Disclaimer: I don't own anything
AN: I've got it mostly written but would like to tweak from feedback I get. Constructive criticism please! I'll try to update a chapter a day.
They had just finished wrapping up a case. After a brief chat with Cam about the case (they hadn't talked to each other about anything but work for several weeks now), Booth went in search of his partner.
"She's in the lab." Angela said, walking past. He almost told her that he wasn't looking for Brennan, but decided that it was useless.
"What's she doing?"
"What do you think? I tried." She said, feeling guilty. The truth was, she hadn't tried that hard. She and Jack had sort of a standing dinner date, and she had cancelled yesterday to make sure Tempe ate while Booth was off doing FBI agent things.
"We just wrapped up the case." He said, swiping his card. The remains she was working on had been cleaned already. He wasn't an expert, but they looked old.
"This is one of the many Jeffersonian projects I have been neglecting lately for my FBI work." Her FBI. He liked the sound of that.
"Can't it wait till tomorrow?"
"Maybe if you weren't going to drag me halfway across Virginia at 4:30 tomorrow morning." She looked up for just a second to smile, taking the bite off her comment. It was true, he had woken her before dawn to start this last case.
"Hey, I wasn't any happier about that than you were. And I had to drive."
"I'll drive next time."
"No way, Bones."
"Don't call me Bones." The words came out automatically after all this time.
"Come on. Let's go grab dinner. I can bug you about your manuscript."
"Bug? Never mind. As enjoyable as that sounds, I can get this done before I go home."
"Will it still be today when that happens?"
"Maybe. I don't know. Why do you care?" he shrugged. She had been studying the remains and looked up expectantly.
"I guess – I don't really like the idea of you going to the parking lot alone any more. Especially at night."
"Booth. We caught him." It had been the first in a string of cases that had fallen hard and fast. The whole team had been pulling 'Brennan hours' for the past two weeks.
"I know. But, sometimes human emotion doesn't really follow logical patterns."
"I know." She looked up again and met his eyes. He suddenly forgot what he was going to say.
"Don't stay too late, okay?" he finally decided on.
"Uh-huh." She said, but she was already more focussed on the skeleton than on their conversation.
"And I'll come over on the weekend to read your manuscript, right?"
"Mmm." She agreed. He was halfway out of the lab when she stood and shouted after him.
"Not fair, Booth! You are not reading it!" he just laughed.