Don't own them.
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The partners had made their way to the end of the path and the trail opened up to the beautiful view of Jordan Pond, Brennan snapped a few more pictures with her phone. "I kind of want to swim out to that boulder over there even though I know that swimming isn't permissible in this pond."

"It does look like a nice little pond to take a swim, you could always dive in and I'll just say that we're FBI performing a routine water maintenance checkup." He replied, trying to keep the mood light though his mind was going a million miles a minute. Bones had said she loved him, well she said she was pretty sure she'd come to the conclusion that she loved him. But even as she said it, Booth realized that it was a big step for her, so he gave her a momentarily out. Letting them get back to the easy banter as they finished hiking the trail getting to the destination.

Brennan lowered her phone and turned to look at him, "Since when does the FBI perform water tests?"

Booth shrugged, "Since we wanted to go swimming in a pond that says we can't" he said, though Brennan could tell by his tone that he was only kidding. "Let's take a walk around the pond get some pictures at different angles, and then we should probably head back."

"Because your bottomless pit needs feeding?" She asked with a smirk, putting her phone in her pocket and moving with him. "Do you think that Parker is having fun?"

"He's with those kids and he's doing an activity outside, I'd say he's about a happy as a child in a candy store." He replied.

"Unless that child isn't allowed to have candy, in which case that would mean Parker is having a terrible time…border lining on cruel." She retorted reaching out to take his arm to steady herself as she moved around one of the larger stones before letting her hand drop back at her side. "I find that I'm surprised you haven't pushed the pervious conversation."

Booth shook his head, "We tabled it for the time being, I know that you would want to collect your thoughts."

Brennan paused to look at him before continuing their progress around the pond stopping only to snap a few pictures, "I had almost a year to collect my thoughts, there wasn't much to do at night other then find ways to creatively stop snakes and mosquitoes from coming into your tent."

"So, you love me, let's talk about that." He stated, resisting the urge to jump around like a hyper overly excited school girl.

"I believe so; this would have been much easier if you'd been there to tell me what I was feeling. Then again I wouldn't want to talk to you about you so I guess it would have been better if Angela had been the one to be there, but she would hate being in some remote location swatting at mosquitoes and hiding from Guerillas." She frowned, "Anyway, I find that like my father and brother I don't want to lose you. I had been so worried for so long that something was going to happen to you. That you would get hurt on a case and there wouldn't be anything I could do to thwart it from happening. I didn't know what that would mean for our partnership."

"It means that you're a great partner, because I worry about those things too Bones, I worry that I'm not going to be able to protect you when some nut comes after you with a gun, or the next time some serial killer thinks it's fun to kidnap you and then ransom you off while you're stuck in some underground…" Booth shook his head, "Good partners worry, that's normal."

Brennan nodded, "I suppose so. But I also worry about Angela, she is like a sister to me, and I love her. It only seems rational that I would love you too."

Booth's breath rushed out of him; of course she would draw that conclusion. He'd been brother-zoned by his partner that he was in love with. Next maybe Christopher's next prank would probably get his foot chewed off by a bear.

"However, while I found that I did think about her often in Maluku, I didn't find her thoughts distracting." The frown reappeared, "I found that no matter how hard I tried to focus on a task at hand I was wondering what you were doing, what you were eating, if you were hurt. What we would be doing if we were back in the States together, if you would get some pie, how good fries would taste but only if they come off your plate." She took a breath, "I thought about you so much, I heard you in the back of my mind telling me what to do." She paused and the accusation was back in her eyes like it was his fault she was thinking about him, "It was quite annoying, I couldn't even tell you to shut up, that I could take care of myself because you weren't there."

Booth held up his hands in surrender, "I wasn't there so don't get out the pitch forks."

Brennan rolled her eyes, moving to take the trail back to the picnic area, "I don't love you like I love my family, even though you stated that there are different types of family." She said, "I think that means I'm in love with you."

"I think so." Booth replied easily.

"How do you know?"

"It's simple Bones, because that's how I feel about you. I love you; I'm in love with you. It's you or no one else for me Bones." He retorted, "I know because the feelings are mutual."

"So what do we do about it?" She asked.

"What do you suggest we do about it?" He asked, because he wasn't going to make the mistake of assuming they would just pick up and have a relationship, he'd let Bones get her opinions in this time, even if he had to talk her into a relationship with him.

"I think." She took a deep breath, "I think it would be best…"

"Bones, I'm going to stop you right there." Booth stopped their forward motions, placing a hand on her arm, "Because if you're about to end that sentence with '…if I hop on a plane to dig up remains on Pluto with Dr. Hum-man-na Chewbacca' it's not going to happen, I'm just going to get on the plane with you and you'll be stuck with me."

"I don't hop on planes that sound dangerous it would be much safer to walk onto one." She crossed her arms, "And you can't go to Pluto especially not on a plane and I don't know who Dr. Chewbacca is, I'm not familiar with his work."

"Seriously?" he asked his jaw dropping.

"Is he published? Would I have seen his work somewhere?"

"On Star Wars…big movie franchise, ringing any bells?" he asked.

Brennan waved her hand in dismissal, "I don't care for television that doesn't have a point to it, and a movie franchise about a galaxy that isn't even real doesn't suit my fancy." She rolled her eyes, "Besides, matter at hand, I think that we should enter a social contract."

"A social contract?" he repeated.

Brennan bobbed her head, "That's correct. A social contract."

"So am I going to get my new tie now…or…?"

Bones narrowed her eyes at him, "I think we are past that."

"You've already given me a tie to enter our social contract?" he asked jokingly.

"No." she frowned, "But you've given me the small pig and the Smurf figures, technically we've already entered a form of a social contract you are correct. So, then we are doing this wrong."

"Whoa, whoa. We aren't doing anything wrong, we're doing things Booth and Bones style, and we're different we don't follow the rules…" Booth retorted.

"Rules are meant to be followed." She pointed out interrupting him.

"Rules, Smules." Booth replied, "We don't need social rules to tell us what to do."

Brennan studied him, "You are correct again. So social contract…"

"Dating." He interjected, "You and I, you dressed up in something sexy, I'll dress up in something smashing we'll do the town red."

"I don't know what that means."

"It means we date, which is what we've been doing all along, but with more….intimacy." he explained, uncomfortable with having to map out how relationships, serious relationships, worked. But he would do it if it meant that Bones would be with him, "Exclusive dating."

Temperance looked up at him, "And if it doesn't work out?"

Booth shook his head, "You can't think that, you can't get into the rink thinking that you're going to lose it's just setting us up for failure. Besides, we're not going to not work out. I feel it, we're going to go the whole way we'll be old and Parker will be taking care of us and we'll be pulling stunts like forgetting where the keys are and ringing the doorbell at 2am and he'll get mad and threaten to send us to nursing homes, but he won't do it because if he sent his dad to a nursing home he would have to send his favorite Bones too."

Temperance laughed, "That's not true, you might be far enough gone to not know which is the fake rock, but I always keep my keys on me. I would just try every key. You're going into a nursing home old man!"

Booth's mouth dropped open, "You're really let me go to a nursing home alone?"

Brennan nodded, "I would, I have no intentions on ending up in a nursing home, and there are plenty of elderly people who function on their own right up to their deaths. Assuming that I don't come down with anything that would cause me to be unable to care for myself, I would like to be one of those people."

"Okay, so we'll get a house, and grow old sitting in our matching rockers yelling at kids to not step on our grass." He said, "Point is, we're going to last. We're going to work out. This is it for us."

"Is this one of your gut feelings? Because you're gut isn't always right." She retorted.

"My gut is fine, this isn't just my gut. I know Bones, I just know." He repeated his words from the Hoover, because he does know, he can feel it.

Brennan looked around them, trying for all the world to get the answers from the forest around them, "Okay." She said softly, "Okay." She reached out attentively and took his hand.

"Okay?" he asked looking from their joined hands to her face.

"Okay. I'm willing to go with your gut that has no magical powers." She replied, "Okay we'll give our social contract a try."

"…and succeed." He grinned like a child in a candy store…one that could have candy.

"And succeed." Though her reply was skeptical, she couldn't forget all her reasoning, but she trusted Booth.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"So…" Booth said, "dating."

"This is awkward." Brennan said bluntly, "Is it supposed to be awkward?"

Booth shrugged, "I think so, we've both had relationships but neither of us has had the perfect relationship, we're in new territory, baby."

"Don't call me baby." She retorted.

"You grew to like Bones, you'll grow to like baby, Baby." He replied. Brennan dropped his hand and started moving down the trail without him, he hurried after her, "Okay, okay. No nicknames, I got it."

"You may call me Bones, I like Bones. I don't like to be referred to as an infant." She paused thinking, "Or a pastry."

"Right no baby, no muffin." He said reaching down and taking her hand, this time feeling more natural, "So dating."

"You said that already. So did I. In fact we're done a lot of repeating ourselves today." She turned an amused glance at him.

Booth stood short causing her to stop as well since their hands were joined, "Okay." He said, stepping close to her and using his free hand to take gentle hold of the back of her head. He kissed her deeply, his other hand letting go of hers to frame her face, and seconds later her arms were around his neck as she returned his affections. When he pulled away he rested his forehead to hers, "First official kiss, which means there can't be any awkwardness anymore."

Brennan chuckled, "That's not how it works, I'm socially awkward and I know that."

"Doesn't matter, we don't follow social rules remember? Therefore, I declare that we won't be awkward anymore." He retorted, taking her hand once more and continuing down the trail. "I feel like we've been on this trail for a few hours, it was only a mile roundtrip what does that say about us?"

"That we stopped plenty of times along the way to converse." She tilted her head in thought, "And that you could stand to eat a little less pie."

"You can never have too much pie." Booth said offended on behalf of his favorite dessert.

"I'll remind you that you said that when you can't fit out our front door to sit in our matching rocking chairs." She said with a soft laugh.

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Avery used his stainless steel 2 pronged fork to keep Christopher at bay, "If you even come near the hamburger meat you'll pulling metal out of your chest for the next week."

"Wow, could you be any angrier at the world, can I at least put some seasoning on Tempe's Tofu burgers? They look like cardboard, I don't understand how she doesn't eat meat anymore, look at them, I can't even...I think I might throw up."

"Did you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror?" Booth asked coming up behind the prankster, moving to stand between the two brothers, "Anything I can do to help?"

"You could tell us what took you so long." Avery said with narrowed eyes, looking towards his foster sister who was sitting with the Pines chatting happily about something.

Booth shrugged, "You mean you don't know?"

Avery let out a dark chuckle, "I'm not a complete sociopath, besides Tempe knows my people she would spot them, and then I won't be holding think tool, I'd be pulling it out of my back."

"Are you ever going to tell me how you knew what I said to Bones on those steps?" he replied.

"I would, but then you would know." Avery said sarcastically, "Don't worry, now that I've had some up close and personal face time, I'll back off. But If I even think that you're going to hurt my sister, there isn't a place you could hide."

"I'm not going to hurt her, don't threaten a federal agent." Booth said annoyed.

"Hey, hey. Future bro-in-laws let's all get along before the old man comes and we find ourselves volunteering to clean windows here in the park." Christopher threw in trying to diffuse the situation and keep the afternoon light. "So what did take so long to go for a walk?"

"We stopped to talk." Booth replied, "Bones shared some information about a field in Australia that was hard to get too, and I told her that I didn't need any light to know who was snooping outside our tent, and that if any foul play happens tonight someone is going to find themselves in a shallow grave."

Avery let out a deep laugh, while Christopher swallowed, "Uh. You know, I didn't have anything planned, it's harder to get away with anything when Dad's sleeping only a few tents away, but thanks for the warning anyway." Christopher said, and with that he turned and headed towards the bikes.

"It's too easy to pick on him." Avery said, turning a serious expression to Booth, "I will back off, like I said, just don't make me regret it. I'm trusting you to keep Tempe safe, if anything were to happen to her…"

"I'm her gun." Booth filled in when the other man trailed off, "I've got her back, and I think I've got her heart and I'm not going to let anything happen to that either."

Avery nodded, "Alright. Good enough. You wouldn't happen to know how to cook a tofu burger would you?"

Booth blanched, "By throwing it into the dumpster at the end of the field." And both men let out a chuckle.

"Seriously?" Brennan said, having left her conversation and moving over to the grill, "You put it on the grill and it gets all hot and delicious. You don't put it to close to the hamburgers, and you don't let Christopher try to 'spice it up'."

"It would probably make it taste better." Avery replied with a shrug, "I'm just saying, let me coat it in a little hamburger…"

Booth backed away from the grill before either one of them decided to throw any form of raw meat/tofu at the other, "I'll just let you have your spat, I'm going to head to the restroom." And with that he turned and walked away, not that either adult noticed his exit to intent on the glaring contest they were having.

Booth nodded at Marcus and Abigail as he walked down the path leading to the public restrooms, once inside he checked for other signs of life before letting out a breath he felt he was holding all afternoon. "Bones loves me." He said quietly to himself. "Bones. Loves. Me." He said more firmly and a grin broke out on his face. "Bones loves me."

He paced the small restroom letting it all sink in, he'd wanted to jump for joy when she agreed to have a relationship with him, but was worried that if he overreacted it would trigger her fight or flight mode and he would lose this win he…they…had gained. "Bones loves me!" he said this time more joyous.

"Congratulations, you must drink a lot of milk." An older gentleman said coming into the bathroom looking at him strangely before continuing on to one of the stalls closing the door firmly behind him.

Booth coughed embarrassed before going about his business and exiting the bathroom, he quickly made his way back to the group where the kids and Chloe had arrived. Parker, who had been showing his plastic Junior Ranger badge off to Bones saw him and came running over, "Dad! Dad, look at what I got it says that I'm a junior ranger and that while I'm here I get to help keep the park clean! So don't litter or I'll have to tell a Park Ranger." He said excitedly, "Isn't it cool? Bones says that she's jealous that she couldn't take part in the program."

"I've got to admit that I'm a little jealous too, Bud, I'm very proud of you for making rank as a junior ranger." He said bending to give his son a hug, though he knew that probably every kid that went got a badge. "Are you hungry? Avery looks to be cooking the food."

Parker nodded, "I'm starving, and I could eat a whole cow! But don't tell Bones, because she took it literal when you said you were going to eat a horse. I don't want her to think I'd really eat a whole cow." He paused, "Well at least not in one sitting."

Booth chuckled as the two made their way to the rest of the group, "I won't tell her, she'd go into a lecture about how bad meat is, she'd probably try turning you into a vegetarian."

"That wouldn't be too bad; Bones is a really good cook. But I would miss meat; a nice juicy burger always hits the spot." Parker said, a kid after Booth's own heart. "Oh! Melanie wanted to show our badges to Avery." He said running off to where Melanie and Dylan stood chatting.

"I'm cooking all this food so someone should be nice and get me a beer!" Avery called out to the group in general. Bones rolled her eyes but walked over to get the beer and handed it to him. No one but Booth seemed to notice the exchange that took place between the two afterwards. Brennan nodded at something Avery said before turning and catching his stare; she smiled and made her way over.

"Did Parker show you his badge? I'm jealous I have to admit." She said casually when she made her way over.

"I did see, I'm a little jealous too, we should see if we can get in on the next class." He said jokingly, before nodding towards Avery, "Is everything okay there."

Brennan's forehead crinkled but she nodded, "Yes, fine." She waved her hand dismissively, "I'll tell you about it later."

Booth's gut picked up on something but he let it go with a tight nod, "Okay."

Brennan caught his tone and rolled her eyes, "Nothing bad, just a little…" she glanced around casually but Booth noticed she focused on Christopher who was playing ball with Wes a few yards away, "settling of scores."

Booth arched an eyebrow, "Are you sure that's something you want to take on with Marcus around?"

Brennan grinned, "Who says that Marcus isn't part of our little plot?" she leaned closer, "Just don't drink the beer that has a diamond on the label."

"I'm seriously never going to get over this playful…vengeful side of you." He said with a grin, "When we get home there are a few tricks I'd like to play on Dr. Hodgins."

Temperance frowned, "But Jack hasn't done anything to us."

Booth shook his head, "Doesn't matter, it's…bonding."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I highly doubt that, I think you are just using that as an excuse for me to allow you to prank people in my lab." She tilted her head, "We will discuss it later, I suppose a harmless prank wouldn't be bad, and as long as it is harmless you would be right about bonding….plus it might be fun. Partners?"

Booth grinned, "Oh yeah, Partners." He gave her a deep look, "Always partners."

Brennan flushed, "Correct." She said, they had decided on the walk back not to tell the family that they had decided to pursue a personal relationship between them having decided it would be more amusing to see what the family had to throw at them.

The group ate their lunch, and Temperance took the gently ribbing about her tofu burgers from the family. They chatted about little things, kids breaking in to talk about their afternoons activities. When lunch was over they all worked as a team to clean up the section of the picnic area that they had used.

Marcus clapped his heads together causing everyone's attention to fix on him, "I don't know about you, but after that meal, I could use a swim." Cheers went up from the kids, "Let's pack up take a short ride down to the Echo Lake Beach and we can all go for a dip." More cheers followed that statement.

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I feel like I should state that some of these places aren't quite as close as I'm making them out to be Acadia covers a lot of territory, like the 'hike' B&B went on was near a restaurant of the same name, and the beach is on an island…but I'm a rebel! Still awesome places to check out if you're in the Maine area since a few of you have mentioned that you're having a vacation through my story. Ha-ha.
Thanks for not yelling at me to bad for the cliffhanger in the last chapter, I hope this sort of made up for it. Anywho, I'm going to go because in the process of writing this I spilled sunflower seeds all over my bed. Rawr. As always thanks for the reviews!