Every Step of the Way

Summary: Somehow, he knew her secret when she didn't even know it herself, something she said was illogical. Then, she manages to catch him by surprise by telling him her biggest secret—something he never saw coming. Booth/Bones romance/comfort/fluff

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones.

xXx

"I know your secret."

The sound of her partner's voice, closer than she had thought, made her jump slightly in surprise. She sighed. Rolling her eyes, she waved once more from the door before stepping back and closing it.

"I don't have a secret, Booth," she retorted, sidling around the smirking man and padding barefoot to the kitchen.

"Yeah, you do," he insisted, following her into the kitchen. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, and watched as she opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a carton of milk.

She looked over her shoulder at him as she poured herself a glass. "Are you implying that I'm lying to you?"

"No…" Booth began.

"Good, because I don't keep secrets from you, Booth, we already discussed this."

"I'm implying that you're lying to yourself, Bones."

Temperance arched her eyebrow at him from over her glass as she took a swig. Setting the glass down, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that even possible?"

"Yup," Booth responded simply. Temperance suppressed the urge to roll her eyes again.

"Really."

"Uh-huh." He was smirking. Baiting her, she knew.

"Alright then, if you're so smart," she said, giving him a playful shove as she walked past him into the living-room. "Than what's this 'big secret.'" She hooked fingers as air quotes for the last part.

"You," Booth said, pushing himself away from the wall and taking a slow step towards her. Each step he took annunciated another word. "Secretly want kids."

Temperance felt her eyes widen, and she unconsciously took a step backwards, away from him. "We already talked about this, too, Booth. I don't. I never have, and I never will want children."

"We talked about this when we first met, Tempe," Booth said, shaking his head. But he was still smiling, Temperance noted, and using her name. Both must be good signs. "You've changed a lot since then."

"Not about this I haven't."

"Have too," Booth replied childishly. Closing the distance between them, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against him. She responded to his touch immediately and snuggled further against his chest and he placed his chin on her head. Even after these few months, he still hadn't gotten used to her actually showing him this side. And he was still amazed at how well she seemed to fit against him, like they were made for each other. These thoughts still made his heart skip a beat.

"I've watched you grow, Bones. The first time you were handed a kid on a case, I still remember your reaction. But that was, what, four years ago?"

"Something like that," she muttered, answering the rhetoric question. She took Booths hands in her own and tilted her head back to rest against his shoulder. She couldn't help but sigh. After many relationships that barely seemed to scratch the surface of what she really wanted, she still couldn't believe she had found 'the one,' as Angela liked to call it, in Booth. This brought a smile to her face.

"But remember last year? You wouldn't give the baby…"

"Andy."

Booth smirked. He knew she would still remember the boy's name. "You wouldn't give Andy to child services. I saw you playing with him when you didn't think I was looking," he accused jokingly. A blush spread across her cheeks.

"I don't see what that has to do with…"

"And then there's Parker," Booth continued, barreling on over her words. "You should have seen the look on your face just now when you were waving good-bye. You didn't want to let him go."

Temperance sighed, knowing he was right at least about that last part. She didn't want to let Parker go. Ever since she and Booth had become closer, the same had gone for his son. No matter how hard she tried to suppress it, she always looked forward to his visits and hated to watch him leave. "So?" she asked dejectedly, disappointed that she as still that easy to read.

"So it mean's you've changed, Bones," Booth replied, giving her a comforting squeeze. "And I'll bet you've changed your mind about other things, too."

"Oh, really? Like what?"

"If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?" He felt Temperance freeze under his arms, and his lips twitched into a smile. She was so predictable—in a cute way.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, her voice barely above a whisper. Booth's smile grew slightly. To most people, this would have been a rejection, but he knew that she wasn't questioning him or them so much as herself, her own morals. The fact that she hadn't said no outright (and he still wouldn't have minded if she had) gave him some ounce of hope.

Temperance tilted her head back so she was looking at him upside down. "Are you asking me to marry you, Booth?"

Booth shook his head and smiled down at her. "Not today, Bones. But you never know. One day, maybe." He bent his head and whispered in her ear, "I'm unpredictable like that."

Shivers danced down her spine. "Oh." She paused, and bit her lip. "Well, until then," she drawled coyly, "You'll never know my answer."

Temperance had the pleasure of feeling Booth freezing behind her, and she couldn't help but chuckle. He looked down at the top of her head, his eyes wide with shock. Had she just given him the go-ahead to propose to her? Or was he just imagining things?

She herself was still in shock at the words that had slipped out of her mouth; not because she had said them, but because she had meant it. The thought of marriage still disgusted her, but the thought of marrying Booth…? Her heart beat quickened as she had a flash of a vision of herself standing in front of Booth at the alter, decked out in white. The image surprised her.

But there was still another thought that haunted her.

Slowly, she turned in Booth's arms so that she was facing him, her head tilted back so that she could look him in the eye. "I'm scared, Seeley," she admitted quietly, then bit her lip and looked away.

Booth felt his heart twang, and his facial expression softened into concern. Gently, he took his two fingers and placed them under her chin, tipping it back up so that she was looking at him. "Of what, hun?"

"That I'd be a bad mother," she muttered, still not meeting his gaze.

Again, there was that pull at his heart, and a fleeting hope. Was she admitting that she wanted children? "You wouldn't be," he told her softly, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "You're probably one of the best candidates for a mother in the world." And she was. As she had been left at an early age, chances were she wouldn't risk abandoning her own children.

"Yes, I would be, Booth," she said. Prying herself out of his grasp, she paced away and turned her back to him, crossing her arms over her chest to try and keep herself together. "I wouldn't know the first thing about how to be a mother. Nothing about being a mother is logical, and you know I don't do well with instinct."

"You're getting better at that…" Booth attempted, but she countered him.

"Yes, but would that be enough for a baby? Plus, I'd have to stay in the lab more…which I'd do, for his sake…"

His? Booth wondered. Had she already decided the sex of this fictional baby she was worried about? He licked his lips and watched her anxiously, itching to go to her, but knowing at the same time that she needed her space. He let her continue.

"But I'd also be living in the constant fear that his father would come home to us in a body bag after a deadly shoot out at some case!"

Booth felt as though he had just been hit in the chest by a two-by-four. He couldn't breathe. She had just made this fictional baby theirs, not just hers. Never in his entire speech about children to her had he been insinuating that they should have kids. Of course, he would love to have kids with her, with his Bones, but he never thought that she would actually go for it… Despite himself, he took a step towards her.

"I'd leave the field, Bones," he whispered, not quite sure if she heard him, not quite wanting to say it louder in case he was mistaken. He knew by the way that her shoulders relaxed, however, that she had heard him, and taken his words to heart. But she still wasn't done.

"I'd be a bad wife."

Again, he was too shocked to speak, and she continued through his silence.

"I mean, I already know I'm not that great of a girlfriend. I'm not…"

This statement was finally enough to un-freeze him. He stepped towards her and spun her around by her shoulder, then clasped his other hand across her mouth. "Never. Ever. Say that again, Bones," he said lowly, his eyes locked on hers. Her eyes were wide with shock, and he could feel her warm breath on his palm. "Never put yourself down like that again, do you understand me?" He slipped his hand from her mouth.

"But…" she began. He brought his hand up and covered her mouth again.

"I could never ask for anyone better than you, Temperance," he told her seriously, still looking into her eyes, showing her that she meant it. "And I would never, ever leave you. Not unless you want me to, and then I'll still be there in the shadows, watching over you." That was true too. If anyone else tried to take her away from him, he would fight until his dying breath to get her back. Softening his voice, he leaned his forehead against hers. "You are my life, Bones."

Delicately, Temperance curled her fingers around Booth's and pried his hand off of her mouth. Then she took a step forward and threw her arms around his neck, burying her head into his shoulder. He stumbled back a step before he caught her, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her close.

"I love you, Booth," she murmured into his chest. "I know I don't say it enough..." Or ever, actually, she added in her head. Come to think of it, he was the first man she ever actually loved, let alone told. "But I do…I really do. And I just…I think you should know that."

Yet again, Booth was hit with a rush of surprise. He resisted the urge to hug her tighter and instead pulled her away from him slightly, so that he could look her in the eyes. "I do know that, Bones," he told her. He ran a hand through her hair. "And I love you too, with all my heart."

She blushed, and he smiled. "That's…" she began to say illogical, but was cut off when Booth's lips crashed against her own. She responded immediately, snaking her arms back around his neck.

She grunted in frustration when he pulled away. "You were saying?" he teased.

"Nothing," she insisted, grabbing his head and pulling it back down. He smiled against her lips, which almost made her go weak at the knees. She gave a small shriek of delight when he reached down and swung her up into his arms, slinging her (gently) over his shoulder and carrying her to the bedroom.

Yes, Temperance decided as he flung her (gently) down onto the bed. I could live with this man for the rest of my life.

A Few Months Later

Temperance lay in their bed, resting on her back and looking up at the ceiling, pondering. Her right hand absently twisted the two rings on her left, engagement and wedding, and she looked down at them and smiled, remembering clearly the days they had been put on her finger.

She walked into the lab, expecting to find it filled with its usual Friday bustle, only to find it completely deserted. "Odd," she muttered, slowly making her way to her office. Opening the door, she dropped her bag by the couch and went to hang her coat on the hanger, only to be distracted by a white sheet of paper taped to her computer monitor. Draping the coat over the back of her chair as she approached the computer, she leaned forward to read the scrawl that was written on the paper.

"Go to the lab." It read simply.

Temperance's lips twitched. She recognized the handwriting—Booth. Different scenarios running through her mind, she headed for the lab, swiped her card before she trotted up the steps. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what awaited her on the lab table. Slowly, she stepped closer to it, her heart thudding in her chest.

Spread out on the table were various bones from a human body, forming the words, "Marry me, Bones." Farthest away from her, above the word "Marry" a skull rested, a little black box perched in its open jaw.

She felt his presence before he coughed to announce himself. Turning, her lips still parted from shock, she saw him standing there, his hands tucked into his pocket, his shoulders drooped, anxious, yet his face was completely emotionless. She knew he was trying not to influence her decision this way, but she could still see the pure hope in his eyes. Her heart thudded loudly against her ribcage.

"You know I disapprove of recreational use of skeletal remains," she scolded. She watched his face fall. He was too easy. "Although in this case, I suppose I can make an exception."

He lifted his eyes to her, hopeful, but still unsure. "Aren't you going to look at the ring?" he asked, tipping his head to the black box.

"No," she told him simply, and watched again as his face fell.

"Oh."

It was hard to keep her own face straight. "I'm waiting for you to get up here and show it to me yourself."

She smiled as his face lit up with pure, childish glee. He bounded up the steps faster than she had ever seen him move, until he was standing right in front of her. Reaching over, never taking his eyes off of her, he grabbed the box and opened it, sinking down to one knee in front of her. He took her left hand.

"Temperance Brennan…will you spend the rest of your life with me? As my wife?"

She smiled, feeling the tears pressing against her eyes. "I don't know…" she began, jokingly, but was cut off by a cry of,

"Stop teasing the man and just say yes, already!" immediately followed by Hodgin's berating voice of, "Angela, shh!"

She tossed her head back and laughed. They would be standing somewhere watching the entire thing. She looked down at Booth who smiled sheepishly. "Yes, Seeley," she whispered, "I will marry you."

With hands shaking from excitement, he managed to slip the ring—golden with a single diamond on top of it, simple yet elegant, like her—on her finger before he stood up to envelope her in a hug, pressing kisses across the length of her mouth until she was pulled away from him by Angela, who was already prattering on about the wedding and the shower and dresses. But he heard none of that, his eyes still locked on his Bones—officially now and forever—and her face, filled with a happiness that he would never have imagined through all his rehearsals of this day.

Temperance sighed contently at the thought of that day. The wedding had been just as memorable. It had been small, containing only the squints (Angela as her Maid of Honor), Russ, her dad (who had been there to walk her down the aisle, something she had never imagined ever since he and her mom left) and Booth's immediate family.

And the most memorable thing for her had been the look in Booth's eyes when she said, "I do."

She shivered in delight and looked over at her husband, who was also sprawled, asleep, on his back. Turning over on her side, she rested her hand on his chest. "Booth, are you awake?" He grunted in response. "Booth…" she shook him lightly.

Cracking an eyelid, he gave her a sideways look. "Yes, Mrs. Booth?"

Goosebumps rose on her arms. The name still took her by surprise, and she loved when he called her that. (Although she would never tell him that, no need to boost his ego more! Besides, she had a feeling—by the way he kept using that name—that he already knew.)

She poked his bare chest lightly. "I know your secret."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "I don't have a secret, Bones," he said. Then, "Haven't we had this conversation before?"

"Nope," she replied, even though they had—only in reverse. "But you do have a secret, you just don't know it," she insisted.

"Oh, really?" Booth asked, turning on his side and propping his head up on his elbow. "And what would be this secret that I don't know but you somehow do?" he continued, playing along.

"You…" she drummed her fingers on him. "Secretly want to be a father again."

Again, he arched his eyebrows at her. "We already talked about this, Bones," he told her. Of course he wanted to be a father again. Of course he wanted to be the father of her children. But there was no way he was going to pressure her into that, even if she never wanted to have children because she was to paralyzed by her own fears.

She ignored him and lowered her voice. "I have a secret, too."

"Do you, now?"

"Yup. Do you know my secret?"

"No…should I?"

"You did last time," she said, wagging her finger at him. He had been dead on those months earlier, when they had talked about kids and marriage. "Do you want me to tell you?"

"Sure, Bones, what's your secret?"

Reaching over, she took his hand from him. "My secret is…" She watched his eyes as she continued. "In about six months?" She placed his hand against her abdomen. "You're going to get your wish."

She grinned as the realization crossed his face. "You mean…you're…"

"Pregnant? Yes," she finished the sentence for him.

"Oh, God, Tempe," he murmured, then extended his arm and pulled her into him, clutching her tight. He kissed her temple, forehead, her eyes, her lips, any piece of her that he could get, and he heard her laugh, although the sound was choked. He looked up to see a tear slip down her face. He wiped it away with his thumb and looked at her questioningly.

"It's okay," she told him, more tears pouring down her cheeks. She gave him a watery smile. "I'm just happy. Really."

His heart thudded in his chest and he pulled her close again, wrapping her around him so that she was as close as possible. He heard her laugh again, and he titled his head away so that he could look at her.

"You're crying too," she pointed out, and brushed a hand across his cheek, wiping away the wet tears there. So he was.

"Yeah, well," he said, glad the dark hid his blush. He looked deeply at his wife, "You still nervous?"

"Yeah, a little," Temperance admitted. "Well, actually, a lot."

He wiped away another one of her tears, and she did the same for him, laughing again. "You'll be fine, you know that, right?"

"I know," she said, giving him a large smile that still made his heart skip a beat, even after all this time. "Because you'll be right there with me."

He smiled and leaned his head against hers, his heart soaring—she had actually admitted her reliance on him, that she needed, and wanted, him. "Yes, I will be," he assured her, and he felt her smile contently. "Every step of the way, Bones, every step of the way."

xXx

Hey there! I'm back, yet again. Surprised? I am. So I dont know exactly how this one came to me, but it just did. I know it got a little OOC, okay a lot OOC at the end, but it was still cute, no?

Oh, and I also just finished making a music video for Bones, and if any of you would like to see it when I get it posted, let me know and I'll send you a link. That is, provided I actually figure out how to get it on YouTube (I need to create an account first, so that'll be fun).

So, let me know what you thought about this. Constructive criticism always welcome, especially if you have any way to make the summary more catching.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it :)

-Aria