HERS

"Can I just...". She hesitated, not sure if she was expecting more than was fair from him. But then, it was he who had insisted she stay at his apartment. She would have gladly stayed at the lab with Hodgins and Angela and the 10 FBI agents now staked out around the building. She hadn't been able to read Booth as well as she used to, but she still knew him well enough to know that he didn't insist she stay only for her safety. He had known that she'd need his shoulder to cry on, and now she was doing that, literally.

She had spent much of the night on the couch thinking about Vincent but also thinking that if this had happened seven months ago, right when she returned from Maluku, she would have responded in a completely different way. Was losing her imperviousness really worth it? Micah had told her that that feeling sad was better than being dead inside. Was that really true? She knew that for the two seconds after the shatter of glass filled the lab, before Booth had said, "we're fine" and she knew for sure that Booth was, she had never been so scared in her life. She also realized that if she'd lost Booth now the pain might not be something she could handle. Especially without Booth there to comfort her.

That was too much to think about alone on his couch, so instead she focused on Vincent. What had he said? "Don't make me go." He was looking at her and said, "don't make me leave." Why did he think that she wanted him to leave? She knew she wasn't always the easiest person to work with, Wendell had recently told her she was abrasive and Aristoo had insinuated that she was cold toward a child victim, but she had hoped that her most prized intern knew how much she valued him and wanted him to stay there at the lab, or at least to live.

The more she thought about it, the more concerned she became. What kind of person was she? It was late; maybe even early morning already but she just couldn't stop the thoughts. And then the thoughts became tears and she knew that the only person who could comfort her, help her work out these emotions was lying in a bed only 10 ft away. She got up from the couch, walked over to his room and opened the door.

She heard the click of the gun and instinctively raised her arms, knowing that she had woken him from a sniper sleep. Once the energy settled, she couldn't help but let everything out.

He reached out for her hand and without hesitation she let him pull her next to him on the bed. She felt so safe with his big hand wrapped around hers. Moments later there they were, lying on the bed together for the first time. She was still crying but she was also aware of how strong he was, it felt so good to have his arms wrapped around her. She slowed her breathing and relaxed into him. Their bodies pressed closer together and then she turned and looked up at him, meeting his gaze. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

She felt a flutter in her stomach. She wasn't thinking when the words, barely above a whisper came from her mouth, "Booth, is this what love is?" Even though they came from her own mouth, she was so shocked that she almost bolted up and ran into the other room.

But before she had a chance to acquiesce to her strong flight response, he replied, "yes, that is exactly what this is."

The flutter evolved into an intense heat that was coursing throughout her entire body. She was no longer thinking, just doing and soon his soft lips were pressed against hers. She wasn't sure if he was kissing her or she was kissing him, but all she could think about was how right this felt. So she pushed the flight response down even further and didn't pull away but let the kiss grow deeper and more fervor. She felt his warm, strong hand moving up her back under the sweatshirt and wondered if he was going to stop or if he was waiting for her to stop so he wouldn't hurt her feelings. As much as she wanted to pull back, to check with him to make sure this was okay, she couldn't move away from him.

She was just thinking about how much she wanted to move on from the kissing but wasn't sure if he would let them without talking about what it meant to cross this line when he said, "Bones, I would very much like to make love to you."

Hearing him say her name, well technically her nickname and his special name for her, at the same time he was telling her he wanted to make love was almost too much for her rational mind to handle. Her animal instincts took over. She sat up and pulled the sweatshirt over her head. She saw his eyes twinkle with excitement and then he reached up and touched her.

She gasped and couldn't wait any longer. Gently, but forcefully she pulled his clothes off piece by piece until they were both naked. She had seen him naked before but this time she took the time to study him closely, moving her eyes up and down his body until she had taken everything in. Her gaze settled on his face where she thought she detected a slight anguish in his brown eyes. As though perhaps he was worried she might decide to jump up and leave.

She didn't. Instead she leaned down and kissed him, caressing his face and moving closer and closer to him. Being with him was both passionately new and comfortably familiar. She let him lead and then he led her, exploring each other with vigor and delight.

When it happened for her, that release of love and energy that had waited so many years to escape was like nothing she had ever experienced. They fell onto their backs and she said, "I was right, that was quite satisfying."