This is the final chapter so I must bid adieu to Mrs. Booth. Parting is such sweet sorrow! Sorry, too much Shakespeare lately. Hope you like the ending!!
By the time they made it back to Brennan's office they had sufficiently composed themselves, at least enough to get back down to work. Unfortunately, this state of self-control did not last very long. It seemed that a torrent had been unleashed with that first touch and by the time 5:45 rolled around the two of them had gotten next to nothing accomplished. Quarter-to became six o'clock and that hour still found the partners engaged in a rather intense make-out session on Brennan's couch when Booth pulled away in a panic.
"Bones! What time is it?" He quickly got up as Brennan glanced over at her clock.
"Shoot! It's six o'clock. I wanted to have a shower before we picked your mother up; I'm sure I look….well, not entirely presentable."
"You look beautiful Bones," said Booth admiringly.
"Thank you Booth, but just because you say it in that definitive tone does not mean that it means anything to me."
Booth recognized his own words and laughed, earning him a smile from his partner who was currently trying to tame her hair which had become somewhat mussed during their previous activities.
"I look like I was in a fight," she winced, straightening her clothes.
"Not too far off," Booth smirked.
Brennan smacked him on the shoulder. "I'm not going to be able to look your mother in the eye!"
Booth laughed and grabbed their coats off the hook, helping her on with hers.
"Always the gentleman, aren't you Booth? Your mother must be so proud." Her smile belied her attempt at irritation. Booth slung an arm over her shoulder as they headed toward the entrance.
"You know you love it."
BBBBBBBBBB
Rose Booth stood in the lobby of her hotel waiting for her son and his partner to pick her up for dinner. It was 6:32 and she was beginning to wonder if they had lost track of the time or gotten….sidetracked. She almost hoped they had. She smiled to herself, if it hadn't happened already then she'd be willing to place money on 'very soon'. From a conversation she had had with Brennan's friend Angela earlier that day it seemed that friends were already doing just that. And if she'd placed a small bet of her own, she figured God would understand.
She glanced up as Booth's SUV pealed into the car park in front of the hotel. Booth emerged from the vehicle and jogged to the front entrance.
"What did I say about picking me up on time?" she admonished.
"I'm sorry Mom, we got so wrapped up in….in our work, that we lost track of time," Booth explained, but his calm demeanor was betrayed by the slight blush rising in his cheeks.
"You're not telling me the truth Seeley. Didn't you learn when you were younger that you can't keep any secrets from me? You know it's absolutely pointless to try."
"Yes, I know, and it has been the bane of my dignity and self-respect for many years, considering you can't keep any of it to yourself," he complained as they headed toward the SUV. "Do you have any idea how much you embarrassed me today!"
"Oh Seeley, I was just helping you out. If you had your head on strait then I wouldn't have been forced to land you in that humiliating situation."
"Why can't you just let me handle these things on my own?"
She smiled patiently at him and shook her head. Brennan saw them approaching and quickly got out of the passenger seat, holding the door open for Rose.
"Dear, that's alright, no need to leave your spot for me."
"No trouble, the back seat will do just fine for me."
Booth smiled at the exchange as they headed off for dinner.
Brennan thoroughly enjoyed their supper; more specifically she enjoyed the opportunity to converse with Mrs. Booth on what appeared to be their new favourite topic: the utterly humiliated FBI agent who currently had his head in his hands in an effort to hide the blush that had turned his face a terrific shade of red.
"….later that evening Susan called to apologize for making Seeley cry."
"She was very big for her age," Booth mumbled.
"Oh Booth, there's no reason to be ashamed about being beat up by a girl. Girls do in fact grow quicker than boys do. Is there anything else that I should know about Booth?" Brennan asked.
"Has Seeley ever told you about his first crush?" asked Rose, obviously eager to disclose any little detail about her son that his partner wanted to hear.
"Of course I have Mom, because those are just the kind of things that I enjoy sharing with all my friends and colleagues" said Booth sarcastically.
"Anyway," began his mother, "after his first day of grade six Seeley came racing home eager to, not watch television or run back out and play football, but to do his homework and science homework at that!"
"Booth was interested in science?" asked Brennan incredulously.
"That was the thing, as I'm sure you're well aware, science is probably the last thing that Seeley would be interested in, but it wasn't until Parent / Teacher interviews that I realized why my son was so intent on getting an A in a subject he hated."
"I don't hate science Mom, it's just…."
"Don't argue Booth," said Brennan and his mother in unison.
If possible, Booth sank even lower in his seat wondering how God would be so cruel as to grant these two very headstrong women the opportunity of ganging up on him.
"I met his very young and very pretty science teacher and, being the brilliant observer that I am, and knowing my son, I realized that Seeley had a crush on his science teacher. In fact Dear, you remind me a lot of her. Doesn't Dr. Brennan look like your grade six science teacher Seeley?"
"I don't really remember," muttered Booth.
"Now that I think of it, I wondered three years ago why Booth had gained such a new and unexplained interest in science. Now I understand."
Brennan blushed, but smiled, obviously pleased.
"Well, suffice it to say, that was the only year that Seeley didn't get through science on his charm alone."
Brennan laughed and Booth, even in his mortified state, mentally congratulated his mother on breaking through his partner's typically cool exterior and bringing that gorgeous smile to her face.
Rose watched her son gaze at his partner as she laughed at her recounting of each and every embarrassing moment of her son's childhood. Her son was clearly smitten and if Rose could read people at all, and she could, Temperance was equally besotted. Her hypothesis was confirmed when Brennan turned her head and caught Booth's gaze, neither of them could turn away and so neither of them saw Rose's grin grow bigger and bigger.
Booth was transfixed. Slowly his hand came up and stroked Brennan's cheek. An alarm went off in his head signaling that there was some important reason why he shouldn't be doing this right now, but obviously, since he couldn't for the life of him recall what it was, it really couldn't be that important. Brennan's hand came to rest over his when they were both pulled back to reality by the confident exclamation from Rose:
"I knew it, I just knew it! You can't hide it from me."
"Hide what?" Brennan attempted to appear as innocent as possible.
"There's nothing she can't sniff out Bones," Booth mumbled to her.
"I don't know what that means?"
"Well, you know Angela's sixth sense…."
"Oh," said Brennan, the helpful comparison causing her to realize that the jig was up.
"You did it!" Rose was ready to stand up and dance the way her husband did when his football team got a touchdown.
Booth's position could only be described as beyond uncomfortable, sure he was happy, overjoyed, but this was his mother after all. What guy actually wants to talk about his love life with his mom? Brennan on the other hand…..
"Yup," she said matter-of-factly. "Actually though, if it hadn't been for you, I don't know if he could have done it. He's usually very brave," she glanced at him appreciatively, "but his courage seemed to have failed him in this situation."
"See," said Rose triumphantly. "I knew you just needed a good push."
"Why Mom?" he questioned. "If you knew it would happen eventually, what made you feel the need to turn matchmaker today?"
"Oh," said Rose ambiguously. "When the mood strikes…."
"Even I don't believe that and I know nothing about people," declared Brennan.
"Can't a mother just do something nice for her son? Seeley's an amazing son, apart from the fact that he doesn't call half as often as he should, and when he called home sounding like a love-struck teenager I knew he couldn't keep up this ruse for much longer. Can't you just accept that I wanted to help?"
Brennan and Booth shrugged, who were they to argue? Everyone had gotten what they wanted.
Booth reached for the bill, but he wasn't fast enough. Rose snagged it before he could grab it and before Booth could protest, she cut off his objections, insisting that she really wanted to treat them.
"Now I know where you got your quick reflexes from," said Brennan as Booth once again took it upon himself to help her on with her coat.
Once they were in Booth's SUV his mother leaned over and tapped his arm.
"Do you mind if we stop at the Jeffersonian?"
"Why" said Booth, evidently puzzled as to why his mother would need to return to the museum.
"Ummm…..I think I left something there."
"Alright," said Booth. He knew quarreling with her was futile, so they pulled into the parking lot and the three of them ran inside. Brennan had to ask Hodgins something and Booth had to follow her in to make sure that she actually made it out of the building.
Angela walked over to greet them as they came through the doors of the Medico Legal lab. Rose shocked Booth and Brennan when she walked right up to the artist and held out her hand.
"I believe, Mss Montenegro, that you owe me some money," said Rose with a certain tone to her voice that immediately put Booth and Brennan on edge.
"You didn't," said Angela, absolutely shocked. "But how…."
"I have my ways," said Rose with a mysterious smile.
Angela suddenly burst to life, running over and throwing her arms around a very bewildered Brennan.
"I'm so happy for you!"
Booth's mystified look only intensified as he watched his mother grin smugly and count the bills in her hand while Angela started to interrogate Brennan.
"Mom!" said Booth loudly, trying to assert some control in the midst of this mayhem. "What is going on?"
"Well, "his mother sighed. "I may have met Miss Montenegro this morning before seeing you and we got to talking and I realized that here was someone else who knew what was inevitably gong to transpire between the two of you and I may have entered into a friendly bet."
"I knew it!" cried Booth. "I knew there was a reason why you suddenly took such a vested interest in my social life."
"Now, don't belittle my good intentions, I did it for you too, but what does making a little extra cash on the side hurt?"
Angela had yet to let up on her attack, but after deciding that 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em', Brennan gave in and gave Angela the concise version of that afternoon's events. No one would ever get the definitive version, not if Brennan had any desire to keep her reputation in tact.
BBBBBBBBBB
Half an hour later saw Brennan and Booth saying good-bye to his mother at the railway station.
"I can't believe you would turn a profit on your own son!"
"Oh Seeley, get over it! All those years of loving you, raising you, embarrassing you in front of your friends, that has to be worth something!"
"You're right," said Booth solemnly. "You can owe me."
Brennan laughed. Finally they heard the last call for boarding and Rose hugged Booth and Brennan.
"Now don't make me come down here again! It should be you visiting me. I'm getting too old to have to come down here and fix your messes!"
"Mom, how many times do I have to tell you, I can…."
She cut him off. "I know, you can take care of your own problems. Picture that! I guess I'll have to leave him in your hands Temperance. Literally," she finished slyly.
Temperance grinned putting her hand on Booth's arm. "No problem there."
After bidding their final farewell Brennan and Booth headed back through the station.
"You know Booth, I really don't think I've ever seen you blush as many times over the last three years as you have today. It's kinda cute; maybe I should embarrass you more often."
"I think I've endured enough humiliation today to last me a lifetime!"
Brennan just laughed and looped her arm through his, mentally thanking Booth's mom once again for giving them the shove they needed and providing her with more dirt on her partner than she knew what to do with. In fact, she really felt like driving tonight and visions of a gun began to dance through her head.
"I don't like that look Bones."
Well, that's it and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it! Wow, that sounds incredibly corny, but I really did have an awesome time writing Mrs. Booth!
Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing this story and my other ones, it's because of you guys that I keep writing. Well, you and the fact that I have to get all this fluff out of my system so that it doesn't show up in my History papers! I don't think my Profs would appreciate that.
Please, please, please tell me what you thought of my ending!!