11. Big Day

FLASHBACK

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FEBRUARY 16TH, PARIS, FRANCE.

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The hospital was empty at two in the morning.

Temperance Brennan started feeling the not very pleasing contractions only two hours before. At first she thought they were just some backache and she didn't want to bother her friends in the middle of the night because of something so unnecessary. But when the pain became worse and she felt her bed wet – which made her conclude her water broke – she couldn't do anything but wake her friends up and ask them to take her to the hospital.

The birth would happen with the help of Dr. Martin, a doctor Brennan had been consulting since she came to France two months before and whom she trusted, the woman was considered one of the best ob/gyn in the country.

Still, she couldn't help feeling that uncomfortable anxiety in her chest. What if something happened to her during the birth? What if she died? Would her baby be okay?

Everything seemed fine during the pre-natal, but Brennan knew a lot of unexpected things could happen. She didn't want her little boy abandoned if something happened to her. Booth wasn't even aware of the fact he was about to become a father again.

"Sweetie, you don't have to worry." Angela brushed her friend's hair when she noticed her concerned face. She was now lying in the hospital bed – no more pain thanks to an amazing invention called epidural – and had Angela next to her while Hodgins went to cafeteria to get some coffee. For a man used to deal with corpses and creepy murders, he seemed very nervous about something so mundane like a child's birth. "Everything is going to be okay."

Her amazing friends were there, but there was only one person in the world Brennan wanted next to her at that moment and he was thousands of miles away from her. And that was her entire fault. She didn't even tell him about their son. For a moment, she regretted that decision. But he begged her to not contact him… he seemed so broken and sad… she just couldn't do that to him. What if he was moving on with his life? What if he did it already?

"What if they don't?" Brennan raised her eyes to look at Angela, ignoring the pain the thought of Booth moving on brought to her heart.

"They will, Brennan. Didn't you hear the doctor saying he is already in the correct position and all we need to do is wait for the dilatation to reach 10 cm?" Angela tried to calm her down. She could understand why her friend seemed so worried. The thought of pushing a baby out of your vagina was really a little terrifying.

"A lot of things can happen during the birth, Angela." Brennan looked directly at her friend's eyes. "What if I die?"

"For God's sake, Brennan!" Angela made a shocked face. "Don't even say things like that! Nothing bad will happen! In a few hours you'll be looking tired and wet but completely amazed by the cutest little boy in the world who'll be lying in your arms."

"Promise me you'll take care of him if I die, Ange." Brennan frowned and Angela saw tears in her eyes. "Promise me you'll tell Booth about him and that you'll make sure my baby won't be alone."

"You know he would be here right now holding your hand and telling you sweet things if you weren't so stubborn and told him about the baby. He would be so happy and so proud and wanting to scream to the rest of world his son was arriving." Angela pursed her lips and took one of her friend's hands.

"But he isn't here." Brennan said. "And I did what I had to do. It doesn't matter how I'm feeling right now, I'm just overly emotional due to the increase of hormone production the pregnancy provides. I know I made the right decision not telling him now, Angela. We needed this time apart."

"Still sounds stupid to me, but I don't think you are in the best condition to argue at the moment." She opened a sad smile.

"Will you take care of him? You didn't promise me." Brennan remembered.

"Of course I will, Sweetie. But I'm sure everything will be perfect and one year from today you and Booth are going to be celebrating Tommy's first birthday." Angela grinned. "And I'll be responsible for the decoration, of course. I'm even thinking about the theme… maybe Winnie the Pooh, or maybe circus-"

"His name is Thomas, Angela." Brennan cut her off.

"Oh, come on, 'Thomas' sounds so serious for a baby. Tommy is cute." Angela pouted.

"Will anything I say change your opinion?" Brennan smiled.

"Nope." Angela opened a victorious smile.

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Three hours and a few pushes later, baby Thomas was lying in his tearful –but totally happy – mother's chest.

Brennan couldn't find the words to describe that moment, people told her before she'd only know that feeling once she had her child and right there, she understood what they meant. Seeing and touching her little boy for the first time was something she would never be able to explain. The instant love and protection instinct that fulfilled her body surprised her. She knew she would do anything for that child.

He was so tiny and so adorable and he was entirely hers.

And Booth's.

More than ever, she wished he was there to share that amazing moment with her.

Looking at her innocent boy, she could see some of his father's features. The shape of his eyes, his mandible and his lips. He would be handsome, she concluded. Just like Booth.

She hoped everything would work out between them. For their son.

That night they slept together might have ended the wrong way, but she would never consider it a mistake. It originated that beautiful boy she had in her arms and who became her whole life the moment she found out about him.

"I love you, Tommy." Brennan smiled between the tears while proffering her first words to her son. Angela was right. 'Thomas' sounded too serious for a baby boy. He was a Tommy. "No matter what happens, don't ever doubt it for a second. I love you so much."

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SAME TIME, AFGHANISTAN.

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It was a warm night and everyone in the unit was celebrating two entire weeks without any losses. There was a real party happening in there: beer, vodka, happy drunk people, lots of food and loud music.

While swaying around with Hannah on the improvised dance floor, Booth realized he didn't feel that happy and relaxed for a long time. He wondered if the reason of that feeling was the beautiful blonde woman smiling at him at that moment.

He loved her. Ok, maybe he didn't love her yet, but he had no doubts he would love her someday. Hannah was everything he ever wanted for a woman: she was sweet, lovely, smart, funny, beautiful and they never argued. About anything. They were a perfect match. They had the same goals for the future. She had told him many times that she wanted to settle down and have a family someday. They lived in the same city. They both enjoyed sports and he never had to explain them to her. And most importantly: she made him happy.

A smile showed up in his face and the alcohol helped him in the sudden but completely natural decision he just made and which he thought was nothing but right.

"Hannah?" He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.

"Yes?"

"Will you marry me?" He asked her while they were still dancing.

Hannah chuckled and looked at him amused. That was not what she was expecting him to say when he pulled her to dance closer. She was more like waiting to hear some dirty words alcohol encouraged her boyfriend to say.

"Are you drunk, Seeley?" She asked him, her arms wrapped around his neck and the grin never leaving her pretty face.

"A bit." He admitted. "But I mean it. You make me happy, Hannah. I think we would be really good together."

She smiled wider. That was probably the weirdest proposal a woman had ever gotten. And she loved it. Hannah Burley wasn't exactly the traditional kind of woman. "Ask me again."

"Hannah Burley, will you marry me?" He smirked.

"Yes."

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END OF FLASHBACK

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Booth only realized how long he'd been wandering around when he got to the park he knew was around three miles away for the Jeffersonian. He still couldn't believe what just happened in Brennan's office. He didn't want to believe in it.

He didn't want to believe his best friend betrayed him in such a horrible way. After all those years being with him every day and seeing everything he'd been through with Parker, how much it hurt him to not be able to see his son as much as he wanted, Brennan did something he didn't expect even an unknown one-night-stand woman would do.

She hid his son from him.

Booth set on the bench and let his head fall on his hands. Couldn't it be a nightmare?

Because it would be a really good time to wake up and realize none of that was real.

Brennan got pregnant that night. Even with all the care he took, she got pregnant.

"Do you believe in fate?"

His own words danced around in his mind. It had to be fate.

He couldn't find another explanation for that. Or maybe God just liked to play with him and mess with his life every time it seemed to be taking the right way.

Hannah.

Oh, Lord. How would he tell her? "Hey, honey. Guess what? Remember my pretty blue-eyed partner I told you I was having some problems with? Well, seems like she just had my baby some months ago. Yeah, I didn't know about it. Yeah, honey, we had sex, but it was wrong and most likely a big mistake… that's why I thought there was no need to tell you about it. And oh, yes, I was madly in love with her."

Crap.

Damn, you, Temperance Brennan.

How could a woman change his life so drastically all the time?

A drunk kiss.

An acceptance of a partnership.

An attempt of getting killed.

Many attempts of getting killed.

A rejection of his love

A tear in her eyes.

A smile on her face.

Fucking damn you, Bones.

The image of her holding the baby so protectively came back to his mind.

Bones had a baby. Their baby.

They had a son together.

Booth couldn't count how many times he wanted that to be real, but in none of his dreams it happened because of one crazy night followed by them in different places of the world for one entire year. Never in his dreams he found out about the child the way he did entering her office thinking he went there just to deliver her cell phone.

He thought of the baby boy again, so innocent and cute staring at him with the beautiful blue eyes he inherited from his mother. He was his son. He hadn't doubt that for a second after he realized Brennan was his biological mother. That little boy reminded him of Parker when he was a baby.

Thomas. He liked the name she chose for him. He let out a laugh. It was somehow surprising the kid was lucky to get such a normal name, knowing Brennan the way he did, he wouldn't be surprised if she named her child after some crazy old ancient remain or famous genius.

Recovering his strength thinking about the baby boy, he realized things couldn't stay that way. As much as he was mad and disappointed with Brennan at the moment, he had to think about his son. No matter what Brennan said, no matter if in her super rational mind told her she would be a single mother, he would fight for his boy.

Because that baby deserved his father.

Suddenly deciding what he had to do, he hopped off the bench and prayed for a cab to drive by pretty fast. He had to have a serious conversation and it couldn't wait anymore.

He waited over one year to have it already.

It must have been his lucky day, because three minutes later he was inside the cab and heading to his partner's apartment.

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Brennan had just finished breastfeeding Thomas when she heard the knock on the door. She'd come back home right after Booth left her office. She'd never felt so bad in her life. So weak or so hurt. Maybe that was what she deserved for breaking his heart so many times. Having her heart broken too.

She looked down at the baby confused. Who would that be? It was still 9:30 pm, she hadn't call Angela yet, but she doubted her friend would be so anxious to know about how the encounter went that she would go to her apartment to get all the information she could about it.

Curious and holding her son protectively, she stood up from the couch and walked to the door.

Looking through the peephole and finding out who was standing on the other side of the door, her heart skipped a beat.

Closing her eyes and hoping he wouldn't shout more bad things at her face, she unlocked the door.

Booth looked as bad as she did, pale face and puffed eyes, she noticed.

After staring at her and Tommy for a while, he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"I think we need to talk".