A Few Months Later

"So, tell me again about this hot FBI agent that you are refusing to work with?" Angela asked. Brennan was leaning over an ancient skeleton, trying to get cause of death for their records.

"There's not much to say," Brennan answered. "And you know it all anyway."

"I think it's a sign."

"What is?"

"What isn't? Sweetie, this man is Nora's father because you randomly picked his sample. He was assigned to your case when you went missing, and he got custody of your children as a foster parent. It's meant to be."

"You know I don't think like that," Brennan argued. She was desperately trying to work, but her friend's romanticism was getting in the way.

"For once can you just indulge me? Ask him out," Angela urged, giving Brennan her familiar smirk.

"No."

"You're no fun at all."

"Sorry."

"Dr. Brennan?" Cam said, interrupting. "Can we chat?"

"Yes, please," Brennan said, dropping her tools and moving to follow Cam.

"This conversation isn't over!" Angela called after her.

"What was that about?" Cam asked as they entered her office.

"Just one of Angela's ridiculous ideas," Brennan sighed. "Thank you for saving me."

"No problem."

"So what's this about?"

"Well, the FBI has a case that they need help with," Cam replied.

"No," Brennan replied instantly. "I know what this is about, and I don't want to take part in it."

"He told me you'd say that," Cam mused.

"Who, Agent Booth?"

"Yes."

"Excuse me," Brennan said. She got up and yanked open the door, revealing Booth standing behind it.

"Oh, hi," he said.

"Get in here," she growled. He obeyed.

"Booth, when did you get here?" Cam asked innocently.

"Oh cut the crap," Brennan snapped. "I told you I wasn't interested in working with the FBI!"

"What if I told you that we could stop a deadly virus from spreading if we find the killer?" Booth cut in quickly. Brennan scowled at him, but he had her attention.

"I'm listening," she finally said.

"This woman was found strangled, but she had this virus, which now the killer has, and if he spread it, we're looking at another case of the Plague here."

"What virus?"

"Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever."

"That's serious," Brennan said, feeling nervous suddenly. She instantly thought of Nora and Dominic.

"Thought you might agree."

"Bring me the body."

"It's already here," Booth replied. Brennan marched out of the room and went to find the body.

Dominic & Nora

"You really think Booth likes Mom?" Dominic asked. They were at home, waiting for their mother to finish work. It was snowing heavily outside.

"Duh," Nora snorted. "He gets all gaga when he looks at her, and she flushes in the face sometimes."

"This is so cool," Dominic grinned.

"I know! Okay, how are we going to get them together?"

"I don't know. Let me watch Parent Trap again..." Dominic said, moving towards the TV.

"We don't need a movie to help us do this, Dom," Nora said irritably. He faltered.

"But it might help."

"No. Get back here. We'll figure it out ourselves."

"Okay."

Booth & Brennan

Brennan was up to her elbows in her work when Cam told her Dominic wanted to talk to her, that it was urgent. Booth's ears perked at this, and he looked worried. Brennan hurried to the phone.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nora went to Booth's and is refusing to come home. I'm all alone."

"Why did she go there?" Brennan asked, irritated.

"I don't know. She was crying."

"Dom, I'm in the middle of..." she trailed off. He wouldn't understand, and she didn't want to scare him. "Call Dr. Sweets and have him come watch you. Nora will have to stay where she is until I'm finished here."

"Okay. She really wanted you to come see her, though."

"I'm sorry. I can't," Brennan told him.

"I'll call Dr. Sweets," Dominic said. He sounded defeated, and Brennan was puzzled as to why.

"Everything okay?" Booth asked when she came back.

"Yes. It seems Nora is in a mood and is hiding out at your place."

"Oh. Is she okay?"

"I'm assuming something didn't go her way so she's brooding."

Brennan bent back over the body, intent on finding more clues. Hodgins was working on particulates while Angela was working on the cell phone. Booth rocked back and forth on his heels.

"I might go see her," he said after a moment.

"Why?" Brennan asked. "She's fine."

Booth's phone rang then, and he answered. Brennan ignored him until he said Nora's name. She looked over at him then.

"What's going on? Police? Where? In the building? Okay, I'm coming."

"Booth, we have to finish this!" Brennan exclaimed as he went down the stairs.

"She's my daughter, and she needs me," Booth responded. "I'll be back."

"Argh," Brennan growled. "Wait! You're not going without me!" She was going to have a chat with Nora when she got there.

...

"Whoa," Booth said, entering his apartment building to find paramedics and police everywhere.

"What's going on?" Brennan asked, looking around him.

"You'll have to take the elevator," an officer advised. "There was quite the scene here."

"Is everyone all right?" Booth asked, afraid.

"There's been one casualty. That's all I can say," he apologized.

"Come on," Brennan said, tugging him into the elevator and closing the doors. Booth looked at the people on the stairs as they went up.

"I hope it's not who I think it is," Booth murmured.

"Who?"

"There was a young woman here with a guy constantly threatening her," Booth explained.

"Oh."

They were above the scene now, almost to his apartment when the power went off and the elevator stopped.

"Oh, no," Booth said, grimacing.

"This can't be happening," Brennan snapped. "We have an urgent case!"

Booth craned his neck to see if anyone was on the stairs. The elevator was just barely high enough to see.

"Hello!" he shouted. He heard pattering of feet, and Nora's face appeared.

"I'm scared," she said, whimpering.

"Get back into the apartment," Booth instructed. "We are stuck in here until the power comes back on."

"I don't want to be alone. I could just squeeze through," Nora started, gesturing. Both Booth and Brennan shouted at her angrily, making her retrieve her hand quickly.

"If the power came back on, you'd have lost your hand," Brennan said, seeing Nora's hurt face.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"You can sit there or you can go back inside," Booth offered. Nora looked at them both then and suddenly realized her plan worked better than she thought. They were stuck in there together. They would have to talk.

"I'll go back inside," she said thoughtfully.

"Call or come back out if you need us," Brennan told her. She nodded and was soon gone. They looked at each other.

"Well," Booth said. "What now?"

Dominic

He let Sweets in and hobbled back to his chair.

"You all right?" Sweets asked him, getting comfy on the couch.

"Yea. It was all Nora's idea," Dom grumbled. Then his eyes widened as he realized what he'd just said.

"What was Nora's idea?" Sweets asked, curious.

"If I tell you, you promise not to tell anyone?"

"I swear."

"Okay," Dom said excitedly. "We want Booth and Mom together, so Nora was going to his place to be all upset and get them there together to tell them she was sad and wanted a whole family not a split one. Mom didn't go for it, though, so it failed."

"Hmm," Sweets said, looking at his phone then as a text came in. "I think it may have worked out differently."

"What do you mean?"

"They're stuck in Booth's elevator. Some kind of disturbance in the building got Nora scared, so they went to get her. The power went off while they were going up."

"That's great!" Dom cried. "Well, not the being stuck part, but that means they'll talk, right?"

"Sure," Sweets agreed. He tapped his chin with his finger, looking at Dom. "So, you guys want them together, huh?"

"Yes. Booth likes Mom. We can tell."

"I think you might be right," Sweets agreed. He recalled Booth talking nonstop about his new daughter and her mom.

"Can you help us?"

"Oh, I don't know. I think you're doing a fine job," Sweets said. He didn't like the idea of Booth throttling him if he interfered. He couldn't get too mad at the kids, though.

"I hope it's working," Dominic said, worried.

Booth & Brennan

"Daisy is on her way to the lab," Brennan sighed, hanging up her phone. "She'll help finish the case."

"I'm sorry," Booth said. He was sitting on the ground now, leaning against the bars.

"It's okay," she responded, joining him.

"I guess I just kind of lose my senses when one of my kids are scared or upset," Booth went on. "They're all I can focus on until it's better, you know?"

"Yea, I know."

Booth shifted, unsure of what else to say. He hadn't really had any alone time with Brennan since Europe. They'd had a few family dinners, but the kids were always there, so they didn't get the chance to talk. Booth wasn't sure if Brennan wanted to talk to him anyway. He looked at her, wondering what she was thinking.

"Nora really enjoys being with you," she said suddenly. "She keeps talking about wanting a real family."

"A real family?"

"You know, parents in the same building," she chuckled. "I figured this was one of her ploys to get us to talk."

"There's been others?"

"Who do you think wants you to come for dinner so much?" she asked, tilting her head at him.

"Oh. So, you didn't really want me there then?"

"I did," she countered. "That's the thing. I did want you there."

"I see."

They sat in silence for a bit, and Brennan was wondering what she was going to spit out next. This wasn't really like her.

"So," Booth said eventually. "If she wants us to talk, should we talk?"

"About what?" Brennan asked, her heart fluttering a little. He was very handsome. She had toyed with the idea of what it would be like to date him. Angela wasn't wrong when she said Brennan should like him.

"Us."

"Maybe we should."

"I really like you," Booth blurted out. Brennan blushed then.

"I...I find myself attracted to you," she admitted.

"Would it be okay if I took you on a date sometime?"

"I'd like that."

"Great."

Booth felt as though a huge weight was lifted off his chest. He'd been wanting to ask her out for a few weeks now, but he never got the nerve. It took being trapped in an elevator to say it. Eventually, they started talking about a bunch of things, and Brennan found herself feeling relaxed and happy next to him.

"How's tomorrow night?" Booth asked after a while.

"For what?"

"Going out."

"Okay."

"I'll pick you up," he smiled. She smiled back.

Nora & Dominic

"Great news," Nora said to Dom through the phone. "I just overheard Booth asking Mom out."

"Really!?"

"Yes!"

"Awesome!" Dominic cried. Sweets looked at him then, curious.

"What happened?" he asked once Dominic hung up the phone.

"Booth asked Mom out."

"That's great," Sweets smiled.

"It is," Dominic grinned. Maybe they could finally be a whole family.

Hours Later

Once Booth and Brennan were released from the elevator, they rushed to where the team had discovered where their victim had been staying, and they caught the guy who was sick, who promptly fell on top of Booth.

"Don't touch him!" Brennan shouted. Booth spread eagled his arms and legs instantly while police picked the man up off of him.

"Is it on me?" he asked, afraid. Brennan looked him over.

"You're okay," she said, relieved. She helped him up.

"I'm going to burn this coat," he muttered, feeling contaminated. She hid her smile.

"I think I could get used to this," she said suddenly, making him look at her.

"Used to what?"

"Working with the FBI. This was a very interesting case, and I enjoyed preventing further danger to others. I also enjoyed catching the murderer," she added.

"So, are you saying you'll be my partner?" Booth asked, growing excited. It was more than he could hope for.

"I guess I am," she smiled.

"That's great, Bones," he said.

"Do not call me that."

"It suits you."

"I don't like it."

"You'll get used to it."

"Booth, if you call me that, the deal is off."

"Sure it is, Bones."

"Ugh! Booth!"

He laughed as he raced ahead of her to the car. She couldn't help but laugh as she chased him.

The Next Day

"You're really going on a date?" Nora asked, trying to mask her excitement. Her mother was getting ready, and she looked beautiful.

"I am."

"Are you going to marry him?" Dominic asked hopefully.

"It's our first date, guys. Don't jump ahead on us," she laughed.

"We'll try," Nora said. She didn't add that she had a good feeling about it. When her mother kissed them goodbye, she ran for the phone.

"You want me to what?" Max asked when she finished.

"Come with us to follow Mom and Booth on their date," Nora insisted.

"They're going on a date?"

"Yes! We don't want to miss it. Hurry up!" she ordered.

"I don't know how you manage to talk me into these things," Max groaned.

...

They watched from the car as Brennan and Booth ate dinner by the window. Nora could see they were having a good time.

"You really want a family, don't you?" Max asked her. Dominic was sleeping in the back. He was tired a lot lately. Nora was just glad that therapy with Sweets was helping him to stop feeling so guilty for everything.

"I do," she nodded. She hadn't called Booth "Dad" yet, but she wanted to. She just hadn't found the right moment.

"If it doesn't work out, you know he's still your Dad right?" Max pointed out.

"I know, but it's not the same."

"Just don't get your hopes up too high, okay?"

"Okay."

Booth & Brennan

They were walking when Booth stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, worried. They were having a great time, or so she thought.

"I just want to take a minute to tell you how beautiful you look tonight," he said.

"Oh," she blushed.

"Of course, I have thought you were beautiful the moment I saw your photo on my desk."

"Really?"

"Yes. I couldn't exactly tell you that in the middle of trying to find Dom, though."

"I thought you were handsome," she admitted. "When I first saw you."

"I have a really good feeling about this," Booth said, taking her hands in his.

"I don't usually like to predict without facts, but I do too," she said, looking at him. He wanted to kiss her, she could tell. She was surprised to feel that she wanted him to. When he finally did, it felt like fireworks going off. She'd never felt this way before.

"Yes!" a voice cried. They broke apart to see Nora standing there.

"Nora?" Brennan asked.

"You kissed Dad!" she shouted gleefully.

"Dad?" Booth asked, having not heard her properly. Nora clapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say it yet, but it had slipped out. She guessed this was the best time as any to finally say it.

"Yea," she nodded. "Is that okay?"

"It's more than okay," he beamed. "I couldn't be happier." Nora rushed into his arms then, and he hugged her tightly. Brennan watched them, feeling warm inside. Perhaps Angela had been right. It really was meant to be.

The End

Thank you all for reading/reviewing/favoriting/following this story! We loved writing it. Now, we promise to get back to The Ghosts in the Babies ;)

From I Love Kol Miakelson: I never dreamed that I could have so many people who would read ideas I created with my great friend FictionWriter91, and it warmed my heart it really did every good review, but I also hope this story gave you all not just an interesting plot you can lose yourself in and just kill time with but also moved you all. All you readers that I deeply care for I wish that if you see someone with special needs you won't just stare at them like they are some weird animal that escaped the circus (Yes my dear readers you read it right. I know what I'm preaching because that happens to me every day because of my cerebral palsy. People look away, gawk, whisper or just run away). So many of Dominic's challenges are also my own, and it's not a choice, you have to fight to live a normal, fulfilling life, so I want all of you to appreciate your health as that's most important, nothing else matters without it. So please be good, kind, and compassionate, and when you see a "Dominic, " don't just stand, gawk, or whisper. Help that person and don't say anything like "poor thing I'm so happy its not my friend or family member who has it." Of course you don't wish it on your family, no one does, but please don't say such a thing in front of a cerebral palsy sufferer as it's painful for us. Please remember that we are people too.
Yours always, I love Kol Miakelson

From FictionWriter91: I hope you enjoyed this story. I feel humbled after learning so much about cerebral palsy and knowing that my friend, I Love Kol Miakelson, has experienced some of the things Dominic went through in this story. I want to thank my friend for sharing their experiences with me and writing this story with me. They are truly an inspiration of strength and wisdom.