a very nice family room. Maybe Bones was right. He nodded to her to give him the tour.
There was a lot to the house. It had six bedrooms, four of which had their own en suite bathrooms. In addition to that, there were several rooms that could be utilized for almost any purpose, as well as a large basement room that was fully ready to become a kick ass game room/sports den. He had to admit that this was a home he could see himself in, if it weren't for the nagging concern about cost.
Bones made sure to show off all the best features of the house, or mansion was likely the more accurate term, and could see that he liked what he saw. The various rooms that could be converted into multipurpose rooms, and the very large study that she would claim for herself, made for a home that could be utilized very practically. Outside she showed him the large pool and spa.
"Parker would be happy," Booth allowed, not admitting that he would enjoy it just as much as his pool loving son.
They went around the large grounds and he found that the golf fairway was actually the opening hole of a three hole course containing par 3, par 4, and par 5 holes, each of which could be adjusted and shifted to make increasingly challenging practice and putting greens. As he enjoyed golf, this would give him a perfect chance to enjoy practicing his game. He was shown the tennis court and basketball court, too. As a sports nut, and someone who enjoyed his athletics, this was paradise. When they got back to the pool, they sat down at the table there and talked.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"It's incredible, Bones," he told her honestly. "What's not to like?"
"I was hoping you'd like it," she admitted.
"How much is it, Bones?" he asked, getting right to the main point.
Bones took a deep breath. This was where she knew things would get difficult. "10.4 million, firm," she replied, not taking her eyes off is his face.
Booth could feel the stroke coming on in a big way. As it was he knew his jaw had to be right on the floor, and his eyes were popping out. He was thinking like 1 or 2 million, which was bad enough, but 10.4?
"You're upset," Bones observed.
"No," he sighed. "Let me ask you something. Last night when we talked, did you understand what I was trying to tell you about what scares me?"
"I think so, but to be honest, I'm not sure," she replied, trying to be honest.
"Actually I'm not surprised, given your views on psychology," he managed to chuckle. He saw her frown, so he got to the point. "Like most addictions, gambling is an escape, Bones. I know you're aware of that, but it needs to be said. You've seen a lot of the same kinds of things I have, to one degree or another. You had science to give you a focus for the emotional trauma. For a time I had Rebecca, but that wasn't enough. Even having a son wasn't enough because of the situation I was in regarding Parker. I slipped into gambling because of the thrill of it, the risks involved."
"But you got over that, and haven't gambled in years," she pointed out.
"Except for once," he said with a small downturn of his eyes.
Bones shivered as she remembered that night in front of the Hoover Building and how much she had hurt him. She'd paid dearly for that mistake, and Booth even more so, on the emotional level.
"I remember," she said quietly.
"When I met you, I got some focus back in my life, and especially when we became partners, and then friends," he told her. "I went to meetings regularly, and eventually I was able to manage with one meeting a month, which I still go to. But there are times that the urge, and the pull of the risk is almost too much."
"What do you do then?" she asked. She'd never really discussed his gambling much, but that was more because she allowed him to dictate how much of his personal life he revealed when it came to such issues, just like he had granted her the same courtesy from the very beginning.
"Go to the firing range, take a run, go to the hockey rink and skate for a few hours," he shrugged. "But two things really help, outside of meetings, Bones."
"What?" she pressed.
"First is you," he told her, and had to smile at her slight blush. At times Bones reacted completely normally in such situations, and it was very heartwarming to see. It showed she trusted him a great deal. "Enjoying takeout, talking about a case, or just talking with you helps a lot, Bones. When we do, I know that there is someone who is there for me when I really need some direction and purpose in life."
Bones felt the same way, but didn't know if now was the right time to say so. She decided to keep the discussion focused on him for now. "And the second thing?" she asked.
"Do you know what the Prayer of Serenity is?" he asked.
"I've heard of it, but not being religious, I've never really taken the time to look into it," she admitted, hoping he didn't get offended by her lack of religious faith. He normally didn't, but some subjects were still sensitive with Booth. She didn't know if this was one of them.
"The words aren't important right now, but for me it's a form of meditation, kind of like the feeling you get when you do your Yoga, or when you go through the Katas when you're doing your martial arts routines," he tried to explain. "I already have the Prayer of Serenity as a part of my nightly prayers, but sometimes I will find myself struggling and take a moment to say the prayer during the day. Believe me, Bones, it makes a big difference."
"Does your religious faith help you?" she asked, which seemed like a valid question given his mention of the Prayer of Serenity.
"It does," he told her. "When I get those urges in a strong way, I add them into what I confess when I go to confession."
She smothered the grin that threatened when he mentioned confession. When they became a couple, and began a physical relationship he'd mentioned that it would be great to finally be able to go to confession and be called a pervert for something he'd actually done as opposed to fantasized about, which in his view constituted covetousness. She'd spent a great deal of time giving him grief about his "wicked" mind and asking him just what those "impure" thoughts really were. So far he'd been pretty tight lipped about it.
"Booth, do you love me" she asked, now feeling comfortable in how to approach this. Her mind, working as rapidly as it normally did, had seen the opening she needed.
Booth looked at her like she was nuts. "Of course I do," he told her with genuine affection. "How could you even ask that?"
"Bear with me, Booth," she admonished. "Do you trust me?" she asked.
"Of course," he told her, with no hesitation or wavering in his voice.
"And your religious faith is the foundation for your mental and emotional stability?" she pressed.
"Yes," he said, a little slower that time, though there was no denying the truth of it.
"So you believe in the genuine, honest giving and receiving of Christian love and devotion?" she asked.
"100%, Bones," he told her.
"Then why are you letting your fears prevent me from showing you that very same kind of love and devotion?" she asked. "Why are you so certain that the trust I have in you, and the love I feel for you, are not enough, combined with your very commendable coping mechanisms, to give you the tools you need to keep your addition at bay?"
"Huh?" he asked, understanding some of what she was getting at, but not all of it.
"I may not believe in God, and I don't have any real feelings towards religion in general, but that doesn't mean I don't have the same genuine desire to show my love and devotion that a good Christian does," she explained. "All the things you mentioned about how you deal with your urges are tools that you have, and good ones. Wouldn't adding something from me, a tangible gift, give you even more tools, since with this gift you would have someone who knows you, and your past, trusting you with something that most people have a difficult time even imagining? Specifically a large sum of money at their disposal with no worries about lack of funds? Trust like that is earned, Booth, and it is a gift. I believe that with this gift, we both have the tools to keep your addictions from consuming you."
Booth spent close to ten minutes silently processing what she was saying. It was a powerful argument, and her emphasis on tools, and both of them having them to help him deal with the gambling addiction made him silently thank God that for the first time in his life, with the exception of Hank, he had an adult that had so much faith in him, and was willing to do whatever was necessary to make him happy. She was showing him that despite her non-belief, she had as much of a faith in a true partnership that marriage was supposed to be as he did. It was humbling, and it had a definite grounding effect for him that his prayers, confessions, and his Faith gave him, too. The fate he had mentioned when he first met her had come full circle, and he was seeing the truth of his gut feeling from when he first saw her in that lecture hall.
"Can we do something?" he asked finally. At her nod and questioning look he continued. "You mentioned some benign controls on the financial side of things. I want to do that. Call it one more tool in our toolbox."
She smiled at his use of the word our. It showed her that he understood. "Then you'll let me buy the house for us?" she asked.
"Yeah," he smiled. "I may have some reservations, but you're right. How can I deny you the very thing I allow myself to show you every day, and which you allow me to show you?"
"I'll have my accountant and attorneys draw up the papers, and also arrange the purchase of the home," she told him. She stood up. Looking down at him she smiled. "But that can wait until tomorrow. Right now, I think we should get back to the apartment. I want to show my husband how much I love him in a more physical way."
Boot didn't have to be asked twice. He jumped up and they both left quickly, though Booth was looking forward to being able to christen all the rooms in the mansion they were going to be buying and living in. He knew he would have issues at times that would come back to his feelings from his gambling past, but Bones was right. They had the tools to deal with it. He also knew that she had inadvertently made a very important point, one which FDR had made in 1933. "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."
A/N: This one still hasn't written as well as I had hoped, but I must thank Nyre The Black Rose for the suggestions she had that made this concluding chapter work as well as it has. I hope that you all enjoyed this one. Gregg.
A/N2: The FDR quote is from his Inaugural Address delivered on March 4, 1933.
A/N3: The Prayer of Serenity, or Serenity Prayer is:
Short Form:
God, grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference.
Long Form:
God, grant us the... Serenity to accept things we cannot change, Courage to change the things we can, and the Wisdom to know the difference Patience for the things that take time Appreciation for all that we have, and Tolerance for those with different struggles Freedom to live beyond the limitations of our past ways, the Ability to feel your love for us and our love for each other and the Strength to get up and try again even when we feel it is hopeless.