I don't own Bones… even though I wish to all that I did…. But if I did, I would say that Hannah needs to scram so that Booth and Bones can get together.
Temperance opened the door at the insistent knocking, knowing who it was going to be. True to her prediction, Booth stood outside her door with a scowl on her face.
"Come in, Booth," she invited, moving to the side. He entered silently, choosing to pace in front of her when she sat in her customer chair. She sighed, knowing what he was going to bring up. "What is it that you needed to speak with me about?" she questioned, giving him the opening.
"Don't you ever do that to me again," he snapped, eyes flashing with fury. "Bones, that was incredibly stupid."
She debated for a moment before deciding to acknowledge that she knew what he was speaking of. "I had to, Booth; you know that."
"It doesn't matter," the FBI agent barked. "You deliberately used me to identify yourself as a murderer. We both know that your dad did it, but you tried to take the blame." His scowl grew deeper. "And this is right after we had that morning talk, too."
"That's why I had to ask you," she defended herself. "You agreed."
"I didn't know what I was agreeing to," he pointed out. "You didn't tell me what you were going to do, Bones. You just asked some questions that made no sense to me then."
"If I told you," the forensic anthropologist argued, "You'd have talked me out of it, and I couldn't do that."
"Yes, I would've," he agreed heatedly, "Because partners try to talk their partner into sanity – not insanity."
She smiled suddenly, "Thank you for trying to defend me even while I was using you."
Booth froze, and then smiled gently back. "I was serious about that, Bones. I know you a lot better than Sweets; you're my partner. And I know that you couldn't kill anyone."
"I disagree with that," Bones refuted that. "I could kill if someone was threatening you. I have once before," she pointed out. They both paused, remembering the mess with Epps and his accomplice.
"Fine," he growled, "Maybe you could kill, but you definitely did not kill this time. I know you, Bones."
Her smile grew crooked, as she added, "And we can call it even, using each other in court."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, finally sinking into the couch next to her.
"Remember with the Schilling's girl?" Temperance reminded him pointedly. "You used me to get the case finished, by exposing my personal feelings, remember?"
He groaned, leaning his head back. "Fine, we're even," he agreed. They sat quietly for a few moments longer before Booth announced, "I'm starving. Let's go to the Diner?"
She smiled at his offering of peace. "Yeah, let's go to the Diner. Thanks, Booth," she said again as she grabbed her jacket.
"No problem, Bones," he shrugged, closing the door behind them.