CHAPTER 3: Legally

PREVIOUSLY ON Physically, Spiritually, Legally:

She enjoyed the small kisses he placed on her body and all of the sudden she realized something. Something very important, something she hadn't realized before, but now that she did, she knew what she had to do. It all seemed so simple now, that she laughed out loud at the fact that she hadn't realized it earlier.

"Mm, what's funny?" Booth asked between kisses, looking up at her a moment. He was still buried inside her, and he was planning on staying that way for as long as possible. He kissed her shoulder, went down her arm. He drew his fingers over her breast, the outline of her ribcage, her waist, hip, around her buttock, where he flattened his palm against her skin.

"I just realized something, Booth. Something very important," she answered softly as she smiled at him, confident that he would agree.

He playfully squeezed her bottom. "What?" He matched her smile.

"We are linked. And I don't mean our bodies. And I don't mean just now, when we are making love. Our love links us together, right?" she asked him, wanting to make sure he did agree with her.

His smile broadened. "Exactly. When did you get so wise?" he teased while massaging her bottom.

"I learned from the best," she grinned. "And I have a steep learning curve," she added playfully. "But wait, there is more."

Booth cocked his eyebrows. "More?" He squeezed particularly hard, about to take offense that she hadn't given him any sign of enjoyment at his efforts.

She stared into his eyes, trying to hold back her grin as she clenched her inner muscles around him. "Happy now?" she asked him, and kissed his jaw.

"Okay," Booth groaned. "You have my full attention. Go on." His hand left her bottom and followed the elegant curve of her back.

Brennan smiled as he continued to explore her body, even though he was more familiar with it than anyone else. "That link between us, it's changed now that I'm pregnant. It's," she let her hands wander over his shoulders as she tried to find the correct word, "It's stronger, do you know what I mean? It makes me love you, well not more, but the feeling is stronger, more intense. We are linked through the baby. You will always be his or her father and I will always be his or her mother." She ignored the fact that it wasn't a baby yet, that it was still an embryo as she looked up into his eyes to make sure he was still with her. "Do you know what I mean?"

Booth smiled broadly, insanely happy, and kissed her softly on the lips. "I'm with you on that," he confirmed. "You'll make a great mother, Bones. I know you will," he spoke proudly.

"I can only hope to ever be as good a parent as you are." She closed her eyes for a moment, counting to three, before she opened them again and gently framed his face with her hands. "I have a very," she emphasized the word by clenching her inner muscles around him, "very important question for you. I need you to answer honestly. And should your answer be yes, there are two conditions. Okay?" Her voice was soft and a little hesitant as she spoke to him.

Booth loved how she turned their attention to the fact that they were still physically joined, and responded by grinding into her pubis. His motion had been subtle, but her eyes widened a little all the same, her lips parting slightly. "So shoot," he encouraged her.

She loved the way he gently nudged her so intimately to encourage her to ask him what had been so obvious at first, and even though she had logically worked her way up to this conclusion, her heart still raced as she closed her eyes and spoke the four words she had never thought she would want to hear, let alone say. "Will you marry me?"

Dumbfounded, Booth stared at her, waiting for her to burst out laughing and proclaim her words a joke. But the laughter never came. Instead, she carefully opened her eyes and bit her bottom lip. "M-marry you?" he repeated, still dumb-struck.

"Yes, that's what I asked." As the silence continued, tears gathered in her eyes. Damn it. I shouldn't have asked. "Never mind, just - just forget about it. It's okay. I uhm, I probably shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry. Just - just forget I said it, okay?"

"Okay," Booth nodded quickly, though a smile appeared on his face. He slowly pulled out of her and pulled her into a sitting position with him. "Hold on," he told her gently as he saw her eyes glimmer with tears. He got off the couch and crouched on one knee before her. He took her right hand in both of his, then used one of them to turn her head so she was facing him and he could look into her eyes. "Temperance Brennan, love of my life. Even though we don't do things the usual way, my answer is 'yes'. Yes. I do. You would make me the happiest man on earth by marrying me." Booth felt something sting his eyes as well. "Will you marry me, too?"

"I will." A few tears slowly rolled down her cheek. She didn't wipe them away though, they were tears of happiness. "You do remember what I said before I asked you, right?" she asked, needing to be able to do this under those two conditions.

"My mind... is kind of a blur right now," he smiled stupidly, "But I think I remember something about conditions."

"Yes, two of them to be exact and they are non-negotiable. I'm sorry about that, but I need them. Okay?" She slid down from the couch and settled on the floor next to him, looking into his eyes.

She got down to his level so they could communicate more easily. "Tell me about them." His mind was all over the place. Within a few hours, he had become a new father, connected to Bones even more, become engaged to the love of his life, and now she was talking about conditions. Booth decided to just let it all rain down on him. He would make sense of it all sometime later.

Brennan took a deep breath and spoke up. "Okay. I'll start with the easiest one. When we get married, I am NOT marrying in white. Okay? It may sound silly, but as far as I'm concerned it's wrong. I'm not a virgin anymore and I haven't been for quite some time. Besides, I would prefer a dress I can wear more than once. Can you agree to that condition?" She realized how silly it had to sound, but she knew him. Booth would want the traditional wedding and she just preferred to be clear on this, since she wasn't going to change her mind about it and to prevent him from being disappointed when he saw her coming down the aisle in a simpler dress than an over-prized, white wedding gown.

Booth smiled and shook his head. This was so typical. But it was one of the many reasons he loved her, so of course, he would be a hypocrite to deem this a serious problem. "Wear your lab coat for all I care, Bones," he told her with mirth in his voice.

"No, Booth. I will most definitely wear a dress. Not my lab coat. It just won't be a wedding gown." She looked at him, not really knowing what to make of his statement.

"The fun is that we can wear what we like, Bones. It's our wedding day. We make the rules," he said with a glint of excitement in his eyes. "And you'll look beautiful anyway. Honestly, wear what you like."

"Okay," she smiled before she leaned in and pressed her lips against his for a moment. "That was the easy one. I didn't really think you would mind. But I had to be sure. I know how silly it sounds, but it's important to me." She took a deep breath and got up again. "The floor is kinda cold, would you mind if we…," she gestured to the couch.

"You know what, hold on, I have a better idea," he winked at her and quickly went to the bedroom. Stark naked, he came back, carrying a blanket in his arms. He sat down on the couch and motioned for her to come sit on his lap.

She smiled gratefully as she settled herself on his lap. "Thanks, this is a better idea, Booth." She was hesitant to tell him about the second condition, because she didn't want him to think it was an excuse so she could change her mind. She was sure. Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked.

She settled on his lap and he drew the blanket around their naked bodies. This way, they were sharing body heat and would be warmed by the blanket. "I know it is," he said with an impeccable smile. "Now what about that second condition?"

"I don't want to get married yet. Actually not for another two years." She snuggled closer to him, soaking up his body heat, anxiously awaiting his reaction.

His mouth formed a big, round 'O'. "Uhm, so why's that? Why would you ask me now to... I don't get it," he concluded. "Please enlighten me. You're marrying a guy with half your IQ, mind you."

"Well," she grabbed his hand and rested it on her lower belly, over her uterus, where their baby was currently growing. "I have a few reasons. The first one is that I don't want to get married while I'm pregnant. Weddings tend to be stressful and so is the preparation for one. And I should avoid stress while I'm pregnant, for sake of the baby's health. So that explains the first nine months. Secondly, I don't want to get married right after the baby is born either, because my body will need some time to recover from childbirth. See? That's why I don't want to marry this year anymore. Can you - can you understand that?"

"Oh. Right. Definitely," he spoke. "Yup. But that leaves the question: Why ask me to marry you? Wait - I know the answer," he grinned mischievously. "You, Dr Brennan, always want to be first. Best, fastest. You get what I mean. You just couldn't let me ask you first, is that it?" he laughed.

"No. That's not it at all." She turned to him. "Given the fact that you knew about my previous notions on marriage, combined with your unwillingness to put your needs before mine, I just concluded that it was highly unlikely that you would ask me. And my notions on marriage haven't changed that much, Booth. I will still be your partner, I will still work at the lab. I will keep my independence. And even that wasn't the main reason why I've been so reluctant towards the idea of marriage, because I know you would allow me to continue to be independent and to run my own life. Right?"

"I would at least have honourable intentions," he agreed.

"I don't know what that means, Booth." She looked at him, waiting for him to explain it to her. This entire conversation was too important to brush any part of it aside.

"I'm saying that I would allow you space, yes, but that I cannot swear to anything of the sort, because I can't look into the future. Though I can't imagine I would ever try to overrule your principles."

"Okay, that makes sense. What made me change my mind, was the baby, actually." She put her hands over his, which was still on her belly, stroking his hand softly.

"You mean it would be easier to raise this baby, legally speaking, if we were married?" It would be a good reason to get married. At least a practical one.

"Well yes, that's actually a good reason too, but no that's not it. Booth, you know, part of my reluctancy to get married, is because in my mind, it's too big of a commitment. Up until we became partners, I was convinced that everyone in my life would at one moment or another leave me. Do you know what I mean?"

Yes. He did know what she meant. And it tore at his heartstrings. "Come here," he said and hugged her against him. He kissed her and stroked her hair. "That part of your life is over, Temperance. You don't have to be afraid of people leaving you anymore. We're a family. I will not allow anything to push us apart."

She looked up at him. "I know the current divorce rates are high, but like you said, we always do things our way. And well, we've known each other for about eight years and I feel like I really know you. And I know that even if this doesn't work out, even if we do end up getting a divorce, you can never lose me and I can never lose you, because we will be forever linked through our son or our daughter. And I would never do anything to you or our child like what Rebecca put you and Parker through. I promise, Seeley. You believe me, right?"

"Of course I believe you. You don't lie. And you know what, that 'we'll be forever linked' thing that you just mentioned? I like the sound of that," he smiled happily, and pulled her with him as he leaned back into the couch. "I can't wait 'till we tell Parker he'll have a sibling. He's always wanted one, you know," he told her dreamily. "But do tell me about that second condition of yours. I'm straying away from the subject matter."

"Well, like I said, I don't want to get married for another 18 to 24 months. I've just explained why I don't want to marry for another year. Well, if we wait just a little longer than a year, like next spring or maybe summer, the baby will be old enough to walk. And then he or she can be an active participant in our wedding. If it's a girl I suppose she would be a flower girl. And if it's a boy, he and Parker could be the ring bearers. What do you think?"

He kissed her. "I think it sounds like a dream."

She gently removed herself from his embrace and straddled him, pressing her body close to his as she looked him in the eye. "There is one more reason, why I asked you to marry me." She smiled broadly.

"What?" he asked.

"I love you, Seeley Joseph Booth," she answered him before she leaned closer and kissed him, wrapping her entire body around his.

And he believed her. If she hadn't been smothering him with the kiss, rendering him completely speechless, he could have gone on for hours about how much he loved her back. But this method did seem more effective. His arms wound around her, his belly and chest pressed against her, and their tongues caressing one another. She was perfect. He had to have done something right in his life to be given an angel like her. They devoured each other on that couch - certainly not for the first time that day. Centuries could have passed and they wouldn't have noticed. They were one. And they would stay that way. Legally, physically, spiritually. Forever.

The End