His feet padded slowly up the stairs as he crept up toward the bedroom where Bones had been hiding. He had counted to about five hundred before he decided that she had done enough pouting, and that one thousand seconds was a punishment for him, and he didn't want to subject himself to a punishment, he wanted the warmth of his partner beside him.

He put his hand on the doorknob and opened the door slowly, knowing that the room was going to be dark.

"I said I wanted to be alone."

"No." He replied, walking into the room, he closed the door behind him.

"Booth." She grumbled. He could hear her roll over on the bed, and a deep sigh.

"Stop being a big baby." He replied, flopping down on the bed beside her, he could see the silhouette of her body bounce a little from the remains of the sunset out the window.

"I wanted to be alone."

"You're not going to get that. I didn't bring you here so that you could be alone. I brought you here to be with you."

"You can't force me to talk to you."

"I don't have to force you. You're a very good conversationalist, even when you tell me you're not going to talk to me anymore." He replied, watching her lift the pillow up, covering her head. "I also know…" He whispered as he leaned closer to her, he put his hand on her hip and waited for her to pull her hand from the pillow. Just when she did, in order to brush his hand away, he grabbed the pillow from her head.

"Hey, stop it!" She exclaimed, rolling onto her back, she glared at him in the darkness, but she could tell just by the way he was sitting there that he was grinning at her. "And wipe that grin off your face before I do it for you." She said, her growl had just a tinge of something that he was trying to discern, one of the many talents that he had obtained from observing people. He could sense her lack of seriousness, and he also knew that it was because he was right.

"Bones?" He whispered, leaning close to her, he took a deep breath. "You smell nice."

"Cut it out…" She grumbled, pushing weakly against him.

"Stubborn, stubborn, Bones." He mumbled, burying his face into her neck, he felt her hands stop pushing against him, and a light moan escape her lips. "That's right…" He whispered.

"You're not winning this argument." She whispered.

"You're not arguing." He whispered back.

"Shh…" She said, closing her eyes as his lips rediscovered her, slowly, methodically. His fingers moved to her shirt, and his hands slid slowly behind the fabric, coming into contact with her warm, soft skin. "I am trying to be mad at you."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Then give up."

"I never give up."

"Oh… You'll give up." He said, moving his lips to hers, she let him kiss her slowly, but her hands came to rest on his shirt and she gripped it with her fingers.

"I don't have to give up." She whispered against his lips. "You passed my first experiment."

"What?" He asked, pushing back, she tried to ignore him and pull him to her, but he held his own and tried to keep his focus on her. "What do you mean?"

"I walked away, and you followed…" She said, her wicked grin visible in the darkness, and he shook his head and pulled a little further away from her. "What?"

"I don't want to be an experiment." He said, his voice filled with a deep seriousness.

"It's not a big deal, Booth."

"No, no… Bones… It is a big deal. Did you do that to see what I would do, or were you really upset?"

She paused, swallowing hard, she could feel her stomach twisting slightly as she answered. "No, I was upset."

"You're lying to me." He said, rolling away from her.

"I am not lying to you." She said, sitting up. "I was offended, and I did come up here to think, I'm not lying." She stated seriously, reaching for him again, he pulled away from her once more.

"I'm not a lab rat, Bones… this is not something I mess around with." He said, thumping his chest slightly with his fist. "I know we joked earlier about experiments, but I don't expect to be one of them."

"Booth, that's not what I… I didn't… I… I… ." She whispered.

"What?" He asked, unsure if he had heard her correctly, he waited for her response. "Bones?"

"I'm not experimenting on you, I was just joking around."

"You're sure?" He asked, trying to be sure that she understood the seriousness of the conversation.

"I'm sure. I understand." She said, feeling small and a little hurt. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He whispered, moving closer to her, he pulled her into his arms and held her, her head buried in his chest, he kissed her head as she held him closer to her, gripping him like she was sure that he was going to push her away again. He noticed her anxiety, and wasn't sure if he should say anything, but decided that it would be best to get everything out in the open immediately. "I'm not going to leave you, Bones." He whispered, feeling her body stiffen slightly in his grip, he knew that he had hit a chord. "I'm not going to just get mad and leave you. If I were going to walk away just because I get upset with you, I would have left a long time ago, Bones."

"It's different now." She whispered.

"Bones." He said, his voice was tender and soft. "I know that your brain works about seven billion times faster than mine, but it's only been a couple of hours. Just because we made love, doesn't mean that I'm going to change the way that I act toward you. It doesn't mean I'm going to change and hurt you. I still love you just as much as I loved you this morning, just as much as I loved you a month ago… I love you more."

"You keep using that word." She mumbled into his chest.

"I told you, I don't mess around with my heart, Bones. I've been dancing around these feelings for far too long, and I'm done holding them inside. I am trying to be honest here… I'm not going anywhere. I'm in this for the long haul… we already do the tough part of relationships, we've mastered that… we've earned the easy stuff."

"I don't understand." She mumbled against him, sighing slowly.

"The… prove that you'd die for me routine… the… call me even when you're mad… have you met my bank robber father, alcoholic brother, I was abused and/or abandoned by one or both of my parents and have major trust issues rigmarole. We already know all of that… we already accept one another, we already love one another. The step we took today was just our recognition of what we have been doing for five years, it's our reward, it is ours, it was all that was left to do before we continued together."

"And all of this, because I couldn't keep my notes straight." She said, rolling back from him, she lay on her back and stared at the darkness that was the ceiling.

"Huh?"

"My mistake." She said, glancing to his darkened figure. "I made a mistake, and you felt bad… so you did all of this."

"I didn't do this because of your mistake, Bones. You walked out of the lab and you went home without another word. You wouldn't answer the phone, you wouldn't answer my e-mails… you didn't even want to answer the door for me. I was worried… and I knew that I wasn't worried because I thought you were angry at me… I wasn't worried because you made a mistake… I was worried because I thought that you would think that I thought you were really losing a step. I was more worried that you believed me in my stupid angry tirade, and in that realization… I needed you to know that I thought more of you than just a brain that helps me solve cases. I needed you to know that you're more than just a bone lady, scientist…squint. You're my best friend, Bones. You're my best friend, and someone that I love very much, someone that I really, truly care about… and I wanted to prove that to you." He sighed.

"We've been through a lot together." She whispered.

"We have been through a lot together, you're right."

"I love you." She said suddenly, the words were clear and strong, and took him completely by surprise. "Booth?" She whimpered, her voice reaching out for him to catch the words before they disappeared.

"I love you, Temperance." He whispered into the air, his own words catching hers and keeping them warm and alive in the bed they were sharing.

"Booth?"

"Hmm…?"

"I want to tell you why."

"Why you love me?"

"Yes."

"Tell me."

"I'd rather show you."

"Oh Bones… ever the hands on kind of girl…" He said, rolling on top of her, supporting his weight with his arms as she giggled beneath him.

"Now I'm sure this is an experiment that you can get on board with…" She whispered, lifting her hands to take his face in her hand.

"Hell… yes." He whispered, descending upon her mouth hungrily with his own.