A/N: Disclaimer: not mine of course.

There’s a little bit at the end, but I don’t write smut generally. Leave it to your imagination :P

Sorry this took so long. I fail. Well, this is the last chapter, so no more dealing with my fail for a while.

To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The case was one of the partner’s easier cases. They found the victim’s identity quickly as he was already in the system for petty crime. The murderer was a club owner who had, oh-so-brilliantly left the knife that killed him at the scene. Prints and all. After threatening to kill him in a way that Angela dubbed, “The most dumbass murderer she’s ever heard of.” Booth begged to differ, but that was beside the point as they were already on their way to catch the man.

The only snag in the case occurred when the two partners moved in on the suspect, who was much larger and meatier than either had expected.

“Mr. McKay, you’re under arrest for—“ Booth said, approaching the muscular man slowly. Though Booth was not necessarily average in size—all muscle, thank you very much—the suspected murderer still had a hundred-plus pounds of pure steel on him.

Before the agent could finish reading his Miranda rights, the behemoth grunted in anger and pulled a gun on the unsuspecting forensic anthropologist. Booth automatically moved to the holster at his waist, and Temperance swiftly maneuvered herself so that she subtly took hold of his backup piece.

“Lower your weapon,” Booth warned quietly, angling himself in front of his partner and inching closer to the suspect.

“We know you’re guilty, Mr. McKay. We know you killed Scott Francis,” she said confidently.

Booth shot her a “Shut the hell up, Bones” look over his shoulder. However, this brief distraction, coupled with his close proximity to the suspect, led to a flurry of motion that neither was prepared for.

The gun clattered to the ground as the suspect knocked it from the agent’s grasp. Temperance’s fingers tightened around her own borrowed piece, but it was useless as the man wrapped his thick arm around Booth’s neck in a choke hold.

He could feel the mouth of the gun pressed against his temple, and he could see that her eyes were wide with shock and a little bit of fear. Yet he could also see the gears in her mind rotating, calculating the sudden turn of events.

“Drop the gun,” McKay ordered with a deep, booming voice.

In the blink of an eye, Booth nodded to his partner and jerked back his head, connecting with McKay’s nose. McKay cried out as he fumbled with his gun and, just as he regained his grip on it, a bang resounded through the narrow alley.

“Nice shot, Bones,” Booth said appreciatively, as the suspect grasped at his arm in pain.

After that, it was smooth sailing. The cuffs were clicked into place, and the man was booked. Yet as the case slowed down to mere paperwork, Temperance wished that there was more excitement to take her mind off of more pressing issues.

Her mind still reeled from her stunning moments with Booth. Because of the fast-paced movement of the case, she had not had time to dwell on those moments that she had shared with her partner. As if by some unspoken agreement, they had temporarily set aside their emotions to get this case done and out of their way. She didn’t know where they stood. Boyfriend and girlfriend seemed too fickle for two partners such as them.

Her mind was still reeling from those three words that she had unconsciously shied from since she was fifteen.

“I love you.”

Three simple words that threw her off balance and disrupted the comfortable line that they had been using as an excuse for the past four years.

“You saved my life today, Bones.”

She jumped at the familiar voice that broke the still silence of her office.

“I didn’t do anything. You knocked him down. I just—“

“Shot him before he could shoot me,” Booth finished with a wry smile. “Kinda makes it worth the paperwork.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. Then she said, “I don’t like having to save you.”

He frowned at her.

Realizing that she must have confused him and how her words must have been misconstrued, she clarified, “Don’t put yourself in positions where I have to save you. I don’t like it.”

His eyes widened in realization. “I’ll try not.”

“Good,” she responded quietly.

“Only if you don’t put me in positions where I have to save you.”

“I’ll try not,” she retorted good-naturedly.

They exchanged smiles, each looking at each other with an understanding that only they seemed to share.

“How about neither of us gets in any anger from now on?” he suggested.

Temperance stood and walked from behind her desk. “That wouldn’t be very logical, would it?”

He inched closer to her, until they were standing nose-to-nose. “Not really.”

“I don’t suppose logic means much at this point in time,” she noted, and then she closed the distance between them.

As she pressed her lips to his, he wrapped his arms around her. They were so close, her fingers entwining in his hair, and his hands wandering across the soft skin of her back.

“Perhaps we should relocate,” she whispered when they resurfaced for breath.

Booth grunted in agreement, attempting to straighten his slightly askew clothing. Temperance did the same, while hastily saving and shutting down her computer.

It was late at night. Everyone had gone home to get some well-deserved rest, so the lab was nearly completely still. The silence thundered as the words she couldn’t seem to form reverberated in her mind. The words were there, but for some reason, they wouldn’t come.

Booth seemed to sense her hesitation because he said seriously, “I don’t want to force this on you, Bones. I want you to be ready.”

“I’m ready,” she protested. He looked dubious, so she cried, “I am! Really, I just—“

He didn’t look satisfied. His eyes were filled with genuine concern. There was no hurt, nothing to indicate that he was expecting anything of her. He was so damn good to her.

“I love you.” The words tumbled from her mouth before she could gather her thoughts.

His eyes widened in alarm, and he stammered, “What?”

She took a deep breath, this time thinking through what she was going to say.

But that didn’t work, so she settled on the straightforward, which she had always been best at. “I love you.”

His eyes twinkled, and he held a finger to her lips so that her mouth would not run away without her again.

“I love you, too,” he replied, pressing his lips to hers more urgently than before.

Time couldn’t be wasted by driving to one of their homes; so instead, she slammed the door to her office shut with her leg, and they collapsed on her couch. They parted only to breathe and to the remove unnecessary clothes between them.

“I love you,” she breathed, the words now flowing easy as they moved to the same beat.

“Temperance,” he moaned as he pressed himself against her.

As they reached their climax, they knew that there was something more for them. It wasn’t just another relationship. It wasn’t just satisfying biological urges.

For the first time, and for many times to come, they were one—Physics and all of its laws be damned.

A/N: Please review and let me know what you think.

I’m going to write another fic that actually has a legit case in it. It probably won’t be a sequel, though I suppose if I get enough support I can write one.

Also, if I get enough hits on my blog, I’ll post little sneak peaks there. Check out my profile for the link

[ /shameless plug ]

-Christa