Title: Leather Couches and Ice Cream Cones (1/?)
Author: rosyle
Pairing: Booth/Brennan
Raiting: K/PG
Spoilers: MAJOR spoilers for UNAIRED episodes (2x12-2x17)
Summary: Don't we all like a good bickering session now and then?
Notes: Once again, I have to give a HUGE thanks to my beta. I wouldn't be able to write these without you. This story is based roughly on spoilers/sides I have read for upcoming episodes, so not everything is accurate. That, and sides change. But be warned, that certain plot points for the show might be ruined if you read this. If anything, save it for later and come back after the episodes air 
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or the characters (even though I wish I did).

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"You're jealous," she states matter-of-factly as she turns to face him. She remains, however, firmly planted on her end of the couch they are sharing.

"I am not jealous," he retorts. He seems to be glued to his couch cushion as well.

"Yes," she states emphatically. She scoots over onto the middle cushion, closing the distance between them and getting closer to his face. "You are." Her hand stops just short of poking him with a finger.

"No," he pauses. "I'm not." He gives her this smirk that's hard to identify. It seems to be a kind of defensive reflex; an attempt to use charisma to get himself out of a jam.

The bickering had been going on for much of today's session - which had been the status quo for most of sessions since she had joined them.

Agent Seeley Booth was sent to me for anger management therapy shortly after a serial killer (who had caused havoc not only in the lives of himself and his partner, but also those of their friends and families) had fallen off the balcony of Dr. Temperance Brennan's apartment. The jury is still out on whether the fall could have been prevented. Shortly thereafter, Agent Booth shot up an ice cream truck. He claims he was just trying to make the "goddamn noise stop." Of course, most people deal with loud noises by shooting at them nowadays. Hence why he's here with me now.

Dr. Brennan on the other hand, is a different story.

While Agent Booth was undergoing psychological evaluation, he sent down one of his long time FBI buddies, Agent Tim Sullivan, to help Dr. Brennan on a case in Florida. Little did Booth know that he was getting more than he bargained for. After a rocky start with Agent Sullivan, Dr. Brennan discovered that Booth had been instructing his FBI colleague on how to act around her. This wound up backfiring on Booth once she found out. Shortly after their return from Florida, Dr, Brennan and Agent Sullivan began dating, much to Agent Booth's chagrin.

Speaking with Agent Booth over the past month, I have observed that his feelings for his "partner" are significantly more than those which normally accompany the relationship between partners or even friends. Agent Booth does not seem to consciously realize that, however. He always speaks very highly of her, yet she is the person who gets under his skin the most. When one of our sessions turned into a discussion about Dr. Brennan and Agent Sullivan, Agent Booth became demonstratively embittered.

"She's my partner. Not his," he stood up from the couch and started pacing. "Why would Cullen go over my head like that and let her go out in the field with him? Hell, he didn't even want her in the field with me at he beginning. She's my responsibility."

"You like to emphasize that she's yours a lot," I pointed out. "Don't you Agent Booth? Do you even realize that you're doing that?"

"I don't mean mine as in mine," he said, using air quotes. "But, mine as in we work together and we're partners. I had to fight for her in the first place and Sully - Agent Sullivan - was supposed to just help her out for one case. One case." He puts a finger in the air to emphasize his point. "Ya know what? This is your fault. If I never had that damn psych evaluation Sully would have never gotten involved." He returned to his seat on the couch.

Nice deflection.

"So, you're telling me that if you had never shot up that ice cream truck, then Agent Sullivan and Dr. Brennan might not be dating now?" I prodded.

"Yes," he answered without thought. "I mean, no. I just mean I wouldn't have to fight to spend time with – to go out in the field with my partner!"

I paused and looked straight into the Agent's eyes. I knew that he wasn't ready to accept the full spectrum of his emotions toward a certain Forensic Anthropologist, but maybe she'd be able to help him.

"Agent Booth, would you mind if Dr. Brennan came to one of your sessions? I think that discussing your concerns about your work relationship, head on, might be extremely helpful for both of you," I suggested. Killing two birds with one stone is usually the way to go in these circumstances. They might be able to dance around each other, but they weren't going to dance around me.

I could see the apprehension in Agent Booth's eyes.

"Bones hates psychology. I'm pretty sure that she won't..." He faltered.

"I could make it mandatory for her to be here. I think she'd like that a lot less, wouldn't she, Agent Booth?"

Knowing that I was right, he obliged. "I'll see what I can do," he said. He got up off the couch, but before he exited, he turned back to me and said, "Oh, Dr. Wyatt, just call me Booth." And with that, he was gone until the next week.

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A/N –I'm not exactly sure how many chapters this story is going to have, so bear with me. I'm hoping to post at least a chapter a week. Love it? Hate it? Reviews are always apprectiated!