Chapter 4: The Things We Don't Say

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Bones is already gone when Booth wakes up around eight the next morning. With a sigh, he pulls the comforter over his head to block out the pale sunlight that's filtering through the curtains; she must have left even earlier than yesterday, but there's nothing he can do about it now. He closes his eyes and goes back to sleep – he's got things to do today, but there's plenty of time, so he might just as well get a little more shut-eye first.

It's almost ten when he makes it to the park for another run, although he soon regrets waiting so long because even though it's not that warm, the weather is uncomfortably humid, and he's drenched in sweat by the time he returns to their room. He takes a quick shower and then leaves again to find himself some real breakfast.

Two hours and some definitely-not-Bones-approved food later, he's back at the hotel to start his search for a place to take her in the evening. Online research is out because Bones took her laptop with her, and he didn't bring his phone for the trip since normal American cells don't work in Europe. Bones' super-fancy phone does, and he figured it was enough to know that she had it with her at all times in case of an emergency, but he has begun to feel strangely naked without a phone in his pocket. Then again, a bunch of German websites wouldn't be of any help to him anyway, so he chooses the old-fashioned way and goes to ask the hotel concierge.

The concierge seems a little grumpy, but he's helpful enough in the end. His English is passable, even though he's speaking with a thick Serbian accent that makes Booth's stomach clench when he first hears it. He hasn't really thought of it until now, but the sound of that too-familiar accent forcibly reminds him just how close this place is to Kosovo.

Eventually he sets out with a city map and a list of addresses to check out the restaurants the concierge recommended. The list isn't that long (vegetarian food really doesn't seem to be popular with Austrians – not that he blames them), but he's still glad to have something more productive to do than trying not to die of boredom until Bones comes back from work. Their ass-backwards way of going about things made her miss out on all the early relationship stuff that most women are so fond of, and he wants to make sure that even though they're several months late with their first date, she's at least going to enjoy it.

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"How far is it? My current footwear isn't ideal for this kind of pavement."

"Sorry, didn't think of that." Booth feels a little sheepish; he was so happy to watch her dress up for the evening that he didn't consider how the flimsy pair of sandals she's wearing would affect her ability to walk on cobblestones. "We're almost there, it's right around the corner."

He can't keep his eyes off her – mostly because she's a real stunner in her dark green summer dress, but also because he's getting worried about the dark smudges under her eyes that even her make-up isn't able to hide. She looks tired in spite of the nap he made her take when she came back from the lab, and the fact that she let him talk her into it in the first place is what's worrying him most.

"Okay, here we are – the guy at the hotel said it's the best vegetarian restaurant in the city." He isn't thrilled about the prospect of a rabbit food dinner, but it seems like a small price to pay for an honest-to-God date with her.

Bones, however, isn't even looking at the restaurant; she's studying the street sign right next to it with barely suppressed laughter. "In that case, the location is more than a little ironic." At his uncomprehending look, she explains, "The street is called Fleischmarkt – it means 'meat market'."

"Huh." It doesn't seem that funny to him, but he's willing to go with whatever brings a smile to her face.

"The name indicates that we're in the central part of the old city."

Booth would have thought that the cobblestones were already a good indicator that this isn't exactly a brand-new neighborhood, but he keeps his mouth shut. She's in full lecture mode now, and it seems to make her forget her exhaustion, because she keeps talking non-stop while they enter the restaurant and find the table he reserved for them earlier. The restaurant is nice, but not particularly fancy; he figured they'd be more at ease in a casual setting, and even though Bones doesn't say anything about it, she seems comfortable enough in her seat across from him at the small table.

"These streets are called 'markets' because during the Middle Ages, the farmers from the surrounding countryside would come here to sell their products. There's also a Flour Market and a Cabbage Market not too far from here."

"How do you know all that? You said you've never been here before." Booth doesn't even bother with opening the German menu the waiter placed in front of him; he could ask whether they have menus in English (the breakfast place he found this morning did – this city is an international tourist hot spot, after all), but given how eager to show off her German Bones has been so far, he figures he should let her have this one.

She gives him a pointed look over the rim of her menu. "I haven't, but I have read the guide book."

"Hey, so have I!" Booth protests and then hastily adds, "I mean, at least some parts…" before she gets any ideas about an impromptu pop quiz.

"I'm glad to hear it." She's got her nose buried in the menu again, and Booth can't tell whether she's being serious or not. He changes topics and asks her to translate the menu for him, and they're soon caught up in a discussion about the health benefits of vegetarian food and the question whether vegetables are still good for you when they come fried or drowned in cream sauce.

At long last, they reach a decision – not about the general matter of vegetarian food, but at least about their choices for the evening. Booth settles on a potato dish that the restaurant claims to be famous for, while Bones orders some kind of salad with grilled tofu.

"What?" she asks as soon as the waiter has left; the sharp tone suggests that Booth wasn't quite successful in keeping his expression even.

He didn't want to address the matter tonight, but there's nothing for it now. "Look, I know this stuff is healthy and all, but don't you think you could do with something a little more substantial? I mean, you can't get enough protein from just eating sprouts and leaves, and it could harm you eventually."

She gives him one of those narrow-eyed, calm looks that always make him feel like she's mentally dissecting him. "You mean it could harm the baby."

Booth doesn't take the bait. "Same thing for the next seven months, Bones. It's just – you look pretty beat, and I can't help worrying."

"I'm fine, Booth." The dismissal is automatic, and he knows he didn't get through to her. "Tofu is an excellent source of protein, and I assure you that I take great care to keep a well-balanced diet. Besides, my own body would suffer from malnourishment before it would affect the embryo."

"That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it." Booth covers her hand with his and is relieved when she doesn't pull away. "I'm just trying to look out for you, Bones – you understand that, right?"

Her expression softens, but all she says eventually is, "Right."

The silence that follows is broken by the arrival of their food. To Booth's relief, her salad is huge and covered in a thick creamy dressing, and from the way she digs into it, it seems like at least she's got an appetite. His own food looks like a cross between hash browns and a potato pancake, but it's nice enough even though he can't help thinking how well it would go with a steak.

"So how is the case going?" he asks after a while. "Any groundbreaking discoveries yet?"

She shrugs and spears another lettuce leaf with her fork. "I don't know whether I would call my results groundbreaking, given that I'm only here to confirm previous findings. However, I told them I didn't wish to see the existing data before I reached my own conclusions, and I'm currently re-examining the remains."

Booth nods. "You prefer to make unbiased initial observations. What?" he asks with a grin at her astonished look. "It's what you said to me during one of our earliest cases!"

"I can't believe you still remember that," she says quietly, and Booth feels his heart soar at the sight of her soft little smile. Her tone is back to normal when she continues, but a hint of that smile remains. "From my initial exam of the remains, I can already tell with near-certain probability that the child in question was older than three years – I would put the victim's age at a minimum of five years, which is in direct contradiction to the legend. I'm still waiting for the results of the C14 analysis that will tell us if the bones date from the Middle Ages or from a later period; that, of course, will be one of the key arguments in an attempt to disprove the original report of the skeleton's origin."

"Is it difficult?" Booth blurts out; he isn't sure if he should bring this up, but it has been bothering him for days. "I mean – we both know it's always harder when it's children, but now that you're…"

Bones cuts him off with a shake of her head. "My pregnancy has no influence on my ability to keep a professional distance, Booth. Humans are social creatures, and the need to protect our young is coded into our DNA, but the children on my table are beyond the need for protection and sympathy. All I can still do for them is to find answers, and in order to provide those I can't let my emotions influence my work." Her last words sound strangely intense, almost as if she's pleading with him to understand.

Booth tries to swallow around the sudden lump in his throat. "I get it, Bones. Just – don' be too hard on yourself, okay? I know you're ace at compartmentalizing, but you're human like the rest of us."

"I'm glad you think so," she replies evenly, and Booth has no idea what the hell he's supposed to make of that answer.

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"So what happens now?" Bones asks him innocently when they walk out of the restaurant a while later. "Do you have plans for the rest of our date?"

"Hey, give me a moment, I'm still in shock that you let me pay," Booth quips and wraps an arm around her shoulders. "Actually, my plans involved dessert, but since you nixed that…"

"The restaurant's choice of desserts didn't appeal to me," she states matter-of-factly, "and I merely adhered to a societal norm when I let you pay for the food on our first date, which goes back to the concept of a male having to prove to his chosen mate that he is capable of providing her with sustenance. Of course, the anthropological trope of the male provider is outdated, and –"

"And you wanted to be nice and stroke my ego even though you're loaded and I'm not," Booth finishes, careful to keep his tone light. "I appreciate the gesture, Bones, but I don't appreciate the dessert veto."

She gives him that dissecting glance again, but then she smiles. "I didn't veto it, I merely saw that ice cream parlor over there from the restaurant window and decided that I'd like some ice cream for dessert. Perhaps we can walk around a little after that; I've been cooped up at the lab for most of the day, and I'd like to move a little."

Booth can't remember ever seeing her with an ice cream cone before, but he's more than happy to indulge her. "Sounds great, but do you think you can manage it with those shoes? It's cobblestones all the way in every direction from here."

"Wait here." Before he can ask what she's up to, she is striding away from him towards a small shoe store at the corner; a few minutes later she's back with her sandals stuffed into her purse and a pair of neon-pink crocs on her feet.

Booth almost chokes when he sees her walking towards him. "Wow, Bones, these sure look… different."

"They're not very elegant," she admits with a shrug, "but they're comfortable, and I shouldn't have any problems walking in them."

"Yeah, of course – it's just that I never thought I'd see something so… pink on you, you know?"

She gives him a sultry smile. "I think I packed a pair of underwear in that color. Would you like to see it when we return to the hotel?"

With that, she makes a dash for the ice cream parlor across the street and leaves Booth to stare after her with his mouth hanging open. It takes him only a moment to catch up with her, and while they're standing in line for their ice cream, he whispers in her ear, "I'm so going to make you pay for that when we're home."

"Promises, promises," she whispers back and steps up to the counter to place her order.

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Booth doesn't think he has felt this content in a long time. They're ambling along the narrow, winding streets of the old city center with their ice cream cones, the fingers of their free hands interlaced; they aren't talking, but for once the silence feels comfortable. Bones looks ridiculously cute with her neon-pink slippers contrasting vividly with her elegant green dress, and again he finds that he can't take his eyes off her.

She seems entirely focused on her ice cream; only when she's finished does she notice his look. "Is something wrong?"

"You've got ice cream on your face." He can't help it, he has to lean in and kiss the greenish smudge off the corner of her mouth, and her lips curl into a smile under his.

"Booth?"

"Hm?"

"If it's okay with you, I'd like to go back to the hotel to have sex now."

The saucy little smirk that accompanies the request goes straight to his nether regions, and Booth forcibly reminds himself they're in a very public street. "I dunno, Bones," he says with a wink, "you might think I'm easy if I put out on the first date."

"I believe that ship has sailed," she replies wryly and places their linked hands on her belly for a moment. They're both grinning like fools now – Bones clearly bursting with pride that she got the colloquialism right, and Booth barely believing his luck that she actually lets him touch her there without being otherwise distracted.

"Okay, let's find the fastest way home, then…"

"It's best we walk," she decides, "we're just two streets away from the restaurant, and we know our way back to the hotel from there."

They've just reached the far end of the 'Meat Market' street when two men in police uniforms push past them and rush up to a small group of people who seem to be gathering around the entrance of one of the buildings on the other side of the street. They're carrying candles and hand-made banners, and judging from the way they're waving them at the two advancing cops this isn't their first encounter of that kind.

Booth instinctively moves to the side so he's between Bones and the commotion across the street. "What the hell is going on there?"

He meant it as a rhetorical question, but to his surprise Bones has an answer. "I suppose they're protesters who have illegally crossed the perimeter." Upon his questioning look, she adds, "This is a clinic for reproductive health care; these people are protesting against the abortions that are performed here."

Mistaking his stunned silence for interest, she continues, "Abortion is legal in this country during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, and even though that fact is widely accepted throughout Austrian society, there are some groups who oppose it for religious reasons. There has been some debate about the legality of the protests here, at the entrance of the clinic, because it was considered harassment of the women who come here to seek treatment. Now the protesters are forbidden from approaching the area directly in front of the clinic, and the local police makes sure they don't attempt to trespass. Which they're doing right now, as you can see."

The two cops are indeed pushing the protesters back, and Booth notices that they're not exactly trying to be gentle. He doesn't really care about that right now, though.

"How do you know all that?"

Bones shrugs. "I've read about it. Can we go home now?"

It's a very different kind of silence that settles between them on their remaining way home. Booth feels completely stunned; there's just no way she has come across that kind of information in a touristy guide book, which means she must have read up on the topic elsewhere – but why would she read anything about abortions in Austria in the first place?

Bones doesn't seem to notice that something is wrong, and by the time they reach the hotel, Booth has mostly managed to pull himself together. He's used to her knowing all kinds of weird stuff, after all, and she probably read a paper on abortion as an anthropological issue or some such crap that mentioned this clinic as an example.

Still, he can't quite banish the matter from his mind, and as soon as Bones falls asleep with her back spooned against his chest after a short, but enthusiastic round of lovemaking, Booth finds his thoughts drifting back to it.

He tells himself that he's being ridiculous, that he knows she wants this baby, even if he can't help remembering that he has never heard her say it outright. Booth resolutely clamps down on the tiny voice which keeps reminding him that things would be much easier if they didn't have to deal with her pregnancy on top of everything else right now. Yes, matters are still far from resolved between them, and the baby is pushing them forward much faster than they were prepared to move, but they're dealing with it – not very well, maybe, but she has never given him any indication that she's having second thoughts. She wanted to have his baby before, after all, and if he hadn't been the one to tell her no she would have gone through with it back then.

Still, it takes him a long time until he's able to fall asleep. He finally manages to silence the whispering at the back of his mind by reminding himself that above all else, he trusts her – he has no clue about her general views on the matter, but he does know for certain that she would never make a decision of that magnitude without talking to him about it first. It's not much of a consolation, but it does help him relax enough to drift off at last.