Title: Two Become One

Author: Lifeguard

Rating: T - a low M for mild sexual content and sexual discussion.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I swear. Please don't sue, I owe all my money to the university I went to.

Spoilers: Pilot, Sully episodes, first few episodes of season 3, any good B&B episodes.

Author's Note: So I wasn't going to write this, but it wouldn't leave my head. I sat down with a blank Word document and within about 2 hours I had this. Let me know what you think. And the title is not a reference to the Spice Girls, it's a reference to Booth's speech about sex in episode 2 of season 3. So Enjoy!

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Booth sulked as he entered the Jeffersonian and laid eyes on his partner. She was smiling again, like she had been ever since he had come back. He must have just been here, or was still here, and Booth did not like that one bit.

He snarled a little at the memory as it flashed through his mind.

Bones had been describing cause of death for their latest victim when the double doors to the Jeffersonian had opened. She hadn't even noticed, let alone raised her eyes until she saw Angela starring at something. When she did look up she was stunned. Booth watched her as her face took on the dear in headlights look. He turned around to see what she saw and the same look as hers crossed his face.

"Well aren't you coming to say hello?" the man she was starring at asked.

As if in a trance, Brennan walked down the stairs and stood in front of him.

"You're back-"

Sully cut her off as he captured his lips with hers. She slowly deepened the kiss as Booth looked away, trying not to choke on the bile rising in his throat.

"Did you miss me?" Sully asked, still holding Brennan in his arms.

"Of course."

"I missed you so much," he replied, and kissed her again.

And that's how it had started. His partner and Sully had picked up where they had left off and it was driving Booth insane. He resented the fact that Sully could just walk in and take back Bones after he had sailed away, leaving her. He resented the fact that she now wanted to spend more time with Sully than with him, and he felt like he was loosing his best friend. In fact, strain was beginning to show between them as a power struggle was taking place between the two FBI agents for the anthropologist's attention. Ever since Sully had come back Booth had been more irritable, more pushy for Brennan's time, forcing her to become snappy with him. Their bickering had escalated, and a major blow out loomed in the air, he could feel it, and dreaded it. Although he had never said it out loud, Booth wished that Sully would have just dropped off the face of the earth in that boat of his.

Sighing, Booth swiped his card and made his way up the platform to his partner.

"Hey Bones, what have you got for me?" he greeted her.

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"I cannot believe you would automatically jump to that conclusion! Have you even paid any attention to the facts I've presented to you?!" Brennan exclaimed.

"Maybe if you'd explain them in English, but I don't think my assumption is that far fetched," he retorted sarcastically.

She scoffed at him, "I did explain my findings, quite clearly. Not understanding them is no excuse to go jumping to conclusions and making assumptions about this case."

"Umm I believe making assumptions, you know, attempting to connect the proverbial dots of this case is my job, that's how I get things done," he said, jabbing his chest with his finger, while puffing it out.

She rolled her eyes as she opened the door to her office. It was late, very late. They had spent the day interrogating suspects, searching possible murder locations and driving. They were tired and had bickered the whole way back to the lab, where Brennan needed to get her things before going home. When Booth had suggested a theory for their case, Brennan jumped down his throat at his assumption.

"Well I get things done by looking at the facts, and facts are what solve the cases and get us convictions. Without me, you'd still be scratching your head at the crime scene."

Booth took a step back at her verbal blow, "You really think I'm that dumb? Well I'll have you know I was solving plenty of cases before you came along. Besides, you pretty much blackmailed your way into working with me. Without me, you'd still be stuck in this lab."

"I like working here. And it's not just a lab, its the best forensic institute in the country!"

"See, there you go defending your job again. You know what, without me you'd have no life outside of this lab, hell, you'd probably never leave! You just wanted to work with me to get out of here."

"I never wanted to work with you. I seem to remember you ambushed me into doing so at the airport."

"And you blackmailed me into taking you on."

"The FBI put us together."

"And I told them I didn't want to work with a squint!"

Her mouth dropped open, "So you don't want to work with me then? Do you regret this whole partnership?"

He hadn't meant to imply that. He felt bad, but his defence was still up and he was still really angry.

"I don't regret our partnership, I just wish you weren't so bossy and snippy all the time."

"I am not bossy and snippy!"
"You are so. And you're stubborn!"
"You're arrogant and cocky! When I first met you I thought you were the most chauvinistic, egotistical, alpha male asshole in the world!"

"Really?"

"Yes. And you know what you prove what I thought initially all the time! You constantly treat me like a child on the cases, you won't let me have a gun, you-"

She was cut off mid-rant by his lips crashing into hers.

He gripped her face as he kissed her until her hands shoving against his chest forced him away. The look on her face told him he should run like hell, and he was half expecting what came next.

She hauled off and smacked him across the face. Hard.

To this day Booth didn't know what possessed him, what drove him to the insane conclusion that he should kiss her while she was fuming mad. He knew he was lucky to be alive, for she surely could have kicked his ass if she had wanted to.

But what she did next surprised him the most. Before he could step away or even begin to rub the sore cheek that her hand had come in contact with, she raised her arms again, pushing against his shoulders.

She kissed him.

And the passion ignited. Three years of pent up sexual frustration came crashing down around them as Booth deepened the kiss, dropping his hands to her waist, then to her hips, clutching them.

When her tongue slipped between his lips he backed her into her desk, eliciting a moan from Brennan, who in turn wrapped her legs around his torso.

He tore his lips away from hers and dropped them to her neck, tasting every inch of available skin. Her head fell back, allowing him better access to her soft skin. It wasn't long before he was lifting her shirt over her head, and moving further down her body.

What Brennan would remember most about that night were his eyes; deep, intense, chocolate pools of brown, burning into hers with a desire she had never seen in him before, a desire for her.

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Before she opened her eyes she could feel him, sense him. His steady breathing and beat of his heart lulled her, tempted her back to sleep, back to the serene peace she felt lying there. She wondered if she kept her eyes closed if the world would leave them alone, that reality wouldn't come crashing down.

But it would. It had to. It was only logical.

But she didn't want to be logical. She wanted the moment she was in to last forever.

So she didn't open her eyes. Instead she drifted back into the safety of slumber, the safety she felt lying there in his arms, listening to his heart.

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Something inside him screamed that this was perfection. This was how it was meant to be. This was true happiness. This was what he had dreamed about and his dreams had finally come true.

His Bones was lying in his arms, her head resting on his chest, her breath warm against his bare skin.

He let his eyes slide open to glance at her, and he had never seen her look more beautiful, more peaceful than in her sleep.

She lay on his chest, her hands resting on his shoulders. Her hair fell softly around her neck and face, framing it with shades of auburn in the soft light of the morning. The purple throw from her couch rested on her lower back, contrasted by her creamy skin.

Booth wanted nothing more in the world than to be able to wake up and see her like this every morning for the rest of his life.

He gently stroked a strand of hair away from her face, revelling in the feeling of her soft skin on his.

Her eyes fluttered open, the beautiful shades of blue meeting his brown ones.

"Hi," he whispered.

She smiled and he kissed her lightly. But the happiness was to be short lived.

Brennan's gaze broke from his to take in their surroundings.

The morning light shone through the windows in her office, casting a glow on her things, and on their strewn clothing on the floor.

Her eyes fell on the clock and she gasped.

"What day is it?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Friday, why?"

She sat up, wrapping the blanket around her, "Oh no…"

"What's wrong?" he propped himself on his elbows.

She leapt of him, and he yelped in surprise when she took the blanket with her. Grabbing a pillow he covered himself as he watched her gathering her clothes.

"Bones?" he tried again.

"It's Friday! Oh God Booth, you've got to leave!"

"Why?"
She pointed frantically at the clock, "It's ten to eight! Zack and Hodgins will be here any minute! There are already people at work, I was supposed to start an hour ago!"

"So? It's not like anyone's coming to find you."

"But they will! Zack will come looking for me, and what do you think he's going to find?" she gestured towards the windows of her office, then at Booth.

His eyebrows hit the ceiling, "Right," he replied, quickly getting his own clothing and pulling on his boxers and pants.
"We should talk about this Bones," his tone serious now.

She gave him a look, "Not now Booth! And stop staring at me, I'm getting changed."

"Won't people get suspicious when you wear the same outfit today?"

"No. I keep a spare in my cupboard for when I sleep here."
"I should have known that."

"What about you?"
"I've got just enough time to whip home, shower and change before I've got to be at my desk. But seriously, we need to talk about this."

She glared at him while buttoning her blouse, "Not now Booth! Get out before anyone sees you!"

"Okay, we'll talk later," he said, leaving the office.

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The rest of the day proved awkward, to say the least. Each time Brennan and Booth met they avoided each other's eyes, they avoided talking, they avoided staying together for long periods of time.

When Sully came to visit, Brennan pulled away from him, cut him off, sent him away.

It was enough for Angela to intervene.

"What is up with you today Sweetie?" she finally cornered her friend in her office.

"Nothing Ange, I'm fine."

"Bull. What is wrong with you today? You seem all twitchy and jumpy, especially around Booth. And you just sent poor Sully away. He looked like a lost puppy."

"I'm just tired. Booth and I were out late last night working on the case, and we had a fight."

"Really? How come that doesn't surprise me?"
"You thought we were going to fight?"

"Sweetie, you could cut the tension between you two with a knife. You two have been preparing for war for awhile now."

"It's not possible to cut tension with a knife."

Angela rolled her eyes, "What did you guys fight about?"

"The case."

"So are you guys okay now or are you like not talking to each other?"

Brennan sighed, "I really don't know Ange, I wish I did."

"Well my advice, and you're getting it whether you like it or not, is to talk to him. Booth's a good guy, and you guys have a great partnership. It would be a shame to break it over a fight. And also, apologize to Sully, you really brushed him off big time today."

"I don't know whether to love or hate that you are always right."

"You know you love me," the artist smiled.

Brennan was just glad that her best friend didn't pick up on what really happened.

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She stared out the window as he drove. It was silent in the car. They were on their way to interrogate yet another suspect, and the ride was becoming almost painful.

Suddenly Booth pulled the car into a parking lot and turned it off.

"What are you doing?" she asked, turning to him.

"This is dumb Bones, really stupid. We can't just pretend like last night didn't happen, we need to talk about it."

"We need to go question the suspect Booth."
"He can wait."

"What is there to talk about?"

"I don't know Bones. Maybe the entire fact that we slept together!"

"It was a normal human response to hormones and we found a release for our sexual energy. We've had this discussion before Booth, all humans need sex."

"So that's all last night was? It was just sex? A release?"

"It was sex Booth. And as much as it was a release, it was the wrong outlet for it. Last night was wrong, a mistake. We crossed the line when we shouldn't have and now its affecting our partnership. Not to mention the fact that we crossed moral and ethical lines that will effect my relationship with Sully, and your friendship with him."

"This isn't about Sully Bones, its about us! Is that your honest opinion of what last night was? A mistake? Just sex?"

She dropped her eyes from his, the expression on his face to painful for her to watch. She didn't answer him at first, trying to figure out what was best to say.

Booth watched her, trying to read what was going on in her mind. She thought that they had made a mistake, but why? Was she trying to rationalize away what they had felt?

Finally she looked up at him again, her face had softened and there was sadness in her eyes, "Booth, what happened last night, what we did…it shouldn't have happened. Everything happened in the heat of the moment, we didn't stop to think about the consequences. Maybe it wasn't a mistake, but it wasn't right. Not right now."

"It wasn't a mistake Bones, I know that."

"So what do we do now?"

"I don't know."
"What if we just forgot about last night? I know we can't possibly wipe it from our memories, but what if we chose not to acknowledge it? Moved on and continued being partners, you know, move past it."

"That doesn't sound to healthy Bones."

"I hate psychology."

"I know."

"But if we did, we could still be friends, still work together."

His heart screamed no, screamed at him to kiss her again, but his mind told him this might be for the best. She wasn't ready. Hell, he wasn't ready. It was the best option, for now. So he swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded,

"We could do that."

"Let's do that," she replied, in the same sombre tone he had used.

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Life did return to some semblance of normal after the partner's discussion. They respected their choice and tried to make their friendship work they way it had before. Yet every now and then Brennan would catch Booth looking at her and see the hint of the desire in his eyes that she had seen that night. To think about that night frightened her, because she knew that they had shared a passion that she had never felt before. This feeling took its toll on her relationship with Sully as well. She suddenly didn't feel the same way about him as she had before, before he sailed away. She wondered if by taking him back she was trying to drown her feelings about Booth in their relationship. She grew distant from Sully and he eventually began to back off himself. Their relationship now hung by a thread, and Brennan was almost ready to sever her ties.

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5 Weeks Later

She woke to the sound of rain outside her window, rolling over and groaning at the prospect of having to get out of bed. She had been feeling under the weather all week, and was mad that she was coming down with something. She hated being sick, hated feeling weak. It had already been a bad few days, and getting ill was the last thing she wanted. She had fought with Sully numerous times, and now they were stuck in a stalemate. The case she and Booth were working was going no where, and the moral at the lab was low.

Brennan opened her eyes into slits and glanced at her clock. There were no bright numbers starring back at her. She stuck out her arm and groped around on her nightstand for her watch. Finding it, she stuck it in front of her face.

"Shit!"

It was after nine in the morning. She was late, so late. The power must have gone out before her alarm went off, and the dark, dreary day outside made it seem like it was earlier in the morning.

She sat up quickly and jumped out of bed.

That was her first mistake.

The wave of nausea hit her hard and she barely made it to the bathroom before retching.

When she was done, she leaned heavily against the porcelain, drained of all energy. She sat there for a few minutes before getting up to wash her face and brush her teeth.

As she did, her cell rang and she went to answer it.

"Brennan."

"Bones, where are you?" Booth asked.

"At home, I overslept because the power was off."

"Are you coming in? I think we finally caught a break with this case."

She considered staying home for a moment, but the prospect of a break in the case gave her a new surge of adrenaline. Plus, she felt a little better now.

"I'll be there in half an hour."

That was her second mistake.

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She swiped her card at the platform and began to climb the stairs, seeing Booth and the Squints at the top.

"Good morning Dr. Brennan," Zack said, never taking his eyes off the skeleton on the table.

"Hey Sweetie, are you alright?" Angela greeted her.

"I'm fine Angela, I just over slept."

"You look a little pale Bones, you sure you're okay?" Booth questioned.

She glared at him, "I'm fine, its just cold outside."

He nodded and told Zack to bring her up to speed.

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Later that day, Angela went in search of her best friend and found her hiding out in her office, sprawled out on the couch.

"Hun, you don't look so good," the artist commented.

Brennan propped herself on her elbow, "I'm really tired. This case is taking its toll on all of us."

"Well then maybe you should just take the day off."
"Ange, when do I ever call in sick?"

"I think now would be a good time to try it," she walked over to Brennan and felt her forehead, "You don't feel feverish, but I think you should be resting anyways."

Brennan brushed her hand away, "I feel fine now. I've got to get back to work."

"Okay, push yourself. But promise me, if you don't feel better by tomorrow you'll take the day off and go see a doctor. Please?"

The anthropologist rolled her eyes, "This will be gone by tomorrow. Besides, I hardly ever get sick."
"All the more reason to go see a doctor Sweetie. Whatever this is, it's seems to be taking you down. Don't make me keep worrying about you."

"You don't have to worry about me Ange."

Yet Angela did worry. Brennan showed up the next day at work still looking tired and pale, and even Booth started to notice. Between the two of them and their nagging, Brennan finally agreed to make a doctor's appointment. She didn't admit it to them but she was going to anyways. She had never felt so ill before. She could barely eat, the thought of food was slightly repulsive and she was sick a lot. She also didn't want to pass anything onto her colleagues.

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When Brennan returned from the doctor's office the next evening she felt worse than ever, but it wasn't from the illness. The news she had received chilled her to the bone, made her more scared than she had ever been in her entire life. She collapsed onto her couch, head in her hands, the weight of the news crashing down upon her.

"What am I going to do…." she mumbled over and over.

To be continued…

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