CHAPTER 20. Vows & Violets

Marriage is not only the beginning of a relationship but also the end of a life long search for the other half of your soul.

- Anon

Brennan snapped open her cell phone and held it to her ear. "Brennan," she answered.

A chuckle came from the other end of the phone followed by a familiar voice at the other end. "You expect a work call on your wedding day?" Booth asked in disbelief.

"Booth, you can't call me! You aren't supposed to see me before the wedding, it's bad luck," she whispered. Booth could hear the panic in her voice and laughed again.

"Easy, tiger. I can't see you through a phone, can I? How do you even know about that anyway?" he questioned, surprised.

"Angela told me about it, as well as a long list of other wedding superstitions," Brennan replied.

"But, Bones, you aren't superstitious," he laughed and his smirk was evident to her even over the phone.

"Maybe not, but I don't want anything to go wrong today. I'm not going to take any chances," she murmured, studying herself in the mirror and smiling.

"Okay, I was just calling to check that you weren't freaking out," he teased, although in actual fact he was completely serious. He had been worried that she was going to get cold feet about everything.

"Well, I'm not," she said, smoothing her hand over her bump and smiling. She tensed suddenly and ran her tongue over her top lip.

"Are you?" she asked.

"No, of course not. I've never been happier," he grinned at the other end of the line.

"I need you to remember something, Temperance; up there today it's just going to be you and me. It's still us, just Booth and Bones, okay?" he assured.

"Promise?" she whispered.

"Promise. I love you, Bones," he murmured. A beam spread across her face, and she realised what he said was true; it would still be them.

"I love you too, Booth. Always," she smiled.

"So, you promise you'll show up then?" he asked playfully. She laughed, causing a tingling sensation inside Booth.

"I promise. I'd better go though, Angela is having some kind of panic attack about the flowers," she chuckled, seeing her best friend running around frantically out of the corner of her eye.

"Bye, beautiful," he whispered before hanging up the phone. She'd better go and sort Angela out.

They had decided to hold the ceremony in the grounds of the Jeffersonian. Brennan had made it very clear that there was no way she was going to be married in a church, so it seemed like the next best thing. The Jeffersonian was like Brennan's second home and it meant a lot to her to be able to hold the wedding there.

Brennan was wearing a simple ivory gown. Her bump was clearly visible but Brennan didn't care. Everyone knew that this was no shotgun wedding and it felt right to her and Booth; that was all that mattered.

Her hair framed her face in loose ringlets, half pulled up into a tousled bun. It may have sounded cliché, but as Brennan walked to the wedding arch, Angela had never seen her best friend looking more beautiful.

Booth felt his heart freeze in his chest as he saw her. She looked amazing. No; more than amazing. Her face seemed to luminesce from under her curls and her cheeks were pink and rosy. To Booth, she looked like an angel.

Brennan reached Booth under the arch and he took her hand in his. The smell of lilies washed over the crowd from the flower arrangements, and it mingled with the blossoms and honeysuckle that grew in the gardens.

Angela hugged Hodgins tightly, the overwhelming emotions of the day bringing them closer together. Parker sat on Max's knee and tried his best not to fidget. He giggled excitedly when Brennan and Booth were stood together, and Max smiled.

After the exchanging of vows and the giving of rings, Booth pulled Brennan's body against his and kissed her tenderly on the lips. She pulled back and smiled, throwing her bouquet of violets and lisianthums to Amy, as Angela had suggested. She let go of Booth's hand as they changed to the opposite ones.

They made their way down the middle of the chairs; hand in hand, heart in heart. As everyone filed to the reception, Brennan pulled Booth into her office.

She closed the door behind them and wrapped her arms around his neck. She rested her head against his strong chest and sighed contentedly. He kissed her forehead and smiled.

"So, Mrs Booth, how are you feeling?" he whispered, nuzzling her hair with his nose.

"I feel perfect," she murmured, leaning up and kissing him gently, "I just wanted a minute alone with you, so it could be just us; Booth and Bones, like you promised." He smiled and ran his finger down her nose softly, before bringing his mouth to hers once more and massaging her lips with his.

"Is this everything you hoped it would be?" she asked, her eyes clouded with love and uncertainty. He reached down and took her hands in his, then brought them up to his mouth and kissed her fingertips.

"No, it's better than I ever could have hoped," he smiled. She grinned from ear to ear and hugged him tightly, before grabbing the end of his tie and pulling him towards the door.

"We'd better get back to the party. Today is the one day we definitely can't sneak off unmissed," she chuckled, heading towards the reception.

This chapter is dedicated to: IheartBooth

Twinkles for everyone. :D

A review would be terrific.