Only if I Chapter 8, a bones fanfic

Here is the final chapter!

Once again I have a list of excuses including puppies, tattoos, grad school applications, old boyfriends, and too much time spent playing in the mountains. At least I can truthfully say this chapter is long awaited :-) I can also say it's very long. But if you've made it this far, the length shouldn't be a problem.

"Booth, what are we going to do?"

He had no answer for her. He tried to smile, but knew it was a pathetic attempt. The apartment was silent; they listened to the relentless ticks of the clock. It was a rare situation for the two of them, no answers and limited options. Whenever they faced such problems during an investigation, they went back to the evidence, to the bones, to the suspect. That wouldn't help here.

Standing up, Booth turned and walked away from the table. His eyes burned from the lack of sleep and he rubbed them hard in frustration. It was all just such bad timing. He could sense Brennan moving behind him. She stopped close, her chest barely brushing his back, and he could feel little puffs of warm breath on his neck. God, he really didn't want to lose her. He closed his eyes and remembered how her smooth skin felt below his fingertips, and the way she had touched him the other night... Booth shook his head, he needed to pull himself together; they both did.

In little more than an hour, they were expected at headquarters. There would be endless questions from a seemingly endless group of people in dark suits. It wouldn't matter that they'd been working for something like twenty straight days and seriously need some sleep. Booth's first priority right now was making sure they made it through the inquiry and debriefing. They were in the clear; it was a good shoot, he knew it. But it was still important for them to present the best evidence in a professional manner. Especially since their partnership was in question. And now that this case included possible international smuggling, there would be representative from over half-a-dozen agencies. Booth waited an extra moment before speaking; Bones was still standing close behind him. He was waiting for her touch, but it never came.

"Ok, Bones," Booth said, turning towards her. Taking a deep breath, he watched as she pulled her eyes up from the floor. They were watery and he knew it wouldn't take much to push the tears of her eyes. He needed to do something, at least change the subject; he wasn't sure how much more his partner could take in one twenty-four hour period.

"I don't know what we are going to do." He admitted.

"But…" Brennan started, but trailed off disheartened.

"It's ok. We have some time and we'll figure something out." Booth managed something resembling an actual smile. "With your brains and my resourcefulness."

"Right," she said, sounding as unconvinced as he felt.

"Exactly," he nodded, "and right now we need to focus on this investigation."

Booth reached out and squeezed her shoulder and she suddenly knew what he was doing. They had more immediate concerns than the state of their relationship. They needed to put on a good face for the upcoming meetings. One problem at a time, that's how she worked best anyways.

"You're right. I suppose we better get ready," Brennan offered, giving him a brave smile.

Exhaling deeply, Booth caught the new resolve in her features and knew she would be fine. He shouldn't have worried. He should have learned by now that it was never wise to doubt Temperance Brennan.

Dropping his hand, Booth said, "I gonna run home, shower, throw on a clean suit and then I'll be back to pick you up." He watched her carefully while he waited for her reply. She still stood as if frozen to the ground, and she hadn't responded when he touched her shoulder. He was afraid his news would cause whatever guards she had dropped around him to rebuild before his eyes.

Taking a step back, Brennan agreed, "That's a plan then."

"See you in about," Booth consulted his watch, "forty minutes."

Neither of them made a move.

"Forty minutes, ok," she confirmed after several moments of awkward silence.

"I guess I'll go." Booth flashed a shaky grin as he headed for the front door. Once again, Brennan followed behind him. And again he waited an extra moment for her to reach out for him, but she didn't.

Keeping his back to her, he opened the door and was halfway through before she said, "Booth." When he turned, she moved closer, leaning in and kissing him thoroughly on the lips. Her hands resting on his shoulders, she asked, "That's still … allowed, for now, right?"

Before Booth could work enough moisture back into his suddenly dry mouth to answer, she stepped back, hands clasped behind her. "Yes," he said emphatically, both surprised and pleased by her gesture. "And lock this door," he added gruffly. "One of these guys is still out there he could know who we are."

As he walked away from her door, he made a promise to figure out some way to fix this situation.

"Stupid!" Brennan admonished herself, bolting the lock on her door. "We didn't even make it a week."

With heavy legs, she walked to her living room and sank down in the chair. She needed to get ready, but she couldn't bring herself to move. The tears in her eyes spilled silently over and dripped down her face. Annoyed, she brushed them away and commanded herself to stop crying. But it felt like the weight of the last few days was crashing down on her down on her; stirring up old feelings.

She had learned relatively young, that she couldn't depend on anyone but herself. No matter how much people say they love you, they leave. Sometimes it is their choice and sometimes it isn't. For years, she had thought that her parents had no choice; that Russ was the only one who had decided to leave her. Now she knew differently; her parents had left in hopes that their absence would keep their children alive. Brennan wondered how much it would have changed things all those years ago, if she knew why they were leaving.

What frightened her most was emotional intimacy. The thought of letting herself fall in love and building a life with someone terrified her. Because in her mind, they would always leave, it would always end badly. Opening herself to love also meant opening herself to pain. So she lived her life and managed her relationships accordingly, trying to protect herself. Her relationships with men always focused on the physical rather than the emotional. There were times she was occasionally lonely, but at least she felt safe and secure.

Then she met Booth. She couldn't deny that when she had first met him, she had considered one of those physically based relationships. However, when they had started working together more frequently, she forced the idea from her mind. Brennan prided herself on learning from any mistakes, and she had leaned with Michael that mixing personal and professional was indeed a mistake. That was reason enough to ignore the powerful attraction to her partner. No need to study it any further.

Looking back, Brennan smiled ruefully at the irony. With the physical out of the question, and the powerful attraction stronger growing stronger each day, they had instead embarked upon the emotional journey she'd worked so diligently to avoid. Gradually over the past two years, Booth had become the most important personal in her world; the one with whom she shared almost everything. All before they had even kissed. She had even voiced the three words she never thought she would feel. And now she had to choose. What scared her now was that it might be too late to go back.

"Stupid," she admonished aloud again before standing up and heading for her room.

The early morning sun was already shining relentlessly down when Booth pulled up to her curb. Brennan pushed the hair out of her face and slowly climbed inside. She gave Booth a warm smile and was pleased to see he looked better than he had when he'd left. A shower, a shave, and a fresh suit could do wonders for a man. Especially a man as good looking as her partner. His hair was still wet, his face fresh and smooth from the recent shave. He leaned over and kissed her, bringing with him the spicy sent of aftershave, and causing a flutter of nerves to erupt in her stomach. She didn't want to choose; she couldn't.

"You look like a new man," Brennan said, fingering the corner of his dark jacket.

Booth wished he could say the same for his partner. She had freshened up, but the dark circles under her eyes peeked through the makeup. "Thanks," Booth said as he negotiated the morning traffic.

Small snippets of unimportant conversation were exchanged, but it was obvious there was one issue they were avoiding. Finally, Brennan couldn't take it any longer.

"I still don't see why we can't just be discreet," she offered bluntly. "Then we can keep everything like it is."

Sighing, Booth took a moment before he answered. Each time he defended this position he inched closer to agreeing to it. "First of all, it's not just being discreet, not anymore. Now it would be lying. We would lie to the face of a director in the FBI."

Brennan bit her bottom lip and waited for the rest.

"And second of all, do you really want that? Driving miles out of the way, like we did last night? Always looking over our shoulders when we go out, worrying about getting caught?" He stopped and shook his head.

"Well, what then?" she questioned. "We quit working together. I work with someone new and you are reassigned?" Booth actually winced at the thought of her working with someone new. "How is that any better?" Brennan continued. "What about the people we help, the cases we solve. Booth, we solve murders no one else can."

Rolling down the window for a blast of fresh air, Booth turned into the parking lot of the Hoover Building. He knew Brennan was waiting for an answer, waiting to spar with him. Winning an argument against her was tough enough when he believed what he was fighting for, but his heart wasn't in this.

It surprised him that she hadn't already bolted for the safety of her work. It was a perfect chance to end the relationship right then and there, but she hadn't taken it. He'd spent the last few days convinced she would end it at any moment. Instead, she was proposing, for the second time, a secret affair. Even now, he could tell that she was genuinely torn trying to decide between him and their work. For him it wasn't so much about the cases, it's true that they found answers no one else could, but he could make a difference elsewhere in the FBI. And Bones could pick and choose her professional path. Truthfully, he would rather have her in his life, to be able to hold her at night and kiss her in the morning. But he never wanted her to feel she had given something up, or settled in anyway, to be with him.

Shifting into park, Booth said with renewed determination, "I know, Bones. I'm going to figure something out." She stayed silent, but her eyes were hopeful.

Unconsciously straightening his tie, Booth entered the FBI building just ahead of his partner, his long legs covering the ground quickly. They had only ten minutes to pick up the remaining files from his office and report to the fourth floor conference rooms. Nerves caused his heart to beat rapidly. He wasn't worried about the review of evidence; he and Brennan had done nothing wrong and were lucky to have escaped. They should not have been there while on a date, which is why he was worried.

"Hi," Booth said as the elevator opened, excited to see the older agent inside.

"Morning," he said. "How are you two holding up?"

"Just a little sore," Brennan replied, eyeing him curiously.

"I'm sorry," Booth said, realized an introduction was in order. "Dr. Temperance Brennan." He pointed to her. "This is Agent Baker. He's the lead on the Ramsay case now."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Not my call," he said.

"I know." Booth said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Baker was a good agent, and it was bureau policy, but it still hurt to lose the investigation. When he started something, he liked to see it through.

"Listen, we found some interesting things out there already. You still wanna know?"

"Definitely."

The elevator stopped before Agent Baker could continue. They stepped out onto the fourth floor. Booth nodded to a little alcove to the right. "So, there were those trucks around the front, by where you were parked."

"Yes. Two. A black Dodge and a red Ford. The Ford belongs to Leon Baca, a maintenance worker. There may have been another car around the side, I couldn't tell."

Baker nodded. "That Leon guy and the Ford were long gone by the time our agents got out there."

"He got away," Booth said, trying to ignore the guilt.

Looking up the hallway, then down at his watch, Baker said, "Around the other side of the barn there is a dirt road. We found tire tracks that stop about a half-mile out, looked fresh. Also found two distinct footprints south of the barn, where you reported the gunfire from, right?"

"Yeah."

"We found one of the bodies up there. Figure they were running for the truck when he got hit. Forensics is still working on it, but it looks like a big truck, dually, maybe a box truck."

"Have they identified the bodies yet?" Brennan interrupted.

"Just got the info," he waved a handful of paper, "that's the first thing I am going to report on." Baker looked down the hallway where a collection of men in suits was gathering. "One guy was from South Africa, known animal smuggler. We think the other guy is Brazilian, but nothing other than that." Baker paused with a questioning look on his face. "You had the nine, right?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yes," Booth confirmed.

"You got the Brazilian, then."

Booth nodded grimly. He knew Brennan wanted to ask more questions, but Booth quieted her with a look. Now wasn't the time. He reached out for Brennan and started down the hallway. Baker slowed and fell instep beside them. "There was also about twelve-thousand dollars in the barn and a few crumpled hundreds on the ground from the barn to the parking lot."

"Right, thanks," Booth whispered as they approached the conference room.

Director Blackwell watched Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan closely as the morning progressed. He had not seen the young pair in action before, but he had heard of them. He listened to their account, and since it matched what Booth had already told him, he let his mind wander. There was no denying that Dr. Brennan was a beautiful woman; he had to give Booth credit there. There was also no denying the deep connection between the two. He watched with interest as they effortlessly finished each other's thoughts; such a smooth back and forth as they each narrated their section of events. He had been married twenty years and he and his wife had yet to develop this level of symbiosis.

"Director Blackwell?" a voice questioned. He cleared his throat and looked at the deputy director. "You had another issue to address?"

Blackwell didn't reply right away. Looking over at the pair on the other side of the table, he was suddenly unsure. He'd been planning to reveal the two investigators' relationship as a potential liability to the case, but now he wasn't certain. "Another time gentleman."

"Well then," the man at the head of the table stood up. "If there are no further questions, I think we are done here."

Blackwell breathed a sigh of relief at the few seconds of silence that followed. There was still a lot of work on the case, but the last five hours had been grueling and his involvement was almost over. His agent had acted appropriately and there would be no disciplinary measures taken. He was almost out of the room when he was stopped by an ATF agent.

"Just wanted to say I've worked with these guys before," the ATF agent nodded towards Brennan and Booth. "They are good. I would work with them again anytime."

Blackwell clapped him on the back and said, "Thanks for coming. Have a good afternoon."

It was just past one when Booth and Brennan were finally released from the conference room and she was exhausted. The agents had been extra thorough on this case and each question had been asked and asked again. Brennan now had a better understanding of the dogged persistence agents like Booth needed when questioning a suspect. As far as what happened now, she didn't know. Booth had to take a mandatory three days off while on administrative leave. The Jeffersonian, however, had no policy for when their employees were involved in a work related shootout. Cam had joked lamely that it might be time to write one when they spoke. Cam had informed her she was to resume working when Booth did. She had also added that Brennan had her support and the support of the staff. Brennan felt much relieved by Cam's attitude about the shooting and her relationship with Booth.

Stretching her neck from side to side, Brennan let out a deep sigh.

"So, do you feel debriefed?" Booth asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

She gave him a tired smile in reply. As they started walking, Booth noticed Director Blackwell leaving the conference room.

"Sir," Booth said as Blackwell walked past. Blackwell acknowledged him with a look, but didn't break stride. Booth hurried to catch up, leaving Brennan with a pleading look and a 'stay' gesture.

"Agent Booth," he pronounced as Booth stepped in front to stop him.

Booth stared for a second, unsure exactly what to say. "Yes. Sir, I …."

"I assume you have made a decision." Blackwell stated flatly, cutting him off.

"Well," Booth rubbed his hands together, "not … exactly." Several agents came around the corner, interrupting the two. Blackwell nodded to an empty office and Booth followed him gratefully inside. There was no way for Booth to know exactly who was involved with Blackwell's ultimatum, but the fact he didn't want to discuss the issue publicly was heartening. "Sir, I think you need to reconsider regarding, you know, me and Dr. Brennan.

"And why would that be." Blackwell cross his arms and stared Booth down.

At that moment, Booth's mind went horribly blank. "Well," he began, regrouping, "Dr. Brennan doesn't work for the FBI, so technically we aren't violating and rules or code." Blackwell only nodded, so Booth continued. "And we are a good team, sir. No, a great team! You know, we solve stuff no one else can."

"And?" Blackwell prompted.

"And I love her." Booth said simply.

Blackwell studied him for several long moments. "I see," he said at last. "So this time it is love. Love you are now willing to jeopardize your career for, correct?"

"Yes," Booth answered his voice tight.

"And last time it wasn't this kind of love." Blackwell prompted.

Unsure of where the question was heading, Booth asked, "Sir?"

"Dr. Saroyan. Your partners' boss. I believe you were recently involved in a sexual relationship with her as well, were you not?"

Booth groaned inwardly when he heard Cam's name. Dammit! How did Blackwell know? While they hadn't tried outright to hide their relationship, they had kept it quiet. He didn't think the FBI knew.

"Agent Booth?" Blackwell asked, a note of impatience creeping into his voice.

"Yes, Dr. Saroyan and I had a relationship last year. And no, it's not the same."

"Let me guess, one is a pathologist and one is an anthropologist," Blackwell said dryly, smiling at his own wit.

Ignoring him, Booth said, "Dr. Saroyan and I had a relationship prior to her employment with the Jeffersonian that we resumed, briefly."

Checking his watch, Blackwell didn't wait for an answer. "I am not convinced Agent Booth. You're right, there is a bit of a grey area since Dr. Brennan is not an FBI employee, but I haven't seen any proof this situation warrants special treatment."

Booth opening his mouth to protest, but Blackwell waved it off. "All I see," he said in a low voice, "is a man who can't keep it in his pants as work. You're asking for special treatment, I gave you a choice."

Blackwell walked towards the door. Before leaving he turned and added, "If I don't hear from you tomorrow morning at ten am, Agent Booth, you no longer have a choice."

"Booth," Brennan said, startling him and causing him to drop his heavily loaded chopsticks. He grabbed the lemon chicken off the table, throwing it in his mouth before looking at Brennan.

"You aren't listening, are you," she said.

He immediately felt guilty. She was saying something about a skeleton in India, or maybe Indonesia. "Sorry, that might be too much technical stuff for my tired brain," he said, hoping to cover.

She opened her mouth as if to lecture him, but changed her mind. "I don't even know what I am babbling about." Standing up, she cleared her dishes from the table. After a few hasty bites, Booth joined her in the kitchen, dropping the empty cartons and chopsticks in the trash.

"I'll do the dishes anytime we eat Chinese," Booth grabbed her carton and valiantly through it in the garbage can as well.

"I do usually use plates, you know."

"Yeah, but this way is better."

Brennan rolled her eyes and Booth wandered into the living room. He turned on his tv, flipping to the baseball game. Brennan followed a few minutes later and sat down next to him on the couch. "So what do you think about the Ramsay case?" she asked.

"It was definitely a lot bigger than either of us thought. We are just lucky those guys didn't have assault rifles."

"I thought they said that guy from South Africa was just a mid level player."

"Yeah, but we are talking about a mid-level player on the international scene."

"It feels like we failed somehow," Brennan said dejectedly.

"We definitely discovered something huge," Booth pointed out.

"But we still don't know who murdered Ramsay. It could have been one of the men we … shot, or it could be someone else entirely."

"We will figure it out," Booth insisted. "Baker is going to keep me informed about the case, which there are now like four agencies fighting over."

"I just don't want his murder get lost in the bigger picture."

Booth smiled fondly, reminded of her focus on each case. "We won't let them. You told Anne that her husband was killed. At least she knows that he didn't leave her; he was murdered. And now, thanks to us, people are looking for his killer. We gave them good, solid evidence. They have one known suspect, and from what I saw of Leon, I doubt he can outsmart anyone for too long."

Brennan's head dropped onto his shoulder and she stifled a yawn. "I guess you are right. Baker will call if they find him?"

"Yes," Booth reassured her for probably the fourth time. For the moment, she was satisfied with his answer.

Not quite an hour later, Brennan stood up, yawned deeply, and declared that she was going to bed. It was not even ten, but it sounded like a good idea to Booth as well. He was pretty sure she had fallen asleep for at least twenty minutes around the eighth inning. Booth followed her into his bedroom, still not quite used to that sight of her there.

"Oww!" Brennan exclaimed as she tripped on a shoe in the near darkness and almost fell. She put her hand to her side and sat down slowly on the bed.

"Are you ok?" Booth asked concerned.

She shook her head stubbornly. "I'm fine." As if to illustrate her point, she crawled back to the head of the bed and slid under the covers. Booth carefully undressed and joined her. He moved next to her and took several deep breaths, enjoying the moment. He couldn't remember the last time a full nights sleep had been so appealing. But there was one thing he had to settle first, as much as he hated to bring it up.

"Bones," he said thoughtfully, "I have to meet with Blackwell tomorrow." He felt Brennan stiffen at his side. "I think there is a good change that I can convince him to back off," Booth took deep breath before continuing, "but if I can't, what is you answer?"

"It isn't just my decision," she responded immediately, "this will affect your life too."

Carefully, Booth stretched his arms out over his head and then wrapped his good arm around her shoulders. "I want you, Bones. Anyway I can have you."

Tracing her finger along his chest, she asked, "Can I tell you in the morning?"

He picked up her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing her fingers. "Mmm-hmm." He mumbled.

Bones shifted below him and Booth kissed his way up her arm towards her mouth, detouring briefly at her neck. Booth moved, trying for a better angle and was rewarded with a shooting pain from his arm. "Damn!" he whispered. She reached up and pulled him down, transferring some of his weight to her left side.

""It's a good thing we didn't get shot on the same side," she mumbled between kisses.

It didn't seem fair that tonight, which could be their last night together, they were both hampered by injuries. He couldn't even get lift his arm high enough to get her shirt off, but when she pulled it off herself, revealing nothing on underneath, he decided it wasn't such a bad thing. Booth's kisses were slow and deliberate, his hand sliding across her body, eliciting the occasional gasp or moan. Soon he could feel her hands on him, sliding down his sides. When her warm hands found their target, he groaned and decided he'd had enough of this slow pace. But when he shifted over her, he put too much weight on his arm and again felt pain.

"Relax," she purred into his ear as he breathed heavily.

"You know I have no patience," he said, resuming his kisses. He trailed his hand down her body again, stopping when he felt the bandage on her right side. "I don't want to hurt you," Booth said, concerned about her hip.

"Just go slow," she whispered, sliding her hands around his back and pulling him closer.

It was almost time for Booth to leave for his meeting with Blackwell and he needed Brennan's answer now. The morning had been pleasant. They slept in, cooked breakfast together and read the newspaper while they ate. Booth struggled into his jacket, his arm still not allowing him his full range of motion. Brennan stepped towards him and helped, brushing out the sleeves when she was done. He looked at her expectantly.

"Booth," she said, her voice shaky. "If you can't convince Blackwell … then I choose this, you."

Her face showed no joy at her announcement and Booth's heart felt suddenly heavy. He still couldn't believe they had been put in such a difficult situation. Brushing the hair of out of eyes, he kissed her, a long slow kiss. When he pulled back, there was a little more color in her face.

"I'll be back, Bones. It shouldn't take too long."

"Good luck," she said earnestly, and he walked out the door. Brennan looked around his living room, hating her helplessness. All she could do now was wait. Walking back into the kitchen to begin cleaning up, she caught herself saying a praying that Booth was successful. As she cleaned, she puzzled over just which god she thought she was appealing too.

Director Blackwell didn't stand when Booth entered his office. He remained seated behind the large and imposing desk. Booth walked in and sat down in front of him, forcing himself to take a deep, steadying breath. This was important and he needed a better effort than yesterday.

"Agent Booth," Blackwell said formally, "have you made a decision?"

"Yes, sir," Booth said. He thought of Bones waiting nervously back at his apartment, of their first night together at the Vacation Inn, of her choice this morning and felt more confident. He had to change Blackwell's mind.

"What is your choice?" Blackwell asked curiously.

Clearing his throat, Booth began, "I don't feel that I have been given a choice, sir." Blackwell's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't interrupt. "I have to ask the woman I love, a woman whose profession has been her entire life, to choose between us and our work."

"Certainly Dr. Brennan could continue to consult on cases with the FBI." Blackwell interjected.

"But would she be out in the field? Would she be assigned another partner, like me?" Booth questioned.

"Probably not." Blackwell said after a moment of consideration. "It appears you two do indeed have your own special rules."

"Because we are worth it," Booth replied before he could think it through.

Blackwell was amused by his answer, though he kept his expression stern, "Please explain."

Standing up, Booth launched into a passionate defense of their partnership. "First, as I am sure you are away, our closed case and conviction rates are extremely high. If were we a recognized partnership, we would have compete for the top honor this year. Plus throughout our work these last several years, Dr. Brennan and her team have developed several new processes in various aspects of forensics. And it is more that just that. We make each other better investigators. When I am able to pull Bones of the lab and her own mind, and force her to see the larger picture, she contributes amazing insights into the case beyond her forensic evidence. And she, well, she keeps me grounded. Keeps me from getting too angry or too excited and makes me questions things I would normally assume. I mean," Booth struggled with what to say next, "we're a team."

The expression on Blackwell's face still didn't change. The more time he spent with Agent Booth, the more he found himself liking him, but he couldn't let that effect his decision. "I am aware of your successful record, which is why I gave you the choice to continue."

Booth swallowed hard, unable to read the veteran agent. "She gave me her answer this morning. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said she would choose me." Booth said, hoping Bones wouldn't mind if he stretched the truth just a bit. "And they weren't tears of happiness."

Standing up, Blackwell turned and looked out his window. Booth's optimism was beginning to fade and he decided to go for broke.

"So now I give you a choice." Blackwell's head quickly turned to Booth, but Booth continued, "Either our current partnership is left in tact, or I will resign from the FBI."

The director's expression finally changed; he looked surprise. Blackwell was secretly impressed that the young agent had challenged him. However, it did present a bit of a problem. He knew Seeley Booth was a decorated agent and soldier, respected by all who work with him. He also knew that some in the bureau enjoyed the high profile convictions Booth and Brennan secured. But mainly he knew that the man standing before him was a good man; the kind the FBI couldn't afford to lose.

Turning back to the window Blackwell rubbed his temples. He really hated backing down from a decision. But perhaps he had made this decision to quickly, without putting in the necessary research. They were a unique team who got results. He had known very little about either of them before this incident, and was impressed by what he found. Or perhaps he really was softening in his old age, as his wife like to point out.

"Agent Booth," he said harshly. Booth jumped to attention and just managed to stop himself before he automatically saluted. "I will allow you and Dr. Brennan to continue your partnership. However," he said as the smile started to break across Booth's face, "I do not want anymore scenes like the other night. Keep a clear line between your personal and professional lives. I will not let you embarrass the FBI. Do you understand?"

"Yes, of course, sir." Booth was so relieve he could barely get the words out. "Thank you."

"Do not thank me, Agent Booth. There will be severe consequences if any of these criteria are not met." Blackwell watched as Booth was unable to contain him smile any longer. "You may resume your normal duties after the three day period." He nodded curtly to Booth to let him know the meeting was over.

"Yes, sir." Booth said.

As Booth walked towards the door, Blackwell could feel a smile crossing his face as well. The agent's happiness was slowly spreading.

"Agent Booth," he called before Booth was completely out of his office. Booth turned back warily. "She looked tired this morning. As do you," he added, examining Booth carefully, "get some rest."

"We will, sir."

Blackwell sat back down at his desk, still unsure as to whether he had made the right decision or not. Regardless, it was one he definitely wouldn't tell his wife about, or he would run the risk of proving her right.

Brennan ran to meet Booth as he entered the building. She must have been watching for him to pull up. He had decided not to call first, but to deliver the good new in person. His mouth spread into a wide grin as he saw her rushing towards him and he knew she read the answer in his face. "I told you I could change his mind," he said smugly. He didn't have time to add anything else before Bones was in his arms, kissing him.

"So it's ok?" she asked breathlessly as she pulled away. "We can still work together and … do this," she kissed him again.

"Yup," Booth announced happily. "As soon as I'm done with my mandatory leave."

"But what are we going to do without work for the next two days?" She asked.

Booth laughed at the concern in her voice. "Well we have enough time. If we work at it, we just might be able to finish our first date."

She smiled. "No guns this time, or mud, or hospitals" she insisted.

"No way," he said with a chuckle, "just you and me." Booth said. He slipped his uninjured arm around her waist and together they head back up to his apartment.

The end.

Please review I'd love to know what you thought. (I'd love to get to the 100 review mark)

Thanks to everyone for reading! I've enjoyed this story and I hope you have too.

And as you could tell from my suddenly erratic updating, I've been busy this summer. So I probably won't start another long fic yet, but I've got some good ideas. I'm going to work on extending my challenge fic / ghost story South of Santa Fe. I probably should leave well enough alone since the story actually won, but I'm feeling a little ghosty.