Hello! back again after a long hiatus of RL. So I have a B&B itch that I've been scratching for a while. Missing scene, 6x22. Not *the* scene (I'm not really an 'M' writer) but the morning after. Yes, it's all been done before but not from my brain and fingers, lol. I watched it again recently and I looked carefully at the body language of Booth and Brennan, especially in their interactions with Shaw and Angela the morning after, and when Brennan and the team learn that "Booth got Broadsky." They were both very distracted and it was clearly not just about the case. I am also convinced that Brennan was absolutely ready.

A man and woman lay sleeping, bathed in the gentle glow of the dawn as it filtered through the blinds and scattered like rows of petals over the bed. They were spooning, bodies pressed against each other from head to lower leg, cocooned in the centre of the mattress. His arm was slung protectively over her stomach and in turn, her hand clasped over his. They both looked contented as they rested, a surprising outcome considering the intense emotional pain they had both endured the previous day.

The peace of the scene was disrupted as the clock ticked over to six-thirty and the alarm kicked in. An over-enthusiastic announcer on the radio jabbered away, far too jolly for so early in the morning.

Seeley Booth woke, for one fleeting moment thinking he was dead and in heaven before cracking an eye open just enough to recognise the surroundings as his bedroom, and before the reality of the previous twenty-four hours came rushing back to him. He felt the bittersweet taste of the sting of Vincent Nigel-Murray's senseless killing coupled with a new reality washing over him. A reality where his face was buried in the hair of his partner, inhaling her scent and shampoo and it was the sweetest combination he could have wished for. Best of all, he was holding her like he had imagined doing for seven years. No more lying to themselves. No more lying to each other. No more just "guy hugs". Booth couldn't help but smile to himself. He was going to allow himself just a moment to enjoy it before he felt the weight of the task ahead of him forcibly propel him out of bed and into the treacherous working day.

For Temperance Brennan, the first two feelings she had listed in her head as she became aware of her situation upon regaining consciousness were how safe and comfortable she felt, and then how ludicrously tired she was. She then became aware of three more things - one, that she was completely naked in the arms of one Seeley Booth, the night clothes he had lent her were now scattered across his bedroom floor; two, he was also naked and that nature was taking its usual course for a grown man first thing in the morning, which got her more than a little turned on as he was pressed firmly against her at the time; and finally, that her deep feelings of grief for the situation that had presented the previous day were being somewhat buried under a sense of elation and a buzzing in the pit of her stomach that she could not ignore. Brennan felt no need to run. She was exactly where she wanted to be. Despite her dislike of the premise of ownership between people, she knew she now belonged to Booth, and he to her. At least it felt equitable and to her surprise, she rather liked the feeling. Her heart had finally opened when she walked into his bedroom at four forty-seven that morning and settled in his arms. When she realised it could have been him that died that day Brennan knew she couldn't fight her feelings any more. She was in love with him and that was OK. It was at that point that she'd kissed him and then followed the series of events that had lead to her now laying curled against him with a certain type of contentment. She felt torn for not feeling terribly guilty about this, immensely sad though she remained for her favourite intern's demise.

For a few minutes they both continued with their pretence that they were sleeping. The advantage of their positioning allowed a lack of eye contact that would delay the mutual admission that they were both awake, when they could no longer ignore the gravity of the overall situation that required their input as experts in their fields. However, the rational Brennan knew that they had a murder to solve and she owed it to her intern to ensure that Joseph Broadsky was brought to justice. So she turned over to face the man whose name she had moaned out several times in pleasure less than two hours before. As she moved, lifting his hand enough to enable her movement, Brennan noted he had bed hair, some stubble, and his dark eyes gazed across at her in anticipation. In summary, he looked irresistible. Her heart raced. She felt herself take the tiniest breath to calm herself before she spoke.

"Hi." She quirked a lop-sided smile at him.

"Hi yourself." Booth smiled back and brushed some hair away from Brennan's face, then stroked her cheek. "How did you sleep, Bones?"

"All in all, not so great, but better after we..." Her voice trailed off, not entirely sure how to define their activities from the night before. Brennan looked at him with pleading eyes.

".. Made love?" - Booth was sure that was what she meant but there was a hint of hesitation, even in his voice.

"Yes."

"You know" he looked at her lovingly. "I meant every word I said."

"Every word? Because you made some profound statements when we... made love..."

"Yes. And so, as I recall, did you. Things I never thought I would hear from your mouth, Bones." He winked. She felt the colour rise up through her cheeks. Booth continued. "Yes. I meant every word, and not because of Vincent, or Broadsky, or stadium seating and burned papers. I love you, Temperance. I have for so long now. I can't remember a time I didn't." He leant in and kissed her on the lips. Brennan responded immediately and for a moment they let themselves be carried away in the moment. Kissing Booth also meant not thinking about everything else, despite her initial resolve to the contrary. Everything became more heated, especially the parts of them still under the covers, and as the DJ announced a new song, the heavy drum beat jolted Booth back to reality and reluctantly, he pulled away.

"Booth?" Brennan looked concerned, wondering what she had done wrong. He pressed his forehead against hers and sighed.

"We can't do this now, Bones. Don't get me wrong, it would be so easy to play this one out and hell, Baby, I have had fantasies about waking up next to you for years, being very late for work..." he grinned like a Cheshire Cat and couldn't resist her when she pulled him back in for another quick kiss "- but for Vincent's sake, and the team's, and ours, we need to get on with what we have to do today. I have a tactical briefing at eight-fifteen. You have a cause of death to confirm. Besides, knowing what I can look forward to with you later gives me something positive to focus on if I get nervous. You understand, right?"

Brennan nodded.

"I find your words soothing and yet rational simultaneously. I feel bad for Vincent and I recognise a part of me is grieving. I turned over to wake you because I knew we couldn't put off the tasks we must accomplish today. From a logical standpoint, we've been controlling ourselves for seven years anyway, so another day is going to make minimal difference. Whilst I could happily remain in situ with you in this bed for much of the day from both a sexual and practical safety perspective, I understand that we have jobs to do and we need to get up." Booth sat up and looked down at her from his new vantage point. He hair was tousled and her eyes still showed signs of fatigue and tears, but she looked beautiful. All he could look at were those big blue sleepy eyes looking up at him.

"That's my girl. When this is over, hopefully tonight - when I can can find Broadsky and bring him in, we can take a couple of days off and remain "in situ" together, with no interruptions."

"That sounds acceptable." There was a pause. Brennan's voice took on a serious tone and her brow furrowed slightly. "You know I trust you, Booth. I have faith in your abilities to catch Broadsky. I just wanted you to know that." He smiled at her, leaned down to gave her one final peck on the nose, before stretching, swinging his legs out of the bed and rescuing his jockeys from the floor where they had been flung some two hours earlier.

"We'll do right by your squintern. And I have every intention of coming back here tonight with you and finishing what we just started. So, bathroom first or second, Bones?"

Brennan thought for a second. The cogs turned and her face lightened up somewhat.

"Well, we both need to get clean..." Brennan considered "...perhaps we can help each other with that? Logically it would conserve water and time if we were to shower together." And with that she climbed out of bed and sauntered over to bedroom door, still completely naked, where she paused.

"Are you coming, Booth?" She gave a coy look over her shoulder and then continued on her way.

"OK Bones, but cleaning only. No hanky panky..." He followed her down the hall quite quickly. If Broadsky wasn't going to kill him, Bones surely would. But at least he would die a happy man.

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