Sabbaticals - 30 weeks

The next morning, they were getting ready to take Parker home when Brennan had a request. "On the way back, can you drop me off at my place? I'll take my dress and a few things with me, but several things I need are there. You can come back here and get your tux and your overnight bag, and then pick me up when it's time to go to the hotel." Booth said that worked for him, so she got her things together and they all went down to the car.

After Booth got back home, he called Brennan. "Hey. I was thinking maybe we could go to the hotel early and have lunch at one of the restaurants there. Check-in time is at 3:00, so I thought maybe I pick you up at 1:30?" "That sounds lovely Booth. I'll be ready. I understand there are several excellent restaurants in the hotel." He was smiling, even though she couldn't see him. "After lunch, when we check in at 3:00, we'll have several hours to enjoy the room before we need to start getting ready." She could hear the leer in his voice, so she put on her best flirty voice. "I'm looking forward to it Booth. And I'm very excited to wear my new dress tonight. I'm pretty certain you will appreciate it."

When they arrived at the hotel, a porter took their overnight bags and garment bags and said they would be waiting in the suite when they checked in. They had a very nice lunch, but made sure to keep it light so they wouldn't ruin their appetites for the special dinner later. Just before 3:00, they walked to reception, were quickly checked in, and headed up to their room.

After walking through the door, Booth pushed her up against the wall and they shared a passionate kiss. He leaned his body hard into hers so she could feel his arousal, and she pushed on his chest gently and chuckled. "What? Are we going for a repeat of Paris again?" He nuzzled her neck just below her earlobe and whispered. "You have a problem with that?" She pulled back and smiled at him. "There is a perfectly serviceable bed just around that corner. It's not like we haven't had a LOT of sex in the last two weeks. I'm interested right now in comfort. And a fluffy mattress under my bare butt." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he laughed and picked her up to carry her into the bedroom. "You really have a thing about carrying me everywhere, don't you?" He had gone back to nuzzling her neck while he walked. "I do. I really do." He sucked her earlobe into his mouth and licked all around it. "I may never stop."

They spent the next hour taking advantage of the incredibly soft mattress on the king sized bed. After they came down from the vigorous conclusion to their lovemaking, they cuddled together in the middle of the massive bed and began to talk about the significance of the day. This was the ending of a year that had its ups and downs for them - but even the downs had led them to this moment: He confessed his feelings for her. She rejected them. They both set off on year-long sabbaticals. She reevaluated, and then revealed her feelings to him. And, as painful as it had been to spend so many months apart, that physical separation was likely the catalyst for them to finally be in this place.

They were forced to build this new relationship over video calls. They came together emotionally talking to each other through a computer screen. And then, two weeks ago they finally came together physically. As that long distance relationship had progressed over the last five months, the only family they envisioned was the two of them with Parker. But Christmas had brought them a gift they had never thought to wish for - their big, blended family. They were both gratified that Rebecca was so supportive of their pairing - and their wish to create a family unit with Parker. But when everyone expressed interest in coming together on Christmas Day, it was a pleasant shock to the couple. The toast from Max that day, declaring them all part of the "Booth-Brennan family" confirmed that they were all on board.

Booth pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "So this is the end of 2010. Not the year we fell in love, but the year we finally acknowledged it." He smiled at her. "I wonder if you would have acknowledged it four months sooner – would we be right here, right now?" She had a pensive look. "We may never know. But….well, sometimes you just have to take things the way they happen. Yes, we probably wouldn't be about to go back to Afghanistan and Indonesia - although, that's not a given. But maybe the fact that we've had to work so hard to get here makes our union just that much stronger."

"Remember once you said to me that everything happens eventually? I think that everything needs to happen in its time." He pulled her closer to him. "You're right. You weren't ready last March. If we had forced it, it could have fallen apart. You needed those four months, and I think you also needed the distance. I should never have demanded an answer right then and there." He stopped and locked eyes with her. "But we've talked about this before. And we drew a line under it. We're just reminiscing because we're looking back at our year. No recriminations, right?"

She kissed his chest. "Right. Time to look forward." He ran his hand through her hair and she looked up at him. "Midnight tonight, we start our first full year together." She corrected him. "Midnight tomorrow. Exactly at midnight begins the new year, which is tomorrow." He laughed. "Of course it is, I should know better than to be so imprecise around you." She hid her head in his chest. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't do that."

He pulled her face up to look at him. "No Bones. You should always do that. That's one of the things I love about you. You keep me on my toes - and you should never change." He kissed her lovingly. "Okay. Let's talk about our new year to come. In May, we finally begin our life together. How are you feeling about that?" She looked at him earnestly. "Excited. A little nervous. Is it bad that I'm a little nervous?" He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "No, I feel the same way. I'm a little nervous too, because this is such a big step for us. When we return in May, it won't be like the vacation/honeymoon we've been living these last two week. It will be real life."

He looked her square in the face. "I have all the confidence in the world that this will all work out and we'll have a great life together. But I also know that things happen. After all we've gone through to get here, I think it would destroy us if it somehow fell apart. And, we have to remember - it's not just us anymore. Parker is just as invested in our relationship as we are. So yes, there is a smidge of apprehension. But I would say I'm 99% excited and 1% nervous. I like those odds - how about you?"

She tilted her head. "Booth - you know you shouldn't be gambling." He laughed and hugged her. "It's not gambling if you don't bet with someone. This wasn't a bet - it was just stating the odds. How about you? Are you with me on the 99-1 train?" She thought about it for a few seconds. "You know I'm a little more cautious than you are. I think maybe I'm at 98% to 2%. Are you comfortable with that?" He laughed again. "I'll take those odds any day."

The conversation moved to how their lives would look after they returned. They agreed that they would essentially live together, but they would rotate back and forth between apartments. They settled on spending a week at each place before moving to the other on the weekends. "How long do you want to do that Bones? It seems like we'll be spending rent on my place, maintenance fees and taxes on yours, and utilities on both." She told him she understood his concerns, but she really just wanted to spend several months settling in as a couple before making the commitment to buy a new place together.

"And don't forget that we will have to have some serious conversations about finances. I know you will want to contribute as much as I will to a new place. But Booth, if we can contribute a proportionate share based on the funds we each bring into this family, we can get a very nice place in a very nice neighborhood. If we go 50-50, we will probably have to find a place way out in the suburbs that will require a long commute every morning and evening." He nodded. "I know. I see your point. But I don't want to have this conversation on our honeymoon." He leaned back and winked at her. "And I certainly don't want to talk about that during the precious little time we have on our video calls."

She took one hand and cupped the side of his face. "And that's why we will need time after we return to get all that settled. Perhaps I'll have to come up with some strategies to get you to come over to my way of thinking." She leaned in and kissed him. He brought his mouth to her ear and started nuzzling her neck. "And just what kind of strategies did you have in mind, Miss Brennan?" His breath in her ear made her shiver, so she put her mouth to his ear and whispered. "Oh, I think I might find a few ways to make you agree to anything I ask, as long as I don't stop."

That really made him laugh, and he grabbed her shoulders and flipped her on her back. As he hovered over her, he whispered in her ear. "Well, two can play that game, missy!" He spent the next 20 minutes searching for his own strategies to make her beg for more. But she gave as good as she got, and it became a game to see who could send the other tumbling over the edge first. As they lay there exhausted, sweaty, and sated, they realized that they had both lost - but then again, they had both won. And they found that playing games with each other in bed this way was an extremely satisfying way to pass the time.

They ended up dozing off for about 30 minutes, and then Brennan opened her eyes to see that it was time to get up and get ready for their evening. As she sat up and rolled over to the edge of the bed, Booth woke and asked where she was going. "It's time to start getting ready for the party. I'm headed in to take my shower." Booth whined. "You don't want me to join you?" She stood there in all her nakedness with her hands on her hips. "You know what will happen. You will wash my hair, soap us all up, get us all clean, and then you will get me hot and bothered again, culminating in another round of coitus. We'll be all sweaty again, which means we will have to wash our hair and bodies a second time. Thank goodness for your refractory period or we might never make it out of the shower."

Booth thought that might be one of the funniest things she had ever said to him. But she wasn't wrong. "Okay. I'll tell you what. I'll get all of my stuff, including my tux, and take it in the sitting room. I'll use the shower in the bathroom on the other side of the suite and will be all dressed and waiting for your grand entrance in your new gown." She smiled at him, walked back over to the bed, and leaned down to kiss him. She whispered. "Prepare to have your socks blown off." They looked at each other with big grins on their faces. She turned and walked toward the bathroom purposefully wiggling her butt at him.

Brennan stood in front of the mirror in the bedroom zipping up her dress. She was glad the dress was mostly backless because the zipper only needed to reach just past her waist. It would have been a shame to spoil the reveal if she needed to ask Booth to come in and assist with the zipper. She had put her hair up in a loose chignon and had wisps of hair cascading around her face. She added a pair of drop crystal earrings, and of course, the aquamarine necklace. Her eyes, the necklace, and the dress were all the same color, and the effect was stunning. As she walked to the door to enter the sitting room, she chuckled to herself. 'I hope he has those socks on securely!'

She walked through the door and saw him standing at the window, looking out at the lights of the city. He turned suddenly and then stopped cold. He looked so handsome in his tux, and she couldn't wait until the dancing began so he could pull her to him and not let go. But he wasn't saying anything. "Booth. Say something." She twirled around, the bottom of the dress floated around her legs, and he saw that the dress was almost backless. She sounded uncertain. "I thought you would like it. I wanted to blow your socks off." He shook his head as he came out of the trance, and started walking slowly toward her. "Oh my God Temperance. You are dazzling. I think you may have knocked off every piece of clothing I'm wearing. I'm not naked, am I?" He was now just in front of her and a smile lit up his face. "I'm almost afraid to touch you. Are you real?"

She looked slightly impatient. "Now you're just being ridiculous Booth. Do you really like it?" He looked at her in astonishment. "Like it? I don't want you to ever wear anything else ever again. I want you to wear this to the lab, to crime scenes, to pick up Parker from school." Her impatience had changed to a smile. "You're teasing me, aren't you?" He put his hands on her hips and felt the sparkly material of the dress. "Yes, I'm teasing you. You are exquisite, Bones. Perfection. Dazzling. Stunning. I'm going to run out of adjectives." He pulled her to him and kissed her so passionately that she was worried he was about to pick her up and march back into the bedroom.

But he finally pulled back the intensity and peppered her lips with sweet, tiny kisses. He brought his hands up to cup both sides of her face. "I love you Temperance Brennan. Every man in the Willard tonight will be green with envy. But I will be the happiest man in the building, because I know you're going home with me." Her face softened. "Booth, that might be the most romantic thing you've ever said to me." He had a huge grin on his face. "Bones, we are going to have a fabulous time. We're going to dance the night away, and kiss to end the year, and another kiss to begin the new year. And then we're going to come down here and make love - not sex - make love."

"I love you Seeley Booth. You know I love how you look in your suits, but in a tux? You make me weak in the knees. And yes, I agree. It won't be sex tonight. We will make love. It's the only way to begin our new year. The year we - you and I - will really begin."

They shared another long kiss, and as they stepped apart, he made one request. "Please indulge me while we have some privacy?" She looked at him with some skepticism. He leaned down and planted a juicy kiss on the top of her breast. And then a second one on the other one. He stood back up and gave her a Cheshire grin. "That is some impressive cleavage Bones. I might normally worry about other men seeing too much of you, but I'll remind myself that I'm the only one allowed to do 'that'. And, of course, the knowledge that you're going home with me tonight."

She slapped his shoulder to scold him. He laughed and crooked his arm for her to take. "Shall we M'lady? Our elevator awaits."