The Elephant In The Womb

There was a soft knocking on the apartment door that Brennan had originally thought was the rain. It wouldn't have surprised her at all, since the rain had been pouring down on and off all day. She sat uncomfortably on the couch, her back supported by several pillows and a book resting where it could. Her eyes moved to the door again, the gentle knock a bit harder now, she sighed resignedly and slowly pulled her feet from the couch. She was pushing her ninth month of pregnancy, and it almost seemed to her that her abdomen was expanding at an hourly rate. She rolled her eyes at her silent exaggeration, and forced herself from the couch. Just as she righted herself, she heard the gentle knock again, and it worried her just a bit that she might not make it to the door in time. "I'll be right there." She called.

As she walked through the living area toward the door, she dodged several bags of baby clothes and gifts that hadn't been put away yet, the color pink seemed to just appear out of every corner of her apartment these days. She made it to the door, with a quick glance to the clock, noting that it was nearly eight in the evening, she unlatched the locks on the door and peered through the crack.

The person she saw standing on the other side was seemingly surprised by the door opening, as if she hadn't realized that she still had her knuckles to the wood. "Temperance." The woman said with a friendly smile, lacking any and all pretense.

"Hannah?" Brennan said, surprised by the woman's appearance at her door. She hadn't heard from or seen Hannah since the night she had called her to tell her about Booth's proposal. The pause that followed the initial surprise at seeing Hannah standing at her apartment door was long, at least it seemed long to Brennan, who had no idea why she would possibly be standing there. "Is everything alright?" She asked, still holding the door open just a crack, there was a level of apprehension in Hannah's eyes that she just couldn't seem to ignore.

"I… I'm sorry, Temperance. I shouldn't have bothered you. I'm sorry." Hannah said quickly, taking a step backwards.

"No." Brennan replied. "Hannah, please come inside. It's nice to see you." She said, her voice not displaying the confusion that she was currently feeling at this surprise visit. She opened the door and took a step back, allowing the other woman to step inside the apartment, Hannah turned just as the door closed, and there was an audible gasp.

"Temperance?" Hannah managed to say, surprised at Brennan's condition, she recovered quickly. "Congratulations!" She smiled brightly, catching the sparkle in the other woman's eyes as her smile reached up to place it there. "When are you... when...?" She seemed speechless for a moment.

"Next month." Brennan replied, glancing over to the couch, she sighed at the plate she had left, and a wrapper from a granola bar from earlier. "I'm sorry about the mess." She said softly.

"Mess? Temperance, your place is never a mess." Hannah let out a nervous laugh. "I'm really sorry for not calling before I showed up." She said with a smile.

"That's fine." She smiled as she began to clean up the dishes, she walked toward the kitchen slowly, feeling the aches and pains along the way, she stepped to the sink. "I've accepted shorter days at the lab as my due date nears. I can still work from my apartment, so it makes things much more convenient for me to get the proper amount of rest and hydration that is required for the baby's health."

Hannah smiled, feeling a bit awkward standing on the other side of the island in the kitchen. She glanced around at the various decorations in the apartment, noting that it didn't look much different than it had from the last time she had been there. The biggest difference was the gift bags that seemed to line the living room. "I'll hazard a guess and assume that you're having a girl?" She asked, watching Temperance turn slightly at the other woman's smile, she instantly realized that Hannah seemed quite uncomfortable.

"Yes, yes, it's a girl." She smiled. "Perhaps you'd like to see her bedroom." Temperance said, hoping that perhaps sharing this would make things seem a little less awkward. "We still haven't gotten a crib yet, though that is something we're currently discussing. Since the baby will be in a bassinet, I didn't feel that it was crucial, yet Angela seems to think that the child's future sleeping arrangements should be made the centerpiece of the bedroom." She said, allowing her own nervousness to escape from her lips. She led the other woman down the hallway and they turned into a small room, decorated with pink and blue wallpaper, the ceiling adorned with clouds intermingled with stars, hiding in the blue hue that was painted above. "So what brings you here for a visit?" Brennan asked politely, still unsure of the other woman's reasoning for a visit.

"I... wanted to ask you about Seeley." Hannah said, as suddenly, the door slammed across the apartment, and the sound of Booth's voice echoed down the hallway.

"Bones, I'm sorry." He called.

Brennan glanced to Hannah, and for a moment she looked like she was going to be sick. "I'll be right back." She said, moving toward the doorway. "Booth?"

Before she even stepped out into the hallway, he was practically in front of her, striding down the hallway, he smiled. "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? We can keep the crib here. I just thought that since you spend so much time at my place it would just be a little more convenient." He said, dropping a kiss on her lips, she gave him a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong?" He watched the look on her face contort slightly, and he felt nervous suddenly. "Bones, what's wrong."

"Can we talk for a second?" She asked in a low voice, taking his arm.

"Yeah." He said, his eyes showing genuine confusion as she pulled at his arm. "Bones, why are you dragging me down the hallway?"

"Because I think it's rude to talk about people when they are in the next room." She whispered to him. His eyes widened and then narrowed.

"People?"

"Person."

"Bones, I think that the hormones are messing with your brain again."

"Hannah is here." She said, watching him stop grinning, his eyes widening. "I don't know why." She said, before he could even ask. "But she knows that you're here, so it might be polite of you to go in and speak with her."

Booth shook his head and touched Brennan's shoulder, turning her so they were facing away from the bedroom. "Not a good idea."

"Why, Booth?" Brennan asked, turning toward him, her eyes challenged him. "Are you still sexually attracted to her?"

"What? No!" He exclaimed, letting his eyes drop to Brennan's swollen abdomen, he looked back into her eyes. "Absolutely not."

"Then it's time for you to face your fears." She said, placing her hand on his shoulder, she turned him. "You can think of this as your way of apologizing for lying to me about the baby's crib."

"I didn't lie." He said, turning toward her, she put her hand on his chest and continued to push him.

"You know as well as I do that the crib wasn't going to fit in your apartment, and that's why you brought it here." She said, raising an eyebrow at him, continuing to push him down the hallway toward the room.

"Bones, I can't do this." He mumbled.

"You can do it for me, do it for your daughter... do it for yourself." She replied.

He stopped, gave her a glare, and her eyebrow lifted in challenge.

"I love you." She said, leaning up to kiss his cheek, she turned away from him.

He watched her walk away from him down the hallway, and after a moment, turned toward the baby's bedroom. He took a deep breath and walked around the corner. Hannah turned at the same moment and their eyes met, as he gave her a smile. "Hey."

"Hey." She said, glancing to the doorway, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Bones had to go to the bathroom or something, she does that a lot more now." He said, trying to make Hannah laugh, but instead, she simply nodded. "How have you been?" He asked, allowing a small smile to grace his lips. "Busy?"

Hannah's eyebrows lifted and a shy smile passed over her lips, her eyes traveled the room. "Not as busy as you, apparently." She said with a soft, nervous laugh. "You and Temperance?" She asked, unsure of exactly what to say.

"Yes." He nodded.

"And..."

"Yes." He nodded again.

She nodded her head and kind of let her hand flick nonchalantly in her pocket for a second. "You look happy."

"I am very happy." He replied, watching the flinch in her eyes made his stomach twist. He hated hurting people, and he knew this had to be difficult for her. "Bones and I are very happy." He replied. "Do you, want to... stay for drinks or something?" He asked.

"I'm not sure that would be appropriate." She said, giving him a sad smile. "But thank you." She said, reaching her hand out, he took hers. "Congratulations, Seeley."

"Thank you." He whispered, unsure of what else to say, and watched as she disappeared through the doorway. He listened as she walked down the hallway, holding his breath, he heard Brennan's voice, and the door opening and closing as Hannah said goodbye. He tried to breathe again. His attention was suddenly brought to the sound of something being pushed down the hallway. Attention piqued, he stepped to the door and looked around the corner. "Bones, what the hell are you doing?" He asked, watching his very pregnant girlfriend attempt to push the large box with the crib down the hallway.

"I thought if you did something handy, you'd feel better." She said, offering a smile, she watched his eyes narrow as he stepped closer to her, and she pressed her back against the wall, letting him come closer.

"I can think of something else to use my hands for." He said, holding his hands up, he gave her a wicked smile.

"Good." She whispered seductively, leaning toward him, she kissed his lips tenderly. "There is a sink full of dishes that need to be washed too." She smiled, leaning over, she continued to push the crib box toward the bedroom, leaving Booth to roll his eyes, before he simply lifted it up and brought it into the baby's room.