A/N: Okay, so seperators don't work at the moment. Oh well. You'll still understand the story even if there isn't any seperations between the two "parts". Anyway. So thank you to everybody who has reviewed the last chapter! I haven't seen so many reviews since "What She Thought She Didn't Want". I was really happy to read them, they really made me smile and cheered me up after a rather long and hard day at work (I cleaned and scrubbed for three straight hours, which isn't part of my "usual" job description but I mean, the place was full of dust). Anywho, hope you like this chapter as well. It's the final one.

Giggles erupted into the night as Temperance and Booth hurriedly left the restaurant by a back door. Leaning against the wall, Temperance tried to catch her breath after the not-so-much-planned escape had been successful. Booth stood, panting, in front of her.

"That... that was fun." Temperance said as she tried to calm herself down.

But one look at Booth sent her into a fit of giggles once again. Booth watched her, tenderly, and wondered when had been the last time his partner had let herself go like that. He smiled at her when she looked up again, hoping she hadn't caught him staring. Unfortunately, luck was against him.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" She asked, suddenly serious again.

Booth felt his face grow warmer. He thanked the darkness, just in case his face had also turned red in the process.

"I... I just thought it was nice to see you having fun, that's all." He replied.

A little white lie couldn't hurt. Well, it would probably hurt less than telling her he was a bit worried about her. He knew how she could be so indepedent and didn't like people fussing over her.

Hoping to change the subject, he added:

"Come on. Let's go for a walk."

He extended his hand and she took it willingly.

"Your mother, she's something." Temperance ventured to say once they had started walking and were out of Wong Foo's parking lot.

She heard Booth chuckle beside her.

"Yeah. She's something." He replied. "I remember when I was a kid, all my friends thought she was the coolest mom on the planet. I have to admit though, she was. She was always giving them candy, cookies and she was always inviting my friends over for little parties. She'd play them the latest jingles she'd composed over the last few weeks and she was terrific at entertaining a crowd. My birthday parties were never dull."

He sighed.

"What's the matter?" Temperance asked, picking up the sadness in his tone.

"She just spent more energy on my friends and my brother's friends than she did on us. I mean, she wasn't a bad mother or anything but she was sometimes very busy. When she was working on a jingle, she couldn't be disturbed. We could get grounded if we went knocking on her office door while she was composing. I guess that was the hard part."

"Has she always been this eccentric?"

Booth chuckled.

"Yeah. Sorry about her, by the way. I didn't think she would act that way around you. Mom's always wanted to know everything about my friends' lives. Or anybody's life for that matter. I don't think there's one person in this whole city who knows more about the latest Hollywood gossip."

Temperance looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back.

"It's weird, isn't it?"

Booth gave her a look that told her he didn't know what she was talking about.

"You know. How we met before and didn't remember?"

"Oh yeah. That. I still can't believe I forgot about it. We had a lot of fun that summer."

Temperance giggled.

"Yeah, we did. Remember when I found these bones in the forest?"

Booth rolled his eyes.

"I was going to ask you if you remembered when we made your brother eat worms but okay. Bones work for me too."

He winked at her which earned him a punch in the arm by her spare hand. He rubbed the sore spot.

"You sure still punch the same way." He said, as he rubbed his arm.

Pointing to a bench in the park they were passing by, he added:

"Let's sit down."

She nodded.

The bench was slightly cold as Booth and Temperance sat down and a soft breeze swept through the dark park. The sound of crickets reached their ears and the stars illuminated the sky above them. The full moon shined down on them, giving the park an eery look. Temperance shivered.

"Cold?" Booth asked. "Do you want my coat or something?"

"No. I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Booth." Temperance replied, annoyed. "I'm sure."

"Okay then."

They sat in silence for a while, each other lost in their thoughts. Her fingers still linked with his, Booth slowly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. He felt her shiver once again under his touch. This time, he knew it had nothing to do with the cold.

The touch of his thumb on her skin awakened emotions in her she hadn't known she had. She suddenly felt the urge to be closer to him, to be held by him, to feel his body close to hers. For once, she listened to her desires. Slowly, she leaned closer to him until her head rested on his shoulder.

How they had come to be this close he wasn't quite sure. He figured time had played a small role in their situation. But whatever the reason was, here they were, today, as close as they had ever been. He still couldn't believe that Temperance Brennan, the most stubborn and independent woman he knew, was snuggled up against him. He turned and gently kissed the top of her head. He heard her sigh softly.

Time passed slowly. How long they sat silently like that, they weren't quite sure. Five minutes? Maybe even ten? Temperance was the first one to speak up.

"Booth, remember our promise?"

She felt him stiffen for a split second before relaxing once again.

"Yeah. Why?"

"We promised each other forever love."

"I know."

She felt him nod. She took a deep breath before asking her second question.

"Have we kept that promise?"

She pulled herself from him and Booth immediately felt cold from the loss of contact. He turned to face her, the moon shinning down on her and making her look pale. He saw that she was scared; scared of his answer and probably scared by what she was feeling. He couldn't help but feel proud of her for facing her biggest fear.

He smiled tenderly at her.

"I know I have."

Her eyes grew wide in surprise and Booth chuckled.

"Bones..." He started, not quite sure what he was going to say next. "I have the... biggest crush on you. And I know that, with time, it could grow to be more. Now I can't promise you forever love like I did back when I was six because if there's one thing I learned over the years is that we never know where life can take us. But I can guarantee one thing. It's definetely going to be love."

He stopped, out of breath, and waited for her to say something. Anything.

But as the seconds ticked away and she still didn't say anything, he felt his anxiety begin to rise. Had he said too much? Had he scared her off? Had he be completely wrong thinking that she felt the same way he did?

The questions ran through his mind at the speed of light and he was pretty sure that his partner could read them in his eyes. He tried to reason with himself, without luck. He began slightly to shake as his heart pounded in his chest. He was pretty sure she could hear it.

The crickets continued to sing in a nearby bush, irritating Booth. Every sound they made, made him believe the insects were laughing at him. How could he have been so stupid?

A full minute had passed and Temperance still hadn't said anything. Her eyes were now resting on his hands, avoiding the eye contact.

"Please say something, Bones. Anything. This silence is really starting to make me uncomfortable."

The sound of his voice made the woman look up. Booth could tell by the look in her eyes that she was confused and could detect a hint of fear in those blue orbs of hers.

"I..." Her voice was quiet, barely audible. "I don't know what to say."

"Just tell me whether or not you feel the same way about me. There isn't anything else to say."

"I just can't give you an answer when I'm not even sure myself how I feel about you."

She looked down again but this time Booth wasn't going to let her. Bringing two fingers to her chin, he gently pushed up. Their eyes locked once more.

"Let me help you with that."

He leaned in slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull back if she wanted. But when his lips touched hers, he knew that even if she wanted to pull away that he wouldn't let her. Sparks flew everywhere, there were no doubts about it. But what Booth hadn't expected was for Temperance to bring her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

When they pulled away, Booth rested his forehead against hers. He felt her pull back and he didn't try to stop her.

"So, how do you feel now? Still confused?" He asked, hoping she'd say no.

She shook her head. Booth smiled at her.

"But that doesn't change the fact that..."

"You're still scared, I know." Booth finished her sentence for her. "I know you better than you think I do. I know you're scared and I'm ready to deal with that."

"There's just such a big difference between knowing for sure and thinking that maybe it's true."

"I know."

"And Booth, I mean. We're friends, we work together. Things could get so complicated. I'm really not good at relationships. What if we ruin everything?"

"It's a chance we gotta take."

"But what if I'm not ready to take that chance?"

Booth sighed.

"Then I'll wait for you until you're ready. I won't push you into anything you don't want."

"Why would you do that?"

"I just think you're worth the wait."

Temperance smiled at him, shyly.

"Come here." Booth said as he gathered her in his arms.

Temperance immediately snaked her arms around his neck once again and pulled him closer.

"Thank you." She whispered after a few seconds.

"You're welcome."

Closing his eyes, Booth enjoyed the moment. He knew it would be a while before he would be able to hold his partner in that way and he wanted to make the best of it. There would be a time when, maybe, he would be able to hug her and kiss her and show her just how much he cared about her. He just knew it wasn't going to be tonight. So he held on. He held on to the moment like there was no tomorrow.

Closing her eyes, Temperance enjoyed the moment despite the warning flight alert buzzing in her mind. She wanted to run and hide in a safe place, a place where Booth wouldn't be having the effect he was currently having on her, a place where she could lock herself up again, a place where she knew she would never get hurt. But she fought her desire to run to make place to the new one slowly coming to life in her: the desire to be held by him. She felt vulnerable, yes, but she knew Booth would never use that against her. He knew her. He knew her past, he knew her present and he even knew her thoughts. She smiled at that thought. He knew her and he still wanted to be with her. She hugged him tighter.

Their bubble suddenly bursted as a cry reached their ears.

"SEELEY!"

Temperance's eyes shot open but she remained still.

"Booth, is that... your mom?" She asked, squinting to make out the shadowy figure walking towards them.

Pulling back, Booth turned around in the newcomer's direction. He chuckled when he recognized the drunken figure of his mother.

"Yep. That's Mommy." He replied.

"Is she drunk?" Temperance asked as she watched Booth's mother coming towards them.

"I think so." Booth answered, getting up. "Mom?"

"Seeley, you left me all alone in that bar."

"Yeah, shouldn't have done that." Booth mumbled under his breath.

"What was that, son?"

Behind him, Temperance giggled.

"Nothing, Mom. Let's get you home. You're obviously too drunk to drive."

"I'm not drunk. I've only had... free drinks tonight."

Booth turned to Temperance who was looking at him questionningly.

"Free means three and four put together." He explained.

She nodded, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. He smiled tenderly at her, happy to see she was having fun. He motionned to her to follow them. Temperance got up.

"Hey Seeley, who's that woman? Is she your giiirlfriend?"

Booth sighed.

"No, Mom. That's Temperance. We work together, remember?"

The old woman shook her head.

"No. But do you know who she reminds me off? You know that little girl you met when we went to visit your Aunt Muriel in Chicago?"

"Yes. Temperance Brennan. I remember her." Booth replied, winking at his partner.

"No, no, no. That's not it. Remember, she had an older brother. His name was Ross."

Booth rolled his eyes.

"His name was Russ, Mother. And the little girl was Temperance Brennan."

"No that wasn't her naaame." The woman said. "That girl loved bones. She just loved her bones. Get it? Loved her bones!"

"Yeah, Mom. Whatever."

Then, reaching into his pocket, he took out his keys and handed them to his partner.

"There, take the SUV and go home. I'll swing by later tonight to pick it up."

Taking the keys, Temperance looked at him, surprised.

"You'll letting me drive? That's a change."

Booth shrugged.

"Yeah well. A lot of things changed tonight."

Temperance stopped in her path and watched as Booth continued to walk. She heard him wish her a good night before turning back to his mother who was rambling on how great the new woman in his life was. A smile tugged at Temperance's lips as a warm feeling washed over her. Booth had been right. A lot of things had changed tonight.

She closed her eyes and let herself feel the wind around her. It had been so long since she had simply enjoyed a moment and yet, she had done just that twice that night.

"Loved her bones." She heard Booth's mother say in the distance.

She chuckled softly and shook her head before resuming her walk.