Here we go with chapter two… I think there might be a couple more in this one, but definitely at least one. Thanks for all the great response to the first chapter, I hope this one doesn't disappoint.
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The Consolation in the Prize
Chapter 2
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Not for the first time, Booth questioned the advisability of following Angela's advice. But then again, Angela knew her better than just about anyone else… and she had confided to Angela about their conversation tonight. Against his better judgment, he found himself climbing out of the cab and climbing the steps to the front door of her building.
He didn't recognize the doorman.
"Seeley Booth for Temperance Brennan," he said, hoping she hadn't taken his name off her list.
"Dr. Brennan is in, Agent Booth," the man said. "You may go up. Shall I announce you?"
"No," Booth answered. "No, thank you."
This visit was probably best served by the element of surprise. He knew there was a chance she wouldn't even let him in, and he didn't want to give her any extra time to think about it. He stepped into the elevator and chose the button for her floor.
He didn't remember this elevator being so slow as he began to think about what he would say when she answered the door. As the elevator doors opened and he stepped off, he realized that a prepared speech wasn't going to cut it in this situation. He knew that he would know what to say as soon as he looked into her beautiful blue eyes.
He'd often felt that he could find the answer to any question just by looking in her eyes. As his musings continued, he wondered if there was a name for that particular shade of blue. He'd have to ask Angela, and if there wasn't, he was going to suggest to Crayola that they call it, "Temperance."
Where did that come from? When did I turn into some kind of lovesick sap? Oh yeah, the minute Bones admitted she wanted me…
He looked up, realizing that he'd made his way to her door. For a split-second, he considered turning back. But Ang was right… she had to know, and he had to tell her tonight. She already knew she was his standard. She had to know that no one could ever match up.
He raised his hand to knock on the door.
After several minutes had passed, he became nervous that she wasn't going to answer. He knew she was home. Both of her cars were in their spots and the doorman had said she was in. He was about to turn away, defeated, when he heard the door open slowly.
"What are you doing here, Booth?"
He'd never seen her looking so forlorn. He knew she'd been crying, but it was more than the tracks of the tears that had slipped down her cheeks…more than the haphazard ponytail on her head or the fact that the tank top she was wearing didn't match her yoga pants. It was her eyes, her amazing Temperance Blue eyes were dim, they were missing that sparkle that they always held. And he wanted to kick his own ass. He was the cause. He was the one who took the light from her beautiful eyes. Right then and there he said a silent prayer that she'd let him be the one to put it back.
"I needed to see you, Bones," he said tentatively. "To talk to you… to apologize…"
"Stop," she said. "I can't do this anymore, Booth. I'm not as strong as I'd like to be and I just can't stand here and let you assuage your guilt so you can go back home and make love to your girlfriend. Just let me be, Booth. Please? Just go home. Go home to Hannah."
"I deserved that," he said. "But please, just hear me out. If you really want me to go, I'll go. But you need to know that Hannah's gone…"
"What?"
"She left, Bones."
"So what, now I'm the consolation prize?" she asked, not caring about the bitterness in her voice. She'd tried to listen to what Angela had said. She'd tried to have hope, but she could only think about how badly that kind of hope had ended up hurting her in the past. She just couldn't let that happen again. She just didn't have the strength.
"No," he said softly, reaching out to take her hand. "Bones, you could never be a consolation. You are the standard, remember?" he asked, bestowing a charm smile on her for the first time in a very long time. "She left because I told her that I'm in love with you… and that I have been for seven years."
She stood there, looking at him expectantly.
"I'd really rather not do this in the hallway, Bones," he said, "can I come in? Please?"
She stepped to the side and let him in. He crossed the threshold and closed the door behind them.
"Come on," he said, reaching out for her hand. "Let's sit."
She allowed him to hold her hand followed him to the sofa. She was still too stunned to say anything. Had he really told Hannah that it was she that he loved?
"Bones," he said as they sat down together on her sofa. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that I loved you that night outside of Sweets' office. I'm sorry that I was too selfish and too concerned with my own pain to think about what was really going through your beautiful mind," he said with a smile, reaching out to tuck a stray strand behind her ear. He was worried that she still hadn't said anything, but she seemed willing to listen, so he went on. "I'm sorry for saying that I had to move on and I'm sorry for actually trying to move on. I'm sorry for neglecting you and our friendship… I've spent so much time in the last few months trying to prove that everything with Hannah was so perfect that I lost sight of everything else. And for what? For it to all come crashing down around me in the end? Bones, do you remember that case we had in the suburbs? The one with the guy in the barbeque pit?"
She nodded her head, still not speaking but listening intently to what he had to say.
"Remember why I kept saying I hate the suburbs? Because it's all Peyton Place or Desperate Housewives… Everybody's so busy trying to make everybody else think their lives are perfect that they don't actually have time to live their lives. That's what I was doing with Hannah. I was so desperate to be happy, for you to think I could be happy without you that I couldn't see how much I was actually hurting both of us…"
He waited just a moment to be sure that she was listening and he took her other hand so that both of her hands were ensconced in his. He looked her right in the eyes, praying that she could see the love that he knew was radiating from them.
"But mostly, Bones, I'm sorry that I was a coward tonight. I'm sorry that I left you alone and crying and believing that I didn't love you. If there was one thing in my life I could change, it would be that."
"You could never be a coward, Booth," she answered. "And I'd appreciate you not talking about the man I love like that," she added with a sassy smile.
"I want to hate you," she said. "I want to be angry with you. I don't want this to be easy for you. I want you to understand the tremendous pain I've felt having to watch you with Hannah all these months… having to support your relationship because I'm your friend… having to be happy that you were happy because I love you and that's all I want for you… but I find that would be counterproductive."
This time, it was his turn to wait and listen as she gathered her thoughts.
"We've both made mistakes, and we've both hurt each other. But if I've learned anything from this case, it's that we don't always get a second chance… and we have to make the most of every opportunity. I told you tonight that I didn't want to have any regrets, and I meant that. And because I truly meant it, it would be very wrong of me to turn you away now."
She reached up and gently placed her hand along his jaw line.
"I was afraid we'd missed our moment," she said, tears filling her eyes.
"Never," he answered, his voice catching on the knot in his throat. "Remember what I asked you that very first night, Bones?"
"You asked if I believed in fate," she said. "And I told you that it was ludicrous," she added with a smile.
"Do you still think it's ludicrous?" he asked, pulling her close to fold her into his embrace.
"Yes," she answered. "But seeing that so many of the other tenets by which I've built my life seem to be evolving, perhaps there is some truth to the concept of fate, as well."
"Bones?"
"Yes, Booth?"
"I really want to kiss you right now."
"I would be amenable to that," she answered, turning in his arms until their lips were just a breath apart.
He leaned in and closed the infinitesimal gap between them, covering her mouth with his and enjoying the best first kiss of his life. Sure, he'd kissed Bones before… but this kiss wasn't fueled by lust and tequila, or a puckish prosecutor. There was no desperation in this kiss. It was both sweet and sexy. It was hot but gentle at the same time, but mostly it was full of promise.
Before the kiss could take on a life of it's own, he stood up bringing her with him.
"It's getting late," he said, leaning down and resting his forehead on hers. "I should be going."
"Stay," she said.
"Bones," he said, his voice husky with emotion as he held her tightly. "There's nothing I would like more. But I just broke up with Hannah. We need to take it slow, do things right this time…"
"I agree," she said, reaching up to place a gentle peck on his lips. "I'm not asking you to have intercourse, Booth. I just want you to stay," she said, suddenly unsure of herself and the emotion coursing through her. "It's late and we're both exhausted. We still have a lot to talk about, but I think we've covered the most important topics, right?"
"I think so," he agreed.
"So, we'll get some sleep and resume our conversation in the morning," she said as if it were the most logical situation in the world.
"I can take the couch," he offered. "Or Max's old room."
"Booth," she replied, "I asked you to stay because I wanted you to sleep with me."
"But Bones, we agreed…"
"Sleep, Booth."
She reached out and took his hand as he followed her to her bedroom.
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Booth awoke in the dark of the pre-dawn morning. It only took him a few minutes to gain his bearings and remember where he was… who the woman was who fit so comfortably in his arms.
He leaned over her shoulder and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.
"Bones," he whispered.
She made a soft mewing sound as she moved slightly but didn't open her eyes.
"Bones," he whispered again, placing a kiss just below her ear. "Wake up."
He laughed as she swatted at him and grumbled in her sleep.
"Bones," he whispered a third time, this time placing a kiss on her bare shoulder. "Wake up for just a minute and then you can go back to sleep."
"What?"
She turned to face him, opening one eye.
He leaned in to close the gap between them for a quick kiss.
"I've got to go home and get dressed for work," he said softly against her ear.
He pressed another soft kiss to her shoulder before climbing out of bed.
"I'll be back to pick you up," he said. "I'll bring breakfast," he added with at wink.
He thought she'd fallen back to sleep as he slipped on his jeans and t-shirt. He quietly made his way to the bedroom door.
"Booth?"
"Yeah, Bones?"
"Thanks for waking me up," she said as she rolled back over and snuggled down into her pillow.
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Booth was all smiles as he leaned back against the seat of the cab. He couldn't believe how natural it had felt waking up with Temperance Brennan.
"That good, huh?" the cabby said, flashing him a knowing grin in the rearview mirror.
"If you only knew," Booth replied, closing his eyes.
He couldn't remember feeling this hopeful. Things were nowhere near where they needed to be, but they were looking up. He and Bones were finally on the same page, and that alone was reason to celebrate.
He was confident that they were on the right track, but he was troubled by a few things. He was only beginning to understand how deeply his relationship with Hannah had affected his partner.
His partner.
What was she now? His girlfriend?
Somehow that just didn't feel right, and he thought that Bones would probably balk at the term anyway. No, partner fit… that's what she was, what she'd always been. Now, he could only hope that she'd be his partner in every sense of the word. Not just his work partner.
His life partner.
He liked the sound of that.
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Brennan woke with a smile as her cell phone chirped on the bedside table. She hadn't slept that well in… well, in longer than she could remember.
She could definitely get used to waking up in the arms of one Seeley Booth.
She knew that they had a lot to work out, but she was feeling better about that actually happening. She was glad that he had woken her up before he left. She didn't want to imagine the disappointment she would have felt if she'd awoken and he wasn't there.
He brought out so many feelings in her… she wasn't used to dealing with this much emotion, and it scared her. But if she were honest with herself, being with Booth didn't scare her as much as ending up like Lauren Eames.
Booth was willing to give her that second chance and she was willing to forgive him the pain he'd inflicted on her these last several months, both unwittingly and intentionally. She still wasn't sure she could promise him thirty years, but she was willing to make the commitment and see where it took them.
Glancing back down at her phone for the time, she climbed out of her cozy bed and made her way to the shower.
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"Bones!" Booth called as he entered the apartment, juggling two cups of coffee and a pink pastry box. "I'm back!"
She came down the hall, slipping an earring on her ear.
"How did you get in?" she asked.
He held up his keys and gave her a sheepish grin.
"You still carry the key to my apartment?" she asked, surprised.
"Yep," he answered. "Shouldn't I?"
"No," she replied, "you should. I'm… I'm just surprised."
"You stopped carrying mine, didn't you?"
She nodded.
"I only thought it right," she said. "I wasn't going to be letting myself in with Hannah there…"
"We have a lot to talk about, don't we?" he said.
"I think so," she replied.
"Let's start with breakfast," he said. "I got you muffins from that nasty vegan bakery you like."
He set the box down on the kitchen island and handed her a cup of coffee.
"Thank you," she said. "What are you having?"
"Egg McMuffin," he said, holding up a greasy bag. "Nothing like Mickey D's in the morning."
"If you say so," she replied, grimacing as he took a huge bite of the sandwich.
"So…" he said.
"So…" she repeated.
"What happens now?" he asked.
"I don't know," she answered. "You're the relationship expert, you tell me."
He scoffed.
"I wouldn't exactly call me an expert, Bones. Not the way I screwed things up with you and Hannah."
"True," she said with a smile, "but you still know more than I. What do you think? Where do we go from here?"
"That depends," he said. "What do you want? Are we dating? Friends?"
"I don't know that there is an established word to describe what we are, Booth. We're partners," she said, "but not just… I think we're going to have to work on rebuilding our friendship, and from there… then we date…"
"Okay…" he said, nodding and following her lead.
"You only just broke up with Hannah," she said. "It's not like we're going to announce to everyone that we're together…"
"Makes sense," he said.
He sat for a moment, in awe of the openness and love he saw radiating in her face.
"I like this side of you," he said quietly.
She looked at him, question written all over her furrowed brow.
"I mean, I like every side of you, Bones," he clarified.
"Thank you," she said.
"Wait," he said. "What about Angela?"
"What about her?" she asked, suddenly apprehensive.
"She already knows everything," he said. "So what are we going to tell her?"
She considered for a moment that Booth knew that Angela knew, but let that thought go.
"We tell her that what's between us is ours," she said. "And that we're working on it," she added with a smile.
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