A/N: This is the first chapter of "Predicament" in what will hopefully turn out to be a long list of them. Most will be with Booth and Brennan, but the other squints may join in as well.

This particular chapter takes place post 1-15 Two Bodies In The Lab.

Disclaimer: If I owned Bones, I would have made the writers write in a mysterious gremlin who follows people home from the FBI and steals allllll their shirts… or something along those lines :P

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"I hope your stay was comfortable!" chimed the woman at the front desk in the lobby.

When they were out of earshot, a grumpy Booth couldn't help but scoff. "Hah! Comfortable. What a joke. It's a hospital!" he frowned. He hated hospitals. They made him feels so inferior.

"Booth, the woman in just doing her job," reasoned Brennan as they walked to Booth's car in the lot. One of the agents had been kind enough to drop it off at the hospital and leave it so he would have a ride home when they finally released him.

"Gimme the keys, Bones," demanded Booth.

"No," she refused.

"Bones!"

"No! Booth, they may have let you leave, but you're in no position to drive. You were blown up, remember?"

"Yes Bones I remember, thanks for reminding me again," he said with false gratitude.

No matter how much he whined and protested about letting Brennan drive, she wouldn't give in, and a pouty Booth eventually plunked himself down into the passenger seat.

They drove in silence for a while until Brennan ended up speaking her thoughts out loud.

"I'm going to have to buy a new refrigerator tomorrow…"

"Yeah, Bones, ya are," Booth agreed grumpily.

"I know, Booth. I wasn't looking for agreement I was just thinking aloud."

"Well, ya shouldn't then, if you didn't want me to say anything."

They drove in silence once again, and after they calmed down both realized that they didn't really know what to say to one another after and event like ones back at her apartment and the old post office processing center. What were they supposed to say? I'm glad you're okay? I'm glad you survived being blown up? Oh, thanks! And I'm glad you didn't end up having your eyes gouged out with a key!? Somehow it didn't seem an appropriate topic to bring up at the moment.

…………………….

As Brennan continued to let her mind wander, her speed began to do the same.

"Bones! Slow down!"

She snapped out of her trance and glanced down at the speedometer. "Booth, it's fine. The speed limit is fifty-five here!"

"Yeah, and you're going sixty, Bones. The road may be smooth and straight, but there's a lot of cops around here and I don't want you getting my car pulled over!"

"I'll drive how I want, Booth! Besides, you're FBI; I wouldn't get a ticket. I think I'm a very good driver, and I know what I'm doing!" she said, becoming increasingly exasperated. "Well in my opinion-" Booth started but was interrupted by Brennan.

"Well I didn't ask for your opinion now di- SHIT!!!"

Out of the corner of her eye and the edge of her headlights, Brennan saw something darting across the road. She slammed on the brakes of the SUV and before she knew it there was a deer in her headlights.

Because of her quick reflexes she had reacted speedily and been able to get the speed of the SUV down to about thirty-five miles-per-hour, but it wasn't enough.

Both partner heard a whack as the doe collided with the driver's side of the car.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" Brennan panicked and broke the rest of the way. Luckily they were in a somewhat empty street at a good time of night.

Booth over protective instinct automatically kicked in.

"You alright Bones, everything alright? You okay?"

"Yeah I'm- I'm fine Booth," she choked, and breathed in and out deeply a few times.

"Okay, uh… pull over to the side of the road."

Brennan did as she was told, and Booth leaned over to put the emergency flashers on, wincing because his ribs were still long from feeling better.

"That was a doe!"

"I know, Bones. It's okay. Stay here, I'm gonna get out and make sure it's not still on the road or anything."

Brennan remained in the car, not wanting to have to see what had become of the poor deer she had just hit. Never in her fourteen odd years of driving experience had she ever hit an animal.

Booth got back in the car and closed the door. "It's fine, Bones. The deer must have run off into the woods. We really didn't hit it that hard."

Finally able to gain back some of her self-control, Brennan nodded in agreement. "I just really hope it's okay. Booth, I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize Bones, I shouldn't have been picking on your driving and distracting you. The car is fine, it's a big SUV it would take more than a thirty-five mile-an-hour collision with wildlife to put a dent in this thing."

Brennan agreed, and began to put the car in gear to drive Booth to his place.

Once again he protested. "Bones you're way too shaken up, c'mon just let me drive."

"You feel up to it?" she asked carefully.

"Yes," he lied, but his body betrayed him.

As he moved to open his door Brennan heard a sharp intake of breath, which she took to mean that he wasn't up to it at all. She had been to consumed in trying to process what just happened to realize that Booth could have gotten hurt even more by her slamming on the brakes. If not, it certainly must not have felt good.

"No, Booth. I'm fine, really. I was just shocked, that's all. You're right: we really didn't hit it that hard and I'm sure it's fine."

Booth studied her face closely as she started driving again, this time completing the trip to his place without any further incidences or arguments.

………………..

When they got back to Booth's place, Brennan followed him in and borrowed his phone to call a cab. Not too long after she heard a beep coming from outside, which told her it was time to leave.

"Take care of yourself, Booth. Don't do anything you don't feel up to and-"

"Yeah, Bones. I got it. I even swiped a pudding from the hospital, so I'm all set," he said as he flashed her a one-hundred watt charm smile. "Lemme walk you out."

Despite his better judgement, and knowing that he risked bringing more bodily harm upon himself, Booth pulled Brennan into a one-armed (the other was in a sling) hug just before she hopped into the cab. He was relieved when she didn't protest but just relaxed into him somewhat before pulling away to get in the cab.

"I promise you, that deer will be fine," he reassured her once again.

Knowing so much about his partner and how she felt about animals, Booth had easily seen past her sturdy façade and been able to tell that she had let the incident in the car get to her more than she had let on.

"Thanks, Booth."

She turned to get in the taxi to go home. Booth watched them drive away, his brow still wrinkled with concern for his partner. Only when the cab was out of sight did he go back inside.