Brennan glared at her phone as it rang. She was screening her calls, not wanting to talk to Booth, the suspected caller. It had been four days since their late night kiss and they hadn't spoken since she rushed away from him that night. He had called twice, leaving messages saying that they should talk which she promptly ignored. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him or even how she felt about everything that happened between them.
"Hello Temperance, this is Amy," the voice on the machine said, interrupting the doctor's thoughts. Brennan reached for the phone, picking up and interrupting the machine's recording.
"Hi Amy. How are you?"
"Oh, Temperance, you're there. Good. I have a favor to ask of you. I know it's last minute and I don't want to impose but I was able to get a pass to go see Russ today and the girls' babysitter can't make it. Could you possibly watch them for a few hours?"
"Um…" she stammered. She had nothing else to do today besides some laundry and catching up on some reading. "Um, okay. Sure."
"Great! Can I drop them by in an hour?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you! I'll see you soon!" As soon as Brennan hung up, the panic set in. She really liked her almost step-nieces, but she wasn't particularly good with children. It was one thing to read them a story under the watchful eye of their mother or spending a short time together at a Christmas party. It was quite another to spend alone time with them in her apartment where she happened to have absolutely nothing to entertain two young girls. Her TV didn't even get cable, so they couldn't watch that Nora the Adventurer program, or whatever it was that was on half of Hayley's Christmas presents.
She picked up the phone again and called Angela. She got her voice mail. "Ange, it's me. I have a little problem. Hayley and Emma are coming over and I don't know what to do. Please call me!" Even though she left the message, she knew it was unlikely that her friend would return her call in time. She and Hodgins had gone out to a ski lodge for the holidays.
She didn't know whom else to call. Cam was also out of town as was Zack, although he probably wouldn't have been much help. She had a brief thought that she should get some more friends, but it passed quickly and she knew what she had to do.
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Brennan greeted Amy and the girls with a smile.
"Hi Aunt Temperance!" they said excitedly. Hayley threw her small arms around her legs. The anthropologist was surprised by their show of affection; it was still hard for her to open up to new people. But she liked Russ's family and was starting to accept that they were becoming her family too.
"Hi Hayley! Hi Emma!" She helped Amy remove the girls' coats and scarves and hung them by the door.
"Thanks again. I really appreciate this." Amy said to her almost sister-in-law.
"Of course, Amy, it's no problem."
"So I'll pick them up in about 3 hours. Bye girls. Be good for Temperance." She kissed her daughters goodbye and headed off towards the prison. After closing the door behind their mom, Brennan turned to see the girls exploring her apartment.
"You have a lot of books," Emma noticed. "Will you read us a story?"
"I don't think those are appropriate for children."
"So what are we going to do?" The deer in headlights look on Brennan's face was relieved when she heard a knock on her door. Thank God. She opened the door to find Booth on the other side.
"It's the Christmas tree man!"
"Actually, my name is Seeley." He said crouching down and shaking the girls' hands.
"That sounds like silly."
"Yes, it kind of does." He chuckled with them. "And you are Hayley and you are Emma, right?"
"Right!"
"Well then, Hayley and Emma, I brought a movie to watch. The Year Without A Santa Claus. Do you want to see it?"
"Uh-huh!" The two girls replied excitedly. Brennan took the DVD from Booth and led them over to the television.
"I also brought some coloring books," Booth told them, handing each of them a pink Barbie princess book and giving them a 128 pack of Crayola to share. "I got one for you too Bones." He waved the pink cover at his partner.
"Booth, it's insulting that just because we're females, you think we want Barbies and princesses. Such preferences are stereotypes impressed upon us by…."
"No lectures, Bones. If you don't want it, I'll take it and you can miss out on the fun." He smirked at her before joining the girls on the floor. Sprawled on his stomach, he selected a pink crayon and started to color.
Brennan watched as her partner and her quasi-nieces colored and the ridiculous stop motion movie played. She couldn't help but think of how odd this was. To an unknowing observer, they would look like a family. It was not something she ever thought she would see in her apartment. And it wasn't something she was looking for either.
But looking at Booth, coloring in a princess on her living room floor, she couldn't help but smile.
At some point, the girls convinced her to join them while Booth made popcorn. Then, before she knew it, Amy was at the door again. Temperance said goodbye to her nieces and asked quietly about her brother. Once the Hollisters were gone, she turned around to find Booth washing dishes while humming the Heatmiser song. She watched him for a moment until he stopped humming.
"Are you going to keep staring at my back or are you going to come dry?" he asked. She moved into the kitchen, grabbing a dishrag and dried the glasses, putting them away. As usual, their partnership led them to achieve their goal quickly, but then with no dishes left, they found themselves in awkward silence. Booth broke it. "Bones, we need to talk."
"We've been talking all afternoon, Booth."
"You know that's not what I mean. We need to talk about what happened in your office. Our kiss."
"I don't think there's much to say. It was a mistake. Let's leave it in the past." Booth frowned.
"Do you really think that?"
"Yes." She turned her back to him, unable to look him in the eye but wiping down the counter as an excuse. Still she could feel her eyes boring into her back. "You were the one who drew that line in the sand and you were right. We are partners, colleagues. Having a personal relationship would be a mistake." Booth recognized his own words, arguments he had made himself time and time again. But the moment his lips had touched hers for the first time, he realized how futile all those arguments were.
"Don't you think we have a personal relationship? You're my best friend, Bones. I'd already do anything for you. Having a romantic relationship wouldn't change anything except maybe by make us incredibly happy."
"How can you know that?" She turned back to him with questioning eyes. He shrugged.
"My gut." He offered, but tried again when she skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Ok, I can't know for sure, but let me tell you what I do know. I know that most of the time you drive me crazy, absolutely up the wall. You constantly question me, even insult me, but at the same time, you always push me to be better and I'm grateful for that. I know we're so different but we work well together as partners and friends. We've done so much good together and I trust you with my life." Though she fought it, Brennan's bright blue eyes started to well with tears. His earnest words touched her, echoing feelings for him that she had been fighting to keep buried. "I know that you are beautiful, intelligent and without a doubt, the most amazing woman I've ever met. And I know that all I can think about standing here is how I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you and how much I want to kiss you again."
They stared at each other in the loud silence left in the wake of his speech. Brennan's mouth opened and closed like a fish, unsure of what to say. Then, without warning, she stepped forward and pressed her lips to his. Booth's eyes widened in surprise – he hadn't expected that reaction – but he quickly relaxed against her. Lips parted, moving together gently, and his eyes drifted shut.
She tasted different each time they kissed. The first time like mint from the gum she had been chewing, the second time like pie and coffee, and now salty like the popcorn they had been eating. But each time, there was something sweet underneath, something uniquely Bones and he was quickly finding that he couldn't get enough.
Hands tunneled through her hair as he opened his mouth wider, sliding his tongue wetly against hers, taking in as much as of her as he could. Her fingernails scratched lightly over his neck and into his hair as she kissed him back with equal ardor. He groaned against her mouth, backing her up against the counter.
"So we're doing this?" he asked breathlessly.
"Yes, we are."
