Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, if I did, this wouldn't be on this site it would have been part of the show... *giggle* oh well.

A/N: As I said in the summery, I'm screwing with the time line a little. Because I can. I know that some of the other episodes become weird with this moved, but I wanted to play with it a little. I think you'll enjoy it.

Read and review please!

Chapter 1

A Request of the Clock

Temperance Brennen had never held any reliability toward the phrase "a heart wants what the heart wants." She viewed the heart as nothing more than a muscle in the chest that provided the rest of the body with blood. That is until she had met Special Agent Seeley Booth. He had taught her that there was more to the heart than it's function in blood supply. After 4 years of being his partner, she had learned that in times of crisis, and high emotion, his heart spoke louder to him, then his head. Just by being near him during these times, she had began to think like him on occasion. So when Sweets had them do the Visceral Response exercise during the Holts murder, and she realized that she wanted a child, it was not hard for her to see that it was due to his influence on her.

If she told the truth to herself, she wanted what she saw her friends had. When she saw Booth with Parker, and Cam with Michelle, she wanted it. She wanted to know what it was like to be loved unconditionally, to know when she went home at night, after a long day of being surrounded by death, that someone would be there to hug her and tell her they loved her. She had never known that before, she could bearly remember what it felt like to have someone there when she got home. Yes she had lived with a couple of her previous lovers, but they had been like her. She would come home and find a note on the fridge saying they were off to China, or Peru, and they didn't know when they'd be back. She would come home, and want nothing more than to cuddle on the couch and cry for hours and they would be buried to their necks in notes and research books. So over time she had gotten used to not having someone at her home that would happy when she got home from work. She had convinced herself that she didn't want any of those things. Until she'd met Booth. He'd made her realize that she did want them. And those days when she'd return to her posh apartment and no one would hold her while she cried, she hated him for it. She hated Booth for making her see that she still wanted that love.

So when her heart started to scream at her that a baby would be what she needed, she could not ignore it. And she began to believe in the saying. She determinedly ignored the fact that her heart wasn't just telling her she wanted a baby, she wanted a family. She wanted Booth's baby yes, but she also wanted Booth. After hours of talking herself out of asking Booth out, telling herself that she could not loose their partnership, their friendship she decided that she could have his baby and live without him. All she needed to do was convince Booth of this.

When she told him what she wanted, and he told her he couldn't do it, couldn't be a father without being a father, she decided that she could live without a child, as long as she could continue to see him everyday. When she'd returned from Guatemala and he'd told her he loved her, she began to think that maybe she could have more with Booth. As time went on and nothing happened between them, she began to wonder if she would ever get what her heart wanted. How much she had changed in the last 4.5 years, to be able to see that it was her heart and not her head telling her that she wanted more.

When she couldn't go home another night knowing that no one would be there to greet her, she decided she was through ignoring her heart, and her head, and was going to do something to change her life. A life she was no longer happy with. After 17 years of holding everyone at arms length she was going to allow someone the chance to truly harm her. And she could only hope that they were not going to take the offer she was going to make and crush her with it. With these fears and hopes in the forefront of her mind, she turned away from her apartment and headed towards Booth's. Instead of using the rock by his front door she decided

to knock for once. What she got she didn't entirely know what to do with. Booth came to the front door in a pair of boxers. His chest had small rivers of water rolling down it, absorbing into the waistband of his Papa Smurf boxers. His hair was wet, and dripping steadily onto his shoulders. He seemed to have just gotten out of the shower, and was in the middle of shaving. Half his face was covered in shaving cream.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your grooming, but this couldn't wait for tomorrow, or be spoken of over the phone," Brennen said, slipping under Booth's arms and moving into his apartment. Booth turned to watch her settle into a chair at his dinning room table, a confused look on his face. Sighing, he closed the door and shrugged.

"There's soda, and beer in the fridge. I'm going to finish shaving, then I'll be back and we'll talk," Booth said, disappearing back into the bathroom. He had no idea what could have brought his partner to his door at 10 pm on a Monday night. He could think of several things, each less likely than the one before. The one that he wanted the most out of the list was to be able to finally tell Brennen exactly how he felt about her. But that was at the bottom of the list and the least likely to ever come true. Brennen was not someone who allowed emotions to rule her, and she was not the type of person to allow his emotions to change the relationship between the two of them. The most likely reason for her visit tonight was to talk to him about something having to deal with the heart, that was what he was good at. Seeing into someone's heart, and being able to tell them what they were feeling, and why they did what they did. After he finished with his face, he threw the t-shirt and sweats he had sitting on the toilet on, and returned to the kitchen to find Brennen where he'd left her. In front of her was an open and untouched beer. Another sat across the table from her, where he normally sat.

Brennen looked up at her partner and closest friend and had to admit to herself, she liked the boxers with the cartoons on them, far better then she liked the 'U.S. Army' sweats and FBI t-shirt he now had on. She'd enjoyed following the drops of water sliding across his chest from his shoulders, to his waist. Shaking herself mentally, she watched him pull on a pair of red socks with Christmas trees on them.

"What ya need, Bones?" He asked, turning into the table and lifting the beer to his lips. He had already prepared himself for an earful of scientific mumbo-jumbo so he was unprepared for what he heard.

"I couldn't go home. I was half-way there and suddenly it hit me that I was tired of going home to an empty apartment, I was tired of being alone all the time. I couldn't do it, I don't know why, and I know it doesn't make any logical sense what-so-ever, but I just could not spend one more night by myself," she said, dropping her eyes to the beer in front of her. Her head suddenly snapped up when she heard that Booth was chocking. He put his beer down and started to pound on his chest as he coughed. After a few moments he managed to take a ragged breath.

"W... what?" he gasped, looking at her with his eyes wide with surprise. This was the last thing that he had thought she would say. She had allowed emotion to over-rule logic on occasion, but normally when it had to do with the well-being of others, not herself. So the fact that she had denied her sensible side, that was telling her to just go home and be alone, and listened to her heart when it told her not to be alone, was nothing like the Brennen that he knew. Brennen gave him a worried look, and shook her head.

"I couldn't go home-" she started her speech again, when he waved his hand at her, cutting her off.

"Okay, not what then, how 'bout why? Why come here of all places? Why my door and not, say Angie?" Booth asked, finally able to get his coughing under control. It was not a pleasant experience when beer or anything goes down the wrong pipe.

"I didn't want to bug Angie. She and Hodgins have finally gotten past some of their qualms, and she is staying with him tonight. Why I came to you I'm not sure, maybe it's cause... my heart... was telling me that you were the one I needed," the longer she talked, the lower her voice became. In the end, Booth had to lean across the table to be able to hear her last words. Her declaration made his eyes go wide, and he sat back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. He was trying not to allow his hopes to overrule his trust in Brennen being Brennen. He decided to wait her out, allow her to continue at her own pace. He didn't have to wait long however.

"Booth, I don't really understand it. I don't understand why I would, suddenly after 17 years, have a problem with going home to an empty apartment. A problem with not having someone there when I come through the door who is happy that I'm there, who will want me to be there no matter how bad my day was, and what kind of mood I'm in. I just don't understand why I would want these things after so long," she said, jumping to her feet and starting to pace in his kitchen. Door to fridge, fridge to table, table to door. After three rotations, he pulled his eyes away from her and sighed.

"That's just it Bones. You said it yourself. 'After so long.'" Booth sat forward and propped his arms on the table. He was much smarter then he let on and he knew why she was feeling the way she did. He was just disappointed it wasn't for other reasons.

"What? I don't understand what you're talking about Booth," Brennen had stopped behind the chair she had been sitting in, and rested her hands on the back of it. It was then that he noticed what she was wearing. A mid-calf length black skirt, buttoned down white dress shirt with a black blazer open over the top of it. Hose and a pair of two inch heels could be seen under the hem of the skirt. Around her neck was a necklace made of three strings of pearls and she had in matching pearl studs. He had never once seen Brennen wear pearls, and suddenly he was glad that he was bent forward under the table. He didn't quite understand it, but something about a women in heals and pearls made something in his heart and in his groin tighten. Taking even breaths he ripped his eyes away from the white stones around her neck and into her blue eyes.

"It's your clock, ya know, your biological clock. It's telling you, you're running out of time. That's all it is Bones, nothing more than that," Booth said it, staring at the table top. When he glanced up at Brennen, he had to stifle a groan. She was staring at her hands on the back of the chair, showing that she had a white ribbon tied around her tight ponytail. God, what did she do? Get fashion advice straight out of his fantasies? Out of the list of them, the most thought of was a naked women in ribbons and pearls. God must hate him, if his most lived through fantasy was within arms reach, in the shape of his partner, which he had already admitted to himself that he loved almost as much as he loved his son. Even though she was just past his fingertips, her heart was much farther outside his reach then her body was.

"What? What are you talking about Booth. I'm not understanding you," Brennen said, gracefully plopping into the chair in front of her. If anyone could plop gracefully Brennen was the person to do it.

"Your biological clock is the ticking in the back of your head telling you that you are running out of time to... you know. Do what you asked me to help you with," Booth said it all very fast, the same uncomfortable look on his face that he wore any time he tried to talk to Brennen about sex and the by-products of sex. This uncomfortableness had nothing to do with him being a prude, and everything to do with him attempting to stave off a hard-on by thinking of Brennen naked. He was already having problems in that department due to her jewelry.

"I don't hear a ticking," she said, giving him one of the confused looks that had made him both love her and hate her over the years, depending on the situation that is. Taking another calming breath, Booth closed his eyes and ran through the Jet's, and the Steeler's line-ups.

"It's not a real ticking Bones," Booth said through gritted teeth, he was fighting off irritation, and a longing to slowly untie the ribbon in Brennen's hair.

"Oh. It's an imaginary ticking. Where the metaphor for a clock comes from the urges telling you, you are getting closer to the time when you will no longer be able to have offspring. Now I get it about the clock thing, but I really don't think that, that is why I felt the urge to come here and spend time with you, unless my 'clock', as you call it, is telling me that you would be the best father and provider to the children it is telling me to have. Which I really don't think that's what it's telling me, if it's telling me anything at all. So I still don't understand why I feel the way I do. I've never needed to have someone there when I get home from work, or have someone to tell me everything will be okay and to wipe my eyes while I cry. I've just never needed it before and now I find I do need them and I don't understand it," Brennen appeared to have refound her confidence in her logic. However, Booth finally understood what was going on. How he couldn't have seen it before he didn't know.

"Heart, Bones. You're heart is telling you not to be alone anymore. It's telling you that you need someone to love you," Booth said, staring into Brennen's eyes with compassion, and love in his own. He was hoping that she would understand what he was trying to say. From what he had heard from her in the last 20 minutes, the thing he wanted most out of this meeting could very well happen. But he had to take it slow, if he just blurted it out, told her how he felt she'd freak and run. He had to wait for her to offer it to him, to tell him she wanted it before he could give it.

"Okay. You're the expert on heart, so I'll differ to you in this instance. Tell me why my heart sent me to your door? I mean there are others who I have been close to in the past, why you?" Brennen was looking him dead in the eye, pleading with him to explain to her why she would be drawn to his front door. And suddenly there it was, the offer he was waiting for, on a silver friggin platter. In a split second he knew what he wanted to do. He'd tell her, and he'd fight to his dieing breath to keep her with him.

"It sent you here because... I love you, Bones. And I'm not talking like one of the guys, or a friend. I'm talking about I want to wake up every morning with your breath on my neck, and I want to go to bed every night with you by my side. I want you Temperance, as more than a partner, or a friend," He didn't move, he didn't breath as he waited for the outburst that would follow, the door opening and slamming behind her as she ran. His eyes were closed, so when he heard the scraping of her chair his heart sank, and he had to swollow a sob.

"I... was unaware that you felt the same way I did," the words were breathed against his ear. Brown eyes snapped open and he whipped around to face her. She was standing next to him, he wasn't staring into her eyes, he was eye level with her nipples. A blush raced up his face from his neck and he flung his eyes up to hers. What he found there, made his throat go dry. Love, need, and longing where not things that he normally saw in her eyes. They staid that way for a few moments, staring into each others eyes. "Booth? Kiss me," the words were whispered, but they reached through the fog that had clogged his brain. He surged to his feet, one arm around her waist, the other reaching up to grin her ponytail. Clutching her to his chest, he slammed his lips against her, the urge to do this had been strong since their last blackmailed kiss. He felt her melt against him, the warmth of her arms going around him, pulling him closer as she returned the kiss.

Booth broke the kiss first, needing to look at Brennen again, needing to make sure that she wasn't freaking out. Her eyes were half-open, her lips parted and puffy from their kiss. Her hair was tousled from his hand, and her pristine blazer was wrinkled. Her eyes were glazed, and little half pants were billowing out of her parted lips. She appeared to have been truly enjoying herself. Booth couldn't help himself, he stood there, wrapped around her, staring at her face. Until that is, she opened her eyes all the way and looked at him.

"Booth? What's wrong?" Brennen asked, suddenly worried she had done something to push him away.

"Nothing, Bones, nothing at all," his voice was soft, a small smile on his face, as he reached up and gripped one end of the ribbon in her hair. His eyes were riveted on her beautiful face as the white piece of silk slowly slid out of her hair.

***

The sun in Seeley Booth's eyes woke him the next morning, to find a body pressed against his left side. His leg was trapt under someone else's, and there was a hand pressed over his heart, a head of brown hair on his left shoulder. Suddenly, remembering who it was that was laid next to him, and what had happened the night before made Booth grin, and pull her closer to him. At last, at long last, he had been allowed to tell Brennen the real reason for refusing her a child. He had wanted nothing more than to give one to her, but his heart would not allow him to without having Bones just as he had her now. He couldn't give her a child, with out it being an act of love, and a start of a family. From the looks of how things were now, he had gotten his wish. However, he would not allow himself that hope, he would simply take it day by day, just as he had always taken his partner.

While he waited for Bones to wake, he indulged himself in remembering the night before. He had duck walked her into the bedroom while they had been kissing, stripped her down to nothing, and begged her to keep the necklace on. The sight of her laid out under him with nothing but pearls around her neck made him groan, and an all to familiar hardening in his groin happen. Shivering at the feeling, he reached over with his right hand and began to gently rake his fingers through her hair. Her eyelashes brushing against his chest made him chuckle as they tickled him.

"Good morning, Bones, how did you sleep?" He asked softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. A groan was her reply, but he suddenly understood why she didn't speak with the hand over his heart slid down his torso to his groin.

"You know, now I understand why you wear that belt buckle. It is quite accurate. You are the largest male I've ever been with. I'm quite satisfied," she said, not looking up at him. Chuckling again, Booth shifted, pressing Bones over onto her back. As he hovered over her again, he notice that she had fallen asleep with her jewelry on. A moan escaped his throat as he bent down to kiss her, only to be interrupted by both of their phones ringing.

"Let's ignore that," he said against her neck, laying gentle kisses against the skin behind her ear.

"It could be a case though Booth. And no matter how we feel about one another, we cannot allow our personal life to interfere with our work, it is too important," Brennen said, pushing him off of her as she went to retrieve her coat from the kitchen floor where they had dropped it. Sighing, he got out of bed, and grabbed his phone from his bedside table as he made his way to the bathroom.

A hour later, he was waiting in Brennen's kitchen while she changed out of the clothes he had lent her after the quick shower at his place. Waiting for her to come back out of her apartment, he went to the stereo and started looking through the cds. He found several additions to her modern collection. Nickleback, Linkin Park, Aerosmith, Metalica, Pink Floyd, ZZ Top (autographed by Angela's father), and of course the Foreigner cd. He grinned at the collection and pulled out the last one. He noticed that it appeared to be very warn, and he couldn't help but chuckle. Shaking his head at the image of Brennen dancing around her living room, he put it in the tray and hit play. Changing the song several times he stopped when the base hit just the right note. There it was, his favorite song.

Standing in the rain With his head hung low

Couldn't get a ticket It was a sold out show.

Heard the roar of the crowd he could picture the scene

put his ear to the wall then like a distant scream he heard one guitar just blew him away

he saw stars in his eyes and the very next day bought a beat up six string in a second hand store

didn't know how to play, but he knew for sure that one guitar felt good in his hands

Didn't take long to understand just one guitar, slung way down low was a one way ticket, only one way to go.

As the music filled the living room, he started to sing along, strumming his air guitar along with the music. He loved this band, it had been the first concert his grandfather had taken him and Jared to when he was 13. He could still smell the stink of people around him, and feel his ears vibrate as the music pounded against them. It was a wonderful memory. Suddenly he heard another voice add to the music.

"Got stars in his eyes!" Brennen was standing in the doorway to the hallway, now fully dressed. She was singing backup. Laughing suddenly he went to her and wrapped her in his arms, still shocked that he was allowed to. "I... was going to throw the cd away, after what happened the first time I listened to it, but I decided that I shouldn't waist such a good collection of music just because it reminded me of a horrible event. If I thought that way I wouldn't be able to listen to any kind of music," she said, burying her nose into his neck. Nodding, he held her closer, remembering that night as well. The song ended as they held each other, trying to push through the memories. When the next song started, they pulled away. A few minutes later the music was off, and the apartment was locked up.

Life continued, and Brennen was happier then she had ever been. She still helped solve murders with Booth, but now, when they were alone in the car they got to hold hands, or make out, or more often then not, screw like bunnies in the back seat. Months went by, and suddenly it was Christmas. It had seemed to sneak up on them, even though they had the usual case just around Halloween. Thanksgiving was wonderful. Hodgin's opened his house to everyone, mostly because it was the only place with a big enough dinning room. Everyone from the 'Squint Squad' was there, including all of the interns with their respective others. Sweets and Daisy came, who announced their engagement. Parker, Rebecca and Brent were there, Max, Russ, Amy and the girls as well. Even Hank managed to escape the retirement community for the event. It was a wonderful evening. But what happened a few days before Christmas would change everything.

Booth was away at a seminar in Portland Oregon, Brennen was using one of her sick days. She hadn't been feeling well the last several days, so she decided to take a few days off until Booth came back. At the moment she was laying on her couch, reading a book Booth had bought her for her birthday. She had discovered that she rather liked fantasy stories, so he had bought her Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn.

Her phone ringing jarred her from the world of the Desert Prince, making her grind her teeth. How was she ever going to know if the baby had been that tyrant's or not if she kept getting interrupted? Grumbling about stupid phones, and irritating people she closed the book and rose to her feet. Not making it to the contraption in time, she pulled up the caller id, and suddenly realized the date. Staring at it, she couldn't help but think back to the last couple of weeks. If she was right... The phone in her hand rang again, and she was brought back to the world. Hitting the talk button, she held it up to her ear.

"Brennen," was her usual short greeting.

"Bren? It's Angie. Ummm... you are never going to believe this, but me and Hodgin's are in Vegas," Angie's voice came from the other end of the line. Not really understanding why Angie would feel the need to call her and tell her that they had gone on vacation, she began to feel a little agrivated. She'd been pulled away from her book for this?

"Okay. Obviously I am not grasping the significance of you and Dr. Hodgin's going to Las Vegas," she said, maybe a little bit more terse then she had meant to be. She heard a small sigh from the other end of the line, and knew she was once again not as normal as most people.

"Sweetie, I just got married. That's what it means. Me and Hodgin's eloped," Angie said, and Brennen could see the look of patient understanding on her best friend's face. It was the look she wore when she had to explain the obvious to Brennen. "I know, I know, Bren. Marriage is an archaic institution, and why should I need a piece of paper to prove my commitment, and I've locked myself down, both sexually and tax wise. But I couldn't say no this time, Sweetie. We were sitting there, in front of the fireplace in his bedroom, just talking. And suddenly it hit me that I wanted to do this. Now, today. I said let's go to Vegas, get married, he asked if I was sure, I said yes. Next thing I know I'm standing in front of Elvis in jeans and a sweater holding some fake flowers. It was beautiful and perfect," Brennen waited her out, paying as much attention as she could to her friend's rambling. She really could talk.

"Angela. I'm happy for you. You did what you wanted to. I've learned that sometimes you just need to go with what you're heart tells you to do. If that means hopping on the next flight to Vegas, then it works for you. And yes I have said those things many times in the past, but I'm beginning to see that my parents leaving me killed me to really accepting that things happen, and married people can be very happy," Brennen said, leaning against one of her numerous bookshelves. There she stood for nearly an hour as she and Angela talked about just about everything. But her mind was somewhere else for the most part. It was going back to just before Booth's surgery. She had asked him to father her child, and had been very close to doing just that when they found the tumor. Now, nearly a year later, she had to wonder if that urge for a child had ever really gone away. Being honest with herself, no it hadn't. It had simply been ignored in the favor of being with Booth. Something that she wouldn't give up for anything in the world. And now here she was, listening to her friend tell her about the corny honeymoon suite that she and her new husband were in.

"Angela? I have to go," she suddenly said, standing up straight. She had to know for sure before she could begin to worry.

"Ah, okay. Love you sweetie," Angie said.

"Love you too, talk to you later?" Brennen wasn't really thinking about what she had just said.

"Yeah, talk to you later," Angela hung up the phone, looking down at her side, where Hodgin's was sketching some kind of beetle. "Brennen just said 'love you too.' Being with Booth really has been a good thing," Hodgin's glanced up at her for a moment, mumbled something and went back to his drawing.

Back in D.C. an hour later, Dr. Temperance Brennen was sitting on the edge of her bathtub, holding a small white stick in her hand. She was not really one to fidget, but she was. Every few seconds she would shift her hips, or transfer the stick from one hand to the other. She didn't know why she was so nervous. It wasn't like she didn't want a baby or anything. But then again, honesty to herself not being a big strong suit of hers, she had to admit she didn't know how Booth would react. The beeping of her watch made her look down at the stick in her hand. Well that answers that.

A/N: So what do you think so far? It'll be at least two more chapters before the grave digger comes into it. I'm setting it up to make what I want work better. Please Review!