AN: I really hadn't planned on continuing this story, but so many of you asked so nicely for a second chapter. Hope you enjoy this one just as much!

Thanks as always to my thoughtful beta CalleighAryn.

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"I kissed a girl and I liked it…"

Ha. Funny that that song would come on the radio as I'm driving to Bones' apartment.

I'll be knocking on her door soon. She'll probably be surprised to see me on a Sunday morning, so she'll ask what I'm doing there. I'll take her in my arms and kiss those oh so soft lips and it'll be as magical as that time under the mistletoe, but this time we won't be in the lab and we won't have an audience so we won't have to worry about appearances and I can take my time showing her just how much I've been wanting and needing her all these years and--

Whoa! Pants getting tight. Much too tight. Gotta calm down. I can't show up at Bones' apartment with a bulge in my pants and then kiss her! She'll think that I'm there just to "fulfill my biological urges". No, she needs to know that what I feel for her goes way beyond biology.

I have to tell her I love her.

Yes.

But how?

I'll tell her that I need to talk to her and we'll sit on her couch. I'll say that over the years she's become more than a friend and partner to me and I've never felt this way about anyone else…

No, too cheesy. True, but cheesy.

I'll say that having her by my side makes the worst days bearable and the best days even better and I can't imagine living without her and I want to be with her for the rest of my--

No, too much too soon. That could scare her away.

Maybe I can try speaking her language. I'll say that anthropologically speaking, we're a good match because we both have…you know… symmetrical features and we complement each other's strengths and…and…damn, I've run out of squintspeak.

Maybe I can try to explain how important she is to me: how I miss her when she's not around…how I dream about her every night…how I would give my life for her…how I'd kill anyone who dared to hurt--

I probably shouldn't mention killing in a declaration of love.

How about: "I love you, Bones, and I always will"?

But what if she argues that she doesn't believe in love? And why should she when so many who have claimed to love her have left…

I'm less than a minute away from her apartment--I have to decide on something! It's not enough time. Maybe I should go to my place and think about it some more. I'll wait until I've got the perfect words and then--

No! I've already waited four fucking years. How much longer am I going to sit by and watch her date these idiots who are only interested in her body? How much longer can I pretend that I think of her as nothing more than a work partner?

No more.

I'm here now and I'm going to tell her.

God, I'm sweating like a teenager!

Just relax…it's only the most important conversation of your life.

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"Good morning, Bones!" Booth said with forced casualness when Brennan opened her front door.

"Good morning." She stared at him for a few seconds, studying his countenance. "Is something wrong?"

"No! Nothing's wrong. Why would you think that something's wrong?" Whoa, did my voice just crack? Pull it together! You're not thirteen years old anymore; you can talk to a woman without panicking.

"Because it's unusual for you to come to my apartment on a Sunday morning and you appear to be agitated."

"I'm fine." No, I'm not. I can't remember the last time I was this nervous about anything. "Can I come in?"

She hesitated for a moment, then stepped back to allow him entrance and close the door behind him.

He turned to her. "So…uh…can we talk?" Great start, Seeley. You're really earning your 'Cocky' belt buckle now.

"We are taking," Brennan answered with a slight smile.

Booth laughed. That's my girl. "On the couch. Let's talk on the couch." She sat down and he sat beside her. Take a deep breath. You can do this. "Bones…I've… really enjoyed working with you over the past four years. You're the best partner I've ever had, but--"

"But you don't want to work with me anymore?"

I've never heard her sound so hurt! "No, no, of course I want to work with you! I was saying that, while you're the best partner I've ever had, you're more than--"

"Temperance?"

Booth's jaw dropped as a tall, brown haired, muscular man wearing nothing but blue boxer shorts emerged from Brennan's bedroom. Perfect. Just perfect. I finally get the courage to tell Bones how I feel about her and she has company. Almost naked company.

"Can you hold on for a few minutes?" Brennan asked her partner.

I've waited four years--what's a few more minutes? Go ahead and say goodbye to your almost naked friend. "Sure."

Brennan stood up and walked toward her barely clothed guest. "Rick! You're finally awake."

"Yeah, I woke up because I heard you talking to someone." He glanced at Booth, then gave Brennan a sly smile. "How about you lose your friend and we give it another go?"

How about NO?

Rick moved in for a kiss, but Brennan stepped back. "I can't. I have a lot of work to do today."

Ha! Bye Rick!

"But it's Sunday!"

That won't matter to Bones. Obviously you don't know her very well.

"I'm well aware of what day it is. I have lab reports to finish and I need to send my editor a revised draft of my novel. I'd really appreciate it if you could get dressed and go home."

You heard her, buddy. Goodbye now.

"That's it?" Rick fumed. "You got what you wanted so you don't need me anymore?" He closed the distance between them in one predatory step. "What if I don't want to go just yet?"

Too bad! You're leaving. Alpha male adrenalin surging through his body, Booth jumped off of the couch and quickly positioned himself between Rick and Brennan. "She asked you to leave. Either you respect her wishes or I arrest you for trespassing."

Rick's face paled. "You're a cop?"

Booth happily took out his badge. "FBI. Special Agent Seel--"

"He's my partner," Brennan interrupted with a note of panic in her voice. "We're just partners."

But with any luck we'll be much more than that soon…if we can just finish our conversation without any more almost naked interruptions…

"Just partners?" Rick repeated skeptically as he noticed Brennan's reddening cheeks. "Then why are you blushing?" He paused for a moment, then laughed as the thought hit him. He turned back to Booth. "Your last name isn't Booth, is it?"

So you've heard of me. "What if it is?"

Brennan grabbed Rick's arm, forcibly escorting him to her door. "OUT. NOW." Booth followed them in case she needed back-up.

"What's wrong, Temperance?" Rick smirked. "Are you afraid I'm going to tell your 'just partner' that you scream his name when you're getting fu--?" The rest of Rick's sentence was lost when Brennan kneed him in the groin.

Booth involuntarily winced. Ouch. That had to hurt.

"Okay, I probably deserved that," Rick gasped, doubling over in pain. "I'm really sorry. Can I…make it up to you sometime?"

Please say no.

"NO," Brennan said as she opened her front door, pushed Rick into the hall, and slammed the door in his face.

Yes! Nicely done, Bones!

"What about my clothes?" Rick whined from the hallway.

"I'll get them, Bones," Booth offered. He retrieved a shirt, pants, socks and shoes from Brennan's bedroom and threw them into the hallway. When he turned back to his partner, he saw that she had returned to her spot on the couch. He sat down beside her once again. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered automatically. "I wasn't the one who received a sharp blow to the testicles."

Booth laughed. "Remind me not to get on your bad side, Bones. Where did you meet that loser anyway?"

"Blues Alley. He seemed much nicer last night."

They always do. "You picked up a guy in an alley?"

"No, it's a jazz bar Angela dragged me to."

That's even worse than an alley. "So you're picking up guys in bars now?"

"Why not? I can't pick them up at work," Brennan snapped. "There are lines, remember?"

Touché, Bones. "You know, I've been thinking a lot about the line lately. At Quantico, they tell you that having a romantic relationship with your partner is a distraction, and distraction can be deadly in the field. But us not having a relationship hasn't made our lives any safer. People are always shooting at us or abducting us or burying us in small spaces…and I seem to get blown up a lot more than the average person. Staying behind the line was at least supposed to keep my heart safe, but all it's done is make me miserable."

"You're miserable?"

"I do enjoy working with you, Bones; I wasn't lying about that. But some days having you so close but not close enough is torture."

Brennan frowned. "So working with me is like torture?"

"No!" Okay, this is going really badly. I need to stop talking in metaphors and just spell it out. "Bones, what I'm trying to say is that I don't want a line between us anymore because I'm in love with you."

"You love me?" Her eyes widened. "But I'm not your physical type."

"What type is that?"

"Blondes. Both Tessa and Rebecca had blond hair…and that stripper who you found so arousing was also blond."

You arouse me much more than she did. "I'm not only interested in blondes. I dated Cam, remember?" Idiot! This is hardly the time to remind her that I used to sleep with her boss.

Booth saw the briefest flicker of sadness register in her eyes. "I remember. Your relationship with Cam made sense; the two of you share common interests and values. But you and I disagree on so many things and I don't understand your pop culture references and I don't share your religious beliefs and I'm socially awkward and--"

"And none of that matters. I still love you. I always have and I always will."

"You can't know that. People's feelings change all the time. Didn't you think you would always love Rebecca when you asked her to marry you?"

"I asked her to marry me because she was pregnant and it seemed like the right thing to do. But I didn't love her or any other woman as deeply as I love you."

Her eyes filled with tears. "And someday you could meet someone else who transcends all of your previous girlfriends, someone with whom you're more compatible…someone who can make you truly happy. You deserve that."

"You make me happy, Bones. I don't want someone 'more compatible'--I want you. Only you. But if you don't want me, just say so and I'll go." And get my good scotch and drink until I lose consciousness.

She grabbed his hand. "Please don't go. Booth, you're the best man I've ever known and I find you extremely attractive. Of course I want you…I just can't see why you'd want me. I didn't think you ever would, so I've tried to form connections with other men, but none of them ever made me feel the way you do. I even started pretending that my lovers were you, but…" She trailed off as her tears started falling.

Oh Bones! I should have told her how I felt a long time ago. He gently wiped away her tears. "You don't have to pretend anymore…neither of us do." In response she threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely.

He didn't hesitate to wrap his own arms around her and return the kiss with equal passion. Wow God Bones love you so much taste so good so amazing don't stop don't ever stop wow! I kissed my Bones and I liked it…

Eventually she pulled back to face him, smiling broadly. "So the next time I scream 'Booth' in bed, you'll be right there with me."

He grinned as he leaned towards her for another kiss. "And I'll be screaming 'Bones' just as loud."

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Thanks for reading! All comments are greatly appreciated.