Hello again!! Thank you all for your patience and of course for reviewing – you are all awesome!

And special thanks to AnabellG (AnaG) who once again invested a lot of time into beta-ing this chapter – THANK YOU!

Chapter 18:

She hated being in the hospital. In the beginning, she had accepted it as a necessity, but after being there for five days she loathed it. The mattress felt too soft, the blanket too warm and the air too dry.

She was thankful that everything remained stable so far, that her child seemed to be healthy, just as it should... but other than that she simply felt restless. Her shoulder still ached and her bruised left side now bore the most interesting colour combinations. Black, blue, red and some were already turning a sickly-looking green-yellow she found disgusting.

So, she avoided looking into the mirror. She had read just about every anthropological journal she owned and had moved on to parenting guides and books with titles like Your Pregnancy – The Best Time in Your Life.

The kitschy title had made her shudder when Angela had brought the book two days ago. But boredom had conquered over her hesitance and she was engrossed in the book when Booth opened the door to her room.

Cautiously, he looked at her and tried to decipher the look on her face. She put down the book and looked back at him. Silence stretched until she finally asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Her voice sounded only mildly irritated, so Booth decided he could try to make a joke.

"That was the mood-o-meter working." He said, grinning at her.

"The mood-o-meter." She repeated, astonished.

"Yep. To check in what kind of mood you are." He flashed her his charm smile. "What have you two been up to?"

She pulled a face. "Oh, we went hiking." She snorted sarcastically. "What do you think? I'm stuck here. I'm not allowed to leave the bed, so all I can do is watch TV or read... and frankly, what they show on TV during the day is disturbing. Television programming for children is horrible. It is either too violent or it has no educational value at all."

"Whoa...calm down, Bones. Our kid is far from watching TV. And about the educational value... you do know it's called entertainment, right? Not 'Science in motion pictures'" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Children should learn something from what they are watching. You can combine entertainment with education, you just have to put a little effort in it... What?" She questioned him, when she realised he had been watching her with a smile on his face.

"You're awfully cute." He said and closed the distance between them to press a kiss to her forehead. "Especially that pony-tail... or what's left of it." He tugged playfully at a loose strand of her hair.

Embarrassed her hands shot up to her head and discovered that sometime during the afternoon, all her tossing and turning had turned the formerly neat pony-tail into a mess.

"Why don't you just let it fall down?" He asked and pried her hands away from the remains of the hair-style, gently removing the rubber band and combing through her hair with his fingers.

"I don't like it when I am reading." She answered, enjoying the feeling of his gentle hands massaging her scalp.

"But it looks sexy." He whispered into her ear.

She jerked her head away from him and his husky voice. "And where's the use in that? It's not like we can have sex now... or any time in the near future."

"I know, but I still think you look sexy. Especially when you let your hair down." He winked at her.

"Yeah well... enjoy the look of that body as long as it lasts. I am going to get fat soon." She sighed.

"Uh-oh. The mood-o-meter sounds the alarm." He teased, but when he saw the serious look on her face he took her hand in his and said gently. "Bones, you're not going to get fat. You're pregnant and it's our child growing in there. It's going to be wonderful. You're going to be beautiful, no matter what."

Suddenly she had to smile and said: "You sound like Dr. Andrews."

He frowned a little. "Who's Dr. Andrews?"

Temperance lifted the book she had placed beside her. "The gynaecologist who wrote this book. A man, I'd like to add. How come men think they can write books about how a woman feels during pregnancy? That would be like me wanting to write a book about how it feels to have a prostate examination."

Booth grimaced. "Don't throw around words like that, Bones." He stifled a shudder.

"But it's the same thing." She insisted.

"What? You compare pregnancy to an examination that could qualify as torture technique? You lost me, Bones."

"No! I mean, a man writing about how it feels to be pregnant and a woman writing about how it feels to get your prostate examined" – she rolled her eyes when she saw Booth flinch – "that's the same thing. Writing about something you can't experience yourself."

She looked at him intently and had to chuckle when she saw that he obviously was still stuck on the mention of prostate exams. "Don't be such a baby. We're only talking about it. How come you men claim to be all strong and flinch at the mere thought of a simple..."

He interrupted her "Don't say it again, Bones, don't be cruel. I am sure you don't exactly enjoy gynaecological examinations yourself."

"No, of course not... but do you see me wince just because you mentioned it?" She asked, a challenging smile on her face.

"Fine. You're strong, I am weak. Can we now please talk about what the doctor said today?"

Booth gave in. Brennan was surprised by his sudden retreat, however the mention of the doctor sobered her and she decided not to wallow in her small victory.

"Nothing so far. I've had another examination and an ultrasound today. And they took another blood sample. The doctor said he'll come as soon as he has all the results, but so far he hasn't been here." Her gaze locked on the clock on the opposite wall. "He's bound to come soon, his shift ends in an hour."

"How come you know that?" Booth asked, surprised.

"I've been here for five days, Booth. I am bored enough to notice things like that." She gave back and sighed. "You know what? Tell me about what you did today. I am sure it is more thrilling than what I did."

He smiled at her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before telling her about how his day had been.

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