Bleeding Love

She had never been in this situation before and never in her life had she wished so desperately that she had. Temperance was not one to lean towards the sentimental but every since she had met Booth, ever since they had decided to live together, that had changed. She wanted nothing more then to live the rest of her life like this, just him and her, nothing more. Instead of having happiness that never ended, she had to deal with all the other emotions that came with opening yourself up to another person. It hurt. Her heart hurt and the rest of her body was quickly following suit. She even found herself wondering if one could die from a broken heart. She had waited all night for him to come home but he had yet to arrive. She wasn't surprised, he had been on stake outs that lasted days and when this happened, she missed him desperately. This time, she wanted to talk to him and was tempted to call his phone. She would get in trouble, for she knew better then this but she didn't care. She wanted to look him in the eye and find out the truth. Whatever the truth may be, she needed it.

She must have fallen asleep because she was jolted awake by the sound of his footsteps on the passageway that lead to their home. He was tired, his steps were slow and his shoes scuffed on the carpet. She sat herself up on the sofa, her arms wrapped around the cushion, suddenly losing the words that she wanted to say. He opened the door and all her doubt went out the window. He would never hurt her. Would he? She had spent long nights alone questioning herself and everything that they had. Would he want to risk it?

"Hey Bones."

He looked happy to see her and he came in for a kiss but Temperance held out her hand, pushing him back slightly.

"We need to talk"

Booth frowned at her, rubbing his stubble.

"Ok. Can I make a coffee first?"

"Sure."

"Want one?'

She shook her head and watched him disappear into the kitchen. Her life had changed so much in the last year and she was scared to go back to the way that it was. She felt like a more balanced person and it was all because of Booth. He had forced her to see the world in a different light and she had fallen in love with what she had seen. A world where you could relax, dance in the living room and indulge guilty pleasures. That was the world that Booth was at home in and she wanted to be there with him, living it with him. Their first kiss had come just as out of the blue as their forced partnership had, and she had no idea who had made the first move or who had decided that it meant more. Either way, the relationship had moved quickly and they had moved in together. Angela had maintained that it was because they had built a firm foundation with their friendship first and if Temperance was forced to analyze it, she would most likely agree. However, she decided to follow Booth and conclude that it was all meant to unfold the way that it had. Even this horrible thing that had eaten a hole in her heart. Booth came back into the living room and took a seat across form her.

"So what do we need to talk about?"

"Tess"

Booth's face changed and she feared for a moment that she had been right. That he had been cheating on her.

"What about Tess?"

"You've been going out to dinner with her and staying at her place."

"Bones, I can explain-"

"Please don't. I just wanted to hear it from you and now that I have, I can go"

She switched herself off to his protests and headed out the door. She didn't want to hear in more, she just wanted to pretend that none of this had actually happened. It hurt far too much to be real. It hurt far too much to not be killing her.

The phone rang for the hundredth time and Temperance glared at it.

"You could just pick it up sweetie. Maybe it was completely innocent."

Angela was doing her best to comfort her friend but there was only so much she could do. She wanted to kill Booth for what he had done to Brennan but she also had faith in the man himself. He was a good guy and treated Brennan as if she was the only woman in the world. He was in love with her and you didn't need to look at him hard to see it. Angela had prayed that whatever had happened was nothing more then innocent. She watched and listened as Brennan listened to bad music and played bad movies over and over again, telling Angela everything about Booth, including things that she really didn't have the need to know. She felt a little like she was caught in something that she didn't have to be. She loved them both but her loyalty was to Brennan not to Booth. And if the worst was indeed true, then Angela would do her best to make sure that the man who had caused her best friend so much pain suffered. It may not solve the problem but it would sure make her feel that much better.

When Booth walked into the lab, he knew in an instant that everyone knew what had happened. No one would give him the time of day and the glare that came from Angela had him fearing for him life. He made his way to the office, finding Bones doing paperwork, her head down.

"Bones, we need to talk"

She ignored him, keeping her head down, her pen still ripping across the pages. He moved closer and plucked the pen from her hand. She glared at him and picked up another, continuing her work. Booth had had enough. If she didn't want to listen, he would make her.

"TEMPERANCE!"

That got her attention. He never called her that, Bones was his name for her and his name alone. She looked up and with a sigh put down her pen.

"What do you want Booth?"

"A chance to explain. I even have evidence to back it all up"

"Fine, you feel the need to explain, be my guest."

"Why do you think that I cheated on you?"

"You've been with Tess. You have a past with her"

"So? I don't love Tess the way I love you"

"Then why were you with her?"

Booth sighed and decided that losing this secret was better then losing Bones. That was one thing that he didn't think he could deal with.

"I didn't want you to know Bones. It was a secret. One of the few that I have kept from you"

"Tell me what it is! I hate this. Knowing that you are spending your time with another woman is killing me!"

"I was planning on how to propose to you. Tess was helping me decide how to do it"

Temperance suddenly felt foolish. She would never in a million years think that an excuse could make that much sense to her.

"Oh"

Booth moved in closer and laid a small velvet box on the desk in front of her. She could not bear to open it. She didn't deserve it. She had doubted the very thing that made them work so well together: Trust. She had stopped trusting him when she had heard about his meetings with Tess. That was when her world had become dark again. Booth carefully extracted a file that he had tucked into his coat and placed it on the desk next to the small box.

"Thanks for the confidence Temperance. I appreciate the honesty."

He left her side but his hurt and anger stayed there beside her, mocking her and making her feel stupid. She watched him leave, unable to think of what to say that would make him want to stay. She opened the file and inside were notes written in his familiar scrawl, notes on the best way to propose and ideas how to catch her by surprise. Diagrams on fancy dinners and information about cruises and other trips that he had wanted to drag her on. Everything that he had needed to surprise her as well as the ring that sat in front of her. Booth had indeed been something so innocent that it was endearing and she had accused him of something that she now doubted that he would do at all. She had insulted him and the well of regret that began at the pit of her stomach was filling every part of her body.

"What did he want Sweetie?"

Angela had waited as long as she could stand before she had moved into the office. She took in her friend's deep frown and the small velvet the box that lay in front of her and sighed heavily.

"He was innocent, wasn't he?"

"He was trying to find a way to propose to me. He has his plans all written out, even where he wanted to take me to dinner. I screwed up Angela."

"We both did"

"What do I do? Surely an apology would not do any good"

"Do you love him?"

"Of course I do. Why do think I got so bent out of shape about this?"

"Then follow through with his plans. Only you ask him to marry you instead."

"I don't need to insult his manhood anymore then I have Angela. He is big on tradition and this is one of the bigger ones."

"He'll get over it. You need to prove that you need him to forgive this entire mess."

Temperance felt another wave of tears attack her and she let them fall. She had been crying more since she had been with Booth and rather then being good, the tears were the most annoying thing in the world.

"I love him Angela. I hate how easy it is for him to make me feel so jealous and hateful"

Angela gave her a slight smile as she handed her the box of tissues that sat on the corner of the desk.

"Welcome to the world of being human."

Temperance followed the plan down to the tee. She booked the table at the fancy restaurant that Booth and herself had gone to on their first date, requesting the same table and making sure that the food on the menu was the same as well. She dressed herself up and was there an hour and a half before she was meant to be. She was far too nervous to be contained within the four walls of Angela's small apartment. She had a flash of him not showing up and it was only when he walked through the doors and stood in front of her that she truly believed that this was happening. He ordered a bottle of red wine and they sipped at it in silence. They ordered their food and the silence fell again as they ate. He had nothing to say to her and she could still see the hurt in his eyes. Hurt that she had put there herself. She was to blame for her pain and she would do anything to make that look go away. Booth went to order dessert but she had already put the order through, waiting on pins and needles as he looked at the cheesecake before him, his sharp eyes catching the glint of the ring that he had purchased for her. He looked at her, his frown deep and long.

"What is this?"

"Marry me"

"What?"

She reached over and took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers.

"I'm sorry I ruined your plans Seeley. That was not my intention and I hope that you can forgive me"

"It hurt me more that you didn't trust me"

"You have no idea how much I regret that. I love you and apparently, that makes me a little crazy."

"You got jealous Temperance. I've never seen you like that before and I didn't like it. You have no need to worry. Losing you is not my plan and it never will be. You mean more to me then anything else and I would not risk losing you over a woman that has nothing on you."

"Please forgive me Seeley. I want to marry you and make a life with you."

"So you stole me idea and put it into action?"

He smiled at her and she knew that she was forgiven. Nothing could make her feel as good as that smile and the charm that always got her in the end.

"It was all I could think of. I wanted to prove to you that I wanted this as much as you obviously did."

"You do realize that this ring was made for your finger and not mine, don't you? What would you have done if I had put it on?"

"Laughed. You would look a little silly"

He smiled again and worked the ring out from under the cake and held out his hand for hers. He placed the ring on her finger, admiring it as it caught the light.

"It looks as if it was meant to be there the entire time."

"It's beautiful"

He leaned forward and kissed her. It was one that left her breathless and wishing that they were home not sitting in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

"Temperance Brennan, will you marry me?"

"Only if you, Seeley Booth, are willing to have me"

"Always"

"Then yes I will."