To those who reviewed, thank you. RobinAngelena, Lauwy, kareneb, aadams00, 554Laura, topaz270, mendenbar, ZinaR, MstgSzy, GalaxieGurl, FaithinBones, Vmf447, gatewatcher (as do we all lol!), EowynGoldberry, Monique Sampson (yes that's why he's taking some time), regbride12 (the professor didn't know that), ChrissieA, jsboneslover, Poppyblue5, and other guests. All of you were right, Booth needed that little push. As for Brennan's motives, I'm of the opinion, she doesn't yet know how to be manipulative that way. She's a very direct person.

Sitting in his SUV across the road from Brennan's apartment, Booth felt like a stalker. Brennan had gone out to dinner with the Dr Ramsey, the chemistry professor. Booth reminded himself she was technically not his girlfriend yet, and she did tell Ramsey she was waiting for someone, but he also remembered that his partner held a different set of beliefs from him. He glanced at his watch. It was almost ten in the evening. He glanced up at Brennan's apartment, just in time to see the lights come on.

He hadn't noticed Ramsey dropping her off so he must have parked in her building's garage. That could only mean one thing. Brennan had invited Ramsey up to her apartment. Booth clenched his fist tightly, debating what his next move should be. He waited, watching, his mind torturing him with possibilities of what they were doing in her apartment.

Unable to fight his growing jealousy and anxiety, Booth threw open the door to his SUV and jogged across the road. The elevator ride to her apartment seemed to take forever. He found himself standing outside her apartment, much like the night when he had just broke up with Hannah. He took a breath before knocking loudly. He waited nervously, hoping he was not too late to interrupt Brennan and Ramsey if they were intending to hook up.

"Booth?" Brennan opened her apartment door, a look of surprise on her face.

Booth was for once unsure of what to say. He couldn't just tell her he was there to interrupt her date. He tried peering behind her.

Finally finding his voice, Booth asked, "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Brennan took a step back, opening the door wider.

Booth stepped in, almost afraid that he would find a half-naked Ramsey greeting him.

"You're alone?"

"Yes." She replied as she closed the door behind her.

"What happened to that chemistry professor you went on a date with?"

"It wasn't a date Booth."

"Really?"

"Really."

"You invited him up."

"You were spying on me?!"

"I- " Booth stopped, ashamed. He ducked his head, feeling defeated. He looked up, staring into her blue eyes. "Look Bones, I'm sorry. I am an idiot."

"You're not an imbecile Booth."

"No I… I have no right. I just…" he sighed. The memory of putting his heart out on the line only to have her crush it just like that night outside the Hoover haunted him. It was time to be brave, time to bite the bullet, take a risk. He knew it was now or never.

"I love you."

She wore a similar look of surprise that she had on her face when he first told her not long after he had woke from his coma. Her silence was disconcerting.

"I always have."

She was again silent and he was getting unnerved. He thought he could hear the clock ticking on the wall. He decided that talking would be best to drown the deafening silence so he decided to pour out whatever came to mind.

"I'm the biggest idiot in the world. I've got you, this beautiful woman waiting for me to get my act together, and I just act like a coward. Scared stupid that you'll turn me down again. But you know what? I don't care. I really don't. I love you, that's all I know and even if you say no again, I'm not gonna move on. There's no way I can. You… you're the one for me. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. I mean, I let things get in our way and I did a lot of really dumb things to make things harder than they should've been but…" Booth shook his head, "I still know Bones. 30 or 40 or 50 years. That's what we're gonna have. I just know."

There was a time-stopping moment when Booth forgot to breathe, waiting for a response from her. When she broke into a smile, Booth let out the breath he was holding.

"Why did you think I'd say no?"

Still unsure, Booth shrugged, pushing his hands into his pockets. "I don't know. Cause you went out with some other guy, cause you're mad at me for the whole Hannah thing, cause you don't love me back."

Brennan placed her hand on his arm. The partners locked eyes, "I – I do love you back Booth."

And then she did something he wasn't expecting. She leaned into him and pressed her lips gently against his. For a moment, he didn't know how to react, and it took another second before his brain screamed at him that his beautiful partner, the woman he loved was kissing him. He reached for her hips, pulling her flush against him. He deepened the kiss and when she responded in kind with her tongue brushing his, he felt dizzy with joy.

They stood in her living room, enjoying a passionate kiss that was free from any blackmail or secret agendas, much like their first outside the pool hall. When they broke the kiss, they both stood, out of breath, smiling shyly at each other.

"So you're ready for us?" Brennan asked.

"Are you?"

"I told you before, I got the signal. I've been ready for some time. Have you got your mojo back?"

Booth laughed, nodding slightly. "Yeah. I think."

"What took you so long?"

"I felt guilty. For the way I treated you. And you were so nice about it. I was a jerk, I hurt you. I felt like I didn't have the right to start something with you."

"There's no need to feel that way. I never blamed you. I did turn you down before."

"But I still felt guilty. And a part of me was scared."

"And I thought you were losing interest in me. Or perhaps you were not over Hannah."

"What? No. I was over Hannah pretty quick and I would definitely not lose interest in you Bones, you kiddn' me?"

Booth took her hands in his. "I think I owe you an explanation. You know how I had that coma dream?"

Brennan nodded.

"I had always loved you but I hid it inside. But after the dream, after I saw what we could have, I finally admitted to myself that I was in love with you. And I wanted what we had in that dream. When you turned me down, I was devastated. Like an idiot, I decided I had to look for someone else to help me fulfil that dream. For a time, I fooled myself that Hannah could do that. What I didn't realize was that it was never gonna work, not unless the woman was you Bones. I should've figured this all out sooner, I was with Hannah but my heart never stopped belonging to you. When I was with her it wasn't fair. It was like I was two-timing her you know? Being with her but still trying to be close to you. Total stupidity on my part."

"I think you've already established many times tonight that you consider your past actions foolish. But that was the past. We're here now, together."

"Yeah. Would've saved everyone a whole lot of heartache if I'd just followed my own advice. Everything happens eventually, I should've been patient." It felt good to be able to tell her these things. He had hidden them in his heart for too long.

"Admittedly, it was foolish of me to turn you down that night when you asked. I should have trusted you. You're a good man Booth. You're different from other men I've been with. I can see that now."

Still standing in the middle of her living room, they grinned at each other, both knowing they were standing at the precipice of something amazing.

"So we're doing this then?" Her smile got impossibly wider.

"This? Us being together? Hell yeah."

Booth pulled her towards him and they tumbled onto her couch. Making out with her was going to be one of his all-time favorite activities. As they separated for Brennan to pull off his t-shirt and for him to start unbuttoning her blouse, Booth asked, "Did you go out with that professor to make me jealous?"

"What? No. I would never have thought of that. Though on hindsight, I should have gone out on a date with someone sooner. Then perhaps I wouldn't have needed to wait so long for you."

"Then why'd you go to dinner with him?"

"I thought that he had information pertinent to the case that he might have wanted to share with me."

"And did he?"

"Unfortunately not."

"You invited him up here?"

"You were spying on me?"

"You got me. I was jealous."

"He simply offered to walk me up. Nothing else happened. He is a gentleman."

"I hate to think of you with any other men."

"Yes, alpha-males are known to be possessive of their mates."

"I'm your alpha-male mate now huh?"

"I guess you are."

Brennan moved to unbuckle his Cocky belt buckle. He grabbed her wrist, stilling her hands.

"Wait. You're sure about this? I mean I'm not the kinda guy who just has sex with a girl the very first night they're together."

"Technically, this isn't our first night together in my apartment. I know you're traditional like that and you'd prefer perhaps to take me out on a minimum number of dates first. But we've waited long enough. The many times we've had a meal together could constitute dates."

"So…"

"Yes I'm sure Booth." She smiled almost shyly at him. "In fact I've been waiting in eager anticipation."

Booth's pants suddenly got tighter. He cupped her face with one hand, gently caressing her cheek. "Our first time shouldn't be on your couch."

"Would you rather prefer my bed?"

"Yeah, I'd like to show you just how much of an alpha-male I am."

"I look forward to that."

Thankful that she had got the signal, and even more grateful that she would not have to live with regrets, she took his hand, leading him towards her bedroom. They were going to hit that 50 year mark. He had promised her off. She was sure of it.

And that's all folks. I hadn't intended to drag this one out. The show did a good enough job of that. Thanks for reviewing and sticking with the story.