Forever Means Always -- Rated T

Posted 01/05/2008 21:29:06 (01/05/2008 12:29:06 AM) ToZiKa

You know that it is not nice to let me wait this long for a new chapter, right?

I know that there is at least one new chapter ready to be posted here.....I saw it at ff.net.....I didn't read it there and wanted to wait for you to post it over here.....but I think I'm running out of patience, you know.....

So would you please post the next chapter soon?

Posted 02/05/2008 01:18:48 (01/05/2008 04:18:48 PM) Temperance Rose

Mooooore! This is great

Have to thank Space for this one. I am waiting till she Betas them, because she does such a good job. Thanks for hanging out here. And for the reviews. They always make me smile!

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Chapter Twenty Five: Falling

Booth gripped the front of the saddle as hard as he could, his knuckles turning white. He really hadn’t thought this though, why couldn’t they have taken the 4-wheelers? No, he had to take horses. Never before had he felt so out of place. He felt like at any second he would just go tumbling off the side of the thing. What irked him even more was looking up ahead and seeing Bones sitting straight on Gulliver as the bay horse pranced around, she looked like she was made to be there. He was convinced that whoever had designed these saddles did not have male comfort on the brain, because he was pretty sure that it was not right for him to be sitting this way, so… vulnerable.

However, all thoughts of any discomfort he was feeling were rapidly swiped from his brain as Bones turned around to face him. The pure luminescent smile that she wore on her face made anything worth it, absolutely anything. He forgot where he was, that he was stuck on the back of a horse, uncomfortable and more than a little worried about his manhood. Because she made everything worth it, in one smile. He was lost in the pure beauty that he saw in her face. The way her sapphire blue eyes glowed almost green in the bright sunlight, how the lines of shadow and sun filtered in though the trees and made her auburn hair look fiery brilliant, when the sun was behind her creating an almost halo effect. Yes, he thought, she was his angel. One of his angels.

She could hear the rushing water now. A surge of excitement filled her and she looked over her shoulder at Booth. He was smiling back at her, a soft expression on his face. A warm feeling began to settle in the pit of her stomach as she turned back so that she could see where they were going.

The excited smile that he got from Bones as they neared the waterfall made his heart swell. She looked like an excited child and he was suddenly even gladder than before that he had decided to take Liss up on her offer and come here today. He knew that Bones would love it.

“This is amazing Booth…” Bones trailed off as she rotated a slow three-sixty, her neck back on her shoulders as she looked up at the amazing water fall to the east and the spectacular views of the rolling hills to the west. Liss had left them to their own devices and an amazing looking picnic shortly after their arrival at the falls, but not before telling them the best place for a swim and to watch out for platypus.

“I thought you might like it. We finally had some time to ourselves so I though that it would just be nice to get away from it all and spend the day together.”

“That family sure is a piece of work. I don’t know how poor Lizzie handles it.”

“Yeah, well. Liz is a tough kid.”

“She is Booth. She’s gorgeous. You know, sometimes I forget that she is only 12.”

“So do I…” Brennan immediately sensed the hard undertone of Booth’s words. She couldn’t read many people, but Booth was one of the few who made sense to her.

“What’s the matter Booth?”

Booth, who had been lost in his own world, stared when she spoke to him again.

“What? Nothing, I was just agreeing with you…”

“You know that the platypus is one of only two monotremes in the world?”

Booth looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

“A what?”

“A monotreme, an egg laying mammal. The echidna and the platypus are the only two in the world, and both coincidently, are native to Australia.”

“Echidnas are the ones with the spines right?”

“Yeah, like a porcupine.”

“And why do we care?”

Brennan scrunched up her face and wiggled her nose slightly.
“I don’t know, I just thought it was an interesting fact. I forgot that you were doomed to a life of non-interest.” A smile broke out on her face. Booth placed a hand over his heart and feigned hurt.

“Ouch Bones, you sure cut me deep there.”

“I’m sorry Booth; did I bruise your precious ego?” Her tongue made an appearance there and Booth was momentarily lost in the thought of what it would be like to have that impossibly cute tongue in his mouth. Now is not the time he reprimanded his fly-away thoughts.

“So, do you want to eat and then swim or swim and then eat? Or even possibly do both at the same time…”

She laughed again and Booth couldn’t help but think that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She smiled at him and it took him a few seconds to realize that she was talking.

“Hmm, eating and swimming, I don’t know about that. Fancy a soggy sandwich?”

“I’ll take that as an; eat and then swim…”

“Why would you assume that Booth?” She grinned impishly. “There are all kinds of problems that occur when people go swimming straight after they eat. Stomach cramps for one.”

“Fine,” he sighed in mock exasperation. “We’ll swim and then eat.”

“Don’t make fun of me Booth.”

He grinned, “But it is oh-so-easy Miss Brennan.” He jumped to his feet and dodged her half-hearted attempt at physical payback before stripping off his t-shirt and jeans in record time and sprinting for the water.

Up on the bank, Brennan stood there gazing at Booth as he surfaced from the water, the glistening beads of water rolling down his well defined chest. She couldn’t help but stare. She felt that all too common rush and wetness seeped between her thighs.

“You coming in Bones or are you just going to stand there all day staring?”

His voice jerked her into action. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t stand there all day staring at her partner. Gripping the hem of her tank top, Brennan pulled it over her head to reveal a sapphire blue bikini top. Now it was Booth’s turn to stare as she deftly undid the fly of her jeans and pushed them off her slender hips and down to the ground. Stepping out of them she looked up to see Booth’s gaze fixed in her direction, mouth slightly open, eyes glazed over. She may be socially inept but she had been with enough men to know that look. And it was a look that her partner should most definitely not be giving her. Despite this, she felt a blush creep up her chest and onto her neck and another rush of warmth seep into her bottoms. This was not good.

“Come on Bones, the water is great.” She shook her head slightly and moved towards the water. Dipping her toe into the clear water she recoiled immediately.

“What, are you crazy Booth? It’s freezing!” As if for effect she wrapped her arms around her middle, unwittingly pushing her breasts up. Booth decided that he needed to divert his attention so instead he made his way over to the edge of the pool, reached up and pulled a very startled Bones into the water.

She rose to the surface spluttering and shivering.

“What the hell Booth?” She shrieked, sending a cascade of water at his face. He just smiled.

“Come on Bones, don’t be like that. The water is lovely.”

“I would agree with you if I didn’t feel like my core body temperature had just drop 10 degrees in 10 seconds.” Her tone was entirely petulant.

“Poor Bones, come here” He cooed playfully. He grabbed her arms and pulled her body firmly to his chest. She gasped when she hit his chest, shuddering involuntarily and not from the cold.
Booth smiled as she molded against him in the water, her head resting against his throat. He felt her shudder and couldn’t help but grin. As she relaxed, her arms snaked out and wrapped around his middle as his began to absent-mindedly stroke her shoulder blades.

They stood like this for a few minutes, each basking in the warmth of the other’s embrace and closeness before the crackling call of a Kookaburra started up and reality hit the partners with a sharp jolt. Bones pulled out of his arms and smiled up at him.

“Thanks Booth, I am much warmer now.” Her smiled turned wicked and Booth felt his stomach drop slightly. “Except now you need payback for pulling me in here in the first place.” And without any forewarning she lunged at him, using all her might to push him under the water via his shoulders.

Reaching up, he grabbed her waist and pushed off from the bottom. Rising up, he threw her off him and she landed in the water about a meter away with a large splash. She came up spluttering and made her way back over to him for another attack.

This continued on for another hour or so before Brennan felt her tummy give an ominous rumble and she began to make her way back to the edge.

Booth threw up his arms and grinned, “Hey Bones, you giving up on me? That doesn’t seem like you.”

“Stomach calls.”

“Ahh, so it’s just time for a pit-stop.”

“I don’t know what that means.” Brennan said as she hauled herself from the water and made her way quickly to where their towels sat.

“Of course you don’t Bones. Of course you don’t.” He muttered as he began to vigorously towel himself dry. Slipping his t-shit back on he moved over to join Bones who was now sitting on the picnic blanket and emptying the saddle-bags of their lunch.

Surveying the contents of the packs, Booth picked out a roast beef sandwich, un-wrapped it and crammed half of it in his mouth at once.

“That is just disgusting Booth, can’t you eat like a human!?”
Booth mumbled something illegible though the bread and beef that were crammed into his mouth.

“iampetngikeaman”

“Swallow and then speak Booth. You are worse than a child.”
Booth swallowed and grinned at her. World class eye roll from Bones.

“Still not amused Booth…” Before she could say anything else Booth pointed to something behind her on the water.

“Hey look at that flock of ducks.”

Brennan turned to see a group of six or so ducks floating on the water. The males had a gorgeous green and blue plumage that shone in the sun. She turned back to Booth.

“Fascinating, don’t try to change the subject from your hideous eating habits.”

“Wha-?” Booth started but he was cut off by Brennan again.

“Any by the way, it’s a paddling of ducks.”

“A what?”

“A paddling of ducks, you know, like a smack of Sea Jellies or sloth of bears. The collective noun for ducks; it’s a paddle of ducks, at least when they are on the water, otherwise it’s a brace.”

“You truly are a fountain of useless information Bones.” She frowned.

“How is that useless?”

“How is it useful?” Booth questioned her. She just huffed. They ate in silence for a while before Booth decided that he’d had enough of it. Digging around inside his mind he grasped a topic and pulled it to the surface.

“So Bones, what do you know about dinosaurs?”

“Not much. I know that they lived a long time ago; they were large and are now extinct. Unless of course; you count birds.”

“Birds are dinosaurs?”

“Yes, technically they are. Or at least they are descendants of the flying dinosaurs, they certainly both evolved around at the same time. There is a bit of a divide over the subject, many believe they are in fact dinosaurs while others think they are just cousins.”

“And what do you think Bones?”

“I don’t know. I would have to do some research on the matter before I could make a definitive answer based on the facts.”

“Crocodiles are descendants of dinosaurs.” Booth put in soundly.

“No they aren’t,” Brennan said matter of fact, only to shoot him down.

“Yes they are!”

“No Booth, they are not. Crocodiles had been around long before the dinosaurs got here.”

“Whatever…” Booth pouted.

“Don’t go and sulk Booth, not everyone can know everything.”
Booth decided on a slight change in topic direction. If he had been hoping for safer ground he was strongly mistaken.

“So you have never dug up dinosaur bones, Bones?” He asked as they munched on the gourmet sandwiches that Alex had packed for them. She furrowed her brow.

“No, I haven’t,” wondering where the question came from.
“Parker will be disappointed; he was so exited when I said that you worked with bones at a museum. He asked if you had any dinosaur ones and I told him you did. He almost fell off the couch in excitement and demanded to be shown around one day. I think my son may have a crush on you Bones.” She got her answer.
Smiling, “Well he is a very charming little boy.”

“Takes after his father,” Booth nodded. His playful tone evident.

“No, not really, he’s much better-looking.” She grinned, Booth feigned hurt and placed his hand over his heart, pouting. Brennan imagined that it would be the exact same look that he would get from Parker in a similar situation.

“So you are no archaeologist then.” World class frown from Bones.
“What does archaeology have to do with anything?”

Booth let out a small laugh, the beginnings of self-doubt already settling in. Why the hell did she have to be so damn smart? She always made him feel like a little kid who had a crush on the teacher. “Come on Bones, archaeology, dinosaur bones…” His laugh was slightly shaky. She didn’t seem to notice.
“Yeah? What is the connection?”

“You don’t know anything about the big old dinosaurs.”
“Why does digging up dinosaurs have anything to do with archaeology?”

Now Booth was beginning to feel slight trepidation.
“Don’t archaeologists dig up old bones?”

He blushed when she threw back her head and laughed, the sound resounding through the tall, wiry trees that surrounded them on all sides. Somewhere above them a flock of Cockatoos took flight, screeching loudly as they flew overhead.

“What?” He demanded. She kept on laughing, “What is so damn funny Bones?” Irritation was slightly evident now in his tone. She sensed it and the laughing ceased. The smile did not.

“Booth, archaeologists do dig up ancient sites, true. But archaeologists are anthropologists; they study humans, not dinosaurs.”

“What?”

“It’s a common misconception I suppose. Archaeologists do not deal with dinosaurs. Archaeology is one of the four main branches of Anthropology, along with Physical or Biological, Linguistic and Cultural Anthropology. They do not dig up 200 million year old dinosaur bones. That would be a Palaeontologist. They are the ones that deal with Parker’s buddies in the museum.”

“Oh.” was all Booth could say as he blushed. Why did this woman always make him feel like such a fool? Easy Seeley, she is brilliant, he managed to answer that one for himself. He felt himself blush lightly as she laughed again, before popping the last of her sandwich into her mouth and chewing slowly.

“I guess I could take him for a tour of the museum when we get back. Maybe it would be a good chance for Lizzie and Parker to get to know each other. I’ll talk to Joe and see if he won’t accompany us, he is a Palaeontologist.” Booth ginned.

“Parker will love you forever.” I will love you forever

“So he should,” she said matter-of-factly. Her smile lit up her face and made his heart ache. He knew that this was not going to go away any time soon.

Posted 03/05/2008 13:47:33 (03/05/2008 04:47:33 AM) ToZiKa

So it still works.....I ask, you post.....
Poor Booth can't find a topic she doesn't know everything about.....but like he said, she is a genius.....
I loved the way they were staring at each other.
And it looks as if they both accepted that they are more than just partners and friends!

I really would love to read more soon!

Posted 06/05/2008 09:18:54 (06/05/2008 00:18:54 AM) DBAngelfan

I hope they talk about it soon...it's so not going away lol

Posted 22/05/2008 18:30:15 (22/05/2008 09:30:15 AM) ToZiKa

Update????

Sorry for the long wait guys. Here is the next one.

Chapter Twenty Six: Salvation

The breeze was soft and warm as it played about her body, lulling her into a sense of complete abandonment. In the distance, she could hear the shrill shriek of a young child’s laughter. A small smile graced her delicate features. There was nothing to worry about here. She looked up to see Booth’s eyes closed, a peaceful smile on his face and his chest rising steadily as he slept. In what she decided later must have been a complete momentary lapse in sanity brought on by the environment she crawled to his side and rested her head on his bare chest. Her eyes closed and sleep was quick to follow and soon she was snoring softly, Booth’s steady heartbeat calming her into a deep sleep.

The sun rose over the tops of the trees and the Bell Birds began their song once again, calling out to each other across the expanse of the clear pool that spread its way out across the bushland surrounding them. Their sharp song echoing though the trees, occasionally interspersed with the call of a Cockatoo or Kookaburra, the soft splatter of the water from the fall always tinkling in the background. Tall stringy gums rustled overhead and Booth could never remember ever being so happy and having such a base feeling of pure contentment in his life.

They had finished lunch a while ago and settled back against the trunk of a towering old Gum Tree. He had not intended to fall asleep, just close his eyes for a moment, but the combined effects of the heat, the swim and the lunch all worked against him in his battle to stay awake and he had easily drifted off. The air hung low with the smell of eucalyptus, the wind fluttering about him and lifting dead leaves off the ground, causing them to dance though the air as if they were possessed. Something about this place just seemed purely, simply magical.

He had dreamed. And in his dream he was perched atop a high mountain, overlooking the whole world. His world. As he looked around his world he took in its utter perfection. The vast oceans, the white sandy beaches, vast green pastures, tall woody forests and snow capped mountains, reaching for the vast blue sky. The miles of pristine clear lakes and weaving rivers threading their way about this beautiful landscape like snakes though the hot desert sand.

And in his perfect world there were only three other people besides himself. And they were Parker, Lizzie and Bones, the three people that he cared most about in the world. His everything. At present the three of them were seated together in a garden surrounded by wild flowers all growing this way and that, multitudes of different colors, reading, the sun shining down and illuminating the golden grass that surrounded them. Well Lizzie was reading at least, the other two were listening. He could see her lips moving as the silent words formed on them and spun her story though the air, weaving her tale like magic though their imagination. He smiled at this thought. Suddenly he was engulfed by an immense urge to be with them, as if they and this perfect world would disappear if he wasn’t there to protect them all and keep the evil away.

Just as he set off down the hill towards them, everything that surrounded him began to fade, the light receding into darkness. Something in him just seemed to know that all he had to do was to reach Bones and to hold onto everything he had, to not just stand by and let it run away from him. To not just let it disappear without a fight.

He sped up so he was now sprinting down the hill as fast as he could. Everything in him was aching to reach the three of them.

His breath was coming in short, sharp puffs, hissing in through his teeth and shooting out his nose. His chest ached as if it was about to split in two. The air was hot as he breathed it in, thick with heat and it seemed to burn its way down his throat and into his burning chest.

His legs felt like lead, and he was fast becoming aware of a pressure on his chest, constricting his breathing as he ran, desperate to reach his family before they disappeared from before him forever; to reach them before he lost them all to the blackness that was more rapidly now begging to engulf his perfect world.

And then, suddenly, as if by a miracle he was there, and she was directly in front of him. Just standing there, her perfect body right before him close enough for him to reach out and grab. Reaching out he clasped her arms in his hands and pulled her to him. She came without argument and he pressed her to his chest, hard, and she just seemed to melt into him. One of his hands moved up into her hair and he felt a tugging at his legs. Looking down he saw both Parker and Lizzie hugging his legs, both of them were younger, toddlers now. Booth was confused at their change in age; thinking maybe his mind had played a trick on him he looked down, and there they were, Parker, age 5, and Lizzie, age 12, smiling up at him with their identical smiles wide and deep brown eyes bright. They were safe and he knew that as long as he could keep them all together and safe, everything would always be okay and he would have a purpose, a meaning.

With the hand still buried in Bones’ hair, he pulled her back so he could look into those incredibly amazing eyes of hers, presently so full of love and lust. He pulled her face back to his, an amazing feeling of completeness washing though him, and just as their lips were about to connect, a cold breeze picked up and the warm pressure on his chest intensified. It pushed him back and caused him to fall into the blackness that lay behind him and everything that surrounded him disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared before him.
Initially, as he awoke, he had been annoyed. Annoyed at falling asleep in the first place and missing out on time alone with Bones, and then annoyed that his dream had ended so abruptly, shattering the perfect picture into a thousand smithereens. But then his senses began to filter in, his limbs stretching out and waking up as the blood flow returned to normal. A cool breeze came sweeping across his face, and he became aware of the warm lump on his chest, exerting a pressure and restricting his movement, keeping him pinned to the ground. As he looked down he saw Bones, her head resting on his bare chest, one hand underneath her the other resting upon his chest. Booth couldn’t help it. He grinned like a Cheshire cat. His Bones was lying fast asleep sprawled across his chest. He wasn’t so mad at himself now for falling asleep. His hand instinctively rose and he began to gently brush his fingers though her hair in a sweeping motion meant to calm. She sighed softly, her hot breath chasing its way across his chest and causing his skin to erupt in goosebumps. Shivering slightly, Booth’s fingers shifted from her hair and began to softly trace the side of her face: temple to cheek, cheek to chin and then back up the side of her face. He traced the perfect shell of her ear, then back down across her face and down her neck, fluttering over her pulse point feeling its steady beat beneath his fingers. God how he loved this woman, she was perfect in every way.

As he sat there stroking her hair, his thoughts began to wander to the craziness of the past few weeks. It had been nuts, for lack of a better term. Everything had just happened so quickly, he had found out he had a daughter and then a mere three weeks later was on a plane flying half way round the world to not only meet her for the first time but to take her back with him to America because her mother had been murdered. On top of that, she had not only witnessed her mother’s murder but she was about as emotionally stable as an expectant mother. Booth hated to think what would have happened if he hadn’t known about Lizzie and she hadn’t known how to reach him when Anna had died.

His heart constricted at the thought of Anna. He could see so much of what he remembered of her in college shining though in Lizzie. Even though his daughter really looked nothing like her.

He closed his eyes and saw the Anna he had known and loved: high cheek bones, spectacular cobalt blue eyes, billowing dead straight blonde hair. Hair that always seemed to be illuminated by the light and shine around her head like a halo, much like Bones’ did, without the fiery red color her auburn curls gave it. Anna was his first real love. The girl who he thought for a long time he would marry and have kids with. But she didn’t want that, she was like Bones, a free spirit. He laughed at himself then, why did he always fall for the women who wanted the exact opposite of what he did. Although unlike Bones, Anna wasn’t chained down by repressed memories of her childhood, struggling to make their way though the black haze that seemed to have clouded her thoughts; a haze full of death, loss, deep longing and incredible sadness. He wished so much that he could dive through that blackness and rescue her from herself, from drowning in her bad memories of the past; all the things that overshadowed all her good memories, not letting them be prevalent in her everyday, when she needed them most.

Bones sighed and snuggled deeper into his chest, her hand shifting slightly and lightly caressing his chest. Another bout of goosebumps raced their way across his chest. This woman was intoxicating. She filled up every single one of his senses and it made it impossible for him to survive without her. He still couldn’t believe that she had agreed to come with him here. For her just to drop her work, especially in the middle of a case, to come with him halfway across the world to get a child he had never met, sometimes he wondered if she had been high or had some sort of momentary mind blank that had caused her to say yes. But he really didn’t want to think like that.

A child he had never met, another child out of wedlock. Booth groaned; he didn’t even want to think about what his parents would say, how they would react to Lizzie when he finally told them about her. They weren’t exactly thrilled about Parker, and they had approved of Rebecca! They had never approved of Anna in any way, shape or form. In fact, he could almost positively say that they had hated her. She was too wild and carefree for his parents to handle. She wasn’t Catholic and didn’t go to church every Sunday (not that he had gone every Sunday either), she was seen as the one who would drag Seeley Booth away from his family and his religion. He had been the only one who knew that wasn’t the case. He was the only one who had really known her. It had angered him that his parents had brushed her off and not taken the time to get to know her, that they didn’t trust his judgment, they had just been cold and aloof, pushing her away. After that, he had never taken her back to see them, instead they had gone away over Thanksgiving; just a few short weeks before she would run away and leave him forever because she was pregnant with his daughter.

A great sadness welled up inside him at the thought that he would never see Anna again, that someone who he had known to be so carefree and caring had their life cut short, ripped away from leaving so much behind. His heart also constricted at the thought that he would never get those years that he had lost with his daughter back again.

He subconsciously hugged Bones closer to him. He prayed that she would never leave him, that she wouldn’t run away. He couldn’t imagine that he would be able to live if she left him. She was his everything. His angel. She was the one who was going to save him.

--

Brennan felt a tingling on her back and a solid warmth radiating though her cheek and right palm. She blinked slowly and as she really began to clear her sleepy haze she realized the thing that was providing her with that warmth was none other than Seeley Booth. She was about to leap back and begin apologizing profusely when she felt his big calloused fingers dance across the side of her face, stroking her skin. It was all she could do not to gasp out loud and she immediately felt a rush of liquid fire spread though her belly. God, she hated what this man could do to her.

He hadn’t seemed to notice that she had awoken yet and she didn’t want him to stop doing those wonderful things with his fingers so she decided to play sleep. She also dreaded the conversation that would follow once he became aware of the fact that she was no longer in a state of slumber.

Snuggling down further into the warmth, she began to think about Booth. She was quickly beginning to realize that she was having less than partnerly thoughts about him and what she was beginning to feel undoubtedly crossed that line from partners to the seemingly dreaded more than partners. What was she so worried about? She questioned herself. Abandonment – she knew that is what it was. Everyone who had loved her, or at least claimed to have loved her had left. But Booth would never leave her, would he? However she did know one thing; he was her best friend and was always there for her when she needed him. She could trust Booth.

But what would happen when they did step over that carefully drawn line? Would Cullen or Goodman prevent them from working together if they became involved with each other? Could they do that? She wasn’t FBI so their policies didn’t really apply to their partnership, but she was pretty sure that wouldn’t stop Cullen from re-assigning Booth. She couldn’t lose Booth at work. They were partners. First and foremost. That was what was important and if that meant that she couldn’t have Booth, then so be it. She had lived without love for fifteen years. She could live without it for fifteen more.

She could not let these feelings she had for Booth change anything. And anyway, whoever said that he even had any feelings for her that extended past their friendship? She hadn’t noticed anything different in his demeanor, the way he was behaving towards her. And suddenly she felt her mood just sink. She wanted there to be a difference in his behavior, something that would indicate to her that he felt strongly for her. But the more she thought about it the more she decided that there was no possible way that Booth could love her.

For one: She didn’t want to get married and Booth did. She never wanted kids, wants, she caught herself there, and Booth does. She was just not his type, there was no possible way he could love her. She could never be the perfect housewife for him. Staying home to cook and clean and just be domestic. The thought almost made her ill. And even if he did love her, it wouldn’t be for any extended period of time, she just knew it. The facts were simple. She couldn’t give Booth what he needed, deserved or wanted, she wasn’t emotionally available in the way he needed. Booth needed someone who could give him everything he wanted and needed, he deserved it, and she couldn’t do that, she just wasn’t good enough for him. She didn’t deserve a man like Seeley Booth. And he didn’t deserve to be stuck with a woman like her.

She was jolted from her reverie when Booth’s fingers ceased moving across her face and neck, leaving a tingling in their wake, a mere shadow of the former movements. She was surprised how much she missed the movement of his calloused fingers across her face in such a short time. They were comforting and calming; just what she needed at the moment.

“Temperance, I know you are awake.” He said softly. She sucked in a sharp breath and looked up slowly, blue eyes meeting brown.

He was distracted as she looked up by the feel of her soft cheek moving across his bare skin. He brushed her cheek again when he saw the fear swimming behind her luminescent eyes.

“Hey, what’s the matter gorgeous?” The endearment just slipped out, and it wasn’t as if it was a lie. He held his breath for the rant but it didn’t come. Either she didn’t notice, he decided, or she chose not to comment, and just accept the endearment. He almost desperately hoped for the latter.

“Nothing,” she mumbled, turning her head away slightly, breaking eye contact with him. There was just too much of a feeling that he could see into her soul when he looked into her eyes. And it was unsettling to say the least. Booth however, caught her chin and forced her to look back up at him. She closed her eyes.

“No, Temperance, look at me.” His voice had taken on an amazingly low sexy baritone and the sound of it flooded though her, stroking her, causing her libido to sit straight up.

He was slightly unnerved by the amount of emotion swirling though her blue eyes. Sadness, fear, lust…

“Seeley,” it came out breathily, almost like a whisper. She was still lying on his chest, fingers absent-mindedly stroking, causing his mind to wonder.

“Temperance,” he responded with her name in a tone that was pure sex.

That was it. The final straw. Her fingers left his chest and reached for his face, stroking the stubble on his chin and up, tracing across his face. Fluttering over eyelids, down the bridge of his nose and across his lips. They felt slightly rough under her fingertips. His lips parted and he kissed the pads of her fingers. She gasped. And then their lips were seeking.

She felt an amazing rush as they kissed. Booth’s tongue came out, sweeping against her lower lip, begging entrance which she gladly permitted. His tongue then swept into her mouth, hot, wet and seeking. As she sank into the kiss Booth shifted her and she settled between his legs.

Booth’s tongue had retreated and he was now sucking on her lower lip, his hands in her hair holding her against him. She could feel the thick ridge of his erection between her legs and she ground down against it, moaning into his mouth. One of Booth’s hands moved from her hair to her lower back, slipping up under her top and pressing her to him to increase the pressure on his groin. He hadn’t gotten this hot from simply kissing a woman since he was a teenager.

Far off above them somewhere a Cockatoo squawked and they flew apart, gasping for breath, lips swollen. Booth felt her begin to move and before she had even pushed off his chest his strong arms had locked in around her waist preventing her from going anywhere.

This was not fair! She struggled against him, trying to pull free, her face burning red with embarrassment. However, all this squirming only heightened the problem that had been created mere seconds before when he had began to ground up into her. The deep throbs in her womb were incredibly distracting and the pressure that his arms around her waist were creating stroked over her adding to the fire in her belly.

“Temperance” and there was her name again, another stroke. How could he do that to her? It just was not fair! She could count the number of times he had spoken her given name in the past on one hand! And now here he was, using it three times in three damn minutes.

--

Booth had felt the difference in her breathing when she had woken up; it had shallowed out and sped up. He had thought that the second she had woken up she would have been up and away like a bullet, but he had felt her stiffen momentarily and then relax, snuggling into him. As a result he had tightened his arms around her. He could not believe his luck. Here he was with this amazing woman in his arms and she wasn’t running for the hills.

He gave her a few minutes to announce to him that she was awake. But she continued to just lay there on his chest. He could practically feel the wheels turning in her head as she thought through whatever was swirling around there. When he felt her breathing speed up slightly, a sure sign with Temperance that she was distressed and upset, he decided to let her know he was aware of her current state of consciousness.

She had gasped and looked up at him, her brilliant blue eyes awash with emotion…and then the endearment. He hadn’t meant to call her gorgeous, it had just slipped out. But she hadn’t pulled away like he had expected her. She hadn’t even tried to. It had been a
boost and began the spiral into the moment that would effectively change their dynamic forever.

She had looked away and Booth just could not bear not looking into her eyes so he reached and moved her chin so that she was forced to look back up at him with those amazingly sapphire eyes that changed from blue to green depending on the weather and the light, and at present, so full of emotion. She closed her eyes and he asked that she open them for him again. He could so easily get lost in those eyes, fall into their depths. And he knew that once he fell there would be no coming back. He would be lost forever more in those heavenly orbs. And then, she had said his name. His real name. There was no way for him to respond to that, how on earth could he? The use of his Christian name had sent chills up his spine and momentarily caused his brain to cease functioning. She never called him Seeley. So he had responded, offering back to her what he hoped was the same blow that she had delivered to him. He responded with her name.

Then he had felt her fingers on his face. Tracing his features and he somehow knew what was coming next, but that still didn’t prepare him for the amazing, incredibly, electric feeling he got when her lips met his for the first time. He was sure that he must have died and gone to heaven.

He thought he had gone momentarily retarded when she began to grind into him. But she created the most wonderful feelings within him. And then that bloody bird. He felt her tense and he immediately locked her into place with his arms, there was no way he was letting her run away from this. No – this was something that they were going to talk about.

She looked up at him. The picture of innocence, trapped against his chest, gazing up at him with her crystalline eyes and swollen lips. He felt something stirring deep within him and the love in his heart swelled as he gazed down at her.

“Temperance, we have to talk about this.” His tone was soft, calming, as if it would make it easier for her. She just shook her head mutely, like a child, refusing to talk about what had just transpired between them. He jolted her a little and she buried her head in the crook of his neck.

“Come on Bones, we need to talk about this change. What is going to happen to us now?”
She spoke this time, but the words were mumbled as she spoke against his neck making them incomprehensible.

“Bones.” He shifted her again and said in her ear, “I couldn’t hear that sweetie.”
She lifted her head then and said with some fire in her voice, “Don’t call me sweetie!”
He had to chuckle at this. At least he knew he hadn’t completely caused the Bones he knew and loved to implode.

“Temperance, I don’t think this is something we have to be so afraid of! We have been heading down this road for a long time…Don’t try and deny it, because I know you have felt it too.” He added the last part as she opened her mouth, ready to rebuke anything he said.

“But Booth, this changes everything! What if things don’t work out, huh, what if you decide that I am not enough for you? I can’t lose what we already have. I just can’t. It means too much to me and I’m not going to do anything to put that relationship in jeopardy.”

That speech silenced him for a moment or two. One sentence in particular leapt out at him with bells on, ‘what if you decide that I am not enough for you!’ His first thought was, are you mad woman? How could she possibly ever not be enough for him? And then, as he began to deconstruct it further in his mind, she had mentioned that he would decide she wasn’t enough for him. Not vice-versa. How she could ever think that she would not be enough for him, was just beyond him.

He was brought back as she began to shift in his arms, the lengthy period of his silence unnerving her.

--

He had been quiet for a while, obviously running over what she had just said in his mind. The crease on his forehead told her that he was thinking quite hard too. As the seconds ticked by she felt more and more disconcerted. She was still locked in firmly against the broad expanse of his chest, unable to pull away. She began to squirm in his tight grip and saw the life return to him. He gazed down at her with his big expressive possum eyes, relaying the real depth of his feeling towards her, and…could she see hurt inscribed in those gorgeous brown eyes?

“Bones…Temperance, how could you ever think you would not be enough for me? God,” he groaned, tightening his grip on her, pulling her right in against him, “…God, Temperance, you will always, always be enough. More than enough for me. I promise you that.”

“Don’t make promises you know you can’t keep Booth.” Her tone was so resigned it almost angered him. What would he have to do to prove to her that he wasn’t like the others? That he was not going to leave her, no matter what. He decided to tell her so.
“Temperance, I’ll tell you every day if I have to, you are always going to be enough. You. Just as you are now. I’m not going to leave you.”

And there wasn’t really anything she could say to that. There really wasn’t anything that she wanted to say to that, she didn’t want to argue with him and make him change his mind. She just wanted, for once in her life, to accept what he told her without question, as truth, fact, to believe it and move on. So she leaned up and gave him a chaste kiss on his lips, to seal his words, make them truth. She wanted Booth so badly, and trusted him so implicitly, she felt that, for once in her life, she could just accept and not have to worry that at any second she was going to get her heart ripped out of her chest and stomped on for all to see. And then before he could deepen it she buried her face back in the crook of his neck and hugged him as hard as she could.

Booth smiled as she snuggled into his neck, hugging him to her hard. He placed a soft kiss on her head and then buried his face in her soft, luscious hair, breathing in the scent of sandalwood and eucalypt shampoo. He would never be a happier man than in this moment, never. Well at least not until Parker and Lizzie graduated from college. But even then, he didn’t know if anything could compare to the stillness and utter, sheer happiness he felt at this exact moment. He wanted to freeze time and have this moment forever. This moment; laying here in the warm Australian afternoon sun with his Bones. His angel. She was the one who was going to save him. Bring him to salvation.

*faints* *wakes up again*
Maaaaaannnn....that was freaking brilliant...I ADORE the way you write!!!!!!!!!!
Loved every piece of it!
Awesome work! I know that you just posted it....but..
moremoremoremore?
:cyclops:

I'm so happy that there is finally a new chapter!

I so love this fic and this chapter was one of the best.
Can't wait to read more....

Wow guys! Thanks so much Karlia and Toz. You make me smile.

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Chapter Twenty Seven: She’s Dead

The first thing she noticed when she walked through the front door was that the house was silent. That meant no long lost relatives who were only there for the fucking money anyway. With a small sigh Lizzie felt the ever present storm clouds settle in her mind once again. School was over for another year. But this just wasn’t any end of year. It was her last in her home. She was to go to America where they were only half way through their school year; where it would be cold and fucking miserable at Christmas.

No sun, sand, there would be no trip to the beach this year. No spending the long lazy nights by the pool or riding bareback in the paddocks. No spending New Year’s in the back yard with all their friends setting off fireworks at midnight. No sleeping out under the millions of stars that were scattered about the inky blue midnight sky with just an old mattress on the ground.

She thought about the city. There would be no stars at all there, just a hazy light glow from the pollution. No freedom, just blocks and blocks of tall buildings and backed up cars instead of rolling hills of bush and paddocks filled with cows or sheep. Nowhere to be free. She wanted to vomit. Tears stinging at the corners of her eyes she dumped her bag by the coat rack and bolted as she felt the nausea take hold, feet thudding as she threw herself up the stairs.

She threw her bedroom door open and fell into the bathroom, slamming the door and flicking the lock, just making it in time to heave into the toilet bowl. The acidic taste of vomit settled in her mouth, tears leaked out the sides of her eyes. She couldn’t pretend anymore, couldn’t pretend that everything would be alright. That she still had time. School was over and she knew that it was the beginning of the end. In a few days she would be on a plane, hurtling though the sky at 3,000 km an hour towards her new life. Away from her home, away from the sun, away from the gum trees, away from Gulliver, away from her life and away from her mother.

Standing up on shaky legs, Lizzie peered into the mirror. She looked like a complete mess. She was white as a ghost and her eyes were red from crying, nose running like a tap. She could not go downstairs to her father and Temperance looking like this. Grabbing a tissue she blew her nose and turned the tap on to rinse out the metallic taste in her mouth, she swished and spat. Shoving the plug in the drain she then scooped the accumulating water into her cupped hands and splashed water on her face. Trying to wake her skin up a bit and regain some of her lost colour.

Stripping out of her school dress, she let the thin piece of cotton fall to a heap on the ground around her ankles. Reaching up, she pulled the scrunchie from her hair, letting golden-brown curls fall down across her shoulders framing her still pale face and golden shoulders tanned from days in the sun, her hair hanging like a veil down her back. Standing there, she looked intently at her reflection in the mirror; pale skin, normally so brown, deep brown eyes, once shimmering with light and life, now dull and empty, encircled by blue tinged skin, she looked just as tired as she felt. She was so tired. Her eyes glazed over and her vision hazed as she lost focus from staring too long.

After a full few minutes, she looked down over her flat stomach to her still sock-clad feet. An immense wave of nostalgia washed over her, standing there in her bathroom, alone and naked. She felt empty; the pain was just too excruciating, too agonizing, how could people come back from this? How could they go on living? She felt a sob building itself up in her chest, pressing against her, trying its best to escape the confines of her rib-cage. The image of her mother’s face floated through her mind. Her heart constricted painfully, her brain was screaming at her, She’s dead! She’s dead! She’s dead! The words running though her mind, hammering into her, a whistling built up in her head, all she could hear was the chanting and an ear-piercing shrill in her ears.

She couldn’t breathe; the pain was just too much. Her vision clouded over and she heard a thud as she dropped to her knees on the bathroom floor, dressed only in her underwear. The sob that had been building in her chest burst forth like a dam and a dreadful wailing filled the bathroom as the tears flowed again, streaming across her cheeks and rolling down her neck, there was nothing she could do to stop it, the pain that had been building in her since her mother’s death was now hemorrhaging out of her, bleeding and unable to stop.

She curled up into a ball on the cool tiled floor and hugged her knees to her chest, still wailing, tears slipping down her face. All she could think in this moment was that it just wasn’t worth it. How could she move on? She was gone, and now all that Lizzie wanted was to be gone as well. There was no joy in life anymore, how could there be? Moreover there was no point to life anymore. All she wanted was to be gone, so that this pain would go away and she could be free forever.

Lizzie slammed her eyes shut as a cold damp flooded over her. The sink had overflowed, the cold tap still running and the water was cascading down the cabinets and onto the floor, soaking the clothes lying on the ground and causing goosebumps to rise over her skin; however, all this went unnoticed by Lizzie. As her brain fogged over due to her hyperventilating, all she could think about was the inviting blackness that was slowly overtaking her. And that was where she was laying when that blackness finally did engulf her, pale and cold, lying wet and naked on her flooded bathroom floor, her pain and despair leaving her with her consciousness. And that was where Booth found her when he came up stairs to look for her after seeing her bag in the entrance hall when they got back from their afternoon at the waterfall.

--

“Hey Alex?” Booth asked curiously as he made his way into the kitchen, from the living room.

“Yeah?” Alex mumbled distractedly from where she was chopping carrots.

“Is Lizzie back yet?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Oh, it’s just I saw her bag in the hall but she wasn’t out at the barn.”

“No, I heard her go upstairs when she got home and I didn’t hear her come back down.” She paused in her chopping and looked up at Booth with large grey eyes. “I heard her crying.”

“What? Why didn’t you go up there?”

“Because last time I went up when she cried she told me in no uncertain terms to piss off and she then proceeded to lock herself in her room for 2 days. I was not going to risk that happening again. She is a very stubborn girl. She is probably just up there doing homework or something. It would actually be good if you could go and get her, she should have something to eat.”

“Homework? But it was the last day of school!” Booth said, surprised. Alex looked up at him, grey eyes fixing him with a stare he could not quite read, he pinned it somewhere between anger, resentment, sadness and resignation.

“You really don’t have any idea, do you?”

“Beg your pardon?” Booth exclaimed, raising his eyebrows.

“I said you’ve no idea, do you?”

“No idea about what?” He felt Bones stiffen beside him but didn’t glance down at her. He was too absorbed in Alex. A few seconds of silence followed and he felt Brennan pry her hand from his and move out of the kitchen. He was sorry he had made her uncomfortable, but he needed to know what Alex was talking about.

“About anything. Now I’ve no idea how much Liz has told you, my guess is not much.” Booth shook his head. He knew a bit, but not enough in his eyes, he was hungry for information on his daughter’s life. He still felt an incredible guilt that he had missed so much and she hadn’t really offered him much so far. Not that he had really expected her too. “Well Anna was pretty strict with her. I mean, we all knew that Anna was a genius, no question, and her daughter has followed in her footsteps.”

He already knew this! What on earth was Alex getting at? He was impatient to see his daughter and if this was all she was going to offer him…

Alex saw Booth’s look and so continued on.

“Let’s just say that there was no way that Lizzie could not be a genius. That girl has the smarts, that’s for sure. But let’s just say that Anna was no lightweight when it came to work and play. Lizzie was pretty much forced to work non-stop, compulsory study every day, why do you think that she would run away and spend days in the bush?”

“But Lizzie loved her mother!”

“Of course she did, Anna was great with her, but Lizzie is a free spirit, just like her mother. However, Anna was broken. She changed when Lizzie reached about 4, she became stiff and rigid. Rules and regimes came into place and a routine was followed to the tee. It was crazy and too much for Lizzie. She is a wild one - that girl - tempestuous, full of unbridled energy, energy that Anna had no idea what to do with. Seeley, you have to understand that this is not the kind of energy that can be tamed. Anna tried, believe me she did; all the music, the sports, but she was just too much. You must be careful not to break her, she may not look it, but inside she is just a little girl…”

Booth could feel the tears in his eyes. His pain for Lizzie and for Anna so acute. He wondered what had happened to the lively young woman he had fallen in love with at college. Something had destroyed her, he knew he would never let that happen to Lizzie, it was his job to protect her from things like that.

“Don’t worry Alex, I’ll never let anything happen to her, you can be sure of that.”

Alex stepped out from behind the counter and rested her hand on Booth’s arm.

“I know you won’t.” She gave him a small smile. “Take care of that girl Seeley, she is a special one.”

“I kno-” He went to answer but was cut off by Bones who came crashing into the room, a look of pure worry etched over her features.

“What is it Bones?” He turned to her, making his way over in three massive strides. He took hold of her upper arms and looked into her eyes as she got her breath.

“It’s Lizzie!” He went stone cold, fear flooded him.

“Wha-” he choked out

“It’s Lizzie, Booth, she-she’s” Booth wanted to shake her, spit it out his mind screamed at her. “She’s wailing, I’ve never heard someone make a noise like that Booth.”

“Where is she?” He asked urgently. “Where?” He fought the urge to shake her.

“She’s in her room, god Booth, I have never heard cries like that before.” He saw the pain in her eyes for the split second before he let her go and ran from the room. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he ran up the stairs.

He burst though her bedroom door, Bones and Alex right behind him. Booth halted abruptly, looking around. It was silent, but her bathroom door was closed. Behind it Booth thought that he could hear the sound of a tap running.

He moved across the room and rapped on the door with his knuckles and waited for a response. There was none. He tried opening the door, the handle rattling as he tried to turn it, but it was locked tight. His knock was met with silence, save for the sound of the still running tap.

“Lizzie?” He called though the door, there was no doubt that she was in there. There was once again no response. Booth turned to Bones –

“You sure you heard her?”

“Positive Booth, it’s a little hard to imagine something that sounded like that.”

Turning back to the door, Booth pounded it harder with his fists.

“Lizzie, its dad, please open the door, I just want to make sure you are alright.” When there was no response again he heard Bones say –

“For god sakes Booth; just break the damn door down!” He could hear the worry laced though her voice.

Taking a step, Booth turned to his side and rammed the door. The lock held and the door didn’t budge. He moved back and tried again, driving into the door with force. The wood around the lock cracked and the door swung open inwards. None of them were prepared for what met them. Lizzie. On the floor. Naked save her underwear, her skin a pale blue tinged grey colour.

Booth made a strangled sound in the back of his throat and fell forward onto his knees, reaching out and pulling Lizzie from the floor and to his chest, rocking her back and forth slightly and cooing in her ear. Alex moved into the room next, turning off the tap and yanking the plug from the sink, she grabbed a towel from the rack and handed it to Booth as he stood, Lizzie in his arms.

He placed her on the bed; Bones was beside him in a flash, reaching out and feeling for a pulse at her neck.

“She’s got a steady pulse and her breathing is stable…” Booth felt a small amount of relief.

He looked up at Alex, “Well, are you going to call 911?”

“No, first off its 000 here, 911 would get you no-where. Plus, Seeley, we live in the middle of no-where, calling for an ambulance would not get you very far at all. Get her dry and I’ll go call the doctor, but I suspect that she is fine. She hyperventilates; she probably just had a panic attack.”

“How can you be so calm about this?” Booth nearly screamed. Alex was beginning to frustrate him; he had never been so scared in his life - save when Parker had been almost kidnapped – than seeing Lizzie lying on that floor. For a split second there he was sure that she was dead.

--

The blackness was fading into a fuzzy mixture of bright colours. Her head was pounding, a deep throbbing in her temples making her moan softly.

“Lizzie?” The voice sounded far away, muffled, her name was followed by someone gently shaking her shoulder.

“Mmmph,” she mumbled, the fog was clearing from her head and everything was beginning to come into focus.

“Lizzie?” She recognized her father’s voice this time.

“Dad…” she murmured. Opening her eyes she saw that she was lying on her bed, and was quite under-dressed. She sat up and looked into her father’s worried brown eyes. “What happened?”

“You tell me Lizzie, we found you out cold on your bathroom floor.” His unwavering gaze did not leave her face as everything came rushing back, the sadness, bereavement, and the incredible pain. She blinked and pulled away from Seeley’s gaze, she couldn’t handle its intensity.

“I-” She heaved in a great breath, trying to keep the tears at bay. “I-” She tried again to no avail. Booth rubbed her back soothingly, cooing at her to continue.

“Come on Baby, it’s alright, it’s okay, everything is going to be okay…” he muttered in her ear.

He didn’t know what was the trigger word, if there was one, or if it was his whole sentence put together, but before he knew what was happening his daughter had leapt from the bed and was shouting at him, fire in her eyes.

“NO! Everything is NOT going to be okay! My mum is dead! DEAD! As in gone forever, she’s not coming back! Everything that we had is being given away, sold off. You have no idea. Everything is NOT alright! My life is crumbling around me. You’re going to take me away, bundle me up and shift me half-way around the world like a fucking robot! A couple of spare parts, a few things, and she is good to go. Well guess what!? I’m not a fucking robot! I have feelings, I have desires, I have hopes, dreams, wishes! I have a life, with things and people and places that matter to me. Things that are special to me! ME! And you want to take them away, take me away! Well guess what! I don’t want to go any fucking where with you! I hate you! Get that, I HATE YOU!” She was in a complete rage, her skin had shifted from a pasty white to a rosy red as she paced about the room gesturing and yelling at him. And all Booth could do was stand by her bed and listen and watch his daughter explode right in front of him. Powerless to stop her almighty anger, powerless to stop the pain and despair she was feeling inside.

She could see the pity in his eyes. She didn’t bloody want his pity! All she wanted was her life back. But she knew that it was not possible. It still didn’t stop her from wanting it more than anything in the world.

Booth had a feeling he knew of one thing in particular that she was referring to in her tirade.

“Lizzie, we can bring him back with us; your mother left you a lot of money.”

“No! I don’t want it. I don’t want any of it!”

“Lizzie, I can’t afford to bring Gull over!”

“No! We’re not going anywhere, either of us.”

Booth felt her words slice through him. He felt like someone had just stabbed him in the gut. She was being serious.

“I want to stay here with Aunt Liss, I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“Lizzie, you don’t have a choice. You are a minor. You have to come home with me.”

“I hate you! I hate you – I hate you – I hate you!” She stomped her feet harshly against the hardwood floor and the sound ricocheted off the walls and caused the photos on the wall and bedside table to shudder, tapping against the wall and rattling on the wooden stand.

“Lizzie, you don’t have a choice, you have to come home with me.”

“You still don’t get it do you!” she yelled. “I don’t want to, you can’t make me!” She made for the door but Booth was faster. He slammed it shut and barricaded it with his body.

“NO!” Lizzie screamed, stomping her feet. “Let me out of here!” She was crying now, tears streaming openly down her face. She was trapped, with no-where to go. She had to stay. She turned a sharp circle and came back to face Booth, leaning forward she raised her fists and began to hit at his chest.

“Please…Please…” she sobbed. “I just want her back, I don’t want to go.” The pain in her voice broke his heart as she collapsed against him.

“I know Liz, I know,” he mumbled as he wrapped his arms around her and they slid to the floor.

“I know it’s going to be hard, it’s going to take time, time to adjust, time to make new friends, time to get everything back on track. But we can do it Liz. We are family, and I love you more than you can ever know. And your mother loves you, she always will.”

“She’s dead,” was all Lizzie said to his chest.

“I know that Liz, but she will always be with you, in your heart, watching down on you and making sure that you are okay and listening to what your father tells you.”

That earned him a small laugh, and a hiccup.

“But together Liz, together we can get through this. Life goes on; we just have to push through the hard times. I know it will be hard, everything will be new and different. But I love you, and together we can make it work. As a family.” As he said this, he looked over his daughter’s shoulder and directly into Bones’ eyes. “My family.”

Aww Bones! More, mooooore!

i second that!!!

god how I love this story.....
I could read it for the rest of my life.....

Although I'm sorry that Lizzie doesn't seem to accept the death of her mother it was nice to see Booth using exactly the same methods of soothing on her as he always uses on Bones.

and the end was nice.....his family.....and Bones is an important part of this family.....

Please continue soon.
I can't wait to read more.

fab. story...keep it coming

Thanks for the comments guys! I really appreciate it. Sorry I haven't updated in so long. The next one will probably be a while too, as exams are almost upon me, however, it is about half done. So, never fear!

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Chapter Twenty Eight: Hidden Truths

“Grandma!” Lizzie bellowed down the stairs.

“You stop your yelling woman and get your arse down here if you want to ask me something!”

Lizzie grunted, hauling herself off her bedroom floor and onto her feet. She lurched forward, smashing her toe on the corner of a box.

“Fucking hell. Damn bloody box!” She curled her toes inwards and kicked the offending box hard. It didn’t move but her foot went straight though the side tipping her off balance she fell backwards and landed on the floor square on her butt. She growled and shook her foot free of the cardboard.

“Elizabeth Booth!” came her father’s voice from down the hallway. “Watch your language young woman or I’ll start a swear jar, and then I’ll be rich.”

“Whatever,” she muttered under her breath as she stalked out of her box filled bedroom and down the stairs.

“Grandma, have you seen my green jodhpurs?” Lizzie asked as she walked into the dining room.

“Why do you need them now?”

“‘Cause I’m packing up my riding stuff and I want to put it all in the same few boxes and I need all of them to go in there, they’re the only thing that’s missing.”

“They’re out back on the clothes line along with a few other things you still had in the wash; I don’t know if they will be dry yet, Alex only hung them out a few hours ago.”

“Are you kidding? The mercury hit 36 at 8am, I’m pretty sure they are dry.” She laughed as she moved around the oak dining table and out onto the back veranda. She jumped down the steps and stopped. The heat filtered in around her as she looked down over the sloping lawn. She was really leaving. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, the heat made the air smell like citrus and wildflower.

Opening her eyes she looked over what she was leaving behind. Her life, her mother’s life. She had accepted that she had to go, after her breakdown the other day, the breakdown that had almost verged on tantrum. She knew that she couldn’t stay here. But it was still hard to let go.

Sighing, she stepped forward and moved across the clothes line that stretched around the side of the house. Seeing her jods she tested the material to see that they were dry and then yanked them off the line, the thick cotton slipping though the pegs and coming down with a snap. The line waved up and down and the now loose pegs rattled where they still sat attached to the white plastic cord.

Booth smiled as he looked over at Bones standing by the big French doors leading out onto the balcony talking to Angela on her mobile. She glanced over at him and smiled one of her amazing smiles right at him. He felt his stomach lurch, she was so beautiful and he loved her so much. He loved her for coming out here to meet his daughter with him, for taking the time to just be with him when he needed her.

The transition in their partnership from friends to lovers had been relatively smooth so far but Booth was wise enough to know that it probably would not continue to go that way. This was him and Bones they were talking about, it would just be wrong if there was no bickering and a smooth ride. He knew about her fears, he knew about her needs and all he wanted to do was protect her in any way that she would let him and nurture her, even if it wasn’t particularly in her nature to do so. He hoped she could at least humour him.

Focusing again he heard Brennan hang up with Angela and before he knew it she was standing in front of him, situated between his open legs.

“You okay? You’re looking rather pensive sitting there.”

Booth smiled up at her, grateful for her concern.

“I’m fine Bones don’t worry, just thinking about these past two weeks.”

“What about them?” She probed, resting her hands on his shoulders. He sighed and bent his head forward, resting it against her stomach and talked to the floor causing his words to be muffled slightly, although still easily comprehendible.

“I don’t know Bones, it’s just been… I mean wow… first I find out I have a daughter and then in less than a month her mother is dead and I’m in Australia to pick her up and take her home. And I still haven’t told her that she has a brother and my parents still don’t know she even exists and then this thing with you… Bones, it’s been a mad few weeks and I haven’t had a chance to just take a step back and look at all these changes in my life even if they are all for the better. But things are crazy, my daughter has gone though something no child should ever have to experience and I don’t know how to deal with that, and then this thing with you that I have wanted for so long and don’t want to screw up, then work, what will happen to Lizzie if something happens to me in the field? I’m all she’ll have when we are back home Bones, I am so afraid that I am going to screw everything up. It’s something I can’t afford to do. Because all this, it all means so much to me.”

“Booth, you are a wonderful father, never ever doubt that.” She glanced down at the back of his head and shifted her hand around so that it was under his chin. Tilting his head up, she looked into his deep chocolate eyes swirling with worry and love.

Still holding his face up towards hers she smiled at him.

“I thought it was me who was supposed to have the freak out Booth, not you.”

She was rewarded with a smile from that one and she squeezed his shoulder.

“It’s just hard Bones, I mean, she just lost her mom and I’m taking her away from everything she knows.”

“Booth, I know how hard that is, I have been there, but the difference is she is going to be in a house full of love. A real home. And she is going to have her dad.”

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” Booth asked, smiling up at her.

“You tell me,” she grinned. Booth moved his hands to her hips and pulled her down into him so she was straddling his lap. She bent her head down towards him and he captured her lips in a kiss.

Brennan sighed as she felt Booth’s tongue run over her bottom lip, begging for entrance into her mouth. Opening up she willingly complied and his hot tongue entered her mouth, swirling around, stroking her own as she began to rock her hips over him feeling the hardening ridge of his erection forming beneath her. She moaned into his mouth as the kiss heated up, she felt like her skin was on fire as she felt his hands begin to slide up under her top over her stomach and up to rest on her waist.

Booth could feel her ribs as her chest contracted and expanded with her rapid breaths. He was hot all over, his groin throbbing and painful. Leaning back slightly he flipped them over so that instead of straddling him she was now lying beneath him on the bed. Her legs dropped open so that he could settle himself over her.

Brennan gasped as Booth’s mouth shifted from her lips to her neck and up to suck on her earlobe. Shifting her head to the side, she invited him to move on and he shifted to the base of her neck, his tongue darting out to lick her soft skin then up to suck on her pulse point. He could feel her pulse fluttering wildly against her skin before moving back down to kiss and suck his way across her clavicle. She moaned, thrusting up into his erection as he bit down gently on the skin of her neck, his hands moving up to stroke the undersides of her breasts as his mouth moved back to her lips and fused with them again.

Feeling Booth’s hands on her hot skin made Brennan want to feel him too. She lifted her arms up and began to tug at the hem of his t-shirt, sliding it up his torso slowly. When she reached his underarms she began to tug it harder, trying to get Booth to lift up and let her remove the garment. But Booth refused, smiling against her lips as she became frustrated, growling at him and tugging harder still.

Brennan grinned and gave a triumphant growl when Booth finally relented and leaned up allowing her to remove his shirt. Flinging it onto the floor Brennan’s hands immediately made their way to Booth’s chest while their lips locked together again. Brennan bucked into him and Booth bit her lower lip slightly causing her to groan.

Brennan ran her hands up over his chest and across his shoulders and down his arms, feeling his muscles jump beneath her touch. He felt so good, the contrast between the hardness of his muscles and the softness of his skin. It was his turn to groan when she tweaked his nipples, causing them to harden under her touch.

“Bones…” Booth growled in a low voice, warning her, but she just bucked up into him again giving him a flirty smile.

Just as their lips reconnected the bedroom door flew open.

“Hey Da-” Lizzie came in and stopped dead when she looked up and saw the scene on the bed. Both adult’s heads flew straight to her face and both blushed deeply. Booth and Lizzie seemed to be frozen, so Brennan shoved Booth off her and pulled her top down turning her face away from Lizzie, but not before noticing that the girl had gone sheet white.

“Lizzie…” Booth started getting up off the bed and took a step towards his daughter. As he moved towards her, Lizzie however looked up and took a step back, a look of sheer shock still clearly written on her face.

“I’m sorry…” she stuttered looking back at the floor colour returning to her cheeks as she flushed a rosy pink, the tips of her ears turning red.

“No Liz…” Booth tried to cut in, but Lizzie just kept on talking to the floor.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything…I…I…I was just going to ask…um…if…” She paused here as if sifting for the right words to say. “I’m sorry…” She repeated softly, a tremor in her voice now and Booth knew that if she looked up at him he would be able to see tears in her eyes. After a few deep breaths she looked up and straight into Booth’s gaze. “I’ll just come back later.” And then she was gone. Booth bolted from the room after her but she was already down the stairs by the time he reached the top. He sighed running a hand though his hair in frustration. Great, he thought, this is just what he needed; for Lizzie to have another freak out on him.

Lizzie burst into her dad’s room and what she saw made her stop dead. Her dad, on top of Dr. Brennan. Her dad without his shirt on. Her dad with his hands up her shirt. The sight made her want to throw up so she looked away as both adults blushed. Lizzie felt her cheeks tingle and for some reason she felt ashamed. I knew I should have knocked she mentally chastised herself.

“Lizzie…” Her dad voice cut though her thoughts and she looked up, taking a step back when he moved towards her. She didn’t want him touching her now. And then she began babbling.

“I’m sorry…”

“No Liz…” She heard him say but she just kept on going, still staring at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything…I…I…I was just going to ask…um…if…” What was she going to ask him again, she couldn’t remember and when she tried to think about it all she could see was the image of her father on top of Brennan, an image that seemed to be seared into her memory, “I’m sorry…” she muttered, shaking her head. She cursed herself as she felt hot tears well up in her eyes, I will not cry, Lizzie, you are not allowed to cry she repeated to herself. She needed to get out of there, “I’ll just come back later” she blurted and then turned and ran from the room as fast as she could go.

She could hear him behind her but she didn’t stop, she ran though the dining room and out the back door, down the lawn and didn’t stop until she was over the small hill and out of view of the house. When she halted she stood for a second before leaning over and retching all over the ground in front of her.

Straightening back up, Lizzie wiped her mouth and tried to stop herself from shaking. She could not believe him! He had told her days before that there was nothing going on between them. He had lied to her, right to her face. How was she supposed to trust him now? How was she supposed to trust her? They had both lied to her. And as she turned around to make her way back to the house she wondered just what else he could be hiding from her.

--

Oho that sounds like problems.
He should have told her about him and Bones.......but on the other hand Lizzie has to realize that her dad has his own life too.
Maybe if they talk about it they can find a way to deal with all the news.

I really can't wait to read more......but I will wait patiently for about a month.....after that I can't guarantee anything

Oh, my ,my ,my Didn't see that coming.

I think Bones should have a talk with her....oh gosh....more problems


I LOVE THIS FIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup. Always problems, although all of them mostly resolved.

Glad to know you guys like it. I love to get feedback. Makes me all warm and squishy inside.

Anyway, the next chapter is in the works. I promise Toz, although I can't say how long it will be I can say that it is a nice and long one just for you all. Haha. And hopefully a good one. I was having a read over some of the stuff I wrote the other night and it was a load of bull-shit. So I had to re-write it all. Note to self: Do not try to write at 2am. You will end up with a jumble of thaughts that don't may any sense what-so-ever.

okay grub........i just read the whole story all the way thru............and guess what????? i freakin love it..........absolutely wonderful...........ups and downs and the romance talks..........niiiiiice............and the time down under.......whoooooo hoooooooooo even better.............you are doing such a freakin good job.......i want more.........more more..................i mean.........i would like another chapter please.......thank you..........

I thought I could read a new chapter......
now I'm sad that I still have to wait.....

maybe I could try to ask for a new chapter again.....it seemed to work before

ToZiKa wrote:I thought I could read a new chapter......
now I'm sad that I still have to wait.....

maybe I could try to ask for a new chapter again.....it seemed to work before

I promise! I have the next chapter finished and it is with Space, so she is the one you should be bugging. Although it is probably taking her a while cause it's 22 pages long! I surprise even myself sometimes. I might have to split it up...

And thanks Cup. I hope you'll like what is to come just as much.

SPACE!
HURRY UP!
I NEED A NEW CHAPTER!!!!!

Okay, no new chapter yet. Just bumping this up so I remember to update it tonight.