An: Ahhh you guys are so going to love me...then hate me...hate me...hate me some more...hate me the most...hate me less, but still hate me...then kinda ease up, but the hate is still there, then you'll be annoyed, but still angered, then you're going to love me again ;)
Through the next six months, Brennan got her hair trimmed again and got it dyed to a slightly darker color. Lorelei always talked to Brennan about Booth when they got together to watch the sunset and the wily girl couldn't believe how much her friend loved this man and didn't even know it. Artifacts were collected throughout the island to suggest the hominids were a small, nomadic tribe; and Brennan continued to get calls and emails from Booth all throughout her stay.
Everyone on the team wrote up their notes and the doctors heading the expedition wrote up their conclusions. All paperwork was sent to the Board of Forensic Anthropology where they awaited publishing.
They were extended thanks from the board, and were told that the honors ceremony location, date and time would be sent to them within the next week or two.
When Brennan's bags were taken away, she turned around to her friends and sadly brought them into her arms, every intern earning a hug from her except for Daisy who was obviously coming with her.
"Stay safe Joshua," Brennan whispered when she hugged the smiling man "Make sure your sister doesn't do anything stupid."
"That'll be a hard one," he muttered, laughing when Lorelei walked over and pushed him out of the way, hugging Brennan tight to her and glaring "Mine," she growled teasingly, tightening her arms around the anthropologist before coming to stand back and she rested her hands on Brennan's cheeks.
"Listen to me Brennan. You're a genius in the science world, but when it comes to your emotions you're two steps above an idiot. Don't let that stop you from being happy alright?"
She nodded and hugged Lorelei again, her words echoing in her head before Lorrie spoke again, right against her ear. "I can tell by the way you talk about him, and how much he cares about you that it's meant to work out; but since you don't believe in fate, you need to realize you have to kick start this reaction, because he never will."
"But why won't he if he wants something with me so badly?" Brennan asked softly, her voice weak and wavering.
"Because despite all of the pain he's feeling, the last thing he wants is for you to run away, and when he pushes you to identify what you feel, he knows you'll run."
Brennan smiled when she pulled back and looked at her friend with interest, shaking her head and laughing gently "It's hard to believe you used to be rational."
"Oh, I'm still rational. I'm just not alone."
Brennan nodded, and her eyes widened slightly as she took in the declaration of her friend, before Daisy finally pulled her out of her trance. "Dr. Brennan we should probably get going. Our plane is boarding."
"A-alright," she stuttered, turning her lost eyes on her assistant and nodding, smiling and waving sadly at the others as they walked away. "I'll see you guys at the ceremony."
"Remember what I told you Brennan!" Lorelei screamed, smiling and bringing a daffodil from her jacket, twirling it with an almost evil look on her face. She smiled and looked at the flower before she tossed it to Brennan. "Remember what I told you."
Daisy sat beside Brennan and smiled as she twirled the daffodil between her fingers, looking thoughtfully at the quickly moving bulb of yellow. "Why did Lorrie give you that? And what did she tell you to remember?"
Brennan's eyes rose and Daisy saw an interesting contrast in them, like she was scared, but elated to be going home. Her mouth opened and the corner's of her lips turned upwards before she turned her eyes back to the flower and spoke quietly. "She told me some information that I didn't believe to be possible."
"Was it valuable information?"
'Oh, I'm still rational. I'm just not alone.'
"Yes, Daisy, it's very valuable," Brennan whispered, smiling at the intern gently before twirling the flower between her fingers again, and her eyes turned to view out of the window, watching as the clouds floated by.
She didn't understand why she felt nervous walking through the bustling sidewalks, breaking away from the groups of people and jogging to the trails leading around the World War II memorial. Practically jumping from the top of the hill, she ran down to the bottom and walked the last stretch of pavement, the beautiful summer breeze wafting through her hair as the coffee cart was in sight and she nodded to the clerk.
"Long time, no see Dr. Brennan," the young man said, "Where have you and your partner been? I like your new hair."
"Well thank you and Booth went to Afghanistan for a year training soldiers while I went to Indonesia for the hominid project," Brennan explained, sitting down on the bench and crossing her legs. "We promised each other we'd meet here in a year."
The young man smiled and glanced over her head, nodding and taking out two cups, scribbling the usual information on the cup and starting up the machine. "Maybe you should check behind you," the teen said, smiling and flipping his hair from his eyes.
Brennan felt her heart speed up tenfold and she turned in her seat, immediately jumping up and running to her partner, still dressed in his army uniform, and looking completely relieved to be home.
"Bones," Booth said happily before he laughed and she barreled into his arms, her hold around his neck so tight he was forced to bring his face to comfortably bury in her neck and his arms circled her lower back, lifting her off and ground and spinning around with her slowly.
"I guess you really did miss me," he joked tenderly, his lips moving against her neck and bringing her arms to tighten around him.
"I did," she whispered breathlessly, taking in the desert beaten smell of his cologne and smiling like a wild woman. "I'm so glad you listened to me Booth."
Booth laughed and hugged her tightly before allowing her to stand on her feet, his arms coming higher on her back. "What do you mean Bones?"
"I mean you came back in one piece," Brennan murmured, her eyes widening as sadness overcame here and her multiple nightmares she had over the year about him being killed in Afghanistan all pushed their way into her mind.
He caught the single tear that fell from her eye and he brought her into his arms again. "Ssh Bones, it's alright, I'm right here."
Her arms were tight around him and she buried her face in his chest, taking in a shaky breath as he ran his hands up and down her back, his lips pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. "Bones, this is the first time we've seen each other in a year, let's be happy. We're back together again; we don't need to worry about what could have happened, just what's going to happen."
"You're right," she said, stepping away from him and wiping away the tears that held her fears, smiling at him as she took in how loosely his uniform hung on him. "Booth, you've become very toned…"
"And so the swooning begins, I knew the guns would make the ladies drool," he joked, flexing his arms and showing how much his muscle mass has increased since a year ago.
"When you say guns do you mean your muscles?"
"Yes, Bones, I mean my muscles, and I see you've cut your hair, and dyed it," he said, smiling and reaching out, brushing his fingers across her bangs and bringing them to settle against her forehead. "You look beautiful Temperance, you really do."
She blushed and young man at the stand cleared his throat, smiling and holding up the two steaming cups of coffee. "Reunion coffee on the house guys," he said, handing them to the team as they walked over and nodded their heads in thanks.
They sat down together, hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, their coffee clasped in their hands as they looked at each other silently and smiled.
"I've missed you Bones."
"I know. I've missed you too Booth."
Booth and Brennan spent the whole day together; walking around the city, eating at the diner, going to see a movie, and everything else they usually did throughout their personal time together. They laughed and smiled and felt elation that they couldn't even describe, from being with each other again; like they were two halves of a whole, and finally being together made them feel complete.
At the end of the day they were exhausted, but didn't feel like parting, so they decided to go back to Booth's place to watch yet another movie, and so that Booth could change out of his army uniform and take a nice hot shower. Brennan agreed easily, and walked arm in arm with her partner down the sidewalks until they reached his apartment and he held the door open for her to walk into the hall where his apartment door was.
She smiled and thanked him, using her own key to open the door to his apartment and let them in, moving and plopping down on his couch, moving to her side and stretching across the oddly comfortable, but obviously worn couch.
"Mmm, we need to get you a new couch Booth," Brennan muttered, bringing her arms over her head and closing her eyes momentarily.
"Yeah probably, but don't go falling asleep Bones, I have a war movie I'm dying to watch, and dying for you to correct," he joked, brushing his fingers against her forearms before nodding back to his bedroom. "I'll be back in a minute."
"Alright," she whispered, her voice taking on a sweet tone that he only heard when she was getting tired, or just woke up.
Booth smiled and walked back into his bedroom, grabbing a towel from the rack in his bathroom and quickly stripping off his clothes. He jumped in the shower and turned the hot water on, sighing as the spray relaxed his shoulders and he felt ultimately sleepy. He lazily washed his hair and body and once all the soap had washed down the drain he stopped the spray and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his hips and running another through his hair.
He walked out into his bedroom and started searching for his Army sweatpants, before he remembered he had left them in his laundry room a year before. He groaned and stepped out into the hall, finding his Bones rolled onto her side, her arms curled under her head as she breathed softly, dreaming away.
He took in the beautiful sight of her sleeping face and found himself moving beside her, instead of going to fetch his sweatpants. He sat down on the ground beside her and rested his arm against the arm of the couch, his fingers brushing her bangs and short hair back behind her shoulder.
His head tilted and his fingers brushed against her cheek and jaw, his body moving forward to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, bringing her from her peaceful sleep with a gentle start.
"Booth?" she asked softly, confused as to what was happening, or where she was, but too tired to really care.
"Ssh, go back to sleep Bones," Booth returned, his fingers continuing to brush through her hair as her head returned to her arms and her eyes closed.
She complied immediately and fell asleep to the lulling of his fingers. He stood reluctantly and walked back into his laundry room, taking off his towel and putting on a clean pair of boxers along with his sweatpants before he came back to Brennan and leaned down, easily lifting her into his arms and off his couch.
"Mmm, what are you doing?" she asked weakly, curling perfectly into his chest and bringing her arms around her neck.
"I'm not letting you sleep on the couch," he whispered, pulling down the sheets of his bed before settling her on the side he slept on and bringing the sheet up to her hips.
"But, it's your first night back. I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch," she argued, starting to sit up, but found herself too tired and weak against his hands pushing her back down.
"It's alright Bones, just get some sleep," he murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed and brushing his finger tips against her cheek.
"Mmm," she whimpered softly, sinking into the mattress and allowing her breathing to slow gradually.
Booth didn't know what kind of force took him over, but he found himself leaning into her, his lips pressing to hers in a tender kiss good night before he stood and she fell into one of the deepest sleeps of her life.