A/N: This is my version of what I wish had happened after the 100th episode. Post-ep. Has a hint of the conversation from The Blackout in the Blizzard.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. (Obviously) all characters and recognizeable dialogue belongs to Fox and Hart Hanson and Co.
He lay in bed, thinking about the events of the night.
"I'm the gambler. I believe in giving this a chance. I want to give this a shot," he, if he was being completely honest with himself, begged.
"Us?" she responded, confused. "No, the FBI wouldn't let us work together-"
"Don't. That is no excuse."
Then he kissed her with all of the passion that he had kept hidden for the past six years. She started to kiss back and then she pushed him away.
"No! You thought you were protecting me but you're the one who needs protecting!" She exclaimed, tears brimming her eyes.
"Protecting? From what?"
"From me!" She exclaimed. Then her face softened. "I don't have your kind of open heart."
"Just give it a chance," he begged, "that's all I'm asking."
"You said it yourself, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome." She said, now letting the tears fall onto her cheeks.
"Well, then let's go for a different outcome here. Just hear me out. When you talk to older couples who have been in love for 30, or 40, or 50 years, it's always the guy who says 'I knew'. I knew — right from the beginning. Bones, I'm that guy." He said, willing her to see his side, to see just how much he loved her.
"I am not a gambler. I'm a scientist. I can't change. I don't know how," she pleaded for him to understand. "I don't know how."
His heart fell with his face. He gave up, knowing that there was no point. Her highly logical brain wouldn't accept the fact that he loved her. That he had always loved her. He told her then that he had to move on. To find someone that would love him the way he needed. She asked if they could still be partners and he knew that she needed that, to keep things the same, to keep everything from changing too much. But he knew that even though nothing would change, that everything had changed.
How could she refuse him? How could she shrug him off like he was unimportant? He didn't understand, he thought that she felt the same. He had a gut feeling that she had felt the same. Why would she do that to him? Why would she hurt him like this? He thought he had given her an explanation of his feelings that would have made sense to her.
Maybe he hadn't. He went over the conversation again. Still nothing. Again. Still, he couldn't find a fault in his logic. He thought over their entire partnership. He had never done anything that would prove anything less than love. He had always been there for her. Except at the beginning. But they had both screwed up.
He thought back over their first case together. It was still fresh in his mind after their conversation with Sweets.
"Because I think this could be going somewhere." He said and then they kissed.
"We are not sleeping together." She said as she turned to get into the cab.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Tequila." She said matter-of-factly in her typical Bones style.
Wait, why had he never seen it before? Could she have meant-actually-that she didn't want their relationship to start after a night of drinking tequila? He had never thought of it before.
And then, he had hired her back. What if-what if she had thought that he had hired her back because he didn't really want a relationship with her? Because he had just wanted a one night stand?
"Oh my God!" He gasped. He had been so blind before. She had loved him since the start. That's why she had been so angry with him after he re-hired her. She had wanted to start something, but by hiring her back I effectively ended any chance of that ever happening.
He jumped out of bed and pulled on shoes. He had to talk to Bones. He had to make her see that he knew who she was and that he didn't want her to change. He had been so stupid to give up so easily. She never actually said that she didn't feel the same. She just said that she couldn't change and that she didn't have an open heart. How wrong she is about that. She has the most open heart of anyone I have ever met.
He jumped in his car and arrived at her apartment within minutes. Running up the stairs two at a time, he reached her apartment and knocked loudly on the door.
"Bones! Bones, open up! I need to talk to you!" He bellowed at the closed door. He heard rustling and then the door opened. She was standing in the doorway in a delicate pink satin robe. God, she's so beautiful.
"What is it Booth?"
"I don't want you to change. I fell in love with you. I know who you are and I want you. Why would you think that I would want you to change?"
"Booth…"
"Bones, I love you. Just you. Not an idealized version of you. I would never ask you to change. But you can't honestly say that you haven't changed. Bones, you have changed so much since I first met you. The Temperance Brennan I met would've slammed the door in my face after what I did tonight. I understand now. You love me. I know you do. If you didn't you wouldn't have left that night during our first case. I know why you left now. I told you that I thought we were headed somewhere and you didn't want anything to start after we had been drinking tequila all night. Bones, please, just give this a chance. I know you are scared, but I won't hurt you. I will never leave you. I promise."
"Booth, I know you believe all of that. And maybe it is true right now. But how do I know it will still be true tomorrow. Or next month, or next year. You were right about one thing. I…I do love you. I just…I don't think that in the long run you will want to be with me. I'm not enough for you. I don't understand your jokes. I don't get along with people well. I come off as cold and uncaring to everyone. You don't want to be attached to someone like that. You may think you do but soon you will realize that I'm not enough. Then we would lose everything. You would be gone and we wouldn't be partners and I can't take that. Booth, I can't lose you. So to keep from losing you I will not let myself start anything. I won't allow myself to act on the feelings I have for you." She pleaded with her eyes. "Booth, you mean everything to me. If this went wrong, if you decided you didn't want me anymore, it would crush me. It would crush my heart."
"Bones…"
"Booth, please. I've had enough for one night. Please, just go home. Please. I'll see you tomorrow. We'll have lunch and we'll argue and bicker and everything will go back to normal and we can just forget this happened. Please, Booth, just move on. Find someone who can promise you 30 or 40 or 50 years. Because I can't promise you that. I don't believe in forever. I can't, because when I let myself everything falls apart. I…I just can't. I'm sorry, Booth. I really am. I just can't be the person you want me to be. I can't promise you anything. Just, let us put this behind us and forget about it."
"Bones, I understand that you are scared. But I was wrong before. I shouldn't have pushed the 30 or 40 or 50 years on you. I know that you aren't ready for that. But you have to understand, we will not fall apart. If we give this a shot, I am determined to make it work. I love you so much, Bones. What if we just take it one day at a time? We just let things progress naturally. We don't worry about making a big announcement. We don't tell the FBI, we don't tell Cam, or Angela, or Hodgins. We don't make any commitments. We'll just be us. But we'll have dinner together. Maybe kiss a little. We'll do couple stuff but we won't let it affect our work. And if at any point either of us wants to stop, we'll stop and everything will be status quo. I promise, if this doesn't work out, I will not disappear. But, Bones, look at me." He put a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his. "This will work out. One day at a time. This will work. I promise. Do you trust me?"
She closed her eyes was quiet for a minute. Letting his words soak in. Letting herself believe his words. Her eyes popped back open and searched his face. Then, meeting his eyes, she said, "Of course I trust you, Booth. You're my partner. And you have never given me any reason not to trust you."
"Then please, Bones. Just give this a chance. I promise everything will work out."
She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess those terms would be acceptable. But Angela will know that something has changed between us. She is very astute at reading people."
He chuckled. "Yea, I guess you're right. But we don't have to announce anything. If she figures it out, well then she will know. But there is no need to tell her. Not until you are ready to."
"Booth…would you like to…come in?"
"Why, Bones, are you trying to seduce me?" He laughed as he stepped into the apartment.
"What? Booth, no, that's not-" She was cut off by a kiss. The kiss was quick and unexpected but by far better than any of the others they had shared.
"You silly woman, I was trying to make a joke."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like something to drink?" She disappeared into the kitchen while he sat down on the couch. "I have water, or tomato juice, or beer."
"I'll take a beer if you don't mind."
"Of course not." She reappeared with two opened bottles of beer. His favorite brand. Her least favorite. She kept it for just these moments. And she doesn't have an open heart.
She sat down on the couch next to him. "So…"
"So…Bones, come on. Just tell me what's on your mind. I promise I won't laugh at you."
"I'm just…overwhelmed. A lot has happened tonight. And I am very confused as to where we stand. Are we a couple? Are we in a relationship? What does all of this mean, Booth?" She struggled to hold back tears. One stubborn tear fell down her cheek.
"Bones, shh." He pulled her close to him and rubbed circles on her back, trying to comfort her. "Didn't we agree to take this one day at a time? Going one day at a time means that we don't know what the next day will bring. There are no labels, no expectations."
"Booth, I find that I need to know where we stand. I need to know whether we are a couple. I don't want there to be any misunderstandings that may confuse things later on." She looked up into his eyes. "Booth, tell me. Do you want to be in a committed, monogamous, long-term relationship with me?"
"Yes. But if that's more than you are ready for right now, I am okay with that. I'm the one who suggested one day at a time, remember? But it's up to you, Bones. Do you want to be in a committed, monogamous, long-term relationship with me?"
She looked away from him for a moment, and then looked back, determination and love showing in her eyes. "Yes," she whispered, so low that he could barely hear her.
"And you are sure? Bones, take as much time as you need, you don't need to rush into anything. I promise I won't leave if you aren't ready-"
"Booth, I told you I am interested in the same type of relationship you are interested in. I am sure. I promise, I will not change my mind. I want this. I want you, us. All of it. This is what I want. I love you, Booth; I can admit that to you and myself now. I find that I am no longer impervious."
"Impervious?"
"Do you know what the difference between imperviousness and strength is?"
"Well, not if you are going to get scientific on me."
"An impervious substance doesn't need to be strong. When we first met, I was an impervious substance. Now I believe I am a strong substance."
"You've always been strong, Bones."
"No. Before I met you I didn't let anyone or anything get to me. I wasn't scared of anything. I could take off the planet. But now, those things do bother me, and I find that I am scared of many things."
"Take on the world, Bones. It's take on the world, not take off the planet."
"Oh."
"Bones, I understand what you are trying to say. I do. And I am glad you no longer go through life without letting anything bother you or scare you. It's good to get scared." He paused, carefully watching her eyes. "So we're doing this? A full-blown relationship?"
"Yes, I believe so."
He pulled her close had kissed the top of her head. "I…" He kissed her cheek. "love…" He kissed her nose. "you." He finally placed a kiss to her lips. A kiss that was unlike any of the others they had shared. It was a kiss full of promise and love; one that was not marred by tequila, blackmail or desperation. She responded willingly letting him know how much she really did love him.
"I love you too, Booth. Very much so."
"I'm glad. Listen, I should head home. It's getting really late. We have work in the morning. I'll see you tomorrow. Okay, Bones?"
"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow."
He got up from the couch and started to walk to the door when Brennan grabbed his arm and turned him around. She looked at him with an inquisitive look on her face.
"Where are you going?"
"Bones, I just told you—"
"I know what you said. And I will see you tomorrow. But not after spending the night apart. Booth, it's late. Stay here. With me."
"Bones, are you sure? I don't want to overstep—"
"It wouldn't be overstepping anything. It's simply rational. It's very late at night, we both need rest, I have a rather large and comfortable bed, and I would very much like to share it with you tonight. I find that I would like to know what spending the night in your arms would be like. Please, Booth, stay here tonight."
How could he say no to that? He put one hand on the back of the couch and the other on her thigh, bending down so that their lips were almost touching. "Nothing would make me happier, Bones." He lightly kissed her lips and then took her hand and led her into the bedroom.
A/N2: I am new to Bones fan fiction. Please review and tell me how I did. I'm not sure if I was able to fully capture each character's voice. Please review! Thanks a lot!