Thank you for all your warm reviews for my previous chapter. I don't have time for individual shout outs but I really appreciate all of your support.

Dropping by briefly, for a quick one.

Worth It

Brennan woke up that morning to the sound of quiet. Her brilliant mind mused that the sentence in itself was a paradox. Quiet in its meaning meant silence, the absence of sound. If she listened intently, there were in fact discernible sounds. She could hear the soft snoring of her mate next to her, still deep in his slumber. She could hear the occasional car passing by on the street outside, signalling the start of a new day. It was an unusual morning, as for the past three months, she had almost always been woken by the cries of her infant daughter.

She waited and listened, surely Christine would cry any time now, hungry or wet or wanting to be held. She waited for her daughter's distinct cries and after a moment of continued silence, started to worry. Logically, nothing untoward should have happened since she last fed Christine four hours ago, but the new mother inside her was suddenly filled with panic.

She slid out of bed, hurriedly reaching for her robe. She made her way across the hallway into Christine's room. As she peered into the crib, her heart was set at ease. Christine was awake and had seemed to have taken an interest in her tiny fists. Still not quite comprehending that those belonged to her, the baby waved them in the air, kicking her little legs excitedly as the eyes tracked the movements of her own fists. She must have spotted her mother smiling down at her and she flashed a smile in return.

Brennan thought her heart would melt. Her scientific mind chastised her, reminding her that unless she was currently in a furnace, it would be impossible for her hear to melt, but she finally understood what the phrase meant, metaphorically. She never thought it possible to love someone so fiercely. But yet one look at her three-month-old daughter and she simply knew, she loved her, more than humanly possible.

Christine seemed to realise that her breakfast was overdue and now no longer distracted by her own fists, started to scrunch up her face and cry.

"You're hungry aren't you?" Brennan cooed. She reached into the crib and scooped the crying baby up. Christine's cries became less angry, somewhat pacified to be held by her mother. Brennan made her way to the armchair in the room, settling herself into the soft cushions, before positioning Christine to her breast.

The little girl suckled hungry, and as mother and daughter locked eyes, Brennan couldn't help blink back tears. Her daughter was beautiful. So engrossed in staring at her child, Brennan had not noticed her mate entering the room until he was perched on the armrest.

Noticing the glisten in her eyes, Booth asked concerned, "Bones, what's wrong?" His voice was still raspy from sleep.

Brennan closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

She opened her eyes again, this time looking up at Booth. "I just love her so much."

Booth grinned. "I know what you mean." He planted a kiss to her forehead. "I always knew you'd be a great Mom."

"I remembered that case we had a few years ago. Your Japanese friend, Ken Nakamura. He had lost his sister, Sachi. I had wondered if it would ever be worth it to risk putting myself through such agony, just to love another person."

"Bones, we don't go there okay? Christine's gonna be just fine."

"I know that… well I don't know that with absolute certainty, but statistically, you're right. Christine is going to be just fine. Do you remember, after we closed the case, I had questioned you. I told you that I wasn't convinced that loving someone was worth all that pain. To have one's own happiness and well-being so contingent on someone else."

"You're convinced now?" Booth flashed her a dimpled grin.

"Yes." Brennan smiled back. "Loving her, loving you… it's all worth it."

"Aww… Bones. We love you too."

Christine's hunger now sated, gurgled happily as Booth took her into his arms, burping her. She let out a rather loud belch, almost disproportionate for someone so small, causing her parents to laugh.

"We have to get dressed, get to work, get her to daycare." Brennan stated, noticing the time.

"Yeah. We do. Tell ya what, I'll go get breakfast ready and you…" Booth handed Christine back to her mother. "… can change her stinky diaper."

"Isn't that what we usually do? Routine?"

"Yes, cause breakfast is my thing and feeding her… at least for now is your thing. I'll change her next diaper." He leaned in to press a kiss to Brennan's lips.

Booth watched as Brennan placed Christine back into her crib, going about removing their daughter's onesie and changing her diaper. It was a sight that for a time he thought he would never see. Every now and then, he had to remind himself that this was his new reality and not his coma dream.

"Aren't you supposed to go get breakfast ready? We're going to be late." Brennan stated.

"Right. On it." Booth made his way out of the room. "Oh and Bones, I'm glad Christine and me are the two people who helped you see that loving someone else, putting your heart out there is worth it."

"I'm glad it was the both of you too."