Chapter 21

Authors Note: Hi guys... I know it's been a while, life has gotten in the way, first Christmas and then moving out into a new place. Now that I've got my own space I am hoping to update more often. Hope you enjoy this new chapter. As per my previous chapter.. this one jumps ahead two weeks, so Brennan is 14 weeks pregnant.

Two weeks went by with no progress on the case, they'd established the cause of death, they'd worked out his identity, they'd interviewed his family and some of his friends, but they were no closer to finding a suspect in his death.

Booth was particularly frustrated after learning that the victim had served in the army previously and had been in an abusive household when he was a child. He couldn't help but push Brennan and her interns to try to find out more, to give them more to work with. His obsession with this case was causing a strain on not only the Jeffersonian staff, but on his relationship with Brennan. He'd been unusually snappish in the last two weeks, and she'd struggled to understand and be sympathetic.

The strain on their relationship was having physical repercussions for Brennan also, she'd been struggling to sleep well with Booth constantly tossing and turning during the night and her fatigue was showing. She was struggling to concentrate at work and for the first time during a case she went home half way through the day, in desperate need of sleep and time away from Booth's constant hovering.

When she returned the next day, she still didn't feel particularly refreshed, but she felt a little better equipped to deal with the day. She began with getting her current intern of the week Wendell, laying all of the bones out again anatomically. They were going to go over every bone with a fine tooth comb to see if there was anything at all that could lead them to a killer.

"Well done Mr Bray, thank you for completing this task for me" Brennan praised knowing that she needed to help boost morale within the team, Cam had pulled her aside the day before, for a lengthy discussion on helping boost the morale of the team and for hints on how to keep Booth away from the Jeffersonian for a few days. Brennan had called Director Cullen that night and advised him of the situation and requested he find a way to keep Booth at the FBI headquarters for a few days, just to give the Jeffersonian team some breathing room to be able to do what they did best.

"You're welcome Dr Brennan, shall we set up our magnification visors so we can examine the bones?" Wendell asked his mentor, noting the strain on her face and how tired she looked. He'd seen her like this before and knew it could only be due to one person, Booth. He hoped they would get a break in this case soon, because whether they had admitted it or not, most of the team knew that Dr Brennan and Booth had finally allowed their relationship to progress and he was very happy for them. It was just a matter of time he figured before the announcement came out and he was going to do his best to act surprised by the news.

"That would be satisfactory Mr Bray" Brennan answered as they donned their head-gear and got to examining the bones again. Truthfully, she didn't believe the answer to the mystery of their victim's death would come from the bones, but she needed to feel like she was doing everything she could to get Booth answers.

They had been examining the bones for about half an hour when Hodgins burst through the door exclaiming that he'd found something that could blow a lid on the case. Brennan frowned at the colloquialism, trying to discern its meaning but took off her head-gear anyway and went to witness Hodgin's discovery.

"I think I've figured out where he was killed" Hodgins told them excitedly hoping to see excitement on their faces also, but when he looked at Brennan he could see she was not truly concentrating on him, in fact she looked kind of pale.

"Dr Brennan, are you ok?" Hodgins asked worriedly forgetting his discovery for a moment. He saw Brennan begin to sway and realised what was happening immediately. He quickly grabbed Brennan by the arm and directed her to her office, hoping they'd make it in time. He helped her lie down and elevated her feet, watching her carefully hoping he'd been able to prevent her from fainting.

"Wendell, call Angie straight away" Hodgins ordered watching Brennan carefully, happy to see colour returning to her cheeks. He watched her still, and breathed a sigh of relief when her eyes opened again.

"Don't try to move Dr B, you almost fainted, just lie there for a little while until your blood pressure stabilises" Hodgins told her gently, deciding it was time he had a word with Booth about this whole case. Sure it had been frustrating that they were two weeks into the case with no answers, but he could see the strain Booth had placed on Brennan, which was surely the cause of her almost fainting spell.

"I'm feeling much better Jack, thank you for your concern, I will be okay" Brennan said as she made a move to get up only to have Jack place a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder preventing her from getting up.

"Dr B, just humour me for a little while, stay laying down, Angie will be here in a minute and then I am going to go and get you something to eat, then we are taking you home to rest" Hodgins told her in a no nonsense tone that she knew meant business. She wondered if he'd called Booth too, part of her hoping he hadn't because the last thing he needed was to feel guilty about causing her fatigue which had surely contributed to her current predicament.

"I haven't called Booth yet, I'm waiting till we've gotten you home, the last thing we need is for him to burst through the Jeffersonian, scare the hell out of the guards and threaten everyone with his gun" Hodgins said, seeing a small smile creep onto Brennan's face at the thought.

"He does get very protective of me, it's unnecessary but I am trying to understand that he is an alpha male and I fell in love with him, so while I don't necessary like it, I know I can't change it, I just have to try to reason with him when he is being overbearing" Brennan told Jack seeing the look of disbelief on his face.

"Yeah good luck with that one Dr B, you two are just as bad as each other, I've seen you be over protective of him, believe me when you are in that mood, no one could stand between you and Booth, it's actually kind of sweet in a weird kind of way" Hodgins told her and then looked behind him when he heard running and smiled knowing from the steps who was almost there.

"Sweetie, what happened!" Angie exclaimed when she finally made it to the room, all Wendell had been able to get out was, Dr Brennan and fainted before she'd taken off like a mad woman to her best friend's office.

"I believe I failed to ensure I slept enough and ate enough in the last couple of days for my body to cope with the demands of this case and my pregnancy" Brennan told her best friend sheepishly, knowing she'd been too tired to eat the night before and had fallen asleep on the lounge before Booth had gotten home, and woken up the next morning alone in their bed. Knowing Booth had left without her, had made her stomach churn and she found she'd been unable to stomach breakfast for the first morning since her morning sickness had subsided.

"Sweetie, I think you need to take a couple of days break from this case, and I think we all need to have a little discussion with Booth, because even if you won't admit it, we both know that not eating and sleeping isn't the only reason you almost fainted today, you're worried about him, you feel you don't know how to help him and he's pushing you far too much to find answers in this case, he needs to know what he's doing here, I think it's time we staged an intervention" Angie stated watching as the emotions passed over her friends face. She knew how frustrated Brennan felt at not being able to help Booth, and knew that Brennan felt she was failing Booth in some way, but Booth hadn't been willing enough to talk for Brennan to be able to voice her feelings.

"I'm calling Booth now, and we are taking you home and you are going to eat and then you are going to sleep, and Hodgins and I are going to have a talk with Booth and work this out, you're 14 weeks pregnant Bren, even though you're in the second trimester, things can still go wrong I know I don't need to tell you that" Angela told Brennan and watched horrified as her best friend dissolved into a puddle of tears.

"Oh Sweetie, I didn't mean to make you cry" Angela said as she took the anthropologist into her arms and rocked her gently until the crying began to subside. Her best friend truly was overwhelmed at the moment and she knew they needed to get her home now. She continued rocking her for a moment and then felt Brennan become heavier in her arms and her breathing deepen, and realised that she'd fallen asleep.

"Hodgie, you are going to have to carry her out of here, she's exhausted" Angela told him and smiled as he lifted Brennan into his arms gently and they walked slowly to the garage, passing a startled Cam on the way out. Angela stopped to explain the situation to Cam, who was relieved but requested to be present at the intervention also, she'd been watching how this whole case had been going down, and she was disappointed in the way Seeley was handling it.

Once they finally got Brennan home, and got her to eat something, Angela gently tucked her into bed, watching her best friend for a moment as she again relaxed into sleep. If she looked closely enough she could see the changes in her best friend's body and knew it wouldn't be long before Brennan would be unable to hide her pregnancy from the others. She knew that once this case was solved, a good celebration would be welcomed by everyone on the team, and she figured that Booth and Brennan were waiting till then to make their announcement. She couldn't wait to see her best friend even more pregnant than what she was now, to be able to experience feeling her little niece or nephew kick inside her, Brennan had been completely fascinated by the changes she'd experienced when she was pregnant with Michael and she was looking forward to sharing another experience with her.

She sighed as she gently got up not wanting to disturb her sleeping friend and went to get the phone to call Booth. She knew the conversation wasn't going to go well, but she figured it was best to get it over and done with now. She picked up the phone and dialed Booth's number nervously anticipating him answering it.

"Booth" He answered automatically not having looked at who was calling him or he would have been more stressed than what he was now.

"It's Angela, you need to come home now" Angela said, hoping he'd just go with that and she wouldn't have to explain.

"Why what's wrong with Bones?" Booth asked, his heart picking up speed as he heard the sigh on the other end of the line.

"She almost fainted at work Booth, she's exhausted and she's not eating, you need to come home because Hodgins and I need to talk to, please don't come barrelling in here demanding answers, Brennan needs rest and peace and quiet" Angela told him, hoping he'd comply with her request.

"I'm coming now" Booth said as he hung up the phone and raced to put his jacket on. He went over the last few days in his mind and mentally kicked himself for not seeing it sooner. How could he be so blind, he was supposed to be taking care of her, it was his job to notice that she was exhausted, make sure she ate etc. He had a pretty good idea about what Hodgins and Angela wanted to talk to him about and he was not looking forward to the conversation. He knew he deserved most of what they were going to say, but none of them could understand why he was so obsessed with this case.

He arrived home not more than twenty minutes later and quietly opened the door taking Angela's request seriously. He would never forgive himself if this case ended up causing Bones to lose the baby.

"She's asleep and I'd like her to stay that way for quite a while" Angela told him, hoping he'd get her meaning. She didn't want him to lose his cool, and that meant that he wasn't going to like some of what they were going to say.

"What happened?" Booth asked, needing to know she was okay, wishing he could walk in there and assure himself that she was okay, but knew if he did, she'd sense his presence and probably wake up.

"Like I said Booth, she nearly fainted, she's exhausted and over stressed, this case is wearing down on her big time and you are not helping" Angela said doing her best not to raise her voice despite her annoyance with Booth. He was supposed to be the one who could read people, how did he not see this coming?

"I know, I've pushed her too hard and I haven't been looking out for her like I should, it's this case Ange I don't know how to get my head around things, and I'm snapping at her for little things and I shouldn't be, I don't know how to stop" Booth admitted, knowing he faced the wrath of a best friend and in some ways he knew he deserved it.

"Booth, I know you've identified hugely with this victim, I know you're very dedicated to finding his killer, but you are also Bren's partner and you have been neglecting her, she doesn't know how to help you, you know she's not good with this stuff, you need to help her help you, give her clues she can understand on how to help you feel less stressed" Ange suggested taking his hand in hers letting him know she wasn't angry with him.

"I've never been very good at talking about how I feel Ange, it's not something a man does, that's what I was always taught, but I know Bones needs me to open up to her more, I know she's flying blind here, this is the first real hurdle in our relationship and both of us are struggling to work it out" Booth admitted, looking up at Angela and Hodgins sheepishly, he had ideas on how to fix this, but he wasn't sure if it would work. Brennan was not like his other partners, he couldn't just turn on the charm and expect things to blow over eventually. He knew he needed to deal with some things and he needed to work with Brennan to overcome hurdles in their relationship instead of hiding his feelings from her.

"Dude, you know I think the world of you, but Dr B will always trump you when it comes to the two of you, you need to man up and forget everything you were taught as a kid, because a real man reveals his feelings to his partner and he works with her to ensure that their relationship stays solid, and you know Dr B isn't good at recognising feelings or working out how to help people with things that emotional, she loves you dude, and you are literally making her sick with worry and fear, she's afraid she's not enough, she's afraid she was right all along and that she wasn't right for you, you need to give her some time to build some reserves again and then you need to sit down and tell her what is worrying you about this case, why you are so obsessed with it and how she can help you" Hodgins told him sternly. He cared about Booth a lot but if he didn't start talking to Brennan about his feelings, things were going to go south between the two of them very quickly.

"I know, I will I promise, I will be better to her I promise you both" Booth told them solemnly. He meant every word, he was going to work out how they could fix this.

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation and Angela got up quickly to answer it, knowing who it was immediately.

"Seeley Booth, what have you done to my anthropologist" Cam asked sternly, knowing from their faces that a fair amount of conversation had already gone on.

"I'm sorry Cam I am going to fix this I promise" Booth said lowering his head at his friends stern tone.

"You need to let her in Seeley, she can't do this alone" Cam told him, as she sat down beside him and took him into a hug. She knew him better than anyone and knew exactly why he was obsessed with this case, but she was not the one who could help him, It was not her place to anymore, but he also needed to know that they were all behind him and would help in any way that they could.

"You need a ride back to the office Seeley?" Cam asked as Angela looked at her and she immediately worked out that they wanted Seeley to leave, so they could get onto taking care of Brennan.

"Yeah Cam that would be great, Ange can you call me when she wakes up? I'll probably stay late so she can get plenty of rest" Booth told them, unsure of whether he was welcome back or not.

"Booth you don't have to stay away, just let her get a couple of hours of sleep, I'll call you when she's awake and then you can take over looking after her, she's not going to like it, but she has more to think about now than just herself" Angela told him and watched a small smile appear on his face as he thought of the baby.

"Okay Ange, please let her know that I'm sorry, I'll tell her in person but just, well, you know" Booth told her as he walked out of the apartment.

Ange watched his retreating form, feeling much better about the situation after their little talk, she liked Booth a lot and knew how good he was for Brennan, otherwise she wouldn't have even tried.

Booth spent the next few hours working through the case with a bit more energy than he had before, feeling a sudden urgency to close this case. Within a couple of hours he'd come up with a few more leads and felt a bit more positive about the whole situation. He even stopped into Sweet's office and had a quick but in-depth talk with him about the situation. He realised it was time he started getting used to having his brain shrunk by the boy wonder, especially if it would help him with Bones.

After he finished up, he sat in his office for a few minutes, his eyes trained on the ultrasound image proudly displayed on his desk, smiling as he thought of coming home to Bones and wrapping his arms around her and placing his hand on the spot where their child was growing. He knew it was going to be a fine line with him, between taking care of her, and not being too overbearing but he was going to do his best to ensure that within a few days she'd get her pregnancy glow back again.

He left the office a few minutes later, a sense of urgency in his stride as he walked down to stairs to the front foyer where he ordered a cab, remembering he'd been given a lift to the office by Cam. He just really wanted to be home with Bones, assured that both she and the baby were safe.

He arrived home a little while later to find Angela asleep on the lounge and the house in darkness, he gently roused Angela and sent her home telling he would make sure Brennan rested adequately and ate properly until the next day when he had to go to work. Angela told him she'd organised with Cam to take a few days off also, and planned to spend the days with Brennan watching old movies, eating popcorn and just chilling out, a phrase Brennan still had trouble with.

He was glad when Angela was finally gone, and approached the bedroom quietly, feeling a little unsure of himself. He shook himself and quietly stepped into the room, pausing as soon as he saw Brennan, sleeping on her side, her hand resting gently on her abdomen. He couldn't help himself and walked over to her quietly, kneeling down and pulling the hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear. He gently stroked her face and smiled when her eyes began to flutter. He waited in anticipation of her eyes opening and was not disappointed when he was met with the brilliant blue of her eyes, trained on his.

"Booth" She said sleepily, beckoning him into the bed, still not really awake. She knew they should talk, but she also knew how much she just wanted him next to her, to feel his arms around her, she knew she wouldn't feel completely safe until they were.

He quickly stripped off his clothes and gently climbed into bed with her, pulling her to him and wrapping her into his embrace. He breathed in the scent of her hair and felt his body relax immediately. She didn't need to do anything to help he realised, she just needed to be there, he needed her to stay even when it was difficult, that was all. He gently kissed her neck and began to gently stroke her arm, hoping to lull her back to sleep.

"I love you" He heard her say before she succumbed to his ministrations and drifted back to sleep. He smiled and whispered the words back to her before moving his hand gently to her abdomen to feel the gentle swell of their child. He couldn't wait to be able to feel the baby moving within her, he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have this beautiful, intelligent woman in his life. She was having his baby and it was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen.

As he drifted to sleep he felt more peaceful than he had in quite a while, he knew the storm hadn't passed just yet, but the tides were turning and he knew finally that they would be okay.

I'm leaving it there, the next chapter will deal with Booth's obsession with the case, and just as he and Brennan are getting their relationship back on track, the crucial piece of evidence will be found, will it solve the case, or will they still need more. Thank you for reading and thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate hearing your thoughts, whether positive or not :)