I had this idea… it's a little different from my others, the focal point being Sweets. Although there will be a lot of B&B in it. Might be a one shot, probably not, please enjoy.

'Bones, what are you doing?' Booth asked her quietly, a little in awe of her revelation.

'You said that scars on the back was a metaphor. Isn't it that's why we are here to metaphorically compare scars?'

'I came to bring Sweets back to my place for dinner, that's all.' He muttered uncomfortably, shifting his weight slightly.

'Scars on the back?' Sweets asked her, his childish face filled with fake confusion.

'I saw them, Sweets.' Sweets dropped he act and sighed.

'So ... what? You decided to just share something, from your past? That is so, unlike you.'

'I still hate psychology.' She smiled, wiping her face with a hand that was shaking slightly.

Brennan replayed the conversation in her head as she showered, running a hand over the raised ridges just below her ribs.

Scars on the back

Not so metaphorical after all.

She shook her head, trying to clear it under the hot spray. The water was comforting, washing away the filth of her job, all of the skeletons she examined, all the murderers that made her skin crawl. She stared at the steam coiling in the air, sighing as the droplets cut through the insubstantial gas. She needed to talk to someone about this, needed to know that she wasn't alone. Well, that wasn't entirely true, she knew she wasn't alone.

Booth had been a suicidal teen, to the point where he would have committed the act had it not been for his grandfather. Sweets was abused until the age of six. And she was abandoned at fifteen. She shuddered, one finger still tracing the scar across her back. They were all damaged goods, but how they'd all found each other was astounding. She reached for the taps and shut off the water, staring at the tiled floor of her bathroom for a long time, her hair drying off in the warm, humid air. Her phone rang suddenly, startling her out of her reverie.

'Brennan.' She answered, her wet fingers sliding over the smooth back of the phone.

'Hey Bones, it's Booth.' She smiled.

'Booth, hi.' She creased her brow. 'Why did you call?' She wrapped a towel around herself and moved into the bedroom.

'Sweets rescheduled our appointment, it's in half an hour.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, want me to pick you up?'

'Sure, ten minutes?'

'Five.'

'Okay.' She slipped on underwear and a pair of black slacks, rooting around in her closet for a shirt. She shoved her cell into the pocket of a tailored black jacket and scouted around, looking for her plain white shirt that had been folded over the back of her chair. As she found it, there was a knock on the door.

'It's Booth!'

'Coming!' She shrugged it on and began buttoning it as she made her way to the door. 'Just, wait a second.' She dragged a brush through her hair and blasted it with a blow drier, turning it a lighter brown. It was slightly damp but she ignored it, grabbing her black jacket.

'Bones, you ready?'

'What? Oh, yes.' She shook her head a little from side to side, unscrambling her thoughts. 'I hate psychology.'

'You're the one that said Sweets could observe us for his book.' He shrugged.

'And write his book, drawing that conclusion…' She fell silent.

'That we're in love right?'

'Yes, that is what I was referring to.'

'You think that it's… wrong?'

'No, I said before; that conclusion is rational.'

'Yeah, rational…' And right, if only you knew how right… Booth thought to himself, worried about voicing his thoughts. 'Okay, let's be hypothetical.'

'I'm not one hundred percent happy about this, but okay.'

'Assuming that… idea, is true.' He started. Brennan looked askance at him, but nodded anyway. 'Assuming… assuming you weren't as in love with me as I was with you. Would you run?'

'Hypothetically speaking? Maybe I'd run for a while, but eventually I'd get tired of running.' She smiled. 'This is all hypothetical right?'

'Right. Of course.' Booth nodded, returning his attention to the road and clenching his hands tightly over the wheel until they reached the FBI building. 'Ready?'

'Why do you keep asking me Booth, it's just our regular appointment.' But in truth she was edgy, worried what Sweets would say about the scars on her back, what psychological insight he would give her.

'Yeah… right… sorry.' They left the car park and headed up to Sweets' office and sliding inside. Brennan sat on the couch with her legs drawn up under her, leaning one arm against the armrest.

'Doctor Brennan, your body language suggests to me that…'

'Forget it Sweets.' She muttered, tensing all her muscles, glaring at him with such ferocity that he backed down.

'Okay. Doctor Brennan, Agent Booth, have you explored your relationship more since our last session?'

'We did some… hypothetical speaking.' Brennan told him guardedly, not revealing too much. 'We thought over our relationship, hypothesizing that we were in fact in love with each other.' Sweets looked around and caught the look of pure anguish that Booth was aiming at him, and then the look that expressed his feelings as he turned his gaze to Brennan.

'And what did you deduce from this?'

'Booth asked if I would run, and I said I would get tired of running.'

'So, you deduced that if you were in love, you would run for a while, but ultimately cave and realize that you were in love with him too?'

'Yes.' They answered together. Booth's cell rang.

'You know I'd… actually, never mind.' Booth folded it closed.

'Cam needs a favor from me.'

'Not me?'

'No, it's a… me and Cam thing.'

'Oh.' Booth clapped a hand on her shoulder.

'Need a ride home?'

'No… I wanted to talk to Sweets first.' Sweets looked confused, but covered it as well as he could.

'Oh, okay. Call me when you're done and I'll pick you up okay?'

'Sure, thanks Booth.' Booth nodded and left. Sweets stared at Brennan.

'You hate psychology, Brennan.'

'I know… but… Sweets. You're not the only one with scars.'

'I know I'm not, Doctor Brennan. You made it clear.'

'No, not mental scars Sweets. Scars on your back.'

'What?' He stood up and walked around, running a hand through his hair. 'Why have you never told anyone?'

'I'm telling you now.'

'But…' He turned around to see her shirt pulled up. And gasped.

I hope you enjoyed this, review for more (: Or don't because I'm going to continue this anyway. Reviews make me happy though (: