Inside Out

[BB Set after [3.06 - Intern In The Incinerator This was the last time she would ever try to prove a point whilst inebriated.

Disclaimer: The plot's mine, just borrowing the rest.

A/N:- The ending of this episode provided the perfect opportunity to write a cliché so here we go …..

I wanna know you like I know myself
I'm waitin' for you there ain't no one else
Talk to me baby scream and shout
I want to know you - inside out

Bryan Adams – Inside Out

"Wow I'm impressed Bones."

Brennan slowly rolled her head from its resting place against the wall to look at her partner. "What?"

"One more shot and we've finished the bottle." Booth said happily dividing the remainder of the drink.

"No more. I'm at maximum capacity." She groaned.

"Go on, just one more." Booth said nudging the paper cup towards her.

She glared at him. "I hate peer pressure." She said before throwing the burning liquid down her throat. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Me too." Booth groaned, scooping the pile of cups into the waste paper basket. "Come on I'll call a cab and take you home." He said, standing up, using the table to steady himself and holding his hand out to his partner.

"Nope. Can't move." Brennan moaned before reluctantly taking hold of Booth's hand. He tugged her up but the momentum unbalanced him and he stumbled backwards, just managing to steady himself and catch his partner before she fell. "Can't stand either." She said before bursting out laughing and leaning against Booth. "You're a bad person Seeley." She said turning round and poking Booth in the chest.

"Oh yeah? Why's that Temperance?" Booth grinned. He knew he shouldn't have drunk so much but he really only noticed how out of control he was when he stood up and by that time it was far too late.

"You should not have made me drink that much." She slurred. "You're bad bad bad bad. And you know what we do to bad people?" She said lifting Booth's handcuffs out from his belt and twirling them round.

"Do you always talk dirty when you're drunk Bones?"

"No no no. I don't know what you mean. They're for this." She said, grabbing his wrist.

"No Bones. I don't think that's a good-" Booth started but before he could finish Brennan had finished snapping the cuffs onto their wrists.

"See! Now we're attached! We can hold each other up!" Brennan said, holding up their joined wrists like she had just made a great scientific discovery. "It's like we're doing a three-legged race …. Except with our arms. Or something."

"You're wild." Booth said, attempting to get into a position whereby he could hold her up and they could walk at the same time but failing to do so. "Okay we're so going out the back entrance and pray that no one sees us."

They stumbled out of Booth's office and down the deserted corridor.

"You're my partner Booth." Brennan said as they leant against the wall waiting for the elevator.

"Glad you finally figured that one out Bones." Booth chuckled.

"We tell each other stuff right?"

"Right."

"Why didn't you tell me that you and Cam are back together?" She asked, looking across at him.

"Because we're not."

"She said you two had dinner together the other night and I'm no big shot investigator like you but it sounded like she hadn't meant to tell me."

"Are you jealous?"

"No!" Brennan said hitting him playfully with her free hand.

"I know you and you're jealous."

"No I'm not. I'm just ….. concerned. And a little out of control right now." She groaned. There were nights when Angela had dragged her out clubbing but she couldn't remember drinking this much even then.

"Well you've got nothing to be jealous about Bones. You're my only girl."

"Awwh. That's sweet Booth." Brennan said leaning over and giving Booth a big hug.

The elevator doors opened and they got out and took a turn to avoid going through the lobby. They went through a fire exit and ended up in the back parking lot.

"Okay the cab will be here in a few minutes." Booth said flipping his phone off and resting against the wall next to Brennan. He rubbed his eyes tiredly with his free hand and tried to tell himself he wasn't seeing double.

"Whoo." Brennan said happily swaying causing Booth to sway with her.

"No no no swaying Bones. Everything's swaying enough thanks." Booth said steadying her.

"I want you to remember this moment Booth. This is the moment in which I unequivocally state that I'm never dinking again."

"Dinking Bones?"

"Drrinking. You know what I mean. I hate you. And Dionysus."

"Who?"

"Dionysus. Or Bacchus. The Graeco-Roman God of wine …."

"That wasn't wine we were drinking Bones."

"I know! My point is that …… Wait, I don't know what my point is anymore…….."

The cab pulled up and Booth half carried Brennan to the car and gave the driver Brennan's address before rolling into the backseat.

As the car pulled out of the car park Brennan moved her head onto Booth's shoulder and looked at him. Usually being this close to him would bother her but not now, not tonight. "You're pretty." She grinned.

"So are you Bones. Like a flower." Booth said. Like a flower? Who was speaking these words?! He felt like a schoolboy again and he wasn't entirely sure he should even be around her right now. He moved his head to look at her not realising how close she was and they bumped noses sending Brennan into a fit of giggles.

"D'ya know that's how the Inuits kiss? They do the nose thing. It's cute." She said laughing.

"So are you." Booth grinned.

"Cute and drunk." Brennan said, resting her head back.

Booth shifted slightly. "Look here's the key to the handcuffs, you've got the better angle, reckon you can manage it?" He said handing his partner the key.

"Oh please. I have a PHD I think I can manage a simple lock." Brennan said giving him a superior look.

"Or not." Booth said laughing as she failed to insert the key into the lock several times.

"It's not my fault! It's the moving car." Brennan complained elbowing him before trying again.

Booth looked at her and smiled before looking the other way. This was dangerous: him, Brennan, drunk ….. Controlling himself around her was something he was a master at but right now he was treading on dangerous ground.

"Okay done!" She said happily.

Booth looked down. "Erm Bones you need to undo my side as well." He said holding up his wrist with the dangling handcuffs still attached. "Can I have the key back?"

She shook her head and laughed dropping it into her pocket. "It's ironic ….. you know the FBI Agent in handcuffs …."

"Yeah okay very funny Bones. Give me the key!" He said trying to reach in her pocket just as the car pulled up outside Brennan's home. She just gave him an amused look and got out of the car.

Booth paid the driver and then went to put his arm around Brennan as much to steady her as to steady himself. They slowly made it up the stairs, Brennan practically dragging herself up with the banister.

"Finally!" She sighed as they reached her floor. Then she noticed the bunch of flowers leaning against the door. "Flowers." She stated like they confused her. She bent down and picked them up and read the card. "'Daffodils and Daisies'" it stated reflecting the choice of flowers. It took her a beat but finally she managed to put two and two together. "Awwh Booth that's very sweet." She said, hugging him tightly.

He hugged her back. He had practically forgotten about the flowers he'd ordered hours ago. He'd never envisioned being here when she saw them.

She pulled away and her expression changed. "You're so smug. You think you know me so well!"

"I do know you Bones – inside out." Booth grinned, holding the flowers as she dug around for her front door keys. She finally found them and opened the door. "Look." He said leaning over her to the alarm keypad and typing in the six-digit code to disable the alarm to prove his point.

Brennan shut the door behind her and grabbed hold of Booth's jacket with two hands to help her stand straight. "Okay if you know me so well what am I going to do next?" She demanded.

"You're going to go into the kitchen, blame me for making you drink so much again and suggest we make some coffee." Booth replied, amused.

"Wrong." She said taking a step forward and kissing him softly on the lips. She only realised what she'd done afterwards when she'd stepped back and they were staring at each other in the dark. She knew that alcohol impaired judgement so why did she think it wouldn't apply to her?! She'd meant it as a way of catching him off guard, proving to him that he didn't know everything about her and she hadn't thought about the consequences or what came after.

Booth blinked. Either the alcohol was making it extremely hard for him to define the difference between fantasy or reality or had Brennan just …. It tipped the scales, he couldn't just imagine it any more. He reached forward and cupping her face in his hands he kissed her.

She'd imagined it, yes she'd imagined it but nothing prepared her for what she felt right now.

She pulled away and gulped down some air. His hands were still in her hair, his body pinning her against the wall and his face millimetres away. "I want this." She said softly, pulling him towards her again and bringing her lips crashing down on his, her hands reaching up and tugging his jacket off his shoulders.

"Me too." He muttered, kissing her neck as his fingers worked the buttons on her blouse. It was like everything that had been building up for the past months and months was spilling over all at once and clear thought went straight out of the window.

She tugged off his shirt and kicked off her shoes, her lips never leaving his as they slowly moved into the bedroom. She fiddled with his belt buckle and he helped her with it. They tripped over the nightstand and landed on the bed. God he could kiss well and every time he ran his tongue against her she felt the need grow. She sank down into the bed sheets and pulled him closer.

He was kissing her, he was touching her, he was exactly where he wanted to be and yet there was this nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

He pulled away.

"What's the matter?" She asked panting slightly.

He looked down at her. It was probably the hardest thing he ever had to say but even through the fuzziness he knew it was the right thing. "I ,er, we can't. Not like this. Not when we've had so much to drink."

Brennan swallowed and didn't say anything. He was still on top of her, touching her and she just wanted him to start kissing her again.

"I should go." He said breaking their gaze and rolling off her and attempting to stand up. "Oh wow the whole room's spinning."

"You should lie down. It helps." Brennan said, moving up towards the pillows.

"You sure?"

"Of course."

"Okay, just for a minute." He said lying down next to her and trying to push down the dizziness and thoughts of what just happened or nearly happened.

"Booth?" Brennan said drowsily.

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you"

………………………………………………………

Several Hours Later ….

"Holy crap."

"What? …… Oh my God."

"I – she –they - wow."

"Hodgins get out of here now."

"What?"

"You're staring at her and she's practically naked. You really want to be here when she wakes up?!"

"Okay I'm going. I'll see you back at the lab. But seriously ….. wow."

"Brennan? Brennan?" Angela said, approaching the bed cautiously after Hodgins had left.

"Ange?" Brennan said tiredly, pulling herself into a sitting position. "What are you doing here?"

"It's 11:30 and you didn't show up at work and weren't answering any of your phones so I used your spare key because I was worried about you ….. but it turns out you were in good hands after all."

"What?" Brennan yawned, rubbing her eyes before opening them. The first thing she noticed was a grinning Angela and then the sleeping figure next to her. "Oh God. This is not good." She said, lifting Booth's arm off her and edging away.

"You two looked so adorable just cuddled up like that……" Angela started.

"It's not like that." Brennan groaned.

"Well, you can tell me what it's like later." She said mischievously before heading towards the door. "Oh by the way I'm warning you you're going to have to live with the fact that Hodgins has seen you in your underwear." She added, throwing Brennan a shirt before heading out.

"Great." Brennan muttered, swinging her legs out of bed and standing up but coupled with the great rush of pain to her head and the fact she was still unsteady, her legs buckled underneath her and she slid to the floor.

Booth opened his eyes and it took him a few moments to realise where he was and put the loud thump he just heard into context. "Brennan?" He called, rolling over to her side of the bed.

"I think I'm still drunk."

"Here." He said grabbing hold of her hand and pulling her back onto the bed.

"Thanks." She said, glancing at him, acutely aware that they both still had hardly any clothes on. "Well this is awkward."

"Hmmm. Wanna tell me why I'm wearing handcuffs?" He asked raising his right wrist. "I had no idea you were into this kind of thing …"

Brennan laughed nervously. "I think that was your idea."

Booth looked at her. "Look about last night …….."

"We were drunk. It meant nothing. Right?" Brennan said quickly.

"Right." Booth said slowly trying to read her. He knew it didn't mean 'nothing', at least not to him but once again he backed away from addressing that fact. "So we're okay?"

"We're okay." Brennan said looking at him and forcing a smile but they both knew it wasn't that easy.

A/N:- It's more rushed than I'm happy with and it ends the way it does because at first this was going to be a multi-chaptered fic but then I decided to post it as a one-shot because firstly December's coming up and it's an incredibly busy month for me, secondly I have an idea for another multi-chaptered fic anyway and thirdly, and most importantly, I swore that I'm not starting any more multi-chaptered fics until I complete 'Collide', which by the way I want to categorically state I have not given up on it's just my Muse and my head are refusing to get in sync so I can't actually write what I want to happen. Anyway, wow, sorry this is turning out to be a long blurb and I hope you enjoyed it all the same.