(Two Bodies in the Lab)

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I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

The hospital had rules about visitors and soon Brennan had to leave. Reluctantly she stood up and smiled at her friend and partner. "I'll be back tomorrow to see you."

He was tired and could barely keep his eyes open. The last dose of pain medicine had made him drowsy and he'd been fighting to stay awake for the last twenty minutes. "Sure, Bones. I'll see you tomorrow. I'd like to talk to you about some things we need to talk about."

Brennan nodded her head and smiled. "Yes, of course." She walked out the hospital room and began to wonder what she was doing. Is this a good idea? I would like to have a relationship with him, but what if the FBI wants to destroy our partnership? We do have a lot to talk about it would seem.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Instead of going to work the next morning, Brennan called Dr. Goodman and told him she was suffering from a headache. He was sympathetic and told her to stay home as long as necessary. She really didn't like to lie, but she needed to check on Booth and they needed to talk about the future. Their future.

She wasn't sure if she should bring him anything, but she knew Booth and his cravings for sugary food products. On the way to the hospital she stopped off at a local bakery and bought 3 donuts, 3 crullers, 3 apple fritters and 3 sausage kolaches. She also bought some milk and a bottle of water.

Once she was in his hospital room, she shyly offered the bag of pastries to Booth.

"Oh thanks, Bones." Booth opened the bag and reached in for an apple fritter. "God thank you. They gave me a bowl of oatmeal and some juice, but that was two hours ago. It wasn't enough to stick to my ribs." He bit into the fritter and moaned. "This is so good." He noticed her lick her bottom lip and felt guilty for eating in front of her. "Here, have one. You'll love it."

Brennan took a fritter from the bag and sat down with her bottle of milk. "Thank you. I haven't eaten breakfast yet." After she bit into the pastry, her eyes widened. "These are good. I've never been to this bakery before, but I see I'll have to go back occasionally."

After the apple fritter was gone, Booth ate a kolache. "I'm going to have to go to this place myself. These are great."

Her fritter now gone, Brennan drank her milk and once that was gone, she threw the bottle in the trash and opened her bottle of water. "Are you feeling better this morning?"

Swallowing his bite, Booth smiled. "Yeah. Of course the pain medicine helps and so do these kolaches. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Brennan brushed some crumbs from her pants leg and stared at her partner. "Have you thought of the ramifications to our careers if we move into a personal relationship? The FBI has rules and they may try to enforce them."

Booth nodded his head, closed the bag and left it lay on his lap. "Yeah and I have a plan." Booth opened his hand and reached it out towards Brennan.

His invitation plain, Brennan stood up and placed her hand in his hand. "Booth, I'm willing to have our partnership severed to have a relationship with you, but I would like to work with you if possible."

"I do to." Booth stared at their clasped hands. "What if we have a relationship, but we don't tell anyone? We just live our private lives the way we want to and just be quiet about it? We can keep working together . . . I think if we can do that for a few months and we can prove that we're capable of working professionally and not let our personal lives interfere . . . well, they'd see it would be a mistake to separate us . . . What do you think?"

Brennan thought about it and the consequences if they were caught. "I don't see a negative side to your plan Booth. Right now, I feel they will sever our partnership if we tell them. If we say nothing and we can continue to work together until we tell them about our relationship or they find out then we will have gained some time together professionally. I think that would be an acceptable risk."

Relieved, Booth brought up her hand and kissed the back of it. "Great. Now I just have to get well and get out of here."

His broken clavicle a concern, Brennan carefully leaned over and kissed him. "Yes, the sooner the better."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You know Bones, when I say you can't tell anyone that means Angela too." Booth was worried that Angela might find a way to get Brennan to confess about their relationship change. "You'd have to keep us a secret no matter how much she badgers you."

Aware that Angela could be relentless, Brennan nodded her head. "Yes, she can be very forceful when she wants some information, but we have too much to lose for me to break our silence on the subject. I won't tell her."

Booth nodded his head. "I should tell Pops, but I won't, at least not for now."

"Pops is your grandfather." Brennan knew that he had no contact with his parents.

He knew that they needed to talk about things and Pops was one of those things. "I told you that he raised me after he took me from my father . . . He and Nana loved me and I've always thought of them more like my parents than my real parents . . . Nana died when I was young, but I remember how great she was. Anyway, Pops is my grandfather, but he's really my Dad. My brother Jared is in the Navy. We don't really talk much. He doesn't really like me all that much, but that's okay . . . um, I had an aunt on mother's side but she died of cancer a few years ago. She was the best . . . I don't have any other family really. It's just Pops, Jared and my son Parker."

Brennan cleared her throat. "You know I have a brother. I haven't talked to Russ since I was 15 years old. He's the only family I have. Since the FBI never found out what happened to my parents I have to assume they're dead."

Booth felt sad for both of them. He'd always envied people with large families, but his life was what it was. "Well, we'll have each other so we're family from now on. You and me, we're family."

She liked the sound of that. "That sounds . . . comforting." Brennan shifted on her chair and smiled. "If you would like to tell your grandfather I assume it would be okay since he had no connection with the Jeffersonian or the FBI."

Relieved that he wouldn't have to lie to his grandfather, Booth nodded his head. "Okay. He can keep secrets so don't worry." Booth's smile faded. "Maybe I should tell you about my past. You don't really know me as well as you think you do and maybe you should know. I may not . . . I may not be someone you want to be in a relationship with . . . I've done things . . ."

She heard the sadness and the worry in his voice and she was curious about what he was going to tell her. "I know you, Booth. I think I am a good judge of character."

"Yeah." Booth thought about it and nervously cleared his throat. "I was a sniper in the Army . . ."

"Booth . . . the things you did were done because you were ordered to do them, weren't they?" Brennan didn't want Booth to explain his past if it made him uncomfortable.

"Well, yeah." Booth stared at Brennan. "I wasn't just a sniper. Sometimes I went on missions with the CIA and we uh . . . had to do things to save people."

Brennan help up her hand. "You were following orders, so I don't think it's necessary to go into detail about it. I accept that your past has been filled with violence. So has mine. I've identified hundreds of victims of war crimes and pogroms. The world is a violent place. We do what we can to help where we can. You've stopped people from killing and I've identified the murdered. We don't need to talk about it unless you wish to."

Filled with relief, Booth nodded his head. Feeling a little awkward, he opened the bag on his lap and stared at the contents. "I guess I should save these for later." He closed the bag and closed his eyes for a moment. "I hope you don't regret having a relationship with me. I'll try to be the guy you need me to be. That I can promise."

She knew he was making a pledge to her and she appreciated it more than he would know. She was afraid that she would never be the person he needed and that worried her. She wasn't confident she had enough heart to love him like he deserved, but she would try.

Ooooooooooooooooo

The next day, the hospital released Booth and Brennan was there to take him home. "I told Dr. Goodman I was going to take the day off to help you get home and settled. He sends you good wishes that you get well soon. Of course wishes are useless, but he means well."

Booth chuckled and grabbed her hand as the nurse rolled him down the hallway in a wheelchair towards the main entrance. "Hey, thanks for helping me get home. Maybe we can stop by McDonalds and we can pick up some Angus burgers and some chocolate chip cookies."

Her nose wrinkling, Brennan decided that she would try to use her influence to change his diet once they were firmly in a relationship. "You eat too much meat and sugar Booth."

Used to her complaining about his diet, Booth didn't let her statement bother him. "I work out. If you don't want to stop by McDonalds you can stop by Burger King and let me buy a couple of Whoppers."

"Yes, that would be an improvement." Brennan rolled her eyes and knew that her plan was going to be an uphill battle.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

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