Author's note: This is my first shot at something like this, so comments would be appreciated.

Being early evening, it was amazing that Seeley Booth had managed to persuade his partner to leave the lab for a bite to eat at their favorite diner. But then again, they had finished their latest case hours ago.

"Sully called me last night," Brennan said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

Booth paused, the fork halfway to his mouth. "Oh," he hesitated. "That's, uh, good. Right?" Of all the things Brennan could say, that was one of the most unexpected. Sure, it had crossed his mind that after over a year away, Sully might come back, but he wasn't ready for it to actually happen.

"Of course it's good to hear from him, Booth. My choosing not to go with him didn't change the fact that I care about him."

She had stopped eating and was watching him intently.

"Right, yeah, I know," Booth stuttered awkwardly. He was aware that he wasn't usually comfortable talking about Brennan's love interests, but it was even worse knowing this one had almost taken her away. "So -- how is good ol' Sully?"

"It sounds like he had a great time."

He expected her to continue, but instead she stuck a forkful of food in her mouth and chewed.

She didn't regret her decision to go with Sully, he was fairly certain. That choice wouldn't stop them from giving their relationship a second chance, though.

"He wants to see me," she said when she'd swallowed. "We're going to have dinner."

It was nearly impossible to tell how she was feeling. Her voice was the usual practiced calm she used when analyzing bones.

"Is he staying in D.C.?"

"For a while. You know Sully. He'll be ready to do something different next month." She shrugged, smiling.

Booth wouldn't say he was relieved, but if she knew Sully was just going to leave again she wouldn't let herself get too attached. At least, he hoped.

"I've been thinking -- when I see Sully, if it works between us again . . . I'm going to go with him if he asks me to."

Booth could have fallen over from the shock of her statement. It was so sudden. She couldn't go, he decided. He wanted her to be happy, sure, but he wanted her to be happy here. With him.

"Do you think . . ." he stopped, choosing his words carefully. "Will you be able to pick up where you left off?"

"I think so. From our conversation last night, it seems like very little has changed. He accepts who I am and that the decision I made before was right for me."

Part of his brain was screaming at him to tell her to stay, the other part knew he would never forgive himself if he prevented her from being with someone who cared for her. Her family, the squints, him, they'd all be here when she got home. She deserved to have some time away from death and crimes. He just wished he could really convince himself that her happiness would make the time she was away easier to handle.

"Booth?" she repeated, raising her voice to shake him from his thoughts. "What do you think?"

He sighed, fiddling with his fork. Looking her directly in the eyes, he said, "I think you should do whatever will be best for you. You know work will be here when you come back. And don't doubt for a second that the squints and I will be waiting to welcome you home. You shouldn't give up what's best for you."

He looked down at the table, uncomfortable with the idea that Brennan might be able to tell that he wasn't telling the whole truth. It occurred to him that maybe now that some time had passed, she was ready to not have a purposeful life for a while. Gordon Gordon figured out why she had stayed before. Booth just wished he could find a reason for her to stay this time.

"Is that really how you feel, Booth?"

He smirked, proud of her increased perception, even though it was working against him.

"I'd miss you," he said quietly.

"I'd miss you too, Booth. But I'd come back."

"I know, Bones. I know. Things just won't be the same without you."

"You know, we are almost complete opposites," she began, her eyebrows drawing together in thought. "We disagree about religion, marriage, dealing with people, and just about everything else. Yet, I've never felt a connection like this with anyone else, Booth."

He smiled, knowing too well that she could have spent hours listing arguments.

She continued quietly, "It took me a while to realize it. According to Angela, too long . . ." Her face relaxed as she smiled slightly. "I don't want what we have to go away."

"Me neither, Bones. Nothing's going to change if you leave with --"

"I'm not going, Booth," she interrupted.

"What?"

"I told him I didn't want to see him." There was a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Are you serious?" His smile faltered, as confusion consumed him.

"I don't want to deal with that again. He'll only leave and I couldn't go with now that Russ and dad are back in my life. Plus, Gordon Wyatt was right and I'm still not ready to leave my work."

"Why did you say all of that then?" Booth was almost at a loss for words. She'd just sent him a slew of lies and then told him how important he was to her. He wasn't sure how to feel.

"I was curious, so I decided to . . .experiment."

They leaned across the table, towards each other, like so many times before, prepared for the discussion or argument to come.

"What in the world were you trying to find out?"

"What would happen if I did this . . . ."

She leaned forward a little more and pressed her lips to his. As if he hadn't been uncertain enough during the entirety of this conversation, his brain almost didn't register that Temperance Brennan was kissing him. He responded, kissing her back before she had the chance to change her mind.

She pulled away slowly. His mouth twitched into a smirk as he stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

"When Sully called, I realized I already have everything I want right here. You were so jealous when he was here before, and I didn't want to think about it then, but I when I thought about seeing him and having him leave again, I realized that I didn't need to look far for someone who cared about me. That I care about. I guess I just didn't want to admit it before . . . ."

He placed a quick kiss on her lips.

"I think I know what you mean. When I thought just now that you were really ready to leave, all I could think about was how much I would miss having you constantly in my life."

"What happens now?" she asked.

"Not much'll change, Bones. We'll go to work, I'll take you out to eat. Plus, I already spend plenty of late nights at your apartment," he smiled broadly.

Glancing at her, sitting across from him, her grin matching his, he found himself amazed and grateful at how a phone call and a small lie could make everything fall into place.