Disclaimer: I own nothing…

Summary: When Booth begrudgingly agrees to go out on a blind date that his mother has set up at his insistence that Brennan is just a friend, and said blind date turns out to be a Temperance Brennan fan, he discovers that his feelings for Brennan may not be as platonic as he has been trying to convince himself.

Rating: PG-13

Author's Notes: Well, this is it, guys. I bumped the rating up to a T. Probably not even necessary, but I did it anyway, to cover my ass. For a minute there it was looking like it was gonna become an M… But then it didn't… Really, you'd be surprised at how little control I actually have over what ends up on paper in these…

Hopefully this one turned out okay… It's three in the morning, and I'm on acaffeine high, so I'm hoping I didn't screw anything up with the revisions. Did you know they give you your own pitcher at Friendly's? With refills? And their coffee is really good? 'Cause, seriously, I had like seven cups…

Anyway, hope you like it, and you guys can thank Jaed for this one… I just couldn't let you go on any longer with that heartbreaking picture in your head. ;-)

Oh, and the song here is Rascal Flatts, "Feels Like Today"… Did I mention the fickleness with my taste in music? 'Cause I totally wasn't kidding…

Feels Like Today:

I woke up this morning
With this feeling inside me, that I can't explain
Like a weight that I've carried, been carried away, away
But I know something is coming
I don't know what it is
But I know it's amazing, can save me my time is coming
I'll find my way out
Of this longest drought

Her hand fell to his shoulder as she moved to stand beside him. After a moment, when he gave no reaction, she situated herself in the seat beside him, leaning over the counter in an attempt to catch his eyes as he continued to ignore her. "Hey," she greeted softly, letting her hand trail down his arm, a tiny smile touching her lips.

"What happened? David go to the bathroom and you figured you'd sneak over? Stop pretending I don't exist?" He never once looked up at her, instead downing the glass that sat in front of him, his voice dripping with biting sarcasm.

"You're upset…" She stated quietly, her eyes dropping to the counter for a moment before she lifted them to study him once more.

"Yeah. I'm upset." His voice was full of contempt as he finally tilted his head toward her, just a bit, to meet her eyes. "You know, I had this big revelation today. I went out on this date that my mother forced me into, and we never even made it out of the house because she had this book and she left it out on the coffee table because, well, to put it simply, she was in cahoots with my mother and they set me up." He informed her, pointing a finger her way, his eyebrows rising in accentuation of his point. "And so we get to talking about the author of this book, right? And all of a sudden I realize that I'm completely in love with her, and so I call her up and leave her a message to meet me here… And then I walk in, and there she is, sitting with her boyfriend in our place!"

He hadn't noticed how her breath had caught when he had confessed his love, and it appeared that he was still oblivious as he turned his eyes back to the empty glass before him. She wasn't even sure he realized he had said it at all… And she got the distinct impression that he was drunk.

With a sigh, she reached out, pulling his hand into hers as he continued to avoid her gaze. "I'm sorry, Booth. David brought me… I didn't want him here any more than you did. I wasn't trying to hurt you when I came here, Booth. But what was I supposed to do? I had no idea he was bringing me here…"

He turned to her then, meeting her eyes. The sadness she saw there broke her heart and she could do nothing more than reach out to him, letting her fingers smooth over his cheek. It was only the faintest of touches, but it was enough to soften the sorrow in his eyes. He let his lips turn up in the tiniest of smiles as he reached up to take her hand in his, brushing a soft kiss over her fingertips. His eyes met hers then, and he watched as a light smile touched her lips as well, his heart swelling at the realization that she had allowed this gentle show of affection.

"You really didn't want him here?" His voice was hopeful and she couldn't help but smile a bit wider.

"I swear to you, I never want to be here with anyone but you… And right now, I think maybe I should get you home." She told him softly, pulling herself up to stand beside him; letting her hand fall away from his to rest on his back.

"What about David?" He spoke the other man's name as though it had some bitter taste to it and she gave an amused smile at that.

"David's gone… And you're drunk." She stated matter-of-factly as she rubbed his back gently, urging him to stand with her. "Looks like I get to drive tonight."

He grumbled at that, but stood and obediently handed over the keys.

You treat life like a picture
But it's not a moment that's frozen in time
It's not gonna wait till you make up your mind, at all
So while this storm is breaking
While there's light at the end of the tunnel
You keep running towards it
Releasing the pressure that's your heartache
Soon this dam will break

"This is your place." He stated as he finally lifted his head to look at their surroundings, confusion evident in his tone.

"I'm perfectly aware of that." She told him as she shut off the engine, glancing over at him and letting out a little laugh at the confusion on his face. He had fallen asleep on the way home and she hadn't had the heart to wake him immediately; instead opting to sit and watch him for a moment. The problem had resolved itself, however, when he had opened his eyes only moments after she had parked the car in front of her building.

"Why?" He questioned groggily, squeezing his eyes shut tightly in an attempt to wake himself.

"Because it makes more sense this way." She pointed out, a smile still playing on her lips as she watched him. "This way, both of our vehicles are here. I won't have to take your car for the night, and nobody has to do any picking up or dropping off."

"Who says you'd have to take my car for the night? Gotta say, I don't think I'd have any objections to you staying the night…"

She wasn't entirely sure he knew what he was saying, but she couldn't quite help the smirk that settled on her lips in reaction to his comment. "Well that's good, because I have no intentions of letting you leave tonight." She almost laughed out loud at the shocked confusion in his eyes before she continued, "You've been drinking. I'm not letting you drive home like this."

And it feels like today, I know
It feels like today, I'm sure
It's the one thing that's missing
The one thing I'm wishing
The last sacred blessing
And hey, feels like today
Feels like today

The moment she had managed to get him up to her apartment and through the door, he had collapsed onto her couch, pulling her down beside him despite her objections. It only took a moment before he'd had himself wrapped around her, nearly pulling her into his lap as he snuggled against her, his eyes drifting shut and his head falling to her shoulder. For a moment, she had believed him to be sleeping and when he spoke a little smile touched her lips as she rested her cheek against the top of his head, making herself just as comfortable as he appeared to be.

"I'm sorry if I ruined you date." He mumbled sleepily, burying his face against her neck then, the warmth of his breath making her shiver.

She smiled as she angled her body toward him just a bit, letting a hand wander to his hair as she smoothed it down, away from his forehead. "You didn't ruin anything. It wasn't exactly a date, anyway…" She paused for a moment to glance down at him and almost laughed at the pout he wore as he watched her. Instead, however, she let an amused smile cross her lips as she shook her head. "David and I called it quits tonight."

"That idiot." He nuzzled her neck gently, inhaling her scent deeply, before letting a smile of contentment cross his lips. "Didn't know what he had."

"Actually, he did." She told him, laughing lightly at the confusion on his face, before giving him a soft smile. "We got to talking… About you. David decided that, as much as he loved being with me, it wasn't right. Because you were the one I wanted… He said that he understood, and he didn't want to stand in the way of my happiness."

"David's a smart man." Booth offered then, his lips brushing softly over her neck as he spoke.

She sighed then, her eyes drifting shut as her fingers continued to play in his hair, the soft touch of his lips turning to gentle kisses. With a deep breath, she swallowed hard; trying her best to draw her mind from the affection he was showing her. "And yet thirty seconds ago he was an idiot?"

She was breathless, and he smiled at the affect he was having on her. "Thirty seconds ago, I thought he left 'cause he was an idiot. Come to find out, I was wrong."

His fingers were stroking over her thigh now, his caresses heightening both her fear and her arousal equally. She wasn't sure they were ready for this yet, but she couldn't quite bring herself to stop him. Her body was reacting to him in ways she never before would have even thought possible. The things this man could do to her with such a simple touch left her astounded, and she wasn't terrible sure she wanted that feeling to end so quickly.

"We can't do this, Booth." Her words were breathless as her eyes drifted shut against his touch, a sigh falling from her lips. The tone of her voice was most definitely not convincing and she silently cursed herself for being so weak against his charms.

"Why not?" His hand had crept up now, his fingers slipping below the material of her shirt to play over her bare abdomen, his kisses at her neck becoming more and more insistent.

"Because…" She fought to keep her mind working, her heart begging her to let herself go. The completely logical argument she'd had prepared about how it was too soon and they should take things slow flew out the window then and she found herself fighting for the words she needed to describe her feelings to him. Something that was most certainly new to her. She had never before had to struggle for words. Ever.

"Because you're drunk…" She finally forced out as the realization hit her that this was, in fact, her problem with their current situation. Had his mind currently been functioning on a more normal level, she knew she would have no objections… But it wasn't, and she couldn't let things go too far if it meant she would be risking rejection in the morning. "It shouldn't happen that way. Not the first time."

She felt him smile against her, right before his hand moved from beneath her shirt to rest at her cheek as he urged her to face him. "I'm not drunk." He whispered to her, his eyes falling to her lips for a moment, his own so close she could nearly taste him. Not wasting a moment, he dipped his head, catching her lips with his own, kissing her softly and sweetly, only to pull away a moment later, letting his forehead rest against hers as he smiled lightly, his eyes falling shut and a smile touching his lips.

"You really aren't drunk." She stated after taking a moment to catch her breath and gather her thoughts, her voice barely a whisper, but full of disbelief at the realization that she tasted no hint of alcohol on his breath. She pulled back just a bit then, her eyes full of curiosity. "What the hell were you drinking, then?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," was his only reply before he captured her lips once more, kissing her deeply. In that one kiss, she felt every ounce of the passion he had been holding back from her for so long, and she could do nothing more than allow herself to fall against him, surrendering herself to this man she was beginning to realize she could never live without. Her fingers wandered to his hair, and she couldn't help but sigh against his lips, giving herself over to him completely as she held on for dear life; her entire body trembling with the intensity of his passion.

When he finally pulled back, a light smirk touching his lips, he raised his eyebrows expectantly, his hand caressing her cheek and his lips hovering just a breath away from hers. "Still think we should stop?"

She shook her head almost violently at the suggestion before leaning in to pull him back to her, desperate to feel him against her once more. Before she could, however, he pulled back, silencing her objections before she had a chance to voice them with a finger against her lips as he gave her a little smile of tender reassurance. "Before we do this, I need to know—"

"I love you, too." She cut him off then, a smile playing in her eyes, before she leaned forward again to kiss him gently, her lips lingering on his as she continued, the corners of her mouth turning up to mirror the happiness in her eyes. "I'm starting to think I always have…"

It's the one thing that's missing
The one thing you're wishing
The last sacred blessing and hey

Feels like today (Feels like, feels like your life changing)
Feels like today (Feels like, feels like your life changing)