Monday 3 AM (Two hours before reporting for duty)
Booth tiptoed quietly around the apartment. He hated this. He felt like he was sneaking away from her while she slept. Quantico was an hour away and he needed to leave soon if he wanted to arrive on time without rushing.
"Ouch!" he shouted as he stubbed his toe on a box. They had been packing nonstop ever since they realized they would need a larger apartment. And luckily, they had found one before Booth left. It wasn't just an apartment. It was a house in the most expensive neighborhood in the D.C. metro area.
"Why don't we just get an apartment, Bren? Everything in the Georgetown neighborhood is way more than we can afford…By a lot. We could find a place much cheaper than these houses," Booth reasoned with her.
"This one," she said, pointing to one particular listing, "is a mile from campus! And I'm a professor. Trust me, we can afford it."
"It has no back yard," he pointed out, "Just this little dinky patio."
"We'll take it."
"We will? Bren, we hardly have enough furniture to put in that place!" He excused them from the realtor and asked, "Temperance, we can't afford that. It's a beautiful house but its way over our price range."
"Seeley, do you even know how much money I make as a professor? As head of the research facility?"
He blushed and shook his head. He gave a smile to attempt to win her back over and she smiled back.
"I make enough for this house and a down payment on a car, put it that way. Which reminds me, we need to get a car too."
"What?" H was so confused. Everything was happening so fast. First, he found out he's leaving for a year, then Bren tells him she's pregnant, and they need to buy a house and a car. "Why?"
"I need to get to doctor appointments. And I need to start going to a better grocery store. That little market on the corner isn't going to be good enough."
"Huh. Well, if you swear on Saint Anthony that we can afford it, then fine. But remind me why we're getting three bedrooms."
"For my office," she said.
"Or…a bigger family?"
"Maybe."
Booth had packed up as much as he could without making Brennan live without necessities. He had asked Pops and Jared if they would come to help and Brennan promised to call Angela to ask for her and Jack's help. They still needed to give the current owners a month to move out so Booth wouldn't be there to help them move in. But it hurt him just a bit to know that all of this, the major changes they were making to prepare for their little one, is what he was going to miss out on.
"I want to come with you," a muffled voice came from the depths of the sheets.
He chuckled. "I know, babe, but you have a class to teach at nine thirty. Plus, you have to call Angela to tell her the awesome news."
"Ugh. I don't wanna go to class."
"So cancel it."
That suggestion made her realize just what he was saying and she sat up. "Please don't go."
His heart broke a little each time she said something like that and this time it was worse. "Bren, I have to. But when I found out where I'm going exactly, I'll send you a letter. I'm expecting a letter back, you know."
"I know."
"You'll send pictures, right? Of you. And the baby?"
"Of course. Angela, however, will want to send you an entire album."
"I'm fine with that."
They both laughed a little, each trying to prolong the inevitable. She slid out of bed and wrapped her arms around him. She hugged him tight and refused to let go.
"Babe, I gotta get going. Okay, if I have a chance, I'll call you when I get to Quantico, alright? No promises, though. But I swear I'll write you as soon as I get to my post."
"I love you."
"I love you, too, Bren. Take care of my little girl…"
"Or boy."
He laughed. "Yeah, or boy. Be careful, okay. I know you're going to sneak off to Africa because I won't be here to stop you but I need you to promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise. But you have to be safe too. I'm not raising this kid alone."
"Of course not. I'll be back. And if I'm lucky, beside letters, I might be able to call you."
She was crying slightly, attempting to hold it all in. "I love you."
"I love you, too. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Bye, Booth."
"Remember, no byes. Just I'll see you later."
She nodded slowly, giving it her all to keep the tears from falling. "I'll see you soon."
Early, later that morning, Brennan's phone rang. Feeling insanely sorry for herself, she almost let it rang. She hated the alone feeling. After being alone for four years and then constantly having him around loving and caring for her, she had no desire to go back to that totally alone part.
But, she slowly got up and made her way to the kitchen. As her feet touched the cold tile, the ring silenced. She groaned, pissed that she left her bed that still had his scent, her last bit of comfort she had left.
She was a little over half way back to the bed when the phone rang again. She shuffled back to the kitchen, cringing at the ice cold tile, and answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Bren?"
"Hey. How's Quantico?"
"Lame. I hate being away from you. I just wanted to let you know I'm here and as soon as I find out where I'm going exactly, I'll send you a letter with my address."
"Okay, I'm assuming you can't talk for long."
"Yeah, I gotta go. I miss you. Stay safe, okay? I'll see you later."
"Yeah, I'll see you later. I love you."
"I love you too." She heard the phone click as he set the receiver down. She placed the phone back and turned back to her bed. It rang again, much to her annoyance and she picked it up once again.
"Hello?"
"Bren! Hi, sweetie! Guess what?"
"What?" Brennan had a feeling of what was coming and she held the phone slightly away from her ear.
"I got that internship! Ahhh! I'm so excited!"
"Congratulations, Angela. I'm assuming you and Jack will need a place to stay?"
"Yeah, we're going to look for an apartment as soon as we get there."
"That's not necessary. You can stay with me."
"Bren, sweetie, I don't know if you've noticed but you live in a very, very tiny apartment."
"Well actually, Ange, Booth and I bought a house. I was hoping I could get some help from you and Jack since I'm sure Booth wouldn't want me to be lifting all that much in my condition although I doubt it would be detrimental."
"English, please, Bren. What 'condition'?"
"Oh. I'm pregnant."
Brennan predicted there would be a large shriek and she was correct. She moved the phone away from her ear long enough for her friend to quiet down.
"Sweetie! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I just told Booth not too long ago. As soon as he knew, we decided to find a bigger place. Booth and I were just so busy lately trying to get things done before he left that I just didn't have time. Sorry, Ange."
"How long is he going back to Georgia for?"
"Apparently, they needed him on assignment more than they needed him in training. He's going to the Middle East for a year."
"WHAT? He's going to be gone when the baby comes? That is so not fair! We need to kick some Army ass for doing that to you."
"So…will you help me? I can't move into the house by myself. And Hank and Jared are going to try to come down but it really depends if Jared can get his physical therapy done. He's almost completely recovered from the accident. But we'll have a spare bedroom for you guys to sleep in. Plus, and I know you won't be able to say no to this one, I'm going to need help decorating the nursery."
"We're there! I am so in! Oh, Bren, I'm so excited for you. Sweetie, Jack and I will be there for whatever you need okay? I'll call you soon and we'll figure out when we'll be there. If you need me there sooner, just say the word. I can come to your doctor appointments if you don't want to go alone."
"Thanks, Ange. I'll talk to you soon."
"Bye, sweetie."
She hung up the phone, feeling slightly better about the situation, though nothing could make up for the fact that Booth was about to miss out on some extremely important milestones.
A/N: Hey there! Sorry about the delay. With the holiday arriving, I've been pretty busy with work and family commitments. I'm thinking of ending this fic soon but I'm having a hard time finding the perfect cut off point. But apart from that, I need some more pointers. I need some wonderful reader suggestions on certain things. I have a slight idea of what I want to do but I would love some ideas on:
-The baby's gender
-The baby's name
-And how Booth meets the little one
Thanks for reading, folks! You guys are wonderful! :) Happy 4th to all you fellow Americans out there!
