Here's another one shot for you. Mind the title!

The sounds of the organ music began to permeate the large sanctuary, and Brennan smoothed a hand over her skirt, picking at a non-existent thread at the hem. She looked up and saw Booth standing very straight, his hands crossed in front of him. He was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and she recognized it as a sign he was nervous. Her eyes moved up his body to his face and she saw that his jaw was firm, his eyes serious and focused on the back of the church. Jared stood behind him, and Brennan saw him shove his hand into his pocket, more than likely making sure a ring was still there.

Then her eyes were back on Booth again, and he was looking at her. The stress from his face disappeared and he gave her a small smile. His neck tilted to the side and he grinned, and Brennan looked to her side to where Parker sat, his shoulders slumped and his fingers messing with the small rose in his boutonniere. Brennan smiled and remembered Booth's words.

"Look, Bones…you're my family. Please. Rebecca doesn't want to come, which…whatever, that's fine with me. But I need someone to sit with Parker in the front row."

"The front row?" she'd lifted an eyebrow toward him. She'd managed to fool everyone into thinking she was ambivalent toward his upcoming wedding, but having a literal front row seat felt like scraping at a wound.

"Please," he'd repeated, his voice low and deep. And a bit desperate. She'd agreed.

"Okay, yes. I'll sit with Parker."

"Thanks, Bones," he'd breathed a sigh of relief. "You're the best."

He'd even told her anyone could sit with her. She'd offered the opportunity to Angela and Hodgins and Cam. And even Sweets, but no one had agreed to join her. "No," they'd all said. "You're his partner. You're his best friend. You should be the one there. Just you."

So here she was, doing her best to be encouraging; doing her best to ignore the ever increasing feeling in her stomach that it was a mistake.

But it was not time for that. She'd already made her mistake, and it would be another one to act on her feelings now. She'd had her chance, and she'd made her decision, and it was time to live with that.

"This is kind of boring, right, Bones?" Parker nudged her arm, and she looked over toward Booth's son, noticing how much he looked like his father. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him it wasn't boring, that it was very important to Booth. But then the music changed slightly, and there was a different hum to the room. Parker's eyebrows perked up and he turned around, placing one hand on the pew behind him and looking toward the double doors.

Everyone in the room stood up and turned toward the back. But Brennan kept her eyes on her partner, watching as he watched the woman of his dreams walk down the aisle to marry him. She knew in the back of her mind that the right thing to do was to turn. Turn and watch the bride coming down the aisle. But she just couldn't tear her gaze from Booth's face. He looked so…incredibly…happy.

Then all of a sudden she was staring at the back of a woman in a wedding dress. But she could still see Booth's face. For just a second, his eyes flickered to Parker, and then to her, and he smiled softly before returning his gaze to his bride.

The ceremony was a blur and so was the reception. Brennan found herself standing at the edge of the dance floor, keeping an eye on Parker and sipping a glass of champagne.

"Hey, Bones," she heard from behind her and turned to see Booth standing there, a soft smile on his face.

"Hi, Booth." Brennan swallowed and then bit her lip, moving closer to give him a hug. "Congratulations. And…you look really nice in your tuxedo."

Booth smiled and stepped back, shoving one hand in his pocket and looking off into the distance like a model in a catalog, and Brennan smiled, unable to stop a small laugh from escaping her lips.

Booth stared at her for a minute and then held out his hand. "How about a dance with your partner, hmmm?"

Steeling herself against a riot of emotions, Brennan nodded, setting down her wineglass and taking his hand in hers. It was slightly rough and warm, like always, and Brennan felt an ember of confusion and desire settle in the pit of her stomach when the same hand settled around her back. Her left hand rested on his shoulder and their fingers joined near their shoulders. From the corner of her eyes, she saw their team staring at them, and she had to look away when Cam gave her a nice wave and Angela tried to discretely brush away a tear. No…don't even think anything.

She'd done so well, proving to everyone that she was genuinely happy for Booth. What she hadn't revealed was that she'd learned that it was possible to be genuinely happy for someone else while feeling like you were dying inside.

Stop it…

Forcing her mind back to Booth, she looked at him. He was smiling at her and he looked very, very happy. "You know, Bones," he began, his left dimple more pronounced as he smiled wider. "There was a time when I thought you and me would end up like this. You know…getting hitched and all of that."

He gave a chuckle and shook his head. "I mean, now I know that was crazy. And, I…I just want to thank you. Thank you for letting me see the light, that we were much better as partners and friends than we ever would be in a romantic relationship."

It was torture. Exquisite torture of the human heart. She stared at his face, wondering why he seemed to be getting closer. "Booth…"

He grinned and then was even closer. "And now that I'm married I think we can both admit that you never cared about me like I cared about you, of course."

Why was he doing this? She had no words, and was afraid he was going to soon be able to see everything she was feeling right on her face.

His smile began to fade away and he grew tense in her arms. "Bones?"

Feeling trapped and also desperately wanting to move closer to him, she turned away, releasing his hand and stepping off of the dance floor.

"Bones!" he called after her, but she couldn't bear it any more. With as much courage and grace as she could muster, she walked. Away from the dance floor. Away from the wine and revelers. Away from their friends. Away from Booth and his new beautiful wife. But she wasn't fast enough and just as she was about to reach the small balcony off of the ball room, she felt a hand on her arm.

Booth grabbed her and pulled her onto the balcony, his hand flexing on her bare elbow. "Bones," he stared at her face.

His eyes were dark and fierce and she couldn't look away. "Damn it, Booth. Just let me go."

His chest began to almost heave and his tongue shot out and licked at his lips as he swallowed, but he never looked away. "What is going on?"

Shaking her head, she tried to look away but couldn't even though she knew everything she'd ever felt for him, she STILL felt for him was just rising up. It couldn't end well and she needed to just walk away. But she couldn't. She could not.

"Do you love me, Bones?" he whispered, his voice dark and hoarse. Tears sprang up in her eyes and she felt her face crumble with emotion.

Booth groaned and pulled her to him in a hug, and she could only assume he meant to comfort her. He didn't let go and just held her tighter until with a sob, she relaxed in his hands, pressing her palms to his warm chest and crying against his shirt. In the back of her mind, she suspected her makeup was making a stain on his perfect white tuxedo dinner jacket, but she couldn't stop.

He murmured soft words and rubbed her back and when she pulled back, he was smiling kindly at her. "Ah, Bones…"

With one finger, he gently wiped away a lingering tear and then he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her forehead. And then another against her cheek. "Bones, Bones, Bones…" he continued to murmur in comforting tones. And then another kiss on her other cheek. Her fingers tightened in the lapels of his jacket and she met his eyes. They stared at one another, and for a second, she thought he might kiss her lips. Hers parted, but whether it was in invitation or to stop him, she wasn't sure. But in the end, he didn't kiss her lips. Instead, his nostrils flared and he pressed his lips to the skin of her throat, beginning a series of kisses that left her hot and breathless.

"Booth!," she gasped, closing her eyes and placing one hand on his chest and the other on the back of his neck, unsure whether to keep him close or push him away.

He just murmured some unintelligible answer and kept kissing the skin of her neck. "Bones, Bones…Bones…..Bones…..Bones….." he kept muttering, and she began to shake her head.

"No…no…no…Booth…"

"Come on, Bones," he begged and she cried out.

…and then her eyes flew open. Booth was above her, his eyes dark and concerned, his lips slightly swollen. "Come on, Bones, sweetheart, baby, wake up."

Her lips opened and she said the only thing that came to mind. "I want you to marry me, instead."

Booth made a choked sound from the back of his throat, and then Brennan blinked, realizing where she was. With a gasp of horror, she shoved him off of her. As she looked frantically around the room, she saw she was in their bedroom. Everything was normal, everything was fine. Except she couldn't quite look at Booth. They'd been sharing a bed for almost a year now, their romantic partnership just as successful as their working partnership had always been. But now, she felt slightly stifled and without saying another word, she moved quickly into their bathroom, turning on the water to the shower and stepping inside.

Heat and nervous energy skittered along her skin, making her very sensitive to the pricks of the water falling from their overhead shower. Her loofah scraped against her arms and legs, and she shivered. And when Booth quietly opened the door to the bathroom, pulled back the curtain to the shower and stepped inside, she didn't say anything.

And neither did he. He merely held out his hand.

Brennan handed him her sponge and watched as he picked up her bodywash from the side ledge of the shower. He gently placed a hand on her hip and then turned her around, wrapping her in his arm and beginning to wash her back. Without saying a word, he worked, cleaning her shoulders and bare back, moving down toward her buttocks and the backs of her thighs. When she sighed and relaxed back against his warm chest, he nuzzled his nose against the nape of her neck. "What happened?" he asked in a whisper.

"A dream," Brennan confessed on a sigh, closing her eyes and then opening them again, almost as if to prove to herself that she wasn't having another one.

But no, when she opened her eyes, Booth was still behind her, his arm still around her waist in comfort and possession. She looked down and saw the way his skin looked even darker compared to her pale belly. Drops of water trickled down his forearm, and she began tracing them with her other hand. He was pressing soft kisses along the backs of her shoulders, smoothing her hair away from her neck to kiss her there as well.
"Wanna tell me about it?" he asked.

A wave of affection and thankfulness swept over her at his offer, knowing that he'd accept it if she said no. But she didn't want to say no. Swallowing, she turned in his arm, pressing her fingertips against his chest. It was such a clear image from her dream that she blinked, rubbing her thumbs against him, just to make sure he was really real. "I had a dream that you were getting married. To…to someone else."

His eyes were surprised, but he masked it quickly. "To who?"

"I don't know," Brennan shrugged one shoulder. The sound of the shower served as background to their conversation, and she felt his chest expand as he inhaled and exhaled against her hands. "I never saw her face." A lump formed in her throat at the genuine emotions she'd felt in her dream. She knew that if her life had gone differently, there would be a very good possibility that she could have danced with Booth, just like that, at his own wedding. "You asked me to sit in the front row, with Parker. As your family."

A groan escaped his lips, and she knew he understood the pain she'd feel if that were a reality. But she also knew that a dream like that and even her explanation didn't necessarily reveal why she'd asked him to marry her.

"And…" she continued. "In the dream, we danced." Tears at the imagined memory pricked in the backs of her eyes, and both of Booth's arms tightened around her. "And we talked, and all of our friends were there. I could tell they knew how I really felt. They felt sorry for me. And they could tell that I wanted to be the one you'd married."

"Want." he said quickly before he could stop himself. "Before, you said want."

And Brennan tightened in his arms. "I meant…want. I mean…"

Booth's lips parted in shock and his face blanched with emotion. His eyes were sharp but unreadable. "Want." He rubbed her back without thinking; his touch was soft, but his voice was hoarse as if every word was being wrenched from somewhere deep inside of him. And his eyes… "Bones…you want to marry me? Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I…" Brennan stammered, unable to form complete words when he was looking at her like that. "You've never asked."

"You've…" he swallowed hard. "You've never once said anything. I just…I don't know, I assumed…"

Surrounded by drops of water echoing on tile, they stared at one another for long moments, weighing each other's words and reactions. Booth's eyes searched her face and then he pulled back. Taking her hand in his, he slowly knelt on the shower floor. It was awkward in the tight space and Brennan felt her knees lock up in surprise. They stared at each other and his thumb brushed over her knuckles as warm damp air swirled around them from the shower. Before he could speak, he pressed his face to her belly, and Brennan smoothed her hand over his hair in response. His cheek was rough from stubble and little rivulets of water slipped from his head and neck and her fingers toward their feet where they splashed in unison with the rest of the water falling from the shower. It was quiet and peaceful, intense and intimate. Neither of them had ever imagined a scenario like this, but it was happening, and they both could hardly breathe.

Pulling back, Booth ran his thumb against the inside of her wrist. When he looked up, she could see genuine uncertainty in his eyes. And she stared at him as he removed the ring she currently wore on her finger. "Temperance Brennan," he began and then closed his eyes for just a second. She watched as his neck tilted to the side and knew he was fighting off emotion. "Bones," he cleared his throat, and she was surprised to hear in his voice that he was close to tears. "I…" he tried again. "I love you." With that, a whoosh of breath left his lips. He'd said it to her before, countess times, but it was in that moment, when he opened his eyes again that he seemed to gain confidence. Through the rain of the shower around them, she stared down into his eyes. "I love you, and you make me very happy." Booth continued, his voice low but sure. "I want you to know that no matter what you say next, that will never change. But now…" he swallowed and ran his index finger around the spot where he would eventually want to slip the ring he'd bought for her more than a year ago, "I'm wondering if you would do me…the honor" he had to stop again and his jaw twitched. "…the honor, Bones…" his chest expanded with breath and he exhaled on a rush. "Of being my wife."

Brennan felt her body tense for a millisecond. She had considered the fact that Booth might one day ask her to marry him, especially when they'd first become more than just partners. But each of her supposed scenarios never fully prepared her for the reality that was Booth actually asking her.

"Bones…I kind of need an answer here," he spoke up, and Brennan realized she'd gotten lost in her thoughts.

"Just a yes or no, Bones. That's all I need to know."

And that's when she knew. Booth would accept her whether she said yes. Or no. She could say no, and he'd still love her. She could still be autonomous in name and station and yet have the benefit of a shared relationship with the man she loved. Her lips parted, and…

"Yes,"

Booth blinked rapidly and Brennan pulled in a sharp breath, leaning back against the shower wall. Her shoulder hit the ledge and nearly knocked down her shampoo. Booth stood up in a flash and grabbed it with his hand. "Did you say yes?"

"I…" Brennan swallowed. "Yes, I believe I did."

His eyes narrowed and he stepped closer, effectively pinning her between his body and the tile at her back. "Did you mean it?"

She searched his face and noticed he still gave away nothing. What man would allow her this out? Only Booth. Only a man who really loved her. "Yes. I mean it. Yes…I'll…marry you."

If she lived to be 200 years old, she'd never forget the look on Booth's face. His eyes smiled first, even before his lips. And when he grinned, she couldn't help but smile in return. His joy was infectious, and she understood what it meant to sacrifice something she thought was important for the sake of love. For Booth.

And that was the truth; no other man ever would have satisfied her.

He grabbed her hand and kissed it before he shoved her ring back onto her finger. "Okay," he fidgeted. "I'm putting this back on you, but later, I'm going to put a different ring on your finger." His eyes were wild and he cupped her face, planting and deep and intense kiss on her lips. "But…I don't want to lose this one. Bones…we're…you said yes." He kissed her again, just as deep. She recognized the signs that he was quick to lose control.

Brennan couldn't help but laugh at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You asked."

"Yeah," he agreed, pride emanating from every pore of his body as his hands roved over hers. "Yeah, I did."

He then cupped her face in his hands again and kissed her so intensely Brennan thought she might cry. Though it was irrational, he even tasted happy, and he couldn't stop smiling against her lips.

Over and over he kissed her, his hands taking possession over her body. From her breasts to her hips, he cupped her, squeezing with the exact pressure she knew he knew she liked. His hands latched on to her ass and he pressed her to him, rolling his hips against her in the same rhythm as his tongue in her mouth. Brennan grabbed at his ass to keep him in place as she rubbed one of her calves against the back of his. With two long fingers, he tested her, mimicking his penis with slow and easy thrusts.

"Yes," she gasped, her head lolling back to the shower wall. "Oh, Booth yes."

"Mmmmmmm…." He pressed his face against the skin of her throat and smiled, and she wondered if he was going to smile every time she said yes for the rest of their lives. It was possible, she supposed.

"Kiss me, Bones," he pleaded a demand, bringing his fingers out of her body to touch her clit as he began to line his cock up to her opening. Brennan tightened one hand in his hair and the other around his waist as she captured his mouth with hers, tangling her tongue with his. Booth groaned and in a single thrust was buried inside of her to the hilt.

"Oh yes," she scraped her fingernails along his back and he hitched up her hips, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"You gonna marry me, Bones?" he taunted in the same tone he usually reserved for asking her if she was going to come in his arms.

"Yes," she repeated and he thrust into her three times, so smooth, so slick and hard.

"You'll be my wife?" he didn't even wait for her response but began thrusting into her, just the very word associated with her enough to practically set him off.

Brennan felt the familiar stirrings of an orgasm. It felt so delicious to know Booth like this, even after a year, and nothing managed to turn her on quite as much as him losing control. "And you'll be my husband," she reminded.

"Oh yeah," he rasped out, his hips moving with lightning speed. Brennan almost felt outside her body. She could distinctively feel every inch of his penis sliding against every inch of her passage. And she felt his hard thighs holding her up, his warm palms cupping her. She even recognized her own body's reaction to him. Swollen lips, desperate core, tight nipples, sensitive clit, tense thighs stretched just a fraction too far.

But it was his eyes that made her come, made her tip over into brown welcoming warmth. She saw the same look he'd had in her dream. Completely, utterly…happy.

She…Temperance Brennan…had made him happy.

Seizing all around him, she convulsed as waves of her own pleasure rolled through her from the top of her head to the bottoms of her feet.

"Booth, Booth…" she repeated his name over and over. He grunted in reply and held on to her as she literally collapsed onto him in all ways. Her face burrowed into his neck, her arms draped over his shoulders and her legs tightened around his waist. He turned off the water and Brennan let out a small gasp of surprise as he yanked back the curtain and carried her back to their bed. It wasn't a far walk, but she still marveled that he managed to keep his hard length buried deep inside of her. He planted them both on the mattress, and Brennan gasped at the cool sheets against her wet body, the contrast enticing compared to Booth's hot body above her. Drops of water fell from his hair and body as he thrust into her.

"This is going to be amazing," he warned, though she wasn't sure if he was talking to her or himself.

"Do you mean orgasm…or marriage?" she asked, and his eyes darkened, his hips now pistoning on all cylinders.

"Say it again," he begged, completely without rhythm.

She loved contradicting him, would never get tired of it. "Orgasm?"

"Uhhhhhhhhnnnnnn," he whined in desperation, dropping his body onto hers as he picked up the pace even harder, piledriving into her over and over. "Please, Bones…please."

Her fingertips skipped over his back, the light touch making him crazier. She could feel him dripping inside of her, and she nipped at his earlobe. "Marriage," she whispered, and he tensed, before coming hard inside of her.

She shivered as the man she loved fell completely apart inside of her. He was gasping and practically wheezing his thanks and praise of her.

"Oh jeez, Bones…so happy…you make me so happy," he nuzzled his face against her neck and chest, leaving sweet kisses everywhere his lips touched.

Brennan felt vulnerable, but pleased with his words. "You make me happy, too, Booth."

He managed to lift himself up on his elbows to stare down at her. She skimmed her fingernails against his chest, feeling the natural rise and fall of his breath.

His lips curved up in a small smile, and she couldn't help but smile in return.

-b&b-

Hey, a girl can dream, right? :)