Later that evening, dinner was a quiet affair. Even Christine, who normally made a noisy mess while sitting in her high chair, was unusually hushed. Booth had made a simple meal of pasta and salad, and he and Brennan sat next to each other, eating at the counter in silence. The only sounds occasionally echoing across the room were Christine's contented noises of eating and the clink of silverware against the plates. Brennan, upon finishing up, picked up her plate and walked over to the sink to rinse it off.
Seeing Christine was done eating, Brennan gathered her daughter from the high chair and placed her on her hip. With a little smile at the girl in her arms, she left the kitchen area, leaving Booth still at the counter.
After walking upstairs and slowly pushing open the door to Christine's room, Brennan switched Christine's position from her hip to a cradle in her arms. Exhausted from the day, Brennan collapsed into the rocking chair and held her daughter close.
"Christine, honey, I don't expect you to be able to remember any of what I'm going to tell you, but I just want to tell you I love you so much. Dada loves you too, more than anything. You are the best thing that's ever happened to us. Your father has taught me so much about what it truly means to have a family, and I'm so thankful for that. But we're going through a tough time right now."
Booth, who had finally finished up in the kitchen, decided to go check up on Brennan, even though he knew where she was and knew she was fine, at least for the moment. Not wanting to disturb her, he crept up the stairs slowly and stopped outside Christine's room when he heard Brennan's soft and gentle voice.
"…it's not good for us right now. We're trying really hard to put things back together, but I'm not sure if we can do that, sweetheart. I don't know what I did wrong, but I just want to fix things. Thinking logically, I've come to realize that if I can identify what I did wrong, and understand why it was wrong, maybe I can fix things.'
Hearing this, Booth slid down the wall and slumped on the floor. His head immediately went into his hands, and he could feel angry, hot tears pricking their way to his eyes. Bones thought it was her fault – if only she knew! If only he could tell her! There was no way to do so without knowing whether Pelant had heard or not. Why had Pelant forced him to hurt her so deeply?
"I mean, has the chemistry between us changed? I have no tangible proof as to if Booth loves me any less, but I know I love him. It took me so long to get to that point, baby. Can you believe I once thought love was only a chemical process? I've changed, I've opened up…"
At this point, Booth wiped his eyes and stood up. He knocked almost inaudibly on the door, but he knew Brennan could hear. She cleared her voice before responding, "Come in, Booth."
Booth assessed the room before fully entering. He observed Brennan in the chair, snuggling Christine tight; Christine's crib, with Parker's pictures hanging above; Christine's artwork on the walls, which Brennan had once so vehemently praised; and once again, his eyes came back to Brennan in the chair. Her eyes seemed a little red, so he guessed that she had been crying while talking to Christine, even though he hadn't heard it.
He stammered a little bit. "I, uh, I thought, uh, I'd come in and say goodnight to Christine with you." Brennan looked up at him and studied his face, but wasn't sure what to make of it. She didn't realize Booth had heard everything she'd said to Christine.
"Of – of course. She's been sleeping for a few minutes now," Brennan replied, extremely subdued. She lovingly brushed Christine's curls with her fingers and listened to the little girl's deep breathing, nearly jealous that Christine could fall asleep so easily, nothing to worry her innocent little mind, nothing to keep her awake.
Booth leaned down and kissed Christine's forehead. "Dada loves you, Christine. Always," he whispered. Brennan kissed her daughter's forehead as well and stood up so she could set the child in her crib. Together, the two of them stood and watched their daughter sleep for a few moments before exiting and gently closing the door.