Merry Christmas everyone! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, happy day to you :) Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one. Because I'm a happy little Christmas elf, I may update again today, as my present to all you readers. I hope your day is filled with family, friends, and excellent food! 3

Chapter Ten: The Happily Ever After in the Middle

Martin and Brennan stood together outside the interrogation room, and she looked pissed off. Looking up, she saw Booth, and stormed over to him.

'Why didn't you come and tell me?' She demanded, standing inches away from him, her glare almost burning holes in his skin.

He cleared his throat. 'It was necessary, Bones. We had to get the truth from him.'

She shook her head angrily. 'You know me Booth. You know I can compartmentalise. I would have understood why you were doing what you were doing, and I wouldn't have intruded. But you should have told me.'

She glared at him for a moment, before storming away, disappearing down the corridor. Booth considered for a moment going after her, and then thought that it probably wasn't the best idea.

Martin walked over to Booth, an apologetic look on his face. 'You did the right thing, Booth.' He looked into the distance, down the corridor where Brennan had just disappeared.

'I can see that usually she'd be calm and composed about a case, and certainly be able to compartmentalise, and be rational about things –'

Booth nodded. 'But she's too close to this one.'

She wasn't even like this for her father's case. These two must have been like family...

He thought about another time when she hadn't been entirely rational, calm, or collected.

When I was kidnapped by the gravedigger.

Martin watched Booth, before taking him by the shoulder.

'It's been a long day. I'll sort things out with Al – take Dr Brennan for some food, a drink - there's a good cafe my partner and I usually go too across the road.' He said, smiling at Booth kindly.

Booth smiled back. Despite what Martin had put himself, and his partner through, he couldn't help but like the guy. He was certainly a good detective.

'What's it called?' He asked, as they both started to head down the corridor.

'The Lion's Den,' Martin said, unable to hide his smile.

Booth too, couldn't help but smile wryly. He felt as though he were about to walk into a lion's den by confronting Brennan again.

.-.-.-.-.-.

She stared at him over her coffee. She'd calmed down a fair amount after she had gone and talked to Al, who had reassured her that everything was going to be fine. He was being processed at the moment, statements and photos and all the official stuff was being taken care of. Al would drive them back to his house after it was all behind him – finally a man free of accusation.

But the murder still hadn't been solved.

Booth was resigned to a little bit of icy silence from Brennan, so he sat pondering the case, wondering who on earth could have done it. They would have to find the crime scene, talk to Justine's parents, her friends, her boyfriend's friends –

'What are you thinking about, Booth?' She asked, interrupting his thoughts. He didn't mind.

He smiled at her. 'The case,'

She nodded. 'I thought so,'

She took a sip of her coffee.

'When I was considering the two remains today, I noted that the stab wounds were elicited by someone who knew their way around a human body. They may have looked haphazard, but each blow had the capacity to be fatal. I'm surprised Brad Turner managed to wound his assailant,' she said, looking over her cup at him again.

He nodded. 'You think this was done by one of her classmates, or a Professor,'

She paused for a moment, before she spoke. 'Initially I just thought it was just a case of the evidence beginning to stack up against Al,' she said, somewhat angrily. 'But now, yes, I would think that the murder was committed by a student.'

Booth considered her thoughts, agreeing. 'She was top of the class, beautiful, popular – I imagine that she would have had enemies, even if she didn't know it.'

She nodded. 'I can't believe the detective working on this case didn't follow up all this sort of information. Even if Al appeared to be the perfect suspect, it's fairly pathetic police work.'

She drank the last of her coffee and placed her cup down carefully, leaning forward to steal some of Booth's chocolate cake.

He grinned at her, shaking his head. 'I offered to get you a piece, Bones,'

She grinned at him impishly, her eyes shining. 'Well, I was angry at you then.'

He raised his eyebrows at her, trying to see her logic. 'You were angry at me... so you didn't let me buy you chocolate cake?'

She nodded. 'It makes perfect sense,'

He nodded knowingly. 'You're making a joke, aren't you?'

She looked at him, fork in mouth, nodding. 'You should laugh, Booth!'

He rolled his eyes. 'If you have to tell the person to laugh Bones, it's just not that funny,' he teased, taking the fork off her.

She made her wounded face, then laughed, watching him eat his cake. He was down the last mouthful, and he saw her watching him.

'You want the last bite, Bones?' He asked, waving the piece of cake around on the fork. She laughed as he teased her, shaking her head at his foolishness.

'Oh, you don't want it?' He said, bringing the fork to his mouth.

'Well, I didn't say that –'she said, deciding to play along.

He stopped, looking at her over the top of his precariously placed piece of cake.

'All yours, Bones,' he said, directing the fork at her and smiling. She opened her mouth delicately, and he placed the cake in her mouth, drawing the fork out slowly, and Brennan was surprised to find herself looking intently at Booth, directly into his eyes.

The atmosphere between them had changed. She found herself looking down, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, before looking back up, to find Booth still looking at her intently, a small smile on his face, as if he was starting to understand something. She too, was beginning to feel as though she was coming to some sort of realisation, and she could help but smile broadly at what that realisation was.

'Booth –' she said, reaching her hand across the table –

They both jumped as her phone went off, Hot Blooded blasting into the relatively small cafe, a few diners looking up, annoyed. Her hand, which had been reaching for Booth's, quickly changed course, and she grabbed her phone, answering.

'Brennan,' she said, heart racing from what she'd almost just done.

'It's Al, Tempe. Time I go home,'

Booth listened to the conversation, sitting back, wondering what it was that Brennan had wanted to say, what she would say that would make her reach out for him like that.

She couldn't...

Hope started to drift into his head, happy thoughts which he hadn't dared to think for such a long time.

She hung up the phone, smiling at him. 'Back to the station, Booth. You've got the keys to Al's car, and it's time he went home. Al is a free man,'

He grinned. 'That's great news, Bones. You must be so relieved.'

She nodded, both of them standing up to leave.

In the fresh air, he turned to look at her as they walked side by side.

'What were you going to tell me in the cafe, Bones?'

She looked at him, considering telling him what she had planned too.

The moment had passed.

She crossed her arms, squinting her eyes in the sunlight.

'Nothing,' she said, and they crossed the road.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Al was quiet during the trip home, and neither Booth nor Brennan spoke, not wanting to disturb his thoughts. Only once they had pulled into the driveway did Al turn to look at them, and Booth was relieved to see a peaceful look on his face. When Booth had met Al, he had thought he had looked youthful – but now it looked as though five years had been taken away from his face.

He smiled at them genuinely. 'Without both of you, I would still be considered a guilty man, I'd still be keeping that secret to myself. It was foolish, I know, but I was convinced I was doing the right thing.'

Booth nodded, understanding the man's code of ethics. Brennan crossed her arms, having thought once she'd heard Al's truth that he had been an idiot for not speaking up sooner – but she remained silent.

'Sarah knew, of course. But I think – and I don't want to impose anything on you, but I think that tonight should be for my family. The kids don't really know what's been happening, and I think it's time I was honest.'

They exited the car, and they all started heading up the pathway slowly.

'You could take the car, show Booth some of Sydney, Tempe. There's no reason your trip here should be all work and no play,' he said, starting to sound more like his jovial self.

Booth liked the sound of it.

Brennan smiled, before putting her hand on Al's shoulder, making him stop.

'I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Al. I shouldn't have.'

Al smiled kindly at her, turning to give a huge hug. 'It's okay, Tempe. It was the rational thing to do.'

She squeezed him tightly, before letting him go. 'You're a better man than most, Al.'

He nodded, before turning back towards his house. Sarah was standing on the veranda, smiling hugely.

Al went to her, holding her to him in a tight embrace, kissing her forehead. She pulled him into a rather passionate kiss, and only stopped once their children cam bounding out of the house, making disgusted noises. The couple broke apart, laughing, and Al swept his children up in his arms.

Booth couldn't help but feel warmed by the happiness and love he saw before him. He looked to Brennan, who was smiling gently, leaning towards Booth.

He wanted so much to reach out to her, give her a hug.

And then he realised, there was nothing stopping him.

He pulled her into a hug, and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

She didn't move away, but looked slightly surprised. Smiling up at him, she squeezed him around the waist, before letting him go.

'Thanks, Booth,' she said.

And that's how we begin.

Yay. A nice happy ending in the middle. And yeah, just to clarify, it's not the end, don't worry.