Accommodations-B&B, Angst, T-M - by willgirl - [22/09/2007]

Hey, Here is Accommodations. It's the sequel to Four Years which you can find here:

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

I hope you enjoy!

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He jerked awake, feeling a sharp stab in his back. He rolled over and found her thrashing, her arms and legs flailing everywhere.

“Temperance.” He said, trying to shake her. “Temperance.”

She continued to toss and turn, her face glistening with sweat and tears. Her mouth was turned down into a frown and incoherent words tumbled from her lips as she continued to fight off her invisible attackers.

“Temperance.” He tried again to no avail. He knew about the panic attacks but he didn’t know about this, how she came face to face with her kidnapping in the night. His heart pounded out of his chest and he shook her again and tried to wake her. A feeling of helplessness washed over him.

“Please.” He pleaded. “Please.” He gathered her into his arms, ignoring the kicks and punches she made to his body. Holding her and rocking her, he begged for her to wake up.

“No, No.” he heard her mumble into his chest. “Please no.”

Suddenly she shot up, screaming.

“Temperance!” he said, sitting up and pulling her into his arms. She turned to look at him, her red rimmed eyes swirling with confusion.

“It’s me, Seeley.” He said, cupping her cheeks with his hands. “It’s me.”

A tear rolled down her cheek and she nodded in comprehension. He pulled her to him and she let out sob after sob, her hot tears running down his chest. She was shaking furiously and found himself getting angry at the thought of her having to deal with this all by herself.

“It’s okay.” He said, rubbing her back slowly. “It’s okay.” Her tears subsided but she was still shaking, her hands firmly clutched onto him as if she would never let him go.

He heard crying again and realized it wasn’t coming from Temperance. Immediately, he let go of her and jumped out of bed and out the door. Standing in the hallway was Chris, looking very frightened, tears on her face.

“What’s wrong, Princess?” he said, scooping her up.

“Someone was yelling.” Chris sniffled. “It scared me.”

“Oh.” He said, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down. “Tempe was just having a bad dream. Let’s go into the kitchen and get some milk okay?”

Chris nodded and with a furtive glance towards the bedroom, he headed off to the kitchen. He put Chris down and grabbed some milk out of the fridge.

“Can I have it warm, Daddy?” she asked.

“Of course.” He replied. He grabbed a cup and put it into the microwave for a few seconds. Warm milk always made Chris go back to sleep. The microwave beeped and he turned around to give her the milk when he realized she wasn’t there.

He heard low voices coming from the bedroom and moved towards it. Reaching the door, he opened it slightly and peeked in. Temperance was lying on her side, having already fixed the covers that had been thrown off the bed. Directly opposite her was Chris and they were staring at each other.

“This is Mr. Franks.” Chris said softly to Brennan. “He’s my favouritist dog in the world. Do you want to hug him?”

Brennan nodded slightly and Chris held out the small dog for her to hug. She took the dog and pressed it close to her chest, her gaze never faltering from the small girl in front of her.

“Mr. Franks helps me when I get scared.” Chris chattered on. “But Daddy gives the best hugs. Does Daddy hug you?”

She nodded again and couldn’t stop a tear from falling.

“Don’t cry Dr. Tempe. Daddy will come and make it all better.” Chris said assuredly. “He’s making warm milk to help me fall asleep. He will make you some too.”

She reached out and stroked her daughter’s cheek, causing Chris to let out a yawn and snuggle deeper into the covers.

“Thanks for playing tea party with me, Dr. Tempe.” Chris said sleepily.

“Anytime.” She whispered back, watching Chris slowly close her eyes and succumb to sleep. It was only then that she noticed the figure in the doorway.

“Hey.” She said softly.

“Hey.” He replied, moving towards the bed. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. Thank you.” She said.

“I didn’t know it was like that.” He stammered. “Why didn’t you..”

“Please.” She interrupted. “Can we talk about this later?”

He nodded and pulling back the covers, slipped into bed facing her, their daughter in between.

He reached over and brushed a hair out of her face, his hand then tracing her forehead, her eyes, down the bridge of her nose and finally her lips as if he wanted to remind her with his touch that she was his.

“I love you Temperance. You know that right?” he said quietly.

She nodded and he watched as her eyes slowly closed, finally succumbing to sleep. He pulled the covers up and closed his eyes. As he drifted off to sleep he heard her whisper, so soft he wasn’t sure if it was real.

“Love you too.”

--Last edited by willgirl on 2007-09-22 00:44:23 --

Posted 22/09/2007 00:35:06 AM by willgirl


“So you be good for Tempe and Angela okay?” Booth said, parking the car in front of Brennan’s apartment.

“Okay Daddy!” Chris said, clutching her small, furry cat purse.

He got out of the car and made his way around to the other side, opening the door and unbuckling her from her seat.

Chris skipped up the steps, clearly excited about the forthcoming shopping trip with Brennan and Angela. Booth on the other hand was feeling fairly nervous. He wasn’t really good with leaving her with strangers.

‘Stop that.’ He chided himself. ‘She’s her mother, not a stranger.’

They knocked on the door and barely had to wait before the door flung open.

“Hi.” Brennan said, smiling nervously.

“Hi Tempe.” Chris replied, running into the apartment.

“Hi.” Booth said quietly as he walked in. He still didn’t know where they stood with their relationship. Yes they were together, but it still seemed a little awkward. “Where’s Angela?”

“She’s on her way.”

“Well I guess I should go. Here’s her bag, it has everything she needs. Juice, snacks, some little games in case she gets bored. And Mr. Franks, she needs to take him everywhere and of course you have my cell and…” he cut himself off when he realized he was rambling.

“Uh, thanks.” She replied, looking overwhelmed. “Booth, are you sure that…”

“Yes.” He said, sounding more confidant than he was. “Bye Princess.”

“Bye Daddy!” Chris said, running towards him and giving him a big hug.

And with that he was gone and mother and daughter stood staring at each other.

“So…” she said, coming to the realization that she had no idea what to talk to a four year old about.

“Daddy gave me monies to spend at the mall, wanna see?” Chris asked, holding out her cat purse.

“Okay.” She said, sitting down on the couch next to Chris and watched her dig through her purse and pull out a five dollar bill.

“Five dollars.” She noted.

“Yep, I’m rich!” Chris said assertively.

Brennan couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her lips. “Yes you are.” She replied. “What are you going to buy with that?”

Chris shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe a book!”

“You like books?” she asked.

“Uh huh.” Chris replied. “My daddy reads them to me all the time. My favourite is the bone book.”

“Bone book?” she inquired.

“It tells you all about the bones in your body.” Chris said. “Did you know your fingers are called your ‘langes?”

Brennan smiled. “You are a smart little girl.”

“Thank you Tempe.” Chris said smiling. Clearly Booth had taught her about manners as well.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Chris swinging her legs contentedly.

“Tempe?” Chris asked.

“Yes?” she replied.

“Do you catch the bad guys with Daddy?”

“Yes I do.” She said.

“Daddy’s the best bad guy catcher ever!” Chris exclaimed. “But sometimes we can’t play cuz he’s busy catching them.”

“Oh I see.” Brennan replied. “What do you do when he’s catching them?”

“I play with Dr. Jack and Angela!” Chris said excitedly.

“How come you don’t like daycare?” she said bluntly.

“My daddy’s not there to play with me.” Chris said, looking sad.

“Oh well, there’s lots of kids to play with, right?” she asked.

“I guess so.” Chris replied.

She didn’t know what to do, she had asked a question and now Chris was looking sad. ‘Way to go Brennan.’ She thought to herself. ‘You can’t even take care of her for five minutes without someone else.’

She sat in silence until an idea formed in her head. It probably wouldn’t work but…..

“Of course you can’t go to daycare.” She said. “You don’t have the right things.”

“I don’t?” Chris asked.

“Well you need a backpack to put your stuff in. And some crayons so that you can colour lots of pictures for Daddy to give him when he comes to get you.”

“Can I get a backpack with my five dollars?” Chris asked, sounding excited.

“Well why don’t I get that for you and you can put a book in your new backpack okay?”

“Okay Tempe!” Chris said. “What else do I need?”

She racked her brain. She wasn’t quite sure what kids did in daycare.

“Umm….what do you do in daycare?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” Chris replied.

“We will ask Angela when she gets here okay?”

Chris nodded and they fell into silence again.

“Tempe?” Chris asked. “Daddy doesn’t get to come to daycare too?”

“No, it’s a special place for little kids.” She replied. “But at the end of the day, he will come and get you okay? And if you get scared, you just have to be brave.”

“I’m good at being brave!” Chris said, puffing out her chest.

Brennan laughed and stroked Chris’s wavy hair. “I bet you are.”

There was a knock at the door and Chris jumped up and ran over. Brennan followed and opened the door to reveal Angela standing on the step.

“Hi Angela!” Chris shouted. “We need your help!”

Angela laughed. “Okay, hold on, let me get in the apartment first. Are you two girls ready to go shopping?”

“Yep! I’m going to daycare but Daddy can’t come but I can colour pictures for him and I’m getting a backpack!” Chris said excitingly.

“Oh really?” Angela replied, raising an eyebrow at Brennan.

“Well…I…” she said, trying to explain.

“Tempe, I hafta go to the bathroom.” Chris said, jumping from foot to foot.

“Oh, okay, it’s this way.” She replied, guiding Chris down the hall.

Angela heard murmured voices and then her friend returned.

“Going to daycare?” Angela asked.

“Well, I thought that if Chris had some things like a backpack, that she would be more inclined to go to daycare. Is that right?” Brennan asked, biting her lip nervously.

“Sweetie, that’s perfect.” Angela replied. “See I told you that you’d be good at this.”

“Angela, I have no idea what I’m doing.” She confessed.

“Well whatever it is, its working.” Angela said, flinging her arm around Brennan’s shoulder. “Just relax, okay?”

She nodded and Chris came running out of the bathroom.

“I just thought of something that you would need.” Angela said. “ A first day of school outfit.”

“Okay!” Chris replied, her enthusiasm making both Angela and Brennan laugh out loud.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They were standing patiently in a children’s store, watching Chris pick out her favourite clothes. They had already bought a backpack that had a picture of a cartoon princess that she didn’t know, but Chris seemed to like it.

Angela was trying not to laugh as Brennan was explaining to Chris that a fancy party dress wasn’t the best thing for the first day of school.

“So?” she said, once her friend had joined her.

“She doesn’t really like anything.” Brennan said. “Maybe this was a bad idea…”

“Dr. Brennan?”

She turned around and came face to face with Rebecca.

“Rebecca, hi.” She said, feeling instantly nervous.

Rebecca smiled. “How are you?”

“Well…” she started to say.

“Tempe!” Chris shouted. “Can I wear this please?”

All three women turned to look at Chris who was holding up a sparkly silver dress.

Rebecca began to laugh. “Seeley didn’t tell you? You shouldn’t let Chris pick out her own clothes. He did that once and she ended up wearing a superheroes cape and a kilt for three days!”

Angela laughed. “I think I saw that picture.”

“Umm…well, I didn’t know what she would like and…” Brennan started.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help.” Rebecca said, smiling. “I am pretty much done for Parker anyway.”

“Thanks.” She replied, giving a tentative smile of her own.

“Whaddya say we all get some lunch after this?” Angela said, glad that Brennan and Rebecca were getting along.

“I’d love to.” Rebecca said.

She nodded and turned her attention back to Chris who was now trying on sunglasses in the mirror. Whereas she hadn’t had much interaction with Rebecca before, she was surprised by the immediate acceptance of the situation in Rebecca’s eyes with no questions asked.

“Hi Becca!” Chris waved as she modeled some large white sunglasses.

“Hi Chris!” Rebecca replied.

Brennan looked at the racks of clothing, her eyes settling on a striped blue and green sundress that had a sparkly butterfly attached on the front.

“How about this?” she said, holding it up for Chris.

“That’s pretty.” Angela said.

“Yeah, that’s pretty.” Echoed Chris, dropping the sunglasses and moving towards her.

“You could match it with these tights.” Rebecca said, holding up a pair of blue tights.

“What do you think?” she asked Chris.

“Okay Tempe.” Chris said, running back over to the sunglasses.

“Was it just me or was that too easy?” Angela asked.

“First rule with kids, don’t give them too many choices.” Rebecca replied. “It’s just easier that way.”

They finally made it out of the store and found a restaurant. Chris was patiently colouring on her kids menu while the three women chatted about everything. After they ordered, Angela took Chris to the bathroom, giving the two women a bit of time to talk.

“Thanks for your help.” She said. “And look… about all this…”

“It’s okay, Dr. Brennan.” Rebecca replied. “I don’t know you very well but I do know Seeley and he has been in love with you forever. I am glad you two decided to work things out.”

“Thanks.” She said quietly. “I just don’t know what I’m doing.”

“With Chris?” Rebecca enquired. “Don’t worry, you will have that feeling often. That’s what being a parent is all about. Besides you did well with her today.”

“I just helped her pick out clothes.” She stated.

“And convinced her to go to daycare.” Rebecca replied. “Angela told me. And that is a big thing. With kids you just have to take it one step at a time. And listen, please feel free to call me. I remember what Parker was like when he was that age.”

“Thanks Rebecca, I appreciate it.” She said, feeling like she had one more ally in her pocket. “And please, call me Tempe.”

Rebecca nodded.

Chris and Angela returned and as they waited for their food, the three women chatted not noticing Chris shaking her glass of chocolate milk back and forth. As the waiter came and placed their food on the table, Chris shouted “Chicken fingers!” and knocked over her glass of milk, causing it to run across the entire table.

At the same time, the waiter, who was startled by the yelling, accidentally let slip one of the plates he was holding and it came down with crash on the table, french fries and salad scattering everywhere.

Rebecca began to laugh. “That’s the other thing about kids.” She said. “They are definitely messy!”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Booth heard Chris chattering as they reached the apartment door, and he suppressed the urge to leap up and run to them. He had been expecting them an hour ago, but Temperance had called and said they were running late. The door opened and Chris came running in.

“Daddy!” she said, running toward the couch and jumping on top of him.

“Hey Munchkin!” he replied.

“Daddy I’m not a munchkin, I’m a big girl!” Chris protested.

He looked up and smiled at Temperance who grinned back at him, her arms full of shopping bags.

“Did you two have fun?” he asked.

“Yep, Daddy! We went with Angela and I got a new backpack for school and I got a pretty dress and I had chocolate milk and Becca came and Tempe got me some books!” Chris said excitedly.

“Rebecca was there?” he asked.

“We met her in a store and we went for lunch.” She said, placing the bags down and sitting next to them on the couch. Chris got up and searched through the bags until she found her backpack.

“See my Belle backpack Daddy?” Chris said, holding it up. “I’m going to put my crayons in it for school!”

“School?” he asked, looking over at her.

“Don’t be sad, Daddy.” Chris said, coming up and putting her hand over his. “Tempe says that only little kids can go but when I am done you will come get me and I can show you all the pictures I made.”

He looked up astonished.

Chris took off down the hall to her room. “I’m getting crayons!” she yelled, causing both of them to chuckle.

“You got her to go to daycare?” he asked.

“Is that okay?’ she said nervously. “It was just an idea and it seemed to work..”

“It’s great Temperance.” He said, leaning over and giving her a kiss on the cheek. She beamed and he pulled her close, trying to ignore the twinge of jealousy in the pit of his stomach.

Posted 22/09/2007 00:36:07 AM by willgirl

Booth awoke to Chris, jumping up and down on his chest.

“Hi Daddy, Hi Daddy, Hi Daddy!” Chris shouted.

“Yes, pumpkin?” he mumbled blearily.

“It’s time for school!” she shouted, as she leapt off the bed and ran out of the room.

He groaned and looked over at the clock. 6:10 am. You’d think that after four years he would be used to his daughter waking him up by now. He pulled back the covers and got out of bed, trudging over to the bathroom.

As he splashed water on his face, he couldn’t help but think of his conversation with Bones yesterday. He knew she was scared, he couldn’t deny that he felt apprehensive himself. And part of him completely understood where she was coming from. But the other part just wanted all of this to be over, so they could be together.

‘You’re not in a fairytale, Seeley.’ He scolded himself. ‘Everything doesn’t wrap up nicely in four chapters.’

“Daddddddyyyy.”

He chuckled to himself. Chris was a very well behaved girl but one thing she wasn’t was patient. He headed out to the kitchen where he saw her sitting her in chair, swinging her legs and humming a song.

“Yes, Munchkin?” he asked, ruffling her hair as he walked by. He grabbed a cup and turned to the best appliance he ever bought, a automatic coffee machine that was programmed to make him coffee in the morning. He put the cup under and the machine starting pouring out some fresh coffee. He took a deep breath and sighed.

“Daddy, I want fruit loops.” Chris said.

“Uh uh, you had fruit loops yesterday, how ‘bout some Cheerios?”

“But Daaaaadddddyyyy.” Chris whined. “It’s my first day of school!”

He bit back a laugh as he saw her expression, a perfect replica of his charm smile. However she had added fluttering eyelashes for effect.

“Fine.” He said, reaching into the cupboard and grabbing the box.

“YEAH!” Chris shouted. ‘Thanks Daddy!”

“You’re welcome.” He replied. “But keep your voice down. We don’t want to wake up the whole city.”

Chris giggled. Her daddy was silly.

They sat side by side, eating fruit loops and laughing about a silly story they had read.

“Go get dressed, I will be there in a minute.” He said, as Chris hopped down from her chair and ran to her bedroom. He shook his head as he remembered how last night in the bath she had asked for extra shampoo in her hair to make it nice and shiny for school. She was definitely a character.

Knowing that she would be occupied for a few minutes, he made his way to the bedroom and began to get dressed. As a single father he had mastered the art of getting dressed in under five minutes. He still wore the suits, despite them been spit up on, thrown up on, food tossed on them and much more. He quickly ran some gel through his hair and made his way down the hall to Chris’s room. He slowed down as he heard her chattering to someone.

“Okay Mr. Franks, now its time to go to school.” He heard her say.

He slowly made his way to the door and opened it slightly. She was sitting on the floor, her backpack beside her and the stuffed dog in front of her.

“Now I know you might be scared, but that’s okay. We have to be brave like Daddy says. I see you have your first day of school outfit on.”

Booth forced back a laugh as he took a good look at Mr. Franks. Chris had stuffed some doll clothes on him, so now he was wearing a little ruffled t-shirt.

“Knock, knock.” He said, making his presence known.

“Is it school yet?” she asked, grabbing Mr. Franks and her backpack.

“Hair and teeth first.” He replied.

They made their way to the bathroom and Chris got her stool and put some toothpaste on her toothbrush. At the sink next to hers, Booth did the same thing and they began to brush their teeth simultaneously.

When they finished, Booth grabbed the hairbrush and began brushing her hair.

“Can I have pigtails?” Chris asked.

“Of course.” He replied, already having one side done. Chris always asked for pigtails. He finished the other one and expertly tied two ribbons around them.

“Now is it time for school, Daddy!” Chris asked.

“Yes, now it is time.”

She jumped off the school, grabbed Mr. Franks and her backpack and ran to the front door.

As he watched her run out of the room, he thought about how Bones had done Chris’s pigtails on Friday and how nervous she seemed about getting it right. Suddenly a thought a occurred to him and he cursed under his breath. “How could I be so stupid?” he muttered, making his way to the front door.

Ten minutes later, after much decision about what shoes were the best for the first day of school, they were on the road, headed not in the direction of the daycare, but to Bones’ apartment. He pulled up in front of her building, grabbed his cellphone and dialled her number.

“Brennan.”

“Hey Bones, its me. Listen, sorry to bother you, but can I talk to you?”

“Sure Booth, what’s up?” she asked.

“Actually, I need to talk to you face to face. Could you come outside?” he said.

“Outside?”

“Yeah, I would come up but I don’t want to unbuckle Chris and besides I want to take you somewhere, if that’s okay.” He said, hoping she would say yes.

After a short pause she finally responded. “Give me five minutes.”

He hung up the phone and looked back at Chris.

“I have to talk to Temperance for a sec, okay?” he asked. “Then we will go to daycare.”

“Okay Daddy.” Chris replied.

He hopped out of the car, went around to the other side, and leaned against the window. Eventually she opened the front door to her building and he moved forward.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I wanted to apologize.” He replied.

“For what?” she said curiously.

“I was brushing Chris’s hair this morning and I realized that on Friday you gave Chris pigtails and that was probably something you had never done before. And then I remembered the sad look on your face at the swings and it occurred to me what the reason was. You didn’t know the words to the song.”

She tipped her head slightly.

“It’s not your fault.” He replied, moving towards her and tilting her chin up. “It’s mine. I should have realized that you wouldn’t know stuff like that.”

“It is my fault Booth.” She said. “I wasn’t there for all of that.”

“Yes, but you shouldn’t feel left out now that you are here.” He said. “So I promise I will teach you everything okay?”

She nodded.

“And I thought that you might want to come with me to take Chris to daycare. The first day of school is pretty important right? You should be there.”

“Really?” she asked, biting her bottom lip.

“Really.” He replied, leaning down and brushing her lips with his gently. She immediately reached up and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.

Booth pulled away before it got too heated.

“Well, we should go.” He said. “There is one impatient girl in there, ready for school.”

She smiled broadly and opened the car door, ready to drop their daughter off at daycare.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Booth got Chris unbuckled from her seat, Brennan took the time to look around quickly at the daycare. There were kids everywhere, sliding down slides and swinging on swings.

“Alright.” Booth said, handing the backpack and Mr. Franks to Chris. “Ready to go to school?”

Chris nodded her head silently. Her eyes were as big as saucers as she took in all of the kids.

“Let’s go inside, okay?” Booth asked.

“Wait!” Brennan said. “I….I have a camera, maybe we could take a picture. You know, because its her first day of school.”

Booth smiled broadly. “That’s a great idea, Temperance.”

She reached into her purse and pulled out a camera that she normally used for crime scenes. She laughed at Chris struck a pose and she snapped a picture and then another.

“Okay your turn.” Booth said, nudging her towards Chris.

“Me?” she asked.

He nodded. She knelt down beside Chris and smiled. Just before Booth took the picture, Chris turned sideways and hugged her, their faces side by side as they smiled for the camera.

“Good one.” Booth said, smiling.

She just nodded, unable to speak as the tears welled in her eyes. Taking the camera from Booth, she took a few photos of the two of them and then they headed inside, to drop Chris off.

After fifteen minutes, in which all three were reluctant to leave each other, Chris finally got settled in and Booth and Brennan made their way back to the car. When she got buckled in, she turned to Booth.

“Thanks Booth.” She said.

“Thank you.” He replied, reaching over and squeezing her hand. She blinked and held her breath as a swell of emotions threatened to overtake her.

As they drove off, she looked out the window and smiled. She finally got to be a part of a big moment in her daughter’s life.

It felt good.

Posted 22/09/2007 00:37:15 AM by willgirl

Angela made it to Booth’s in less then ten minutes and as soon as she stopped the car, she was out of it running across the street. Seeing Brennan lying on the ground, she began to run faster.

“Oh god, Bren!” she shouted, as she reached her friend.

“It’s….okay…I just….” Brennan wheezed.

Angela didn’t know what to do. She had never been in a situation like this before. She couldn’t carry her but she knew Brennan would have to go to the hospital.

“C’mon.” she said, slowly helping Brennan to her feet. Her heart lurched when she saw her friend’s face, red and stained with tear tracks. But it was the look in her eyes that scared her the most. It was one of pure terror.

Somehow they made their way back to the car and Angela sped off in the direction of the hospital. Brennan was still breathing rapidly and her hand gripped the armrest so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

“Where….going?” Brennan managed to get out.

“The hospital. We will be there in five minutes.” Angela replied, looking over at her worriedly. Every fibre in her being told her to grab her cell phone and call Booth. He would know what to do. He always knew what to do.

“No….hospital.”

“Bren, you can’t breathe. You’re having a panic attack. We need to go to the hospital.”

“Please….. Ange, please.”

Angela looked over at the pleading look on her friend’s face and despite her better judgement, changed lanes and started heading for Brennan’s apartment.

Brennan meanwhile, was trying to focus on not passing out, a difficult task considering that she felt so light headed from lack of oxygen.

In. Out. In. Out.

She shut her eyes and was immediately assaulted with images of her rape jumbled together with Booth’s face. Opening them quickly, she drew in a sharp breath and felt a wave of dizziness pass over her. She barely registered that they were at her apartment when the car stopped.

A brief wave of panic coursed through her as she looked around for Booth’s car. Fortunately he wasn’t there.

“Bren, are you sure about this?” Angela asked, worriedly.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Making her way up to her apartment, she fumbled with the keys in her purse. Her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn’t get the key in the lock.

“Here sweetie.” Angela said, taking the keys from her and opening the door. Brennan stumbled her way inside and immediately rushed to the bathroom, Angela following right behind.

“Bren?” Angela questioned, as she opened the bathroom door only to see her best friend throwing up in the toilet. “Oh god.” Angela knelt down and pulled Brennan’s hair back as she continued to throw up. She couldn’t imagine Brennan having to deal with this for two years by herself.

Finally Brennan was done, and grabbing a towel she quickly wiped her mouth, flushed the toilet and leaned back against the cold tile of the bathroom wall. Her breathing was still erratic and there was nothing she could do about it. Most of the time it only took a few minutes to recover from a panic attack but other times like now, it took hours.

She took short, worried gasps as she stared into Angela’s worried eyes.

“I’m….fine…” she gasped. “It….just….takes…awhile.”

“Brennan, we should go to the hospital.”

She shook her head furiously. “I just….need to down..”

“Okay, let’s get you in the shower.” Angela replied, standing up and turning on the taps in the shower.

Brennan slowly lifted her shirt off, her chest still heaving. She was about to remove her pants when they heard a loud banging. Her eyes widened, she knew it was Booth. Angela looked at her and she shook her head.

“Please…..Angela…. not like this…”

Angela nodded and headed to the front door. As soon as she opened it, Booth came charging in.

“Where is she? Is she here? Is she alright?” he said frantically, pacing back and forth.

“Yes she’s here.” Angela said. “But she doesn’t want to see you. She’s having a panic attack and…”

“No offence Angela, but I need to see her.” He started to move towards the bedroom when Angela stepped in front of him.

“She’s scared Booth.” She said. “And I don’t know what the hell you did but I can tell you that she doesn’t want to see you.”

“I don’t know what I did either, Angela. One minute we were…” he trailed off. “Look, if Temperance and I are going to make it, I mean really have a relationship then we have to deal with this and everything else that comes our way together. I appreciate what you are trying to do, but I need to go see if she’s alright. Please, Angela.”

Angela nodded. “She wouldn’t let me take her to the hospital.”

Booth brushed past her and made his way to her bedroom. Stepping inside, he strode over to the bathroom door and opened it.

He breath hitched as he surveyed the scene before him. She was in the shower, naked, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head leaning against the tiled wall. Her body was shaking as tears ran down her cheeks. Every few seconds the silence would be punctuated by a wheezing gasp.

He was by her side in an instant.

“Oh god, Temperance.” He said quietly, reaching out to touch her shoulder. When his fingers hit her skin, she flinched and scooted farther away from him. The expression on her face was one that he didn’t see very often. She was scared. More aptly, she was scared of him.

“Booth…” she gasped. “Go away.”

Her words stung him but he refused to acquiesce, knowing that if he left now, it could be the end for them.

“No.” he said stubbornly. “I’m staying with you.” He pulled off his jacket and tossed it aside. “What can I do?”

“Leave.” She panted. “I’m not….we can’t…” She started getting agitated again, and began to take shorter and shorter breaths.

“Temperance, I need you to breathe.” He said, moving closer so that he was almost in the path of the spray. He nudged the shower door back farther so he could have some more room. “Please Temperance.” Slowly, he moved his hand towards hers and grasped it.

She looked startled at their physical proximity but did not remove her hand. Squeezing his hand, she tried to regain control of her breathing.

“There you go, you can do it.” He said, his calm tone not betraying the feeling of pure panic that was in him. He cupped her cheek with his other hand and tilted her face until she was looking at him. “Just keep looking in my eyes okay? We can do this.”

“Booth…I…” she said, trying to explain.

“Ssshhh.” He replied softly. “Just breathe okay? In, out. In, out.”

She matched her breathing to his soft chanting and after twenty minutes her breathing had started to return to normal.

Without saying a word, he scooped her up and carried her out of the bathroom and laid her down gently on the bed. He went to her drawers and pulled out a pair of pajamas.

“Seeley…you…” she started.

“We’ll talk later, okay?” he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I have to go to work.” She said, her voice above a whisper.

“No way.” He said, helping her into the pajamas. “We don’t have a case and you need to sleep. I’m going to call in sick too, okay?”

She blinked back tears at the caring expression in his eyes. She didn’t know what to say, how to explain the feelings that had come over her. How she felt so safe and yet so terrified to be in his arms at the same time.

“I…you….you used the same words.” She finally managed to get out.

“The same words?” he said confusedly.

“As him. The same words as him.”

She saw the flash of guilt in his eyes and wondered once again why he was still here.

“I’m sorry.” He said quietly.

“I’m broken.” She replied, a sob escaping her lips.

“Hey, hey…” he said reassuringly. “No you aren’t.” He lay down next to her and pulled her into his arms. She nuzzled her face into his chest and she cried and cried.

For what had been done to her.

For the demons she had to face.

For her uncertain future with Booth.

Posted 22/09/2007 00:38:11 AM by willgirl

As he walked in the door of her apartment, he saw her sitting at the table typing furiously.

“Hey.” He said softly.

She looked up and smiled at him weakly. “Hey.”

Taking off his jacket and tossing it on the couch, he sat down on a chair next to her. They both were silent and were barely looking at each other. Booth felt awkward and so did Brennan. She also felt embarrassed and guilty.

“Look Temperance, about today….”

“Let’s just forget it, okay?” she said hastily, flicking her eyes back to her computer screen.

“No.”

“What?” she asked.

“I don’t want to forget it. It’s something that we need to work through together.”

“It won’t happen again, I promise.” She said.

“What? You are just going to pretend like it doesn’t affect you when we have sex? You really want it to be like that?” he asked incredulously.

She dropped her head. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to talk about it.”

“I looked at the file.”

“You what?” she asked, lifting her head. He was surprised to see the amount of anger in her eyes. “Why?”

“Because I know there was another person.”

“What?”

“In the hospital.” He explained. “You said they…” He trailed off, unable to say the words out loud. “Saying they means that there must be more than one person. Since they only found Williamson, it means another person is out there. Free.”

She blinked back tears. “Why? How could you? Why didn’t you ask me?” she shouted.

He was taken aback by her anger. “How could I? He’s out there possibly doing this to someone else. He needs to be stopped.”

She shook her head and pushed herself away from the table.

“Don’t walk away, Temperance.” He said firmly.

She spun around, her eyes blazing. “I didn’t ask you to get involved with this, I just want to put it behind me.”

“Put it behind you?” he said, clenching his fists in an effort to remain calm. “How can you do that? You wake up almost every night from a nightmare, you have these panic attacks…”

“This is none of your business!” she shouted. “I got along fine without you for four years, remember?”

“Temperance.” He said calmly, moving towards her. “If we are going to be happy together, we are going to have to get through this. The both of us.”

She blinked and a tear fell down her cheek. Despite wanting to hang on to it, she could feel her anger dissipating.

“Please.” He continued. “We can do this.”

“I….I can’t.” she said shakily.

He took another step towards her and placed his hands on her arms.

“Yes you can.”

Her body shook as she collapsed into his arms. He rubbed slow circles on her back and she silently cried. Finally she pulled away.

“Do we have to….I mean can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah.” He replied. Glancing over at the clock, he realized that it was almost time to go get Chris. “Come on, I am sure there is one excited little girl who wants to tell us all about daycare.”

“Okay.” She said, wiping her eyes. “Let me just get changed.”

Soon they were on the road to the daycare, both of them feeling exhausted. So much had happened since this morning.

“So do you want to come to dinner with us?”

“I don’t know, Booth, I think I might just go home. I’m not really feeling well.”

He nodded.

They pulled up to the daycare, once again seeing the swarm of kids.

“I hope she was okay.” He said under his breath.

She looked over and instantly realized that she had forgotten how he would be feeling today.

He went to open the car door but she reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him.

“I just wanted to say….what you did for me this morning, letting me be here for Chris’s first day of school was one of the best things that anyone has ever done for me. And I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” he asked.

“I realized that me convincing Chris to go to daycare was interfering maybe when I shouldn’t have. I know it’s just been the two of you and I want to make sure that I don’t come between that. You two have this great bond and you’re such a great dad.”

Then it was him needing to blink back tears as he realized that he really needed to hear that.

“I think we both just need to learn to work together when it comes to Chris. Then neither of us will feel left out.” He replied.

“Okay.”

Leaning over, his kissed her lips softly. “Whatever happens, we can handle it.”

“Mmmmm…” she murmured, as he kissed her cheek.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Booth said, pulling back and getting out of the car.

After looking around the playground for Chris they decided to head inside. They were about to inquire with someone where she was, when they heard a yell at the other end of the hallway.

“DAAAAADDDDDYYYY!!!” Chris came barrelling down the hall towards them, her backpack in one hand her Mr. Franks hanging precariously from the other.

Booth took several strides forward and scooped her up into a big hug.

“Hey Princess!” he said into her ear. He didn’t realize how much he had missed her all day. “Did you have a good first day at school?”

“Yeah! I met a girl and we played in the sand and the lady was nice and I got juice!” Chris said excitedly as she wiggled out of his arms. “Hi Tempe!”

“Hi Chris.” She replied, kneeling down.

“I made lots of pictures, wanna see?” Chris said.

She nodded and allowed Chris to grab her hand and pull her down the hallway. She looked back at Booth who was still standing in the same position, the tears now unabashedly running down his face.

“You go.” He said. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Wiping his face he chastised himself. ‘Calm down Seeley, it’s just the first day of school. What’s going to happen when she goes on a first date?’

It had seemed in the mere seven hours that he had been away from her, she had grown up a little. Moving towards the room, he could hear Chris chattering away to Temperance. Despite everything that had happened today, he still felt glad. Because he still had them.


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PREVIEW:

“No!” Chris said, stomping her feet. “I don’t wanna do that!”

“Umm…well…” Brennan said hesitantly. “What about you Parker?” she said, looking at the sullen little boy on the couch.

“I don’t want to do anything.” Parker said, crossing his arms and scowling at her.

“Ahh…well….” She said, racking her brain for something that they could do together. This day had grown progressively worse and worse and she was beginning to feel like she wasn’t cut out for this after all.

Posted 22/09/2007 00:39:30 AM by willgirl

Booth stood for a moment in shock and then quickly made his way out of the kitchen.

“Wait, Bones!” he shouted as he saw her head for the door.

“What Booth?” she said turning around and placing her hands on her hips.

“That’s not what I meant I just….please stay okay? We need to talk about this.”

She nodded and followed him back into the kitchen.

“Uh, I was going to make dinner and then I thought we could talk after the kids were in bed, okay?”

“Do you need help?” she asked, relieved that for the moment she didn’t have to talk about the whirling mass of emotions she was feeling.

“Sure.” He replied, smiling gamely and soon they set off to work. She was in charge of chopping vegetables and she was so concentrated in her task that she didn’t hear Parker come into the room.

“Dad?” Parker asked.

They both turned around.

“Hey bub, how was school today?” Booth asked, bypassing any mention of earlier events.

Parker shrugged as he sat down at the kitchen table. “It was okay.”

“Did you do anything interesting in science?” Booth asked.

“We learned about the solar system.” Parker replied. “Did you know that Pluto’s no longer a planet?”

“Well those guys stopped calling it a planet but it still kind of is right?” Booth said.

“The IAU.” Brennan interrupted.

“What?” Booth asked.

“The International Astronomical Union. They were the ones who decided that Pluto was too small to be qualified as a planet. But you are right, its still a planet, its just now called a dwarf planet.” Brennan said.

“How do you know everything?” Booth teased.

She shrugged and turned back to continue cutting vegetables.

“That’s it? Didn’t learn anything else important?” Booth asked Parker.

“No, it was boring today. When’s dinner, I’m hungry.” Parker replied.

“Soon. Why don’t you go play with your sister?”

“Don’t want to.” Parker said stubbornly.

Booth moved away from the chicken he was preparing and sat down at the table across from Parker.

“What’s with the attitude bub? Because I’m not really liking it.” Booth said.

Parker just crossed his arms in front of his chest and said nothing.

“Well you have two choices. You can go play with Chris or go sit in your room until dinner. Your choice.”

“Fine.” Parker said, getting up off the chair and heading to the living room.

“Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Booth asked.

“It’s my fault that he’s like this.” She replied.

“Actually it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left the kids with you. I didn’t think that there was going to be a problem.”

“How about its both of our faults?” she said, smiling.

He got up off the chair and sauntered over to her.

“How about I kiss you right now?” he asked.

She nodded slightly and felt his arms go around her waist.

“I love you.” He said. “I just don’t want you to forget that in all this other stuff that’s happening.”

“I won’t. I promise.” She replied. “I love you too.”

Just as his lips touched hers, Chris yelled “Daddy!”

They jumped apart, blushing.

“Later.” He said as he made his way out of the kitchen.

She turned back to the food, unsure about what to do next. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, she hoisted herself up on the counter and waited for Booth to return.

She was upset about Parker, she could easily admit that. She wanted so much for them to have a relationship like they used to, although she doubted that was possible now. Her mistake was looming over her head constantly, as if it wasn’t allowing her to move on.

Her thoughts turned to Booth. God, she loved that man. Even when her hurt her, she loved him and that scared her most of all.

“Hey you okay?”

She turned and saw Booth standing in the doorway.

“Yes.” She nodded. “Starving though.”

“Well it won’t be long.” He replied, heading to the stove to check on the chicken.

And it wasn’t. A mere twenty minutes later, they were all seated at the table ready to eat.

She sat and ate her food in silence, watching Booth interact with both Chris and Parker. Parker had started to thaw slightly and had even laughed at a joke Booth told. She loved watching Booth with them, he was such a natural. She felt as if she was constantly hesitating in everything she did.

“Tempe?” Chris said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Yes?”

“Can we read a the bone book? Daddy says you know lots and lots about bones!”

“Sure.” She replied smiling.

“Wait until Temperance is done eating okay?” Booth said.

“Actually I am done.” She said, pushing away from the table.

Chris scampered off to her room as she made her way to the living room couch.

“Here it is!” Chris said, sitting down next to her.

Brennan opened the book and began to read.

“The human body is made up of 206 bones….”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Hey Parker, we need to talk.” Booth said, pushing his plate away.

“About what?” Parker replied.

“You know what.” Booth said. “Now come on, let’s go talk in your room okay?”

Parker nodded and followed his dad to his bedroom. Once seated on the bed, Booth began.

“Listen Parker, I know this is really confusing having Bones come back after all this time. And she shouldn’t have run away in the first place but everyone makes mistakes right?”

“Right.” Parker said quietly.

“And it’s important to forgive people for their mistakes even if they hurt us.” Booth said.

“She just left, Dad. I didn’t like that.”

“I know. And it’s okay to be angry about that, but at some point you need to forgive her. She’s here to stay, I promise.”

“How do you know?” Parker asked, lying back on the bed. “It’s going to be like last time.”

“Well, I have faith in her.” He replied, mimicking Parker’s move. “It’s important to have faith in the people you love.”

They were silent for a few minutes. Booth could see that Parker was thinking about what he just said.

“Okay Dad.” Parker finally said. “I guess I forgive her but only if she stays this time.”

Booth nodded. “You know, both you and me need to help her okay? She’s never done this mom stuff before but she wants to try.”

“Okay dad.” Parker replied.

“Alright then.” Booth said, feeling proud of how grown up Parker was being. “Listen, do you want to know a secret?”

Parker nodded.

“We bought a house the other day. With a big backyard and everything.”

“Really, Dad?” Parker exclaimed, sitting up straight.

“Really.” Booth replied. “You will have your own room and you can decorate it any way you like. And there’s a pool.”

“Are we going to live there? All of us? Dr. Bones too?”

“Yep. Not for a couple of months though.” Booth said. “And don’t tell Chris okay?”

“Okay.” Parker said. “Can I go listen to the book now?”

“Sure.” He replied. Parker ran out of the room towards the living room where Brennan and Chris were.

Booth sat on the bed and marvelled at the turn of events. He vowed that things were going to be different. He was going to make sure that Temperance felt welcome in this family.

“Hey.”

He looked up and saw Brennan leaning against the doorframe.

“Where are the kids?” he asked.

“Chris was getting bored of the bones book so they are playing some sort of game. I thought I’d come and see where you were.”

She came and sat next to him on the bed.

“Listen, Temperance I wanted to apologize about what I said before. They are our kids, I know that. I’m just so used to it being just me and them that its strange you know? And I admit I am having a bit of a hard time adjusting to this. But I never meant to exclude you, I wouldn’t do that.”

“I know.” She replied. “And I didn’t mean to snap at you but you have to understand. You’re super dad, its automatically guaranteed that anything I do won’t stack up. And I don’t know what I’m doing, even about the little things.”

“You have got to stop thinking like that. I make mistakes too, you know. I’m just good at covering them up. All you need is practice and I promise from now on, I will be there step by step okay?”

“Okay.” She said. “About everything else, the sex I mean…”

“I will do whatever you want me to do and wait as long as you want me to.” He interrupted.

“Thank you.” She said softly.

“But I want you to consider two things for me. I want you to let me work the case and I want you to consider seeing someone about this.”

“Like a psychologist?” she asked. “Because it’s a soft science…”

“I know.” He said. “But think about it okay? It could help with the nightmares.”

“I’ll let you work the case.” She said. “I’ll think about the other thing.”

He nodded and moved closer to her. “That’s all I ask.”

He leaned in front of her and peered out the door.

“What?” she said curiously.

“Just making sure the kids were occupied.” He replied.

“Why? Does…”

She was cut off by his lips on hers and her hands automatically wrapped around his neck as his gripped her waist.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all day.” He said after they parted.

“Me too.” She confessed.

He looked down at his watch. “Time to get the rugrats into bed. C’mon Bones.”

They headed into the living room where Parker and Chris were playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos.

“Alright you two, time for bed.” Booth said.

“Daddy, my hippo won!” Chris said excitingly.

“Good job.” Booth replied, picking her up. “Say goodnight to Parker.”

“Night Parker!” Chris said, waving furiously.

“Let’s get your pj’s on and brush your teeth and then we will say goodnight to Tempe, okay?” Booth said, as they headed down the hall.

“Here, let me help you clean up.” She said, sitting on the floor next to Parker. They put the game in the box and sat cross legged in front of each other, neither of them saying a word.

“I have to read my book for homework.” Parker said suddenly. “Do you want to hear?”

She nodded and watched as he got his bag and pulled the contents out.

“You have to listen to me and mark down any words I get wrong.” Parker said, handing her the journal.

He opened the book and began to read.

Brennan was stunned at the change in his demeanour. She knew Booth must have talked to him, otherwise Parker would still be mad at her. As she listened to Parker read his chapter, she noted that he only made a few mistakes. When he had finished reading and closed the book, she told him so.

“Finished your homework?” Booth said, coming into the living room.

“Yep.” Parker replied.

“Okay, pajamas then.”

Parker got up and started to head to his bedroom but then turned back.

“Thanks Dr. Bones.” He said, giving her a hug. Tears welled in her eyes and she hugged him back tightly. “I’m glad you’re back.” He whispered into her ear.

She let go and he trotted off to his bedroom. She looked up at Booth in amazement.

“One down, one to go.” Booth said. “Chris is waiting for you to tuck her in.”

She got up off the couch and as she passed him she touched his chest. “Thank you.” She said. He just smiled and watched her go to Chris’s room.

When she got in there, Chris was almost asleep. She pulled up the covers and tucked them around her daughter and her stuffed dog.

“G’night Tempe.” Chris said sleepily.

She brushed her wavy hair away from her face and kissed her softly on the forehead.

“Goodnight.”

Posted 22/09/2007 00:40:36 AM by willgirl

Booth’s breath caught in his throat as he listened to the conversation between mother and daughter. Angela was gripping his arm and when he looked over, he saw tears in her eyes. He smiled and then knocked softly on the door as he opened it.

She looked up and instantly knew from the look in his face that he overheard their conversation.

“Daddy!” Chris shouted.

“Hey Pumpkin!” he choked out, heading over to the bed and embracing her gently.

“Look at my pink cast!” Chris said excitedly. “I feel and it hurt but I was very brave, right Mommy?”

Both Booth and Brennan froze. They stared at each other in shock and then broke into identical grins. It was pure joy to hear Chris say that.

Brennan recovered first.

“Yes you were. Very brave.” She said. Brennan looked down at the clipboard in her hand. “You need to fill out this paperwork.”

“Let’s do it together.” Booth said, trying not to let his emotions overcome him.

“I’ll watch her.” Angela said. They both nodded and made their way out of the room.

Once the hospital room door closed, they were in each other’s arms.

“I was so scared.” She confessed.

“Me too.” He replied. “If you weren’t there, I don’t know what I would have done. Thank you.” He pressed a kiss into her hair and they pulled apart and sat down side by side.

“Here.” He said, handing her the clipboard. “You fill it out and I’ll give you the answers.”

She smiled at him, knowing he was giving her the opportunity to learn more about Chris. She looked down at the form.

‘Name.’

It suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t know Chris’s middle name. Her shoulders slumped and she was about to protest when Booth interrupted.

“It’s Joy.” He said. “And look at me, it doesn’t matter to her that you don’t know this stuff. And it doesn’t matter to me. You heard her, it what’s she wished for.” He reached over and squeezed her hand.

Seeing the look of pure love in his eyes, she couldn’t help but blurt out her next words. “I love you.”

He smiled, that soft, gentle smile of his that always made her feel like she was being bathed in sunlight. “I love you too.” He squeezed her hand again. “Now let’s fill out these forms before they get mad at us.”

And they went through the questions one by one, until Brennan felt satisfied that she knew her daughter a bit better. After giving the forms back to Patty, they made their way back inside the room. Angela was sitting in the chair, watching Chris sleep.

“She fell asleep again?” Booth asked.

Angela nodded. “Just a little while ago.”

“Thanks for coming Ange.” Brennan said softly.

“No problem.” Angela replied. “Why don’t I head down to the cafeteria and get something for you guys?”

“Sure.” She said.

Angela made her way out of the room and Brennan and Booth took up position in the chairs beside Chris’s bed.

“So what happens now?” Brennan asked.

“We should be able to take Chris home this afternoon and then I suggest a quiet evening.”

She nodded and they were silent for a few more minutes.

“Seeley?” she asked. “I want to…I mean you’re right I….”

“What?” he said, seeing the worried look in her eyes.

“I want to make this better. I want to be there for you and Chris and if that means that I have to go see a psychologist then I will do it.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you Temperance. You know I’m only suggesting this because I think it will help you.”

“What if it doesn’t?” she whispered, finally confessing her true worry. Maybe she was so broken that no one could fix her.

“Then we will try something else.” He said resolutely. “We will try and try until things get better, I promise. Besides, things are already getting better. Look at us, we bought a house together, you told Chris that you’re her mom. We are working through all of our problems. I think we are going to be just fine.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder in response, and they sat there waiting for their daughter to wake up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Four days later, Brennan sat in her car, unable to move. She was just about to put her keys back in the ignition and drive away when her phone rang.

“Brennan.”

“You can do this.” Booth said immediately. “I know you can.”

She looked out her window at the building beside her, the one that housed her soon to be psychologist.

She sighed. “Booth, I…”

“Come one.” He encouraged. “Unbuckle your seatbelt and get out of the car.”

She did what he said and made her way to the front of the building.

“Maybe I should just see Dr. Wyatt.”

“Gordon Gordon recommended her remember?” Booth said. “He said that she would be able to help you the best.”

She nodded, although Booth couldn’t see her, and made her way up the steps of the building and inside.

“Okay, I’m going to go now.” Booth said. “But I just wanted to tell you that I love you and you can do this.”

“I love you too.”

She snapped the phone shut and made her way upstairs.

Posted 22/09/2007 00:41:32 AM by willgirl

He heard the key in the lock but didn’t move a muscle. Looking over at the alarm clock he realized it was a little early for her. The last two weeks had been the same, ever since the day she began her therapy. She was there the next day to see Chris after school and after work she would come and have dinner with them and play with Chris, but she would always leave after Chris had gone to bed.

They hadn’t kissed, had barely touched even and he didn’t know why. He had asked her time and time again but she refused to tell him. Just shut up inside herself. They worked on a case and pretended everything was normal even though everyone could see it wasn’t.

He lay there breathing quietly, trying to anticipate her next move. She would usually sit at the table waiting for them to get up. He was so lost in his thoughts that he was startled when he felt the bed sink a little. He cracked one eye open and saw her slip under the covers.

“Temperance.” He said softly.

She jerked slightly, not realizing that he was awake.

“I….I…” she said. “I just need to….please?”

He nodded and she moved closer to him, resting her head on his chest. He reached up and rubbed his eyes with his hand as if she was a mirage. Finally, when he convinced himself that she was real, he threaded his fingers through her auburn locks and let out a sigh of relief.

He wanted to stay awake, to drink in the sight of her like this, so calm and at peace, but he felt himself drifting away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She awoke to see Chris sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at them.

“Hi Mommy!” Chris said.

“Hey Chris.” She said sleepily. “What’s going on?”

“I waited for a long, long time. Now are you going to wake up?”

Brennan blinked again and then looked over at the alarm clock. It flashed 9:15. She shot straight up.

“Booth, Booth wake up.”

He opened his eyes. “What?” he asked.

“It’s quarter after nine, we’re late!” she said, scrambling out of bed.

“Okay.” He replied. “You take care of Chris, I will take a quick shower and then we will switch okay?”

She nodded, leading the little girl out of the room.

“What do you want to eat?” she asked.

“Toast!” Chris said, climbing up onto her chair.

Brennan nodded and grabbed her cellphone out of her bag that she left on the couch and called the daycare.

“Hi, this is Dr. Temperance Brennan. Chris is going to be late today. Thank you.”

She hung up the phone and put some bread in the toaster, tapping her foot impatiently. She ran through the list of things she had to do in her head while she waited.

“Mommy?” Chris asked.

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to go to daycare.” Chris said, pouting and crossing her arms.

“How come?” she asked.

“I just don’t wanna!” Chris said.

Brennan kneeled down beside her chair and brushed a lock out of Chris’s face.

“Why don’t you want to go, Chris?” she asked softly.

Chris sniffled. “Maribelle said my pink cast was ugly and my arm hurts and I don’t feel well.” Two fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

Brennan placed her hand on Chris’s forehead.

“Well you are a little warm.” She said, pulling the little girl into a hug.

“Please don’t make me go. I don’t wanna go.” Chris said, beginning to sob.

And that’s how Booth found them when he came out of the shower.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Chris isn’t feeling well.” She replied.

He walked over and put his hand on her forehead. “She’s not that warm.” He said.

“Well what do you want to do?”

“I can’t take her.” He replied. “I have a meeting this morning, but I should have time this afternoon.”

“I can stay home with her.” She said. “I need to finish up the paperwork for the lab but the rest can wait until tomorrow.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Really?” she replied firmly.

“Chris, stay here for a moment while Mommy and Daddy talk okay?” Booth said.

Brennan looked bewildered as she found herself being dragged into the bedroom.

“Booth, what?” she asked.

He didn’t respond, just pulled her to his chest and hugged her tightly.

“I missed this.” He whispered into her ear. “I wish you would let me in and tell me what’s going on but if you can’t that’s okay. It’s just, this morning made me realize how much I missed this.”

“I’m sorry.” She replied, hugging him back just as fiercely.

“Don’t be.” He replied. “We’re getting through this.” He pulled back and looked at her. “But can I ask a question? Is Dr. Landry helping?”

She nodded. “I guess so. I mean, its just a lot to handle right now.”

“I understand. Well I should go to work, are you going to be okay with her?”

“I’ll be fine. I will call if there are any problems.”

“Okay.” He said. “Listen, do you think, I mean, can I kiss you now?”

The love and concern in his eyes made her heart leap and she nodded, letting him lean in and kiss her softly.

They headed back into the kitchen only to find Chris sound asleep at the table.

“Okay well I will see you later.” He said, going over and kissing Chris softly on the cheek.

“Bye.” She replied.

She looked over at her sleeping daughter and thought about what Dr. Landry had said about taking more responsibility for Chris. She hoped the Doctor was right in saying that it would make her more comfortable being a mother.

She slowly lifted Chris into her arms and trudged down the hallway to her bedroom. Tucking her in, she turned to leave when Chris’s plaintive little voice stopped her.

“Mommy?” she said. “I don’t feel good.”

Brennan barely had time to turn around before Chris was throwing up all over the bed. She waited until she was finished and then picked her up, whispering words into Chris’s ear as she carried her to the bathroom.

She ran the bath and undressed Chris, sitting her in the tub while she went and cleaned up the mess. Grabbing her phone, she called the daycare and the Jeffersonian while she stripped the sheets on the bed and took everything to the laundry room. Once she did that, she headed back to the bathroom. Chris was sitting quietly in the tub.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, placing her hand on Chris’s forehead. She was definitely feeling a little more warm.

“I don’t feel good, Mommy.” Chris replied forlornly.

“Okay, well let’s get you cleaned up and then we will put your comfy pajamas on and you can watch some cartoons okay?”

Chris nodded and Brennan proceeded to get her clean. As she helped Chris out of the tub, she could hear the phone ringing.

‘I’ll get it later.’ She thought to herself as she wrapped a big, fluffy towel around Chris. Picking her up, she carried her to the couch and lay her down while she went in search of pajamas.

The phone rang again and she picked it up this time.

“Brennan.”

“Bren, where are you?” Angela’s frantic voice came over the line.

“I’m at home, Chris is sick. I called Zach, he should have told you.”

“I’m not at work, I had an appointment. Can I come over, I really need to talk to you.”

“Absolutely.” She replied.

“Okay, I’m on my way right now.” Angela said.

She snapped the phone shut and looked over to the couch, where Chris was fast asleep. Getting her pajamas, she carried her into Booth’s bedroom where she dressed her and tucked her in under the covers. She thought about calling Booth, but decided against it. So far she could handle this.

She heard knocking on the door and made her way out of the bedroom. She opened the door and found Angela standing there. Her eyes were puffy and it was obvious that she had been crying. She looked nervous and anxious and frankly, not like Angela at all.

“Angela, what is it? What’s wrong?”

Angela just shook her head, coming inside. Brennan shut the door and turned to look at her.

“Angela, please.” She said. She was feeling scared for her friend, something must be seriously wrong.

Angela took a deep breath and exhaled.

“I’m pregnant.” She said softly.