COLD FEET part 3

Brennan burst into Wong Foo's and stopped, looking around for Booth. She saw a suit jacket draped on one of the stools and half a drink on the bar. Sid came out of the back. Whistling softly, impressed with her attire, Sid smiled.

"Bone Lady, you don't have to dress up to come here. In fact, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make it a habit. Might scare off the clientele if they think we've upgraded the dress code," he teased with a grin. He took a closer look at her face and dropped the banter. "If you're lookin' for Booth, he'll be right back. He just went to the men's room."

Just then Booth came around the corner and stopped short, staring at her in shock. "Bones! W-what are you doing here? I thought you'd be married by now."

Now that she was here and he was here, she was at a loss how to proceed. All the way over she had just felt an overwhelming urgency to find him right away so she could tell him—and that was as far as the plan went. Sid made himself scarce, and since it was early afternoon, they had the place to themselves.

Booth looked her up and down. "You look beautiful, even better than I had imagined," he told her. She was staring at him, apparently unable to form a coherent sentence. He noticed the redness around her eyes and the absence of makeup, sure signs she had been crying. He stepped closer to her, concerned. "Bones? Are you okay? Where's Sully?"

She took a wavery breath. "I don't know. I—I couldn't marry him," she confessed. "I took a cab. Can you take me home?"

Booth frowned, confused. "Why didn't you have the cab take you home? Wait—did you say you couldn't marry Sully?" he asked when her words finally registered.

Brennan shook her head, thought about his question again and nodded. "I—had to see you. Please, can't we just go? I want to get out of this ridiculous dress."

Still a little unclear as to what was going on, Booth grabbed his suit jacket, threw some money on the bar and called out a farewell to Sid. It took some doing to get her and her ridiculous dress crammed into the passenger seat of his SUV, but they were finally on their way.

Booth kept darting sidelong glances at her. She sat calmly, watching the passing scenery, her clasped hands the only sign that she was agitated. He began to wish he'd just called her another cab. He didn't know if he was ready for whatever was coming.

It was easier getting her out of the SUV and soon he was seated in her living room, waiting for her to change. In a minute she was back in the doorway, still in the wedding dress.

"Would you please unfasten these hooks? There are about thirty of them up the back. It took Angela a long time to fasten them this morning." She tried to keep her tone matter of fact to mask her awkwardness.

Booth got up and went over to her. She lifted her hair and turned her back to him. She had managed to undo the top five and Booth started working his way down, breathing in the light floral scent she wore. By the time he got to the small of her back, he was having a hard time keeping his mind on his task as the creamy skin of her back begged him to touch it. "There you go, all done," he said, stifling a sigh of relief as he unfastened the last hook. He stepped back and put his hands in his pockets.

Holding the front against herself, she smiled over her shoulder. "Thank you. I'll be out in a minute."

That smile stayed with him the whole time he waited. In no time at all, she was back, dressed in an old pair of jeans and a tank top, her hair pulled up in a ponytail. "How about some iced tea?" she offered. Now that the time to tell him had come, she kept trying to think of ways to delay it. He smiled and accepted, but too soon they were seated on the couch with their tea and an awkward silence fell.

"Bones, c'mon, tell me why you couldn't marry Sully. He's a great guy and I thought you loved him," Booth said.

Brennan looked him in the eye. "Because I love someone else more," she said.

Booth frowned, trying to remember the other guys she had been dating. As far as he knew, Sully was the only one for the past 6 months.

Brennan rolled her eyes. For someone known for his perceptiveness, he was being awfully dense. It would be funny if she weren't so nervous. "You, Booth. I'm in love with you," she said softly, and his eyes locked with hers, shock warring with hope. Shock won for the time being.

"You what? Me?" At her serious nod, he sprang to his feet. "Are you saying you left Sully at the altar because you think you're in love with me?" She continued to stare at him and he turned to walk to the far end of the room. She waited as patiently as she could for him to come back. When he did, he sat next to her on the couch.

"Listen, Bones, remember at the park that day, the talk we had about crossing the line?" She nodded, afraid of the direction the conversation was taking. "I haven't changed my mind. I still think it's a bad idea for people in our line of work to become romantically involved. It's too dangerous. It clouds the judgment."

Brennan frowned and tried to understand. "So, the times I've been shot at, kidnapped and almost blown up, those weren't dangerous?"

Booth sighed, frustrated that she was making this so hard. "Yes, but imagine how much more dangerous it could be if we were involved," he said patiently.

"I don't think it gets any more dangerous than that," she insisted calmly. "As for clouding the judgment, is there anything you wouldn't do to save my life if I were in danger?"

"Of course not, you know that. I would die to protect you—" he broke off as he realized she had just reasoned him into a corner. He looked over and caught her smiling a little, the first smile he'd seen since she'd come into Wong Foo's. He couldn't stop his own smile in return. "Okay, smarty-pants, I see your point. So, what now?"

Brennan smiled slyly. "You still haven't told me you love me," she reminded him.

His smile faded as he looked deep into her eyes. "I do" he admitted finally, unconsciously saying the vow she had almost said to another man.

Happiness flooded her like never before. "That's a start," she said, her eyes dropping to his lips. He leaned forward to close the gap between them. Lips meeting at last, tentatively at first, then more surely as their passion rose, he put his arms around her to draw her close, leaning back on the couch. They lay that way for hours, sometimes talking in low voices, sometimes kissing and caressing, forming a bond that was somehow stronger than the partnership they'd had before. It was a start.