Chapter 31
Saturday
10:12 AM
Brennan could hear the pounding before she even knew what it was. She opened her eyes and looked at her alarm clock. She blinked several times as she looked at it. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept that late. As she attempted to sit up quickly, Brennan moaned. Her chest and ribs were still incredibly sore. Her head hit the pillow again. The pounding continued and she quickly realized it was her front door. She took a deep breath and lifted up her head and torso slowly. It was still painful, but she was able to keep the pain under control as she moved into a sitting position. She knew her next move was the most painful of all first thing in the morning. She was going to have to put her feet on the floor and stand. The first time she stood in the morning always knocked the wind out of her.
The knock became louder as Brennan forced her right leg and then her left over the side of the bed. She wondered who was on the other side of the door.
As Brennan planted her food sturdily on the floor, her cell phone began to ring. She looked at it ringing on her bedside table. She reached for it, but it was just beyond her grasp. Brennan knew that in order to reach it, she'd either have to stand and pick it up or lie back down in bed. She was determined not to lie back down. Instead, she used all of her effort to lift her body so she was standing on her two feet. She wavered, having to put her right hand behind her on the bed to steady her. She couldn't help but gasp as the pain enveloped her. It seemed that the pain was always worse in the morning. It was like her body needed to be readjusted to moving every morning.
Brennan's cell phone stopped ringing, as did the knocking. She was silently grateful, thinking that the person must have gone away. She went to take a step so that she could reach for her phone when she felt one of her ribs aching. She removed her right hand from the bed and clutched at her chest. Without the support of her hand, she felt herself losing her balance. She crumpled to the floor. Sometimes she forgot just how much trauma her body had gone through.
Outside the door, Booth shoved his phone in his pocket. He was getting anxious. Why hadn't she answered her phone? Why wasn't she answering the door? Logically, Booth knew she could have been in the shower or be doing something else that made it impossible for her to get to her phone or to the door, but illogically, he needed to know that she was alright.
Booth pulled his keys out of his pocket. He found the key Brennan had given him and forced it into the lock. He turned the doorknob and opened the door. He closed it quietly behind him and looked around quickly. Brennan's apartment seemed to be in order. Nothing was missing. Nothing was out of place. He thought about calling her name, but he didn't want to scare her. Instead, Booth walked towards her bathroom. The door was wide open so he could see she wasn't inside. Knowing that she wasn't able to drive, Booth began to panic.
He moved to her bedroom. The door was closed. Even though he had been to Brennan's apartment many times, Booth hardly ever went in her bedroom. It was as if it were off limits to him. Knowing she was probably sleeping and that he was probably acting ridiculously overprotective, Booth put his hand on the doorknob. Despite the ridiculousness, he had to see that she was ok. He turned the knob and opened the door. He was met with an object flying in his direction.
"What the…?" The object, which turned out to be a high heeled shoe, hit him in the chest and fell to the ground. It wasn't thrown with much force, for which Booth was grateful. Booth looked to where Brennan was huddled on the ground next to her bed, nursing her right arm. Her eyes were wide open and her cheeks were flushed. She looked terrified.
"Booth?"
"Bones, are you ok?" He knelt down in front of her and put his hand on her knee.
"What are you doing here?"
"I…I came to see if you were alright. I knocked and I called, but when you didn't answer, I got…scared."
"Scared of what?"
"That you were…hurt." He knew he wasn't exactly wrong. By the look on her face, she was hurting. "You threw a shoe at me."
"I heard someone coming in. I thought…I thought you were an intruder."
"So you threw a shoe at me?"
"I couldn't get to my gun."
"Thank goodness. If you did get to your gun, I might be dead right now. Wait…why do you even have a gun?"
"For my protection."
"You have me for that."
"But you're not around all the time. Besides, I don't need your protection, Booth. I can take care of myself."
"Uh-huh. Bones?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing on the floor?"
"I…I fell. Getting up in the morning isn't always so easy."
"Come on, let me help you."
He put his arms under her arms as if he was going to lift her up, but she pulled back.
"I can do it," she insisted.
"Didn't you just get through saying that getting up in the morning isn't always easy?"
"Yes, but it doesn't mean that I'm incapable of getting up."
Knowing he was going to lose the fight if he pushed it, Booth put his arms back down at his sides and stood up. He watched as she took a deep breath and got to her knees. Using the bed to leverage her, she tried to lift herself up. She took in a sharp breath. Boot knew she was a master at disguising her pain. She was doing a very good job of it. There was only one problem; Booth could see right through her. Even though it hurt him to do so, he let her struggle. She would only push him away more if he tried to help. Sweets was right. Booth needed to wait until Brennan was ready to come to him.
Brennan hoisted herself to her feet, still holding on to the bed just in case. She blew a piece of her messy hair out of her face and looked at Booth. He couldn't help but smile. If he looked past the pain and the bruises that he could clearly see, she looked so damn sexy in her black shorts and pink tank top. It was her 'just out of bed,' ruffled hair that did him in. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
"I told you I could get up by myself."
"You sure did, Bones."
He could sense her legs beginning to wobble and his arm was around her waist in an instant, steadying her. He was sure not to hold her too tightly since he didn't want to hurt her.
"I'm fine," she assured him.
"I know. Just…humor me, Bones."
"But I didn't say anything funny."
"Where do you want to go?"
"Bathroom please. But I'm perfectly capable of…"
Before she could finish, Booth was walking with her to the bathroom. He knew she probably could have made it there on her own, but he didn't want to let her go.
"Here you go," Booth said as helped her into the bathroom. She steadied herself by using the sink and she looked up at her.
"I think I can take it from here."
"I'll be right outside."
Booth made his way out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He walked over to the couch, wishing she had a TV. Instead of sitting, he made his way over to one of her many bookshelves. If she didn't have a TV, he was going to have to find something else to occupy himself. He picked an anthropology book off the shelf and looked at the back. After he came across the fifth word he didn't understand, he put it back on the shelf. He skimmed the shelf, trying to see anything that might be even vaguely interesting. Unfortunately, he and Brennan didn't have the same tastes when it came to reading. Finally, Booth picked up one of her own books. It was the one she had dedicated to him.
"What are you looking at?" Brennan asked.
Booth quickly put the book back on the shelf and turned to see Brennan. He didn't think she would have been out so quickly. He was glad to see that she hadn't changed. He was a little disappointed that she had combed her hair, but she had pulled it back away from her face the way he liked it. He loved being able to see her beautiful facial features.
"Nothing," Booth answered.
"You're obviously looking at something. Was it a book?"
"No."
Brennan shrugged and walked over to the couch. She sat down and picked her wrist brace off the coffee table in front of her. Booth made his way over to the couch and sat down beside her. Without asking, he took the brace out of Brennan's hand and helped her into it.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome."
"So…what were you still doing in bed at ten o'clock, Bones? Last time I slept that late you said sleeping until ten was incredibly irresponsible."
"I…had a difficult time sleeping last night," she admitted, not meeting his eyes. He could see on her face that she felt somewhat ashamed.
"Hey, it's ok, Bones. I was just kidding."
"No, you're right. I shouldn't be sleeping so late."
"Hey," he said, putting his finger under her chin so that she was looking at him. "You can sleep all day if you want." He removed his hand. "Why didn't you sleep well?"
"What are you doing here, Booth?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"Well, now I'm asking my own question."
"But I asked first."
"Now who is acting like Parker?"
"Fine. I came here to spend the day with you."
"What? Why?"
"Because I know you're bored staying home all by yourself and that you're dying to get out of here."
"I'm not dying to get out of here."
"It's a figure of speech, Bones."
"You didn't have to come."
"I know, but I wanted to. Besides, how else can I make sure that you're not sneaking off to work if I'm not around?"
"I didn't go to work yesterday."
"That's because we had a deal. I made sure Angela, Cam, Clark, and Hodgins kept you informed and you stayed home."
"I think I might have found something when Clark sent me the images from the electrospectrometer."
"No."
"No what?"
"No, we're not talking about work."
"You brought it up. Besides, isn't there a murderer to catch?"
"We're not catching any murderers this weekend, Bones."
"But…"
"I've asked Casey to take a look at the case this weekend. She's going to let me know if she or your squints find anything."
"Casey? The agent who was in charge of my case?"
"That's the one."
"You're working with another agent?"
Booth could see the hurt in her eyes. He put his hand on hers.
"She's not my partner, Bones."
"She sounds like she is."
"Well, she's not. You're the only partner I want and when you're better, we'll get back to working together."
"I am better."
"You're better, Bones, but you're not ready to go back to work."
"Are you sure you'd rather not work with Casey?"
Booth smiled. There was that jealousy that he was hoping was real. If she was jealous, it meant she had real feelings.
"Trust me, Bones."
"I do."
"Good. Now, come on," he said, standing up.
"Where are we going?"
"We're spending the day together."
"I thought you said you weren't working this weekend."
"I'm not."
"Then what are we going to do?"
"We don't have to be working to spend time together, Bones."
"I know. We eat socially together. We also drink on occasion. So, are we eating or drinking?"
"Neither. At least not right now although I'm sure there will be eating at some point."
"So, what are we going to do?"
"We're going to go to my apartment and watch movies."
He gave her a big smile. She returned it by looking at him strangely.
"Movies?'
"Yes. Movies, Bones. I know you're not a big TV person, but you have to know what movies are. You know, when they take actors and put them all in one place and put them on camera and…"
"I know what movies are, Booth. Why are we spending all day watching them?"
"Because it's fun and relaxing."
"Watching people do things on a screen is fun?"
"For people who aren't as smart as you, Bones, yes, we do find watching movies enjoyable."
"So, we're going to watch movies? All day?"
"That was the plan."
"I have a better idea."
Author's Note: I don't have much to say except thank you for reading and thank you for the amazing reviews I've received so far! Reading them really makes my day!
