Author's Note: Here is the penultimate chapter of this story. I hope I have managed to take the story in a satisfactory direction and you have all enjoyed reading it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones
A feeling of being too hot woke Brennan that morning. She laid for a few minutes with her eyes closed, allowing her mind to transition fully from unconsciousness to consciousness.
Today was Saturday, so unless some remains turned up, she was free to do as she pleased. There were some unfinished reports at the lab that she knew needed completing and as always, there were the hundreds of unidentified remains in Limbo to work on, but unusually, she didn't feel like work today. She thought she could go for a run, maybe call Russ and catch up with him and Amy and the girls before she idly wondered if Booth had Parker today and if he might want to come over to use the pool.
When she thought of Booth, something tickled at the back of her mind, something her half-conscious brain wasn't yet ready to release, something that felt important.
She suddenly became aware that she wasn't in her usual sleeping position. She was accustomed to waking up on her back and this morning she was on her side. It was only then that she noticed she was being pinned down by something hot and heavy. Finally, her brain released what it was withholding, and she was deluged by the memories of the last 12 hours. Booth. His hands, his arms, his lips. Touching her, holding her, kissing her, caressing her. Making love.
His proximity was obviously the cause of her uncomfortable body temperature, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She felt safe. She had never needed nor desired to be protected by a man, but she had accepted it from Booth. It had been necessary to allow him to protect her in their line of work, but she had never anticipated how allowing this proximity, this intimacy would lead to experiencing this feeling of safety laid in his arms. It wasn't stifling or oppressive as she'd expected it might feel. Instead, she felt free. She had chosen to do this, to cross that line he had drawn in a futile attempt to keep them apart, to finally let him in.
A lot had happened since Booth drew that line, and there had been times when Brennan thought that what had happened the previous evening would likely never happen, but here she was, laid in the arms of her partner, finally allowing herself to admit that she loves him. She used to think that if she ever thought she was in love, that it would mean she was weak. That she had submitted to the will of the hormones rushing through her body and in the process, disregarding the logic and reason that had steadfastly guided her through her adult life. But she understood now, that admitting she was in love didn't mean she was weak. In fact, it had taken a great deal of strength to finally acknowledge that what she felt for Booth wasn't new. She ultimately had to concede that she had been struggling with the depth of emotion she felt for him for quite some time, and she knew now that it required strength to admit that. To accept what she felt as true and not hide behind rationality.
Warm lips on her shoulder roused her fully from her half-asleep state. She wriggled, adjusting herself, closing the tiny gap between them, enjoying the feeling of the hard muscles of his chest against her back. She'd never allowed herself to be held like this before. It was surprisingly pleasant and the fact that it was Booth's arms she was wrapped up in only intensified the feeling of pleasure.
There was still a part of her that was afraid though. Afraid of what losing him would do to her. She knew how it felt to lose him and how it affected her. When he had been ordered by the FBI to fake his death after getting shot by Pam Nunan three years ago, Brennan had been absolutely devastated and she wasn't entirely sure how she had ever managed to deny what he meant to her. It was like she had not only lost a partner but also lost a part of herself. Looking back now, it was so obvious. But back then, she had been utterly consumed with trying to be impervious in order to prevent herself from feeling anything at all; certain that it was the only way for her to function. However, since losing Booth for a second time to Hannah, Brennan realised that being impervious to her emotions wasn't helping her anymore. The Eames case highlighted that to her in excruciatingly painful detail. How many opportunities had she missed by locking herself away, by hiding and denying what she felt? She had come to the realisation that she needed to change, and she slowly began allowing herself to feel, to build up resistance so she would be strong enough to withstand her emotions, to have the courage to feel them instead of denying they existed. The fear that she would lose him still gripped her heart, but she understood now that the risk was worth it. It was worth it to experience this feeling of total contentment that she had never felt before. This feeling that she was finally safe in every aspect of her life now that they were finally partners in every sense of the word.
Booth's fingertips traced a line from where his hand had settled at her hip and began moving in a random pattern along the length of her thigh, leaving goosebumps behind in their wake. Brennan shivered with pleasure as she turned over in his arms, her lips finding his in a sweet caress.
"Hey." He murmured between kisses, his fingers continuing their exploration of her bare skin.
"Hi." Brennan responded, eyes twinkling in the dim morning light.
"Bones?"
"Yes, Booth?"
"I'm not dreaming, am I? I mean, this is real, isn't it? You're here with me, in bed. Right?" Booth sought reassurance from Brennan, not quite able to shake the awful moment he'd had in the night when Bones had been in the bathroom, and he'd woken up alone thinking that making love with his partner had been a dream.
Brennan chuckled softly. "No Booth, you're not dreaming. This is very real."
Booth sighed in relief and smiled widely. He kissed her again, his tongue seeking hers as he shifted so he was hovering over her. Their eyes met, Booth's seeking permission. Brennan, interpreting his unspoken question correctly, gave a slight nod of her head and they were making love once more.
Afterwards, sweaty, sticky and gratified, Brennan laid her head on Booth's chest, her hand splayed over his heart, feeling the steady drumming beneath her palm. "I could get used to this." She murmured, her lips brushing his skin, making him shiver with pleasure.
"Get used to it baby. I plan on waking up next to you every day for the rest of my life."
Booth froze after his unguarded moment of truthfulness, knowing that despite their declarations the previous evening, that the thought of the rest of their lives together might still be too much for Bones to deal with.
He expected her to pull away from him, to try to escape. However, to his relief, she pushed herself closer into his side, placed a kiss on his chest and said, "I would like that very much."
They laid wrapped up in each other for a lot longer than Brennan could have ever anticipated she would tolerate. But eventually, the need to pee was becoming too urgent and she had to move. She pushed up onto one elbow and Booth groaned. "Where are you going?" He asked as his arm tightened around her waist.
"I need to use the bathroom." Brennan replied, half amused, half irritated, struggling against his grip.
Booth sighed and released her but only after pulling her down for a quick kiss which Brennan reciprocated enthusiastically.
As Brennan headed to the bathroom, Booth reluctantly rose from the bed and searched the floor for his boxers and his shirt which had been discarded so carelessly the night before. After slipping both garments on then rolling the sleeves of the shirt, he went hunting in the kitchen for breakfast. He had planned to cook something, maybe make some pancakes, but he was dismayed to find that Bones' fridge was virtually empty, with neither eggs nor regular milk to be found. The only breakfast-type food he could source was a half full box of granola, the soy milk in the fridge, and some fruit in a bowl on the counter. He grimaced at the thought of having to eat something akin to rabbit food for breakfast and decided to forego it, switching on the coffee machine instead. If he wasn't going to eat, he at least needed caffeine.
As he was searching for a mug, he felt a warm body behind him and arms snake around his waist. He quickly subdued his surprise at the unexpected moment of affection from his partner and turned around to face her. Clearly, she had decided to shower while she was in the bathroom. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, and she was wearing a thin, silky blue robe, her cheeks still pink from the heat of the shower. Booth didn't think he could ever remember her looking so gorgeous, all flushed and bare skinned, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she had showered without him. He had been fantasising about shower sex with Bones for almost as long as he'd known her, and he had hoped he could fulfil that particular fantasy that morning. Instead, he settled for pulling her close and holding her against his chest as his lips found hers in what he had intended to be a quick kiss, but actually ended up being long and heated. It had been a little over twelve hours since their first official date and he was already addicted to her. Addicted to her taste, her scent, the feel of her in his arms. Booth offered up a quick prayer, asking God for strength for if she ever left him, because he was sure if she did, it would kill him.
"Why are you in the kitchen, Booth?" Brennan queried whilst they paused their caress to catch their breath.
"I was gonna make us some breakfast. But all I could find was fruit and granola. You haven't even got any real milk, Bones!" Aware that his words could be interpreted as criticism, he grinned then softly kissed her again.
"Well…" Brennan said "…if granola isn't to your liking, we can go out for breakfast if you prefer?"
Booth sighed. What he really wanted was to make love some more, but he intended on spending the whole weekend with Bones and if he didn't eat soon, he knew he would be really lacking in stamina for later. "Ok, let's eat out. Where d'you wanna go?"
"I assumed we'd go to the diner, but if you have somewhere else in mind…"
"No, the diner's fine but… Are you sure you want to go the diner together, Bones?"
Brennan shot him a quizzical look. "Why wouldn't I want to go the diner with you, Booth? We go there together all the time."
"Yeah, I know that. But are we going to be able to hide the fact that our relationship has changed? Y'know, if anyone sees us there?"
Brennan paused, considering the implications of what Booth had just said. She didn't doubt that they would be able to hide the change to their relationship. After all, they'd always been close and she was certain they would be able to exercise restraint in public, even though since last night it seemed that she couldn't keep her hands off him. It was like he was a magnet, and she was being unconsciously drawn to him. But the biggest question was, were they keeping it a secret? Or more importantly, did Booth want to keep it secret? She certainly didn't want to make any big announcements, but would it be so terrible if people found put about them? For a short, irrational moment, she wondered if he was ashamed of her. But then she remembered that it was Booth she was talking about. She trusted him and she knew he wouldn't ever think something so unfavourable about her. She didn't want a simple misunderstanding to mess up what was happening between them, so she attempted to clarify what Booth meant.
"Is there a reason you don't want us to be seen together?"
"No! Of course not! I just wasn't sure if you wanted to keep this a secret. I mean, what's ours is ours, right?"
Brennan hesitated before she replied, thinking about what Angela had said before she left the lab yesterday. Spotting her hesitation, Booth stooped a little, attempting to see Brennan's eyes, trying to understand what had caused her previously happy expression to be wiped off her face.
"Hey, what is it, Bones? Have I said something to upset you?"
"No, Booth. I'm not upset. I was just thinking that it's probably a little late for keeping this a secret."
"Why?"
"Because Angela knows. She saw us when we kissed in my office yesterday."
Booth shook his head and smiled ruefully. Of course Angela had seen them together. There wasn't much that happened in that lab that Angela didn't see. The artist was somehow omniscient – particularly where Bones' love life was concerned. "You do realise the fact that Angela knows probably means everybody knows by now."
Brennan shook her head stubbornly. "She promised she wouldn't say anything."
"Ok, well I guess everyone will find out sooner or later. I just don't really wanna make a big deal out of this. I love you, and what we have, it's special, and I think for a while at least I'd like it to just be ours."
Brennan smiled in relief. His motivations for keeping their relationship a secret were based on good intentions and even though she didn't see a problem with telling people, there was also something thrilling about keeping it hidden. "So, we don't tell anyone, but accept they will probably figure it out for themselves eventually."
"Exactly!" Booth grinned then bent his head to brush his lips over hers once more.
As he pulled away, intending to go back to making the coffee, he noticed angry purple marks marring the flawless creamy skin on her neck that had been made by his mouth last night. He swallowed tightly as he gently pushed the collar of her robe to one side so he could see the marks more clearly. He was appalled at himself. He'd known at the time that he was going to mark her and even though she had pleaded him for more, seeing what he had done, he felt awful that he hadn't ignored her impassioned request and stopped anyway.
Brennan watched as the colour drained from Booth's face and his jaw hardened. "What is it, Booth?" She asked, unable to see what could have elicited such a reaction from him.
"Did you look in the mirror this morning, Bones?"
Brennan shook her head. Sighing with exasperation, Booth turned around and gently moved her so she could see her reflection in the chrome toaster next to the coffee machine. Even though the image was warped, Brennan could clearly see what had upset Booth so much.
"Oh." Brennan said, moving closer to the toaster and bending forward so she could see the marks more clearly.
Booth took a step away from her, worried that his proximity might freak her out right after seeing the hickeys. "I'm so sorry, Bones. I didn't mean to do that. You gotta believe me that it was never my intention to mark you like that."
Brennan turned away from the toaster to face him and shrugged. "I was aware at the time with the pressure you were exerting with your mouth and your teeth, that there was a strong possibility you would break some of the capillaries under the epidermis, leaving these marks. If I didn't want that to happen, I would have told you to stop." She smiled lopsidedly before continuing, "Rather irrationally, I find I quite like it. I've never had hockeys before."
"Hickeys, Bones." Booth corrected rolling his eyes at the fact that she was pleased he had given her hickeys and that she had messed the name up. "So… you're not mad?"
Brennan shook her head. "No, I'm not mad." She closed the distance between them and reached out for his shirt, pulling him up against her so she could kiss him. The kiss deepened and heated once again before Brennan pulled back, placing her palm on his chest to put a little space between them. "If I don't go and get dressed now, we will be going out for lunch and not breakfast." She said with another lopsided smile then turned and headed in the direction of her bedroom.
Booth watched as Brennan walked to her bedroom to get dressed. He would go and collect his pants when she was dressed because she was right - if he followed her in there now while she was semi-naked, they would never make breakfast.
He finally found a mug, poured himself a much-needed coffee and thought about what a difference a few days or even hours could make. How long had it been since his disastrous proposal to Hannah? A couple of weeks? Maybe three? He didn't care enough to keep track. All he knew is he had been sad, and angry. Angry at himself and his poor choices. Angry at Hannah for making him believe they had a future. Angry that she already had with another man what he had wanted all along. Or should he say, what he believed he wanted. He knew now that he never really wanted to marry Hannah. He just wanted something – a token, a symbol- to prove that his romantic life wasn't a disaster. Something to prove to other people and himself that he was over Bones. But he wasn't, and he never would have been. Even if Bones had never wanted to give them a chance, he thought he would have preferred to live a life of celibacy than to run the risk of abandoning her again. Even if she never wanted to get married (which was likely considering her views on the subject) he only wanted her. He would face the consequences in front of God. He would rather risk spending an eternity in hell than lose her. She was worth it.
His head felt fuzzy, but in a good way. It was as if he had a cloud of love, desire and happiness surrounding him, preventing almost all rational thought, and this blissful haze was preventing him from coming to grips with how his life had been transformed in a few hours. The anguish he'd been harbouring for longer than he cared to admit had disappeared. Even yesterday, when Bones had agreed to go on a date with him, he hadn't felt this happy. Relieved, sure. But still tentative. So much could have still gone wrong – and still might, but Booth didn't want to think about that. He was trying to live in the moment and not think too much about the future. In fact, he was having difficulty thinking about anything other than last night. Last night had exceeded any of his dreams and fantasies about his partner. She had been more than he could ever have hoped for. Even just now, with the hickeys. He still felt wracked with guilt, but she had been so Bones about it and Booth felt himself falling harder and deeper in love with her every second he was near her. The love he had been denying and holding back had finally been set free and it was liberating. He felt free. He'd been holding himself back for years, not able to tell her how he felt, then, when he did, suffering the worst rejection imaginable. Worse even than Hannah turning down his proposal of marriage. But now, the pain of that rejection had disappeared, and they were finally together. Him and Bones, and he would do whatever it took to make sure they were never parted again.
Bones eventually reappeared from the bedroom when Booth was halfway through his second cup of coffee. She had applied a little make-up and dried her hair. She had dressed casually in jeans and a deep purple blouse with a collar that covered the worst of the hickeys. Even dressed so casually, she looked absolutely stunning and Booth had to remind himself how lucky he was.
"You look amazing, Bones." He said as he crossed the room towards her, eliciting a shy smile from her.
"Thank you." Brennan accepted the compliment, then said impatiently, "Why aren't you dressed yet?"
"Because…" Booth placed his hands at her waist and smiled as she looked up at him. She was still barefoot therefore highlighting the height difference between them which was usually negligible when she was wearing shoes. "…my pants are still in your bedroom, and I didn't want to interrupt you while you were getting dressed. Like you said, we wouldn't make breakfast and I'm really hungry."
Brennan grinned up at him as he kissed her softly then released her to go in search of his discarded clothing. Booth located his jacket, pants, and socks and pulled them back on before using the bathroom and washing his face. He really needed a shower along with a change of clothing but there would be time for that later. He paused on his way out of the bathroom, eyeing up Bones' bathtub. It was huge, much bigger than his own, and immediately, he started to get ideas about how they could use the bathtub together. He shook his head and forced himself to leave the bathroom. There would be time for that later too.
When he walked back into the kitchen, Bones had tidied a few things away, including his half-full coffee mug. She was wearing boots and had her purse and jacket in her hand.
"You ready to go, Bones?"
"Yes." Brennan said with a smile before walking towards Booth.
She turned to leave, expecting him to follow, but instead, he grabbed her elbow, halting her progress.
"Bones, wait."
Brennan raised a brow questioningly. "Have you forgotten something, Booth?"
Booth shook his head. "No. I… I just wanted to say thank you."
"For what?"
"For going on a date with me, for last night, for… giving me, this, us a chance. I know how difficult change is for you and I just want you to know that I'll never take that for granted. Never take you for granted. I want you to be happy and I hope I will be the one to make you happy. Because I love you." He knew he was rambling, but he wanted to make sure she understood what she meant to him. "D'you understand what I mean?"
Brennan smiled softly, her heart figuratively melting in her chest. "Yes, Booth I understand. I love you too."
An ecstatic smile spread across Booth's face. Even though she had already whispered those words to him last night, to hear them again made his heart soar. He didn't think he would ever get bored of hearing them from her lips. Ever.
"Let's go get breakfast." He said, taking her hand in his, hoping that their future would always be just like this.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The next few weeks passed by exactly as Booth had hoped. When they weren't at work, the partners spent every spare minute together. Catching up for lost time, Booth liked to think. He was so happy and in love that Hannah and his failed proposal all seemed like a distant memory, or some bad dream consigned to the depths of his subconscious, destined to be forgotten permanently.
So far, nobody had guessed that anything had changed between the partners. Or, if they had, they were keeping it to themselves. As far as they could see, Angela had kept her word. Booth had thought it was probably because she had enough on her plate at the moment with being heavily pregnant and all, to spend time spreading idle gossip about her best friend. But Brennan didn't agree. She had trusted Angela to keep her word to not share their secret and she had, proving to Brennan the depths of their friendship, something which mattered to her a great deal. Besides Booth, Angela was the one person Brennan was closest to, the only other person she trusted, who she knew would have her best interests at heart.
After agreeing to embark on a romantic relationship with her partner, Brennan had anticipated that she might eventually have some reservations about the direction they were headed in. She thought that maybe she might begin to feel stifled or experience some uncertainty about if she could maintain this sort of personal relationship. But she hadn't experienced any difficulties at all. In fact, it had almost been easy. Despite resisting it for years, it felt like a natural progression of their relationship, and she couldn't have been happier.
Unlike Booth though, Hannah wasn't a distant memory for Brennan. Hannah's presence in Booth's life had forced Brennan to face up to the reality of her feelings for him, allowing her to finally be open to the possibility of a romantic relationship. However, it was still painful for her to remember the time when Booth had still been together with Hannah.
When it seemed that Brennan was destined to be alone forever, she had almost left. Run away to escape the torment. The pain had almost been too much to bear, and she had wanted to run to Maluku again or somewhere similar. The urge had become almost overwhelming after she confessed her feelings to Booth that rainy night in his car. Particularly when he had made it explicitly obvious that he was going to stay with Hannah.
Despite the crushing sorrow she felt, Brennan had stayed. Unable to tear herself away again, no matter how much pain it caused her. It had never been her intention to get between Booth and Hannah. She had genuinely been happy that he was happy, no matter the amount of anguish it caused her to see them together. She had simply wanted to remain his partner and his friend, even if that was all he ever would be to her.
Sticking around though, had wound up having its advantages. It had meant Brennan had been there for Booth when he had needed her most. Prompting them to finally make that leap towards being a couple. Brennan still didn't know what the future held for them, but she was certain that while ever he was by her side, they would be happy.
The first few weeks they spent together had passed by in a whirlwind of dates and sex. They hadn't spent a night apart since that first night together, splitting their time between each other's apartments. She had allocated a drawer for some clothes and other essentials for him at her apartment and he had done the same for her at his place. Their relationship was progressing quickly, but somehow, that didn't scare her.
What did scare her though, was the idea that, despite his assurances, she would commit a relationship faux pas of some sort, or something else would go wrong, something so damaging it would be impossible to recover from. Something that would spell the end for them, and she would lose him, making her worst fears come true.
She anticipated that day would come eventually, and to her consternation it came sooner than she had expected. It was on one of the occasions when she was due to spend the night at Booth's place that Brennan found herself waiting, sitting at his tiny kitchen table, nervously fiddling with her mother's ring resting in its usual place on her right hand. She'd had a key for his apartment for years and she had always felt comfortable using it, apart from when she used it that night. That night, as she waited in the quiet and semi-darkness, she felt like an intruder, an unwanted guest. Not because of anything he had said or done, but because of what she needed to tell him.
She still didn't know how she felt about the situation that was the source of her anxiety, so she had absolutely no idea what Booth would think about it. The thought that was on constant replay in her mind was that she hoped it wouldn't make him leave. She didn't think he would – he was a good man, she knew that. But she was still reeling herself and was unable to judge at all how he would react, even more so than usual.
She should have seen it coming. Her own behaviour should have tipped her off, but she had been in denial, unwilling to believe what was right in front of her eyes.
She knew her own body and she knew when there was something amiss. The first clue was how she had been inexplicably preoccupied thinking about Angela and her pregnancy. Her stomach seemed to grow impossibly larger by the day and it was fascinating. Brennan had initially assumed it was a fascination based on science. The growth of a child from a single egg and sperm was the closest thing she would accept as a miracle. However, she had not been preoccupied by the scientific facts, nor seeing close hand the kinaesthetic and skeletal changes brought about by pregnancy. Instead, she had found herself contemplating with trepidation what the pain of labour must feel like, and how a child would completely change every aspect of your life.
Her second – and most obvious- clue, the one she had been wilfully ignoring, was that her period was late. She was on the pill, had been for years. Even when she hadn't been sexually active, she kept taking it so that she could control her menstrual cycle. Dealing with tampons and cramps on digs was inconvenient to say the least and the pill allowed her to avoid it and concentrate on her work. But now, it had failed, and she was pregnant. With Booth's baby. The test that she had taken that morning finally confirming what she didn't want to accept. Wanting to mitigate for the possibility of a false positive, she had taken six tests in total, wanting to be sure without a doubt. But they all said the same, pregnant.
She heard Booth's key rattle in the door, then she could hear him humming a tune as he entered the apartment and locked his gun in the safe. He sounded happy which made Brennan feel worse. She just couldn't shake the feeling she was about to ruin his day.
"Hey, Bones!" He said with a wide grin as he rounded the corner, casually tossing his keys on the counter. He strode towards her, aiming to take her in his arms, tell her how much he had missed her, but he stopped short when he saw the expression on her face. "What's wrong?" He asked with consternation.
The only light in the apartment was coming from a lamp next to the couch and she was sitting in the dark kitchen, hunched over, her hands resting in her lap. He couldn't quite decipher the multitude of emotion etched on her beautiful face. In the end he decided she looked defeated.
Brennan floundered not knowing how to give voice to the life-changing words. She took a deep breath but that didn't help. The words wouldn't leave her mouth and alarmingly, she felt tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. When one of those tears escaped her eye and slipped down her cheek, Booth paled, and his eyes widened.
"Bones," Booth pleaded "tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me." He felt like his heart was going to pound right out of his chest it was beating so hard. Was she leaving him? That was the only explanation. What else could she have to tell him that would make her look so devastated. Booth couldn't understand why. The last few weeks had been the best of his life and he thought Bones had felt the same way.
Brennan shook her head once before swallowing thickly. She lifted her head and finally met his eyes. What she saw there finally gave her the courage to speak. Behind the obvious fear was his love for her and she immediately knew she would be ok.
"I'm pregnant." She said simply.
Booth seemed to freeze on the spot, his face a fixed expression of confusion. Brennan waited while he processed what she had just said. After a few seconds, it finally appeared to sink in, and a huge grin spread across his face.
"Are you serious?!" But before she could reply, he knew it wasn't a joke, she would never joke about something like this. "This is amazing!" He exclaimed as he took one of her hands and pulled her up into his arms, wrapping them around her being careful not to squeeze her too tight.
"You're happy?" She asked almost incredulous, leaning back out of his embrace so she could see his face.
"Of course I'm happy! How could I not be happy? The woman I love has just told me she's pregnant with my baby. I'm the happiest guy in the world."
Booth's eyes searched her face for a moment, trying once again to read her. He was so wrapped up in his joy that he hadn't considered that this might not be something she wanted or was particularly happy about. "Are you happy about this, Bones?"
After a moment she said "I want to be happy, but I'm scared. Terrified, actually." Another tear spilled over onto her cheek as she confessed her feelings. She suddenly realised that she wanted this. She wanted it much more than she anticipated, but the fear was so overwhelming. "Our whole lives are going to change." She elaborated, but still not quite able to overtly express what was at the crux of her fear which was that the change would be too much too soon, and she would end up raising the baby alone.
Booth could see the fear in her eyes, and he knew exactly what the cause of it was. "Bones, I'm not gonna lie to you. Yeah, things will change. But it's a good change. Babies are a blessing, a gift, and you will love him or her more than anything or anyone you have ever loved before. And I'm gonna be right there with you, the whole time, all the way. You aren't doing this alone, Bones. We're in this together."
"Aren't you afraid though, Booth?" His words had reassured her, but she still got the feeling he was saying these things simply for reassurance rather than being completely truthful.
"Yeah, Bones. I'm afraid. Maybe not for the same reasons you are though." When she raised a questioning brow, he elaborated. "I know you're scared because of the change, and I know how you hate that. I also know you're apprehensive about being a mom, because I've never met a new parent who wasn't apprehensive. I've already got Parker, so I know how it feels to be scared about those things, but I also know that you change with the changes, you adapt bit by bit. And yeah, I'm a little nervous about those things still. What scares me though, is the thought of losing you." He gently placed a hand on her stomach. "Growing this baby is gonna be hard on your body. I'm sure you already know it's not without risks, and if I lost you, it would kill me. So, I'm going to want to take care of you, the best I can, and I don't want that to scare you away."
Brennan's eyes widened and she felt her heartbeat accelerate as she incorrectly interpreted what he meant by that. "You're not going to ask me to marry you, are you, Booth?"
"What?" Booth said, shocked. Wondering where the hell that had come from. "No! No, Bones that's not what I meant. Unless… do you want me to propose to you?"
Brennan shook her head. "No, I don't want you to propose to me. Marriage is an archaic institution, and I don't believe in it. You know that."
Booth sighed in relief. He would love to marry Bones, but he had learned his lesson. No more proposing. He knew Bones' beliefs on the subject, and he wasn't going to force her into something she didn't want to do or wasn't ready for. He had learned that lesson before too.
"Yeah, I know, Bones. I was just making sure, y'know? You might have changed your mind. I mean, you changed your mind about love, didn't you?" He said with a teasing smile before leaning in to kiss her gently on the lips. "Besides, I'm done proposing. It never turns out well for me. So, if you ever change your mind and decide you wanna get married, you are gonna have to ask me."
"No, Booth." Brennan said stubbornly. "That's never going to happen."
"Never say never, Bones. You said we would never work and look where we are now. Things change, people change. All I'm saying is, don't rule it out. You and I both know how life and circumstances can change in an instant, and one day, you might feel differently. But for now, all you need to know is, I'm here, I love you and we're gonna have a baby. We're gonna be a family, Bones. No matter what."
Brennan smiled at the man stood in front of her. He was so many things to her and now he was one more. He had begun as just her partner, then he was her friend, then her confidante, then her boyfriend, and now, the father of her child. He was her safe place; he was her home. She had never felt as secure as she did when she was with him, and she knew that whatever the future held, she was going do whatever it took to make sure nothing was ever going to come between them.
She didn't know what to say to him, didn't know how to begin to describe all the things he was to her and how much he meant to her. Instead, she said "I love you, Booth." Hoping he would know the tacit meaning, as he always seemed to.
The huge smile that lifted his lips told Brennan that he had. The kiss they shared wasn't gentle. It was heated and intense and when they pulled apart, Booth could see Brennan was a little flushed. "Are you ok, Bones?" he asked her as he stroked her pink cheek with one finger, concerned that maybe she was beginning to feel a little sick from the hormones.
"Yes, I'm ok. I'm more than ok." She said with a shy grin before leaning in to kiss him again, pulling him so close against her that she could feel his heart beating against her chest.
Their passionate embrace continued for a few minutes before their mouths finally disentwined from the other, both breathing heavily. "Do you want me to show you how much I love you?" He whispered against her lips.
"Yes." She said, her voice husky with desire. Her joyful laugh then resonated around the room as her scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.
A/N: I hope this wasn't too predictable. I always like to bring Brennan and Booth back to cannon events where possible :)