A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I didn't have a lot of time to finish and edit so I apologize for the mistakes. Enjoy!

Booth leaned against the counter and ordered himself another scotch and Brennan another glass of red wine. He made his way back to the table where Brennan sat with Cam, Angela, Hodgins and Sweets. They had had drinks as a group since they had all returned to DC but they had been a lot less frequent than they had been before everyone had gone away. Tonight however Brennan had an important announcement to make. She raised her glass.

"I have an announcement to make." They all turned towards her and gave her their attention.

"I have decided to go back to consulting for the FBI." She said. Before anyone could say anything, Booth enveloped her into a hug. He whispered thank you into her ear before pulling away. Brennan would never admit it, but one of the reasons she had decided to go back to helping the FBI was because of the troubles Booth was having; she felt that if things got back to the way they had been before they had left, it would help him.

"That's great Sweetie." Angela said after they pulled apart.

"This is great Bones! We'll be partners again."

"I've already been reinstated as your partner. I told Andrew to keep it a secret because I wanted to surprise you." Booth was so thrilled to be getting his partner back that he didn't even get the usual flare of jealousy he usually got when Brennan called his boss Andrew instead of AD Hacker.

"A toast." Hodgins said raising his beer. "To the partners."

{}

The next two months passed quickly, cases kept everyone busy. They all fell into the old rhythm instantly. Everything went back to normal. The nightmares began to ebb away; they became less intense and less frequent.

"So why are we celebrating?" Brennan asked as Booth poured her a scotch from his good bottle. "We haven't finished the case yet." Booth gave her a charm smile and plopped down next to her.

"We are celebrating the fact that I actually got six hours of nightmare free sleep." Brennan smiled widely. She raised her glass to him in a toast.

"Congratulations." She said. Her voice was softer than they both expected. She was filled with emotion, simple pride and relief that he was finally showing signs of recovery.

"Thanks, Bones." He replied gratefully. The smile she was giving him was worth all the therapy sessions that he had to endure with Sweets.

They continued to look into each others eyes and each slowly became aware that they were having a 'moment'. It was during these moments when both of them believed that something was there between them and that the right thing to do would be to act on it. For almost seven years they had been too afraid to act on it. They had let countless moments slip by them, always telling themselves that there would be another moment and that they would have the courage to take the risk.

However at this moment, neither of them knew what to do. Neither of them wanted the moment to end, but there was still something holding them back.

"Something has to change" Those had been his words. And yet they sat there on his couch unable to make the change. It was as if they were frozen.

Booth hoped that Brennan would be the first one to break the silence, tell him something that would give him hope or finally take that next step that he had been waiting for her to take for years.

Brennan hoped that Booth would be the first to break the silence, tell her that she would be making the right decision if she leaned in closer and kissed him like she yearned to do.

In the end it was Booth who spoke first. He knew her. She would always doubt herself in a decision such as this one, so he decided to give her a little help.

"I knew." He said softly, there was no desperation in his voice as there had been that fateful night he had gambled on her. "I knew at the beginning. I knew that night. And I know now." He gulped as he tried to remain calm. They had not broken eye contact since he had thanked her.

Brennan absorbed his words and carefully processed them. With a small, slightly vulnerable smile she leaned forward and gently places her lips on his. He couldn't think, luckily he didn't need to think in order for his body to respond to her. The kiss was extremely gentle and short. But it was exactly what they needed.

{}

Booth walked into Brennan's office a little more cautiously than he normally would have. After the kiss they had shared, they had mutually decided to end the night there. They had made a huge leap forward in their relationship and it was not something to be rushed. Booth wanted to make sure that he never lost her the way he had over a year ago. Brennan wanted to make sure that she was ready to enter into a romantic relationship with Booth.

"Hey."

"Hey, Booth." Brennan said looking up from the file she was reading.

"Ready for lunch?" He asked. Without waiting for an answer he walked to her coat-rack and picked up her jacket and held it out for her. Brennan rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"I really enjoy the diner." Brennan said, trying to make small talk as they walked towards the diner. Booth stopped suddenly. Brennan stopped and turned towards him. He looked as though he was about to say something and it distinctly began to feel like that night he had told her he wanted to take a chance. She began to feel the same flood of panic enter her system. Brennan began to think of a way to distract him; she did not want to have this conversation in front of the diner.

"Booth -" Booth raised a hand to interrupt her. Brennan moved next to him.

"Do you know that man?" She asked looking at the man Booth seemed unable to stop looking at. The man turned around and she saw his face. Brennan held the title of being the best forensic anthropologist in the world. She was easily able to see similar physiological characteristics and distinguish familial traits. Booth and Jared shared similar features and she could see the features that Parker had inherited from Booth.

"Booth is that your father?"