A/N: One last posting for this story, an epilogue to the big date night. And on a personal note, this has been an absolutely fabulous writing experience and the reviews and feedback from everyone have made it all the sweeter. Thank you all so much. And now...hope you enjoy! - AnaG and Willgirl
She snuggled down into the sheets, keeping her eyes firmly closed, determined to make the peace of this moment last even longer. But her body seemed just as determined to respond to the hand curving around her waist, to the lips feathering kisses along her neck.
Reluctantly she opened her eyes to the day, and was instantly lost in the deep brown of the eyes staring intently at her. He'd been waiting for that, to see her respond.
"Booth..." She barely had time to say his name before his mouth descended on hers, the heat of the kiss sparking something deep within her. Before she was aware of what she was doing, her hands were entwined in his hair, urging him to deepen the kiss.
She wanted to protest when he broke away, and when he flashed that smile of his her way, the flutter of desire only intensified.
"Morning, babe."
"Don't. Call. Me..." The rest of the admonishment was lost as his lips returned to her, this time tracing a wavering line along her neck. She willingly gave up the rest of the argument as his mouth began to move lower. She arched against him, wanting more.
And then the very, very small part of her brain that was still clinging to rationality began to intrude. There was something, something that she was supposed to...
She sat up suddenly, dislodging him unceremoniously as she remembered.
"Ow, Bones, that was..."
"Booth. We can't..."
"Sure we can." He murmured as he leaned in towards her.
"No. No we..." She said, her breath quickening.
"It'll only take a few minutes." He said, before reaching for her.
She closed her eyes as the sensation returned, allowed a moment of temptation before pushing his wandering hands away. Once they got started, she knew it would be much longer than a few minutes. Last night had proven that much.
"Booth, we can't. We are going to be late."
"Ah, hell." He gave up, sliding from the bed. And as she watched him walk away from her, she sighed heavily, thinking of what might have been if there were only more time.
She watched as Booth headed into the shower and then she threw on a t-shirt and made her way to the kitchen to make some coffee. That should wake them both up. She knew they had a long day ahead of them and if Angela had her way, she'd want to know everything. Her best friend was certainly inquistive. She cleaned up the mess in the living room and then made her way back to the bedroom to get dressed. Hearing Booth singing loudly in the shower made her smile. Last night certainly was special.
15 minutes later, they were ready to go, heading out to meet Angela and Hodgins. When Angela was helping her dress the night before, she had cajoled her into having a BBQ at Hodgin's place the next day. She had to agree, so here they were, on their way over, although both of them would have preferred a little more sleep.
She glanced out the window of the SUV and smiled at the warm sun on her face. It was a perfect day for a BBQ, no doubt about it.
"Bones?"
She turned to look at her partner.
"Last night was great."
Smiling, she nodded her head. "It really was, wasn't it?"
"Despite a few mishaps." he replied, grinning.
The drove along the streets of DC in silence, both lost in their thoughts. Soon they were at Hodgin's place and made their way to the backyard, where Hodgin's was firing up the grill.
"Need help with that?" Booth asked, moving over to the barbeque. "I'm an expert barbequer, you know."
"We know". Angela and Hodgins chorused.
Brennan just laughed and took a seat next to Angela.
"Give me details." Angela said urgently.
"It was great." Brennan replied.
Angela rolled her eyes.
"It was really great".
Angela gave an exasperated sigh.
"Perfect, actually. Well, except for the fire."
"Fire?" Angela said, her rising voice drawing the attention of the men.
"Shhh, Ange! And it was a small one." She said defensively.
"You know, you two should not be allowed within 10 yards of a candle."
"But it was our anniversary. We wanted it to be special. Romantic."
"Five years. Hard to believe isn't it?" Angela said, her thirst for details forgotten.
"Yeah." Brennan said quietly, thinking of how much her life had changed since that day so many years ago. The day she had blurted out to Booth that she wanted to date him. And now, now they were...
The sound of laughter interrupted her musings, and she looked up to see the four children running pell-mell from the other side of the lawn, heading in their direction. And her eyes went quickly to the fifth, taller and quieter, slowly following behind the others.
"Thanks, Ange. For keeping Jamie and Hannah last night."
"Anytime, Bren. They were great fun for the girls. Though Hannah still seems a little..."
"I know. But she's adjusting. She's only been with us a few weeks now. She just needs..."
Her words trailed away as the children reached the shaded area and gathered around. The three little girls so clearly defined by the features of her two dearest friends.
Then there was Jamie, the little boy climing into her lap talking a mile a minute about his adventures with his friends. And Hannah, standing there on the fringes, wanting to be acknowledged and hoping the blend into the background all at the same time. They were hers. Hers and Booth's. For as long as they could give them a home, give them a measure of peace and stability.
"Tempe! Look'it. I found a hum-rus." Jamie said, withdrawing what appeared to be a chicken bone from his pocket as if it were a treasure.
She smiled, looking down at her foster son, delighted with how quickly he had become enamored with bones in the six months he'd been with them. And then her eyes flickered over to Hannah, and felt her chest constrict at the hesitant smile on the girl's face.
She gestured at Hannah and patted the ground beside her. Hannah nodded and sat down beside her. "Well, this isn't a humerus from a person, but that's a very good guess, Jaime. What else did you do?" she directed her question to Hannah.
"We...we went for a walk." she said shyly.
"And we picked flowers." Jaime piped up.
"Where are they?" she asked.
"I gave 'em to Booth so that he could give 'em to you, cuz it was your annie-versery last night and Jack said he didn't have a present."
Sure enough, she looked up and there was Booth, talking with Hodgins, a cluster of wildflowers in his hand.
"Thank you very much." she said, smiling at the two of them. "Are you hungry?"
They both nodded.
"Okay, let's go see if there's some food."
They got up and headed over to the barbeque. "How goes the cooking?" she asked.
"Almost done". Hodgins replied. "The kids food is ready." At his words, the kids made their way towards Angela and Booth grabbed her hand and tugged her in the other direction.
"These are for you". Booth said, presenting them to her with a flourish as they strolled along the grass.
She laughed. "Right. Flowers that your son picked out for you." She clasped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she said.
Booth smiled and leaned over, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I think we should adopt them. Both of them." He moved his lips to her ear and whispered "Think about it".
And then he left her standing there in shock as he made his way over to everyone else.
An hour later, she found herself still searching through the possiblities in his words. Tucked away in a corner, she studied the others, hoping her mind would find the answer her heart so desperately wanted. She didn't notice Angela beside her until her friend spoke.
"You should, you know."
"What?" Brennan turned to Angela, her eyes wide. "Wait...how did you know?"
"Please. I've been watching this unfold for years. I'm the resident expert on Booth-Brennan behavior patterns."
"There's no such..."
"Bren. Stop. Now, right now, you have everything you've ever wanted. Accept it and be happy."
"But, Ange, do you think--do you really think that with what we do, who we are, that we can give them a normal life."
Angela shook her head as she hugged her friend. As she stepped away, she offered one last piece of advice.
"Happiness. Love. Family. Those are the things that matter, sweetie. As for normal, well normal is all in how you define it."
Brennan opened her mouth to argue that there was really only one definition for normal, but the thought vanished as she noticed the scene playing out behind her friend.
Booth, holding a sleeping Jamie against his chest. Hannah sitting on the ground in front of him, her expressions changing rapidly as she entertained three small girls with a story. In that moment, she knew Angela was right. And with a smile on her face she made her way back to her perfectly imperfect family.