A/N: Hey guys, so here is the new chapter for this fic! Hope you all enjoy it!
A HUGE thank you to goldpiece for letting me nag her so much and for the wonderful beta work!
Disclaimer: Don't own Bones.
After the argument with Rose, things had settled down between her and the older woman with Sully's support finally on her side. She could hear the harpist playing inside the small church as she stood, waiting to walk down the aisle. She smoothed down the orange tuck ups...wait a minute, orange? That was not what she'd picked out at all!
Looking down, her eyes widened in shock as she registered layers and layers of 'tangerine' fabric forming what could only be described as the most hideous dress ever worn by a bride. She gasped in horror.
What's going on, she wondered as the doors before her swung open and the congregation turned to look at her. On one side sat Sully's guests, the pews practically overflowing with family and friends, while on the other side, Hodgins, Zack, Rebecca, Parker and Booth sat, large frowns on their faces.
An organ began to play in the background as she slowly lead herself to the altar, its tune a little more cheerful than she would have expected for a wedding ceremony. The soprano began to sing, her melodic voice carrying out through the small church with the first verses of 'Sexual Healing'. If she wasn't as poised as she was, Brennan would have tripped over the hem of her dress. Sexual Healing?
She glanced around the church as the sounds of birds competed with the song. What the hell was going on here? Why were there birds of paradise everywhere? And why was she, apparently, the only one to find it all too strange?
By the altar, Angela stood by the bride's side, her large orange - tangerine - dress giving her a meringue-shape. A parrot stood on her shoulder, wiggling his head up and down as he spoke nonsense. The soprano hit a particularly sensitive note and Brennan flinched, her ears ringing as the birds chirped louder.
Through her orange veil, Brennan could see her fiancé standing by the altar, just waiting for her. She took the remaining steps and stood before him, trying to ignore the parrot behind her saying 'mistake' over and over again as Sully approached her to lift the veil off her face.
As he did, it wasn't Sully that Brennan was standing there with, but Rose, dressed in a big orange dress and a scowl on her face. Startled, she walked backwards towards the exit of the church, dropping the bouquet of orange roses on the floor. She felt two strong hands gripping her shoulders from behind, and as she turned, his warm face greeted her. "Booth," she whispered. He smiled at her, saying nothing as he held her body close to his. She closed her eyes, willing this nightmare to end.
The sound of waves crashing called her attention and she stepped out of his embrace to see what the sound that reached her ears was. No longer in the church, they now stood by the edge of a white sand beach in the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. "Oh my God," she whispered, a hand falling over her mouth in awe. The breeze kissed her bare legs, playing with the white material of her light summer dress and her locks were flying everywhere.
Booth offered her his hand and she took it, her fingers curling around the white sand beneath her toes as they walked. He linked their fingers together, kissing her knuckles softly before opening his mouth to speak. No words came out of his lips, only a hollow sound, like something banging against wood.
Right before her eyes, the sunset began to fade to black and the bright sea and white sand were barely discernable as some sort of haze was lifted over her eyes. She reached out to hold on to him, to keep him from fading away, but her fingers only grasped the fog that began to thicken around her, pulling her from slumber.
Her eyes opened, making out figures in the dark of the night as she slowly recognized her own hotel room. The dream was still fresh in her mind, and the feelings it evoked still lingered under her skin. A sound called her attention and she turned on the bed, kicking the covers down and away from her legs and feet.
"Booth?" Brennan called out as the knocking continued. She was still disoriented from sleep and from her own nightmare to think clearly as she stood up to open the door. Needless to say the face of her former lover wasn't the one to greet her as she pushed the door open.
Instead, she found her current fiancé standing there, hands stuffed inside his robe's pockets as he smiled with uncertainty. "Sully," she said in surprise, her hand clutching the hard wood beneath her fingertips as her eyes were now fully open, aware of his every move.
"Can we talk?" he asked in a small voice, his eyes cast down. She seemed to ponder over his request, studying his as if she was trying to figure out his intentions. Seemingly making up her mind, she pushed the door further open, stepping aside as he walked into her room.
Sully stood by her nightstand, messy sheets fallen on the floor as she had kicked them from her legs in that way he always adored. Brennan motioned for him to sit on the bed as she did the same, tucking her legs beneath her to warm up her cold feet.
"What is it, Sully?" There was no anger in her tone, no passion. Only exhaustion and a stab of sadness underneath.
He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair as he turned his back to her. "Where were you today? I was trying to find you," he said, a hand mindlessly playing with the cotton pillow case.
Without him saying Brennan knew what he really wanted to know. If she was with Booth all day. "I was with Angela by the apple orchards," she said, her tone leaving no room for questioning or doubts. Sully was a man smart enough to know she wouldn't lie.
"What do you want to talk about, Sully? Because it's very late and I want to get some sleep tonight." There was definitely some hostility towards him now; he could feel it, emanating from her every pore.
He took a deep breath, finding his softest tone to speak, trying not to anger her any further. "I was thinking about us. About our relationship."
She was a little taken by his voice, a sweet kind of sadness carrying out, matching the barely perceptible turn up of his lips in a smile as he turned to face her fully. Brennan had had enough relationships in her life to know conversations like these hardly ever ended well. "What about our relationship, Sully?" she asked in a calm, collected way, unconsciously preparing herself for any blow.
"I was thinking about our lives. Together, I mean. I was trying to think of every difficult thing we have to face and how it would be if I didn't have you in my life." There was melancholy carrying in his voice as he stared at the bedroom curtains, slightly pulled in front of the windows as it hid the darkness outside.
"And how would that be?" she asked hesitantly, emotions she never knew coursing through her body as she listened to him. Was it fear that gripped her now? Or maybe it was sorrow, or something else? Something she didn't dare believe she could understand?
"When I saw you fighting with my mother, I thought you were being impatient. I thought you weren't giving her a chance," he continued, trying hard not to stop at the look on her face, the one that told him exactly what he feared would come out of her mouth. "Please, just let me finish," he pleaded just as she opened her mouth to voice her thoughts. She closed it again and nodded, trying to keep her temper at bay.
"After I calmed her down and went to look for you and found you with Booth, I confess I lost it. I thought you weren't trying to get along with my mother and to top everything you were spending way more time with your ex than you were with me. And I was hurt."
"You were the one that would leave my side every chance you got," she fired back, unable to keep her mouth shut any longer. Brennan wasn't one known for keeping her opinions to herself and staying quiet while he accused her of being guilty of the fight between her and her mother-in-law was just outrageous.
"I know," he said, and the look that settled over her features was one of pure confusion. How could he accuse her and exonerate her at the same time? Seeing her confusion, Sully continued. "I was so caught up with my family and my mother that I forgot the most important part of this whole thing, and that is you, Tempe. I was an idiot, leaving you aside while my mother dragged me everywhere with her. I should have been with you every second since she got here, like I want to do for the rest of my life."
"So what are you saying? Do you want to continue with this whole wedding?" she asked, eyes just a little brighter and clearer now as he crawled to her side of the bed, reaching for her warm hands to clasp them in his.
"I tried to imagine my life without you, and the truth is, I don't want to do that. I don't want to envision a future where you're not with me. I'm in this, with you, if you'll still have me," he whispered as he bent his face to kiss the tender skin of her hand, lips lingering in contact as she closed her eyes almost involuntarily.
"Will you still marry me, Tempe?" Slowly, her eyes opened as she gazed at his face, his own eyes closed as he caressed her hand. But something still wasn't right, and she couldn't let that go.
Softly sliding her hand from his grasp, she tried to ignore the fearful look on his face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "If we have any hopes in making this relationship work, you need to put me before everyone else, Sully. I can't be the second woman in your life."
Persistently, he reached for her hand again, bringing his body closer to hers as he touched her forehead to his, an intimate move that both comforted and scared her for some unknown reason. "You could never be second in my life, Tempe. You're the only one that matters." He kissed her rosy lips, hands tangling in a mass of auburn as he caressed her lips with his tongue. "You're my family now," he breathed into her inviting mouth.
Family. Now there was something she was sure she could never have. From a tender age, Brennan began to believe she didn't belong with anyone, that maybe she just didn't have the right to belong anywhere. She came to believe she had found her place again, not long ago, but that was ripped from her as well, and the wound it left would still hurt from time to time. Now, she was given the chance to start over, to have a family again. Could she take it?
"What do you say, Tempe? Will you be my family?" he asked, a little nervous laugh escaping his lips as the seconds ticked by. She closed her eyes, finding his lips again as if she could find all the answers she seeked. Their kiss wasn't hurried but a soft brush of their tongues, a tender touch of hands on skin as their bodies began to respond with their own unique rhythm.
With great effort, Sully leaned back to break their kiss, still needing one last answer from her. "Are we doing this?" She only nodded, and the smile on his face told her everything she ever needed to know about the man before her. Enthusiastic kisses were dropped all over her face, her neck and shoulders, traveling over her skin in delight.
"What made you change your mind?" she asked and met his troubled expression. "About your mother, I mean."
"I think it was about the time she started babbling to me about cherubim, swans and carriages," he laughed, and at seeing the horrified expression on Brennan's face, he tried to soothe her. "Hey, don't worry. You're in full charge of this wedding, okay?"
"It's not the wedding I'm worried about, Sully. It's the marriage. If we let her control us this early in our relationship, she'll never stop, she'll always find a way to impose her will over ours, and you know I can't handle that."
"Hey, my mother lives across the country from where we live and I don't have that much contact with her. Besides, I know you enough to know that you'll never be controlled. Not by me, and even less by my mother." She didn't seem convinced, so he pressed on. "I promise I'll always be beside you, and we'll get through everything together, okay?" She didn't answer him, so he nudged her shoulder, earning a small laugh from his bride.
"Okay," she answered him just as his lips found hers again. "Don't you have to go to your own room?" she asked between kisses.
"Are you kidding me? No way. I'm sleeping here with you today," he said, proving his point by stretching the bed covers and settling himself on his side of the bed, patting the other side and wiggling his brow in invitation.
"Don't get any ideas, we have an early morning," she said, smiling triumphantly as his face fell slightly. She laid herself under the covers beside him and he pulled her body flush against his chest, wanting to hold her all night to compensate the loneliness he felt in his own empty bed. As far as he was concerned, his mother would never make a decision regarding his life ever again. Not when her meddling almost cost him what he treasured the most.
She knew this wasn't one of her brightest ideas, but she couldn't help it. Silently wandering thought the halls of the inn, Brennan searched for the right number on the right door, well aware of how just how late the time was, but this had to be done.
As her fiancé's arms enveloped her during the night, she tried to find sleep but it was all to no avail. Her conversation with Sully kept playing over and over again in her mind and she couldn't help the feeling that there was someone else's finger in this pie. And she knew just who that finger belonged to. Booth. It had him written all over it.
Using only the dim light provided by the moon streaming through the glass windows, she did her best to discern the number on every door as best as she could. When she finally reached the right one, her fingers hovered over the wood, trying to decide if this was the right thing to do. Brennan knew that if she had this conversation in the morning, it left room for prying eyes and curious ears, but now, at night it would be just them. No audience, no onlookers, no interruptions.
Her decision was made. Her knuckles connected softly with the wood three times in a row and she waited patiently for someone to answer. When no one did, she repeated the motion, a little stronger this time. Again, no answer. The little patience she had was almost gone. Four knocks followed, and this time she heard movement inside and heavy footsteps followed.
The door was yanked open with much force, and Booth's confused and slightly annoyed face came to view as he closed the door behind him, stepping before her in the hall. "What are you doing here at this God forsaken hour, Bones?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palms as he tried to keep himself awake and standing.
She was too distracted to answer him right away as her eyes drifted to his muscular bare chest and well defined biceps. She had forgotten just how good he looked without a shirt. The messy hair sticking in every direction only contributed to her wandering thoughts and for a moment, she remembered the thrill she felt waking up next to him every morning when they were together.
"Bones," he called out, waving a had over her face as she snapped out of her reverie only to find herself slightly more annoyed at seeing his face.
"What right do you think you have to meddle in my relationship with Sully?" she asked, her voice an octave higher than usual and knowing her so well, Booth realized he was in big trouble.
"What are you talking about?" Evade the question; that was his chosen technique to deal with her upcoming rage. Too bad she knew him so well.
"Don't play coy with me, Booth. I know you and Sully too well not to realize you two have been talking. What did you say to him?" she asked, stepping into his personal space. It was unconsciously done, and she didn't seem to realize just how close their bodies were.
"Hey, I just said some things he needed to hear. It was long overdue," Booth defended, knowing with absolutely no doubt in his mind that what he had spoken to Sully was the honest truth.
"It was not your place to say anything to him, Booth. This is not your business," she argued back at him. His own rage was rising, boiling over but he tried to remain calm for the sake of his little boy peacefully sleeping inside the room, worried about waking him up at such an early hour.
"So what did you want me to do, Bones? You wanted me to sit back and just let him treat you like that? Putting his mother over you and letting you alone and hurting on your own wedding week? You know I couldn't do that," he said.
"Why? Why couldn't you just let me handle this by myself? I'm a big girl, Booth, I can take care of myself and of my relationship."
"I know, okay, I know, but I can't help it."
"Why?" she asked again, stubbornly.
"Because-" he held his tongue right that second, before the wrong words tumbled from his lips to her ears. Before he ruined the only part of his relationship with her that remained alive. All because of a heated argument in the hall. "Because I care about you, Bones. No matter what, I'll always take care of you, whether you want me to or not."
She hated that, the way he used his words on her and she wanted nothing more than to just step into the comfort of his arms. "It's not your place to take care of me, Booth. It never was." She refused to back down, to let him wiggle his way out of this.
"Look, when you told me you were engaged, my first thought was to find a way to break it up, get you to come back to me. The thing is Bones, I only really want one thing, and that's for you to be happy. If Sully makes you happy, then I'm glad you found someone that can love you the way you need. I hoped it would be me, but if it can't then I'm glad it's him."
Dammit. She felt her eyes stinging, the moisture making her baby blue orbs even brighter as they shone with the pale moon light. She tried hard to remain impassive, but he had this gift of turning her into an emotional person, something she had no idea how to handle.
Sensing her inner turmoil, he took a step forward, arms stretched out to welcome her small frame. She hesitated at first but eventually gave in, burying her face in the crook of his neck as she smelled the lingering scent of the familiar cologne she always bought him for Christmas.
Closing her eyes, she tried to let go of some of the worry and anger inside her as she felt his arms tightening around her, keeping her safe from harm. Her mind and heart were overwhelmed with so much more she was capable of bearing, and she was now more confused than she ever was in her life as her thoughts drifted to her fiancé. Could one person feel at home in two different places?
Okay, so know you cna let me know what you think in a review! It'll be like a late birthday gift to me! See how nice I am? It's my birthday, and you're the one getting a present! Big kisses, and hopefully, I'll manage to update soon!
