A/N: Hi everyone, so this is the last chapter. Sorry it took so long for me to update, but I didn't realize how much time I have to spend on school work. This is my first Bones fanfic so please read and review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.

Changes are inevitable and nothing in life is fair. Both are facts that I've come to accept since I was fifteen years old. To think that everything stays the same is completely irrational.

Who was I to think that after a year of being away from each other that everything would stay the same? Or at least go back to the way things were? I shouldn't have been surprised. He said it himself. He said that he had to move on, and I encouraged him to do exactly just that. However, at the time, my feelings for him were unclear. I knew that there was something, I just didn't realize that it was love.

I was just scared, I guess. To experience love, a strong emotion that I have not felt since my parents disappeared, was overwhelming. It's something I've never felt in such a long time, and I didn't want to risk everything that we already had.

It was very selfish of me, wasn't it? To take away something that could have been great from him before it even started. Now I know that I should have taken the risk. I should have listened to what people kept telling me: that the bigger the risk is, the bigger the reward will be. Now I'll never know because I was too scared to take the risk, and now he found someone else who will love him for the rest of his life, something that I'm incapable of doing.

"Dr. Brennan, let me just say that, it is a pleasure to be working beside you. I've always looked up to you, and to be working with you is just amazing. However, I don't understand why an amazing anthropologist like you would leave the Jeffersonian Institute. I heard that they have a bigger lab equipped with the best equipments," the young intern said as he brought me back from my thoughts. His tendency to talk non-stop reminds me of Miss Wick, who I've grown to like in the year that we spent working together in the Maluku Islands.

"Yes, well, I wanted to start over," I said as I looked through a file that the director handed me once he had welcomed me into the lab.

"Why?"the intern asked, and I stopped what I was doing to look at him.

"That is for me to know and for you not to find out," I simply said before walking away from him.

I headed toward my new office. I was disappointed to find out that the one I had back at the Jeffersonian was far better than what I have now. I can't really complain though. This was my decision, and I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that I'm not in D.C anymore.

Once I was inside my office, I sat behind my new desk, and opened up the file that I was looking over before the intern started to ask questions. Before I could even look at the page where I left off, there was a soft knock on my door followed by it's opening.

"Yes?" I asked as one of the securities appeared between he crack that the door was creating.

"Someone's looking for you, Dr. Brennan," he said.

"Who is it?"

"He wouldn't say,"

"Oh...send them in please," I said before looking back down to the file in front of me.

"Of course," the security said before he left.

Not a minute later, there was another knock on my door.

"Come in," I said without looking up. I heard the door open as my unexpected guest walked in.

"Bones,"an all too familiar voice said, and my heart started to pound loudly against my ear. I slowly lifted my eyes from the file in hand, and I looked at the man standing before me.

After a moment of silence, I motioned for him to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk. I watched his face as he sat down, and I could see the exhaustion in his eyes.

"What-" I cleared my throat as it cracked, "What are you doing here, Booth?" I asked as I finally managed to look away from him.

"I could ask you the same thing, Bones," he said as he continued to stare at me.

"If you must know, I was offered a job, and I accepted," I said.

"I already know that. I just want you to talk to me. Tell me why you left?" he said, and I looked at him.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked. This was not part of my plan. My plan was to just run away and start over. Why does he have to follow me here?

"I told you. I want you to tell me everything. I want to know why you left," he said as he got up from where he was seated. I watched as he ran both of his hands through his short hair, and I watched him as he took a deep breath before looking back at me.

"I want to know if you love me," he said, and I felt the already uneven pieces of my heart break into more uneven pieces, metaphorically speaking of course; I would be dead if my heart was actually torn into pieces.

"Booth..." I said with a pause as I took a deep shaky breath. I blinked my eyes continuously to prevent the tears from rolling down my cheeks.

"Bones..." he said as he started to make his way towards me.

"No...please don't get close to me...I don't think I can handle it at the moment," I said. I took a deep breath before talking again.

"While I was doing the dig in the Maluku Islands, I realized something. I found that I was missing you more than I missed anyone back in D.C; I missed everything about you. Everyday, I thought about you. I dreaded the day that I would get a message concerning you. I was scared for you. I was scared that you would get hurt. When I couldn't stop thinking about you, I came to a conclusion that I was, in fact, in love with you. I was going to tell you when we met at the reflecting pool, but I made you tell your news first. You told me that you were getting married, and unbeknownst to you, you broke my heart," I said as I turned around to hide my face from him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"You're getting married next month, Booth. Obviously you love Hannah more than you loved me. You've moved on, and I couldn't ruin that for you. I just want you to be happy, and if marrying Hannah is what makes you happy, then so be it, but you can't expect me to stay and watch you be happy because as stupid as it sounds, my heart is already broken into little pieces; I don't think it can handle any more pain," I said as I tried to wipe away the tears that were flowing continuously, but it was useless.

"C'mere, Bones," he said with his arms wide open. I want to run to him, and just be in his arms forever. I want to wrap my arms around him, to bury my face against his chest, and to just intoxicate myself with his scent. However, I refrained myself from doing anything. As much as I want to, it wouldn't be fair to me because in the end, he's going to go back to Hannah, and it will cause me more pain than I am feeling now.

"No," I said.

"Why do you think I'm here?" he asked.

"No, Booth. Why do you think I'm here? I'm here on the other side of the continent because running away is what I do best. I couldn't take it anymore. I can't keep on pretending for you," I said.

"Just listen to me, okay, because I'm about to tell you something important," he said as he walked up to me, completely ignoring the protests that I was making.

"Last time you told me that you were going to tell me something important, I ended up with a broken heart," I pointed out.

"That's not the case here, Bones. What I'm about to tell you could put your heart back together. At least I hope it would," he said as he lifted my chin up with his right hand.

"What do you mean?"

"Cam and Sweets made me realize something,"

"Wh-" I started, but he stopped me by putting his right index finger on my lips.

"No, let me talk first, then you can talk," he paused as he thought about what he was going to say next.

"As I was saying, Cam and Sweets made me realize something. They told me something that I haven't been able to to admit since that night in front of the Hoover Building. I haven't moved on, Temperance. God knows I tried, and that's why I started a relationship with Hannah. Sweets, however, had another idea, and to be honest, I agree with him. You're it for me, Temperance. Hannah...she's just...she reminds me so much of you that I didn't realize that I didn't really love her. I love you, not her," he said, and the tears that had stopped while Booth was talking started making their way down my cheeks again.

"Booth...I..." I started to say, but nothing would come out. I have it all in my head, but it seems like my brain wasn't getting the message.

"Temperance...Bones...I know that I hurt you bad when I told you about my engagement, but Hannah and I are over now. I know that jumping into a relationship really not on the top of your to do list, especially after what I did to you, but I'll wait for as long as it takes you," he said softly, and for some odd reason, I felt a warm feeling inside me.

"I...as much as I want to be in a romantic relationship with you...I can't. We live on different sides of the country," I said.

"Then come back with me," he suggested as he gave me a hopeful smile, and I couldn't help, but smile at him as well.

"I can't. I just accepted a job, and I love it here," I lied hoping that he wouldn't see through it.

"Fine then. I'll just request for a transfer. I'll do anything even if it means that I have to leave D.C," he said as he brushed his thumb against my lower lip, and as he did so, I felt like electricity was running down my spine, which caused me to hold my breath for a moment.

"I can't let you do that. You're a father, and I won't let you leave Parker the way my parents left me and Russ," I said as I gave him a frown.

"I know that you hate it here, Bones. Don't think that I believed what you said. I'm an FBI agent, I can tell when a person is lying to me. I know you, the only place that you love is the Jeffersonian," he took a deep breath before continuing. "Bones everyone's a mess back home. Angela hates my guts for driving you away. I'm pretty sure Cam does too for losing the best forensic anthropologist. Heck, my own son will probably hate me too once he finds out that his favorite doctor left because of me," he said.

"I'm sure that that's not true," I said.

"Bones, you and I...we're the center..." he said softly, and I felt his breath against my skin as he spoke. And I felt the beat of my heart quicken as he leaned closer to me.

"...and the center must hold," I finished for him, and I saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

"We need you back home. Without you, everyone's not working right because you and I...we make sure that everyone is in line,"

"I don't even know if my old position is still available,"

"Trust me Bones, Cam hasn't hired someone yet, and I doubt that she'll find someone as good as you," he said as he gave me his famous charm smile, which he knows that I could never resist.

"You know, it's really not fair. You can't always use your charming smile to get what you want from me," I said.

"So, what do you say. Are you going willingly or am I going to have to drag your ass back to D.C" he asked, and I could hear the tone of excitement on his voice.

"Fine-"I started, but was interrupted by a soft-tender lips against my own.

Our lips moved in sync. I could taste the bitter taste of coffee that he probably got from a cafe from the airport. I raised my hands up to his face, and I could feel the stubles on his face tickle the sensitive skin on my palm. My heart rate was going beyond it's normal rate, and I could feel the heat rising up from my neck. I felt his tongue brush against my lower lip as he asked for permission for an entrance, and I gladly granted him with what he wanted. What started out to be an innocent kiss became much more intimate, but for the sake of oxygen, we hesitantly pulled away from each other.

I opened my eyes to look at him, and was really surprised to be greeted with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"That was...hot," he said.

"Yes...I must admit that that was quite stimulating," I said with a small smile.

"Come on. Let's go home," he said as he held his hand out for me, and I gladly took it.

I guess that there is such a thing as a happy ending. It may not come as fast as we want it to, but we just have to be patient for it to happen. Yes, there are going to be some obstacles along the way, but what comes out of it in the end is definitely worth the wait.

"I love you," I whispered in his ears as I kissed him on his cheek, and I saw the twinkle in his eyes as soon as he heard them.

Yeah, definitely worth the wait.