Epilogue

The day was beautiful. The skies were clear and blue and the water on Lake Chelan was calm as the charter boat ferried Booth, Brennan, Katie Woods, her nephew Jason and Cordelia the dog over to the enclave of Stehekin. For the last nine weeks, Emma Woods and her grandparents had been blissfully unaware that by the rest of the country she was supposed to have been a victim of child abduction or worse. The fact that this was going to have a happy resolution was a blessing for this family, especially in the midst of the pain caused by one of its core members.

When Eric Woods found out that Dan Warren was very likely Emma's biological father, it seemed to break whatever fragile thread he was holding onto to reality with. Struggling for the last several years to keep his business afloat, the mortgage payments up to date, and trying to hide the financial peril they were in from Katie had taken an unmeasured toll on him. The thought that someone had a real argument for taking his only child away from him, even if that potential was really in his own mind, had pushed him over the edge. In the FBI interrogation room it all had come spilling out.

As for Sam and Fiona Kensington, they had never questioned Eric's claim that Katie was out of town with her yard share group at an organic farming seminar because they knew how important it was to her. And since they had kept in regular contact with Eric, they had never suspected that anything was wrong. They were completely heart sick when Booth had gotten in touch with them and explained what had happened and so he had offered to bring Katie and Jason to Stehekin for a private family reunion away from prying eyes and news cameras. For that they were all grateful knowing full well that when they returned to Sterling they were going to have to face their new reality without Eric who was facing a litany of charges, just as soon as he was released from the state mental hospital.

The boat was approaching the dock in Stehekin. The trip across the lake had taken nearly four hours. Booth was looking forward to seeing this particular reunion take place. It wasn't fair for one parent to do this to another, even if neither one of them were actually biologically responsible for the child. As far as Emma was concerned Katie was the only mother she could remember. He leaned over and whispered to Bones as he noticed Cordelia straining at her leash. "Two to one odds that the dog takes a dunk in the drink before we make it to the dock."

As if she could read Booth's mind, Cordelia broke free from her leash and leaped into the water just yards from the dock, the squeals of a little red haired girl that could only be Emma Woods urging her on. "Cordy! Cordy girl! C'mon Cordy! I missed you!"

"I don't know what that means." Brennan wasn't sure how the dog was going to dip into a drink that hadn't been offered to her. "And you shouldn't be betting, you're a recovering degenerate gambler."

"That's what I love about you Bones, always so literal." He wrapped his arms around her, professionalism be damned and he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Besides, I was right about the dog."

"I suppose that was your gut talking then." Her smirk was evident in her voice as she looked at him in amusement.

The boat eased up to the dock and before the crew could ensure that it was tied securely, both Katie and Jason had bounded off and in the midst of laughter and tears and one soaking wet dog that had taken the hard way to the dock, were reunited with Emma.

"Now there's a beautiful moment, Bones." He hugged her close and whispered huskily in her ear. "I love you. Don't ever doubt that."

"And I love you. I will love you, for as long as my body is physically capable of supporting life." She was very sincere as she leaned into him. She did love him, so much. It was a shame that it had taken so long for them to get to this point, but now that they were here, she wasn't about to let him go.

"What are we now, Star Trek? You make it sound like we're a couple of aliens." He snickered and then pressed another kiss to her forehead before he released her and they stepped onto the dock.

The End

Author's Note: Yes, you read that correctly we have arrived at the end of the story. I know, I was a bit surprised too. I thought it would go on for a few more chapters, but really, this last bit seemed to write itself. And because I know that many of you are wondering if there is a Booth and Bones baby in the works here. Well without going into a long winded explanation of the birds and the bees, you'll have to leave that little tidbit to your imagination. Besides, even if there was a bun in the oven, it would be way too early for them to know. Thanks for reading!