A/N: This is the last 'real chapter'. I should have the epilogue up before the season finale. How is it May already? -tc

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Waking sometime later in the night,Temperance snuggled back a little farther against Booth's chest and turned her head so she could nuzzle against his neck. One of his hands was in her hair, combing absently through the soft waves, and the other traced delicate circles across her bare stomach.

"Hi," she said drowsily.

"Hi yourself," Booth replied, continuing his gentle exploration of her body. Tempe smiled and closed her eyes, savoring the sensation.

"Hey Bones?" he murmured into her hair.

"Mmmm?" She was too sleepy, too happy, too everything to comment on the nickname.

"How come you have your belly button pierced? I mean, I know how you feel about plastic surgery, and I just figured that applied to, you know, any form of ... physical modification."

He felt her lips curve into a smile against his throat. "You know, Booth, in many cultures piercing isn't simply a decorative practice. It can be a right of passage into adulthood, an emblem of prestige or nobility within a society, or even a commemoration of victory in battle. What we think of as mere jewelry can have cultural significance that dates back thousands of years."

He leaned back so he could look her in the eye and gave her a roguish grin. "Angela made you do it, didn't she?"

Brennan laughed, and Booth could feel the tremor in her body against his stomach. "You know me too well."

He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, and Temperance turned back to bury her head in a pillow so he couldn't see the shock she knew must be all over her face. He did know her. This man she had only really known for a little under a year, who had infuriated her, pushed her around, challenged her, danced with her, dried her tears, trusted her with his son, and made love to her, somehow knew her in a way she barely knew herself. Angela had said as much, but now, lying naked against him, it finally seemed real. Brennan braced herself for the wave of fear that accompanied this newly discovered vulnerability, but it didn't come. In its place was a kind of quiet giddiness, and a security that she hadn't allowed herself to hope for in years. In the midst of her realization, she felt Booth's arm slide around her shoulders, and his fingers slipped into hers, linking their hands on the pillow.

"Seeley?"

He wondered whether she could feel the thrill of pleasure that rocketed through his skin at the sound of her voice.

"Mmm-hmm?"

"Why didn't you marry Parker's mother?"

He was silent for a moment, and his right hand began again to brush her stomach. "I wanted to. She refused. She was... angry that I put the job before her, before the rest of my life. She thought I could never love our child as much as I loved my work. And I think she was scared, too. She never wanted to get that phone call saying I was never coming back."

I know how she felt. Tempe clutched Booth's fingers a little tighter. "So why didn't you tell her what you told me tonight? That even when the worst happens, the good days can never be taken away?"

He nuzzled the top of her head. "I tried to. She said it wasn't worth it. I wasn't worth it. Some days... I wonder if she's right."

"She isn't."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I just know."

He smiled at the quiet conviction in her voice. "That wouldn't be gut instinct, would it?"

"No." Tempe knew he was teasing her, and rolled over to tug swat him playfully. He responded with a kiss, and she let her fingers run through his hair before continuing. "I know she's wrong because I've been there. I lost people I loved, and it was terrible – it's still terrible – but you're right. It doesn't mean I should shut out the chance for happiness just because the bad sometimes comes with the good. In the time they had, my parents gave me a wonderful childhood. You're giving Parker a wonderful childhood. And... you've given me something wonderful, too. I know that every day I'm with you might be the last day I ever see you. And I'm not... I'm not saying I'm okay with that; it's not something you can be okay with. But I accept it. And you're right. We can't stop bad things from happening to the people we l- well, who are close to us. So we should do our best to make as many good things as possible happen."

"So this – us - is a good thing?" He'd noticed when she caught herself, wondered whether she was feeling what he now knew he couldn't deny, and decided not to press the issue. There would be time for declarations of love later.

"It's a very good thing." She smiled then, wide and bright.

"Good." He grinned, then kissed her, slow and soft. If Seeley Booth got his way – and he usually did – there would be quite a few good things to come in Temperance Brennan's life.

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A/N: I dedicate this chapter to anyone who's ever gotten 'that phone call.' Here's to the good memories, and the good things yet to come.