Hello again, people! Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, you are the best!
Glad you liked the journal! Here we go, the next chapter is ready, not that long, but I hope you'll like it anyway.
Coming home…
Chapter 11:
"Bren!" I winced as I heard my best friend yelling at me from somewhere behind me. The tone of her voice told me that she was not very happy with me trying to sneak away to accompany Clark to the crime scene.
"Damn it, Brennan, I know you heard me, now stop!" Angela addressed me again and I sighed and did as I was told and turned around to face her.
My best friend frowned as she stood in front of me,. "You're five months pregnant, Bren. You stay here."
"I'm not a dog. You don't get to tell me where I have to go or not, Ange" I arched an eyebrow at her.
"Do you even know what kind of weather we're having? It's hot outside. Hot as in HELLISH. And you're not driving out there today, digging up a corpse at a dump site of all places! I know for a fact that you had a dizzy spell again this morning. Can you imagine what might happen to you if you fall down at a dump site? Huh? Stay here." Angela gave me her stern look, then switched tactics. "Please, Bren. You'd do me a great favour. I would feel better if you were here."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Why does that always work?" I shook my head. "And why do you have to be right?" I grumbled. I was NOT happy with my situation. It was uncommonly hot for June and – though I had never had problems tolerating heat before – the past few days I had felt dizzy from time to time due to the weather, even passed out once very dramatically in front of the whole lab with Hodgins catching me before I could hit the floor. I was still thankful for his quick reaction.
And my best friend was right… a dump site was not exactly the environment the doctor recommended for pregnant women…especially not to those who were prone to pass out any minute. Common sense told me to accept it… but I didn't have to like it.
"Clark?" I yelled and the student I had chosen to be my assistant turned around, his hands full of equipment. "I can't come. "I sighed, resigning. "If you encounter anything out of the ordinary, contact me. And please let Agent Crest know. Dr. Hodgins can accompany you." He nodded wordlessly and left. The thing I liked about Clark Edison was not only that he was bright and a perfectionist, no, he also accepted mutely whatever I told him to do without complaining.
Though I had caught him cringing a time or two when Angela and I had discussed personal matters while he was around. Maybe he was not comfortable with two women talking about growing breasts due to hormonal changes. I guess Booth wouldn't be either.
"Sooo, Sweetie." My best friend gave me a long look. "How are you feeling today?"
"Pissed off." I offered and she actually giggled. "I mean anything out of the ordinary?"
"No." I answered distractedly. Was it really possible I felt hungry AGAIN? I had had a sandwich only an hour ago, if memory served. Absently I rubbed my now unmistakeably pregnant belly. And froze when I felt an oddly fluttering sensation. I took me a moment to process what had happened. I had been a little worried that I had not been able to feel the baby move yet… and now, right now, it had finally happened…. After weeks of silently tormenting myself about the fact that other women were able to sense the movement of their child much earlier.
The expression on my face must have been alarming, because Angela quickly grabbed my arm, obviously afraid I was on the verge of falling unconscious again. "What's wrong, Bren? Dizzy again? Sit down."
She gently tugged at my arm but I shook my head, remained rooted in the very same spot, closing my eyes, trying to sense the movement in my womb … and it happened again. Fleeting, barely noticeable but it was there. "Bren?" Angela asked, concern in her voice.
"It moved." I gazed at my best friend. "The baby. I just felt it." Without having to look into a mirror I knew that surely now I was smiling like an imbecile. And for once, I didn't care.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Angela seemed to have lost control of her vocabulary, repeating the same sound over and over again. Then she suddenly snatched the bag from my shoulder.
"Hey!" I protested as she started to rummage through it. A triumphant smile appeared on her face as she found the notepad I always carried with me. "Time." She said meaningfully and I gave her a long look, contemplating the possibility that my best friend had temporarily gone insane.
"Note the time, Bren. For your journal." She emphasized after a moment of staring at each other and comprehension dawned in me. I took the note pad and scribbled down the time – 10:25 am – as well as the date – 8th of June - and that I had felt the baby move. Twice. My hands actually trembled a little.
"Ahhh, this is soooo exciting. How does it feel?" My best friend asked eagerly.
I shrugged a little. "I can't describe it… it's…. " I blinked, realising that the dreaded thing happened again: Tears formed in my eyes at the most inconvenient moments. I wrinkled my nose, willing the burning feeling in my eyes to go away.
Angela knew how much I hated to get emotional in front of other people and quickly dragged me into an abandoned room. "You need to cry?" She asked gently.
"I don't need to." I protested. "It just keeps happening." The first tear spilled down my cheek despite my efforts to contain them. "Damn it." I choked out.
"You were scared, right? That it took so long for you to feel it?" Angela asked me and I nodded. I had not told her about my worries, but I was no longer surprised about Angela's profound knowledge of my sentiments. Sometimes I thought she knew me better than I knew myself.
"So now you know everything's okay. My little niece in there is just fine." She winked at me and I snorted. "We don't know the sex, why do you keep on insisting it's going to be a girl?"
"You'll see I'm right… I have a sixth sense for that." Angela grinned knowingly.
"I doubt that very much, Angela… but even if you had that ominous skill, keep it to yourself. I don't want to know." I gave her a long look, then realised I had stopped crying. "You were just teasing me to stop this, right?" I pointed to my face.
"Sure thing." Angela agreed and I had to smile. "It worked." I said and took in a deep breath. "And you were right… I was worried. I'm really relieved now."
My best friend hugged me, provided me with tissues to dab at my wet face and laughed as she heard my stomach grumble a moment later. "That was NOT the baby, that was you. Come on, I bought you blueberry muffins."
My mouth nearly started to water at the thought of blueberry muffins. "Thanks." I said, summing up all my gratitude for muffins, tissues and her being my best friend in general. And Angela being Angela knew exactly how I meant it, gave my hand a quick, affectionate squeeze and just said. "Always, sweetie."
In the evening, I was sitting in front of my computer again, typing up what had happened this day, how I had felt the child moving for the very first time and wished with all my heart Booth had been here to share that moment. I bit my bottom lip and sighed. I missed him… five months after he had left I had the irrational feeling that I missed him more and more every day. And I was worried about him.
A few weeks ago Cullen had told me that no news were good news. In comparison to hearing bad news, no message surely was positive.
But that was wrong… Now I knew, that no news was bad, because I was slowly, but steadily moving towards the time where I had to think about furnishing a nursery. And I didn't want to do that without Booth. Which was sentimental and irrational, since it was only a room. But I felt what I felt and there was no use denying it… pregnancy had at least taught me that by now. There is no sense in ignoring your feelings, trying to bury them… because they'll just resurface at another moment, when you're not paying attention.
I placed my hands protectively over my abdomen. "He's going to come back soon." I said soothingly. A barely detectable movement in my womb answered me… as if the tiny being in there was trying to say: You're not alone.
Which was ridiculous, irrational and just plain impossible. And it still made me feel better.
Sooo, what did you think about this chapter???? Five months pregnant and still no Booth around, I know, I know… next chapter should be ready soon, so I hope you can forgive me for not bringing Booth back yet.
Reviews would be AWESOME!