She'd been certain that he'd ask her, she'd thought that they would always have an unspoken agreement to attend these evenings together, apparently not. He'd asked Cam to go with him to the FBI fundraiser, he'd almost looked guilty when he informed her the day before the ball that he wouldn't be taking her. She'd simply nodded and assured him that it was fine, she'd go by herself or tag along with Angela and Hodgins. He'd given her an awkward goodbye and left her feeling uncharacteristically hurt by his neglect.

Sitting here now in front of her dresser adjusting her earrings she tries her best to push thoughts of his 'betrayal' to the back of her mind. She glances at the mantle clock and pushes herself to her feet, standing in front of the mirror she casts an eye over her appearance and smiles. She's never thought of herself as being beautiful, moderately attractive perhaps, but nothing special. Tonight she could at least recognise that she was looking her best. Grabbing her purse from the dresser she checks its contents for all needed items and nods, smoothing a hand over her dress one last time she lets out a shaky breath and makes her way to the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They had all agreed to meet at the entrance to the halls, Booth had been early, a habit of his military routine. Hodgins and Angela had arrived shortly after, both looking impeccable in their attire. Angela had flirted with him mildly, leaving Hodgins looking slightly put out… she'd spent the next ten minutes making up for it by giving him her full appreciation. Booth had fiddled with his tie nervously as he saw Cam approaching, her red cocktail dress skimming the curves of her body.

She stops in front of him and smiles in embarrassment at the grin plastered across his features, he leans into her with a hand on her waist.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you… Who are we waiting on?"

"Bones, she called a moment ago, said her cab is held up…. She should be here any minute."

Cam nods and moves over to Angela and Hodgins to engage in small talk. Booth lets his eyes roam over her figure appreciatively for a few moments. When he turns his attention back to the stairs in front of him he sees the unmistakable form of Temperance Brennan in the back of the yellow cab. She emerges slowly and a group of partygoers coming up the stairs blocks her from his view. As they clear from his line of sight his breath hitches in his throat and he frowns in concentration as he tries to remember how to expel the air from his lungs. A genuine smile caresses his features as he waits anxiously for her to climb the steps and meet him face to face. She doesn't seem to have noticed anyone yet as she fiddles with the catch on her purse.

From the side, Cam watches the expression on her partner's face light up when he catches sight of her colleague. She notices the hitch in his chest, and her eyes follow his to the young woman ascending the steps to join them. Her eyes falter from the scene and she forces a smile for Angela and Hodgins, her mind elsewhere.

He gulps in too much air making his throat constrict tightly as her eyes lift and meet his for the first time, she flashes him a lopsided 'Bones patented' grin. He descends the last couple of steps to meet her and tries to speak but finds that the words don't come easily. After a beat of silence she looks past him to their waiting party at the top of the steps.

"Shouldn't we go in?"

He nods numbly. Clearing his throat he forces himself to reply "Yeah." As he goes to offer her an arm he feels a hand curl around it, turning he sees Cam smiling serenely at them both.

"Did you bring a date Dr Brennan?"

"Actually… yeah. He's inside. Told him that I needed to meet you all out here first and that I would get him by the bar."

Cam looks mildly surprised and nods in approval. "Great. Better than sharing dates.. shall we go in?"

"Yeah."

Booth clenches his jaw as he ascends the steps with Cam on his arm, Brennan following quietly behind them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brennan's date was everything a date should be, attractive, funny….incredibly smart and chivalrous. Booth's spirit had been dampened slightly by his realisation that even he liked her date. He'd had to take a mental note to stop allowing his eyes to fixate on Brennan for long periods of time, Cam had given him a daring look each time he'd been caught. Brennan had always been beautiful in his eyes but tonight, she was incredible, everything about her was perfect.

Booth watches as she spins around the dance floor with her date, her eyes sparkling, either from the thrill of being in his arms or form the champagne, he can't tell. He imagines that her smiles are for him, that his hand holds her waist as they move together. Cam leaning against him causes him to start from his gazing.

"She looks beautiful."

"Who?"

She laughs lightly "Come on Seeley, don't pretend that you've been staring at the dancefloor for the past five minutes because you're waiting for a bomb to go off…. You know who I mean."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just thinking that Mark seems nice. They seem well suited."

"Yeah, very well suited."

He nods more to himself than in agreement with her as Brennan and her date make their way back to the table. Mark hands Brennan into her seat and turns to Cam with a broad welcoming smile. She smiles and takes his hand and allows him to lead her to the floor.

Brennan nods in the direction of her best friend and her resident 'bug and slime' guy on the dancefloor. "They're an odd couple."

He nods "I guess they are."

She takes a sip from her glass and looks at him in concern. "You seem distracted. Are you well?"

"I'll be better if you dance with me."

She smiles and looks at her hands nodding gently. "Oh, if it'll make you feel better, I suppose I could."

He chuckles and getting to his feet holds a hand out to her. She takes it and doesn't break the contact as he leads her to the dancefloor. As his hand rests on her waist he suddenly feels like a teenager at Prom all over again, as her body comes into contact with his own he smells the heady scent of her perfume and closes his eyes. His face is pressed lightly to the side of her head as they begin to move around the floor. He pulls back to look at her and she gives him a dazzling smile.

"You know, I never thought that you could look any more beautiful than you are every day, you've proved me wrong tonight Temperance."

Her eyes search his as she looks for his usual mocking glance but they remain sincere and honest. She can feel a blush rising to her cheeks and has the modesty to duck her head shyly. "So it's Temperance now huh?"

"You could never be called anything less tonight. I mean it, breathtaking."

"You don't scrub up too bad yourself Booth."

He smiles gently. "So, where did you find a date at the last minute?"

"What makes you think it was last minute?" Her eyes are challenging and he sees the thinly veiled mirth in them. "I do have options Booth."

"I never doubted that for a second."

She nods. "We've been out a few times. It's a casual thing."

He clears his throat and nods awkwardly. "Right." They continue their dance in silence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cam puts her hand on his own which is resting on the table. He looks to her tiredly and she nods towards the door.

"You wanna go, I'm getting a little tired?"

He nods. "Sure, I'll go get our coats."

She smiles appreciatively and watches him walk across the floor to the cloak area. Brennan and Mark had disappeared around a half hour earlier and Hodgins and Angela had slipped away discreetly.

Booth, happy to be leaving, head still spinning with images of his partner approaches the cloak area. He fumbles in his pocket for his ticket and sighs in frustration as he pulls out a hand of coins and no ticket. He moves aside to allow someone behind him move into the queue and leans against a wall. Looking up quickly his eyes catch sight of Brennan and Mark, Mark is behind her a hand on her stomach the other on her shoulder, his lips in contact with the hollow of her neck, they are partially hidden in a dark shadow but it is clear enough for Booth to see her head thrown back against his shoulder and her eyes closed with the enjoyment of the moment. Seeing them like this, hidden in shadows he physically jolts causing a few coins to slip from his grasp and to the floor. Brennan's eyes open slowly and meet his, he stands frozen in her gaze and is bewildered when a slow smile spreads across her features causing a familiar warmth to spread within him. He draws in a shuddery breath and ignores the coins that have escaped him, instead plucking the ticket from his other pocket and returning to the queue and out of her line of sight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cam had been upset when he'd dropped her off, even more upset when he'd announced that he was having doubts and needed a break from them. She'd made some smart comments about Brennan and he'd walked away, angry with her, angry with himself. He couldn't remember exactly how he'd gotten here though. Here, outside her apartment building, waiting.

He doesn't wait for long before he sees her taxi draw up to the entrance. He waits patiently, he waits while she unlocks the building door, he waits until he can't see her in the entrance hallway, he waits until he sees the light in her apartment flicker to life, then he goes after her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She is surprised when she hears the soft unsure knock at her door, however when she sees him on the other side she is in no doubt as to his intentions. A dark storm is brewing in his eyes with the promise of turbulent, almost violent behaviour. His breathing is shallow and a thrill passes through her as she takes a step back from him. He enters, uninvited yet somehow knowing that she won't turn him away. They stand like this, staring at one another in the entrance to her home, he in his tux, her in the black silk floor length dress. After a beat she reaches past him to push the apartment door closed, her arm brushing against his during the action. She doesn't anticipate the arm grabbing her about her waist, she doesn't anticipate the cold wood of the door against her backless dress as he spins her around and against it….. his lips however come as no surprise. Their bodies meld into one another against the door, his hands slides up the hem of her dress and dig into the flesh of her thighs as he slides her up the door and hooks her legs around himself. Their lips never leave each other as they release two years of tension and frustration.

Their love making is fast, she had always imagined the first time would be and as he lowers them both to the ground on shaky legs she knows that she wouldn't have asked for anything less. They sit entwined for long moments, he is the first to look at her, her small offering of a smile is enough to relieve his anxiety. Moving from him, she pushes herself to her feet, he follows unsteadily adjusting his trousers and they stand once again eye to eye, the storm in his gaze dissipated and calmed. He strokes the hair from her face and her eyes flutter closed at the contact, he lowers his lips to hers once again and presses gentle kisses to her mouth. Pulling back she tugs on his arm and backs up towards the bedroom, he smiles cheekily and follows willingly. At the threshold of the room he gives her hand a quick squeeze to make her stop, she turns to him slowly.

"Temperance…."

"Twice in one night. I'm getting worried."

"You know what I'm offering here… I don't want to go through with this if you aren't with me one hundred percent of the way."

She suddenly looks serious and her eyes drop to the floor, his heart falling with them. Meeting his eyes again she nods. "I never thought I would get here Booth, but I am."

He pulls her into a hug and they hold one another. "It's always been you Temperance, it's been so hard fighting this…"

She pulls back and looks at him "Well let's waste energy on something more fun than fighting."

He scoops her up into his arms and carries her over the threshold and to the bed where he dumps her unceremoniously. Grinning she holds her arms out to him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I'm not particularly happy with it – but it was in my head last night and I thought I'd get it out.

Let me know what you think anyway.