Author's Note: I'm so sorry that it took me this long to update, but this chapter was a little longer than the others, and it was harder for me to write. I must have changed the way I wanted the ending at least three times! Thanks for all the favorites and reviews, and for reading this! Oh, and I don't remember if it was ever mentioned in the series if Brennan knew Star Wars, but in this story, she doesn't.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, Fox does, and this is just for fun.

The sauce bubbled on the stove, and she picked up a spoon to stir it. He had talked her into making dinner for them after they had left the zoo that afternoon. Although her mac-n-cheese was his favorite (and Parker's too), she was in the mood for something different.

The trip to the zoo had been a success. Parker had continued to throw questions at her about every kind of animal he knew of, not just those at the zoo, and Booth had even thrown in a few. All the answers were straightforward and simple, allowing her to push all thoughts of what had happened with Booth out of her mind.

She'd learned that Parker's favorite animal was the penguin, and she decided that she would try to set up a meeting with one of her zoologist colleagues who specialized in the birds. His birthday was coming up in a few weeks, and since his dad was going to be out of the country, she figured that she should do something for his birthday instead. She didn't really know if a young boy who would be turning eight would enjoy the experience, but she knew that she would have at his age. Besides, who wouldn't want to get up close and personal with their favorite animal?

"Need any help, Bones?" He asked, coming up behind her and peering over her shoulder. She stiffened at the close proximity, and her heart rate began to increase. He shouldn't be having this effect on her, but her body obviously had different ideas.

"No, it should be done in a few minutes." She replied, unable to turn around to face him. "Where's Parker?"

"He's in his room, trying to find the science project I helped him make last month for school." He said, not moving away from her. She couldn't think of anything to say in response to that, and she nearly jumped when he placed his hands on her waist, leaning over to place a soft kiss on her cheek. He pulled away slowly, and she caught a whiff of his cologne. The scent tantalized her senses, and she wondered briefly how she had never noticed how good he smelled before. In the next second, she was mentally chiding herself. Why did she have to be thinking about this right now?

The sound of small footsteps in the next room got him to move away from her. He leaned against the counter with his arms folded, looking down at his feet for a moment before she felt his eyes on her once again. The footsteps faded, and he spoke, "We need to talk, Bones."

She sighed, switching off the burners on his stove. Reaching for the strainer that had somehow ended up behind him on the counter, she looked up at him. "Booth…I don't think this is the right time to talk." She turned away, but before she could grab the pot of noodles, he placed a hand on her arm.

"We can't just…we have to talk, all right?" With that, he turned and made his way out of the kitchen. She watched him go, unable to forget the look in his eyes. It was one of urgency; a look that belonged to someone who felt he was running out of time.

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Dinner was uneventful, taken up by Parker chattering away about the project he'd made last month, how it was probably at his mom's because he couldn't find it here, and how much he wanted her to see it. When that long discussion was over, he moved on to how jealous his classmates were going to be when he told them that he'd had dinner with Dr. Brennan, who seemed to be something of a celebrity in his class, despite the fact that many of them were also in the science program at the Jeffersonian. She thanked him for the compliments, and he moved onto yet another subject.

Booth was quiet during the meal, only interrupting once to tell Parker to eat his vegetables, and responding when appropriate to his son's comments. When she looked over at him, his eyes had a far away look to them, as though he were somewhere else. She knew that he was probably thinking of his departure; it was growing closer and closer with every minute that passed.

"Booth, you don't have to help." She said, when he moved to help her clear off the table. Parker had run into the living room to pick out a movie for them to watch (he couldn't believe that she had never seen Star Wars), despite the fact that it was already almost nine in the evening. Booth had told him that he could stay up as long as he wasn't irritable in the morning when he had to get up early for church.

"Bones, this is my house, of course I have to help." He replied, taking the plates she was holding out of her hands before she could stop him. "Besides, you made dinner."

"But, you should-" She was interrupted by Parker, who had gotten everything set up by now, and was indignantly awaiting their arrival.

"C'mon, Dr. Bones. Everything's all ready." Parker said, standing in the doorway. "The beginning's the best part."

"Go on, Bones, I'll be in there in a minute." He said, gently pushing her towards the living room. "These dishes won't take long to load into the dishwasher."

She let Parker lead her into the living room, where he started the movie and proceeded to tell her a little bit of the background story. She attempted to listen, but to be perfectly honest, she was thinking about Booth, and his cryptic message about them needing to talk.

After about twenty minutes, Booth sat down next to her on the couch. She looked over at him, trying to catch his gaze, but he kept his eyes trained on the television. Sighing, she turned her attention back to the movie (which was riddled with inaccuracies, but she supposed that was why it was called science fiction). She could tell that he was tense and distracted by something, which in turn made her tense and distracted worrying about him.

By ten, Parker had fallen asleep next to her, his head resting on her arm. "Booth?" She whispered, catching his attention. "I think Parker's ready for bed."

He looked over at her, and chuckled softly, his mouth relaxing into a smile. " I suppose you could say he is."

She watched as he gently picked Parker up, and made his way down to his son's bedroom. He really was a wonderful father; Rebecca should be allowing him a lot more time with him than she was.

She stood, slipping into her coat that Booth had placed over the couch. She saw her purse nowhere in sight, however, and she was searching for it when he walked back into the room.

"Bones, what are you doing?" He asked, arms crossed over his chest.

"I was just looking for my purse." She said, frustrated. "Where did you put it?"

He walked over, grabbing her purse from where it sat next to the couch. "It's right here. Didn't you see it?"

"No, I didn't." She replied, taking a deep breath. "Thanks." She took it from him, and slung it up onto her shoulder after rooting through it to find her car keys. She clasped them in her hand as she met his eyes. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Bones, we have to talk." He sank down onto the edge of the couch and gestured for her to join him. "I have something I need to tell you. Something I've been keeping from you for far too long."

She hesitated for a moment, turning the car keys over and over in her hands. She was tired, and it was getting late; he had to get up early tomorrow. His gaze was pleading with her to stay, though, and she couldn't leave like this. "What do you need to tell me?" She asked, sitting down next to him.

"That I want to be more than 'just partners', Bones. That I want more than 'just coffee'. I want to be with you, in a romantic relationship." She could tell that he had chosen his words carefully, ones that would be least likely to upset her. She stared at him; since he had turned away from her, she ended up staring at the side of his face. Despite the fact that this was Booth, and she shouldn't be afraid (hadn't he already proved that he was going to be around for the long haul?), the same emotions welled up inside of her. The fear of being left behind, and the urge to run, were still too strong for her to feel any other sort of emotion after this statement.

"What?" She said, unable to come up with any other sort of response.

"I said that-"

"I heard what you said, Booth." She cut him off, her brow furrowing in anger. "But why did you suddenly feel the urge to blurt out your feelings?" She already knew the answer; she just wanted to hear it fall from his lips. For the moment, everything she thought she knew was displaced. Her suspicions were most likely correct, but there was still a small thread of hope that, for once, she was wrong about this. She clung to it as she waited for him to respond.

"Bones…I…I've felt like this-" She cut him off again, her anger getting the better of her.

"For a while, Booth, I know, all right? Lately, I've begun to think about what Angela has been rambling on about for the last four and a half years, and I've already come to the conclusion that you're in love with me. I was just waiting for you to make the first move. All this time, Booth, and you choose this moment to tell me that you want more? You didn't answer my question. Why did you choose to tell me this now, when last week would have been just fine?" She was on her feet, glaring down at him, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. He stood also, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes darkened, and he glared right back at her.

"Don't you already know the answer to that question? You obviously have to have some idea to attack me like this. I tell you I want to talk to you about something, and then when I pour out my feelings-"

"What feelings? The only reason you even told me about your 'feelings' tonight was because you're leaving for Iraq on Monday and this was your last chance. What if you didn't have to fly halfway around the world in two days? Would we even be having this conversation right now?" When he didn't reply, she shook her head. "I knew it. You're in love with me, you say, but you won't even tell me about it. Didn't you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, I feel the same way?" She paused, breathing heavily. Grabbing her purse and keys from the couch, she turned away from him and marched over to his front door. When she heard him follow her, she spun around, her hand on the doorknob. "Don't even think about following me."

With that, she wrenched the door open, and stormed out into the hall, slamming the door shut behind her.