(The Blackout in the Blizzard)

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I don't own Bones.

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The snow had stopped and the power had finally been restored to the entire city. After a few days of paralysis the city streets were all plowed and everyone could move around the city once more.

There had been no new cases since the blizzard ended and Brennan chose that time to work in Bones Storage while Booth worked on paper work, trying to get ahead of the usual torrent of forms and reports that crossed his desk each day.

Both had time to think about what had happened during the blizzard and their temporary incarceration in the ancient elevator in Booth's apartment building. They needed time to think about the consequences of the conversations that they had had in the elevator and in Booth's apartment later on. Smoke filled wishes that seemed silly in the dark of night made for interesting what if's in the daylight.

After much forethought, Brennan decided that she would wait patiently for Booth to make the next move in their relationship. She had decided that since she had difficulty discerning the emotions of those around her that she would have to let Booth decide when he was ready to move on. She would not push him into anything. She knew that she wanted him, but she needed him to want her the way she was not the way he wanted her to be. This involved trust and she trusted him to make the right decision. It would take time, but it was time she was willing to give.

A few days before they had been trapped in the elevator, Booth had an epiphany about himself. He had come to realize that his anger, his rage that stewed deep inside him was not the fault of Hannah or Brennan, it was his and his alone. He was not a patient man when it came to dealing with others. He had hopes and dreams that never seemed to come true and the older he became the more disappointed he'd become with his life.

When Brennan had turned him down in front of the Hoover, he had been crushed and he had lost hope. With Hannah's appearance in his life, he had let himself grasp for something he knew might not be possible. He had tried to forget his love for Brennan and placed it on the thin shoulders of Hannah, a woman he barely knew. He had tried to force the outcome he had wanted by asking his girlfriend to marry him even though he knew she hated the idea of marriage. He had thought by asking her she would have to choose what kind of life she really wanted and ultimately his proposal had forced him to choose instead.

His rage over her rejection forced him to concede that Hannah wasn't the one he was looking for. She wanted the freedom to come and go, to be independent while still having a relationship and he hadn't been prepared to give that to her. He hadn't loved her enough to do that. He had told Brennan there was only one you loved the most and he had meant that. He loved Brennan the most and when she rejected him, he found out he couldn't have her. That rejection forced him to adjust his hopes for the future. He loved her enough to not want to lose her friendship and partnership and he had vowed he would never walk away from her. He'd tried to move on and find someone that could love him and he had thought he'd found her. The joke was on him. He didn't love Hannah enough to simply live with her and see her when she had time from her busy schedule. He wanted more and he couldn't have it with Hannah. Maybe he couldn't have that with anyone.

Booth had known who he was dealing with and he had ignored what he knew to try to get what he wanted. He'd made a serious mistake and he ended up crushed once more. He had failed three times and he knew it was because he had asked for more than the women he had loved could give.

Now he was back to where had had started from. He was angry with himself for placing himself in the same situations over and over. If he could accept that pursuing Brennan again might result in them being together, but not in the way he dreamed of then he might have a future with her, but first he had to decide if that would be alright for both of them. If they tried to have a relationship and it failed he knew it would destroy him and her and he wasn't sure he was willing to risk it.

They needed a plan.

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"I think we should date." He was aware that he was dropping a bomb on her, but he needed to get it out there. "Not a physical relationship, I don't mean that. I know we aren't ready for that, but . . . we need to date."

To say she was surprised was to understate her reaction. She hadn't thought about how they would move forward, but dating hadn't entered her mind. "Like what? Dinner . . . dancing? What would dating entail?"

Amused at her wariness, Booth actually didn't blame her. "Yeah, we can do those things. We can also go to the lectures you like or go for drives or for walks or whatever you want to do. I want us to date to allow us to get comfortable with each other. We've been . . . we've been partners for a long time and friends, but we haven't done anything romantic and well, I think we should. So yeah, dinner and dancing and maybe listening to music at clubs or just watching movies or . . . I don't know watching TV together. Stuff like that."

Intrigued, Brennan slowly nodded her head. "So we would do the things people do on a date, but not have sex . . . would we hold hands and kiss or is that out too?"

Pulling her hand across the small table, Booth stared into her eyes and kissed her hand. "Oh I think we should definitely hold hands and kiss. I am human you know. I don't think I could date you and not kiss you." Aware they were at the Founding Fathers, Booth released her hand and smiled. "I don't want to have sex right now because I think we need to make sure we know what we're doing. I don't want to rush into anything because . . . well you and I both know what happened when I tried to push you too fast outside the Hoover and I don't want any more crap to happen between us. I think if we take it slow . . . date . . . be friends and do things together we can . . . am I making sense to you? Do you understand what I'm trying to say? I want to make sure we don't ruin our friendship and I think sex would put too much pressure on us right now. There has to be more between us than that. Our friendship is very important to me and I can't lose you Bones. I just can't."

"You do have a point Booth and I understand what you're saying." Sipping some of her wine, Brennan looked around at the surrounding crowd and then back at her partner. "I think we should date too. I like the idea of dating. It will be intriguing to see how we behave towards each other under more romantic circumstances . . . I think we shouldn't tell anyone that we're dating though. The pressure would be enormous. We would also have to refrain from showing affection towards each other while we're working."

His bottle of beer almost empty, Booth finished it and moved the bottle to the side. "You're right about that . . . in fact, that's a good idea. We'll make sure we're strictly professional when we're working together and when we're ready to let everyone know we're dating then we'll be able to point out that we were strictly professional when we had to be. That might work in our favor. I'm counting on the FBI to see that breaking up our partnership would be a stupid thing to do. We've got the best solve rate on the Eastern seaboard if not the country and I don't think they'd want to give that up."

Worried about their future together, Brennan leaned forward. "What would happen to us if they break up our partnership, Booth? It is a real possibility."

He saw the worry written on her face and he knew he had to be honest and assure her. "Nothing would happen Bones. If the FBI has a problem with us then that's their problem. If they take away our partnership that will not affect us. I'm still going to be your boyfriend, Okay? You and me have been through too much to go back now. We're moving forward from now on. If the FBI breaks us up, I'll do my job and you'll do your job, but we're still going to be together. No assholes are going to break up our relationship. No one Bones. No one."

His words so reassuring, Brennan reached across the table and placed her hand over his hand. "Yes, that sounds right. You and I will not let anyone break up our relationship . . . So is this a date, Booth? Are we on a date tonight? Are you my boyfriend now?"

A feeling of happiness sweeping through him, Booth nodded his head. "Hell yeah, I am. I know you don't like titles like boyfriend and girlfriend, but yeah . . . yeah, I'm in this and yeah this is a date. Let's go to that club you were telling me about a couple of weeks ago . . . you know the jazz club."

Standing up, Brennan pulled her purse over her shoulder. "Let's go. I think you'll really enjoy it. Dr. Chopin told me about it and she said that the musicians that play there were quite good."

Removing some bills from his wallet, Booth placed them under the empty beer bottle and stood up. "Okay, sounds good." Moving around the table, Booth placed his hand on the small of Brennan's back as they left the building. It had been a long torturous year, but Booth thought he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I"m her boyfriend. Awesome!

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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you. This isn't the end. Five more chapters to go.

A/N: in case you haven't heard, Bones has been renewed. There will be a season 12. It will be the final season of Bones and will consist of 12 episodes.