Hi guys… these characters don't belong to me… you know the drill. :)

Taken straight after episode THE PART IN THE SUM OF THE WHOLE!!!

As Brennan pushed open the front door of her home, her head was spinning. She could not erase the expression on Booth's face, from her mind, when she had told him she was unwilling to make a go of their relationship. Instantly, she knew she'd made a mistake. She knew her reasons for rejecting him were futile. But she was afraid; her heart was not like that of a normal woman, once she fell completely, it was irreversible. Booth could not guarantee he would forever be safe.

The phone rang from the hallway and Brennan lackadaisically made her way to answer it. Uninterested in the caller, she picked up the receiver, her focus on her immaculate kitchen.

"Brennan!" she answered mechanically.

"Hey, sweetie," Angela's voice ran through her ears. "I was wondering if you were-"

"Not now, Ang!" she said grumpily. Whatever the issue, Brennan hadn't the heart to pay attention.

The conversation with Booth went over in her mind, washing over like a tidal wave. Ordinarily, she was a rational thinker; she would at all times present, an evidential fact of statement, but for the first time her mouth had done the talking. She had babbled incoherently about some sort of plausible excuse. She couldn't even remember the words, except they weren't true.

"Bren, is everything okay?" Angela's voice sounded stained.

"Booth, he said… well he," Brennan began to struggle for air.

"He what, sweetie," she suddenly held patience.

"He wanted to give us a go," Brennan said beginning to sob as the tears caressed her cheeks. This was not like her to cry, even when Booth had made his announcement about changing their relationship to something more, the tears had come, without permission. Something was shifting in her.

Angela didn't seem to understand. "I don't get it, sweetie."

"Booth wanted me to… me and him… to- Ang, I said no."

"You said no to sleeping with him?"

"No," she cried.

"You're not making sense…"

"Us! He wanted to make a go of a relationship. I panicked."

"You said no?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know… I got scared."

For a moment Angela tried to calm her friend. She consoled her. Presented her with soothing words. Gave her advice. Brennan remained bleak. Angela wasn't sure what else to do.

"Okay," she said evenly. "Bren, do you love the guy or not?! No subtle way around this, no avoiding the question, no time to think about the answer. Yes or no, do you love him?"

"Yes," she answered. "But there's more to a relationship than love, Angela I don't believe in Fate or God like he does, and-"

"Enough," Angela responded. "You don't need to agree on everything, just-"

"But Ang-"

"NO!" she hissed. "Stop thinking."

"I have to-"

"STOP! You have to stop. Booth loves you, you love him, so that's it. You just accept it and tell him you're sorry and you want to try."

"I can't… I can't lose him!"

Angela sighed frustrated. "If you don't do this, if you wait too long, you WILL lose him Bren. He will move on, he will find someone else, and you will lose him."

The very idea of Booth with another woman made her tears begin again. He was hers. Booth was hers, he loved her, he called her BONES, he protected her, looked out for, her adored her, he'd lose an argument because she wanted, needed, to be right. Booth could NOT belong to another.

"I do love him," Brennan whispered.

"So tell him that."

"Do you think he'll-"

"I think you won't know until you talk to him," she urged.

Brennan hesitated. "Thanks Ang. You always know what to say to make things better."

"Go… he needs to know."

Brennan considered calling, but thought it better to approach him in the flesh, so to speak. Knocking on the door of his apartment building, she stood back and waited. A moment later, she heard the shuffle of feet moving around inside. Then the door opened…

"Hi," she smiled weakly.

"Hey Bones," his eyes were still sad. His posture slightly slumped. He showed no sign of a smile.

"I wanted to tell you something," she said. "Can I come in?"

Booth stepped aside so that she could step through the door. As she made her way inside, into the loungeroom, she felt herself flush with nerves. This was something Brennan didn't like about science, her inability to control her own body when it came to the opposite sex, namely, Booth.

"What's up, Bones?" he asked sounding only vaguely interested. He flopped down on the couch, and took the glass, which was lined with whisky, and brought the liquid to his mouth, sipping it as he waited for Brennan to speak.

"I do love you," she stated matter-of-factly.

His head shot up, locking his eyes to hers, a hint of hope brewing. "What did you say?"

"I said, 'I do love you' and I'm sorry for making you sad. I really want-"

"If this is about upsetting me," he rolled his eyes, refocusing his attention on his whiskey glass. "Forget it. I'm over it, Bones. I'm fine, really. It doesn't matter. We don't have to talk about it."

"You're cataracts are dark, and you're skin color is pale, your body is limp and-"

Booth stiffened. "What's your point, Bones?!"

She stared at him a moment before answering. "You're not fine, Booth. You're poignant."

"I'm what?" he snapped.

"Poignant. Emotional. Depressed. Gloomy…"

"I'm fine," he leaned back against the couch.

"Booth, I…" she hesitated knowing that the next words were going to be life-changing. "I want to do it, Booth. I want to give this relationship an opportunity. I want to let you love me, and love you back. I want to believe in Fate and- I can't do this without you. I need your assistance. Booth I…" by then he had stood from the couch and made his way to her, as she'd uttered the words he had been longing to hear. He paused in front of her.

"You mean this?" he looked skeptical.

"I want to kiss you… like I did the first time…" she smiled shyly.

Booth grinned and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight as he allowed her mouth to move over his with unhurried reverence, opening and closing over the entire length of his mouth. "Tongue action," he mumbled against her mouth.

Brennan moaned sinking further into his arms, beginning the kiss all over again, without any discrepancy from Booth.

It had taken them a long time to reach this point in their lives, and neither had intentions of wasting it.

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