Two Pink Lines – Chapter 2
Tossing the white stick into her home office garbage can, she leaned forward, resting her head in her hands, her elbows on the desk, she willed herself not to cry. Crying wouldn't fix anything. She had to think about this. Find a solution.
How could this have happened? 3 years ago she'd had an IUD inserted, and was supposed to be good for up to 10 years, and 99 effective. 99! There was no way she was the 1 failure rate. That was just not logical!
The only possible explanation was her body rejected it, and she wasn't aware. She hadn't checked for the string for several months of course. She figured if it hadn't been rejected in the first 6 months, it wouldn't reject at all. Wrong assumption apparently.
Picking up her phone, she made an appointment with her doctor for noon that day. She may as well get checked out and confirm this once and for all, although she had no doubt in her mind the result would change. Prenatal vitamins of course would have to be prescribed, as the growing fetus would require a larger amount of nutrients that what she normally consumed. She mentally thought of the diet she should be starting to accommodate this new development.
Should she tell Angela? Should she not? She shared everything with her best friend. Well, almost everything she conceded to herself guiltily. Recalling a recent event between herself and Booth. She for sure had to tell Russ. He would never understand not talking to his sister for several months, and she was fairly certain he'd keep her secret.
Angela hadn't noticed her recent slight weight gain, nor had she noticed her friend's flu like symptoms she had been experiencing lately. Angela though had been busy with Hodgins, her current flame. She hadn't seen her friend so excited, and in love for a long time. Angela must have chalked it up to stress, and her huge workload, the long hours working cases with Booth….
Temperance stood, stretched and walked over to her refrigerator. Her latest craving was these cookies that Booth had shared with her not too long ago, Oreo Cookies dunked in milk. She was on her 3rd package this week. She was grateful she had a fast metabolism.
She knew she should be eating healthier, but these darn cookies were all she could think about some times. She even had a package in her desk drawer. Snatching the carton of milk, pouring a tall glass, she put the carton back in the fridge, and opened the cookie jar on the counter, a recent purchase, and snatched a handful of cookies. She sat down at the counter bar stool to eat and think. She knew that the emotions she was feeling was a normal part of the serotonin release necessary for the survival of the species, however it certainly felt like a lot more experiencing it. Books say one thing, living it was another.
Booth. She thought. She should tell him too of course, as the father, he had a right to know. She munched on the cookie thoughtfully, wondering how he'd react. Would he be furious? Would it end their partnership? What if it ruined his career, not to mention hers? How did he handle it when Rebecca told him of Parker? The conversation never came up.
This is not good. She knew he was Catholic, so termination was out of the question, not only for his beliefs, but for her own, as that was living tissue inside of her, a combination of both of their genes. Studies had shown that the heart begins beating at 18 days; fingerprints and hair were also visible. Shaking her head at her overwhelming emotions, she gulped down the glass of milk and stared off into space.
Booth had stopped over at her house New Years Eve, inviting her to join him at Wong Fu's to ring in the New Year. Memories came flooding back to her, as if it were only yesterday, not months ago. It almost seemed like a dream she had, not quite real. Evidence now pointed otherwise.
She'd been home alone, with no plans; he must have felt sorry for her, because they never left her place. They stayed and talked long into the night, about her life in the foster system after her parents had disappeared, his life as Army Ranger, and how his life had changed after he got back.
They had talked, shared and bonded all over 3 bottles of French Champagne. The rest was a bit hazy to her; she vaguely remembered him leaning over to kiss her, his arms slipping around her waist, and her immediate response. Later, she seemed to remember taking a very erotic shower with him, and waking around noon in bed with him, his arm slung protectively around her waist, his breath in her hair.
Waking was an extremely embarrassing moment between them, regardless of what they had done in the shower and the bedroom. Alcohol had a way of releasing inhibitions she thought ruefully.
Normally, she'd chalk it up to purely physical recreational sex, but even to her it was something much more. She could still hear him whisper in her ear, as he trailed kisses down her neck and collar bone"Oh God…I've wanted this for so long…" Which clearly meant he'd thought about it. She'd be lying to say she hadn't. Not that she wanted him to know that, however she had no recollection of saying anything like that.
She wasn't sure how he'd felt about it afterwards, as he seemed very nervous, trying to make jokes, and pretend nothing was wrong. She did her best to ease his discomfort, and after hastily gathering his clothes, he had left.
While it was true they had both been attracted to each other, and dancing around each other for months, this was a step they were both nowhere near ready to take. She had just gotten out of a relationship with David, and he was juggling Cam and Rebecca. Clearly a relationship was not in the cards for them.
The following day, she received a curt voicemail message, asking her to meet him at the Royal Diner, where they'd both agreed it was an alcohol induced mistake, and they should forget it ever happened and move on. – remain strictly professional partners.
He seemed relieved she didn't become an emotional wreck, and she was relieved they could try to move past it. She knew he had unresolved feelings for her, as she did him, but now was clearly not the time to examine them.
Right. Easier said than done.
Glancing over at her kitchen calendar, she noted she still had a considerable amount of vacation time left. She wondered what she was going to be doing on her vacation this year. Obviously warm sandy beaches in a bikini were out of the question.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. While it was true she'd just made the discovery of her pregnancy, Booth didn't HAVE to know…she could work as long as reasonably possible, as soon as she started to show, she could go on her annual vacation, taking a bit more time than usual, put up the baby for adoption, come home, and no one would be the wiser.
She knew keeping their child would do nothing for her career, not to mention his. It would possibly destroy his relationship with Cam not to mention a considerable amount of tension between he and Parkers mother. Somehow she didn't think they could remain partners with an infant between them.
She was now 3 months along, and the only change she'd seen is her breasts were maybe slightly larger. She gauged she had another 2 months, maybe 3 before she'd have to leave.
She knew she couldn't tell Angela. She'd only tell Booth at the first opportunity, thinking they could all live happily ever after.
No. Booth couldn't know.
She'd speak to Dr. Goodman and Cam as soon as she got to work on Monday. She plenty of time to research adoption and where to go on vacation. Perhaps she could make it a working vacation and work on her next two books she had contracted for with her editor.
2 ½ months later
Special Agent Seeley Booth had a feeling something was up with is partner Bones. She had been acting strangely lately, yet when he questioned her, she remained insistent that everything was fine. He couldn't quite put his finger on the change in her. Certainly she was quieter around him, and he'd been surprised she hadn't wanted to accompany him for some fieldwork he'd asked her to do with him also, when in the past he had a hard time keeping her in the lab.
Striding into her office, he wasn't surprised to see her asleep at her desk. He'd been finding her like that more and more lately. Standing there a moment, observing her, her auburn hair spilling out over her desktop, head resting in her arms. Her mouth slightly parted, even deep breaths coming in and out.
His mind skipped back to that New Years Eve night, he'd spend in her arms at her house, in her shower, in her bed. He'd thought about it nearly every night the last several months. She hadn't mentioned it though since they had that last uncomfortable discussion at Royal diner, so it seemed wise not to bring it up. He was no longer seeing Cam or Rebecca, but Bones hadn't seemed interested in his love life, so he didn't bring that up either.
Taking a step towards her, he glanced down at her trash can. An empty Oreo package lay discarded. She sure seemed to enjoy those a lot lately, he mused with a smile. He gently shook her arm. "Bones…..hey" he said softly not wanting to break the spell.
She jumped slightly as she awoke, looking slightly disoriented. Glancing up at him, her blue eyes tired, dark circles beneath them "Booth…oh hi, did we have an appointment?" she asked him sleepily, running a hand through her tousled hair.
"Nah, I just thought I'd stop by and see how you were, you seem like you've been tired lately, you feeling okay Bones?" he asked her lightly, flashing her a smile.
She abruptly stood, her entire demeanor changing. "I'm fine. I've been meaning to let you know in fact I will be gone on an extended sabbatical effective this coming Friday" she said rather curtly
"Vacation time again huh Bones?" he said, trying to lighten the mood "Where you off to? Some exotic location to dig up bones or do volunteer work?" he joked, watching her closely as she paced around the room
"Actually, no I am going to work on my book, I have 2 books I need to get written, and I am not going to disclose my location to anyone this time around, you will see me when I get back, just like everyone else" she said, turning to face him
He thought about what she'd just said. It sounded to him like she was either hiding something or running from something. Frowning, he grasped her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes
"Bones, what's going on?" He said point blank, hands resting gently on her shoulders
"Nothing that you need to concern yourself about, just a vacation, that's all, Zach and Cam can help you while I am gone, nothing they shouldn't be able to handle while I am gone" she advised him, without meeting his eyes, moving out from his grasp, pacing again.
She was acting suspicious he thought to himself.
"How long we talkin' here Bones?" he demanded, eyes unwavering from her form, which was flitting about her office, trying to keep busy, not meeting his gaze.
"I will be gone just over 6 months, maybe 7" she said in a quiet voice "so I talked to Russ the other day, he has a – "
"Why are you going to be gone so long? 6 MONTHS?" he demanded, nearly shouting
"I can't deal with those squints for 6 months! Come on, can we cut it down to 3?" he wheedled, following her around the office
"Sorry Booth, this is non negotiable, it can't be helped. I am sure Cam can find a suitable replacement" she said as she tried to get around him, and out of her office. He put both of his arms up on either side of her office doorway.
"Bones" he said "look at me, would ya?"
Wordlessly, she looked up at him, clear blue eyes meeting deep brown ones
"Bones. Let me in here, what's going on?" he said softly
"Nothing I can't handle Booth" she shoved past him and left her office and Booth behind, wondering what was making her act so strangely.
Nice long chapter for you guys, what do you think so far?
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