Again, you guys blow me away, I swear! Thank you so much everone...now...this is it!! The chapter you've allll been waiting for. Well, part 1 of what you've all been waiting for...two more chapters and an epilogue to go!

Chapter Three: Coming Home

Six months later.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My sold can reach
-Elizabeth Barret Browning

Agent Seeley Booth left the doors of the airport at a trot, heading towards his car, which the FBI had dutifully dropped off for him, and taking in the sweet scent of the spring air which screamed of possibilities. He hopped inside the car and started it, then proceeded to check the time. 4:15. He grinned. It was still early…or at least as far as Bones' workday was concerned. Backing out of the parking spot, he got his bearings, let his auto pilot take control and then, as fast as he could without speeding, made his way to the Jeffersonian.

He could feel his heart pounding with excitement as he pulled into the driveway of the Jeffersonian and jumped out of the car, jamming his keys into his pocket as he trotted up the familiar pathway. For the moment, the year and a half in Baghdad felt like just another horrible nightmare. He jogged through the sliding doors and immediately saw the Squints at work in the lab, as usual. He took in a deep breath, strangely feeling like he was…home.

He made his way to the steps, stopping at the bottom one for fear of setting off the alarm - the last thing he needed on his first day back. He glanced at the Squints, still obvlivious to his presence, and scanned the room for Temperance. With no sign of her he blinked in confusion and turned his attention back to the Squints. "Hey guys, where's Bones?" he said, the familiar words jumping back into his mouth.

Three heads shot up at the sound of his voice - maybe he should have started with something else. He watched Hodgins blink in surprise, and Zach rub at his eyes, but it was Angela who spoke. "Booth," she breathed in surprise, looking down at him. They all bore the same shocked expression, as if wondering if he were really there or if he were some illusion. "When did you get back?"

"About half an hour ago," he responded, waving the question off with a hand. That didnt matter now. What did matter... "Where's Bones?" he repeated, his impatience growing.

"She left early, she had to pick up El…" Zach began, his voice cutting off abruptly at the feel of a heel slamming into his foot by none other than Angela, an action that did not go unnoticed by Booth. His eyebrows furrowed together. What were they hiding?

"An artifact for work," Angela finished, a forced grin on her face as she shot a glare at Zach, who looked at her in innocent, naïve curiosity. "But she should be home by now," Angela said, smiling at Booth.

Booth clapped his hands together. "Now we're getting somewhere," he said, turning towards the door. He turned abruptly, so that he was walking backwards as he talked, "Don't let her know I'm home, yet," he said, his gaze fixed pointedly on Angela before he span around and made his way back to the car.

Once he had gone, Angela exchanged a glance with her husband. Hodgins worried look broke out into a grin. "This should be good," he said, his blue eyes sparkling.

"We can only hope," Angela replied, looking back to the door. Please let him take it well, she thought, glad, at least, that she had managed to stop Zach before he could say anything. She rolled her eyes.

XxX

Love me tnder, love me sweet,
Never let me go.
-Elvis Presley

After putting Elizabeth to bed and picking up the toys littering the floor, Temperance Brennan finally had a moment to herself where she could "crash" as it was said, on the couch and relax. A glass of water rested limply in her hands, and every now and then she'd raise it to her lips to take a sip. This was her "quiet time" as she liked to think of it, where she could take a few moments to "unwind" from the daily activities that had become all the more tedious since Elizabeth had been born. But that wasnt saying that she regretted it, she thought, taking a sip of the water and letting it slide down her throat.

Her eyes flicked to the pictures that were on the table beside her, and a smile graced her lips. She was extending her fingers towards one of them when the knock came on her door. From Elizabeth's room, Singer came bounding silently, soft pads making no noise on the floor as he landed in front of the door, his tail wagging happily as he stared up at it, small whines coming from his throat.

Glass still in hand, Temperance stood and made her way curiously to the door, scratching Singers fur as she reached him – there were very few people who could prompt this reaction from him. Normally, especially when Elizabeth was in the room, he would stand, hackles raised and growling in warning.

She opened the door, her one leg braced against Singer, holding the now knee high at the shoulder puppy, at bay. Upon opening the door, her vision was immediately assaulted with a bundle of red roses. She tilted her head to the side, and her breathing increased at the sigh tof them. Singer yapped happily, and the roses descended slightly, revealing the face of none other than…

"Booth," Temperance whispered. The glass of water dropped from her grasp and shattered on the floor, and she felt her knees go weak beneath her. Singer lapped nervously at her hand, whining worriedly.

Booth's expression turned from a happy grin to one of concern as his hand snaked out to grab her arm, supporting her slightly as he kept her from falling to the ground. "Bones, you okay?" he asked as she resisted the urge to faint. Without waiting for a response, he guided her into her home, carefully avoiding the broken glass, kicking the door shut behind him, placing the roses carefully on a nearby table and sitting her down on the couch, Singer dancing at his heels.

He sat down next to her, his hands residing on her arms, just above her elbows, bracing her, his eyes searching hers as she breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling as she struggled to calm herself, her eyes misty. For a moment she stared at him, her eyes wide and round as if seeing a ghost. "Bones…" he said softly, trying to prompt a response from her.

The next thing he knew, she launched herself into his arms, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her head into the crook of his neck, sobs racking her body. Booth sat stunned for a moment, before regaining his senses and wrapping his arms around her back and crushing her to him, his one hand cradling the back of her head, twining itself in her hair. "Sshh, Bones, I'm here," he murmured into her ear, but the words only made her hold on tighter and cry harder. He rocked her gently, making soothing noises as he held her close, nuzzing his nose into her hair.

Some minutes later, when her sobs finally subsided she pulled away from him swiping at her tears. He brushed one away with his thumb. "When did you get back?"

"Less than an hour ago," he replied, his eyes still locked on hers. She nodded her head. Her one hand moved to pet Singer, who whined at her knees, the motion soothing him as well as her. Booth looked down at the dog, and his lips quirked into a smile. "The dog I got you?"

"Singer," Temperance said, nodding, looking down to the dog for a minute. Then she looked up at Booth, shaking her head, "I still cant believe you got me a dog."

"For company," he said, giving her his prize winning smile as he shrugged innocently.

"He did that well," Temperance murmured, thinking back to the nights that Singer had helped he through, lending his furry shoulder to cry on. She took a shuddinger break her eyes drinking in the sight of him, her nose lapping up the familiar scent, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. The silence lapped between them, and Temperance could feel her cheeks heating up. Swallowing, she realized how dry her throat was. "I need some water," she murmued.

Booth made a motion to get up. "Let me…"

"No, I've got it," she said, standing before him and making her way shakily to the kitchen. Her eyes moved to the brokoen glass littering the floor by the door - she would have to clean that up before Elizabeth could crawl on it. Passing the roses on her way, she picked them up gingerly, taking them with her to the kitchen, burying her nose in them for a moment to take in the scent. "Do you want anything?"

"Water's fine," he said, as he smiled at the sight of her with the roses, then let his eyes roam around the living room while idly scratching Singer's, who had rested his head on his knee, ears. His gaze landed on a series of photographs next to her couch. The first one, he noted, was of him and her, in a gorgeous steel photo frame, carved roses rimming the edges. It had been taken before he left, with her sitting on a bench, in the park and him standing behind her his arms draped over her shoulders, his chin on top of her head, the pair of them smiling. The sight of it warmed his heart - bringing a smile to his face at the memory.

The next one that caught his eye was a hand painted frame with bright colors, and the words "I love you, Mom (Dr. Bones)" and a smiley face. Inside of the frame was a picture of Temperance and Parker, the pair of them in brightly colored birthday hats making silly faces at something that was off the camera. His heart thudded in his chest. "Parker calls you Mom?" he called into the kitchen, which Temperance was just leaving, two - this time plastic - cups of water in her hand. He saw her cheeks flame in a blush.

"He started to a few months ago," she said as she made her way back into the living-room. "He asked if he could – said it was 'better than Dr. Bones.'" Her lips twisted into a worried frown. "Does that bother you?"

Booth smiled. It did anything except bother him. "Not at all," he said, turning his smile on her as she sat down beside him. "So you spend time with him?"

"After you left," Temperance said, ducking her head. Booth's thougths flashed back to the day in the airport. "We sort of...bonded."

"Ah," he said as she handed him the water that was in her left hand, and he opened his mouth to say more when he caught sight of a glint of gold residing there. He caught her hand and the words he had been about to say were lost, giving way to new ones. "When did you get married?" his voice was stony - void of all the warmth that had been there only seconds before.

For a second, she looked confused. Not startled or embarrassed, he noted, just confused. Then it dawned on her and she laughed lightly, gently pulling her hand out of his grasp, letting him instead have the glass. "This?" she asked, sliding the golden ring off of her ring finger and holding it up to look at before putting it down on the table next to her. "It was my grandmothers ring…I got tired of men trying to pick me up," she explained, taking a sip of her drink. It seemed as though Booth had been the reason she hadnt had many offers before - without him looming over her, she had found herself being approached by many men. The only solution... "It was Angela's idea, really."

"Ah," Booth said, his voice returning to normal as he smiled, taking a sip of his drink. Only Bones, he thought, with a small shake of his head. He looked back up to her, into her eyes - full of emotion. He set his glass down on the table before him, and inched a little closer. She held his gaze and smiled warmly.

It was then that a sharp wail, akin to a baby's cry, pierced the room. Singer's ears perked up and he got up, trotting away to an ajacent room on the far side of the couches. Booth looked up to Temperance, who had suddenly taken on the look of a startled deer. "Bones…," he drawled, watching her carefully, "What was that?"

XxX

hehehe :P :P I'm so evil. Sorry :P

Soooo what'd you think? I think some parts were eeeeh, not so great, and other parts were okay. Also, I've been wondering - do you guys want a reunion chapter with him and Parker? Because the rest of it is mostly a focus on Booth/Brennan/Beth? Let me know...I'm thinking about trying it!

noname: Thanks! I hope this update was fast enough!! XD Thanks for read/reviewing and being patient ;-)

Ponies: Haha, you remind me of me, you know :P Glad you're liking the chapters! Plus its pretty cool that you can speek fluently in two languages. I wish I could -- I so envy anyone who can, haha. Hope you liked this chapter! Well I figrued that Rebecca, having chosen her own path wouldnt have had much jealously there anyway. And see, Booth's alive. If he died I'd be writing through tears. I could never ever ever do that. Unless it was like a bad dream. OOh shoulda done that. Eh, next time :P You want me to write 20 stories? Eek. I couldnt even do that with Stargate, haha! I'd feel like a crazy psycho fanatic. Actually, I was planning on a break time after this...but we'll see Give me an idea! I dont think I'd be any good at long lost children though, that's for sure. Hmmn...Anyway, now I'm babbling, but that's what I do!! Thanks for read/reviewing, as usual:)

fanfictionmonster: Thanks! I hope you liked this chapter as much as you hoped you would! Thanks for read/reviewing!

bayeelizabeth : I'm glad you liked how everything went with Temperance and her feelings/relationships!Well Booth's back now! hope you enjoyed the chap! Thanks for read/reviewing!