I have to start by thanking you all for your patience, for all of the reviews, alerts…

I have to say that it always made me smile, as these sad days have passed. Difficult times, helping my family grieve for my aunt's death, and I can't be more thankful for the kind words some of you gave me. That being said, and the certification exam I had the past weekend, meaning I had to devote all of my time to studying, really left no time for me to write a good chappie.

Besides, I didn't want to riddle you with my angst. I promised the angst was over, and even if the subject itself its angsty, B&B are finally together, for the ride, until the end.

I hope I made this worth reading, and I will as always, wait for your input, my dears.

She didn't know how much time had passed from the moment she had let sleep take her, the only thing her mind registered was the sense of safety and warmth that enveloped her, a feeling that had become so foreign to her life ever since she let him walk away that she still found herself disbelieving that it was real. But the warm body that was snuggling hers, the protective/possessive grip of the arm that was wrapped around her waist from behind told her it was no lie. She closed her eyes, and basked in the sensation. She had never been able to understand how a single touch from him could feel more intimate than her most passionate affairs of the past, and even if she still felt that nagging pressure inside her chest, as the hours passed and it was only the two of them, like it used to be, she could feel tiny pieces of her heart coming together, like mercury balls searching for each other on the floor after a thermometer was broken. And it was uncanny how the metaphor very much reflected how she was right now. The outside was shattered into tiny pieces, but her core was being put back together. She was afraid of how great an influence he was in her life, how a single word from him, how a simple gesture could make her regain the hope she had lost, and thinking back of the past months, she knew the smart thing would be to work at lightning speed to rebuild her walls, but she was too weak to do that. Her walls had only kept the people she loved outside her life, and she was now paying the price. She had no one to blame but herself.

His strong arms holding her so tightly gave her the strength she needed to let her mind wander to the past, without the fear that had lead her to this place. She swallowed as she remembered her father's pleas for forgiveness, how time and time again he had begged her to trust him again with her love, and how wary she had been off him. She could only been thankful that after his trial, they had shared important moments together, and that he had never given up on her. She recalled how he had risked his freedom, yet again, if that meant keeping her safe, when he had tried to eliminate the threat Heather Taffet possessed, and she was even more thankful that Booth had not only read his intentions, but prevented him from doing something that would have undoubtedly separated them again. Then, her mind want back to her childhood, when in her world, there was no one braver than her father, her knight in shining armor. Her heart tugged when she recalled that one of the reasons Booth´s relationship with Hannah had hurt so badly was that she missed the safety his embrace provided, only parallel to the one she had found in Max´s arms as a small child. And she knew why Max had asked her, time and time again, not to give up on love, and somehow always pushed her to Booth, because she knew that even if he was a criminal, he saw much of himself in the FBI agent, the possessiveness, the fierceness in protecting their loved ones by any means necessary. Her mouth turned into a little smile when she remembered how Booth had practically defended Max, calling him "honorable" even when he was after him, saying how much he understood his drive to resort to any measure imaginable when the safety of his family was at risk, and in those few seconds, as they stood in her office, she could see something that she now understand meant he would do the same for her if someone ever threatened her, or Parker.

He groaned a bit, and sprawled his hand over her stomach, keeping her in place when she wiggled a bit, and she smiled. She had slept soundly, lulled by the sound of his heartbeat and his smell. She knew she could explain all of her reactions by brain chemistry, but she wouldn´t. As Angela would say, the only thing she should be concerned about was fighting so this feeling remained, because you never knew what life would throw at you.

She opened her eyes a bit, and noticed it was almost night time, the afternoon filled with the dusky oranges of impending nightfall, and she just stared until she felt a soft kiss being pressed against her neck.

"Slept well?", his voice was thick and heavy with sleep, and his hands were steadily moving her, so that there wasn't a single inch between them .

She nodded tiredly, and let her fingers dance over his hands, her fingertips memorizing each vein, each corded muscle, and she marveled yet again at how such strong, lethal tools could also be capable of so much gentleness. "I did, thank you".

He pressed another kiss, enjoying the satiny feel of her sleep-warmed skin, and her smell. Not even hospital soap had masked her true scent, the scent that had always compelled him to stand a little closer to her side, to hug her a little tighter when the situation called for it.

Booth closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her hands on his, softly caressing him, a touch filled with adoration.

They were lost in their little world, as usual whenever they were together, when someone cleared his throat and they were startled as they saw the figure of one Lance Sweets, looking at them sadly as he stood against the doorframe.

"Sweets", Booth said, and he felt bad that he hadn´t called him, but he guessed who had given him the heads-up. "Cam called you?", the doctor nodded, but didn't move from his place, waiting for them, but particularly, from her, to give him permission to enter.

He had been staring at them for a few minutes, and his heart had burst with happiness as he saw how peaceful they finally were together, a contrast to their usual stance around each other ever since their return.

No one had really understood his reasons for quitting the FBI when they all left, but the truth was that, apart from the fact that Daisy's departure had left him heartsore, he was beating himself up, because he knew somehow he had a great deal to do in how the events between the partners had unfolded.

He had realized, after his first session with the partners after that fateful night when he had pressured Booth into "breaking the stalemate", that something had shifted, and not for the better. There was a tension between them he had never felt in their previous meetings. Of course, most of the times when he had had a session with them the air was so thick when they left the only thing he desired was to make love to his Daisy, and thank whatever deity was out there for the chance he had of having someone love him, and being able to love them back, but that new tension was not their usual unresolved issues and stubbornness; there had been an aura of despair, a desire to break free from each other, like they could no longer breathe the same air, and he just knew something had gone terribly wrong. Brennan's assertive personality was nowhere to be found as her eyes always avoided Booth's and didn't retort to some of his comments, as he would have expected her to, and Booth's cocky posture was now similar to a deflated balloon, the anger he had always sensed in the agent now replaced by an aura of defeat.

He saw them, he saw how, even if something was wrong, they were still clinging to each other, particularly, when Taffet's trail took place. There was a single second, when Angela and Hodgins blurted out that they had gotten married, when he thought he saw raw pain in the agent's eyes, and complete regret in the scientist's, and he wanted nothing more than to have kept his mouth to himself, because he could just feel something monumental was about to happen, and that something indeed monumental had happened between them, making them lose their footing.

He couldn't have been sadder to be right when they announced they were going to complete opposites of the world, and he had, for the first time, swallowed his concern and only lent them his ear when they felt like expressing their fears and expectations for the new road they would be embarking on.

So, as a way to punish himself, he had quit the work he had loved the most to pursue his second love, only hoping the months away from each other would make them see what everyone had seen for years. Their love.

But when Cam's distressful situation called them all to their rightful posts, he could only see a new light in his eyes, and the light in hers going out, like a candle fighting hard not to be put out in a blistering wind. When Booth cheerfully told him of his new love, and professed to have moved on, and even advised him to do the same regarding Daisy, he started paying even more attention to the anthropologist, and his heart broke when he saw how bravely she was trying to hold on, how hard she was trying to put on a happy face for her team, for him, but the sadness couldn't be denied, and he marveled at Booth's obliviousness to his partner's pain, when he had always been the one to comfort her. He had read under Booth's joy and cheerfulness, and he was never more thankful of his years as a profiler as he noticed what he was doing was only desperately trying to convince himself that he could move on from the love that had been the sole aim of his life for the past 5 years. He couldn't blame Booth, Hannah was beautiful, funny, smart in her field, brave and not shy about showing her love and passion for Booth, something he had badly needed, but not from her, but from the woman he had left behind.

He had hoped he could do something to undo his mistake, but the last drop came with Max Keenan's death, and again, he couldn't be sorrier to be right. As he saw her at the funeral and at the cemetery, a chill had literally ran through his bones when he saw the complete hopelessness etched in the beautiful blue eyes of the anthropologist, and he had hoped she wouldn't take the pathway that he was seeing she was being led to.

So, when Cam had called him, he had been stunned, but not really shocked, because it had been coming from a mile away, and he could only grieve that no one had seen it, that no one had seen past her mask and into the cry for help she was screaming from the top of her lungs, with no one to hear. He couldn't blame the squints, because, in truth, the only one who had understood her to the core was Booth, and he had been the one to desert her. But they were all also to blame, since they were so wrapped in their new lives and projects, they had stopped paying attention, and he could only expect the several calls he would receive for advice in the following days.

Cam had explained everything, just as Booth had told him, and his observations helped him fill in the blanks, and his only thought was getting to the hospital. He searched for the psych ward, and after a few minutes of inquiring for her clinical condition, he went to find the psychiatrist in help of her care. They had talked for more than an hour, sharing insights on their patient, and incredibly, the psychiatrist had agreed to him to visit, acknowledging that he had been working with the couple for so many years.

It was how he now found himself waiting for them to let them in, and he vowed to himself he would never be as foolish. In the year they had all been apart, he had considered that perhaps Booth's teasing was not so wrong when he called him a 12-year old, because he felt like a novice. He should have known better. Booth had told him that once, when Max's trial came, that she couldn't be rushed, but he had to accept he had pushed so hard in the area where it hurt the most, where he just knew he would get a reaction.

And what a reaction it had been.

"Dr. Brennan, may I come in?", she nodded, and both people resting on the bed started straightening up, Booth helping her prop her back against the pillows, and he noticed her hand clasping his when he was about to move away. Sweets saw Booth again settle behind her, and shift her until her back was partially against his chest, mirroring their earlier position as they were lying horizontally.

"I don't meant to sound callous, but… how are you feeling?", he asked, and after a few seconds, she replied.

"Exhausted", she smiled sadly, "But better than I did before", and Sweets couldn't deny that it was most likely because of the man holding her so tightly against his bulky frame that she indeed was better.

His heart tugged painfully when he saw her bandaged wrists, and her beautiful face filled with lines of exhaustion and dark circles under the blue orbs.

"You have no idea how sorry I am", he said, and they both could see it wasn't just a pleasantry. For all of their teasing, they had grown a soft spot for their "baby duck", and though they had both been angry at him, they couldn't blame him for trying to break a cycle that had been holding them back from their real emotions.

"I know you are, Sweets", she replied, "How…", she seemed unsure, but she truly needed to know, "How did they take… this?", they both knew he should be already into what was going on in the lab with the news.

"They are very much concerned for you, very sad", he saw her eyes well at that statement, "Worried sick, but hopeful you'll pull through, as you always have".

"I…", she rasped out, "I don't know if I can".

Sweets nodded in understanding, "It's only natural that you're doubting yourself right now, these… events shake the strongest of people, but I know you, Dr. Brennan, and there is no doubt in my mind you'll find the strength you need within yourself to stand again", she bit her lower lip, but offered him a teary smile.

Booth, who had been listening to their exchange, reading for any signs of distress on her behalf to intervene, could only be thankful she was being so open, "Sweets", he asked, "How did you get in here? They have very strict protocol", Booth stared into his eyes as he waited for his answer, "And it's not even visiting hours".

"I talked to the psychiatrist in charge of Dr. Brennan's case, and we shared some insights, and she was kind enough to let me visit, considering I've been sort of treating you for years", Booth couldn't fight the snort that burst from his lips.

"Sort of?", Booth teased, and even Brennan smiled, seeing Sweets' lips curve into a shy smile, "Sort of", he replied, "whenever you let me, though I have to admit… I haven't doing a great job lately, haven't I?", Brennan smiled indulgently at the young man, her own heart tugging at seeing him so lost, indeed like a baby duck searching for the comfort of his mother's wings.

"I know you've always meant well, most of the times anyway", she replied, the both of them not needing to say out loud what she was referring to: his hiding of Booth's undercover mission that led them all to think he was truly dead for two weeks.

"Can I… Can I speak freely?", the couple looked into each other's eyes, and nodded.

Sweets sighed deeply, and closed his eyes for a second before he started, "You fascinated me from day one. You defied, and still defy, what a partnership should be. Being so polar opposites, the bond between you was nothing short of awe-inspiring", they both blushed at his heartfelt words, "it was not friendship, because you had other friends, it wasn't work, because your lives outside of it were so entwined we couldn't even tell them apart. We couldn't think of one of you without the other. I never truly asked for your forgiveness for hiding the fact that Agent Booth was alive, and I will never regret it enough… but it's just that… Lemme explain", they waited indulgently for him to continue, "You are just like my parents. Even in their old age, they bickered over the smallest things, but there was still so much passion, so much love… The way you are together is just like theirs, and I just… I just wanted you both to experience the level of happiness I witnessed until they were gone. I see you, Dr. Brennan", he focused his eyes on her, "So rational, and still capable of so much love and understanding, just like my mom. And I see you, Agent Booth", he stared into Booth's eyes, "With your undying devotion and care, even if you could kill anyone who comes close in a second, and that is just like my dad… She died first, and he followed just 2 months after. Doctors told me it was his failing heart, but I know it was because he couldn't face live without his mate. From the day she died, the only thing he did was either talk to me, or stare into their wedding photo, rubbing his thumbs over her face, like he could… bring her to life", his eyes were filled with tears at this point, "I pushed you to change things because I felt it, here", he pressed a fist against his chest, "That you couldn't find anyone who would love you the way you love each other. So I pushed you into changing things, but believe me, I was never sorrier to see the outcome", he lowered his eyes.

They could feel his sincerity, and surprising them all, it was her who replied, "Sweets", he raised red-rimmed eyes to them, "I might have expressed many times that I thought psychology was not to be trusted, but you were right into many, or should I saw, practically all the things you thought about us. Yes, I couldn't open my heart because my parents leaving me scarred me more than I was willing to admit. I indulged in the sensations of my body when I was involved in a relationship, but I never opened to the heart most of the men I was with tried to give me. I was protecting myself, and Booth…", she felt his tender squeeze, "I knew he had the ability of both raising me up beyond my walls, but I also knew he could destroy me just as easily", he lowered his head against her shoulder, hiding his welling eyes from them, "I had never been able to trust, because when I was a child, I trusted my family implicitly and completely, and they deserted me. But Booth… He changed me, and I didn't want to accept I was ready to love, for his love", she leaned against him, feeling a drop of moisture coating her skin, "He asked me that night, you know?", she realized Sweets' eyes widening at the revelation, since they hadn't disclosed the events of that particular night, "He did. He gambled, as you told him, but I didn't let him win. I was petrified, and I… I never thought I could be the woman he needed or deserved. I know Booth's views on love and family. He's loyal, he commits with everything he has, I've seen it, and I… I didn't know if I was capable of giving him that, of making him happy, but my fear… destroyed us both. It tore me apart to see him with Hannah, but", she bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling, "I only wanted the best for him, and if he felt she was, I wasn't going to stand in his way".

Her eyes were pooling with tears, and she felt Booth's hand tilt her chin until their eyes met, her heart beating hard against her ribcage when she noticed his were as filled with his own tears as hers, "That's the part you've never understood, Temperance. You've always been the best for me, I know I was wrong that night, I know that in my own hurt at your rejection, I failed to tell you I didn't want you to change. How could I?", he said, caressing her soft skin, "When you are the best thing to happen to me? And I wouldn't trade a single day fighting with you over making love with someone else. You've always been it. And I'm still that guy, Bones. I knew. I still know".

Booth was awed at the love radiating from them, and he would have jumped in sheer joy if they weren't looking so sad. "Dr. Brennan. Agent Booth. I only hope you can forgive me. And I promise you both, if you decide to enter a relationship and let the FBI know, I will fight them tooth and nail. I won't let them separate you. From the day you were both back, things weren't the same, because you weren't… well… you", he said, sheepishly, eliciting a soft smile from the partners, "But I can now see you have everything before you. My only advise, both as your shrink and a friend, is that you take baby steps. I mean, you've finally accepted the depth of your feelings, but it's only natural that you, Dr. Brennan, are overwhelmed", she nodded, knowing he was right, "The shift in the only thing that made you feel safe, your relationship with Agent Booth and losing Max… ", she lowered her eyes, and let booth hug her ever tighter. Sweets thought that even tighter, and their skins would fuse together, "We'll miss him, for all of his faults, he was a good man".

"I know", she said sadly, amazed at how many people had disregarded his criminal past and taken him in as they realized he was truly trying to make amends, for his family.

"It's an amazing thing, realizing how love can lead us to the edge, isn't it?, she smiled tenderly at the psychologist, before tilting her body again and brushing her elegant fingers against Booth's face, making him close his eyes.

"It is. Scary, but amazing nonetheless. Thank you, Sweets", she said, turning her eyes again on the young shrink, "I know we never made things easy on you", he shrugged his shoulders, "And you don't know how much it means to me, to us, that you want to help. I… I've accepted that I can't deal with the burden of… everything on my own, and I would be… glad if you wanted to be there… for the ride", she said.

Sweets' face beamed with a smile, "Of course. No need to ask me. I already spoke to your doctor, and she recommended that we continue your medication. When she considers you're able to face the workload, I will also conduct my own evaluation", she frowned a bit, "I'm sure she has already mentioned that right now, you shouldn't try and suppress your emotions with work, as you've always done", she had to accept he was telling the truth, releasing a tired sigh. "Dr. Brennan, besides, you have to consider something. You're going to start antidepressants, and we don't even know how your body will react to those, both emotionally and physically. Remember that on the field, partners, as Agent Booth has always said, have each other's back, and a moment's hesitation could cost either one of you your lives", Booth pursed his lips, but he could only agree with him. "I'm not telling you you'll be on antidepressants for the rest of your life, but it is a long road you have ahead of you, and much of the success you will reach depends on how willing you are to open to your emotions, understanding them, embracing them, and dealing with them. No one, and I need you to realize this, because this came directly from your little family at the Jeffersonian, is thinking less of you", her eyes pooled with new tears, "Their only concern is seeing their friend and leader back on her feet, and even stronger than before, but please, take Agent Booth's advice and ., ok?", she nodded, "Wounds take a long time to heal, and I know how, on top of it all, it feels to lose a parent. I don't think Max would agree to this, don't you?", she nodded again, a small smile on her lips.

"Well, I was only allowed a little time. Again, if you want me to help you during your sessions, I would give you all the time you need, ok? Let Agent Booth help", Cam had also told him of his and Hannah's relationship failing, and he was concerned, but seeing Booth' shimmering eyes, he didn't even pay the fact a second thought, because he knew finally the FBI was where he was supposed to.

He waved and turned on his heels, but her voice stopped him, "Sweets?", he turned again, and faced them, "I would appreciate it. I'll have Booth text you when I start having outpatient treatment. You… you know us both better than anyone, and I… Even if you've made mistakes, you've always had the best of intentions, so I would appreciate it. A lot. You could… help me understand many things", Sweets grinned gratefully.

"I will be there to hold your metaphorical hand, Dr. Brennan, since I know Booth here will surely hold your literal hand, along with other things", he teased a bit, and grinned even more as they both blushed a bit, happy the atmosphere had lightened somehow after his little joke, "Have a good night, you two", he said, and finally left.

She let her head fall back against his shoulder, and she felt his arms reach higher, resting on her ribs, letting him feel every muscle, from shoulder to foot, and she in turn tilted her head to press a tender kiss against his neck. They needed no more words. They had been falling, but holding each other's hand, hitting the ground didn't seem so bad.

As I said at the beginning, I hope this is worth every single second of your time. Tell me if you found anything I could improve. I feel Sweets character is being wasted on this season, he's funny and his interactions with B&B are always amusing. His youthful demeanor mixes with the seriousness JFD knows how to give his character, and I feel many of the viewers are angry at him for pushing Booth. I wasn't really, but this is what I think he could be feeling towards the situation.

Musie will be anxiously awaiting.

xOXOXOXOXO