(The Secret in the Siege)
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I don't own Bones.
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They had been through a lot in the last few years. Booth had been diagnosed with Cerebellar Pilocytic Astrocytoma, a brain tumor that had given everyone that knew him a fright. It had taken a while for him to recover, but he had for the most part. Some things had changed in her partner, but they were acceptable changes and as far as Brennan was concerned Booth was still the Booth she loved.
A former Army Ranger had tried to kill Booth at the Lab and had killed her intern, Vincent Nigel Murray instead. When she'd had time to think about the consequences of her intern taking the phone from Booth, she understood just how close she had come to losing her mate. She'd cried a few tears about the loss of her intern, but since Booth was still alive and well, she placed that tragedy in its proper place, in the past and moved on.
For a while, some mysterious person appeared to be interested in Booth which didn't seem to make sense. Whoever this mysterious person was, he or she was linked to Wayne Kitchen, a former Deputy Director of Homeland Security who had been blackmailed to commit murders and to cover up murders. They didn't know who this person was so for now Booth and everyone that worked with him were trying to be careful and not become a victim or target of this person's plots.
The phrase, 'life comes at you fast' was accurate as far as Brennan was concerned. Just two years ago, they were on a case and a man named Hans Bourgeois had almost killed her when they were investigating the death of his step-son. Booth had reacted like she had known he would, but he loved her and he wanted to protect her and the baby she was carrying at the time. She had stopped going on interviews with Booth, but nothing else had changed. She did her work and they solved cases together.
Happily, Booth and Brennan soon became the parents of a beautiful baby girl who was the apple of Booth's eye. Much to Brennan's annoyance, sometimes he called their daughter mini-Bones. He did it out of affection and love and Brennan was flattered though she would never admit that. She detested nicknames and fussed about Booth's liberal use of them, but nothing could change him and she really didn't want to. It was a quirk she could live with.
Though in the past she had assumed that such a life would be impossible for her, Brennan had found someone that loved her and someone she could love back. Though their lives were far from perfect, she knew that this was the life they both wanted. They found strength in each other and when things appeared to fall apart, they had the support they needed to handle what came. Which was a good thing because the disasters never seemed to stop.
To everyone's horror, Jared was almost killed in an automobile accident and Booth had taken it upon himself to take care of his brother. Brennan had agreed with Booth's plan and their lives were disrupted for several months while Jared was living with them. Both men lost their father during this phase of their lives because of cancer and it seemed like life never wanted to settle down to any kind of normalcy. When she thought about it, she was certain that she didn't know what a normal life meant and she supposed she never would.
Of course, the pressure upon Booth started to make him aware that his need to gamble had reared its ugly head once more and that added one more burden upon him and Brennan. He fought to keep from gambling and it took months before he had finally realized that he had unfinished business to take care of. Even though he hated his father, he needed to find a way to mourn his father's passing and let him go. Once he figured out how to do that, the urge to gamble had subsided and Booth seemed to be happier which made Brennan happy.
Tragedy seemed to be stalking them and unbelievably, Brennan had been shot at the Jefferson and had almost died. During her ordeal, Booth had been by her side and helped her recover. He had been selfless, giving her care at home, making sure that Max was there to watch over her when he was at work. She had thought she would smother from all the attention, but she knew it was done out of love and how could she fault her lover or her father for wanting what was best for her? She hadn't recovered as fast as she had wanted to, but she had finally returned to work again.
She marveled sometimes about how many dangerous situations both she and Booth had been through and yet they were still alive and well and living with each other. They were still in love and her fears that love was ephemeral was replaced with a certainty that it was possible that Booth would always be there by her side and that he would not fall out of love with her like she had feared at the beginning of their relationship.
Brennan appreciated their history together and she knew that it was time for her to come to a decision. She had never believed in marriage. She considered it antiquated and a way to control a woman's life in a male dominated society and yet, there was more to it than that. Booth was a religious man willing to live in sin because he loved her so much. He couldn't take communion because of their living arrangements and yet he never complained or even mentioned it. The cost to him was greater than it was to her and she knew that she wanted to fix that. She wanted to give Booth what he had always wanted but had never insisted happen. She had finally realized that giving him what he wanted would not make her unhappy.
She arranged to meet him in the rose garden behind the Jeffersonian. She waited on a bench near some hybrid tea roses and enjoyed the scent of the roses surrounding her. After a while, she impatiently glanced at her watch and wondered what was taking Booth so long when she spied him turn down the aisle she was facing and strode toward her. Waving at him, she stood up and waited for her lover to come to her.
"Hey, I came as soon as I could." Booth noticed the smile on Brennan's face and he knew that whatever she wanted to see him about, it must be something good for a change. "What's up?"
Stepping closer, Brennan placed her hand on his chest and nodded her head. She was determined to do this right. "Life is unpredictable. You could die of a heart attack and with your diet, that is a real possibility or I could get hit by a bus."
Not sure what was going on, Booth placed his hands on Brennan's waist and shook his head. "Bones, slow down for a second. I don't know what's going on, but I'm fine and so are you. We're young and healthy and . . ."
"The point I am trying to make is I want to marry you, Booth." She could see the shock in his face and she knew he was having a hard time believing what she was saying. "Will you marry me?"
Almost speechless, Booth swallowed and hoped that he wasn't at home, asleep in bed dreaming. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. I've been afraid, I've been stubborn and I've been in love and marriage would make you so happy."
Afraid that Brennan had taken her near-death experience harder than he had thought, Booth moved his hands down on the top of her hips, holding himself steady. "You're not just saying this because you almost died are you? I mean, you had a traumatic experience . . . Hell it was traumatic for all of us, but I don't want you to do this because you almost died. I mean, you're fine now. You're going to be okay and I don't want you do something that you'll regret later. You don't believe in marriage . . ."
"I believe one thing Booth. I love you." Brennan placed her hands on his shoulders and tried to make him understand why she was doing this. "Me being almost killed made me focus and see things more clearly. I almost died, actually my heart stopped three times and it made me see my mortality. I don't know why I felt that it was necessary to remain unmarried . . . Well, yes I did. I used to think that love couldn't last and that someday you would leave me . . ."
He interrupted her. "Never, Bones. Never. I love you and I will never fall out of love with you. That isn't going to happen."
"Yes, I believe that and that is why I wish to marry you." Brennan could see that he was beginning to believe her. "I want you to be my husband. I want to spend the rest of my life with you . . . Say something."
"Yes . . . of course, yes." He had never thought this day would come and now that it had, he felt like his heart would burst from so much happiness. "It would be my honor, Temperance."
Moving so was she closer to his body, Brennan pulled his head down closer and she kissed him. His response was instantaneous and he pressed his lips hard against her lips. Their kiss was long and passionate and when it was over they breathlessly laughed. They didn't usually do public displays of affection, but if anyone had seen them together at that moment they knew without a doubt that they were seeing a couple who loved each other deeply.
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