Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, I had hoped to post this yesterday, but it took awhile to write. As you'll see, there's a lot in this chapter. Anyway, THANK YOU for the reviews and I hope you enjoy the next installment.

-Gret

Chapter 7

Brennan had walked for awhile; she was finally getting tired. She got tired so much quicker and more often nowadays. She had read about this particular side effect of pregnancy, but had assumed that with proper activity and vitamin intake she could live exactly the same life as before. She assumed she could beat all of the side effects.

She had successfully fought off that morning sickness side effect. Well, except for one time. She wouldn't go near eggplant again until her baby was here.

She wanted to head back to the lab and do an all-nighter, take every clue the team had come up with so far and try to figure out something that would help the case. Maybe if she cracked the case open, Booth would look at her once again like he actually… liked her. She shivered, remembering the look on Booth's face as the truth settled in for him.

She decided against going to the lab, since her eyes felt like heavy weights. But she didn't want to go home either. She just had no desire to sit there. The very idea of it made her feel lonely. Too lonely. She couldn't face that. Not after tonight. She found herself at a familiar door.

"Sweetie, hi!" Angela said – though her smile faded fast, replaced by a look of concern. "Come in. You look awful."

"I walked around. A lot," Brennan said. Angela stood aside for Brennan to enter. She took her coat off and sat down.

"Angela's right," Hodgins added. "You don't look good. Let me get you some herbal tea," he said quickly, leaving the room muttering something about how a tea bar in Paris had totally changed his life, and calmed his nerves. He even claimed that tea had healing powers. Well, she hoped that was true.

"Sweetie, what happened?" Angela asked, sitting beside her.

"I told him, Ange," Brennan said, her eyes filling with tears. "And… well, I guess it doesn't matter. It's good that he knows. It was the right thing to do, right?"

Angela nodded. "Right."

Hodgins reappeared in the doorway, looking at his friend with concern. "The tea should be ready in a few minutes. Should I make up the guest room?"

"What? No," Brennan said hastily. "I only stopped by to… say hi," she finished lamely. Who dropped by to say hi at eleven at night?

"Yes, get the guest room ready," Angela said to her husband. Then, she looked back at Brennan. "You're staying here tonight."

Brennan gave her friend a sad, sort of half smile, her eyes still shining. "Thanks, Angela."

"What happened?"

Brennan leaned forward, resting on her knees. "He looked at me the way other people look at me."

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes people look at me like I'm just… a cold scientist. Like I'm too practical, and too removed. Like I have no emotions." She sighed and looked closely at Angela. "The people who know me better, you, Booth – you look at me differently. And I like that look. It's different from theirs."

"Sweetie, you are a great person. You're right; people who don't see it just don't know you."

"I saw it, Ange. In his eyes. It was like a light switched off. The way Booth looks at me – one of the reasons I love being around him – is because of that light. The look is hope and friendship, understanding and compassion."

"And you saw the light go off…"

"Well, there isn't an actual light in his eyes. I was being facetious." She shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not my strong point."

"I know what you meant, Bren. What I am wondering is… are you sure the light went off? He had a lot to process. Maybe what you saw was just him processing all the facts."

"He stepped away from me when I said I was pregnant. And when I said the baby was his, his face did something very strange – like the idea appalled him. He seemed really upset about what I did. But I don't understand. I mean, he knew I had his sample. He provided it voluntarily for exactly this reason. I assume he knew that someday we might have this conversation—"

"—Though I doubt he thought it would be exactly these circumstances —"

"— and he actually asked me if the reason I came back to DC when I heard he'd been killed was just to get pregnant."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

Angela bowed her head, letting it all sink in. "But what did he say when you told him the real reason you came back? What did he say when you told him that you couldn't focus on anything due to how destroyed you were emotionally? What did he say when you told him you realized that you loved him? That you decided to have this baby when you did because of your love."

Brennan was hoping Angela wouldn't ask that. But seeing as Angela was a romantic at heart, she should've guessed she would. Logically it only made sense. "I left that part out," Brennan said simply, hoping that would settle that topic.

It didn't.

"Oh, well now this is starting to make sense. Why would you leave that part out? That is pretty much the biggest part."

"I would argue that me having Booth's baby was the biggest confession. The love… that's not a big deal."

"Now you sound like your old self, like you're putting up walls to protect yourself. Brennan, it's just me."

Brennan stared ahead at the living room of her friends' house. So many pictures decorated the mantel, pictures of love. Gigi was in most of them now – the cute, new family exploring Paris together. There was a picture of Hodgins and Angela posing in front of the jail where they were married. There was a photo of the gang at the lab. Booth was standing next to Brennan. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was so happy.

Why did she leave to go digging on the other side of the world? The five years she spent with those people – her family – were the happiest times in her whole life. And she abandoned it all.

"Okay," Angela said finally, breaking the silence. "I'll play along and talk to old Brennan for a second. Sure. Telling Booth that he is going to be a father again was a huge piece of information. It was definitely the biggest confession he was going to get tonight, bar none."

Brennan looked at her friend, confused. "I just said that."

"He must've asked why you did it."

Brennan thought back to the conversation in Booth's office. "He didn't. He wanted to know who the father was. And once I told him… I think he started creating his own 'why'… and he didn't seem to like whatever that was."

"If he knew about the love – that would've changed things. It would've changed his whole reaction. Don't you see that?"

"Ange, please," Brennan pleaded. "I did what you told me to do. But I did it my way. I had to do it my way." She leaned back and caught her friend's eye.

"I wanted to tell him what he deserved to know. But I didn't want to confuse things any more than I had to. I didn't want to put anything more on his plate. I just gave him a lot to think about, and he has a girlfriend to go home to as he thinks about it. Love… that would've been too much. He's my friend, Ange. And he needs his chance at love with her. I can tell that he wants a real chance with her. I have already put stress on his situation with the news I just gave him. To add more stress wouldn't have been right." She stared at the floor. "I told him the most important part."

Angela patted her friend's shoulder and looked at her sadly, clearly disagreeing. But it wasn't time for a lecture. It was –

"—Time for tea," Hodgins said, bringing in a steaming cup of herbal tea.

"Perfect timing," Angela said.

"Thanks Hodgins," Brennan said, taking the proffered cup. This was what she needed tonight. She just needed friends. People who looked at her the way Hodgins and Angela were looking at her right now. Like she was a soft person; a warm person. Like she was a good person.

People who still looked at her with light in their eyes.

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"Seeley, you barely talked all night," Hannah observed, switching off the TV. Booth didn't even know what program they were watching anyway. He had suggested they watch TV though – because he could pretend to watch. He needed an excuse to just sit there and not talk. He needed an excuse to think without being obvious.

But now Hannah obviously wanted to talk. What was he supposed to say? Hey – guess what? My partner's pregnant. With my baby! Isn't that great? No… you don't think so?

Booth put a hand through his hair. Something was tugging at his insides. He couldn't eat. He didn't feel even a little tired. He just kept rolling the conversation from his office back over and over again in his head.

Bones was pregnant. Four months pregnant. And he, astonishingly, was the father. In a million years, he couldn't have predicted that conversation in his office – or its outcome.

What bothered him so much was the warring ideas about her motives. In the car in the morning, she made it clear how upset she was at thinking he was dead. He could see a real pain in her eyes. She had gone out of her way to express to him that she was so glad that he was alive. That she liked the world better with him in it.

But then she all but admitted that his death was her cue to finally create her dream baby. She practically reiterated verbatim what he said over a year ago on his way into brain surgery. Everything always had to be so logical with her. So rational. She would hear about his death and recall those words and then spring into action.

Even if she was glad he was alive, her motives for getting pregnant floored him. The decision to have a child should be an emotional one. It should be about love. Not about words he once said in a desperate moment—

"Earth to Seeley." He finally looked at Hannah. "What's up?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I just got a bit of a shock tonight. And I'm trying to wrap my mind around it."

"Well," she started, getting comfortable next to him, "that's exactly why it's great to have a girlfriend. As part of some girlfriend code, I have to listen to all your problems."

"Oh, well, when you put it that way—"

She slapped his arm playfully and smiled at him softly. "Kidding. Just tell me what's on your mind and maybe I can help."

He sat up a little straighter, putting a couple more inches between the two of them. He felt like Bones must have when she first arrived at his office to tell him everything. He shivered at the memory. He really wished this awful day was over already.

"Okay, well – Bones came to my office tonight with some news."

Hannah's smile didn't falter, but something in her gaze seemed to steel herself for something unpleasant. "What was her news?"

"She's pregnant," he said. There, that wasn't so hard, he thought. Like a Band Aid. Just like he was always telling Parker.

Hannah furrowed her brows together and regarded him for a long moment. "That is surprising. I agree. I mean, you mentioned that she was in Indonesia on a dig, so I'm sure you weren't expecting—"

"—The baby is mine," he said, his voice dropping to a quivering whisper.

Hannah's words died on her tongue at once as her mouth dropped slowly. She was clearly shocked. And clearly at a loss for words.

He owed it to her to explain quickly, to not leave her hanging and wondering. "We've never slept together," he assured her quickly. "But over a year ago, I provided a… sperm sample…" he said uncomfortably. This wasn't exactly the kind of conversation he wanted to be having with his girlfriend. "See, Bones decided she wanted to have a baby. And she wanted my… stuff. For it. For her baby. She trusts me and knows me. She said she wanted it to be mine."

"And… and you agreed?" she asked, staring ahead, clearly still trying to process this. She clearly thought he was going to vent about how everyone's changed in the past seven months or their new case was a tough one.

"She's my best friend," he said softly. Almost to himself, not Hannah. "I wanted to."

Hannah blinked a couple times. Then she looked at him for the first time in a couple minutes. "Did you know she was going to do it now?"

He shook his head. "She's four months along. I just found out tonight." He looked at her. "I had no idea. I mean, I knew it could happen someday."

"She should've told you, Seeley. If you're her best friend – and her partner –"

"She thought I was dead," he explained quickly.

Hannah's eyebrows shot up. "Why would she think that?"

"That explosion near our unit four months ago. Somehow a telegram got sent to her that listed me among the casualties." He clenched a fist and lightly punched the couch arm. That still angered him. What a royal screw up. He needed to know who was responsible for that. Because that small mistake was ruining his life. That small mistake changed the lives of a lot of people.

"Are you sure?" Hannah asked.

At once, Booth turned to her and looked at her closely. "What do you mean?"

Hannah bit her lip, clearly debating whether or not to continue whatever train of thought she was on. "I don't know," she said in a rush. "I don't know her. But I know women – and it sounds manipulative. Are you sure that she really thought you were dead? Maybe she was just trying to explain away… something else—"

"Bones isn't a liar. She's a lot of things – way too literal, not at all in tune with pop culture or even reality half the time, way too rational about everything…" He stopped and took a breath. "But she's a very honest person. I know she wasn't lying about any of it."

"Okay. Well I believe you anyway."

For years, Booth ignored the many… many…people that assumed Temperance Brennan was a cold, unfeeling woman who lived and breathed facts and science. He broke through her layers and saw the woman underneath who cried and worried, who admitted she loved her friends and even her criminal family. She made mistakes. She laughed whole-heartedly.

Still, despite her good qualities, he hated that she decided to bring a baby into the world based on logic. He had hoped, deep down, that whenever she decided to do it, she'd decide it with her heart instead.

"What are you going to do? You two are partners. She's having your baby. That's very complicated. And you clearly are struggling with how you feel about this."

"I don't know," Booth said quietly. He turned to look at Hannah, really seeing her for the first time tonight. He could tell this news had upset her. Her normally bouncy personality was severely subdued. She looked very lost in thought. "But," he said, touching her knee, "I do want to know how you are about all of this."

She sighed. "I guess I have to be okay." She leaned forward and kissed him for a brief moment. Then she locked eyes with his and smiled. "I am pretty smitten with you."

She stood up and took their two mugs into her hands, walking into the kitchen. With her back to him, she called out, "it's not like love was involved. You two obviously don't feel that way for each other."

Booth stared ahead. He couldn't correct her on that. Not tonight. Maybe someday he'd tell Hannah that at one time he was absolutely in love with his partner. That even now when his head told him to be mad at her, his heart continuously argued in her favor. His head told him that she complicated his life so much by being pregnant now with his baby. And his heart, if he was really honest with himself, felt relieved that the baby was his… and not some other man's.

Hannah walked back into the room. "You've told me a lot about Dr. Brennan. I know how serious and matter-of-fact she is. How everything is like a science experiment for her and even life decisions probably involve pie charts. I think you made that joke once," she said, winking. "So that's what this is."

"A science experiment…" Booth said uneasily.

"I just mean that this sounds a lot like her from what you've told me. It sounds like something she would do. You and me are fine because she did it in her unemotional, matter-of-fact way."

"Right," he said. He still felt uneasy. But he wasn't sure why.

"If this baby came to be because of love," she admitted, kneeling in front of him, "then I think there'd be more for me to think about. You know?"

"Sure," he said. When she finally disappeared to the bedroom, he stared ahead. He took a couple of deep breaths. His head hurt. His eyes hurt. For some reason, he was having trouble breathing.

He understood what Hannah meant. But all the same. Bones was having a baby. This baby would be his, too. And he did love her. Maybe that was once upon a time. But it still changed things. Big time.

Life as he knew it would never be the same.

Hannah was right about one thing. This complicated his partnership with Bones. A lot.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew well. "Sweets," he said, his voice shaking, his eyes filling with tears. "We need to talk. Tomorrow. First thing. I think I need to dissolve my partnership with Bones."