Thanks for all the reviews! They're almost at 100 and I would love if this chapter were to push it well over and above that. Enjoy the latest update!

See if anyone can spot the Pretty Woman reference. It's pretty easy to find. And then tell me in a review! Booths' all around (or whoever you would prefer) for those that do! Sad to say, still don't own Bones.

Special thanks to imloopy for helping me find a way around the document manager issues! You rock!

Author's Note: Flashback scene in the beginning is in italics.

Chapter Seven

After dropping Parker back at his mom's place, Booth drove back to Brennan's apartment so that they could change for dinner. He wouldn't tell her where it was that they were going to. He just told her to wear something nice and he would do the same.

Brennan stepped into her spacious walk in closet and tried to decide on an outfit. She scanned the long rack of clothes before noticing a garment bag hanging on the back of the door. As she unzipped the bag, it came back to her what was inside.

Approximately One Month Ago

"Oh sweetie! That is just perfect!" Angela was squealing excitedly as Brennan stepped out of the dressing room.

"I don't know Ange. It's a little expensive. Plus I could never wear it to the lab."

"Who cares? It fits you like a glove. You have to get it."

"I don't know what that means," she sighed standing in front of the three mirrors at the front of the dressing room. "Besides, there aren't any formal events scheduled for the Jeffersonian until late in the summer."

"What about dates?"

"Because I go on so many of those" Brennan said sarcastically.

"You could."

She had to admit the dress looked great. The kelly green gown hung to just below her knees and hugged her curves in all the right places. The v-neckline would plunge low, but not low enough to be trashy and she loved the roushing down the front. She sighed in defeat, knowing Angela was right.

"Fine. I'll take the dress. Can we go now please?"

"Bren that dress is killer. You're definitely making the right decision."

"That's highly unlikely Angela. Articles of clothing don't typically murder anyone."

Angela sighed at her clueless best friend. But at least she was getting the dress and hopefully Booth would get to see her in it one day.

That day had finally arrived. After lifting it out of the bag, she slipped the dress on and stepped back to admire her reflection. It still looked good. She added her mother's earrings, a signature chunky necklace and strappy sandals. The ring was also present. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders. She was ready.

Booth's nervousness was back. He smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle on his pants and looked at his watch while he was waiting for her. It's not like they hadn't been out to dinner many times before. But this just seemed vastly different from all those other times. He actually felt more nervous tonight than he had all day. The hard part should have been this morning.

He knew how she felt about children, but he knew that Parker was not going to just disappear because she didn't always know how to interact with kids. Everything had gone very smoothly though. When she finally relaxed, Brennan and Parker hit it off. He glanced down once again at his watch. If they didn't leave soon, they would miss the reservations. He was just getting ready to tell her so when she came around the corner.

The look on his face told her everything she needed to know. As Booth stood there speechless, she finally understood what Angela had told her in the dressing room. She looked down nervously and adjusted the dress ever so slightly.

"Are you ready?"

It took him a moment to realize that she had just spoken. He had been too busy admiring the way the dress clung to every curve. She blushed.

"Booth?"

He cleared his throat and looked back into his partner's face, all traces of nervousness vanishing. He came alongside her and offered his arm. She accepted, much to his surprise and they left the apartment. As they walked down to the steps to the parking lot, Booth whispered into her ear "You look so beautiful. I love you so much."

She looked right at him and replied "I love you too."

When they came to the car, Booth opened the door for her and she climbed in. As soon as he was settled as well and both doors were shut, she looked over at him.

"So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." A few seconds of silence clicked by.

"If I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight." He looked over at her and smiled as he reached down and laid a hand on her knee. She smiled back at him.

"Thank you."

Booth had taken her to a small, romantic Italian restaurant called La Bella Vita (the beautiful life). Brennan had never heard of it before but Booth had. The owner was a friend of the family. Back in high school, Booth had even worked there part time as a busboy.

As they stepped through the door, the owner saw Booth and his date.

"Seeley!" the old man called excitedly from his place near the bar.

"Giovanni!" The old man hurried over to them and embraced Booth in a warm hug. Then he turned to Temperance and did the same. She stood there, slightly uncomfortable for a moment. But then relaxed and hugged him as well.

"Gio, this is Dr. Temperance Brennan." He picked her hand up, bringing it to his lips and placed a small kiss on it. "Bones, meet Giovanni Bernito. He owns this fine establishment."

"Bones?" asked the old man wondering about Seeley's name for her.

"I work with skeletal human remains. I guess that's where it comes from. You can call me Tempe."

" Tempe it is then."

"Nice to meet you" she said politely.

"The pleasure is all mine. Come! Your table is ready."

They followed Gio through the restaurant to a table in the back of the restaurant reserved for them. Brennan took in the surroundings of the restaurant appreciatively. The restaurant itself was not very big, but seemed to do well for itself. All the tables were full and the staff was busy keeping up with them. All in all there were only about ten tables. Very intimate. The walls were exposed brick. Simple white tablecloths covered the tables and each had a candle centerpiece. The lighting was low and romantic. Reaching their destination, Booth pulled out the chair for her and Temperance sat down. Gio winked at Booth over her head. He smiled back.

Then they were left alone with the menus trying to decide what to order. Booth knew the menu backwards and forwards. Even though it had been years since he had worked there, Booth was still a regular customer. He wondered why he'd never brought her here before. A little voice nagged in the back of his mind that he had never bothered to ask her on a date before. Booth chose the lasagna and Brennan the chicken parmesan.

The rest of the meal passed easily. Gio played waiter to the couple and made sure they had everything they would need. The wine he had suggested went perfectly with the food and was offered to them on the house. Brennan relaxed as the wine began to take effect. As the night progressed, she even let him hold her hand across the table. She tried not gag when she realized how terribly cliché they must look. But, as she got more and more used to the idea of them as a couple she realized that the romantic gestures weren't all that bad. She could get used to this. Since there wasn't anyone from the Jeffersonian or the FBI there, they could act like a regular couple without blowing their secret.

Talk over dinner didn't once even approach the subject of work (which was a miracle in and of itself). When Gio would stop by, he would happen to think of a new Booth story and fill Temperance in. Most were funny stories about him spilling something on a customer or tripping over his own two feet (Booth was not the most coordinated teenager), but a few were of Booth's family and how they knew one another. That night, she learned more about Booth than she had in the whole time that they had known each other.

By the time Booth looked at his watch, it was after 11:00p.m. He still had one more surprise for Brennan. But if he wasn't able to drag her away from Giovanni's charms, they would miss it. Booth tried to settle with the owner, but he would have none of it claiming that his money was no good here. They promised to return soon.

On the way out, Gio hugged the both of them warmly. This time, Brennan was comfortable with the old man and let him hug her without hesitation. When it was Booth's turn, he whispered something into his ear that she couldn't hear. Booth chuckled and looked quickly over at his date. Giovanni gave him a knowing smile and patted him on the back as they went to leave.

Brennan watched the exchange between the men and wondered what was said. Was it about her? Maybe she would ask him later. They left the restaurant with her once again on Booth's arm and were off to his next destination.

Sorry for the shorter chapter. I was planning on having the rest of the date in this chapter but thought that this may be a good stopping point.

I am contemplating making the next chapter M rated or a very strong T, but I have never written a love scene before. However, I think that they are at the point in their relationship to finally take the next step. If anyone would be interested in betaing, either review and let me know or PM me. I've read some very well written ones on this site and hope I can do even half as well.

Oh, and, Brennan's dress is real! It's a BCBG Max Azria courtesy of In Style magazine's website. It can be found there or in the April 2006 issue. Have to give credit where it's do. I had a fun time browsing their website and picking the perfect dress for their date.

The restaurant is not real. I've never been to D.C. and couldn't find a whole lot of info out there to use real places. I hope my translation is correct on the Italian. I looked it up online and that's what I found.

Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter and let me know what you think I should do about the next. If I decide to write it as an M, the update may take a little longer to ensure quality.

Thanks!

GG