"Come on Bones, I'll take you home."

"I'm not going home. I'm staying with you."

"No, I am taking you..."

Brennan cuts him off.

"I'm staying with you Booth. You will not change my mind. We are partners. I am staying with you."

They drive in silence to Booth's apartment. When they arrive, Booth gets her a night shirt and tosses a pillow and a blanket on his couch for himself.

"You take the bed Bones. I'll sleep on the couch."

"You have a bad back. You take the bed. I'm going to use the bathroom."

Brennan comes out of the bathroom wearing the shirt that Booth gave her. It smells like him. The apartment is dark except for a dim light by the couch and a sliver of light peering out from under Booth's bedroom door. Brennan pulls the blanket up over her legs and lies back on the couch. She can't seem to stop her thoughts from shifting to the sniper, Jacob Brodsky, and how his one bullet killed the gravedigger from over a mile away. After a moment, Brennan begins to cry. She gets up off the couch and knocks on Booth's bedroom door.

"Booth, can I come in?"

Booth was just lying in bed looking up at the ceiling. He sat up when he heard Brennan knock.

"Come on in Bones" he replied as he put his feet down onto the floor. When she enters his bedroom he immediately notices that she is crying. Why are you crying?"

Brennan sits down on the bed next to Booth. The tears just continue to flow from her eyes.

"I'm terrified Booth. I'm so frightened that Brodsky is going to kill you."

Booth takes Brennan in his arms and they lay back together in his bed. For a moment he doesn't know what to say to comfort her. Her fear is logical. Brodsky could kill Booth in a mili-second from a mile away with just one bullet. He just continues to hold her as she continues to cry. He kisses the top of her head.

"I will finish this Bones."

Brennan lifts her head off Booth's chest and looks him in the eye. His body is warm; his arms are so strong and comforting around her.

"I love you Booth. "

"And I love you, Bones."

They kiss, gently at first, then with passion and hunger. Brennan's tears stop and she smiles as her mouth and hands explore Booth's naked body. Gasps escape from Booth's lips. She is more beautiful than he ever dreamed. He kisses her, touches her, and inhales her. He could barely wait to be inside her. They make love, repeatedly, for hours. Just before dawn they fall asleep in each other's arms.

When Brennan opens her eyes in the morning and sees Booth still sleeping next to her she smiles and kisses Booth on the lips.

"Do you still love me?" she asks.

"Yeah. Want me to prove it to you?"

They shower, together. Their kissing leads to more love making, with warm water spilling over their bodies and splashing their faces. As Booth drives her to the Jeffersonian, they hold hands in the car. Just before she gets out, she kisses him.

"I love you. Call me later."

She gets out of the car and closes the door. After taking just 5 steps from the car her phone rings. It's Booth.

"Yes" she says with laughter in her voice.

"I love you too. "

Brennan enters Angela's office just as she was finalizing a 3-D reconstruction of mummified remains from an upcoming Egyptian exhibit.

"Wow Brennan, you're in late. I was just about to…"

Angela stops talking and looks at her friend with a knowing smile and a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Brennan asks diverting her eyes downward.

"Spill it, Sweetie."

Brennan began tentatively, "Last night.." She pauses, and then continues, "Booth and I decided that, um, well, Booth and I, you know..."

"What exactly happened?" asked Angela with a little more urgency in her voice than she had really intended.

Brennan took a deep breath and told her pal.

"Booth and I expressed our love for each other both verbally and physically." With a Cheshire-cat grin Brennan continued, "I always thought it would be satisfying, but it was truly amazing."

Angela waddled over and hugged her friend as much as she could with her big baby belly between them. Tears began to flow from Angela's eyes.

"Ignore the tears honey, it's the hormones. Finally. Thank God," she added blowing her nose and wiping the tears away.

Later that night the gang went over to Founding Fathers for a drink. None of them knew that Jacob Brodsky was on a roof top a half mile away watching his target through an infrared scanner. His site was set squarely on Seeley Booth, who was at the bar paying for drinks. Brodsky savored this moment before pulling the trigger. He was enjoying having Special Agent Seeley Booth in his sites. But in that same moment of indulgence for Brodsky, two homing pigeons flipped and flapped their wings landing in a nest next to Brodsky's head. For just an instant Brodsky's gaze shifted away from his site. And in that same instant, Seeley Booth moved away from the bar towards the woman he loves, and another man stands in his place. Brodsky returns his eyes to his site and pulls the trigger. Brodsky watches his target hit the floor, lifeless. Then he grabs his rifle and leaves the rooftop.

In the bar Brennan is shouting, "We need an ambulance. Someone's been shot."