Disclaimer: -sigh- This is really getting old. Not mine.
Author's Notes: Okay, one of these scenes came to me in a dream. XD In my dream I was watching Bones and there was this scene...and it was really cute...so I decided to write it into a fic. Hopefully, this one is fluffier and better than the last one, which was...well. XD
DEEP DOWN
"Grapefruit, Bones?" Brennan looked up and blinked. Did Booth just come into my office and say 'Grapefruit'?
"I'm sorry?" she asked. Booth walked further into her office.
"Grapefruit." Brennan frowned, confused.
"What?"
"I brought you some." Booth placed the plate on her desk.
"Oh." Brennan lay her head on her desk again, closing her eyes. Booth reached over and pushed a few papers aside.
"Jesus, Bones. If you're gonna sleep, at least do it in a place where you won't crumple up the paperwork." She nodded sleepily.
"Mhmm."
"You work too hard," said Booth, pulling a chair over and sitting down in front of her desk. She lifted her head up.
"And you make me," she said. Booth stared at her with mock indignity.
"I make you? Geez, someone should have gotten you a cup of coffee instead of just grapefruit." He cocked his head, pretending to remember something. "Oh wait! Someone did."
"Why must you torment me?" asked Brennan, making a feeble effort to grab at the Styrofoam cup he was holding. He handed it to her, and grinned as she took a sip of the coffee. It tasted like heaven—or, she assumed, what someone who actually believed in heaven would think that heaven tastes like. She sighed contentedly. "You are amazing," she said. Booth grinned, although he knew that she said it lightheartedly."If it weren't for you I'd just be skin and…" She paused, realizing where her sentence was going. "…bones." Booth cocked an eyebrow.
"Well, you've got half of that down. You're already Bones." Brennan rolled her eyes.
"I so let you have that one." Booth laughed.
"I just had to take the bait." They both sipped their coffee in silence for a moment. Booth paused, contemplating Brennan. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked exhausted. A momentary pang of sympathy fleeted through him. She spent all night here, working her fingers to the…Booth chuckled at his silent pun. Brennan looked up.
"Something funny?"
"Yeah," said Booth. "The fact that you're sitting here drinking coffee when you should be sleeping." He took the coffee cup from her, ignoring her small whine of protest. He looked at her sternly. "Couch," he said, pointing in the direction of the furniture in question. "Sleep." Surprisingly enough, she rose without any objection and moved toward the couch. He sat down across from her and watched her as she lay down, but she didn't close her eyes. "It's not healthy, you know," he said after a few seconds.
"What?"
"You're not eating. You're not sleeping. You spend all day working. Bones, you gotta get some rest. Please." Brennan sighed, sitting up.
"Why do you care so much, Booth?"
"Because isn't it kind of lame to think that I can save you from vicious dogs, serial killers, and being buried alive—but not from starvation? C'mon. You're my partner. I gotta make sure you don't die. Now get some sleep and you can eat when you wake up." Brennan nodded, laying back down.
"Will you still be here when I wake up?" she asked sleepily.
"I'll always be here," said Booth. Brennan smiled and closed her eyes, secretly thankful for his overprotectiveness.
---
Brennan awoke to Booth shaking her. "Bones. Bones!" he said urgently.
"Booth…" she whispered. She felt tears streaming down her face. "What happened?" He sat down next to her.
"You tell me." She shook her head.
"I have no idea."
"You were having a nightmare of some kind," said Booth. He looked at her, concerned. "You don't remember? Bones, you were screaming bloody murder." Brennan touched a hand to her face, wiping away the tears.
"I don't remember." She looked up, confused. "Booth, I never have nightmares."
"Well, this one sure didn't seem like a daydream. C'mon, get back to sleep." She shook her head violently.
"No, I can't." Booth saw the slight fear in her eyes and stood up, moving over to where she sat. He put his hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?" She nodded.
"I'm fine."
"Bones, I know what 'fine' means in your dictionary. And you of all people should know that you don't have to pretend around me." Brennan looked him in the eye and nodded, knowing that she could trust him completely. "So you wanna tell me what's going on?"
"I'm just…" she began. He looked at her, concerned. "I'm not sure how much longer I can do this." Booth frowned.
"What?"
"I mean…all the relationships I've ever had usually go wrong because I'm emotionally detached." Booth snorted.
"Or the guy's a psycho." But Brennan continued.
"And I think…maybe once…that I had something to believe in. But I don't know what this job has done to me. I'm always trying to shut my emotions out, and…" She stopped, seeing Booth's look. "What?"
"Bones, you hate psychology."
"But this makes sense!" she protested. "I mean, I love my job. I love what I do, and I love the people I do it with." She purposely didn't make eye contact with Booth upon this statement. "But I'm scared." She looked up this time. "I'm scared of what it's doing to me. I'm scared that one day something's going to happen, to you, or to Angela, or to someone else, and—I'm not going to care. I'm just going to detach myself." She could feel tears welling up behind her eyes but she tried to hold them back. "And I don't want that to happen," she said, her voice finally breaking and giving in to the tears. Booth's hand, which had previously been resting on Brennan's shoulder, moved quickly around her and he gently pulled her against him. She leaned on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her body. "I'm so tired," she sobbed. "I'm so scared."
"I know," whispered Booth. "I know. Shhh, it's gonna be okay." He rubbed her back reassuringly, and in a few minutes she had stopped crying. She turned her head slightly away from Booth's chest so she could speak.
"I just want to feel something besides the cold," she said. She looked up. "Don't you feel the cold?" Booth looked at her sadly, but said nothing. "I just want to feel…" she whispered.
"Hey, Bones." Booth tilted her chin up gently. "You can still feel. You have friends that love you. We will never let you get that far away from us. Do you understand? I will never let you go that way." Brennan nodded.
"I understand," she said softly.
"Good," said Booth, pulling her in closer again. She sighed contentedly, closing her eyes. After a few minutes she heard Booth begin to sing, very softly.
"I've been thinking about all the times you told me
You're so full of doubt
You just can't let it be
But I know
If you keep comin' back for more
Then I'll keep on tryin'
Keep on tryin'…"
Brennan opened one eye and looked at Booth, who was looking at her sideways and grinning. "You're singing the trying song," she said. Booth laughed.
"The trying song? That's what you call it?"
"Yeah. My dad used to sing it to me when I was little…"
"You see, Bones? It's sharing stuff like that that brings you back to the land of the living." Booth smiled down at her, and she nodded.
Deep down, Brennan wondered what the hell she was doing. She was Temperance Brennan. She seldom, if ever, broke down in front of people. Now she was sitting next to her partner letting herself cry on his shoulder, letting herself share her feelings, letting him comfort her…
She shook her head, abandoning all attempts to try and rationalize her thinking.
Feelings were complicated things, she decided.
Happy 21st Chapter! My fic is now of legal drinking age. XD
Revieweth please!
