Mid December. 14 months since THAT Wednesday (part 3)
It was Monday morning, just a few days before Christmas, when Cam walked into Brennan's office and closed the door. Brennan looked at her quizzically and Cam smiled back at her. She sat down across the desk from Brennan, put her arms on the desk, and leaned forward. "I have something very important to talk to you about." Brennan gave her a funny look. "Okaaaay." Cam chuckled. "This is good news. Well, I hope this is good news." She took a deep breath. "Booth wants to talk with you." All of the color drained from Brennan's face. It took her a few seconds to respond. "Do you know why?" Cam nodded. "Yes I do. I want to tell you so you will have a day or two to consider your response. Doctor Brennan. I know there was a long period of time when you had no desire to talk with him. But I have sensed a thawing out over the last few months. Do I have that right? Have you forgiven him?" Brennan let out a long breath. "I held on to the anger for a very long time, but I've been missing him so much. How can you miss someone that much and still be angry at them? Booth is a very honorable man, and I always had so much respect for him. So it took me a long time to figure out how he could hurt me so badly. I finally came to the conclusion that he just made a mistake. Don't we all make mistakes? No one is infallible, so how could I expect him to be? I think…I hope…that he regrets what happened. So yes, I've forgiven him." Cam breathed out a sigh of relief. "I know he regrets it Doctor Brennan. He told me it was the worst mistake of his life. And I know he misses you…like crazy." Brennan's eyes started to tear up. "Do you know why he wants to talk to me?" Cam nodded. "He wants you back in his life. And he wants you back as his partner."
Brennan spent Monday evening sitting in the darkened living room in the glow of her Christmas tree. When Cam was in her office that morning, her brain was telling her, 'Say yes, yes, yes.' But she resisted her instincts. Temperance Brennan was a thinker and she needed to take a little time to think. As she sat looking at her beautiful tree, she thought about telling Booth about it. About showing it to him. He would be so proud of her. Suddenly she was feeling giddy. She was going to see Booth. Talk to him. Maybe work with him again. Of course she was going to work with him again. They were so good together. She felt a momentary concern for O'Brien. He was a lovely man who worked hard on his cases, but they just weren't getting the number of closed cases the bureau was expecting. But Cam assured her that his job wasn't in jeopardy and that this would be a lateral transfer. She decided not to put it off any longer, picked up her phone and called Cam.
Tuesday morning, Booth walked into the Jeffersonian. He was nervous, but he felt an overwhelming sense of relief being back in this building again. Over the last 14 months he often pictured Bones in various areas of the lab. It used to feel as much his home as his own office did. All of a sudden he had a slight panic. Did she really tell Security to throw him out if he ever stepped into the building? He chuckled. Well, he didn't recognize any of these guards, and he wasn't planning on entering the platform, so he must be okay. He tried to exude an air of confidence as he strode down the wide aisle that led to her office in the corner of the building. But he was a mess inside. When Cam called him to confirm the meeting, she told him that Bones knew why he was coming. She also told him that Bones said that she had forgiven him. So why was he so nervous? He had seen her across a room and mostly from behind on that one occasion. But knowing he was about to see her beautiful face and those gorgeous blue eyes? It was overwhelming. And humbling. She had forgiven him. How did he deserve that grace? He hoped to spend the rest of his life making it up to her.
Brennan sat at her desk trying to figure out what to do with her arms. Her hands. Booth would be here any moment and she would be looking into his fine face and his gorgeous brown eyes for the first time in 14 months. It was overwhelming. What would she say first? Maybe she should have rehearsed? No, this is Booth. Just talk to him. Maybe follow his lead. After all, he's the one who requested this meeting. Her stomach was doing flip flops.
Booth knocked on the glass door, opened it, and walked through - closing it behind him. He stopped just inside the door. There she was. She was startled when she saw him. She had almost forgotten how handsome he was. And how broad those shoulders were. She stood up behind her desk as he walked toward her. Should she shake his hand? That seemed a little ridiculous, but now what did she do with her arms? She didn't worry for long because he came right to her and wrapped his arms around her. They both let out a big exhale and her arms went around his back. Neither of them even thought about whether or not it was a "guy hug". It was the very best hug they had ever shared. He felt like he might be crushing her. She felt a little crushed. But neither cared and neither wanted it to end. They finally pulled back a little and he put his right hand along the side of her cheek. "Oh Bones. I've missed you so much." That was all it took. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and he grabbed her back to his chest with one arm around her shoulders and the other hand cradling her head. "It's okay. I've got you." He whispered. They stayed that way for several minutes while she pulled herself together and reveled in the feel of his solid chest. They finally pulled apart and had a soft smile for each other.
He suggested they sit on the sofa to talk and she agreed. They sat down just inches apart and turned toward each other. Booth took both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "I am so, so sorry for the way I treated you that day. It was the worst mistake of my life, and I will regret it for the rest of my life." She looked down and nodded. "Thank you for that. The way you handled it was terrible. But over these months I've come to realize that breaking up the partnership was the right move." He looked at her with a puzzled expression and she continued. "You and Hannah were trying to build a life together. Working so closely with me every day had to rankle her because she knew of our past. How you had professed your feelings for me. And then, it was really a horrible thing for me to do, telling you that I regretted turning you down. I knew you were with Hannah and I should have kept my feelings to myself. I can't imagine how I would feel in Hannah's shoes." She paused again. "We both said some horrible things to each other that day in your office. I think that right here, right now, we should draw a line under it and never bring it up again." Booth let go of her hands and brought her into another hug. He let go and took her hands again. "What did I ever do to deserve having you in my life?"
She chuckled. "Okay, let's get down to business." Booth responded with his own chuckle. "All right. There are three things I want to ask of you. But I think we have to take them in order." She looked at him skeptically. "Number one. I'm asking you to be my partner again. We were so good together and brought justice for so many of those poor souls you've had on your table. Hacker has been pestering me for months about restarting our partnership and he gave me the go ahead last week. But it's all up to you. Will you be my partner?" He looked into her eyes earnestly and she smiled. "Of course I will." They just sat there smiling at each other and she felt like she had gone back in time to one of many nights in Founding Fathers after solving a case.
He was still holding both of her hands in his and she straightened her back and wiggled her butt and gave him a cheeky grin. "Okay. Number two?" He returned her smile. "Number two." He looked down at their joined hands and then back up again. "I want our friendship back. And not just a regular friendship. I want us to be best friends again. I miss not having you to call whenever something good happens to me. Whenever something bad happens to me. Whenever something bizarre happens to me. I just miss you Bones. I miss you like crazy." She had a slightly sad smile now. "I've missed you too Booth. I've missed you so much. But the best friend thing might take a little while. I think we both have to rebuild that trust we had. But it's something I want badly. And something I'm willing to fight for." He nodded in agreement. "You're right, I know. And I promise we'll get there. We can start with lunches at the Diner several times a week. Celebratory drinks at Founding Fathers and maybe even drinks there in between the celebrations." They both had big grins by now. Both of them realized how lucky they were to be in this place after the last 14 months.
Now she was stumped. "Number three?" He took a deep breath, pulled up their still clasped hands, and kissed the backs of her hands. She looked at him quizzically. "Number three." Another deep breath. "I want to make love to you." Her head snapped back. "What?" He chuckled. "Not right now. Maybe not next week. I told you they go in order. Partnership…Best Friends…Lovers." Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "I love you Bones. I never stopped. I never will. I think you did love me at one time. Is it possible that it's still there?" She couldn't stop staring into his eyes through her tears. She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. She leaned back to look into his eyes again. "I love you Booth. I never stopped either." Now it was his turn to tear up. This time he leaned over and gave her a slightly firmer kiss. "My Bones. After all we've been through, I don't ever want to leave you again. I don't ever want you to leave me again." She looked down at their joined hands, and then looked up into his beautiful brown eyes and smiled. "30, 40, 50 years?"
