AN: First strictly Bones thing I've ever posted. My only other Bones story is my crossover with SVU and House, so we'll see how this goes without my EO comfort zone here to help me out. Set after The Dentist in the Ditch. Enjoy!

He didn't think he had heard her right. There was no way he could have. He'd spent all of these years trying to see things from her belief system, and now here she was converting to his.

They left the pub side by side, bidding Jared and his new fiancé farewell. He looked over at her. She appeared to be unphased by her recent confession. He, however, was a ball of nerves. She believed in love. For five years, all he'd heard was about how the heart was just a muscle and love was nothing more than a chemical reaction in the brain. And now here she was, admitting that maybe love was something more and giving him the credit for allowing her to see it that way. Was this really happening?

"Bones?"

She turned to him, her blue eyes piercing through the darkness of the night.

"Why now?"

Confusion etched across her face at his question.

"Why now what, Booth?"

"What you said back there, in that toast…"

"What about it?"

"Bones, you…you've finally started to see love for what it really is?"

"I've always seen love for what it really is, Booth. It's the rest of the world who doesn't get it."

Booth ran a hand over his face. Why was she making this so difficult?

"You said that you believed that love could be something more than a chemical reaction because of me."

"I did."

"And do you believe that because of what I've done for your relationship with your father or…"

"Or?"

"Or because of me?"

"I fail to understand your question. I stated that you were the reason why I'm willing to change my views, so…"

"Bones, you're not…you're not comprehending here."

"Well you're not being very clear."

Booth sighed in frustration. "Okay, let's try this. What have I done to suddenly make you believe in love?"

Even in the dark of night, Booth was able to make out her change in facial expression as she finally understood what he had been trying to ask.

"Oh…well…I…"

She opened her purse and starting looking through it.

"I really should be getting home. Did I leave my keys at the table?"

"I drove you here. And you're avoiding the question."

"Booth, I…"

It was clear to him that she was really struggling with this. That alone was enough of an answer for him.

"Bones, it's okay. I get it."

She looked back into his eyes.

"Do you?"

"It's hard for you to admit."

"What is?"

"Oh, you know."

"Yes, I do. Do you?"

"Well, I…"

"You don't want to say it because you're afraid you'll be wrong and then things will be awkward."

"You know me too well," Booth sighed, heading for his SUV.

"You're right you know," Brennan said, following him.

"How do you even know what I'm thinking?"

"Like you said, I know you too well."

~*~

The moment Brennan walked into her office the next morning, she was bombarded by a very excited Angela.

"This is huge!" Angela exclaimed.

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that Hodgins proposed when he found out that you were pregnant with Wendell's baby?"

"What? No! This is about you telling Booth that you love him!"

"What? I never said that!"

"Right and I'm really pregnant."

"Congratulations."

"Come on, Bren. Tell Angela what happened."

Brennan walked around from behind her desk and brushed past Angela out of her office.

"Nothing happened."

"I'm not saying that you jumped the guy right then and there, although you should have. I just want to know what finally made you come to your senses."

"Angela, I don't know what you heard or even who you heard it from, but I can assure you that I did not tell Seeley Booth that I love him."

"Jared seems to think so."

Brennan sighed and walked up onto the platform to examine their latest murder victim. What was it with these Booth boys and her toast? She didn't understand.

"There appears to be a small fracture on the skull. Have you done the facial reconstruction yet?"

"You haven't given me the tissue markers yet…and you're avoiding the question."

"Miss Wick was supposed to do those. Where is she?"

"My guess would be with Sweets. He came in 20 minutes ago looking for you and ran into her. Haven't seen either one since. Now, can we get back to your undying love for your partner?"

"Ange, I never told Booth…"

"Never told me what?" Booth asked, swiping his card for clearance at the base of the platform.

"That she misses you when you're not around," Angela answered with a smirk.

"I was not going to say that."

"Then what were you going to say?" Booth asked with a smirk of his own.

Brennan ignored him and turned to Angela. "Theoretically if I had said it, what makes you believe that I meant it?"

"Because you do? You're also not one to go around making comments that aren't true."

"Which leads us back to the point that I never said it."

"I'm lost," Booth stated.

"As you should be," Angela said, patting him on the back. "I'll let her fill you in."

She left the platform. Booth turned his gaze to Brennan, who was examining the body.

"Find cause of death yet?"

She held up the skull for him to see.

"Yeah that probably did it."

She nodded and placed it back on the table.

"Are you going to talk to me?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Anything."

"Anything."

"Cute."

Brennan laughed and started to head back to her office. Booth was right behind her.

"Your brother seems to think that I'm in love with you."

"Does he now?"

"Yes, and for some reason he asked Angela about it."

"I see," Booth nodded, entering her office. "And what did she have to say about it?"

"She believes it."

"What about you?"

"What'd I tell you yesterday?"

"You know that whole conversation was a little confusing for me. Remind me?"

"I believe in love now…because of you."

"And what does that mean exactly?"

"What does 'I love you in an atta girl way' mean exactly?"

"Hey, you said it back!"

"That doesn't mean that I don't know what it means."

"That was a very confusing sentence."

"Booth…"

"You mean a lot to me, Bones. If you only knew…"

"I've thought you were dead twice now. I think I know what it's like to mean a lot to a person."

"Twice?"

"I didn't know if you'd wake up from that coma…"

"I never meant to you hurt you. I should have told you –"

"Can we not get into this right now?"

"Yeah, sure."

"My point is, Booth, I feel something when I'm with you and it scares the hell out of me."

Booth moved closer to her. "I'm scared too."

He reached out and brushed her hair off her shoulder much like he had done that night she had made that huge discovery. And this time, when he leaned in to kiss her, no one was there to stop him.

AN: Happy messages *cough* reviews *cough* are always welcome. :)