Sabbaticals - 24 weeks

Two months later, Booth and Brennan settled on their respective beds in anticipation of their Wednesday evening call. They had continued the practice of lying in their beds for most of their calls. The only exceptions were times they needed to work out schedules or discuss important matters, and they would move over to their desks for a portion of the call. But lying on their beds just felt so intimate. It was the closest they could get at the moment to have "pillow talk". After the first time, they had only had a couple of mutual masturbation sessions, and it was always something spontaneous when they found their discussions veering onto subjects that became arousing.

He always initiated the Wednesday calls and she the Saturday ones. So, this night, she saw the call come through and clicked to join. Booth's face appeared on her screen, holding up a small piece of paper with the number "29" written in black Sharpie. He had done this on every call since the night they planned their trip home. She had a wide smile. "Less than a month, Booth." He returned her smile. "We're getting there. It's happening Bones."

She had a printed out calendar page that showed December and January, and she had notes written all over it with ideas that they had discussed for their time in Paris, London, and in DC. "I talked with Angela yesterday and she's planned a nice afternoon for us on Saturday, the 18th. She and Hodgins are taking us to a restaurant that's on a boat docked on the Seine. It's right near the Eiffel Tower, and after lunch, we're going to walk there and take the elevator to the top. She said that the views of the city from the observation deck are just magnificent. After that, depending on the weather conditions that day, they will take us walking around some of their favorite areas. She gave me names of a couple of highly regarded restaurants for us to have dinner that night. She thought that we might like to have a romantic dinner on our own Saturday night since it will be our last evening in Paris. I'll email the names to you and we can decide what looks good."

"Sounds great Bones! Have we made any plans for Friday in Paris?" She gave him a slight leer. "Not really. I think we should just play it by ear. It will be the day after our first night together, and we might not be interested in leaving the room at all." She snickered, and he raised his eyebrows. "But Booth, it is Paris after all, so we really should go out and see a little of the city. I think that the weather could be a determining factor. That, and our energy levels - or lack thereof - will guide us. I think we really should go out for dinner on Friday night though. I'll email the concierge at our hotel and ask for a recommendation of a nice, romantic place. I think I'll tell a little white lie and say we will be on our honeymoon."

She winked at him and he laughed uproariously. "Bones! Have I corrupted you that badly? You're now okay with telling lies?" She pouted. "Just little white ones Booth. He would have no way of knowing the truth. See, it's like you keeping up the lie about Santa and the Easter Bunny with Parker." He shook his head and laughed. "Oh Bones. Leave it to you to dig up something from years ago to justify your fabrications. But, you know what? I'm fine with that. We can tell everyone in Paris that we are on our honeymoon. It's almost true - and it's certainly going to feel like a honeymoon. We're just missing the marriage certificate." He gave her one of his dazzling smiles, and she was relieved that he was just joking and not giving her grief over her views of marriage.

They had already made arrangements for Christmas Day itself. Rebecca had suggested that they get the whole family together for dinner and Brennan offered her spacious apartment. So they would have Max, Russ, Amy, Emma, Hayley, Brennan, Booth, Hank, Parker, Rebecca, Brent, and Rebecca's mother and father. They hoped to have Jared and Padme there, but they were currently in the far east and not sure if they would be back for Christmas. Both Brennan and Booth were thrilled that they would be able to get their families together and hoped that this would be the start of a big, blended family to surround them.

Booth pointed at the paper she was holding that contained the calendar. "I talked to Rebecca over the weekend and we finalized a few things for that first week we're home. She and Parker will meet us at the airport and drop us back wherever we plan to stay on Sunday night. She knows that we will be jet lagged, so she will take Parker home with her and drop him off Monday morning. We decided that Parker will stay with us on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday - and then with her on Thursday and Friday. Since Friday is Christmas Eve, she'll bring him to us early in the evening so he can sleep at my place and Santa will leave his presents under my tree for Christmas morning. Then, we'll go to your place in the early afternoon and prepare for the big Christmas dinner. Rebecca said that you two talked and she's going to meet us there to help with the preparations?"

Brennan nodded. "Yes, that's the plan for Christmas Day. But Booth, does Parker still believe in Santa? He's about to turn ten now." Booth shook his head. "I don't know. Rebecca doesn't either. From what I understand, kids that age are reluctant to let go of the myth, so they pretend they still believe. And Rebecca and I have decided that we will just play along until he tells us that he's in the know." Brennan smiled at the thought. "Actually, I think that's sweet Booth."

Over the last three months, they talked a lot about how they had gotten to this point. They admitted to each other that the attraction was mutual the moment their eyes met across the lecture hall at the American University. The moment Booth fired her in the pool hall that night, they were both sure that they would sleep together before the night was over. The kiss in the rain solidified that certainty. "Bones, that kiss was so hot. It took all of my willpower not to throw you down right there on the sidewalk. Rain or no rain." She laughed. "I very well may have let you. But the moment we broke the kiss, an adage popped into my brain. 'No good decisions are made after that much tequila.'" "Ha! You made that up!" She had a thoughtful smile. "I probably did, but it really did pop into my head. But then, I figured we would see each other again in the next few days - without the tequila. I really, really wanted to have sex with you Booth. And look where we are. Seven years later and it still hasn't happened." He had a serious look on his face. "Soon Bones. Soon."

On another call, she decided to ask a burning question. "Booth. When did you realize you were falling in love with me?" He only had to think for a few seconds. "Do you remember the Cuguni case?" She put her hand over her mouth. "That long ago?" He gave her a side eye. "Of course, that long ago. Remember, I told you that I knew right from the beginning. I was so jealous of that guy you met online. Then you got shot at, I took you back to your apartment as your bodyguard, we danced to Hot Blooded for the first time, and your fridge blew me up." She shook her head. "Oh Booth. For a few minutes, I didn't think you were going to survive." He nodded. "But your first aid skills saved me. And then, there I was, lying in a hospital bed, when I realized it was Kenton, the guy I had just entrusted to protect you. That whole, painful ride to the warehouse with Hodgins, I thought I was going to be too late. I was going on pure adrenaline, and the minute I saw that you were safe, it all drained from my body. And what was left was the certainty that we would be together one day. Only a month later was New Orleans. That really started to solidify my feelings."

Brennan was thoughtful. "You know, New Orleans was a marker for me too in our relationship. I really felt the concern you had by rushing down there to care for me. There have been few times in my life I have accepted that kind of care, but this was one of them. I was so afraid - and just having you by my side comforted me. But it was the trip to Las Vegas when I knew I was falling for you. You know, Tony and Roxy. In playing our parts, I needed to drape myself all over you, have my hands all over you. Watch you be so physical in the fight, and then tend to your wounds in the hotel room. I was feeling those same feelings I had outside the pool hall that night. And there was no alcohol involved."

"And then we returned to real life back home and I was kidnapped by the Gravedigger. When Hodgins and I thought we might not make it out, all I thought about was that I would never see you again. That I would never get the opportunity to find out how making love with you would feel. Then you rescued us. And I decided I needed a few days until I had recovered emotionally from my ordeal before saying anything to you. But, days later, I discovered that you were sleeping with Cam." She looked up at him with a sad look on her face.

"Oh Bones. I had no idea. You know that I was never in love with Cam. I was already in love with you, but I didn't think we had a chance. Cam and I were just 'friends with benefits'. We had been friends for so many years and on and off fell into that habit when we were both single - and horny, I guess. If I had known you were developing feelings for me, I would have done a lot of things differently."

Brennan had a thoughtful look. "Do you remember that night on the sidewalk in front of the Founding Fathers? You had just come back to work after recovering from your coma? You said you had something important to tell me. Then you said you loved me. But quickly added, 'in an atta girl kind of way'. I never told you, but I knew you were serious. I thought you added the rest to cover up because you weren't ready." Booth shook his head. "I was serious. I was ready. But Sweets had shown me my brain scan and said that my feelings of love were still left over from the coma dream. And then the clown - the clown, Bones! I laughed! I beeped his nose! You said I must have forgotten I was afraid of clowns, and that in a few weeks I would be back to normal. I backed out because I was afraid that my feelings might not be real. I couldn't declare my love for you and find out a few weeks later it was just a result of my coma. But then, I guess I wasn't thinking clearly because I was glossing right over the fact that I had been in love with you for years. That brain tumor and coma really messed me up Bones."

Brennan wished she could reach through the screen and take his hand in hers. "You know, Booth. I wonder where we would be right now if we had slept together that night after the pool hall? Or if we had tried to be together after you saved me from the Gravedigger? Somehow, I feel that it wouldn't have lasted. We have some things in common, but we also have so many major areas of disagreement. I think it took us this long to really, really know each other, and to accept our differences. I think our relationship might have imploded if we tried to get together too soon - before we really understood each other." Booth nodded thoughtfully. "I think you might be right. It took us a long time to get here, but the bonds tying us together are so much more secure after all this time." She looked at him askance. "Not sure I like the idea of being 'tied together'." He chuckled. "Metaphor, Bones. Metaphor."

The night in November when Booth held up the number 29, the subject of Avalon Harmonia came up. Booth laughed when Brennan mentioned her name. "She's quite a character, isn't she? I was glad that we cleared her of any wrongdoing in those deaths." Brennan agreed. "You know, she read my cards twice with her deck of Tarot cards?" Booth was surprised. "She did? She read mine twice too! You go first. What did your cards say?" Brennan thought for a moment. "Well, the first time was when Angela introduced me to her. I had just arrived back from Guatemala and hadn't even gone home yet. I'll never forget - the first card she drew said 'Temperance'."

Booth's eyebrows went up, and she continued. "The next cards were about a sick man in a hospital who was dreaming, and I was in the dream telling him a story. We were very happy, and he was sad when he woke up. Then she turned over The Lovers card and said that I had saved the man's life and he's excited to see me again. Oh - and that he had a lion's heart. Booth. I didn't let on to Angela and Avalon, but I was staggered. Tarot isn't real. Psychics aren't real. How did she come up with all that? The kicker was as I was getting up to leave, she put down one last card and asked if I was pregnant in the book/dream?"

Booth's eyes had gotten very wide. "Bones - that whole thing is pretty much exactly what happened to us. I remember Angela telling us about the dream pregnancy thing, but I never knew about the rest." Brennan nodded. "I know. A few days later, I went looking for her and she started laying out cards again. She told me I was an abandoned child. That's why I have to use reason and proof for everything. But the one thing I couldn't solve was how someone could love me. But that he knows my truth - and he's dazzled by it." Booth stared at her through the screen. "I've always been dazzled by you."

Booth pondered his interactions with Avalon. "When she did my cards, we were in the interrogation room. She turned one over and said I was worried because I lost something. But she said that I hadn't lost anything - that I'd gained something. Then, the night you were attacked by the doctor, she had me cut the cards and the one that came up was The Devil. She told me you were in terrible danger and I had to hurry and go to you right then. I got there and the doctor had just stabbed you in the arm. If she hadn't insisted that I cut her cards, I might not have saved you."

Brennan smiled at him. "But you did. You've saved me so many times Booth. Both physically and metaphorically." Then she laughed. "I just remembered something else. After we closed the case, she told me that the cards said only my top layer is rational. Underneath, I'm as crazy as she is." Booth laughed. "I think she might have something there Bones." He gave her a dazzling smile and continued. "Don't forget. She also said that her cards told her that this would all work out eventually. She knew Bones. She knew. I wonder if she knows that we're together now?" Brennan chuckled. "I have no doubt Angela has told her. We'll have to ask when we see her in Paris."