Welcome, dear readers, to the final chapter of this story. It's been really great to share this with all of you, and we're very grateful for your continued support! In this chapter, we get to know what Elena wished for when she blew out the candles on her birthday cake, and there's the promised surprise at the end. Enjoy!
Epilogue
"Hello?" Booth was taking his warm winter coat off and put it on the coat rack. "Bones? Princess?" No response. He frowned. He walked through the house as he produced his cell phone from his pocket. Why wouldn't anyone be home? It was nearly half past five. Both of his girls should have been home. Dialling her familiar number, he continued his sweep of the house. Before the call could connect, the front door opened and the ringtone of Brennan's phone drifted into their home. "Thank God," Booth mumbled and ended the phone call. "You're home," he smiled at his girls.
"Hi, Daddy," six-year-old Elena smiled back at him. She was trying to hide her excitement.
"Hey, Booth," Brennan chimed in as she gave him a smile, too, and they both took their coats off. Elena grabbed a plastic bag and took it into the living room.
Booth frowned as his daughter sidestepped him and went into the living room. "No more kisses for your dad, little monster?" he teased as he called after her. He turned to his wife and pouted. "What about you? Can I at least kiss my wife?" His pout disappeared and he smiled. "You know, this is the first time I got home before you." He stepped closer to her and pulled her against him, encircling her in his arms. "Welcome," he kissed her cheek, "home," her nose, "Bones," his lips found hers and as their eyes closed they came home to each other. When his eyes opened again, he chuckled. "I should get home ahead of you more often."
Brennan just smiled at him and kissed him back. She knew that if she opened her mouth, she'd tell him and ruin the surprise. "Come sit down," was all she trusted herself to say, and pulled him over to the couch, where she sat down next to him, taking his hand in hers. "Elena, can you come over with the surprise?"
Grinning, Elena emerged from the kitchen holding two bears. "We didn't think it was fair you don't have a bear, Daddy," Elena said innocently as she gave one to her father.
"I don't think it's fair that I still haven't got a kiss from my favourite little monster," Booth pointed out. Then he frowned. It sure was a confusing evening today. "Wait, darling, why two bears? Oh," he got it, "One is for you and one is for me, like with Mommy. So, which one is yours?"
"It's not mine," Elena shook her head as she quickly pressed a kiss to her nagging father's nose. "Mommy, do you want to tell Daddy?"
Booth didn't let go of his little monster that easily, though. He lifted her onto his lap and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "There, that's better. Tell Daddy what, Mommy?"
Brennan took a deep breath, revelling in the moment. "Remember a little while ago when I got sick? I'm afraid it's led to a more permanent condition."
Booth's protective instincts kicked in, but the twinkle in her eyes contradicted the heavy feeling in his gut. "I don't know what that means, Bones. Are you okay? I thought you just had the flu?"
Elena chuckled. Her daddy wasn't very smart sometimes.
"I did," Brennan said, "But now I have something else." She took his hand and placed it over her lower abdomen. "I'm pregnant," she whispered in his ear.
For a moment, his world stopped. It literally stopped in its tracks, as if it wanted to give Booth the time to allow such wonderful, exciting, perfect news to sink in. Booth turned his head and pressed his lips against Brennan's cheek, his hand still pressed against her lower abdomen, where their little baby was happily growing and developing.
"That's why we got another bear!" Elena exclaimed. "For my brother or sister!"
His daughter pulled him back into reality and Booth sat up straight again, not moving his hand. "This is... just perfect." He smiled at Brennan, then looked at their daughter. "Did you pick the bears, darling?" Booth asked Elena as he started to move his thumb in small circles over Brennan's tummy.
"I did," Elena told him. "I made them awesome. Aren't you happy, Daddy? I'm very happy!"
"Yes, princess, I am very - very - very happy." His smile widened as the news was finally starting to sink in. "We're going to have another baby," he whispered in awe. He looked up at Brennan. "Have you seen a doctor yet?"
She shook her head. "Angela again," she laughed. Her best friend had once again been the one to notice her pregnancy first.
Yes, Angela. Her best friend, whom Brennan expected hardly ever to see again because of the distance between them, was here. In her first week at the Jeffersonian, Brennan had noticed someone she knew vaguely. When she met him in the lounge during a late lunch one day, she remembered. It was Jack Hodgins, Angela's two-month boyfriend from college. The 'nerdy but hot' entomologist. They'd talked a lot and eventually, Jack confessed that he couldn't forget about Angela. Speaking from her own experience, Brennan advised him to just contact her. Jack had had to gather his courage, but two weeks later Angela was already in DC. Six months later, Jack and Angela were in a pretty serious relationship, and Angela decided to look for a job in Washington.
A few months earlier, Max had also finished his preparations and came to live just outside the city. And since Jared would be transferred overseas for five years, Pops was also planning to come their way. Brennan couldn't wait to let her baby be born into the wonderful family that had once again gathered around them.
"I'm happy that our friends basically followed us here," Booth said.
The only absentee was Russ, but he had created a stable life with Amy and his girls. Booth wrapped his arms around their daughter and kissed her cheek. "We have to celebrate! Why don't we go out to dinner? All together?"
"Yay! Fries!" Elena exclaimed.
Brennan nodded. "I'd love that." She smiled happily and kissed Booth's lips.
Booth held both of his girls in his arms and he enjoyed the feeling of having his family close. After a few moments, Booth kissed his daughter's cheek. "Why don't you go and put something pretty on?"
"My blue dress," Elena decided immediately, and hopped off her father's lap to go change.
"We should change as well," Brennan said, "I'm already hungry. You haven't experienced this the first time, but Angela has and she told me to warn you about my monstrous appetite when I'm pregnant. She said I'd probably eat up half of your paycheck."
"I don't care." Booth scooted closer to her and kissed her cheek, taking her hand into his own. "You've just made me the happiest man alive."
She chuckled. "You don't know that. There could be happier men."
"Absolutely not," he smiled at her. They stood and he guided her to their bedroom, so they could both change.
Brennan stood in front of their wardrobe. "I haven't been sick in a while, but I suffered from morning sickness for months with Elena."
"I hope that it won't be like that this time, darling," Booth told her seriously. "But if it is, then I will be here for you."
"Well, if you have any questions on how to deal with the pregnant version of me, you are to call Angela," Brennan smiled and picked out a green dress. "It may be the last time in a while I get to fit in this one."
Booth opened his own wardrobe. "What should I wear?"
"A nice shirt, just pick one you're comfortable in. I don't really care, as long as you're dressed," she smiled.
He nodded and winked at her. "We will celebrate without our clothes on later." Booth grabbed a clean shirt and a clean pair of jeans. He undressed to his underwear and put the clean clothes on. When he noticed that she was in her underwear, too, he stopped her before she pulled her dress on. "Wait." He went to stand behind her and rested his hands low over her abdomen. "Our baby is in there," he smiled, resting his chin on her shoulder.
Brennan placed her hands over his, feeling his tenderness. "Yes," she said, happy, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad that Elena's so overjoyed. I was afraid it would be hard for her."
"She has been an only child for nearly seven years, Bones, so we will have to make sure that she doesn't feel left out, but yes, I'm very happy that she's happy about this, too. Have you made a doctor's appointment yet? I know," he paused for a moment, "I know I wasn't there with Elena, but I will be here for you, now."
She turned in his arms and embraced him. "It will be so nice to share the experience with you this time. Maybe Angela will get a little jealous, though," Brennan chuckled. "She and Russ were like a new set of parents."
"You won't need a new set of parents this time, you'll have me." Booth gently took the green dress into his hands and helped her into it. They heard their little girl calling out to them.
Elena had given her new sibling's bear a special place in her room, where she could look at it. She was dressed in her favourite dress and had even combed her hair, which was always a bit painful because of her curls which got knotted a lot. She'd picked out a leotard for the next day's gymnastics practice and still her parents weren't ready. Finally, she just decided to go get them. "Mommy! Daddy! What is taking you so long? I'm hungry!"
Booth chuckled and kissed Brennan's cheek. "Come on, our hungry monster is getting impatient."
The family left their house and went to their favourite place to eat. The boss was called Sid and he always knew exactly what Elena wanted to eat. She loved going there.
They sat down at the bar, because they both knew that Elena enjoyed sitting there. Booth sat down on her left side and Brennan sat down on her right side. Booth longed to cuddle with his wife, but he knew that he would have to wait a little while. And one look at his excited daughter reminded him that he really didn't mind that at all. When Sid went into the kitchen to get them their dinner, Booth focussed his attention on his little girl. "So, princess, you know that Mommy and I can't choose whether it will be a girl or a boy, but are you hoping for a sister or a brother?"
Elena shrugged. "I don't know. As long as they come to gymnastics with me. Boys can do gymnastics, too. I want to read to them, and play Moby Dick. And I could show them the playgrounds and my school."
"It'll be a long time before you can play with him or her, sweetie, but you know, you can read to your brother or sister, I'm sure they would like that."
"What do you want, Daddy? A boy or a girl, like me?"
"I would love another little girl, but I would be very happy with a little boy. What about you, mom? Any preferences?"
"Just a healthy, happy baby," Brennan smiled and stroked her daughter's hair. "Did you comb out your hair, sweetheart? It looks beautiful."
Elena leaned into her mother's side for a few moments. "Yes, I did. Because we were going to eat at Sid's. I hope he'll get me fries."
Brennan chuckled and kissed Elena's head. "Doesn't he always?"
Sid put down a plate of fries and some ketchup for their daughter, a bowl of soup for Brennan and a plate of fried rice and chicken with a spicy sauce that Booth knew was to die for in front of him. "Thanks Sid. You got it right once again."
They all dug in and Booth spoke up again. "You know, mom is right."
Elena nodded and grabbed one of her fries. "I know! Sid gave me fries!"
Chuckling, Booth reached for Brennan's hand behind his daughter's back. "Yes, princess, he did. What I meant was, that it doesn't matter if it's a boy, a girl or even twins. Because we will love him or her with all of our hearts."
Elena nodded as she munched on her fries. "What's going to be the baby's name? Elena the Second," she giggled.
"You know," Booth teased, "if we would name him or her Elena the Second, as you suggest, that means you would have to share everything with them."
"You're silly, Daddy," Elena continued to chuckle. "You can't name a baby that."
Booth rolled his eyes playfully. "There is only one Elena for me and that is a beautiful, smart, loving six-year-old girl." Booth kissed her cheek. Booth caressed Elena's hair and winked at his wife, who was watching their playful banter.
"I love you, too, Daddy," Elena said softly as she looked up at her father. Her dad made her feel really special.
Booth leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I know, baby. I love you, too." He had a bite of his food and swallowed it down before he spoke up again. "I think that you will be a very good big sister."
"I think so, too," Elena agreed.
"And so do I," Brennan joined in. "Listen, would you like it if we stayed for drinks after dinner? Some hot chocolate for Elena and myself? We could invite the rest of the family," she suggested.
After thinking about it for a moment, Booth nodded. "Yes, I would like that very much. We should celebrate. All of us." They had never talked about it, but he knew that she probaby didn't have much reason for celebration when she'd been pregnant with Elena, so he wanted to give this to her. "I'm going to send everybody a text, saying to meet us here, so we can tell them together."
Brennan heaved a contented sigh and smiled. "We did it again, Booth. We've got a great life. And it's going to get even better."
Her mother's words made Elena smile. She didn't always understand what her mom said, but her words made Elena feel happy and relaxed.
"Yes," Booth agreed. "It will. I love you, darling. And you too, little one," he smiled at his daughter. Their family was going to expand and this time, he was going to be there from the start.
Pretty soon after dinner, their family and friends started to trickle into the restaurant. Booth and Brennan let Elena make the announcement that Brennan was pregnant, and she got big cheers and applause. Then, Elena decided to add something that no one had ever known. "I wished for a brother or sister every time I blew out the candles on my birthday cake!" she exclaimed happily. "And now it's happened!"
Yes, Brennan thought. Everything she could have wished for had happened, or was in the process of happening. She turned to Booth, wrapped her arms around him and looked into his eyes. She saw her past, present and future in them, and her heart overflowed with love. She'd never have thought that one night filled with passion would lead to this. A family. Friends. Happiness. Love.
The End
That was it! We hope to hear from you one more time :). We'd also like to use this opportunity to thank our most faithful reviewers (you know who you are) who have left us wonderful sentences for every single chapter. You're awesome! We encourage you to keep following our stories in the future, especially if you liked this one, because... yes, there is a sequel! So keep an eye on us, we'll start posting soon. Thanks again everyone for reading, and let's meet again for more stories!