Booth has some inner dialogue in here so I used Bold and regular italics for that. I hope it doesn't cause confusion


"I think there are some candles in the draw next to where the towel holder is."

"Don't move I will go get them." Booth pushed the button on his phone using the little light it produced to guide his way. "Bones, did you ever realize that these damn phones seem a whole like brighter when you don't want them to be?"

She giggled, "I would have to agree with Booth."

"Candle holders"

Brennan got up "I think I saw some in this cabinet …" a chair leg scuffed on the floor when she hit it with her shin.

"Bones, I thought I told you not to move."

"I am fine; I just bumped into the chair."

"You could have fallen."

"Booth … I am fine and I have candle holders."

"Wait, Stop." She turned and could see Booths form slowly moving her direction behind the dim light of his cell.

"Booth, I am capable of making it back to the table."

"Well now it will be just a little easier, OKAY!"

"Fine"

"Now be careful, there is that chair."

"BOOTH!"

"What, I was just looking out for your shins." She rolled her eyes at him. "I saw you roll your eyes.

"You did not."

"But you rolled them didn't you?"

"Can we just get the Candles in the holders and lit?"

"I knew you rolled them."

"How did you assume that from me talking about candles."

"Because you avoided a direct question."

"I did not; I just did not see the point in arguing with you in the dark about something you can't prove."

As they lit the candles he looked at her. "Okay we have some light; you rolled your eyes didn't you."

She turned her attention to the other candle trying not to smirk

"Ah ha, you did roll your eyes. I can tell by that smirk on your face."

"Booth …"

"NO, no, no. You are not getting out of this. I can see it in your eyes."

"You can barely see my eyes."

"I can see enough. You are guilty."

"Fine, I rolled my eyes at you." she said laughing

"I knew it, I was right."


Booth picked up a Candle and moved across to the small living room. "Booth what are you doing."

"You'll see" He sat the candle down and pulled all the throw pillows off the couch and chairs and then went in the bedroom and came back with all the blankets he could find. He proceeded to make a plush sitting area on the floor in front of the fireplace. He then went out and got more wood to stoke the fire. He walked over to Brennan and held his hand out. "Care to join me on the floor." She smiled and let him lead her over in front of the fire. Then he disappeared in the kitchen returning a minute later with two wine flutes and a bottle of sparkling apple cider.

He sat down next to her and poured her a glass of cider and himself one then leaned back and stared at the fire. "Bones you remember the first day we met?"

"Yes, I was giving a lecture. You came to ask my help on a case."

"Yeah, Did I ever tell you how much seeing you surprised me?"

"Because I wasn't old."

Booth chuckled, "I sure did not expect you. When I walked into the lecture hall and saw you step from behind that podium, I thought for sure I was going to fall over dead right then and there. You were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen."

"I am quite beautiful. I would have been shocked if you hadn't noticed, but I don't think beauty can kill you just from looking at it."

"And you are modest too Bones."

"I am only stating fact. I am quite … wait you are making fun of me aren't you?"

"Not really, just making a little comment about your modesty."

"But Booth I am not modest … wait, you tricked me."

Booth's smile lit up his face as he tried to contain the laughter. "I did not intentionally try to "trick" you, but it did work out rather nicely didn't it?"

"Why did you bring up when we first met?"

"You remember what I asked you?"

"You asked me if I believed in fate and I said absolutely not."

"I still believe in fate."

"I don't."

"I believe everything happens for a reason. We might not always understand the reason, but I think God" he held up his hand before she could tell him how God was imaginary "sometimes takes the wheel because we tend to take a detour we should not have taken."

"Are you trying to tell me that some imaginary God put us in bed together because we weren't doing it wrong."

"Pretty much, yeah."

"We got drunk and ended up in bed together because we have a physical attraction to each other. It is perfectly natural for us to eventually have sexual intercourse."

"If it is so natural Bones, why did you turn me down that night we left the pool hall when I got drunk to fire you? If all it was between us was sex, why did you turn me down that night?"

"Because we were drunk."

"We were drunk the other night, what is the difference."

She stared down at the blanket she was sitting on. "Because we didn't know each other back then and I didn't like you very much."

"Bullshit Bones. If it was just sex between us, we would have done it then."

"Booth why are you doing this? You just got done telling me you had things to figure out. Why are you doing this?"

He rubbed his hands over his face, "I don't know."

"What do you want me to say? I have apologized, I can't take it back. I can't change it." Her eyes were glassy as she glanced at him and then back down at her hands. "What do you want me to do?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head "I. don't. know."

"I knew telling you was a bad idea."

"Wait, you weren't going to tell me?" He stared at her in disbelief

"Eventually, just not right now, Angela is the one that told me I needed to tell you now and while at the time I agreed with her logic, right now I am not so sure it was correct."

"What were you going to go to Peru and then just come back with a baby? Oh Hi Booth, meet your kid, is that what you were going to do?"

"I was just using Peru as an excuse. How did you know about Peru?"

He looked at her with a look mixed of are you kidding me and anger, "Angela!"

"Oh"

"You knew everything I went through with Rebecca when she was pregnant with Parker and you were still going to keep this from me?"

"I was trying to make this easy on you…"

"Easy on me? By hiding my child from me?"

"Our child."

"Fine, our child. Dammit Bones, do you really trust me that little, you would have went off and had this kid alone."

"Booth I trust you with my life, just … just not" the tears she had been fighting threatened to overtake her. "And by your reaction when I told you and now, I think I made the wrong decision in telling you. She got up and bolted into the bedroom and shut the door.

Booth was at the door in a flash trying the knob. "Bones open this door." He closed his eyes and took a couple of steps back from the door. "Please" When she did open the door she came out with her bags packed. "You are not leaving here."

"Booth I am perfectly capable of driving in the snow."

"No, you are not leaving here; you will not put you life in danger because you are angry at me and think you have to prove a point." She moved towards the door and he stepped in front of her. "Don't Bones. I will sit on you if I have to; you are not leaving here, not in this weather."

"Booth." She tried to step around him

He stepped in front of her; "No" she drew her lips together in a tight thin line and glared at him.

"Not working, you can hate me all you want, but you will hate me in this cabin." She let go of her bags and walked back over and sat on the couch.

He came and sat down beside her, both of them staring into the fire. Booth turned his head and looked over at her. "Truths" she turned and looked at him "For the night" he held out his hand.

She looked at his hand and nodded as she reached up to shake his "Truths"


The silence between them was deafening. For the first time in all their years together, they both felt extremely awkward.

"Booth?"

"Yeah"

"You remember that night at the museum with the Egyptian princes when we snuck down to look at the display before anyone else."

His voice was soft, "Yeah I remember" a small smile crossed his lips

"We almost kissed that night didn't we?"

"Yeah" he chuckled "If not for the fantastic timing of our team, we would have."

"I wanted to kiss you." She glanced over at him.

His soft brown eyes found hers, "I wanted to kiss you too." They fell silent again, both lost in thoughts. "Hey Bones, remember when you ask Caroline for that favor?"

"Yeah"

"Me too"

"Booth after your coma dream you told me you loved me in that 'atta girl' sort of way."

He looked into his lap. "You looked like you were about to panic and with everything that happened; I honestly didn't know if my feelings were real or if it was just a side affect of the surgery. I wanted them to be real, because that coma dream, our love was what love should be. Then when I said it and the color drained out of your face, I-I just didn't want to scare you so I added the atta girl."

"I understand that logic with the way I was/am." He got up and added another log to the fire. She waited for him to sit down before she started up again. "That night you came after me in the rain when we were investigating Laura Eames death, I still couldn't say the words, but I felt it."

"What happened during that case … to you I mean?"

"When I looked at her picture I saw me, when I heard her voice, I heard my voice. When I saw the helicopter pilot, I saw you. There were so many similarities between her and me and I didn't want to end up like her." Tears started to run down her face. Booth instinctively reached for her and she put up her hand. "No I need to say this first, please."

He sat back and nodded then reached for her hand. He watched as she struggled with what she wanted to say "She made me realize that I wanted more for me and that I needed to let someone in, that someone being you."

"Bones"

"Booth please" She looked at him and then down at their joined hands. "I knew I was too late to be with you and that was a regret I would have to live with, but I could avoid one regret and that was telling you I … I …" she moved her mouth several times but no words came out. "I love you Booth. She dropped her chin towards her chest. "At least that is one less regret." She breathed out.

He stared at her for the longest time. "Bones, I don't …"

"It is okay Booth; I just didn't say what I wanted to say that night. I told you I didn't want any regrets, I was afraid to say I loved you and that was a regret, but now it is not a regret anymore because I said it, even if you can't return the feelings. She smiled a tight pained smile at him. "I think I need some sleep" She squeezed his hand before she got up and headed for the bedroom.

He sat there staring at the fire. The words he had wanted to hear from her for so long, she says now, now when everything is turned upside down. He turned his eyes towards the bedroom door. "Great, what do I do now. I don't even know how I feel about her anymore."

"Okay Jackass in all honesty why did you decide to ask Hannah to marry you?" Sweets was wanting to ask Daisy and made some stupid comment that he did not want to be Booth's age and be single. That was like a slap across the face, like I was running out of time. But that wasn't the only reason; Bones had told me she wanted no regrets. Those words struck him to the core and caused something to stir in him, something he had buried in Afghanistan. If he married Hannah he would have to keep it buried. As long as he wasn't married part of him could still belong to Brennan.

"Why didn't you want to belong to Brennan? You loved her, you ached for her, you cried for her, so why didn't you give in to her when she came to you?" I am not a cheater. I was with Hannah and I loved Hannah. You could have left Hannah. You don't just dump someone because someone else had a moment of clarity that could vanish as fast as it showed up. She didn't believe in love, she just got scared and once the smoke settled she would become the scientist again and push me away and I knew I couldn't handle that. So I walked away, so to speak.

So that was the real problem you were afraid of being rejected again? You would rather have settled for a cheap knock off copy of Brennan than to have the real deal, because you were afraid she would get scared and run. Yeah, I was afraid she would run, even after she had her eyes opened, she still didn't say the words. I was afraid once I gave in to her she would shut down and cut me off.

So why are you angry with her? I am not angry with her or with circumstances. I am angry with me for not believing in her when she told me she wanted no regrets. I turned my back on her and she continued to stand by me. Even that night, she was there, her heart ripped to pieces by me, but she was still there to comfort me and … I never stopped loving her. It has always been her. He bent his head down and started to cry. I still love her.

Well now that you finally figured that out why are you not happier? What if she doesn't believe me? She has no reason to, I was jerk to her when she told me I was the father and when I got here…"Well guess you will just have to make her believe you and you can start tomorrow morning, now get some sleep you are going to need all the energy you can muster to win this battle.

Booth settled under the covers and drifted off. He doesn't know how long he had been asleep when he felt a hand on his shoulder "Booth, wake up. Booth."

"Hmm. Bones, what is it?" he mumbled

"Cold"

He opened his eyes and looked at her shivering wrapped up in her blanket. "Bones"

"Can I …" She motioned at the spot next to him

"Yeah" he moved the blankets back as she climbed under the covers. He could feel the cold coming off her. "Bones geez, did you go to sleep in the snow?" He got up and added another couple of logs to the fire and then climbed back under the covers. "Come here" She slid her shivering body next to his and he sucked in air as her cold feet found his.

He wrapped the blankets around them tightly and he rubbed his hands up and down her back and the one arm he could reach "Better?"

"Yes, thank you"

"Why did you wait so long?"

"I didn't know if you were angry."

"Oh Bones, I am not angry with you. But, I think we are talked out for the night. Let's just get some sleep." She laid her head against his chest and nodded.