A/N: Thank you all for the great reviews on the last chapter - I'm glad you enjoyed Zack as king of the nursery as much as I did! It's time to get back to the serious stuff for a little while, though...with just a bit of humor thrown in, of course. This is really the first half of a two part scene, so this will continue into the next chapter. This half sets things up, then hopefully the next half will answer the questions you all have about where Booth/Brennan stand, and where Sully fits in. Enjoy!
"Come on, Bones, we're going to be late!" Booth shouted from the living room as he waited for Temperance to change her clothes…again. "How many outfits are you going to try on?"
"Really? You really want to have this conversation with me?" she shouted back. "Because you try going up a size every other week and then come and tell me how great your wardrobe looks! Honestly, I just bought new jeans last week, and they barely fit!"
Booth laughed. "Bones, I'm sure you look fine. Wear a dress if your pants bother you that much."
"A dress? Are you trying to make me look like a whale? Because that's what I look like in a dress right now!"
Booth opened his mouth to argue that she was being irrational, but memories of the last time he'd made that comment quickly forced him to swallow his words. Temperance he could handle; he loved Temperance. Hormonal Temperance was a woman he was still getting used to dealing with. He was glad she'd only be around another few months.
"Fine, but we are going to be late," he shouted again.
"It's not like he's going anywhere, he's in prison," Bones sighed as she finally emerged from her bedroom, still adjusting her jeans, trying to get the waist to rest in a manner than didn't cut directly into her protruding abdomen.
"You look great, Bones," Booth commented sincerely.
"Sure I do. I'm huge, Booth. Huge. I can't believe that two months ago Dr. Bryant was concerned that I was underweight. Look at me now, I could practically be full term!"
Booth tried to restrain a slight chuckle at the thought. Although it was undeniable that she had grown considerably larger in the last two months, Bones was no where near as large as most women were at seven months. She certainly was no where near as large as Booth remembered Rebecca being.
"Bones, you do not look full term. You are pregnant, and you are beautiful. I promise, you are not large. Would it make you feel better to know that Rebecca was much larger than you are when she was seven months?"
Brennan sighed. "No, because it would be petty of me to take pleasure in comparing myself to another woman," she said, although secretly his words did comfort her. "Aren't we late? Why are you just standing there?"
Booth laughed and headed towards the door. "Nothing, absolutely nothing. Let's get going."
He sighed as he locked the door behind them, knowing that if today didn't go well, it was going to a long few weeks before she forgave him for making her go.
"Remind me again why you are forcing me to do this?" she asked, absentmindedly fiddling with the seatbelt in his SUV. "And against my better judgment, I'd like to state for the record, again."
"I know, against your better judgment," he smiled slightly. "But I'm glad that you decided to humor me. You need to do this because, like it or not, he's going to find out eventually, and you need to be the one to tell him."
"I don't see the logic in that, Booth. If he's going to find out anyway, what does it matter if I tell him? It isn't going to change anything. The news is the same, whether he hears it from me or from someone else."
"The news is the same, yes. It's the impact that I'm concerned about. The impact is different if he hears it from you than if he hears it from some random person."
"Well, in theory it wouldn't be some random person, Booth. It would likely be from another agent. Or maybe from Caroline. But there wouldn't really be anything random about it."
Booth laughed. "Okay, fine. He'd hear it from some non-random person. My point remains, it's better that he hears it from you. I don't want him going all psycho on my ass."
"My father is in prison, Booth. What could he possibly do?"
"You don't even want to know, Bones. Trust me. I don't want him putting out a hit on Sully or something if he thinks he walked out on you, and I don't want him putting out a hit on me if he gets the idea that I…you know, somehow took advantage or something."
Temperance laughed at the thought, but quickly settled back into silence as they continued the awkward journey to the federal prison where Max Keenan was awaiting his first visit with his daughter since his arrest.
"Are you sure you won't come in with me?" Temperance asked for the fifth time, as she and Booth stood outside the small visitors' room inside the prison.
"Nope. This is something you've got to do yourself, but I'll be right outside if you need anything," he said. Taking her chin in his hand, he tilted his head back so he was looking directly into her eyes. "You can do this, Bones. It'll be fine. Just stay calm and tell him what you need to tell him."
"I don't need to tell him anything, Booth. You're the one who is so insistent that I have this meeting…why don't you talk to him?"
Booth laughed as he opened the door and ushered Temperance into the room. She glared at him as she took a seat at the table.
"The guard will bring in Max in just a minute," he said, closing the door behind him.
Ten minutes later, the door opened and Max Keenan entered the room.
He looks tired, she thought to herself, taking in her first look at her father since Booth had arrested him five months earlier. I guess prison will do that to a person.
Max stood just inside the doorway for a moment, smiling at the sight of his daughter sitting there. He hadn't been told who his visitor was, but the moment he had seen Seeley Booth hovering outside the door, he knew she had finally come to see him.
"Tempe, I'm so happy to see you," Max began, moving towards her, hoping she would stand up and hug him. When she made no movement at all, he sighed and took the seat across from her.
"You look good, Tempe. How's work?"
"Work is fine."
"Good…that's good," Max paused, awkwardly studying his hands, unsure of how to continue this conversation. "I'm really glad that you finally came by to see me. I've been wanting to talk to you, Tempe. I miss you, and I think that…"
Max was interrupted when Temperance raised her hand sharply, indicating he should stop speaking.
"No, Max. You don't get to do that. You don't get pretend that everything is alright, that we are somehow going to have any sort of relationship. I have some things to tell you, and when this visit is over, you'll never see me again. The only reason I'm here today is that Booth has this irrational idea that you have some sort of right to know what's going on."
Max sighed. "Okay. What exactly is going on?"
"I'm pregnant, Max," she said, her tone cold and emotionless as she stared across the table at him.
"You…you're…you're pregnant? As in, having a baby?" Max stammered. Of all the things his daughter could have said to him, he wasn't sure he could think of anything more shocking. Looking closely at her, he noticed she did look a bit heavier than the last time he'd seen her, but she'd always been so thin, it wasn't anything he would have noticed, and her stomach was hidden by the table between them.
"That is the generally accepted definition of pregnant, Max," she replied.
"Wow…I'm going to be a grandfather? This is…wow," Max said.
"No, Max. I told you, we don't have a relationship. That means you don't get to have a relationship with this child. I don't know how you'd expect to maintain that relationship, anyway, because there is no way I'm bringing my baby anywhere near a federal prison just to see you," she said, although a hint of sadness crept into her voice as she realized that her baby would have no grandparents.
Well, maybe Sully's parents are still around, she thought to herself. I really ought to ask him about that one of these days.
"Oh," Max said, disappointment evident in his voice. "Well, maybe you could send pictures or something? I could send cards and letters now and again, too."
Temperance rested her chin in her palm and looked at the broken man sitting before her. Despite what she knew of his actions, a wave of sympathy swept over her as she considered the man he had been when he had been her father.
"Maybe. I'll take it under advisement," she offered.
Max smiled, knowing that was all he could hope for at that point in time.
"So, how far along are you?" he asked, eager for more details.
"Just over 7 months."
"7 months? That's…wow. You look amazing, really, Tempe. I…could you maybe stand up? So I could see it?" he asked tentatively.
She sighed and quickly stood up, turning to the side so Max could clearly see her baby bump. Sitting back down, she glared at him. "Happy now?"
He smiled again. "You're beautiful, Tempe. Pregnancy looks good on you, it really does. Just like your mother."
Max waited for her response, but not getting one, he continued with his questions.
"So, I don't see a ring. When are you and Agent Booth getting married?"