It's like Wayne's World. or Clue...three endings! They all three start with the same stuff, so, be warned of that :)

seels

Booth woke up to find her turned toward him. Bones.

Her hands were curled in his shirt, her nose pressed to his throat. He realized his arms were still around her and it took him a moment to fully remember the previous night. He could feel a memory niggling in the back of his mind, and he closed his eyes to try and recall it. His foot was itchy, almost tickly, and he moved his other big toe to try and scratch it. He heard a small growl and his eyes popped open to see a tiny pug sitting on the arm of the couch, his tiny tongue poised near the sole of his foot. Ah yes, the puppy.

Booth looked at it for a moment trying to decide his next course of action. He liked the comfort of this moment with her, liked the way she was sleeping close to him. He could stay like this forever…

Just then the puppy raised one of its back legs and Booth sprang into action.

"Oh…no…"
He snatched it up as quickly as he could and ran toward the kitchen, leaving behind a trail of squirming puppy drips. At least it wasn't on the couch. He grabbed a couple of paper towels and set the puppy back in the original box while he wiped up the hardwood floor.

"Booth?"

He stood and looked over toward the couch. His quick movements had pushed her off of it, and now she was awake and lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

"Uh, hey, Bones. Just cleaning up a little doggy emergency."

"Oh."

He picked up the box and grabbed the lid and carried them both to the floor by her couch. He helped her up and they sat down, now neither sure how to proceed.

"Booth, what is that?"

"What?"

"There, on the lid?"

He turned, and taped to the inside of the box's lid was a small, blue envelope. He looked at her and she nodded. He pulled the envelope off the lid and opened it.

"Oh…" he seemed surprised.

"What?"

"It's from your dad."

"What?" She was shocked.

"It says, 'Hi Sweetheart. I don't know if we ever told you, but I gave your mom a puppy just like this on our first Christmas. Anyways, when I saw this little guy at the store, well, I couldn't resist.' His voice trailed off as she leaned over to pull the puppy out of the box. She pulled the dog up to her face, looking into its eyes as if she could somehow catch a glimpse of this past life her father mentioned.

His lips parted, "I love you"

Her eyes flew to meet his.

"Um…that's what it says next." He glanced back down to the paper clutched in his hand.

"It says, I love you. Merry Christmas. Love, Dad." He swallowed.

"Oh…"

She could see his tongue pressing against the inside of his teeth as if he wanted to say something, but was holding back. His brow was creased, and he was looking at her chin. She reached up and could feel a small scratch on it, from where he'd grabbed her the night before. She met his eyes and once again saw shame and embarrassment in them.

"What are you thinking about, Booth?"

He looked away and grumbled something.

"What?"

He took a deep breath. "I said it wasn't very romantic."

She thought about that for a moment."You mean last night when I said I loved you, but you didn't?" she asked matter of factly.

He laid his head on the back of her couch and nodded.

"Booth, I don't care about that stuff."

He blushed, "Well…I do."

"So what are you saying?" Now she was confused.

He sighed. "Bones…look, okay? I wanted to tell you I love you, but I wanted to be first, you know."

"Well, you aren't." Obviously, her tone implied.

He rolled his eyes, "I know, Bones… and now. I want to tell you I love you, but I…want it to be perfect, you know? Romantic." He closed his eyes.

"You love me." She repeated.

He stayed silent.

"You love me, but you were waiting for a perfect moment? And now…you don't want to tell me because it's not romantic enough." She wanted to make sure she had it right.

"Something like that, Bones." He looked at her, his expression unreadable.

She looked at him for a moment, then moved the puppy to lay on his chest. She smiled as the puppy burrowed its nose into him, trying to get comfortable.

She got up from the couch and walked over to her front door, opening it and running her hand along the splintered wood in the jamb where he'd busted through.

"You kicked my door in, Booth."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'll fix that today, Bones."

"No, I mean, yes, you probably should, but I mean…you kicked my door in."

He paused. "I said I was sorry, Bones."

"No, Booth. You didn't knock, you didn't use the key…" she faced him, "you couldn't wait another second to make sure I was okay, and you kicked it in."

"Yes…I thought you were hurt." What didn't she get?

She walked back over to him and sat next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his shoulder, mirroring their position from the night before.

"Booth, you couldn't wait another second. So you kicked it in."

"Bones…I don't…I don't get why you keep mentioning that."

"Well…that's pretty romantic, right?" she asked him.

His finger stopped stroking the puppy's head. Without even looking, she could sense his mouth turning up in a smirk. He clicked his tongue against his teeth once.

"Hmmm…yeah, I guess so. Hey, hey, how about that." He pulled the puppy up to his face. "Seeley Booth, at your service..."

She smiled and turned to look at him, resting her chin against his arm.

He looked back at her, a cocky grin now firmly in place. "Romantic." He winked at her.

She laughed and moved her hands to his shoulders, pulling her face closer to his. "Say it, romantic boy."

He laughed and waited for a moment, smiling, making her wait.

She frowned and pinched one of his shoulders. "Say it, Booth."

"Ow, hey…" he looked at the puppy. "She's bossy"

"Booth…" she whined.

"Okay, okay…" He moved his finger along her chin, apologizing again with his eyes. "I love you." He moved his hand to cup her face. "I love you, Bones." He pressed his lips to hers once, "Oh, I love you."

Her hands tightened on his shoulders, and she kissed him back.

After a few moments, she pulled back and smiled.

"What's so funny, Bones?"

"Nothing…I love you."

"I love you too."

She laughed.

"Bones…what?"

"Booth…" she kissed him. "I said it first."

He shook his head. "Well, I've said it more."

"What?" She pulled back.

He laughed. "Come on, Bones…don't do this."

She moved her head back to his shoulder. "Okay…"

She smiled to herself. She was first!