Brennan's Leap of Faith
Booth drifted in and out of a restless sleep, still unable to find a comfortable position or to quell the voices and images that haunted him from the day's catalogue of events. As his eyelids fluttered in wakefulness, he suddenly became aware that someone was standing a few feet from the couch, watching him. FBI instinct made him sit up abruptly and reach for the gun that was in its holster on the table next to him.
"Are you going to shoot me, Booth," a familiar voice said with amusement.
Brennan stood in the dim light before him, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
Booth sank back on the couch, relieved, yet irritated. "Bones, you just can't come sneaking up on a guy like that…"
"At least not one that's armed," she smiled. She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
Finally over his initial shock at having company, Booth looked at her curiously. "What are you doing here, Bones, couldn't sleep?" He couldn't help but notice her bare shoulders beneath the blanket, and wondered what she was wearing under it. The thought produced a pleasant tightening in his belly, so he tried instead to focus on her face.
Brennan drew in her breath, like a diver getting ready to plunge into the deep end of the pool. Her response, when it came, sounded emotionally ambivalent. "I don't really know. They all told me I should come up here and talk to you, to tell you…"
"Who? Who told you to come up here?" Booth leaned forward, trying to make sense of what she was saying.
"Angela and Cam. They told me to tell you…" Brennan began again, patiently.
"Cam? Cam sent you up here?" Booth was incredulous.
Tired of being interrupted, Brennan wanted to forget the whole thing and run back down the stairs. She faltered for a moment, turning slightly as if she might.
Sensing that she might bolt, Booth stood up and closed the distance between them, taking her by the arm and guiding her to the sofa next to him.
"Okay, Bones, you came up here for a reason. Angela and Cam sent you. Is there something going on I should know about? Did someone get food poisoning from that shitty dinner Angela served us? Did we get word that the doors are going to open ahead of schedule?" Booth guessed at all the mundane reasons she might have for coming to him like this.
She sat staring at him for several seconds, and then answered just as cryptically as before. "I've been told that I need to talk to you about feelings." She looked down, embarrassed, shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm just not very good at this…"
Still not sure of her meaning, Booth pleaded with her, "C'mon, Bones, I need more to work with here… what feelings?" As soon as he said it, Booth knew he'd made a mistake. Brennan looked up at him with a stricken look on her face and immediately started to get up to leave.
Suddenly, it was all crystal clear to him. He reached up and pulled her back down on the couch next to him, closer this time. "I think I know what you're trying to say now," he began softly, searching her eyes. Yeah, he could see it there in those deep-set eyes of hers, that same softness that he had found so appealing earlier in the day…
Taking her by both arms and forcing her to look at him, Booth began his gentle interrogation, "What do you feel, Temperance?"
She looked terribly uneasy, opening her mouth to answer and then closing it again. Finally, she decided to defer to Booth's superior knowledge on the subject. "I think you should tell me first what you feel, because I've had very little practical experience with this kind of thing."
She was so sincere, yet it was all so absurd. Booth wanted to laugh, but swallowed it and tried to look serious. "Alright, I think I can do that."
Brennan was looking at him expectantly, her expression open and trusting. What you see is what you get… he thought to himself, smiling, his eyes never once leaving hers.
"I believe that I'm in love you," he answered simply, a great weight leaving his chest once the words were said. And then, remembering that she was a scientist who believed only in irrefutable truths, he added with complete gravity, "I am in love with you."
