Disclaimer: I do not own Bones. Fox does. If I did Booth and Bones would be married with maybe a kid or two by now.

Author's note: A collection of one-shots, all about that famous line.

A little inspiration I got while playing with my daughter at the playground.

The Line In The Sand

(Brennan POV)

"Booth! What are we doing here?"

"Bones, you said you were bored."

We had been at the annual Jeffersonian charity ball which honours all its rich and famous patrons, when I got dragged out of the building by my partner of three years.

"I merely stated that I did not find most of the people who decided to strike up a conversation with me intellectually stimulating."

"Exactly." Booth flashes me a smug smile. "You told me you were bored, I decided to fix it."

I roll my eyes at him. "By talking me to a playground in the middle of the night?"

"Come on Bones, it's fun." Booth takes a step towards me. I barely hear the crunch of grass under his feet, invading my personal space, like he always does. I smell his cologne, that familiar smell that I have long learned to associate with comfort, safety…. And a strange tug at my heart even my genius mind can't quite comprehend.

"Trust me." His voice now almost a whisper.

In the dim light, I can make out his brown eyes, I stare and he stares back. Another one of those moments when I feel more than a simple tug at my heart. We've been having a lot of these moments lately. I'm sure if I mentioned this to Angela she'd have something to say about it.

A split second, and he blinks us out of our trance-like state. He takes a few steps back and turns, pointing at a couple of swings a the far end of the empty playground. Empty save for the two of us.

"Look Bones, swings." He flashes me his that Seeley Booth charm smile, the one that I've been ignoring for years but lately doing so with greater difficulty. "Come on, I'll push you."

With that he takes of running towards the swings that are gently swaying in the night breeze.

"Booth!" I call after him. He seems to have forgotten that I'm in a gown and heels.

He turns to look at me and I lift my dress shrugging at my heels.

He grins and comes running towards me. At times like this he reminds me of Parker, boundless energy waiting to be unleashed.

"If you wanted me to carry you, all you had to do was ask." There's a mischievous glint in his eye. Before I can protest, I find myself being swept off my feet and into his strong arms. I can't help but throw my head back and giggle. Only Seeley Booth can bring out the little girl hidden deep inside me.

He drops me to my feet when we get to the swings.

"Kick off your shoes Bones." He holds the swing steady, waiting for me to get on.

Why not? I do as he asks of me. Soon I'm flying through the cool night air, pumping my legs, enjoying the feel of the wind in my hair. Every couple of seconds I feel his warm hands on my back, giving me a firm but gentle push.

"Higher Booth."

"I'm trying," I hear him reply. "Who knew you weighed so much?"

"I do not!"

I hear him laugh behind me.

"You're drunk. Intoxicated by alcohol."

There is a moment of silence and I no longer feel his hands pushing me. I wonder if I've angered him or he really is drunk and passed out on the ground.

"Am not." I hear his voice in the distance.

I slow down, the momentum of the swing dying down I plant my bare feet on the warm sand.

I make out his form, a short distance away. I pick up my heels and walk towards him. He is tracing a line in the sand.

"Booth, what are you doing?"

He doesn't reply, simply keeps his eyes locked on mine and walks slowly towards me. He has invaded my personal space again. My heart flutters. Flutters? He has a line.

"Proving that I'm not drunk." He wears a lopsided grin on his lips.

He points to our feet. I realize that he's walked along the straight line he's traced.

"I'm not drunk." He repeats.

"Apparently not." I reply in a soft voice. I can feel his hot breath on my face. Our eyes are locked again. The second time in minutes we've had a moment. Tug. An invisible string is pulling at my heart. It's a cold night out and I involuntarily shiver.

"Cold Bones?"

I nod.

He slips off the jacket of his tuxedo, and wraps it round my shoulders. I feel his hands linger longer that they should. I see him swallow. Something flashes in his eyes. This is all very confusing.

Again he changes the subject. "Slides Bones."

He ascends the steps to a nearby slide.

"You'll hurt your back again." I call after him.

"Nothing you can't fix right Bones?"

He laughs as he goes down the slide. I laugh along.

"Booth."

"What Bones?"

"Thanks."

"What for?"

"This is fun."

He smiles and makes his way towards me again. We're standing on opposite sides of the line that he had traced.

"Why did you draw the line Booth?"

Booth gives me the you're-asking-the-obvious-look. "I told you, to prove that I'm not – "

"No Booth. The other line. You said – "

"Bones, you know why." He understands my meaning immediately and cuts me off.

I sigh. I'm not sure why I'm having these questions and thoughts in my head.

"Because we're partners. And partners can't be in a romantic relationship together. Because people will try to get to me to get to you."

"That's right Bones." He sounds unconvincing. It's a half-truth, we both know it.

I continue. "Because I'm not good enough for you. Because you want the white picket fence and the wife that will stay home and take care of you and the kids, but I'm not. "

"Bones!" He practically yells the nickname that he had given me.

His face is all seriousness. He waves his index finger at me, as if admonishing Parker. "Don't ever think that."

"Then why'd - ."

I see hurt in his eyes.

"Don't ever think that." We're now inches apart and his voice softens. "You Bones, are more than good enough for me. If it's anyone who's undeserving, it's me. I mean you're a genius, why'd you want to hang out with someone like me…I don't need the white picket fence, the wife who stays at home, the kids, I just need Parker… and..... You know why we can't Bones. If something happened to you because of me…"

"Booth, people are trying to kill us all the time. And we aren't even in a relationship. If we let fear rule our actions, then what we do, putting criminals away is meaningless." I take a breath. "Well ok maybe we're in a surrogate relationship like Sweets said, so maybe it doesn't count."

A light flashes in his eyes. Like a spark. I feel his feet shifting in the sand. He grins his knee-weakening grin again. I feel his left hand take mine. With his right hand he points to our feet. I see that he has smoothed out the line he had earlier traced.

"You're right. I'm the biggest idiot in the world. There." He points his finger empathically towards the sand. "The line, it's gone."

I feel a grin slowly spread across my face. He leans towards me and I find myself holding my breath in anticipation. Our lips meet, not under circumstances of blackmail like before, but out of our own free-will. The kiss is passionate yet calm, brimming of a promise of more to come, brimming of pent-up tension waiting to be released.

When we break for air he has an awe-struck look on his face.

"Bones. That was amazing."

"I know."

"I'm a happy man." He laughs tossing his head back, unbridled joy.

"You're intoxicated." I repeat my earlier words, teasing.

"Only with you."

Reviews please!