Stay-(short fic)

[b]A/N: What would happen if she didn't run off to Guatemala?

Chpt: 1
Rating: K
Genre: Angsty fluff
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones
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“Who are you?” Had he really said that? Had those words really came out of his mouth? Of course he knew who she was. It was just which one of who was she? He couldn’t shake the look she gave him as he she stared at him. She left the room before he could say anything else. She had returned with a doctor, her eyes looking as if she were on the verge of tears.

As the doctor checked him over, she had grabbed up her things and bolted from the room. “Bren?” his heart almost broke at the look she gave him over her shoulder. Wasn’t that her name?

It had been days since she had been to the hospital to visit him. Although it had only taken her till the night she had finally returned home to decide that she needed to go to Guatemala. Not that she had necessarily needed to go there but his voice was still there. Who are you? Then Bren, as he called after her.

“Sweetie,” Angela sat on the edge of Brennan’s bed. “You can’t leave he needs you.”

“The doctors said he’ll be fine Ange, and I haven’t been to Guatemala in a long time. I have some vacation time I can take,”

“You can use it to stay here and help Booth get back to working order . . . so to speak.” She replied.

“I’m going Angela, I need to.” Brennan pulled clothes out of her closet and haphazardly tossed them into the suit case next to Angela. Who are you coursed through her mind, and then he had called her Bren. He had never called her such. It was always Bones.

“Sweetie, I understand you’re scared.” Angela was standing behind her as she continued to rummage through her closet. Looking for a pair of boots she knew she had thrown in there.

“Angela. . . .” she turned hands held up in front of her. “Just don’t. Please, it doesn’t do any good to break down. I can’t afford to break down.”

Angela knew when she was scared she would throw herself into her work escaping from her own reality by going off to Peru or Guatemala. “Bren. . .”

She cringed at the name. “Don’t call me that, Angela. Just . . . . just help me pack okay.”

The two women began to fold jeans and t-shirts in silence. Putting them on the bed to put into the suit case later. Angela said nothing as Brennan began to let tears roll from her eyes. What could she say? She knew her leaving was a definite mistake, but once she had her mind made up to go she was going.

STAY

Pt: 2

“What do you mean she’s leaving? Going where?” Booth clutched the hospital phone in his hand. His mind reeling from the headache that came on, this had nothing to do with his surgery, only his stupidity.

“Guatemala,” replied Angela. Brennan was going to kill her. She was definitely going to kill her. As soon as she found out the she called Booth, she herself had never been on the receiving end of Brennan’s anger and she didn’t want to be. Yet she couldn’t let her best friend run. She needed to face this thing between her and Booth.

“When does she leave?”

“At the end of the week, I’m suppose to drive her to the airport, if you tell her I told you about this . . . well you’ve seen her mad, but I’ve seen her pissed.”

Booth flipped the phone shut and laid back against the pillows. Closing his eyes tightly against the light in the room, he needed to fix this but how? He was so wrapped in his own thoughts he didn’t hear Cam enter his room.

“Hey.” His eyes popped open to find her standing in his door way. “How’s the head?” Booth stared at her trying to get his thoughts together. He had dated her at one time, and she was a cop his brother’s partner or . . . .

“You’re not a cop are you?” he said looking at her a frown on his face. She eased into the room taking the chair next to his bed.

“No, I was a cop.” Concern now gracing her features. “Seeley?”

“Jared’s not your partner,” he said in a matter of fact tone.

Her brow furrowed as she looked at him. “No. He’s not my partner. Where is this coming from?”

He closed his eyes tight again. “I think. . . .I don’t know. I think, I messed up, that dream seemed so real”

“What dream?” she leaned forward intrigued now.

Knowing he could trust Cam he repeated the dream to her, as much as he could remember anyway.

“So you were married to Dr. Brennan?” She asked sitting back now against the cushion of the chair. She definitely had to take a breath after hearing all that.

He nodded his head slowly. “And we were going to have a baby together, and then I opened my eyes and I’m here, she stood over me. For a second I didn’t know. . . .I mean I knew who she was but I didn’t know who she was. . . .do you understand?”

He shut his eyes again seeing her face behind his closed eye lids. The pain in her eyes when he asked the dumbest question that had ever passed over his lips. “What did you say?”

He sighed heavily. “Who are you?”

“Me?” Cam sat up straight. “Seeley. . . .”

“No not you Cam,” He sounded a little irritated. “Bren. . . .Dr. Brennan, Temperance. . .I think that spooked her. I called her Bren in my dream. I don’t think she liked it.”

Closing her eyes, Cam rested her head in her hands. “Was I wrong?” Booth ventured.

“You call her Bones,”

Hearing the name brought back a flood of memories. Bones, his Bones, he always called her Bones. That was her name. “Bones,” he said it softly. “So I guess you know about Guatemala right?”

Cam nodded, “Which is why I’m here.”


“You’re not going to stop her?” He asked, his facial expression looked pleading.

“What do I do say? No? She has the vacation time saved up. I can’t exactly tell her not to go.”

Booth sighed heavily. “Can I use your phone?” He asked already taking her bag from her lap. Cam watched him eyes wide.

“Why?” but she already knew. “You think you can keep her from going don’t you?”

He didn’t answer; he opened her contacts and found her name in the B’s. Clamping his eyes shut he pressed call and waited for the call to connect. “Do you want to be alone for this?”

Booth waited and waited as the cell phone rang waiting for her to pick up on the other end.

Brennan watched her cell phone light with Cam’s number. She didn’t want to answer, she didn’t feel like answering. She wanted to just lay under the covers and do her best to hide from the world until Thursday approached and she could fly out. She knew it wasn’t logical, nothing about the way she was feeling was. Laying there she felt it, she felt herself finally facing up to the way he made her feel. How he could smile and heart would jump. How he would say her name, say her name when she was upset. She could count on one hand the times he called her Temperance.

It was they “guy hugs” they shared that had her head spinning, and as far fetched knowing it wasn’t possible. Her heart knocking about in her chest, besides Angela Booth was the only person on the face of the earth that she trusted whole heartedly. Her cell phone began to ring again interrupting her thoughts. What could Cam possibly want?

“She’s not answering her phone,” Booth said finally flipping it closed. He handed it back to Cam definitely not trying to attempt to hide his anguish. The area where his bandages had been itched like the devil and he was tired of laying down. He just wanted to go home.

“I don’t want to tire you out, but Booth,” Cam stood looking at him. “Tell her how you feel. You two have been dancing around this whole thing for far too long, and I have too much riding on will.” She smiled leaving him with that to think about.

Under the covers asleep was exactly how Angela found her. She had used her key to get in, while balancing a bag filled with cartons of Thai food in one arm she looked around the door for her friend. When she didn’t see her on the couch or in the kitchen Angela put the food on the counter top in the kitchen and made her way down the hall to Brennan’s bedroom.

Huddled under the covers like she was trying to hide, Angela sat and pulled the covers away from her head slowly. “Hey,” she spoke softly.

Brennan slowly opened her eyes, “Ange I was asleep,” she said closing her eyes again. “remind me to take your key.” Brennan pulled the cover back covering her head.

“Come on Tempe get up. I brought you food, you need to eat.” Angela removed the covers again. “Its Thai food,”

Brennan grunted loudly. “Angela, c’mon!” she pushed a hand out at the artist. Slapping her leg as she groaned loudly. “Go away Angela,” she said.

That’s it! Angela sprung from the bed, taking the hand that was still poking out of the covers Angela pulled her friend from the bed. She didn’t care if it was going to piss her off, they were both going to have to be pissed off. Brennan may not be good with relationships but she was good with the truth and Angela was going to give it to her.

“Angela!” shrieked Brennan as Angela pulled her from the bed. She landed on the floor with a thud. Her tank top began to roll up her stomach. “Angela, stop!”

Angela dropped her hand and waited for Brennan to stand. Both women stood facing each other panting. Eyes connected, both with anger. Angela threw up her arms in frustration as she said. “Brennan you know what you can be so stupid sometimes. For someone who is so brilliant you can just be infuriating!”

“Then why are you even here then Angela. If I’m so stupid so infuriating let me run off to Guatemala and deal with this!”

“You’re not dealing Brennan!” shouted Angela. She looked off to the side in the half moon light she watched the clouds roll across the sky outside. Lighting flashed in the distance, “you are not dealing,” she said finally. She looked back to her friend. “Sweetie, your running.” Angela stepped towards her arms open offering a hug but Brennan shrugged her off.

“You have to face this, sweetie I know you feel it. I could see it in you eyes after his surgery.”

Brennan stomped past her into the dark hallway and then into her kitchen. “I’m not running,” she said this softly. As if to her saying it to herself was going to make it true. Letting herself flop into one of the chairs she covered her already swollen eyes with her hands. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said on the verge of a sob.

Angela sat in the chair next to her, gently pulling her hands away from her face. She too began to feel her own tears trailing down her face. She used her thumb to brush a tear away that began to make a trail down Brennan’s face. “You need to go to the hospital and talk to the man. This isn’t like you Brennan. You face things head on, with a clear and logical mind.”

She sighed staring down at her own hands now. “I’m not sure I can do this Angela, this is Booth. You of all people should know how hard it is for me let myself feel in a relationship. I did it with Sully and look what happened.”

“Honey, it’s like a theme park ride. Sully was the kiddy ride; you got a taste of what it could be like. Booth. . . . Booth is the roller coaster. Its exciting waiting to board but once you do, you just can’t wait for it to take off, and you never want it to end.”

Brennan fixed her friend with a confused look. “I don’t know what that means.” Angela laughed softly. She patted Brennan’s hand. “Just go to the hospital, talk to Booth. Listen to what he has to say and you’ll see everything will fall into place.”

*
He was bored and irritated, Bones was ignoring his calls. He had bugged Cam with questions until she threatened to remove a very important body part for waking her up. Angela, his partner in crime, promised him that she was going to come by. The nurses were driving him absolutely up a wall and the only relief from all the irritation was when Rebecca brought Parker by. He was still munching on the fries from the diner. Even cold he still ate them.

He flipped through the channels on the television, not finding anything that was going to make him want to settle on. After more than a week of hospital food and hospital t.v. and these hospital gowns he was ready to go.

“Finding anything acceptable?” He whipped his head around. Dressed in jeans black flats and a purple blouse, his charm smile easily found its way to his lips.

“Hi Bones,”

She couldn’t lie to herself; it felt more than comforting to hear her nick name come out of those lips. “How are you feeling?” she entered the room. She was about to sit in the sleeper chair but Booth scooted over on his bed patting an area for her to sit.

“Tell him how you feel,” She could hear Angela’s voice in her head. So she sat, dropping her purse into the chair instead.

“I’m better now,” he said. He wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her to him. “I need to explain something to you.” Was she nervous, his stomach began doing flips, she wanted to rush on with her own admission but she needed to listen to him. “While I was in my coma I had a dream which everyone was in, and in this dream you. . . .”

“I?”

“You were my wife,” Brennan looked at him; she fought the flight side of fear and sat. Booth continued. “right before I woke up, you told me that you were pregnant, and when I woke up there you were. I was confused for a second. I didn’t know who you were. I mean I knew who you were, but I was confused on which of who you were.”

He looked at her waiting for a sign of understanding. Reaching off to the side Booth found her hand and held it in his. This foreign territory was scaring her a little, but she held his hand. “After you left when I called you Bren I knew I had messed up. I knew I had done something wrong.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong Booth, I was just . . . thrown. I didn’t think you remembered me,”

“I know Bones, and I’m sorry. I guess ‘Who are you’ didn’t help at all.” She tilted her head holding his chocolate brown eyes. “Bones, this whole thing has made me realize something.”

“Which is?”

It really couldn’t be this easy could it? “I love you Temperance.” Her tears were expected, not by him but by her. The feeling of such relief was more than she expected. “I’ve always loved you. From the first moment you slapped my hand when you thought I was going to touch the table on the platform. I can argue with you and want to kiss you at the same time.”

Brennan lowered her gaze now tracing the pattern on the bed covers with her eyes. “I love you too Booth, I love you . . . . . and it took this just to show me how much. It’s the understanding that amazes me.” She’s looking at him now. Her eyes holding his, “I’ve wrestled with this, weather to get into this relationship we have been avoiding. It scares me to want to Booth, it scares me that you make me want this.” She let out a slow breath before saying what she has felt all this time. “I want to love you Booth, I do love you.”

He grinned releasing her hand to let it dive into her hair. She holds her breath knowing what was coming but really not sure. “You’re going to kiss me aren’t you? She asked her eyes already closing.

Booth grinned slowly running his tongue across her bottom lip. “Are you going to stay? Help me recover, let me love you and all that?”

Her heart quickened as she nodded her head. “Then yes, of course. If you don’t mind me kissing you,”

You know, I'm not sure anyone else has addressed this:

Angela knew when she was scared she would throw herself into her work escaping from her own reality by going off to Peru or Guatemala. “Bren. . .”

She cringed at the name. “Don’t call me that, Angela. Just . . . . just help me pack okay.”

I wonder if they're going to explain why she bolted like that on the show... Nice start--looking forward to more. (there is more, right?)

Yes lol there's more it's sitting upstairs in a word document waiting to be looked over thank u for reviewing. I hope they do address it in the show that would make an great episode

Just to let everyone know this is a completed story. I had to do some tweeking to get it to what I liked so . . . please read and review

I like the ending, it fits with what I feel the conclusion should have been (hey, I wrote one a lot like it ). I think the thing that irks me most about the show is we know Brennan is the one struggling with her feelings toward Booth, so if Booth were to come out and profess his love for her - and not be a chickenshit and toss in "In an atta girl kinda way" three seconds later - she'd be on his ass like a monkey on a cupcake. I mean, look at the spontaneous and heartfelt hug she gave him when she got back - if he'd kissed her right then she'd have kissed him back and they'd have consumated the hell out of each other on her office floor, so why HH? Why do you keep jerking us around?

Okay, didn't mean for my praise of your story to devolve into bitching at HH but, it's a compliment really. Lovely bit o' fluff Anna, quite lovely.

RM