Ok. I couldn't help myself. It's only been a few hours later, and I don't have any reviews just yet, but I did get some lovely emails of some story alerts / additions to favorites and now I'm way too excited not to post this chapter!

But I still would LOVE some reviews. :D Love it? Hate it? OOC? Too cheesy? Think I could change something? Let me know!

It was a very long 23 hours for Temperance Brennan. Excruciatingly long, probably the longest hours of her life.

She had been through a lot throughout her career at the Jeffersonian and could safely say that she had experienced a lot of pain, to say the least. She'd been shot, stabbed, tied up, drugged, beaten, tazed- you name it, but this was something totally different. She didn't entirely know if it was the worst out of all of the suffering she'd been put through before, but she did know that childbirth was a pain entirely unique to any other she had endured in her lifetime.

But, as always, she never gave up. She kept fighting as she always did, with nothing to soothe her except any words of comfort her partner could offer, exemplifying the quality that made her the strongest woman Seeley Booth had ever known. That's not to say she didn't falter, however. Despite her strength, she was human, after all.

As the twenty second hour came to a close, Brennan didn't know how much more she could take. The contractions were as tormenting as ever, the pain seemingly unbearable even for her, and all she wanted was for it all to go away, for the nurse to say "Here he is!" or "Here she is!" and for her to finally hold her baby in her arms.

One contraction, one of the last (unbeknownst to her at the time), was especially...troublesome.

Brennan tightened her death grip on Booth's hand, nearly cutting off his circulation as he grasped the opposite arm of the plastic hospital chair with his free hand, clinging for dear life. Then Brennan let out the most horrific noise Booth had ever heard. He thought it was a scream, but he didn't even think that would be the appropriate word for it. It killed him to try to imagine the kind of torture she must have been in, and he hated the fact that there was really nothing he could do to make the woman he loved feel better in the slightest. All he could do was sit and wait and ramble meaningless words in a desperate attempt to calm her down.

Brennan collapsed back onto the uncomfortable, squeaky mattress, panting and short of breath once her head hit the pillow. She looked at Booth with a pitiful, agony-ridden face that killed him again, her eyes starting to well up with tears.

"Booth," she croaked, his image growing blurry as the tears clouded her vision, "it hurts so much. I just want it to go away. God, it hurts." Her resolve was breaking. She could feel it and he could too. Booth knew she could do it, he had no doubt in his mind whatsoever, but now he needed to convince her of it as well.

"Listen to me, Bones, alright? It hurts, I know it does, but guess what? It's gonna be over really soon, okay, and once it's over, none of this is gonna mean anything to you. It'll all be gone, and you won't even think about it for a second. You'll have our beautiful baby in your arms, and that's all that's gonna matter. You're almost there, Bones, you hear me? You're almost done."

Brennan nodded.

"Booth?" Her voice was shaky, and her eyes far from dry.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

She'd said it. She didn't necessarily have to, for she had already done so, albeit indirectly, countless times before in their partnership. But this time, she felt she needed to say it flat-out, point blank. She wanted to say it, because she did love him, with the whole of her heart muscle that really was bigger than people gave her credit for.

Booth didn't say anything at first. He was overwhelmed enough to begin with, but with his Bones finally telling him what he waited for God knows how many years to hear, on top of the aspect of bringing a new life into the world with her at any minute, brought way too many emotions and feelings flooding his brain. Instead, he just broke into that goofy grin Brennan loved so much, the same one she saw that night when she first told him she was pregnant.

He leaned over the bed and he kissed her. He brushed her now overgrown bangs to the side with the tips of his fingers, and he placed his hand just below her cheek to tilt her face up slightly towards him. He was just about to speak when the nurse who was monitoring Brennan interrupted him. It didn't really matter. She knew what he was going to say.

"Okay, Temperance, are you ready to meet your baby? It's time to push!"

Hope you liked it! :) xoxo