Disclaimer: Bones and its affiliated characters do not belong to me. I mean no copyright infringement.

In the Beginning: A collection of short one-shots (some are more like drabbles) of Booth & Brennan learning to live together. They are in no particular order. Please let me know what you think!

Author's Notes: This one-shot takes place shortly after The Change in the Game.

One-Shot #7 – You're the Best

Brennan was concerned about her evening. She was going to the diner to have dinner with Booth and Parker. Booth wanted her to be there when he told Parker about their new relationship. Brennan knew that Parker had bonded with Hannah. What she didn't know was how he reacted to Hannah leaving. Booth didn't like talking about her and so she avoided it.

When she arrived, Booth and Parker were already sitting at their usual table. Booth got up to greet her and then hugged her and gave her a peck on the lips. Parker's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Is Bones your girlfriend now?"

Brennan answered before he could. "Yes. Are you okay with that?"

He stood up and gave her a big bear hug which momentarily startled her. Booth felt his heart melting when she returned his hug. He would never say that out loud though because hearts don't melt.

"I like you the best!" said Parker excitedly.

"That's easy to do," said Booth with a chuckle and a charming smile. "See, Bones, you had nothing to worry about."

But Brennan looked confused.

"What?" asked Booth.

"I guess I'm just surprised."

Booth would have liked to ask her why, but he would save it for later. Parker had already moved on to talking about all the things he thought they should do as a family. For now, he was content that Bones didn't look nervous by all of Parker's plans.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Bones? Why were you surprised when Parker said he liked you the best?"

"I wasn't."

"You looked confused."

"I was, but not about what Parker said."

"Then by what?"

She really didn't want to talk to him about Hannah. She was sure it would ruin the evening.

"Bones, please tell me what's going on in that big brain of yours."

"You told me that there's one you love the most. At first, I admit that I hoped you were talking about me. After all, you did tell me that I was the one and you knew right from the beginning. But I realized I was wrong when you proposed to Hannah and that maybe you were just telling me you would always be around as a partner. I really should have known it sooner since you said she wasn't a consolation prize."

"Wait, wait, wait," said Booth shaking his head and holding out his hand to say stop.

"No, Booth. You don't have to pretend. I understand."

"No, Bones. You obviously don't. My feelings for you never changed, but I made myself forget. I figured that even though I knew you were the one I loved the most didn't mean I was going to be able to be with you. That's how I was able to move on." Tears were flooding his eyes. "When you told me that night that you had regrets, I was angry. I was angry at you because it was too late. I'm not the guy who walks away, Bones. I was determined to be with her because it was the right thing to do. I was happy. But she was never going to be you. And I had to live with that."

Booth could tell she was trying to comprehend and make sense of what he just said. He hoped he said it right. This revelation about what she thought came out of the blue for him and he was caught off guard.

"I know that you commit yourself to a relationship 100%. But you said you wanted to take a gamble, Booth. To me, that meant you thought I would be the one who could ruin things between us… and I agreed. I'm not good at relationships, Booth. I couldn't risk our partnership. And then I saw that Hannah made you happy. I told her you would give all of yourself. I made her promise not to hurt you. She was the better person for you. It makes sense that you would propose to her. You were committed. I knew it, but I didn't want to believe it."

"Whoa! Slow down. One thing at a time. I need to think. I've gotta say you really surprised me with all of this. God, if I knew you felt this way, I would have set you straight a long time ago." He started pacing and palmed his neck massaging it in an attempt to relieve some stress.

"First, you're right. I give all of myself. I commit 100%. If I had left her, I wouldn't be as reliable. How would you know I wouldn't leave? I think that I always knew she would say 'no.' She told me that she wasn't the marrying kind, but I thought she would change her mind. She quit her job and moved here to be with me. That felt good. And then she moved in with me. I thought she was just as committed. I was wrong and I think I knew it. I didn't want to believe it because she was the one that dropped her whole life to be with me." He snorted. "It turns out that I was just temporary. She actually said she didn't think we were done, yet. She pretty much had an end date for God's sake!"

"I can see why you were so angry that night."

"As far as saying I wanted to take a gamble, I was afraid you would turn me down. It had nothing to do with if we could make a relationship work. I was just as afraid as you were about losing our partnership, so I kept my feelings hidden. I took a gamble that night and lost."

She had been so wrong. She was a genius. How could she not have understood? She knew Booth better than anyone and yet she still made mistakes regularly when assuming what he wanted and expected.

"I've always had a hard time reading people."

"I know, Bones."

"I'm sorry that I made you sad and angry."

He gathered her in an embrace. "It's okay, Bones. I think that everything that has happened over the last year has made us stronger. Things have never been easy for us." He chuckled.

She buried her face in his neck. "That doesn't scare you?" he heard her ask even though it was muffled.

"No."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we're the center. And we're solid." He stepped back a bit so he could lift her head up to look at him. "We're okay, Bones. We're okay." He kissed her softly. "I love you, Bones. I love you the most. That's never going to change. Do you love me?"

"Yes, Booth. You've shown me that love is real and it doesn't disappear. I'm glad you were the one who taught me."

He knew it would take her some time to actually say the words. But he got confirmation and that's all he needed for now.

THANKS FOR REVIEWING! I LOVE READING THEM!

They keep me motivated!

I'm glad that everyone liked the baseball stories! Someone asked if I would write one more. If I do, I'll post it separately as a 3-shot.