(The Mastodon in the Room)
A/N: Perscribo wanted to see Booth and Brennan meet up at the reflecting pool, so this is part of the story arc that began with chapter 90.
I don't own Bones.
Oooooooooooooooooooo
He was nervous. Booth hoped that he was wrong about Brennan and that she would meet him at the reflecting pool like they had originally planned seven months earlier, but he hadn't heard from her since she had gone on her dig and a lot had happened since then.
As he approached the staircase, he spied Brennan standing on the top steps and he felt his heart begin to pound. She had come after all and he was so happy to see her. Perhaps their friendship wasn't done after all. He waved his hand and dropped his duffel bag onto the cement pavement at his feet.
Not sure why, she had felt nervous until she had noticed Booth below the staircase. She hadn't seen him for the last seven months and she hadn't been sure he would actually meet her after she had read the last letter he had sent.
For the last two months, she had worried about her partner and if he was as safe as he had claimed to be. Brennan had written several letters to Booth, but they didn't seem to convey what she really wanted to say and she had refused to send them. She found it ironic that she was a successful author and had sold millions of copies of her books to an eager public and yet she couldn't write a coherent letter to Booth. She just hoped she would be able to communicate better in person. Hurrying down the steps, she raced across the open space and without hesitation, she threw her arms around him and hugged him.
Surprised to find her arms around his chest, he held against his body, his chin on her shoulder, his eyes closed, breathing in the scent of his partner. It had been a long time since he had received a 'guy hug' from her and it was comforting. Her arms moved away from him and he knew that he had to do the same. Opening his eyes, he looked her over and noticed the weight loss immediately. "I'm glad to see you. Did you have a good flight?" He had so many questions to ask, but he was afraid to start. He was still uncertain where he stood with her and he wanted to enjoy the moment while he could.
He looked good to her. He was tanned and seemed to be leaner, but she had expected that. "Yes, I did." She pointed at the staircase and smiled. "Let's sit down for a moment."
Booth followed her to the stair case and sat down. Brennan moved up one step further from where he had settled and sat down.
She had so many things to say, but wasn't sure how to begin. For some reason her nervousness wasn't going away. If anything, it was getting stronger sitting so close to her partner. "Was it dangerous in Afghanistan?" Of course, it was. Why was she asking him that?
"Nah." What was he supposed to say? Of course, it was dangerous, but it was probably better if she didn't know that. "Mostly administrative." Well, that was kind of true. I did have some paper work to fill out. "How about you? Any headhunters or cannibals?" Please say no, for God's sake.
Brennan wanted to be truthful, so she mentioned the armed guerillas that had given her some trouble days before she came home. "I beat them up and Daisy and I got away."
He was a little flabbergasted, but on the other hand, it didn't surprise him. Brennan knew how to take care of herself and that was a fact. He had a few questions he wanted to ask, but the easiest one would be the first one. "Did you meet anyone special?" He was sure that she had found someone and that was why she hadn't written him and that was fine. Well, it had to be, didn't it?
"I was working, so there was no time or inclination for sex or romance." Brennan had been approached several times during her time at the dig, but she had rejected every advance. She had been there to work, not to find a sexual partner. She was going to ask him if he had met anyone, but decided against it. She wasn't interested in small talk. They needed to talk about more serious things. "I received your letters."
Not sure how to respond, Booth nodded his head. If she was going to cut to the chase then so be it. "You didn't answer them."
"No, I didn't." She stopped and considered what she wanted to say. "I wasn't sure how to answer them or if I should. I find it easier to talk to people in person than to convey my thoughts on paper."
He was surprised. "But you're a famous author." He was confused. Was she making excuses for not writing to him? She didn't do stuff like that. At least not before now. "What was so hard to write down? I just asked you if we were partners and if we weren't, were we still friends? One word on a piece of paper would have done it, Bones. One word."
She noticed he was a little agitated, but she couldn't understand why. "You make that sound so easy. Was I supposed to just write my magic word on paper and then mail it to you? How would you know what I was responding to? I deal better with people in person. You should know that by now."
His frustration level was growing. "Well, okay then. Here I am. In the flesh. Are we still partners?" He didn't have a lot of hope at the moment, but he wanted the answer to that question. He needed to get it over with.
"Yes, I believe we are." Brennan smiled. That hadn't been nearly as hard as she had anticipated. "Unless you wish to sever our partnership."
"Why would I want to do that?" He was happy she wanted to work with him. "Of course, I want to be your partner. That's what I've wanted all along. We make a great team. You and me, we're the best at what we do."
She agreed with him, but they had been separated for the last seven months and a lot of things can happen in that length of time. "I still think of us as friends too." There she had said it. She had finally answered his questions even if the answers were several months late. "When I left here to go on the dig, I was very confused. I loved working with you and I enjoyed our friendship, but at the same time, there was a risk that I could lose you. You could die and I might not be able to prevent it . . . I wasn't sure if it was wise to continue our partnership and risk someday watching you die. Your friendship is very valuable to me. Seeing you die . . . it would be heart crushing."
He had heard her fears before and he had tried to ease her mind about them, but she hadn't listened to him then and he wasn't so sure she would listen now. "It's true that what I do is dangerous, but you and me . . . we can't live our lives worrying about stuff like that. You can't live in fear about what might happen. That's not living at all . . . I've been in the Army since I was 20 years old. I've been in a lot of dangerous situations, you know that, but I don't worry about dying. If I lived in fear like that then I probably couldn't have done my job and I'd be dead by now. That's not how it works. If you're doing something that scares you and makes you worry a lot then you need to stop doing that something because that worry could leave you open to making mistakes, fatal mistakes." He wasn't trying to talk her out of working with him, but she needed to let go of her fears about him dying. It wasn't healthy.
"Yes, I understand that." Brennan had had plenty of time to consider all of the sides of her conflict while she had been away. "I came to the same conclusion a few weeks ago and I realized that I still wanted to be your partner no matter what the risks were. Our friendship is important to me and I don't wish to give that up." This conversation was going much better than a letter would have allowed and she was glad she had waited. "I don't think I could have conveyed my thoughts in a letter, Booth. You know I stink at nonverbal communication and writing personal letters is just as bad."
Her silence for the last seven months had worried him more than he liked to admit, but at least he now had his answers and he was grateful that it had turned out like it had. "Bones . . . do you think someday we could be more than friends? I'm not trying to pressure you and this has nothing to do with our partnership or our friendship. I just want to know if maybe someday you might want to give us a chance. If you don't think you can do it, then that's okay. I just need to know where we stand that's all."
She thought about it for a moment then nodded her head. "I thought about that while I was away. I thought about the reasons why I turned you down and I find that those reasons are no longer valid. I've changed since that time in front of the Hoover and I imagine you have too. I was afraid to say yes, because I didn't think I had your kind of heart. I didn't think I could commit to one person in a personal relationship, but I think I can . . . I have been away from you for seven months and I found that I didn't like it very much. You make me happy when we are together. You make me see the world in a different way and . . . and I think I like it. Do you understand? You know I'm not very good when it comes to personal conversations. I never know if I'm saying the right thing for the right reason. I don't want you to misunderstand me . . . I am saying yes that I think I can take a chance on a personal relationship with you."
His heart was racing. Standing, he pulled Brennan to her feet and kissed her. "You really surprised me, Bones. I didn't expect you to just say yes. I was hoping for a maybe."
"But a yes is better than a maybe isn't it?" She stared into his happy face and she knew that she had made the right decision. Booth was her friend, her best friend and she loved him. He was worth taking a chance on.
A sudden thought hit Booth while he kissed Brennan once more. Oh my God. I need to call Hannah and tell her that we're breaking up. I need to call her tonight. "Bones, a yes is definitely better than a maybe."
Ooooooooooooooooooooooo
Okay this is the end of this little arc. I hope you found it entertaining.