I'm taking liberties here, since we have no idea when Booth's birthday is, and I don't even know which teams went to the Super Bowl this year because I don't watch football. I hope you enjoy the new chapter, anyways!
Chapter 4—Birthday
Brennan has never been one for giving or receiving gifts. She just never really saw the point. Especially for birthdays. Why did society require you to give someone a gift for being one year older? Especially because most adults didn't want to acknowledge they were getting older.
Even though she rarely, if ever, gave gifts, she knew exactly what to get Booth for his birthday at the end of January. Halfway into planning his present, she realized she needed Rebecca's help.
Dialing quickly, she listened to the phone ring as she anxiously tapped her fingers against her desk, not knowing exactly what to say. When Rebecca finally answered the phone, Brennan nervously explained what she was planning for Booth's birthday, and asked if she would consider letting Booth have Parker that weekend.
Surprisingly, Rebecca agreed, and Brennan let out a sigh of relief. Rebecca had been the one wildcard in her plan, but now that she had agreed, everything else should be easy sailing. Within minutes they had finalized the details for the weekend and hung up.
Brennan quickly finished his gift online, printed it, and placed it in an envelope. Grabbing her purse and coat, she left her office for the evening to head over to the FBI building to drag Booth out to dinner. Although she knew she really wouldn't have to do much dragging.
To say he was surprised to see Brennan at the door of his office was an understatement. She rarely, if ever, came to the FBI building looking for him, and never in a nice dress.
"Hey Bones, whatcha up to?" he asked, flashing her a smile as he stopped filling out paperwork.
"Not a lot, just taking you out to dinner, birthday boy," she replied, flashing him a charm smile of her own.
Startled, Booth looked at her questioningly. "Wait, you left work early to take me out to dinner for my birthday? And how did you know it was my birthday?"
"Contrary to popular belief, I am capable of remembering birthdays. And yes, I left early to invite you to dinner, unless of course you don't want to go," she said, teasing him a little.
"No, no," he replied quickly, jumping up out of his chair. "Let me just grab my coat and I'll be ready to go. Where are we going, by the way?"
"There's a new Italian restaurant over in West End I've been dying to try, so I got us reservations for 7pm."
"You mean Laboratorio Del Galileo? It's impossible to get reservations there, and especially less than 3 weeks in advance!" he was stunned she had gone to so much trouble for him, and if the rumors were true, it was one of the best Italian restaurants on the east coast, as well as one of the most expensive.
"You seem to forget that I am a best-selling novelist. And how do you know I haven't been planning this for weeks?" she replied playfully as she turned and walked out of his office, leaving him a moment to ponder her words before running after her.
A few hours later, after one of the most amazing meals of their lives, they were enjoying a bottle of wine and a delicious tiramisu. During desert, Brennan reached into her bag and withdrew the envelope containing the card and gift she had picked out for him, slightly nervous now that the moment was finally here. She silently hoped he would like it as she handed it over to him, his eyebrows rising in surprise.
"What is this, Bones?" he asked as he took the envelope, opening it slowly.
"It's the rest of your birthday present, Booth. Now open it," she dropped her gaze to the table, growing more nervous with each passing second.
"Bones, dinner was more than enough. You didn't need to do all of this…" he trailed off as he opened the card, reading it silently as a smile spread across his face. He looked up at her and observed her for a minute as she stared at the table. "Thank you, Temperance," he said simply, drawing her attention from whatever she was staring at, "the card is beautiful."
"Open the envelope," she said softly, her gaze dropping back to the table.
Amused by her nervous behavior, he slowly opened the envelope, wondering what could possibly make her so self-conscious around him. As he pulled out the folded papers, two tickets fell out of the envelope. Picking them up, he was stunned to see they were box seats for the Super Bowl the following weekend.
At his sharp intake of breath, Brennan looked up from the table, watching the amazement on his face. Opening the folded sheets of paper, he saw plane tickets, hotel room, and rental car information. She had thought of everything, he realized as he saw the name on the extra plane ticket. Parker Booth.
She saw his eyes light up when he read the name on the ticket, but they quickly clouded over when he realized Rebecca probably wouldn't let him have Parker for the weekend. Knowing what he was thinking, she quickly jumped in, "I already talked to Rebecca, and she agreed to let you take him to the game."
His eyes danced with happiness as he reached for her hand and gave it a gently squeeze. "This is too much, Temperance," he paused, trying to contain the emotion in his voice, "Thank you."
Needing to change the topic a little bit, he asked, "How on earth did you get these tickets? They've been sold out for months!"
She just looked at him with a smile. "My publisher gave them to me, but since I don't watch football, I figured I'd give them to you. And I know the Steelers are your favorite team, so I knew you'd love it."
Amazed once again by her thoughtfulness, he flashed his patented charm smile. "You are an amazing woman, Temperance Brennan. I'm proud to have you as my partner and friend." But I want us to be something more, he thought silently to himself, One day, though, one day we'll be together. After all, everything happens eventually
