Chapter Nine
A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! I am now beyond giddy. Guess what is even better than a review? – A spot on an Alert list, be it Story Alert or Author Alert. I was also alerted that I am on a few Favorite Author lists - my husband now has to widen my bedroom doorway because my ego has blossomed to frightening proportions ;o)
It is a short chapter but a chapter nonetheless.
After walking back to her office with Booth beside her, she gathered her purse and jacket. The ride home was taken in silence.
"Thanks for the ride," Brennan said quietly.
"Your welcome," Booth responded.
Neither moved or spoke for what seemed like minutes when in reality it was seconds.
"I'm hungry and feel like ordering a pizza, would you like to join me?" Brennan asked eyes focused ahead.
A calming sense filled Booth. His growling stomach coupled with his inability to stay away from the good doctor allowed him to accept her invitation.
"Sounds good Bones, but I want my own pizza – there shouldn't be anything to do with a goat on a pizza."
xxxx
"Pizza will be here in forty minutes. I am going to change my clothes." Brennan disappeared down the hall into her bedroom. Booth removed his jacket, hung it on a coat hook by the door then made his way to the couch.
"Would you like something to drink?" She asked as she rounded the couch towards the kitchen.
"Sure."
Brennan poured two iced teas and sat beside Booth who was now leaning back on the couch with his feet on the coffee table. As she put the glasses down on the table, she gestured towards his feet and raised her eyebrows. It took him a moment to register her silent request but he adjusted himself allowing his legs to bend and his feet land quietly on the floor.
"This unresolved tension between us is unbearable." Brennan's words cut through the air causing Booth to turn his head abruptly in her direction.
"Bones, I'm sorry, I –"
She interrupted his confession, "You are right. You do deserve better." Putting the glass on the table, she shifted her body so she faced him. "You don't have anything to be sorry about. I am the one who needs to apologize to you."
He placed his own glass on the table and turned to see her eyes welling with tears. His heart strings were being tugged on.
"I find out my results tomorrow. Until then, I can't concentrate on much else."
She shifted on the couch to get more comfortable but for what she was about to say there was no comfortable position to be in.
"You took me by surprise Seeley. Not many people can do that. I don't want you to wait for me because if I do have cancer, then it could be –" She hesitated sucking back the tears and fear.
"Temperance, let's just not think about the what ifs right now." He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Whether you have cancer or not, I will still love you." His eyes started to moisten, his mind racing in directions he tried to block.
"Love me?" She knew he did but without the words spoken, it could be deemed a figment of her imagination.
"Yes, love you." Pausing he tried to pick out words that wouldn't make her cry more and him start. "I want to be the one whom you give your love to."
He failed miserably at his attempt. He had always known that when she used his given name that would be the time to tell her. By her not using it, she kept distance between them, partnership their only connection. He had tried to let her know a few times that things were beyond partnership between them, when he had called her Temperance, but she drew further back into her cocoon. Seeley Booth knew the day would come when they furthered their relationship, but never had it occurred to him that it would be while they ate pizza, silently counting down the hours until biopsy results were revealed.
