Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, but I am obsessed!
Author's Note: This one popped into my head today at work. I was thinking about The Maggots in the Meathead, and I was really bothered by Booth uttering the phrase "my famous mac n' cheese." It's Brennan's mac n' cheese after all, isn't it? So this little one-shot got written with some reference to Stargazer in a Puddle as well. I do not know where all of this angst comes from! I think it is making If I Needed Someone a little bit fluffier.
My Famous Mac n' Cheese
Booth smiled at the phone and thanked Hannah. The two women had both said "You're welcome." It only took Brennan a nanosecond to realize that Booth was not talking to her, but to his girlfriend. A girlfriend that had just moved in with him. She felt slightly awkward and knew that she had to get out of his apartment and fast.
Hannah was sweet to Brennan, inviting her to stay to dinner, but Brennan knew that she had to leave. She may be welcome, but she wasn't sure that she belonged anymore. It didn't help that Booth echoed the invite with his own attempt.
"I can make my famous mac n' cheese."
Brennan declined and made her exit. Booth walked her out and they shared a few glances, it seemed like they both had something to say, but neither was sure of how to start. So they just muttered some meaningless, "See you tomorrows." Brennan closed the door softly behind her. Booth turned back to Hannah and rubbed his hands together.
"Hey Hannah, are you ready to be amazed by the culinary skills of one Seeley Joseph Booth?" Hannah just laughed and kissed him. He shooed away her offers of help and made his way to the kitchen as Hannah powered up her laptop, trying to get a little bit of work done before the evening's inevitable activities.
Brennan made her way to the parking garage, trying to be happy for Booth. But she felt emotionally raw, had she heard right? Booth was making his famous mac n' cheese? It had been Carly's recipe first, and Brennan had made the dish for Booth one night years ago. She had made it her own by adding the hint of nutmeg. He had raved, and they had both brushed off the implied intimacy of cooking, after all, "a man's gotta eat."
Brennan had made that mac n' cheese several times after that one night for Booth and Parker. Parker had loved it, and the three of them had enjoyed several meals together after days about town; the two boys ravenous and Brennan pleased that they were so appreciative of her efforts. She always felt a little silly at home in her bed at the end of those days. She was an educated scientist who felt no need to perpetuate stereotypes that women belonged in the kitchen. The truth was that she enjoyed caring for those two boys, as much as she would deny it in the plain light of day. In the dark of night, alone in her bed, she could wish that things could be different, that the domesticity could be more permanent. But she was Temperance Brennan, and she just didn't do domesticity. But sometimes, late at night, she longed for it.
Brennan made her way into her car and drove home, wondering when her mac n' cheese had become his mac n' cheese. She had given Booth the recipe one weekend when she was away at a book signing and Parker had been feeling under the weather. Parker had said that the only thing that would make him feel better would be that pasta. So Booth had interrupted her press event, annoying both her agent and her publicist, and asked for the recipe. Neither were surprised that she had ignored her fans in order to help Parker feel better and had recited the recipe from memory. She also encouraged Booth to play around with the recipe and make it his own. Parker had been impressed with his dad's efforts and after that point, when that dish was made it was usually Booth and Brennan using their efficient teamwork to create a culinary masterpiece.
Now Brennan began to wonder if that mac n' cheese would ever be hers again. It had become theirs and now it had become his. She worried that it would soon become Booth and Hannah's, that there would be a new theirs. If Brennan's heart had been slightly crushed by Booth's gratitude for the gift that Brennan had suggested, then it was probable that Brennan's heart was crushed just a little bit more by this revelation. She hoped that she wasn't going to lose to much else of what made her and Booth so special, but she was a genius, she knew better. The time for her and Booth had passed, and she needed to let it go. The memories of them would always be hers, and nobody could take them away or improve upon them. That thought was the only comforting one that helped her sleep that night. It wasn't the food that was important, it was the memories, and those would always be theirs.
"My God, Seeley, this is incredible!" Hannah pointed her fork repeatedly at the bowl in front of her. A smile came across her face, as she began to dig into the bowl with gusto. Booth grabbed his own bowl off of the counter and joined her at the table. He stabbed some pasta and tasted it. He chewed thoughtfully. It was good, it always was. But something was different, he wasn't sure which ingredient wasn't right and it bothered him.
"Something wrong, Seeley?" Hannah smiled at him, but a concerned look passed over her face. He looked up from his bowl. He gave her a half smile.
"No, nothing wrong. Just feel like I'm forgetting something." He returned to his dinner and shoved giant forkfuls of the mac n' cheese into his mouth. Yes, something was definitely off, but he brushed it aside, determined to enjoy his meal with Hannah.
They ate and chatted lightly and they did the dishes together. It was a nice night and Booth was amply rewarded for his efforts in the kitchen. It wasn't until late that night when he realized what was missing. He had made his famous mac n' cheese, but it wasn't their famous mac n' cheese. And theirs was better, it always had been, and maybe always would be.