"I am a scientist! I can't change. I don't know how..."The tears in her eyes were painfully obvious, and he could tell that it was tearing her apart to say this. She had seen what they could be, how good they would have been together, and it was breaking her heart just to throw it away like this. But she was scared – oh, so, scared. "I don't know how..."
It was killing him, too. She knew it, she could see that she was hurting him – but she had to. If this didn't work – and hadn't they already tried and failed? – they could never be friends again, never go back to their old relationship. It would ruin her job, and things would never be the same; she would need a new partner; they would both move on, and lose everything they had built up, all that trust and friendship, over oh-so-many years.
Both of them knew that they shouldn't, couldn't throw this away – but she knew she had to.
But what if he didn't let her?
"I could teach you."
"What?" For a second, this stops her tears.
"You can change, Bones. Everyone can change. Sometimes, you just need a little help."
"No, Booth." She's still crying, she can't stop, she has to go through with this. If she hesitates, she knows she'll give in, let them be something – and then disaster will strike. She voices her thoughts. "We already tried, Booth. Our first case –"
"I know." He cuts her off. "But that was only once. We made mistakes, but can't we try again?"
She's shaking her head, moving away. He grabs her arm and pulls her close. They can feel the heat of each other's body through their clothes, and the tension is palpable. He's breathing hard and when he brings his face close to hers, for a second she thinks he's going to kiss her again; but he doesn't.
"Do you remember, Bones, that dream I had when I was in the coma? We were married—" He jerks her even closer, his lips almost brushing her cheek. So many emotions fill him – desire, a desperate need to feel her lips against his right now, and anger, fury, passion. Right now he loves her, more than ever, but he hates her as well, for wanting to give this up.
"—And we were good. We were fantastic. It was real, Bones, I swear, and I am not going to give this up just 'cos you're scared. Hell, I'm scared – but giving this up will be the stupidest thing you've ever done."
He pulls back a bit, and looking in her eyes he can see her defences wavering. He's so close to convincing her – just a little more.
"We can do this, Bones, we can make this something. You know how good we could be – you feel it. Way down here," he puts his hand above her heart, "you feel it."
"Your evidence is extremely unreliable," She says, but he can hear in her voice and see in her eyes that for once, she isn't sure that what she's saying is correct, and isn't even sure why she's saying it.
He knows he's won. He pulls her back to him and brings his mouth to hers, but this time it's gentle, soft. This is a perfect kiss, one of those moments when the world stops spinning and time stands still. They can both feel it, and in that instant they know that this is right, that this was meant to be.
They pull away, look into each other's eyes, and after long seconds, he breaks the silence.
"Whaddya say we go get something to eat?"
She nods, and they break apart. She loops her arm around his and as they walk away, a tear rolls down her cheek. She's not quite sure while she's crying but she thinks that maybe, just maybe, it's because she's happy.
As for him? He's perfectly content with her beside him. The road ahead will be rough, and they'll have to take it slow as he teaches her how to change but he knows that they will be fantastic – and he will never let her leave his side.
A/N: This is how it should have ended. Stupid, cowardly Bones. But I must say, Hart Hanson is a genius. NOW EDITED!
