~o~ Chapter Thirteen - My Love For You Will Still Be Strong ~o~

Brennan doesn't remove her new necklace for the rest of their stay. She brought a small selection of jewellery with her because for some irrational reason she cannot explain, she never feels completely dressed without her chunky beads and dangly earrings. They currently lie forgotten on top of the dresser in their bedroom, however. Her gift from Booth takes precedence.

Booth likes that she doesn't take it off. She is wearing it the morning after he gave it to her, even as they shower. It clings to the moisture at her throat as he laves her skin with his tongue, sucking away sweet water and allowing the bright little beads to click softly against his teeth.

They tumble from the bathroom to their bed and she rises above him, pinning him between her thighs, her face getting the fierce, sexy look it does sometimes when she's like this. The Aztec colors of her necklace combine with her expression to turn her into some kind of warrior woman in the soft, early-morning light and he almost chuckles at what she'd say if he called her Xena (assuming she'd know who that was), before she twists her hips and he forgets what he was thinking altogether.

~o~

Eventually they drag themselves from bed, get dressed and head out to enjoy their last full day on the island before they leave for home. Home, where work and friends and family and real life await. Booth chides himself as they wander along the beach. This is as real as life gets.

They eat a lunch at their favorite restaurant. Bones chooses freshly caught fish with a suspicious-looking, leafy side order. On closer inspection he sees that there's orange in it. Fruit, he informs his highly amused companion, has no business being in a salad.

They are waiting for the bill when he realizes his partner is somewhere other than at their table. She is gazing out toward the ocean, slim fingers toying with the charm at her throat.

"Earth to Bones."

"I'm sorry?"

She blinks at him and he chuckles. "What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

She smiles slowly. "I am looking forward to going home-"

He feigns hurt. "I'm just that boring, huh, Bones?"

She rolls her eyes. "If you'd let me finish I was going to say I am looking forward to going home, and yet I still feel the pull to stay."

He reaches across the table to squeeze her hand. "That's the sign of a good vacation, Bones."

She smiles. "I guess it is."

"And hey, we've got today and tonight, it ain't over 'til it's over, baby!"

She chuckles, low and throaty, and he groans. "Bones you have no idea what that laugh of yours does to me."

She flicks an eyebrow up. "Yes I do."

He remains wide-eyed and slightly dazed as he pays for lunch. Outside the restaurant she takes his hand and they follow the winding path back toward the beach, passing little shops and gift stalls as they go.

"How should we spend our last evening?" she asks, stopping to re-tie her sandal where the little strips of leather that wrap around her slender ankles are coming loose.

Booth reaches out to steady her as she lifts her foot. "I thought we could grab some dinner, do a little dancing and then watch the sunset at the beach – we didn't do that yet."

Bones straightens and looks him in the eye. "That sounds like a romantic-vacation cliché come true."

His face and shoulders fall at once. "Bones!"

She smirks. "No, Booth. I am eager to experience as many of those as possible."

He shakes his head and chuckles, pulling her into him so that he can wrap his arms around her. "Don't ever change, OK, Bones?" he murmurs against her hair.

She squeezes him in her arms and nods, wondering if he realizes how much his words mean to her; confirmation that he loves her for who she is, that he appreciates the things about her that she knows set her apart from others.

"And hey," he says, pulling away to take her hand again. "They're clichés for a reason."

Brennan tugs on his hand and they resume their walk, the sun their constant companion as it lays a warm hand on their shoulders. She doesn't know how she is going to leave this place and she squeezes Booth's hand as she realizes they only have twenty-four hours left here together.

Booth will never get tired of holding her hand. He's approaching forty, yet her fingers knot through his and he could be back in fifth grade, when holding hands with Stephanie Sanders was as hot as it got. She makes him feel young and happy – alive. She makes him feel things he never thought possible.

When she turns to take the path toward their hut, Booth tugs her instead along the path that runs to the jetty.

"Where are we going?" she asks, with a frown, but nevertheless allows him to lead the way across the sandy planks.

"I got one more vacation cliché for you, Bones," he tells her, pressing a kiss to her hair as they stop beside a blue and white boat, bobbing in the shallow water.

Brennan stares at the inaccurately drawn yet still recognizable picture of a dolphin on the side of it. She is gripped by a sudden wave of delight so strong it makes her a little breathless. "We're not going to-"

Booth nods. "Yeah."

"-swim with them?"

"If you want to," he tells her, watching her carefully for her reaction.

She turns back to the boat, the skipper of which is now gesturing them aboard. "Very much," she murmurs, reaching for the man's weather-worn hand without a second of hesitation.

~o~

Around four hours later, Booth is wondering if it's possible his heart can pound right out of his chest because it's so full of love for someone.

Bones is literally bouncing up the beach ahead of him, wringing her hands in front of her in delight and breaking off a detailed retelling of their adventures out on the ocean (for which he was present the entire time) only to fling her arms around his neck and kiss him enthusiastically when the urge apparently gets too great not to. He's gotta say, this is probably his favorite part of the whole thing.

"The most incredible experience," she tells him, her hands in his hair. "Thank you."

He has to admit it was neat. The dolphins were strong, powerful creatures but playful and intelligent; not unlike the woman in his arms right now. He'd been surprised at just how friendly they were and at how they felt, their skin smooth and sun-warmed beneath the surface of the cool ocean. Most of all he'd been totally captivated by his partner as she'd swum with these animals. Her smile didn't leave her face the whole time.

"You're welcome," he tells her, hugging her close. "Seeing what a kick you got out of it is all the thanks I need."

"I can't wait to tell Parker all about it," she tells him, moving away to take his hand again. He'd been laughing but that dies in his throat at the lump she's put there.

He tugs her back against him and she laughs, "You really are getting mushy." When he looks at her in surprise she falters. "Is that the correct term?"

His shoulders shake with mirth. "Yeah, Bones. I'm mushy as all hell – and you have no-one to blame but you."

"Myself," she corrects. "No-one to blame but 'yourself.'"

"Whatever, genius," he chuckles, pressing a hand to her back. "Let's get back and wash this sea-water off."

~o~

When they get inside the biggest fruit basket Brennan has ever seen is dwarfing the coffee table in their living area.

"Would you look at the size of that thing?" Booth gapes.

"It must be complimentary," Brennan decides, reaching past passion fruit and guava to tug a small card free. "It is quite sizeable, I agree."

"Quite sizeable? We couldn't fit this baby in the Sequoia."

Brennan chuckles and indicates the card. "Mr and Mrs Brennan," she reads, wondering for a moment the use of her name, untilshe remembers she handled the bookings. "We hope you have enjoyed your stay. Please accept this with our compliments." She turns to him with a frown. "How are two people possibly expected to eat this in one day?" she asks. "Surely it makes more sense to supply it at the start of the week."

Booth nods and plucks a mango from the display, choosing to ignore the fact that she hasn't mentioned the whole 'Mr & Mrs' part of the message. He bounces the heavy fruit off his bicep before catching it back in his hand, smirking as his partner watches this with undisguised interest. "See something you like, there, Bones?"

The mango hits the floor with a thud and she has his t-shirt off before he can blink. He's two steps from the wall and she slams him against it, crushing her mouth to his and sliding her hands straight down the back of his shorts to grip his ass.

"Guess that's a yes," he breathes when she releases his mouth and sinks to her knees. "Oh God, baby…"

~o~

Before all the heat is gone from the day, the partners pay a visit to Camp Sexy for one last time and Booth indulges one last romantic-getaway cliché as he tackles his girl as she walks along the edge of the water, rolling her into the surf. She gasps and makes a feeble protest about their clothes before giggling and pinning him to the sand, kissing him as the Pacific bursts past his shoulders.

Later they eat a last evening meal at their restaurant and dance as planned, pressed together tightly on the dark little floor, barely moving and completely unaware of anyone else around them. They don't say it, but can both feel they share a heavy heart at the thought of this coming to an end.

As the sunlight dwindles beyond the candle-lit terrace outside, Booth tugs his partner from the restaurant and they make the short walk down to the beach. They sit close together in the dunes watching the sun sink lower in the sky.

"I'm going to miss this place," he admits.

"Me too," Brennan agrees softly. "Come down to the ocean with me."

She stands and slips off her sandals, padding barefoot away from him, a vision in white cotton and clinging sand, half-silhouetted against the last of the burnt-amber sunlight.

As if she could go anywhere he wouldn't follow, he thinks, like a giant sap, before setting off after her, catching her free hand in his as they reach the water.

Brennan turns to press her back against his front and smiles when he loops his arms about her waist.

"It's been one hell of a week, Bones," he murmurs against her hair.

She nods. "Yes. A week."

Then she turns in his arms and looks up at him. "Perhaps," she says, "in light of the success of this venture-"

"Venture?" he chuckles.

She smiles. "Yes. Perhaps… do you remember, when I offered you day-by-day?"

He swallows. "Yeah, Bones."

"Perhaps we should re-evaluate that. Maybe week-by-week would now be more appropriate."

She watches the ghost of a smile play at his lips before he tilts his head. "Meh…"

Her eyes widen as she thumps his shoulder with her fist. "Booth!"

~o~

All too soon it is their final morning on the island and they wake and pack up clothes, belongings and the small gifts they have bought for friends and family.

Brennan stands on their terrace, one hand on the beads at her neck as she inhales the ginger-scented air and watches the ocean lapping at the shore beyond the sands of Booth's 'Camp Sexy.' She smiles as she hears him struggling with the luggage in the main room and turns to help.

She is surprised to feel a lump in her throat as she helps him zip up his suitcase. She'll miss this place. She'll miss being alone with him – oh, she knows they will be together when they return home but this experience has been unique. She hasn't shared her personal space with someone for so long. To be isolated together from everyone and everything they know could have been scary, but it has been wonderful. She straightens as he finally pronounces the case closed, kicking it once for good measure for being so tricky. She smiles, watching him standing triumphant over it with his hands on his hips.

"All set, Bones," he says, with just a tinge of regret.

"Move in with me," she blurts in reply. "When we get home."

"Whoa! Wow." His eyes widen and he scratches the stubble he has propagated beneath his chin. "What's brought this on?"

"Does that mean no?"

"No, Bones, it doesn't mean no. I just – you took me by surprise, I guess. I always figured you liked your own space."

She looks down. "I do. But – I prefer my space with you in it. Does that make sense?"

A brilliant smile breaks across his face. "Aw, Bones, it makes perfect sense – I'd love to move in with you."

"You would?"

He laughs and sweeps her up in a hug, her feet leaving the floor. "Absolutely."

"I'm not surprised," she tells him, when he releases her. "I have a large, beautiful apartment and am quite stimulating company."

Booth chuckles at the twinkle in her eyes. "When did you get to be such a tease?"

"I learned from the best," she informs him, before her smile fades. "I'm very glad you'd like to, Booth."

"There's no place I'd rather be," he assures her. "Why don't we do it about three months from now?"

Her face falls. "Why three months?"

"My lease is up then – and it'll give us time to get used to the idea and to get Parker used to the idea. He's gonna have to adjust to us being together without springing a new place on him as well, you know?"

She nods. "I guess that makes sense."

"I can't wait, though," he tells her, drawing her close. "I couldn't be happier. God, Bones, you make me so happy." He kisses her, quick and hard. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she tells him. "Are we going to see Parker as soon as we get back?"

"Yup. If that's OK?"

"And then our friends," she murmurs.

"And then our friends," he agrees. "No more secrets."

~o~

The journey home is long and not straightforward. By the time they are on the last leg of it – the flight to Dulles – the partners are exhausted. They sleep as they fly, chasing the night into early morning, D.C. time.

Brennan dreams. Booth is grinning at her in the sunlight and he has a spear – the reason for this she's not quite sure. But then she is diving beneath a heavy blue sea, chasing the tail of a dolphin down where the water is cool and inky-black, amid darting shoals of little fish that flit, silver-quick around her. She loses sight of the dolphin behind an out-cropping of jagged rock and when she swims closer to investigate she is startled by a gigantic shark, rising out of the depths, its jaws an ugly maw, open to strike.

She startles awake gripping the arm-rests of her first class window seat and pants a little as reality replaces the dream. She doesn't have to be a fan of psychology to piece together what the dream might mean. The dolphin is her, the shark her fears coming to bite her. Capable Booth is ready on the shore with his spear, standing by to protect her. If she gave any credence to the idea of dream interpretation, that is. Which, of course, she doesn't.

She turns in her seat and watches him sleep beside her, his forehead smooth in slumber, dark lashes against tanned skin. There's no-one in the world, she knows, that would ever have been able to convince her that being with them was worth the struggle of facing and conquering her fears of rejection, of not being good enough.

No-one, that is, but him.

To Be Concluded…


A/N: The plan was to update this one on a daily basis, to coincide with the posting of the final chapter at Live Journal. However, RL has interfered and we have been ill and crazy busy, so it could take us a couple of days to get there. Please, no lynch mobs *g* (mumrulz, we're looking at you)