CHAPTER 12. Java & Jewellery

Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defence.

- Mark Overby

Carrying on with their jobs as always, Brennan and Booth based themselves at the Jeffersonian for the morning, as she analysed the remains of a third victim found in a burned out building. They remained professional as they worked and the rest of the team barely noticed a change in their behaviour, although Booth did stand closer to Brennan around the observation table.

"Caucasian male, late 50's," spoke Brennan into the tape recorder, as she worked her way down the skeletal system of the body. Booth reached out to touch the medallion that rested in the remains but Brennan swatted his hand away.

"Don't touch, Booth; your dirty hands might contaminate the evidence," she lectured. Booth rolled his eyes at her and smiled.

She switched off the tape recorder and turned to Hodgins. "I can safely say that this is not another victim of the fire. These remains indicate that the man died at least seventy years ago. Analysing the particulates that were located inside the seam of his jacket could give us an exact time frame, but for now I think this case is closed," she stated.

She dismounted the platform and Booth trailed behind her, both heading into her office. She sunk into her swivel chair and he came up behind her, placing his hands at the base of her neck and massaging it softly.

The morning had been exhausting and he knew that she was relieved to finally have a rest. She turned around and smiled at him over her shoulder, reaching her arms back over her head and pulling him down to her mouth for a lazy kiss. She spun her chair around to face him and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a thin, silver chain.

"What's this?" she asked, as her fingers reached forward, running themselves over the fragile necklace.

"It's just a little something I had made for you," whispered Booth, placing it into her hand carefully. She beamed as she saw what hung at the bottom of the chain. There were three little pendants; 'P', 'S' and 'T'. She fought back the tears that had collected in her eyes and she kissed Booth sweetly on the lips.

"Thank you, it's so beautiful," she whispered as he delicately took it out of her hand, moving behind her and draping it around her neck, fastening the clasp. He dipped his head and pressed a soft kiss at the base of her neck, before letting her hair fall back down over the back of it.

"How about I run out and get us some better coffees than the muck they have in here?" he laughed as he returned to face her. She grinned, pulling him down for another fiery kiss.

"I'll have a java cream cappuccino," she said, "that is, if you're buying." They laughed and he waved at her, grabbing his jacket from her wall.

Sully waited until he saw Booth exit the building and chose this moment to walk into the Jeffersonian. He had prayed for an opportunity such as this, and he couldn't believe it had come this soon; he had expected to have to wait until lunchtime when Booth went out to get puddings. He purposely avoided Angela, making his way towards Brennan's office.

Brennan was sorting out the files into folders on her bookshelf and she didn't see Sully enter the office at first. When the door shut behind him, Brennan was aware that someone had come in and she turned around, expecting to find Angela appearing with the latest composite sketch.

When she realised who it was, Brennan hugged the papers to her chest. "Sully, you startled me," she whispered, praying that Angela would come in and intervene, "what are you doing here? I asked you to stay away from me."

He took another step towards her and she felt herself trembling. Why was she so afraid of him she wondered? She was being completely irrational.

"Temperance, I can't let go. You are the best thing that ever could have happened to me. Why can't you give me a chance? If you would just let me hold you, kiss you, I know you'd change your mind," he pleaded, getting so close to her now that Brennan was finding it hard to breathe normally.

At that moment, Angela strode into the office and saw Sully standing before her, and her best friend who was clearly traumatised. "Sweetie, what is he doing here?" she asked, holding the door open with her palm.

"He was just leaving," stated Brennan, panting heavily and shaking like a leaf.

"Was I, Tempe?" he whispered, sending a shudder down Angela's spine. Suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed Brennan on the lips, causing her arms to shoot up as she tried desperately to push him off her.

"Get off her, now," screamed Angela, "before I file a sexual harassment suit!" Angela saw Booth coming down the hall and beckoned to him frantically. Sensing the urgency, he set the drinks down on the table and ran over to her.

What he saw inside Brennan's office made his blood boil. Brennan was backed into a corner, tears running down her cheeks and shaking uncontrollably as Sully tried desperately to pull her into an embrace.

Something inside Booth snapped and he marched over to Sully, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him up against the wall. "I thought I told you to stay away from my family," he hissed, before yanking him outside the office by the shirt.

"Stay in here, Bones," he shouted as he pulled Sully out into the lobby.

Zach and Hodgins heard the commotion and came running over to see what was happening. Sully lunged at Booth and hit him in the face, causing a trail of blood to form just below his right eye. Sully tried to punch him again but Booth knocked him squarely in the jaw, knocking him to the floor. Sully's nose gushed with blood and he pinched it with his fingers, trying to stop the flow. Leaping to his feet, he caught Booth off guard and the team heard a large crack as his hand connected with the side of Booth's face. Booth winced and Brennan came running over, water streaming down her face like a raging flood.

"Booth," she screamed, sending a wave of victory through Sully, thinking that she was shouting at Booth to stop. This was short lived however when Brennan stood next to Booth's side and wove her arms tightly around his chest. She nuzzled up against him, caressing the right side of his face gently and bringing the left side down to meet her touch. She ran her lips over the cut that Sully had made on the top of his cheek and kissed it gently, before moving down and skimming her mouth lightly over his swollen jaw.

"I'm okay, Bones," Booth whispered, pecking her lips and pulling her in closer to his side as he smoothed the pad of his thumb over the tracks of her tears. She nodded slowly and leaned into him further, letting her arms return to their place around Booth's chest.

"What is wrong with you Sully?" she sobbed, panting heavily with frustration, "why can't you just get out of my life?" She rested her head against Booth's shoulder for a moment before turning in Booth's arms to face Sully head on.

"I want you to leave me alone! If you think what we had is love then you obviously have no concept of what love is. I love Booth. I never even loved you as a friend, so there is no way I could ever have loved you as something more. You have to let me go, Sully," she yelled, stopping for a breath before parading on.

"I am with the man I love and I am happier than I have ever been. We're getting married. We're having a baby. It's time for you to grow up and move on with your life!" she hissed. She finished her speech, and turning around to Booth again she saw everyone stood open mouthed. Angela squealed and Booth laced both of his hands together with Brennan's.

"We're having a baby?" asked Booth, a wide grin spreading over his face. Brennan moved her arms up and wrapped them around his neck, their lips only a breath away from each other. She smiled at him proudly and nodded, moving one hand down to her stomach and holding it there tenderly. Booth crouched down in front of her and moved her shirt up slightly, kissing her just below the belly button. He stood up and placed his hand over the top of Brennan's, beaming at her.

"Why do you think I wanted such a big house?" she whispered, letting a soft laugh escape from her pursed lips. Booth smiled and leaned down, kissing her on the lips faintly, before tugging her closer to him and deepening the kiss. The team cheered at the exchange and Booth lifted Brennan off the floor. She placed her legs around his waist and laughed against his lips.

After thoroughly kissing her, he set her back down on the floor and everyone had huge, gaping grins set on their faces. Sully had made his exit the second that Brennan had said she was pregnant, so that left just the trusty squint squad to fuss over the announcement.

"How about I crack open another bottle of bubbly to commemorate this occasion?" asked Hodgins cheekily, which was met by a roar of approval from the rest of the team.

"I can't drink any though,' whispered Brennan, rubbing her fingers over her tummy softly and glancing at it lovingly before looking up at Booth, "I'm not willing to chance anything with this little thing." Booth beamed proudly and let his arms circle Brennan's waist once more.

"That's okay, Bones, there's a nice cold java cream cappuccino with your name on it over there," Booth said, laughing.

"Sorry about that, Booth," murmured Brennan guiltily, "I didn't mean to let it go cold."

He chuckled and kissed her brow daintily."'If you think I care about that at a time like this then you're even crazier than I thought," he uttered, smoothing his hand over her cheek.

"I love you so much, Seeley Booth," she whispered, clutching his hand adoringly, "and I know I'm going to love our baby." She smiled at him and he squeezed her hand tightly.

"I love you too, Temperance Brennan, and I will love our baby as well," he said, smoothing his hand over her stomach underneath her blouse, "he or she is going to be the most perfect little thing in the world." Brennan beamed at Booth and any apprehensions that she had about being a mother were immediately lost into his warm eyes.

She smiled, snuggling into Booth's chest. Angela burst into a flood of joyous tears and ran over to hug the pair; having not wanted to disrupt the magic of the moment until she could no longer contain herself.

"How far along are you?" cried Angela, taking her own turn at touching Brennan's tummy.

"About a month and a half," she uttered, smiling at Booth over Angela's shoulder, "I wanted to wait before I told anyone. I was scared there might be complications, but we are both really healthy."

As Angela proceeded to jabber on about all the shopping trips she and Brennan were going to be embarking on, Booth and Hodgins slipped out to get the things they needed to celebrate.

A few minutes later, they reappeared, Hodgins carrying another large bottle of champagne and Booth holding a small, brown cup. "One freshly made java cream cappuccino for my special lady," smiled Booth, approaching Brennan who was sat on the sofa facing the other direction. She turned her head to face him and he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulder and kissing her cheek.

He held the drink out in front of her face and she laughed, pressing a soft kiss onto Booth's lips.

"Is this where you tell me about the beauty of the microwave?" she grinned, and Booth gasped teasingly.

"I'll have you know that's an entirely different one. I ran all the way to the cafe to get that for you so show some appreciation, missy," he pouted. She laughed and kissed him again as Hodgins uncorked the bottle and started filling up everyones glasses.

Hodgins raised his glass for a toast and everyone gathered around to listen. "Congratulations, you two," he said, gesturing towards the happy couple, "we just want you to know that if ever you need anything for the baby, we are here to help. After all, we plan on turning it into a super squint." Everyone laughed and Booth let out a playful groan. This was going to be interesting.

"You know what this means, don't you?" laughed Booth, kissing Brennan's nose softly. She shook her head and another throaty chuckle escaped him.

"It means that I am going to have to fork out for another pendant!" he laughed. She grinned and pulled him around in front of her, snatching him into an air tight embrace.

This chapter is dedicated to: Ash2112

Flowers for everyone. :D

A review would be gorgeous.