CHAPTER 18

"Yes," Brennan replied softly, a bright smile illuminating her face.

Booth wasn't quite sure he had heard correctly. "What?" he asked her.

"Yes, Booth," she said, smiling even bigger.

A smile of happy disbelief spread across his face. "Really? You're saying yes?" Booth wanted to be absolutely positive that Temperance Brennan had just agreed to get married…to HIM.

"How many times do I have to say 'yes?' Of course, technically, you haven't even asked me a question," she replied, giving him the opportunity to do what she knew he wanted to do.

Booth smiled sweetly at her. He slowly slid off of the sofa and onto the floor, resting on his right knee and bending his left. He held up the little red box and looked into Brennan's eyes. She smiled softly down at him.

"Temperance Brennan…will you marry me?" Booth asked, his heart racing.

"Yes, Seeley Booth, I will," she responded. It came so naturally to speak the words, to agree to marry the love of her life…even though she never imagined she would ever be in this situation. But this was Booth…he was different. He changed her world and she was a different person because of him.

Booth's face lit up as he took the ring from the box and sat on the sofa next to her. He took her left hand and slid the diamond ring onto her ring finger. "How does that feel?" he asked her.

"It fits perfectly," Brennan said as she held her hand out and gazed at the ring. It was platinum and the diamond looked to be about 1 karat. On either side of the larger diamond were 2 diamond baguettes. The diamond sparkled as she wiggled her fingers.

"The diamond was my grandmother's. I picked out the setting," Booth said, not taking his eyes off of her.

"It's absolutely beautiful, Booth," she told him, looking from the ring to him.

"You're absolutely beautiful, Temperance," he said as he took her left hand in his, running his fingers across the ring. "I must say, I honestly wasn't expecting an answer yet."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well, you know how you are, Bones. I thought you might need some time to take it all in and get used to it," Booth explained, stroking her hand.

"Usually, you'd be right. But, I never thought I'd ever feel this way about anyone. The past couple of weeks have-"

"Been a rollercoaster ride," Booth finished her sentence.

A look of confusion blanketed her face. "Rollercoaster? I don't know what that means," she replied.

Booth smiled and laughed softly. "It means that there's been a wide range of emotions," he explained to her.

"Right, exactly. It's been up and down and-" she stopped herself and a look of comprehension popped onto her face, "Just like a rollercoaster. I get it," she smiled, very proud of herself. Booth thought it was adorable and let her continue. "These past couple of weeks have been the most wonderful time in my life…and the most horrific," she said as she glanced down for a moment. She brought her eyes back to his. "But now I realize how much I care for you. You are always there for me and I know that you always will be. I took it for granted before, but now…" she paused, trying to think of the right words to describe how she felt. "You have made me a better person. And I love you for that," she said, tears trickling down her cheeks. "No one has ever treated me the way you do or respected me the way you do. You put up with me when I'm insensitive and you listen to all of my ridiculous logic and rationale."

"Isn't 'ridiculous logic' technically an oxymoron?" Booth asked her, grinning widely.

She laughed. "Yeah, I guess it is. See, that's what you do to me…and I like it," she said, smiling through her tears.

Booth smiled and wiped the tears with his thumb. "So, no more 'archaic institution,' huh?" he said.

"No, I still believe that. But it's like you said…it's a partnership. And if you need to sign a piece of paper and I need to wear a white dress to celebrate our partnership, then I guess I'm okay with that," she replied. "As long as there's plenty of Marilyn Merlot," she added, smirking.

"But of course," Booth replied. "So, you want to do the whole she-bang then? White dress, tux, flowers, cake," he asked, his eyes lighting up.

"It'll be fun," Brennan said.

"Yeah, and Angela should have a blast planning the whole thing," Booth added.

"And Parker can be the ringbearer," she said, smiling sweetly at him.

Booth gazed at her in admiration. "I know it's a lot to ask of you, you know…to be a mother, too."

"Booth, I love Parker. That will never change. And who knows?" she replied, leaning in closer towards Booth with a mischievious smile on her face. "We might even want to give him a half-sibling," she replied, smiling and then quickly glancing away playfully.

Booth's smile widened. "Who are you and what have you done with my Bones?" he asked.

She laughed. "Like I said in Phoenix…some things change."

He ran his fingers back and forth across her hand and the ring, still unable to believe she was actually wearing it.

"I'm sure glad they do," he said, gazing dreamily into her eyes. Neither of them moved as their eyes read one another's souls. Booth didn't want this moment to ever end…and neither did Brennan. After a long while, Booth leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, a wide smile on his face. A split second later, he leaned down and gently scooped her up into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Brennan asked as she was quite literally swept off her feet.

"Practicing," Booth replied, his smile softening.

She gazed at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You're a good practicer," she replied, smirking.

"That's not even a word, 'Miss 180 IQ,'" Booth informed her.

"182. Now, can you carry me to bed, please?" Brennan replied, tilting her head to the side, her eyes wide with mischief.

He kissed her fiercely on the lips and growled, whisking her away to the bedroom and closing the door behind them.

THE END

P.S. Stay tuned for the sequel, "Weddings Of The Year." First chapter will be posted tomorrow!