"I can't believe you're going on a date with that guy! He's scum!" Booth barked as he followed Brennan into the office as she carried the stack of books in her arms.

"It's just a date, Booth." She responded without emotion.

Booth frowned with annoyance. He didn't understand her sometimes. She was complicated, distant and sometimes showed NO emotion at all.

"It's not just a date!" he roared. "He'll expect things…"

"Sex!" she answered bluntly. Booth shuddered at the way she said the word so easily. "It's a date, Booth. Sex usually happens on dates."

"And your okay with that?!" he challenged.

Brennan shrugged. "He's good-looking, and has nice muscle structure…"

"He's HOT!" Booth was livid. "You're going on a date with him because he's HOT! I'm Hot and you don't go out with me…" the moment the words left his mouth he regretted them.

Brennan looked back at her partner as she dropped the books on the desk. She went to sit down in her chair and pulled up a file on the computer.

"Why does this bother you so much?" she asked naively. As far as she was concerned, he had no reason to get so worked up.

"He's my boss's boss!" he shrugged as if that were reason enough.

"So?" Brennan wasn't buying that excuse.

"It's too close to the people we work with…" he persisted, determined to talk her out of her insane dinner plans.

Brennan almost laughed. "It's no different than you dating Cam," she pointed out, mildly enjoying his discomfort.

He hadn't thought of that. Cam was as distant in his romantic mind as any other woman he had dated before his job at the Jeffersonian institute. The only woman he struggled to control his emotions with now, was oblivious to his feelings for her, either that or she didn't want to respond, he wasn't sure what was worse.

"Fine, it's no different than me dating Cam!" he agreed. He walked to the door feeling the jealousy overpower him. He had never been more envious of any man in all his life and Booth hadn't even seen him touch Brennan, he quivered at the thought, and annoyed he had allowed himself to dwell on that fact.

"Booth…" she called.

Had she changed her mind about her date, sensing the tone in Booth's voice? He turned back to look at her. "Can I come when you arrest Joe Winters?" she asked innocently.

Booth sighed heavily and shook his head. "NO!" he slammed the office door behind him, leaving a stunned Brennan watching after him.

Right now, Brennan was out on a date with his Boss's boss, she would be lightly touching his arm and laughing at all his stupid jokes. She would be drinking her third glass of wine, and staring at him with those corn-flower blue eyes and tossing her black silky hair as she laughed at something instantaneously.

Booth sat back in the big leather swivel chair in his office at the Federal Building; his feet spread out on the desk, on top of some important paperwork, his stripy colored socks on display.

He juggled a pen between his fingers as he thought about it. Why was she so damn stubborn? He asked himself. And for an intelligent woman, she could be extremely obtuse sometimes. As observant as she was about bones, it didn't take a genius to see that he was deeply in love with her, she was the only one in the Jeffersonian Institute that was oblivious to that face.

Booth groaned as he got out of his chair and began pacing the room. It was ridiculous to be so upset about a date. As if it would turn into something serious. Brennan's previous relationships had proved that she had commitment issues. Her longest relationship was 14 months, when she was working with some professor barely out of college. This wouldn't last long, he coached himself.

"There you are?!" the voice made him jump.

"Bones!" he concealed a smile. Surely if she was back at work, the man must have stood her up. "What happened to your date?"

"It's over already," she told him easily.

"That was fast," he observed.

"Not really…" she shrugged. "It's late."

Booth looked at his watch and was surprised to discover how direct her statement was. Had he been stewing in his office that long? Booth shook his head. He needed a hobby.

"What are you doing here, Bones?" he asked distracting himself from the time. He looked her up and down, and then had to fight with himself not to pull her into his arms then and declare his love for her. She was breathtaking, dressed in a red halter-neck dress, with her hair pulled back out of her face.

Brennan had the eyes of an innocent. "I wanted to tell you about my date…" she smiled.

Booth's stomach tightened. "What for?" he was in no mood to hear how his kissing affected her, or how good at sex he was.

"Isn't that what partners are supposed to do?" she shrugged. "You tell me about Parker all the time…"

"That's different!" he reasoned with a tone of annoyance. Sometimes she was too intelligent to get it. "He's my son he's a part of my life. He's important to me."

"Edward could be important to me," she told him.

Booth clenched his jaw. He had an overwhelming urge to shoot something… or someone.

"Some things you just don't share, Bones…" he said irritably.

"So you don't want to hear how it went?" she pressed.

"NO!" he snapped. "I don't. Is that all?"

Brennan watched him for a moment, as if sizing him up. He was acting very out of character, and she wasn't sure why. "What did you do with your evening?" she asked unaffected by his mood. How she managed to stay so calm in almost every situation was beyond reasoning. No wonder the two of them were in therapy.

"Paperwork!" he lied. As if she wanted to hear how he'd sat around thinking about Edward's hands all over his partner. Booth pressed his lips together in a thin line.

"Oh," Brennan hesitated. "Are you sure you don't want to hear about my date… it went very well!" she hinted.

Booth reached out his hands and pushed her towards the door. "Goodnight, Bones."

"Fine," she sighed reluctantly leaving the office. "See you in the morning."

"Yeah…" he sighed quitely to himself as he watched her walk away. He would see her in the morning, and the morning after that, and the morning after that, and then one day Edward the partner-stealer, would swoop in and take her away from him forever. Booth dreaded the very thought of it.

Brennan was waiting in his office when he came by in the morning. With the lack of sleep, caused by his overloaded thoughts, he had slept through his early alarm.

"Goodmorning, Bones…" Booth mumbled, he was never one to be rude, and he had always been a morning person. He would not spend one more minute dwelling on Brennan's dinner date.

"Hi Booth," she smiled.

Before they could further the conversation, or lack off, Angela appeared in the doorway. She smiled warmly at Booth in greeting and turned her attention to Brennan.

"Brennan," she addressed. "There's a body waiting for you to identify, it came about ten minutes ago…" she explained.

Brennan was out of the office before either of them could utter a word. Always an Anthropologist first. Angela hung by a door a moment longer. As she turned to walk away, Booth's curiosity avenged him.

"How did Bones' date go last night?" he tried to keep his voice casual and breezy, but by the way Angela raised her eyebrows and smiled, he guessed he failed.

"You didn't hear?"

Booth shook his head. "I was working…"

"Apparently it was a flop," she grinned cheekily, more than happy to offer Booth the information he was scanning for. She had constantly told Brennan that she and Booth belonged together. Brennan was stubborn.

"A flop?" he repeated. That wasn't the way Brennan explained it last night.

Angela nodded eagerly. "She found him arrogant, dumb and they had nothing whatsoever in common… I think the only conversation they could keep was you," she winked as she took her cue to exit.

Booth smiled widely. Maybe there was hope for him after all, but he had to be smart about it, and he had to act quickly. Hurrying from the room, he went in search to find her before he lost his nerve.

"BONES!" he called from the top of the foyer.

She looked up at the sound of his voice.

"Can I see you for a minute?"

Booth disappeared back into his office and took occupancy in his black swivel chair, his palms sweated as he thought about how to broach the subject.

A moment later Brennan appeared in the doorway.

"What?" she asked. "Did you find something on the Reco case?"

He shook his head. "No. This isn't about work…" he explained.

Brennan frowned. She hated to be interrupted when she was working. Booth knew the boundaries, but this time, he thought it was worth the risk.

"Bones," he stood trembling and cautiously approached her. He could feel the beads of perspiration making their way down his forehead.

"Are you okay?" she asked suddenly alarmed. "You're sweating abnormally."

"No," he wiped his head with the back of his hand. "I'm fine. Bones, I-"

"It's not normal to be-"

Booth rolled his eyes and took hold of her shoulders. If he didn't speak now, he was going to chicken out. He had waited for her, far too long, to take that chance again.

"Bones… I'm sorry about your date," he whispered.

"What?" Brennan blushed with embarrassment. Booth stepped back and smiled. It was an emotion that he had never witnessed in her presence. Brennan was so impassive.

"Angela told me," he said as way of explanation. It was NOT what he wanted to tell her.

"I didn't-"

"It doesn't matter," he interrupted wanting so desperately to get this said and done. "Bones, I'm glad I didn't work out."

"You are?" she frowned.

Booth nodded. "I am," he was trembling uncontrollably now, and for a grown man who used to be a sniper, it made him uneasy. Booth was not used to being out of control, except whenever he was around her. "I think it's good."

"You do?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Brennan thought this was the appropriate time to ask.

"Because then you can go out with me…"

The words hung in the air like smoke in a house fire. He watched for her reaction, anything positive, a smile… a nod… a word of encouragement to let him know that they were on the same page.

"Like a date?" she asked innocently.

He had come this far, there was no point backing out now. "Yes," his words came out in a whisper.

"You and me?" she insisted.

"Yes, Bones… you and me, on a date… dinner, conversation."

"Why?" she looked confused.

Booth sighed. This was harder than he thought. "Because I love you."

Brennan processed the information slowly. "I know, Booth, you told me… in an Atta-girl kinda way. I love you too."

"No," he shook his head. "I love you like a man loves a woman!"

Brennan shook her head and turned to leave, unable to compartmentalize this situation. It confused her. It scared her. It made her want to run. But Booth had laid his heart on the line, and if nothing else, he deserved some kind of response, good or bad.

He reached out and took her arm. "Look at me…" he coached.

Brennan's eyes shifted up to meet his gaze. Their eyes locked. And for the first time, she saw the love evident in his eyes, and it was for her.

"I love you…" he repeated.

"Why?" she didn't understand how anyone could care about her. Brennan didn't work with emotions, she worked with Bones. She understood them. But she did not understand this.

Booth smiled. "Because you infuriate me, you make me laugh, your bright and intelligent and funny… and beautiful, Bones."

Brennan blushed. "Really?"

He nodded. "In all these questions you've posed to me, you never answered mine."

"What was it?" she couldn't remember. Her head was spinning.

"Will you go out to dinner with me?"

Brennan smiled. "Yes," she answered.

Booth nodded with pleasure. He pulled her into his arms, unable to resist her anymore, and with a soft open mouth, he gently pressed his lips to hers.

"Booth…" she murmured against his mouth.

Booth gripped her tighter, as he held on, unwilling to let go. He had her in his arms now, and someone would have to pry her away if they needed her for anything else. His lips hungrily moved over hers. He had dreamed about this for too long.

Brennan tried to pull away, but she could barely muster the will to do anything other than sink in his arms. She had waited her entire life to feel this secure and protected. It was hard to release it now.

She tried again. "Booth!"

He reluctantly pulled her at arm's length. "Do I want to hear this?" he asked loosing the immense sparkle from his eyes.

Brennan laughed. "Booth… I love you, too."

Booth smiled widely. "I wanted to hear that."

This time Brennan was the one to lean in and press her lips to his.

THE END

6.11.2009 1:33am