Thanks for your wonderful and helpful comments everyone! We hope to update more frequently from now on. In this chapter: how our favourite couple resolves tension. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Booth was home early that day and when Thomas called, asking him if he and his sister could have a sleepover at Grandpa Max's, he didn't hesitate and agreed with it.
Both of his kids had extra outfits at their grandfather's place, so they wouldn't be coming by. Booth disappeared into their downstairs gym - the basement - and stripped to his boxers. Then, he walked over to the punching bag and zeroed in, allowing the rest of the world to fade into the background.
The entire day had been focussed on trying to figure out who the victim could be. Booth had seen hordes of distressed parents of missing persons, who had learned about the human remains on the news. His entire morning Booth had been forced to console grieving, angry, scared parents and with every couple that came through the door, it hit him just a bit harder, thinking about his own children. At around 2PM, the madness had died down and from 2 to 5PM, the only thing he had done was trying to reach Dr Silverman, the Forensic Anthropologist in Canada. Not that it mattered. The only thing he had to show for his efforts was a whole load of messages he had left on her answering machine.
Booth spun around, kicking the bag and as he did, he could see something - or better said someone - from the corner of his eye. He landed, rolled over to his jacket, grabbed his gun and without thinking, aimed at the person standing in the doorway. "Show me your hands." It was only when the person did as she was told that he realised it was Bones.
Brennan knew not to provoke her partner in situations like this, and she calmly did as he said, letting him realise on his own that it was just her. She dropped her arms and walked into the basement. She kissed his head. "Where are the kids?"
Booth lowered the gun as she moved towards him and immediately put the safety back on. As she kissed him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down, onto his lap. "Your dad's house," he murmured quietly as he rested his head on her shoulder, releasing his breath slowly. "I'm sorry, Bones. I just didn't hear you coming."
"It's okay. Rough case? Still no ID?" She slowly ran her fingers through his short hair.
"No ID?" Booth felt his frustration rise once more and took a calming breath to reign it back in. "No, Bones. No idea. I haven't even been able to talk to your colleague yet."
"Really? I just spoke with her yesterday. Oh! Of course, she's not in her office. She's been working on a case on the other side of the country. I'll call her again tonight, ask her if she can find an empty spot in her schedule for your case." Poor Booth, these cases could really get to him.
"Seriously, Brenn?" Booth pushed her off of his lap and stood. "Are you seriously telling me," he grabbed his sweatpants and pulled them on, "that you knew she was on a case? On the other side of the country," he reached down again for his shirt this time, "and you didn't think to tell me?"
Brennan stood as he pushed her off his lap. "Booth, I turn off work when I go home. I didn't think about it. I didn't know you hadn't been able to reach her. We don't talk about work at home, remember?"
"Right." Booth turned around and went upstairs. "Well, I guess I have nothing to talk about then today," he murmured angrily as he went upstairs to the bathroom for a shower. He knew she was right. They had made the decision a long time ago that they would leave their work at work, but it was hard to let this one go. The only thing the ME could tell him was that the victim had been a middle-aged man. And that left him with too many damn possibilities.
Brennan let her husband cool off as he took his shower and she made them chamomile tea for when he'd come back down. She knew there was only one way to improve his mood right now and that was to agree to help him with his investigation. But that meant she'd have to testify, which was a risk on its own. Deciding to take action, Brennan grabbed her phone and called her Canadian colleague. She hung up after three minutes, a stone in her stomach. She'd have to do it. Her colleague was fully booked for the next three months.
By the time Booth had taken his shower, he had set his priorities straight. He would do whatever was in the realm of possibility, but he was only human. He dressed in his pyjamas and went back downstairs, where he was met with the comforting scent of chamomile tea. Booth walked into the living room and lay down on the couch with her, resting his head on her lap, pressing his lips to the soft cotton of her shirt. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her tummy, then looked up at her. "Can we start again? Welcome home, Bones."
Brennan gave him a smile that came out more burdened than forgiving. "It's okay, Booth. I'll do it." She didn't like it, but then, the odds of being murdered as a consequence of testifying as an expert witness were low. Still, there was a risk, and she didn't like taking it.
Booth knew that she didn't want to do this, so he was surprised by her statement. Booth sat up and looked at her. "Did you manage to talk to her? Because I know you don't want to do this, Bones." Now, he was confused.
"I talked to her and she's booked for the next three months. I think that means I can expect a phone call from the director of the FBI, bribing my boss into forcing me to do the case."
Booth looked into her eyes. "I know that this scares you, but... I really need help with this case. Specialised help."
"I know, I know," Brennan sighed. "It's not that I don't want to help you, I just don't want to get known for doing forensic cases. I don't want to get drawn into that world."
Instantly, Booth remembered the reason why they had come to DC in the first place. He had risked everything by going after several suspects without back-up and as a result his wife had been threatened. The threats had been so vile and dangerous that they were forced to move to the other side of the country. "I know you don't want that. It's one case, Brenn. Just the ID and cause of death. Our scientists can do all of the other investigating. You don't have to go out into the field with me or even step into the interrogation room. Just... just look at the remains. That's all that I need you to do."
Brennan corrected him. "That's not all; if I do the ID and COD, I'll have to testify as well. That's the part I don't like. My name in the file. My face on the stand. It makes me feel unsafe."
Booth tenderly transferred her from the couch to his lap. "I know that this scares you. And I have to be honest with you. It scares me as well, but if - God forbid - something like that would ever happen to anyone in our family, I can only hope that the people who have the power to bring them justice, would do so." Booth sighed. "The cases where a murderer or a convicted felon actually goes after the people in the file are few and far between. And if that would turn out to be the case, I will protect you and our kids. You know," he cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand as he looked deeply into her eyes, "that there is nothing I wouldn't do to keep you, Elena and Thomas safe."
"We can't ask Elena to build a new life again," Brennan told him seriously. "We can't do that to her. And Thomas... he's so innocent. I'd like him to stay that way. I know I'm focussing on an unlikely outcome, but we've been in that situation and it really scared me."
"Me, too. And even though she never said anything, I know it was very hard on our little girl. I promise you that nobody will lay a hand on our family. It's one case, Brenn."
"I already said I'll do it. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I don't care for those memories coming back," Brennan said in a voice that betrayed her emotions. She'd had nightmares where the criminals that wanted to hurt her to get to Booth carried out their plan of gang-raping her. She'd woken up in a panic, trembling in Booth's arms. The nightmares were so bad she'd even talked to a psychologist a couple of times, willing to try anything to get some sleep. Eventually, as they slowly eased into their new lives, the nightmares just stopped.
Booth embraced her and had to admit that he felt guilty for doing this to her. There was nothing he could do, though. Cullen would most definitely demand her cooperation and her best protection would be him. He was certain of it. "We have the house for ourselves tonight. If you want, we can go out to dinner," Booth suggested.
Brennan shook her head. "No, I'd like to stay home." She looked into his eyes and caressed his jaw. "And I'd like the FBI to train their own forensic anthropologist. I've only had bad experiences with your colleagues, even though I solved the case for them every time. My point is; I don't work for the FBI and I don't want to."
"I know, and you are right." Booth had heard how they talked about her in the bull pen and he made sure his fellow Agents knew that it was unacceptable, but he couldn't stop the gossiping, so he simply ignored it. "Well, this time, you get to work with me. And I promise to value and respect your expertise."
Brennan heaved a sigh. "We'll stop talking about it and I'll do the ID tomorrow. You know I can't make any promises on cause of death."
"I know," he told her quietly. "It's just... I don't like this anymore than you do, Bones. I know that we made very clear agreements about this." He kissed her lips. "We'll stop talking about it," he agreed. "What would you like to eat?"
"Something light - or no, Thai. We could order Thai."
Booth nodded and rubbed her back. "That sounds like a great idea. Do you want the usual?" When she nodded, he kissed her lips again and when she moved off of his lap, he got up, grabbed his phone and called their favourite Thai restaurant.
As they waited for the food to arrive, Brennan found herself wanting to be close to Booth. She lay down on the couch with him, a blanket covering them, her eyes closed, his arms around her protectively.
Booth wrapped his arms and legs around her and rested his hand on her tummy. "I love you."
"I love you, too, even though you wanted to shoot me," she teased him.
"I would never shoot you." He kissed her shoulder. His eyes were closed and her scent and her presence helped him to be able to unwind after his long day. "It was just a horrible, long day today, darling."
"I understand, I forgive you." She pressed a kiss to his collar bone and rested her head against him again.
Booth cupped her breast before he leaned in and kissed her, deepening their connection. They enjoyed each other's presence and shared their bodies in this intimate moment, getting as close to one another as they could while they were still fully clothed. Once the bell rang, Booth pressed a loving kiss to her shoulder and got up to accept their food and pay for it.
When Brennan smelled the food, she found her appetite, and couldn't wait to start eating. Booth opened the cartons and they ate in front of the fire place, the tension falling off them as they enjoyed each other's company.
After dinner, Booth cleared away the cartons and went upstairs. He opened the faucet and poured in some bath salt. Then he went back downstairs and made sure that the doors were locked and the windows were closed. Satisfied with the fact that they were safe inside their home, he went to stand behind the couch and wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulders. "Will you share a bath with me?"
Brennan smiled. "Sounds wonderful." They went upstairs and undressed, then put on their robes to stay warm as the water slowly filled the bath. Brennan felt a bit chilly, so when she finally got into the warm water with Booth, it was as if her body sighed with contentment.
They sunk into the water up to their chins. Immediately, Booth wrapped his arms around her body. The feeling of having her soft, sensitive skin against his own made his whole day worthwhile. He closed his eyes and hummed contently. "Thank you, Bones," he whispered softly.
"Shush. Stop talking about it. I want to relax with you," she whispered back as she slid her foot down his shin.
"That wasn't what I meant, Brenn. I meant to thank you for being such a wonderful, loving partner. You're always here for me when I need you." He opened his eyes and gently helped her turn around, so they were facing each other. "It's been a long time since we've had the house to ourselves."
"Yeah, the silence is deafening," Brennan chuckled before gently kissing him.
"If the silence is the problem, I can assure you that I have my ways to make you scream," he teased back.
"I don't scream," she protested, "But I agree we won't have to be so careful about it if the kids aren't here."
"Challenge accepted," Booth smiled, and when the water began to cool, he unplugged the bathtub and drained the water. He stood and helped her up as well. He dried her body slowly and tenderly. After she had done the same for him, he lifted her into his embrace and took her to bed, where he focussed all of his attention, care and talents on her body. The heartfelt groan that tore through the silence and filled their hearts with love and respect for one another came from him instead of her, though. They fell asleep together, entangled in the sheets and for the first time since he had been handed the case, Booth enjoyed a good night's rest.
Would you have accepted the case in Brennan's place? Would you have asked if you were Booth? We hope to hear from you again! Next chapter we'll be back with Thomas and Elena.