Disclaimer: Fox's not mine; sad for me.

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Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. Gloria Steinem

Booth had imagined it so many times; their first real kiss, the first time they would make love. Irate, yelling at each other, he'd pull her into his arms, kissing her for no other reason than to shut her up; plus she was so unbelievable hot when she was angry. This kiss would be wild, out of control, tongues battling the way their words had been only moments before. Desire would flare up, and he'd take her there, standing up against the wall, the flames burning so quickly between them they'd be unable to stop.

Or maybe one of them would be injured, not severely mind you, but just seriously enough to make Brennan wake up to how she truly felt about him. Their first kiss would be there, in the field, gentle and comforting; full of caring and concern, but still just a little frenzied. They'd go back to her place, and slowly make love, careful not to hurt the injured party….

Sometimes it was at Sid's or the diner. They'd be eating, trading jokes and laughing, then their eyes would catch. That moment would hang there, anticipation building until slowly, as one, they'd lean in, lips brushing back and forth, the simple kiss growing into something more.

After that moment under the mistletoe he'd visualized her showing up at his apartment, kissing him again because she couldn't stand not to after that one small sample of what they would be like together. They wouldn't even make it into the bedroom; they'd just stumble to the couch, desperately undressing each other, needing to touch skin, to come together as one.

Maybe he'd come down with the flu, and she'd come over and take care of him. They'd fall asleep in his bed, watching an old movie. He'd slowly wake up, wrapped around her, feeling much better –hey it was his imagination, after all – and just watch her until she awoke. He'd lean down and kiss her, make love to her.

They'd be in the SUV, on a stakeout, just talking. The conversation would grow more and more intimate; he'd be leaning very close, listening to her talk very softly. She'd turn her head, their lips accidentally bumping. He'd pull back, look carefully into her eyes and see the same desire that had just flooded him reflected there. The next kiss would be powerful, slightly out of control – extremely unprofessional for a stakeout, but again, his imagination.

Sometimes he thought he would just show up at the lab one day and tell her that he was in love with her, couldn't stand to be without her another minute. Tell her he knew inside she felt the same way. At first she'd look at him as if he'd lost his mind, but slowly that look would slide away, and he'd see the same things he felt reflected there.

There were endless other possibilities that flitted in and out of his head late at night when he longed for her. Never once did he consider it happening this way, with her sitting down beside him on the bench outside the courthouse as he drank his coffee. They'd been testifying in a trial, and people still milled about.

He opened his mouth to greet her, but she interrupted. "I have a problem I don't know how to handle; I think I have feelings, well feelings for you, about you, that don't fit the bounds of our professional relationship, or even our friendship. I've tried ignoring them, but they seem to be getting stronger, and I have no idea how I am supposed to handle this. Angela told me to 'go for it', but I don't know. There is a line people who work in dangerous jobs shouldn't cross, and…"

Wait, was she actually telling him that she was falling in love with him? Booth cut off her nervous ramblings, laying his lips on hers, first carefully, intending to pull back, knowing they were not alone. The instant he touched her that intention flew out the window, and he deepened the kiss, sucking her lower lip into his mouth, grazing it with his teeth, then finally, finally brushing his tongue across hers; kissing Temperance Brennan was way beyond anything he could have possibly imagined.

At last they pulled apart, panting. We're in public, in public, in public he chanted over and over again in his head, trying to keep his hands off of her.

"I'd really, really like it if we went back to my apartment and did that again." Brennan's husky voice penetrated his desire-fuddled brain. "Do you think…I mean is that okay?"

"God, yes!" Booth replied, standing up and pulling her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her. He held her for just a moment, then turned and walked toward his SUV, her hand in his.

Sap sap sap sap sap…I'm like 12 or something…Thank you to Mrs. Pollifax for the beta!