Disclaimer - They belong to FOX, not me.

A/N - Inspired by a line from "You've Got Mail," one of my favourites. If you can figure out which one, nice job. Hope you like it!

Thanks redrider6612 for being so incredibly awesome and going over this for me. Incidentally, if anyone hasn't read her stories, you really should, you won't be sorry :)

Booth looked down at his empty plate and took a deep breath. His eyes had definitely been bigger than his stomach this evening and now he could hardly move. He glanced across the table at his partner who was also finishing up her meal. He watched her scoop up her last bite of mac'n cheese and slip it into her mouth and found that he was unable to look away until she rested her fork on the table.

She had cooked for him again tonight. Their shared meals were becoming more frequent, and lately Booth had found that they had fallen into the pattern of spending most of their evenings together, be it for work related purposes or simply to unwind. It was a new development, but it already felt like they had been doing it for years.

"I don't think I'll ever get sick of this, Bones, you really are an amazing cook," he said.

She flushed and gave him a self-deprecating smile before shaking her head.

"Really, it was nothing." She enjoyed cooking for Booth, watching the satisfied smile on his face as he rubbed his belly after a meal. He always ate too much.

He picked up his plate and reached to grab hers.

"Booth, leave them," she protested, "I'll do the dishes later."

"Nope, you cooked so I clean, remember?" he grinned.

"At least let me dry?" she asked. She was still his guest after all; she couldn't just sit around and watch him clean up.

"Fine," he huffed, feigning exasperation. His look of mock indignation turned into a smile and Brennan's breathing hitched. Angela always praised her for her self control. Yeah right, she groaned to herself. Angela had no idea how incredibly difficult it was to spend hours with him every day and not give into the overwhelming temptation to 'buy a ticket on that ride.' It was becoming harder and harder with every breathtaking smile and every sweet gesture, to control her impulse to throw caution to the wind and kiss his damned line into oblivion.

Brennan picked up her plate and followed him into the kitchen. She deposited it, along with her utensils, into the sink and then watched as Booth proceeded to turn on the hot water and squeeze out an incredibly generous amount of dish soap.

"You know, you really don't need half the bottle. I'm pretty sure there were only two of us at dinner." She watched the sink fill with bubbles and had to smile at the excited look on her partner's face.

"Yeah, but the bubbles are so much fun," he said, scooping up a giant handful. He dabbed a bit on her nose and she glared at him. His gaze challenged her, but she wasn't taking the bait.

"I know where this is going," she said, "it ends with me soaking wet!"

"I hope so," he said, waggling his eyebrows at her. He flicked some water at her, but she only smiled and shook her head at him.

"You're such an adolescent," she teased. Bickering with him like this had become one of her favourite things to do lately. To be completely honest, she had come to count on it, on him, being the one constant in her life, and moments like this were the reason that she was beginning to feel that they were beginning to take things to a whole new level. The idea that their relationship was evolving, intensifying, was strangely exciting, more so than she ever would have expected the prospect of a committed relationship to be.

He simply shrugged and set to work on the dishes. A comfortable silence settled over them and Booth couldn't help but think about how domestic this felt.

"How are you feeling about tonight?" asked Brennan. Booth was meeting Jared later that evening and, knowing how Booth felt about his brother, she was genuinely concerned that the night would end with an agitated knock on her door at around 1:00 am and a venting session that would last until the wee hours of the morning.

Booth sighed. "It's just a drink, I'm sure it'll be alright." He had been working hard at his relationship with Jared, but real progress seemed to elude him. They were simply too different; like oil and water, they just didn't mix. Jared was a rule breaker, a womanizer; he lived as though he didn't have a care in the world. Maybe the breakthrough would come tonight. Doubtful. Why should this meeting be any different than their previous ones?

"I just….we…" he began, struggling to find the words," we just can't seem to connect. There's a wall there. I don't know if we'll ever understand each other…and trying just seems to make things worse." The scrubber he had been using dropped from his hand and he gripped the edge of the counter, his knuckles whitening.

She felt awful for him. She knew what it was like to harbor resentment for a brother and it was not only exhausting and painful, but it left you feeling incredibly guilty; always feeling like there was something you should be doing to fix things, if you only knew what it was. She placed her hand on his shoulder and rubbed softly.

He was deeply touched by her concern. He knew that comforting wasn't in her nature and the simple fact that she made the effort for him made him feel a bit more optimistic about the daunting task he had ahead of him. Knowing he had her support meant more to him than he could express. He looked over and gave her a weak smile.

"It'll be okay," she said softly, "he's your brother." She looked at her watch, "And he's going to be here in half an hour."

His eyes widened. Was it 7:00 already? Time flies when you're having fun.

"I'd better head out," she said, gathering up her things and heading for the door.

"I guess." He wished he could ask her to stay. When she was around he felt like nothing could faze him, but this was something he had to do on his own.

"Call me later?" she asked, knowing he'd need it, but would probably hesitate for fear of waking her.

"Yeah, sure," he promised as he opened the door for her. "See ya later."

"Bye," she said, offering him a parting smile and heading toward the elevator.

After watching her walk to her vehicle, a habit he knew he'd never break, he finished cleaning up and headed to his room to change. Thirty minutes flew by and before he knew it there was a knock on his front door. He took a deep breath and pulled it open.

"Seeley!"

"Jared," Booth said, with a tad less enthusiasm. Before he knew it Jared had enveloped him in a hug. What the hell?

He pulled back and looked at his brother, at a loss for words after that uncharacteristic display of affection.

"So how's life treatin' ya?" Booth asked hesitantly.

"Can't complain," Jared shrugged, kicking off his shoes and walking into the apartment. He looked around and tossed a smile at Booth.

"Nice digs bro, haven't been to DC since you moved. When was that again?" he asked as he moved around, stopping to look at pictures on the wall.

"About six years ago,"

Jared looked surprised that it had been so long. He smiled sheepishly, "Right, been a while hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has."

An awkward silence settled between them and Jared looked around uncomfortably. He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't seem to work up the nerve.

"Want a beer?" asked Booth, hoping to dispel some of the tension. He got up and made his way to the kitchen.

"Sure," said Jared, relieved that the silence was broken. "How's life at the FBI?"

Booth winced. Jared liked to poke and prod about his position in law enforcement - following the rules, taking orders. Annoyance crept in. He heard Brennan in his head telling him that it served no rational purpose to get upset and that it would be far more conducive to a satisfactory outcome to the evening if he kept a cool head. Why did he let Jared get under his skin so easily? Something had changed though, Jared's tone held none of the mocking disdain that he had come to expect.

He walked back into his living room with their drinks.

"So," Jared said slyly, "that partner of yours still solving your cases?"

"We do our jobs," said Booth through clenched teeth.

Jared could see that his brother was beginning to get riled up and he raised his hands in surrender.

"Sorry bro, didn't mean to imply anything," he said defensively. Irritating Seeley just wasn't as much fun as it used to be.

"No problem," said Booth quietly.

Jared took a drink before looking guardedly at his brother. He opened his mouth and closed it, then got up and began pacing nervously.

"Hey," said Booth abruptly. "What's with you? You've been on edge all night and you look like you're trying to psych yourself up for something. What gives?"

Jared heaved a sigh and sat down again before turning to Booth.

"Okay, Seel, you're right. I just wanted to say that… I think we need to stop this."

Booth didn't need to ask for an explanation, he knew what Jared was referring to. He scrutinized his brother carefully. Was this a joke? The sincerity in Jared's tone took him by surprise, but it was the earnest look on his face that convinced Booth that maybe he was actually serious.

"I think you're right," he said soberly, nodding his head in agreement.

Jared sighed. "We've been at this so long that I don't even know why we started. It's complicated I guess, we both had our reasons. And we're just so different." He paused, "It might take a while, but…I just want you to know that I'm happy to have you as a brother. It may not seem like it, but I am."

"Me too," said Booth. Another long silence, only slightly less uncomfortable than the last. Booth chuckled to himself; he really didn't know what to say now. He was a guy--he didn't talk about his feelings. They'd made a start and that was good enough for one night.

"How's Linda?" Booth finally asked. Not the best subject to approach, but anything to kick start the conversation. He didn't particularly like Jared's fiancée, but if Jared was thinking of settling down, he guessed he could be supportive. The only problem was that they had been in this situation before. How many times had Jared met the woman of his dreams only to find the real woman of his dreams a month later?

"Don't know," said Jared. "She left me a couple weeks ago."

"I'm sorry," said Booth, mustering up as much sincerity as he could.

"Don't be, I'm not. It just wasn't meant to be," he said as if losing your fiancée was something that happened every day.

Booth fought the urge to give him a lecture on how a gentleman treated women.

"Gonna miss her?" he asked, hoping his brother at least had the decency to honour the memory of his longest lasting relationship and acknowledge that it had meant something to him.

"I guess I will. It's nice to have someone, right?"

"Yeah, nice," said Booth glumly, reflecting on his current lack of 'someone'.

"Oh well, not too worried about that," said Jared, picking up a picture of Booth and Parker. "How's he doing?"

"Great," said Booth, his spirits lifting at the mention of his son," one of the smartest in his class, can you believe it?"

"With you as a father….no," Jared joked.

Booth only grinned. "I guess he's been around Bones too much. Rebecca's given me a few more weekends with him this year, so it's nice to have the extra time with him."

"I'll bet. How's Rebecca doing? You ever….you know." Jared raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Nah, that's way over," said Booth. "What do you mean, you're not too worried?" His brother's earlier comment had disturbed him.

"About finding someone?"

Booth nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, breaking up sucks, but finding someone new, that's the easy part. I'm not worried."

Booth couldn't believe his ears. "Oh yeah, it'll be a snap," he said sarcastically. "It's easy to find that one person who fills your heart with joy, who you can't wait to see every day, who adores you. It's nothing to find the one person you could see yourself spending the rest of your life with."

"Don't be an idiot, Seel, have I ever been with anyone that fit that description? Have you?"

Booth was about to respond in the negative when he suddenly realized that yes, he had been with someone who fit the qualifications, to a "T" actually….Bones. What had they been doing for the past few months? Hanging out, enjoying each other's company, being a rock during tough times. It seemed that somewhere in between a cup of coffee at the diner and sharing takeout over a case file, he had fallen for her. How had that happened? When had he started to look forward to their evenings together? When did every little thing about her – her quirks, her flaws, her eccentricities - begin to make her so irreplaceable?

"Yes." It was out of his mouth before he could stop it. And the realization hit him like a blow to the solar plexus, stealing his breath: he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Bones.

"Well damn, bro! Aren't you lucky? Who is she?"

"Well….it's uh…it's Bones," he said with a confused look on his face.

"Your partner?" Jared asked incredulously. He walked over to a picture on the wall that featured Booth and Brennan and whistled. "She is pretty hot."

Booth stood up.

"Hey, just kidding," said Jared. "So when did that start?"

"To be honest, it hasn't," said Booth, shell shocked. The words were still bouncing around in his mind: I'm in love with Bones. He certainly hadn't expected this, or the happiness that spread through his body. He was in love with Bones. He wanted to say it over and over again; tell anyone who would listen. He had found that someone! Someone he wanted to protect, love, be there for. Someone he wanted to wake up with every morning and kiss goodnight before going to bed. His heart sped up at the thought of kissing her. Kissing Bones - the idea made him lightheaded.

"It hasn't?" Jared looked at him bewildered.

"Well I…I didn't know it until…until now," Booth stammered. He must look like an idiot. He shifted in his seat. All of a sudden he needed the night to be over, he needed Jared to leave, and he desperately needed to see Bones. But what was he going to say to her?

"Well?" Jared looked at him expectantly.

"Well what?" asked Booth. What had Jared been saying? His brother was speaking, but Booth was still off on planet Bones.

"Aren't you gonna tell her?"

Booth shook himself out of his Brennan induced trance and jumped up.

"Yeah, I will. It's not that late - she'll be up. I did tell her I'd call later." He hurried over to the door and pulled on his running shoes. If tonight went as well as he hoped….

"You might not want to wait up," he said, reddening, knowing the implications of his statement.

"Wow, pretty confident, aren't you?" Jared smirked.

"No, just ridiculously hopeful."

He heard Jared laughing as he raced out the door and down the stairs to the parking lot.

He probably broke every rule of the road in his hurry to get to her apartment, but when he was finally on her doorstep he froze. How was he going to do this again? Oh right… he had no clue. Time to wing it, and whip out that charm smile if this totally backfired.

He finally took a deep breath and knocked. He heard movement inside and the door opened to reveal Brennan, still dressed in her jeans and sweater from earlier. Seeing her for the first time since his epiphany, Booth didn't know what to do. For the first time since he'd met her he wasn't looking at her as a work colleague, as his partner, or even as a friend, but as the woman he had fallen in love with. And it was incredible. He felt like he was looking at her with new eyes; seeing her for the first time.

"Booth," she began, "what are you doing here? Where's Jared?"

When he didn't respond she became worried. She ushered him into her apartment and seated him on her couch before sitting beside him.

"Is everything alright?" She studied his face. He didn't look sad or depressed or even angry as she had expected. In fact, he looked rather happy, a bit nervous though.

"Everything's great Bones," he said, finally finding his voice. He smiled at her; a smile she had never seen before. "In fact, everything's more than great."

"So things went well with your brother?" she asked slowly.

"My brother?" What did Jared have to do with this?

Now Brennan was worried. "You were meeting him tonight, remember?"

"Right, right, Jared," he said quickly. "All sorted out actually….hopefully. We're on our way anyways." He stopped and smiled at her.

She shook her head in confusion. "What's going on Booth?"

It wasn't that she didn't love seeing her partner happy, in fact, it was now the one thing that made her truly happy, but this didn't make sense. The last time she saw him he was fretting and worrying about seeing his brother and now he was sitting next to her, shifting closer to her on the couch, and grinning like an idiot.

His smile softened and he looked directly into her eyes. She was taken aback by the intensity of feeling she saw in his eyes and somehow, she knew what he was about to tell her. She held her breath as he spoke.

"I realized something tonight, Bones." he said, reaching out and lacing his fingers with hers. "To make a long story short: me and Jared were discussing relationships, or lack there of, and…well….the subject came up of the chances of finding the one person that truly makes you happy, the one person who you want to spend the rest of your life with, that you know you can't live without, and I realized that I had already met that person. What I'm trying to say, and not very articulately, is that….I'm in love with you." And just because saying it had felt so damn good, he said it again. "I'm in love with you, Bones."

He watched as her expression changed from confusion to utter contentment. She smiled at him and his heart started beating so hard, he thought it would jump out of his chest.

"I think I'm in love with you too," she said softly. She blushed and looked down at her hands. She had known for a while that her wonderfully sweet partner was the only person she could possibly envision herself being with, but saying that out loud was a whole other story. She suddenly felt shy under his gaze, but she also felt confident; confident in what she knew was the most meaningful connection she had ever had with anyone. She met his eyes.

"I am in love with you," she asserted.

He felt like his face would split if his grin grew any wider. He pulled her into his arms and crushed her against his chest. Holding her not simply as a friend and not bothering to label it a 'guy hug', but as a lover, as a man intent on holding on and never letting go. He pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against hers. She opened her eyes and he got lost in the blue depths of her gaze. They simply sat and stared at each other, both shifting seamlessly from their old perceptions of one another to this new, intoxicating intimacy.

He slowly lifted his hand and let it linger on the porcelain skin of her cheek before tilting his head slightly and pressing his lips to hers. They were warm and inviting and felt heavenly against his. The feelings coursing through his body were delightfully new and yet comfortably familiar. Her lips moved softly against his and he couldn't help the sigh that escaped him. All the years of tension, comfort, friendship, were infused in that kiss and he could honestly say it was the most incredible sensation he had ever experienced. They traded slow, leisurely kisses until Booth finally pulled back.

He took her hands in his and rested them between them. He wanted to say something, but nothing seemed fitting for such a life-altering event.

"What happens now?" Brennan asked, breaking the silence.

"Well," said Booth thoughtfully. "I think we just go on as we always have."

Brennan pondered this for a moment and then nodded.

"I think you're right. Over the last few months our dynamic and interaction has mirrored the progress of a developing romantic relationship. It doesn't seem that we'll have to make very many adjustments does it?" She smiled, liking the thought that this wasn't going to be a difficult transition to make. The change had begun taking place a long time ago.

"There will be one very important change," he said solemnly, but the sparkle in his eyes betrayed his attempted gravity. He began leaning forward.

"What's that?" she asked, tilting her head and giving him a sweet smile.

"Now I get to kiss you whenever I want," he murmured before closing the remaining distance and capturing her lips once again.

I know I should be studying, and I will, as soon as I get this out of my system. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who has ever reviewed any of my stories, you have no idea how much your words are appreciated! I would love to hear from you again...now would be as good a time as any.