Hi sweeties! Some of you may already know the first one-shot here – it's called Shivers... that's why the title of this is Shivers- and other one-shots! All one-shots I am going to write from now on, I'll post in here... it's easier, I think.
So, there's a second one-shot here now and according to what my muse is telling me, there will be more ;) Most of them B&B, with a certain amount of fluffiness, but also angst. I hope you'll enjoy this one-shot collection!!!
Shivers…
Temperance Brennan was tightly wrapped up in a blanket. She was fully clothed, with thick woollen socks and even a jacket, but nevertheless she was cold, colder than ever before or so it seemed.
She tried to warm her fingers with her breath, but did not really succeed. She tried to think of something to distract her from the cold surrounding her, but every time she started to concentrate on something the recent case came up in her mind... and with the case also came – uninvited – the memory of how she had ended up in this hotel room, shivering.
She sighed. It had been this very morning when she had been standing in her very comfortable and warm lab, examining Civil War remains, when Booth had shown up, telling her they had a case. She had looked at him incredulously, reminding him of the blizzard and the freezing cold outside. She remembered the smile he had given her and that he had said: "Well, you better get packed, Bones, we'll have to stay overnight and pack something warm."
Finally he had driven her to her apartment, not trusting her car to handle the unbelievable amounts of snow. It had taken them 6 hours to get to the scene... almost twice as long as the drive normally would take.
Finally she had been able to examine the remains of a woman in her late forties or early fifties. She found out that the woman had been alcoholic for years and that what had looked like a murder had been a tragic accident. The woman must have tripped, fallen down an a stone, which broke her skull and afterwards her body had rolled down a slope... where a hiker had found her. A hiker... Brennan shook her head. 'Who wants to go hiking in a freaking blizzard...' she asked herself.
It had been of course too late to drive back to DC and so they had to stay, just as Booth had told her. When they had reached the only Motel in town the receptionist had informed them, that they only had one room free, because some people had been forced to stay because of the blizzard. So Booth and Brennan had to share a room. Fortunately it had been one with twin beds. Shortly after they had entered their room the receptionist had informed them – apologising at least twenty times – that the heating had just stopped to work, but they were trying to solve the problem.
That had been three hours ago and the temperature in the room had steadily decreased.
Now it was too damn cold to think and Brennan shivered on her bed, listening to the even breathing of her partner Seeley Booth. 'How come men can sleep through something like that?' She thought.
She tried to warm her hand by rubbing the palms over her thighs, but she did not even really feel the contact. She muttered a curse.
"Bones?" She suddenly heard the voice of Booth. "Mhm" She mumbled as an answer.
"Bones, are you okay?" She could hear that he was concerned. 'Okay?' She thought. 'Yes, wonderful... it's freaking cold, and you ask if I am okay...' Instead of voicing her thoughts she just said "I am fine."
She heard a soft chuckle from Booth's bed. "Bones, I can hear your teeth chatter. You are NOT fine. You are cold."
"So what?" She snapped back ... or she tried to sound snappish, but it all came out a bit odd with her teeth chattering.
"I can not let you freeze to death, now, can I? I am NOT going to explain that to Angela, no thanks. Come here, we can keep each other warm until the heating is repaired." Booth told her.
Brennan looked doubtful at her partner... or at his silhouette, because that was everything she could make out in the dark room, which was only dimly lit by the neon sign outside.
"Now, come on, Bones... I won't bite, I promise." He joked and she knew he was flashing her his charm smile... 'How can that smile work even when it's too dark to see it?' she wondered while reluctantly leaving her bed, still tightly wrapped up in her blanket.
She stumbled over to Booth's bed, hardly feeling her feet. Booth lifted his blanket and motioned for her to crawl in. "Bones, hurry, you know it's not getting warmer..." he told her and she finally lied down beside him.
She heard him gasp when her cold hand made contact with his bare arm. "My God, Bones... your hands feel like ice... You should have said something." He took her hands in his and tried to warm them with his breath. "Take off your jacket." Booth said.
"What?" she asked incredulously.
"We have to warm you up, Bones. The jacket will only shut out the warmth... now come on, Bones... be reasonable." He explained. She gave in and fumbled with the zipper of her jacket, but her fingers were too cold and clumsy. "I can't" she whispered embarrassed. "My hands... I can't feel ..." She felt Booth's warm hands replacing her own and he zipped the jacket open and helped her out of it. Immediately she felt the warmth of Booth's body and with that she realised how cold she really was.
She shivered again and mumbled. "How can you wear only a T-shirt in that cold?"
"Men are better in compensating cold and don't you dare to object now, Bones... you are still shivering. Come closer." He pulled her into an embrace and rubbed her back to help her warm up. "Is it getting better?" He whispered, his lips against her hair. She nodded. "A little".
He stopped to stroke her back, but he still held her tightly in his arms. "Don't do that again, Bones." Booth said.
"What?" she asked confused. She had been thinking of how much she enjoyed being in his strong arms, as inappropriate as it was, but he could hardly be able to read her thoughts, now could he?
"Being too damn stubborn to ask for help... you'd rather freeze to death in silence than let me help you. Don't do that again!" he scolded her. She decided not to argue with him, or at least not now, it just felt too comfortable to feel the warmth replace the cold numbness in her limbs. "Okay." She mumbled.
She could tell he was surprised that she had not started an argument, but he did not say anything. They stayed as they were, in a tight embrace, his chin resting against her hair.
After some time she felt warm again and she listened once again to the even breathing of her partner who seemed to have fallen asleep again. She shifted a bit and she felt his warm breath against her cheek. The sudden sensation of that sent a shiver down a spine and she suppressed a sigh.
"Are you still cold, Bones?" he whispered in her ear, his voice sounding a bit husky. "No" she answered truthfully. In fact, she now felt heat radiating through her body, his warm breath on her skin and the feeling of his strong arms around her made her heart beat quicken a bit.
"Booth... I should... I think I should go back to my bed." She whispered, pulling back from him.
"No. It's still too cold, you'll just freeze again." He gave back, releasing her from the embrace, but not letting her leave the bed.
"But..." she tried to say, but he covered her mouth with his hand. "Shhhh." He whispered and she felt his thumb caressing her cheek. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of his fingers lightly dancing over her face. She could not remember anyone had done something so sweet and gentle to her ever before. "Booth" she whispered.
"Mhm" she heard him respond. "Booth..." she cleared her throat. "Why are you doing this?"
She heard him sigh and after some time he answered "I am not trying to take advantage of the situation, if that's what you mean." He had stopped to caress her cheek, his fingers now resting on the pillow.
"I know...I did not mean that... I mean... Why are you always so concerned about my welfare?" she asked hesitantly.
He chuckled. "Because I am an overprotective alpha male."
He heard her snort. "Don't use my words against me, Booth..."
He grinned.
"But you know... it's true. I know I am overprotective concerning the people I care about... just ask Parker." He said after some time.
"People you care about?" she breathed.
"People I really care about." He confirmed and she felt his fingers play with her hair. "I care about you, Bones. A lot."
She was processing the information and thinking of an answer, when her thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise she could not identify. Whereas Booth seemed to be able to identify it immediately. "Sounds like the they repaired the heating... It should be warm soon again."
"Do... do you want me to leave?" she asked hesitantly, her voice sounding uncertain and not typical for her.
"No." He simply answered.
He heard her sigh in relief. "Good... I ... don't trust them to have repaired the heating, you know." She added.
Hearing her explanation, he smiled softly. "Yeah, maybe I was wrong and it wasn't the heating... We should try to sleep now, Bones... it's going to be a long drive tomorrow and the road will be all buried in snow."
"Okay." She mumbled and he felt how she relaxed a bit. Soon enough he heard that her breathing deepened and it seemed she had fallen asleep. He moved a bit closer to her, snaking one arm around her waist. He felt how she unconsciously snuggled closer and he smiled, simply enjoying the feeling to have her near him. He was not sure how she was going to react, when waking up in the morning, in his arms, but right at the moment he did not care.
He decided, that he would tell her everything about his feelings, not only drop hints like 'I care about you, Bones. A lot.' He just hoped she would not feel the need to flee... but even if she tried, he was going to try to show her, that he was there for her and if it meant to drag her to another scene in the middle of a blizzard. "Cause all is fair in love and war." He mumbled into her ear, placed a soft kiss on her hair and fell asleep soon afterwards.
Brennan woke when she felt his arm move around her waist and against all fears she moved closer to him, deciding to enjoy the moment and not think of tomorrow. She knew that waking up in one bed was going to be awkward, but lying in his arms felt too comfortable to leave the bed, even though she had noticed that the heating apparently was working again, since the room had warmed already. She tried to put aside all thoughts and willed herself back to sleep. One moment before her conscious mind slipped into the soft numbness of sleep she heard him whisper "Cause all is fair in love and war." and she felt him kiss her head...she thought something like "oh"... but then sleep took over.
Reviews are more than welcome!