A/N: So our journey finally comes to an end. Honestly, I found myself getting a little sentimental as I was bringing 'Getting There' to a close (even though I'll be writing the sequel, so I'm not entirely sure why xD). This ficiton has been my baby. It was my first, I've been writing it since August, and I really enjoy writing it. I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been supportive of this fiction and stuck with me throughout it. You guys are awesome, honestly. If it wasn't for all of you, it would have never turned into what it is now.

So this is the longest chapter yet, but it's nothing but pure fluff. So enjoy. =] I actually really enjoyed writing it. And be on the lookout for the sequel, which will be coming very soon.

Epilogue

Brennan and Booth's Apartment; Christmas Eve; 1:19 P.M.

Brennan was buttoning her partner's light blue shirt over her body when she felt his arms wrap around her waist from behind, kissing her temple softly. He was already most of the way dressed again, his shirt just needing to be buttoned back up and his tie needing to be replaced.

"I love lunch break sex," he told her, whispering in her ear, "I really do."

"I know you do," she laughed lightly, leaning her back against his chest with a small, content sigh, "remind me again why we're working on Christmas Eve."

"Because we both work way too hard," he reminded her, tucking her hair behind her ear for her, "I don't think we can help ourselves."

She laughed lightly and turned her head so her cheek was pressed against his shoulder, as he left little kisses over the line of her jaw and cheek.

"Mmm," Booth mumbled softly, burying his nose into her hair, "I love you."

"I love you too," she responded, her voice just as soft, as she placed her hands over his, which he had resting on her stomach.

She felt his right hand slide up from her stomach, finding the little piece of her black bra that was still visible, since the shirt she had draped over her wasn't all the way buttoned up, and running his thumb over the lacy material. He kissed her temple again before moving to her ear, nibbling gently on the lobe before blowing on it.

"Let's make love," he whispered smoothly.

Brennan squirmed and laughed in a breathy tone.

"We just made love," she reminded him.

"Let's do it again," he said, simply, as if she should have known the obvious solution.

"We don't have time," she peeked up at him, kissing the side of his neck softly, "and don't you men need 'recovery time' or something?"

"Bones, I'm not eighty. I've had plenty of recovery time," he reminded her, kissing her fabric covered shoulder, "and somehow when you use terms like 'you men' it sounds insulting."

"There is nothing wrong with that term," she shrugged, closing her eyes and smiling when she felt his lips against her neck, "if it sounded insulting it was unintentional."

"Yeah, yeah," he laughed lightly, running his thumb over the line of her jaw before tilting her head up to meet him in a gentle kiss.

Brennan reached behind her to hook her arm around his neck, keeping him close as their lips mingled in a slow, languid kiss. They only kissed for a few minutes before Booth spoke again, not breaking the contact of their lips when he did.

"I want you," he murmured softly against his wife's lips.

"I am aware," Brennan laughed, breaking the kiss and turning around so she could smooth her hands down his chest, "although I'm not entirely sure why, since we just satisfied urges a mere twenty minutes ago."

"I always want you," he explained, sneaking another kiss onto her lips, "I can't get enough of you," he kissed her jawbone again, and as much as she wanted to object, she didn't, only moved her hand to run her fingers through his hair, "you are so sexy. My sexy squint."

"Let's not get carried away, Booth."

"Oh, Bones," he sighed when a thought crossed his mind, stopping his kisses and brushing her hair out of her eyes, "we have to stop having sex next month, don't we?"

Brennan sighed as well.

"I was hoping you would forget about that," she admitted, "while I would not like to go into premature labor, I will not enjoy going months without intercourse either. I mean, it's only two months during the pregnancy, but once the baby's born we'll never have time for intimacy. Babies have an abnormal sleep pattern, so we wouldn't be able to plan time for-"

"Stop, stop, stop," he cut her off, "please, I'm having a hard enough time with this as it is."

"I know it's unpleasant, but we're going to have to deal with it," she shrugged, "I guess we'll just have to get our fill within this month."

"Well I'm trying and you're rejecting me, which is hurting my self esteem quite a bit, in case you were wondering."

Brennan bit her lip and glanced at the clock.

"Fine," she sighed, seeing his eyes light up with her words, "we have time for one more go round. But barely."

"Barely is enough time for me," he turned her back around in his arms so he could kiss her neck softly from behind, his fingers moving to work on the buttons of the oversized dress shirt she was wearing. Brennan tilted her head back to rest it against his shoulder with a sigh of pleasure.

"You're going to get me in trouble," she murmured half-heartedly.

"Cam doesn't care," his words vibrated against her neck.

She wanted to argue with him that she would grow to care if she continued to come in late every other day, but found herself distracted by his fingers brushing over the top of her chest when he got the first few buttons undone. And almost as if on cue, their phones pinged simultaneously, signaling text messages. Booth huffed and Brennan groaned as he pressed his forehead against her shoulder in defeat.

"We should probably..." he started, leaving it open for her to finish.

"Yes, we probably should," she sighed, as he unwrapped his arms from around her, and she knelt on the floor, digging through the small pile of the clothes she was wearing that day on the floor, finding her pants, which still contained her cell phone.

When she opened her phone and skimmed over the message, she looked up at her partner from where she was kneeling on the ground.

"Cullen?" She asked.

"Yep," he replied, with a roll of his eyes, as he started to fasten the buttons on his shirt.

"What does he want?" She asked, unbuttoning her husband's shirt and shrugging it off her shoulders, beginning to redress into her work clothes, "Hasn't he pissed us off enough?"

"Apparently not," Booth murmured bitterly, finding his tie on the floor, "he's probably introducing you to Ricky today," he told her, "why he needs me there for that is what I want to know."

"To shove it in your face that I'm getting a new partner, apparently," she rolled her eyes as well at the thought of how cruel his boss could be, "on Christmas Eve too. It's bad enough that we have to work, but now he's just going to be a jerk on top of that. Can't he just allow us to be a family today?"

"He's a jerk, what else can I tell ya'?" He straightened his tie, waiting patiently for her to finish getting dressed, "But there's no use in getting angry about it. We're not going to let him ruin our first Christmas together, alright?"

"Of course," she agreed, "we're going to have a perfect first Christmas," she smiled and he smiled back, before she remembered something, "can I ask for a favor from you though?"

"Sure."

"Can you go speak with Max today and wish him a Merry Christmas for me?" She asked, "I would like to go see him myself but I don't think I'll have time."

"Yeah, sure, I'll do it," he assured her, "but make a point of going to see him at some point in the near future."

"I will, and thank you," she kissed his cheek, "you're a good husband, Booth."

FBI Conference Room; Christmas Eve; 1:54 P.M.

"Ah, there you are," Cullen was waiting for the two of them in the conference room with a tall, black haired man in a suit, "I was starting to think you didn't get my messages."

"No, we got them," Brennan assured him, glancing at the other man with an unintentionally rude expression before she looked back to Booth.

Cullen hadn't seen Brennan in a couple months, and was noticeably surprised when he saw her baby bump, which was now unable to be hidden by her clothes. He looked to Booth, gesturing towards the anthropologist.

"Your kid?" He asked.

"Yeah," Booth responded, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm not trying to sound rude, sir, but why am I here?"

Cullen pulled a check out of his pocket without answering him, placing it in his hand.

"Merry Christmas, Booth," he told him, "it's your Christmas bonus. That's the only reason I called you here, so you can go if you want."

"Yeah, I have some last minute Christmas shopping to do," he leaned down to kiss his wife softly, "I'll see you later, Bones," he held his hand up in a goodbye to Cullen and the other FBI agent standing with him, "Merry Christmas."

They nodded and gave him the same type of wave before turning their attention back to Brennan, who was now standing there awkwardly with one man who she disliked immensely, and one who she didn't know at all.

"Doctor Brennan," Cullen started, "I'd like you to meet Ricky Hernandez, you two will be working together."

"Nice to meet you," Ricky's voice was warm as he held out his hand for her, almost too warm. It sounded sweet and thick, like honey. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Yes, nice to meet you," she shook his hand reluctantly.

"Get used to each other, because you'll be spending the majority of your time together," he told them, "I think you two will work well together, as long as Doctor Brennan here keeps an open mind."

Brennan bit her lip to refrain from saying anything rude.

"I have an open mind," she told him, "you seem to be forgetting that I am the one who suggested getting another partner. At first, I didn't want to work with anyone other than Booth, but I looked at it logically and decided that I could work just as effectively with someone else."

She knew that was a lie. Even if she and Ricky did wind up working well together, they would never have as effective of a partnership as she and Booth did. Booth was always genuine with her, never trying to spare her feelings or flatter her, and at that moment, she felt as if Ricky was being the opposite. But maybe that was just her longing to have her real partner back.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that," Cullen nodded, "sorry to call you both here on Christmas Eve, I just figured the sooner you were introduced the sooner you two can start working together. Especially since I'm assuming Doctor Brennan only has a few months until she's going to have to go on maternity leave."

"Yes, I'm due in the end of February," she told him, feeling slightly uncomfortable talking about her baby with the two of them.

"Boy or girl?" Ricky asked, attempting to strike up friendly conversation with his new partner.

"We don't know yet," she told him, "the doctor gave us a paper with the baby's sex on it, but we didn't open it yet. We agreed that we'd open it on Christmas morning."

"Cute idea," Ricky smiled sweetly, "what do you think it's going to be?"

"I have no way of knowing that," she told him, taking a short pause, "Booth thinks it will be a boy."

"I think Booth wants it to be a boy," he laughed lightly, "that would be just another son to play football and hockey with."

Brennan barely noticed that Cullen had left the room, leaving the two new partners alone to get to know each other better. She and Ricky talked for a little while, and she hardly noticed how much time was passing as they conversed, and he occasionally got a laugh or two out of her. Even though he was not Booth, maybe he was second best. And, for now, she would have to settle for second best.

Federal Prison; Christmas Eve; 4:15 P.M.

Max was surprised to see Booth that day, alone, without his daughter, since they normally wouldn't let anyone who wasn't family visit. But, regardless, he was happy to see a familiar face.

"Booth," his voice indicated his genuine happiness, "how'd you get in here."

"I'm FBI, Max, which is basically another way of saying I can do what ever I want," Booth laughed lightly, handing him the unwrapped package of socks, "Bones and I got you a little something for Christmas. I wrapped it, but the guards made me take the wrapping paper off just to make sure I wasn't smuggling in weapons or anything."

"Ah, socks, just what I needed," it still amused Booth how excited Max got over the simplest things. He guessed being in jail made people that way. "The kind with the arch support too. I always knew you were my favorite of Tempe's boyfriends," he stopped when he mentioned his daughter, "speaking of Tempe, where is she? Don't tell me you two are fighting."

"No, no, she got caught up at work, but she told me to wish you a merry Christmas for her," he told his father-in-law, "she feels bad about not being able to come herself."

"Tell her not to worry about it. I can manage," he paused, smiling gratefully at the man sitting across from him, "you didn't have to come either, Booth."

"I wasn't just going to let you sit here alone on Christmas Eve without any visitors," Booth shrugged, "it's not a big deal, Max. I mean, what else are son-in-laws for?"

Max's face lit up when he heard the words.

"Son-in-law?" He asked, with a big, genuine smile, "Yeah? Finally?"

"Finally," Booth confirmed, showing him the wedding ring on his left finger.

"I would hug you, but I'm afraid that if I try I'll have guards in here with tasers before I can even say congratulations," he laughed lightly, "when did this happen?"

"A couple months ago," he told him, "we were in Maryland for Hodgins and Angela's wedding, and she just, decided she wanted to get married," Booth laughed when he saw the surprised expression Max wore, "I was just as surprised as you are. But, I mean, of course Bones and I weren't going to just wait and plan a wedding like a normal couple. We eloped, that night."

"Wow," Max was smiling, "I'm so glad. This might be a better gift than the socks."

Booth laughed again.

"Well I'm glad I could make you happy on Christmas Eve," he told him, "honestly."

"I really love Tempe," Max said, seriously, "even though sometimes I don't really believe that she loves me back. But, regardless, the only thing I want for her is to be happy, and she's happy with you. It takes her a long time to trust after what I did to her, and you might actually be the only man that she does trust fully. I don't want you to ever doubt that she loves you, because I know she does. I knew she did before you two were even together."

"I don't," Booth assured him, "Bones isn't the type of person who hides their feelings. If she didn't love me, she wouldn't say it."

"Don't I know it," Max chuckled, "never the shy type, I can tell you that. Even when she was a little girl, she would just talk, and talk, and not care who she was offending."

"Sounds like Bones."

"She hasn't changed much, has she?"

They both shared a small laugh as they thought about the most important woman in their lives.

"Can you do me a favor, son?" Max asked, after only a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah, of course," Booth responded.

"Well, it's actually three, but they're small jobs."

"Okay?"

"Right. The first and second thing I want you to do is give Tempe a hug and a kiss for me when you get home, and wish her a merry Christmas from me."

"I will."

"And the third one is, when your baby's born, could one of you bring me a picture?" Max asked, "I would really like to see my grandchild."

"Of course we will," Booth promised, "and hopefully you get out of here soon, so you'll be able to see the baby in person."

"Hopefully," he agreed, noticing his son-in-law glance at his watch, "oh, I'm sorry. I know you probably have last minute shopping and maybe some important FBI stuff to do. You can go. Don't waste your day here."

"Yeah, I just have a few things to pick up, and some work to do," he told him, straightening out his jacket, "and then I promised Bones I'd-" he cut himself off before he could blurt out his promise to this man's daughter about making love to her under the Christmas tree, "you know, you don't need to know this. But I'll see you soon, Max. And Bones is gonna stop by sometime this week."

"I'll be here," Max joked darkly, with a bitter chuckle, "merry Christmas, son."

Booth smiled and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder as one of the guards opened the door for him.

"Yeah, merry Christmas, dad."

Brennan and Booth's Apartment; Christmas Eve; 10:47 P.M.

As Brennan and Booth lay together on the throw blanket they had laid out next to the tree, they watched as the multi-colored lights flickered, and the star on top glittered.

"We picked a good one, right?" Booth broke the silence.

Brennan nodded, her hands resting on her stomach, keeping the baby company.

"I think we did an excellent job decorating, if I do say so myself," Brennan stroked both of their egos when she spoke, "I'm sure Parker will be happy with it."

"I'm sure he'll be even happier with his new bike," Booth complimented himself on his choice in gifts, "he's been talking about needing a new bike for months now, because he's growing out of the one he has now."

"And how do you know Rebecca didn't get him a new bike as well?"

"We discuss these things, Bones, it's not like we just blindly pick out gifts and hope for the best."

Brennan shrugged as her hands smoothed over her white tank top and she shifted a bit, feeling slightly uncomfortable all of the sudden.

"What's up, Bones?" Booth became curious when her face twisted up in displeasure.

"Nothing, I just, felt something, strange," she took a minute to contemplate it, the thought finally striking her as she sat up straight, "oh, Booth..."

Booth immediately sat up next to her, panic in his eyes.

"What? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No, no, it's just," she took her husband's hand and placed it on her stomach, "it's moving. The baby's moving. I've, never experienced this before."

Booth knew he couldn't feel it as much as she could, considering it was moving inside her, but he did feel a little something poking out from her skin, disappearing after a few seconds. He looked at her, seeing that her eyes were lit up as she placed her hand over his, holding it to her stomach so he could feel.

"That's incredible," he commented, with a small laugh of happiness, "that's, wow."

"I wonder why he's moving like that," Brennan wondered, watching her stomach, even though she couldn't see anything.

"Babies move, that's what they do," Booth shrugged, "it's just a little restless, that's all."

"I, find that I am enjoying this," her laugh was small, "I like being able to feel it move. It lets me know that something is going on in there. I am not just gaining weight and having to pee every five minutes for nothing."

"Of course there's something going on in there, Bones. There's life growing inside you. Think about it. It started off as a 'zygote' and now it's an actual baby, moving around in your belly. Isn't that incredible?"

"It's actually not in my 'belly' it's in my uterus. The baby doesn't just float around in there. There is a-"

Booth cut her off by pressing his lips to hers, cupping the side of her face gently, grateful that the kiss was enough to distract her from the squinty ran she was about to spin off into. Brennan sighed when his tongue encouraged her lips apart, slipping into her mouth to taste her uniquely Brennan taste. One of her arms found it's way around his neck, while the other slid gently down his torso and slipped up the fabric of his shirt, her fingers tracing his abdomen. She whined in disappointment when he pulled away.

"No, no, not yet," he told her, "we're exchanging gifts first."

Brennan huffed.

"Can't we make love and then exchange gifts afterwards?"

"No, I want to give you my gift now," he reached under the tree to grab one soft, malleable gift and one solid one, "which one do you want first? The baby's or yours?"

"Booth, you didn't have to get the baby a gift. It can't even see it."

"It doesn't matter. It'll see it when it's born. Now which one do you want first?"

Brennan rolled her eyes, trying to keep her hormones under control, since she knew she was about to snap at him.

"I don't care, Booth," she responded, just the slightest hint of an attitude present in her voice.

"Alright, the baby's it is," he smiled, handing her the malleable package first.

Brennan had to admit, he was doing very well with not losing his temper with her when she would give him attitude. She knew she had been unnecessarily mean to him at times, and knew that blaming it on the hormones was slightly unacceptable, but she was impressed that he never got angry with her. In fact, when she would start to act like a pregnant diva, he would usually become extra nice, making her feel like a horrible person. Tugging and tearing at the wrapping paper, she revealed a little stuffed zebra, examining it thoroughly, as if it was one of the bones on her autopsy table.

"It's very cute," she concluded, "a zebra would not maul a small child, and it is accurately colored, so it won't confuse him or her," she smiled at her husband, "I'm sure Chris will love it. It will be his or her first toy. And until then, I'll keep it safe."

"Aw, you're cute," he laughed lightly, holding her gift out to her, only to have her take it and set it next to her without opening it, "is there a problem?"

"No, I just want you to open mine first," she shrugged, handing him the little box that she had wrapped in reindeer wrapping paper, "it's just a little something."

When he unwrapped and open the box, he was noticeably surprised.

"A little something?" He asked, "Bones, it's a Rolex."

"It's not a big deal," she shrugged, "I know you always need watches, and, since it's Christmas, I figured I'd get you a nice one."

"You didn't have to spend all this money to get me a nice watch," he laughed lightly, "just a regular watch would have been fine."

"Do you not like it?"

"No, of course I like it, it's just, it's a Rolex. Those are expensive."

"I have enough money, Booth," she laughed "I can afford to buy my husband a nice gift."

Booth smiled.

"Thank you, baby," he kissed her head softly, "I love it."

"You're welcome, I figured you would," Brennan picked up her gift now, the one in the shiny red wrapping paper topped with a green bow, and unwrapped it at a nice, steady pace, "Booth, this is..." she paused, unable to come up with the words, "it's us."

He had gotten one of their wedding Polaroids printed onto a large, nicer paper, and framed it in a small, simple, silver frame.

"Turn it over," he urged.

Brennan turned the frame over, seeing that, engraved in the back, in script, it read:

Temperance Brennan and Seeley Booth

September 15th

"Everything Happens Eventually"

Brennan ran her thumb over the words, etching them into her mind before she looked up at him with admiration in her eyes.

"I don't even know what to say," she whispered, "I love it."

"The engraving was more money than the actual frame and the fixing of the picture," he told her, "I mean, now I feel like it isn't enough, since you got me a Rolex, but-"

This time, Brennan was the one to silence him by pressing her lips to his, carefully laying the picture frame down next to the baby's stuffed zebra before she wrapped her arms around his neck, only kissing him for a minute or two before pulling away and pressing her forehead against his.

"It's enough," she promised, pecking his lips softly, "it's more than enough, Booth."

"You sure?" He asked.

"I promise, I couldn't have asked for a better gift," she kissed him again, "now I would like to make love beside the Christmas tree, okay?"

"Okay," Booth smiled, before pressing his lips back to hers, ridding both of them of their clothes, and proceeding to make love to her, exactly how he promised he would.

Brennan and Booth's Apartment; Christmas Day; 12:20 A.M.

After their love making ended, Booth couldn't help but keep his eyes locked on the small, white envelope that still remained unopened under their tree, as his wife placed soft kisses over his beating heart.

"What's the matter?" Brennan asked, sensing something was wrong.

"Nothing," he assured her, his fingers running through her hair, "I was just thinking, it's technically Christmas morning and all."

Brennan smiled, knowing exactly what he was getting at.

"You want to reveal the sex of our baby?" She asked.

"Yes, I do, so badly."

"I guess, since it's Christmas, we can," she placed a soft kiss on his lips before leaning over him to grab the envelope, wrapping the blanket they were under around her chest as he sat up next to her, both of them exchanging glances between each other before looking back at the envelope, "you ready?"

"I've been ready for three weeks," Booth laughed.

Brennan slid her finger under the top, tearing it open and pulling the paper out from inside. She unfolded it at an unintentionally slow pace, as their eyes skimmed over it at the same time. When they were finished reading they simply looked at each other and wrapped their arms tightly around one another. Booth could swear he felt a few tears touch his shoulder, but figured he was just imagining it as they held each other close.

"Are you happy?" Brennan asked, her voice trembling.

"Of course I'm happy," Booth laughed, kissing her head softly, "I would have been happy either way."

Brennan buried her face into the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent deeply.

"I am so happy," she whispered, "I couldn't have asked for a more perfect Christmas morning."

"Me neither," Booth assured her, stroking her back gently, "but we should probably get some sleep. Parker's coming early in the morning."

"Right, of course," Brennan agreed, "but, um, if it's not too much of a strain on your back, can we sleep here tonight?"

"Yes," Booth granted her the small request, as they both laid back down, knowing now they were too happy and were running on too much adrenaline to fall asleep.

They lay in silence, just thinking, as Booth's hands skimmed down her back, and she closed her eyes, picturing how their family was going to look in only three short months.

"Booth?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

There was another short break of silence before Brennan continued.

"And I love Christian too."

"Me too," Booth agreed, "I love our baby boy."

"Our baby boy," she mulled over the words, a smile on her face as she felt herself finally starting to drift off, "our beautiful baby boy. Christian Seeley Booth."