AN: Two in one night! It's short and it may feel like I am repeating things I've done before, but hey, I made it to Y. Now off to finish Z before Monday!

Yearning

Booth was going crazy. Brennan's due date was in one week and if he felt helpless weeks ago, he did not even know what to name what he was feeling now. She was going crazy because he had become even more overprotective than ever, barely allowing her to sit down or stand up without help.

Brennan had been processing these emotions for a while now in a stunning reverse of their normal characters. Booth was usually the emotional one, the most intuitive, the most trusting. However, maybe it was the hormones, maybe it was motherhood settling in, either way, Brennan was ready. She was mostly ready to stop being pregnant, but it was like a switch had flipped, she woke up one morning and just knew that she was ready to be a mother.

Booth was not so lucky. As the day grew closer he lost control of his usual calm and cool exterior, or at least the exterior he thought he portrayed, and was a bumbling mess.

With every Braxton Hicks contraction, with every slight grimace from Brennan he would jump and ask if it was time. He would assure him that everything was normal and that she was not in labor and even if she was, he should calm down. It was a natural process after all.

So he was nervous. But also very excited. He was excited to share this experience with Bones. He was excited to meet this person who had changed his life and their relationship so drastically. He was excited to see the person that their baby became. He was maybe most excited because it gave a new label to his and Bones' relationship.

For years they had been partners and friends. Then they had become more than that. But in seven years there had never been a good label, a name to put to their relationship that was recognized and understood by everyone. Now, now they would be parents. Parents of a little girl. Something only they shared. A way they were linked forever.

The excitement went beyond anything he had ever felt before. He was excited about Parker's birth as well, but wasn't there day to day, to be a part of the countdown. This child would go home with him after she was born. To live with him. It was a new life. Not just literally, but figuratively for him, and for Bones and for both of them. This was a new life.

So maybe a better word for the feeling was yearning. He was yearning to start this new chapter. He couldn't sleep. A cross between army preparedness and a kid waiting for Christmas, he was up at the slightest noise from the partner beside him and up much earlier than the alarm.

He had checked everything he could check. He had put the car seat in the back of the car, made sure the screws on the bassinet were tight enough. He was just waiting for Brennan to give him the signal so that he could go into battle mode.

Yesterday had been a long day. Multiple people at the office asked how Dr. Brennan was and asked how close the baby is. Every time he answered 'any time now' and received that knowing smile he wanted to tell them all to leave him alone.

HR had the paperwork for his paternity leave on the desk for him this morning too. He had filled it out very carefully, making sure that no mistake would take away one minute that he got to be with Bones and Baby Bones. He didn't have a lot of time, he was going to make all of it count.

It seemed like everything on the checklist was checked off, now they were all just waiting. Every night as he went to sleep he made sure that there was a bag packed by the door and he had clothes laid out. Every morning when he woke up to start a new day, trying to go about and do normal things, knowing he was at least one day closer to the big event.

The worst part was being away from Bones all day. He was glued to his phone. Repeatedly checking to make sure he didn't miss a call and had enough service and battery power to receive the call he was waiting for.

Even Hodgins made fun of him when he would stop by the lab, the man who had a panic attack when trying to Angela to the hospital on time was actually making fun of him. That was when he knew he had to get a grip.

So today he tried to not be so neurotic. Today didn't require as much caffeine. Today he didn't day dream as much and he would go for 20 minutes or more without checking his phone. Today he actually got some work done.

And today he got to spend with Bones as she chipped in on a case for the few hours she was working. He was still over protective, but was much better at not pissing Bones off.

He now knew that the day of 'normalcy' they had was the calm before the storm. Because about six hours ago, Bones had told him it was time. And now he was holding his daughter in his arms.