Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original plot is the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Written for "Fandom for Texas Wildfire Relief".

Beta team: Ajr818, Lacrimosa Moon, and JaspersDestiny from Sparkly Red Pen.

Summary:

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"/"Bones" crossover. AU.

Timeline: Post "Not Fade Away" ("Angel") and "Chosen" ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). Somewhere in the first season of "Bones".

Angel's death in yet another averted apocalypse is the final blow for Buffy. She moves to Washington, DC, where she tries to find a way to survive without the other half of her soul. Two months later, a serial killer on the loose brings her face to face with FBI Special Agent Booth, a man that could be Angel's twin brother, but he doesn't seem to know who she is. Never stop believing in soul mates, even if you have to wait till death brings you together.

Leave It In The Past

Booth took her to Sid's. She seemed to be somewhat suspicious when he told her to let Sid, himself, bring her something, but she was willing to take the chance.

He found himself talking to her about unrelated issues, even telling her about his military past—something he was unwilling to share with most people after knowing them for years, let alone someone he had only met twice. It felt so natural talking to her, being with her, that he didn't dwell upon that for long.

"How come you don't have to be at work today?" she asked him at some point during the meal.

"Took a sick day," he said with a shrug.

They went back to their conversation after that, and Buffy told him how she settled in Rome and then in London. She was just getting to the part when she got Angel's phone call, requesting help, and she could already feel the tears choking her.

"Do you mind if we go back to my place?" she asked quietly.

"Of course, let me just get the check." This time he did reach for her, gently caressing her knuckles with the tips of his fingers. He was surprised to feel the sudden hum that passed through his body at the first contact with her skin, but it was a pleasant sensation that he did not mind experiencing over and over again.

Buffy marveled at the feel of his warm touch on her hand. It was causing a wonderful sensation to spread through her body. It was so similar to the one Angel's touch would cause, and yet too warm to be an exact clone of her lover's caress.

They kept the chat friendly as Booth drove them back to her house, but as soon as they were both back in her living room, the atmosphere changed. Even before she began to speak, Buffy could feel herself holding back tears.

Booth saw the sadness seep into her eyes, and he wanted to tell her that it didn't matter, but he couldn't. There was something inside him that was telling him that he needed to hear this, that this part was important. He had no doubt that even in the short time he had spent with her, he was beginning to develop feelings for her. It was not something rational—feelings never were—but everything inside him was in full agreement. It was as though some part of him knew her and cared for her already.

"The last time I saw Angel was just a little over two months ago," Buffy began, keeping her gaze down on her lap. "He telephoned me in what was the first contact I had with him in almost a year. He spoke to Giles and asked him if we could help." She paused, taking a deep breath. "It didn't take long for me to get to Los Angeles. He had been there for me whenever I needed help, and I knew that I would always be there for him as well. We didn't talk much that evening..." Buffy felt herself blushing as she remembered how starved they were for each other. "Actually, we almost didn't talk at all." She smiled.

Booth felt an irrational wave of jealousy rise in his stomach. He understood what she was leaving out; she didn't have to spell it out for him.

"I didn't have time to be worried about him losing his soul," she said. "I felt cold for so long...I just needed him, and I think that in some way, he needed me just as much."

I'm sure he did, Booth thought.

"The next morning, he told me that he wanted me to leave."

"Leave?" Booth was shocked. "Why? And why call you in the first place?"

"He said that he got a warning in his dream," she answered. "Both of us had had prophetic dreams before, so I knew what he meant. He said that he needed me to be the second front in case he failed. I had told him almost those same words a year before..." Buffy knew she was crying, but she could no longer care. "I left later that day. Two days later, Angel and his team won the battle, but..." Her voice broke.

Booth pulled her into his arms, no longer wanting or able to let her suffer alone, and kissed her gently on the crown of her head.

"I knew the exact moment he died. I felt it," she whispered into his chest. "I felt as though someone had shoved a knife into my heart and twisted it so it would inflict the maximum amount of pain. It was only later that I found out the truth."

"What truth?" he asked in a whisper, still holding her close to him.

Buffy's head lay against his chest, and the steady beating of his heart was both familiar and foreign to her. "Angel left a letter for me with his attorney. He said that he had lied that morning about the warning. It wasn't a second front that he had to take care of; it was me. The Powers That Be had told him that one of us had to die. He chose to sacrifice himself so that I could live. Oh, God," she whimpered, fisting her fingers in his white dress shirt, "he died so that I could live, but I can't live without him. I don't know how."

Booth was amazed at the amount of pain he could see and feel coming from her. He felt himself hurting for her. It was an unexplained need inside him—to hold her, to comfort her, to do everything he could so that she would feel better.

"And when you showed up on my doorstep..."

"You thought that I was him," Booth finished for her in a murmur.

Buffy lifted her head to look at him. "Yes," she breathed, looking into his deep brown eyes. She tried to see the differences between the man that was holding her and the vampire whom she loved but couldn't. She knew that she might regret it later, but she needed to feel something other than the pain and the cold.

Booth looked down at her green eyes, shimmering with tears, and the world around him disappeared. He saw her closing the distance between them slowly, hesitantly, and that was all the confirmation that he needed.

He leaned down, closing the remaining few inches between them, and captured her mouth with his. Her taste was heavenly, and he let out a soft moan of approval. He could not find words to describe it; all he could think was that she tasted like pure heaven. He didn't even think to hold back as he parted her lips with his and took her tongue into his mouth.

Buffy moaned. She brought her hand up to thread her fingers into his short hair, holding his face close to her as she kissed him. He was warm and so very skilled with his tongue. She wanted more. She needed more.

Booth leaned back into the couch and helped her straddle him. She held his head between her hands as she pressed her body as close to his as she could while still being dressed. She felt his reaction to her and moaned again. "Oh, God, that feels so good."

"Yes..." he groaned and dropped his hands to her behind, pressing her tighter against the straining hardness confined in his slacks.

She was so soft, despite her muscular build, and he wanted to touch every single part of her body, lavish it with kisses and caresses. Suddenly, Booth felt that tugging sensation he had been having in the back of his mind for the past two weeks—the one that made him feel as though he was trying to remember something but couldn't—disappear. It was replaced with several lifetimes' worth of memories. The most prominent amongst them were those that revolved around the woman he held in his arms.

Buffy felt him freeze beneath her lips and pulled back, her eyes flying open. It was like the proverbial bucket of cold water being dumped on her head. Her breath hitched, and she stared into the unseeing eyes of the man before her. Realizing that she was straddling him, she tried to move away, but his arms held her to him with surprising strength.

Booth blinked a few times, his eyes coming into focus, and he watched Buffy with a new emotion swirling inside him. Buffy gasped when she noticed the change in his eyes. It was the same way that Angel used to look at her—with reverence, love, and lust—before either of them knew what the consequences of them consummating their relationship would be. She could not speak, could not move. Her eyes were filled with tears once again, and there was nothing she could do to stop them from rolling down her face.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered, looking at her as though he had not seen her in months. He pressed her harder into his embrace, and she complied willingly.

Booth felt himself smile as he gazed upon the beauty in his lap. He brought up one hand to cup her cheek and breathed her name, not really aware that he was speaking aloud. He was amazed at everything he had just...learned? Remembered? Remembered, he decided.

"What...who..." Buffy stammered, a thousand questions swirling around in her mind. His words were Angel's, his touch was Angel's, but his warmth was Booth's; the heartbeat that she could feel against her chest was Booth's.

"I'm not sure myself about the how," he replied, still holding her close, and nuzzled her neck softly. He inhaled her scent and placed his mouth on the mark on her neck—his mark, he was aware of it now—sucking gently at the spot.

Buffy shivered. She could never resist Angel's kisses, and when his tongue touched the scar at the base of her throat, it was even more maddening. She didn't notice that she had begun rocking into him again, her movements small but rhythmic. With each pass of his tongue, she pressed against him, her head falling to the side as she allowed him better access to her neck.

Her warm breath on his neck and the friction of her heat over his hardness created a fast-growing fire in the pit of his stomach. Booth felt his need for her skyrocket. He was fighting with all his might not to throw her on the floor and take her right then and there. They needed to talk, and they couldn't do it if his mouth was busy tasting her skin. With almost a Herculean effort, he pulled away from her, but only far enough to be able to look into her eyes. "I love you," he said.

Buffy just stared at him, too shocked to speak, too afraid to believe what her heart was telling her.

"I'm not sure what happened. I feel like I suddenly have two people in my head," he said slowly, still trying to sort through the memories that were cluttering his mind.

Buffy brought her hand up to cover her mouth, fruitlessly trying to hold back the sobs. Could she truly believe it? Had the Powers That Be finally given her a gift that did not come with the heaviest price tag they could think of?

Booth looked up at her again, seeing her with so many new emotions that were the same emotions he had already begun developing for her, just stronger. It was hard to wrap his mind around the images—the memories—that were swirling in his mind, but he was happy to realize that one thing was easy to accept: there was one person that his subconscious recognized even without the memories.

His gaze was so intense as he took in the sight of her in his arms that she almost felt it as a physical caress.

"There is something that he...that I didn't tell you, Buffy," he said. The memories and emotions were slowly setting in, and the feeling of having another person in his mind was gradually fading away.

He then told her the story of a prophecy that Angel's—his—team had found a long time ago. A prophecy they had all thought to have been signed off as part of the team's attempt to fight evil. A prophecy that seemed to have come true.

Buffy was crying by the time he finished his story, but it was no longer in pain. It was in relief. She was amazed to realize that they could finally be together without fearing that the world would come to an end or that he would lose his soul.

"I love you so much," she whispered, and then she chuckled, shaking her head.

"What?" he asked, smiling at the sound of her laughter.

"I don't know what I should call you," she answered. "You seemed to have gained yet another name."

Booth smiled. "I guess you're right. I think I am more comfortable with Seeley Booth." He paused, thinking for a moment, and then he said, "I think Angel belongs to the past." He hoped that his words wouldn't be hurtful to her, but he did feel more comfortable in his own—albeit new—skin.

Buffy looked at him for a long moment, staring at the beautiful smile that was so much like Angel's and yet not quite his. This was a different man before her, she realized. His past might have been Angel's, but his present—and probably his future—were Booth's. She raised her hands to cup his face. The warmth beneath her fingers was a new feeling, but it wasn't an unpleasant one. She had to let go of the past, let it go so that she could accept the future, and everything inside her was screaming that he—Booth—was her future. She only had to accept it.

Booth watched the play of emotions on her face with worry mixed with hope. However, he could see that she was coming to terms with what had happened. He didn't speak, letting her think things through instead. He let his mind wander, thinking about all of the new "old" memories that revolved around her.

"I think..." It was hard for her to say the words, but it wasn't as hard as when she had first learned of his death. She had accepted his death, so to accept putting the past where it belonged—in the past—was not as hard. She would not be alone in the world anymore. She took a deep breath and, looking into his eyes, said, "I think he does. I think Seeley Booth belongs in the present and, hopefully..." She couldn't finish the sentence, her courage suddenly deserting her.

"In the future," he completed her sentence.

They looked into each other's eyes for several long seconds, and then, as if of their own volition, their bodies leaned toward each other, allowing their lips to meet again.

The kiss grew heated within moments. His lips were soft and pliant beneath hers. The heat of his mouth caused her to gasp, and he used that moment to plunge his tongue into her mouth and taste her. As it had always been between them, passion quickly took over, and they were both aching for more.

Pausing to take a breath, Buffy looked into his eyes. Dark with passion and need, they were absolutely beautiful. She deliberately rocked her hips once, causing him to hiss in pleasure, and smirked. "I think there is nothing wrong with where we are now..." she emphasized her words with another deliberate thrust of her hips, and she didn't bother to stifle the moan of pleasure that escaped her lips, "...but I think we might be more comfortable in my bedroom."

"We'll get there. Eventually."

He captured her mouth in another kiss, parting his lips to let her tongue slide in and caress his. His hands palmed her behind again and pressed her harder against him. He wanted her so much; felt starved for her, in fact. The newfound memories of their two nights together served to fuel his hunger, and he raised his hands to the sides of her body, taking her shirt off in one smooth motion.

Buffy nearly tore his shirt away in an attempt to get him naked as soon as possible. She was really glad that she had chosen to wear a skirt that morning, even if it was a long one, because Seeley was able to pull it over her head without separating their bodies for too long.

Her breasts were so much more sensitive after their first round of kisses, and she nearly screamed when his mouth wrapped around one nipple, his very skillful tongue flicking at the hardened tip. His other hand was massaging her other breast, alternating between cupping and caressing the whole globe and pinching its peak gently.

Seeley could not get enough of her. Her skin was just as soft as his newfound memories told him it was, but they did not do her justice. Everything about her was calling to him, and he began thrusting upwards in time with her movements. But soon it was not enough. He wanted to feel her without the layers of fabric that were nearly offending in their interruption. He wanted to have more than distant memories that still felt a little foreign. He wanted to learn the feeling of being inside her on his own.

Buffy seemed to read his mind as her hands moved between them and began unbuckling his belt. Her swift fingers pushed the zipper down, and he raised his hips slightly to help her push his slacks and boxers down. Her fingers wrapped around him, and he groaned at the sweet torture that was both too good and not good enough.

Seeley reached down to the wet heat between her legs. Moving the flimsy fabric of her panties aside, he plunged two fingers inside her.

"Yes!" she screamed, and her hands' movements on his hard length were halted momentarily as she was lost in the jolts of pleasure his moving fingers inside her brought. She was too sensitive, too deprived of his presence, to hold back for long, and when he attached his mouth to his scar, biting down with blunt human teeth, she felt the release course through her body.

Seeley felt her inner muscles clench around his fingers and slowed down his movements, slowly bringing her down from her peak. His own need for her was throbbing almost painfully, but he wanted to give her pleasure before taking his own.

Buffy nuzzled his neck, slowly coming down from the orgasm-induced haze. She instinctively began to kiss the skin of his throat and shoulder, nibbling gently as she came to the point where the two connected.

"I want you," she whispered between kisses, her hand beginning to rub him again. "I want to feel all this wonderful length inside me."

Seeley moaned at her words and quickly obliged. It was like diving into a pool of heat, he thought as he slowly joined their bodies together. "Buffy," he groaned. "You feel so good..."

"I've never felt so complete before," she breathed, unaware that she was echoing his inner thoughts.

Seeley was amazed. He felt as though a piece of his soul—a piece he wasn't even aware was missing—was returned to him. The memories were comforting, but they soothed only one part of his inner turmoil. Now that he was sheathed in her warmth, now that they were joined together in the most pleasurable of ways, his inner storm calmed.

Neither could hold back any longer, and both began moving as a single body, touching each other as much as possible, never wanting to part again.

Soon both were beyond words, and the only sounds filling the room were their heavy breathing, his groans and her moans, and the slight creaking of the couch beneath the two lovers. Each thrust brought them closer to that elusive peak, and their movements were becoming erratic.

"Oh, God...Yes, yes, yes!" Buffy chanted breathlessly when she felt the coil inside her tightening in a familiar way.

"Yes, baby," Seeley panted. He gasped for breath when her muscles were holding him inside her so tightly that it was almost painful. "I love being inside you."

"Yes...yes...oh, God, YES!" She threw her head back as wave after wave she was washed with pleasure. It was so powerful that she felt tears rolling down her cheeks again. Her emotions were running so high that the climax was ten times more pleasurable than anything she had ever experienced in her life.

Seeley's cry of release was muffled by her skin as he bit down on her neck—subconsciously placing the bite over the mark his past persona had left there—and let himself go. She continued to pulse around him, turned on even more by his bite, lengthening both of their orgasms.

It was only a few moments later that something occurred to Seeley, and he wanted to curse himself. All of the bliss that had previously filled his mind and the fog and drowsiness that had spread through his body were gone in an instant.

Buffy was slumped against his chest, their bodies still connected. Her eyes were closed and her soul was at peace. There wasn't a worry in the world as far as she was concerned because, at that moment, her world was confined to the small space that was his embrace.

"Buffy?" Seeley murmured, drawing her attention.

"Hmm?" She was too spent to offer him more than a grunt in response.

"We didn't..." He took a deep breath. "We didn't use...anything. I'm sorry, Buffy. I didn't think—" Her fingers stopped the flow of words from his mouth. She raised her head from his shoulder and looked up at his beautiful face. He was confused by her smile at first but took it as a good sign.

"We didn't use anything on that last night either," she said, her eyes shining with mischief again, but this time there was softness to her features as well. She didn't say anything more, waiting for him catch on.

Seeley stared at her. That's impossible, his thoughts screamed at the same time as a huge grin spread on his lips, his eyes widening with surprise, pleasure, and joy. "Buffy, are...are we...?" The words came out in a jumble.

"Yes, we are," she answered with a beautiful smile. The happiness she saw in his eyes chased away any doubt she might have had in regards to his response.

"Thank you," he breathed. "Oh, my God, Buffy, thank you." He tightened his hold around her waist.

She giggled. "What are you thanking me for? I didn't do this on my own."

"I guess I did have a part in the making."

The almost child-like delight in his eyes and the joking tone to his words was the best cure for Buffy's bruised heart.

—(~)—

They giggled like two children as they showered, each of them lavishing as much attention as they could on the other while washing their bodies. Buffy noticed that he was ever so gentler with her, but he seemed to remember that she was also stronger than any other human was. The playful banter and the soft touches made the flames of their passions—that always burned in the background—rise to the surface again, and as soon as they dried themselves, they were all over each other once more.

Now, several hours later, they lay on her bed in a tangle of limbs, neither wanting to let go of the other after finally finding each other.

Seeley protectively caressed her still flat stomach as Buffy pressed to his side, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

"I never want to move," she murmured, absentmindedly drawing abstract shapes on his naked chest.

"I don't think I can stand you moving any time soon. You wore me out." He chuckled when his remark earned him a pinch from her. "What? You did!"

Buffy smiled. It was a new experience for her to see Angel so carefree, so happy. But he's not Angel, her mind reminded her, and she was surprised that there wasn't a pang of hurt to come with that thought. He's Seeley. Seeley Booth.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a slightly more serious tone.

"Pleasantly spent," she answered with a smile. "You did some wearing out of your own."

"I love you, Buffy." He looked into her eyes, unable to stop himself from wondering if she understood what he was saying—he loved her, not Angel.

Buffy heard the sadness in his voice, and it took her a moment to understand the reason behind it. "I love you, Seeley."

The smile that suddenly broke on his face reached his eyes, and she could feel her own answering grin spread on her lips. The past had been laid to rest.

"We still have a case to solve," she reminded him after several minutes spent in silence.

Booth chuckled. "We have tomorrow for that." He was well aware that she would be involved whether he liked her to be or not, so he decided not to waste time on trying to talk her out of it. "I think we are both entitled to a day spent in bed."

"Tomorrow it is," Buffy agreed with a smile.

—The End—

Thank you for reading. I hope that you enjoyed this story, and I would love to hear what you think about it.

Next weekend (Friday the 13th) I will be posting the one-shot that I wrote for my wonderful prereader Alice (Mary-Alice-Brandon-Cullen). If you like Darksper and Vampella, then this story is for you.

Until then, have a wonderful week!

Alley Cat.