Thanks for the reviews. They keep me writing.
Another month had passed and Booth and Bones had been to the doctor and been overjoyed to learn that they were expecting a baby girl. Needing some odds and ends before Parker's upcoming visit over the long weekend, they stopped at the PX. Bones was immediately drawn to the selection of baby clothes and stood fascinated in front of pink dresses. Booth watched Bones with as much fascination. At a little over four months, she was obviously pregnant and had never looked more beautiful. His heart swelled with love as she picked a dress up for closer examination. Bones turned to him and smiled. Her excitement was clear.
"Booth, do you like this one?" Booth nodded and took it when she offered it to him before redirecting her focus on another. Just as she handed him another dress to hold, their shopping was halted from a loud piercing scream from behind them. Booth dropped the dresses on the nearby table and took off at a trot, with Bones hot on his heels.
As Booth arrived outside the store, he charged into the crowd, stopping only when he noticed Bones right behind him.
"Stay back Bones. Please." He asked as his eyes dropped to her enlarged belly. Bones huffed, but indicated that she would stay out of the way. Booth was nothing if not overprotective, but she could see why he would want to protect her and their unborn child. Bones wasn't unreasonable, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She stood with her hands on her hips waiting with the crowd who were all angling their necks to see what had caused the commotion.
Booth made his way back to her, barking instructions to the crowd who instantly obeyed to the authority in his voice. Bones waited, her curiosity clear, as well as the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. She had seen his expression before, many times in fact.
"Booth, what is it?" She asked even while she had known the answer. Booth pulled his phone from his pocket and hit speed dial.
"We have a body, and it's just your style Bones." Bones was eager to see what she could do to help. She nodded at Booth who was speaking with the military police and she pulled a pair of latex gloves from her purse. Even though she wasn't dealing with crime and murder during their time away, she hadn't broken her habit of carrying the things with her, wherever she went. Booth's expression was one of surprise and Bones shrugged. Booth gave her a slight smile and indicated with his head that she could proceed to the body. The crowd noticed her approach and began to crowd around her to feed their curiosity.
"Back up!" Booth glanced in Bones direction and saw her wave the crowd backwards with a stern yell. He hurried to her side and she gave him an impatient huff as she glared at him and turned to focus her attention on the corpse.
"Alright, I you people back at least twenty feet here please." Booth began directing the crowd away and turned to hover protectively over Bones as she knelt to examine the body which had been sandwiched between the wall of the building and a dumpster. The MP's finally arrived and barricaded the area, leaving Booth free to take care of Bones.
"What have we got Bones?" She looked thoughtfully at the jaw line and the shape of the skull. The putrid smell of the remains made her alternately hold her breath and inhale through her mouth, fighting nausea. Their baby did not like decaying flesh. She rose from her position and stepped back several feet, trying to distance herself from the unpleasant odor.
"Female, Caucasian, early twenties." Booth made notes and handed them to the MPs who were looking at Bones skeptically.
"I'm sorry Sergeant Major, your wife isn't military, I'm afraid that she's compromising the remains." Booth felt the fury rise from Bones. He stepped close to her and touched her shoulder in an effort to calm her before the MPs witnessed Bones explode.
"Excuse me Corporal Donaldson is it?" The young man nodded, knowing that he was out of his comfort zone. "Are you aware of who my wife is?" The MP was torn between upsetting his superior officer and doing his duty until the CID unit arrived. The only thing he knew about the woman who was glaring at him was the fact that she was the SGM's pregnant wife. His orders from his CO were to guard the scene for the CID unit.
"Sir, the CID unit is en-route. My orders are to protect the crime scene, please escort your wife behind the barrier." Booth laughed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to escort his wife anywhere. The MP could try, but then Bones would probably be arrested for assault, and he really didn't want to back down that road again.
"Corporal, this is Dr. Temperance Brennan of the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal lab in Washington D.C. She is the world's foremost authority in forensic anthropology. In my other life, I am Special Agent Seeley Booth in charge of the homicide division with the FBI and this woman is my partner. I suggest that you let us do the jobs that we are uniquely qualified to do until the CID unit arrives. That is an order." The young Corporal swallowed loudly and took a step back from the intimidating Sergeant Major. His wife gave the MP a smug smile.
"Corporal Donaldson, rest assured that my abilities will facilitate investigative process. Please maintain the crowd and begin interviewing the witnesses while Sergeant Major Booth and I determine what circumstances have befallen on this unfortunate young woman." Booth squeezed Bones shoulder, telling her that she could resume her work. The MP looked properly chastised. Booth didn't blame the young man. He was a soldier and he had a job to do. Bones took a deep breath and stepped toward the body before kneeling beside it again, this time, looking for clues.
"Booth, I think that we need to look for a missing civilian. Her clothes indicate that she may have been a waitress." Booth stepped closer to examine the bloody remains of a restaurant insignia on what used to be a shirt.
"She could have been a civilian or a spouse of someone on base. Did you find an ID?" Bones shook her head and awkwardly rose to her feet. She motioned to Booth and the MP.
"Move this dumpster, maybe some of her personal effects are behind it." Booth and the MP moved the large refuse container out of the way and all three of them were looking through random pieces of trash when the CID unit arrived with their gear. Bones, who had no problems taking the lead at any crime scene, civilian or otherwise, began directing the unit. Booth stepped back and allowed her to lead. He loved watching her work. Their last investigation together had been the hoarder, and that seemed like an eternity. But they there were dealing with the military and they would take over the investigation, no matter how good he and Bones were as a team. He walked over to Bones and placed both of his hands on her shoulders.
"Let the CID unit work Bones. This isn't our case. It's theirs. Let me take you home." Bones stared at him for a long while and Booth wasn't so sure that she wasn't going to slug him. Finally, after a long and silent debate, he saw the change in her eyes when she agreed. She pulled the gloves off and tossed them in a baggie for disposal.
"Fine. Take me home." Booth spoke briefly with the MPs and the CID units, explaining what they already knew and then he held out his hand to Bones, who gave him a slight smile before taking it. He knew in that moment, that she hadn't agreed at all, she had been merely placating him.
"Who establishes the procedures the CID unit uses for gathering forensic evidence?" Bones asked as they ate a quiet dinner.
"I would imagine that there are military procedures and guidelines." Booth chewed thoughtfully as he watched the wheels spin in Bones' head.
"If it is anything like the FBI guidelines, they will not be able to solve that girl's murder." Oh, here we go, he thought.
"Bones. I know that it was exciting today, almost like old times, but we aren't going to be allowed to work the investigation. The Army has their way of dealing with these things and letting two former crime solvers be involved isn't one of them." Booth took a sip of his beer, waiting for the inevitable explosion.
"I understand that." She said surprising her husband. "It was exciting today. Maybe I miss catching murderers more than I thought." Booth nodded.
"Yeah, I kind of missed it two. But when we go back, we can make up for lost time. We are the best Baby." Bones took a sip of her tea and locked her eyes with Booth's.
"Will they let us stay partners Booth?" Booth covered her hand with his and squeezed it.
"I don't know. I think they will, but if they don't, I can live with that because as much as I love working with you, I love being your husband more. That is one thing they can't change." Bones eyes became watery.
"I want to work with you in the field, but if they sever our partnership, as sad as that will make me, I will still have you at home. I think I can live with that compromise." Booth gave her a warm grin and leaned forward to kiss her softly.
"Whatever happens when we go back doesn't matter as long as I have my family, but you know what, they would be crazy to break us up." Bones leaned forward and kissed him, a little more heartily than before.
"I love you Booth." Bones sat back in her seat and took another bite of her dinner, satisfied by the goofy grin on her husband's face.
"You know Bones, maybe you could teach a forensic course here on base."
"Maybe. I'll think about it. The point of taking the year off was to get away from murders and crime. Today was exciting, but maybe I need to stay completely away. Learn another way to live." Booth understood and didn't disagree with her, but he also knew that she struggled to find enough to do.
"Whatever you decide. If you think you would like to, then I can speak to the Department of Emergency Services and see what they say." Bones rose from her seat and moved to her husband, who pushed away from the table to offer her his lap. Bones kissed him and laid her head on his shoulder. Booth wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him.
"Have I told you today how much I love you?" He whispered in her ear. Bones shook her head and moved to kiss him again, much more passionately than the last. "Do you want me to prove it to you?" Booth asked as they stopped to catch their breath.
"No, let's prove it to each other." Booth kissed his wife hard, taking possession of her mouth as he rose from his seat. Bones wrapped her legs around him and he held her tightly against him, his palms cradling her butt as he walked them both to the sofa where he fell backwards bringing Bones down on top of him.
Later, they lay nestled on the large sofa together with an afghan covering their naked bodies. They had succeeded in proving their love to one another, more than once, and they had no strength left to make the long trek to their bedroom.
"Booth, our daughter is going to change everything." Almost asleep, Booth tried to listen to what his wife was really saying.
"Some things yes, but not everything." Booth rubbed soothing circles on her back, trying to dispel whatever bad thoughts she had running through her head.
"I won't be able to work in Limbo all night anymore." Booth kissed her forehead.
"No, you won't. Our hours will have to change since we will have our daughter waiting for us every day. It will be okay Bones. You know, it won't make us worse at our jobs, in fact, it can only make us better." She lifted her head to meet the eyes that she loved so much.
"Do you really believe that?" Booth squeezed his arms around her.
"I do. What you and I do, what we have, that's everything Bones. How would it make us anything but better than what we were?" Bones' fingers traced the small scar on his chest.
Please review: I love them