A/N: This got stuck in my head. A little OOC for Brennan but this would have been a much better ending in my opinion...

She looked back across the airport and made eye contact with Booth. He looked sad to her. She was sad as well. They were going to be apart for an entire year. One or both of them could die. There were never any guarantees.

It was her fault he was leaving. The evidence was clear. He hadn't mentioned reenlisting until she'd turned him down at the Hoover. Her heart might not have been open enough to take a chance, but keeping it closed sure wasn't keeping it, or him, safe either.

After her parents were gone, Brennan had sometimes considered what she might say to them if she ever got the chance. When her mother's body was identified, it changed to the things she'd wished she'd said. Would the same thing happen with Booth? Would it change from the things she'd wished she'd said to the things she never got a chance to say?

Before she gave the move conscious thought, Brennan dropped the handle to her suitcase and was running. Running from the past where she didn't take a chance and away from the future, where she wouldn't see him for a year. What she was running toward, was the only man who'd ever truly accepted her as she was.

It was so unlike her. So out of character for her to show emotions. To show fear or regret. She kept it all buried away where no one could see it. Sometimes it was buried so deep not even she could figure out what she was feeling.

But this feeling she recognized. The emptiness that came when someone walked away from her; someone she cared about. Someone she loved.

Yes, she loved him. Had always loved him. She was just afraid of what that might mean for the two of them. She'd break his heart, she was sure of it.

Right at that moment, with this possibly being the last time she saw him, she just didn't care.

Yes, she'd told him she couldn't change. But he'd never asked her to.

And she had changed. With every touch of his hand at her back, every laugh at her awkward jokes, he'd changed her.

She dodged suitcases and people. Someone brushed against her and she pushed them aside. There were muttered curses and curious glances. She ignored them. All that mattered to her at that moment was getting to Booth.

He watched her, a bemused expression on his face. He neither took a step forward, nor away, waiting to see what was going on. Waiting to understand what could possibly make her run toward him in an airport full of people, watched by her friends and colleagues.

Her eyes, her face, portrayed more emotions than he could read. Fear and anger, hope and desire flashed like lightning through the depths of her eyes.

Booth had enough presence of mind to put his arms out as she leapt into them. The impact forced him to take a step backward to regain his balance. "What's wrong, Bones?" he managed to ask, before her lips came crashing down on his.

There was nothing chaste about the kiss. It was as wild as the look in her eyes had been as she'd run toward him.

Booth hesitated only a second before wrapping his arms around her and returning the kiss. He fisted a hand in her hair, holding her mouth to his. Several passengers stopped to stare, wondering if it was a kiss of welcome, or good-bye.

"Pinch me," Angela said to Hodgins on the other side of the airport.

"No way, baby," Hodgins answered. "Cause you're seeing the same thing I'm seeing."

"It would take something like this to make her see the truth," Angela said.

"Yeah," Hodgins said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Because the best time to tell someone you love them is right before you leave them for a year."

Cam and Daisy said nothing, too shocked to come up with anything that sounded intelligent.

It was seconds, or minutes, when Brennan pulled away from the kiss and out of his arms. Both breathed heavily. Booth had dropped his cap and bent to retrieve it. A thousand thoughts ran through his head, not one of them coherent enough for him to follow.

Grabbing both his arms hard enough to leave bruises, Brennan drew his attention back to her. Her eyes were more than wild now; they had a look in them Booth recognized but did not dare identify. To give the thought voice was to break his heart all over again.

"You have to stay safe," she said between breaths.

Looking down at the hands on his arms, Booth tried to understand what was happening. "You told me no," he said. It was the only thing that was clear to him. The only defense he had before the emotions overwhelmed him.

She nodded. "I was wrong," she said, falling back on the bluntness that had always seemed to serve her so well.

Her hands slid down his arms to grab at his hands. "I was wrong," she repeated. "You could die."

Booth squeezed her hands. "I have no intention of dying," he reassured her.

"But you could," she argued. "And I might not get the chance to say what I need to say."

She shook her head, loose hair tumbling around her face. "You have to listen to me, Booth."

"Bones," he said, pulling one hand away to brush at her face. "I am listening. I'm right here." Her eyes were still wild and it was obvious she was struggling with whatever it was she was trying to say.

So despite the fact that he'd left the base without permission, that he had to return before someone noticed he was missing, he tried not to encourage her to hurry.

"But you won't be here for long. You have to come back to me," she demanded. "You can't die on me. Not again."

"Was the kiss to force me to make that promise? Because we just agreed to meet in a year. I'll be there."

Brennan turned and looked back at Angela. It wasn't going like it was supposed to. She couldn't make the words that Booth needed to hear.

Her best friend must have read something in her face, because she mouthed the words tell him to her. Without acknowledging the action, Brennan turned again.

And followed Angela's advice. "I'm in love with you, Booth. You can't die on me because I'm in love with you. You have to come back to me because I'm in love with you and everyone who ever loves me leaves. I'm trusting you not to leave me."

"Jesus, Bones," Booth whispered, hauling her against him. He wrapped his arms tight, putting his mouth next to her ear. "Now? You tell me this now?"

He'd prayed for years to hear those words from her and she'd said then at least three times in the last thirty seconds. And right before he left for a war zone.

Fate was definitely cruel.

She nodded. "You could die," she said again.

"I'm dying right now. We aren't going to see each other for a year. You told me no." He kept going back to that simple fact. She'd told him no. He'd reenlisted to try and mend his broken heart.

Now, she'd run across an airport, to tell him the exact opposite. And he was leaving her for a year.

Putting his hands on either side of her face, he tipped her head back so he could kiss her. This one was softer, full of promises and wishes and regrets. "I can't stay here, Bones," he said as he pulled back. "I left without permission."

She reached up to cup his face in hers. "And I have a plane to catch. The ticket is nontransferable."

He tipped his head forward until his forehead rested against hers. "So what are we going to do?"

"I'll wait for you. You'll wait for me. We'll meet in a year and share a coffee. Just like we promised."

"How do I leave you now?" he asked desperately.

She chuckled. "You were going to leave me ten minutes ago. It shouldn't be any different now."

He pulled back to see her face. "You are kidding, right?" It was probably one of the few times in his life he wasn't sure.

She tilted her head to side. "Yes, Booth. I'm kidding."

He forced himself to drop his hands and take another step away from her. "Daisy is waiting for you," he said. He could see the surprised expression on her friend's faces and it made the corner of his mouth lift in a smile.

This moment, that kiss, would haunt him for the next year. Of that, he had no doubt. He would dream of her, miss her, and pray for the two of them until God was sick of his voice.

And that would only be the first month.

But she didn't turn, choosing instead to study his face. "Did I make a mistake in telling you, Booth?"

"No," he cried, his voice drawing the attention of more onlookers. Several who had stopped to watch the initial kiss remained. They were the romantics; the ones who knew magic when they saw it.

"I wish the timing was a little better," he admitted ruefully. "But don't ever apologize for saying the words. Don't even think it."

Despite knowing he had to leave, he stepped forward again to cup her face in his hands. "You are everything, Bones. My heart and soul. My life and my world. Please don't regret saying what you've said to me."

The kiss was gentle and behind them an old man elbowed the woman next to him. She smiled and reached for his hand. He knew what that kiss represented. He'd kissed the woman next to him the same way, almost sixty years ago.

This time when he pulled away, he took two steps back. He rubbed a hand across his face. "I have to go, Bones."

She nodded, but kept a smile on her face. She reached out to squeeze his hand one more time before letting go. "Try not to worry if you don't hear from me for some time. It takes time to get the satellite communication set up."

He forced himself to back away another step. The urge to grab her hand and run was so strong he could barely fight it. Even when he gambled, the urge had never felt like this did.

"I love you, Bones." His voice was rough with emotion. How would he ever wait to see her again?

Her smile was brilliant, secure in the knowledge she'd made the correct choice. "I love you, too," she returned without hesitation.

This time, Brennan watched him walk away. She didn't turn until he was out of sight. The crowd eventually dispersed, except for the older man and his wife.

Holding hands, the couple came toward her. "You love him?" she asked Brennan.

Wiping her eyes, Brennan nodded. "I do. I just didn't know it until a few minutes ago."

The woman smiled knowingly. "He'll wait for you," she said. It wasn't a question, just a statement from a woman who'd already traveled the road Brennan was just starting to walk.

"He'll wait," Brennan agreed. "Because we are the center. And we always hold."