A/N – Okay, here we go. Thanks to everyone who reviewed once more. I really love receiving them. And thanks to MickeyBoggs for the spelling / grammar corrections. One day I might send you a chapter without any. Probably when hell freezes over but......
I've had quite a few people ask about my other unfinished stories. Rest assured, I will be going back to them, but I'm loving writing this one at the moment, ( and you all seem to love reading it too) and it's a little scary just how much of my time it absorbs.
Disclaimer – I think you've got the idea by now.
Enjoy.
Wearily, she slipped the key in the lock, the light shining from under the door indicating Max was still awake. She could put on brave face and he would never know. Just say she came home because Booth got called in to work. Or alternatively, that she felt a sense of guilt leaving her father overnight when he was still recuperating. Pushing the door open quietly, she breathed a sigh of relief as he was nowhere to be seen. Taking off her coat she was startled out of her reverie as a loud clatter sounded from her guest room. She rushed towards the sound to find her father on his knees, rooting deep through the overstocked closet.
"Oh I knew it. And aren't you a beauty. Well you can just come to daddy."
Temperance cocked her head in confusion. "Are you talking to me?"
"Honey?" Max questioned in surprise. "Home already?" He crawled out with what appeared to be her old telescope in his hands.
"Yes." Or she could say nothing and let him reach his own conclusion.
Temperance walked into the kitchen to make herself a drink of chamomile tea. Something to calm her now very frayed nerves. She watched as he proceeded to set up a makeshift observatory in front of the balcony.
Sensing her watching him, Max looked across at his intrigued daughter. "There's a meteor shower tonight." He smiled at her. "Like we used to watch together. You remember?"
"Mmm. I do." She smiled as childhood memories of her and her father rushed back. "I still like to observe whenever I get the opportunity."
Max nodded appreciatively. "I gathered. Most people don't have equipment this good at the back of their closet." He watched her, pensively, as she sipped at her tea. "There is no easy way to break somebody's heart." His statement came from nowhere, shocking her back to reality.
"I don't understand?" Her confusion was evident.
Max summed it up for her in one word. "Booth."
"What? Why would you think...."
"I'm not blind. And neither is the rest of the populous. Or that team of yours, come to think of it."
"Oh." Temperance thought for a moment. "That is not what I did," she answered defensively. "We... talked."
Max raised his eyebrows inquiringly. "So Booth was happy when you left?"
"Booth was... No." She sat on the sofa, defeated, and looked back up at her father. "I think I really hurt him. And now I don't know how to make it better."
"But you're going to try." It was more an instruction than a question.
"I have to."
He leaned over the back of the sofa and rubbed her shoulders affectionately. "Right. Gotta keep on tryin'"
"Yeah." She sipped at her tea a little, lost in her own thoughts.
Max continued checking the settings on the telescope. "Sometimes the things we want in life don't happen the way we expect."
"I never expected this." She swilled the cup around in her hands. "I admit I thought about it though."
"That's a start."
She sighed. "I should know better than this by now."
"People learn by their mistakes? It's just not true honey. No matter how much we say we can change, if it's not part of us, it just won't happen. We repeat our mistakes over and over."
Temperance shook her head in exasperation. "Then I should have seen clearer."
"It wouldn't have made a difference. If you weren't looking," Max reassured her.
"What if I'd walked through my whole life not knowing?"
"One of you would have spoken up eventually."
She bit back tears. "I've made a mess of everything"
"And it can be fixed. Though I don't know if the same can be said of this." Max indicated to the twisted bracket that was meant to fix onto a tripod.
Temperance scowled at the apparatus. "I forgot about that. I knew there was a reason this was at the back of the closet." She took the telescope from him to examine further. After a few minor adjustments she passed it back to her father. "There, that should hold now." She watched him fix it to the tripod. "Dad?"
"Yes, Tempe."
"How did you know? That you loved Mom?"
"Wow, you always did ask the easy questions." Max joked sentimentally. "It wasn't difficult. I thought about her all the time, even when she was right there next to me. She was beautiful. She made me laugh, dammit she even made my cry. Especially.... especially when you and Russ were born. She made me complete. She made me... me. It was the little things, the simple things. Those moments that you have together that you know you'll never forget." He cocked his head and regarded his daughter with intrigue. "You know those, don't you?"
Purposely ignoring his question she followed with another of her own. "So it was easy to love her?"
"Hell no!" Max sat down on the sofa next to his daughter. "It's not supposed to be easy," he said softly, pulling her hands into his own. "Nothing worthwhile ever is. But as long as you're willing to make the effort, the rewards are better than you could possibly imagine."
Temperance stared at her father as the meaning of his words became clear. Her lip quivered and she managed a simple "Oh." This was not what she had expected but it was the answer she needed.
"This is the moment you're supposed to smile before you cry," Max said in mock seriousness. She laughed weakly and smiled at him. He pulled her into a hug. "Simple things, Tempe. Simple things."
She wept quietly for a few minutes before he would let her go. "I'm going to need some time to get my head around this," she said, recomposing herself.
"I just want you to promise me one thing." His tone was deadly serious.
"I can try."
"And that's all I ask" His eyes looked more honest than she had ever seen them before. "Don't let love pass you by while you're busy making all your plans."
ooooooo
Booth banged forcefully on her door, while he impatiently paced the corridor outside. He felt terrible about what had happened back at his place, but not knowing where he stood with her? It was killing him. And so he had made the decision to come and find her, and sort this whole goddamn mess once and for all.
"Hey, I know somebody's in there," he called out in frustration.
Slowly the door opened and the agent was face to face with her father. "She's not here Booth."
"Don't give me that" he argued barging past the older man.
"Watch it!" Max growled. "In case you forgot I already had one heart attack."
"Sorry." Booth stood in the center of the lounge and rubbed his hands over his temples "That was uncalled for. I just need to explain to her."
"Wait. You think you're at fault here?" Max asked in confusion.
Booth regarded the older man intently. "Well yeah. I mean Bones was furious."
"Boy, you have so much to learn." Max shook his head. "Now I appreciate there will be particular details about this evening you wish to keep private, but it would help if you told me exactly what happened to make her walk out."
"I... told her I loved her, how long I've loved her. After she thought about it a while, she just flipped." He kept his gaze on the floor, not looking at Max until he'd finished speaking.
Max nodded and smiled. "I can understand why she would. She's very like her mother was."
Booth slumped down on the sofa. "That's not the worst. I was just so frustrated, I thought it was going to be so great, and then she threw it all back in my face. And... I got angry. I lost my temper. And I think I scared her."
"Did you hurt her?" Max's tone was serious. It was a question he had hoped that would never need asking.
Booth was horrified at the suggestion. "God no! I would never...."
Max breathed a sigh of relief as Booth confirmed the only acceptable answer to his question. He liked Booth. Max didn't want a reason to have to gut the only guy he'd met who was worthy of his daughters attention. "You didn't scare her. But she did seem a little confused. I think she just needs to work this through a while longer."
"That doesn't fill me with confidence, Max. I need to explain some stuff to her. Things that might help her understand."
Max sat down next to Booth. "She's up on the roof."
"Okay. Thank you." Booth smiled in relief. At least he knew where she was now. "Why?"
"Meteorological phenomena."
"Okay. Okay. I can fix this. As long as she'll let me." Booth stood up, anxious to go find her.
Max picked up a blanket and handed it to Booth. "Take the throw. It's cold out. It wouldn't do for Tempe to catch a fever."
"I'll take good care of her, Max," Booth answered as he accepted the warm blanket.
He nodded reassuringly at Booth. "I know."
ooooooo
"Hey, a shooting star." Booth looked up in awe at the clear night sky. Mid May was rarely cold, but the lack of cloud cover left a distinct chill in the air.
"It's a meteor shower."
Booth walked closer, until she could feel his breath on her neck. "You get to make a wish you know."
"Isn't that just an opportunity to remind ourselves what we don't have," she commented bitterly.
"You don't believe in wishes either?" He felt like he was losing badly.
"There are many things in which I hold no belief."
"I'd noticed." He watched another light stream across the night sky. "You're dad told me where to find you."
"Traitor," she whispered with a half-smile.
"He also said for you to make sure you keep warm." Booth placed the throw over her shoulders and wrapped it around her. "I think he's worried his nursemaid might catch a fever," he offered lightheartedly.
"My father needn't worry. I have a strong immunity to viral infections. And I am not his nursemaid. He is merely recuperating here as there is considerably less drama than at Russ and Amy's place."
"Right. Because you lead a mind numbingly boring life," Booth muttered under his breath.
She looked at him in bewilderment.
"I was being sarcastic." Booth sighed. "Can we talk?"
"I thought we were," she stated. "It's a simple process. You open your mouth, words come out."
"Now who's being sarcastic?"
"I don't know? Who?" She was getting confused now - which was pretty hard for a genius.
"Just, forget it."
"Why did you come here, Booth?"
"To explain."
She turned to face him. "You made me promise you that nothing would change between us. And then you tell me you love me. How is that fair?" Her anger and frustration was evident.
"Nothing has changed," he spoke with sincerity. "I was already in love with you."
"But still, you never told me. What is it that you've been waiting for exactly?"
"The right words. The right time." He shrugged his shoulders. "I was scared I'd lose you."
"And that makes it acceptable to take advantage of me?"
Booth's temper began to flair again with her accusations. "That's not what happened and you know it. You came to me, remember? If anyone should feel taken advantage of, then I think it should be me. 'Cause right now I don't feel like I mean anything more to you than a glorified sperm donor."
She turned away so he wouldn't see the tears that threatened to fall. "You know that isn't true."
"I don't... just help me understand why you're acting this way."
She sighed, then proceeded to try to explain to him. "My experiences have taught me... you have taught me.... that monogamy is a more socially acceptable norm, and as long as you find someone with whom you can share a physical and mental attraction, the relationship can be both fulfilling and rewarding.
"I already knew that."
"You see that star right there?" She pointed at a fleck of light in the sky.
"I can see it, yes."
"It no longer exists. We can still see it because of the light it emitted hundreds of years ago has taken all this time to reach us. But the star itself is long since gone. It is merely a shadow of what was once there."
"And this means what?" He hoped she was taking this someplace worthwhile.
"If I accept you into the role of my..." Her mouth flailed a little as she searched out an appropriate term of endearment. "... significant other...." It wasn't right but would suffice under the circumstances. "...then I have to contend with my belief in the certainty that nothing lasts forever. If the stars out there live and die then what possible chance do we have? There will inevitably be a point in our lives where we will chose to be apart." Her tears were flowing freely now. "And I do not think that I could bear the torment that would inevitably bring me."
"You're wrong."
"Are you sure?" she spat, rubbing the moisture from her cheeks. "The evidence to the contrary is quite compelling."
Booth pulled the blanket that had been gradually slipping, back over her shoulders, keeping hold for longer than he needed to. "Okay. Nothing in life lasts eternally but love, Bones? Love hurts forever."
She pulled away from his hold and stepped away. "I don't want to fight with you, Booth. But you're not making this easy. You are asking me to dismiss more than one of my beliefs in order to satisfy your own irrational emotional needs."
"I can't help that you are always on my mind. That you're the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing at night."
She looked up at him suspiciously. "Always on your mind?" Her fathers words from earlier resounded through her.
"I'm not asking you to abandon anything. I only want your love. But if you really can't give it then I need to know. I can't carry on living in limbo like this."
"I don't understand what is obviously an analogy for something," she retorted in exasperation.
He exhaled a weak attempt at laughter. "I can't move forward. And god knows I can't go back. I'm stuck!" Booth looked her straight in the eye. "Here, with you Bones."
"You make it sound like a punishment for your sins," she replied dismissively.
Booth gritted his teeth. "Yeah well, right now you're makin' it feel that way."
She stared at him, the anger and frustration and adoration and tenderness all evident behind his ever warm and reassuring brown eyes. Time seemed to stand still as they just stood, breathing deep, neither breaking eye contact for a moment.
Temperance spoke first. "Can't we just carry on like things were before? No complications."
Booth shook his head. They had come too far now. "With everyone watching me suffer the pain of my desire for you, Temperance?"
"You'd get past it. We'd be okay." Her voice was pleading now.
Booth stepped forwards towards her, stretching out his hands to take hers. "As long as we were together we'd be okay. Better than okay. Can't you see it?"
She stepped closer and rested her head gently against his chest. "I need time to think, without you having any expectations of me."
"I can wait." He squeezed her palms reassuringly, with affection. "However long it takes."
Temperance pulled her head back to look up at him. "I assume you will want to refrain from intercourse while I reach a decision."
"Actually... no."
Now she was confused. "You have a sound reason for that decision?"
"I figure, if I do, then your desire to be a mother is factored into the equation." Booth rationalized.
"It's not strictly an equation," she corrected. "There is no mathematical basis."
"What I mean is, that I'm not going to influence your decision by holding the prospect of a baby ransom. If you decide you want me too, then it has to be for the right reasons."
She smiled, bemused by his statement. "That actually makes sense."
He pulled her back to him with a tight embrace. "Plus..." His tone was jovial now. "Every time I make you come, it acts as a reminder of just one of the benefits of being in a relationship with Seeley Booth."
"Booth!" she exclaimed, with mock disgust, slapping his chest playfully. Suddenly she was looking up at him, her eyes filled with desire. "Remind me?"
He lifted her onto one of the raised platforms nearby. "Lie back," he husked. Booth pushed her skirt up until it gathered at her waist. Stretching her legs wide he ran his warm hands over her soft milky thighs, sending a shiver through her core. She breathed deeply as his thumb grazed the silken material rapidly saturating with arousal. Rubbing it against her, he smiled as he watched her bite her lip, obviously restraining her own need to cry out.
Booth moved to curl his fingers around the waistband and peeled her panties away, exposing her glistening center to the cool night air. She whimpered incessantly as the new sensation teased the nerve endings of her sex. The sky above them danced with streams of light as he lowered himself to taste her desire. He lapped softly as she wrapped her legs around him, pulling Booth closer.
She ran her hands though his soft hair. Would their baby have hair like his? He murmured against her at the unexpected touch, sending warming vibrations along her center.
Over time, he really had become her best friend and now here they were, as lovers. But time just keeps on pushing forward and she considered how long the potential of this stage could exist. Friends to lovers. Lovers to friends. But what if time wasn't good to them, and they ended up hating each other?
All good things must, inevitably, come to an end.
Don't they?
Was she fooling anyone but herself? She really was happy right now. Here, with Booth. It would be hard, but not impossible to make it work. To make them last. Until the end of time.
The sensations he was eliciting from within her began to reach a crescendo and right now she was powerless to his ministrations. Her release came with wild abandonment, as she cried out loud ecstatically.
As her body calmed and Booth persisted with his gentle touch she considered how flawed human judgment is under sexual arousal and consciously decided to push the issue from her mind until later. Right now she wanted to memorize and catalog every touch, every motion, knowing that it might be their last.
Last? Where had that come from? Was it possible that her reluctance to give herself wholly was in part her fear of losing him again?
She felt him lift her legs over his shoulders and he stepped as far forward as possible, positioning himself at her entrance. She looked to him approvingly and he pushed past the point of no return, smoothly, in one delft stroke.
"You are my heaven on earth," he admitted as he pulled back and returned to her rhythmically.
Her head lolled as his hands took hold of her own, bracing with tension, as he continued to thrust inside her. "Did you know?" she asked, writhing with pleasure. "That it would be this good?"
"I dreamed of this every night." he admitted, as his own body threatened release.
She shifted, allowing him deeper presence inside her.
"Tell me," he panted, pounding into her relentlessly. "Tell me that this doesn't feel so right. That we don't fit perfectly."
"I can't," she whimpered, between the moans of pleasure she was unable to stifle.
Close to the edge, Booth held her tighter and moved harder and faster against her, pushing what little self-restraint she had remaining in to oblivion. The abrupt orgasm that escaped her shrouded Booth's own arousal, dragging his seed deep within her, as he exploded powerfully inside the only woman he ever wanted again.
"I'm seeing stars," he joked as he climbed up beside her, and pulled the throw around them both.
"I already explained," she muttered from her blissful state. "They're meteors, Booth."
"Yeah, I can see some of them too."
She giggled at his post coital humor and he wrapped himself around her a little tighter, making sure she felt all the warmth he offered.
They lay together, entwined in the comfortable throw, watching the last of the meteors pass across the night sky.
"It's not too late to make a wish, Bones." He said, staring at the celestial wonders above them.
"Maybe I already did."
He turned to look at her, running his thumb along her jaw. "Maybe it'll come true."
"Come on," she said in seriousness, ending the moment. "Let's go inside. Before we succumb to exposure."
"Yes ma'am."
A/N – See! I can be nice sometimes. Any comments are greatly appreciated. Although please bear in mind I never professed to be a competent astronomer.