A/N: Oh man, I am sorry for the long wait, for any of you that are still waiting. Not the ending I had in mind, but is it ever? Probably not. Anyway, enjoy the final chapter.
"You going to be okay here by yourself for a little while?" Booth asked, from the kitchen where he was looking for his sunglasses.
"Yes Booth. You don't have to worry about me, I'm just going to be sitting on the couch."
"I know but…"
"I'm fine Booth," she said, rolling her eyes and changing the channel again. "You're not going to be gone that long, I'm almost fully mobile now, and you need to get out of this apartment."
"You mean you need me to get out of this apartment so you can breathe."
"I can breathe just fine, Booth."
"No, I didn't mean literally. I just mean that we've both been cooped up together for almost a week. Figured you might want a little alone time."
"That might be nice."
"Thought so. I'm going to go and get your prescription refilled and grab some groceries and I'll be back by the time Rebecca brings Parker over. Want me to bring you anything special?"
"No, that's alright."
"Okay. Call if you need me Bones."
"I will."
He tugged on one of her curls before leaving the apartment. She sighed and sat back against the couch closing her eyes for a moment. Booth had been taking such good care of her without hovering or babying or even asking her how she was feeling every hour, and she was quite surprised that she was still willing to accept the help. Sure, she would rather be at home, but it was nice to know that there was someone else keeping track of when she needed her meds, someone to help her move around when her incision was too tender, someone to worry about all the little things so she could really rest. She wasn't sure how she felt about it being nice, but she figured it didn't really matter.
Slowly she stood from the couch and made her way into Booth's bedroom, where she had taken up semi-permanent residence over the last week. Her clothes littered the floor, her manuscripts littered the unused side of the bed, her laptop sat on the chair next to the bed and her bathrobe was the one hanging on the bathroom door. Surveying the room she concluded two things. The first was that she was very comfortable here. The second was that she was kind of a slob.
Bending down was still painful, so instead of picking up the clothes, she kicked them into a pile in the corner. She organized her papers and set them nicely on the bedside table, then straightened the blankets and pillows and cracked the window. Breathing in the fresh air, she smiled and went into the bathroom for a shower. It took longer that usual to waterproof her wound dressing as Booth usually took care of that. She sighed to herself, slightly embarrassed that she had let Booth do that. He wasn't a doctor and really had no business touching her bare stomach at least once a day, sometimes more. What it really came down to was her inability to bend correctly to see what she was doing, and then she just became used to it. Maybe for a while that was okay, but she was getting better and more capable, and there was no real reason to continue like this. She appreciated his help and she would never forget that, but it was almost time for her to go home.
She ignored her dull ache in her chest when she thought about going home and stepped into the shower. The water was cooler than she was used to, but it was refreshing, so she didn't turn it up.
She spent longer in the shower than normal, taking time to wash and condition her hair which was sometimes a luxury during normal working hours. Stepping out of the shower she turned on the bathroom fan to get rid of the steam, then slid into her robe. Her hair was still dripping so she wrapped it in a towel and made her way back into the bedroom. Amongst her clean clothes she found four pairs of socks, some underwear and one bra. Obviously Booth had just blindly grabbed things from her top drawer, which could have been endearing if it didn't mean she had nothing to wear. Sighing, she donned the socks and underwear, then surveyed the bra, trying to decide if she actually wanted to put it on. She sighed, letting decorum and the fact that Parker was coming over win out and fought with the thing until it was on.
"Now to find some clothes," she muttered, mostly because it was too quiet. She looked around the room and relegated herself to Booth's chest of drawers. She started at the bottom drawer, finding a mess of t-shirts that had seen much better days. Most of them were ripped and stained and she had a feeling he was keeping them for sentimental value more than anything. She pushed the drawer closed and moved on to the next one, where she found a Foreigner t-shirt. Smirking, she set it aside and went on a mission for pants. The next drawer held boxers in almost every print imaginable and she giggled despite herself, wondering why he would wear boxers with slogans on them if no one was going to see them. She finally found a pair of flannel pajama pants and slid them on, pulling the t-shirt on too. Feeling slightly more balanced, she went back out to sit on the couch. Halfway there, she heard a knock on the door. She went to it and peeked out the peephole, then opened the door.
"Hi, Rebecca," she greeted. "Hey Parker."
"Hi Bones!" Parker shouted.
"Hi, Dr. Brennan. Is Seeley here?"
"He had to go to the store. Should be back any minute."
"Oh," Rebecca said, biting her lip. "I'm running late, I was hoping he would be here to take Parker."
"You can leave Parker with me for a few minutes."
"Are you sure? I know you're still recuperating."
"It's not a problem."
"Alright. Parker, I'm going."
Parker rushed over to her, hugging her as tightly as he could.
"I love you."
"I love you too, mister. Be good."
"I will. Stay safe mama."
She kissed the top of his head and let him go, then slipped out the door.
"Are you feeling better yet, Bones?" Parker asked, tossing his backpack onto the recliner.
"Better than I was when you last saw me," she answered, sitting down on the couch. He climbed up and sat next to her, offering her a bite of his apple. She smiled and shook her head and he shrugged.
"How come you're wearing my dad's clothes?" he asked, wiping the apple juice off of his face with the back of his hand.
"Because I didn't have anything that was clean."
"Oh."
He finished the apple and set the core on the coffee table then turned to look at her again.
"How come your hair is wet?"
"Because I took a shower," she explained as he twisted a strand of her hair around his finger.
"Bones?"
"Yeah?"
"Could my appendix explode any time like yours did?"
She sighed and tried to figure out how to answer that question. She didn't want to scare him, but she didn't want to lie either. And she was certain she hadn't quite mastered the technique of sugar coating things that Booth had been trying to teach her.
"It really could happen to anyone, but the chances of it happening are slim. And most people don't get nearly as sick as I did. It's not something that you need to worry about, Parker."
"That's what dad said."
"He's done his research."
"I thought so, but I just wanted to make sure."
She smirked.
"I had a dream last night," he said softly, resting his head against her shoulder. "I dreamt that we were in the car again and I couldn't get it stopped fast enough and we drove into the river, and I couldn't get you out of the car and then you died."
"Oh Parker…"
"I woke up and I knew it wasn't real, but I was still pretty sad. I would be really, really sad if you died, Bones."
"I know you would be. I hope you never have to be that sad, Parker."
"But everyone dies," he said bluntly. "Maybe that's why there's heaven. So we don't have to be sad for as long."
She almost wanted to correct him, but couldn't bring herself to dash his hope, couldn't take away the values that Booth and Rebecca had instilled in him. She couldn't make him question his beliefs, not at this age. So she swallowed her instincts and chose a different path.
"Maybe you're right, Parker."
"Dad says you never let anyone else be right."
"Your dad is exaggerating. He's right sometimes."
"Yeah, but you don't like it," he teased.
"Your dad is in big trouble."
Parker laughed as the door opened to reveal the subject of their conversation.
"Dad, Bones says you're in big trouble."
"Oh really? What did I do this time?"
"Oh nothin'," Parker said with a shrug and a smile. "What's for dinner?"
"Look how smoothly he changes the subject. He's been around you too much, Bones."
She chuckled as the boys moved into the kitchen and started putting the groceries away. She couldn't hear their conversation, but she knew they were laughing, and she smiled to herself, loving the sound.
"Hey clothes stealer," Booth said as he joined her on the couch. She smiled as his arm went around her shoulders, and hesitated for just a moment before she leaned over and hugged him. Her smile was so big and uncontrollable that her face felt as if it might split in two, and for just a moment, she wondered what had gotten into her. It didn't take her long to realize that for the first time in a long time, possibly the first time ever, she felt really, truly alive.
