A/N: There are times on this show when I think that if this had been real life, Booth or Brennan would have walked away. From the job, from their friends, or from each other. These are excerpts of their thoughts and feelings when they decided to come back instead. To stay with each other, rather than take the easier, and perhaps less painful way out.

There is no order to these. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to message me.

As always, I don't own Bones. Thanks for reading.

After: The Man in the Wall - a week later

"Hey, Bones," Booth greeted. She looked up to see him leaning against the door frame, hands tucked in his pockets. He wore that self-assured, cocky smile that made her either want to smile in return or drove her crazy, depending on her mood.

"Booth," she returned, her voice cautious. "I wasn't sure I'd see you today." She hadn't been sure she'd ever see him again. Her blue eyes took stock of him. His skin was tanner, indicating he'd spent significant time in the sun during his week away. But as far as she could see, he was still the same person he'd been a week ago, at least physically.

She could name all of the bones beneath his skin, break down his body into terms only others with her level of expertise would understand. But she didn't do that with him. To do so would reduce him to something she didn't associate with her partner, and wasn't sure she could name herself. It would make him seem colder, more medical perhaps and her partner, she'd discovered, was none of those things.

Booth cared, even when he tried to hide it. Worked to understand her, even when he was clearly frustrated with her.

No, he was definitely more than the bones and muscles beneath his skin. Feelings were overrated, but to not acknowledge his diminished him in someway. Something she refused to do.

Straightening, he made his way further into her office. He'd watched her eyes travel the length of his body, and wondered what she saw. Her examination had given him time to do his own. She looked a little thinner and Booth figured with no one to stop her, Bones had worked too much during the last week. He was good for her, even if she didn't want to admit it.

He didn't want to think too much about the beach he'd left behind. To the fact that even while he rested in the sun and drank his ice cold beer, his thoughts kept returning to the woman staring at him with her clear blue eyes. Regret over Tessa not coming should have been foremost in his mind, but each time he came close to that feeling, thoughts of Bones would steal in and push all thoughts of Tessa away.

Dr. Temperance Brennan already occupied a significant portion of his thoughts while he was at work. Booth was unsure how he felt about her taking over his personal time as well.

"Why wouldn't you see me today?" he asked, his voice clearly conveying his confusion. "I told you my vacation was only for a week." A week both too short and too long. Just enough time away to realize there were still things that pulled him to stay in this city. To return even when the beach tempted him to stay.

Turning away from the penetrating gaze, Brennan saved the work on her computer before turning slowly back to him. How could she explain her worries for the last week? Knowing that he probably saw the worry no matter how she tried to hide it.

He'd said going on vacation alone meant that sometimes you didn't want to come back. She'd spent most of the past week with an elevated heart rate and blood pressure, wondering if he'd be tempted to do exactly that.

Not want to come back.

Stay away permanently.

Settling for an indefinite shrug, she met his eyes. "You were the one who said you might not come back. I figured it was some sort of warning I didn't understand."

Booth studied her for another moment, before turning and walking to her couch. With a barely audible sigh, he relaxed into it. Yes, he'd made some comment about going on vacation alone, which would make it a little harder to come back. He should have known his literal partner would take it to heart. "It was hard coming back to work this morning, that's for sure," he agreed. "Nothing like a beach vacation to relax the mind."

"I'm more relaxed when I'm working," she disagreed.

Shaking his head, Booth understood what had upset his new partner. While her mind was logically brilliant, emotionally she had a much harder time dealing. Stories were behind those fears, perhaps more than one or two. It would require patience and trust to get her to talk to him.

The pull to come back to the city began and end with the woman in front of him. He wondered what was beneath that logical exterior. It had almost become a mission to get her to reveal some of them to him.

He hadn't counted on circling around to actually being friends with her along the way.

There were days he wondered if it was a mistake to agree to work with her. Until he looked at the cases he solved since that day at the airport. Knowing she was partially responsible for that. If it continued, people with power were going to start noticing their fledgling partnership.

So, he'd do what was needed to ease those fears that had bothered her the last week.

"Now that's just sad, Bones," he said with a relaxed smile.

Looking away again, Brennan wished that she was comfortable revealing a little bit more of herself to him. That she could tell him about her parents and Russ leaving. That no matter who she met in life, she assumed all relationships she was involved with came with an expiration date.

Somewhere along the way, Brennan had gotten used to being left behind.

"Look," Booth said, jumping to his feet. Only to stop abruptly when she began to talk over him.

"I figured you weren't coming back for real. That our partnership was over. I spent the last week adjusting to being back in the lab again. I was surprised to see you because it was the logical reaction given your statement about not coming back." She stared at him, her blue eyes wide, as if she was as surprised with her honesty as he was.

Fidgeting with the items he always carried in his pocket, Booth considered how to respond to her declaration.

"It's okay," she said, at first reading his silence as anger. "I shouldn't have said anything."

But Booth disagreed. "No, I'm glad you did. If we're going to be partners, we need to be honest with each other."

"I've made you uncomfortable and that wasn't my intention." As she studied him, that was one emotion she could easily read on people. On him. It was one she had often faced, especially with her blunt way of speaking. "I'll go back to the article I was writing for Anthropology Quarterly and you can go back to your office. You'll let me know when there is a case."

"Now wait a minute, Bones. I know we're new at this, but I want a chance to respond." Pulling the hand from his pocket, he ran it over his chin. "To your first point, I wouldn't end the partnership without having some sort of conversation with you first. Email, telephone, something. But we would have it."

She nodded, conceding the point. "And I promise to give you the same courtesy."

He snorted. Of course, she would. She'd just use a lot of scientific reasoning to explain her opinion and he'd probably zone out in the middle of her explanation. Still, it was nice to know she'd at least talk to him first, before she quit.

"To your second point, that you spent the last week getting used to being in the lab again. You never actually left the lab, not permanently, to work with me. So, I'm not sure why that would be so hard to adjust to."

The line between her eyes appeared. "No, I have not left the lab permanently. But during the week before you went on vacation, I spent forty percent of my workday with you. That doesn't include the fact you forced me to eat lunch at the diner on seventy-five percent of those occasions. So being in the lab one hundred percent of the time, would be an adjustment."

"Jesus, Bones," he said without thinking. "You know what percentage of time we spend together?"

Her brow remained furrowed. "Of course, I do. In case it is ever questioned, I feel it is important to have an accurate record of the time I spend consulting for the FBI versus the time I give to the Jeffersonian."

"And if I didn't force you to eat, you wouldn't," he said, his tone just this side of grumpy.

"I eat," she argued.

"Not on a schedule and those disgusting bars made of bark don't count."

Turning, she reached into a drawer and pulled out a green wrapper. "They aren't made of bark. It clearly says the first ingredient is…" looking up, she trailed off at the amused look in his eyes. "An exaggeration?" she guessed.

He nodded. "To your third and final point," he continued as she stowed her snack back into the drawer. Briefly, he gave thought to sneaking in one night and replacing all of her food with candy bars. "I told you I'd be back today. Saying it to you was a like a promise. You don't break a promise. Especially not to your partner."

Her eyes clouded over. "People break promises all the time, Booth. Your argument is invalid. Just because you didn't break this one, doesn't mean you won't break the next one."

"Bones," he said, his voice a command to look at him. He watched her struggle to make the move, before her shoulders squared and she gave him the look that made her colleagues sweat bullets.

And sometimes him, if he was being totally honest.

"I'd be interested to know exactly who broke a promise to you," he said. "But at the moment, I'm not one of those people and I have no intention of that changing."

She licked her lips before pressing them together. After a moment that went on a touch too long, Brennan finally nodded. "You are correct, you haven't broken a promise."

The 'yet' was left hanging in the air between them.

Knowing he would have to be happy with that for the moment, Booth pointed at the clock behind her. "According to your tally, until this morning, we've spent exactly zero of our week together, correct?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you making fun of my system?"

Of course he was. But he had no intention of telling her that. "Nope," he said, fixing his charm smile firmly on his face. "I'm just pointing out that we are at the low end of the scale and that we have time to go to breakfast, since I'm sure you barely ate the last week."

"I ate breakfast," she said, while getting out of her chair and reaching for her coat. No matter how much she didn't want to admit it to herself, she'd missed this.

"Then it will be an early lunch," he said, following her out of her office. In front of him, Brennan couldn't see the satisfied smile that crossed his face, before he schooled his features. It seemed, at least to him, he was getting much better and understanding just how the brilliant mind inside of her head worked.

Though Brennan knew she should pull away from the hand at the small of her back, she continued to walk close enough to him to allow his touch to remain. Perhaps, eventually, he would break a promise, would walk away. But right now, this morning, he hadn't.

It was good enough for now.