"Hey, Bren," Angela said, "Guess what?"

"Hello, Ange. What is it?"

"Hodgins has a cabin near the lake. He's taking me there this weekend."

"You are going to a lake this weekend? That sounds interesting."

"Not interesting sweetie, romantic; fun; exciting. Take your pick."

"Okay, that sounds very romantic. I was thinking of doing something this weekend. Although I prefer to be in the lab, Booth will probably disallow that. Even though he has no control over what I do, I think that I will take a break as a chance to catch up on some writing."

"Oh my god, sweetie! You should come with me and Hodgins!"

"Although that sounds very, as you said, exciting, I don't feel comfortable being with just you and Hodgins. You two are known for public displays of affection and although I am not against it, I would imagine that you two with have much sex on the trip."

"Hmm…good point. Well, Booth can come."

"I assume that Booth has Parker for the weekend."

"Well, we can ask him. Maybe Cam and Andrew can come!"

"As a friend gathering?"

"Yeah!"

"At Hodgins Lake house?"

"Yeah!"

"Perhaps. If at least one other person comes also."

Just then, Cam walked in.

"Cam!"

"Whoa. Hey?" Cam asked.

"You're coming to the lake this weekend. I'm sure Michelle will stay with a friend."

"Um…okay? Do I get a say?"

"No," Angela said excitedly.

Angela talked to Zach and Zach agreed after Angela had to say it was an experiment.

Booth walked into the lab only to be pulled harshly into Brennan's office.

"Whoa, Bone's, what are we doing?" He asked.

"Angela is going to guilt you into coming to the lake this weekend. I thought that since I already have to go, I could at least help you."

"That sounds fun. And I don't have Parker this weekend. He's going to Captain Fantastic's parent's house." He sighed.

"So you're going?"

"Yeah, sure, I mean, why not."

He walked out.

"Angela, I'll go." Angela squealed, "This is going to be so much fun!"

Later came and the weekend started. Brennan was packing when there was a knock on her door.

"Booth, hey."

"Hey, Bones! You ready yet?"

"Not quite. I am trying to decide what I need."

"Bathing suit, warm clothes, hot clothes. You know, the usual stuff."

"'Hot' clothes?"

"Yeah, you know," He realized how that sounded, "Clothes like shorts or whatever. You know?"

"Oh, I see. You are all packed?"

"Yep. Got my stuff all ready to go. So does Cam, Angela, Sweets, Daisy Hodgins and Andrew. Only you left."

"Oh, I will try to hurry."

"Nah, take your time." He sat on the couch as she continued packing.

"You excited?" He asked.

"Somewhat. I am curious to observe you all outside the work environment but I am somewhat worried that I might not be able to relax."

"You'll do fine. You'll have fun. I'll make sure of it."

She smiled, "I hope so. I'm done packing."

"Here, I can get that." He grabbed her suitcase for her.

"Thank you."

He put her suitcase in the back of the SUV and they both got in and he began driving.

"I brought fireworks."

"You did?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be pretty cool."

"I am more valuable in the lab as oppose to a lake."

"Oh, Bones. Don't be like that. Try and have a good time.

She sighed. He was right. This was her opportunity to relax and have a good time for the first time in a while.

"You know, Hodgins told me that the cabin has 4 bedrooms."

"So?"

"Meaning 4 beds."

"Yes? There are such things as floors, Booth."

"Bones, was that a joke?" He grinned.

"As I have told you before, I can be quite amusing."

"Anyhow, it means that we are gonna have to double up."

"Oh, I understand. Angela and Hodgins together, Daisy and Sweets. .That leaves Cam, Andrew, you and I."

"Yeah, so what I wanted to know is if maybe you wanted to partner up with uh..with me?"

"Although Andrew will probably want me to be with him, I would feel more relaxed if I was your partner. So yes, I will partner up with you. We are actual work partners after all. And you are my best friend."

He smiled at the sound of that.

"Great. I feel the same way…about the uh…about the cabin."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, course why?"

"You are stammering a lot. You seem sort of uncomfortable."

"Thought you couldn't read people that well," He laughed, "Nah, just can't wait to have some fun is all. Plus I really wanna go to the bathroom."

It was her turn to laugh, "I understand."

It was night time by the time they arrived and they got there first.

"This is beautiful." She said looking out towards the lake.

Yeah," He said thinking about her. To him, she was the most beautiful woman ever.

The rest of the group arrived and they all went into the cabin to look around.

"This is incredible!" Angela said, "I love it already!"

Hodgins and Angela picked their room and began getting settled in. Sweets and Daisy choose the one beside them.

Meanwhile, in the living room sat Booth, Brennan, Andrew and Cam. Awkwardly.

"So, who is going to buddy up with who?" Cam asked.

"I believe that I will, as you put it, buddy up with Booth. We discussed on the way here that we are more comfortable with one another. Is that okay?"

"Of course," said Cam.

"Yeah, perfectly fine," Andrew said.

Booth smiled. He was going to share a room with his Bones. They reached the room and dropped their bags.

"This room is nice," Brennan said.

"Very. So uh, I'll crash on the floor. You get the bed."

"Booth, we are mature, responsible adults. I'm sure that we can sleep in the same bed without being intimate."

'Oh, yeah, of course. That's right."

She came out of the bathroom changed into her pajamas. He couldn't help but stare. She wore a Smurf t-shirt and shorts. She settled into bed covering up.

"Um, Bones?" He cleared his throat, "Is it okay if…I mean if…"

"Sleep in whatever is comfortable to you, Booth. We're best friends remember? We can do anything around each other."

He pulled off his shirt, changed into sweatpants and got into bed. Once under the covers, he released the breath he has been holding in. She fell asleep pretty quickly. It took everything he had not to put his arm around her and hold her close. He fell asleep thinking about how much he loves her.

She woke up to find herself with an arm around her. She was confused at first but realized that she and Booth had slept in the same bed. She sighed quietly and realized how close they were. He woke up a few minutes later and realized the same thing that she had just noticed. He smiled to himself but didn't show any sign of noticing. He pulled his arm back and she instantly missed it as he missed it being there.

"Sorry, Bones. Don't know what happened."

"No, it's okay. Really." She got out of bed, went into the bathroom and got dressed. He got dressed while she was in there. They both went downstairs and get breakfast with everyone else.

"Sleep well?" Angela asked.

"Yeah, a great sleep," Brennan said happily.

"Good," Angela smiled. Little did Booth and Brennan know that Angela had peaked in on them and saw them sleeping holding each other.

"We should go swimming this morning," Hodgins suggested.

"Totally!"

Everyone got in their bathing suits. Booth was speechless upon seeing Brennan in her two piece swim suit. He watched her walk to the lake. Angela walked past him and as she said, she whispered,

"Keep it in your pants, Agent Hottie." She laughed and jumped into the lake. Booth jumped in after her. Everyone was in far out, deep, except for Bones.

"Bones! Come on!" Booth called out.

She shook her head and Booth swam back.

"Bones, why don't you come out further with us?"

"I never learned how to swim properly. Obviously I can go in the water, but not to the point where I can no longer touch the bottom."

"You never learned to swim?" He was shocked, "Why?"

"It never seemed important enough to learn. I have no use for swimming. Besides, I had a traumatic experience when I was 10 and ever since then, no one forced me to go in and I never wanted to."

"What if you fell into a river by accident and there was no one around?"

"In that case, I would assume that I would die. Unless I found another way."

"Wow…well would you be up to it if someone helped you?"

"I don't know…maybe."

"Well here, get on my back."

"Really?"

"Yes, Bones. Really."

She got onto his back.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yes, just don't drop me, please."

"I won't, Bones. I promise." He swam with her on his back to the deep end with the rest of the group.

"Are we missing something?" Cam asked.

"Awe, too cute!" Angela said, "Did you two finally realize that you're meant to be?"

"Is it a crime to give my partner a piggy back?"

"A piggy back? I'm unfamiliar with this phrase," Brennan said.

"It's just a fun word to show what we're doing now."

"Oh, I see."

They swam around for a bit, splashing one another and having fun. During the course of the fun, Brennan put her head beside his so that they were cheek to cheek. She held on a little tighter which caused Booth to smile to himself.

"It's getting dark," Cam said, "I'm gonna go in."

"I'll go with you," Andrew said.

"Good night." They both got out of the water.

"Those two sure seem into each other," Angela, "Looks like Cam is gonna hook up."

They all laughed.

"You know what, I think that we might go in too," Sweets said as they were getting out.

"Yeah, us too," Hodgins said.

"Everyone is leaving," Brennan said.

Angela laughed, "Well, sweetie, that's because we want to give you and Booth some privacy."

"Privacy? To what purpose?" Brennan asked.

"Just go with it, sweetie." Angela said just before her and Hodgins left the water.

"I don't understand why we need privacy but I can't say that I am unhappy that Daisy left."

Booth laughed.

"Booth?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you maybe show me how to swim in deep water?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure, of course." He swam back a little bit and she got off of his back still holding onto his hand. He could reach the bottom but she couldn't.

"Okay, just use your legs and arms to stay afloat. Rule number one, don't panic. Panicking would just make you lose control."

She nodded and tried to swim. She got a little ways but quickly reached out to him and hugged him.

"Sorry," She said quietly.

"No reason to be sorry. You did well, Bones."

She smiled.

"Thank you."

"Hey, Bones, I got the perfect relaxation method."

"Um okay?" She said with a laugh.

"Here, lay back," He said.

"What? I will drown."

"No, no. Don't worry about that. I would never let you drown, Bones."

"Okay." She laid back and he kept his hands supporting her. She smiled as she looked up at the sky.

"This is beautiful," She said.

"Yes, you are."

She looked at him and moved to face him. She had her hands on his shoulders lightly. They were both leaning in when they heard a wolf call from a distance.

While she looked towards where the sound had come from, he looked at her. She turned back,

"I should get inside now. It is getting dark and cold."

"Yeah, uh, yeah."

She laughed, "Why did you say 'yeah' twice?"

"No reason." He said swimming them to the shore. Once reached, they both walked to the house.

They settled into bed, on each side of the bed, not touching.

"We were going to kiss, weren't we?"

He said nothing for a few minutes, "Yeah."

She smiled in the dark. She reached down and intertwined their fingers. He smiled into the darkness.

"Goodnight, Booth."

"Night, Bones."

They both fell asleep.

They work up in the same position they were in the previous night. His arm over her, hand underneath her shirt on her stomach. He removed his hand with some sort of a muffled apology.

Down at breakfast, everyone was somewhat sad but happy at the same time.

"It's our last day here," Angela said with a sigh.

"I am well aware," Brennan said, "I am looking forward to getting back to work."

Everyone looked at her with no surprise in their eyes.

"However, although I am looking forward to being at the lab, I also am enjoying it here. If we could stay another day, I would most definitely agree."

They all smiled.

"Good news is that tonight I got us some fireworks to set off!" Booth said with obvious signs of being proud in his voice.

"I think that today we should go for a hike sort of thing." Everyone looked at Angela.

"What? I'm serious! It'd be fun! Come on, you guys!"

"Fine." Everyone agreed. They all packed. Of course there were no big hills to hike. They all knew that when Angela meant hike, she meant a short walk through the woods with a few snacks stored away so that they could eat lunch and walk back. They began walking through the woods, Booth beside Brennan.

"This isn't so bad." Brennan said

"Nah, it's actually fun, just as Angela said," Booth said.

Just then, Brennan tripped.

"Bones!" He bent down, "You okay?"

"Yes," She tried to stand but fell back down, "No. My ankle is hurting. By the looks of it, I sprained it."

"Jeez, Bones. You need to be in a plastic bubble." He helped her up, "Hodgins! Carry my bag since you don't have one."

"Uh sure, but why?"

"Don't ask questions, Hodgins." Hodgins picked up the bag and put it on his back and continued walking.

"Here, come on. Get on my back."

"Not necessary, Booth."

"Bones, please?"

She waited a few seconds and then got on his back. He stood up and started walking. She wrapped her arms around his neck gently.

"Want to go back to the cabin?" he asked.

"No, please. I would like to continue the trip. If that's okay with you."

"Yeah, sure."

About an hour later, they saw a water fall. They all gasped upon seeing it. It was beautiful. Booth put Brennan down on a rock to let her admire it. They all sat down and ate lunch together. Laughed, disagreed, agreed. It was great.

Once finished, they packed up their things (Booth's being Brennan) and headed back towards the cabin.

They arrived and as soon as they did, Booth set Brennan down and looked at her ankle. He wrapped it up for her.

"Thank you, Booth."

"Anything for you, Bones."

Booth started a fire outside, carried Brennan out and they all sat around the fire watching it burn. Booth went a ways away and started the fireworks. He ran back and sat beside Brennan.

"That's amazing!" they all said.

After a few hours of talking and laughing, they all went to their rooms. Brennan sat on the bed.

"Today was amazing," she said, "I had a lot of fun. Not just today, this whole weekend."

"Yeah, me too. It's been great here."

"I'm glad I came."

"Me too…look Bones, I have to get something off my chest here and I don't want you to get scared."

"Okay. What is it?"

"I love you. I love you so much. It kills me to see you with other guys and it kills me to see you upset. I know that you are scared to be with me because our working relationship is the one thing in your life that you can't stand to lose. But, I know that you and I can keep things professional if we ever decided to be together. You won't lose me. I promise that. You are the person I go to sleep thinking about and when I wake up, you are the first person I think of. Before I met you, going to work was horrible. I dreaded it but as soon as I got to work with you, I looked forward to going to work. I don't expect you to feel the same and I definitely don't expect you to respond to this even, but you just had to know."

She was shocked.

"Booth, I…I…don't know what to say. I can't conclude that I love you because I have no experience in love. But I can say that I have strong feelings for you. And all you said about work is true. My fear of losing our working relationship is true. I can't lose it. But you were wrong about one thing. It's you."

"What's me?"

"You are the one person that I can't stand to lose. Not our job, you."

He smiled and she leaned in to kiss him.

That night, he showed her how to make love.

The next morning, he woke up to find her kissing along his jaw. He smiled.

"Good morning to you too."

She laughed, "Morning."

"It's the 'go home' day."

She sighed still laying on him, "I know. I wish we could stay."

"Me too, Bones. Me too."

They both got dressed and went downstairs. Him helping her because of her ankle. They all ate breakfast as pre-usual and then they all packed up.

The drive back went by fast because Booth and Brennan talked a lot, and laughed.

Everything went back to usual…sort of. Booth and Brennan continued their working relationship with no troubles but they also continued their intimate relationship. They both grew in love.

They moved in together after about a year. After the next year, Booth asked her to marry him. She said yes. They had one child not including Parker. Her name was Kayley.

They never thought that they would get there, but they did. And they couldn't be happier.