[Author's note: 1: Sorry so sorry for posting this almost 2 weeks after my last chapter. 2: Can't wait for Bones s7. 3: Thanks everyone who is still reading this. Tell me if you're liking where it's going!

Uncharted Lands

13. Beginnings.

"No matter what the end is, my life began with you."

She wanted to live with him. She really did.

He couldn't believe it, the night she said it, or the next morning. Or the day after, or even the week after.

He hadn't mentioned it because he was scared, did she really want to live with him? Why hadn't she said anything? Had she changed her mind? His mind had been racing constantly, especially when around her, and he had become impatient. It had been eight days and he couldn't wait any longer.

It was early morning and he had been awake for a while, watching her and guarding her peaceful sleep.

'Let's live here,' he whispered. 'Let's just do it. Let's move all my stuff in here, Parker will love the pool. Let's do it today, Bones.'

She was still asleep but she heard him nonetheless, a frown on her forehead showing her sleeping mind had heard but not understood him.

Yesterday they had finally closed the case, finally caught the guy who killed both the woman and her child. It had been an ex-lover of the deceased woman and Brennan had taken it hard, instantly doubting everything they had. 'You see? There are no happy endings, not for anyone,' she had told him, but even though she had requested time alone he hadn't left her. Not for a second had he left her side, they would have gotten quite intoxicated if Booth had taken her to the Founding Fathers instead of her home, and for exactly that reason he had passed up on a chance to drink and forget. She was his life now, she deserved better and so he had made them tea, he had kissed her tears and pain away and finally she had accepted his presence, remembering that this was Booth, one of the most loyal men on the planet.

And so they had ended up in her bed, together, her arms around him like he was her lifeline and his arms around her like she was his, neither wanting nor needing to let go.

A small movement interrupted his musings, bringing his attention from the night before back to the present. He focussed his gaze on her face and found her blue eyes staring at him, her eyes still a little puffy from her crying the night before. He smiled and his hand softly squeezed hers. 'Good morning.'

'Morning. Were you talking to someone?' she asked, her voice still think with sleep. 'I thought I.. I heard something.'

'No, no.. I was talking to you actually. I'm sorry I woke you.'

She frowned. 'Booth, it's very illogical to talk to someone who is asleep, because the chance of them hearing you is very small. If you wanted to talk to me you should have woken me up.'

He kissed her shoulder. 'No way. Anyway, it was nothing I can't say again.'

She rolled from her back onto her side, facing him. 'What was it?'

He sighed.

'Do you still want to live with me? I mean, we haven't talked about it, and you haven't mentioned it..'

She pulled herself up a little, supporting herself on her elbow, looking at him from higher ground.

'Yes, I would like that very much,' she said softly. 'I thought maybe you didn't want to anymore. Or that you hadn't meant right now. You know, that it was for the future.'

He shook his head. 'If you think it's too soon we can wait, but I don't think we have to, I don't want to.'

She smiled. 'Then yes, I'd like very much to live with you, Booth.'

'Yeah?' his face lit up again like the night she told him she was pregnant. 'You really want that?'

Her face broke into a smile as well. 'Yeah. Let's do it.'

'Today?' he asked. 'Come on Bones, let's do it today. Let's move everything in here.'

'You want to live here?' she asked, not in any particular tone. 'I assumed we would have to acquire a new residence, like Angela and Hodgins. My apartment is big enough, however I would assume you'd see it as an attack on your virility if we live here.'

'Attack on my virility? No, Bones, I love your place, and Parker loves it too.. Look, if you don't want to live here that's ok, we'll get a new place. But I'm fine with living here.'

She nodded. 'I like it here too. And there are enough rooms, I mean, it's designed to hold a family..'

Sadness found its way into her eyes for a second and he reached out for her. 'Hey, you have a family. You have two, in fact.'

She nodded into his chest. 'Yeah. Thanks, Booth.'

They slept in for a little while before Brennan finally sat up.

'Booth.. Are you sure you want to live here? Give up your own place already? I mean.. You don't have to, we can wait if you're not sure..'

He sat up with her on the edge of the bed.

'Hey. Stop it. I want to live with you.'

His hand squeezed her knee softly before he got up. 'I'm going to take a shower.'

She smiled at his silent invitation and nodded without answering.

Even though making love in the shower wasn't the most practical or easy activity, they ended up under the hot stream, her back flush against the wall. One of her legs was wrapped around his hips and his face was buried in the crook of her neck, softly whispering to her while their lower bodies were moving as one. His words were as arousing to her as his movements, and every word, like every thrust of his lower body sent a shiver through her entire being.

He didn't even know what he was whispering and he didn't care. She caught some of his words, like 'love,' 'home' and 'baby', and sometimes sentences like 'I only ever want to be where you are', but most of all she heard his commitment and his love in his voice.

And in the end it weren't his enchanting words that catapulted her off the edge, it was his voice. The soft but strong tone in which he spoke of his feelings for her made her lose her mind in his arms, made her want to free fall off the highest cliff only to be caught by him, by his arms, by his love.

After their intense lovemaking they showered for real, and half an hour later they were finally ready for breakfast. He offered to prepare something but she wanted to do it herself, and he understood her hidden meaning, this was still her house, her kitchen, where she felt safest being in charge.

So they ate together, at her table, croissants, cheese and coffee, and his carefree jokes and laughter inspired and comforted her and in no time they were both holding their bellies with laughter.

Suddenly, in between jokes, Brennan's face turned serious. 'Do we have to work today?'

'Probably collecting and handing over evidence, nothing that can't wait a day. Come on Bones, it's Saturday, relax.'

She frowned. 'Don't you have Parker over for the weekend?'

He shook his head. 'No, not this time. Captain Fantastic took them to Disneyland or whatever, anyway, Parker wasn't able to come. He told me sorry, though.'

'Ok,' Brennan simply stated. 'Is his name really Fantastic? I assume his first name isn't Captain.'

'No, of course not,' Booth just answered, but his insides warmed again at her innocence and the pure beauty of her brain.

'So.. You want to move in here today?' she asked, her eyes focussed on her hands.

'Yeah,' he said, looking at her, demanding her with his eyes to meet him. She did, and although he saw slight fear and confusion, he also saw love and certainty. She wanted this as well.

'I'll have to make some room,' she said. 'And I'll have to clear out the study and guestroom.'

'We can do it together,' Booth said. 'And then, we can get some of my stuff and move it in here.'

'I don't have any spare closet space,' Brennan warned. 'I'll have to rearrange.'

'Yeah, you do that, I'll get started in your office,' Booth answered.

'It's not an office,' Brennan corrected.

'It isn't a study either,' he countered and she smiled. 'It's Parker's room.'

Booth smiled back and nodded. 'And he'll love it.'

And so they started, Brennan in her bedroom trying to find some space for Booth's clothes and other belongings, while he started moving her books to the shelves in her living room. They were half empty, and he could easily fit everything in her living room. A few times he cast a glance into her bedroom, and he saw her surrounded by her clothes and shoes, rearranging everything and every time he looked she was one hundred percent committed to her task. A new part of her life was about to begin.

After a little while she appeared in the doorway of her office room. 'I've got three quarters of a closed and a drawer in my nightstand for you,' she announced with pride. He had just finished moving the last of her stuff out of the room and it looked and sounded empty. 'Great, do you want to fill that up first or shall we go shopping?'

'Shopping?' she asked, a frown on her forehead. 'Why?'

'We need a new bed for Parker,' Booth answered.

'Can't you move the old one from your place in here?' Brennan asked. 'He knows that bed, it's his bed.'

'No, he's been whining to get one of those car-shaped beds for ages, and I really want to get him one of those,' Booth said. 'And this is kind of a good excuse, right? And it'll be a surprise.'

Brennan nodded. 'You're a good father, Booth.'

He just smiled his thanks and touched his hand to her arm, feeling their spark stronger than ever. 'Let's do this.'

They argued about paying for the bed, they argued about the colour. They argued about the means of transportation, they argued about payment again and they argued about who was going to put it together, but in the end, they ended up with a big, red, Ferrari-shaped bed in Parker's new room, paid for by Temperance and put together by Booth. Compromises had been made but in the end they both fell down with a sigh on the first new item in their home, exhausted, but very happy indeed.

By then, it was three in the afternoon and they hadn't had much to eat, so Booth left Brennan on Parker's new bed to fix her something to eat. He surprised her with cheese and cucumber sandwiches, milk and fruit, all healthy stuff she loved and hadn't expected. They christened the bed not in the usual way, but with a picnic, eating and laughing together, Brennan leaning against the headboard and Booth lying on his stomach close to her, his head resting on her legs.

'I like this,' she admitted after a while. 'It feels weird, you know, new, but good.'

'It does,' he admitted.

'I thought I'd be more apprehensive once we had made the decision,' she continued, her eyes on his, ready to share her entire life with him. 'But I find I'm not apprehensive at all.'

'It's big,' Booth said. 'But I'm glad you're all right with it.'

'Yeah, it's big,' she repeated. 'You think God had this in mind when he took Vincent?'

'Now you wanna talk about God?' Booth asked, incredulous and not really in the mood for her blasphemy.

'Well, do you?' she asked. 'Do you think this happened because God wanted it to?'

'I don't know,' he answered. 'I don't know but I'm really glad it's happening.'

Brennan nodded. 'Me too.'

And she was. Inside her head, a familiar voice was still trying to convince her: Don't do it. Don't let him get too close. But the voice was getting softer and softer and she could barely hear it anymore, because another voice was getting louder and louder, and it was the voice of her heart, the one she had suppressed for too long, calling to her, it's ok. It's ok to be happy. And she believed that voice now more than ever, because she felt better than she ever had. She was truly happy, for the first time since her parents left and perhaps for the first time in her life, she felt like the world couldn't get better. Yes, she was scared, and yes it was still unfamiliar and difficult for her to let go like this, because still, losing so much control over personal happiness was.. Still frightening but no longer unbearable.

Booth saw it. He saw the change in her, every minute they spent together he saw her relax a little more, the blue in her eyes get a little bluer, a little more confident in this new situation. They were living together. Of course, it was still a lousy excuse to spend every second together, but soon his clothes and other belongings would find their way into her cupboard and onto her shelves, and their houses would merge into one, like their bodies had. Their belongings would still be his and hers separately, but together they would fill their home, they would be together as one, like their owners.

After their late lunch he drove with her to his place to pack some clothes. He took a little of everything, all his underwear and pyjamas because he was certain of one thing: He wouldn't need those anymore here. From now on her bed was theirs, he wouldn't spend another night in someone else's bed, not even his own.

She observed him while he was packing, seeing the speed and accuracy in his movements, determined, happy, wanting to do this as fast as possible. She felt it too, a need to get his stuff into her bedroom as quickly as was humanly possible, because even though it was real, that would be physical evidence.

So not half an hour later they had his car full of stuff, clothes, but also books, CD's, DVD's, stuff from work and a few framed photos, the ones he valued the most. He had selected the items he supposed he would need first, because he 'damned right didn't want to have to go back every minute to get something I need because I want to be with you.' She accepted this without any argument and she drove him back to her place, a smile plastered to her face the whole way. Soon, his clothes would be on her bed and he wouldn't be picking them up in the morning to wash them at his place. He would be leaving them there, for her to pick up, for her to clean and she found that even though she resented the term house wife, she wanted to be one for him.

He moved most of his stuff upstairs while she directed him, and he followed every order. Once he had all his clothes in her bedroom, he looked at her standing in the doorway, observing him.

'Can I.. Just, you know, put them somewhere?'

'Yeah, I have a drawer in the nightstand for you and some space over there,' she pointed to a cupboard against the wall. He nodded. 'Okay. You wanna help me?'

'I'll get started on your CD collection, I have them in alphabetic order sorted by artist and album name, so that will take a while,' she said matter-of-factly. He smiled. 'Ok. You do that.

He peeked in her cupboard to see how she arranged her clothes, and he tried to copy it as closely as possible, finding he liked her order and because it was part of his life now, he felt he had to at least try and keep it this way for as long as he could. Then, he opened her nightstand drawer, meant for some of his underwear and socks.

It was almost completely empty, there was only one object remaining: Her diary.

He saw a leather covered notebook, visibly used, with a lock but it wasn't locked. For a split second he wanted to open it and read. But he didn't, and he moved to put it on the bed until he was finished.

A small piece of torn paper fell from the pages.

It fell to her carpet, bottom down, and he could see the words written on it but he couldn't discern them. The paper looked dirty, muddy almost and he frowned, not knowing why she would keep something like that, least of all in her diary.

'Bones,' he called, not wanting to invade her privacy in any way. 'Where do you want me to put your diary?'

'Just put it in the top drawer,' she called back, but she didn't come to see what he was up to. He smiled at the trust she gave him, but still, even though curiosity killed the cat he needed to see. He picked up the piece of paper and tried to read the words, which were slightly faded and hard to read, written with erratic handwriting. It was, however, undoubtedly her handwriting.

Booth, I know you tried. I hope heaven exists so I can see you again.

That was it. Nothing else.

A frown formed between his eyes. His brain was racing. When had she written this? What did it mean? Why had she kept it, why was it all dirty and written on a torn piece of paper?

With a will of its own, his body got up and his legs transported him to her living room. There he found her, on the floor, arranging CD's.

She didn't notice him at first, and when she did, she jumped a little. 'Booth.'

He didn't say anything, he just handed her the piece of paper. She took it and he saw realization creep into her eyes. 'Oh..'

He just looked at her, begging with his eyes for an explanation, because he just didn't understand.

'That.. Give me that,' she said, reaching for the paper and taking it from his

hand. A blush crept onto her cheeks. 'Booth..'

He handed it to her, without a second thought, because if she didn't want him to know he would wait. To him all it was was a confirmation of her love, although he didn't understand when or why she had written it, it was her.

He stood behind her while she remained seated on the dark wooden floor. After a few minutes she fully turned to face him.

'I.. I wrote this when I was buried alive,' she told him. She knew she didn't have to talk about it if she didn't want to, but she wanted to. He needed to know.

'Hodgins wrote something to Angela, and I felt I had to write this to you. I didn't have much time.'

He just looked at her, his eyes warm and reaching out to her. 'Thanks, Bones,' he said, and he meant every word of it. 'Thanks.'

She nodded. 'I.. I wanted you to know that I didn't blame you, you know, if you were too late. You tried so hard, I just knew.'

'I knew you were still alive,' he said, and his wavering voice hit her with a wave of sadness and gratitude to be alive. 'I knew you were out there, and I.. I don't know what I would have done if we were too late, Bones,' he admitted and she saw how it cost him to admit that. 'I would have been so lost.'

She nodded. 'I knew you were trying, and I knew you wouldn't give up. But I was afraid you might not get there in time. So I wrote that.'

'Why did you keep it?' he asked, sitting down next to her on the floor, levelling with her and relaxing into their conversation.

'I don't know,' she shrugged. 'it was.. I guess it was a reminder that I knew, even back then.'

'I knew, too,' he said. 'But I didn't know you knew.'

'I was so afraid,' she said and she leaned into him. He pulled her into his arms and cradled her like he had when he had pulled her from the sand.

'Me too, baby. Me too, so damn scared. You couldn't die. I would've lost it.'

'I didn't want to die,' she said. 'There were many times in my life when I would have given my life without question, or when I didn't care what happened, but then, I really wanted to live.'

'You mean that?' he asked. 'You didn't care whether you lived or died at times?'

'No,' she said. 'At times I really didn't care.'

'I'm so sorry,' he just said, kissing her hair and holding her close, feeling her life vibrating, her will to live strong within her, and he thought about what must have happened to her to make her lose that.

After another few minutes she spoke again. 'I don't feel that now, Booth. I want to live. For a very long time.'

He nodded. 'I know,' he said. 'That's the past, Bones.'

She nodded too, and relaxed into his embrace a little bit more, feeling strong and independent even though she was once again in his arms. And at that moment she realized something once more.

She realized that life didn't scare her anymore.

A long time ago, Avalon Harmonia had made her realize that life really did scare her. And that there was a question that she didn't dare to ask. That question hadn't been how anyone could love her, but it had been how Booth could love her. She had felt it back then, known it, known her own feelings for him, and she had felt and seen and heard those feelings reflected in everything he did, everything he said and every move he had made even before his coma dream and after. And today, all her questions seemed to be answered. Life wasn't scary anymore. Life without relationships had never been scary, but now, life with love was everything she wanted. She sighed.

'What?' Booth asked softly.

'One plus one equals two,' she whispered and he remembered their conversation immediately.

'You put sugar in your coffee and it tastes sweet.'

She nodded. 'Life is very good, Booth.'

'Yeah, it is,' he affirmed, and together they sat on her wooden floor, the piece of paper still in her fingers, the letters smudged but not faded, unlike her fears which had melted like ice on a hot summers day, only a summers day had lasted almost seven years. Neither cared and neither bothered to talk about it any more, because they had been through enough for one day, and they were content knowing that from this day forward they would live in one house, cook in one kitchen, shower in one bathroom and sleep in one bed, and because that was enough.

It was in moments like these that Temperance Brennan forgot about all her heartache, every bad memory seemed to be less hurtful and every rainy day seemed less clouded. She could do this. A life filled with love, it was for her too. Not just for everyone else. If she wanted it, and she fought for it, it was hers.

Because no matter what they tell you, what you believe is true. That's all that matters now, no matter what.