Change is Gonna Come (a flangsty fic) rated T--posted by bandbi on 11/9/2007

Title: Change is Gonna Come
Rating: T
Pairing(S): Booth/Brennan... like I would write something else!!
Summary: Brennan contemplates the changes in her life.
Warning(s): Spoilers for Two Bodies in the Lab


Disclaimer: I own nothing, much to my utter sadness. I own neither Bones or the song.

A/N: So I heard that two of my favorite authors came up with their own little challenge… NJC. They picked a song… in this case Rain by Jon Heintz… the challenge is to come up with a story inspired by this song. We are also supposed to list our reasoning / thought process behind this song. I found that the song had kind of a sad tone to it, but I tried to see the positive in it.

The lines of the song that inspired me are:

‘We do what we must just to get by. Just to stay high and dry. And as sure as these blue skies they’re gonna turn gray’ … ‘Rain is gonna come down. Change is gonna come ‘round.’

Brennan hates change, avoids it and does all she can to keep her life constant. I am a fluff writer. I might have a little bit of angst in my stories, but they always end fluffy and happily. One of my favorite episodes is ‘Two Bodies in the Lab’. My story takes place at the end of the episode and like the Booth/Brennan shipper that I am… I’m going to ignore the whole Dick431 fiasco! So here is what I was motivated to write after listening to the song Rain by Jon Heintz.

CHANGE IS GONNA COME

Brennan stood looking out the window of the hospital room, watching the rain come down. The weather seemed appropriate considering her mood. She turned her head to look at her partner in the bed, injured because of a rogue FBI agent.

The first emotion that ran through her was anger at Jaime Kenton, the man who had tried and almost succeeded in killing her. His first attempt had caused Booth’s injuries. The second only failed because Booth had dragged himself from his hospital bed to rescue her.

The second emotion was gratitude. She was so grateful to have Booth in her life. Without him, she would have been dead. Although, she probably wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place, she would have been stuck in her lab. He had helped her to open herself up to so many things both personally and professionally.

The third emotion was fear. Fear of losing him as her partner and friend. Fear that he could have lost his life trying to save her.

The strongest emotion she was experiencing was confusion. Her past, being abandoned by her family, had made her very leery of relationships. Anytime, someone she was dating got too close she ended things, thereby doing away with the possibility of being left behind. She hated change, her routine was one of the most comforting things to her peace of mind. She had done everything she could to protect herself from change, but she finally realized that change was going to happen regardless of what she did.

She knew there was chemistry between Booth and herself, although she had always ignored it. As long as she pretended it wasn’t there things didn’t have to change. They could remain partners and her heart wouldn’t be at risk. However, as she stood looking at Booth asleep in his hospital bed, she realized that change was going to come no matter what. Some how he had managed to work his way past her barriers and entrenched himself firmly in her heart. Whether they were in a romantic relationship or not, she would be devastated if something ever happened to Booth and it almost had. Only her way, in her self-preserving way she would have regrets. She would have forever regretted not letting him know how she felt about him. She would have regretted not pursuing a relationship with him. She didn’t want to regret anything anymore.

Again, she thought that change would come no matter what and that she could embrace it or be in fear of it. She didn’t want to be afraid anymore.

Brennan moved to Booth’s side as he moaned in his sleep. As she stood looking down at him, she realized that she had nothing to fear from Booth. He was the most loyal person she knew, that he would never disappear from her life. He wasn’t like her parents, he would never abandon her. She reached out and put her hand on his cheek. His eyes fluttered opened at he touch.

“Bones?” His voice was hoarse.

“Hey Seeley.” She said softly. His eyes widened slightly at her use of his first name, then he smiled.

“Hey Temperance. How are you doin?”

“I’m fine, it’s you I’m worried about.”

“Don’t worry about me I’ll be fine, you’ll have your partner back in no time.” His brows furrowed in confusion as she shook her head.

“I don’t want just my partner back.” Now he was even more confused, but he knew not to push her. He watched as she took a deep breath before continuing. “Seeley, I realized today that I could have lost you.”

“Hey, you didn’t lose me, I’m fine.”

“But I could have and I realized that I would have so many regrets.”

“What kind of regrets would you have?”

“I’ve always protected myself from change and getting hurt, but if something had happened to you I would have been hurt anyway. By shutting myself off, I miss out on so much. If something had happened to you I would have regretted not ever telling you how I feel. I would have regretted never finding out if we could have made a relationship work.”

“How do you feel about me Bones?” He asked softly. She wasn’t the only one who would have had regrets if today’s events had turned out differently, if he hadn’t made it to that warehouse in time.

“How about when you get out of here we go out on a date and discuss it?” Her voice was low, but he still heard her and his heart soared at her question.

“I think that’s good idea Temperance.” He covered the hand on his face with his own and drew it close to his mouth. He placed a soft kiss on her palm and then pulled it down to link their fingers. He gazed first at their joined hands and then up at her face. When she looked up and into his eyes he spoke again. “I think that’s a really good idea.”

THE END

This is nice. Who doesn't want to curl up with Booth on that hospital bed, hmmm?