Final chapter! Yay! Sorry, it took so long! But no more waiting. :)

Thanks again to meredithgrey23, my beta. :)

Hope you've enjoyed my story.

The weekend went perfectly for Booth and Katy. After calling Hannah to make sure it was okay to bring Sully by and letting him off there, Booth spent a good hour explaining to Katy how Washington was not as safe as the community she had grown up in and that there were a lot of bad people out there. Being a five year old, however, Katy's attention did begin to dwindle after about fifteen minutes. But after being around Brennan so often, she was good at hiding her boredom. And after Booth informed Katy that since she had disobeyed him and her mother, there were limits on what she was able to do that night. Luckily for both of them, all either of them wanted to do was watch a movie and eat pizza (half cheese, half pepperoni). Booth had kept some of Parker's favorite movies from when he was Katy's age, so he let Katy pick from those. Once Booth was able to get Katy to accept that the fish, turtles, and sharks were talking, she ended up enjoying Finding Nemo. The next day consisted of them going to the park and getting ice cream, before retreating back to Booth's apartment for a thrilling game of Chutes and Ladders, followed by Candyland. And Sunday was used for church and a nice lunch, then Booth and Katy ended up watching television. He was going to let her watch whatever was on Cartoon Network now, but Katy had said those shows were dumb and asked Booth what he liked. Surprisingly, Katy loved sports about as much as her father. About four o'clock, though, Booth received a call.

"Booth."

"Seeley, it's me."

"Hey, Hannah, what's up?"

"I was calling to get your opinion on Tim."

Booth hesitated for a second before getting up from next to Katy, but he knew that this meant something big for Hannah and Brooke. Either Sully had royally pissed Hannah off, or she was seriously considering letting him into their lives. Booth hoped for the latter. Sully was a good guy, and if Booth had to choose someone, it might actually be him.

"What about him?"

"He said you two were friends when he worked at the FBI."

"Yeah, we were. He's a good guy. Why?"

"Do you think I should let him and Brooke spend time together?"

Booth paused only for a moment. The very selfish side of him pointed out that if he said no, he would continue to be the only father in Brooke's life. But the rest of him said that it was his friend, the biological father of Brooke who would do all he could to make up for the lost time. If the positions were reversed, he hoped Sully would say the exact same thing he did. "I do. Sully is the type of guy who will always be there. He would have been here sooner if he'd known."

"Okay. That's what I thought too, but I thought you would want to have a say. After all, you've been the one here."

Booth gave a half smile. "Yeah, I did. So, everything is okay between you?"

"'Surprisingly, yes. He and Brooke get along really well. And it hasn't been as awkward as I thought it would be for us, since we haven't seen each other since one drunken night seven years ago."

"So, you're going to let him be involved and have some relationship with him besides drunken affair?"

"Yes and hopefully. Two one night stands isn't a great relationship-"

"Whoa, wait. Two?"

"I told you a long time ago that there was a special connection-"

"So you two are going straight from strangers to romance. Okay, that's what I wanted to clarify."

"Honestly, Seeley, you're an adult. You can handle hearing about friends having sex. I know for a fact you did it, and not just from your two kids."

"Hannah!"

She could not help but laugh. "Relax. Plus, my mom dropped by unannounced and took Brooke for the night."

Booth sighed. His mind had not even completely caught up with that fact yet, but was still thankful for it. "Thank God. So, should I be filing for Sully to join the Bureau again?" he asked partially kidding. He did not know whether Sully would want to come back to the Bureau or not.

"Only if it's as a paper pusher, like you. I don't want her to lose a father."

"Hey! I'm not a paper pusher!"

"You aren't a field agent, anymore either."

Booth opened his mouth to respond, but could not. "Okay, maybe I am, but it was part of the promotion deal."

"I know. So, how are things with you and Temperance?"

Booth gave a small groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I have Katy here, so it's a step in the right direction."

"Then I will let you get back to spending time with her. And just let things happen. Eventually you will end up were you're supposed to be with Temperance."

"Thanks, Hannah. I'll pick Brooke up tomorrow, too."

"Great. I'll talk to you later, then."

Both ends of the line hung up, and Booth walked back in with Katy whose attention was still completely on the hockey game in front of them.

The next morning after dropping Katy off at school, Booth went straight towards the lab. He needed to apologize to Brennan as soon as possible. Two weeks ago, they had been fine, and Booth hoped that they could at least return to that, even though his heart wanted more. When he got there, he was not surprised to see all the lights off, except for in a lone office. He walked right over and stood in the doorway of the famed anthropologist. He just stood there watching her for a moment. She was focused on her computer, though he could not tell if it was an article or an X-ray. She had that look in her eye that Booth missed. The one that said 'I know what this is'. Finally, he tapped lightly on the glass door and gained her attention.

"Booth, what are you doing here? Is Katy okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. I dropped her off at school a few minutes ago."

Brennan released a breath that Booth did not realize she had taken before she continued. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"It's more what I came here to say. I'm sorry I yelled at you last week. I just… I just didn't like the idea of some stranger coming and replacing me in Brooke's life, especially when I thought I didn't know him. I know you were just trying to help. And you did. Hannah called me over the weekend to tell me how well it was going. But when I heard you telling some guy who could have been an ex-con that you were going to try to let him near Brooke, I just lost it. I overreacted and said a lot of stuff that I shouldn't have. I do think you're a good mom, and you know I trust you. I always have. I just wasn't expecting it. I mean, it went from me thinking I might never see you again to us starting to head back in the right direction. And then I walk in and here you telling Sully that he's Brooke's father."

"I was going to tell you at lunch that Sully was her father, but you never let me get that far," Brennan pointed out. "I knew that you would want to know, but when you started yelling at me, I assumed that you weren't ready to hear who he was. But then you started insulting me, Booth. You started suggesting that I didn't care about Katy and I would let anyone wander aimlessly into her life! I wouldn't do that. I haven't even been on a date since she was born. Of course, you also attacked the men I've dated."

"Bones, I swear I didn't mean a word of it. I know you're a great mother. And as for the whole dating thing, I really could have lived without you telling me that part. But you were dishing it out as much as you were taking it."

Brennan sighed. "I still believe I owe you an apology for what I said about you."

"And for the punch?" Booth asked with a lighter tone.

"No, that was deserved. But I apologize for not telling you immediately, allowing for your anger to build up which led to the fight."

"Did you just take blame for the fight?" Booth asked in awe.

"No. I'm suggesting that we share the blame equally."

"I can handle that." He gave her one of his most charming grins and was rewarded with a smile.

"Okay, well, I'll let you get back to work. And, I'll call you later." He began to stroll out, happy that he had managed to actually make up with her and not have them ready to kill each other.

"Wait, Booth!"

He spun around and looked at Brennan. "Yeah?

"You said that at the park we were 'starting to head back in the right direction.' Where does that direction lead us?"

"Wherever you want it to, Bones."

"Then how do you know the park was the right direction. You obviously have some hope for where this relationship will go."

Booth was a little startled, but kept a cool face on. "I do, but I'd rather go as far as you're comfortable."

"But I can't properly assess how to handle our relationship until I know where you want it to go. And since you have some idea, I'd appreciate it if you would tell me."

"You really want to know? Because you might not like the answer." He really hoped she said something to get him off the hook, but doubt that she would. What was he supposed to say? 'I still love you and want to get married eventually?' Yeah, that would end well. He might get a bruise to match Parker's or worse, a flat out rejection.

"I still want to know."

Deciding this might be his final chance to do so, Booth walked over to her. She opened her mouth to ask what he was doing invading her personal space, but, before she could make a sound, his lips were covering hers. And before she could close her jaw, his tongue was trying to duel with hers. His arms quickly went around her waist, pulling her just a little closer to him.

At first, he felt no reaction. A second later, though, there was no doubt that her brain had caught up with what he was doing, because her body stiffened. He knew that he would get a black eye from this, but honestly did not care. Kissing her again felt like heaven, even if she was not engaged with it, and any amount of pain it cost him was worth it. But as quickly as she had become rigid, he felt her body lean into his. He suddenly felt her arms around his neck and her tongue suddenly winning the battle with his. Booth kept waiting for her to pull back and tell him that they could not live in the past, but they continued until they both ran out of air. As they broke apart, Booth rested his forehead on hers.

"Does this mean what I think it means, Bones?"

"I have no way to tell what you're thinking. But I would like to eventually be where we were before I saw you and Hannah talking."

Booth smiled. "I think that can be arranged," he told her before going in for another long, passionate kiss.

Unknown to them, a single night guard stood at the door of the lab, smiling. "About damn time they started listening to the universe."