Longest chapter in history. Holy cow. That hurt the typing fingers...

Review! Make the ache worthwhile.

Edit: fixed the problem with the years. I did the math one night while I was lying in bed about to go to sleep and never even thought to double check it! haha... besides, I've never really been good at math anyways.

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"Hey Jane!"

"Yeah Charlie?"

"Weren't you supposed to be meeting someone?"

"I found him."

It was a long time ago. Thinking back on it now, it's probably the only time in my life where true innocence prevailed. It was just a simple moment, but it's surrounded by violence and despair both because of my father and because of myself. That's probably why I raise Parker the way I do. I want him to feel that his entire childhood is made up of moments like that one.

"I don't understand why you're being like this Booth. How was I supposed to know that you didn't want me to do that?" she asks me as we walk into the Jeffersonian this morning.

"I told you before going in that I didn't want him to think that we suspected him. I knew he was going to run. The guy's a loser and he doesn't have anything or anyone keeping him here."

She shrugs and throws her hands up in the air, "Well, I'm sorry, then. It will never happen again. But perhaps for next time you should think about reading a book on communication skills. I have one that I read about a year ago that was extremely helpful."

"I know that it will happen again, Bones. It's not like that was the first time you've done something like that; and for the record, your communication skills aren't all that great either."

She turns on her heels and glares at me, "Name one time," she says, poking her finger into my chest, "One time in which I let a suspect know that he was a suspect."

I widen my stance and glare right back at her, "The kid in the alley dressed like a superhero; you said to the bowling alley guy, 'I'll see you in the comic books buster'."

Her eyes widen and I can tell that she is becoming frustrated with me, "In my defense the expression was used incorrectly so in actuality, it didn't make any sense anyway and… And! You never told me that you didn't want him to know that we suspected anything!"

I laugh sardonically, "Yeah, well just because the phrase was wrong doesn't mean he didn't get the picture and you leered at him, which is why he was trying to run when we arrested him that night."

She scoffs, "Well at least we arrested him and I'm sure that we will arrest McCleary as well when the pick him up at the roadblocks the FBI set up." She says crossing her arms, "Besides, I thought you said that people were supposed to be nice to those who are celebrating their birthdays."

I sigh and realize that I did indeed tell her that this morning when I went to pick her up, "You're right. We will pick this argument up tomorrow, bright and early at eight a.m. Okay?"

She thinks for a moment, "I have a meeting tomorrow at eight, how about ten thirty?" she asks.

I repress a laugh, "Okay, pencil in 'argument with Booth' at ten thirty in your personal organizer."

She nods, "I will… do that." She says, trying to repress a smile herself.

We both turn and head to her office and upon entering, there stands her new catch of the day ironically named Charlie and I roll my eyes. He sees this but ignores me and goes straight to her with a bouquet of purple lisianthus. He kisses her on the cheek and hands her the bouquet, "Happy Birthday Temperance." He said in a sickeningly sweet tone and I moan softly, but loud enough for them both to turn and look at me.

Brennan turns back to him and smiles, "Thank you so much, Charlie. They're beautiful." And she smells them graciously.

"Not as beautiful as you." He says, and I laugh, gathering both of their attention again.

"I'll… I'll just be…" I say pointing toward the door and I slowly back out of the office, two glares following me on my way out.

I dejectedly make my way across the Jeffersonian hall and am stopped by a voice, "Hey sweet cheeks."

I turn and am not surprised to see Angela standing a few feet behind me, holding a file in her arm and smiling like she just saw something scandalous, and with knowing Angela, that something scandalous could be someone borrowing a pencil from their neighbor, "Hey Angela."

"So," she says, glancing over and Bones' office, "How's things?"

I glance over as well and look back at her, "Things are fine, how are your things?"

"My things are always good." She says suggestively.

I laugh and shake my head, "What do you want, Ange?" I ask, knowing that there is something more that she wants to know.

"Stop pretending like that," She says gesturing to Brennan's office, "doesn't bother you."

I shrug and look back at Bones' door, "It doesn't. I don't know what you're after, but there is nothing more happening than there has always been."

"And by 'always been' you mean the fact that you're totally smitten in love with Bren and are too afraid to acknowledge it." She says.

I scoff and look away from her, "You're… out of your mind Angela."

She looks back at Brennan's door and sighs, "Well, even if you don't want to admit it to me, at least take comfort in the fact that he won't be around long." She says.

"What do you mean?" I ask, a little more excitedly than I would like, "Did Bones say something to you."

She smiles mischievously, "No, but her relationships don't tend to last very long."

I laugh, "Yeah, because most of them are criminals."

Angela punches me in the arm, "No!" she stops and thinks, "Well, you have a point, but that wasn't what I meant." She says, stepping closer to me, "She has a particular type in mind and although she gets close, she's never… satisfied in the end."

I close my eyes for a moment, "Ange, if this is a sex thing…"

"It has nothing to do with sex, Booth. I'm talking about the connection between to individuals."

I shake my head, "No, Bones isn't like that. It's all about biological imperatives and intellectual stimulation."

Angela laughs and stops my words with her hand, "No, that's what she tells everyone so they don't catch on."

"Alright, Ange." I say, "I'm stumped. What is it you're getting at?"

"Brennan wants someone strong, able bodied, smart but with different opinions and morals than herself, someone to care for her but also willing to let her care for him, independent but loving and dominating but not domineering."

I laugh sarcastically, "She's never going to find that."

Angela turns to me and looks me dead in the eyes, "She already has." She turns to leave and then turns back to me, "Don't forget about tonight. Call me at eight."

I nod and turn to leave the Jeffersonian, but then realize that I left a file in Bones' office that I need to turn into Cullen by the end of the day. Looking at my watch, I realize that it is four thirty and I need to get a move on before Cullen rips me a new one. I jog across to her office and swing the door open interrupting a more private moment between the pair. Brennan forcefully pushes Charlie away from her and I turn my eyes back to the door, "Sorry Bones. I need that file I gave you this morning before I leave."

I don't look back at them, for fear that she might be partially disheveled and I hear her footsteps to her desk, "Are you sure all I need to do is sign it?" she asks.

"Positive." I say and extend my hand toward her.

There is a moment of silence and then I hear her say, "Booth, turn around." I slowly turn around and find that she is not disheveled in the least, and I exhale in relief. She extend s the file to me and when I try to retrieve it, she doesn't let go, "We're not children Booth."

I look at her and find that there is no part of her expression that is remotely happy or amused, "I just didn't mean to interrupt your… moment. Regardless of how inappropriate it is at work."

Her eyes flare and I know that I made a mistake, but luckily, her new intern of the week steps into her office and calls her out, leaving me and Charlie alone together, "So," I say trying to make conversation, "Did she like the flowers."

"Loved them." He says defensively.

"Good." I say back.

He smiles at me and crosses his arms, "I'll also be taking her out to dinner tonight, so you should probably make plans to go with someone else to the diner tonight."

My temper starts to rise and then deflates as I realize the implication of what he has said, "No, you can't take her to dinner tonight."

He looks at me angrily, "And why the hell not?" he asks.

I look out the window and see that Bones is busy up on the platform, leaving me at least a few moments to explain, "Angela set up this whole surprise party for Bones tonight at her apartment and I am the one who is supposed to stall her so that they can set up."

He stops for a moment and thinks, "A surprise party? Why wasn't I invited?" he asks, seeming a little hurt that Angela wouldn't invite him. Angela always puts on a show in front of Brennan's men and only told the truth after they left.

I grind my teeth a little and look at him, "To be honest, I don't think any of us thought that you would be dating her this long."

He looks at me questioningly, "It's only been two weeks."

I nod, "Normally her boyfriends have either been arrested, received a broken bone from her or… well, they just don't make it this long."

"If you don't mind, what was the third reason?" he asks me.

I run my hand through my hair, "Or… they're intimidated out of dating her." I say.

He laughs slightly, "By you?" he asks.

I wipe my nose, in the traditional 'tough guy' way and take a step closer to him, "No, Charlie, not just by me. Bones is very important, to all of us. We're her family and if someone isn't treating her with the proper amount of respect, we get a little angry about it. We want her to be happy." I say, looking down on him. He is only a few inches shorter than me, but it's enough for him to get a little nervous.

"I'll tell her I have an emergency at work." He says, turning to the door, then turning back to me before he opens it, "But you will see me at the party tonight, Agent Booth. And I think that you should get used to this face, because I'm going to be around for a while." He says, then exiting the office and going to talk to her.

I watch him approach her and break the "bad" news. She looks saddened but not disappointed really, but as he walks away from her, she looks up and meets my eyes with daggers in her own and she storms back to her office to confront me. I brace myself for the tongue lashing that I am about to receive, "What did you do?" she asks, throwing open the door to her office.

"Wha-me?" I feign innocence, "I didn't do anything!"

She scoffs and hits me in the chest, "I have come to find that whenever I see a man fleeing from my office that you're usually inside smirking at him as he runs away."

I snort, and try to suppress a chuckle because of how adorable she is when she's angry with me, "I don't know what you're talking about, Bones. I didn't say anything to him really. I asked how work was, how things were going with the two of you and that was it, I swear."

She gives me the once over to decide whether or not I'm lying and then relinquishes that I'm telling the truth, thankfully. She never was one for reading people and although I'm not the best liar in the world, it does happen to be one of my strong suits considering my training with the FBI and the Army. She sighs and takes a seat behind her desk, looking up at the bouquet before turning away from it and entering her password into her computer, "What are you still doing here?" she asks without looking up at me.

I shrug and take a seat in front of her, "Nothing really." I nod to the bouquet, "These flowers are very nice." I say, attempting to gage her reaction.

She looks up at them, to me and then back at her computer screen, "They are quite lovely." She says.

I nod, "Yeah, but they're not your favorite."

She sighs and looks over at me as though she is disinterested, "Stop it, Booth."

I smile at her, "Stop what?"

"Stop making it seem like he isn't right for me. You always do this, you know?"

"What?"

"Point out the flaws in every man that I date. My personal life is not really any of your business." She says, becoming defensive.

I pause, taking a moment to understand the full meaning of what she said to me, and I am content to see the regretful look on her face, "Is that really-?" I start, but she interrupts me.

"No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I'm just… never mind."

I lean forward toward her, "If there is something wrong, you know you can tell me, right? Is it Charlie?" I ask.

She releases a breath and smiles at me, "No. It doesn't have anything to do with him. I finished my book, but my publisher wants me to add another chapter at the end." She says exasperatedly.

I looked at her confused, "Like something specific or just something more?" I ask.

"Her exact word was 'fluff'. Although I don't know exactly what that means, I think I have an idea of what she is looking for, I guess. So, basically I'm writing some exposition about the case that Andy…"

"Bones, she doesn't mean exposition." I tell her.

She sits up in her chair and gives me an appraising glance, "And what do you think it means?" she asks.

"She wants you to write a scene between Kathy and Andy about their relationship."

She pauses and looks and the screen and then back at me, "Like another sex scene?" she asks.

I smile at her and can't control the slight blush that comes to my face just thinking about some of the steamy sex scenes between the two characters, "No, Bones. Something sweet and endearing about them. You know, so sweet it makes your teeth hurt."

She tilts her head to the side and her tongue sweeps over her front teeth, "But that isn't like Kathy and Andy at all; In fact, those moments really only happen in fictional work written by amateurs."

"What?" I exclaim, "Moments like that happen all the time in real life. I know for a fact that even you have participated in 'fluffy' moments." I tell her.

She leans forward on her desk and challenges me, "Name one." She says.

I smile and I can feel the phrase on my belt buckle embodying me as I lean forward towards her, "Outside of the diner after Zack got his P.H.D."

She scoffs, "That wasn't fluff, and I know for a fact that my teeth didn't hurt."

I laugh, "Bones, first of all, that was definite fluff and secondly the phrase about teeth hurting is like a metaphor; it isn't meant to be taken literally."

She slumps back in her seat and crosses her arms, "I swear; you need to make me a translation dictionary for some of the things you say." She says, then getting a confused look in her eyes, "That was fluff?" she asks.

"One hundred percent, Grade A cake frosting, Bones."

She giggles and swivels her chair, "That's very effeminate of you, Booth."

I pull on the collar of my shirt and put on my tough guy exterior, "I'm all man, Bones." And wink at her.

She laughs again and looks back at her computer screen before saving the document and standing up to stretch, "Alright." She acquiesces, "Let's go get some dinner. I think I need a break from this anyway."

I clap my hands and stand up and offer her her coat, "Great! They have apple pie today."

She slides her arms into the coat and grabs her bag, "Which I will not be eating any of." She remarks.

"One day, Bones. One day, I will get you to eat nothing but pie and you'll be happy about it." I say leading her out of her office.

"I'd like to see you try." She says. She stops and looks at me for a moment and then looks at her watch, "Booth, don't you have to get that file to Cullen by five?" she asks.

I look down at the file which is on her desk and then at my watch which states that the time is definitively four fifty. I silently scold myself and turn to her, "Do you mind if we take a detour on the way to the diner?"

"No, Booth. It's okay, why don't you go drop off the file and I'll run home and change and you can bring takeout over." She says, obviously liking her idea better than mine.

"No." I say, wracking my brain for an explanation that she will buy.

She looks at me curiously, "Why not?"

"The birthday girl should never be alone on her birthday." I say enthusiastically.

She squints at me, "Is that one of your illogical rules again?"

I nod and drop my arm around her shoulder, "Yes it is. You're going to come with me to the Hoover building and then we're going to the diner. It's tradition, Bones. You can't break tradition."

She looks up at me as we exit the Jeffersonian, "What if I have to go to the bathroom?" she asks, "Are you going to go in with me?"

I look down at her, "Uh… I think that is the loophole in the rule, Bones."

We go to the Hoover and I run upstairs and meet Cullen on the way out of his office, "I'm so sorry, sir." I say handing him the file.

He looks at me appraisingly and then at the file, "You're lucky I didn't go home exactly at five, Booth." He says.

"I'm sorry, it's just, I had to run some interference for Bones'… I'm mean Doctor Brennan's surprise party tonight."

"Surprise party?" he asks.

"We're throwing her a party for her birthday and her new… the guy she is seeing almost ruined it."

Cullen chuckles and slips the file into his briefcase, "Dope." He says.

I roll my eyes, "You said it, sir." I laugh.

He laughs again, "I wasn't talking about him, Booth. You're the dope." He says, brushing past me and walking down the hall.

I stand frozen for a second and then realize that Bones is waiting for me in the car still. I go back downstairs and get into the car.

"What's wrong?" she asks as I settle myself and put the car into gear.

I look at her and back out of the spot, "Nothing."

"Did Cullen yell at you?" she asks, wincing at the thought.

I shake my head, "No. He just said something a little weird I guess. Nothing big."

When we get to the diner there isn't much conversation. We order our food and all I can think about is whether or not she will like the party or more importantly the gifts that I got for her. Tonight is the night that I plan on telling her everything; which is why my hands are shaking and I'm sweating a little bit.

Brennan leans across the table after her last bite of salad and puts her hand on my forehead, "You feel a little warm, Booth. I think you're getting sick."

I take her hand down from my head, "Don't worry about me, Bones. I'm fine." I say.

She sighs and resumes drinking the rest of her tea in quiet. I look at my clock and realize that it is about time that we start heading to her place, so I stand up and pay the bill. She watches me and stands up as well, putting on her coat and jacket before we both leave.

We get to her apartment and I walk her up to her door and now I am even more nervous than anything. She keeps giving me these concerned looks and I feel badly about it, but I can't help it.

"Do you want to come in for a drink?" she asks.

"Sure." I say and she proceeds to unlock her door and push it open.

She steps inside and the lights turn on and a plethora of people jump at her shouting "Surprise!" She lunges back straight into my chest before realizing what is going on.

"WHAT!" she yells and laughs and I can't help but smile at the expression on her face, undoubtedly Angela got a picture of her face the moment of her surprise.

Everyone is there, including Charlie and they all gather around her to wish her a happy birthday. Max comes up to me and pulls me aside, "Can you believe this guy?" he says in a hushed tone.

"Who? Charlie?" I ask.

He nods, "He invited himself to a party. My daughter really knows how to pick'em, eh?" he says sarcastically.

I laugh, "Don't worry. Angela says that he isn't going to last very long anyways."

Max looks at me and pats me on the shoulder, "Not as long as you're around, that's for sure." He says, then winks at me. I shake my head and inwardly hope that he is right, especially after tonight.

After everyone has settled down and has a drink in their hand there are small conversations going around the room and I keep looking at my stack of presents for her in the corner almost making sure that they are still there and a small part of me hoping that they disappear, because I know that there is no going back after this. I see Max and Charlie talking and then Max asking if he would mind stepping outside for a moment and I consciously decide that I didn't see anything and turn back to the party. A few minutes later, the two men come back inside and Charlie gets his coat from the inside closet and makes his way over to me.

He looks up at me and then back down at his hands, "Uh… all the best Agent Booth." He says, extending his hand to me.

I take it and give it a good shake, "It was a pleasure meeting you." I say and he nods and makes his way over to Bones. He whispers something in her ear and she nods and turns back to a conversation that she was having with Angela and Amy. Then I see Charlie move back towards the door, shake Max's hand and leave.

Max looks up at me after the door closes, smiles and mouths the words, 'Good riddens' to me. I can't help but laugh and roll my eyes at the old man. He has a way of getting people to do exactly what he wants.

My laughter dies down as soon as Angela shouts, "Okay! Let's open some presents!"

I swallow hard and make my way over to the couch and Brennan sits down next to me. Amy and Russ take the two chairs directly opposite the couch, Angela and Hodgins sit on the floor next to each other and Cam and Max stand behind them and watch on as Angela hands the first present to Bones.

The first one is from Amy and Russ; it's a new alarm clock. Brennan's broke when she threw it across the room. I don't know when that happened but apparently the old one was absolutely destroyed. Next is the present from Angela, which is apparently too risqué for Bones to reveal in front of colleagues and her father and brother, so she just pushes it off to the side to look at later. Next is the present from Cam; she gave Bones a gift certificate to the local day spa, saying that Bones could use a day of R&R, which I have to explain the meaning of to her.

Max gave Bones a beautiful necklace that once belonged to her mother, which was nearly the show stopper. And lastly, Hodgins gave Bones an espresso machine which he said that he couldn't live without and figured Brennan would appreciate one as well.

Angela leans over to look at the four remaining items and looks up at me, "Help me out here big guy?" she asks.

"Just hand them all over because there is a specific order that they need to go in." I tell her. She hands over the largest one first, the two envelopes and then the last box. I pick up the larger present and hand it to Bones.

She looks at me in shock, "Booth, you didn't have to get me all of this stuff. A card would have suited me just fine, you know." She says.

I smile at her, "Don't worry about it, Bones. You'll understand why I had to do this in a few minutes." I say, "Now open that one." I tell her, nodding to the present I placed in front of her. She lays the long rectangular package on her lap and pulls the tape off in a delicate manner and I wouldn't expect any less from her.

In the last stroke, she pulls off the paper to reveal a painting. She looks at it and smiles, "This is quite lovely Booth." She says.

"What is it?" Angela asks, "Is it painted by anyone I know?" she asks.

Brennan turns the painting around so that everyone can see it. It's a painting of a young girl in a white dress on a boardwalk in the sunlight; her feet are bare and the wind is rushing through her hair.

"Who painted it?" Brennan asked, "I didn't see a signature on it." She says.

Angela looks at me and smiles, "I know who painted it." She says mischievously, "Do you remember what I said about brush strokes, Booth? They're like fingerprints." She says, raising her eyebrow.

I smile at her, "I don't know what you're talking about, Angela."

Brennan peaks around the painting to look at Angela, "Do you know who painted it, Angela?" she asks.

Angela laughs and looks at me and then Brennan again, "You're sitting next to him."

Brennan turns and looks at me, "You painted this?" she asks, sounding rather shocked.

I nod and attempt to avoid eye contact, "Yeah." I say.

"Seeley, that is really good." Cam says stepping forward.

Hodgins laughs, "Wow G-man, who knew you had an artistic touch."

"Me." Angela said arrogantly, in jest of course.

Brennan turns the painting around and looks at it again and then at me, "This is beautiful, Booth. Thank you." She says leaning the painting up against the end table. I pass her the next box and she graciously takes it and repeats the ritual of carefully unwrapping it. She opens the lid and finds inside a dress. It's deep purple in color and in her size. She picks it up out of the box and holds it up to herself and Angela, Cam and Amy gush over the quality of it.

I smile and Russ looks at me and smirks, "You are so whipped." He says and Hodgins busts out laughing; lucky for Russ none of the girls heard him say that, but his father whacks him over the head for the comment and I laugh.

Brennan sits back down next to and looks me in the eyes, "I feel like this is all leading to something Booth."

"Only one way to find out." I say, handing her the appropriate envelope.

She begins to open the envelope and looks up at me before tearing it open. Inside is a letter written to her, from me. She unfolds the note and looks up at me.

"I think you should probably read it out loud, Bones. They're going to find out what is in there anyway." I tell her.

She nods and begins to read, "Temperance," She begins, "I know that I have never been very forthcoming about my past, but I hope that now that you have learned the truth about what my life was like then, that you might understand why I was hesitant to talk about it. Nevertheless, I still have a few secrets that I need to reveal to you. I'm sorry that I have kept these things from you for so long but I wasn't quite sure how and when to tell you. Looking back on it now, it seems inevitable that our relationship would grow in exactly the manner that it did, and I am so grateful to have a partner and friend like you and believe me when I tell you that I could, literally and figuratively, not ask for a better person to fill those two roles in my life.

"When we first started out as partners, It was obvious that you were a beautiful, strong and independent woman if not arrogant and stubborn as hell. It was only until later, after this secret came to light, that I realized that the woman you are; the layers underneath was where your true beauty was laid.

"At first I wasn't sure that you would care either way if I told you, but then when I started realizing that there was much, much more to you than meets the eye, I knew that I couldn't keep it from you. So, I began trying to find the right moment to let you know, but unfortunately that moment never came because before I knew it, I was a changed man. I realized that I had grown to think of you as more than just a friend, Temperance.

"I ignored my inner monologue for a very long time and kept myself focused on the one thing that I had been trying to tell you for a while, but instead of being afraid that you wouldn't care, I was now terrified that you would hate me, because in telling you my secret, it would have brought up memories from your own past, and that maybe you wouldn't accept what I had to tell you as truth considering there was no tangible evidence to support it.

"Here is the thing, Bones; seventeen years ago, I met a girl. Before I had even said a single word to her I knew that there was something; a feeling of desperation that she and I shared. I was drawn to her in the night and I couldn't pass up the potential opportunity that this girl would talk to me; that she might notice in me what I had noticed in her.

"She did talk to me that night and I found her to be extremely independent, stubborn, opinionated woman who absolutely took my breath away. She was the girl that I modeled all other girls after from that point on. It has become evident to me that that is why I date the kind of women that I do. All of my previous girlfriends have always been strong women; although, I must admit that none of the women from my past could really quite compare to this girl that I met.

"Here is the truth behind all of this exposition; I've been hopelessly in love with this girl for the past seventeen years." She stopped and looked up at me as I grabbed her hand from off of the couch cushion. She wiped her right eye with her wrist and continued, but her voice was becoming tight, "I promised this girl, Jane, something that night and I intend on keeping my word." She stopped again and looked up at me and the tears came without her permission. She leaned forward and buried her head into my neck before I could say anything to her.

I rubbed her back and ran my fingers through her hair before whispering to her, "Do you want me to continue reading?"

She simply nodded and handed me the letter without removing herself from me and I continued where she left off, "Since both you and I have both seen our fair share of South America and we have both jumped out of an airplane at one point in our lives, I figure it's about time that I claim my dance in Paris from you, Jane. Just please know that I love you, I always have been and I always will be yours. With love in all it's sincerity, Seeley Booth also known as, Charles C. Marshall the boy on the boardwalk."

I folded the letter and set it down on the couch before looking around the room at everyone, Angela was bawling, Amy and Cam were also chasing away tears, Hodgins and Russ looked shocked and Max just looked as though it were the happiest day of his life.

Brennan was crying so hard into my shoulder that I wasn't really able to move, so I gestured to Russ to hand me the last envelope that was sitting on the coffee table and he quickly handed it to me, "Hey Jane." I whispered to her.

"Yeah?" she asks into my shirt.

I smile and run my fingers through her hair again, a feeling, which I am loving, by the way, "you have one more envelope to open." I tell her.

She slowly wiped the tears away from her eyes and then sits back when she feels that she is appropriate and takes the envelope out of my hand and opens it. She reaches inside it and pulls out the two tickets for Paris that I bought for us. She holds them up for everyone and says, "Tickets for Paris." Softly and turns back to me and hits me with them, "You've known for four years and didn't tell me?" she says and even though she sounds annoyed, she looks happy.

"I've known since a few days after you gave me the case file on your parents. There was a picture of you inside there and I didn't put the pieces together right away, but I figured it out." I say nodding and feeling a little guilty about not telling her.

She punches me in the arm lightly and then hugs me for a long minute and says, "I've loved you too, Booth, then and now. Now more than ever." Angela growls at the both of us. Bones turns around and looks at her strangely, "Brennan, if you don't kiss that man right now, I will, damnit!"

"Oh," Bones says, "Right." Then she turns back to me and plants her lips onto mine and almost like one of those cheesy romance moves everyone 'awes' at us. Then Brennan pulls back suddenly and looks at me. She gets up off of the couch and says a vague, "hold on." Before leaving the room.

Two minutes later she comes back and throws something at me. It's my jacket from that night, the one that I let her wear because it was cold, "You kept this?" I ask her.

"What is that?" Hodgins asks.

"It's my jacket, the one I gave to her seventeen years ago." I say.

"I wanted something to remember you by. You were the only person in the span of three years who was ever really nice to me." She says.

"It has my name in it." I tell her.

Her eyes get wide suddenly, "What!" she says coming over to inspect it.

"My mom always labeled our clothes. Look." I tell her, flipping the label of the jacket. There on the back it says, "Property of Seeley Booth."