Here is the second part of their reunion…
"My father finally explained to me what prompted him to pursue a career in crime", she started, her eyes fixed on the waves, needing that bit of detachment before she could meet his eyes, so she could get the words out without tearing up. She could indulge in that need when all that needed to be said was finally out. "He was orphaned at a young age, and basically, he met the wrong people. And Mom, she just followed him in whatever he did. They just wanted to be together, despite the fact that they both knew they were wrong in taking that path in life; even more after Russ and I were born", she said, and Booth reached for her hand, not forcing her to meet his eyes, but needing that small connection.
"He told me there came a point when it was virtually impossible for them to leave their group, and that they had thought that they had left everything behind after building their false identities, but that it was then when McVickar found them", Booth nodded. "He… he told me that it was Mom who asked him to bury her at that cemetery in Pennsylvania if anything happened to her, especially after McVickar hurt her, and she felt herself getting sick. Dad said she was ill for a long while, and that she asked him to continue on the run, and to try and get us back, before she died", she said, breathing deeply.
"Are you convinced now that they never stopped loving you?", Booth asked, and she nodded.
"I am. I mean, I can now fully understand how regretful they both were that the consequences of their actions reached so far they even got to Russ and I. And I can also understand that what they did, leaving us behind was for the greater good in the end, but…", she sighed, and Booth squeezed her hand.
"It still hurts, I know", she nodded, finally turning to meet his eyes, seeing the love and compassion that were in his brown eyes. "At least, it gives you the answers you needed, the ones you weren't ready to hear before", he said.
"Yes. I know that regarding that subject, I tried to compartmentalize that by means of my rationality, but the pain it caused me was still there, it was still real, and I never… I never allowed myself to experience it. But now that I did, I feel… like a metaphorical weight has been lifted off my shoulders, like that part of my life is not weighing me down as much. I also…", she breathed heavily, "I also told him what happened to me in the foster system. He was… he was so sad, Booth. I didn't want to add to the guilt he already feels, but I felt he needed to know", she said, and he raised his free hand to caress her cheek, and she nuzzled his palm tenderly.
"Bones, it's only natural that he was sad. I can't even imagine if something happened to Parker, I would go crazy", he said, and she nodded, having witnessed firsthand who truly out of his mind he could get regarding anything related to his little boy, "I… I don't know what would have happened if Taffet had hurt him. He's… my whole world. You and him are my everything, and I wouldn't have him if you hadn't been there for him", he said, baring his soul to her, and she smiled softly.
"It was difficult, but I felt such relief that I could finally get him to see why it was so hard for me to forgive them, to let them back into my life. And… I know Parker is not mine, but the idea of him hurt, makes my chest feel unreasonably tight as well. I guess… I learned to care for him because he's a part of you, and because he's his own person. He's such an amazing young man. And I can put myself in a new perspective, trying to see things through my father's and your eyes", Booth nodded.
"Bones, I need you to believe me that I'm not here because I am grateful, even if I am. I'm here because… I don't make sense without you. Because I'm tired of wasting time, of wasting opportunities. I'm… tired of seeing life passing us by, and I don't want to spend another 7 years without knowing how it feels like to love you, and to be loved by you", he said passionately, making her shiver, "The question is, do you think you can forgive me enough to do that? Do you think you can trust me with your heart, metaphoric of course", he teased, earning himself a timid smile from her, thanking him for acknowledging her need to still hold on to facts, "with your happiness? Bones, if you give me a chance, I promise you, you'll never have to regret it", she closed her eyes, and her head fell against her chest.
His body was tensed, every muscle awaiting her response, every heartbeat tearing him between hoping for the best and fearing for the worst.
She raised her teary gaze, her eyes that beautiful azure that never failed to draw him in, and said, "Won't you ever grow tired of me, of how socially inept I am, of how frustratingly literal and workaholic I can be? That sometimes, I tend to say and do the wrong thing, that I don't know how to handle myself, or my emotions, that I tend to run instead of facing what I feel?", she said, and he could see the naked fear in those endless pools, and he broke the hold on her hand to cup her face fully.
"Bones, I fell in love with you, knowing all that. And all those things that make others think you're a cold fish, tell me the exact opposite: they show me how fragile, how tender your heart is. All I need to you is that you promise me you'll try, that you'll talk to me when you get scared, that when you have doubts, you'll come to me with them, that you'll give me a chance to right my wrongs, that you'll… Temperance, that you give me one day, and the next, and the next, until we realize we've spent the rest of our lives together", his eyes were also filled with tears, and after a heavy sigh, she nodded.
"I… Booth, there is something I need to ask you, something that I have been unable to get out, despite how many difficult subjects have come up in our conversations lately. Booth. That night, in your car… what you said… did you truly believe it? I mean… I know that is the past, but I need to understand…I know I'm not making much sense", she said, and he smiled sadly, and sighed heavily.
"No, you're making perfect sense. And yes, I haven't truly answered that question. Ever since we recovered Lauren's body, I saw you start to spin out of control. A part of me, the part that was your partner and friend was growing more and more worried, but the part of me that was the wounded man with the wounded pride didn't want to care, and I.. sort of compartmentalized what was happening", at her frown, which he read to be one of confusion, he continued, "I wanted to rationalize what I already knew, in my heart, was wrong. I wanted to make myself believe you were ok without me, but that day, in my office, when you confessed to Hannah and I that you hadn't been sleeping… I felt like the world biggest asshole. I knew you needed me, if not romantically, at least like the friend I had always been, and I couldn't lie to myself, because I knew I had been doing a poor job in that department lately", he said, caressing her jaw now, trying to make her relax, as he knew the subject was still very painful to bring forth.
"I saw you get more and more pale, I saw the dark circles under your eyes grow", he added, caressing the skin of her cheeks, seeing that the unhealthy paleness was slowly being replaced by the rosy hue he had missed, "And I didn't know what to do. I knew that getting close to you would threaten whatever stability I had built for my life, and that included Hannah, and I was torn between what I knew I had to do and what I feared would happen. But then, I reached my limit when I went to the lab to check on you, and Micah told me he had seen you exit the lab in a hurry and get in a cab. I was worried, because I knew that you not taking your car meant you were going to a dangerous part of town, and I instantly realized you were going to Woodland. I don't know how many traffic laws I broke during the ride there, but when I saw you leaning on that street, and that car speeding towards you, my heart about stopped. All I could think about was getting you to safety. And then, after you told me everything about Lauren and we walked to the car, I could only be thankful you were safe and seemingly unharmed, even if I knew you were crumbling like a house of cards, and for the first time, I was allowing myself to see it", they smiled sadly at each other.
"I… I would have never imagined that you would tell me all those things, bare your soul to me so openly, and the safety and stability I had been telling myself I felt flew right out the window. I could only think of how unfair things were, that it sucked that our timing was never right and we continued to miss our moment, that… I owed to myself to give Hannah a try. I don't know how honest I was, but I can only tell you that what I told you, I believed it to be true", he made her eyes meet his, as they were downcast, clearly hurt by the recollection of events of that fateful night, "But what I should have told you is that I didn't want to have any regrets either, that… losing you was my biggest regret, that I was terrified to lose myself in you, that… I didn't know if I would survive losing you once again", they smiled weakly at each other. "And even if I'm still terrified, Bones, I… I can't keep living my life like someone who's afraid of everything. Sweets said it that night on the Hoover, and it's true. I'm a gambler, but I want that to mean something good for once. I know there will be risks involved, but you're the only person I want to give my heart to, fully and completely. But I need to know if you can… forgive me?", he said, and she leaned over to kiss the line of his jaw.
"Booth, ever since that night, I forgave you, and even before. I always understood that I was making things hard for you. I know that it would have been easier, for both of us, to just stop trying, to stop being partners, but I couldn't let go of you. It was better to have you like that than to lose you completely. And when you returned, and the dynamics of our relationship changed so dramatically, I felt like… I don't know how to describe it… Like I was losing my footing. I always understood that had I been in your position, I would have acted in the same way. It helped me see the other side of things. As painful as it has been letting myself feel all of this, I've realized it's even more painful to be away from you. Hannah… she made me see that I wanted, needed, all that you had to offer, and I realized what it must have been for you to see me with other men when you already felt so many things for me. I finally could grasp the full meaning of what Rebecca told me one day", seeing the confusion in his dark gaze, she went on to explain. "Remember when Rebecca and you hooked up briefly right before you started going out with Cam?", he nodded, and she could see he was bracing himself for whatever revelation was coming next.
"I could see that you truly believed that the reason why Rebecca hadn't married you was because she didn't see you as a good parent. I… I slightly forced her to talk to me and explain. She told me that she didn't want to be one of those women who simply married out of necessity or a sense of duty, something I could fully understand, but… the second part got me thinking. She told me that she knew she had made a mistake in saying no, but by the time she realized it, it was too late, and that she thought there was a moment where a couple either caught fire or… faded, and that she knew that you two had missed your moment, because of her. I confronted her with what I knew you were feeling, and I told her you believed she had refused you because of your work and your past. I don't know if she ever came to you with that", he shook his head, as that conversation between he and the mother of his child came back to his mind. He had never fully grasped why she had apologized to him, but now he could see he owed it to his beautiful partner.
"What made you ask her that?", he asked softly, smiling tenderly at her.
"I guess… I was already feeling protective of you, of our partnership, and I didn't like to see you in pain, because I knew you didn't deserve it. I always saw you were an amazing father, doing your absolute best with what you were given", he gave her another small, grateful smile, and she continued, " Anyway, when Lauren Eames' case came to us, it became so personal to me because she embodied that statement completely: her life was filled with regrets and missed opportunities, not as a professional, but as a person, and I saw myself reflected in her life and actions. I truly believed… I was going to end up like her, completely alone, closed off from the world, isolating myself from everyone who truly cared about me, and when you…", he pressed his forehead against hers, feeling the pain of those days hit him all over again, "I told you we had missed our moment because I knew you had given me more than enough opportunities to be more than partners and friends, and I had thrown them all away. I could have never blamed you for what was happening to me, because I saw my own hand in it", she said, and he shook his head.
"No, Bones. It all started because I broke my own rules regarding you: I knew you still needed time, I knew you were slowly changing your views on love and relationships, but I… that night, I know I forced your hand, and I reacted like a child who doesn't get what he wants when he asks for it. I was angry, because I could already see how happy we could be, and it… it angered me that you still couldn't see it, that you couldn't trust it, and I started believing, you would never get to that point. In the end, nothing I did worked. We still left for opposite sides of the world, because we couldn't deal with the weight of the pink elephant in the room", she nodded, and he knew she understood the colloquialism, "and when I realized you were going to the Malukus, I truly thought you were finally telling me you would never give me a chance to show you I could love you, and make you believe we could work, as a real couple, and that you didn't or couldn't love me back, even if I knew you cared. But I learned my lesson, the hard, hard way", he said, caressing her scar, both their eyes tearing as they recalled how close this latest brush with death had been.
"I finally understood what you meant. We're partners, in all ways that matter, and that promise, to fight for our happiness, has to come from the both of us, not only you. I know we're not easy people, we're both stubborn and argumentative, but what I do know now is that fear can't be the single engine that propels me to move, to run from my happiness. I want… I want my feelings and emotions to lead me… as you told me, putting the heart in overdrive, and… I hope I make myself worthy of so much… faith, and patience. I want… I need to learn… and I want you to be the one to teach me, because this is something I can't fail it, because it's the most important thing I could ever do", he brought her against his chest, and held her tight, "Bones, you don't have to make yourself worthy of love. You already are", and with that he felt her arms go around his waist, and they just stood there, the ocean breeze dancing around them, its coolness never enough to dissipate the heat they were generating.
They were in a cocoon, safe and perfect, and they raised their heads at the same time, finally finding their time, and their eyes met, saying what their mouths still hadn't, and deciding they had waited enough, he lowered his head and made his lips meet hers. She was waiting for him to make that first move, and her lips instantly molded to his, and when their mouths opened, they kissed with everything they had: lips, tongue, arms, hands, questioning fingers. It was love, and need, and passion, and tenderness.
They were finally so in synch they even managed to continue kissing, breathing the same air, sharing a beautiful dance of rejoining and forgiveness. He made his mind commit everything to memory, making sure he never forgot how soft her body felt in his arms, the sweet contrast of the cool air against their fevered skins, how completely she had surrendered to his possession, and how much she was possessing him in turn, how utterly perfect this surrender was.
But as perfect as this moment was, Booth still needed to hear, and to say the words they had been holding back to actually make this moment the start of a new life, of new memories, and he softly dislodged their lips, and let the back of his hand touch her silky skin, now purposely moving from her cheek to her scar, letting his fingers play with the puckered skin, letting her see in his eyes he never saw her scar, but what it meant: a new chance for the future they both deserved.
He knew she needed to take the cue from him, so he decided to let the last of his fear and hurt go, and never leaving her gaze, he said, "I love you, Temperance Brennan. I love every part of you, my sweet, beautiful Bones. I love who you are, inside and out, and everything you do. You make my life better just by being alive, and I don't want to spend another moment without you knowing it. I don't know how I was able to deny myself of your love, but I can no longer go on without you in my life. If you ever leave me, you'd better put a bullet through my brain because now that I know that you are here, I can't live my life without loving you, and proving it to you", a tear escaped her, and he brushed it away, but it betrayed the spark in her eyes, making them shine bright and perfect.
"I… I've never been good with feelings, Booth. But if there was someone who deserves all of me, if there's someone who's earned the right to be let inside my walls, it's you. It has always been you. You've shown me that I can feel, that I can be successful and also be loved. I…", she sighed, "I love you, Booth. Beyond reason, beyond science, beyond my fears and inadequacy, I do love you. I did before I knew it was possible, and I did when I thought I'd lost you. I don't… I don't want your love, your kisses, your devotion to be anyone else's. I want it to be mine, and I promise you to give you each day, each morning, each night, every singly effort I'm capable of, to make you as happy as I know you'll try to make me happy. I love what you are, what you have been, the darkest parts of you, the brightest, because even if I didn't believe in soul, you've made me believe in you, and for me, no man stands taller, and prouder, and more deserving of me letting go of the past to embrace what we can be. I love you, Seeley Booth, and if your God truly exists, I hope He gives us a lifetime to honor that love, and the promise to try for as many years as we can get", he gave her that beautiful smile she had missed so much, the smile that was only for her, and he kissed her, her arms going around his neck as his hands wrapped tighter around her waist, lifting her slightly so their lips could fully meet.
They lost track of time, but when their initial hunger was somewhat sated, he could only stare into her beautiful face, her eyes bright, her lips red and swollen, her cheeks tinted a soft pink, making her look painfully young and impossibly perfect to him.
"I love you, Bones", he said once again, because he could, "and I will never tire of saying it".
"I love you too, Booth, and I promise I will try every day, for us, to give you those 30, 40, 50 years you want, the years we deserve", and in her mind she thought, 'and the children you want so much, to make you happy´.
He lowered her to the sand, and they sat next to each other, her head against his shoulder, his arm around her shoulders, his fingers toying slightly with her scar, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by them. After a while of staring into the ocean, keeping a silent watch over the fading sun, he dared ask, "how have you been feeling, Bones? Physically speaking?", she sighed and turned her head to meet his warm eyes.
"At the beginning, I was tired, and to be honest, I was afraid of the pain. My neck muscles hurt like when you have a truly painful knot that doesn't go away?", he nodded, and she continued, "I felt I had no energy, and all my father and I did was sit outside together and talk. I didn't want to come back to DC just yet, so I decided to call my doctor, and luckily, there was a small private clinic a few miles from here where a new doctor, who's a friend of his, removed my stitches, and gave me some cream to apply so the wound heals faster and better", she explained, and he nodded once more, "He gave me the go ahead to engage in some mild physical activity, and from there Dad and I have been going on walks together. It's been a little hard, since you know I dislike feeling so helpless and weak, but I've come to accept that all my father wants is to help me", Booth smiled at her softly, happy she was letting the people she loved helped her.
"And how do you feel about it? The scar", he asked, and she retorted in kind, "What do you think?", he breathed deeply.
"I don't even notice it. I mean, you know my own body is full of them, and I've come to see them as reminders of my past, and of the narrow escapes I've had, and in your case… you're so beautiful and while it's there, it won't make you look any less than perfect, to me", he said, and she sighed.
"You know I'm vain enough to care. But during those days, whenever I look at it, I can only thank… whatever deity is out there, fate, my doctors, that I made it out alive, that Parker is safe and unharmed, that… I got a third chance, which is not something many people can say so very often", he smiled and stared into her blue gaze, caressing her scar.
"Whenever we both look at it, we'll remember how hard it was to get here, and we'll never take each other for granted", he vowed, and she nodded, but instantly, her eyes got shy and he noticed it, "Hey, what is it?"
"Booth, I… While you know I never cared about entering the sexual phase of a relationship… I… It's not that I don't want you, but I… I would love if we could take it slow. I know we both feel so much time has been wasted already, but… I don't want to risk this, I don't want to make any mistakes that could threaten our happiness. Are you angry? It's not… that I don't want you, I truly do, I always have, but I… I still need some time to let my heart catch up with my brain, to fully grasp that this new us is real", he smiled tenderly, and nodded.
"I get it Bones. And I want you, desperately. My whole body has wanted you long before my heart realized you were the one for me, but I… despite how much it hurts", he teased, but instantly grew serious once more, "I think you're right, and I feel the same: I don't want to make any mistakes, because this is too important. You are too important, my Bones, and I… I know that we'll get there, when the time is right. Everything happens eventually, right?", she looked into his eyes, and moving a hand behind his neck, brought his lips to hers, and after sharing a soft, tender kiss, filled with desire and longing, she replied, "Yes, Booth. Everything happens eventually. It's just a little time, and I think we both know the benefits of delayed gratification", they laughed softly, and kissed for a while more, enjoying that they now had the freedom to do so, and it was only the sound of Max's car which broke their kiss and made them walk towards the house, feeling the hope and love rush through their bodies like the most powerful aphrodisiac, giving them the strength to fight for what should have always been theirs.
Finally they are together! But this is not the end of the road… we're not anyway near it… their love will be tested, but don't worry, I stand by my motto: always give Booth and Bren their happy ending… (Well, honestly, I strayed, just once, and I killed people with the angst, and it was just one-shot… LOL) Anyway, stay tuned and please, tell musie if this reunion was everything you hoped it would be… Remember musie also takes suggestions and takes everything into account… I hope my health lets me post more regularly, as my doctors are completely baffled and don't know what to do with me, and my exams are not being that encouraging… but I will devote whatever strength I have left for you, my dear readers!
I hope they were not OOC, and that their reactions seemed natural to you…
BTW, a medical fact I want you to know in case you think Bren's tiredness is too exaggerated: when you lose a huge amount of blood, the doctors will quickly replace the lost volume, meaning, you lose 2 liters, they will try to pump that back into you. But sometimes, even if they give you plasma, the body has to incorporate all those new elements into the bloodstream. Besides, there is a process called catabolism that basically makes the entire body focus on using its molecules to break down and create energy, and that can be very taxing in itself (I learned this from my sister, who's an anesthesiologist).