"Can you just hold me?"
"That's why I'm here."

For minutes he was holding her until her breathing slowly became calm, the shaking stopped and he felt safe to move. She was asleep.
He just wanted to place her next to him carefully, so he could turn around and find some sleep as well, but apparently his partner wasn't asleep yet.
"Do you need to stand up?" she asked weakly. Her voice still sounded teary.
"No ... sorry, I thought you were asleep. Come here." He pulled her close again and started caressing her back.
"You need to sleep. You need to be fit tomorrow ..." Bones mumbled.
"Don't worry about me," Booth whispered back while his finger drew circles on the sweatshirt he had loaned to his partner. He wanted to tell her how gorgeous she looked in it but feared it would be inappropriate.
"But I am worrying. I ... I was worried about you ..." Bones lifted her head and placed her chin on her partner's chest. "The bullet was meant for you, Booth. He could have killed you and you know that. If you hadn't... if you hadn't given the phone to Vincent -"
"We don't need to talk about it," Booth said with a gentle voice and lifted his finger to caress Bones' cheek. Had he really thought he didn't love her anymore? What a fool he had been. He had loved her all the time, even during his relationship with Hannah. He had told around that Hannah wasn't just a makeshift but he had lied to everyone, even to himself.
"We need to," Bones answered. A single tear escaped her eye as she continued, "I feel so bad about saying this but I'm glad the bullet didn't hit you ..."
"Don't say that. You know that I had rather taken the bullet instead of Vincent, he was just too young."
But Bones shook her head. "I'm not referring to your or his age, I'm referring to my feelings."
"Yes, you told me that Vincent was your favourite squintern," Booth said.
"That's true," Bones said quietly. "But you misunderstood me again. I was ... I was talking about my feelings for you."
Booth nodded slowly. His heart was racing as his partner, still on top of him, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. She tried to capture his lips but Booth turned his head.
"Bones ..."
"Please, Booth ... I ... I need you tonight. More than ever ..."
"Bones, you're still in shock. And you're trying to think of something else, and then there's the fact that you and I still haven't decided if we should have a relationship or not -"
"We did, we said we would try," Bones mumbled and sighed. "And yes, I just wanted to think of something else than Vincent. But maybe we should really try to sleep. Tomorrow will be exhausting."
Booth didn't answer.
He looked at his partner, the beautiful Doctor Temperance Brennan, the woman he fell so hard in love with that it sometimes hurt. The woman of whom he had thought she was unreachable. Here she was, on top of him and looking at him with tears in her eyes. The woman who was always right and loved to brag with it.
She needed him and he needed her.
"Bones," he whispered and stroke her cheek. And then he placed his hands on her hips and rolled her over, capturing her lips while he did so.
His partner responded immediately, kissing him back passionately. First he couldn't quite comprehend what was happening, that he was kissing Bones, Bones, the woman he saw everyday, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Bones, trapped between him and his mattress. How often had he already thought about that scenario? The answer was: way too often.
He got off of her and sat up, looking down at her. Bones looked at him with begging eyes. He sighed and reached out his hand, touching her cheek, caressing her face, tracing the wet trails of her tears.
"Bones," he said carefully while he ran his fingers along her jaw. "Bones, what are we doing here?"
"Something we should have done a while ago already ..."
"That night we first kissed?" Booth suggested and Bones smiled lightly.
"Yes ... Booth, listen, what I said before ... I meant it. What kind of a human am I? Vincent begged me not to make him go -"
"I told you, he wasn't talking to you -"
"And," Brennan interrupted him, "I denied my feelings for you when you loved me, even though I did love you and then I expected you to leave Hannah for me -"
"Bones ..."
"And then we were both single, both still in love with each other and still nothing happened. Because of me."
"No, Bones, it was because of me. Remember? I wasn't ready after Hannah and I broke up."
"I'm pushing everyone away," Bones continued, ignoring him completely. "I don't want to push everyone away anymore. Especially not the people I love. Angela, my father, my brother ..." she lifted her hand to caress his cheek. "You ..." She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to her, making their lips almost touch.
"You love me, Bones?" Booth whispered.
"You knew that," Bones responded, her lips very close to his.
Booth smiled happily. "I knew it but you've never told me. It sounds wonderful, say it again."
Her hands travelled down and started playing with the hem of his shirt. "I love you."
Booth placed his hands on her hips and sunk his lips on hers again.
"I love you too, so much," he said happily and then there was nothing heard for minutes, nothing but kissing sounds and happy sighs.
Until Booth pulled back again. "Would you want to ... you know ...?"
"Are you asking me if I would want to have sex with you?" Bones asked, being straightforward as always. The Bones he loved.
"Yes," Booth said. "You said I needed sleep but I feel like what I need more is you now. It's strange but I need to cherish that special moment."
Beneath him, Temperance Brennan smiled.
"As crazy as it sounds, Booth, I want you to make love to me."
"It really sounds crazy," Booth chuckled. "After all, every time I talk about 'love making', you're saying that it's impossible to -" He was shut up by her hand on his mouth.
"It doesn't matter now," she said. "Convince me that it's possible."
Gently Booth stroke his partner's arm, before he put his hands on her waist, leaned down and made their lips collide again. Passionately they kissed, Booth's heart raced madly as he heard the woman beneath him moan quietly, sigh happily.
"Bones ..." he whispered against her lips, while inserting his hands under the shirt he had loaned to her. He travelled them upwards, soon noticing that she wasn't wearing anything beneath it.
"Yes?" Bones breathed, locking her eyes with his. She hated to admit that she had craved his hands upon her skin. She knew he'd be gentle. And of course he was.
"It just feels so unreal," Booth said quietly and closed his eyes. "Like a dream. I'm only scared I will wake up again and notice that this was just a dream ... again."
"So you've had wet dreams about me?" Bones asked amused.
"Plenty. And you can't deny that you didn't have any wet dreams about me!"
"Oh, I won't deny it," Bones said. "So wet even, I woke up various times. Completely wet."
"Oh, damn," Booth mumbled and took the hem of her shirt, pulling it up with only one move. He had only needed one confirmation, the confirmation that she really wanted him. Not only because her brains told her it would be rational to have sex with him (he both loved and hated her rational thinking) but because her heart told her to make love with him. And the fact that she had wet dreams about him made him believe that it was her heart speaking. Her deepest heart's desire. It was to be with him.
The sudden thought made his manhood wake up and press against his shorts and against Bones' thigh. Bones had to grin and Booth pulled his lips away. "You're gorgeous," he mumbled and let his eyes wander over her upper body.
"Yes, I know," Bones said and Booth chuckled before he finally got rid of his shirt as well.