Sparkles in your eyes put the stars to shame

Story by Isobel and Fanny


So … Another chapter for you. I hope that so far you are satisfied with the story. And I hope that you will like the rest of it as well. I am still waiting for your ideas, so feel free to tell me. And just to be sure – we have to get to know why Booth likes the book "I never promised you a rose garden", why is Booth afraid of clowns, how will it go with changing his plaster, why is he called Sparks, how will the double date look like, what will happen this evening and much more... =o)


Chapter 9 – A bit different afternoon

Booth's alarm started buzzing several hours after he had gone to sleep. His seminar would be starting at 1 PM today so he had just enough time to get up, take a hot shower to make his aching back relax a bit, take the left-over of the morning pizzas as a lunch and leave the hotel.

He was not sure, but he could swear that he did not dream anything. But he could not vote for that. His mind could be playing dirty tricks with him. He was used to that. Now he felt okay but very soon something from this sleep would pop up in his mind and he would be in shock and trying very hard to make some sense of it. And that was usually not really possible.

He realized very soon that this day would not be one of the good ones. The morning in the hospital, Bones acting strange, him acting strange and now he had entered the wrong room. He was just so lost. After the first lecture he had some coffee but it was not really helping. He was grateful that the next lecture would be some with lots of videos to watch. That meant that he would not have to pay a lot of attention to them.

Petr has found him after another lecture, sitting on a bench in the area of the center. He looked at him and handed him another coffee and something sweet. It was Czech, it looked strange but it was sweet and the taste was actually pretty good.

"Thanks… "

"You looked like you could use that."

"Yeah, that is for sure."

"Did you get some sleep tonight?"

"Well I was at the museum night with Bones."

"Oh so you got back to the hotel in the early morning hours, huh?"

"Yeah. After having had a really nice time with her."

"But you do not look really pleased."

"On our way back to the hotel I had an accident."

And Booth told Petr about everything that had happened. About hitting the lamp, about the hospital, about the morning pizzas, and about all the strange acting as well. Before he could realize it he was telling him some really personal things. Sweets would be proud. And he would have had a field day with him. Poor kid. Petr was listening to him, trying not to look too surprised about this sudden change in Booth's attitude. Usually he was a very private person, not sharing things with others.

"You want my opinion about this?"

"Yeah, it would be helpful."

"I think many people have already told you the same…"

"And that would be?"

"You have it bad for her."

"Yeah, so much I know. What else?"

"You have built up a really unique and solid partnership with her. And you two are equal in it. That is something that main part of agents and other police guys could always just dream about. But in your case it has sort of changed into something more. And you two are both afraid where it would lead you if you would act upon what you feel and what you want. And you are both pretty stubborn I guess so it might be even very interesting…"

"And I should be listening to you because you are married to your partner?"

Booth was smiling a bit and so was Petr. They were sitting there together, not really knowing why.

"Look, Sparks, it is easy. You care about her, you want her. And even more, you know her. Karolína told me that they´ve had a good time together and that they had been talking about some not really important things like guys and having kids and shopping…"

"I can imagine that…"

Now he was chuckling. The idea of Bones talking about these things… Amusing. Poor Karolína.

Booth was thinking about it all for a moment. But all things were surprisingly clear to him.

"I should act, right? When it will feel it's the right moment, I should do it."

"I would say that you might be late one day because somebody else would do it before you but I think that your lovely partner is waiting for you. Still, you surely have a chance but maybe not forever."

"Yeah. And there are risks. But I should decide if I want to take that risk or not."

"No, you don't. Just by the way you look at her and you talk about her is obvious that you have already made that decision."

"She is worth it."

"That's right. And she was most probably just jealous. She is a woman after all. People say she is an ice-queen but I do not think so."

"Yeah, trust me, she is not an ice-queen. More like warrior princess."

Both men began with laughing again.

Booth felt better. He had already known all those things. But it felt better when somebody else told him his opinion. And it was not a squint.

Petr was grinning all the time. Booth was so cute when he was confused. He cared so much about Temperance that he could not actually see how much she cared about him. And yet it was so obvious. But he knew how hard it could be to make the first step. He could remember his. It was difficult.

They had a busy day at work, Karolína and him. It was not nice. And they had been arguing a lot. And she got a bit drunk in the evening. He wanted to take her home. He did so. She fell asleep in his car. He couldn't wake her up. Well was trying but it was pointless. So he took her up in his arms, brought her to her apartment, put her onto her bed and wanted to leave her there. She grabbed him by his uniform and brought him closer for a kiss. It was nothing extra but it was the trigger.

After a week she tried to seduce him in the parking lot below his apartment building. He was able to resist her. There was a line that could not be crossed. But the next day she came into her office in such a beautiful casual dress that he could not take it anymore. She was the last one in there so he tried to seduce her. And he succeeded. Within the next several weeks they had been sleeping together and risking their jobs and reputation. But they could not care less.

One day he was not able to take it anymore because he had been thinking about her all his days and all his nights. They were together on a dinner and it started to rain and she had turned around so suddenly to tell him something… but he could see only her smile. She was dead in her tracks, waiting for him to say something. He kissed her. She gave him a smile. And he asked her to date him. He wanted more than sex. And she said yes.

He just needed to take all his courage and ask her. Nothing more. After all those years and all those passionate nights without any emotional talking he needed only to ask her. And look at them now.

But he knew that it would have to be different with Booth and his partner. They would not be able to just sleep together. Maybe she would but Booth? No, definitely not.

Petr did not need to tell his story to Booth, because he already knew.

Booth and Petr had two other lectures together that day. They were desperately trying to pay attention but they could not. At one point they began discussing what could have possibly made their girls think about the double-date. Booth had simply been told about it. And Petr had found a note on the fridge at home. They had no idea what was going on. They were both a bit nervous about it. And they agreed on one thing. That they would try to make it unforgettable. But who knew what the ladies were planning on doing.

Booth was a bit nervous about it. But they had shared so many dinners and lunches together with Bones that it should not be too hard to survive it. But this was supposed to be a real date…

Petr was nervous a lot. The last date they had with his wife was ages ago. It was hard to go out for them. But this was her wish now. And truth to be told, he would appreciate that as well.

Karolína was not really happy in the morning. Petr was still asleep and she was struggling with the idea of the double-date with Brennan and Booth. But she had an agreement with Brennan so she would do it. She wrote a simple note and put it on the fridge. She took the twins and left the apartment. She went to her mother´s place. She was working at home so from time to time she was able to take care of the kids. Karolína asked her about looking after them for one night because of the date. Her mother was smiling at her and told her to choose a beautiful dress, to have a fancy dinner and then to stay in bed for the whole night. Karolína choked on her coke when her mother told her that. But they could understand each other.

When Bones woke up it was past noon. She hadn't set her alarm, but she could not be sleeping long during the day. It did not feel good.

She felt strange. She took a shower. With a towel around her, a mud mask on her face and a very good regenerating mask on her hair, she stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

Angela once told her to talk to her mirror reflection. She said that it would help her. And she did not feel like calling Angela so she had to try it.

"All right Brennan, you can do this. Take it as an experiment. An observation of the behavior of a momentarily disturbed woman."

She suddenly felt so stupid.

"You want Booth. You know it is the result of your body calling for some attention. And with him it would be most probably the best sex of your life. And you know you care about him. Of course you do, he is your partner. And yes, you care about him more than you should. But after spending so much time together this was simply inevitable. There is nothing wrong about it."

She was looking at her mirror reflection and it caught her by surprise how confused and scared the woman in the mirror looked. What was she afraid of? What could have possibly happened?

Her mind was suddenly flooded with images of Booth lying on the ground, hurting, dying. She saw him in the hospital, she saw him struggling for life. She saw him with the hidden pain in his eyes. She saw him with the guilty look. She saw him walking away from the courthouse after she had used him to help her father. She saw him bleeding to death.

She had to blink several times. She felt tears burning in her eyes. Some sort of panic had risen in her in such a short time. She didn't see that coming. She was not ready to face it.

"This is not good…" She kept repeating to herself.

She tried to calm down. But it was hard. She was still looking at the mirror.

"There are good memories, good images… Try to remember, Brennan, try to remember."

She took a deep breath. She kept remembering all the good moments, every single happy memory, anything she could. And she was surprised. Her mind was filled with so many different memories of his smiles and eyes and small touches, some of those nice gestures. She could not believe it. After some time she was smiling and she did not know why. She was still looking at her image in the mirror. And the lady in the mirror had a question written both in her eyes and on her face.

She went for her phone and dialed the only number she could think of. Angela's.

After a while she has picked up the phone. She sounded tired.

"I hope this is serious because otherwise I am going to kill you, whoever you are on the phone."

"Good morning Ange, I am sorry, I did not mean to wake you up. I did not realize that you would be still asleep. I can call later."

"Bren! Is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Well nice to hear you. It is a bit early but I can manage. Don't you dare hanging up on me."

"All right."

"Okay… I am awake. What's up?"

"Angela can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"While being seriously interested in Jack, have you been thinking about… about… have you been afraid that you would get hurt a lot? I mean if something would happen to him that you would not be able to survive it? Have you been thinking about not pursuing the relationship because of being afraid?"

"Yeah, I was afraid. But I knew that Jack was worth the risk. And that he would be worth every possible pain. I loved him."

"You… Me…"

She could not finish it. She could not. She wanted to say something. Angela sensed a problem out there.

"Bren, are you okay? Where are you? What's going on?"

"I am in the bathroom, wearing a mask on my face and on my hair but what does this have to do with the issue?"

"What is exactly the issue we are talking about? Why did you ask about being afraid of a relationship?"

"I was thinking about Booth. I was remembering all those bad things that have happened to him and it scared me. I could not imagine him being hurt again. But he is hurt right now. I was remembering all the good from those years we've known each other and… there were so many of them. Simple smiles and simple touches, Angela I …"

"You should try to calm down and explain to me why is Booth hurt and why are you thinking about this all…"

So she explained. She told her about the accident and about last day and night and about the hospital. Angela was listening to her patiently. She has already known about many things from Prague because Bren had been sending her mails.

When Bren was finished Angela was still on the phone. She was grinning and yet she felt sorry for her friend. She was so not used to dealing with her own head, not to mention her heart.

"So you are basically telling me that you want to try to sort of date Booth but you are afraid of being hurt in the process?"

"I don´t know. Am I?"

"You are the genius here so you tell me…"

"I am afraid of being hurt, Angela. But he would never do that on purpose. But something might happen to him. Something serious. Again. And I would not survive it. I mean of course I would but it would be almost unbearable. But I know I want him. And I know I care. And while thinking about all the bad things that have happened to him I could not even breathe, I started to panic. And while thinking about him in general I could recall so many little, not important things and it made me smile. Does this mean I want a relationship with him?"

"Hey, you want him. The built up sexual tension in between you will create a firework in your bed one day and the earth will shatter. But there is more and you know it. And if you are not sure then just give it some time and tell him."

"Tell him what? That I am confused from my own thoughts and feelings I cannot place and describe and that I desperately want to have sex with him?"

"Well… yeah… or maybe tell him what you have told me. You can describe things, so do it. Tell him how you feel, what you feel, what are you thinking about, all the good and the bad."

"Oh…"

"Bren you need to know only one thing. Is Booth worth the pain he can cause you?"

"Yes, he is."

"Wow, you were not hesitating… Well then you know what to do. Stop being Dr. Brennan, be Temperance, be his Bones and show him what you want and how you feel, tell him everything and see where it can lead you."

"I am not his, Angela."

"Sure, whatever."

"But you are right… I have to be myself and just give it a try. Right?"

"See? You are a genius after all. Just do not push too hard. Wait for the right moment. Then it will all come to you."

"How can I know which moment is the right one?"

"You will simply know. Trust me on this."

The women started talking about some more girly things, Angela told her some gossips from the lab and they had fun for several minutes. Then they ended the call.

Brennan´s stomach started to growl. She was starving. Booth did not leave her anything to eat so she decided to go for a walk. She would find something for lunch out there.

Booth did not specify for her when they would meet. She had an idea what to do, but it would have to wait till tomorrow. She had already called Karolína to tell her about it the day before. They agreed. The double-date was all planned.

It was raining outside. Brennan did not feel like going out and getting all wet. She was shivering and she did not like it. But then she realized how hungry she had felt for some time. She took a deep breath. There was water in the air and suddenly she felt very alive. She stepped out into the rain with a smile upon her face. Other people were looking her like she was crazy. She did not mind.

Before she could reach the first shop selling food she was soaked through. But she felt so free and so full of energy. She managed to buy some fruits and some Czech sweet rolls. She had small troubles while paying for those but even that could be managed.

She walked back to the hotel really slowly. She could not be any wetter so she did not really care. The fruit did not mind the water and those rolls were in a bag so they were safe from the water. At one point Brennan did something that came as a surprise even to her own mind. She took off her shoes and walked the rest of the way without them. She had no idea where the idea had come from but she liked it. There was a park on her way to the hotel. She knew that because she had walked there before. It was not exactly the shortest way to the hotel but she did not care. She wanted to enjoy it.

When she arrived at the hotel, the receptionist was looking at her with a strange look. She could not really say what he had been thinking. She got her keys and walked to her room. She dropped all the wet clothes into the bathroom, put on something comfy and made herself a fruit salad. She opened all the windows to let the fresh air in. She liked it. She sat down on the ground, on such a nice comfortable carpet, took her salad and her notebook and started working on her book with a smile upon her face.

Booth was not really sure how many lectures he would be able to take without risking killing somebody. He was lucky. The one he was currently at was the last one. He sent a message to Bones. He had an idea about their evening. If she would agree and meet him, it might be fun. He wanted her to come over to the centre. And he was nicely surprised when she said yes.

Bones was a bit surprised to receive a message from Booth. But she did not mind it. He wanted her to come over. He had a plan. Well she did not mind. She knew how to get there. It was easy. The only thing she needed to do was open her laptop and find it on the internet. It was not difficult.

She was dressed in jeans and a very nice top, she took something warm along as well because after all the raining it might be really cold in the evening. She locked her room and walked away.

Booth and Petr were waiting by the centre for Bones, Karolína and the twins. They were all supposed to come over. Well it was on Karolína's way back from her mother's place, so she would just stop by and Petr would join her. But Bones… Bones was supposed to meet him there and spend the evening with him.

Booth was having fun with Petr's kids for some time. He was waiting for Bones anyway.

When she appeared on the horizon he could detect her in the crowd of people. He could do that… he was not sure since when but he really didn't care. She was there and she looked beautiful. As usual.

She saw him leaning against a railing, talking to Petr and Karolína. She saw the kids were with them. She was smiling so suddenly that it caught her by surprise. Booth was there with those kids and he looked so natural with them. It was a very nice picture…

Booth was still in his suit, but he had the jacket folded over his arm, he was not wearing the tie and he had the top buttons of his shirt undone. Bones could not help it. She was staring at him for a tiny little moment.

Bones stood still for a moment, watching the scene. Booth and the kids. He was smiling so broadly. And that was the time when he looked up. And he saw her standing there.

Soon their gazes were locked together. They were both smiling. Booth excused himself and walked over to her. She saw him coming and she felt heat in her cheeks. She was curious about the evening… really curious.

Petr and Karolína saw those two walking towards each other. They stopped just few centimeters from each other; they shared a smile and some greetings, that was for sure. Booth then put his arm around her shoulders. She was leaning against his side a bit. Then they walked away together.


All right… well I think that I do not have to give you any links, what do you think? Okay… so just some.

Here is how the modern subway trains look like in Prague – h*t*t*p*:*/*/*i*m*.*f*o*t*o*.*m*a*p&y*.*c*z*/*b*i*g*/*4*9*e*d*b*7*5*83fbea03217*2*f*0*1*0*0*.*j*p*g

This is the view of the subway station where Booth has to exit the train every day because of going to the seminar – h*t*t*p*:*/*/*u*p*l*o*a*d*.*w*i*k*i*m*e*d*i*a*.*o*r*g*/*w*iki*ped*ia/c*o*mmo*ns/f/*f*8*/*Prah*a*,*_*V*y*%C5%A1ehrad,_Stani*c*e**_*m*e*tra,_pohled_zv*e*n*%*C*4*%*8*D%C3%A*D*.*j*p*g – it is not much from this view, I will try to find another one…

And this is the map – the big thing with the number 1 (you should be able to see it) is the Congress center. And then there is such a small green M on the map. Well that is the exit of the subway… h*t*t*p*:*/*/*w*w*w*.*m*a*p*y*.*c*z*/*#*m*m*=*F*P**s*a*=*s**s*t*=*s**s*s*q*=*5*.*%*2*0*kv*%*C4%9B*tna%*201*640*,%2*0pra*ha*sss*=1*ssp*=12*038*052*4_1*265*947*64_*150*199*404*_15*007*303*6x=*1330*9125*5y=*1358*623*28*z=1*6

Okay… so this is the end. Now you have to wait to see what will happen with BB in the evening… but some suggestions – you know what things have to be discussed. And – there is one huge Czech monument near by the Congress center and the subway station is named after it… :o) Now let me know what you think, please! :o)