A/N: Ok, here it is folks. The last chapter. I was going to write a bunch of other stuff but I figure that this chapter would be better served without preamble.

For the last time (in this story) I do not own Bones or it's characters, even though the big purple bunny who helps me with my stories told me so. He's very creative, quite funny but he is a pathological liar.

On with the chapter. Hope you like it.

The Truth about Love

"Perotta," said Brennan incredulously. "She's who you consider an ideal mate for Booth?"

"Why not?" Ange shrugged as she watched Perotta take Brennan's seat. "You've already stated that you're not interested in Booth in that capacity. Perotta on the other hand makes it no secret that she's very into Booth. Besides that she's pretty, perky, and personable. And since she is a full fledged Agent with the FBI you can be assured that she's not a stupid shrinking violet either. She could probably keep Booth on his toes."

"But you said that he doesn't need someone clingy," Brennan reminded her with a scowl. "And she's all over Booth. She might as well climb onto his lap."

"She's showing her interest in him, though I'm pretty sure that she's trying to figure out how to work her way onto his lap too." Angela smirked, taking a swig of her beer.

"I don't like her." Brennan said bluntly.

"You don't have to like her," Angela pointed out. "It only matters if Booth does."

"Booth would rather work with me than her." Brennan bragged.

"He doesn't have to like working with her to have her as his girlfriend." noted Angela. She gave an internal fist pump as she watched Brennan nearly choke on her drink.

"Girlfriend?" squeaked Brennan. "What makes you think that he would have Perotta as his girlfriend? Even if he was sexually attracted to her, that doesn't mean that he would enter into a relationship with her."

"Booth's an all or nothing kind of guy Brennan," replied Angela. "He isn't really into casual relationships. He's a boyfriend kind of guy and I'm pretty sure that Perotta wouldn't mind that idea in the slightest."

"She doesn't deserve Booth," muttered Brennan. "She's an adequate investigator, but she has a quality of insincerity to her that Booth wouldn't like. He prefers someone honest and truthful."

She stifled the urge to say "you mean, like you?"

Instead, she took a long drag of her beer and said very carefully so that Brennan wouldn't misunderstand her words, "What he really deserves is for the woman he loves to love him back."

"Ange," Brennan started, looking as though the idea pained her. Angela could tell that the mere idea of being in love scared Brennan, and as sorry as she felt for her best friend now was not the time to pull punches.

"Brennan, the man loves you, it's so painfully obvious that I'm surprised that haven't realized that by now," Angela chided lightly. "He's been your surrogate boyfriend for years. He's there for you anytime that you need him. He takes care of you - making sure that you eat three meals a day no matter how busy you are, he makes sure that you leave the lab at a decent hour and when you need someone to talk to, he'd drop everything to be there for you. He gets you to spend time with him and his son. He does all of this without sex as an incentive. And that's just the day to day stuff. He's the one who rescues you from the bad guys and jumps in front of bullets for you. I don't know what more you want from him to prove it to you."

"If he truly....loves me...," Brennan gulped, trying to absorb the information that Angela had just given her. "Why hasn't he told me?"

"How are you supposed to tell someone that you're in love with them when that person thinks that love is just the release of hormones in your brain that causes one to be delusional?" sighed Angela. "He's been trying to tell you with his actions. Every day he shows you how much he loves you. That he's going to be there for you. That he's not going anywhere. That he's not going to abandon you like everyone else you've ever loved. He loves you just the way you are and he's willing to wait for you to finally get it through that obstinate head of yours."

"I can't Ange," Brennan said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Romances are...fleeting. They don't last and neither does the euphoria that the couple feels at the commencement of the relationship. Partnerships are different. They aren't subject to unrealistic expectations. Besides, there's a line. A line that people who are in our line of work can't cross because of the inherent danger. There's just too much at stake to cross that line."

"That stupid line that you're holding hard and fast to was drawn at one of the lowest points in his life," Angela reminded her. "He felt responsible for Cam nearly dying, members of our team were all in danger because of Epps and he probably felt as though it were his fault for not keeping everyone safe. You most of all. It probably made him feel even guiltier that while he sat watching over Cam that he was glad that it wasn't you in that bed. So he drew a line, a line to protect you and to protect himself as well. Figured that if he put that line down, his feelings for you would stop there and if he wasn't mooning over you he'd have a better chance of keeping you safe. The line disappeared the moment it was drawn because it was too late. He was falling in love with you and there was no way to stop it. Since then he's been trying to keep you safe any way that he can."

"He has to stop," Brennan sniffed. "I don't want him to keep risking his life for me. I can't....I can't lose him Ange."

"He can't stop Brennan," Angela smiled sadly. "It's what you do for someone you love. You put them and their interests before yours. He could no more stop saving you than he could stop breathing."

Brennan crossed her arms in a vain effort to stop herself from becoming overwhelmed by her emotions, to close herself off but Angela wouldn't let her. Ange knew that if she let Brennan retreat into herself, all of her planning and scheming would be for nothing. Instead, Ange grabbed Brennan by the shoulders and turned Brennan towards her.

"Alright Brennan, you're into absolute honesty, so here goes," Ange said, bracing herself for her big speech. "You're terrified of loving Booth because you're scared of leaving yourself vulnerable to someone. Afraid of losing him but the honest to god unabashed truth is that you could lose him. You could lose him to something beyond your control. He could be chasing down a perp and get shot, or blown up, or stabbed. Or his body could turn against him and he could end up with cancer or an aneurysm or something. Hell he could get struck by a falling piano, life's unpredictable that way. Point is, if you give this thing between you a chance, at least you'll have the memories of what it's like to love and be loved by him. You think that if he dies and you don't tell him you love him, that it would hurt less? You're so wrong. The regrets can be unrelenting.

"And then there's the other way that you can lose him - one that would totally be your fault," she continued. "You keep your feelings to yourself and one of these days he's going to get the wrong message. He's going to think that the reason you won't take a chance with him is because he isn't worth it. Because he doesn't have enough degrees on the wall, because his IQ isn't high enough, and he doesn't have some prestigious title. He's going to think that you couldn't possibly have feelings for him because he's not good enough-"

"Angela," Brennan exclaimed. "That's not true! You know that it's not true!"

"What about Booth?" Angela pressed, pushing through her guilt at seeing the tears begin to swim in her best friend's eyes. "What is he supposed to think when he's always there for you and you would give anyone but him a chance? Face it sweetie, a guy like Booth is one in a million. You have a guy that's so absolutely devoted to you that he's been living like a monk for an inhuman amount of time. I've been complaining about being celibate for nearly six months. I'm pretty sure that Booth's been holding out for longer."

"Why? Why would he refrain from having sex?" asked Brennan as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"Because since he realized that he's crazy in love with you, it wouldn't feel right being with anyone else," Ange explained. "Even though you're not together, he would feel like he was cheating."

"It's not logical." muttered Brennan.

"To him it is," shrugged Angela. "But it won't be that way forever. One of these days he's going to get lonely and tired of waiting for you. Someone else will come along, someone who doesn't know or understand him as well as you do but it won't matter. He'll settle for second best because that's what he thinks he deserves."

"He shouldn't settle for anything," whispered Brennan, tears tumbling from her eyes. "Booth deserves the best in life."

"Well sweetie, that would be you," grinned Ange. "So what are you going to do about it? Are you going to let some second rate Perotta snatch him up or are you going to do something about it?"

"Bones?" a voice called out from behind Brennan. Angela could not believe the timing.

"Booth," Brennan whimpered, falling into his arms.

"Hey, it's ok," he cooed, holding her tightly. He was going to ask Angela what happened, but by that time she had gone back to the table. "What's wrong Bones?"

She let herself cry in his arms, and strangely enough, she didn't feel embarrassed at the thought of him seeing her so distressed. It felt almost like a cathartic release, being able to express her emotions to him without fear that he would think any less of her, because she knew that he wouldn't.

She pulled away from him and wiped away her tears. She looked up and into his eyes and for the first time, that unknown emotion that she saw whenever she looked into those dark chocolate depths. Sometimes it was mixed with amusement, sometimes frustration, sometimes concern, but it was always there. And now she knew what it was.

"Booth, do you love me?" she asked, without preamble.

For a moment, Booth felt his heart stop, then start again in overdrive.

"Yes." he heard himself saying. It was almost as if his heart took over his vocal chords before his brain could stop it. He started to try and think up something to say, maybe something witty to cover up his answer or.....

"Yes, I'm in love with you Temperance." his mouth said again. Where the hell was his brain and what was it doing when he needed it?

"Is everything ok Temperance?" an annoyingly perky voice asked beside them.

"Ooh," cringed Booth as Brennan gave Perotta the death stare. "uh, she doesn't really like anyone but me and her family calling her by her first name Peyton."

"Sorry, I figured that since we were out of the office we could be less formal with each other," Peyton smiled. "Is there something else that you would rather have me call you?"

"Yes. You can call me Dr. Brennan." she replied, placing a protective arm around Booth's waist. He was pleasantly surprised by her sudden show of affection, and he happily wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Well Dr. Brennan," said Perotta, her voice barely masking her irritation. "Why don't you join your friends at the table while Seeley and I get a round for everybody."

"We were actually having a private conversation when you interrupted." said Brennan briskly.

"Oh, well I'm sorry for interrupting," Perotta smiled saccharinely, her eyes narrowing slightly. "But we've got a table full of thirsty people. Do you mind if I borrow Booth for a minute, just to help me get our drinks to the table?"

"Yes I would," replied Brennan pointedly. "As I said, he and I were having a conversation and I would like to finish it."

"Ange," Cam whispered to her, gesturing toward the drama at the bar. "Maybe getting Perotta over here wasn't such a good idea."

"Hey Wendell, can you help Perotta with our drinks?" Ange asked, giving Wendell a wink.

"I'm on it." Wendell nodded, winking back.

Just as the two women looked toward Booth, both asking him to make a decision with their eyes Wendell shows up offering his assistance to Perotta. He led a reluctant Perotta back to their table, leaving Brennan with Booth once again.

"So," Booth hedged, his heart beating so frantically he thought it was going to bust through his ribcage. "Before we were interrupted, I had admitted that I'm in love with you."

"Yes, you did." Brennan teased.

"Oh, so it's going to be like that, huh?" he laughed, pulling her close. "Years ago, I did something really stupid. I drew a line and I was wondering if there was any way possible that we could erase it, bull doze it, or maybe shoot it to shreds?"

"Booth, that line disappeared the moment it was drawn," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Booth, you deserve the best in life."

"Thanks Bones," he smiled his charm smile at her, accustomed to how tended to jump from topic to topic. "So do you."

"And if I believe that you're the best for me?" she asked, pulling away just enough to look him in the eyes.

"What is it you're trying to say Temperance?" Booth asked, afraid to hope too much. He could feel when she fell into his arms that something changed between them. That this was the moment he had been waiting for, but he didn't want to get his expectations to high to climb down from.

"I'm saying that you can stop waiting," she smiled. "I'm ready. Ready for us to be more than partners. That is, if you're still willing."

He was so stunned by what she had just told him that it took a few seconds to react. Seconds that she nervously filled with chatter.

"I mean, I know that I'm not as personable as some other women are, and I'm not as adept with discussing my emotions-"

"Temperance," he sighed, a silly, happy grin adorning his gorgeous face. "I wouldn't change one thing about you."

He quickly closed the gap between them, pulling her into his kiss as a table full of interested observers watched. It was even more intense than the moments when they look into each other's eyes and forgot that they weren't alone. In that kiss was so much passion and love that it was almost as if they had been transported somewhere else. Somewhere that their friends weren't sitting nearby, cheering as they demonstrated a love for each other that words were far to inadequate for.

They were still kissing when abruptly, Perotta stood up from the table and grabbed her coat from the back of her chair.

"Hey, where are you going?" Angela called out to Perotta, her eyes still on the couple, finding it quite interesting that they could go for so long without air. Then again, they had gone for pretty long without each other.

"I know when I'm beat," Perotta conceded, hoping that Brennan knew how lucky she was, and wondering how much longer two people could go without air. "I'm heading home. Goodnight everybody."

They all waved a friendly goodbye to Perotta. She wasn't evil, or a bad person, they understood that. She just wasn't right for Booth and as soon as she figured that out the better off she was. Now she could find someone for herself, Booth and Brennan were making out like teenagers at the bar and all was right with the world.

"So, who officially won the Jeffersonian pool?" Cam asked casually.

"You did." Hodgins smiled, still sparing a glance at the couple who were still going at it. Man, he had to give them bonus points for their staying power.

"What's it up to?" Wendell asked, looking into his drink. He was the newest member of the team and therefore not exactly comfortable watching his boss making out with her...partner...boyfriend?

"Oh, enough for a nice little long weekend away to somewhere sunny." replied Cam with a grin.

"Remember, you were supposed to split it with me." Angela reminded her.

"Pack your bags then Lady Fate," laughed Cam. "We're off to the land of drinks with tiny umbrellas."

"Hey, what about us?" asked Hodgins, motioning between him, Sweets, and Wendell. "What do we get out of this?"

"My undying gratitude." replied Angela, giving Hodgins a kiss on the cheek.

"And whatever cheesy souvenirs we bring back." Cam laughed.

"Hey everyone, Booth and I have an announcement to make." declared Brennan as she and Booth finally stopped kissing and managed to get back to the table.

"You two are together." the squad said all together.

"How did you know?" asked Brennan, slightly puzzled.

"I think that they gathered that from our make out session by the bar." laughed Booth, nuzzling her neck.

"Oh," she smiled. "Well goodnight everyone. Booth and I are going to go have sex."

"Bones!" Booth exclaimed in embarrassment. "Could you try and be more discreet about our private activities?"

"What?" Brennan shrugged. "That's what they'd all assume that we were going to do anyway."

"Come on Bones," Booth sighed, grabbing her jacket from a nearby coat hook. "Let's get going."

"We're still going to have sex though, right?" confirmed Brennan.

Booth whispered something in her ear that made her blush and giggle.

"Right, we're going to make love." Brennan smiled contentedly.

Booth just shook his head, and threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a quick kiss. Brennan wrapped her arm around his waist, and off they went to explore this new facet of their relationship. When they were out of earshot, Angela proposed a toast.

"To Catwoman, Batman, Robin, and Baby Boy for a job well done!" she said, raising her glass.

"To Lady Fate, the matchmaking mastermind!" proposed Hodgins as he raised his glass.

"To the JustUs league!" said Cam.

"To Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth!" added Wendell.

"To family!" replied Sweets. They all clinked their glasses together and took a well deserved gulp, reveling in a successful mission that ended in a happy ending for two of their closest friends.

"Hey guys, can we talk about my nickname?" whined Sweets. "Everyone else got a cool nickname, and I get stuck with Baby Boy."

"Let it go Sweets," advised Cam, shaking her head. "Booth and Brennan are together now. Mission's over."

"Oh, I don't know about that," grinned Angela mysteriously. "There's still the subject of my future godchild and junior JustUs league member."

"Angela, they're in a relationship," Hodgins pointed out. Shouldn't the rest of it be up to them?"

"Oh please," Angela scoffed. "It took them nearly five years and interference from us to get them to this point. If they're going to be parents before Parker makes them grandparents, the JustUs league is going to have to intervene."

"I don't like that look in her eyes." Hodgins said cautiously.

"Me neither." Wendell agreed.

"Don't worry," Angela said reassuringly. "I'll come up with the plan and you guys just have to execute it."

"What do you think of the handle 'Candyman'? Get it? Sweets - Candyman?" Lance offered as everyone else got up and prepared to leave.

"Guys?" he called out as their group filed out the door. "Hey guys, wait for me!"

A/N 2: I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed and alerted this story. Especially those who have been there since the first chapter. You guys are awesome, inspirational, and amazing. You make it worthwhile for me to keep typing even when I can't keep my eyes open and why I tried my best to update as fast as I could.

There will be a sequel to the adventures of the JustUs league of smartass masterminds. Of course I have to figure out what that will be. Anyone have any suggestions let me know.