The reviews demanded it so here is the second instalment of this little fluffy story. I've got plans for a third instalment which may complete the story but it's not written yet so I'll have to wait and see where it goes. But trust me, this is not the end.
Just after Booth has left, Brennan rises from the couch and pads through to the bathroom. When she looks in the mirror her eyes widen at her appearance. Normally Brennan doesn't care about looks but when she sees her tangled bed hair, pale complexion and casual clothes, she feels a sudden urge to make her self look better. Surely Booth won't want to spend time with me if I look this awful she ponders. She makes a quick decision to take a shower and change into something a little nicer. Sexier she thinks.
After a speedy shower Brennan rushes to the bedroom knowing Booth will be back quickly since the video store is only a few blocks away. She dries and styles her hair in record speed and throws on a pair of light blue jeans a tight white vest. She pauses over her dresser and decides against putting any make-up on. I don't want Booth to think I'm making too much of an effort she thinks. She knows Booth is observant and he'll think her wearing make-up at home like this is out of character for her. Now dressed, she hurries around and tidies up the mess she made while getting ready. As she walks back through to the lounge she feels a sudden wave of nausea and dizziness and she braces her hand on the wall to steady her. Stumbling forward a little she finally sinks down to the floor, unable to keep herself on her feet.
Booth whistles to himself as he makes his way along the hall back to Brennan's apartment. He knows he has to hide it but he is very excited about getting to spend all this time with Brennan outside of work. He spends a lot of his time with her but it's usually focused around a case or a meal or drinks after a case. They haven't really spent any time together as friends. I wish we could be more than that he thinks. But rationally he knows Brennan feels nothing more for him than friendship. He slides the key into the lock and pushes the door open. When he steps inside he drops the key onto the table by the door and is about to call out to Brennan when he spots her sitting on the floor, her body folded over and her head on her knees.
"Bones!" he gasps as he drops the bag with the videos and snacks on the floor and rushes over to her side. "Bones, what happened?" he asks as his hand reaches out for her face. Brennan lifts her head and tries to focus on him but his face is moving around a little.
"I'm just a little dizzy." She tells him. Booth notices that Brennan has changed clothes and he figures she got dizzy from too much exertion.
"You're okay, come on. Let's get you over to the couch." He says softly. He pulls one of Brennan's arms around his shoulder and with ease he rises to his feet bringing her up with him.
When he has her on her feet he starts to walk her slowly across the floor but after only a few steps Brennan's knees buckle and Brennan moans softly. Booth grips her tightly to stop her falling and in one swift movement he sweeps her off her feet and into his arms.
"I got you." He whispers. She doesn't protest at his alpha male protector response, instead she lets her head fall onto his shoulder. He takes careful and deliberate steps across the room and when he reaches the couch he eases Brennan down. Her hand moves up to her head and she holds it on her forehead, her eyes shut tightly. Booth sits down on the edge of the couch beside her.
"This is why you need to take it easy Bones." Booth tells her. "You might feel alright but you do too much and this happens." He tries not to sound too harsh but sometimes being subtle just doesn't reach Brennan. He strokes her hair as he looks down at her. "Do you want me to call a Doctor or take you back to the hospital?" Booth asks. He can't help but worry as she lies there looking pale and weak.
"No." she answers. "I'll be okay." She insists. I can't believe this happened she curses herself. I don't want Booth to think I'm some weak little woman.
"Fine but you have to promise me you won't lift a finger for the next two days." Booth lets his fingers trail down her cheek, resisting the urge to touch her lips.
"Whatever you say." She agrees.
"It's about time." Booth jokes. "You know I'm always right anyway." He rises to his feet. "Okay, I got some movies and snacks, you feel like watching something or do you want to get some sleep?" he asks as he looks down at her.
"What movies did you get?" she asks.
"What didn't I get?" Booth grins. "I'll bring them over, you can chose something." He disappears from her view for a moment then brings back a bag filled with movies, chips and candy. He sinks down into the space left on the couch and starts to pull the movies out. I have action movies, a bit of Bruce Willis and jean Claude van Dam. I got some comedy and even a couple of chick flicks."
"I hate chick flicks." Brennan states. "Nothing that happens in those movies happens in real life." She's back Booth thinks.
"Oh I don't know Bones. Maybe you just haven't met the right guy." he shrugs. Like me. Brennan wriggles her body and sits up a little, her dizziness fading.
"You choose." She tells him. Booth looks through his selection and decides on the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. In a couple of minutes the pair is settled on the couch. Brennan has turned onto her side and has her legs curled up and her head resting on her arms. Booth slouches at the other end, his legs stretched out in front of him. Despite loving the movie that is playing, Booth finds his eyes drawn to Brennan, like he needs to keep a constant eye on her. He hears soft chuckles coming from her as the movie progresses and it warms his heart. He's never really seen Brennan relaxing like this and it's a whole new side to her. I'm glad I'm here to see it.
Around lunchtime the partners have made their way through two movies. Brennan has changed position again, sitting up on the couch now that she feels a lot better.
"Man I'm hungry." Booth states as the credits roll on the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean.
"Booth you have sat here for the last two hours eating popcorn and candy. How can you be hungry?" Brennan asks. Booth grins.
"Bones, I'm a guy. Guy's can always eat." He rises to his feet. "What do you feel like?" he asks.
"I'm not hungry." Brennan replies as she reaches for her glass of water.
"You have to eat something Bones."
"Booth I…"
"Hey, remember you said you'd do whatever I say." He reminds her. Brennan rolls her eyes but agrees. "So what'll it be?" he asks.
"Anything." She replies. She doesn't really know what she feels like. Booth disappears from view but Brennan can hear him pottering around the kitchen. When he returns from the kitchen Brennan is sitting with her legs crossed. Booth hands her a plate of chicken salad.
"This looks great." She tells him as she lifts the fork and starts to poke at the salad.
"I have hidden talents." Booth smiles as he sits down with his own salad. I'll say Brennan smiles to herself. This is one of the best salad's she's had. The dressing does not have too much vinegar and is not too heavy either. She's soon finished the plate, not realising how hungry she really was.
"Let me take that." Booth reaches for her plate.
"Booth, you made lunch, at least let me put these away." Brennan insists.
"Sorry Bones." Booth shakes his head and takes her plate from him. "I'm taking care of you this weekend which means you don't lift a finger." He disappears from view leaving Brennan smiling on the couch. Taking care of me she thinks. From her position on the couch Brennan reaches over to look at some of the movies Booth picked out. As she reads the plots on the back covers she hears Booth's cell ring. He answers quickly.
"Booth." Brennan's ears prick up, wondering who's calling him on a Saturday. "Oh hey." She hears Booth say. "I can't I'm busy at the moment." He tells the person on the phone. Brennan hears Booth's footsteps walking into the far corner of the room.
"Uh no, I'll be busy all weekend." He pauses. "I'm sorry, I can't." he adds before he hangs up and returns to Brennan.
"You know Booth, if there's somewhere else you need to be you don't have to babysit me." Brennan sighs. Although she's saying it she can't stand the thought that he might choose to leave her.
"Bones." Booth turns to her and locks onto her blue eyes. "There is nowhere else I need to be." He states.
"Oh okay." She almost whispers.
"What I'm saying Bones, is that I want to be here, with you." He smiles. How far should I take this? He wonders. I can't tell her the whole truth. "You know, hanging out, outside of work, like friends do." He adds.
"Okay, so long as I'm not keeping you from something important." She nods. Cam is not important. I don't know why we even hooked up in the first place Booth thinks.
As the evening draws in, Brennan realises she has spent practically the whole day lying on the couch. I don't think I've ever done this she thinks.
"Hey, I know you said you hated them but we're down to the romantic comedies."
"Fine, I guess I could suffer through them." She yawns a little. Booth slips the first one in and settles back, his arm stretched out across the back of the couch behind Brennan's head. As the movie begins Booth has to stop himself laughing as Brennan mumbles critiques about the story and how no one ever does anything like that in real life.
"Bones, why be so cynical?" Booth asks.
"Come on Booth, these movies fills the minds of vulnerable women with ideals of a perfect man who will shower them with romantic gestures and the belief that they'll live happily ever after. That never happens and these women end up living a life of disappointment when they ideals are not matched by reality."
"Bones, just watch the movie okay." Booth tells her. She shifts her position and leans in to Booth a little. Booth doesn't notice at first but as Brennan drifts off to sleep, probably through boredom, she gradually falls into him until her head is resting in the crook between his arm and chest. Booth drops his arm down from the back of the couch and wraps it around her shoulder, holding her close. He doesn't remember seeing the rest of the movie.
When Booth forces his eyes open in the morning he groans when he feels a twinge in his back. Then he notices that he's half lying on the couch with Brennan asleep in his arms, her head on his chest right over his heart. His hand finds its way to the back of her head and he gently strokes her hair. I wish I could wake like this every day he thinks. His movements seem to stir Brennan but she doesn't wake up, she merely snuggles close to him, her hand resting on his chest near her face. Booth has to restrain the smile on his face. He never thought Brennan would be a snuggler. He wants to stay this way forever but he knows he's going to have to get up or he might find himself paralysed. So he gently slides his legs off the couch then using his arms he pries Brennan off his body so he can get up. He lays her down on the couch gently and pulls a throw from the back of couch to drape over her. He glances at his watch and sees it is still very early. Brennan looks like she'll be out for a while yet so Booth scribbles a note on a piece of paper and props it up on the table so she'll see it when she wakes. He then grabs his jacket and heads out of the apartment.
Brennan wakes slowly and is confused for a moment about where she is. As she opens her eyes she realises she's asleep on the couch but Booth is nowhere to be seen. She pushes herself up and rubs her eyes.
"Booth?" she calls. She is met by the silence of an empty apartment and her heart drops. He left? She panics. Then her eyes settle on a note on the table. She picks it up and scans it quickly. Bones, gone to get breakfast, be back soon, Booth is all it says. She smiles and puts the note down before slowly rising to her feet. Not knowing when Booth will return, Brennan heads to the bathroom to have a shower and get changed. But this time she takes it easy, careful not to repeat the dizzy spell she had yesterday.
An hour or so later Booth returns to Brennan's apartment. He enters carrying a bag with bagels and some coffee. He finds Brennan in the kitchen, now wearing a knee length dark green skirt and cream cami. Her feet are slipped into a pair of beaded slippers that look like they were brought back from one of her excursions to a distant country.
"Hey." He greets her. She turns around to see Booth. She figures he's also been home because he's changed his clothes and the stubble he had been sporting has gone.
"I brought breakfast." He passes her the bag and she starts to take the food out as Booth sets the coffee down on the table.
"So what do I have permission to do today?" she asks Booth with a playful smile on her face.
"Actually, I thought we'd go out today, if you feel up to it?" he says.
"Sure." Brennan replies. "What do you have in mind?"
"It's a surprise." Booth grins.
"You know I don't like surprises." Brennan plants a hand on her hip and pouts.
"Trust me, you'll like this one." He assures her. "Come on, eat up. We need to go soon." He takes a sip of coffee and grins. I hope she likes what I have planned. If she does I might just be able to tell her how I feel.
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