It was around 8.00 pm and Dr Temperance Brennan was trying to relax in a warm bath, reading an anthropologic magazine. But the thruth was that she was thinking about her partner, Seeley Booth, and the previous evenments that had happened in the last few days.

Images of Booth's fake funerals were playing through her mind. She sighed, trying to weep those thoughts away. She was supposed to rest in this nice bath, after all isn't it what you're supposed to do in it? She focused on her reading.

The facial bones' strucure is...Why hadn't Booth told her he was alive? Why had he lied?

There again she was, thinking about him, like if she couldn't help not to... As she, once again, attempted to concentrate on her magazine, her bathroom's door burst open, making her jump and drop her book into the water.

" God Bones, you're here! I tried to call you a hundred time but you wouldn't answer your damn phone! You okay?! "

Trying to slow down the racing of her heartbeat, she looked up at her worried partner, highly annoyed.

" Yes Booth, I'm perfectly fine! I was perfectly fine...until now! I was just trying to relax, that's why my phone's turned off, see? By the way what the hell are you doing here?! In my bathroom! And -wait- how did you enter my...oh! You didn't break my door did you? Cause if you- "

Hearing her warning tone Booth cut her short.

" Calm down Bones! I didn't break anything okay? I just used the spare key you gave me a few time ago. So no worry 'kay? "

It worked on her and she relaxed a little.

" Good, cause if it had been broken you'd have to pay for a new one, you know. "

" Yeah, I would ...well it's not, so no need for me to pay for anything! "

He sighed, he was not here to talk about a damn front door. She gave him a mistrusting look as he cleared his throat.

" Hum Bones...I'd like to talk to you, about what happened...I'd like you to know that, er, that I'm deeply sorry. "

The look on his face showed he was being sincere, but it wasn't enough for her. Did he really think a " sorry " will be enough? Anger rose in her as she remembered those long weeks during which she had thought he was dead. She suddenly stood up, her eyes glowing with fury, and spoke bitterly.

" For almost two weeks you were dead to me, two weeks Booth. I stayed awaken more than nine hours during your surgery, waiting, praying – praying!- for you to get through this, in that damn hospital. And then this doctor comes with this face and he tells me - tells us- that you didn't make it, and for a millisecond I think it's not real, it can't be real, because you're Booth, Special Agent Seeley Booth, and you can't die! But you are! Well in fact you're not really dead, but at the time I don't know that! So you're all dead and I try to go ahead, to move on but I can't! I feel empty and every time someone knocks at my door I hope it's you, but it can't cause you're dead, d.e.a.d Booth!

I didn't want to go to your funerals you know, I only did this for Angela. And then you were there, fully alive, fighting with god-knows-who besides your own coffin! What did you expect me to do? Hug you? Cry on your shoulder saying " oh Booth I can't live without you "? And now you break into my bathroom with you puppy look and your " deeply sorry "? What do you expect me to do Booth? Tell me! "

She was now breathless after this long speech. The two were staring at each other without blinking, both speechless. Then Booth realised she was really naked, only a few centimeters separating their bodies, and it made him feel akward - especialy if the pretty anthropologist noticed the bump forming in his pants.

" Hum Bones, maybe you should er...you know " he said, motioning toward her bare body, struggling not to glance at it. After a quick look down at herself, Brennan sat back.

" You know Booth, you don't need to feel ill at ease, it's natural. Plus you're the one who broke into my bathroom, you should have expect to find me naked... "

He swallowed hard and, once again, cleared his throat.

" Well, yeah I should have, but at this moment I wasn't really thinking about it, and...it was a bad idea... "

She eyed him before looking at the wall.

" Seems that you have a lot of " bad ideas " recently... "

He stared at her, hurt and voiceless.

" I already apologized Bones! What should I do?! Kneel and beg your pardon?! "

" Maybe you should. "

She hadn't really meant that and was taken aback when he did so, a serious look on his face as he knelt beside the bathtub, his fingers on the edge of it. He started to speak in a low and deep voice.

" Listen Temperance, I'm begging you to pardon me. I am so sorry for lying to you and causing pain to you, but it was not my intention and never will. And I swear on God that I thought you knew I was alive...I gave them my list with your name on the top. So please, please, forgive me. "

Unable to move or speak she just stared at him. During the whole thing their eyes had been locked together, neither she or him wanting -or able- to stare anywhere else than in the other's eyes.

After a short moment, she nodded slowly and he knew he had wun this round.

" Okay, I forgive you Booth, but don't you dare- "

" Dying? Yeah Bones, I'll try not to. "

The teasing tone lightened the heavy atmosphere, she smiled and it made him smile in return.

" So Bones, what were you doing before I came in? "

" You mean before you broke into my bathroom. But to answer your question I was actually doing some reading. "

It reminded her her magazine, dropped into the water and completely forgotten since. It was now wet, drowned in her bathtub's depths. She took it, an exasperate look on her face.

" Oh no Booth! Look at what you did! It's completely soaked now...How can I read it? "

" Hey! It's not my fault, I never touched it! "

" But I dropped it because of you! You scared me when you broke into my bathroom!...I'm sad, it was a really interesting magazine... "

Booth looked up at the ceiling. This woman is so unbelievable.

" Come on Bones I'll buy you a new one if you want! By the way, who reads anthropologic magazines while having bath? You don't read this kind of stuff in bath, you're not supposed to think in bath, you're supposed to rest!

" Well I do read this " kind of stuff " and I was having a rest...until you came! "

That wasn't the real truth but what, how could he know that?

Seeley stood up and started to leave but before he exited the room he turned to face her, avoiding as much as he could to look at her breasts.

" Come on Bones, get dry, put some clothes on, I'm taking you to the Dinner. "

She pointed her index at him.

" And the bookshop. "

He seemed confused.

" What? Why the bookshop?! "

" You promised you'll buy me a new magazine since you drowned mine! "

She had this little girlish look.

" I didn't,... never pro...dro...okay but you hurry up! "

God, she always has what she wants with me..., he thought before he, again, turned away to leave. But he was called back by her, she was smirking.

" Booth? "

" Bones? "

" Aren't you going to kneel an beg my pardon for having drowned my magazine? "

He stared blankly at her teasing blue eyes.

" I'll be waiting in the living room. Be quick if you want some pie. "

" I don't like pie Booth, you know that. "

Ignoring her comment, he left, closing the door behind him, a smile playing on his lips. Damn woman, she drives me mad... he thought.

In her bathtub Temperance sighed, but this time it was a happy sigh. She slipped entirely into the not-so-warm water, but surprisingly she was now fully relaxed...

FIN