The warm air felt good on their skin as they entered Founding Fathers. Fall had arrived, and the chill was apparent in the air. It wouldn't be long before snow fell from leaden skies.

But today, the sun was shining outside the windows. It had been the perfect afternoon to make several stops before heading home for the evening. Quiet time to take care of some things before they spent time with their children. Something they both, always, looked forward to.

"It was nice of you to do that for him," Brennan said softly, reaching out to brush her fingers over the back of her husband's hand. They took their usual seats as the bartender placed two bottles in front of them. He smiled in welcome, opening a tab for them. This pair were among his favorite repeat customers and he appreciated the opportunity to serve them again.

Booth shrugged, reaching for the bottle. In his mind, he hadn't done enough for the man who now rested peacefully, he hoped, beneath the ground. "He died a hero. I wish I had done more. Hadn't lost touch with him."

It hadn't been much, in Booth's eyes. A simple service, a headstone to mark a grave. A visit now and again to make sure everything was as it should be.

"You can't blame yourself, Booth. You know this," she reminded him gently. His need for control, at times, was a dangerous road for him to go down. Brennan didn't want to lose him to it again.

"I know, Bones," he reassured her quickly, knowing where her mind had gone. His loss of control after being in jail, after the death of Sweets, had led to problems he'd been afraid he'd never overcome. Probably wouldn't have, without the woman sitting next to him. "I know it's not my fault. I just wish things had gone differently, that's all."

"People come in and out of our lives, Booth. You and Aldo lost touch before. You had no reason to know, or believe, this time was any different."

He reached down and grabbed the hand that rested next to his. "I wish he would have come to me," he said, frustration in the words. "I would have helped him."

Brennan nodded and reached for her own drink with the hand he didn't hold. "Men are apparently rather stubborn when it comes to asking for help. Kind of like someone else I know." She took a moment to drink before continuing. "I have no doubt that he knew how you felt about him. He was a great help to you, and to us."

"He saved me more times than I can count, both when I was a sniper and after. His words brought me comfort when I needed it most," Booth agreed. "It was unfortunate part of that turned him from the church."

Pressing her lips together, Brennan kept her thoughts on religion to herself. Booth knew how she felt, just as she knew his belief in a higher power was as strong as her disbelief. Instead, she shifted to see Booth more easily. "I'm not sure this is the best time, or place, to tell you this. But you weren't the only one who found comfort in his words. He helped me, once, when I desperately needed it."

Genuinely curious, Booth released her hand. "If Aldo helped you, the story can't be all bad."

She nodded, already second guessing her decision. "This can wait until later, Booth," she said. "When we are home. Because I think it will upset you."

"Oh, I don't know, Bones. We've said plenty of things to each other in this establishment. Surely, one more won't make a difference. Talk, Bones," he said, softening the order with a gentle smile. "We've gone through a lot over the years. And while I'm guessing this story is tinged with something, regret or sadness, I'm sitting next to you. It didn't change how we ended up. I'd like to know how Aldo helped you."

Staring away from him, Brennan took a deep breath. "It was a few months after you broke our engagement." She winced slightly when Booth took her hand again, but didn't pull away. Instead, she squeezed back until his grip softened. "I was feeling…unsure," she said, unable to find another word to explain her feelings about that period. "Unsure about your feelings for me and if I'd made a mistake when I thought you wanted to marry me. If I'd made a mistake in understanding your feelings for me."

"Bones," he said softly, reaching up to turn her face toward his.

"You made the right choice," she said firmly, before he could apologize or explain. "But I had Angela talking to me and you barely talking to me and everything in my head was a mess."

"Mine too," he agreed. "I wanted to tell you. Tried to come up with a plan to let you know what was happening. But nothing ever seemed safe enough. There are electronics everywhere. And Pelant knew how to access every single one."

She nodded. "Nothing probably would have been. It was a long summer followed by that case. You stood in that hotel room and told me you'd die for me." Biting her lip, she shook her head slowly. "I was familiar with that feeling, of you being gone, and desperately hoped it wouldn't come to that."

"Jesus, Bones," he muttered, running his hand down her arm.

"And then," she continued, taking a deep breath. "And then I found these business cards in your pocket."

"Aldo's bar," Booth filled in. "He wanted me to pass them out at work and drum up some business."

"I thought they were for a strip club, or something similar," she blurted quickly. "I thought you'd found someone else, somewhere else."

He was stunned speechless. "I would never, I could never," he protested when his mouth caught up with his brain. "You're it for me, Bones. You have to know that."

Reaching up, she patted his cheek reassuringly. "I know that, Booth. I knew it then. At least, I thought I did. But I had to know for sure. Needed to see the evidence for myself. So I went there. To the bar."

"No. Wait." He took a drink from the bottle in front of him, before signaling the bartender and ordering whiskey instead. "You need to understand this," he said as the drink was placed in front of him. "Rebecca had part of my heart, still does," he clarified, "because she is the mother of my child. Tessa only had a small piece of me." He paused to take a large drink from the glass, before turning back to her. "Hannah. Well, Hannah had a pretty big chunk of my heart. But not all of it," he admitted, his voice dropping to barely more than a whisper.

She put her hand on his arm, but didn't try to stop him, knowing it would be useless to do so.

"My friends, my family, they each hold a part. But you," he said, finishing off the drink. "You are the only woman who has ever held all of my heart that I have left to give. All of it. I've kept nothing of it for myself. I gave very single bit of it to you."

She sighed. "I know that, Booth. But at the time, I didn't understand why you were breaking my heart. And I didn't understand why you wouldn't just talk to me about how you were feeling. And those stupid cards made every fear, every doubt I had very real. I went back to what I knew, which was science. I explained what was happening using studies and big words. I never thought to look deeper. To think, that perhaps, you changing your mind had nothing to do with your desire to marry me."

Booth signaled to have his glass refilled. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Bones, but she shook her head. "So you went to the bar," Booth said. "I didn't know that. What did you say to him?"

Recalling the memory, her eyes took on a distant look as she drifted back. "It was almost empty in his establishment. He told me it was ladies night. So I ordered the ladies special. I don't even know what the drink was," she admitted with a smile.

"Did he know who you were?" Booth asked.

"Not at first. But he saw my identification in my wallet when I paid. 'Temperance Brennan. You're Booth's girl' he said to me."

Snorting out a laugh, Booth smiled. "I'm sure you reacted well to that."

Not responding, she looked down at the hand that still held hers. "You don't own me. But I'm yours just the same." Shaking her head, Brennan lifted her eyes. "He told me that you loved me. That you wanted to marry me. That not being married to me was a sin. Something you were struggling with."

Freeing her hand, Booth fought the urge to stand and pace. "He took a huge chance telling you that. Pelant was more than capable of listening in. Aldo could have blown the whole thing." If the man had still been living, Booth might have taken the opportunity to tell him just that.

She shrugged. "Apparently, he thought it was worth the risk. And you had found a way to talk to him."

"Walk in freezer," Booth said. "I wanted to tell you, but…" he trailed off.

"I'm not a great actor," she agreed without him saying the words. "It's best that you didn't."

Booth blew out a breath. "What did you say?"

"That I wanted to marry you too. I think my confusion with the situation was easy for him to see."

"But he said something to you, didn't he?" Booth asked. "Something that suddenly made you trust me again. Or at least give me the benefit of the doubt."

"He didn't tell me it was Pelant's fault. Even Aldo didn't dare go that far. He told me he'd seen you do a lot of things that were difficult. But not," she continued, drawing a breath, "without a very good reason."

"That was it?" Booth asked, not sure he believed it was that simple. "That's pretty cryptic."

Brennan finished off her drink and waited until a second was placed in front of her. She smiled gratefully before continuing. "Perhaps, but it made me look at the situation from a different perspective. That perhaps you hadn't made the choice freely, but were forced."

"I thought you were leaving me," Booth said, the thought heavy in his chest. "I finally had you and you were going to walk away from me. Again. Pelant was going to cost me everything."

Swiveling the chair toward her, he waited for her to turn and tuck her knees between his. "When you first told me no, that night at the Hoover, I was angry with myself for bungling it so badly, and angry with you for not saying yes. But I knew I could get through it. And I did. We did. Even if things weren't the same as before."

She nodded, not sure where he was going.

"And when we went almost a year without talking, I thought I was okay with that too. Or I pretended I was. Even if I wasn't. I knew you needed time, and space, so I gave it to you."

HIs hands rested palm up on his thighs and she joined hers with his. "I took too much time and space," she said. "It was a foolish decision."

Booth shook his head. "It wasn't. Because when you came back, you looked…" he struggled to find the words to explain it. He hadn't been prepared for the punch to the gut that first look at her had given him. "You looked like you again. I'm sorry, I can't explain it so you understand."

"It's okay," she said with a quiet laugh. "Trust me, I understand that feeling better than the rest."

"And then there was Hannah, confessions in the rain, my anger, and the night of the blizzard where we made wishes in smoke. And even though it took longer than I wanted it to, I was finally where I wanted to be. With you."

Shaking his head, he freed one hand to empty his glass again. And accepted another from the bartender. "I think you better plan on driving home," he said.

Agreeing, she pushed her second bottle of beer toward him and requested a glass of water.

"That summer, after I broke off our very short engagement, when I thought Pelant had won, I didn't pull back because I didn't love you. I could never stop loving you. I pulled back to protect myself. Because I didn't know how I'd make it through if you walked away. Not after knowing how it felt to be with you. And I couldn't tell you the real reason for everything. So I told you nothing at all. I hate that man," he said bitterly. And I'm glad he's dead. When he emptied the glass this time, he turned it upside down.

"Aldo helped me to see what I had been blind to before. You kept reassuring me that you loved me. Saying the words and doing all the things that proved it. He helped me to see what I'd been missing. And you told me, that night, when I waited for you to come home, that as soon as you could, you'd tell me. It was the words there that finally made sense to me. It wasn't that you didn't want to tell me. It was that you couldn't."

"I owe him, Aldo, for finding a way to say to you the things that I couldn't. I owe him a debt I can never repay."

"You repaid it, Booth. You captured those who murdered him and gave him justice. You did the only thing you could for him, the only thing left. It's enough."

He nodded, knowing there were times the only comfort he could give others, that he could take for himself was justice. "You ready to go home?"

"Whenever you're ready, Booth." Waiting until he paid for their drinks, she rose and tucked her arm in his.

"I don't know why you never give up on me, Bones."

"Sometimes I need a little push in the right direction. Aldo gave me one. But you're mine, Booth. And I don't let go of what is mine. Everyone knows it. And those that don't, will."

He smiled at her fierce words and bumped her gently. "Same for me, Bones. Same for me."