Chapter 2! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I hope I'm not being too nasty by making Brennan sick. I am not trying to be mean to her, but this is a story I have had stuck in my head. Also, I have no history in medicine, so don't hold it against me if the symptoms and diagnosis are completely off, because I wrote it this way for the story. Love Bones! Again reviews please : )
After Booth had put Brennan to bed, he snuck out to make a few phone calls. Cam, Hacker and Cullen, Angela, and Rebecca were first on his list. All expressed their sympathy, but Booth had a feeling only Cam's and Angela's had been from their hearts. While Hacker had gone out with Brennan, Booth felt Hacker never deserved his Bones. Hacker was sneaky, always trying to make people think well of him. In fact, Booth couldn't remember ever thinking a man Brennan dated deserved her. Hacker, Mark, David, Stires, even Sully all just seemed to "use" her. Even her own father seemed to only pop in and out of her life when most convenient. Now that he thought about it, Booth realized he had been the only real constant intimate male figure in her life. This thought made Booth sad, but also contented and somewhat proud that he had been "the one" the stood by her no matter what. And as he walked back into the bedroom, looking over her fragile, but still beautiful, figure lying on the bed, he knew he would never leave her, nor would he regret it.
Climbing into bed besides Brennan, Booth was content on just watching her. Although it was obvious from her appearance that she was sick, pale with flushed cheeks, dark round circles under her eyes, and she had lost a bit of weight too, Booth wondered how she could look so beautiful all at the same time.
In the middle of the night, Brennan started tossing and turning, whimpering and sweating. Booth, assumed this was a nightmare, as he had gotten to know that for her, between her parents leaving her or Booth's fake death from a few years ago, nightmares were quite frequent. He began to shake her shoulders softly cooing to her, telling her everything was okay that he was here to stay, and that she needed to wake up. When she did finally wake up, she was obviously distressed, so he just decided to hold her. Soon, though, it became apparent that she wasn't calming down, so Booth decided he needed to hold her closer, if possible. He remembered something called "kangaroo care", which he had practiced with Christine when she was younger and Bones was working or sleeping.
He slowly took off his shirt, careful not to disrupt Brennan while doing so, and gingerly took her shirt off as well. Holding their bare bodies close together gave her more comfort, and her sobs began to subside, but not enough for Booth's liking. So, Booth scooped Brennan off the bed, and rocked her slowly, up and down and side to side, while pacing the side of the bed, like he would a small infant who was upset. Now, Brennan was almost completely quiet, except for her sniffling and wheezing, and Booth lowered them both to the bed, but continued to hold Brennan's bare chest flush against his. 'At least she can sense my being here' he thought hopefully. He gently stroked her hair and cheeks until she was back into a peaceful slumber, and allowed himself to fall asleep as well.
Booth was awakened by Brennan's soft hand stroking his cheek. He opened his eyes to find hers staring back, full of love, passion and understanding, but also full of pain. "Hi sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Brennan was slow to respond but eventually whispered, "I'm fine. Don't worry Booth" as her lips twitched slowly upwards. Something in this statement struck Booth in a sensitive area. "You are not fine, Bones. I don't care what you say. You need to know that you can trust me, that I am here for you, and I do not judge you. I know you are not weak, you are strong no matter what, I know that. But please, just tell me if you're feeling sick. I could have lost you…" Booth trailed off at the end.
Brennan seemed to be processing this statement, and gently leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I do trust you Booth. I just…" Brennan lowered her gaze, as if she was ashamed, and Booth prodded her to continue by gently lifting her chin so her eyes could meet his again. "Bones, what is it. You know you can tell me anything." Booth smiled at her. "I know that Booth." Brennan took a big breath, as big as she could under the circumstances, before continuing.
"It's just…When I was in foster care, if I was sick or hurt or acted weak in anyway, I was always punished. I would either get abused for being 'worthless' or 'useless' or 'weak' or I would get sent to another home, one that could potentially be worse. I guess these things just stick with me, even though I know you would never judge me. I trust you, Booth, I do. You would never hurt me. I know that. You have always been so kind and understanding and honest. You're the first person that has ever just listened to me. No names, no hurtful comments, no judging, no sympathy, just been there to help me. And I want you to know how grateful I am to have a best friend like you. I often wonder how any of those girls, Rebecca, Cam, Hannah… how could they have let such a strong, but gentle, man get away? But I'm glad they did, because now I have you. And I need you, and I love you."
Brennan finished with a kiss and a weak smile. Suddenly after that long speech, even though the words had come out in a whisper, she became very tired, and her eyelids began to droop. Booth noticed, and kissed her forehead. "I need you and love you, too Bones. I want you to really know and understand that. You're my best friend, too. And I don't know how any of those idiots could have been so unbelievably cruel to such a warm, loving, kind-hearted, brilliant, wonderful, absolutely amazing, beautiful person like you. You are beautiful, Bones, inside and out. But now you need to sleep. We'll talk later, I promise, and I want you to know that no matter what you tell me, I will understand. I will." Brennan just nodded her head, and Booth kissed her forehead again as she nodded off.
Sorry for the short chapter. I have a lot of summer work to do, but I plan to update every, or every other day, even if they are short chapters like this one. Let me know if you find any typos, or have any suggestions for the future of the story. Again, review please : )