Last Chap! Thanks for everything! Enjoy!

"Bones," Booth called, extending the 'o' and as a result sounding like a petulant child. "Are you ready yet?"

Brennan threw open the door to her room, catching Booth in the stomach with the door handle.

"Hey!"

"If you hadn't spent the last fifteen minutes whinging outside my door, you would not have been hurt. Therefore, this is your fault," Brennan said, her tone daring him to challenge her.

Booth backed down. "Can I help?" he asked meekly.

Brennan snorted and threw him a bag. "I'm done." She grabbed another bag herself and exited the room, following Booth out to the SUV in front of the house. Once their things were securely in the trunk, the pair returned to the house, where Booth's family waited to bid them farewell.

"Drive safe, you hear me?" Mike said in a low voice as he embraced his son. "Those roads - ."

"Yes, Dad, I know," Booth sighed, hugging him back. Mike patted his shoulder and moved to Brennan while Booth wrestled with Jared.

"You make sure you come back soon," Mike said, simply taking Brennan's hand. She smiled, taken off-guard by his kindness.

"I will," she promised, and found herself meaning it.

"Good," Allison said, pushing her husband out of the way. "Cause I like you a hell of a lot better than the last 'friend' of Seeley's that I met."
Brennan caught Booth's eye over Allison's shoulder as the woman pulled her in for a hug, both trying not to laugh. When Allison released Brennan and began fussing over her son, Brennan swapped positions with Booth and farewelled Jared and his family.

"It was nice to meet you, Tempe," Jared said warmly, hugging her. Brennan pondered the fact that it felt like a slightly off Booth-hug.

"You too." She noticed that Shelly said nothing of the sort, merely kissing her cheek. Jared's eyes twinkled and he pulled Brennan back to him.

"Don't worry. She'll come around."

Brennan looked at him curiously as he pulled away, before turning to say goodbye to the kids. After hugging each in turn, Lexie solemnly handed her a piece of paper. Brennan flipped it over to see an array of stick figures standing around a box-like house.

"That's you," Ben said eagerly, clearly having helped his sister. James pushed his way in too, acting as Ben's pointer by indicating to a tall, brown-headed person, holding hands with another tall, brown-headed person. "And that's uncle Seeley."
Brennan swallowed the lump in her throat. "Thank you very much," she managed.

Over the other side of the foyer, Booth watched her with a soft smile. His mother wrapped an arm around his neck. "Boy, don't you dare screw this one up."
He smiled tightly, kissing his mother on the cheek. "I'm doing my best, Ma."

Deciding that they best leave before his mother offered similar advice to Brennan, Booth called out to her loudly. "Hey, Bones, come on!"

Allison sighed. "Why are you in such a hurry, anyway?"

Booth grinned impishly. "Cause Parker will be home tomorrow."
Jared raised an eyebrow. "You never were good at Math, but I'm pretty sure even you can work out that it's not a 24 hour drive."
Brennan decided to butt in. "He left the house a mess and he refuses to give Rebecca another reason to tell him off."
Booth rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Bones."

"What? It's the truth!"
Booth slung an arm across her shoulders and led to her to the door. "Yeah, but it's one of those truths that don't necessarily have to be told."

They waved as they reached the SUV, still arguing. "The truth is the truth, you can't rate it in importance!"

"Yes, but sometimes…" Booth trailed off, watching her climb into the passenger seat without question. "What are you doing?"

Brennan paused with one foot in the car. "Getting in?"

"You didn't even ask to drive." Booth said flatly, baffled.

Brennan searched her brain for an answer that didn't involve her admitting that she was too distracted to care. "I – Well, statistically, the odds would not have been in my favour. So I decided to save myself the time by not arguing. "

Booth frowned. "Right." He let her get completely into the car, shaking his head to clear it before moving to the driver's side.

As they pulled out onto the road, Brennan cast one look back at his waving family, and felt something more than the longing she had been experiencing over the last three days.

In that moment, what she felt was a little closer to belonging.

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"Are you OK, Bones? You've hardly said a word since we left."

Brennan had been bizarrely quiet. No insults, no arguments over the radio… nothing. And when she was quiet and un-annoying, he worried.

"Why do you want to get married?" She asked quietly. "Is there another reason, discounting religion and tradition?" He blinked in surprise, wondering if he had imagined the pleading note in her voice.

"Jeeze, Bones…" He paused for thought. "I guess, because, for me… marriage is promising someone that you'll love them forever."

He saw her mouth open and decided to cut her off. "I know you can be committed without a piece of paper. And I understand that. But marrying someone is making a firm, solid promise to them – with witnesses, to show that you never intend to break that promise – that you'll always be there. That you'll always take care of them, and love them. I want to get married, not just for a wedding but because I want to have someone who I can promise that to. And who would promise that back."
Brennan nodded, her eyes locked straight ahead despite Booth's efforts to reach her. He couldn't help but wonder where that came from.

"I think I want to get married."

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice as Booth nearly swerved off the road.

"Is that hypocritical of me? I know I have mentioned a few times my lack of belief in marriage. I guess I just never saw an example of it working before," she mused.

Booth, having finally slowed his heartbeat after figuring that she wasn't proposing, swallowed the lump in his throat and replied. "You're human, Bones, you're allowed to change your mind."

"And kids," she continued. "I – I think I might want a family, Booth! And maybe," she glanced up at him for the first time, and his heart melted at the confusion he saw in her eyes. "Maybe I wouldn't screw it up. Maybe, if I had the right person with me, I wouldn't make the mistakes that my parents did."
Floored, Booth tried for a joke. "Do you have a candidate in mind, Bones?"

Her eyes flickered down to her hands. "Logically speaking, you would make an ideal partner."

This time, Booth did run off the road.

"Wha – what did you say?" He gasped.

"You and I work well together, and we have physics, and – ."

"Chemistry," Booth interrupted dully.

Brennan shot him a look. "Chemistry. Our differences compliment one another's shortcomings. And, technically, we are both good breeders." Her voice was flat and matter-of-fact.
Booth tried to breath steadily and focus his eyes on the road. Failing that, he pulled over.

Brennan glanced up in alarm. "What's wrong?"

"Bones," he began tightly. "If I let you drive, do you promise not to say another word on this until we get home?"
She nodded, confusion and a hint of disappointment written on her face. He waited until she climbed out of her seat and began walking around the car before he slid over into her seat, not trusting himself to be outside the car at the same time that she was. It would not be a good idea for him to get carried away here.

As soon as they pulled back onto the road, Booth switched on the radio and turned it up, making conversation impossible.

Two hours to go.

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He was out of his seat the moment she pulled up at her apartment building. Sighing in frustration and regret for the stupid way she had chosen to reveal her feelings, Brennan unclipped her seatbelt. She wanted nothing more than to go inside, run a hot bath and….

Her train of thought was interrupted as her door was thrown open and strong hands pulled her from the car, bringing her feet to rest on the ground and her back to be supported by the shiny black vehicle.

Booth's arms propped either side of her face.

"You do not get to make this an exercise in rational thinking, Bones," he breathed, leaning in so that his face was bare centimetres from hers. "You don't get to find a logical reason, or to make this," he waved his hand between them, "make sense. It doesn't make sense, OK? It just is." His mouth brushed against her cheek, and Brennan couldn't help but release a shuddering breath.

"This wouldn't be just a thing, would it?" She asked shakily, already knowing the answer as her hands came to rest on his hips.

"No."

"What if…" She closed her eyes, needing to escape his penetrating gaze. "What if I can't do marriage and children?"
He shook his head, allowing his lips to graze her jaw line. "Then I'll still have you. And that's enough."

Her eyes opened with surprise. "Will it be?"

"Yes," he said quietly, his lips almost on hers. "I promise."
With that, Brennan tilted her head up and closed the last gap between them, pressing her lips gently against his.

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"We need to have rules," he said firmly as he led her upstairs. She turned around, pushing him against the wall and kissing him passionately. His hands pulled at her back, drawing her closer.

"Like what?" She murmured.

"Like when you feel that I'm getting too close and want to run away," he paused as she tried to avoid his gaze. He touched her chin. "When you get scared," he continued. "You hug me. And we work it out. There will be no running."

"Fine," she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his face back down to hers. "We still work together."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he agreed, kissing her back. Somehow, they reached her apartment. He unlocked it with the spare key she had given him.

She glared, the effect of her anger somewhat diminished by the fact that her arms were still around him. "You still only use that in emergencies."

"This classifies," he said, tossing the keys inside and scooping Brennan into his arms. He slammed the door shut behind them.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"You make the best pancakes, as well as the best mac and cheese," Booth shook his head. "Are you really this perfect?"

"Don't get all… squashy. And don't expect me to get domestic," Brennan warned, pulling his shirt down in an attempt to cover more of her thighs.

He smirked. "I'm not an idiot, Bones. And it's mushy, by the way, not squashy. Come here," he pulled her away from the sink and back into his arms.

Their moment was cut short by the sound of Brennan's cell. She groaned, snatching it off the bench and pressing 'accept' without leaving the sanctuary of Booths arms.

"Brennan."

"Hey, Sweetie. You home?"

"Yeah, Ange," she smiled up at Booth. "I'm home."

"Great! So I was thinking, for New Years…"

"Actually, Ange," Brennan said, biting her lip as she smiled. "I'm spending New Years with my boyfriend."

"What? How the hell did you manage to find a boyfriend in Nowheresville, Pennsylvania?" Brennan paused to allow Angela time to think. Booth chuckled, able to hear every word. "Wait… Oh, my… Sweetie, is your boyfriend there with you now?"

Brennan smiled coyly. "Sure is."

"Put him on," Angela demanded.

Brennan handed the phone wordlessly to Booth. He wiggled his eyebrows at her before placing the phone against his ear. "Booth speaking."
He placed the phone down gingerly on the bench and resumed kissing his girlfriend as Angela's squeal resonated around the apartment.