Booth had gotten in two more dances with his partner throughout the night. He got to touch her, to flirt with her; he even got to surreptitiously kiss her forehead once. It was absolute heaven. Of course Hacker had brought him crashing back down to earth. Not only was Bones his partner, she was also dating his boss. How off limits could one woman get?! He hated Hacker. Fortunately, he had resisted the urge to haul off and punch the guy, but that didn't keep him from fantasizing about it.
His boss had come back to their table, thrilled to report that he'd secured a date with Temperance for Valentine's Day. That news had officially ruined his perfect evening and Booth had taken his date home soon afterward.
How could he possibly get one up on Hacker? Hacker would get to take her to a romantic dinner, bring her flowers, walk her to her door, kiss her goodnight, maybe even spend the night…The asshole even had the balls to order those damned long stemmed roses while he was still sitting at his table! Right there next to him... It was extremely irritating.
He still couldn't believe Bones was into all that romantic Valentine's Day crap anyway. That had been a shocker. He himself hadn't been romantic in years. Protective, seductive, passionate…yes. But never romantic. Not that he didn't like to be, he just hadn't felt the need to be romantic since Rebecca dumped him. He stored this new piece of information away, wondering how he could use it to get her away from Hacker.
Then suddenly, laying in his bed alone, staring at the ceiling, he had an epiphany. Daisies and Daffodils! She loved them. He could totally get away with this without scaring her. Daisies and daffodils were not romantic flowers. They were friendship flowers. A guy could get his partner a bunch of daffodils and it wouldn't be strange. All he had to do was play it off like it was no big deal. But it would be a big deal. It would show her that he could be just as romantic as Hacker. It would show her that he thought about her on that day, and best of all, it would force her to think about him.
He had all the time in the world to convince Bones that he was the right guy for her, all he had to do was take it slow.
He smiled to himself, his confidence renewed. When it came to Bones, he had the edge. He knew her inside and out. Knew how she thought, what turned her on, what freaked her out… Hacker was just guessing. Poor slob didn't have a chance. She might be spending Valentine's Day with Andrew Hacker but Seely Booth would be the one in her head.
She arrived at the office that morning at 8am. Later than usual, but she'd danced until 2 in the morning so she slept in. She barely had time to check her email before a courier brought in a beautiful bouquet of bright yellow daffodils surrounded by pristine white daisies. How had Andrew known about her life long love of daffodils? He barely knew her.
She smiled as she dug through the leaves for the card. He really was a nice man. She froze at the name on the tiny red slip of paper in her hands. One word. "Booth."
Her heart did a quick somersault in her chest and her cheeks flushed. Booth had sent her flowers! She glanced around to make sure no one was looking before she buried her face in the bouquet. A ridiculously giddy euphoria overwhelmed her. The grin on her face felt permanent, like she would never be able to stop smiling.
She carefully arranged them next to her computer screen so she could look at them all day. She didn't even take the time to wonder what they meant. She had no idea, and she didn't really care. What they showed her, was that the line didn't exist. There was no metaphorical barrier between her and happiness. There was no one moment where he chose her or he didn't. There was just her and Booth and daffodils and hope.
"Oh God" she heard a disgruntled Angela grumble from the doorway.
"Not only did you not take Booth home last night, but you agreed to go on a date with Andrew Hacker and now he's sending you flowers?! This is so wrong Brennan..."
"Actually" she clamped down on one cheek with her teeth to suppress her grin "These are from Booth." She tried to sound casual and eyed her friend to see if it had worked.
"Shut up." Angela's voice raised in excitement. She grabbed the card from her desk. "Shut up!" she repeated, even louder than before. Brennan let the smile take over her face again.
"I can't believe he actually..." she stopped speaking when she looked up from the little red slip of paper to meet Brennan's eyes. "Well now, look at you!" her friend took in her beaming face. "I wish you could see your face right now Brennan because if you saw how happy he makes you…"
"He did not make me happy" she pointed out. "I simply choose to enjoy the gesture."
"I just…. You know I've never..." Angela struggled earnestly to put together the right words. "In all our years together, I've never seen you look as happy and at peace as you are at this moment." Her friend's sincerity forced Brennan to really think about that observation. She couldn't remember ever feeling this happy before either. Maybe when she got her PhD… but that was a different kind of happiness.
"Did you finish that facial reconstruction?" She changed the subject before she was forced into revealing too much.
The day drug on. She jumped every time the phone range, wishing Booth would call or come by, but knowing he had no reason to. There were no new cases, just piles and piles of paperwork for hours on end. She found herself palming the piece of paper with his name on it, rubbing it absently between her thumb and forefinger as she worked. It seemed like everyone had some excuse to come to her office and see if the flower story was true. Had someone put out a memo? Because she could have sworn the whole museum had heard. Impossible. Even Angela didn't have that big a mouth. Would Booth be embarrassed if he knew how many people had seen his flowers on her desk?
She heard him coming before she saw him. It was almost four in the afternoon. What was he doing here? Angela's voice drifted through the doorway.
"Major points for the flowers Booth." She heard the distinctive smack of a high five before he sauntered into her office. She hadn't thought about this part. What did you say in a situation like this? She rattled through the options in her mind. Why the hell did you send me flowers? Not quite the thing. How about... Happy Valentine's Day? or... You make me happy... scratch that... I choose to be happy about the flowers you sent me.
"Hey Bones we got a case. Let's go!" He clapped his hands twice and came to stand in front of her desk. "Hey these look great don't they? I didn't know if you'd like those fruity colored Gerbera ones better," he picked one daisy out of the bouquet to smell it and she slapped his hand.
"Put that back Booth, it needs water." He tossed her a crooked smile and dropped it back into the vase. She felt that uncontrollable grin taking hold once more as he charmed his way through a situation that could have been so awkward.
"They're perfect," she said simply as she gathered her things to go.
"Yeah well Hacker is doing the whole red rose thing and I thought it was only right for you to have at least one bouquet of flowers that you actually like on Valentine's Day." He explained as they walked out the door.
"Oh… that reminds me, I should call and cancel my date. We'll more than likely be out late working on the case."
He caught her wrist before she could dial and she wondered if he felt her pulse racing wildly against the pressure of his thumb. His eyes were narrow and dark and her heart skipped a beat.
"Bones, you don't have to cancel. We have plenty of time to get back." He said without releasing her wrist. She stared for a moment at the point of contact. The place where his rough calloused hands touched her white skin. It burned and throbbed and sent tingles of pleasure up her arm. She made a decision. Line or no line, she did not want to be with Hacker on Valentine's Day. She wanted to be with Booth, even if that meant identifying rotting corpses late into the night. The mildest touch from him was more exciting than an entire evening with Andrew.
"You never know how long it will take Booth. I'd hate to be in a rush to get to dinner and not do a thorough job on the scene." She tugged her hand free and dialed "I'll just be a moment," she said as she walked back into her office for some privacy. She could have sworn that for just a brief moment, a blatantly arrogant smirk crossed her partner's face. But she could never be certain if she'd really seen it.
THE END