Author's Note: Some readers have inquired as to why Booth's mission took so long (seven months). I attempted to explain the time frame within the story (a target they were after got away) but I also chose seven months because I wanted Brennan visibly pregnant when he came back, there is another reason but you'll need to read this chapter to find out.
This chapter of the story is actually what began the whole thing. As with most of my stories, this particular chapter stemmed from a dream I had. I usually dream in snippets, a scene that sets off the spark and then the rest of the plot bunny takes on a life of its own. My dream was Booth coming back after a long period of time to find Brennan pregnant and not at the Jeffersonian.
There is also a small surprise in this chapter!
So with no further ado, I present the most anticipated chapter of the entire story (according to reviews)! Thanks again for the comments and as always, enjoy!
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Seattle
Five hundred potential anthropology students chatted amongst themselves waiting for the lecture to begin. The famous Dr. Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist and world renowned author was giving a rare address today for students who were considering coming to the University of Washington.
Backstage, Brennan took a deep breath and rubbed at her extended abdomen. She was having a bad day and giving a speech in five minutes was not helping it get any better.
"Please stop that," she muttered as she massaged the top of her belly.
Tiny heels kicked again at her diaphragm and ribs in response. It was not a pleasant sensation. The previous night she had gotten little sleep, the baby had hiccups and the rhythmic vibrations jolted through her body keeping her up. When the hiccups had stopped and she had finally drifted off, the baby switched positions, settling it's weight directly on top of her bladder, forcing her to get up to use the bathroom, several times. Once settled yet again in bed she had finally passed out only to be woken up by a phone call from the department secretary. She had apparently missed an early meeting with one of her grad students. Her eyes had shot to the clock only to discover she was running horribly late having over slept.
Her day had started out badly and it wouldn't get any better.
Earlier today she had received yet another e-mail from Angela, who was trying to tell her something about Booth. She had deleted the message without reading it as she had ignored the phone calls. Brennan did not want to talk about him, she was too afraid she would fall apart all over again, especially while extra hormonal. She had worked to hard to regain her control to loose it now; it would be hard enough to keep the memories at bay when the baby was born. Whatever it was could wait another month or so, then, when she dealt with the birth of his son or daughter, she would deal with what Angela had to tell her. None the less the messages had rattled her.
Now, her thumbs traced the feeling of the baby's heels as she tried desperately to get the baby to stop kicking her.
"You should be tired," she hissed at her belly, "You were up half the night, go back to sleep!"
"Dr. Brennan, are you alright?" Dr. Mitchell's head went from her to the stage.
"I'll be fine," she answered, giving him a small smile she hoped passed for fine.
"Okay, I'm going to introduce you, good luck," he patted her shoulder then walked out on stage to address the crowd.
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Booth cursed loudly as he circled the rather full parking lot. He would give anything to have his own truck at the moment with flashing lights and the authority to leave it any where. Unfortunately, the rental from the airport did not have FBI perks to it.
"Screw this," he said aloud and drove up to the front of the lot where a security truck was parked. He threw the car into park and got out, not caring if he blocked anything or not.
"Sir, you can't park there," the security guard gave him a stern look as Booth slammed his car door.
"FBI," he flashed his badge, which he had acquired before he left D.C., it did come in handy in situations like these.
The security guard gaped at him, "Oh," he uttered, "How can I help you sir? Did one of the students do something?"
"I need to know the whereabouts of Dr. Temperance Brennan," he took advantage of the guard being compliant.
"Are you here for her speech?"
"What speech?"
"Well it's why everyone else is here, to see Dr. Brennan lecture today. You're late though, they told us she'd be done in about an hour and you've missed half of it already."
Booth rolled his eyes, maybe it was better that he was late. He had fallen asleep during several of her lectures in the past.
"So where would she be lecturing?"
The security guard gladly gave him directions to the hall and seemed to ignore Booth's parking job.
It didn't take long to find the lecture hall. He found the doors closed and guarded with students acting as ushers/ambassadors for the department and school.
"Can I help you sir?" asked a boy who to Booth looked like a future squint.
"I'm just going in to see the speech," he replied casually.
"Sorry, I can't allow that. The hall is at capacity, plus it would disturb other…"
Booth shoved his badge close to the boy's face and opened the door.
"I'm going in," he repeated to which the squint did not object.
As soon as he stepped into the hall he heard it, the sweet sound of her voice, even if she was in lecture mode. His eyes traveled to the podium and there she was, his Bones.
A large smile spread across his face as he watched her, taking in the way the lighting made her hair shine, how her blue eyes were so intense and focused on her subject matter and the way the red shirt she wore made her skin seem so pale but beautiful in comparison. He wished she would step out from behind the large podium so he could see her body, oh how he had longed for that body.
Booth leaned back against the wall as the power point presentation continued. He hoped the lecture was nearly over; all he wanted to do was to run down there and take her in his arms right now.
As she talked he closed his eyes and began to imagine their reunion. She would see him and run to him, he would kiss her and they would live happily ever after, or at least that was the movie ending version he hoped for. No one could blame him for fantasizing.
He was somewhat startled and jolted out of his daydreaming when the crowd began to clap. Another man stepped out on the stage and began to thank Dr. Brennan for her time and dedication to her profession. Then she moved forward to shake the man's hand and Booth's heart stopped.
Her protruding belly stuck out in its full glory as she turned sideways.
Bones is pregnant?!
His eyes were nearly bulging out of his head, his eyebrows somewhere near his hairline.
When the hell did that happen?!
She then waved to the crowd who cheered again and walked off stage with the man. People began to move around him and he quickly went for the doors. Spotting the young squint again he grabbed his arm.
"Buddy, how do I get backstage? I need to get to Dr. Brennan."
"She won't be back there for long, there's a reception afterwards and she'll be going there."
"Alright, where's that then?"
The young squint pointed down the hall where everyone seemed to be moving.
"Follow the crowd."
Booth gave an aggravated sigh and began to jostle through the large crowd of people. The walk towards the reception area was slow and when he finally entered the room he was met by a sea of people. From the far left hand side of the room people began to cheer as a door opened, then he heard her name being called by several different voices. He began to make his way in that direction.
Getting more agitated with every minute it took to get to her, he finally made it to where he could see the back of her head.
She was being led to a large table with copies of her last book on it. Already the potential new students were lining up for her autograph.
"Dr. Brennan!"
"Dr. Brennan, I love your book!"
"Dr. Brennan, over here!"
The crowd was shouting her name, camera flashes were going off and the line up was almost as large as the one for the refreshments. Brennan was making her way to the sanctuary behind the table now, her arms protectively wrapped around her baby bump. Booth watched her smile for the crowd but he could tell she was slightly overwhelmed.
He was still trapped behind a few rows of people who stood watching the autograph table. The line to her right began to move as the first person approached her. She spoke briefly with the star-struck student and signed her book. This process was repeated over and over while Booth stayed in his spot, waiting for an opportunity. He didn't want to cause a scene in front of everyone by just pushing past and then surprising her. He also didn't want to make a public display of her kicking his ass.
Slowly the crowd in front of him seemed to dissipate until a single line in of people blocked his view. He wandered towards the middle of the line, almost directly in her line of vision. He continued his observation as she signed another book.
As she waited for the next person she looked up, her eyes seeming to scan the people in the room.
Then her eyes fell upon him.
She seemed startled for a second and her left hand fell against her pregnant belly.
For one quick second blue eyes met brown before Booth turned away.
This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He wanted them to be alone when they finally reunited, not to embarrass her in front of an entire crowd. It was a mistake to come to the reception, so Booth made towards the exit, intending to wait outside for her.
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As Brennan was escorted towards the reception she rubbed circles into the small of her back trying to relieve the pain of standing for so long. The lecture had gone well but now she was off to the part she was dreading the most, signing copies of her book and answering the same questions over and over. On a normal day she wouldn't mind so much, but today was already becoming a long day and a bad one at that.
"Can I get you anything Dr. Brennan?"
One of the grad students assisting with the event appeared at her side.
"Lisa, would you please get me a hot cup of tea?"
The young woman gave her a look of sympathy and nodded. Maybe if she had the tea and could sit down for awhile she would feel better, although her couch, her quiet apartment and a cup of tea seemed like a more appealing option.
"Here we go Dr. Brennan," Dr. Mitchell said as he opened the door to the reception hall.
She was immediately greeted with cheering, cameras flashing and people calling her name as they made their way towards a table.
She spent the next monotonous hour signing copies of her last novel and answering questions. She kept up her interested and smiling persona but she wanted to go home and sleep.
As the crowd began to thin and she waited for the next person in line, she scanned the room trying to gauge how many people were left.
A tall figure in the crowd of people, a few feet in front of her table, caught her eye. The build, the brown hair, something about him was familiar. The person in front of him moved and she stifled a gasp.
It couldn't be.
Her hand flew to her belly where she carried a part of him.
Then, for a quick second brown eyes met blue.
Booth.
He turned away from her breaking the eye contact and began moving through the crowd.
It couldn't be. She was tired, it was someone who looked like him, she tried to rationalize to herself.
But his eyes, those warm brown eyes were the same ones she knew so well.
"Um, Dr. Brennan?" the youth standing in front of her held out a copy of her book giving her a weird stare.
"Excuse me," she pushed back her chair, stood up, and walked off the stage.
Booth was dead, there was no way it could be him. This is impossible, insane, she told herself as she marched towards the back door of the reception hall. Yet she followed anyways, needing to prove to herself that it wasn't him.
What if it was?
She ignored the call of her name and the shocked outcries from her fans. He was further up the hall, nearly at the door, she caught site of his jacket and hair through the crowd.
"Dr. Brennan, a moment of your time," someone tried to distract her, but she pushed by.
He was out the door and striding down the corridor now, unaware of her pursuit. She was catching up as the people began to thin outside the hall.
He moved towards the glass doors and went outside to the courtyard. She followed and he was less than ten feet ahead of her now.
"Wait!" she cried out.
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He needed to get out of the hall. Booth left and walked down the corridor of the university. Spotting the courtyard he moved outside, wanting some fresh air desperately.
"Wait!"
Booth's heart stopped at the sound of her voice.
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The muscles in his neck and back tensed and he froze.
Her voice shook, "Turn around…please…"
As if in slow motion he turned, his profile coming into view. When he faced her she clamped a hand over her mouth.
Their eyes met again.
"Bones…"
Her name fell from his lips and her eyes grew larger than he had ever seen. She made a sound halfway between a strangled sob and yelp that escaped from behind her fingers.
"You're not…" she struggled to form the words, "You're not real…No…you're dead…" the word had finality to it, "This isn't…it's not happening…you're dead…"
Brennan was visibly shaking, one hand clenched before her face the other clasped around her abdomen.
He took a shaky step towards her, his eyes searching hers and she stepped back like a frightened animal.
"Bones," he tried to control his own voice, "I'm real…" he moved towards her.
It was her turn to freeze as he said her name again and stood in front of her.
Those warm brown eyes, that voice, his smell, the empirical evidence overwhelmed her. Brennan's heart was pounding in her ears as her mouth formed the name she had forbidden herself to say for so long.
"Booth…?"
A ghost of a smile formed on his face as she whispered his name. He reached out and gently took her hand, evoking another small gasp from her. He raised her hand and brought it to his cheek. Slender fingers met warm flesh.
"I'm real Bones," he said quietly.
His own fingers rested on hers and with the lightness of a feather she caressed his cheek.
"How?" she breathed.
Brown eyes closed as he took a breath, "Bones, I'm so sorry…"
She arched her eyebrow as regret spread across his face.
"I didn't have a choice…I had to," he continued, "I'm sorry," his voice was breaking with emotion, "I didn't want to do this to you, again."
Again, she latched onto that word as the pieces of the puzzle fell together in her mind.
He wasn't dead, he had never been dead.
Again. He had faked his death again.
Recognition, understanding and anger flashed in her eyes all in a matter of seconds. Wrenching her hand from his she pulled back and hit him hard across the face.
He barely had time to react.
"How could you?" her voice was dangerously low, "How dare you?" it got higher, "You son of a bitch!" she screamed.
"Bones, I couldn't…"
He was cut off as she hit him again, harder, if possible this time.
"You son of a bitch! You promised!" She yelled, her voice hitching, "You promised! You promised me!"
Booth tried to take her shoulders but she shoved him away, "Bones, I'm sorry…"
"No! Don't you dare, don't you say that," she backed away from him, "Do you have any idea," she was half sobbing now, "Do you have any idea what I've been through?!"
Launching forward she began to pound her fists against his chest. He stood his ground.
"Bones…"
"Do you have any idea…" she began to screech but stopped, the anger suddenly gone from her eyes, replaced by a striking shot of pain.
The fists stopped pounding and now clutched at his shirt. He grabbed her as she fell to her knees and cried out in pain.
"Bones, what's wrong?" she was holding her belly, groaning in agony, "Come on Bones, talk to me," he pleaded.
"Something's wrong...oh God…the baby…" she panted.
She leaned heavily against his chest, sweat forming on her forehead. Booth whipped out his cell phone and dialed 911.
From somewhere behind him people were shouting and it was only then that he became aware of the crowd that had been watching them.
The 911 operator was asking him questions he could barely comprehend, "Just send an ambulance to the University of Washington courtyard…No I don't know which one!"
A campus security guard appeared beside him and took the phone from his hand.
"I'll tell them, you take care of her," he motioned to Brennan who was breathing heavily.
"Do you think you're in labor?" he asked her.
"I don't know," the tears were falling down her cheeks. She bucked forward as another wave of pain hit her.
"You're going to be okay Bones," he clutched her hand and prayed that he would be right.
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One quick and tense ambulance ride later they burst through the doors of the hospital and into the ER. Doctors surrounded Brennan shouting orders as they arrived in a trauma room. Booth stood beside her stretcher and he reached out to smooth the hair away from her sweaty forehead when her eyes flashed to his.
"Don't touch me," she hissed.
"Dr. Brennan? I need you to tell me if you've had any other pain today," a short, dark haired doctor asked her.
"Just some lower back pain, but I stood for a long time," she replied.
The doctor wrote it down, "Dr. Montgomery will be here any second but I think you've gone into early labor."
"I'm right here Bailey," a redheaded doctor came into the room and began her assessment.
Booth took his opportunity, "Bones, I'm sorry…"
She gave him a cold look, "I don't care, don't you say that when you promised me…"
Two heart rate monitors began to beep frantically.
"Baby's in distress," called a nurse.
"I never wanted to do this to you…"
"But you did!"
She closed her eyes in pain and another machine started to screech. He reached out for her hand and she yanked it away, "Get away from me…" she started to cry again.
"But Bones…"
"Sir, you're going to have to leave," Dr. Bailey told him.
He stared her down, "I'm not going anywhere."
Bailey glared at him, "Yes you are. You're causing unnecessary stress and you're getting in the way of us doing our work. You will leave now or I'll have security escort you out!"
Even though she was much smaller than him her authority and tone of voice more than made up for her stature. He seemed to shrink under her icy glare.
"Yes ma'am," Booth almost squeaked as he began to back out of the room.
She would make an excellent army sergeant, Booth thought, despite his worry for Bones.
The door remained open and he watched from outside.
"Dr. Brennan, we need to prepare you for an emergency C-section. Both you and the baby are in distress and it's forced you into pre-term labor. We can't stop it at this point, we must deliver. I'm also concerned because the baby's umbilical cord is wrapped near its neck, I want to get you upstairs immediately," Dr. Montgomery explained.
"But it's to early," Brennan's voice sounded small and weak.
"Don't worry; we've got an excellent neo-natal team. We're going to take good care of you and the baby," the redhead turned away from Bones, "Dr. Bailey, prep Dr. Brennan, I'm going to scrub in, meet me in the OR."
Dr. Montgomery left the room quickly. Not too long after the nurses and Dr. Bailey were pushing Brennan's stretcher out of the room. Booth began to follow them.
"You," Bailey turned to him, her eyes still cold, "Will go to the waiting room. Understand?"
He nodded meekly, "Good. I'll update you later," her voice was softer this time.
As the stretcher disappeared into an elevator Booth leaned against the wall feeling drained. The doors to the elevator closed and he slid down the wall, his head in his hands.
To be continued…
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