Author's Note: As always, thanks much for the reviews and the alerts. You guys make it easy to keep writing! This one was hard to do, but I did have my own little epiphany when Booth does in the story. Anyway, this is the end for this one, so thanks for reading! And please let me know if you think I've got this even a little bit right! I've got some other story ideas floating around in my head, so maybe we'll see each other again soon!

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own anything except my own epiphany.

Chapter 4 – The Heart Has Its Reasons

The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of.

~Blaise Pascal, Pensées, 1670

The partners sat quietly on the sofa across from Sweets. They weren't going to start this conversation on their own. They looked everywhere but at him or each other. Agent Booth was fidgeting, leg jumping. Dr. Brennan was staring at the carpet somewhere near Sweets' chair. Both looked liked they'd rather be anywhere in the world but here.

Sweets leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and said, "Look, I know you two don't want to be here, and quite frankly, I don't either." They looked at him, surprised. He continued, "I thought you two could resolve this on your own, particularly after our individual discussions." He looked pointedly at each of them. They dropped their eyes back to the floor after flicking a quick glance at each other. "But hey, why would I think you'd actually talk to each other about your feelings? So, you've let it go and now it's started to affect your work for the Bureau and I've got to step in." Both partners opened their mouths to object to his statement about their work, but he raised a hand and shook his head to stop them. "The Weatherly interrogation," he said, reminding them of the nearly botched interview. Both mouths clicked shut and another glance passed between them, this one a little guilty.

Sweets paused again, trying to decide on the best course. He needed this to be a conversation between the two of them. His plan was to get them talking to each other and then hopefully make himself invisible as they worked things out. But getting them started was the trick…

"So, Agent Booth," he began, "how's your relationship with Dr. Bryar progressing?" He saw Dr. Brennan flinch slightly. He also noted that Agent Booth caught the same flinch. Booth's eyes didn't leave Dr. Brennan as he said casually, "Oh, you know, it's fine, she's a great lady." Brennan stiffened slightly, but didn't move her gaze from Sweets' feet. Sweets turned to Brennan, "Dr. Brennan, how do you feel about Agent Booth seeing someone you met on a case." She straightened and said coolly, "I'm glad Agent Booth is moving on and pursuing a romantic partner. I hope he's happy with her." Booth sighed and dropped his head back down. Sensing Agent Booth wasn't entirely truthful in his response, Sweets pushed ahead. "Agent Booth, really, are you still even seeing Dr. Bryar? Or was it just a couple of dates?" Booth stared at him a few seconds before answering, "What? Why wouldn't I be seeing her anymore?" Sweets rolled his eyes. "Trained to spot a liar remember? You're not, are you? But you want Dr. Brennan to think you are. Why is that?"

Brennan raised her eyes at last and turned to Booth. "You're not seeing Catherine anymore? I thought you two were getting along quite well. You certainly had a lot of chemistry." This last was said with just the barest hint of jealous petulance. Booth faced her, leaning in a little closer. "Well, it just wasn't…it just didn't seem right, I guess." "Is there something wrong with her?" Brennan asked in her typically direct way. Booth laughed softly and shook his head. "No, Bones, there's not anything 'wrong' with her really…..she's just not….." He stopped and looked away. Brennan leaned over, hand reaching along the sofa toward him. "She's not what?"

Sweets watched silently, hoping Agent Booth would tell her the truth. Brown eyes met blue, and Agent Booth decided to go ahead and take another gamble. God knew it didn't seem like things could get any worse. "She's not you," he whispered as he watched her face closely. Sweets watched the emotions fly across Dr. Brennan's face before she closed her eyes and pulled herself together. The hope on Agent Booth's face was a little heartbreaking to see, and Sweets desperately hoped things would work out this time the way they were supposed to all along.

Dr. Brennan opened her eyes and they seemed a little teary this time. She'd gotten the answer she wanted, but now she wasn't sure where to go with it. She was clearly nervous and unsure, even though it appeared she'd decided to take a chance here. Sweets was about to speak, to try to move them forward, when Agent Booth said, "Bones, please talk to me. I know you don't want me to be with anyone else, but why won't you let me be with you?" She gave him a teary smile and said, "Because, Booth, I don't deserve you." She held up a hand to stop him when he tried to speak. "Let me finish. You deserve the best, a woman who could love you the way you want, who would marry you and get the house in the suburbs with dog and children. I don't know how to do that. Every man I've been with, I've managed to run off." She paused, taking a deep, hitching breath. She raised her hands and dropped them helplessly back to the cushion as she said, "I'm afraid if I give us a chance, I'll mess it up and hurt you. I'm broken, somehow, I'm not someone who makes things work."

Booth drew in a deep breath and took her hand in both of his. "Bones, you're not broken! You've just been with the wrong guys! I mean, Michael couldn't handle that you were smart and successful. That's on him, not you. And Sully's a…I don't know…a free spirit or whatever. He never committed to anything in his life!" He paused, rubbing small circles on the back of her hand. He said cautiously, "Did you ever think that maybe you start relationships with the wrong guys on purpose." She started to interrupt, but he continued. "Maybe you pick guys you know you have no future with so that when they leave, you can say I told you so. " Something dawned in Booth's eyes as he said, "Maybe that's why you wouldn't go home with me six years ago. Because you felt the same thing I did….that whatever was between us might be going somewhere. So you got mad at me and slapped me and pushed me away. You couldn't start something with me because it might turn out to be the real thing. I might turn out to be the guy who stayed." He stopped then, taking in the look on her face. She was stunned, the truth in what he was saying ringing clear and true.

Sweets closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the chair. He was glad Agent Booth had finally picked up on Dr. Brennan's MO. He had figured it out some time back, but couldn't figure out a way to broach the topic with her without her refusing to ever speak to him again…or worse. He wasn't surprised, though, Agent Booth was a very insightful man. And he knew Dr. Brennan better than anyone else on the planet. Sweets sat up as quietly as he could and returned to his observation of the couple in front him.

Booth and Brennan were still staring at each other, trying to process what Booth had just uncovered. Brennan sat back a little, but Booth refused to let go of her hands. "Booth," she said in a somewhat shocked voice, "I think you might be right. This changes my whole hypothesis." She angled toward him again, hope, relief, and something that looked an awful lot like love, in her eyes. Tears overflowed and slid slowly down her face. Booth reached up to cup her cheek and swiped one of the tears away, his own eyes a little damp now too. But then a worried look came over her face and she reached up to take his hand. "Oh, Booth, I'm so sorry. I hurt you so much. I was only trying to protect you, but in the end, I only made us both miserable." She paused and smiled ruefully. "I've missed you so much these last few weeks. I don't think I ever realized how much a part of my life you are until you weren't there anymore." She waved away the objection she knew was coming. "I don't mean that you were gone completely, but it wasn't the same. You didn't find some excuse to come by the lab during the day or when we didn't have a case. You didn't come and drag me off to lunch at the diner. No Thai food at midnight because you saw my light was on." She snickered a little at the last one….she knew her apartment couldn't be seen from the street, but she'd appreciated the gesture. Booth smiled in return; he didn't mind being caught. Brennan turned serious again. She looked down at their hands, fingers entwined, and thought about how comfortable it seemed for them to be that way. "Booth, I….I don't know….I'm not sure…..if you can…..," she murmured haltingly.

Booth placed a finger over her mouth to stop her, and then ran it over cheek and under her chin to tilt her face up to his. "Bones," he said softly, "I know, it's ok. I understand why you said what you did. I'm not denying that it hurt…a lot…." He smiled at her grimace and stroked her cheek again. "But I understand. I was trying to give you some space to figure things out. I wasn't giving up on you even though I said I was moving on." He rolled his eyes and laughed softly. "As if that was possible. " "But Catherine… ," she said, and he shook his head. "I thought it was a going to be a good idea to get out there and try to date, but it didn't work. All I could think about was you every time I was with her. I wondered what you were doing, if you were ok. God, then you picked up with Hacker again!" She winced and said, "I only went out with him again because I knew you didn't like it. If you were going to paint the town orange with Catherine, I wasn't going to sit at home alone." Booth chuckled and said, "It's red Bones, paint the town red!" They laughed together this time as he shook his head in amusement.

As the laughter faded, their eyes met and held. Sweets could feel the electricity in the air, sparks gathering and centering around the couple seated opposite him. He knew they'd finally reached their moment and it looked like this time they were going to reach for it and hold on with everything they had. He watched in awe as Dr. Brennan leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to Agent Booth's. As she went to draw back, he reached up to cup the back of her head and pull her back to him. Their lips met again and this time the electricity ignited. This kiss, so different than the one on That Night, was full of love and passion, forgiveness and promise. Sweets was starting to feel like a peeping tom when they finally broke for air. "I love you," she said softly, almost shyly. Triumph, utter joy and love surged across Booth's face as he drew in a deep breath. He voice was not quite steady and his eyes not quite dry as he said, "I love you too, Bones. " He took her hand and placed it over his heart. "This is yours. It has been since we first met and will be until it stops beating." Brennan looked a little dazed, but smiled and said, in a voice not anymore steady than Booth's, "I'll do my best to take care of it. And even though what you're suggesting is physically impossible…." She saw Booth roll his eyes and ignored it as she continued, "You have mine as well. It just took me a little longer to figure it out." Booth laughed again and pulled her back for another scorching kiss.

This kiss lasted long enough that Sweets finally had to clear his throat before things really got out of hand. They both looked up and over at him, completely surprised that he was still there. Booth shook his head as he watched Sweets wipe his eyes and swallow hard as he stood. "Well, uh, I guess we're, uh, done here," Sweets said as he grabbed his briefcase and moved toward the door. "I don't have any other appointments today, so stay as long as you like." He moved toward the door, figuring to make his escape and leave them to….talk. As he reached it, Booth's voice stopped him, "Sweets, wait." He turned to face Agent Booth and marveled for a second at how happy the man looked. Booth stood and held out his hand. "Thanks, Sweets," he said, holding the handshake. "Thanks for not backing down and for not letting us miss this moment again." Sweets found he had to swallow hard again before he could speak. "You're welcome, both of you. I'm glad everything worked out the way it was supposed to this time." He smiled at them again, turned and walked out the door, leaving them to figure out how best to make the moment last. Besides, he had to fill in Angela before she made good on her threat to make sure he found his way into Limbo….permanently.