Chapter 13 Melody
A/N: The Dragon Slayer song mentioned in this chapter came from FaithinBones' story of the same name.
Dr. Temperance Brennan is not the type of person you'd normally expect to be sentimental about music. However, if you made that assumption, you'd be wrong. Despite her refusal to admit to Max that she remembered their 'trying song' from her childhood, Brennan had vivid memories of standing on her dad's feet as he danced her around their living room singing Poco's song together.
She loved "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" because her mother's praise for her singing had boosted the confidence of a young girl who felt like a geek around most of her friends. She didn't have many good memories of her mother, but this one was as clear as day.
She and Booth had discovered their mutual enjoyment of Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" the night her refrigerator blew up, injuring him. This song was more precious to her than any other because Booth had struggled out of a hospital bed to find and rescue her from Jamie Kenton, ignoring his pain. It personified his dedication to their partner- and friend-ship.
During her pregnancy, Bones had worn an odd contraption which conveyed melodies to her unborn child, and allowed the baby to hear her mother's heartbeat. She loved standing outside the nursery door listening to him croon "Silent Night" or "Puff the Magic Dragon" to Christine. He'd once sung Parker back to sleep after a nightmare with Voltaire's "Dragon Slayer" when she'd first met the little boy, and Booth's fatherly tenderness had touched Brennan deeply.
On Christmas Eve, she relished hearing "In David's Royal City" at midnight Mass with Booth. His goofy love for all things Christmas amused her at first, then warmed her heart more and more as their years of knowing one another rolled by. He sang every Christmas song known to mankind off-key non-stop from Thanksgiving through New Year's and she loved his obsession with the holiday more each year.
The longer she knew Booth, the more melodies she stored among her memories of him. Each came to represent one of the things she loved about him; his tenderness, his fierce protection of those dear to him, his ability to enjoy traditions and holidays in spite of the negatives he'd suffered as a child.
Yes, Temperance Brennan lived up to her earlier name "Joy" by finding it in the songs and melodies that made up her life with Booth.