Caroline
Cher, I have to take a little credit for Seeley Booth and Dr. Brennan finally getting together after years of that nonsensical insistence that they are only partners in the professional sense of the word. I was, after all, the one who goaded her into kissing him under the mistletoe in order to procure the conjugal trailer in which to give her rascally father his first family Christmas celebration in sixteen years.
Max Brennan could charm the striped socks off a Ronald McDonald statue if he decided to. He is a handsome and persuasive man and it's very evident from whence Dr. Brennan inherited her considerable intelligence. Somehow, though, he didn't pass on his savoir faire, for that pauvre t-bête has no grasp of idioms, slang or popular culture.
Agent Booth has been acting as her interpreter ever since they met! I can't tell you how many times I've heard her remark, "I don't know what that means." She ought to trademark the phrase! Maybe collect royalties on it, although she surely doesn't need the money with all the successful books she's published.
She is definitely not a babe in the woods, however, after all the trauma and mistreatment she withstood during her three years in foster care. She held a grudge against her brother Russ for leaving her behind, but that boy was barely raised himself. How was he to cope with the fits and starts of a miserable younger sister? Waking up Christmas morning, seeing gifts under the tree, she thought her parents had come home. And then to find they're still gone? Coo! No wonder she lost it with him!
B'lieve me, I know how tough teenaged girls can be to handle in the face of confusion and misfortune. My daughter had a much calmer and more stable adolescence than Dr. Brennan, and she caused her daddy and me plenty of headaches raising her! Despite our divorce, David Barron and I got along well, and we made sure we gave Honore a placid home life.
No, I think Dr. Brennan handled her situation as well as she could. That girl's determination, perseverance and work ethic pulled her out of as horrid a situation as Agent Booth faced. The two of them are very different but their strengths and talents are complementary. They'd be stronger if they'd extend that 'partners' thing into all areas of their lives. They practically spend all day and night together as it is.
That Christmas season, I told Dr. Brennan I was feeling 'puckish' but I wanted that pair to demonstrate to themselves how strong their connection is. Once they got started kissing, they kept it up for 'way longer than the five steamboats I'd specified, proving my point. They do share a bond, even if they won't own up to it. It's like they're both scared little quail when it comes to admitting to their feelings. I've never been a very patient woman, but true love can't be rushed or forced. You have to let those emotions and bonds simmer like a good roux.
Now, finally, all these years later, after running off to Maluku and Afghanistan, when I got them to come back here for Cam's sake, Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan are finally together. It took poor Vincent's death to push them into one another's arms, but once there, they've stuck like glue. And now, a baby girl is on the way to cement the relationship for good. They might not ever tie the knot and marry, but those two are hitched for life, no matter if they've got a piece of paper to prove it or not.
I'd say I've done good, real good! Wouldn't you?