August 2007

Brennan woke up, sun streaming into her eyes. She squinted, stretching, enjoying the warmth that the sun was bathing across the wide bed. She usually got up at 7. The sun was barely even up at seven. She felt rested. He made her sleep. Maybe he really was good for her.

She reached her arm across the bed, opening her eyes quickly when she felt the other side of the bed empty. She sat up, running a hand through her hair. The sun was almost fully in the sky, signifying that it was late. Maybe he had left.

The little clock on his bed side table red 10:47. She hadn't slept this late since she was 14. She had always slept late when her parents were around, because she had never had to worry about them leaving. After she'd hit the system, she would wake up at 6 every morning, in a panic that they had left again.

She padded quietly out of his bedroom, wearing only his t-shirt, which hung down to mid thigh. Her hair messy from the last night's "activities".

She liked his apartment. It was warm, and comforting, just like Booth. The furniture was so inviting, that she felt like falling down and sleeping on it at any moment. It had huge windows looking out on the DC skyline, welcoming light in that washed warmly over the entire apartment.

Biting her lip, afraid that she would walk out into the apartment and be all alone. She took a deep breath, and was relieved to smell cinnamon wafting from the kitchen and see Booth standing next to the stove, humming to himself, while simultaneously flipping pancakes on the griddle.

She decided she wanted to be stealth and sneak up to him, she quietly tip toed behind him, trying to be as quiet as she could be.

Just as she was approaching him, when he addressed her without turning around. She cursed silently knowing he had heard her.

"You know sneaking up on people isn't as easy when they've been in the Special Forces."

She stepped next to him, smiling at him. "I thought I might have learned something. After all, we have been working together for a while."

He turned, smiling at her, and then smiling wider when he took in her figure clad only in his long t-shirt.

"We have been working together for a while, but that doesn't mean that I can name all 206 bones in the human body yet."

"That's not logical. I should be able to sneak up on you, but it isn't at all relevant to be able to name the 206 bones in the human skeleton."

He leaned down, kissing her softly. "It doesn't have to be logical Bones. Ditch logical."

He smiled, and kissed him, threading her arms around his neck, as he pushed her softly against the counter top. Wrapping his arms around her waist, tugging on his t-shirt, his fingers brushing the bare skin of her back.

"Logical is good."

He pulled back from their kiss, realizing that the pancakes were starting to burn.

"No, logical is good for bones. It's not good for you and me."

She pulled herself up on the counter, swinging her legs back and forth as she watched him flip the pancakes until they were perfectly golden brown. She loved when he made her breakfast. Usually she didn't eat breakfast, but she loved eating with him.

"Are you making me pancakes?"

He grinned up at her, as he flipped 3 pancakes onto a plate. He handed it to her, which she gladly took, smiling back at him

"Yes I am."

She took a bite of one, smiling. Another plus to Booth, he was a good cook.

He shook his head, laughing. "Bones, sometimes I think you're hopeless. You don't eat pancakes with your hands."

She glared at him, pouring syrup onto her plate and then dipping a piece of pancake into it and popping it into her mouth.

"I do."

He put his hands on either side of her, leaning against the counter. "I guess whatever works for you."

She smirked; glad to be getting her way. "Thank you."

He leaned in kissing her; she abandoned the pancakes, and wrapped her arms around him, liking the extra height the counter gave her. Their kisses became more heated, as he pushed her down against the counter, sliding his hands up t-shirt, caressing the soft skin of her hips.

She let a small moan escaper her lips, she tried to reason with him and herself.

"I'm hungry Booth. I want to eat my pancakes."

He smiled, before kissing her again. "Me too." She laughed, as she pulled him down on top of her, deciding that the pancakes could most definitely wait.

March 2011

Booth stood perplexed, staring at the spot where Brennan had just been standing. She was gone. It had only been a split second. He had forgotten what it was like to be close to her. She looked the same, the same long wavy dark auburn hair. The same perfectly milky skin. And the same deep blue eyes. Like looking into the sky.

But something was different. He couldn't see it on the outside, but something was just different about her. He usually could read her perfectly. He used to be able to. He didn't know if it was the distance that was so vastly spread between them now, or the fact that she had changed, but he couldn't figure out what was going on in her head.

The way she had hugged Parker was different. She had crouched down next to him, like she knew exactly what to say, how to handle him. Before, when they had first gotten together, Parker had still been enamored with the young anthropologist, but she had always been worried that she was going to do something wrong with him. Say the wrong thing. She hadn't known that it was nearly impossible to say the wrong thing to a five year old.

Her entire demeanor was different. She had walked in the door smiling. She'd smiled at the cashier, and she'd grinned widely when she saw Parker. Only had she stopped smiling when she had seen him. A look of pure terror had painted itself across her face. Terror and hurt. He hated himself for making her feel that.

He sighed running a hand over his face. He didn't know what he had expected from her. He had left for 3 ½ years. She was so hard to get close to in the first place; he didn't know what he'd been thinking.

Did I expect her to just throw herself into my arms? Bones isn't like that that. Once someone's gone, she doesn't let them come back easily.

Parker tugged on his shirt, staring up at him incredulously with his huge brown eyes.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah Park."

"Did you and Dr. Bones have a fight?"

Booth sighed, "Sort of."

Parker nodded knowingly. "She seemed pretty mad at you Daddy. Were you mean to her?"

"It's not something I did buddy, its something I didn't do."

"I don't know what that means, but it sounds confusing."

Booth smiled, hearing his son repeating the words that came out of Brennan's mouth so frequently.

"Yeah it is, don't worry about it though buddy."

"Ok, but can we still visit Dr. Bones tomorrow?"

Parker could visit her, but Booth was fairly certain if he tried to speak to her without protective gear, he would end up with a broken arm.

"Yeah we can."

Parker yawned loudly, bringing a hand to his mouth. He leaned against Booth, swaying slightly.

"I'm tired Daddy."

Booth reached down, picking Parker up. He leaned against Booth's chest, and Booth could see his eyes drifting closed. Traveling always took a lot out of Parker, and the effect was now only taking place after a few hours of hyperness.

He left 20 dollars on the counter for he and Parker's food, and carried the sleeping little boy out the door of the diner into the rain. Luckily his car was parked near by, and he deposited Parker into the back seat, who by this time was completely passed out.

He sat in the seat for a minute, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, debating what to do. He knew where he should go. He knew where he wanted to go. Logic or instinct. He turned the key in the car. Instinct was so much easier to trust.

Brennan pushed away the huge bowl of salad that she had just devoured. She was still in shock. It had been nearly an hour, and she still had his face in her mind. She hadn't known what to say. Instead she had just gone back to the way she always was. Protected. She had to protect herself from Booth. She knew him. If he saw a place where he could get in, she wouldn't be able to protect herself anymore. And that's all she had.

"Momfy, look!"

She looked up, puzzled why Sam's voice sounded so muffled. She had to laugh when she saw at least 20 French Fries stuffed manically in his mouth. Chloe was laughing hysterically.

"Sammy, I don't want you to choke."

He shook his head. "I fon't."

"As much as I want to trust you, take them out baby, please."

He spit out all of the French Fries on his plate, both he and Chloe erupting into fits of giggles. Brennan smiled widely. They always cheered her up.

She didn't know how she was going to handle this. What was Booth going to say when he saw that she had children? She could just tell him that they weren't his. Maybe he wouldn't think they were his.

Who am I kidding? Booth's not an idiot. They look exactly like him. But maybe he won't make the connection.

And worse, she felt sickenly guiltier every second that went by that Chloe and Sam didn't know about their father. Was she a horrible mother if she didn't tell them about Booth? Was she horrible if she didn't tell Booth about them?

"Look mommy, twicerwetops!"

Chloe wiggled a deep fried chicken dinosaur in front of Brennan's face, before she devoured the unsuspecting dinosaur whole.

Brennan smiled. They loved the chicken dinosaurs. Brennan always got them for the twins for two reasons. She had them when they were little, her mom always used to take her out for them. And Parker had loved them. It made the happy memories seem closer.

Sam wiggled another dinosaur in front of Brennan's face. She knew that he was competing with his sister for her attention. They always did. Brennan couldn't help but think that everything would just be less complicated if they had Booth around. But she didn't. And the twins didn't have him.

Angela's right. They need Booth. What if he doesn't want them? Of course he'll want them. It's me that will probably subtract from the allure.

"Look what I've got mommy, a t-wex!"

Chloe made a face, "Twicerwetops are ten times better Sammy."

"No! T-wex's eat twicerwetops!"

Chloe stuck out her tongue, trying to think of something to say. "Mommy, what do you think?"

Brennan was about to respond. That was the problem with having twins, they were constantly asking her to choose whose drawing was better, or who was the better jump roper. The door bell rang, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think, I'm going to answer the door."

They glared at her as she stood up to get the door. "When you get back mommy, you have to choose."

Brennan smiled, as she walked to the front of her apartment, loosing sight of the bickering twins. Without checking the peephole she opened the door, curious to who would be knocking at 7:30.

As soon as she opened the door, she wished she hadn't. Booth was standing in the doorway. She felt herself holding her breath, and she reminded herself to breathe.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Good Brennan, you've mastered the basic skills to keep yourself alive.

She stepped out of the door, grabbing the keys from the table so not to lock herself out, and shutting it abruptly. She didn't want to risk Booth hearing them. Or them running out to see who was at the door. They weren't tall enough to reach the door handle yet, so she was safe.

"What do you want?"

"I just want to talk Bones."

She glared at him, and Booth felt like cringing at how icy her eyes were.

Crossing her eyes in defense, she addressed him quickly, barely looking at him. Like she was speaking to someone she barely knew.

"You just want to talk? You didn't want to talk for 3 and half years, and all of a sudden you have an impulse to speak to me?"

"You know it's not like that."

"Actually it is. I can't even believe I'm talking to you. You should just go."

She needed him to go. The hot tears were stinging her eyes, making her vision blurry. She couldn't cry, she couldn't let him see that she still cared.

"Really leave. Just go. You're pretty good at that."

That was harsh, but I deserve it. She let me in and I deserted her.

Her words stung, and it was clear that she was ready for him. She wasn't backing down, and he certainly wasn't going to. He wanted things to go back to the way they were.

"Bones, I didn't mean for it to be this long."

"I really don't want to talk to you. Things have changed. My life is none of your business Booth, so you should really just go." I can't handle this.

Booth sighed, and Brennan was about to let the tears spill, and run back into the apartment, when the door opened itself. Apparently they were tall enough to open the door.

"Mommy! Who's that?"

Booth eye's widened. Mommy? That had to be a mistake. He had heard wrong. He looked down to where the small voice was coming from. A little girl with Brennan's face, long dark brown hair, and huge brown eyes smiled widely up at him. Wait a minute that smile. She looked exactly like Brennan except for her wide grin. That was his. This had to be some sort of weird strange dream. Maybe the pie was really getting to him.

"Where's your brother Chloe?"

Chloe shrugged turning her attention on Booth, who almost was having a panic attack himself. Brennan. His Bones had a kid. She only looked to be about 3, four at the oldest. He couldn't even comprehend this. Thing really had changed.

She looks just like Bones…and me. Or maybe I'm just hallucinating.

Tugging on her mom's hand she motioned to Booth again. "Mommy why are you taking so long, you have to judge our dineeswors."

Suddenly Sam burst through the small space that Chloe was occupying in the door. He jumped up, trying to get as close to his mom's face as possible.

"Mommy, she locked me in the cwoset. It was scawy!"

Booth's eyes widened again. A little boy, who looked to be the same age as his sister was now standing next to the little girl, Chloe. He looked at Booth, his huge blue eyes brimming with tears. Booth took a deep breath in. The resemblance was uncanny. He looked exactly like how Booth had when he was 3 or 4. Except with Brennan's giant sapphire eyes.

Logic Booth. If Bones has kids. Twins. And they look like us. That would mean that these are my children. Ours. This cannot be happening. She wouldn't keep something like this from me.

Sam had tears in his eyes, and Brennan wanted to pick him up and wipe them away, but she was way too occupied at how Booth was staring at her and Sam and Chloe. She didn't want this to happen. She should have never opened the door. How was she going to explain twins?

"Chloe, say you're sorry to your brother."

"Sowy Sammy, but you said T-wex was better."

"It is."

"Both dinosaurs are the best Sammy. Why don't you two go inside and finish your dinosaurs, before it's your bed time."

"No mommy, who are you talking to?"

Brennan's eyes met Booth, and then turned away. Brennan didn't know how to introduce him.

"This is Booth."

Sam and Chloe looked up at him, and greeted him simultaneously with huge smiles.

"Hi Boof!"

Booth smiled down at them. They definitely weren't shy; he had to give them that. He didn't know how to say hi to Brennan's children. It was such a strange concept that Brennan had kids. What was even harder to grasp that they could be his.

Booth was about to respond when, they continued for him. "I'm Chloe, and this is my bwother. Sammy."

She's just like Brennan.

She extended her hand, but Sam pushed in front of her. "I'm Sam."

Booth laughed, crouching down to their height. He shook Chloe's hand. "Nice to meet you Chloe."

Sam glared at his sister again for gaining the attention first. Booth turned his attention to the little boy, now hiding behind his mother's legs.

"Sam?"

He jumped out, smiling, and extending his hand. "Sowy, Chloe just is sometimes mean."

"You're a big guy; don't let her be mean to you."

Sam nodded exuberantly. "Ok!"

Booth smiled, "Ok."

He stood up, looking at Brennan who was wearing a look that he couldn't read at all, her blue eyes staring at him intensely.

Sam jumped up, trying to pull his mom down to eyelevel. "Mommy! Can he come and play wif us?

"Its getting time for bedtime for you two."

They both groaned, "Aww…Mommy. We don't wanna go to bed. We want to play wif Boof!"

Brennan raised her eyebrows, knowing exactly how to solve this situation. She couldn't watch them interact with Booth anymore; it was making her feel sicker by the second.

"No stories for a week if you're not in bed in," She glanced at her watch, "2 minutes."

Immediately they scrambled past her, pushing and shoving to get back into the apartment.

"Goodnight Boof!"

Brennan could hear the door slamming, and the scramble for tooth brushes and pajamas beginning. She knew they loved hearing stories about Booth, so having that taken away wasn't appealing to either of them .If only they knew their dad was standing right in front of them.

She looked back at Booth, who was staring at her. His face was completely tensed, and his eyes darkened.

Oh god. He's knows.

She was about to speak, to make an excuse. Do something that would draw his eyes away from her. She felt see through. This wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

"Are they mine Bones?"

"Booth I---,"

"No, it's a simple question. One honestly I can't believe I'm asking you. You of all people I thought… just answer the question Bones."

"No."

Oh my god. What have I done."