(Season 6)

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Booth had yet to stay overnight at her apartment, but she was ready for him when he did. Brennan had cleaned out the closet in the guest bedroom, so he could use it to keep clothes in it for when he stayed overnight and she made sure that two of the drawers in the dresser in that room were empty too. She didn't mind him keeping clean clothes at her place, but she didn't want to give up her closet and dresser in her bedroom.

She always had the brand of beer he liked in her fridge, but she also bought a box of his favorite breakfast cereal and some of his favorite snacks. She wanted to make sure he felt at home when he finally stayed the night with her.

Brennan also had a surprise waiting for him that she hoped he would appreciate. It was a small thing, but somehow it had significant meaning to her. She hoped he didn't think it was silly, but since Booth had an odd sense of humor he might laugh. She hoped not, but only time would tell.

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"Why don't you stay at my place tonight?" Brennan had stayed at Booth's apartment eight times in the last twelve days, but so far he hadn't stayed at her place and she was beginning to wonder why. "You can bring some of your clothes and keep them in the guest bedroom. I cleaned out the closet there and two drawers in the dresser."

Surprised, Booth placed his fork down. "Really?" He hadn't expected her to invite him to stay overnight at her apartment. He had hoped she would ask him, but after two weeks of sleeping with her at his place he had begun to think she didn't want him to stay at her place at all. "I mean okay that sounds great." He had honestly thought that she didn't want him to stay at her apartment because she was so fastidious he had thought she might not want him there. He also knew that she was a very independent person and he knew she was worried about losing that independence. He had been going along with it because their relationship was new and he didn't want to put any pressure on her. His hope was that she would eventually realize that being with him was worth a loss of a little independence.

Brennan normally had problems reading people and she knew that she had a tendency to misread social situations, but it seemed to her that her boyfriend and partner was excessively surprised. "Did you think I didn't want you to stay at my place? Why would you think that?"

Careful how he answered the question, Booth leaned back against his chair. "Well, so far you haven't mentioned me staying at your apartment and I thought maybe you . . . um, wanted to keep your independence. Also my place is cluttered, you've seen it often enough and your place is . . . um, neat." He wasn't sure what else to say without sounding insecure.

What he said sounded logical, but somehow it also sounded judgmental too. "Yes, your apartment is cluttered, but you own a lot of things and your apartment is small. Your bedroom is always neat, so I know your place is cluttered because you lack room to display your things properly." She paused and thought about how she wanted to reply to his second assumption. "Yes, I am used to living an independent lifestyle and I do like to be able to be alone when I need some quiet in my life, but we are a monogamous couple now and there are certain concessions that I know we both will have to make. I should be able to stay at your place overnight and you should be able to stay at my place. That doesn't mean we are giving up anything. It is a matter of convenience."

It wasn't very romantic, but then again, she wasn't really the romantic partner in their relationship and that didn't bother him at all. He loved her as she was and he had no intention of changing her or at least not too much. "Okay then, I'll pack a bag and bring some stuff over tonight. If you want me to, I can stop by Mama's and pick us up some dinner."

"No that won't be necessary." Brennan appreciated the offer, but if they were going to stay the night at her apartment then she wanted to cook dinner. "I'll cook tonight. It will be very domestic."

Amused, Booth smiled. "Sounds like a plan." He knew this was a big step for Brennan and he wouldn't abuse it. He would make sure to keep his things in the guest bedroom and he would try to make sure not to make a mess. His girlfriend was very orderly and he didn't want to make her regret the offer.

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When he arrived, he used his key to Brennan's apartment. She had given him a key after they became a couple, but this was the first time he would actually get to use it. His girlfriend was running a little late because one of her interns had misplaced a piece of evidence and the entire Lab had been given the task of looking for it. He was pretty sure the intern was toast, but he didn't want someone that incompetent working on his cases anyway.

Carrying his bags into the guest bedroom, he placed them on the bed and checked out the closet and the dresser. Satisfied, he hung up a suit in the closet along with a jacket and placed some underwear, socks, a couple of dress shirts, two ties, a few t-shirts and jeans in the dresser.

Once that was accomplished, he carried a small plastic grocery sack into the guest bathroom and unloaded his personal items on the sink. He didn't want to assume that he was going to share Brennan's bathroom with her. Checking the cabinet next to the sink, he found towels, wash clothes and a large basket holding travel size bottles of shampoo, conditioner and soap. There was a little sign with a neatly printed message on it sitting in front of the basket. 'Help yourself'. He thought it was a good use of the toiletries that hotels gave to its customers. He always used his own personal products and usually left the hotel toiletries in the hotel room, but he thought he'd bring them home from now on and keep them for Parker or his grandfather.

Since he was done and Brennan still wasn't home, he called her. "Hey, you want me to start cooking dinner?"

It was my intention to cook the dinner, but we are still in search mode at the Lab. I have chicken in the refrigerator along with several vegetables in the crisper. I was going to make a black pepper chicken for you and stir fry some vegetables for both of us. If you don't know how to make black pepper chicken, I have a recipe book on top of the refrigerator. It is on page 47.

"I'll check it out. I'll prep everything and call you to see when you want me to start cooking." Booth spotted the book on the fridge and removed it. "I'll see you when you get here. I love you."

The call ended, Booth wondered when Brennan would say 'I love you' back to him.

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Once Brennan was home, she took over cooking duties. It was a little late when they ate dinner, but neither really minded. They were used to eating at odd hours of the night any way.

"We found the piece of evidence." Brennan sipped some of her wine and decided the red was a very good selection. "Mr. Gilbert has been let go. I cannot risk anymore incidents especially since our reputation at the Lab is critical."

Booth swallowed his bite of food and nodded his head. "Losing evidence is crazy. You didn't have a choice. Chain of evidence is critical and if a defendant's attorney found out the chain was broken then the evidence would be tossed from a trial." He didn't have any sympathy towards the intern. His cases were not to be screwed with.

She agreed, still she felt bad to severe her intern's involvement with the Lab. The young man had cried which had been very awkward for her and Cam. She had felt bad for the intern, but the Lab's reputation was too important to throw away. "Did you move your things into the guest room?"

"Yep, sure did." Booth sipped some wine and placed the glass down. "I put my toiletries in the guest bathroom."

"You don't have to do that if you don't want to." Brennan wanted Booth to feel at home. "You may use my bathroom. It is spacious and it has two sinks."

Pleased that she was fine with sharing, Booth smiled. "Sure thing. I'll move my stuff into your . . . our bathroom after we eat."

"Good." Brennan was feeling happy about Booth staying. She thought they might end up taking turns staying at the two different apartments. It seemed the logical thing to do. "I have a new mattress. It is an ergonomic mattress which will be good for your back."

"Thanks Bones." His back did give him fits sometimes and he had an ergonomic mattress on his bed in his apartment. "They're worth the price believe me."

She agreed. She had seen her boyfriend suffer from a misaligned spine and she wanted to make sure he stayed healthy.

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He carried his toiletries into Brennan's bathroom and placed the bag down on the left-hand sink. As he began to open the cabinet above the sink, he spied something out of the corner of his eye that brought back memories. Moving over to the right-hand sink he picked up the sea shell sitting there and held it in his hands. It was golden beige with spikes on one end and a kind of curl on the other end. He was sure it had a name, but damn if he knew what kind of shell it was. What he did know was that it looked like the shell that Max had given Brennan earlier that year outside the Royal Diner. There were two holes on the top and two names had been hand printed in brown enamel paint next to each hole, Brennan and Booth.

Holding it in his hand, he thought back to that time and about how sad he had felt seeing her holding the shell next to her ear. She had been so beautiful and at the time it had made him ache for her. Unfortunately for him, he had been living with Hannah at the time and he had thought that there would never be anything more than friendship between him and his partner.

She had confessed a few weeks earlier during that time that she had made a mistake turning him down, but he had committed himself to Hannah and being the honorable man that he was or was at least trying to be, he had let Brennan know that it was too late. Over the next few weeks he had tried to be a good friend to his partner, but he knew he had failed in many ways. He was a man torn and life had given him a blow that he had found hard to recover from. He knew he kept making mistakes, but he hadn't known how to stop making them.

When she had stood on the sidewalk holding the shell he had realized that he should have never moved on, but it was too late to change his mind and he was trapped. At that point, he knew he would never have Brennan in his life like he wanted her to be and it was all his fault.

She found him in the bathroom, holding the seashell in his hand. She had thought he would be amused when he found the shell and though it represented a sad moment in her life, she had been certain that Booth would laugh about the shell. Not to be malicious, but he didn't understand how Max giving her that shell connected her to him and in a way to Booth. The sound of the sea represented science and faith at the same time. She knew the scientific reason why someone would think they heard the sea, but her father had always told her it really was the sea and she had accepted that too.

At that time, she knew that Booth had moved on with someone else and yet, she felt that someday she might still have a chance. She never voiced that sentiment to anyone, but she had felt it none the less. Logic versus faith. It had been a strange time in her life and perhaps to Booth too. "I thought it might make you laugh when you saw the seashell."

Carefully, he placed the fake shell down on the sink where he had found it and finally turned to face Brennan. "No, I wouldn't do that." He sighed and tried to let go of his sad thoughts. "You were so beautiful standing outside the diner, holding it against your ear . . . I . . . I thought you were beautiful."

She caught the catch in his voice and she knew for some reason he was sad. She didn't know why, but she didn't want to cause him pain. "I painted our names on them. I thought we could use it for our toothbrushes . . . I was just being silly. I'm sorry."

"No." Booth moved closer and placed his hands on her upper arms. "No, it's not silly at all. It was a sweet thing to do, really and I want us to use it." He wanted to say so much, but he wasn't sure she would understand. "I shouldn't have pushed you outside the Hoover, but we had known each other for five years and I thought we could . . . I loved you and I thought we could be together. I shouldn't have done that . . . I'm sorry."

She hadn't expected him to bring up the Hoover and now that he had she didn't want him to take all the blame. "I wasn't ready Booth. I may have never been ready no matter when you asked me. It wasn't until Vincent Nigel Murry was killed that I knew that I was ready. That I had almost waited too long. That bullet was meant for you not Vincent. I could have lost you that day and we would have never . . . we would have never . . . " She couldn't finish her sentence, but she didn't need to.

Booth pulled her into his arms. "I love you Bones. I made a lot of mistakes, but I'm on the right path now. You and me, fate let us meet seven years ago and it was tragedy that finally brought us together, but we are together and I never intend to let you go. I love you Temperance Brennan. I love you so much."

She leaned against her partner and felt tears fall down her cheeks. "I love you too, Booth. I have for quite a while and I won't let you go either."

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