Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of the characters associated with it.
Rating: Erm...G/PG
Pairing: BB of course
Author's Note: Here's a fluffy little fic for Valentine's Day. I hope you all enjoy it. If I could, I would send candy hearts to everyone, but I can't, so I send this fic. Enjoy.
Dedication: To Rae, for remembering to bring me Sweethearts since I can't eat chocolate. Even if it was only because you didn't want them. To Ems, for everything she is, and all the begging she made for the part. Hope it was worth the wait.
"It's Valentine's Day and you're still working?" he asked, entering her office, a disgruntled look on his face. She looked up at him, eyebrow quirked and smirk in place.
"I know," she replied. "Do I have to remind you who was the one who came barging in here three hours earlier to inform me that he just had to have this report written up tonight? Or can you figure it out on your own?"
"Okay, I get it," he grumbled. "I am an insensitive jerk who ruined your plans for a romantic evening." He leaned against her desk, watching her work, eyes skimming the pages she had printed, signing her name in the appropriate places. "So...what were your plans for the evening?"
"Hardly what I would call romantic."
"Oh?" he asked, eyebrow raised. "Then what were you planning to do?"
"Why do you care?" He shrugged and she sighed, dropping the pen to the desktop and leaning back in the computer chair in order to meet his eyes. "I was planning on going home and opening a nice bottle of red wine, play a little jazz softly...What are you smiling at Booth?"
He continued to grin, giving a shake of his head that dislodged some of the melting snow flakes that had clung there. "Nothing Bones, nothing. Go on, what else?"
"It doesn't matter," she replied, a smirk tugging tiredly at her mouth. "What about you? Did you have any plans for tonight?" He gave a shrug, pushing away from her desk and pulling her to her feet. "Come on Booth, I told you what mine were. Did you have a romantic dinner planned?" She felt bad suddenly, wondering if he had been forced to shove his own plans aside from someone higher up. She knew he put more stock into holidays than she did.
"No," he replied, helping her into her jacket. He couldn't resist lifting her hair out of her collar, running his fingers through the dark strands as they settled around her shoulders. "I just thought I'd spend the evening with a good friend of mine." She raised her eyebrow and he laughed quietly, hand resting automatically on the small of her back as they turned to the door.
"Really? And do I know this "good friend" of yours?"
"Why Bones, do I hear a tinge of jealousy in your voice?" He laughed at her glare, shaking his head. "Yes, you know her."
"Oh, so now it's her?" He gave a shrug, opening the glass door to the outside world, letting in a gust of cold air and a flurry of white flakes. "And what did you plan to do with her?"
He chuckled quietly, slipping his arm around her shoulders as they crossed the icy parking lot. "I figured a nice dinner at home, wine included of course, and some quiet music in the background."
"Of course," she agreed. She glanced at him, watching the way the snow lightly dusted his hair, the way the wind pulled at the ends of his scarf, no doubt as brightly colored as his socks. "Why not go out to eat? At one of those big fancy restaurants that charge outrageous prices, where the waiters want exorbitant tips?"
He shrugged, tightening his hold on her. "She's not really fond of those types of places," he admitted.
"Oh." She paused as he opened the SUV door for her and she slid in, turning to face him before he closed it. "But you like those types of places."
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding slowly. "But, she doesn't." He offered her a smile before closing the door, leaving her to think about what he had said while he got in on the other side.
"So, what your saying, is that you would for-go your own," she paused, trying to find a word that would express her thoughts. "You would put aside your own feelings for her? You would lessen your own holiday pleasure to let her enjoy it more?"
"Well...yeah," he replied slowly, glancing at her as they headed out of the parking lot and away from the Jeffersonian. "That's what you do when you care about someone."
"Oh. Right." She fell silent and stared out the window at the white world they were passing through, trying to let his words sink in. They made sense, neglecting your own enjoyment for the enjoyment of someone you cared about. After all, weren't you supposed to achieve happiness through the enjoyment of making others happy?
"Come on, we're here," he said finally. He opened the car door and got out, grabbing his things out of the back. She was waiting for him at the front door and he smiled as he caught up to her, locking the SUV behind him. "Cold?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I'll be fine once we're inside," she answered.
She sighed happily as she felt the warmth envelope her. She slid her jacket off, unwrapping her scarf and removing her gloves at the door, hanging them in the small closet. He smiled back at her as he did the same, tossing his bag into the closet as well, watching as she moved on, entering the living room, already seeming more at ease than he'd seen her all day.
"Booth!" she exclaimed. His grin widened as he followed her, seeing her paused in front of the dining room table. She turned around, eyes wide, and stared at him as he made his way to the sound system, putting a jazz CD on softly.
"Like it?"
A white table cloth was draped over the dark wood of the table, a vase of red roses in the middle along with candles waiting to be lit. It was set for two and she could smell the faint traces of food coming from the kitchen. She shook her head, noticing the wrapped box sitting near one of the plates, a card propped against it with the word, or rather in this case name, Bones scrawled across the pink envelope.
"I can't believe you did this," she said finally. "You know I...Thank you Booth."
He chuckled quietly, giving his head a shake. "The least I can do after sticking you in a lab finishing paperwork until seven at night," he replied easily. "And, I knew you wouldn't like the whole going out to dinner thing so I cooked."
"Which again, I can't believe." He made a face and she laughed quietly, shaking her head.
"Go sit down Bones and I'll bring out dinner."
She sighed, leaning back into the couch as she sipped her wine. Her eyes were closed, enjoying the soft melody of the jazz music filtering through the speakers. Dinner had been great, she had forgotten how well he cooked, better than she did at any rate, which was a good thing since otherwise they'd be living off take-out after the incident where she caught the spaghetti on fire last fall.
"Full?" he asked, joining her on the couch.
Her eyes opened and a contented smile stole across her face. "Yes. Thank you Booth." She noticed the card and package in his hand, along with the wine glass, and her smile faltered. "I'm sorry, I didn't get you anything."
He chuckled slightly, sliding over so that they were next to each other. "It's okay Bones, I didn't expect you to."
"Your vote of confidence in me is overwhelming."
"I know you've been busy with the case, and you never pay much attention to holidays anyway. I understand why you didn't." He set the glass down and handed her the card and package, letting his arm drape around her shoulders. "Are you going to sit and stare at it all evening or are you going to open it?"
She rolled her eyes as he took her wine glass, setting it on the coffee table in front of them before settling back into the couch again. "Alright," she muttered.
She picked up the card first, sliding her finger under the flap and lifting it to remove the card. He watched as her face softened, lips moving as she read the words softly to herself, flipping it open and reading the inside, a smile brightening her features as she read the last lines. She turned to him, still laughing quietly.
"Thank you."
"Uh-huh. Welcome. Now open the gift," he prodded, nudging her lightly. She laughed again, shaking her head as her eyes met his.
"Honestly, I don't know what's worse, when you're the one receiving the gifts, or when you're the one giving them."
"I only want to see your face light up when you open it. The anticipation kills me, you know that."
"I know." She gave him a smile. "Maybe I should just wait then..."
"If you wait any longer I will open it for you."
She rolled her eyes at him but turned her attention to the package in her hands. It was small and square, wrapped in white with red hearts wrapping paper. She raised an eyebrow at him as she pulled a corner away, carefully opening it so as not to rip the paper. He made a frustrated sound and she giggled before removing the paper completely. In her hands was a blue velvet jewelers box and her eyes met his.
"Booth..."
"Just open it Bones," he said softly, watching her.
She lifted the lid, a small gasp escaping her as she saw the necklace inside. It was a spiral of diamonds, starting smaller but getting bigger as the spiral increased. Her eyes met his and he gave her a small smile, watching the emotions war with themselves in her eyes.
"Like it?"
"Love it. Thank you. I never expected...it's beautiful Seeley."
"I'm glad you like it. Here, turn around." She did as told, handing him the box and he removed the necklace, hooking it gingerly around her neck. She turned back to face him and he grinned.
"How does it look?"
"Great," he replied truthfully. His fingers danced across the glittering stones of their own accord, absentmindedly brushing the fair skin of her collar bone and throat every once in awhile. She took a breath, eyes closing before she reopened them and smiled a little wider at him. "There's this story that goes along with them," he murmured, sliding his hand over her shoulder and down her arm.
"Really? What is it?"
"The spiral symbolizes a journey, one that never ends, only getting bigger and bigger as time moves on. Diamonds are the hardest stones, they can't be broken or destroyed, therefore the journey is meant to endure throughout life and only get stronger and better as it continues, hence why the stones get bigger as they spiral..." he trailed off as she smiled at him and shook his head. "You probably think this is a bunch of psychology with no real relevance, huh?"
She shook her head slowly, resting her hand on his. "No, I love it, and I appreciate the thought that went into it. Thank you."
He smiled and she returned it, sighing and reaching for her glass when there was a knock on the door. He glanced at the clock, nodding when he saw the time. "Eleven on the dot," he murmured.
She nodded as well, standing slowly. "That's probably Ange then," she replied. She stretched and looked at the table, the dishes already cleared away and the candles blown out. "Ready?"
"Yeah." He followed her to the door, smiling when it was opened to reveal Angela on the other side, bouncing in the cold draft and holding a sleeping child to her. "Hey Ange," he whispered.
"Hey, get lost on the way to the door? Or did I interrupt something?" Angela asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
"You didn't interrupt anything, you're right on time," she told her friend. Booth nodded, stepping forward.
"Here, I'll take her." They transferred the girl into his arms and she murmured sleepily, curling into him automatically.
"Would you like to come in?"
"No thanks Sweetie, I have to run. Thanks though. See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah." She hugged the artist good-bye smiling as she closed the door to the cold air and turned back to Booth. "We should put her in bed."
He nodded and they made their way through the living room and to the back where the bedrooms were. She turned the light on low in one of the bedrooms before going over to the bed and turning down the covers so he could lay the girl down. She murmured again, shifting as she settled into the mattress, arms automatically finding the worn teddy bear.
"We have to repay Angela for this," she whispered as they stood at the door, watching the child sleep.
"I thought we did by watching her kids on New Years," he replied, hands rubbing her shoulders.
She laughed quietly, turning to him. "The only reason you agreed to that was because we had Parker," she retorted. He chuckled as well, leading her from the room, to their previous spots on the couch.
"Think she minded?"
"Who? Ange or Teagan?"
"Teagan," he replied firmly.
She chuckled and shook her head, leaning against him. "No, I don't think she minded. She likes to play over there, you know that. All the kids get along."
"Yeah, I know, I was just wondering."
"Daddy's little girl," she sighed. He tightened his grip around her, pressing his lips to the top of her head and she smiled.
"You bet," he grumbled, ignoring her laugh. "Happy Valentine's Day Bones."
She pulled away slowly, eyeing him and he raised an eyebrow. "You know, I think I do have something for you. For Valentine's Day I mean," she explained. He gestured for her to go on and she smiled, reaching down to grab his hand in hers.
"Don't keep me in suspense Bones, what is it?"
"I'm pregnant." He stared at her, a slow smile developing. "Two months."
"When were you going to tell me?"
"Sometime this week," she answered, giving a vague shrug. "Maybe next week. You would have noticed eventually I'm sure."
He stared at her still, mouth working to form words. "When did you find out?"
"Last week," she admitted.
"And you didn't think to tell me?"
"I was going to, and I did. Oh, come on, it isn't like what I did with Teagan."
"Oh yes, because if you did a repeat of that I would surely be in the hospital suffering cardiac arrest," he grumbled. She smiled, pressing her lips to his briefly to quiet his rising voice.
"You wouldn't. I wouldn't do it the same way."
"I would hope not." He shook his head, pulling her tight against him. "I still can't believe you waited almost a month after you found out to tell me you were pregnant with Teagan. And to top it all off you did it while we were in the middle of an argument, hunched over a skeleton in the lab, with all the Squints around," he grumbled.
"I didn't do that this time," she pointed out. She pulled back, staring at him. "I was waiting until the proper time. We've both had heavy caseloads, I just didn't want it distracting you." She took a deep breath, her eyes meeting his. "Are you upset? Did you not want to have another child?"
He shook his head, kissing her deeply before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "No. Trust me Bones, I'm quite happy," he replied. He grinned then, nudging her. "Parker's been asking when he'd get a little brother to torment anyway."
"It might be a girl," she pointed out.
Her protest only made his grin widen. "Then I guess, we'll just have to keep trying until we make his wish come true," he murmured, pulling her closer.
"Seeley..." she groaned, shaking her head.
"Come on, you know you enjoy having kids around, admit it."
"I admit it," she mumbled darkly. She sighed, leaning in to give him a chaste kiss. "I love you Seeley Booth."
He smiled, pressing his own chaste kiss to her lips before pulling back, threading his fingers through her hair. He would never get tired of hearing that. "I love you too Temperance Booth." Just as he would never get tired of saying that.