AN: Sorry this too so long to post. I went on an impromptu vacation. I love NYC especially on warm days, when it is Fleet Week, and Nicolas Cage is in town filming car chase scenes! But this is it...the conclusion!

Back to the Beginning

Angela called him at the office to say she had finally returned. The entire lab was very concerned, she was a shell of the woman they knew. One day she just showed up to work like nothing had happened. Like there had never been an accident, that there had never been a surgery, like there had never been a Booth at all.

He told her none of it mattered anyway and hung up the phone. Hey could hear Angela's pleading as he ended the call. His hand hadn't even let go of the phone when it started to ring again. The number showed it was an in-house number. Sweets. He refused to answer.

Perotta called in sick later that week, some sorry excuse about needing sinus surgery. She would be out of the office for ten days. Booth wasn't a trained FBI agent for nothing. He could smell a rat a mile away. He smelled rats. They all knew that her absence would leave him no excuse but to take over the two cases currently being investigated at the Jeffersonian. No one seemed to care that she didn't want to see him, or that he didn't want to see her. It was just too painful. Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone? He was enjoying his wallow in the land of self pity.

He took a steadying breath as he strode into the Jeffersonian. It was about the job, not her, focus on the job. The mantra didn't last long, it ended the moment he saw her. She was standing in the way he had watched her a hundred times before, mesmerized, so engrossed in her work that she was oblivious to the world around her. He had always loved to watch her work. The careful way she held each bone, looking at it with deep concentration that etched the perfect inverted V across her brow. He could almost see the internal monologue as she tried to puzzle out what tragedy had befallen the victim. She was so beautiful. His heart began to break. The truth hurt. He was completely and totally in love with her, always had been. With or without memories.

It was still strange to remember things so clearly. Remember all the times he stood at his distance and just absorbed her. The way she stood, the way she smelled. The funny faces she would make. That she had a special smile, just for him. How many times over the years had he stood in this spot wishing that things could be different? Hundreds.

In her element, her house of logic, he finally understood what had happened to them. A woman who follows ration and rules, she was forced to face that she had intentionally broken them both. When he had no memory he wasn't able to call her on the faults in her logic. Once the memories returned she had nothing to hide behind. She had broken their rules, the unspoken rules of partnership, and didn't have amnesia to be the scapegoat.

He coughed and she stirred. It was obvious that she wasn't herself. That would never have been enough to break her focus before. She looked up at him, her eyes taking a minute to register, and then slowly began to fill with tears. It had been nearly a month since she had last seen Seeley Booth. Doing what she did best, she turned to run. She darted like a frightened deer toward her office.

But he was faster. Taking the steps two at a time, he reached her just before she grasped the door. A hand on her waist, he spun her around and looked longingly at her face.

She spoke before he could. "Booth, just don't" she said quietly tears spilling down her cheeks. "It's okay, I understand, I am glad you remember, really I am. I'm busy. I'll wait for Agent Perotta to finish the case. What we had wasn't real, the memories have shown you that I am sure, it was playing, If was a fun game for a while, it was filling the void. I am sorry I smashed your SUV, I didn't want to make it any harder, I will pay for another, I really do understand…" His fingers rested on her mouth, an attempt to stop the rambling.

"First off." His voice was husky and quiet. "Understanding people don't cry. Second I do remember. I remember you. Every little detail of you that I quietly amassed over the past 5 years, each of your smiles, each of your tears, each time that you let me in just a little bit. I remember everything about us. Everything we went through. Everything I felt…for you." He paused as if not knowing how to say something. "I have always loved you. I loved you as Bones, I loved you as Brennan. I LOVE all parts of you now. It was just as Brennan you were so afraid of hurting me that you finally let ME in. As 'Brain Damaged Booth' I was able to finally forget that stupid line I had created and let YOU in. We weren't hindered by our past. It didn't matter what had been said or done in the past. We let it go. I don't care about who you were; it is the woman in front of me that matters. Don't you see how lucky we are? It was like being asleep and dreaming a beautiful dream, only to wake up and find something better is waiting for you. Don't you see, it wasn't a fake life, it wasn't a void. It was a dream, a beautiful dream of a life that we CAN have together. I don't care if we have to start over. We will go back to the beginning. I don't care if it takes 6 months or 6 years to find our way back. To fight our way back. I will never stop trying."

In that moment she did something he never expected. She finally understood. It never would have happened to the old Booth and Bones. She grabbed him by the shirt collar and crushing her lips against his, kissed him long and deep. Old Booth, New Booth; Bones or Brennan. It didn't matter they were meant to be, they were always meant to be. She didn't need to be sacred or to run, their past wasn't a burden, it was a gift.

From the lab down below a few close friends let out a spectacular cheer.

The center would hold.

The End

AN: So it is done. I hope you enjoyed my little take of what could be for these two. I wanted a nice ending for them, although I know it will still not be smooth. A leopard doesn't just change their spots now do they? I want to thank everyone who reviewed and who favorited. If you have been following along without saying anything that is still incredibly gratifying. If you liked this you might enjoy my other stories as well. Check them out!