The Epilogue…

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"Did she say anything?" She turned her body to face him as she spoke. "I mean, anything for you to tell me?"

He raked his eyes of her puffy eyes and dirty hair; she must have stayed here this whole time. But still, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. He had been wrong; he beauty surpassed even that of her mothers. "No, she didn't give me anything to tell you." At the disappointed look that crossed her face he started again. "But she told me to take care of you and that if I found someone I could trust, hold onto them."

"And have you?" She asked, her eyes falling to his mouth as she waited for a response.

Before he spoke, he brought his lips down to hers. Completely ignoring the pain he felt in his chest as he did so, Booth deepened the kiss. When there was no air left in his lungs his rested his forehead against hers. "I'm already hanging onto her. And I promise, I wont let you go."

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2012.

"Thank you." She said as she signed the book and passed it to another fan.

Booth watched her from a few feet away, two cups within his hands. She's so beautiful, he thought. A thought that crossed his mind almost everyday since he'd met her. And now, two years after they married, he couldn't help thinking about her even when she wasn't around. He made his way through the crowd and to her table. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her cheek, placing the cup beside her.

"Is this your husband?" A female fan asked as she placed a copy of Temperance's newest book on the table.

Temperance smiled at the young woman, she was use to it by now. "Yes, he is."

"And," Booth interjected. "I'm her real-life Andy." His voice sounded almost giddy.

"You're never going to let me live that one down are you?" She asked with a smile as she scribbled her name in the front pages of the book and passed it back to the woman. "Alright," she said. "It's time."

Booth looked at his watch. "You've still got five minutes Bones."

"No, Booth." She stood from her chair slowly, her rounded belly protruding. "It's time to get your spawn out of me."

"Now?" He said anxiously, easing her up out of the chair.

"Acutally…" she began. "I've been having contractions for most of the afternoon." She clutched her stomach in pain. "But my water just broke, so yes now would be an appropriate time to give birth."

Booth laughed and shook his head. "Only you could be at work all day and not complain at all about having contractions, Bones."

"In early China, women would give birth in a rice paddy and dig a whole…"

He cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah Bones. Can we get you to the hospital now and have an anthropological discussion later?"

She nodded in agreement as they left the bookstore and headed for his SUV.

On the way there Booth had blared his siren and sped despite Temperance's insistence that she had time before she was fully dilated and that they were more likely to die in a car accident than for her to give birth in the car. He had muttered how gross it was when she used the more scientific terms for childbirth and proceeded to slow down, only slightly.

Later that night, while his wife was asleep in the hospital bed. Booth sat with his newborn baby girl tucked nicely in his arms. He smiled down at Celia Christine Booth, as he thought about the familiarity of this hospital.

It had been the same hospital where he had stayed in when he was blown up and when he was shot, and where their relationship had changed four years ago. Thinking back on it, he remembered the dream he'd had while he was unconscious. He had thought about it a lot over the years. Apparently Christine, his daughter's namesake and the mother of his wife, hadn't wanted to give away all the surprises so she'd fibbed a little. Their first child had not been a son, but luckily for Booth her book's inscription had stayed the same and thus allowing him to tease his wife incessantly about it. Booth was a man who didn't really like surprises, but when it came to the way his life was, he was glad Christine had kept a few things under lock and key.

Seeley Booth was a happy man; he had a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, and a wonderful life.

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I know, I know… cheesy cheesy cheesy. But I couldn't help it. I'm not too fond of this epilogue but I wanted to show everyone that all the cards weren't going to be laid out for him… Anyway, I couldn't think of how else to right this so I hope it satisfied at least a few of you.

xSSx