Chapter 11... 'Sleep'

They fell onto the couch, still kissing. It wasn't a lustful kiss, though it was still filled with passion and love. Brennan sighed as she took a moment to catch her breath.

"I still don't understand, Booth." Exclaimed Brennan as she pulled herself closer to Booth. She listened to his heartbeat as it slowed underneath her touch.

"Shh..." he hushed, and kissed her on the head. "It's alright." His hands ran through Brennan's hair and down her neck. He trailed his hands with kisses.

"What about Jennifer?" Brennan was confused. Only days ago he had told her he was giving them a chance, and now here he is, in her apartment, in her arms, stroking her hair, kissing her neck... Her thoughts trailed off as his touch relaxed her. She let out another deep sigh. "What happened?"

Booth lifted her chin up with his fingers, and planted a gentle, caring kiss on her lips, and he felt her melt into him. "Don't think of such terrible things. That's behind us now." He kissed her on her head, her sweet smell intoxicating. Brennan let out a frustrated sigh, and Booth snapped out of it. "Alright, Bones." She'd given him a playful nudge in the ribs. "I was out to tea with Jennifer. We were on our way back to her hotel room... Don't get mad at me, Bones. You wanted to hear this," he said, as a frown crossed Brennan's face and she crossed her arms. Booth wrapped her in his arms, comforting her. "We got there, and we were about to go in. She turns to me, stops kissing me and tells me that she can't do it." He sighed, obviously still hurt by what happened.

This time Brennan kissed Booth, and ran her hands through his hair. "Go on..." she whispered in his ear.

A smile lit up his face. "It's quite silly, really" he laughed. "Here I was, all this time, worried if I should tell her about that night on the mall. I felt so guilty that I kept it from her. She comes right out and tells me she's been sleeping with someone else, because I 'wasn't there for her, physically'" he said sarcastically. "She's been seeing him, or more accurately, sleeping with him, since a few nights after we got back into DC. She told me casually, as though we had shared nothing. She didn't even feel guilty. She tried to make me feel as though it were all my fault. I guess it was..."

"Shh," interrupted Brennan. She kissed him, gently brushing his face with the back of her hand. "It's alright. I'm yours now. No one will take me away. No one..." she soothed.

No tears fell from either of their eyes as they lay together on Brennan's couch, tenderly kissing, unable to keep their eyes off of each other, for fear that one of them will leave. Eventually, they fell asleep in each other's arms, Booth cuddling Brennan tightly, keeping her close to his heart.

"Booth" whispered Brennan, as she realised where they were. Was last night a dream she wondered, as she waited for Booth to respond.

Booth finally stirred. He'd been wondering the same thing. "Bones?" he asked as he kissed the top of her forehead.

She thought for a second. "It's really late, Booth." Brennan got up and walked over to the linen cupboard, and pulled out a couple of blankets and pillows. "Don't drive home" she started. "It's late, it's not safe, and I need you here." She smiled innocently at the last comment.

Booth smiled back at her. He pulled her back onto the couch. "Goodnight" he said, kissing her forehead. She got up to walk away, but found herself anchored to the couch.

"Booth" she giggled. "I'll see you in the morning. I'm not going anywhere..."

"That's right, Bones, you're not. You're going to sleep here with me, on this couch."

Brennan giggled and protested. His warmth radiated, as he longed to keep her in his arms. "Booth, I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning" she said, as she kissed him before trailing off to her bedroom.

Minutes passed, maybe half an hour, before Booth heard Brennan's door open. She came out into the lounge, and he pretended to be asleep.

"Booth" she whispered as she approached the couch.

He could see her, wearing a satin dressing gown over her chemise. A smile spread as she knelt down beside him. "Hmm" was his reply.

"Booth, I'm cold." She sounded so innocent, but dared not to climb on the couch for fear of never getting up. "Come back to bed with me, Booth." Her eyes were reassuring, and she slowly led Booth back to her room.

He waited for her to climb into bed, so he could decide where to sleep. Brennan patted the bed beside her, and Booth slowly climbed in, dressed in his boxers and t-shirt. He lay on his back, waiting for Brennan to make the first move. She slowly crept her body backwards into his, and he obliged, rolling onto his side and placing his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"I love you" he whispered, as she fell asleep in his arms.

A/N: I wrote this story a while back, and it's 50000 words. So there will be at least 3 parts in total. I had to separate it because it lost the plot a bit. And don't worry... there'll be plenty of angst in the next part too.