I can't seem to get away from Chrissy for some reason. But hey, you guys are always telling me how much you love her, so I'm only appeasing the masses. :P I hope you enjoy this fic! Only one more and then the two special Christmas fics before we sadly must say goodbye.
Name
Booth cradled the pink bundle in his arms, his eyes gazing down in wonder. He was so proud of Brennan. She had woken him up at about four that morning to tell him that she had gone into labor. He, of course, immediately panicked and began preparing to leave for the hospital. Brennan, ever the rationalist, told him that it would take hours and they had plenty of time to get there. He paced a hole into the floor of their bedroom as he anxiously timed the contractions and asked her a million times if it was time to go yet.
Finally, she decided that labor was far enough along for them to go to the hospital. Booth was in overdrive as he rushed to put their bags and Brennan into the car before popping on the siren and speeding as fast as he dared to the hospital. Even with all the nervous waiting for things to progress, it was still another six hours before their beautiful baby girl was born.
"She's perfect, Bones," Booth whispered as he looked down at his daughter. He could swear that she was already the spitting image of her mother. He was also proud to see what seemed to be his nose in the middle of her perfect little face.
"She's beautiful," Brennan agreed. Booth smiled even wider than he was already. There was no talk about the evolutionary advantage of mothers feeing an attachment to their children or the release of hormones making her emotional. Brennan was simply happy, and perfectly willing to say that her baby was the most gorgeous in the world. The baby started to fuss a little in his arms. He moved to give her back to Brennan, but she put a hand up to stop him. "I want you to hold her for a while longer," she explained. "I find I very much like the image." Booth's grin got even goofier. "You should talk to her," Brennan suggested. "Goodness knows you talked to her enough when she was in the womb. She'll recognize your voice, it will calm her."
"What should I say?" he asked. Brennan shrugged.
"It doesn't matter. She's barely an hour old. She can't understand what you're saying anyway. Tell her who you are. Tell her about Parker. It's your voice that matters, not what you say." Booth nodded and looked back down at the baby.
"Hi, Princess." His stomach flipped as he called his little girl by the nickname. He had a feeling 'Princess' would be a name that would stick. "I'm your daddy," he said with tears clouding his vision. "I promise to keep you safe every day for the rest of my life. I'll teach you about all kinds of things. I'll teach you how to play sports and how to ride your bike, and most importantly, how to beat up boys."
"Booth," Brennan warned through her laughter. Booth looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes that made her heart skip a beat.
"We still have to pick a name," he pointed out. Brennan nodded. This had been a battle from the moment they found out they were having a girl. Each had their preferences and they couldn't for the life of them agree on a single name. "Actually, I think I have the perfect one."
"I already vetoed Abigail," Brennan warned. Booth chuckled.
"I know, Bones. I think you'll like this name." Brennan waited patiently for him to just tell her. "I think her middle name should be Elizabeth. That was my grandmother's name."
"Pops' wife?" Booth nodded.
"Yeah. She died before Pops took me and Jared in. I don't remember much about her, but everyone who knew her says that if there was ever a saint, it was her."
"I would love to honor your grandmother that way, Booth," Brennan said earnestly. Booth flashed her a wide grin.
"Thanks, Bones."
"But what about her first name?" Booth took a deep breath and walked closer to Brennan's bed. He carefully placed the baby in her arms.
"Christine," Booth whispered in her ear before straightening back up. Brennan looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears.
"Booth…" She couldn't manage to say anything else. "I… I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything," Booth promised.
"No, I should," Brennan insisted. "This is… just wonderful. I love you so much." Booth leaned in and kissed her softly before bending over and kissing Christine's tiny head.
"I love you more, Baby," Booth said as he stood up straight again.
"Christine Elizabeth Booth. It's a beautiful name."
"I was thinking we could call her Chrissy." Brennan nodded in approval. "Are you sure that you don't want to hyphenate her name? I mean, it's only fair. You hyphenate, and she's just as much yours as she is mine. More, even. I mean you're the one who carried her and gave birth to her. It just seems like you should have the right to give her your name."
"I've thought a great deal about this, Booth." Of course she had. "I considered hyphenating her name, but having two last names is quite a bit for a young child to handle. Also, giving her your last name exclusively is my gift to you. After all, you named her Christine. That seems only fair to me."
"Thank you, Bones," he said in a voice filled with so much love it sent a shiver up Brennan's spine. "So, are you ready to let the squint squad in? They're going to do some serious fawning over this little angel."
"Yes, I'm ready," she said with a chuckle. Booth gave her one more quick kiss before leaving the room to get their friends. Brennan looked down at the tiny person in her arms.
"I may not be a perfect mother," she told her in a soft tone. "But I promise to be the very best mother I am capable of being. With your father helping me, I think I may even be a great mother. However, when you are old enough to speak, I don't want you to hesitate to tell me if I have wronged you in some way. Because the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you." She paused to wipe a tear from her eye. "I love you… Chrissy."
So, as I said, one more regular fic tomorrow and then two Christmas fics, then the end. As always, tell me what you think!
