Dear all, again thank you for all your nice reviews. Hope you keep enjoying this story.

Please note the change in rating.

As usual I own nothing and earn nothing out of it. This story is just for your and my fun.

Grev

Chapter 6

November 13th Washington DC

Booth had been waiting for days now, for the news about Brennan and her mission. His connections had promised to give him further information but a week had passed and he had not yet heard anything. He was not worried, but he could not contain his impatience anymore.

The week had gone by quickly, he had worked on a case with Cam with the assistance of Wendell, who thank God was assigned to the Jeffersonian for the following three weeks. That guy was definitely a squint without being a squint, whatever that meant.

The arrest had taken place that very morning and being Sunday, Booth decided to finally get home. He felt happy for putting another assassin behind bars, he had received the congratulations of Caroline, and Cullen had asked him to meet for an important meeting the day after.

Before heading home, Booth made a stop at Brennan's apartment. He had promised Angela he would have watered the plants and although he was feeling slightly agitated to enter her place without finding her there, he still didn't want to face her anger in case the poor plants had to die of dehydration.

The door opened with the usual click, and he silently slipped inside her house.

A jacket he knew very well was still hanging at the entrance, the book she had been reading lately was still on the table.

Booth did not resist the curiosity and gave a look to her mail before collecting it on the top of the kitchen. Nothing extraordinary.

He went to get a pitcher and some water. Her plants were still healthy and now were going to be good for another week.

There was hardly any noise coming from the outside and the place had a quiet and relaxing atmosphere, like when it snows and everything is white and still.

He didn't want to leave. Not yet. There was nothing else for him to do there but he just wanted to touch all her things, memorise her scent still hanging in the air and just close his eyes and feel her there.

Without even realising it, his feet took him into the bathroom. He found her perfume, and like a thief he simply slipped it into his pocket.

Then again, like in a dream, he found himself in her bedroom. Her dressing gown was still on her done bed. He remembered it, he had seen her wearing it when he had found her early in the morning with Mark, the deep sea welder. What a punch in the stomach it had been. Despite pretending he had not cared, he had felt horrible.

Leaving his shoes on the floor, he rested on her bed, his head on her pillow, her garment in his arms as if he was hugging her.

"I know I'll never be able to share you with other men, Bones. I would give anything for you to be mine".

With sweet thoughts of her, he fell asleep on her bed.

It was already dark when his mobile woke him up. He rushed to get him on the kitchen counter where he had left it.

"Booth".

"Agent Booth, I'm calling from Annapolis. I wanted to let you know that the confidential envelope you were waiting for is being delivered at your place in one hour. Can you please confirm you'll be receiving it personally?"

Taken by surprise and with his heart rate already accelerating at the realisation of what that meant, he quickly answered positively and closed the call.

He rushed home, even knowing he had plenty of time. Just could not stay still till he got the envelope.

Which arrived, perfectly on time. A young marine handed it to him after checking his ID and badge.

And all of a sudden Booth was alone, in his living room, with the envelope in his hands. Inside there were information about her, how she was doing, possibly news on when she was coming back.

He took a deep breath and opened it.

As expected, he didn't find details of where she was or the results of her identification of the mass grave remains.

But there was a detailed report of the camp life of the last couple of weeks, including specific achievements of the soldiers and their health status. He checked her name and was relieved and pleased to read that she was healthy and fine.

There were also photos, several of them. He frantically started to search the ones with Brennan as well. And then he got struck.

In one there was a very dirty Brennan. Her ponytail half undone, some locks falling down and sticking to her neck. Her shirt and her arms until her elbows were dirty and covered in something that looked very much like blood. Her face looked tired, her eyes red and her forehead shiny with sweat.

She looked like she had cried, but she was displaying a wonderful smile and looked very happy.

She was circling her arms around the waist of a man, pretty much as dirty as she was. And the man was also holding her waist with his arms.

He felt the now usual punch in the stomach: Booth knew that Brennan was not one to give confidence and be affectionate with strangers. But he also knew army life well enough to understand that Brennan was going to bond, and deeply, with her "brothers in arms". But what made him really jealous was that smile, the twinkly eyes. Was it this guy who made her feel like that, who made her so happy and smile so wide? He seemed genuinely happy and excited too.

He looked closer at him: God, he was really young, not even 25. His guts were reassuring him now. Brennan had never seemed attracted sexually by young guys, and he could imagine that her weird but strong maternal instinct, like the one she displayed with Zack, was finding a fertile ground among these young men who were far away from home, scared and in need of support.

He laughed as he double checked the details in the list he got with the health checks of all the people of her unit, and he could see that she was the only woman.

"You'll drive all these men crazy Bones. As absurd as it might seem, I envy them".

He went on looking at the other photos just behind and there she was again. Same dirt, same sweat. Her smile was even wider and her eyes were obviously wet. She had a tiny, tiny baby in her arms. The baby was dirty as well, as if he or she was just born.

Booth frantically searched for the report papers, and scanned quickly through the dates until he found the report of the previous Sunday.

He read it silently and slowly, smiling… his Bones was the most amazing woman in the world. Until he read the part of the baby name.

And then he cried.

Had she performed a c section? And she had named the baby after him?

Booth was already aware of how much he loved her, but reading the report, looking at her smile and happiness while she was holding the baby whom she had given his name to, he felt his heart explode for all the love it could not contain.

He read the rest and also all the other reports, even the ones which were not regarding her. He wanted to know as much as possible about the people who were with her, what was going on at the camp, their mood, their activities and their lives there. Because his world was turning around one sun, named Temperance, and even if she was distant, he realised she was the most important building block of his existence and happiness. The most insistent thought of his mind, the most intense love of his heart.

He fell asleep again shifting from thinking to dreaming about her.

The morning after the alarm woke him up with a nasty buzz, and he sprinted out of bed remembering all of a sudden that he had an important meeting with Cullen. He got to the Hoover building still in a rush, his tie badly knotted.

Cullen was already waiting for him and invited him to close the door. There was silence for a second before Booth's boss dropped the news.

"Booth, we have a problem with an investigation, in Texas". And continued without waiting for any reply. "Agent Perotta is working on the murder of some police officers, we believe related to drug traffic from Mexico by some local politicians. She had already requested, several times" Cullen accentuated the 'several' making Booth understand that Perotta had been asking the assistance of Booth every day "your co-operation for an undercover mission. You know, mingle in the local high society and get to investigate up close the lifestyle of a couple of suspects. Perotta told me you had already given her an ok about working together. Is that right?".

"Yes sir, I told her that I was absolutely against being assigned another partner but that I was available to help in case of need."

"Well, Booth, this is a case of need. The investigation is currently going nowhere and we do think that going undercover, you two as a married couple, would make a difference. What do you think?" Finally Cullen paused making clear he had finished and was just waiting for an answer.

"If you believe that my help is really necessary and that an undercover mission is the best strategy for the investigation, I am not denying my service, of course." Booth mind was already in overdrive. He had to leave, probably immediately. He hoped to be able to pick up Parker from school to say goodbye, he hated the idea to leave for a while before giving his boy a hug and a reassurance that he was going to be back soon.

In addition, he really disliked the idea of this undercover. With his partner he was always electrified at the idea of such missions, but this time, this time he really didn't want to go.

He was sure that Agent Perotta was good at her job, and that together they were going to co-operate smoothly. So it was nothing against her.

The truth was that he was afraid to be even farther away from her, and even if geographically the additional distance would have not mattered, the fact to be away from her squints (heck, his squints!) and the inability to receive other information about her, it was going to take its toll.

The fact, moreover, to have to work with another woman, but not her, made him missing her even more.

He listened to the briefing with the details of the mission, he requested to take the rest of the day off to see his son and planned a flight for the evening.

Bones had left for sense of duty, while she really didn't want to leave. He was doing the same.

A desperate thought flashed across his mind, scarring his heart "What if our sense of duty is preventing us to be together and be happy? Are we going, one day, Bones and I, to have to choose between our happiness and our work?"

He drove in silence, radio off. He still had her ring with him, but he thought that planning his packing he really needed to take pieces of her with him. Once home, he took out the photos again, taking the nicest two (Brennan with the baby and Brennan with the young guy) and putting them in his wallet. "You are coming with me Bones. I want to keep looking at your face and your warming smile anywhere I go".

He slowly moved to his bedroom to get the rest of his stuff making a mental note to call Angela and his contact in Annapolis before he left: he was going to do anything in his power to continue to receive news from the mission in Afghanistan.

November 13th Afghanistan

Brennan was finishing to write his final report on her findings in the mass grave. All the fifteen non afghan she had previously identified had finally confirmed to be marines from the other unit and had a name and a coffin, well, sort of. Their remains were ready to be taken back to Kabul and dispatched to their loving and grieving families.

Her work was done.

Still, she hadn't got any news about what it was going to happen to her. Another unit was on its way, she knew that, and she also knew that some negotiations had started with some Talibans who were claiming to have the other ten American soldiers hostage.

Probably it was unknown where they were held captive, but the arrival of the other unit made her believe they were still probably in the region.

And something was going to happen.

Since the birth of Booth (and she could not keep herself from thinking with a smile of HER Booth's excited face once she was going to tell him about it), life at the camp had been quiet. No problems with the locals, on the contrary, the night after her surgery a few shepherds gave them cheese, meat and milk. Fresh. It had been such a great way to celebrate.

But the whole atmosphere in the village and at their camp was just too quiet, too still. She sensed that something was going to happen. The thought made her laugh straight away.

"I must be missing Booth just too much if I am starting to feel and use my guts to experience what is happening around me". But the sensation didn't leave her, even if she denied it with the rational part of her brain.

A movement behind her made her turn on alert.

"Sergeant Wilcox, I am almost finished. If you give me half an hour, I can hand you the signed final copy. Have you got any news?" She asked hoping to know if she was allowed to go back to Kabul.

"Thank you Doctor Brennan. No hurry on the reports, though. We are stuck here until tomorrow anyway. The second unit is due to arrive later in the evening". He smiled. Wilcox knew and understood even too well her anxiety and desire to leave that place and go home.

"I don't know the details yet, but I think they have decided that you'll go home. Apparently negotiations have broken and I'm afraid we are preparing an attack. No place for civilians."

Her first thought was: I'm going home. But there was no space for rejoicing because she immediately replaced it with: my buddies are going to a fight. Casualties will be inevitable.

She was leaving them. And she could not help at all, her presence, as un-experienced civilian, would only further jeopardise the action even more.

"Doctor Brennan, do you mind if I ask you something?". Wilcox said bringing her back to reality from her deep thoughts and fears.

"Sure".

"I have been informed that somebody, apparently from the FBI, has asked some particular information about this mission and your work here. I don't know what to think and I am concerned about your safety".

Brennan's eyes suddenly lit up, and Wilcox swore that he saw them change colour.. from grey to green.

"Really? Someone had pulled strings to get information about this mission and me?" She was smiling… no, she was glowing.

But the sergeant didn't understand and replied "Exactly! Someone from the FBI has gotten confidential information without clearance, and from what I understood you were the target of the inquiry".

Brennan's voice softened, already thinking about Booth and his string pulling skills. He was then really thinking about her, and missing her. She felt like a teenager with a crush when the object of her attention was smiling at her. She blushed and felt an unusual excitement at the idea that he was proving to her that he cared. Even if she had not seeing him for weeks, that seemed like ages to her, he was still in protective mode.

Maybe in other times of her life she would have hated it, now she loved it. Her Booth, making the extra mile to know she was doing fine.

"Sergeant Wilcox, I can reassure you that there is no need to be concerned. That person is a very good friend of mine, we are partners. He has been a Ranger and I'm sure he is just trying to use his connections to make sure I am ok. He's like this at home as well."

"Ah, your partner is a former ranger and works for the FBI. Guess we can trust him, then."

"Yes, Booth is the most reliable and trustworthy person on earth". She replied.

"Booth? Like in… baby Booth?" Now Wilcox was starting to laugh.

"Yes, the one and only" Brennan joined in the laugh. What was the point in denying they were close and important to each other? For sure in the remote valley on the Afghan mountains she felt she could let this notion free, to spread through her heart without rational censor and to spread among the other guys. It just felt good.

The evening passed by quietly. She went to her tent and enjoyed the peace of being alone. Brennan couldn't just stop thinking about Booth and his interest for her. He was really the sweetest and most caring man on the planet and she was just so grateful that he was in her life. The thought that she maybe was going home soon was also keeping her awake. She started to imagine her flight back, her meeting him at the airport. Booth had promised to be there, to pick her up.

"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to break the hug there. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to live my life without him. Somehow I have to find a way to tell him what I feel for him, even if I don't understand it myself".

And finally sleep took over.

The following day the atmosphere at the camp changed. Tension was really palpable.

Orders had been given: the new unit was arriving within a couple of hours, she had to pack because before sunset she was starting her long journey to be escorted back to Kabul, together with the remains of the dead marines.

Happiness and sorrow were completely intermingled and as confusing as feelings were normally to her, this time she felt really torn by a multitude of emotions that were all raw and poignant.

The men were on edge, getting ready for action. God, what a terrible thing war was. She was the lucky, privileged one to be getting home, while the guys who had tried to help her, cheer her up and protect her for the last three weeks were going to risk their lives.

And while she was packing remains, papers and her stuff she heard that loud, earth shattering blast. They were being attacked.

She just reached for the gun they had given to her, the only weapon she had, and tried to look at what was happening outside.

The new unit on the way had been attacked just outside their camp, some men were running towards their tents and the soldiers with her were already preparing for the attack and all going towards the area of the explosion. They knew what to do, they had been trained for this. But she was not, she really didn't know what to do. Stay there? Go out?

Before she could really make up her mind, she heard men running behind her tent, and when they stepped in she saw with horror that they were not marines, but Taliban guerrilla.

Brennan raised her hands up: she had a dozen men in front of her, and shooting one or two would not prevent the inevitable. They had her. Spare a life now could mean maybe they could spare her life too later.

No words were said, they just took her arms and tied them behind her back. They pushed and urged her towards the exit and outside she heard gunshots, she saw other marines being wounded and taken prisoners and in the smoky mess she continued to walk, pushed and pulled by her captors, glancing at the other marines taken with her, trying to understand how seriously wounded they were.

She didn't have a God to prey, for her and for all the people that were dying, right there, a few yards from her. Where was Wilcox? And Tony? Her caesarean assistant was a few men behind her, with a bad wound to his head.

And then she held on to the only thought that gave her strength. Every step, Booth, Booth, Booth. She focused on his medal and she thought at the wars he had fought, at the friends he had lost, at the wounds and tortures he had to go through. And still getting out of all of it with an intact heart, capable of so much love and care, for his son, and for her. With a mouth that could still smile, and a joy and understanding of life that had guided her out of a dark tunnel in the previous four years, helping her to reconnect with her family, her life and her heart.

"I'll get back to you Booth, and to my dad, my brother and all my friends. And I swear I'll never leave you all again. Wherever you are Booth, just stay safe and wait for me. I promise I'll find a way to come back to you".

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Ok, guys, life is always throwing unexpected turns at us. B&B are no different.

You liked it? You hated it? In any case, be so kind to review and let me have your comments. They are really helpful to my writing process.

Still 2 weeks to go until NEW Bones. It's really a matter of survival here, I'm in complete withdrawal. Sigh.

Take care,

Grev