(The Change in the Game)

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I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

"You know Max, you're getting too old for this shit." Pete couldn't believe Max had actually broken his hip while having sex with a younger woman. "At least date women your own age."

"That doesn't sound like a lot of fun." Max was sure Rosamund had broken up with him anyway. She'd been injured in their little late night escapade, but thankfully not as seriously has he had. "I'll only have to be in the wheelchair for a little while. I have some therapy to take care of and I'll be good as new."

The traffic was light for a change and Pete was thankful for that. Normally traffic in the District was a nightmare." Did you tell Tempe about your little accident?"

"No, of course not." The last thing he wanted to do was explain how he'd broken his hip to his daughter. "It's none of her business."

Shrugging his shoulders, Pete took a right at the next light. "Good luck with that. She's a bones expert. She'll take one look at you and know you broke something."

"Ha! . . . Yeah." His daughter was a genius there was no getting around that fact.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

"Dad what happened?" She'd walked into the Diner expecting to find her father and partner waiting for her, but not to find her father incapacitated.

"Oh, it's nothing." Max had wanted to avoid seeing his daughter in person until after his last therapy session was complete and he was on his feet, but Booth had called to let him know that a bowler on his team had been murdered and that meant they needed his help.

"Dad you don't end up in a wheelchair over nothing." Exasperated, Brennan glared at her father. Why couldn't he ever just tell her the truth instead of lying. It was ridiculous.

His cheeks stained a light red, Max leaned back against his chair. "Okay, I had a very embarrassing physical event."

Of course, Booth thought it was funny. "What'd you do, fall off a bike?"

"Bed and Rosamund was injured in the same physical event." The last thing he wanted to do was talk about having sex with his girlfriend in front of his daughter. "We were talking about the murder case, weren't we?"

As their conversation was steered back towards Jeff Fowler and the Thunderballs, Max kept glancing at his daughter. Something was odd, but he couldn't figure out why. She looked healthy, but something was off and he wondered if she and her boyfriend were having problems. They seemed excessively polite. "Are you two fighting?"

"What? No of course not." Brennan was puzzled. Why her father thought that she and Booth were fighting was beyond her.

Confused, Booth glanced at Brennan and shrugged his shoulders. "Look Max, we need to talk to the bowlers on your team and the other bowlers too. We'll go undercover and I'll bowl for you on your team. It's not like you can bowl anyway."

"Sure." Max continued to stare at his daughter and it finally dawned on him what he might be seeing. "You're pregnant."

"What? No." Brennan was stunned. Her stomach only had a slight bump in it and her shirt and overcoat was hiding that. "How can you tell?"

"Bones!" Booth rolled his eyes. So much for keeping it a secret until they were ready to say something.

Annoyed, Brennan glanced at Booth then back at her father. "Explain how you know that I am pregnant."

"I'm a father, twice . . . You have the same glow your mother had when she was pregnant. Plus, you have a tell. Every time you look at Booth you put your hand on your stomach." Max leaned forward and stared at Booth. "When are you two getting married?" He wasn't sure he wanted his grandchild to be born out of wedlock. He'd been born to a single mother and his childhood had been pretty rough.

Before Booth could speak, Brennan spoke up for both of them. "We aren't getting married. I am not a piece of property and I will not be given to anyone. Marriage is an antiquated ritual that has no function in a modern society."

His eyes on his cup of coffee, Booth refused to say anything. He wanted to get married, but he would never force Brennan to do anything she didn't want to do. She was a strong independent woman and he was lucky that she was willing to live with him. He hoped that she might change her mind someday about marriage, but if she didn't then he was willing to live with her under her terms.

"I just think that's a mistake, but what do I know?" Max knew his daughter had some pretty strong beliefs about love and marriage and he knew that abandoning her when she was a kid was probably part of it. He knew that she still didn't trust him and that hurt him. Still, he knew that she was going to run her life her way and she didn't give a damn what he thought. "I have to go, my friend Pete is waiting for me to take me to my doctor's appointment. If you want to bowl with the team meet me at the bowling alley tonight at six."

Once he was gone, Brennan placed her hand on Booth's arm and leaned closer. "I'm sorry. He surprised me. I should have just denied that I was pregnant."

Turning in his seat, Booth smiled at his girlfriend. "Don't worry about it. We need to think about telling people soon. You're in your second trimester and you do have a little baby bump. A sweet little bump as far as I'm concerned. "

"That's just male pride, Booth." Brennan laughed. "You're very proud of yourself at this moment."

"Damn straight." Booth leaned over and kissed her. "I'm going to be a Daddy again. I love it and I love you."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

The case had unfolded fairly quickly and once the shoe rental guy at the bowling alley was arrested for Jeff Fowler's murder, Booth and Brennan drove home. Once they were settled in bed for the evening, Booth turned on his side and stared at his girlfriend. "When do want to tell everyone about the baby? I know your Dad won't tell anyone, but he's right you do have a tell and sooner or later Angela is going to notice. She has a nose for stuff like that."

Placing her magazine down on her lap, Brennan sighed. "I was hoping to wait another month . . . I'm afraid that everyone at work will try to treat me differently and nothing has really changed. I'm just pregnant."

"Just pregnant." It still amazed him that she didn't seem to realize that everything was changing. "Sooner or later you're not going to be able to go into the field. You have to know that."

"What? No, my pregnancy will not stop me from working." Brennan was getting exasperated. "Being pregnant doesn't mean that I'm an invalid."

Trying to think quickly, Booth latched on a point she might not have considered. "Okay, remember that time we were at a crime scene and we were shot at. What did we do? We threw our bodies on the ground to keep from being shot. What do you think would happen if you were like seven months pregnant and you had to do that and you landed on your stomach? You and I both know that could kill the baby and you. Crime scenes are not safe no matter how many cops and agents are standing around . . . I'm not saying you have to give up working. I know you can't do that, but I think you'll have to give up going to crime scenes when you're further along."

She thought about it and shook her head. "I will continue to go to crime scenes until at least my third trimester. I can work Booth and this pregnancy will not stop me from doing what I must. I am not an invalid nor am I handicapped."

"I'm not saying you are Bones. I'm just saying you can't protect yourself and the baby when you're late in your pregnancy. I'm using logic here not emotion. Think about it."

"I will." Brennan didn't want to be treated differently and she hated the idea of everyone treating her as if she was fragile. "I suppose we can tell everyone at the Lab tomorrow."

Booth shook his head. "No, let's invite everyone to the Founding Fathers and make the announcement there. The Lab is where you work. This isn't work related, okay?"

"Yes, we can have a social gathering to make our announcement." Brennan dropped her magazine on the floor and moved down the bed so she was facing Booth. "I am sad that Vincent was murdered, but I am grateful that you didn't die. I would hate to raise our baby by myself. You are an excellent father."

Moving a strand of hair to the back of her ear, Booth smiled. "You don't have to, Bones. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Brodsky is in jail, Taffet is dead, King is dead and Kitchen is in jail. Nothing is going to happen to you or me, okay?"

"Yes." Brennan sighed. "I am counting on you to not die, Booth. You promised me that you would not leave me."

"And I won't, Bones. I'm here and no one is going to keep me away from you."

Oooooooooooooooooo

The get together didn't quite turn out like Booth or Brennan had expected. Their friends met with them on a Friday night early in the evening. Booth had bought a small chocolate cake and had it waiting on the table when their friends arrived. Brennan had thought the cake was unnecessary, but Booth didn't think it was much of a celebration without cake.

Cam was the first to arrive and once she was seated stared at the cake. "Well what's the celebration? I know it's not anyone's birthday."

Before Brennan could respond, Angela, Hodgins, Sweets and Wendell arrived and she waited for everyone to be seated. "Booth and I have an announcement to make."

Her hand over her mouth, Angela thought she knew what that the announcement was, but didn't want to spoil Brennan's moment.

"I am pregnant." Brennan smiled at her friends. "We don't know the gender of the fetus yet, but I am in my second trimester."

Happy shouts and claps spontaneously erupted and Booth sat watching his co-workers and friends show their appreciation and happiness. "Yeah, we've already started working on the baby's room."

Glad for his friend. Sweets clapped the older man on his shoulder. "This is great, Booth. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Booth was very happy and so proud of Brennan. "It's going to be great having a little Bones running around the house."

"You're not going to call the baby little Bones are you." Hodgins didn't think that sounded like a great nickname for a baby, but he knew that once Booth made up his mind about a nickname it was almost impossible to make him stop using it.

Amused, Booth laughed. "Nah, I'll come up with better nicknames when the baby gets here. We don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl, so I have time."

"We have an announcement too." Angela grabbed Hodgins hand and nodded her head. Now that their friends were assembled in a congenial place they thought it was time to break the news. "Jack and I are married."

Shocked, Brennan stared at her best friend for a moment, stood up, moved around the table and hugged her. "I am happy for you, Angela. Congratulations."

Booth wasn't happy that Angela had stepped on Brennan's happy news, but it was what it was. "Congratulations. When did this happen?"

"Right after Kitchen was arrested." Jack smiled at his bride. "We'd been dating again and well . . . life is short. Look at what happened to William King. One minute he was on the top and the next minute he was dead in a plane crash and then there was what happened to Vincent . . . We didn't want to wait until it was too late, if you know what I mean. We love each other . . . we hit a few bumps in the road last year, but I think we're stronger for them."

Angela took over the explanation. "We didn't want a wedding because of what happened the first time we tried. Why tempt fate? We figured a simple ceremony by a Justice of the Peace and . . . and we're married."

Cam had noticed how friendly her entomologist and computer nerd were lately, but she was surprised that they were married. She had expected them to want another wedding when they got married, but clearly she had misjudged the situation. "Well congratulations you two. I'm happy for you."

Sweets worried that Jack and Angela had let anxiety and fear prod them into getting married, but it was too late to say anything now. No one would appreciate him throwing water on the celebration. "I'm happy for you . . . so Booth, can we have some cake now?"

Picking up the knife next to the cake, Booth sliced out the first piece of cake and placed it on a paper plate. "It's chocolate. Who doesn't like chocolate, right?"

If anyone didn't care for chocolate cake they didn't say anything.

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