Alrighty... New story. Posted on goldwolf.6.forumer. com as well. Special shout out to everyone there-- Goldpiece, WolfMyjic, unaBella, skylara... and everyone else there for being super nice and supportive:) hope you like this!

It's a one-shot, I'm pretty sure...

She stared blankly at her computer screen, the cursor blinking on her new, depressingly blank page. 'Think, Brennan!' she frowned, her finger tapping on the mahogany desk impatiently. She had been locked in her office for hours, staring at her screen, urging her muse to strike her. Her new publisher was stalking her, his voice haunting her. He called daily, trying to get her to send him the first five chapters… she had barely managed to choke out two before drawing a blank. She didn't know what she should do with her characters anymore. Dr. Kathy Reichs and her FBI partner Andy Lister had already been through so much—putting them through yet another life-threatening event seemed so… trivial. They'd been shot at, held hostage, beaten and tortured, kidnapped and stranded. She couldn't imagine any other dangerous situation they could possibly be in. She closed her eyes and pictured the pair—Kathy's long, amber waves and bright green eyes, her soft, delicate features… Andy's short black spikes and his deep brown eyes, full of warmth, his strong jaw and his taught physique. They were attracted to each other… but she had no idea where to take that. They were partners! There were lines, and she knew all too well that boundaries like that couldn't be crossed. Or, at the very least, they probably shouldn't be. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. It was more than attraction. They were in love—it was obvious, even if they never acknowledged it. Sometimes the obvious didn't need to be stated verbally—it could be shown with the simplest of touches, the slightest of smiles, a "guy hug"…

"Bones?" He was leaning in the doorframe, his legs crossed at the ankles. He was wearing his bright blue tie, one of her favorites, and yet another obnoxiously large belt buckle. He grinned at her, apparently noticing the way she looked him over.

She smiled at him, "Do we have a case?" She looked at her watch, finally realizing that is was later than she'd thought.

His grin widened as he shook his head. "Nope. Come on."

She raised an eyebrow, "If we don't have a case, I should really just stay here. I have to finish a few more chapters for my book…" She almost laughed as he rushed to her side, leaning in next to her. Her breath caught, registering how close his face was to hers as he looked over her shoulder—she could feel his breath on her cheek. "Hey…" She whispered, trying to pretend she was angry at his constant curiosity about her books.

"Nice try, but there's nothing there! If you didn't want to spend time with me…" He stood up fully next to her, a look of hurt crossing his face.

"That's not fair, Booth, and you know it! The entire reason I should be here and working on the book is because there's nothing there. But…" she sighed, hesitant to reveal the truth, "But, I don't know what to write anymore."

"You, the brilliant novelist, have no ideas?" He drew his hand to his chest and stumbled back into the wall dramatically.

"Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes and turned back to her blank document, urging something to strike her. It didn't need to be profound… just something to distract her from her partner's gaze and his smile. Nothing. She sighed.

"Come on, Bones. Maybe all you need is a little time away from the computer. You know, take the pressure off, gain some perspective…" He grabbed her jacket from the rack and shook it, smiling.

"Where are we going to go?" She slipped into her jacket and grabbed her purse, following his lead out of the Jeffersonian.

"Wherever you want. You're the one who needs inspiration."

She stepped into the SUV, buckling herself in. "Any suggestions on where one would go to get some inspiration? Because… I have nothing."

He shook his head, "Sorry—I'm just the means to an end."

"You're more than that Booth. Don't be ridiculous." She stopped, her heart now pounding furiously within her chest. Fear seized her, and she hoped that she'd only imagined saying that aloud. It was late, and she was tired… and she could still feel him as he read over her shoulder, his heat sticking to her. A slip like that, this late… it could only be trouble. Booth didn't mess around at night—he was straight to the point, and he could get anything out of her…

"I am?" He drove down the nearly empty street. They were close to the diner now… maybe she could distract him, lure him away from the truth with a slice of pie.

She watched him from the corner of her eye, his brow furrowed. Oh, no… he was thinking about it. He was debating… She had to stop him, come up with something to cover her tracks. They had played this little game of run-around for so long, she didn't want to be the first one to admit… "Of course. You're my partner. And my friend."

He threw the car in park in front of the diner, and she reached for her seat belt. His hand covered hers and she slowly looked into his eyes, "Is that what you really meant? That I'm more because I'm your friend?"

She held her breath, knowing that he could read her. She fought to keep her face calm and void of emotion. "Yes."

He squinted at her, staring. Observing. She kept the same, blank look on her face, but after a few painfully long minutes, he'd drawn his conclusion. "You're lying." Her jaw dropped and he grinned in satisfaction. "So… what did you really mean?"

How am I supposed to tell you that you were right? That Agent Andy Lister is totally and completely inspired by you? Or that, when I made it so that Kathy had a vivid sex dream in the second book, it was because I'd had that exact dream about you, and I couldn't tell Angela because she would never be able to keep it quiet, and I couldn't tell you because it was you… So my only outlet was to write it into the story. Or that, in the second chapter of the new book, I make Andy finally admit how he feels about Kathy, and the reason why I'm stuck there is because that is where my knowledge ends. You haven't gotten there yet…

"Bones?"

Her eyes snapped up, gazing into his eyes, distracted by his easy smile, "Yes?"

"What did you mean?"

She shrugged and looked forward, watching the people inside the diner, all oblivious to their little world that was about to change. "I'm not stupid, Booth."

His jaw dropped, "I… I never… I don't think," He stuttered, half finished thoughts tumbling from his lips.

"I know you didn't say it. But that's not all that you haven't said." She looked back to him, looking into his eyes, unapologetically. "I'm not stupid, and I'm not blind. Whatever this is," she gestured between them, her eyes never leaving his, "You're not the only one who's noticed. You're not the only one who doesn't know how to do this… or what to say. Or how this is going to change everything…"

He nodded, "So… you're scared?"

"Yes. You're my best friend, and now… now there's something that is just hanging between us, and we pretend it's not there, that it doesn't exist and we don't notice that..." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. She stared at him, "what… Booth? Say something."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. If we do this, if we really do this, there's no going back."

He smiled at her, "There already is no going back, Bones. It's out there. It's… it's real now. It was before… but now, we can't ignore it." He looked into her eyes, trying to read her, "I don't want to go back. I want you, and I want us. We don't have to hide anymore…"

"So are we dating now or something?"

He laughed at her bluntness, "I think we've been dating for awhile now."

She raised an eyebrow, "We have? Well… what are we?"

"Let's just… go with the flow." He smiled as she nodded, and they finally walked together into the diner, their fingers entwined and a world of possibility before them.