Fic: Moments II
Title: Moments II, Chapter 2
Disclaimer: Bones belongs to FOX, Hanson and Reichs
Rating: T
Spoilers: Any aired episodes, but I'm spoiler free!
AN:I have failed spectacularly. It should not be allowed to post a first chapter and not update for ages. I have been writing. And writing. And writing. But only work things. But I kept writing phrases that appeared when brushing my teeth, when driving, when looking out the window, in my green notebook. Some of them are in this chapter. Some are in the next one. One will be in the last paragraph of the last chapter.
Moments II, Chapter 1
Moments
oOoOoOo
Brennan is not prepared for the wave of disappointment. Although she knows Margaret will not come out and meet them, it washes through her all the same when the green front door remains closed.
She knows the chill in the house has all to do with the heating being turned off and the empty fireplace, yet her irrational self, the one she keeps hidden under phrases like "Hearts can't be broken," blames it on the person not being there. As if a presence could warm a building.
oOoOoOo
The woolen sweater still smells faintly of cedar and roses. Almost without thinking Brennan pulls it over her head. Snippets from some long ago read text about the olfactory system triggering memories and emotions floats to the front of her mind when she realizes the dark spots appearing on the cardboard box must be tears.
Sometimes, when Booth is out of town, she keeps the pillow case on the pillow he has slept on when she changes the sheets in her bed. She never tells him. At least she doesn't sleep in the t-shirt he has slept in, that would be unhygienic. And pathetic. Though she doesn't become as irritated as she usually does if there is one on the floor instead of in the laundry hamper, if he is away. She doesn't mind his used coffee cup in the sink instead of in the dishwasher so much then either. Traces of him when he is not around.
All those moments in between, between murder victims and court appearances, are theirs now. They no longer share only death and coffee, but life. Life when there are no clean socks, dirty dishes in the sink and "Why didn't you say you drank the last of the orange juice?"
"Do you think you could manage to open a CD every now and then without breaking the case?"
"Nobody keeps their music on CDs anymore."
"Hello, what's are all these then?"
"You're a Luddite, Booth."
Shaking her head she pushes one of the boxes aside to clear a path to the window. Booth is sitting on the porch swing. She sighs when she sees his face. The face he wears when he thinks she is not looking.
The squeak of the door hinges makes him look up. His eyebrows rise at the sweater. Self consciously Brennan smooths down its front.
"Do you think she'd mind?"
"Nah. It's not as if she has any use for it now. She was very practical."
The swing creaks as she sits down next to him.
"I promised to fix this. The hinges too, when she called. Told her she should rest. And then I was too busy to drive up here. Didn't make the time."
Booth turns away. If it wasn't for the set of his shoulders he could be looking at the view of the fields. She is learning to read him the way she reads bones. Her hand is light on his back.
"You don't have to hide from me."
Her palm rises and sinks with his sigh.
"You must be cold without a coat," he tries.
"Booth," she warns.
"I shouldn't have left it. I should have just driven up here."
"You couldn't have known what would happen. No one could."
"But if I had then..."
"Then it would still have happened. Parker was ill, Rebecca was away. Jared could have gone if the repairs had to be done that weekend."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because."
"That's not an answer."
"Because Jared doesn't fix things! I do."
Brennan slides her arms around Booth's middle.
"Even you can't fix a burst cerebral aneurysm."
She holds her breath until she can feel the muscles in his back relax against her cheek. His hands move to cover hers.
Eventually Brennan breaks into the soft dripping sound of snow melting in the sun.
"Maybe you should let him try. To fix things."
oOoOoOo
It didn't take Angela many days to figure it out. Looking back, it doesn't surprise Brennan. But it does surprise her that Angela didn't say anything.
"So, any plans for tonight, sweetie?"
"Eh, no."
"Perfect, I don't have any either. We haven't been out dancing in ages."
"I'm a bit tired."
"Of course you are, Bren. You're cooped up here with your old bones all day and then you disappear home. No doubt to do some more work. We need to find you a man to take your mind off all this. Make you relax and have some fun."
"It's Tuesday, Ange."
"And?"
"And I promised Booth I would cook for him."
"So you do have plans. That's very kind of you, making dinner for a colleague."
"It's just a meal."
"Well in that case, let's make the most of it. I'll ask Jack if he's free and we can have dinner party. Anyone else you want to invite, sweetie? What's the name of that handsome archeologist you see when he's in town?"
"I haven't kept in touch with him."
"That's a shame. I guess it's just the four of us then. Unless Booth wants to bring a date. Should I ask him?"
"No!"
"Calm down, Bren. A friendly dinner among colleagues it is. What time do you want us there? Eight? I could come early and help you chop and peel."
"No! I mean, thanks, I'll manage."
oOoOoOo
"What's up with Angela?" Booth wants to know when he turns up in Brennan's office a few minutes later.
"Why?"
"She was smiling like the cat that ate the canary when I ran into her just now."
"She and Hodgins are joining us for dinner tonight."
"Why did you invite them?"
"I didn't. She did."
Booth sinks down onto the couch. "We're so busted, Bones. Angela knows. Angela knows about us."
"She doesn't. She hasn't said anything. She asked if I wanted to invite a date tonight. Or if you wanted to."
"Bones, she was playing with you."
"You really think so?"
"Trust me. Her smile makes perfect sense now."
oOoOoOo
"Angela offered to come early and help with the cooking," Brennan says as she hands Booth the plates.
"I bet she did."
"You mean that was part of her pretending she doesn't know about us?"
"Yeah. Good thing you stopped her," Booth says and reaches around Brennan to put the lid on the pot and lowers the heat.
"Because you'd already be here?"
"Because if she had, things would have become very awkward right about now."
Booth spins her around and lifts her onto the counter.
"We're preparing food here," Brennan pants when she breaks their kiss.
"Anywhere else works for me too," he replies into her neck and makes sure she has locked her legs around him before moving them out of the kitchen area.
"It's twenty to eight."
"Angela's always late. Where's the clasp on this thing?"
"I read a study that said the average intercourse lasts for..."
"What did we say about quoting studies in bed?"
"We didn't say anything. You did. Your belt buckle's stuck, could you... and technically we're not in bed, we're in the hallway."
"Oh, that's a nice idea, Bones, but Angela's not going to be that late."
oOoOoOo
Booth lifts his forehead from Brennan's shoulder when the the doorbell sounds. "I don't believe it, she's on time for once!"
"Maybe it's Hodgins."
"Not without Angela."
"Were did you put my underwear?"
"I didn't exactly put them anywhere. Ow, I think I stepped on your earring."
"Is that them, in the flower pot?"
"No, I've got a pair with red lace too. Eh, Bones, you should probably fix your hair. I'll get the door."
"They don't know I had it up before."
"Your bed head's kind of a give away."
"Oh."
oOoOoOo
"So..." Booth starts when Angela had disappeared “to check if Bren needs any help” and left him with Jack.
"Dude, you've got your t-shirt on inside out."
oOoOoOo
Brennan meets Angela's eyes in her bedroom mirror, fastening hear earring. "Angela, I'm almost ready."
"Don't rush it." Angela sinks into an armchair. "It will give us time for some girl talk. We haven't had time to catch up lately. What's new with you?" Her eyes falls on something on the floor. She picks it up. "I see you've been taking fashion advice from Booth," she says and hands Brennan the brightly colored sock.
Booth was right about Angela's smile, Brennan thinks. She takes a deep breath.
"Booth says you know about us. How?"
"Because I'm good. I first suspected when he stopped holding his hand on your back. He only does that when you've been fighting. But you weren't fighting. So why would he stop touching you like that when he's barely aware he's doing it?"
"I take you have a theory?"
"Because he had become very aware of it and was trying to hide it. That, and you're both walking around with the identical kind of smile."
"Identical kind?"
"The lit up like a Christmas tree kind."
oOoOoOo
TBC
Disclaimer: Bones belongs to FOX, Hanson and Reichs
Rating: T
Spoilers: Any aired episodes, but I'm spoiler free!
AN:I have failed spectacularly. It should not be allowed to post a first chapter and not update for ages. I have been writing. And writing. And writing. But only work things. But I kept writing phrases that appeared when brushing my teeth, when driving, when looking out the window, in my green notebook. Some of them are in this chapter. Some are in the next one. One will be in the last paragraph of the last chapter.
Moments II, Chapter 1
Moments
oOoOoOo
Brennan is not prepared for the wave of disappointment. Although she knows Margaret will not come out and meet them, it washes through her all the same when the green front door remains closed.
She knows the chill in the house has all to do with the heating being turned off and the empty fireplace, yet her irrational self, the one she keeps hidden under phrases like "Hearts can't be broken," blames it on the person not being there. As if a presence could warm a building.
oOoOoOo
The woolen sweater still smells faintly of cedar and roses. Almost without thinking Brennan pulls it over her head. Snippets from some long ago read text about the olfactory system triggering memories and emotions floats to the front of her mind when she realizes the dark spots appearing on the cardboard box must be tears.
Sometimes, when Booth is out of town, she keeps the pillow case on the pillow he has slept on when she changes the sheets in her bed. She never tells him. At least she doesn't sleep in the t-shirt he has slept in, that would be unhygienic. And pathetic. Though she doesn't become as irritated as she usually does if there is one on the floor instead of in the laundry hamper, if he is away. She doesn't mind his used coffee cup in the sink instead of in the dishwasher so much then either. Traces of him when he is not around.
All those moments in between, between murder victims and court appearances, are theirs now. They no longer share only death and coffee, but life. Life when there are no clean socks, dirty dishes in the sink and "Why didn't you say you drank the last of the orange juice?"
"Do you think you could manage to open a CD every now and then without breaking the case?"
"Nobody keeps their music on CDs anymore."
"Hello, what's are all these then?"
"You're a Luddite, Booth."
Shaking her head she pushes one of the boxes aside to clear a path to the window. Booth is sitting on the porch swing. She sighs when she sees his face. The face he wears when he thinks she is not looking.
The squeak of the door hinges makes him look up. His eyebrows rise at the sweater. Self consciously Brennan smooths down its front.
"Do you think she'd mind?"
"Nah. It's not as if she has any use for it now. She was very practical."
The swing creaks as she sits down next to him.
"I promised to fix this. The hinges too, when she called. Told her she should rest. And then I was too busy to drive up here. Didn't make the time."
Booth turns away. If it wasn't for the set of his shoulders he could be looking at the view of the fields. She is learning to read him the way she reads bones. Her hand is light on his back.
"You don't have to hide from me."
Her palm rises and sinks with his sigh.
"You must be cold without a coat," he tries.
"Booth," she warns.
"I shouldn't have left it. I should have just driven up here."
"You couldn't have known what would happen. No one could."
"But if I had then..."
"Then it would still have happened. Parker was ill, Rebecca was away. Jared could have gone if the repairs had to be done that weekend."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because."
"That's not an answer."
"Because Jared doesn't fix things! I do."
Brennan slides her arms around Booth's middle.
"Even you can't fix a burst cerebral aneurysm."
She holds her breath until she can feel the muscles in his back relax against her cheek. His hands move to cover hers.
Eventually Brennan breaks into the soft dripping sound of snow melting in the sun.
"Maybe you should let him try. To fix things."
oOoOoOo
It didn't take Angela many days to figure it out. Looking back, it doesn't surprise Brennan. But it does surprise her that Angela didn't say anything.
"So, any plans for tonight, sweetie?"
"Eh, no."
"Perfect, I don't have any either. We haven't been out dancing in ages."
"I'm a bit tired."
"Of course you are, Bren. You're cooped up here with your old bones all day and then you disappear home. No doubt to do some more work. We need to find you a man to take your mind off all this. Make you relax and have some fun."
"It's Tuesday, Ange."
"And?"
"And I promised Booth I would cook for him."
"So you do have plans. That's very kind of you, making dinner for a colleague."
"It's just a meal."
"Well in that case, let's make the most of it. I'll ask Jack if he's free and we can have dinner party. Anyone else you want to invite, sweetie? What's the name of that handsome archeologist you see when he's in town?"
"I haven't kept in touch with him."
"That's a shame. I guess it's just the four of us then. Unless Booth wants to bring a date. Should I ask him?"
"No!"
"Calm down, Bren. A friendly dinner among colleagues it is. What time do you want us there? Eight? I could come early and help you chop and peel."
"No! I mean, thanks, I'll manage."
oOoOoOo
"What's up with Angela?" Booth wants to know when he turns up in Brennan's office a few minutes later.
"Why?"
"She was smiling like the cat that ate the canary when I ran into her just now."
"She and Hodgins are joining us for dinner tonight."
"Why did you invite them?"
"I didn't. She did."
Booth sinks down onto the couch. "We're so busted, Bones. Angela knows. Angela knows about us."
"She doesn't. She hasn't said anything. She asked if I wanted to invite a date tonight. Or if you wanted to."
"Bones, she was playing with you."
"You really think so?"
"Trust me. Her smile makes perfect sense now."
oOoOoOo
"Angela offered to come early and help with the cooking," Brennan says as she hands Booth the plates.
"I bet she did."
"You mean that was part of her pretending she doesn't know about us?"
"Yeah. Good thing you stopped her," Booth says and reaches around Brennan to put the lid on the pot and lowers the heat.
"Because you'd already be here?"
"Because if she had, things would have become very awkward right about now."
Booth spins her around and lifts her onto the counter.
"We're preparing food here," Brennan pants when she breaks their kiss.
"Anywhere else works for me too," he replies into her neck and makes sure she has locked her legs around him before moving them out of the kitchen area.
"It's twenty to eight."
"Angela's always late. Where's the clasp on this thing?"
"I read a study that said the average intercourse lasts for..."
"What did we say about quoting studies in bed?"
"We didn't say anything. You did. Your belt buckle's stuck, could you... and technically we're not in bed, we're in the hallway."
"Oh, that's a nice idea, Bones, but Angela's not going to be that late."
oOoOoOo
Booth lifts his forehead from Brennan's shoulder when the the doorbell sounds. "I don't believe it, she's on time for once!"
"Maybe it's Hodgins."
"Not without Angela."
"Were did you put my underwear?"
"I didn't exactly put them anywhere. Ow, I think I stepped on your earring."
"Is that them, in the flower pot?"
"No, I've got a pair with red lace too. Eh, Bones, you should probably fix your hair. I'll get the door."
"They don't know I had it up before."
"Your bed head's kind of a give away."
"Oh."
oOoOoOo
"So..." Booth starts when Angela had disappeared “to check if Bren needs any help” and left him with Jack.
"Dude, you've got your t-shirt on inside out."
oOoOoOo
Brennan meets Angela's eyes in her bedroom mirror, fastening hear earring. "Angela, I'm almost ready."
"Don't rush it." Angela sinks into an armchair. "It will give us time for some girl talk. We haven't had time to catch up lately. What's new with you?" Her eyes falls on something on the floor. She picks it up. "I see you've been taking fashion advice from Booth," she says and hands Brennan the brightly colored sock.
Booth was right about Angela's smile, Brennan thinks. She takes a deep breath.
"Booth says you know about us. How?"
"Because I'm good. I first suspected when he stopped holding his hand on your back. He only does that when you've been fighting. But you weren't fighting. So why would he stop touching you like that when he's barely aware he's doing it?"
"I take you have a theory?"
"Because he had become very aware of it and was trying to hide it. That, and you're both walking around with the identical kind of smile."
"Identical kind?"
"The lit up like a Christmas tree kind."
oOoOoOo
TBC