So, here's another chapter of my first fanfic. Again, hope you guys enjoy and thanks again for all the wonderful reviews!
For the first time in days, Brennan woke up before Booth. She took this as an opportunity to watch him sleep. He was curled up around her, in a spooning position, an arm wrapped around her waist as they faced each other, his hand softly stroking her back. She wondered how he could be stroking her back in his sleep, but smiled thinking it was just like him. His other hand was intertwined with hers as they lay together, with her head on his chest. Their legs were tangled as well, and she savored the feeling of his warm legs and feet on her cold ones. She sighed in contentment, and snuggled in closer. 'He looks so peaceful' she thought, and she rested her head on his beating heart.
After lying there for 30 minutes, she noticed that his heartbeat had increased. Looking up she saw that he was sweating, his brow furrowed and fists clenched, and his usually smiling lips pasted in a worried frown. She hoped he wasn't catching whatever she had, and slowly began stroking his cheek. She figured he was either sick or having a nightmare, and either way she knew she had to wake him up. "Wake up Booth…come on wake up!" she said her voice increasing with volume as she patted his cheek with her hand.
However, the power she was putting into her voice caused her chest to tighten and she went into a fit of hacking coughs. This drew Booth from his slumber, and although he seemed to relax, his worried frown stayed fixed. As he was pulled back to reality, he noticed Brennan coughing. Although this worried him, he was so glad she was here and not in that coffin he had seen in his dream. He slowly sat up, leaning on the headboard as he brought Brennan up with him. He patted her back and cooed to her, hoping to stop the terrible hacking.
"It's okay Bones. Breathe. Just Breathe." But soon her coughing got worse, and she was struggling to breathe, her breaths coming in gasps in between coughs. Booth was getting nervous, worried she might pass out from lack of oxygen, and got up to get her coughing meds and the oxygen tank. "Bones you have to breathe, you're going to pass out." Brennan gasped, "trying…I'm trying." Booth hurried back to her side, and gave her the cough meds, which she took eagerly. "Now Bones I have to place this oxygen mask over your mouth and nose, okay?" Booth warned her eyeing her apologetically. Brennan just nodded, and Booth placed the mask over her face. "Ok now breathe Bones. Just breathe as deep as you can. I need you to breathe." But Brennan was still having trouble breathing, and Booth was getting increasingly worried. "Come on Bones! You have to breathe. Seriously. You'll pass out. Come on, you can do it. For me, breathe."
Brennan inhaled, and although it hurt her chest deeply, continued to inhale and exhale appropriately. Booth exhaled in relief. "That's it Bones, that's it…Ughhh, don't ever scare me like that again. I nearly had a heart attack!" He gently rubbed his chest and her back at the same time. Brennan looked up and smiled slightly.
"You are wayyy to young to have a heart attack, Booth. I need you around for a long time." Booth smiled back and teasingly whispered, "Yeah, well, your independent streak might just be the death of me. But I love you anyways, and you never have to blame yourself for anything. Even though I do wish you had gone to the hospital like I'd told you to. Next time I'll drag you there if you protest." He wagged his index finger at her, and she gently wrapped her fist around it and brought it to her lips as she kissed it.
"Whatever you say, dear" and while the words were obviously teasing, Brennan's voice came out somewhat earnest, and Booth smiled. "Ummm… Booth?" Booth raised his eyebrows in anticipation of the following statement. "Why were you sweating and worried in your sleep? You're not getting any symptoms are you? I hope not. I couldn't bear to get you sick with me. That would be the worst. Please, tell me the truth, though. Are you sick or were you having a nightmare?" Booth laughed at her rambling, but blunt, speech, and kissed her lightly, knowing that a kiss too deep might deprive her of much needed oxygen.
"It was just a dream, Bones. Nothing you have to worry about." But her eyes were begging him to tell her, so he continued. "When you went away because of Pelant, I was worried sick about you and Christine. I would have nightmares about you moving on, leaving me permanently, either by finding someone new or by…dying." Booth trailed off, and Brennan felt tears welling up.
"I'm so sorry, Booth." Booth shook his head, "You have nothing to be sorry about. I was just paranoid. And those dreams about you leaving me for someone else were never realistic, because I knew in my heart that you would never do that." Brennan nodded her head in firm agreement, and Booth continued. "But those dreams about you dying…those were more realistic. You getting blown up by a bomb like the one placed in our own home, or Pelant finding you, or the FBI finding you and putting you in prison only to have Pelant kill you from the outside. And, finally, you getting sick but not being able to get treated because you were in the middle of nowhere."
Brennan began to understand, and grasped his hand as tightly as she could, so as to prove that she was still here. "I guess it just seemed like this whole incident is that nightmare coming true, and I had a nightmare that you died." He shrugged, but his eyes were full of pain and sadness. "I'm right here, Booth. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." She took the hand she had grasped and raised it to her chest covering his entire hand with both of hers and pressing down, despite the pain it caused. "Heartbeat, see? I'm right here…" Booth nodded, and stroked her cheeks with his other hand.
After a few minutes, Booth asked, "Are you feeling better?" Brennan nodded, but Booth's look told her she needed to elaborate. "I am, thank you. Despite that recent coughing fit, I seem to be breathing better, and the pain is getting better. Although I could easily attribute that to you." Booth smiled at her honesty. "Hey Bones? How about we go into the family room and watch something? You could choose for once." Booth shrugged, even though he did want to watch the new hockey game that was on. Bones shook her head. "I'd love to go watch TV with you, which is rare, but you can choose, Booth."
Booth smiled and got up. He suddenly realized he might have to carry her. "Ummm… Bones can you stand or walk?" Brennan honestly didn't know, and she shrugged. Booth nodded, and helped her up into a standing position. She was leaning heavily on him, and couldn't seem to stand up by herself. When she was in a totally upright position, she just fell onto him, and he caught her. Brennan looked up at Booth with a helpless look on her face, and his heart broke for his normally independent partner. "That's okay, Bones. I'll carry you." He gently gathered her and scooped her up.
When they reached the living room, he gently placed her sideways on the couch, lifting her feet for a moment so he could sit down and place her feet on his lap. He had known that since having Christine, Brennan had chronic problems with her feet and back from the strain of carrying the baby for nine months. He had helped her by massaging both her feet and back throughout her pregnancy and beyond, and tonight he figured it was time for her to enjoy one of his foot rubs. He started massaging the soles of her feet thoroughly.
She leaned her head back on the armrest of the couch and hummed in approval. "Oh that feels good, Booth. I will never get tired of your massages, that's for sure." Booth laughed at her humming voice. "And I'll never get tired of yours, Bones, so I guess we're even." Again they gazed into each others eyes and smiled in another one of their stares.
"Well…what do you want to watch Bones?" Booth asked. "I told you. You have the final say, but I would like to watch some hockey. I heard there's a new game on." Booth gave her a knowing smile. He knew what she was doing. She was trying to give him something while making it a favor for her. He was familiar with the trick, as he had pulled it numerous times with her, and had learned through his relationship with her, that she did the same thing. However, unlike him, she did not know that he knew what she was doing.
She had always known when he was doing her a favor by saying it was a favor for him, and he was aware that she knew. But she was clueless to the fact that he had known she did the same trick, and he found this just another adorable aspect of his partner's personality. He leaned over and kissed her, and handed her the remote, as she flipped to the hockey channel.
After Booth was content that her feet muscles were no longer sore, and he had given her a nice long back massage, they leaned in together, snuggled on the couch with the blanket wrapped over them. They watched the hockey game, which Brennan had never enjoyed, and so she decided she would busy herself by watching Booth instead of the game. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and rested her head on his chest as he became entranced by the hockey game, trying not to cheer so as to keep the house quiet for his Bones. Both were happy, loved, and loving.
Let me know if you have any suggestions or comments. Review Please : )
