A/N: This is my first attempt at a Bones fanfic. Please note that this story contains spoilers for Season 5.

Disclaimer: Even though I own a lot of things, Bones is not among them.

Let the fun begin…


"Who are you?"

His questioning voice haunts you even two hours after you left him alone and vulnerable in his hospital bed. You know that it was probably the wrong thing to do. If it were someone else lying there and Booth giving you instructions (because, let's face it, you are still very awkward in situations which require social skills), he would have told you to stop running and face the inevitable.

But you weren't able to stop yourself from running. After all, you were just trying to protect yourself. And this is when you get angry. You remember the time when you were sitting in the chair next to his bed, holding his hand while you are just waiting for him to wake up. You even wrote a story about the two of you being romantically involved, which opened your eyes and made you realize that the feelings you have for Booth are deeper than those, plain normal partners have. But you knew that already subconsciously, you were just really good at denying them.

The coma made you face your feelings; it made you realize that you have lost enough time with Booth. So many things happen without you being able to stop them – people die, have cancer or react badly to anesthesia. So many things happen, which could take him away from you, but just thinking about it makes you sick to your stomach. You can't even imagine a life without Booth in it. So, after analyzing your current situation and the cruelty that is life, you came to the conclusion that Booth and you shouldn't waste any more time and start living a life that would be better just because Booth would be there next to you.

Then he woke up and asked that stupid question. The second you met his eyes, you could tell that something was wrong. You just didn't know how wrong it was until he started talking. It felt as if your whole world came crashing down. There you were, letting your walls down, allowing yourself to admit that you were in love with Booth and ready to commit yourself to him, but he didn't remember you. After everything the two of you went through in the last four years, after he managed to make you fall in love with him so successfully, he doesn't recognize you. And you don't know who you are more angry with – him for abandoning you, or yourself for being so stupid to let all your guards down (you knew you had them for a reason).

After two hours of crying (another thing you hate him for – you have never cried in front of someone and quite certainly not over someone), you don't feel the anger anymore. You are past your breaking point and overwhelmed by sadness. Though, you remind yourself that you are Temperance Brennan and that you've gone through a lot more than just losing a loved one. But somehow you can't lose this nagging feeling and the little voice in your head, which tells you that maybe Booth isn't just a loved one, that you might never get over losing him.

When the nurse finally finds you in the staircase and tells you that Booth is asking for you, you can't help yourself but follow her. You are terrified of facing him, but he is Booth. The Booth, who can't remember anything and is probably even more terrified than you are right now.

You are about to enter his room, but you stay frozen in the doorframe. Booth doesn't notice you, so you have the opportunity to really take him in after he woke up from the coma. He doesn't look good, you state. He has bags under his eyes, his shoulders are slumped and he finally looks at you, you are surprised that his eyes look confused and sad at the same time.

"Booth", you say, but it comes out as a breath.

"Hey", he answers and for the first time in years you miss him calling you the nickname you came to love.

"You asked for me?" you ask him self-consciously since you have no idea what else you are supposed to do.

"Yeah, Temperance." You suck in your breath because just like that you know that he remembers you and you feel better. You should have waited for that reaction until he was done talking.

"I have to ask you somethin', but you left so quickly. Listen, I can't remember everything, but there are snippets and they just don't make sense. It's as if I led two different lives."

He was going to continue, when you interrupt him. "Two lives? Booth what are you talking about? Are you alright? Should I call a doctor?" He just doesn't make sense in your head and you are slightly afraid that the coma compromised his brain function.

"It's just, ah, are we married? Are you my wife?" he asks you and you don't know how to respond. You so clearly aren't married, you're not even a couple for heaven's sake. But he looks so expectantly at you, as if he wished for it to be true.

"No, Booth, we aren't married." Somehow you can't bring yourself to tell him that you aren't his wife. There is no scientific reason for it, but you know it would hurt you to say it out loud. You wanted to be his best friend, his partner and his wife, if the story you deleted a few hours ago is an indication for it. "We are just partners, Booth. You work for the FBI and I am an anthropologist at the Jeffersonian. Don't you remember?" you inform him and ignore the heavy thump of your heart while waiting for his reaction.

"Yeah, I do." he says absentmindly before he continues. "But I had hoped for the other life to be real. So, I'm the FBI Special Agent and you are my Bones?" he wants to know and you can't help the smile that spreads on your lips simply because for the first time in four days he has called you Bones.

"You do remember." you state the obvious without correcting him that you are not his Bones because, truth to be told, it feels really good to hear him referring to you as his. Even if it is primal and an alpha male tendency, because having Booth back is all that matters to you.

You take a step closer to his bed and take his hand in yours, but just this simple contact is neither enough for you nor for him. As soon as you are standing next to him, he pulls you down into (what he calls it) a "guy hug" but you have noticed long ago that your hugs are more than that. So you let yourself fall into his muscular arms and feel safe.

After a few moments, you pull away and hold his gaze. There are still so many questions left to be answered, but you can't focus on them. The silence continues until a nurse interrupts in order to check on Booth. When she leaves the room, you have braced yourself together enough to ask him about the things he told you – his "two lives" for example.

Then he tells you about his dream not without blushing when he mentions the sex briefly. All the while you try to keep the tears at bay, but you can't stop them anymore when he tells you about the pregnancy and how happy he was, not only because of the baby but also because it was you who he was married to and who would be the mother of his child.

He asks you why you are crying and you tell him that you are glad he is back. You can't bring yourself to tell him that this was exactly what you have written and wished for yourself, it just doesn't feel right. You won't tell him now, but maybe later. He looks a little bit disappointed at your reaction to his story and maybe it's the sadness or his soft, chocolate brown eyes or your desire to calm yourself down, which makes you kiss him, but it doesn't matter either way. The kiss is quick but soft and contains the promise of becoming so much more.

You just need time.


Please, let me know if you liked it or hated it. I'm open to criticism, just don't be too offensive, please.