Tailoring the past

BOOTH

It was way past 1 a.m. when he finally made his way back home from the airfield. Like a madman he accomplished the 20 minutes drive in under 15. The streets were empty. Nothing held him back.

He was late, and he knew it. Much much later than he had intended to be. Now all he longed for was a shower, a good night's sleep and being back with her. To explain to her why he had not made it back in the evening as promised. Well, the part that he could talk about. Of course, he still wasn't allowed to disclose any details of his assignment. He couldn't tell her about how he had been waiting for hours in the burning sun, waiting for his contact to show up. And he couldn't talk about the frustration he had felt watching the afternoon pass by without any progress made whatsoever, then the evening likewise. Silently, he had cursed the person that had sent him on this mission making it all sound like he just needed to go down to Florida to meet a man, to exchange some information, to serve his patriotic duty to make this country a safer place. It all had sounded as simple as that. And no more than a day's work – that was what they had promised to him. Now, after 40 hours without any sleep and half a day without food he felt exhausted to the bone. His nose itched. Great. On top of it all he probably had gotten a sunburn from the hours of useless waiting in the sun. Every inch of his body just longed for rest, now that the adrenaline to complete the task successfully had worn off.

He knew she wasn't there the instant he unlocked the door to his apartment. Of course she wasn't. There was no reason for her to sleep in his bed in his apartment while he wasn't there. Still, a wave of disappointment rushed through him. Some small part of him had still believed to find her here. To be able to cuddle up right next to her in his own bed. Now he would not see her before tomorrow – which at this moment to him felt like it was still a month away. He sighed and opened the fridge. He had to eat something, even though he could barely keep his eyes open anymore. He spotted some left overs which did not look yet like they posed any danger to give him food poisoning. They would do. He pushed them into the microwave. He hated the damn thing. But he was in no shape tonight to handle the stove without probably falling asleep and accidentally burning down the whole house. While the microwave heated up the food he quickly took off his clothes and lazily dropped them on the floor. He would take care of cleaning up tomorrow. God, how good it felt to finally leave the shirt, the suit and the tie behind after two days in the burning heat. Thank God, he was not expected to come to work tomorrow. After this trip he definitely deserved the comfort of an all T-shirt and jeans only day. He took out his cellphone from his jacket, switched it back on. Three messages had been left on his voice mail. They could wait. They weren't from Bones. She knew he would not have been able to answer to them until he was back. In her rational world calling him while he was away would not have made any sense. For the split of a second he contemplated calling Bones now. Just to hear her voice. To make sure she and the baby were alright. But it was almost 2 a.m. now and the last thing in the world he wanted was to wake her up. He only hoped she had not worried about him. He had told her that he would probably be back in the evening. However, he had also said that he could not promise anything. He just had to trust that she understood that things had taken a little bit longer and that she simply would not worry.

He turned on the shower and rejoiced in the water washing off the dirt, the sweat and the strain of the last two days. It was only a very quick shower though, he wondered whether it was possible for someone to fall asleep in the shower. He was so tired.

He skipped retrieving the heated food from the microwave and went to bed instead. The bed felt big and cold – and empty. Because she wasn't there, he sighed. Over the last few months he had gotten so much used to her presence. Her breath. The way she moved in her sleep. Some part of her beautiful body frequently seeking contact with his. It wasn't about sex. Of course, he enjoyed making love to her, but now – while being here lying all alone in his own bed – just to be able to cuddle up to her would have made him feel a 200% all better. He turned around. He had to sleep. His muscles ached for sleep. Jesus, he had to stop thinking. Had to stop longing for her to be there. Well, she wasn't, that couldn't be helped. He turned around again, tried to find a better position to relax. He was tired beyond anything he had experienced in a long time. Well, perhaps during his army days, in training out in the field, in the mud, the cold, and the rain, crawling through the terrain for two or three days in a row, always alert and ready to fight any attacker, yes, perhaps back then there had been a point where had been more tired than right in this moment. But that had been while he was in his twenties, at the height of his physical strength. Now, fifteen years later he definitely had to take care of his health, had to allow for sufficient rest, had to command himself to get the sleep which his body needed so desperately. He took a deep breath. Tried to clear his mind of every thought. He closed his eyes, waited for sleep to overwhelm him. Three minutes perhaps. Or five. Or even longer. He had no idea. All he knew was that something was wrong here. He was supposed to be asleep. Yet he still wasn't.

He let out a disapproving sound and jumped out of bed again. He yawned but then quickly found a T-shirt and a jeans to put on. All right. That part of him which exactly knew what was wrong here would win. He would go.

As quietly as he could he turned around his spare key to unlock the door of her apartment. No light was on. Well, he did not expect any to be on at 2.15 in the morning. Still, he instantly knew she was here. Her familiar smell entered his nose. A wave of love, desire, longing to be with her ran through him. Soon, he commanded himself, soon he would lie down next to her. That was all he wanted. All he needed right now. Silently he made his way into her bedroom. He did not want to wake her up in case she was asleep. But he did not want to startle her either. All he knew was that he needed to hold her, needed to know that she was alright. That the baby was alright. Quietly he took off his jeans. Then smoothly moved onto vacant side of the bed, next to her. She lay almost in the middle of the bed, her back turned towards him. For a second he argued against touching her, in order not to startle her. But he knew he wouldn't be able to lie down next to her and not touch her at all. He simply couldn't. Gently his hand reached for her as he drew nearer to cuddle up against her with his full body. This was exactly what he had needed. More than any sleep. More than anything.

"Mmmm... Booth." She said sleepily. "You're back..." Her hand reached to hold his hand which he had gently placed on her belly.

"Yes." He acknowledged. He kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry I woke you up." He whispered against her hair. "I couldn't sleep without you."

"I don't mind." She said and turned around to him, then found his mouth and kissed him.

Whoa, he thought, that was some kind of a kiss! Even though he was completely exhausted he had to admit that he felt aroused by it. He brushed through her hair, felt her body, returned her kiss. Yes, he had definitely missed this.

"You're back." She emphasized once more. Then she giggled. With her hands he pulled his shirt up over his head, remove it. He obliged her. Watched her take off her night shirt as well. Wow. It looked like his girlfriend was in the mood to make love to him tonight. Gently he pulled her close to kiss her again while her hands worked quickly to remove the rest of both of their clothes. She was amazing, he thought. Alright. He strengthened his muscles. If she wanted to sleep with him now – who was he to stop her, to deny her what she needed. What they both needed. On the contrary, he was a very lucky man.

He felt her kisses on his chest, then moving downwards. "Bones." He said hoarsely. "Come here." He uttered when he couldn't hold back his desire any longer. He gently pulled her up for her face to be close to his again, then turned her around and ended up on top of her. Their lips locked once again as she wrapped her legs tightly around him allowing him to make love to her.

He blinked against the sunlight which entered the room through the open drapes. He had completely lost track of time. Now it obviously was day again. He looked around. He was in Bones' bedroom in Bones' bed. She must have gotten up already, she wasn't there.

He recalled last night. How he had come over here because he hadn't been able to find any sleep in his own bed – without her. They had made love. After that he must have slept like a stone, he hadn't even realized when she had gotten up. He yawned, stretched his muscles. Yes, he definitely felt much better this morning. "Bones?" He asked. He could hear noises that obviously came from the kitchen. A smell of coffee and toast entered his nose, then she appeared in the door frame with a little tray that contained everything for a breakfast in bed. He held his breath. This looked like he would get full service care today. He smiled.

"Hi Booth." She said, carefully placing the tray next to him on the bed. "I thought you would be hungry. You only returned very late last night." She was already dressed, wearing a blouse and comfortable looking pants.

She looked so pretty – he thought. "I am. I am hungry." He acknowledged. He gently reached for her face to lean towards him and kissed her. "Good morning. You are so nice..."

She sat down next to him on the edge of the bed. She frowned. "I was worried. Your assignment must have been very exhausting..."

"Yes, but..." He contemplated how much he would be allowed to tell her about it. Of course, she had worried about it all. It would have been delusional to assume that being all that rational she would not have worried at all. He would have worried, too, if she had been sent away for two whole days being asked not to disclose where she had been sent to. He took her hand. "...I'm fine now." He smiled. "One toast and a cup of coffee – and I am as good as new!" He said playfully and took a bite from the toast.

"You fell asleep during intercourse last night." She said.

"What?" He asked flabbergasted. "No..."

"Yes. You did." She emphasized. "You fell asleep before either of us did accomplish to have an orgasm."

He looked at her somewhat dumbfounded. He worked his brain, tried to recall the past night. They had kissed, alright. She had turned him on, had basically undressed both of them and then... Oh God. He had wanted to make love to her, but had he actually gotten that far...? He did not remember anything beyond that he had been on top of her, kissing her, caressing her..., but then...?A terribly embarrassing thought struck him. Oh God! He almost didn't dare to ask... "I..., I fell asleep..., like..., like on top of you?" He prayed that he hadn't done that.

"Yes." She confirmed to his embarrassment.

"Oh." He said. "...Oh God. Did I hurt you?" He quickly asked, remorseful, worried. What if he had hurt her or the baby when she had struggled to free herself from under him? Was she really okay?

"No." She shook her head. "Though I have to admit that your weight became quite heavy to bear after a while. I had to give you a good shove to move you over to your side of the bed."

"Oh God! I'm sorry – so sorry..." He put down the half-eaten toast and drew her closer, reached for her face, kissed her. "I'm gonna make it up to you..." He whispered.

For a couple of seconds she allowed him to linger kissing her. "Mmm, Booth..." She finally said, then slightly pulled away to get up. "I have to go to work."

"Not right now." He said. He undid the top button of her blouse. Then bent down to kiss her skin underneath it.

"Booth!" She protested when his fingers playfully went down to undo the next button. "I really have to go." She emphasized.

"You could call them and say you need to take care of your exhausted boyfriend..." He said before he went on to place more kisses on her face and neck. He liked the scent of her perfume. It was subtle, yet it suited her perfectly.

"I haven't even informed Dr. Saroyan yet that I have a boyfriend." She objected.

"We will fix that shortly." He replied. He could not help but smile. "I'm sure she already knows..., or at least suspects something." He said and pulled her close again. He didn't want to talk about Cam right now.

"I..., I don't understand." She said looking worried again, her hand inadvertently petting over his back. "Six minutes ago you said you were fine. Now you said you're exhausted." She frowned.

"Bones, it was just a figure of speech, okay?" He placated. "I'm fine. Really." He gently touched her face again, tried to brush away her frown. "I'm never too exhausted to make love to you." He said smiling. Then he remembered that that had been exactly what had happened last night. "Well, apart from last night apparently..." He added remorsefully. "But – I'm recovered a 200% now." He assured her.

"That is not possible." She said. "You cannot recover beyond one hundred percent. One hundred percent already means that you've entirely recovered..."

"Right. Ok." He said pulling her close to kiss her again. This now definitely was not a time for scientific accuracy. He undid the last of her buttons, gently stripped off her blouse, never ceasing to place more kisses on her soft skin. She did not protest or held him back. "I'm very fine right now, I'm gonna show you..." He promised.

"You're only saying that because you enjoy having sex in the morning." She concluded. "Ergo, you want us to have sex now..."

"I enjoy having sex with you at any time..." He replied. His hands gently went down her back, without difficulty he unhooked her bra. He knew perfectly well where she liked to be touched, how to turn her on. And he was perfectly willing to take advantage of that knowledge now. "...We could do page 187." He grinned. "The last time we did – you begged me not to stop..."

Three quarters of an hour later she lay next to him, embraced by his arms, satisfied, content – he hoped, both of them exhausted. Their lovemaking this morning had been passionate. It would take them some minutes to recover and catch their breaths. She was perfectly right, he thought. He very much enjoyed having sex in the morning. He enjoyed looking at her in broad daylight. Enjoyed to observe the secret, the unleashed, the passionate Temperance Brennan, the one behind her all too rational protective shell. The one – only he got to see. Because she trusted him. Because she had let him into her heart, allowed him to go where nobody else was allowed to go, to see sides of her nobody else was allowed to see... A sudden rush of love, of gratitude, of happiness filled him. Gently he pressed a kiss into her hair.

"Mmm..." She turned around towards him, looked into his eyes. She smiled. "I should have consented to have sex with you." She said. "We would have had great sex... You're an excellent lover."

"What...? You've lost me there, Bones..." He replied hesitantly, confused. "I thought we just HAD great sex."

"Yes." She sighed, "... But we could have had great sex for years – if I had consented to sleep with you when we were on our first case together..." Her hand reached up, gently petted his cheek. "That day, at the bar, where you got me drunk – and where we kissed outside for the first time... I should have consented to have had sex with you that night. ...In declining your offer that day – in consequence I appear to have missed at least seven years of constant sexual contentment. I understand that now." For a short moment a hint of regret was on her face. "...Well, not seven years entirely, of course." She then explained. "I also had satisfactory sexual intercourse with other man in the meantime... Though, they were..."

"It wouldn't have worked." He said. He had no desire to learn any details about her sexual activities with other men. They both had had other partners, other lovers. But any past relationship to other people did not have any meaning for them now. What was important for them was the here and now.

"I don't understand..." She answered. Her blue eyes looked at him questioningly.

He took the time to kiss her before going on. "We quarreled." He explained. "Before that case was closed we widely disagreed on everything. We didn't speak to each other for almost a year." He reminded her.

"Yes. But perhaps – if we had have sex that night we would have found out how compatible we are. In consequence we would not have argued about how we approached to handle this case." She stated.

"No." He interrupted her. They hadn't been compatible back then – he even doubted that. It had taken them years to get to know, to get to understand each other. "It wouldn't have worked that way." He emphasized again. "You and me... we would have quarreled anyway – and if we had been intimate that night we would have been even more mad about each other. We probably wouldn't have spoken to each other ever again!" Some part of him deep inside felt sick. Knowing how frail their path had been in the beginning, knowing that all it had taken would have been one wrong twist, perhaps only one wrong line – for them to never speak to each other again, to drift apart into different parts of the world without having had the chance to come to this point, the point were they were right now. Yes, he believed in fate, but didn't fate live on coincidence, too?

"I..., I am not sure I am able to follow your line of thought..." She admitted. "You still could have sought me out. Like you did when you needed help with the case of Cleo Eller..."

"Yeah." He admitted. "But Bones," he sighed, "the more intimacy you've shared with a person the more hurt you are bound to feel if it all doesn't work out..."

She still looked at him. Suddenly, not confused anymore but alarmed. "Are you referring to us now?"

"No!" He said at once. He had to set this straight. "We're fine now! We've come a long way, Bones." His had framed her face, his fingers gently brushed over her lips. They were. And they would be. They had learned that they both depended on each other. He actually managed to smile. "..All I'm saying is that – now – what we have now – is different from what we ever could have had back then." He pulled her close once more, gently placed a kiss on her lips. He gave in to that wave of emotion, of utter love that went right through him.

"You really don't regret that we didn't have sexual intercourse that night?" She asked when he opened his eyes again.

"It would only have been sex..." He suppressed the part of him that still wondered how having had sex with her that night would have been.

"Which you highly enjoy to engage in at any time..." She chipped in.

"Yeah. But it's so much better now. Now, it's..." Another wave of emotions went through him. "I love you." That was what made the difference. He wouldn't wanna go back, wouldn't wanna have had great sex with her that night with the chance that it wouldn't have lasted. And he was quite sure it couldn't have. They had been two completely different persons then. They hadn't been ready for it, hadn't been ready for each other. Heck, she even hadn't been ready to enter into a serious relationship with him two years ago...

"I love you, too, Booth." She replied. Her hand reached to meet his hand that was still petting her face. "I wish I had been ready to concede 22 months ago..." She sighed.

He felt himself frown. Yes, it still hurt. It did. Some part of him really didn't want to think of it, some part still didn't want to deal with that hurtful conversation which they had had at the Reflecting Pool. He didn't like to remember that two years ago, or 22 months – to name it in her all too scientific need to be precise, had been when she had put an end to all his hopes, all his wishes and desires that they could ever be together. He took a deep breath. It still hurt. That was the truth. Despite the relationship, the love, the baby, the future they had now. They made it more bearable to think back, still it would take more for him to get over that fateful conversation. They had never talked about it.

"I hurt you." She said.

He had said nothing for a while. "Do we need to talk about this?" He asked uneasy.

"Yes. I believe we do." She replied.

"Okay."

"I was not prepared for what you proposed to me at the Reflecting Pool. I was scared." She continued.

"I know. I shouldn't have pushed you." He replied. He took her hand into his.

"You were in love with me..." She stated.

He was surprised. He had never believed she had really been aware of it back then. For the major part of her life she had lived in her own secluded rational world. Being aware of the feelings of other people around her had not been one of her strengths. "Bones, I..." He started, sounding hoarsely. But then what...? He had fallen in love with her in a dream. Then had lived for weeks, for months hoping to make that dream come true. Hardly a point to relate to – for a rational person like her.

"I shouldn't have dismissed your feelings. I understand that now. ...I'm sorry." She squeezed his hand affirmatively, then kissed it.

The gentle touch of her lips went right through him. He knew that they had been bound to fail two years ago. She had not been ready to love him back then. But he had not been wrong. Sweets had been wrong, his love for her had been real, not just an overreaction of his messed-up brain after his tumor. It had been a long time coming. Essentially it had ever been there, ever since his coma dream. Perhaps it was also the reason why his relationship to Hannah had failed. After Bones' 'dismissal' of his feelings he had found a way to cope, had found a mechanism to survive, to be able to move on – by blacking out that he had feelings for her, that he probably always would have as long as she was around.

He sighed. "You know, it's hard when you want something that much – and you just can't have it..." For a moment he allowed himself to feel the pain, the longing, all the disappointment once more. Despite everything, those feelings still lingered somewhere deep down in his heart.

"Yes. I can relate to that feeling." She acknowledged after a short while. "It is highly disturbing."

"You've been in love with someone and have been turned down...?" He asked surprised. It was hard to imagine that there was anything in this world that she wanted and would not be able to get. When had she been in love with someone? With Sully? Or even before they had met?

"Yes." She said. She looked sad now, too.

He felt the sudden urge to embrace her, to take her into his arms. He wanted to shake off any feeling of sadness she had ever had. But then he just took her hand, returned the kiss which she had placed on his. "Then...what happened?" He asked curiously. What kind of fool would turn her down?

"I adjusted. The whole world turned right side up within three days again..."

Had she told him about it before? He could not pin it down to a time or place or a particular conversation he had had with her. Her telling him about her world 'turning' – yes, she definitely must have talked about it before. "3 days, wow!" He acknowledged. "And you were able to that? To accept that you'd been rejected? And then fell out of love again in only 3 days...?"

"Yes. I had no other choice. I accepted that my feelings, though they were in existence, were misguided at that time."

"No Bones, your feelings were not misguided." He shook his head. His hand brushed over her shoulder then alongside her back. "For you they were real. You felt them, you were the one that was affected when they weren't returned. Okay?"

"Okay." She said looking faithfully at him.

She trusted him, he thought. She trusted what he told her when it came to feelings. He wanted her to be happy. "What reason did that guy give anyway why he could not be with you..." He dismissed whoever had hurt her feelings.

"Booth, why are you talking about yourself in the third-person singular?" Bones replied.

"What...?" He looked at her. Confused. "What are we talking about...?" He asked.

"You said that you loved Hannah. And that she hadn't been a consolation prize..."

"Oh God." It now dawned on him, she had been talking about him, about their conversation at the beginning of the year in his car. Right, she had told him back then that her world had turned upside down. Goddammit, how could he not have made the connection! He had turned her down. He had been with Hannah. He had been convinced that whatever feelings he had had for her after his coma dream had all passed and had given way for him to start a new life with another woman. Oh God, he wasn't even sure that he had really taken for real her confession that night that she had found out she had feelings for him. Not Bones. Not the woman who had told him only roughly a year before that they could never be together, that she could never return his feelings. God, in his bubble of newfound love with Hannah he had even found it possible to believe Bones had just said it all to make things more complicated for his relationship with Hannah. To test him, to test if it was solid. But Bones – Bones of a people – jealous. It now appeared outright ridiculous to him that he had even considered the possibility back then. God, he had been wrong. So wrong. And he had hurt her. "Bones, I'm sorry, I never wanted to hurt you. I..." He searched for the right worlds. He brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"No Booth. You made your point. You had valuable reasons. You loved Hannah, naturally you wanted to be with her..." She said it without any regret. "My feelings were misguided. They appeared at the wrong time and place. It was paramount to adjust them."

"Bones..." he just uttered. He loved her so much. Some part of him still wanted to protest against the chastisement she obviously had imposed on herself back then in order to cope with her feelings for him. No one could adjust in only 3 days, not even Bones. "Come here." He said, then rolled over to take her into his arms again and kiss her. Staying in bed with her this morning had been the best idea ever. A question came to his mind while he kissed her. Still he lingered. He liked the 'tongue contact' – as she had once put it. "When did you find out that you had feelings for me?" He finally asked not without some curiosity.

"You mean, when did I become aware that I wanted to be together with you beyond a mere professional level?" She asked back.

"Bones, whatever... What changed your mind? When did you find out that that what you'd told me back then at the Reflecting Pool wasn't true anymore? ... And why didn't you speak up right then?" He knew he sounded frantic now. But he had to know. He had to know if he had missed something, if there had been any point where they could have pick up on their relationship much earlier. Perhaps it could have spared them both months of living in misery?

"I thought of you a lot while I was in Maluku." She acknowledged. "You know, what you were doing in Afghanistan. Where they'd sent you to. How save it was there..." She smiled, though worry still lay in her smile, even now. She knew as well as him Afghanistan was an unpredictable place. "After a while I really started to miss you." She added.

He held his breath. Everything in him screamed for her to go on, to explain when exactly that had been. God, he would have gone to Afghanistan a completely different man – if he'd only known that there had been hope. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you call?" He asked her still holding his breath.

"I was in a rural area. Miles away from any internet connection, even telephone connection was very difficult to establish most of the time." She explained.

"Still! You could have tried." He demanded. "Just one word, one word from you and we would have found a way..." He said fervently.

"There was Hannah." She reminded him.

Hannah. He didn't care about Hannah right now. Oh God – he prayed for forgiveness, he would go to hell for this. "Not right from the beginning..." He explained to her. "I waited for you to call." He admitted.

"Really?" She asked. She seemed to be surprised about it.

"Yes. Six month is a long time to wait for a call." It still was hard to think back how frustrated it had left him.

"And after that...?" She inquired.

He hesitated. "I met Hannah. ...I got distracted." He admitted. "You'd left me without any hope!" He felt compelled to explain. He immediately regretted having said it. "I'm sorry."

"No. You were right. I did not think of that. I was surprised when you told me about Hannah. It felt – awkward."

"Awkward, how...?" He chipped in, his curiosity triggered.

"You were different." Bones replied. "Occupied with Hannah, of course."

"Bones, I..."

"No." She shushed him. "In fact, it was me, I understand that now. I was different. I FELT different when I was around you. But I was unable to analyze what exactly had caused my altered emotional state." Her hands petted over his broad shoulders that still held her. "It would not have been of any importance if I had worked out the cause earlier. You were with Hannah. I was happy for you."

He totally believed it. If she had been unhappy back then he had to admit he probably would hardly have noticed it. His life had revolved around Hannah at that time. In fact, it had been Hannah who had realized how distressed their murder investigation about the female surgeon had left Bones. If it hadn't been for Hannah's concern that Bones had acted strangely he probably would have had let it pass unnoticed. Oh God. He went cold realizing something – what if he hadn't acted on her strange behavior, what if he hadn't gone after her to that dangerous area in the middle of the night. What if he hadn't pulled her away from the street before that car would have hit her... Everything in him went blank, horrified.

"What's wrong...?" She asked startled.

"Nothing." He calmed her. "I've just been thinking that I should have been aware of more things around that time.."

"I don't understand what that means." She replied.

"You don't have to... Everything is fine now." He reassured her, kissed her again. His cellphone in the back pocket of his jeans rang. He let out a grunting sound of disapproval. Quickly looked at the alarm clock on her bedside table unwilling to stop kissing her. It was 10.47. Jesus, this was his day off! Who in the world would want to call him now!

The ringing persisted. "Don't you wanna answer?" She asked him.

"It can wait." He declared, unwilling to get up, to leave her to retrieve his phone from the chair where he had left his jeans last night.

"It could be something important." She stated. "Perhaps we have a new murder case...?"

"I'm not back yet – officially." He smiled. "Besides, my girlfriend has moved all her appointments this morning to be with me. I wouldn't risk to disappoint her..." The ring tone of his cellphone faded, the voice mail had picked up. "See..." He said triumphantly.

"I have to be at the Jeffersonian at 12.30." She reminded him. "I cannot leave the preliminary results of the C-14 dating to Daisy."

"Right." He said. "What a cruel reminder that we have to get up..." He complained. He rolled back onto his side of the bed and stretched his muscles. Then he looked over to her. Watched her get up. Her little baby bump had grown. He suddenly felt the need to touch it. He got up, met her halfway around the bed. Gently he placed one hand on her belly, kissed her again. "We could take a shower together." He proposed.

"Mmm, Booth..." She mildly protested. "That will surely take longer than each of us having a shower individually." She reasoned.

His cellphone rang again. "Oh, for Christ's sake..." He went to retrieve it from the pocket of his jeans. "Booth."

"Agent Booth. I tried to reach you before but only got your voice mail..." The man on the other end hesitated.

"Agent White, Sir..." He said surprised. What was this about?

"We know this is your day off, but the deputy director has called in everybody for a meeting at 11.45. It's about – you know –" he exaggerated to underline the level of secrecy "– the assignment."

"Oh...ok." He replied. "I will be there." He hung up before Agent White would elaborate on any more details about things there weren't supposed to discuss over the phone. "No showering together then..." He sighed. She had already laid out a towel for him. He picked up his clothes. "I have to go." Quickly he got dressed.

She looked at him questioningly. "Is this about..."

"...The assignment. Yes." He finished her sentence. "I have to go home first..." He indicated at his clothes. "It will be strictly suit and tie. You know." He came over to her, to meet her lips once more. "I'm sorry." He said.

"No. It's alright." She replied. "I'll have to go, too." She kissed him back. For another moment they both lingered.

"Hey, why don't you come over to my office at 2.30 and we have a late lunch?" He suggested. "...I absolutely haven't finished being nice to you today."