(After The Light in the Life)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Hesitating for just a moment, Brennan held the wrapped gift in her hand, debating whether or not Booth was recovered enough from his gambling episode to accept the pain that might come with the present she was about to give him. She had put off showing him what was under the wrapping paper for weeks and she knew it was time to show it to him before he found out on his own. Brennan wanted to control the situation and help Booth if he needed it.

The wrapped paper was a light crystal blue color with an ice cubed silver colored ribbon. Brennan had researched colors before choosing the paper and ribbon looking for colors that were supposed to be a relaxing color and free of stress. What the wrapping paper hid was going to be stressful enough.

She found him in their bedroom, frantically looking in the closet for something. "Booth, I have something for you."

The jacket he was looking for now in his hands, Booth turned and smiled at his wife. He had just completed moving everything from the temporary efficiency unit he'd been living in back to his house he shared with Brennan and he was making sure he hadn't forgotten anything at the small apartment. The jacket was his favorite and he'd missed it when he'd unpacked. Brennan had helped him remove everything from the boxes, so he wasn't sure what she'd unpacked. Now that he'd found the jacket he was certain that everything was back to its rightful place. "A present?" Booth moved across the room and his smile turned to a frown as he saw the look of worry on Brennan's face. "Why the long face?"

Brennan knew she was giving mixed signals to her husband, but she was feeling anxious and she couldn't school her face like she wanted to. "Open the present and then I will explain."

Now filled with a sense of worry, Booth took the present and stared at Brennan trying to figure out why she was so nervous. Since he knew she wouldn't answer any questions until he had done what she had asked, Booth pulled off the ribbon and tore the paper off exposing a book underneath. Puzzled, he threw the paper and ribbon on the dresser next to him and studied the cover of the book The Part of the Whole by Lance Sweets.

"This is Sweets' book." Booth was shocked that the book had been published. "Who published it? This was Sweets' property and if he'd wanted it to be published he'd have done it himself." He was angry and he wasn't sure why.

Anger hadn't been the emotion Brennan had expected and she now knew she had some explaining to do. "He wrote this because his first book about us was based upon false assumptions, you know that. By altering the book so that it was fiction instead of non-fiction he found a way to use what he had learned about us and used it to write a love story . . . our love story."

When Angela and Avalon had presented the manuscript to them not too long after Sweets had been murdered, Booth had been both honored and saddened that Sweets had thought so much of him and Brennan that he wanted to write a book about them. The young man had always been fascinated with the Partners and it had taken the psychologist years to understand their relationship. To be honest with himself, Booth knew it had taken years for him to understand his relationship with Brennan too.

One night, when Sweets had met Booth at the Founding Fathers for a drink, he had noticed how depressed Booth was because Brennan and his daughter were gone. Brennan had fled Pelant and his malevolent influence trying to save her life while her partner and friends tried to exonerate her. At the time, Booth had been angry that he'd been abandoned by Brennan, but at the same time he'd known why she had done it and he'd found it hard to fault her for doing what she had done. It was logical and Brennan was very logical.

"Booth have you ever wondered what the glue is that holds you and Dr. Brennan together?" Sweets had drunk three beers and he wasn't as careful as he should be when talking about Booth's private life. "I mean you think you know, but I don't think you really do."

"Oh really?" Booth had turned to look at his young friend and seriously considered knocking him off the stool. How dare he try to use his psychological bullshit on him at a time like this? He was hurting and he missed his family. "I love her, Sweets. What kind of an idiot do you take me for? I love her and I want her back, her and Christine. I want my family back."

Sweets slowly nodded his head and stared at his outraged friend. He knew he should be afraid of Booth, but deep down, he knew that his friend would never hurt him no matter how angry he was. "Yes, you love her, but that isn't the glue that keeps you together through all of the pain and the grief and the separations. It has never been because of love."

Seething with anger, Booth placed his bottle of beer down on the bar and leaned closer towards his friend. His big frame looming over the frailer man, Booth knew that he could be intimidating and even downright menacing. "What the fuck are you talking about, Sweets? Are you questioning how much I love Bones?"

The words were spoken so very softly, but filled with so much menace that it made Sweets suddenly feel cold. A slight shiver raced down his spine and Sweets swallowed and licked his lips knowing he had to be very careful what he said next. The effects of the alcohol were now gone and he knew that even Booth could be pushed too far. "The glue that binds you together is friendship. Every couple falls in and out of love during their relationship, but if that relationship is based upon a strong friendship like what you and Dr. Brennan have then nothing and no one can destroy your relationship. Pelant has frightened Dr. Brennan enough that she knew that if she didn't leave she ran the risk of being killed along with you and your baby. She saw the possible risks and she ran to prevent that from happening. She is counting on the fact that if and when she comes back you will forgive her for abandoning you. She is basing that on the fact that your ties are strong and whether she understands it or not, those ties are your deep friendship for each other. Yes, you love each other, but not as much as you like each other."

Booth had sat back and had mulled over Sweet's words and as he thought about them his anger had slowly evaporated from his mind. Sweets was right, no matter what happened, the minute he was back in Brennan's presence he was going to forgive her for leaving him behind and for breaking his heart. His friendship with Brennan was very important to him and he knew that Brennan valued his friendship too. The fact that he considered Brennan to be his best friend helped him to see what Sweets was saying. "I love Bones so much, but yes . . . Our friendship is probably the most important possession I own. I've counted on that friendship for a long time, it's got me through a lot of shit knowing that I can count on her and hopefully she knows that she can count on me through thick and thin too."

"Oh she knows, Booth." Sweets sipped his beer and placed the bottle back down. "She may not be able to explain it, but she knows. When she ran it was because she knew that deep down she could trust you to forgive her actions when she comes back."

"There isn't anything to forgive." Booth grabbed his bottle of beer and drank most of the dark beer. "She did what she had to do. Pelant was going to kill her, we all know that. She's buying us time to set this right and prove she's innocent of Ethan Sawyer's death. I'm angry that she left me behind, but I understand why she did it or at least I'm trying to. When she comes back and she will come back, we're going to be okay, me and Bones. We've been through some horrible shit and we can get through this too."

And they had. They had got through that unsettling time in their relationship and they had been a stronger couple ever since. "I don't think Sweets meant to publish this book, Bones. He never mentioned it to anyone not even Daisy. Daisy understood once she found out it existed, why do you think she didn't ask for the manuscript back? This book was private between us."

"I had Sweets' book published because he never had anything published during his life time." Brennan had been published many times both in non-fiction and in fiction categories. "I'm an author Booth, you know that and I can tell you that if anyone goes to the bother of writing a novel it is with the intention of publishing it . . . I edited it to make sure it was ready to be published and then I contacted my publisher . . . My name is not on this book. This is Sweets' novel and he gets one hundred percent of the credit."

Booth flipped open the book and read a few paragraphs. "It is good."

"It is good." Brennan's publisher had felt it would do well once it was published. It might never make the New York Times Best Seller list, but Benjamin Bryce knew a money maker when he read it and this novel was a money maker. "The book was released two weeks ago. My publisher is going to do a small marketing campaign starting tomorrow. It's going to be sold in a limited market unless it proves to be a hit amongst readers. We'll have to wait and see. I needed to show you the book before you heard about it. I wanted to be the one to show it to you in printed form. I think that if Sweets were alive, he'd be very proud that his book is being published."

After he closed the book, Booth ran his hand over the jacket covering the book and realized the art work looked familiar. "Did Angela do the art work for the jacket?"

"You have a good eye, Booth. Yes she did." Angela had begged to do the jacket and Brennan had talked her publisher into letting her do it. After all Brennan was his most important client and if allowing an unknown artist do a jacket cover made her happy then it would be done. "As you can see the Jeffersonian is in the background and the couple sitting on the bench next to the rose garden look vaguely like us. She didn't want to make the lovers seem too much like us because the book is supposed to be a tribute to Sweets not us."

He was impressed with the jacket and the more Booth thought about it the more he realized that Sweets would have probably been excited to see his novel printed. "I think you did the right thing Bones. I don't know why I got angry . . . I guess I don't . . . Sweets needed to be published. Thank you."

Brennan took the book from Booth and placed it on the dresser. Her arms now around his chest, Brennan leaned against him as close as a woman eight months pregnant could do and smiled. "I'm glad you're home. I missed you."

"Not as much as I missed you." Booth held his arms loosely around her shoulders and sighed. "I'm sorry I gambled and I'll make sure you know from now on when I have an urge to do that. I need to be honest with you from now on about my addiction. That way you know you can trust me. No more hiding the urges because that only leads to disaster. I love you and I won't throw that love away, ever."

Ooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. I appreciate it.