A few weeks after the trial, Brennan was finally starting to feel like her old self. Except now, she knew she had a murderer for a father. It was very unsettling. Her father had tried to call a few times, and every time she ignored him. She was not ready to talk to him. Not yet. Her routine was pretty regular again, but now she had dates with Booth to look forward to. She really looked forward to them.

"Miss Brennan?"

She looked up at the student in front of her. Julie. Brennan knew her parents were in the middle of a messy divorce, and Julie was upset at pretty much anything. Brennan felt bad for the girl.

"Yes?"

"I have a headache. Can I go to the quiet room and lie down?"

"Of course," Brennan replied, gesturing. "Feel better, okay?" Julie walked slowly back to her desk and loaded her bag before going out the door. Brennan noticed Parker watching Julie carefully. Today, they were doing a report on photosynthesis and drawing a flower or plant of their choice to go with it. The school year was almost over, and Brennan knew the kids were getting antsy. Heck, she was too. Her plan for the summer was to write another murder mystery novel and spend a lot of time with Booth. She smiled to herself. Things were heating up in that department. She was pretty sure tonight was going to be the night. The bell finally rang, and the kids started packing up.

"My Dad wanted me to give you this," Parker said once they were alone. He handed her a note.

"Thanks," she smiled, taking it.

"You make my Dad happy," Parker told her, grinning.

"I'm glad. How does that make you feel?" Brennan asked. She hoped Parker didn't find it all weird.

"I love it," Parker beamed at her.

"I'm glad to hear you say that," she said.

"Maybe we could go bowling sometime!" Parker said, getting excited.

"I think that would be a lot of fun," she agreed. "I'll talk to your Dad about it."

"Yippee!" Parker hooted, racing to the door. Rebecca met him there.

"Hi," she said, waving. "How are you?"

"I'm well, and you?"

"Good, thanks. Parker still being a good boy?" she asked, hugging him.

"Of course," Brennan replied, nodding. "He's the best."

"Awesome. Ready to go, buddy?"

"Yup," Parker nodded. Rebecca smiled and took his hand.

"We'll see you next week," she told Brennan, who waved as they left. She opened Booth's note once they were gone.

You and me and karaoke. Whaddya say?

Brennan chuckled. She pulled out her phone.

Where?

I just found this place. Will pick you up tonight.

Great. See you then.

Brennan found herself to feel nervous but in a good way. He had no idea what she had in store for him later.

...

"I don't think she's ever going to forgive me," Matthew said to Russ. He was visiting him, Amy, and the girls. Russ was preparing supper. He looked up at Matthew.

"She's pretty mad," he agreed.

"I don't suppose she'll ever see it my way," Matthew mused. He drummed his fingers on the countertop. Temperance had no children to protect. Maybe one day she'd understand.

"I know what you're thinking," Russ said. "And I don't know if she could kill anyone for her future kids."

"You always were a mind reader," Matthew chuckled. "What about you? If it came down to it?"

"I wouldn't know until I was in the moment," Russ replied truthfully. "I would die for them, yes, but I don't know if I could kill for them."

"Let's hope you never have to figure it out," Matthew said, nodding. He sighed again. He really missed Temperance.

...

"This looks fun," Brennan said as they entered the karaoke bar. She recognized Sweets, Hodgins, and Zack in the one corner. She vaguely recognized the woman with them.

"That's Cam," Booth said. "She's head of the Jeffersonian. She testified at your father's trial."

"Right," Brennan nodded. She could place her now.

"We should have brought Angela," Booth said. "Hodgins can't stop talking about her."

"She wants to just lay low for right now," Brennan told him. "She's finding herself."

"Is that code for something?"

"Hiding in her basement covered in paint," Brennan laughed. "She always gets into painting when she's stressed or otherwise trying to locate her old self."

"I think she should give ol' Hodgins a chance," Booth insisted. "He's a good guy."

"What's up?" Sweets asked as they approached. He nodded at Brennan. She knew he felt bad for profiling her father, but she didn't hold it against him. It was his job.

"Are you gonna butcher Lime in Da Coconut again?" Booth asked, sitting down beside them.

"I don't butcher it," Sweets said, affronted.

"No, you just torture it a little before putting it out of it's misery," Cam smirked. She sipped her drink.

"It's nice to officially meet you," Brennan said, reaching to shake her hand.

"You as well. Sorry I was trying to put your father away," Cam said.

"You were doing your jobs, all of you. Please don't feel uncomfortable," Brennan added.

"I like her," Cam said to Booth, winking.

"Angela didn't come?" Hodgins asked. Booth gave her an "I told you so" look.

"She was preoccupied with other plans," Brennan told him. "Maybe next time."

"Oh. All right," he said, deflating a little.

"Is it true Angela had a one night stand with Hodgins?" Zack asked.

"Dude," Hodgins said, nudging his ribs. Obviously he was embarrassed.

"It's true," she agreed. She was sitting beside Booth now, his hand on hers.

"Darn," Zack said, pulling out a ten dollar bill. He handed it to Hodgins, who snatched it eagerly.

"So you're a teacher and an author? That's really cool," Sweets chimed in.

"I knew it!" Hodgins exclaimed. He turned to Zack. "You owe me twenty bucks for that too."

"Hey, no betting on my girlfriend," Booth warned them. Brennan just laughed. The guys were quirky. She enjoyed it.

"You're gonna get up there, right?" Booth asked her, nudging her suddenly. She felt shy suddenly.

"Oh, I don't know," she said.

"Come on. Girl's Wanna Have Fun. You said you loved belting that one out," Booth egged her on.

"You should totally do it," Cam urged.

"You're the newbie in our group. I believe it's called hazing," Zack mused.

"No, it's not. Idiot," Hodgins groaned. "That is nowhere near close to hazing..."

"Oh," Zack frowned.

"So whaddya say?" Booth asked her, looking at her.

"All right," she agreed, getting up. He cheered. She went up to the stage and grabbed the microphone. Luckily it all felt so familiar. Booth stood up to cheer her on. She got into the song so much that she didn't see the woman standing in front of them.

"SEELEY!"

Heads whipped around.

"I'm doing this for us," the woman whispered, aiming the gun. Booth saw who she was aiming at, and he jumped in front of Brennan. She cried out as the bullet struck him, forcing him backwards into her arms. His gun fell to the floor, and she felt like time stopped as she stared at it. She felt the greatest urge to reach out, take it, and shoot that woman. It scared her. Luckily, Cam was quicker than she looked. The woman fell to the floor, dead.

"I didn't know you packed," Sweets said to her.

"I usually don't," Cam replied grimly. Brennan looked down at Booth now, who was staring up at her. She started to panic.

"Stay with me," she begged, pressing on his wound. "Booth, come on!" Think of Parker. Think of us. She didn't voice these thoughts. She heard Hodgins yell at Zack to call for help. Everything around her seemed blurred. Booth gripped her wrist with his hand, staring still, not saying a word.

"Come on, Booth! Come on!" she shouted. It couldn't end like this. It just couldn't.

...

Brennan sat in her apartment feeling incredibly sad. Ripley rested his head in her lap, whining. He knew something was wrong. She had no more tears left in her. Everything felt horribly unfair. Then, a knock was on her door. She went to it, not caring who was on the other end. Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

"Hi," Sweets said when she pulled the door open.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well, you are the number two person on Booth's list, so I'm here to give you good news," Sweets said.

"What?" Brennan asked. She was so confused.

"Booth's death was faked," Sweets told her. She felt her heart leap. "The FBI wanted to use this whole thing to capture a man who swore he'd only resurface at Booth's funeral. They are holding a fake ceremony in a few days."

"Booth's alive?" she asked. That was all she cared about.

"Yes. You're the first to know. Well, second. I told Parker first."

"Can I see him?" she asked urgently.

"Of course. Here is where he's staying," Sweets said, handing her the address. "He is undercover, so be careful." She yanked the paper from his hands and hurried out the door. Sweets looked at Ripley.

"Looks like I made her day better," he said. Ripley gave a small woof in return.

...

Brennan flew up the long flights of stairs. They certainly did well to hide so called dead FBI agents. She knocked frantically, and the door opened to reveal Booth. She threw herself into his arms.

"There's my girl," he said into her neck. "I'm all right."

"You really scared me," she whispered.

"I'm sorry. I got Sweets to tell you as soon as possible."

"He just went up in my books a little farther," she smiled crookedly. She looked around them. "This place is...dingy."

"Well, I am dead," Booth smirked. "I can't afford high class."

"This is true," she nodded, smiling wider now.

"I have to admit, I am surprised Sweets told you where I was," Booth said, moving to the couch. She followed.

"I guess he knew how important you were to me," she replied. She nestled into his arms. She heard him wince.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, getting off. "I forgot..."

"It's all right. A mere flesh wound," Booth shrugged. She saw the bandaging through his undershirt. He saw her looking.

"Who was that woman?" she asked, lightly touching it.

"She was a suspect in a murder investigation who apparently becomes possessive if you touch her," Booth explained. "Sweets forgot to mention that part until after I patted her shoulder out of sympathy."

"I wanted to shoot her," Brennan confessed. "I almost did it."

"It would have been self-defense," Booth told her. "She was still going to kill you."

"I feel as though I am no better than my father," Brennan said quietly.

"Self-defense is different than murder, Temperance," Booth said.

"Killing is killing," she countered.

"You are not your father," Booth said firmly, taking her chin with his fingers. "Not in a million years."

Brennan wished she could believe that. Had her father somehow justified what he had done as self-defense?

"I'm glad you're here," he said softly.

"Me too," she agreed. He kissed her then, and somehow, all her thoughts about Matthew dissolved. It became more and more intense until he stopped and fell back a little.

"Are you in too much pain?" she asked. He tilted his head at her.

"No," he replied. "I just didn't think you were in that kind of place because of what happened."

"I've had my heart set on this for the last 18 hours," she told him. "Unless you can't..."

"Oh, I can," he cut her off. Without hesitating, she pressed into him, kissing him again. His fingers on her skin felt like fire, and she wanted more. Within moments, they were a tangle of arms and legs. Brennan did her best to get the image of him being shot out of her mind. Looking down on him now, she could still remember his glassy looking eyes.

"I love you," he said suddenly, taking in her face. She felt time slow. Once, she thought she was in love, but she couldn't give herself fully to Sully in that way. She knew he knew that. This, however, was different. It had been building ever since he stuck his head into her classroom that day.

"I love you too," she replied, and she meant it. Every single word. He grinned that grin of his, and she resumed locking her lips to his. She never wanted to let him go.

...

They remained holed up in that apartment until Booth was summoned to get ready for his funeral two days later.

"This feel strange," Brennan admitted, watching him dress.

"It'll get a whole lot cooler once I take down that guy," Booth told her, grinning. "I've been waiting a long time for this."

"Should I be there? I mean, I know you're not dead," Brennan pointed out.

"I know you can put on a good show," he winked. "Make it seem realistic."

"I'll do my best," she finally agreed. He kissed her.

"I will see you after," he said, going out. She hurried into her clothes and over to her apartment. Angela still had Ripley. Brennan was grateful her friend was so caring. She hadn't even asked questions when Brennan called and asked her to pick up Ripley the night she went to Booth. She put on her best mourning dress and headed to the cemetery. She felt curious as to what Booth was going to do.

...

"To Booth," Sweets said, raising his glass. They were at Founding Fathers that night after Booth's spectacular take down at the cemetery.

"Being dead wasn't all that bad," Booth said, winking at Brennan. Sweets blushed a little. He kind of figured that's what happened.

"Well, now we just gotta nail that cannibal," Hodgins said.

"Way to kill the mood," Cam complained. Brennan noticed Zack looked uncomfortable suddenly.

"We'll get 'im," Booth assured the group. "Don't you worry." Of that, Brennan had no doubt. She slipped her hand under the table and took his fingers into hers. She finally felt at home.


I have done a time jump since the trial was May 2008 and I started in October of 2007 with this story. I hope that's all right. I also hope you enjoyed the alternate version of Booth's fake death. I'm sure in real life his whereabouts wouldn't have been revealed, but hey, it's my story and I can do what I want LOL. Thanks for reading!