A/N: Last one! Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading (and reviewing) this story and I hope you enjoy the ending.

Disclaimer: Seriously, after 18 chapters, you must've all figured out by now that I don't own Bones. :)

Booth scanned the crowd of people for his partner.

The SWAT team had come in with Cullen, and Mendez and his entire group had been arrested on drug trafficking charges. Booth grinned to himself as he recalled the look of disbelief on his boss' face when he and Brennan had come to meet them, bruised, drenched and half-naked.

He'd then had to show the other agents where he'd left his camera and the incriminating photos of Mendez and the others, as well as where the drugs were stashed. Much to Booth's reluctance, he also had to lead them to where he'd left Anderson, but was slightly appeased by the guffaws of laughter from his colleagues when they saw Anderson tied up in a cave, wearing only his socks and tighty-whiteys.

But as he'd emerged from the cave and watched the FBI swarming all over the beach, he realised he'd lost track of Brennan in all the confusion. Shielding his eyes against the morning sun, he looked all around the rocky hillsides, hoping for some glimpse of her, and was relieved to catch sight of her sitting at the very far end of the beach, away from the throngs of people.

Ignoring the movement around him, Booth slowly made his way along the beach, hearing the noise of sirens fade as he got further and further away from the house. As he approached, he saw that she was staring out to sea, still dressed only in her underwear and Anderson's purple shirt. Booth guessed that she hadn't wanted to go into a house full of prying agents to retrieve her clothes, and he mentally slapped himself for not bringing her some fresh ones when he'd dashed in to grab a shirt.

She didn't look up as he got closer and Booth settled quietly next to her, unconsciously mirroring her body position of sitting with her legs bent and her arms resting on her knees. Since she made no move to speak, he recapped briefly for her, "They've all been arrested. We can't be sure yet, but based on the evidence we've got so far, and our statements, Cullen reckons there's a good chance of a conviction."

Brennan still didn't face him, but asked, "What about the gang he was working with? Won't there be some repercussions from them?"

Booth too faced forward, replying, "They're not going to pick a fight with the FBI over it, if that's what you mean. They'll just cut Mendez loose, probably claiming they weren't involved, and then leave him to rot in jail." He couldn't hide the satisfaction in his voice as he spoke, the pain of his beating at Mendez's hands still fresh in his mind.

Glancing over at his partner, he saw that a contented smile also played round the corners of her mouth. Stretching his arms above his head tiredly, he said with relief, "At least it's over now. Monday morning you can go back to all your bones at the Jeffersonian." He smiled as a thought occurred to him, "Bet Angela'll have a field day when you tell her what happened last night." He pondered a moment longer. "Actually, considering the last time she saw us together, you were straddling me on a couch, she may not be that surprised."

Brennan looked down and said quietly, "That wasn't the last time she saw us together."

"Must've been, because I left that afternoon..." Booth trailed off as realisation dawned on him and he closed his eyes in shame, "Oh God... I completely forgot she was there that night. I never even apologised to her for what I did..."

Temperance glanced over at him, not wanting to relive what he had done when she and Angela had found him in the club, but managed to give him a small smile, "I don't think she's too angry about you coming on to her; slapping you that hard is Angela's way of dealing with the issue." She looked away again as she said, seriously, "She was more angry about what you said to me than what you said to her."

The guilt came flooding back and he said, ashamed, "Bones, you know I didn't mean any of what I said."

"In vino veritas," she replied with a shrug. Booth looked at her blankly and she translated without emotion, "In wine lies truth."

"Well, in cheap beer lies stupid comments that I didn't mean," Booth countered, sincerely. "What I said about your family... it's not even close to the truth. I was just drunk and lashing out-"

"I know," she interrupted firmly, "You told me already."

"Then why-" he began, confused, but she cut him off again.

"What about the rest of it?" Brennan asked bluntly, looking him in the eyes and wanting to hear his answer. "Was that true?"

Booth frowned, trying to remember what else he'd said to her. Thinking back to his blurred memories of that night, his heart sank when he realised what she meant, "You think I don't know what was going through your mind all the time we were working together? Hell, most of the time I wanted to just throw you down on that big glowy table and do it there."

"Bones, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that to you; it was way out of line," he said, honestly. "I never meant to talk about you like that."

Temperance's gaze didn't waver. "Was it true?" she repeated, her face unreadable, "Do you want me like that?"

"On the table?" he asked, taken aback by her question.

"As more than just your partner," she clarified simply.

Booth felt his voice catch in his throat and his heart skip a beat. Scared of ruining their partnership but not willing to lie to her, he took a deep breath and spoke nervously, "Yes."

Her reaction wasn't what he'd expected and he wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when she asked softly, "Why didn't you tell me this? Why did you say you wanted us to just be partners?"

Gesturing helplessly, he tried, "I- I didn't want to pressure you into anything. You were uncomfortable around me, and I didn't want to make you feel any more awkward." Getting no response from her, he looked down, embarrassed, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you in this position. What I said that night... it won't happen again. I know you don't want this."

"How?"

Booth looked up, puzzled by her question, "What?"

A tiny smile played on her lips as she asked, "How do you know I don't want this?"

"Because you don't," he said, bewildered that he seemed to be telling her as well as himself, "You said in the cellar. You said you wanted go back to the way we were."

"No, I said we should," Brennan corrected, meaningfully. "You never asked me if I wanted to."

He shook his head in confusion, but Temperance kept her eyes fixed on her partner. Meeting her gaze, Booth asked quietly, hoping he understood what she was implying, "Do you want to?"

She gave a miniscule shake of the head but it was enough to make a smile of disbelief spread over Booth's face. Raising his eyebrows, he stammered, "You want to try... I mean, you want us to be..."

"More than just partners," she finished, a twinkle in her eyes as she smiled warmly at him.

Amazed at what he was hearing, Booth couldn't hold back his delighted grin. Leaning closer to her, he kissed her gently on the lips and was surprised when she kissed him back harder. Her arms moved round his neck, pulling her body closer to his as the kiss intensified. Feeling her fingers entwine intimately in his hair, Booth slid his hands behind her back, one resting snugly at her waist and the other moving gently down. They both sank back onto the ground, their lips never leaving each other's.

Lying on the pebbles, the kiss ended and they slowly opened their eyes, glad that the beach was so secluded. Looking at the woman next to him, Booth said playfully, "How come you never kissed like that in the closet?"

Temperance smiled in amusement and whispered back, "Call it an incentive."

She met his lips with hers again but Booth asked, between kisses, "To do what?"

Pulling apart, she answered, mischievously, "To do tonight what I told Heather White we did last night."

"And what would that be?" he inquired curiously, trailing kisses down her neck.

A wicked smile played across her lips as she moved on top of him in one practised motion, straddling his hips with her thighs. Leaning down over him, she whispered in his ear, "You'll find out tonight."

Thank you so much for reading - if you have time please leave one last review!

Author note: That's all the stories I'll be posting for a while now, since I'll be without computer access for two months, but please feel free to go read Target (if you like BB angst) and/or Are You Sitting Comfortably (if you like BB fluff.) Have got my next fic partly planned out and it'll probably be a more case-based one, since I haven't tried that yet, and it should be up some time in September.

Huge thanks again to all my wonderful shiny reviewers who have been seriously great at motivating me to finish this before I leave. Hope you all enjoyed the story.