Just a quick warning: This chapter has not been beta'd

14 Weeks

Angela was sitting in her office patiently waiting for Brennan to walk by so she could grab her. She had been waiting for several minutes now and was about to loose her patience when Brennan finally walked by.

"Brennan!" Angela called out as she jumped out of her office to catch Brennan's arm.

"Everything ok, Ang? You look out of sorts."

"Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. But I'm stealing you for the rest of the afternoon. I've already cleared it with Cam. We are going to go have lunch and then start looking at baby stuff!" Angela said with excitement in her voice and was practically bouncing. "I've been waiting for you to get out of your meeting with Cam forever!"

Brennan smirked slightly at her friends obvious over exaggeration. She knew her meeting hadn't been that long, it had been thirty minutes tops. Plus she had seen Angela working on something as she'd walked to Cam's office. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." She responded to Angela, sarcastically. "And why are we going to look at baby things now? I don't even know what I'm having yet."

"Har har." Angela responded with a dirty look. "And we are going to look now because it's fun! Plus, some things you don't need to know the gender on. Oh, and Booth came by. He said he left the file you asked for on your desk."

"Booth was here and he didn't stay to say hi?"

"Um, yeah. He said he just left your file and that he'd see you tonight. He probably had a meeting or something to get to."

The two women had fallen in step together and walked toward Brennan's office. Upon arriving Brennan walked to her desk as Angela waited near the door. The gasp from her friend propelled Angela forward instantly. Brennan turned with a shocked look on her face and something in her hands. Assured that her friend was ok, Angela looked down to what Brennan was holding. It was a bud vase with two flowers in it. One was a baby blue gerbera daisy and the other was a pink daffodil. There was a tag attached to the vase that read: "Since we don't yet know whether it's a girl or a boy".

"Awww! That is so sweet!!!" Was Angela's only coherent response.

Brennan, however, was baffled. "Why… why did he do this? It's not like we are dating. He doesn't need to bring me flowers."

Angela had to shake her head at Brennan before she could answer. "Doesn't matter sweetie! You are carrying his baby! You're the mother of his child. Sure you might not be dating, but from here on out you will always have a special place in the heart of one Seeley Booth."

Brennan still looked confused so Angela just grabbed her by the arm and drug her out of the office.

After a healthy and filling lunch, in which Brennan was actually able to eat and keep down, they headed to the baby store. As soon as the pair arrived Angela became even more excited, if that were possible, and Brennan became almost instantly overwhelmed. The store was huge and had every possible piece of equipment to care for a child imaginable. As her eyes widened she turned to Angela and said: "Surely you can't possibly need this much… stuff to take care of a baby!"

Angela just laughed and grabbed Brennan's arm and started dragging her toward strollers. "Let's start with the car seat/stroller combo! They've got some gorgeous designs out now!"

Brennan allowed herself to be pulled along, her eyes trying to take in everything. There were some obvious sets meant for boys and some obviously meant for girls.

"Angela, this is silly. I don't know which gender I'm even shopping for yet!"

"I know, but you can at least get an idea what you like for either one. That way when you do know you'll already know which one you like!" She said smiling at her. She was determined to make Brennan do this. "Oh! Look at this one! It's a stroller/carseat, playpen, swing, and bouncy chair all in the same fabric! Everything would match!"

"That is pretty."

She lingered over the matching pieces. The fabric colors where obviously meant to have the ability to be used with either gender. She started to imagine the baby that could be laying there with Booth's smile and skin tone and maybe her blue eyes. She was snapped out of her sudden reverie by a gasp from Angela. She turned to see what had elicited such a response and saw a carseat/stroller combo obviously meant for a girl. She didn't understand the reaction until she was closer. The actual carseat itself was silver and the fabric was pink with delicate silver butterflies woven into it. She fell instantly in love with it, which wasn't like her. It was pretty and delicate, but not overly girly. She chalked the reaction up to hormones and kept looking. They found a boy one that was brown and green and had dinosaurs over it. For some reason this one made her laugh at it's cuteness and she instantly loved that one as well.

"Ok Angela, I guess you were right! I'll know exactly which ones I want when I find out whether it's a girl or a boy."

"See, I told you. Let's go look at bedding!"

As they walked toward the cribs and bedding Brennan's eyes landed on a crib. It was almost Victorian looking in a beautiful oak wood. She gently ran her hands over the smooth wood as she decided she liked this one. Angela came over to see what her friend was looking at. She picked up the tag to read the description.

"Oh Brennan, this one is perfect! It will go from the crib to a toddler bed and then to a full size bed! And it's so pretty! Now lets see if we can find a crib set. Maybe we should go ahead and start your registry?"

Brennan let Angela ramble as she led her to the bedding section. As quickly as she seemed to have picked out the crib and carseat/stroller combo the opposite happened with bedding. There where just way too many choices here.

"Oh, look at this one!" Angela said as she held up the comforter for a pale purple and pink set with butterflies. It was pretty, but not perfect.

"What about this one?" She asked holding up a deep blue set with planets. Again, very nice but still not perfect.

This went on for a while until Angela finally said, with disappointment lacing her voice: "Well, at least we found a few big things for you. I just wish we could have found a few crib sets that you loved."

"It's ok Ang. I'll at least know what I want for a crib and carseat/stroller combo once we know the gender. Let's get going, I want to drop back by the lab and get my flowers before heading home." The two women started walking toward the exit and as they did passed the clearance section of the store. Brennan just glance in the general direction but something caught her eye and she stopped. There sitting on the half-price shelf was THE bedding. It was dolphins and other ocean animals. The colors were varied and all pastel and could easily be used for a girl or a boy. It was perfect! Exactly what she didn't realize she had been looking for. Beside it sat all of the accessories pictured in the sample room on the bag.

"Oh Bren, I love that! The colors are very calming. And it would look great with that crib. Too bad it's on clearance, it probably won't be here once you find out what you are having."

Brennan glanced at her, and with a gleam in her eye, grabbed every accessory and the crib set and headed toward the register. Angela was immediately in step with her and taking some boxes from her so that she wasn't carrying too much or would drop anything. While she checked out she was almost jittery with excitement. As if this one big purchase made the baby more real. As they walked to the car she felt elated at her decision, that is until Angela finally piped up and asked one question: "Do you think Booth will like it?"

Brennan stopped in the middle of the parking lot and looked panicked. She hadn't even considered that Booth might like a say in the baby's room. They hadn't really discussed living arrangements. She knew he wanted to stay with her for a while after the baby was born, but beyond that they were playing it by ear.

"I don't really know Ang. I guess I can always just get something new if he doesn't. But he might be planning on giving the baby it's own room at his place, like he does with Parker. Of course, he's out of room. It's only a two-bedroom apartment."

Angela let her friend ramble all the way back to the Jeffersonian, laughing internally.

As Brennan was in the kitchen finishing up her surprise for Booth she heard a knock on her door. By the time she reached her living room the door was opening and he walked right in.

"Come on in." She said sarcastically.

Booth just gave her his signature grin and said: "Thanks I will." He then began sniffing the air like a hunting dog. "Bones, what is that amazing smell?" He asked and began walking toward the kitchen.

"Oh no you don't!" Brennan said as she put up both hands and blocked his path to prevent him getting to the kitchen and her surprise. "It's a surprise and you don't get it until after we eat dinner. Speaking of which, are you missing something Booth?"

Having been pouting at not finding out was the wonderful aroma was Booth then began to take stock of what he had. Food? Check. Fake beer? Check. The X-Files DVD's? Already here. He couldn't think what he was missing and looked up, confused, at Brennan.

"Where's Parker? You were supposed to have him this weekend, right? The surprise was for him too."

Booth looked a little chagrined as he said: "I'm sorry Bones, if I had known you were making a surprise for the two of us I wouldn't have let him go with his mom this weekend. Rebecca called me earlier today and said that her mom was sick and in the hospital and wanted to know if I could switch weekends so she could take Parker to visit her. So I don't have him this weekend. I'll get him next weekend instead. I'm sorry Bones."

Brennan was little crestfallen that Parker would not get her surprise and that he wouldn't be there to add his commentary to the episodes they watched. She had started looking forward to his additional narrative on each episode. He almost always succeeded in making her laugh.

"It's ok Booth. I can make the surprise again some other time. Let's eat and start the episode. I'm starving! I think the nausea is finally starting to wear off a bit."

Booth smiled at this. He had been hoping that things would get a little easier for her soon. He hated seeing her so uncomfortable. Since Brennan had forbidden him from entering the kitchen she got plates as he started to unpack the food. They settled back with their food and began to watch the last episode of season two.

As the episode was ending, and their plates littered the coffee table, Brennan sat enthralled in the story. When the credits finally rolled she practically jumped off the couch and said: "We have to start the next episode! I know Mulder doesn't die, but how does he get out? And I can't believe Scully shot him and didn't kill him! Season three is here, right?" She asked whirling on Booth, who chuckled at her.

"Yes, Bones, it's here. But could I have my surprise first, please? You said we could have it after we ate." He said with a slight pout.

"Ok, come with me."

Booth followed her into the kitchen and as he entered she turned around with what looked like a homemade pie in her hands. He immediately started salivating.

"Is that what I think it is?" He asked slowly moving closer.

"How am I supposed to know what you think it is? But if you think it is a homemade apple pie, then yes, it is what you think it is."

"Who made it?"

"I did."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"You, the woman who hates pie, made one from scratch?"

"Well, like I said it was supposed to be a surprise for you and Parker. I had actually had one made a few weeks ago, the night we made a surprise trip to the ER, so we never got to it. I waited until now to do it again so Parker could partake as well. Plus, and I know how excited you are going to get about this, the last few days I've had this almost overwhelming craving for apple pie with lots of cinnamon and a nice flaky crust. So here it is."

Booth stared at her for several moments before he began to laugh. "You craved pie? Yep, definitely my baby in there!" He walked over to her and gently patted her stomach and said: "Good baby! Making mommy crave pie!"

The second after he touched her and finished his statement, their eyes met, and the atmosphere of the room changed drastically.

The air around them began to almost sizzle with electricity.

As the weight of his hand on her belly and of his words settled around them both, they seemed frozen in place. Both afraid to move. There were only two options: step forward or step back. The consequences of both actions were heavy on each of their minds. So they stood, staring deeply into each others eyes, waiting for the other to move, for several minutes. At last, as if by some mutual agreement that one course of action had too many risks; they both took a step back.

And the electricity seemed to dissipate from the room.

They were left however with an unusual awkward silence. To cover this they both started talking at the same time.

"Let's cut this pie! It looks delicious Bones!"

"I'm thinking about buying a house."

When Booth finally realized what she said, he stopped cutting the pie and looked up at her.

"Wh… what?" He stammered out.

"Angela kidnapped me today to make me look at baby stuff and it made me start thinking that my apartment is not really a suitable place for a baby. There just isn't enough space. The baby needs a room of it's own and I'd like to keep a guest room. Especially for you. I'm sure you'll want to be here a lot with the baby." She finished matter-of-factly. Booth, on the other hand, was so shocked at this sudden admission he had yet to move.

"But a house… Are you sure? I mean that's a big investment and responsibility Bones."

"Well it's not like I can't afford it. And there are some wonderful neighborhoods outside the DC area, but still close enough. It's just something I'm thinking about. Here, look at what I bought today that started my thinking." And with that she walked into the guest room and grabbed the bag with the crib set. "I saw this today, it was on clearance so I had to get it. It might have been gone once we found out whether it was a girl or a boy. And I think it could be used for either gender." She handed him the set with an expectant look on her face.

He looked over the crib set, seeing the obvious reason she liked it, and thought it was a good choice. Wondering how this got her started thinking about a house he looked up at her, silently willing her to explain.

She sighed. "As we were walking out of the store, Angela mentioned that she hoped you liked it too. And to be honest I hadn't really even considered whether you would like it or not. I kind of assumed that you would make the baby it's own room at your place too. But thinking along those lines made me realize that a two-bedroom apartment doesn't seem to have the necessary room for an infant. Especially after all of the equipment I saw today."

Booth was taken aback by this thought; he hadn't really considered what to do with the baby when he had it. He had no room either; both of his bedrooms were taken. "I don't really have room either. I have a two-bedroom apartment too, it's smaller, but both bedrooms are occupied."

They both sat lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes before Booth spoke up again. "Where were you thinking of looking?"

"I don't know, I just had the thought today. But I'd like a place with a lot of room. Several bedrooms and maybe an office so I could write. Plus, I want a big yard. I was uncoordinated as I child, but I still loved to play outside. Maybe a pool? That way Parker could still get to swim you came over."

"You'd do that Bones?"

"Of course Booth. I love Parker. And he seems really excited about his sibling. I'm sure you guys will be over a lot anyway. Are you ok? You seem distracted now."

"What? No, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking that if you are going to move, and I have now room and will need a new place too, I will want to look near where you are so that I'll be close by should you need me."

"Well, why don't we just find a big place together? That way the baby will have both parents all the time."

Booths head snapped up as she said this. "What are you saying Bones, that you want us to move in together?"

"Well not the way that sounds. But I'm sure we could find a big enough place where we could each have our own bedrooms. Plus one for Parker and for the baby. If anyone could just live under the same roof Booth, it would be us. Plus, it would be practical for the first little while."

Booth chuckled silently; leave it to Bones to be practical. "And what about when you meet some guy and want to bring him home?"

Brennan had obviously not thought about this. "I don't really see myself bringing anyone home for a while. And what man would want to date a woman with a baby anyway?"

"Oh you'd be surprised." Booth muttered under his breath.

"Well, what about you? What about you bringing some women home?" For some reason as she said this, she felt a small amount of anger at the thought of him being another woman.

Booth nearly blurted out that he wouldn't have a woman to bring home, because the one he wanted would already be there, but he stopped himself. "Don't see that happening Bones."

"So is this an idea we should consider?"

"Let's think about it and discuss it again in a few weeks, ok?"

"Ok. Let's start the next episode."

"Sure Bones." He hit play and as the episode started he took a bite of his pie. "Wow! Bones this pie is amazing!"

A smile was all the response he received from her. She became absorbed in watching the show and he became absorbed in his thoughts. A house? Really? He thought. Man this woman has got to stop throwing me curveballs! I never seem to be able to connect.

I apologize for the long delay. I promise I have not fallen off the face of the planet or abandoned my story. I just had MAJOR writers block. I have several chapters toward the end of the story written, but the middle suddenly stumped me. Enjoy!