I don't own Bones, I know I have 206 in my body, but the Bones from Fox isn't mine.

The Next Step

Booth got as far as the elevator, when he realized that she called him Booth instead of Seeley, she had never used that name for him before. He stopped in the middle of the hallway causing someone to bump into him. Did she remember? Did she know who he was? He turned around and ran back into her room.

Temperance was sitting in bed sobbing. Booth walked into the room and took her into his arms, she responded to his touch by pulling him close to her, and holding him tight. He looked at her and said, "You called me Booth." She looked at him strangely and told him, "I don't know why, but it just slipped out. Is it ok?" he smiled widely and said it always was ok to hear her call him that." She said, "You came back; you came back", and pulled him close again.

He could smell her scent, that intoxicating smell that invaded his senses and made him dizzy and unable to think. He couldn't think straight, he was so overwhelmed by her touch that his better sense took over and he told her how he felt.

"Bones, Bones, listen to me, I didn't want this to happen yet. I wanted to wait until you remembered me. I've wanted to hold you in my arms for years, but I can't stay away any longer. I can't resist you anymore. Please understand that I need to take this slow. I need you to remember me; there are so many things we need to resolve before we can be together. Bones, I love you; I can't survive any longer without you in my life, that's why I came here, and that's why I stayed. Bones, please understand that I just want to wait a little longer; please move in with me, we will be together all the time, we can work on our feelings, and maybe then we can stop fighting this overwhelming feeling between us. I know you can feel it too, I know you know what I'm talking about. Please, Bones, let's just take this one step at a time."

Temperance drew away from him and looked deep into his eyes, she knew what he was talking about; she knew that he was right. "Booth my memories of you are slowly coming back, but I have still too many questions, about some of the dreams that invade my sleep. I know we need to talk about this, I will move in with you, because I want to discover what this means. I want to try to work this out."

Booth pulled her back into his arms, and kissed the top of her head. Her scent overwhelmed him again, and his kisses moved to other parts of her face. He kissed her still wet cheeks savoring the salty, Bones taste of her. He kissed her neck and felt her gasp at his touch. He moved to her mouth and finally kissed her with all the passion that was overwhelming his heart. She responded with the same amount of passion, and he realized that this could lead to something else very quickly. He also realized that they were in her hospital room, and they needed to stop. He slowly and painfully drew away from her.

"Bones, we can't do this here; we can't do this yet. We will have all the time in the world to discover our feelings, but this is not the place."

Temperance looked at him with so much longing in her eyes, that he regretted his speech. He knew living with her was going to be torture, and he hoped that he could resist her on a daily basis.

"Booth, I understand; I will do whatever you think is best and maybe living together will help us to interpret my dreams. Maybe that is the best next step."

By the time they worked out the details of the new living arrangement, he needed to leave. He walked out of the hospital, feeling, for the first time in months, hope, in their future together. Hope that everything was going to work out fine, and knowing that soon he would be with his Bones forever.

Booth drove home in a daze; he didn't even remember driving until he was entering the garage and turning off his car. He bowed his head and thanked God for giving him everything he wanted in life. He knew that a love like this only came about once in a lifetime, and he was grateful that this was his chance, and he didn't miss the opportunity. He knew that Bones was going to be his forever.

She would be released from the hospital at the end of the week, and he would request his vacation time starting next week. He had 3 weeks left and he couldn't wait to spend them with her. They could be together every day and night. He knew the evenings would be the hardest; how was he going to resist her? How was he going to keep his hands off her? He hoped that once she left the hospital, her memories of him would begin to surface, and the only obstacle he could perceive was her memories of Hannah. He knew that he hurt her very badly, and he wanted to explain those months of pain he caused her. He hoped she would give him time to explain, and listen to everything he had to say.

Sleep eluded Temperance most of the night, but when she finally did fall asleep, she dreamt that she was driving a car on a narrow and winding road. She heard something in the distance; but couldn't understand what it was. Suddenly a truck pulled out in front of her and she swerved off the road and down an embankment. She awoke with a scream. The night nurse rushed into the room and asked if everything was all right. She asked for a sleeping pill, and when the nurse left, she realized that she dreamt about the accident, that began this nightmare that she was living. She took out the notebook that Doctor Reilly gave her to record her dreams and added this one to the list. After taking the sleeping pill she fell back to sleep, and didn't dream again.

That morning when she awoke, she realized that she only had three days left in this place. She would be going home with Booth on Friday. He was coming after work, and he would take her home. Her physical therapy was going well and she could walk short distances with only a cane to lean on. She knew she had a long way to go, before she was completely healed, but she was determined to walk unassisted again. Once she was released, she would have a visiting nurse coming most of the day for the first two weeks, and then she would only come for an hour a day. She would also have a physical therapist coming for two hours a day until she could walk across the room, without a cane, and unassisted.

She knew that she still had a long road ahead of her, but she could see the progress she was making every day. Her journal was full of many dreams about Booth. She knew she needed to show them to him so he could help her understand them, but she wanted to wait until they were at his house and alone. She knew these were private moments between them and she wanted them to be alone when they discussed them. Some of her dreams were about a beautiful blonde woman, who she hadn't met yet, but she felt afraid after she awoke from those dreams. She had a feeling that she was the reason Booth wanted her to remember.

Even with all the bits and pieces of her life that the dreams showed her, she still couldn't remember Booth. It was funny to call him that. Last night when they disagreed, that name just slipped out, and now she felt like that was the only name she ever used for him. She knew that her memories were starting to surface, but at the same time, she knew there was something she didn't want to remember. There was some memory that she wanted to just keep buried.

The book was a very important part of her healing process, and as she dreamt about a certain person or event, she would use the computer to contact that person and discuss the dream, usually they were able to help her fill in the blank spots, and the rest of the memory would come all the way back. It was so strange to hear someone else tell you about your life, but she knew this was working for her. She still couldn't remember everything about her job, but thought that was because Booth was such an integral part of it, and the memories of him still eluded her. She thought that when she remembered him, she would remember it all. But, was she sure that she wanted to remember it all, because she felt that some of those memories were very painful, and she just wanted to forget them.

I'm getting closer to the end, only a few chapters left. Please leave a comment; I really want to know if I'm doing this right.