"Everything is funnier in retrospect, funnier and prettier and cooler.
You can laugh at anything from far enough away."
~ Chuck Palahniuk

Epilogue (The real one this time…)

Clayton Woods twirled his wife around the dance floor, smiling at her obvious delight in their easy movements and grace. With everything that had happened in the last two years, it was nice for both of them to just relax and enjoy themselves.

After the birth of their son, Clayton Woods Jr, Clay and Charlie hit the campaign trail, baby in tow, where Clay easily won the Democrat Party's nomination. Then, to Clay's surprise and Charlie's utter shock, Booth, Brennan and the rest of the Jeffersonian team took it upon themselves to campaign heavily and wholeheartedly on Clay's behalf. During one stop in New York City, Charlie finally asked Brennan why they all had suddenly jumped in with both feet and Brennan's response earned her, and her team, Charlie and Clay Woods' undying devotion forever.

"Because Clay is a good man, something we all believe is needed in this country. And because you're family…and there is nothing we will not do for family."

After a long, hard and sometimes exhausting battle, everything they had worked for culminated in an out-of-control celebration in Philadelphia when Clayton Woods was elected the 45th President of the United States.

Less than a month later, they found themselves here, at the Hay-Adams Hotel, celebrating the marriage of Clay's closest friend and personal bodyguard to whom Clay described as "the only woman alive who would ever put up with Gus." As the First Couple-elect moved smoothly around the dance floor, Charlie glanced around, looking for the bride.

"Have you seen Cam? I know she was looking for the rest of the bridal party to get some more pictures." She scanned the room again, finding Angela and Temperance chatting at the main table, but no Cam.

"Maybe she's hiding. These things are incredibly stressful, if I remember correctly. Especially for the bride." Clay winked knowingly at Charlie, who wrinkled her forehead in distaste.

"Hey, I was marrying the Speaker of the House…I was understandably nervous!"

"Sure, but locking yourself in your bathroom in nothing but a slip, claiming you had hives and we had to cancel the wedding? That was classic, Charlie."

Charlie slapped him on the chest and rolled her eyes. "You're mean, Mr. President-Elect."

"Mmmm." Clay leaned in and kissed her. "Say that again…"

"Mr. President-Elect?" Kiss.

"Yes…that sounds…slightly naughty coming from those lips…" He kissed her again.

"Mr." Kiss. "President…" Kiss. "Elect." Kiss. Charlotte laughed softly. "You're incorrigible."

"Will you two break it up? You're singeing the rest of us here with all that fire you're making…" Angela teased as her and Jack waltzed by, moving smoothly despite her seven-month pregnant belly.

"Jealous?" Clay snickered, sharing a fist-bump with Hodgins as the women rolled their eyes.

"Hey, as soon as I can see my feet, we are reclaiming our crown as the hottest couple in our little group, and don't you forget it!" Angela looked slightly indignant, even with a twinkle in her eye.

Clay moved from Charlie and silently indicated to Jack that he wanted to switch partners. Once he began to twirl Angela, he gave her his full-wattage charm smile and elegantly dipped her unwieldy frame. "You look gorgeous, Angela. Don't let anyone tell you any different."

Once upright again, Angela blushed furiously. "I am so damn glad I voted for you, Mr. President."

B&B

Watching the proceedings from his seat next to his new wife at the head table, Gus couldn't help but grin. Three years ago, he had been what he thought happy was…a job he loved, working for a man he respected, dating occasionally and enjoying life. Then he met Dr. Camille Saroyan and everything he thought he'd wanted got turned upside down and inside out. He had a large group of real, close friends, a step-daughter he was thrilled to admit that he adored, and plenty of babies to spoil while avoiding the distasteful task of changing a single diaper. He would never be caught complaining, especially now as he watched his gorgeous bride stand and sashay towards the band, commandeering the microphone in order to wrangle the errant wedding party for a few more photos.

B&B

"Bren, come on…put that beautiful baby down and get out here. Cam wants us all to take a few more pictures." Angela leaned heavily on Booth's shoulder as she waved over his head to get her best friend's attention, which was now solely focused on her infant son.

"Ang, take a load off. Bones needs to finish feeding Joe and then we can go stand for more ridiculously contrived pictures." Booth scowled slightly. "Seriously, how many poses does Cam need? It's not like she'll never see us gussied up again, we're all invited to the inauguration."

Brennan moved the blanket she had draped over herself and the baby as he nursed, looking to see if he was any closer to being full. "Booth, it's her wedding day. We are her wedding party. It's important to her. Just because we kept things low-down, doesn't mean everyone does."

"Low-key, babe. Low-key. And I am grateful for that, let me tell you. Have I bought you something shiny and expensive lately to thank you for that again?"

Brennan rolled her eyes and handed a satisfied Joe to his dad to burp him. "I certainly do not need any more jewelry from you, Booth. That necklace you purchased when Joseph was born is more than adequate. I can't wear everything I have now even if I wore a piece every day for a year."

Booth shrugged, and then grinned when his son let loose a belch that had Angela chuckling. "You love beautiful things, Bones. And I love you; therefore…I am contractually obligated to drape you in jewels. It's my right as your husband and the father of your children."

"Come on, Brennan…let the man pamper you. I'm a little jealous; Hodgins just takes me on long trips to show his love, I haven't gotten a new diamond in months." Angela waved her right hand in Brennan's direction, showing off the sapphire and ruby tennis bracelet her appreciative husband graced her with when she'd announced that she was pregnant.

"Enough is enough, Booth. I love every single thing you've given me, but I'd rather take one of those vacations Angela gets then have to buy yet another case for my jewelry. We still haven't gone back to Ireland, and you promised me we would."

"Alright, fine. As soon as we get Clay and Charlie moved into the White House, we can plan a trip for this summer."

Brennan laughed lightly. "You make it sound like you, Jack and Gus will be lifting furniture and boxes to carry into the residence, where you'll drink beer and relax afterwards. I'm fairly certain Clayton and Charlotte have professional movers for that."

Booth held the baby up and affected a childish tone, completely ignoring Brennan's comments. "What do you think, Joseph Wyatt Brennan Booth? You want to go explore the Emerald Isle with your mom and brother and sister?"

Rolling her eyes, Brennan asked. "Do you think Rebecca will let Parker go?"

"I'm sure she will, Bones. She and Brent were talking about a vacation themselves; they might appreciate doing it kid-free."

Brennan shook her head. "We are never taking another vacation without the children. At least until they are grown." She still regretted the time they were apart from Alexandra and Parker when Clay was kidnapped two years previous.

"And I agree, Bones." Booth stood while holding Joe on his shoulder. "Here, let me take the little man to Max while we indulge the bride for one more set of pictures."

Angela patted the baby's bottom with a grin. "Have I told you how great you look holding that baby, Booth?" She sighed. "There is something about a man and a baby….whew." Fanning herself, she pulled Brennan away from her family. "Let's get this over with so we can really get the party started, Bren."

Booth gave Brennan an amused grin as she looked back at him while being pulled in Angela's considerable wake. "Make sure Dad changes him soon!" She called.

Booth waved in recognition, and then headed over to where Max was having a spirited discussion with Caroline Julian next to the bar.

"Well, Seeley Booth…you might as well just hand that baby over right now. Come on…now!" Caroline held her arms out, waiting as patiently as she ever did for Booth to place Joe on her shoulder. The normally hard-edged prosecutor cooed and smiled as she rocked the perfectly content boy back and forth, glaring at his father in the process. "Didn't you have somewhere you had to be, Cherie? Go on…your father-in-law and I can manage one little baby…go get your picture taken for the two thousandth time tonight!" She pushed, harder than Booth expected, on his shoulder, forcing him to stumble and Max to break out in raucous laughter.

"Knocked on your ass by a little tiny woman, huh Booth? You've been behind a desk too long, son. You're losing your touch." Max winked at a chuckling Caroline.

"I heard that he was going soft on us, but I never would have believed it." And with that, they turned their attention to the baby in Caroline's arms, effectively dismissing Booth and his rapidly reddening face.

Muttering under his breath about pain-in-the-ass lawyers and ungrateful ex-cons, Booth walked around the crowded dance floor, headed for the stage area where the wedding photographer was arranging the attendants around a beaming Cam and Gus.

Standing to Cam's right were her maid of honor, Michelle, and her bridesmaids, Brennan, Angela, Charlie and Penelope. To Gus's left were his best man Clay, and ushers Hodgins, Gus's cousin Mitchell, and Sweets. Booth took his place between Hodgins and Clay as the photographer threw him a glare for being late. Sighing dramatically and eliciting a chuckle from Clay, Booth turned dutifully forward and smiled charmingly into the barrage of flashes.

B&B

"So, Charlie…what names did the Secret Service give you all?" Angela leaned into her hand, elbow resting on the table in front of her. "Something funny, I hope."

Charlotte shook her head and shifted Clay Jr. from the leg he was perched on to the other. "Well, Clay didn't think his was very funny, but I got a kick out of it."

"Oh, now you have to tell me!"

Charlie made a show of looking around conspiratorially and then leaned into Angela. "Tulip, Tiger and Tarzan."

Angela's very unladylike snort brought the same reaction from Charlie, and they both began laughing heartily, causing the child between them to join in excitedly, bouncing up and down and clapping his hands.

"Tarzan!" Angela gasped in amusement. "That is priceless!"

"Oh, not nearly as priceless as the look on the President-Elect's face when he found out." Charlotte handed CJ over to his Auntie Angela, who let him rub her belly in fascination as she talked with his mother. "I honestly thought Clay was going to make them change it. And the best part? Gus picked it."

Angela started a fresh spate of laughter. "I knew that man was evil at heart. I love it!"

"Yeah, if it weren't for the wedding, they probably still wouldn't be talking." Charlie winked.

Looking across the ballroom at the huddle of Clay, Booth and Gus, all sharing a laugh, Angela shook her head. "Yes, it seems as though all is forgiven."

Charlie smiled at the three men. "Of course. Men are naturally predisposed to get over almost anything they do to each other. Look at all that testosterone. Very manly and forgiving."

"Indeed." Angela agreed with a laugh. Turning away from the men, she grinned evilly. "So, First Lady, I was wondering…."

Charlie rolled her eyes good naturedly, knowing that whatever Angela was about to ask was either personal in nature or incredibly devious. Either way, Charlie knew from experience, it was bound to be good. She handed CJ over to his nanny for nap time with a loving kiss and turned back to her friend. "Yes, Ang?"

"Planning on having sex in the Oval Office?" Angela grinned as she watched a furious blush cover Charlotte's face and neck.

"Angela! That's none of your business!"

"So that's a yes, then?"

Charlie sighed. "Why?"

Warming to the subject, Angela leaned as far forward as her considerable girth would allow. "I just think that it is your patriotic duty to do it at least once in the office that has housed the most powerful men in the world for decades."

"My patriotic duty? To have sex in the Oval Office?"

"Yes! And then to tell me all about it."

Charlie laughed. "Oh, don't worry. If it happens, you'll be the first to know."

Angela raised her champagne flute full of sparkling apple juice and grinned. "I'd better be, baby."

B&B

"Lance, CJ's nanny wants to take all the babies upstairs to the suites and put them down for a nap. Do you see Addie's diaper bag?" Penelope lifted the tablecloth, peering underneath. "Oh, never mind. Here it is." She pulled the bag out; checking quickly to make sure everything they needed was inside.

Sweets shifted Addie from one arm to the other, blowing a quick raspberry on her neck, eliciting a giggle and an attempt to return fire from his daughter. He moved slightly to avoid the very wet toddler kiss, laughing. "Stop, Pumpkin Butt! You're all wet!" Addie just laughed at her daddy and snuggled into his neck.

Pen smiled softly at the two of them, realizing not for the first time, that she was incredibly happy. She had a beautiful baby, a devoted partner, and a group of friends who would do anything for her. Having grown up in a privileged household, surrounded by Italian marble, Chippendale furniture and absolutely no outward indication of affection from either parent, Penelope made damn sure that her daughter knew that she was loved and cherished every single day. And Sweets, for entirely different but no less valid reasons, shared her fierce devotion to their child's happiness.

"Alright, you two. Give her here, and I'll take her up to Maggie." Sweets handed Addie off to her mother with another raspberry and a smile. "Now, go find a beautiful woman to dance with. You need the practice." She pushed his shoulder slightly while simultaneously leaning in for a quick kiss.

Sweets deepened the kiss, and then took her chin in his hand. "I am already dancing with the most beautiful woman in the room, as soon as she returns from taking my daughter upstairs."

"Charmer." She muttered, and then kissed him again. "Go...grab the future First lady for a twirl. I'll be back."

"You'd better be." He grinned as he watched them head out of the ballroom. With a contented sigh, he went off to steal Charlie away for a dance.

B&B

Booth leaned against the bar and watched Sweets dancing with Charlotte. The two were laughing so hard they could barely keep in step with the music. He knew that they had become close over the last two years while Sweets had been helping her work through the issues that came from the Tucker ordeal but the relationship went beyond just doctor and patient. Sweets and Penelope's daughter, Adelaide, had been born six weeks after Clay Jr. and the two women had bonded during their pregnancies and then over the trial and tribulations that came with being first time mothers.

Booth walked across the dance floor and tapped Sweets on the shoulder, "Alright Sweets, let the grownups talk, now."

Sweets rolled his eyes, "I'm 32, Booth. When are you going to consider me a grownup?"

"Probably never so, get used to it. Why don't you go find that beautiful woman you won't marry and dance with her." Since the day they had announced Penelope was pregnant Booth had been on Sweets' case to marry her even though the couple had made it clear that marriage wasn't for them.

"Fine…" He kissed Charlotte on the cheek, "We'll talk more later, Charlie."

She smiled, "Sure thing, Sweetness."

"Will you stop calling him that?" Booth asked as he began dancing with Charlotte.

"Why? He's adorable, he is the Sweetness."

Booth rolled his eyes and grumbled, "It's annoying and I think you do it in front of me on purpose."

She grinned, "Maybe I do."

They moved quietly across the dance floor for a few minutes before Charlotte asked, "Do you think it's as weird as I do?"

"What?"

"That in about a month I'll be moving into that big ivory house on Pennsylvania Avenue?"

Booth smiled, "After all the work that went into this last year, it seems like the most natural, non-weird thing in the world."

Charlotte paused in mid-step, "I hate to admit this but in my life, my normal day-to-day life, you're the person who's known me the longest."

"So?"

"So, is it weird?" She asked with worried eyes.

He nodded, "Yes, it is." When he saw her brow fall, he grabbed her hand and spun her around. When she was facing him again, he explained, "It's weird but at the same time," he looked around the room, at the company they were in, "all of this is weird so it kinda makes sense, you know?"

"So weird is the norm?"

He laughed, "I guess it is."

B&B

As the reception was winding down, Clay approached Booth at the bar to take care of the only Presidential business he was allowing himself to conduct on such a joyous occasion.

"Quite the party, huh?"

Booth nodded with a smile, "Oh yeah, Cam doesn't do anything half-ass."

"I can tell." Clay ordered a drink and then turned back to Booth, "I have to ask, Booth. Are you happy with your current position at the Bureau?"

Booth glanced over at Clayton and then back to the festivities on the dance floor, "For the most part, why are you gonna put in a good word for me, Mr. President? Try and get me a bigger office?"

Clayton chuckled and then his tone turned serious, "Actually, I'd like it if you came and worked with me as the FBI liaison to the White House."

"You're serious?"

"Yes." Clay nodded, "I've given this quite a lot of thought and I wasn't able to mention it before the election but you're definitely my first choice for the position."

Booth shook his head, "I don't know, Clay. I, uh...It's not really my thing, you know?"

"And why is that?"

"I work for the man, you know? I don't want to be the man."

"Well, technically I'll be the man so…"

Booth palmed the back of his neck and looked at Brennan across the room, talking with Charlotte and Cam, "I'm honored that you would even consider me but you don't owe me anything, I mean that whole ordeal was years ago."

Clay set his drink on the bar, "What kind of President would I be if I stacked my advisors with every person who I felt I owed something to?"

"A normal one." Booth scoffed.

Clay smiled, "Yeah, but I'm shooting for just above normal so…" He slipped his hands into his pockets, "Look, you have an exemplary service record both with the military and with the FBI, I know from personal experience you're the kind of man who gets things done even when faced with the most treacherous of circumstances and I know I can trust you. Does the situation I learned those things in really matter?"

Booth ran his hand across his jaw, "Won't people talk about the fact that I, of all people, got the job?"

"Maybe, but my reasoning behind the decision is sound and I believe would stand up to the scrutiny."

Still deep in thought, his thumb running back and forth across his bottom lip, Booth replied. "I don't even know what being the FBI liaison to the White House entails."

Gesturing with his drink over to Charlotte, Clay asked, "You think the First Lady-Elect has any idea how to be the First Lady?"

"No, but Charlie's pretty quick on the uptake."

"And from what I've gathered so are you."

Booth placed his fingertips on his chest, "Me?"

"You were the first agent to ever liaison with the Jeffersonian Institute and it wasn't for the lack of others trying. That alone tells me you can adapt." Clayton put his drink down on the bar and rubbed his hands together, "What other caveat do you have for me?"

"I know there's more I just can't think of any right now." He looked over at the President-Elect, a man he'd truly come to respect in the last year, a man he'd be proud to work with and finally sighed, "I'd need to talk to Bones about it, you understand?"

"Of course."

Booth shook Clay's hand and then walked across the dance floor to where Brennan was sitting, chatting with Charlotte. As he ducked between party goers, he reflected on the strange but amazing journey his life had taken in the seven years since he had boarded that military plane, bound for Afghanistan. Then, he had felt as though his life was in disarray, nothing to look forward to and nowhere to call home.

But as he took his seat next to his wife, kissing her deeply before taking his son from her and holding him close, Booth finally began to realize just how far he had come from that moment all those years ago when he was at his absolute lowest. He had his family in Bones, Parker, Alexandra and Joseph. He had close, loyal friends, all of whom he also considered family. He had a job he loved and excelled at. He had everything he'd ever wanted but thought he didn't deserve.

Booth looked around the table again at everyone he loved, smiling to himself. This...he thought. This, finally, is home.

Well, this is it. Finally. We're going to miss this one, we really will. We just want to thank everyone who has stuck by us through this whole thing, including The Only Thing Different. The reviews have been humbling, and the encouragement and support has been phenomenal and we will never be able to thank you all enough. And just so you know, this story isn't quite completed yet. We are in the planning stages of part three, called Fortunate Son. Hopefully, we can get that started very soon. Thanks to all of you again for your support. ~Smurfs and NatesMama