My usual thank you list: GalaxieGurl (I'm in total agreement with you about everything in your review, the part about husbands and sons too!), LoveShipper, 554Laura (I wish we got to see more of Aubrey too), gatewatcher, jsboneslover, conservativegirl, pammy-447 (I really hope you're right about the possibility of a future reunion).

Thanks everyone, I'm really glad to see so many other fans share the love for Aubrey too. I wish they added him in earlier, then we'd have gotten to see more of this character.

Anyway this is my first ever contribution for the Bonesology fic challenge. Never let the words 'I love you' remain unsaid. Thanks 554Laura for helping pave the way for this fic to happen.

I Love You

Booth was sitting on one of his stadium seats in his hallway, when he heard the familiar patter of small feet approaching. He smiled as he looked up knowing who was approaching.

"All ready for bed sweetheart?"

"Yup." Christine beamed back at her father.

Booth picked her up and sat her on his lap. "Why are these chairs so weird Daddy?"

"Weird huh?"

"Yes. They don't look like they fit in our house. The couch in the living room fits, the chairs in the kitchen fit and the chairs in Mommy's office fit. But these are just here. And they're blue."

"Ah I see." Booth grinned. Maybe his little girl would grow up to be an interior designer or architect. "Well, these are not just any ordinary chairs, they're stadium seats, from a stadium, where people go to watch a game of football or baseball."

"Like when we go watch you play hockey."

"Yeah something like that."

"But why are they here Daddy? Nobody comes here to watch baseball."

"These seats are special. They remind me of the good times I had with my father. See these are the very same seats that were at the Vets stadium in Philly, where I grew up. He took me there once to watch the World Series. I had a great time with my Dad that night and these seats remind me of that time."

Booth didn't want to go into more specifics. He had never talked about his father to his children before and he didn't want to. He knew the day would come when Christine would ask about the grandfather she never heard about and he would have to tell her that his father was an abusive alcoholic, but that would be a story for another time. He looked at his daughter who seemed to be deep in thought. She reminded him of Brennan when she did that, and he couldn't help but smile.

"When I grow up I want to have something that will remind me of you too."

"Yeah? That sounds like a good idea."

"Do you think they'll allow me to bring the monkeys from the zoo home?"

"The monkeys from the zoo? The monkeys remind you of me?" Booth laughed.

"No silly! The zoo reminds me of you. We always have fun when we go there. And my favorite animals are the monkeys and the elephants but the elephants are too big to fit in a house."

"I see." Booth nodded, he couldn't argue with a six-year-old's logic. "I think you might have a little more trouble getting those monkeys home than when I got these chairs."

He recalled the time when he was stuck in the elevator with Brennan in the blizzard. Getting those stadium seats was indeed more difficult than he had anticipated.

"Someone else wants to say good night." Brennan smiled as she approached them with Hank perched on her hip.

Booth set Christine on her feet, then stood up to take Hank from his mother's arms. "Looks like you're ready for bed too, tiger."

He hugged Hank and planted a kiss on his little head before handing him back to Brennan. "Goodnight buddy."

"Come on, it's time to get you two in bed." Brennan said as she reached for Christine.

"Night Christine."

"Night Daddy." Christine echoed as she followed Brennan down the hall to her room.

Booth headed to the kitchen, grabbing a cold beer, he took a swig form the bottle, before settling back down on the stadium seats. Brennan joined him a short while later, taking the seat next to him.

"Remember when we were stuck in the elevator of my apartment with these seats?"

"Yes," Brennan laughed. "I have excellent memory. That's what you were talking to Christine about?"

"Yeah, she asked me why these seats were here. I didn't tell her much, just that they reminded me of good times with my Dad."

Brennan nodded, taking the bottle from Booth and taking a sip from it. "You're feeling nostalgic."

"I guess. Remember when we got out and we were in my apartment? We wrote those dates on pieces of paper and burnt them."

"Of course I remember. I just told you I have – "

"You have excellent memory, I know." Booth smiled teasingly. "I never got to see the date you wrote."

"I didn't see what you wrote too."

"You gonna tell me now?"

"Not unless you tell me first."

Booth leaned towards Brennan and planted a kiss on her lips. Back then, when he wrote on that piece of paper, he never envisioned he would be in those very same seats kissing her, his wife.

"You really wanna know?" Booth asked, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Yes."

"I didn't write a date."

"You didn't?"

"Nope."

"I thought you said if you wanted something really badly you write it down and burn it to ensure you got what you wanted?"

"Yeah and back then, I really wanted to be with you. But I was scared that I would be pushing you to do something you weren't ready for. I mean I tried that once and that backfired, so I figured I'd wait this time. So, I didn't write a date, I just wrote 'whenever Bones is ready.'"

"Oh. I thought you were angry."

"Yeah I was, but hearing that you wanted to try being with me… it pretty much took most of the anger away."

"So you were just going to wait until I initiated it."

"Yeah. Why? What did you write?"

"I wrote a date one month from that day."

"Specifically, one month?"

"Yes. I wanted to try being with you then, but I didn't want to when you were still angry. I gave myself that specific time to become less impervious and then I would wait for you. When a month passed, you didn't say anything so I thought you were still working on not being angry."

"Wow. So we were both waiting for each other."

"Yes, I believe you are correct."

Booth slumped back against the seats. "I can't believe it. I would have waited forever for you Bones, and you were waiting for me. We didn't say anything to each other. I mean if it hadn't been for Vincent… not that I'm glad he died but… I mean we may not be sitting here right now as husband and wife."

"That is quite possible."

Booth shook his head. "I love you Bones. I loved you back then. That night at my apartment, I'm not sure if it was those pills I was popping so I wouldn't get that disease from Conga – "

"Congo, Booth, it was CCHF, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever."

"Right, whatever, but what I was trying to say is that back then I knew I was in love with you. I wanted to tell you but I was worried I'd scare you away and so I didn't say anything. I just kept falling deeper and deeper in love with you every day we spent together and I just kept it all to myself. If I had just told you I love you – "

"We might have got together sooner, even before Vincent."

"Yeah."

"Well from now on we should never let 'I love you' go unsaid."

"I tell you I love you all the time."

"You mean you've never held back from telling me?"

"Well I did, before we got together, but I see your point. Have you ever held back?"

"I did not fully understand the notion of love before we got together, so I might have unknowingly."

Booth smiled. "Okay, so from now on, we don't hold back on our 'I love you's."

"Agreed." Brennan smiled back.

"Great, so I'll spit in my hand and you spit in yours and we'll make it a deal."

"No Booth that is a highly unsanitary way of exchanging bodily fluids. But," Brennan flashed Booth a sultry smile as she dropped her voice, "if you're intent of us exchanging bodily fluids, there is a better way."

Booth chuckled allowing her to take his hand and lead him to their bedroom.