A/N: I don't think I'll ever begin to convey my thanks and appreciation for the love you've shown this story. It's amazing to me that so many people enjoy the ramblings of my brain. I won't complain though and with that we are onward to another chapter! (Oh, and if I haven't mentioned this before. Total fluff. Nothing but fluff. I love fluff.)
A hearty thanks to my beta Effie! She's just fabulous!
Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own them and I won't. I'm learning to deal with it.
It had been nearly four weeks ago since that morning had taken place and in that time they had slowly formed what this new aspect of their relationship was and how it would affect their professional partnership. They hadn't even told anyone yet, other than Angela that is, and now they were going to have another aspect to factor into their relationship. Brennan let her hands rest on her still flat stomach, logic telling her the act would not be able to form a distinctive definition of the pregnancy, but her heart beat a little faster and she smiled anyways.
A baby. Her baby. His baby. Their baby.
Her mind, usually very adept in thought changes, stalled on one thing. Their baby.
She finished getting ready for the day and was about to head out to the lab when her phone rang and Brennan reached for it, knowing whose voice would be at the other end.
"Brennan."
"We've got a body," Booth's voice answered, settling themselves into work mode, "Are you at the lab yet?"
"No," she told him, "I was getting ready to head there though."
"Do you need to stop there first?"
"Yes, I'll have to grab my bag and jumpsuit."
"Okay," he replied, "I'll meet you there in thirty minutes. I'm going to stop for coffee, would you like some?"
Brennan opened her mouth to answer yes and then paused, "Um, no thank you. I've already had a sufficient amount of caffeine this morning."
"You feeling okay Bones?" Booth questioned, "You don't turn down coffee very often."
"I'm feeling fine Booth," she assured him, ignoring the remembrance of the nausea she had been subject to earlier that morning. "I'll see you at the lab soon."
She ended the call after his quick goodbye and stepped out into her hallway. She paused again and took a few steps back into her kitchen and grabbed her appointment book. Flipping open to the back page where her doctor's numbers were listed and dialed one quickly. She scheduled the appointment for her lunch hour, the only time she was sure she could disappear and no one would question it too much. It was a test she didn't truly need to take, but having it confirmed by a doctor meant she would be able to start her prenatal care even sooner.
She was smiling brightly when she finally left her apartment.
Brennan sat, fidgeting slightly in the hard plastic chairs of the doctor's waiting room. The initial examination file of the remains at the bowling alley sitting on her lap as she reviewed her findings again while she waited to be seen by her doctor.
She had been slightly surprised when the smell of the decaying body had hit her harder than she was used to. Brennan remembered Angela complaining about her overly sensitive sense of smell in the first several months of her pregnancy, but Brennan hadn't figured it would take a hold so quickly. She was grateful she had been able to hide her discomfort from Booth's ever-watching eye. There was no question that he would have known something was up if she had shown any of her queasiness at the bowling alley.
Brennan knew that she couldn't hide it from Booth and really, she didn't want to. However, it seemed logical to her to verify the pregnancy before she told him. That was why she was sitting, impatiently, in the waiting room as she listened to the nurse call her name.
"Dr. Temperance Brennan?" a young nurse called from across the room and Brennan stood quickly. She had to wait for a moment before the lightheadedness left her and then she followed the nurse down the hall. It was several minutes before she was sitting in an examination room, after the nurse had taken her weight, which Brennan noticed was still unchanged, height, and blood pressure.
"Good afternoon Temperance," Dr. Tory Anderson greeted with a smile just a few minutes after Brennan had been left alone. The gynaecologist was a woman that Brennan had met years ago and had been seeing since she had arrived in DC. Brennan would consider her a friend, despite the fact that they only spoke on occasion. "I see you've come in for a pregnancy test today. What makes you believe you are pregnant?"
"I know I'm pregnant," Brennan informed her doctor with a small smile, "however I would like to verify my hypothesis."
Dr. Anderson had to laugh a little bit, "You sound a little like you are performing an experiment. If I didn't know you so well, I would be worried."
Brennan caught her lip in between her teeth and lowered her eyes, "This is a whole new experience for me."
"How do you feel about the pregnancy Temperance?"
"There are so many emotions that having been running through me since I decided to accept what the changes I've been seeing in my body meant. Elation and shock seem to be the two most present however."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, you are my physician so there is no need for me to not answer all of your questions thoroughly."
"You had considered alternative ways of becoming pregnant in the past," Dr. Anderson said gently, "From what you're telling me, that is not how this pregnancy came to be."
"No," Brennan answered and took a deep breath, "I've been off of any oral contraceptives since I had considered in vitro fertilization several years ago. I was not in a sexual relationship and therefore at the time did not see any reason to continue, especially since I still was considering having a child on my own."
"And you have been celibate since then."
"Yes."
"Well, congratulations. We'll run the tests and should be able to tell you shortly."
"Thank you Tory."
"Temperance," Dr. Anderson said as she paused, "You're going to make a wonderful mother. Any child is going to be very lucky to have you in their life."
Brennan felt the tears well up in her eyes and only smiled and nodded to avoid the onset of emotion she felt spill out. That was another thing she was going to have to adjust herself to feeling, intense emotions at nearly anything.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself she opened up the case file and began to pour over the findings in order to give her mind something else to occupy itself with and to see if there was something in the initial report they could build from. She was so engrossed with the files that it took several moments before she realized her phone was buzzing.
"Brennan."
"Max did promise not to kill anyone else, right?"
"Booth?" Brennan questioned pulling the phone away from her ear long enough to verify the source of the call. "What is this about?"
"The guy from the bowling alley," Booth continued, "played with Max on his bowling league. On his team."
"Have you called him yet?"
"Max?"
"Yes," Brennan continued, "we should speak to my father to see if he can provide any insight into the victim's life. Would you like me to call him for you?"
"I've already done that," Booth assured her, "He's meeting us at the diner in twenty minutes. I'll come and pick you up."
"That isn't necessary Booth," Brennan informed him, "As I am not at the lab it would make more sense for me to just meet you and my father at the diner."
"You're not at the lab?"
"No."
"Are you going to tell me where you are?"
"Am I required to inform you of every appointment I may have now that we have formed a deeper relationship?"
"Of course not!"
"Then I am at this time choosing not to tell you were I am." There was a knock on the door and Dr. Anderson stuck her head in the room. "I must go now Booth, I'll see you shortly."
"Bones…"
Brennan disconnected the call before Booth's interruption could be finished and tossed the phone back into her purse. She turned to look at Dr. Anderson, "You are able to have results very quickly here I see."
"Modern technology is a fabulous thing," Dr. Anderson commented with a grin, "Would an official congratulations confirm your suspicions mommy?"
Brennan just stared at her for a moment, "For some reason the feeling that has overcome me is shocking."
"It's perfectly normal to have a mix of emotions Temperance," Dr. Anderson assured her with a gentle smile. "Now, it's still a little early to determine your due date specifically, however, since you are confident you know the date of conception I'm comfortable to estimate your due date at approximately January twelfth. We'll be able determine further at your next appointment."
"Thank you Tory."
"And you should begin taking a prenatal vitamin right away."
"Of course."
"I'm sure you are aware not to smoke, drink alcohol, and limit your caffeine intake during your pregnancy."
"I am."
"Great," Dr. Anderson said as she scribbled the prescription and handed her the form. "Have Kelsey make you an appointment for about 4 weeks and we'll do the first actual appointment and testing then, okay Temperance."
"That would be most satisfactory. Thank you taking time to see me today, Tory."
"If you have any questions, concerns, don't hesitate to call. I'll see you in about a month."
Brennan nodded and it wasn't until she was walking down the sidewalk to the diner that the full implications started to weigh on her. She had been nearly certain before her appointment, but having it confirmed by her doctor made it completely real. When her phone rang it startled her and when she saw Angela's name appear on the screen she began to be nervous.
"Angela, are you in labor? Is it time? I can grab a cab and be there in five minutes."
"No," Angela said with a sigh, "nothing has happened unfortunately."
"What exactly happened, after you…after you crawled into bed with Booth?"
Brennan couldn't help but smile. She hadn't intended on telling Angela, but she couldn't stop herself either. Angela was her best friend, minus Booth of course, and she'd been telling her for years that she and Booth belonged together. It was only right that she confided in her.
Right as she opened her mouth to continue with her tale Hodgins entered and headed straight to the computer to let them know of some sort of breakthrough in the case. Except neither her nor Angela were paying attention or cared.
Brennan kept her head down as Angela yelled at Hodgins to leave and go tell Cam. When Hodgins paused at the door Angela yelled again and when they were finally alone again Angela turned back to her.
"So…" Angela questioned, "You can't just leave me hanging like that."
"You aren't hanging from anything…"
"Don't give me that girlfriend," Angela scolded teasingly. "You know I didn't mean that literally. What happened after you got into bed with Booth?"
"He held me," Brennan answered quietly, "and let me cry. I was very upset about Vincent's death. And then we fell asleep."
Angela nodded but she caught the gleam Brennan still had in her eyes, "that wasn't all, was it?"
Brennan shook her head, "No, that wasn't all."
"BREN!"
"When we woke up," Brennan started, "we were still holding each other. Or, really he was still holding me and I asked him to lay with me for a little while and then…"
"Then what?" Angela prodded, "you're driving me crazy here sweetie."
"I kissed his chest," Brennan continued, "right over his heart, where he took that bullet for me. And then he kissed me."
"He kissed you!"
"And then we kissed some more," Brennan finished, "but…"
"Please tell me that you two didn't stop at kissing. Because if you did I may just have to kill you both myself."
"We didn't stop at kissing." Angela stared at her stunned and Brennan smiled. She looked down at the bone in her hands and set it down gently on the table. "I don't know what it means."
"Was it good? Was he good?"
"I don't believe that Booth would be particularly fond of me, uh…kissing and telling, as the saying goes."
"You have to give me something sweetie," Angela pleaded, "I've been dreaming about this day for years!"
"I never believed that breaking the laws of physics could be possible," Brennan said quietly, "but making love with Booth, well it was close."
"You have no idea how happy I am for you."
"We haven't talked about what it means yet Angela. Maybe…maybe it was just a moment of weakness for him and he doesn't want it to happen again."
"Not a chance," Angela assured her, "and don't let yourself get freaked, okay? I know what you're feeling is different than what you've felt before in relationships. But don't let yourself get scared and run away. If you left him again, I don't know if he would survive it Bren."
"I'm not sure I would either."
She had relived that conversation with Angela several times since it had taken place and knowing that Angela was with her and knew about what had transpired between her and Booth had made it much easier to handle the shift in their relationship.
She sat down next to Booth, across from her father, and after noticing he was in a wheelchair questioned him heavily. She stifled the laugh that threatened to bubble up when Booth suggested that Max had possibly been the killer and when Max refuted it heavily. She knew that her father was staying out of trouble, but she also knew that Booth would always wonder if he truly was or not.
When Max suggested the undercover operation she quickly jumped at the chance. They didn't go undercover very often, but when they did they were always successful.
"I love undercover. What will I be?"
"You can be my girlfriend," Booth offered and Brennan was surprised at his suggestion. They hadn't really discussed what they were to each other. They were partners, of course, but also they more than that, but a title such as girlfriend or boyfriend hadn't been talked about.
"Fine," Brennan said with a nod, "But if Angela goes into labor we have to pick a fight so that I can be there to catch the baby."
Booth nodded, "I'll get you there. Hell or high water."
Booth's laugh was forced and Brennan noticed that her father was studying them. They just looked at each other and brushed off any implication of something more. Max looked like he didn't want to let it go, but Booth stood quickly. "What do you need me to do to enter the league?"
"I'll take care of that," Max told them, "you just get your undercover outfits together. Names?"
"Buck and Wanda," Booth supplied and Brennan smiled. Max looked at them with a funny look again, "Any other questions Max?"
"Not right now," he said and rolled himself away from the table. "I'll be in touch."
"I think he knows," Brennan whispered once Max had left the diner. "And girlfriend?"
"Well, that's what you are, aren't you? My girlfriend?"
"We haven't really discussed that," Brennan countered, "have we? We haven't given each other titles."
"Are you opposed to being titled as my girlfriend?"
"Well in fact since I am not a girl," Brennan started and Booth groaned.
"Would you prefer if I call you my lady friend?"
"You will not in any situation call me your lady friend," Brennan informed him firmly. "Can't we just continue to use the phrase partners?"
"That doesn't seem to fully cover our relationship."
"And this is why we haven't put any labels on the modification of our relationship," Brennan sighed, "I'd rather go undercover as your fiancé."
"Really?"
"Why are you questioning that?"
"I'm not."
"I believe you were."
"How is Angela doing?"
"You're changing the subject," Brennan said accusingly and Booth shrugged.
"You're right, I am. It's easier to do that than to argue."
"She's fine," Brennan said with a smile after studying him for a moment. "She's ready to have the baby."
"I'm sure she is," Booth replied with a laugh, "do you want to go back to the lab before we head undercover?"
"I probably should," Brennan noted with a sigh, "though, I'm quite tired today. Maybe I should go and take a muscle nap."
"Muscle nap?" Booth questioned, "Oh, you mean power nap. Are you feeling alright Bones?"
"I am fine Booth, I assure you. I just haven't been sleeping well lately."
"Okay," Booth answered and looked at her with scrutiny, "if you're sure."
"I am," Brennan insisted. "You should call me when we are ready to head to the bowling alley. Will that be sufficient?"
"Yeah Bones," Booth said, "that'll be fine. Do you want me to give you a ride home?"
"My car is around the corner," Brennan replied, "I can drive myself."
"I'll see you later then," Booth replied with a smirk and grabbed her hand and squeezed. "Call me if you need me, okay?"
"Thank you Booth, for caring."
"Of course I care about you Bones. I lo…care about you a lot."
Brennan smiled and felt the heat rising in her cheeks at his near slip, "I care about you too."
"I'm glad."
"Me too."
Brennan looked around the nearly empty diner and then rose up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I'll see you later, Buck."
"You betcha Wanda!
A/N: Thanks again for reading. It may sound cliché, but I really do write for all of you. So thanks for taking time out of your day to read this and for taking a couple more seconds to review.