A week had gone by since he'd had the dream, a long, torturous week in which every gesture, every look Brennan gave him seemed fraught with underlying currents. He would start to tell her, but every time he stopped himself because the timing was off. He was jumpy and short tempered and she had asked him several times what was wrong. Nothing, he would assure her, nothing's wrong, I'm just tired. And she would look at him with a puzzled frown and, unable to read him, she would turn away. A couple of times he reached out to stop her, then dropped his hand, defeated by his fear once more.
It was Friday night and they had finally solved the case. They sat on the couch, alone, the remains of a late supper spread around them, working on putting their notes together for the prosecutor. Brennan put her carton down and sat back, stretching her arms over her head. Dropping her arms, she leaned back and looked over at Booth. He had been prickly all week, completely wrecking their work dynamic. She was mystified as to the cause. She decided to try a more direct approach.
"Booth, what's wrong? Have I done something to make you mad?"
Booth's gaze locked with hers. She looked at him steadily, a slight frown on her brow. He suppressed a groan. God, she was beautiful. 'Tell her,' his inner voice urged. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Standing up, he walked away from her to gather his thoughts and muster his courage. Here goes, he thought.
"I've been thinking," he began, cursing silently as the words got tangled up in his head. He turned to look at her. Bad idea. His heart seized as he was struck by her beauty all over again and the enormity of what he was about to say hit him.
"You're scaring me, Booth," she said, her voice cracking. She got to her feet and moved toward him, but stopped when he raised his hand.
"Don't, please, just stop. I need to say this and I'm afraid I won't be able to if you get too close." Sliding his hands into his pockets, he took a deep breath. "I'm—I think I'm in love with you," he finally admitted softly.
Brennan's jaw dropped, and then she sat down as though her legs couldn't support her any longer. "You can't be serious," she said when she found her voice. "This is some kind of joke, right?"
Booth met her eyes and shook his head slowly. "I don't know when it started, but I know exactly when I finally realized it. A week ago I had a very—explicit dream about you and me."
"Explicit? As in, sexual?" she asked, just so there would be no misunderstanding. Booth nodded, looking a little guilty. Brennan swallowed and looked away, strangely embarrassed as though she were responsible in some way. "What about the line?" she asked quietly.
Booth had trouble following her line of thought. "Line?"
Brennan looked up at him, a sheen of tears in her eyes. "The line that you said people who work together shouldn't cross."
Booth smiled wryly. "How did I know those words would come back to haunt me?" Brennan opened her mouth to reply, but he forestalled her. "Rhetorical question, Bones." He finally gave in to the urge to sit beside her. He took her hand in his, threading his fingers through hers. "Someone told me that we need to grab all the happiness that comes our way. All I know is I'm happiest when I'm with you."
It was her turn to stand and put some distance between them. Her heart was slamming in her chest as she walked over to the desk and stared blindly at the papers that littered its surface. She turned and leaned her hips against the edge. He was watching her from where he sat, frowning as he tried to gauge her reaction.
"Do you really want to gamble our working relationship on this?" she asked, struggling to control her emotions. She had been attracted to him for some time now, to be honest, since before she'd had her fling with Sully, but fear of losing him had stopped her from doing anything about it. She had heard that workplace romances never ended well. She didn't want to find out if that was true through personal experience.
"Yes," he replied firmly, and Brennan looked shocked at his unequivocal answer. He stared at clasped his hands and took his time framing his next words. "I really think we can make this work. I want to try, if it's what you want too." His gaze locked with hers. "You haven't said how you feel about me," he pointed out, afraid of the answer.
She folded her arms across her middle and looked away, trying to bring order to her chaotic thoughts and emotions. She looked back at him and smiled a little. "I've been attracted to you for a long time, since before Sully," she confessed, then held up a hand as he came to his feet and moved toward her. "Booth, wait. Let's think about this, because there's no going back once we've begun."
Ignoring her attempt to slow things down, he stepped close and put his hands on her upper arms. When she looked up at him, she had tears in her eyes again. She had to try to reason with him once more, to make him think about this rationally. "Working cases with you has been the most rewarding thing I've done in a long time. If we become lovers, it's going to change the working dynamic, change the way we see each other. For all we know, it will completely destroy the balance we've managed to establish. I don't think we will be able to get it back once it's gone."
"We'll find a new, better dynamic, as a couple," he insisted, unwilling to give up just yet. She hadn't completely shut him down and he hadn't given up hope yet. She was looking up at him with those amazing eyes, and he decided it was time to play his next card. "How do we know until we try? We make a great investigative team—we could be even better as lovers. Life is too short to play it safe all the time." Her eyes fell away from his and he cupped her cheek to bring them back. "I'll never leave you unless you send me away," he promised softly, and his warm brown eyes echoed the promise.
A pair of tears spilled and rolled down her cheeks as his words targeted her biggest fear. "I can't imagine ever sending you away," she whispered, touching his cheek tenderly. Then she was in his arms, heart to heart, and it definitely was not a guy hug. Booth's heart swelled as he sensed victory. He pulled back a little to look at her and then he took the final step. Tipping her chin up, he kissed her softly, and when her lips opened to him he deepened the kiss, tongue meeting hers as his senses soared. She moaned a little and moved closer, running her hands up his chest to his neck to thread her fingers into his hair. His hands moved over her back, molding her tighter against his body, and he groaned at the sensations that were crashing through him. This was better than any dream he'd ever had.