A/N: So, I'm back! After a complete computer meltdown and hard drive wipe, I have another chapter for you! I hope this makes up for my long absence!


Booth,

Thank you for telling me that you're okay. I have been very worried about you and my obstetrician has told me I need to keep my stress levels down as much as possible. Angela is sending you a letter as well as a tape which include more details about my most recent appointment.

I can assure you things have been going well here. The morning sickness I had been suffering from has, for the most part, subsided. I am also gaining weight at a rapid pace and my feet seem to be disappearing quickly. My stomach is now approximately the size of that orange ball you have lying around the house. I know it's not a football (I do know that sport very well) but I am unsure of which sport it belongs to.

Angela and I are putting together another package for you as I write this. Hopefully, the magazines we are sending are still relevant by the time you get this since I know you more than likely will not receive it right away. Please send me another letter as soon as you're safe so I don't worry more than I need to. Pops has told me that he's going to stay with Jack, Angela and I when the baby comes. I'm very excited to have Pops here even though I know the house will be very crowded. Jared wants to come but he is planning on taking summer courses so he may not have the opportunity.

Please stay safe. I worry about you all the time. Know that I love you very much and I can't wait to see you.

I love you,

Bren


Hey there Studly!

How's the desert? I bet it's awful even though I bet you're tanner than I am.

Okay, here's the deal, buck-o: When Bren, Jack and I were at her appointment, I messed up at the end so you won't be able to hear the news but…Start thinking of some manly, yet adorable names because I am about to have a godson. Bren still doesn't know and Jack and I are not about to spill the beans so you just have to make sure you don't tell her. Your son is going to be one good looking kid. Girls on the playground are not going to be able to keep their hands off him.

So, here's what you need to do:

1. Come home in one piece

2. Thinking of names for both a boy and a girl (so Bren doesn't catch on)

3. Give me some ideas for the nursery (Should I paint it blue?)

4. Come home in one piece (I know I said this already but it's VERY important)

5. Read the books we sent (I know you might be busy doing Ranger stuff and parachuting out of planes but Bren's kinda worried you're not going to know what to do when you get here)

Stay safe, Studly. We miss you

Angela

P.S. She's popped and she looks extremely top-heavy, like she's going to lose her balance at any minute, but she looks beautiful. I threw a few pictures in the box too. She really misses you, Booth. Come home soon, okay?

Angela folded up her letter and placed it in a separate envelope. She sealed it, knowing Brennan's curiosity might get the better of her. While Brennan was adamant about keeping the baby's gender a secret, Angela knew her friend desperately wanted to know like all moms.

Looking over the contents of Booth's next parcel, Angela nodded with satisfaction. There were their usual fixtures like the magazines and candy as well as the videotape but Angela realized there were stacks of new polaroids of Bren, herself and Jack, and Pops and Jared, even some of the house which was starting to look more like a home the more Bren and Angela spruced it up. She looked over the photos of her best friend, remembering the 'fight' they had while taking them.

"I don't want him to see me like this!" Brennan had shouted.

"And why not? You know that pregnancy glow everyone talks about? Well, you got it, baby! Booth will want to see it!" Angela told her, aiming the camera in Bren's direction.

"I feel extremely large and I don't want him to show his entire battalion how huge I've gotten!"

"Sweetie! You're pregnant! He just wants to show you off. He's excited! Booth wants to tell anyone who will listen that he's got the most beautiful wife who's about to give him a-ˮ

Brennan raised her eyebrows, challenging Angela to continue and divulge the secret she's been so insistent on keeping.

"- child," Angela started again, "He loves you and he wants the whole world to know so what's so bad about that?"

Brennan pursed her lips and waited to think of an answer.

"Nothing," Angela answered for her. "Now, are you going to fight me some more on this or are you going to strike a pose?"

Angela set the photos back into the box and waited to tape it up.

"Bren? Is there anything else you wanna put in the box?"

"Yeah! Hold on!" she called from the kitchen.

Awkwardly, Brennan jogged around the corner to where Angela was sitting with the box and set one last item in it. It was a pocket baby names book, flagged with small post it notes throughout the vast number of pages.

"I went though it last night and made some notes to see what he thinks. I just hope I have some sort of answer from him by the time the baby comes."


A week and a half later, Iraq

"Seel? You okay?" Booth was asked, "You've been pretty quiet all day."

Booth just nodded and stood up to walk away. He had been eating in the mess tent with the rest of his battalion, attempting to keep his mind off his buddy.

Teddy had gone MIA during their last mission and Booth's commanding officer was putting together a search and rescue team to go find him. Booth was desperate to help.

"Mail here yet?" he asked nobody in particular.

"Nah, but one of those boxes came for your while you were gone. The colonel has it."

Booth ran out of the mess tent and went to his superior's bunk. It doubled as an office and where they were, that was about as fancy as they could get for an office.

"Excuse me, sir?" Booth said, poking his head in the tent through the flaps that doubled as doors. "Uh, I heard I had received some mail while I was out on a mission. I heard you had it."

The colonel looked up from his work and smiled at Booth.

"Of course, Corporal. I'm pretty sure it's from your wife. The things she sends are famous around base camp, Booth. Hey, when you're done with the magazines, you mind tossing them my way? I haven't read a Sports Illustrated in ages."

Booth laughed, mainly because he was surprised people talk about stuff like that. "You'll be the first to see them, sir. Can I ask how that search team is going for Parker? I'd like to be in on it, if you'll let me?"

The colonel nodded. "Since you're volunteering, I don't have to force someone else. We'll come find you tonight when it's time to head out. We leave tonight. Enjoy whatever your wife sent you before we leave, Booth."

"Thank you, sir," Booth said, taking his parcel and leaving the colonel's tent. He made his way back to his tent quickly, eyeing his wife's perfectionist handwriting the whole way.

But, instead of going to his tent first, he made a detour to the training tent, where some soldiers watched video tapes on boosting morale or learning to use some of the equipment. He sliced open the box and fished around until he found the tape.

He slid it into the VCR and pressed play. Hearing the sounds of home, the voices of his friends and his wife, it made him ache to be back in D.C. He wanted nothing more than to go home right at that moment, but his grandfather taught him to be a better man than to just leave honor and duty behind. No matter how much he wanted to be home with Bren, Booth knew he needed to stay for Teddy. He had to find his friend. Booth wasn't about to turn his back on his only decent friend in the desert.

Booth watched the tape which ended with Angela hitting mute as she went out into the hall way with Jack and the ultrasound tech to hear the news. He wanted to be pissed at Angela for messing up on the tape but he just laughed, knowing she was probably just as excited to hear the news as he was. Booth hit rewind on the machine, getting ready to listen to the tape again while he explored the other contents of the box. When the tape stopped, he pressed play and listened again and pulled out the magazines. He took out the candy, promising himself that Teddy was going to be the only person he shared it with. It was childish probably, yes, but he always let his best bud get the first pick on the candy.

Booth then pulled out the baby name book Bren had threw in and smiled, despite his situation. He flipped through the book, smiling at her suggestions and even random comments on names that he knew neither of them could agree on.

Annabelle – That's pretty, right? Angela told me you'd want to pick out a pretty name if we have a girl

Clara – Did you ever see the Nutcracker ballet? I think I've liked that name ever since my father took me to the ballet when I was 12. I was too awkward for dance classes. Did I ever tell you that? I think I also like this name because it's the same name as my favorite film actress, Clara Bow. Do you know who she is? Angela had no idea

Grace – I quite like this one. Though, what happens if she's not graceful?

Hadley – I'm not sure why but I really like this one.

Harper – Cute, but I'm having issues thinking of a middle name

Piper – It goes well with your last name. I can't find a favorite in this section. This is difficult. How did our parents name us? I'm not sure I like this part.

Booth smiled, making note of his favorites she had picked and moved on to the boy names.

Andrew – My favorite (I think you can guess why)

Anthony – My other favorite (Apparently, the pregnancy hormones are making me very sentimental)

Gabriel – For some reason, every name that has something to do with your religion is every appealing to me.

Gunnar – A name that, surely, would appeal to you but I am not necessarily fond of it

Holden – My favorite protagonist (He slightly reminds me of you for some reason)

Joseph – We both know why this isn't going to happen

Lincoln – Maybe we can do something about your odd cosmic balance notion and name our child after someone your ancestor killed

Maverick – This name reminds me of you. And that film you tried to get me to watch that had the one actor you said was extremely short in real life

William – It seems very eloquent for a child, don't you think? Wow, finding boy names seems easier than picking out girl names.

Booth laughed out loud, thinking of her as she was going through this process, imaging her becoming frustrated at the book for giving her a large number of names to even consider.

"Booth, where are you?" The colonel's voice sounded outside the training tent.

"I'm in here, sir!" Booth called, taking the tape from the VCR and putting all of his items back in the box. Booth ran out of the tent and caught up with his commanding officer.

"Go put that stuff away and meet me back at the training tents in ten."

"Yes, sir!" Booth said, jogging toward his tent. When he reached his cot, Booth tossed the package underneath.

After a second thought, he reached into the box and pulled out the letters from Brennan and Angela and the stack of pictures that was inside, knowing he'd need as much of his girl and his friends as he could get while he tried to save his best friend and not get killed in the process.