A/N: Wow, I didn't realize this was a long one! You are in for a treat! And thank you, thank you, thank you to all my reviewers!

She was having a good day. For her this was surprising, considering that it was Christmas and she didn't usually celebrate it. But here she was, at Hodgins' place, drinking cider and playing board games. Angela and Hodgins had been great. After they came back from snowshoeing yesterday they had dinner and watched Christmas movies.

Today had been the same. She had woken up before everyone else and gone for a walk in the snow. She had thought about her mom and dad and Russ. She still didn't know how she felt about them. She loved them and missed them but was still angry at them. She had let her mind get taken over with thoughts of Booth. She thought about what he would be doing today. "Having Christmas with Parker will make him so happy.' She had thought to herself. 'He deserves to be happy.'

And now it was the afternoon and the smell of turkey was wafting from the kitchen. She was discovering new things about her friends, such as the fact that despite being the sole owner of the Cantilever group, Hodgins sucked at Monopoly. She laughed as she watched Angela take more money from Hodgins.

"It's not that funny." Hodgins muttered.

"Actually it is." Angela replied, an evil grin on her face.

"Yeah well let's play Clue next." Hodgins retorted. "Then we will see who is the best."

"You're kidding me right?" Angela said. "Bren is totally going to beat you."

"Me?" she said. "Why?"

"Because Clue is all about figuring out clues and finding the truth." Angela said. "And that's what you and Booth do all day long."

'Oh jeez." Hodgins said. "She is going to beat me." They all broke into laughter.

She didn't get to find out whether she would have beaten Hodgins at Clue or not, because the turkey was done and it was time for dinner. They declared Angela the winner of Monopoly and sat down to eat. The food was amazing and she ate until she was so full she wasn't sure if she could move.

"Jack that was excellent." She said.

"Yeah it was awesome." Hodgins replied. "I will tell the staff you liked it. Any one for seconds?"

"God no!" Angela said, rubbing her stomach. "I feel like I am in a turkey coma."

"Ange, I don't know what that means." She said. "What is a turkey coma?"

"I am too tired to explain it now." Angela replied.

"Why don't you too go into the den and I will bring some coffee." Hodgins said.

She got up and followed Angela into the den and sat down on the couch.

"So…" Angela said drowsily, her eyes half-closed.

"I kissed Booth." She blurted out.

"What?" Angela shouted, her body springing forward and her eyes opening wide. "When? What happened?"

She took a deep breath. "It was after the gift exchange. We had dinner and he was leaving. He took me outside to see the snow fall and then I kissed him."

"Then what happened?" Angela said.

"I turned and walked back into the apartment." She replied. "We haven't spoken since. I left him a message this morning but.."

"You need to go there now." Angela said.

"Ange." She replied. "I don't.."

"Do you think it was a mistake?" Angela interrupted.

"No." she said softly.

"Then you have to go tell him." Angela said. "He's probably freaking out right now."

"Who's freaking out?" Hodgins said, as he came in with the coffees.

"Brennan has to go, don't you Bren" Angela said, staring at her.

If she went there, it could be the end of their friendship. Their partnership meant everything to her. But on the other hand, it could be more. She knew in her brain what her heart had been trying to tell her. That he was the one.

"Umm, yeah." She replied. " I have to go."

Angela let out a loud squeal and grabbed her and hugged her. "Thank god sweetie! Jack can you go get her stuff?"

Hodgins nodded and left the room, looking utterly confused.

"I won't tell Jack if you don't want me to." Angela said.

"No, its okay." She replied. "Just keep it quiet from everyone else." She suddenly felt sick. "Ange, what do I do? What do I say?"

"Just tell him how you feel." Angela said. "You will figure it out."

Hodgins came back in the room with her bag along with her coat and hat.

"I'm going to see Booth." She explained to him.

"I figured as much." Hodgins replied. "Good luck."

"Thanks." She said, walking towards the door. "And thank you. Both of you. I had a good day yesterday and today. I haven't had Christmas like this in a long time."

"No problem, sweetie." Angela said as she hugged her. "Now go get him!"

A thought suddenly occurred to her. "I would but I don't have my car. You drove me here, remember?"

"Here." Angela said, handing her the keys to her car. "Take my car."

"Thanks." She replied. And with that she walked outside and headed to Angela's car. She got in the car and started driving down Hodgin's huge driveway.

'What am I doing?' she thought to herself. 'This is the most irrational, illogical thing I have ever done. What am I supposed to say to him? Hi Booth, I just realized that kiss was the best I ever had and I might be in love with you?' Her mind kept churning and her stomach started to feel nauseous. After 20 mins, she had arrived outside his apartment building. His light was still on, so she knew he was up. She sat in the car for ten minutes, unsure of what to do. Finally she summoned the courage to go in.

"I need to talk to you." She said, coming in the door.

"Okay." He replied. He stood there looking at her, unsure about what to do next.

"It wasn't a mistake." She said, fiddling with her fingers.

"Wait, what did you say?" he asked, incredulously.

"The kiss." She replied. "It wasn't a mistake. Wait do you think.."

"Temperance, that kiss was the best thing that happened to me all year." He interrupted.

"Really?" she said, a shy look on her face.

"Yes, really." He replied, as he bent down to kiss her. His lips touched hers softly. He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him. She leaned in farther, allowing him to deepen the kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss seemed to go on forever, until finally they pulled away, gasping for air.

"Wow." She said, flicking her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah." He replied. "So anything else you want to say?" He grinned.

"Well actually.." she started. "We need to…"

"Talk about this." He finished. "I know. Want a beer?"

"Sure." She replied.

"Umm, Bones?" he said. "You're going to have to let go of me."

"Oh yeah." She said, pulling away from him and blushing.

He walked to the kitchen and grabbed two beers and brought them over the couch where she was now sitting. "So who wants to go first?" he asked.

"I will." She replied. "Just don't interrupt me until I'm done."

"Deal." He said.

"Okay, here goes." She said, nervously taking a sip of her beer. "I'm not a good girlfriend. Past boyfriends have told me that. For one thing, I work a lot. And if we got together, that wouldn't change. I love my job, you know that. I think you know more than anyone what it means to me. How it defines me. I can't let that go." She paused for a moment to take another sip of her beer.

"I don't want the typical things everyone else wants. I don't need marriage and I don't want children. And that is something that is unlikely to change. If you want a big house in the suburbs with lots of children, then we shouldn't even begin this, because I can't give that to you. I love Parker, but this is just how I feel."

She noticed him opening his mouth. "Wait, I'm not done." She said, holding up her hand to silence him.

"You know me. You know me better than anyone, even Angela and that scares me. I've always been good at being alone, but you make it hard. I feel…. dependent on you and that scares me the most. I've tried my whole life not to depend on anyone and then you came and now…" she trailed off. "Now I can't imagine you not being there. It's going to take me some time to work this out but I want to try. Even though there are so many things that will be a problem, like Cam, Rebecca, our work. I still want to try. Because this thing between us; I don't think it's just going to go away. So yeah, I'm done." She said, looking down at her lap.

"Temperance." He said, lifting her face up so that it met his. "I'm not completely idiotic. I know we will have obstacles and that's okay. Because I think we can do this. I know we are different but I think we are also pretty similar, when you come to think about it. We both love our job and feel our job defines part of us. We are both incredibly stubborn and like to get our own way. We both love to argue, especially with each other. "

"And the fact that you said you loved Parker means a lot to me. I can't explain in words what it means. He didn't like Tessa you know." He laughed. "But he loves you."

"I don't care about the house and all the children. I just want you." He reached up and stroked her cheek with his hand. "We will figure the rest out, I promise. We will make this happen. I think we owe it to ourselves."

"Yeah. But we need to go slow." She said. "We need to make it right."

"Absolutely." He replied. "Which reminds me, what are you doing tomorrow?

"Ahh, I'll be at the lab all day, why?" she asked, looking puzzled.

"Because I would like to take you out on a date tomorrow night." He replied.

"Oh." She said shyly. "Yeah, I'd love to."

"Sounds good. Pick you up at 7?" he asked.

"Where, at the lab?" she said, looking panicked. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Don't worry. Cam won't be there. Besides I'll say we have a case or something. Please." He said, flashing his charm smile.

"Fine." She said, throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Good." He replied. They sat in silence for a few more minutes.

"Well, I should go." She said, rising from the couch.

"Yeah. I need to go to bed." He replied. "I have a hot date tomorrow night!"

"Oh?" she said, slapping his arm and laughing as she passed him. "With who?"

"Well, my partner of two years finally let me ask her out. She's the most beautiful person I have ever met." He said, moving closer to her.

"Seeley." She replied, blushing again.

"Temperance." He whispered, slipping his hand around her waist and pulling her closer. He pressed his lips against hers and she melted in his arms. He pulled away and whispered into her ear; "Merry Christmas Bones."

"Merry Christmas Booth." She replied, as she disentangled herself from him and headed out the door.