Just an idea that I've been toying with...
AN: They still don't belong to me...
Set two months after season finale.
"Booth"
"Seeley, you've got to do something right now!"
"Angela?" Booth started to panic at the tone of Angela's voice. She sounded unsure and worried. The fact that she was using his first name also slightly freaked him out.
"Seeley Booth, you've to got to get yourself down here right now!"
"Angela, calm down. What's going on? Is everybody okay?" It was almost midnight, and Booth had just fallen asleep. He was wide awake now, however, because Angela was scaring him.
"Oh yeah, everybody's fine." The sarcastic tone in her voice implied that nobody was in mortal danger, and so Booth relaxed a little bit.
"Angela, I just fell asleep. Unless you tell me right now what's going on and why I need to join you at this hour, tell me right now what's going on." It was Booth's turn to sound pissed off. Softening his tone, "Just tell me, please."
"David just proposed to Tempe, and she said that she'd have to think about it. They're going to dinner tomorrow to talk about it, and Tempe said that she'd give him her answer." She said it so quietly that Booth wasn't sure that he'd heard her correctly. Finally, things processed.
"He what?" He knew that he sounded surprised and hurt, but right now he didn't care if Angela could read his emotions like a book. He was silent for another moment, then continued. "Besides, what can I do?"
"Oh, Booth." Angela's voice sounded so sympathetic. "You have to come down here and convince her not to do it- marry David I mean. He's all wrong for her. She needs someone who can be romantic, but tough, fun, yet serious- David isn't any of those things. But you are Booth. You are." After that, she hung up, leaving him his thoughts.
Booth contemplated going down the Jeffersonian right now. On the one hand, Temperance would most likely hate him for trying to ruin any change of her being happy. She also probably hate Angela for calling him in the first place. But on the other hand, if he went down there and convinced her to change her mind, then Booth might have a chance with her.
He decided to go down.
Temperance Brennan sat in her office, staring blanking at the computer monitor in front of her. She replayed the events of the past few hours in her mind.
"Temperance, I need to ask you something."
She laughed. "David, we've been going out for months. Do you really think that you need permission to ask me something?"
"Tempe, I'm serious." For some reason, she didn't like the way David said her name. It didn't sound at all similar to the way that Booth said it. You can't think about Booth! She chided herself. You're on a date with David. "I really do need to ask you something."
Laughing again, she used a phrase that she heard Booth use before. "Okay, shoot."
He didn't even laugh at her newest knowledge of pop culture. "Temperance, since the day that I met you, I knew that I had to spend the rest of my life with you. You're perfect in every way that I can imagine. You are the most intelligent woman I know and the most beautiful one at that. I need you in my life, and so now, I'm asking that you marry me."
She stared at hum blankly. Did David just propose? She found that she couldn't respond, and all she could think about was what she would say if Booth had proposed instead of David. "Temperance?"
"I...I need time to think." She stood up from the table they were sitting at, ready to exit the restaurant.
"Okay. Meet me here tomorrow for dinner. You can tell me your answer then."
She had driven herself to the Jeffersonian, needing to immerse herself in her work to rid herself of dinner's question. But then Angela had come into her office, wanting to know how dinner had gone.
"So? How was dinner?" Angela always needed to know every bit of information on Angela's date.
"It was…Oh, Angela!" She sobbed, and hugged Angela tightly. The nights events proved to be too much for her to handle alone. "He proposed! David, he proposed! And I didn't give him an answer! He told me that I had until dinner tomorrow to give him an answer."
"Oh Sweetie! That's great!" Even though Angela seemed happy for her, Tempe's best friend didn't seem to actually be that excited for her. Instead, she acted like she needed to be somewhere else, like she wanted to get away from Brennan.
"I just don't know what to do…"
Her thought process was stopped as a light knocking on her door. She looked up to see Booth at her door, dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans. The sight of him in street clothes almost took her breath away, and she had to stop herself for thinking of him in that way for the third time that day.
"Can I come in?" She nodded, and her friend and partner stepped into the office. Sitting on the couch, he looked at her. "Congratulations, by the way." Noting her confused look, "Angela called."
"Oh. But it's not official…I don't even know how I'm going to answer." She hadn't meant to tell him that, but somehow, it had just slipped. She always felt so comfortable around him.
Booth stood up suddenly, walked over and leaned against Tempe's desk. "You going to give him an answer?" His voice was soft, unwavering, yet uncertain and tentative.
"I…" She stopped, as Booth suddenly leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek.
She fought against the tidal wave of emotions that flooded through her mind as he whispered in her ear, "Think about it."
The rest of the night, Brennan did just that- think. She thought about the way that she felt around David, and the fun that they had together. However, she had only stayed over at his apartment four times, and there was pressure for more. Even still, David and she were friends and she felt completely at ease around him.
Then she thought about how she felt around Booth. For some reason, she couldn't help but compare the two men. Booth always had a way of making her smile, no matter what mood she was in. And they were more than just partners- Booth was one of the best friends that Tempe had. But she also knew that if they were together- even the thought sent shivers down her spine- there wouldn't be any pressure between them, no pressure for something more if she wasn't ready. Booth just wasn't like that. And while she was at ease with David, Booth had a way of making her feel less odd, more human at times. She also knew that Booth would do anything to protect her, that she could trust him with her life- or with anything.
She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. Everything pointed that Booth was the perfect man for her, but…She just didn't know.
Temperance sat across from David in the restaurant, slowly drinking her wine. She thought back to how the date had been going so far.
David had rang her doorbell at half-past 7 o'clock, a giant grin on his face with a bouquet of roses. "These are for you, Temperance." Tempe had thought that the date would be comfortable and easy, but he had ruined the mood by saying, "Remember, I expect an answer before the night is through. I would think that desert would be an applicable time to address the subject."
She had nodded, and they proceeded to go to the restaurant. The ride was filled with comfortable silence, not unlike her drives with Booth. She leaned her head against the head rest, and sighed, contemplating how she would tell him she still didn't know.
They had just finished their appetizers, and were starting on the entrée. Tempe cut delicately at her steak, and gently stirred her mashed potatoes. Although the conversation flowed as effortlessly as always, there was still the underlying tension about Tempe's answer.
Finally, they finished their mean and the desert was ordered. Tempe needed just a few more minutes to think, and so she excused herself to the restroom. "When you come back, I expect an answer Tempe." David's parting words made the butterflies worse.
As she walked toward the ladies' room, Tempe studied the atmosphere of the restaurant. It was a fancy place, and Tempe could imagine that if she married David, he would take her to places like this often. Places like Wong Fu's would be taken out of their diet.
She analyzed every detail of the place- definitely not like Booth's and her restaurant. The cloths covering the table were made of real silk, and the cups and glasses were made of real crystal. There were even scented candles in a candle-holder on each table. The stiff and uptight atmosphere made Tempe nauseated.
The restaurant was connected to a hotel, and the bathrooms were in the lounge. Tempe exited the door to the café and walked into the bathrooms, only to be startled to see that Booth was leaning against one of the phone stalls.
"Hey." The simple word sent shivers up her spine. She didn't know how he could do it- one simple word shouldn't have that effect on her. But everything about his voice, the way he casually leaned against the wall, and the way he looked at her, made her want to jump his bones. Stop it, Temperance! You are dating David…you can't think about Booth like that.
"What…what are you doing here?" She tried to sound suave and confident, like seeing her partner had no consequence on her physically or emotionally.
"We need to talk." Those four words made Tempe's heart beat even harder. Could he possibly be trying to persuade her not to marry David? Could he possibly feel for her the way that she felt for him? You've got to stop it Temperance! He's not your boyfriend, David is. And after tonight, he could be your fiancé. You don't feel anything for Booth, just like he doesn't feel anything for you. Denial was always the easiest route to take.
"What about?" That's right, play dumb. She chided herself, knowing that she sounded just as stupid as she felt.
Booth voiced Tempe's opinion of herself almost exactly. "You're playing dumb and you know it. Don't play dumb for me Temperance." The fact that he was using her first name scared her slightly. But he was right- with Booth she never really needed to play dumb. Booth knew the real her.
"Seeley, what's wrong?"
"Tempe…you can't marry him." Booth's voice broke, and Tempe could tell the stress, frustration, and pain that he was going through. It made her heart ache.
"I…I haven't even decided on what I'm going to tell him yet." It was true; she didn't know what she was going to tell David when she returned. Her head told her to say yes, that their relationship was simple and easy, but her heart begged her not to- if she married David, she would never know what could have been with Booth.
"Temperance, you can't marry him." Booth's voice was filled with sorrow as he repeated his earlier testament. "He's not right for you. You need someone that is romantic, and cares for you. Someone that's fun, but can be serious. Someone that makes you smile no matter the day that you've had or the mood that you're in. You need someone that will love you forever and not ever want to trade you in for a younger model. David isn't that person. I am." Using Angela's previous description of him, Booth added more to his sentiment.
He had driven down to the restaurant, not sure what to expect. He decided to have the hostess alert him if she left the table- of course, it had taken much persuasion. Finally, Booth has resorted to telling the woman that she was a suspect in an ongoing FBI case, and that she was needed for questioning. He had given her his cell phone number and waited.
Finally, the call had come saying the "suspect" was leaving to go the restroom. Booth had gotten out of his car and hurried into the lounge, and lingered until she showed up.
Now, he couldn't help but feel it was all for naught. Even though he tried, she would probably tell David yes, and she would leave him, never knowing the immense feelings he had for her.
Now, after baring his soul to her, he crossed the space remaining between them, and kissed her passionately on the lips.
Tempe felt like fireworks were going off inside her head. Everything that she thought kissing Booth would be like…well, it was better. It never felt like this with David- sometimes it even felt like she was kissing her brother. But with Booth, it was different. There was passion, there was fire, there was rage and fury, love and affection. Simply, it was perfect.
Their tongues explored each other's mouths, and only pulled away when the need for a breath proved to be too pressing. Leaning their foreheads against one another, they both breathed heavily.
"Temperance..." Booth moaned softly. But as he said her name, Brennan realized what she was doing. I just kissed Booth. My partner, Booth. I kissed him…and I liked it. Pulling back, he said softly, "You can't tell me it's like that when you kiss David."
"Booth, we…I just…we just…!" She couldn't form a coherent sentence. She looked up to see her partner's eyes; there were full of wonder at the kiss that they just shared. "We can't. I can't." The wonder turned to pain as she ran back to her table.
Tears burned in Tempe's eyes as she made her way back to David. I kissed Booth. I kissed Seeley Booth. I enjoyed kissing Seeley Booth. I'm in love with Seeley Booth. As the last thought entered her mind, she knew that she couldn't deny her feelings for Booth any longer. Every time they touched, she felt a rush, and her head buzzed whenever he entered the same room as her. Every sense in her body told her that she was in love with Seeley Booth, and until now, it was only her head that disagreed.
As she neared the table, she needed to prove to herself that she loved Booth, not David. Instead of sitting down, she stood by David's chair. "Kiss me."
David looked up at her, confused. "What?"
"Kiss me." Tempe repeated.
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
Complying, David pulled Tempe into his lap and kissed her, with what he felt was passion. And even though it was the same as any kiss that he had ever given her, it was different. Because Tempe had kissed Booth and felt for the first time what real love was like. Kissing David now held no magic, though Tempe wasn't sure if there ever was magic between the two of them.
When David realized that Tempe wasn't as in to the kiss as he was, he pulled back. "Tempe, what's wrong?"
Tears welled up in her eyes for the second time that day. "I'm sorry David. I can't marry you."
"What…?" David's voice was filled with sorrow and confusion.
"David, I care about you deeply, but I think both you and I know that we don't love each other. There just aren't any sparks anymore…and I can't go into a relationship with someone that I don't love. I'm sorry." She slowly pulled the engagement ring off her finger- David had given it to her anyway last night, saying that she could flaunt it off it she felt like it- and placed it on the table. "I'm truly sorry."
Tempe leaned in and kissed David on the cheek, before turning away and walking out of the restaurant; she had to find Booth.
It was pouring outside, and Temperance was soaked through her clothes immediately. She spotted Booth's SUV in the parking lot, all the lights turned off. But he wasn't in the car; he was sitting against the back bumper, his head in his hands. He too, was sopping wet. She slowly walked over to him, not caring that rain water was dripping off the end of her hair, or that it was curling gently around her face. All she wanted was him.
As he heard her footsteps, he looked up, and wished that she was his. Her brown t-shirt was clinging to her body and the chunky beads dripped with water. Her mascara was running, and her hair was plastered to her face. Her slacks were no longer a light tan, but now a dark, wet brown. Yet, to Booth's eyes, she had never looked more beautiful.
"Booth-"
He cut her off. "Why are you here? I thought you made it perfectly clear that you're marrying that stupid-"
It was Brennan's turn to cut him off. "Seeley, I'm not marrying him."
She said it softy, and Booth barely heard over the rain. But Brennan knew that he heard, because his face lit up like the night sky. "You're not?"
She laughed. "How could I after you kissed me like that? That kiss…it was like nothing I'd ever felt. I…I think that I love you Booth." The last part was almost silent, and Booth hardly caught it.
But as soon as he heard, he ran over to her and scooped her up in his arms. "Oh, Bones! I knew it!" He kissed her again, and for the second time that day, Tempe felt like she was flying. Then he whispered, softly in her ear, "I love you too."
There you go- plenty of fluff! Tell me what you think!
Charlotte