Booth could tell just by looking at his partner that she wasn't feeling well again. The paleness of her skin and glassy eyes revealed all that she wasn't saying. In true Brennan form she wasn't complaining but her silence said more to Booth than her words ever could. The two of them were sitting in the departure lounge waiting for their flight and hadn't spoken in the twenty minutes since he had convinced her to take another round of the cough suppressant and TheraFlu.
He had hesitated when his instincts had screamed at him to wrap his arm around her shoulders before remembering that it was okay for him to do so. He had grinned like an idiot when she had actually leaned into him and he was sure everybody around them thought that he was strange as he sat there smiling happily. He couldn't believe that she was actually giving him a chance. For all the times he had dreamt that this would happen they always remained dreams and now that it was happening in reality Booth could hardly contain his excitement.
As the flu medication began to take effect Brennan's body began to relax against his and her head lolled back to rest on his shoulder, only to jerk upright as she fought to stay awake.
"Bones, you can't go to sleep just yet love," he whispered into her ear as her head bobbed again.
"I'm not sleeping," she mumbled turning so her face was buried in his chest.
"I'm sorry," he said putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her away from his body, "We'll be boarding soon and I promise you can rest then."
She gave him such an adorably grumpy expression then as he held her at arm's length that he nearly gave in and pulled her against him again but he knew their flight would be called in five or so minutes and Cam would kill them if they missed it for any reason.
"What do you think the case is that Cam specifically needs you for?" he asked trying to engage her in conversation.
"I dunno," she grumbled rubbing her eyes, "Something to do with bones I'm sure."
Booth couldn't stop the bark of laughter that erupted from his chest. She was always so literal, something which made some people uncomfortable but a quality he found oddly endearing.
"I think you might be right," he chuckled looking up as their flight was called, "That's us," he said standing up and gathering their bags.
Despite the late hour their flight was fully booked and they had to join the line of people waiting to board. It was such a simple gesture but it made his heart soar when Brennan put her arm around his waist and leaned into his body as the two of them stood side by side in the line. Something so small had never felt so right and Booth kissed the top of her head, humming happily as they shuffled along the line.
"Are you humming Foreigner?" she asked looking up at him.
"It's a great song," he shrugged, "And it reminds me of you."
"Right," she said sadly starting to pull away, "Because you nearly died that night because of me."
"No Bones," he scrambled to pull her back against him, "Not because of that at all. I can still your face from when we were dancing to it and I've never seen you look that happy and carefree before and I guess it just makes me happy to remember you looking that happy and that song always reminds me of that."
"Music unlocks the neurons in the brain associated with memory," she nodded, "I was having fun up until the refrigerator exploded."
"That part wasn't much fun for me either," he said smiling down at her, "But before that was pretty awesome."
"It was," she said still looking up at him. Her brows were furrowed as if she was deep in thought and Booth found himself searching her face for clues as to what she was thinking. It came as a surprise when she suddenly leaned up and pressed her lips to his but it didn't take him long to respond and it wasn't until someone behind them cleared their throat that they pulled away embarrassedly and shuffled forward in the line.
"What was that for?" Booth asked once he regained his breath.
"Just trying something," she shrugged.
"And what was that?" Booth asked.
"Well the whole point of an experiment is to invest in parameters and I was simply testing as to whether I felt comfortable in being the one to instigate the physical romantic acts," she said stopping to cough and rub her throat.
"And what were your conclusions?" Booth asked.
"I find that I am," she said quirking the corner of her lip in a half smile, "I quite enjoyed it."
Booth smiled and leant down to kiss her again. The kiss was short and sweet but his head still swam as they pulled away. He could kiss Temperance Brennan and come away with all his limbs still intact. He knew he was still grinning as the stewardess checked their boarding passes but he didn't care. He had searched for the perfect woman for so long, trying to convince himself that his partner could never be the one for him but it was finally happening and against all odds Booth was more determined than ever to never let her go. He knew he had promised her that if she didn't feel comfortable with their blossoming relationship that he would let her go but deep down he knew that wouldn't be the case. He would fight for her until the very end because he knew they were meant to be. She may not believe in things like fate or destiny but he did and he knew they were destined to be together, no matter how hard she may try to convince herself of otherwise should she suddenly get scared of where their relationship was headed.
On the already booked flight there was no space left in first class where she usually would have been seated and Booth was secretly happy that she would have to suffer in the squished economy seating with him as it meant that she would be close. After depositing their hand luggage into the overhead compartments he settled himself in the middle seat, a sudden jealously sparking inside of him at the thought of the man sitting in the window seat being close to her. He would have to keep those sort of thoughts to himself though as he knew she would balk at the thought of him getting possessive of her.
"Welcome to cattle class Bones," he wiggled his eyebrows at her as a baby started screaming somewhere towards the back of the plane.
"I don't know what that means," she yawned, "As far as I'm aware cattle is given a grade not a class. You as a big meat eater should know that Booth."
"It's a figure of speech Bones," he smirked.
"I still don't know what it means," she retorted wriggling around in her seat as she tried to get comfortable.
Seeing her dilemma Booth worked to raise the arm rest between their seats and shuffled as close to her as his seatbelt would allow. He raised his arm as an invitation for her to move over and she did so without question, moving so her head was pillowed on his shoulder and her hand rested above his heart. His fingers combed through her hair as they waited for the rest of the passengers to board and his ministrations as well as the medicine in her bloodstream had her fast asleep before the stewards even began their safety demonstration.
The flight back to DC wasn't long but Booth was already dreading returning to reality. The last couple of days it had just been the two of them and he wasn't sure how she was going to react when their jobs and friends began intertwining with their new found relationship. He could only hope that she would at least give him the chance to prove to her that it could work in harmony with their already solid routine and wouldn't serve as a distraction or interruption to the work she so dearly loved.
His stomach grumbled as he heard the tell tale sounds of the stewardess rolling the drinks trolley down the aisle and his mouth watered as he thought about the peanuts the trolley contained. Over the many domestic flights he had taken in his career he had developed a real taste for the salty treats and he licked his lips in anticipation as the trolley rolled towards them.
Brennan had been mainly still where she slept against his shoulder but she had shifted slightly so that her head rested more on his chest than on his shoulder and in doing so her body was angled in such a way that her knee protruded out into the aisle. Booth realised this as it was too late and the trolley hit her knee with a dull thud causing the contents to crash noisily against the side and Brennan to jolt upwards with a pained gasp.
"Watch it," Booth growled at the startled stewardess who hadn't seen the anthropologist's knee over the crowded trolley.
"I'm so sorry," the woman gasped, "Are you all right M'am."
"I'm fine," Brennan said clearing her throat as she rubbed her knee.
"Are you sure Bones?" Booth asked concerned trying to see if her knee was okay through the denim jeans she wore.
"I'm sure Booth," she muttered.
"Here let me get you some ice," the stewardess said beginning to rummage through her trolley.
"Really I'm okay," Brennan assured the harried woman.
"Take the ice Bones," Booth said, "She'll take the ice," he said to the stewardess who looked between the couple warily.
"Booth I said I'm fine," Brennan said under her breath.
"There's no harm in icing it for a little bit Bones," he said stubbornly, "If you're so fine then it's not going to do any damage."
"Ugh whatever," she sighed slumping back into her chair, her exhaustion taking away some of her usual fight.
"Thank you," Booth said accepting the plastic bag filled with ice from the stewardess, "Can I grab some peanuts too," he asked his mouth watering again.
"I'm so sorry again," the stewardess said handing him the food.
"It's fine," Brennan replied tightly, "Don't worry about it."
"You sure you're okay?" Booth asked once she was gone and everybody around had turned back to face the front.
"I'm sure," she sighed rubbing feebly at her nose.
"Here he said," handing her a tissue before pulling her up and onto his lap and moving over so he was sitting in her seat and her legs were angled towards the centre.
"Booth," she spluttered.
"Just go with it Bones," he said wrapping one arm around her middle and holding the ice pack to her knee with the other.
"If I weren't under the influence of copious amounts of flu medications I would kick your ass right now," she said relaxing into him and letting her head fall back to rest against the seat.
"I know," he chuckled, "But just let me do this for now okay."
"Okay," she said placing her arms over his.
He began to rub soothing circles on her stomach and soon she was asleep again, mumbling a thank you before her breathing slowed and deepened. Booth wanted nothing more in that moment to go back in time and assure past Booth that everything would work out okay. To promise the Booth that had to watch on with jealously as she dated other men that he would one day be sitting with the woman of his dreams curled up on his lap. Brennan shifted in sleep and murmured his name and he kissed the side of her face lovingly. There was something about knowing that he was on her mind, even subconsciously, which made him feel like the luckiest man on earth.
Booth spent the rest of the flight just listening to her breathe. Memorising every sound she made and sleepy word she mumbled and rejoicing that his name featured more than once. He reluctantly woke her when the captain announced that they would be beginning their descent and she let him move her back to her seat before she settled back against his shoulder and let herself relax back into a dreamless slumber, the medicine she had taken making it difficult for her to keep her eyes open.
When they finally landed it took him several attempts to rouse her and he kissed her, not being able to resist the sleepy confusion that crossed her face as she tried to gain her bearings. Even in her bleary state she kissed him back without hesitation before he reluctantly pulled away and stood to gather their bags. With a hand to the small of her back he led her towards the front of the plane and after another apology from the stewardess who had crashed the cart into her they stepped off onto the gangway.
"You back with me Bones?" he asked his hand still resting securely in the small of her back.
"I hate taking medication," she grumbled, "It makes me drowsy and affects my fine motor skills."
"I know but it's all for the best right," he said, "I wonder if Cam organised a car to pick us up or if we'll have to call a cab."
"I don't care," she groaned, "I just want to fall into my own bed."
"I'm with you on that one," he agreed, "There's nothing better than sleeping in your own bed."
"Booth," she said seriously stopping as they stepped into the arrivals terminal.
"What is it Bones?" he asked turning to face her.
"I wanted to say thank you," she blushed, "For taking care of me the last couple of days. I know I'm not always the easiest patient but I wanted to say thank you for persisting. I may not have shown it but I really appreciate it."
"Of course," he said dropping their bags and using his thumb to tilt her chin upwards so she was looking him in the eye, "You should know by now that I like taking care of you and while you're stubborn as a mule, it's a saying," he said holding up his hand as she went to interrupt, "I feel kind of lucky that you let me in. Don't take this the wrong way because I don't want to scare you away but I have a feeling in my gut that this thing between us is going to work."
"I do too," she said smiling at him and despite her pale cheeks an red rimmed nose Booth thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
"You do?" he asked incredulously.
"I do," she said nodding, "And you should know I don't make assumptions like that without considering the facts fully."
"That I know," he said smiling happily before leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. The bustling airport terminal disappeared around them until it was just them, two people lost in one another. Two people who were coming home in more ways than one, feeling like nothing could shatter the bubble they had created around themselves.
"Oh my God!" a familiar screech forced them away from one another and they stood with their foreheads touching.
"Angela," they said in unison.
A/N: Well that's the end ladies and gentlemen. Thank you so much to everybody who read and reviewed this story. It was my first foray into Bones fiction and I had a great time writing it. I'm already working on another Bones story that I will start posting soon. I am going away for a month so it won't be until I get back. I hope everyone enjoyed this story and thanks again to everyone who took the time to send me their thoughts.