Bonesology Fanfic Prompt: Okay, here's the prompt: Booth proposes to Brennan.

Rules:

1. Less than 2,000 words

2. No mention of Pelant

3. Christine is not physically in the story (she can be mentioned, but she is not present)

4. A unique ring is involved.

I definitely don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Sitting in Paradise Lost, Booth waited for Aldo to finish serving several customers. After taking care of his most of his customers, Aldo noticed Booth fidgeting, shook his head, poured a fresh drink for one of his semi-regular customers and walked around the bar over to the table, "Now what? You have to quit coming to me for confession. I'm not a priest anymore and you know it."

Booth smiled and pointed at the chair across the table. "Yeah . . . No, that's not why I'm here . . . I have a question to ask you and I want an honest answer."

Shrugging his shoulders, Aldo smiled and sat down. "This should be good. Ask your question."

The Agent stared intently at his friend and stalled for a minute. "Why did you name this place Paradise Lost?"

Puzzled, Aldo shook his head slowly. "I'd think you could figure that one out by yourself. You're an educated man."

"Okay, I get it." Booth moved his gaze to his hands resting on the table in front of him. "Um . . . you know me, you know the things I've done. I've tried to make up for all that shit I did, the stuff that I had to do and I'm still not done. . . . There are really only two people in this world who really know me, who really understand who I am and what I am. You're one and Bones is the other. I just want you to know that I appreciate what you did for Bones and me. What ever you told her was the thing she needed to hear because after talking to you, she told me that she has absolute faith in me and she trusts me."

Not sure why Booth was so edgy, Aldo waved his hand and pointed at his customers. "Can we hurry this up, my customers are starting to give me the eye?"

He knew he couldn't stall any longer, so Booth looked up and stared at his friend. "Okay, she also told me that if I want to get married then I have to propose to her. I told her I would when I could and I think that time is now."

Impatient, Aldo glanced at his waiting customers who were glaring at him. "And?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Booth gave Aldo a bashful smile. "I'm going to ask Bones to marry me tonight. I just want to know if you'll be my best man when the time comes."

Shocked, Aldo stood up and shook his head. "Booth, you idiot, ask your brother . . . That's his job."

Standing, Booth placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're more of a brother to me than Jared ever will be."

Surprised, Aldo stood and stared at his friend for a few seconds. "Sure. I'll do it."

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

That evening, Booth arrived home before Brennan. He'd picked up Christine from day care and after feeding her and giving her a bath, he placed his very tired toddler in her crib and watched her sleep for a few minutes. Once he was sure she was going to stay asleep, he went back downstairs, set the table with his girlfriend's favorite china and prepared dinner. Once the food had been prepared, he placed the baked macaroni and cheese in the oven to stay warm and the salad in the fridge to stay cool. As he was cleaning up the kitchen, his phone rang. "Hey Bones. What's keeping you?"

"Booth, I'm sorry I'm running late, but the CIA delivered a body just as I was leaving and they need to me identify the body as soon as possible. Angela and Hodgins are here to help me."

Disappointed, Booth glanced at the stove. "That's okay Bones . . . I know how those bastards are. You take care of business and I'll see you when you get home."

"Thank you Booth."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Arriving home at 2:17 a.m., Brennan let herself in to the semi-dark living room. Hungry, she walked into the kitchen to find a note on the island, 'Mac and cheese in the oven, salad in the fridge. I love you."

As she passed the dinning room, Brennan noticed the place settings on the dining room table and the vase of red roses in the middle of the table. Opening the fridge to retrieve the salad, she found a bottle of Champagne on the top shelf next to the covered salad. Shaking her head, she realized that Booth had planned an intimate dinner and that she had ruined his plan.

Her appetite gone, Brennan decided to skip a late dinner and walked up the stairs to check on her family. Quietly, she first stepped into her daughter's bedroom to reassure herself that her baby was doing well. Once that was done, she walked down the hallway to her bedroom and opened the door as quietly as possible. As she expected, Booth was lying on his back, sound asleep.

Moving over to the bed, she sat down next to Booth and placed her hand on his chest. "Booth . . . . Booth."

Startled awake, Booth sat up and stared at Brennan. "Hey there."

Giving him a big smile, Brennan leaned towards him and kissed her lover. "Booth, I'm sorry I ruined your dinner plans."

Still sleepy, Booth yawned and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Bones." Sliding off the bed, he stood before her in his boxers. "Wait right here, I need to go get something."

Puzzled, she watched as he walked over to where his suit jacket was folded over a chair near the closet and retrieved something from a pocket. Holding whatever it was behind his back, Booth hurried back to where she was sitting and knelt in front of her. "Okay, this isn't how I was going to do this, but I just can't wait any longer." Holding a small box in his left hand, he took her left hand in his right hand and kissed the back of it. "Bones, this is it. When you asked me to marry you, I was the happiest man alive. I mean it. I was so happy I thought I was going to bust . . . Things happened and . . . Well you know what happened . . . Bones, I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my life. You're my soul mate and without you, I'm not the complete man that I want to be. Your faith in me, your love for me is what keeps me alive and it's what keeps me fighting to be the man that you know I can be. When you're not with me, I feel like a part of me is missing and I can barely breathe. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to wake up beside you every morning. I want to be your partner, your lover and your husband. Will you marry me Temperance Brennan? Will you complete me and make me whole? Will you become my wife and my partner in life?"

Placing her hand on the small box, Brennan felt tears start to slide down her cheeks. "Yes, Booth, I will marry you. I've never loved anyone in my life as much as I love you. I'm not sure if I believe in Soul Mates, but somehow I too think of you as part of me and that when we are together we are whole." Opening the box, Brennan smiled as she lifted out the ring.

Carefully watching her face, Booth explained, "It's a Celtic knot work ring. The diamond is sitting on a Trinity Knot. It symbolizes Mind, Body and Soul. It means that I want to give myself entirely to you."

The tears continuing to fall, Brennan leaned forward and placed her arms around his shoulders. Kissing him, she smiled. "I love it Booth. I love it and I love you and I want to live my life as your wife."

Returning her kisses, Booth then hugged her as closely as he could until he felt as if they were one person, their breathing in sync, their hearts beating as one.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Okay, I realize that Christine wasn't supposed to be in the story, but, my muse does what it wants. I can't control it. I hope you liked it anyway. Let me know what you think of it. Thank you.