38Well, this one-shot that turned into 7 chapters is coming to a close. I wanted to get this finished and up before the Bones drought finally comes to an end on Monday night. Thanks for the support and feedback! Hope you enjoy this last installment of my own little Bones creation!
~ Dee
As she made her way up through the layers of sleep, she opened her eyes slowly, squinting at the brightness of the room. Turning her head toward the other side of the bed, she found it empty. It wasn't uncommon for Booth to be up before her. He had never slept much anyway and over the last two weeks it seemed like he was sleeping even less, either from worry about her or the discomfort of his own injuries, she wasn't sure. Being stuck in this bed without being able to do anything for him made her feel helpless.
Thirteen days and counting, she reminded herself. Her looming doctor's appointment the next day was within sight so she just had to hold on for another twenty-four hours. It was a good thing she enjoyed her apartment because otherwise she would have gone on a rampage by now. Boredom can drive a person insane – she's sure of this now. And she's only been on bed rest for just shy of two weeks. Two measly weeks and already the tediousness of it all was taking its toll. Between Angela and her Dad and Booth in particular, they had all tried to help. Booth made it a point to have someone drop off files for them to review together. Or in the rare moments he would leave her side, he would go to the grocery store and bring back her favorite organic ice cream that she couldn't seem to get enough of lately. And when she complained about her back aching, it only took a moment before his hands started to expertly glide up and down her back, gently massaging the soreness away. Booth had taken it upon himself to make sure her every need or want was met and despite the times he annoyed her with his overprotective streak, she had to admit she had never felt more cared for or more loved than she had during the past two weeks. She knew he had to be feeling cooped up too, missing being in the field working on a case, but he never let her see it. Instead, every night after making their dinner and cleaning the kitchen, he would crawl into bed beside her and slip his arms around her with a smile on his face that made her body tingle from head to toe.
As she took a deep breath, she inhaled the sweet scent of cinnamon and her mouth started to water. In passing a couple of nights ago, she had mentioned a sudden craving for French toast. She had been careful to avoid such indulgences during her pregnancy, determined to not give in to the stereotypical cravings of unhealthy foods. However, she had been reading one of the travel magazines Angela had brought her to read when she saw the picture of the luscious treat too tempting and confessed to him how wonderful it looked. At the time, he had appeared to be distracted by the hockey game playing on the television, so she had flipped the page in frustration and turned her back to him. So, of course, he had made the excuse of needing to run some errands when her father had stopped by for a visit yesterday. Those errands had obviously included a trip to the grocery store to purchase the necessary ingredients to give her exactly what she wanted.
Knowing it would be no time at all before she needed to make her ritual morning trip to the bathroom, she eased her body up off the bed and reached for her nearby robe. Sliding her arms through the soft material, she tired the sash around her ever-growing belly. As she padded her way toward the kitchen, she hesitated in the doorway, watching him reach for the nearby spatula. The tight black t-shirt he wore did little to hide the well-toned muscles across his broad shoulders and she felt a familiar tug that had her biting her lip in frustration. Yes, there was that craving too. He was so careful with her these days and whenever she had tried to get him to meet that craving as well, he was adamant about waiting until her doctor's appointment to make sure it was safe. Of all times for him to start being the rational one.
As she took a step closer to him, she detected a soft humming and quickly realized it was him. He was humming a tune she didn't recognize, but it didn't really matter. She felt the tears start to sting her eyes as she swallowed around the lump in her throat. Despite his worry about her and voluntarily joining her in a prison sentence of bed rest, he was happy.
Sensing he was being watched, Booth turned his head and arched his eyebrow in concern. "What are you doing out of bed, Bones?"
"I was missing you," she smiled, crossing the room to slide her arms around him from behind. Resting her hands against his firm abs, she pressed a kiss to his warm neck.
Turning in her arms, he was about to direct her right back to bed when her lips came crashing down on his. Suddenly, his mind was thinking of her bed for a completely different reason. Forgetting about the warm stove behind him, he pulled her closer, his hands sliding up her back to her neck. Her hands rested on his hips as he broke their kiss to trail his lips down her throat and back up to that spot just behind her ear that he knew drove her crazy. It wasn't long before she was pulling him back so her lips could find his again. It was at that moment their daughter decided to make her presence known. As much as she tried to hide it, Brennan couldn't help but let out a slight whimper as she felt either an elbow or a foot giving her a quick, sharp jab. Unfortunately, it was just enough for Booth to hear her and pull away.
"Whoa, hold on a second," he mumbled breathlessly, his eyes anxious as he looked at her. "We shouldn't be doing this."
"Booth," she groaned, clenching her hands in frustration. "I have been lying in that bed for the better part of two weeks now and I'm perfectly fine. Five minutes on my feet is not going to cause me to go into premature labor. How many times have I told you that you worry needlessly and I am perfectly capable…"
"Hang on," he reached for her arm before she could turn away. "I get it, okay? I worry too much." The angry scowl across her face slowly started to ease when she saw that crooked smile of his that he knew would get her to give in to him. "So how about we compromise? I finish up breakfast and you sit and keep me company. Sound like a plan?"
She eyed him warily trying to see if there was some catch to this compromise that would end up with her back in the bedroom to resume her strict bed rest. Booth bit back a laugh as he watched her thinking over his request. He knew she was trying to find a way to argue against him, but he mentally congratulated himself when he saw her turn to the nearby barstool and ease herself up into the chair. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but at least she was off her feet. Sitting a glass of juice in front of her, he turned his attention back to the food starting to sizzle on the stove in front of him, thinking back and remembering how much of a victory this really was for him.
It had not been an easy two weeks for either of them. Her independence mixed with his need to take care of her had always been one of the biggest issues between them, but even more so since she had come home from the hospital. Booth had done his best to keep her mind occupied with case files and journal articles from her office that she had complained about never having time to read. He had even convinced her to a movie night a few times as he introduced her to the world of classic movies. All of those steps had bought him some time, but they were not enough to fill up the hours upon hours she was remanded to her bed.
It was four days into her mandated bed rest when he had awoken before dawn to an empty bed. His heart had been racing as he bolted out of bed to find her sitting on the couch with her open laptop in front of her. She had explained that she couldn't sleep so she had been working on the next chapter in her book. To her it was completely logical to be productive during a sleepless night, so why not focus on her writing. To him it did not exactly meet the definition of bed rest. After much coaxing on his part, he got her back to bed and after an hour of tossing and turning, both had finally fallen back to sleep.
Then there was the big blow up three days ago. He had just forced her to eat something for lunch despite her protests that she wasn't hungry, when Angela brought Michael by for an early afternoon visit. Since Michael was with her, Booth had relented about Brennan being in the living room as long as she promised to keep her feet propped up on the ottoman that sat in front of the couch. She agreed with a frustrated frown as he all but carried her into the living room, making sure a pillow was firmly behind her aching back and her feet were properly elevated. He returned to the kitchen, busying himself with cleaning up after lunch, but all the while keeping one eye on her. All morning she had been quiet and withdrawn and her tired eyes had him worried. When he continued to interrupt with the excuse of asking if they needed anything, Angela finally convinced him to go for a run or something to give her a chance to catch up with her best friend without his hovering. When he saw the slight nod of Brennan's head telling him it was okay to go, he reluctantly changed his clothes and slipped on his running shoes. As he started out the door, worry caused him to turn around once more before Bones gave him a sweet smile and told him to go. The run was actually good for him, helping to ease some of the stress away. With his undercover assignment, then dealing with his own recovery and worrying about Bones, he hadn't been able to do this in over a month. He was feeling good when he unlocked the door to her apartment, only to be met with silence. When he reached the living room, he did not see any of Michael's baby things lying around and no sign of him or the two women who were supposed to still be visiting. As he turned toward the bedroom to look for them, he heard a loud crash from the hallway that had him running as fast as his tired legs would carry him. His heart stopped when he found Brennan sitting on the floor with a pile of papers and books surrounding her.
"Oh God, are you hurt?" His voice trembled as he rushed toward her, falling to his knees as his eyes carefully examined her for any sign of distress.
"Booth, I'm fine," she sighed tiredly, pushing his hand away from her face. "Angela just mentioned something about the case the Jeffersonian is working on with Agent Shaw and it made me remember something from some of my past research that could be of some help. She was called back to the lab and since I have my old files stored here, I thought I would look for the research." He was silent for a moment, too stunned to speak. She saw his face start to morph from fear to anger, so she realized she needed to further explain why she was on the floor. "I knew you would be upset if I attempted to carry these boxes back to the bedroom nor would you want me standing on my feet for a long period of time, so I found a compromise. I could sit down here and be off my feet here, which still allowed me access to the files. I accidentally knocked over a vase when I was reaching for another box…that's the crash you heard. But I'm fine, Booth. I promise, I'm fine."
"You're kidding me, right?" he grunted, finally finding his voice. "Bones, what the hell where you thinking? What part of bed rest do you not get? You were in the hospital less than two weeks ago with high blood pressure and abdominal pain. The doctor said you needed to rest and yet here you are not only out of bed and not resting, but sitting on a cold floor, pulling things down off of shelves that could come crashing down on you." He rubbed his tired eyes in frustration and just stared back at her. "For once, could you just try to think about someone other than yourself?"
When she opened her mouth to fight back, she found her emotions had risen to the surface and stole her voice. To her dismay, tears started to fill her eyes and she turned away from him to focus on the papers stacked in her lap.
As he thought back now to that moment, seeing her sitting on the floor with tears starting to fall down her face, he once again felt a lump in his throat. He knew he had been harsh with her and had taken his frustration and anxiety out on her. He had quickly made his apologies then and helped ease her back to her feet, leaving the contents of the closet scattered on the floor. Pulling her into his arms, he had held her while she cried. Slowly walking them back toward the bedroom, he gently set her down on the bed and crawled in beside her. It wasn't long before they both succumbed to the sleep that both needed.
Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw her with elbows on the bar, one hand propping up her head as she flipped aimlessly through another case file Angela had dropped off. More than likely the case that had led to the infamous search for past research in the hallway closet. After having finally made up after that fiasco, the last thing he wanted to do was bring it up again, so he thought he would tread on hopefully more neutral territory.
"You know, you're supposed to be keeping me company," he joked with a smile.
"What?" she looked up in confusion. "Oh, I'm sorry, Booth. There is just something about this case that is bothering me, but I cannot put my finger on it. I find myself anxious, wishing I could be in the lab to examine the remains."
"Well, hopefully after tomorrow, you'll be able to do just that," he smiled sympathetically. Scooping up a spoonful of eggs, he placed them on a plate beside a slice of the French toast and slid the plate in front of her. "I know you are not going to like this and the last thing I want to do is argue with you, but even if the doctor releases you to return to work, you're not going back in the field with me right now."
"You're correct," she looked up at him. "I do not like it, but I acknowledge that I am not able to assist you the way you need, so I will focus on the work I can do in the lab."
"Hey," he replied, reaching for her hand. "Don't put it that way. There is no one I want more out there with me. You just have enough stress on your body right now and I don't want you to overdo it."
"Not to mention you would not be able to focus if you were worrying about me the entire time," she added.
"Yeah, well, there's that too," he grinned as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "Hey, what can I say? I know my hovering annoys you, but I love you and our baby girl and I just want you both happy and healthy."
"Despite my frustration with your hovering, that does mean everything to me, Booth, it really does." She swallowed hard, determined to not let her out of control emotions overwhelm her. "I have come to realize that while I am capable of taking care of myself, having you here has become something I depend on more than I ever thought I would. Our daughter is very fortunate to have you as her father."
It was his turn to get emotional as he blinked back the tears in his eyes. Drawing her hand to his lips, he pressed a soft kiss to her fingers. "Yeah, well as long as she inherits her mother's looks and brains, I know she'll be just fine."
She smiled at him, "While it would be ideal for her to inherit my intellect, I would not be opposed for her to inherit your bone structure and your compassion. I do not wish for her to be like me and close herself off to other people. I did that for too long and I missed the benefits of having someone to love me like you do now. I want her to have an open heart like yours."
"You don't give yourself nearly enough credit, Bones. Well, except for the intellect part," he joked, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. "I just wish you could see yourself through my eyes."
"How would I be able to see…" she began with a confused stare as she watched him shake his head gently with a smile. "Too literal again?"
"Your breakfast is getting cold, Bones," he answered with a grin. "Just eat."
Nearly twenty-four hours later, they found themselves in the waiting room of Dr. Larsen's office waiting not so patiently for their appointment to begin. After a relaxing, lazy day they had both turned in early the night before, but neither had found sleep easily. Though the past two weeks had been relatively uneventful in regards to her health, there was still a chance that the doctor would be concerned enough to keep her on bed rest. And that was something neither of them wanted to even consider.
Brennan began to fill out the numerous forms the receptionist had handed her when they checked in. Booth sat beside her, his leg bouncing with nervousness as he tried to focus on a sports magazine he had picked up from the rack hanging on the wall in front of them.
"I'm getting nauseous, Booth," she moaned, cutting her eyes at him as she put her hand on his knee.
"What?" His eyes immediately clouded with concern. "What's wrong? Do you need me to get you some crackers or something?"
"No, it's all the jostling around from your leg bouncing all over the place," she complained with a frown. "Why are you so nervous? I'm the one that may be remanded to bed rest for the next three months. Your doctor has already cleared you to go back to work."
"I just want him to say you and the baby are in the clear," he responded, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "And I don't want you to have to be on best rest any longer because I know how much you hate it."
"Yes, I do," she sighed. "However, I will keep my promise that I made to you. I will do whatever I am required to do to ensure our daughter is healthy."
"I know you will, Bones," he smiled sympathetically. "I just don't want this pregnancy to be any harder on you than it already has been and..." Suddenly the door to the waiting room opened and the nurse was calling her name. Leaning forward, he gave Brennan a quick kiss on the forehead. "Here we go."
She nodded as she felt her own nerves start to arise as he helped her to her feet. Forcing a smile at the nurse, she followed her around each turn of the hallway until they arrived at the exam room, not letting go of Booth's hand. He had never accompanied her to a doctor's appointment before today and it felt strange having him here. She had never understood seeing other prospective fathers accompany their wives or partners at a routine doctor's appointment. Booth was squeamish when it came to talking about sex or female genitalia in public, so it never even crossed her mind to invite him to any of her previous appointments. Though as the nurse opened the door to the exam room, she gripped his hand tighter realizing how grateful she was to have him here with her today.
"There is a gown on the table if you will go ahead and get changed, Dr. Brennan. Dr. Larsen will be with you shortly," she smiled. "Mr. Booth, you are free to remain in the waiting room until after the examination is complete, if you'd like. I can come get you before Dr. Larsen goes over any test results."
"No," Brennan answered sharply, not giving him a chance to reply. "I would prefer if Booth stay here with me." Turning back to him, her eyes were hesitant. "That is if that is okay with you."
"Of course, I want to stay," he gave her one of his crooked grins as he rubbed the back of her head. "I'm with you all the way, Bones."
The nurse gave them an understanding nod as she ushered them into the room. When the door closed, Brennan slowly began to undo the buttons on her shirt to change into the hideous gown. She felt a sudden shyness overcome her as she began to undress in front of him. It's not as if he hadn't seen her body numerous times before, but it had been awhile since she had been this exposed to him and her body had changed so much in that time.
As if sensing her nervousness, he reached his hand to lift her chin up to look at him. "Hey, you don't need to be shy around me, but if it would make you more comfortable, I can step out of the room while you change."
"No," she frowned. "I'm fine. It's just my body has undergone a lot of change since the last time we were intimate and I don't know how you will react with how I look now."
"Are you kidding me?" he uttered in confusion. "Bones, you have always been beautiful to me, but never more so than you are right now. And I know you think that is just some line coming from an expectant father trying to make the mother of his child feel better. I promise you it's not. Seeing you like this, you take my breath away."
With tears in her eyes, she reached her hand to him to gently caress his face. "Though I'm not sure I can agree with your assessment, I do appreciate the sentiment. Thank you for being here."
Turning his head to press a gentle kiss to the palm of her hand, he grinned. "Nowhere else I'd rather be. Now, let's get you out of these clothes so we can get to it." He paused when he heard her laugh. "Okay, that didn't sound right, but you know what I mean."
With the gown in place, he helped her up on the table and they began the wait. He tried to distract her with talk of Parker's latest school project his son had told him about last night and the plans he had to take him to the zoo next weekend, reminding her she could only join them if the doctor gave the all clear. After fifteen minutes of their nervous chatter, the door opened to reveal the nurse who had escorted them earlier followed by a smiling Dr. Larsen.
"How are you feeling today, Dr. Brennan?"
"Other than a little nervousness, I feel perfectly fine," she answered.
"So no further dizzy spells or abdominal pains since your hospital visit?" he questioned as he started to make notations in the chart he held.
"None," she nodded, holding her arm out for the nurse who slid a blood pressure cuff above her elbow.
She tried not to wince as the cuff tightened his grip on her arm. Taking the stethoscope out of her ears, she finally released the pressure from the cuff and jotted down the numbers on the chart Dr. Larsen held. As he flipped through additional pages in the chart, both of them felt their frayed nerves even more. Finally he looked up as he slid the pen in his coat pocket.
"I'd like to do a quick exam and then we'll go over all the test results, okay?"
Brennan nodded solemnly as she slid back on the cold table, Booth retreating to the opposite end of the room to stand by her head. She knew he would probably rather be anywhere else but here, but when she reached up for his hand, he gripped it tightly as the doctor began his work. Closing her eyes she tried to let her mind wander to something else. She was unsuccessful as she heard Booth exhale slowly and she felt herself doing the same. Thankfully Dr. Larsen was prompt with his exam and after a few more lingering moments, he was telling her to get dressed and meet him in his office down the hall. They both tried to examine the expression on his face or the tone of his voice, but he was not revealing much, which had them worried. Booth helped her off the table and quickly back into her clothes before the nurse returned to escort them further down the hall to the doctor's office.
Both were silent as they waited anxiously in the leather chairs facing straight ahead. Booth's knee resumed the nervous bounce from the waiting room, but this time Brennan was too distracted to notice. Her mind had started to process every worst case scenario even though she knew it was not rational to do so until she heard what the doctor had to say. She jumped slightly when the door suddenly opened with Dr. Larsen voicing his apologies for making them wait. Taking one last glance at Booth, he tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it was not so convincing.
"I have the results from the blood and urine tests from when you came in earlier this week," he began, sliding his glasses in place as he reviewed the chart in front of him. "Good news, Dr. Brennan. Liver and kidneys are functioning properly and blood platelets are normal." Looking back up at the anxious couple, he gave them a heartening smile. "Your blood pressure today was normal as well, so the rest and medication have done the job."
Booth let out an audible sigh of relief as he brought her hand up to his lips for a kiss. She swallowed hard as she felt her daughter kicking happily against her. It was the best news she could have hoped for, but there was still one more lingering question. Before she could voice that question, Booth beat her to it.
"What about her returning to work?"
"I see no reason why she cannot return to work, but I would suggest a reduced schedule along with several breaks throughout the day to rest and get off your feet," he responded. "I also want you to continue taking the antihypertensive medication and come in for blood pressure checks every other week. Monitor your blood pressure at home as well and if you see higher readings start to reappear, give the office a call immediately. Avoid stress, get plenty of rest and you should have a healthy baby in a few short months."
"Thank you," Booth beamed as he stood to leave, pulling Brennan to her feet. "We appreciate all you've done."
"It's my pleasure," he smiled as he shook Booth's extended hand. "If you need anything at all, do not hesitate to call."
As they made their way out of the office and back to the parking deck, Booth noticed she had not spoken since before they went into Dr. Larsen's office. He suddenly stopped walking, pulling her hand to make her stop in front of him. When she turned to him, she saw his brow furrowed in concern.
"You're awful quiet, Bones. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she shook her head. "I'm very thankful for the news we just received. I guess I had been expecting the worst and now…"
She chastised herself when she felt the tears start to fill her eyes. Booth cupped her face in his hands giving a gentle kiss to her lips. "It's the best news possible," he whispered. "I'm just so glad you both are okay." They stood there for a moment in silence, both taking a moment to finally start to relax. "You know, we don't have to go in to work today. After such good news, I think we should go celebrate. What do you say?"
For the first time in several weeks, she laughed when she saw the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "I do want to celebrate….by going to the lab. I want to share our good news with Angela and the others."
"Okay," he sighed with a smile. "But only if you promise we can have a proper celebration later tonight."
"I'm the one who has been wanting a proper celebration for weeks now," she looked at him pointedly. "So are you saying you are willing to participate in such a celebration now?"
"Absolutely," he sighed before leaning in for another kiss. "Now let's get to the lab and get this show on the road."
They rode in happy silence as he drove them to the Jeffersonian. Helping her out of his truck, he grabbed her hand with a smile as they made the quick trek up to the lab. When the doors slid open, they saw their colleagues hard at work. It was Hodgins who finally saw them waiting at the edge of the steps leading to the platform and called everyone's attention to them. Booth looked back at Brennan and saw the happy smile on her face. He kissed her temple before turning back to their friends who stood waiting to hear their news.
"We're back, baby!"