I'm back. After writing the lovey-dovey happiness of "Becoming One" for three months, I needed a more angsty take on the new canon. This one will be short. Be sure that this is not how I think it will happen on the show. Be sure that they'll end up happy, though.

THE THINGS IN THE NIGHT

I. The Darkness in the Night

Temperance Brennan awoke with a gasp.

She was pregnant... Pregnant... It hadn't been planned; just as little as the night itself had been planned. Her first night in his arms. It had started as comfort, comfort between two people who knew each other so well that the word "friends" paled compared to what they were.

It had started with tears, had ended with tears as well, but in between... in between it had been something and everything.

Brennan wasn't stupid. The moment he had entered her body, even the moment his lips had touched hers again, she had known that something was different. The way they had met, the way they had fit... it had been so much more than every other sexual encounter she had ever experienced. And it had been more than comfort as well.

In the days following that one night, they had caught a killer, had said goodbye to one of their own. They had shared meals, and over countless cups of coffee she had seen the unasked questions in his warm eyes. Over countless bottles of beer she had felt the strong pull towards him.

She had made peace with the truth that she was in love with Booth. It had taken her six years, but, nonetheless, it might have been the easiest part.

She was... who she was. Fear tugged at her heart, reluctant to let go of the last ounce of imperviousness, the one that still stopped her hand before she could touch him. One might think that having crossed the line once, having lost herself in his arms for the first time, might tip the balance once and for all. One might be wrong about that...

Was he still angry? Had he slept with her because her tears had broken his heart – a heart that, still, might have been too fragile to be broken again? Was she strong enough to look into the face of death and choose love nonetheless? Could she ever give herself to him completely and risk that losing him would tear her apart? Could she... not do it? Could she risk losing him without ever having taken the chance?

They had barely slept that night, but in the wee hours of morning he had fallen into a restless slumber, and she had been watching him. His seed had been dripping out of her, a warm reminder of life, a reminder of what they had done, and he had emanated a vulnerability which had matched her own. Making love to her... Brennan had realized that it had left him raw inside, and even though she knew that it hadn't possessed as much as a hunch of wrongness, their lovemaking, she wondered if it had been too early for him. Or under the wrong circumstances.

Somehow, she had always assumed that he would take the lead after it had happened, show her what to do, but he seemed to be waiting. For her? Brennan knew that the last year had taken a toll on him, and seeing a strong and kindhearted man like him stumble had caused an unfamiliar ache in her chest.

Their path had been saturated with pain, some he had inflicted, some she had inflicted, some life itself had thrown their way. She was weary of it. Watching Booth with his perfect girlfriend had been hard, watching one of them die had been harder, and she didn't want that anymore. But... after all those years, she simply didn't know how to stop it. Choosing happiness... it sounds so easy, but how do you do it? Or, more important, what do you do after you have chosen it?

And now everything had changed again. She was pregnant with his child.

Her hand found her belly in astonishment. It was still flat, and if it hadn't been for the two small lines which had appeared on that pregnancy test, she might not believe it herself.

She knew that she had to tell him. But...

How do you tell someone that his life is about to change completely? How to you tell someone that, from now on, one part of him would forever be yours just like one part of you would forever be his?

Brennan knew that there had been a time when Booth had loved her, but she didn't know how much of that love was still alive, how much she herself had crushed to death.

If she had been one to believe in gut feelings, she might have heard that little voice inside of her that was talking about the warm shimmer in his eyes whenever he looked at her, about the desperate way he had buried himself in her body, about the utter protectiveness of his embrace.

It is easy to hope in these magic hours between dusk and dawn, but sometimes the darkness of the night itself creeps up on you. This is where Temperance Brennan found herself, right between hope and darkness, nothing but her own arms wrapped around her body.

Inhaling deeply, she snuggled herself into his shirt, the one she had kept after that night, and even though it could impossibly smell like him anymore, it provided comfort.

Tomorrow... she would tell him tomorrow.

-BONES-

Seeley Booth had dreamed. Literally. His breathing was still ragged, as he thought about one more face twisted in mortal pain. As always, his battered mind sought refuge in the image of his partner. Temperance Brennan. Lying in his arms, her eyes still red from her tears, but a rosy glow covering her cheeks, as he had been moving inside of her. Had moved her.

He knew that he had touched her, had felt it in her silent tears afterwards, had felt it in the desperate way she had whispered his name, had searched his lips over and over again.

It had been everything. Everything he had ever wished for, everything he had ever tried to tell her. It had been a dream come true... only that this dream had been born out of a nightmare. It shouldn't have happened like this. But after he had touched her once, he just had had to envelop her into his arms. And after she had been in his arms, he just had had to pull her a little bit closer and even closer until he had been able to feel her hot breath on his face. And after he had turned his head, his lips had simply touched hers on a will of their own.

Kissing her had felt like drowning in pure sweetness... and his bruised heart had beaten wildly in his chest. No, he didn't regret it. Nonetheless, part of him felt like having taken advantage on her. He remembered her words about strength and imperviousness, but he had loved her in a night full of vulnerability and weakness. It hadn't meant to be like this. It had meant to be about happiness, not about pain.

The day in the elevator had been a turning point, and he knew that, for once, both of them had been moving towards each other. Slowly, but steadily.

Nothing about that night had been slow or steady. It had been desperate, urgent, overwhelming.

Afterwards... he just hadn't known what to say. What to do. So they had gotten up, eventually, had eaten breakfast, caught a killer. Had shared meals and drinks, and even though it was something they had done a million times over during the last years, it felt different now.

Because now he knew. He knew what it was like to be with her, to love her, to touch her. He knew how good it felt, how perfect she was.

But... was she ready? Was he ready to risk his heart again? Had she come to him out of fear or had there been something else? Did she love him? The way he wanted it, the way he deserved it? Were they ready to be together? Or... had the dices long been thrown?

With a sigh, he fell back onto his pillow. He knew that he had to talk to her. He couldn't stand normal anymore, not after he had gotten a glimpse of heaven. But it wasn't only about him. He had taken the leap once, and after that star-crossed night in front of the Hoover Building, he had vowed to himself to never ever push her again.

He would wait for her to be ready. At least a little bit more.

Unbeknownst to him, somewhere in another part of this town life was growing, a life he had created. Just the moon and the stars knew, and, tonight, they were only shining for this man and this woman, so separated but so linked to each other at the same time.

Then it was morning.

To be continued...