Britt's Corner, West Virginia – Day 4
Brennan woke up the following morning to fingers, lightly brushing her hair off of her face. Before she could open her eyes, she felt light kisses on her forehead, her nose, her lips.
"Wakey, wakey, Bones." He waved a mug of coffee under her nose for extra incentive.
"Mmm, I could wake up like this every day." She sat up, taking the mug from him and took a long sip.
"How? By me kissing you awake?" He flashed his patented Booth charm smile at her.
"I meant coffee in bed." She laughed at his crestfallen face.
"Well, if you just want the coffee, I'll be going now." He rose from his seat on the edge of her bed before she reached out and grabbed his shirt.
"Of course, I meant your kisses. Those are definitely worth waking up for. The coffee is just a bonus." She pulled him toward her and gave him her own good morning kiss.
They had settled into a comfortable routine during their time at the cabin. After breakfast, showers, etc., they found themselves back on the couch, snuggled together and looking for a movie to watch. They had discovered a few classic movie channels early on and checked those first before deciding.
"What's it going to be, Bones? An Affair to Remember or Rear Window?"
Before Brennan could answer, they heard the sound of gunfire and glass shattering. Booth used his good hand to push her to the floor and covered her body with his. Instinct was to reach for his weapon, which he didn't have. They really hadn't been expecting trouble at the cabin. The agents assigned to him were more of a precaution than anything. Now, he was going to have to rely on them to deal with whoever was firing at them.
"Bones, we're too exposed here. Crawl over to the bedroom and go into the bathroom. I'll be right behind you."
He rolled away from her so that she could do as he said. He was thankful that, for once, she chose not to argue with him. She started toward the bedroom and he followed as well as he could with his injury. As he reached the threshold of the bedroom, another shot rang out, another window pane shattered and a bullet embedded itself in the door frame two feet above his head.
He got to his feet and nearly ran the short distance to the bathroom. Kicking the door closed, he pulled Brennan against him. He could feel the tremors that shook her body and he tried to calm her.
"Baby, I'm right here. I've got you. We're going to be fine. Patrick and the other agents are going to take care of this." He kept rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head, trying to remind her that he was right there.
Brennan jumped as a volley of shots, that Booth assumed came from the 'good guys,' sounded. After a few minutes of silence, they could hear one of the agents yelling "Clear!"
He pulled away and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "You ready to go out there? It sounds like they have things under control now."
Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, "Yes, I'm ready."
Taking her hand, he led her back out to the living room where they found two agents waiting for them.
"Was it Fuller?" Booth barked at the agents. One of them nodded with a sheepish look on his face. "How did he find us here? Any ideas?"
The agents looked anywhere but at Brennan.
"Booth, I believe what they are trying not to say is that they think Fuller followed me here." The thought that her presence had put him in danger made her feel sick. Once again, he could have died. She needed to escape the knowing looks of the agents. Turning on her heel, she walked out the back door to the porch with a beautiful view of the lake and collapsed into one of the rocking chairs there.
Booth watched with sadness as his partner walked away. As much as he wanted to follow her, to comfort her, he stayed put. She needed time to think and he needed to deal with the events of the morning.
Hours later, after the crime scene techs had left, after Fuller's body had been taken away, after Booth and Brennan had given statements to the agents, he made his way out to the porch. He had checked on her throughout the day, taking her coffee, lunch, his laptop and anything else that he thought she might need. Finally, they had the cabin to themselves again. He sat down in the rocking chair next to her and took her hand.
"How you doing there, Bones?" He rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand.
"I'm fine." She didn't quite hold back the sigh trying to escape.
He recognized it for the lie that it was, but didn't push her on it yet. "I talked to Cullen. I told him that we would head back to DC tomorrow. He's canceling the 'funeral.' I told him that I didn't want any of our friends to have to go through that, especially when there is no reason for it."
"That's good, but what reason will he give for the cancellation?"
"I don't know and I don't care. I told him we would responsible for telling the squints. Cullen agreed to keep it quiet for a few days. I don't want anyone to learn I'm alive from a news report." He brushed some hair away from her cheek. "Are you hungry? We could run into town to eat, if you want. There's a little place that doesn't look like much, but the food is great."
"Do you mind if we stay here? I don't think I am ready to deal with other people just yet."
"Sounds good to me. Let's go see what we've got."
Standing up, he took her by the hand and led her back into the house. They were walking toward the kitchen, when Brennan just stopped walking. Across the room, she saw boards covering the windows that had been shattered earlier in the day. Reality came crashing down as she realized how close they had been, he had been to getting shot again.
"You could have been killed today and it's my fault. Fuller followed me here. My presence put you in danger." She wiped a stray tear from her cheek.
"No, no, no, Bones. Just no. It wasn't your fault. Fuller has been here for at least a week." At her shocked look he continued. "A couple of the agents went door to door, just to see if Fuller had been seen by anyone. They found where he was staying, in a cabin across the lake. Inside they found receipts and newspapers giving them a timeline." He lifted her chin so that he could see her eyes. "Look at me. This is not your fault. He had already found me. The Bureau is trying to find out how, but I'm not going to worry about that tonight and neither are you. C'mon, I'm hungry. Let's find food!" He spun her by the shoulders and gave her a little push toward the kitchen followed by a swat on the butt.
She glared over her shoulder at him and he laughed. He knew he was probably due for payback, but if it brought his feisty Bones back to him, it was worth it.
Working together in the kitchen, they threw together a stir fry for dinner. As they sat at the kitchen table to eat, Booth looked around and shook his head in disgust.
"Look at this place. Ralph is going to be pissed." He was dreading having to make that phone call.
"Ralph?"
"Ralph Britt. He owns these cabins."
"Britt? As in Britt's Corner?"
"Yeah, his family has been here for generations. He's my former CO. I'm not clear on the how, but he's one of Cullen's good friends. When Cullen had to throw this operation together so quickly, he called Ralph to see if the cabins were available."
"When I first arrived, I thought the décor looked like something you would do. Maybe the shared military background explains that." She looked around the cabin again. "Many of the items he has here would fit right in at your apartment."
"He has a few things here that I would love to have." He stacked their dinner plates and carried them to the sink. "You go relax and I'll clean up in here. No arguments."
Knowing when she was beaten and too tired to fight in any case, she went out to the living room and laid down on the couch. Curling up, she was soon asleep, the stressful day catching up to her. It took a while for Booth to clean the kitchen one-handed, but he managed. When he was finished, he went to join Brennan in the living room and wasn't surprised to find her sleeping. Moving carefully, hoping to not disturb her too much, he lifted her feet, sat down and put her feet in his lap. He grabbed the remote, muted the TV and flipped channels until he found ESPN. He decided to take advantage of Brennan's nap to catch up on scores from the day. Unconsciously, he began rubbing her feet. He snickered as he found a ticklish spot. This was something that he loved, learning new things about her. Even better, he knew this was just the beginning. He would have a lifetime to learn about her.
He started getting a little bored when the scores began to repeat. Using his newly acquired knowledge, he tickled Brennan's foot, trying to wake her up. At first, she just moved her foot away, but he chased it. After more tickling on his part, she started to kick his hand away. Seeley Booth is nothing if not persistent. Her sleepy movements were no match for him. He trapped her foot against the back of the couch and tickled until she started to rouse.
"Booooth." She whined. He was shocked. He had never heard her whine. He hadn't known it was possible.
"C'mon, Bones. Wake up. I'm bored." He knew he probably sounded like Parker, but he didn't care. They were returning to DC and real life the following day. He wanted to make good use of the time they had left at the cabin.
She smiled as she stretched, her tank top riding up, exposing her smooth skin. She opened her eyes to find Booth staring at that strip of skin, eyes darkening with desire. They had agreed to take things slowly between them, but that was proving to be easier said than done. Reaching out, he stroked her skin with the back of his knuckles. Her sharp intake of breath broke his trance. Instead of pulling his hand away, he turned it over, placing his palm on the exposed skin and sliding the tips of his fingers under the hem of her top. He knew he was crossing a line. He knew he should pull his hand away. But, looking in her eyes and seeing the same desire that he felt, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
She was completely mesmerized by his expression. Yes, there was desire in his eyes, but she also saw love and an almost reverence as he touched her. If he had picked that moment to pull his hand away, she was sure the loss would be agony. She needed to touch him, but he was just out of her reach. As if sensing her need, he slid his hand across her flat stomach and around to her back. At the same time, he shifted her feet from his lap and stretched out along the length of her, using the hand at her back to mold her body to his.
She reached out and caressed his cheek before sliding her hand around to the back of his head, pulling him toward her. Her eyes closed as he breached the almost nonexistent distance between them. When she felt his lips lightly brush against hers, she was lost – lost in the sensation, lost in the emotion, lost in him.
That kiss was light and it was brief, but it said so much. Many times over the years, their team had commented on the silent conversations they seemed to have, their eyes saying what their words couldn't. In the moment that followed that kiss, they reached a silent agreement. There would be no takings things slowly. One or both of them could have died that day. It was another reminder in a long, long line of reminders that life was precious and not to be wasted. They were finally in the same place on the same page and from this point on they would only be going forward together, no looking back, no more regrets.
Booth pulled away long enough to stand and pull her off the couch and into him. Taking her hand, he led her into the bedroom. He dropped her hand and he reached behind his neck to pull the strap of his very inconvenient sling over his head. Before he could grab it, she was on her tiptoes so that she could remove it for him. He watched as she tenderly slid the sling off of his arm before doing what he had wanted to do from the moment he opened the door to find her standing on the other side. As soon as she dropped the sling to the floor, he wrapped both of his arms around her, just holding her close. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and absorbed the feel of her, the scent that was uniquely her, the sound of her sigh of contentment.
Before long, just holding her wasn't enough. He blazed a trail of kisses along her neck and across her shoulder, slowly pushing the straps of her tank top and bra out of his way. He felt like he had been waiting his whole life to do this and he planned savor each second. He was so focused on memorizing every inch of her, he barely noticed when she pulled his shirt over his head. Wrapping his arms around her once again, he lifted her off the floor and walked them over to the bed. Setting her feet back on the floor, he realized that he felt no pain from his injury. He didn't know if it truly didn't hurt or if it was because of all of those brain chemicals that Bones was always talking about. That was his last rational thought before he let himself just feel.
They took their time as they slowly undressed each other – her shirt, his jeans, her jeans. She learned the location of and kissed each one of his scars, wishing that he hadn't had a life so filled with pain. He learned that she could be extremely ticklish one moment and then melt under his touch in the next.
The slow build had only added to their anticipation. Lost in need, ready to take that final step, they shed their remaining barriers. When they finally came together, he proved he had been right all along. It was possible to break the laws of physics, for two people to share the same space at the same time. To her great delight, he proved it to her over and over again that night.
A/N - Is it wrong to say that I'm overjoyed with the response to this story? If it is, then too bad. You guys are amazing! I really, really have to thank dgschneider. Without her help and, let's face it, hand holding, the last third of this chapter never would have been written. In my very brief writing career, this has been by far the most difficult chapter for me to write. I really hope it was everything you wanted it to be. Well, almost everything. ;-) Thanks again! ~ craftyjhawk
