Author’s Note: Hugs and thanks to my awesome readers and reviewers! Here’s a little treat for you – we’re coming back full circle. Erm - if I say once again that I’ve had some trouble with this chapter, will y’all kill me? :) I wrote a one-shot called I Don’t Know You a couple of days ago and it was so angsty it’s taken me a little while to get back to da fluff.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

What was Once Only Imagin’d

He wakes up, his feet warm in the sunshine coming in through the open drapes, her hip hot under his hand. He feels her shift, then settle. He pulls her closer. He waits.

Heartbeats later, she moves one hand around his back, settling the other one on his chest.

“Good morning,” she says, her voice a little raspy with sleep.

“Good morning.”

He pulls the sheet over their heads, a warm cocoon of sunshine and body heat. His right hand traces the line of her spine, stops at the small of her back. His left caresses her cheekbone, the line of her jaw. He thinks that he doesn’t wish or need to be anywhere else.

He has almost fallen asleep again when she speaks.

“Booth...”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to have a baby with me?”

He answers before the daylight can reach him, before the world outside can come crashing on their shoulders. Before he remembers all about who they are and what they do and what they can or cannot say.

“I do.”

He wonders for a moment why the words sound solemn, as if he’s saying them in front of an altar in some ancient ceremony, the two of them the only participants. Then, his head between her neck and shoulder, his arms around her, he settles back to sleep. She moves a little, her head turned towards the window, but he does not let go.

Lying in her bed, he feels more immersed in her reality than ever before. This is the very center of her world - her castle, raised drawbridges securely closing them off from the outside world. As daylight starts to invade his consciousness, tentatively at first, then with increased persistence, he feels her leave cautiously, dragging the bedsheet with her.

Getting up with a sigh, he roots around for his clothes. He finds his boxers and jeans on the floor, but his t-shirt is nowhere to be seen. He gives up, drags his pants on and goes to the bathroom. When he comes out, somewhat refreshed if not entirely awake, he can see her still curled in the lounge chair on her balcony.

A little later, he goes out carrying the two cups of coffee and sits at the bottom of her chair, her knees rising instinctively to make space. She’s almost completely wrapped in the sheet, toes peeking out from the bottom, hair tangled on her shoulders, skin glowing in the morning light.

“What are you doing out here?”

She looks down. Wriggles her toes. Sighs.

“...hiding,” she says, the word a little blurry around the edges.

“You know, Bones, you could just tell me that you want some time for yourself or something”, he says, the teasing words belying the tightness in his chest. He does not add that he wouldn’t mind if she said so. He would.

“I... it didn’t cross my mind.”

“...okay.”

She is still not looking at him, her eyes fixed intently on the coffee. They sit and drink their coffee, his hand barely touching her, fingers playing gently with the hair on her shoulder.

“Did you mean what you said?” she asks, fingers plucking at the edge of the sheet.

This is it, he thinks – their time, present and future neatly enclosed in six words.

“Yes, I did,” he replies. “Did you?”

“Yes.”

The why and the when appear insubstantial, unreal even, in the cool morning light. Questions and answers for another day, he thinks, as her shiver pulls him back into the moment.

“It’s a chilly out here – come inside, Bones.”

He gets up, waiting for her to follow. She falls back in the chair with a thud, the bedsheet wrapped awkwardly around her. She tries to free herself and get up without providing the neighbors with a full view of her naked body, but only manages to get trapped in a tangle of white sheet.

He stands there looking down at her, his arms folded and a grin spreading slowly on his face.

“Stop it, Booth!”

His smile widens.

“Hey, you can’t blame me for liking what I’m seeing!”

She struggles again, her frustration increasing in direct proportion to his grin.

“Why did I have to buy such a big sheet? And why do you have to look so...”

“...sexy, right? Face it, Bones, you like what you’re seeing.”

“I was going to say... coordinated”, she pants, frustrated, falling back into the chair after having inadvertently stepped on the sheet once again. He bends down, scoops her up in his arms and carries her inside. She squirms. He tightens his hold.

“Here’s a question for the scientist, Bones. What’s the best way to get warmed up?”

This time, she grins back at him.

“Body heat.”

You’re going to have to bear with me to find out what Brennan thinks. :) And the pace of this chapter is intended to be slower than the rest – just in case you’re wondering.

Two or three more chapters to go, and yes, I’ll be really sorry to see this story end, honestly. So I guess this is one of your last chances to tell me whether you liked this before it’s over.:)