Wow...the response I've been getting is overwhelming. You guys have no idea how much you made my day! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! I must say though, I feel more and more nervous thinking the chapters are getting, well maybe not worse, but not as good and not as good each time! Pressure! haha.

Chapter Two: New life

Six months after that.

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

- Nietzsche

Agent Seeley Booth was crouched on top of the building overlooking the busy street, the hot July sun pounding down on his back. He slowly took one hand off of the gun that he was diligently sighting through, flexing it to work out the cramps that had been worming their way into his muscles over the past ten hours. He rolled his shoulders to try and relieve the ache in his back, but his finger never left the smooth curve of the trigger.

He had seen countless people through his crosshairs throughout the past ten hours, but none of them were the Target. Sure, there were a few of his cronies, and look a-likes, but none of them were Him. This was the real reason he had been called over – he wasn't trigger happy. He was the best. Or, at the very least, one of them. He had a mind that concentrated only on the task at hand – no distractions, and the strain of the war hadn't yet been weighing down on him for so long as it had been all the others.

He only wished…but no...he couldn't think, he had to concentrate. He licked his lips, forcing his heart-rate to slow again, as it had sped up unintentionally – after all, the beat of a heart against the butt of the weapon could shift the course of the bullet, something that was completely unacceptable.

Moments later, he felt a tap on his shoulder, three times, and he looked up from his position to see his partner, holding out a canteen of water, crouching down beside him. Booth took the water and slid away from the gun, letting his partner take his place for a while. As he sat down, leaning against the wall that had been at his back when he was manning the gun, he took a swig from the drink, wiping sweat away from his dirty brow as he wondered what Bones was doing at that moment, and if she was thinking of him at all…

XxX

We find a delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hundreds of miles away from Baghdad, Temperance Brennan lay in a hospital bed, sweat pouring down her face and matting her hair as she grunted in pain, squeezing the hand of Angela Montenegro, who stood at her side, just where she had been throughout all of the months. She dimly heard the sound of the doctor and her friend speaking to her, telling her to push, to calm down, to breathe, for all she herself could think about was Booth.

As much as she loved Angela like a sister, she couldn't help but wish that it was Booth holding her hand, brushing her hair out of her eyes, keeping her calm. But she couldn't say any of this out-loud, just as she couldn't let the tears fall. She had to stay strong – especially since there was a camera perched in the corner of the room, recording the entire event. As weird as it felt to have it there, it was recording one of the key moments in her life, and was something for Booth to look back on – right next to the video of the sonograms that had been recorded on the previous tape during each visit. She felt as though even though he wasn't there, he needed to be a part of it in some way, shape or form.

She hadn't even told him yet. Besides that fact that it would have been extremely difficult to contact him, she had once read "A distracted soldier is a dead soldier" and while maybe a child might not be considered a distraction, she didn't want to take the chance – she wanted her baby to have a father. But even with that – she knew she still had to make sure every key moment of this part of her life was available to him in some way or another.

Another shooting pain interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. "One more push, sweetie, then it's over," Angela was saying. "Squeeze as hard as you want."

Temperance obeyed her friends orders, squeezing her hand with such force she was later surprised it didn't break any of Angela's bones, and pushing one last time. There was a silence in the room for a second after the pain subsided, and Temperance fell back onto her pillow, and then there was a sharp wail and the words, "Temperance, I want you to meet your daughter."

Temperance looked up to see the doctor holding up the slimy body of the baby girl. And against all the logic that she had ever known, and through the slime that covered the baby, Temperance felt her heart jump, and her maternal instincts kick in. "Can I hold her?" she asked.

The nurse laughed softly. "After we get her cleaned up," she said, and Temperance nodded, her eyes following the doctors movements until minutes later, when they laid the little girl in her arms. Temperance didn't even notice Angela quietly slip away to give her privacy, stopping at the camera to zoom it in closer on the pair, before heading out the door to where the others were waiting.

Temperance looked down at the small child in her arms, who's hands were curled tightly together, and who's head was turned into her nightgown, into the blessed darkness. "Hey there," Temperance said gently, reaching down to gently take the small hand in her own. "Hi, beautiful girl." She was still surprised at the swell of emotion she felt gazing down at the small form, almost as if her heart were going to burst. She felt tears of happiness welling in her eyes, and she swiped at them with her free hand. "I'm your mommy," she said, and she laughed quietly, the words feeling awkward in her mouth.

Moments later, the door to her room opened and a small figure came flying through, with a happy shout of "Dr. Bones!" before stopping just short of the bed. Behind him trailed a young woman, her blonde hair down to her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan, but he wouldn't listen…"

"It's fine, Rebecca," Temperance said, smiling at the woman in the doorway, before looking to the young boy on the floor, who had stopped suddenly a foot from the bed, gazing at the young girl in Temperance's arms, his eyes wide.

"Is that her?" the boy asked, taking a cautious step towards the bed, and then another until he was standing a few inches away, his hands tentatively on the edge of the bed.

Temperance nodded, and shifted the weight of the baby so that the little boy could see better. "Parker, I want you to meet your sister," she said, smiling down at the young boy.

"She's so small," Parker said, his voice filled with awe as he reached out tentatively towards a little foot. He stopped before he could touch it, and instead looked up into Temperance's eyes. "What's her name?"

"Elizabeth," she said, and as soon as she spoke the name out loud, she knew it was perfect.

Parker nodded, then bit down on his lip cautiously, then asked, "Can I hold her."

"Sure," Temperance replied, and then gestured to the seat beside the bed. She looked up to the woman still standing in the doorway. "Do you think you could…" she began, not quite capable herself of making too many movements - unable to hand the small child off over the distance.

"Oh, right, of course," Rebecca said, moving to take the baby from Temperance and helping to situate the baby girl in her son's arms, giving him instructions as she did so. When she finished, she turned to Temperance. "So he did it again," she said, shaking her head with a small smile.

"Who?"

"Seeley," Rebecca stated simply, glancing at Parker to make sure that everything was going well. "But this time, it's different," she said, turning her attention back to Temperance. "Just…don't push him away, like I did. I can tell it's different between you two," she said softly, although her voice contained no trace of either jealousy or regret – for there was none - she had chosen her own path, which hadn't included him.

Temperance nodded in response, and they lapsed into silence for a moment, the only sound of noise being Parker softly chattering to his baby sister. Temperance looked at him and smiled. "Thank you for giving me time with him," she said, looking to Rebecca.

After Booth had left, and ever since that day in the airport, she felt a connection with the young boy. After she realized it, she began spending more time with the boy, taking over the days when Booth would have had him, and babysitting him on days when Rebecca needed her. The young boy had accepted her readily, and also seemed to see her as a connection to his dad that he couldn't get with his mom. She had to admit that she began looking foreward to every other weekend, and sometimes the weeknights where Rebecca would take a night off to go to dinner or some other activity. Temperance felt as if it were those days that helped her prepare for mother hood. She also couldnt help but feel the other women was beginning to loosen her close grip on her son, letting him live life a little freer in a way that would hopefully transfer to Booth's return as well.

"It's no problem," Rebecca said, smiling gently at Temperance. "He really loves spending time with you." Despite herself, Temperance felt a warm glow rise within her at the complement, and she grinned. "But anyway, we have a soccer game to get to," Rebecca continued, turning to help her son stand with the child in his arms, guiding him towards Temperance, who reached out to take her daughter gently. "You're daughter is beautiful by the way. Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"I'll still see you on Saturday, right, Dr. Bones?" Parker asked, looking up with hopeful eyes to Temperance.

"Of course," Temperance replied, reaching out to ruffle the young boys hair. Parker grinned in delight. "You can help me change diapers," she added, and he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Parker…" Rebecca's voice wafted from the doorway, a warning tone seeping through her voice.

"Bye Dr. Bones!" he said hurriedly, standing on tip-toe to plant a kiss on her cheek, then lingering a moment to tickle the young girls foot before scampering out the door to where his mother was waiting on the verge of impatience.

Temperance watched him go with a new feeling in her heart. That was the first time the young boy had ever kissed her – hugs, yes, but kisses were never on the menu. She smiled, pushing back the happy tears that were on the edges of her eyes, and turned to the door where Angela, Hodgins (hand in hand), Zach and Russ stood, silently waiting.

She looked at them and laughed, "Come meet my daughter," she said, and, without hesitating another second, the four crowded into the room – her surrogate family mingling with her real one.

XxX

I know that's not what a lot of you were expecting, and I apologize, I promise, it will aaaaaall be better!! I also appologize for any inconsistancies with the real life i.e. after the birth, during the birth...

So that chapter want that great, but the next one is pretty fun XD Thanks for reading so far, I know you'll enjoy the next chapter even if this one wasn't your favorite. Also, the whole "Distracted soldier" ordeal came from the show "The Unit" but not quite in the same context. Also, just FYI "the Target" is not important to the story, which is why he has no name. And the whole thing about slowing down the heart beat - that's actually a fact I stumbled across in a book called "Inside Delta Force".

Ponies (!!): Yey, it's great to see you back again! Yes it was sad she didnt get to say "it" back :( And yeah, you're probably right about why the chapter was 'less good'. Not only was there less emotion, it was a different type of emotion too. Eh, yeah, I see your point about the whole pregnancy thing - I'd be doing the same. But sometimes you get it in the beginning? I remember that from health class -- Hope you like the rest of it! And it's a short story, so itll defiently be done by then. Ack, I want to go to Spain!!! Lucky Thanks for coming back to read/review!

Fanfictinmonster: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! Thanks for read/reviewing, hope you enjoyed this update.