"I'm pregnant." And just like that the world stopped.

She looked so apprehensive ever since they left the hospital. Quiet at dinner. Uncharacteristically anxious and unsure, fidgety. Booth thought it was worry for their friends, anxiety over the change this new journey of parenthood would bring for them. It wasn't. He tried to reassure her that this was a wonderful, happy, beautiful time.

"I'm pregnant." The words echoed in his head, his mind running circles around itself at breakneck speed. He was speechless at a moment he knew she needed him to speak. In the absence of a reaction she sought to clarify her original statement.

"You're the father." Suddenly the last 72 hours made startling sense beginning with their last session with Sweets two nights ago.

"No, Dr. Brennan. No, that's not the proper response. You're supposed to look at the picture and then fill in the blank. 'I feel…" then say what emotion is evoked by the picture. You can't feel Boo-"

"Yes, I can. He's sitting right next to me." There was twinkle of mischief in her eyes, which she tried desperately to contain, she reached out and poked Booth's shoulder. "See?"

"Dr. Brennan. I just want you to look at the picture and tell me what you feel, your first instinctive emotional reaction, okay?" Sweets was clearly frustrated. "Here, see here, I even printed out a list, these are all words that describe common emotions." He patted the list set before them on the table. "This is simple, guys, you don't need to make it complex." He described the game again, the purpose and importance of being able to share their emotions. "After this we'll add to it by being able to say, 'When you do this I feel that.' Only, you'll be able to fill in the blanks. That's healthy communication and an important part of being partners. For example, Dr. Brennan, you could say to Agent Booth. 'When you won't let me drive I fe-'"

"I let her drive, she drove us to the crime scene last week." Booth was indignant. "Remember? You were there, Sweets."

"That's not the point, Agent Booth." Sweets paused to collect himself. "Just let me finish, okay? The point is, you can use this skill to communicate about problems in your partnership."

This session wasn't going well. First he'd tried to get them to play a simple word association game only to be reminded about how miserably that failed the first time they'd tried it several years ago. Hunger, sex, whoa, horse, cowboy, child, baby, Booth, father, mother, birth, happy, sperm, egg, I want a baby, whoa, horse, only these two could go from a starter word to Agent Booth impregnating Dr. Brennan in 20 words or less.

"Do you really wanna go there again, Sweets?" Booth had mocked him perched on the arm of the loveseat. Then went off on the awkward situation that simple word association game put them in. The one where Bones wanted to use his sperm to get pregnant, rehearsing the whole experience leading up to his surgery and brain tumor. Dr. Brennan sat uncharacteristically still, clearly annoyed by the recounting of events. Sweets was clearly put out by the quips and jabs thrown at him in quick succession and sought to change gears hastily. The problem, as Sweets saw it, was the propensity for these two to complicate and resist everything he tried to do to help them. Reacting to it never helped.

"Can we just move on please?" He always sounded so whiny and desperate when he thought they devalued his work or dismissed it as a waste of his time. Looking up from his notepad he was writing feverishly on he shot a passive aggressive look at Booth. This was his not so subtle way of reminding them he was recording and reporting the progress of their sessions.

Booth slid down onto the loveseat, leaned forward, and picked up the first card; it was a picture of a Capitals jersey. "Loyalty."

"I feel loyalty. remember, the I feel, the verbiage is important, Agent Booth. It's a declaration of ownership of your emotions."

"I feel loyalty." It was exaggerated for Sweets' benefit.

"Great. That's great, agent Booth, perfect."

Next Bones grabbed a card turning it over. "I feel distrust." A picture of a christmas stocking packed with gifts stared up at them.

"Why?" It popped out of Sweets' mouth before he'd even thought about it.

"You didn't ask Booth why." She was indignant. Booth and Sweets both staring at her. "Santa Claus is a lie, a deception propagated to the masses for the commercial benefit of large corporations. Why wouldn't I feel distrust?" Both men sat in silence.

"Do you think there's anything else associated with Christmas that might make you feel distrust?" There was a sad longing look in her eyes but no answer graced her lips. She hated psychology. Her experiences were her own, they belonged to her and no one had the right to call them up but her.

Booth shot Sweets an angry look as he picked up a card and placed it on top of picture of the stocking effectively ending the conversation.

"Let's see here, a puppy. I feel loss." Bones searched his eyes with concern. "We had a puppy when I was a boy, just for a couple of years. Then it went away, no explanation, my dad wouldn't give one and he wasn't the kinda dad you pushed for answers, you know."

She nodded before turning back to the deck of cards. They went back and forth with fairly easy pictures and answers, every once in a while one would touch on a potential landmine. Pictures of college parties, apple pie, a woman's bruised face, toys, stacks of clean dishes in a draining rack, test tubes. They kept it topical trying to fulfill Sweets' requirements without giving too much away.

A stack of books. "I feel…" She paused for a moment clearly thinking. "Safe." It was understandable, knowledge was and always had been a protection for her.

"Hmmm, I feel love." Booth spoke before setting the card down which sent Bones craning to see what card he pulled. There was a child with two older people Bones was sure were meant to represent grandparents. She smiled at him as she pulled the next card.

The color drained so quickly from her face making her ghostly white. Gripping the card, she didn't speak or set it down on the pile. Standing slowly she slid her hands down her skirt smoothing it as she announced she needed a minute. She let the card fall to the ground as she walked briskly out the door. Booth right behind her, Sweets not far after him holding the card.

She made a beeline for the lady's bathroom, disappearing out of reach before Booth could grab her. He stopped. Head hung in indecision, hands on his hips, fingers twitching. Looking up and down the hall he caught Sweets' attention.

"I'm going in."

"Agent Booth, that's inappropriate. If there are female agents in there, they could file sexual harassment charges. It's a serious invasi-"

"I could give a shit about that. Something's wrong. I'm going in." He reached for the door calling after her as he announced himself and apologized to any other women. As far as he could tell there was only one who brushed past him abruptly, shaking her head in disbelief. Sweets grabbed his arm right before he entered and shoved the picture in his face. It was a woman holding a baby. "Bones? Bones, are you okay?" Sweets followed him in. The sound of retching echoed against the cold tile walls. Booth turned to Sweets.

"Get out."

"No. No, I'm not leaving." He crossed his arms across his chest and set his jaw. "I'm the professional here, remember? The one trained to han-" Booth cut him off as he pushed him out the bathroom door.

"Get out!" There was no room for debate. "Give me a minute, okay? Just stand guard."

By the time he got Sweets completely out of the bathroom and turned his attention back to her Bones was at the sink washing her face, then leaning on it for support. Her body jerked and swayed, her knuckles white. Coming up behind her he rolled her into his arms, pulling her against his chest.

"You wanna talk about it?" She shook her head, almost violently, no. Clearly becoming more agitated. So, he held her as she sobbed. He assumed the trouble was some memory of her mom triggered by the photo on the card. But he'd never seen her react quite like this, especially in public. Most of the time, in private situations and public, she maintained a strict level of control over her emotions, this time she'd clearly lost it. She still felt heavy in his arms, which concerned him, weak, limp, unable to hold herself up. He felt her forehead for a fever, her pulse, listened carefully to her breathing.

"Bones, have you eaten?" She'd barely touched her breakfast, he'd even commented on it at the time. She'd complained that she didn't feel well, her stomach unsettled. The vomiting, the cold sweats, dizziness, maybe she had the flu.

It was evening, she'd probably gone all day without eating. "I was trying to get all the paperwork done for our last case." She always had a reason not to eat or sleep or generally take care of herself. "I'm just so tired."

"Well, yeah, and if you haven't eaten anything your blood sugar probably tanked." Sweets poked his head in to find Dr. Brennan leaning on Booth. Booth jumped to explain away her behavior, her late nights at the lab on the latest case, her lack of consistent meals, before telling Sweets in no uncertain terms that they were done for the night. "I'm taking her home." He directed it straight at Sweets. Then turned his attention back to her. "You're going home, no arguments, Bones." Booth stated firmly as they brushed past Sweets out of the bathroom.

"Hey, wait." Sweets called after them. Booth turned clearly annoyed. Looking like the alpha male ready to slap down the little pup. "I have some apple juice in my office fridge." Stammering a little he continued. "It'll help if her blood sugar's low or if she's got the flu. It'll help."

For all his faults Sweets' intentions were good hearted, they knew that, couldn't deny it. Maybe that's why they tolerated his poking into their personal lives, picking at the scabs from their childhood all these years. She sat and sipped apple juice for a few minutes on Sweets' couch while Booth gathered her belongings. Admittedly it tasted wonderful. Booth gathered her up and they were gone.

Sweets brushed the card Dr. Brennan picked against the palm of his hand, up and over, down and under as he sat in thought. Letting out a deep sigh he leaned forward and put the card back in the pile. He'd never seen Dr. Brennan react quite like that. Did it mean he was finally getting close to a breakthrough with her? It must. But it brought up an even more important question; would Booth get in the way of that breakthrough? He was always jumping in front of her in some misguided act of protection.

She felt a little better after drinking the apple juice, strong enough to walk on her own. They hadn't even left the parking garage before he asked her again if she wanted to talk about what happened. Again she answered, "No." Adding a very weak, "Not yet." He let it go for the moment. His attention darted between the road and his partner, his lover, slumped in the seat, leaning heavily against the window. It was hard not to feel the sting of her refusal to talk, just a bit. It hurt when she didn't confide in him, it felt like she didn't trust him enough to share whatever had pushed her so violently over the edge. It felt like space between them, and not a good healthy space.

She refused again as they were talking before bed, annoyed that he wouldn't let it go. Tossing and turning, obviously unsettled, her mind raced. As much as Booth wanted her to confide in him, and she knew he did, she couldn't find the words or the courage. Her thoughts were jumbled with fears and possibilities she needed to settle within herself before she expressed them to him. To confuse the matter, Booth's long rant over her request for his sperm years ago kept rearing up in her thoughts. She was so different back then, even she could see that, but could Booth?

"You're thinking awfully loud there, Bones. You sure you don't want to talk?"

"I'm sure." It was soft, almost childlike. She curled up against him, tucked in, an attempt to hide from herself and him. Booth let his hand rest along her jaw and stroked her temple, gentle, slow, evenly paced, with his thumb. Security washed over her with each tender pass until she couldn't resist sleep. Booth found it calming himself, the rhythmic touch and feel of her soft skin, their connection soothed them both.

"Bones." Sometimes this all seemed like a dream. Morning light stretching across her body, her head sunk down in the pillow, her mussed hair leaving soft curls draped everywhere. There were no pressing thoughts overrunning her, no worries, she looked nothing but peaceful. Whispering as his hand traveled the long curves of her body, she stretched into his palm, which almost ended him. Blinking she stared up at Booth and smiled.

"You feel better?" Nodding yes, she tried to shake off deep sleep.

"How late am I?"

"Well, that depends. If you were a normal person then you're still early, it's not even close to nine. But for you, about an hour and a half late." Jumping into action a look of panic washed over her. He held onto her pulling her back. "Slow down, okay?" Light laughter danced on his face, confusion on hers. "We have a case so you're not late to the lab at all. I already called Cam and told her I was bringing you."

She groaned. "You don't think she suspected anything?"

"Well, I don't know, Bones, you were snoring pretty loudly. Then, you know, there was you calling my na-"

"Booth!" She whacked him on the arm. "Stop." They both dissolved into laughter as he fell back on the bed and pulled her close, kissing her playfully.

"We have a case." Kissing along her shoulder, feeling her head lull against his, her laughter vibrating through him.

A case, a visible relief. They would work the case. No more discussion of the session with Sweets. No time. They would do what they did. This pleased her to no end. The familiarity and security of facts was refreshing. Conjecture led to too many possibilities and horrible anxiety, so, over the years, she learned to keep to the facts, strictly the facts. When situations arose that could incite panic, when there were no answers or she had to wait for answers she chose to ignore circumstances until facts, solid facts, presented themselves. And when her personal life tossed nothing but conjecture and unfounded possibilities she turned to work to provide structure and fact. It rarely disappointed.

This morning served up a grossly disarticulated corpse that interjected itself into a child's birthday party at a local bowling alley. Most of their conversations were stolen in transit to case related events and bounced between gory details and everyday life. The topic of the morning was heavily weighted and circling Angela's pregnancy and impending birth. No matter how she tried to pull her mind to other topics it seemed to settle right back on this little baby that should be arriving any day, her best friend's baby. Change, the baby was change.

After the bowling alley she went back to the lab. Booth went back to the Hoover. The body would be logged into evidence, identity would be established, background and lifestyle would be delved into as particulates were collected and bones cleaned. It was afternoon when Sweets finally had a profile for Booth and was on his way to deliver it.

"Agent Booth." Sweets called after him as he walked out of the break room with a fresh cup of coffee. "I have that profile for you." A couple quick steps and he was right beside Booth walking down the hall towards the bullpen. "How's Dr. Brennan doing?"

Booth looked blankly at him with an edge of annoyance. "Fine, I guess. I haven't seen her since the bowling alley this morning. Why?"

"Well, after what happened last night, you know, during your session." Sweets lowered his voice speaking in hushed tones.

"She's fine." There was a finality to Booth's response. Crisply worded and accompanied by a sharp drop it look.

Without missing a beat Sweets opened the file to their latest victim and started into the profile. "Meet Mr. Jeff Fowler." There was a tinge of frustration to everything he did and said that only grew after Booth recognized the man's bowling shirt as one similar to Bones' dad's and virtually dismissed any need for Sweets. It was insult to injury to Sweets despite Booth's offer of thanks at the end of their conversation.

Booth didn't have time or inclination to coddle Sweets. He called Bones and Max to arrange a late afternoon meeting at the diner only to be surprised when she announced that she might be late because of an afternoon meeting, an appointment the details of which she wouldn't discuss.

They finished off their work day. They'd made an arrangement after their long night apart. No more back and forth, no more deciding each night where they would stay or wondering if they would stay together. A month at his place then a month at hers was their agreement. He picked her up, insisted she eat, and took her home. As scary and unsure of the future as she was he was home and it helped.

They prepped to revamp their roles of Buck and Wanda with joy as they shared laughs and memories mixed with a few confessions surrounding their brief traveling circus life late into the night. All the could have beens mixed up in what was now growing between them. She never mentioned the appointment.

Her restlessness seemed to have taken a break until it was time for bed. He held her, chased her through her nightmares, reassured her in soft whispers. "I'm here. I'm not leaving. You're safe. I love you." She pulled close, gripped him tightly until she fell back into a sound sleep. He worried. The picture of the mother and daughter, maybe it reminded her of her family of abandonment. Maybe, consciously or subconsciously the closer they got the more she feared he would leave too, like they had.

When morning finally came it was filled with the excitement of undercover work. The focus of finding a killer all consuming. She fielded phone calls from the lab, they passed information back and forth. It was a whirlwind of activity, Cam and Wendell's work hectic in the absence of Angela and Hodgins who were at the hospital, Angela's labor, Buck and Wanda at the bowling tournament, Max's suspicions and watchful eye marking any change he saw between the two, Sweets' interrogations back at the Hoover. The day didn't stop, running smack dab into baby Michael's birth and this damp street where they stood facing an even bigger change than either of them had planned.

"I'm Pregnant." Her beautiful blue eyes waited nervously for his response. "You're the father." And all he could do was grin, a big goofy grin, a light and love in his eyes. It was enough for the moment. She could finally breathe. Looking up and down the street he pulled her into his arms and a quick kiss.

"I love you." A quiet reminder. She took his arm, holding him firmly as they made their way back to his apartment.

"So, when did you know?"

"Confirmed or suspected?"

"Both."

"Confirmed just before we left the bowling alley. Suspected, harder to say. Many of the signs of early pregnancy are similar to those experienced by women prior to men-"

"Bones." It came out whiny as his whole body cringed. This was not where he wanted the conversation to go. She continued anyways.

"Tender and swollen breasts, moodiness, exhaustion, bloating, some women experience nausea and headaches." She kept talking nervously, scientific details and terminology a thinly veiled cover. Eventually she worked her way to actually answering his question. "I chose to ignore my suspicions until I had a solid reason to…"

"The session with Sweets." They walked slowly down the damp streets, lights glistening in the leftover puddles. It smelt clean and fresh, new.

"Yes." Taking a deep breath. "By then I was a couple of days late. I'm never late. I called and got an appointment for the next afternoon."

"That's the meeting you had before we met with Max."

"Yes. My doctor ran some tests and called me today with the results."

They were home before he brought the subject up again. He watched her fiddling with the clasp of that godawful necklace she'd worn as Wanda all day. Chills made her shudder as he swept her hair to the side and took over his big fingers stumbling on the tiny clasp. She smiled at him in the mirror.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? You didn't have to go through that alone."

"It was just a doctor's appointment and a few tests, Booth. I wasn't scared or worried."

Looking at their reflection in the mirror he talked directly to her. "I want this, understand? I want to be a part of this, every bit of it, okay? Morning sickness, swollen feet, midnight craving runs, doctor's appointments, every bit, whether you need me there or not. I want to be a part of it all."

Easily a thousand memories flooded her mind. So many times she was there when Rebecca had withheld Parker or used Booth's time with him as a manipulation. She'd listened, saw first hand how he suffered over his limited role in his son's life. Remembering clearly his own final stand on her using his "stuff" to be artificially inseminated, he couldn't walk away, he had to be involved.

"Of course, Booth." She nodded in understanding. Life felt heavy all of a sudden. He watched the weight of their situation sink in. Life would never be the same. Neither of them had normal, happy childhoods. There was no happy frame of reference to build on, nothing to say this would be different other than their desire and commitment to make it different. His hands sunk low on her belly shadowing the spot where this tiny beginning of a life rested. The mirror seemed too revealing at the moment, displaying emotions too vast to separate in their reflection.

He saw the need for a break in the face of mounting emotion. Placing his lips on her cheek from behind he gave her a smack of a kiss. "I don't know about you Wanda but Buck wants a shower to wash off that gross bowling alley smell." She laughed. After a long day of mullets and hideous blue eye shadow, she agreed, ready to wash it all away. This Buck and Wanda weren't nearly as dashing or daring as the last.

The hot water was relaxing as it rolled over their tired bodies. It felt good and safe and normal. She needed that in a world she knew was shifting quickly. Booth reminded her how swiftly her world had tilted as his hands gravitated back to what was still a perfectly flat stomach.

"Are you going to do that all the time?" He laughed. "It's not funny."

"I can't help it." His smile brushed against her cheek. "You should probably get used to it."

"Booth." Her long insistent whine was meant to get him to stop. He held her tighter before reaching past her to turn off the water.

"Have you told anyone else?" He wrapped a towel around her shoulders as she stepped out of the shower, drying her carefully.

"No, no, I would never tell anyone before you." Their eyes caught, her hand tenderly stroking his cheek.

"Not even Angela?"

"This is ours, Booth." No truer words were ever spoken. It was theirs. "And what's ours, is ours until we decide together to share it."

"Well, yeah." His eyes were shining, warm and protective. As independant as she was there was something about Booth's protectiveness that made her feel safe and wanted, though she would be hard-pressed to admit it. "Let's keep it that way, okay? We can tell everyone when we tell them the rest." He laughed.

He'd only known about this pregnancy for a couple of hours. It didn't matter, this baby was precious to him from the moment the words, "I'm pregnant," crossed her lips. Her sweet smile, the light in her eyes, he thought she felt the same but needed to know, needed to hear it from her.

It wasn't until they were settled in bed that he finally asked her how she felt about the pregnancy. She couldn't answer. She stuttered and stammered, but, her sounds formed no words while emotion, so many different emotions, filled her up to overflowing. Booth gently wiped the tears.

"I know, it's a lot." His voice so low and soft but weighted with a reassuring strength. She only nodded fiercely trying to hold back the tide. "Let me help."

Rolling over her he slid down deep between her legs. Carefully he edged up her night shirt and laid a soft kiss on her tummy. "I feel…" She giggled at his over exaggerated emphasis.

"Sweets would be so proud."

"Right? I feel a breakthrough in our troubled relationship coming on." She squirmed under his touch as he smoothed and caressed the focus of all this attention. "I feel love." She nodded in agreement. Moving over just a little he found a new spot and kissed her again.

"I feel happy." Her soft smile and giggles at his tickling kisses brought a smile to his face.

"I feel nervous." A look of relief, of mutual understanding washed over her.

Moving lower, pulling at the waistband of her bed shorts, his fingers touched so lightly on her skin she could barely breath. "I feel excited."

He made sure he had her attention for the next one, looking up after the kiss, catching her eyes. "I feel connected to you in a new and beautiful way."

"I feel overwhelmed." Pulling her shorts down lower, he kissed right over where he knew that baby, his baby, was growing.

"I feel blessed." She felt his smile against skin and couldn't help the soft hum of pleasure that escaped. She was quickly losing the ability to think as his lips brushed against her skin, lower, softer. Her fingers played with his hair, cradled his head.

"I feel, Temperance, I feel like I wanna celebrate with you, like I wanna make love to you." In one smooth move she reached down and pulled her shirt over her head and off her body. A satisfied groan his only response as she pulled him up so she could kiss his beautiful reassuring lips.

Forehead to forehead she answered. "You know that's exactly how we ended up here, right?"

ooooo0ooooo

I was hoping to get this chapter out earlier this week but you know how it goes, pesky life and all it's demands. In fact, squeezing posting this between taking my son to a drama camp reunion and working on a BIG ADHD Awareness month project.

Thanks for reading and reviewing, writing and the feedback from readers may be the best anti-depressant ever! It certainly keeps the ideas flowing and more chapters coming!

Special thanks to my bestie Snowybones for feedback and bravely fixing my mistakes. She's always willing, helpful, and supportive.

Happy "Bones is Back" Week! We survived hiatus! Go us!

~DG