Hi there! This is my first time in this fandom and english is not my first lenguage, so I hope you enjoy the story and take a sec to R&R and maka this humble author happy! The story can be taken as just before CitC or even at the beginning of the episode.

Special thanks to the very talented GoldenNinde, my beta and to blc, hope that you are alright. Enjoy!

Lines & Pies

Open rebuke is better than secret love - Proverbs 27:5 (King James Bible)

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Booth entered the Royal Diner just in time to watch the storm that had been threatening the horizon to spill all morning unleash it's fury on the incautious pedestrians. He internally congratulated himself for his good timing and went directly to the stool he generally used when he went to the diner by himself.

The elderly waitress that usually served him and Bones was near and she headed towards his direction as soon as she spotted him.

"Agent Booth! Just in time for a slice of my freshly baked apple pie. Can I tempt you?"

"Exactly what I came looking for, Darlene." Booth smiled at her as she served him coffee just the way he liked it.

"Is Doctor Brennan joining you today?"

Booth´s smile instantly fell significantly. "I´m afraid not. A meeting of some sort in the Jeffersonian."

"Well, that´s a shame because my apple pie keeps getting better, I swear. I´m sure even Doctor Brennan would like a slice."

"Bones doesn´t like her fruit baked, Darlene." Booth smiled affectionately at the memory of his partner and his continuous attempts to get her to enjoy pie.

"Don´t worry, Agent Booth. I´m sure my appetizing apple pie and you will get to her someday." Darlene giggled. "I'll get you a slice in a moment."

As the squall kept raging outdoors, Booth could feel his mood darkening at the absence of his partner. He had gotten used to spending most of his time with her, to the point that even getting a huge piece of pie lacked it´s former appeal if he couldn´t tease her and attempt to seduce her into trying it. More often than not, he found himself seeking her company, even with the dull ache that her presence stirred in him from a longing that he didn´t dare to name. There was a line and if he wanted to keep his treasured partnership, he could not cross it.

"Lines and pies, man." he sighed, looking at the piece of pie hanging from his fork. "That´s my life. Just lines and pies."

"And whose line would that be?"

Booth all but dropped the piece of pie making it´s way into his mouth. He turned around, looked up and saw nothing. Great. Just what he needed. Maybe he was hallucinating again.

"Woohoo! I´m right here!"

This time he turned to his right and he was relieved to note that no, he wasn´t in the middle of some bizarre session with some kind of hallucination. But still, that didn´t explain the sudden question from a complete stranger. He was completely sure he would remember ever meting her. She was too beautiful not to. Long dark hair, fair skin, smoking hot body and alluring maroon colored eyes.

A couple of years ago, he would have been interested.

But now he just found himself unable to feel anything. Not to long ago, he had commented on his partner about his ability to be "devastating charming" but only when she was not looking. Sure, he could appreciate the beauty of a woman (he was a straight man, after all) and even do a little of the smooth flirting that he had perfected over the years, but he just couldn't find in himself to put his heart in it anymore.

And now it wasn´t even only when she was in the room that he would get this funny feeling in the pitch of his stomach that wouldn´t leave him alone when he tried to flirt with other women. It was weird and uncomfortable and way too akin to guilt for his liking. As if the force of her presence was permanently attached to him, he had come to realize that looking for other women felt like cheating on Bones, which was probably the reason he hadn´t go out on a date in years.

Damn surrogate relationships.

Still, none of it provided an answer to his current dilemma. Why was a gorgeous but complete stranger lady asking him odd questions?

"Excuse me?" really clever, Booth.

"I said 'And whose line would that be?' Do you plan to answer before I get too old to hear you?"

Look who's feisty. Well, he was a gentleman, even if he was having one of those days, so he would definitely not bite the stranger's head off for being nosy. He wouldn´t even bark a little.

"I heard the question; I just have no clue of what are you talking about"

The delicate eyebrows rose in the classic expression of complete skepticism. "Sure. You keep telling yourself that. But you are grilled, honey. You got the look."

O-kay. Time to play dumb and use the charm smile. "So, you think I´m a looker?" She didn´t seem fooled in the least.

"That´s not what I mean and you know it." Then she extended her left hand so he could get a clear view of her ring finger. And especially of the dainty engagement ring on it. A good FBI Agent learnt very soon a thing or two about jewelry, so Booth could clearly appreciate the quality of the ring, that more than from the size, came from the purity of the diamond, embed in a tastefully simple silver band. Next thing he saw was the smirk that strange woman was directing at him. "Besides, I would never make a move on a taken guy."

This kept getting more confusing. "Sorry ma'am, you are mistaken. I´m definitely not taken."

The strange woman just stared at him with pity clear in her eyes. "Maybe not officially but definitely taken in the heart. As I said, you got the look."

Booth just sighed and decided to follow her game. Years of connivance with Bones had taught him that it was useless to argue with a strong-minded woman. "I really have no clue of what are you talking about."

"The I´m-madly-in-love-with-a-friend-but-too-afraid-to-make-a-move look" she gave him a measuring stare. "Actually, make that a best friend."

Booth could feel the blood rushing to his face and his mouth hanging open in shock. "What… how… you…" It seemed like his ability to form a coherent sentence decided to take a vacation.

She smiled sadly at him. "Believe me, I´m very familiar with that look."

This was ridiculous! "This is ridiculous!" He turned his back at her. "I´m not discussing that with a complete stranger!"

But this woman was having none of it. "Come on honey, humor me a little, would you?" she sat in the stool next to his. "I´m stuck here because of that freaking monsoon out there and I´m bored out of my mind. So I have five hours before I have to take a fly across the country after a two day long congress and nothing to do meanwhile, and you seem like you could use a little chat about that dilemma that's consuming your mind. Besides, I was about to order a pie to go with my coffee and judging by the size of your slice, I´m sure you have great connections in this dinner that could get me a huge slice of that freshly baked apple pie."

Booth turned around and stared at her for a moment. Then he started laughing. Why not? The situation was kinda funny. "There are simpler methods of asking for a pie, you know? He said, making a sign to Darlene to bring him another slice.

"Oh, but this is so much fun and, as I said, I´m bored." Her face brightened when Darlene put the plate with a massive piece of apple pie on it.

"You really take your pie very seriously, don´t you?

She pointed her fork to him. "Hey! Apple pie is a basic human right!" she said before taking a generous portion of pie and letting out a soft sigh of appreciation. "Now, would you tell me what´s on your mind?"

Booth shook his head incredulously. "You never give up, do you? But seriously, who talks about personal affairs with a complete stranger?"

"I´m a surgeon and let me tell you, it´s amazing how much people can tell to a complete stranger that you will most likely not see ever again. But I guess I really should introduce myself." She extended him her hand. "Doctor Tiffany Locke."

"Special Agent Seeley Booth." He shacked her hand. "So, should I call you Fanny?"

"Oh, please! Fanny is disgraceful!" She grimaced in disdain. "It reminds me of the Sense and Sensibility character. If you can´t manage three syllables, just call me Tifa or Tiff like everyone else."

He rolled his eyes good naturally. "Well Tifa, is really nice to meet you, but I still haven´t heard one good reason to spill my darkest secrets to you."

"As I said, I´m a stranger that lives across the country and you probably won´t see me again. So I can listen to you and give you objective, unbiased advice that can or cannot be just what you need." She smiled nostalgically at him. "Besides, I have time and most importantly, I'm familiar with that look. So, why don´t I tell you a story and then you tell me if I can help you?"

No point in arguing with a strong-minded woman. He took a sip of his coffee and sat more comfortably in his stool. "Ok, shoot."

"Once upon a time, in a far away land…"

"Are you serious?"

"Alright, alright! It wasn´t so far away. Just like New England away and I´m not about to tell you how long ago" Now it was Tifa who rolled her eyes. "Spoilsport. Anyway, in this little town in Maine there was a little knight and a little princess that lived next door to each other. And even though the king wasn´t very fond of the little knight, they liked to hang out and play together. But one day, the little knight and his mother had to leave for a big city, and the little princess was very sad because they may never see each other again, so the little knight promised the little princess that they would meet again… and to be her knight in shining armor." Was that a blush? "The years passed and the little princess grew up, as princess tends to do, and went to a healers academy near home where she could learn how to save lives and help people who were badly wounded using a special magic….

"Harvard?"

"Yale, actually. And don´t interrupt me, I´m getting at the good part." Tifa glared at him until Booth made an appeasing gesture with both hands and a smile on his face.

"Okay, okay, no more interruptions. Please, continue."

"Al right, where was I? Oh, yeah the healers academy." She took a sip of coffee. "Well, when the princess learned all the magic she could learn in the academy, she took an internship in a big sanatorium in the Emerald city where she could reach the higher levels of healer magic. For one complete year, the new healers would practice their magic skills under the surveillance of a mentor, a healer of the next rank. At the end of the year, their healer magic would be tested and if they proved their competence, they would reach the next rank, until they achieved the rank of Master Healer, a great honor." She made a pensive pause, then continued. "But you must know, those ranks are very rigid. They don´t like those who get involved with somebody of other rank, especially in the lower ones."

"So, what you mean is that they are pretty snobbish?"

She laughed. "More like too hierarchy-lovers. A disruption in the pack order could arise severe complications. So, imagine the surprise of the princess when in her very first day, she found out that the mentor assigned to her and her companions was no other than her childhood friend, the knight!"

"What a shock," commented Booth. "Especially taking on account that 'healer' is not usually on a knight´s job description."

"A real shock, indeed" agreed Tifa. "But as the princess latter found out, the knight was in fact part of the kingdoms army, only that his special skill was the healing more than the hurting part. Anyways, the princess and the knight were delighted to see each other again, but couldn´t hang out together anymore because other healers could get the wrong idea and believe that the knight was favoring the princess over his other protégées. So he started spending a lot of time with the Count of Fair, a knight a rank higher who had been his army buddy and with a healer of his same rank, the duchess of Emerald, a great lady who was practically perfect in every possible way, whereas he started to treat the princess in a more silent and distant matter, so much that she started wondering if they were best friends anymore…"

"What a jerk!"

"That´s what the princess tough sometimes too, until she realized that the knight was simply too clueless when it came to personal matters, so she forgave him." She smiled affectionately. "After knocking some sense in him, of course."

"A best friend duty."

"Absolutely. So, the princess started making friends with the knight´s other friends and they even made a party for the princess when she passed her tests and got her rank. The duchess of Emerald and the princess became great friends, even if the duchess liked to tease and flirt with the knight a bit too much for the princess likings. Everything was great, except for the funny look that the princess would catch on the knight´s eyes sometimes, and the funny feeling it stirred in the heart of the princess."

Booth stared suspiciously at her. "A funny look?"

"Yep, a funny look. Such a mixture of tenderness and sadness and longing and fear that it makes your heart sing and ache, all at the same time..." She paused, the continued quietly. "The same look that was in the eyes of the princess every time she tough about her knight."

Booth looked at the now bashful face of this not-quite-a-stranger who seemed determined to make him open up and said out loud something he had been avoiding to confess even to himself, thinking that her strange actions now made so much sense. The reason she cared enough to be willing to share what seemed like less than pleasant memories with a man she barely knew.

She had once been the same.

"So, how long took the knight to man up and sweep the princess off her feet?"

"Three more years."

"You have to be kidding me! What a…" A mocking glare from his companion silenced him immediately and much to his chagrin, Booth could feel the heat rising in his face. It was as if she could read the very tough that was crossing his mind. As if you are one to talk. He cleared his throat and started again, this time in a more subdued tone. "So, why do you think he didn´t acted sooner?"

"You are forgetting a basic component of the look, honey. The one that give the game away every time."

"And what´s that?"

"Fear."

Suddenly, the pie´s stuffing in his plate looked very interesting. "Fear of what?" he muttered.

Tifa's look was thoughtful. "Of many things, for both of them. Fear that maybe their affections were not returned. Maybe the knight would fall for the perfect duchess. Maybe the princess would remember that she was single and start dating other knights." She smirked. "Maybe she would have, if she hadn't realized that her heart was already taken. But mostly, I think it was a fear of change. Fear that a slip would ruin the most important relationship of their lives and they would regret moving toward something that was not mean to be." She observed Booth´s wistful form and smirked at him. "Sound familiar?"

Booth sighed. He was used to being the one reading peoples emotions, and he found that being in the receiving end of that skill was disconcerting at best. "But in the end they got their fairytale, didn´t they? Not everybody can get a happy ending."

Tiffany scowled at him. "Believe me, I know that crappy things happen to good people. But the sad thing is actually that for most people, that´s not the case. They just never try, never take the risk to be extraordinary and they miss the chance to get what we are all looking for."

"Okay, you have experience in this 'fall-in-love-with-your-best-friend' department, I get that." Booth shocked his head. "But there are complications, okay? Lines are where they are for a reason."

"Which is exactly why you are telling me about this line that makes you so mope, so I can help you to erase it." She smiled brightly at him. "I already got half of the job done."

Booth arched his eyebrows at her. "How so?"

"Well, I already got you to admit that you are in love with this lady friend of yours, at least for your self." Another upbeat smile. "Consider me your devils advocate!"

Booth was frozen. He hadn´t realized that what she said was true. He had just admitted for the first time that he was, in fact, madly in love with his best friend and partner, Temperance Brennan. The recognition made him laugh loudly.

"Are you sure that you're not a shrink disguising as a surgeon? 'Cause all this help-you-with-your-feelings thing is highly shrink-ish, you know?" She kinda reminded him of Gordon-Gordon.

"Nah, I just got a knack for fixing heart´s problems. I am a Cardio surgeon, after all." She smirked again and resumed her attack on her piece of pie. "I already told you about the knight and the princess so, tell me about this lucky lady. What´s your story about?"

"Bones." Booth smiled dreamily. "Ever since I met her, it´s been about Bones."

"Okay, let me see if I got this straight." Tifa chewed slowly another piece of pie. They were already on their second slice. "So this Bones lady of yours is a scientist that helps you solve murders and is the most rational person you have ever known, besides some abandonment issues. You have been partners for over four years and you two are thick as thieves. The famous line was instituted by you after this guy Epps –what a silly name, by the way- almost killed your past girlfriend, as a way of protection against the crazy killers who would use you as a way to get to each other if you were involved romantically." She shocked her head incredulously. "Forgive me, honey but that´s the most pathetic excuse for a line I've ever heard."

"Hey! I resent that."

"Get over it. Seriously? That´s just a smoke line. Not the one you should be worrying about. You crossed that particular line ages ago."

"No, we didn´t! We're just partners."

"For the supposed purpose of that line, you already did it. Look, first place, crazy killers are just a job hazard for you two, no matter who you are involved with. Secondly, you are not best friends with somebody with whom you only share a working relationship. And last but not least, you are already in love with her and she surely cares about you too. A stranger in a dinner could see it, a psychopath studying you would see it too, whether you act on it or not. Your problem is the real reason that took you to draw that line in the first place. Admit that so you could admit where is the real line that you fear."

Booth sighed, defeated. "That sounded so much more reasonable when I talked about it."

"Leave all the professionalism speech aside and let only the basics. Why did you consider it necessary to draw a line?"

"To protect Bones"

"Why?"

"Because I don´t want to lose her!" Booth´s eyes widened.

Tifa's eyes softened. "It´s frightful, isn´t it? The fear of losing what you cherish the most."

"It´s just like you said before. What if she doesn´t return my feelings? She have made clear that she doesn´t believe in love. Or what if we can´t make it work? We are so different… What if I mess up the most significant relationship I have ever had and I can never get it back? I always was one for all or nothing but when it comes to her… I can´t lose her, Tifa. I just… I can´t. If all I can have are stolen moments as opposed to having none of her… I would take those moments in a heartbeat; even if that means that I will never get to call her mine."

"Why does it have to end badly? What if she accepts you? What if she is waiting for you to make a move? What if you get to spend the rest of your life with her?"

Booth smiled, but it was a sad smile. "The odds are against me. She is all about facts and science, I´m a man of faith. I want marriage and children, she thinks that is an archaic ritual. Maybe we are too different to make it work."

"He´s a man, she´s a woman. He is blond, she is brunette." Tiffany rolled her eyes. "Superficial traits. I´m sure you two know each other deeper than that!"

Something she had said a couple of months ago in one of those late nights at his apartment suddenly came to his mind. You believe that love is transcendent and eternal... I want to believe that too.

"How can you be so sure that there are just superficial traits and we really aren´t complete opposites?" He wanted to be sure.

"It´s logic, honey. Real opposites wouldn´t have lasted four years and in a functional work team, never mind a strong partnership. And let me tell you a secret." She leaned to him. "The so called opposites attract theory? Most of them are not opposites at all."

This was an interesting insight. "Really?"

"Yep. You just have to do what you did with that line of yours. Remove all the superficialities and leave the basics. If you leave only the heart of the matter, I´m sure you will find that your similarities outnumber your differences."

"Leave only the heart of the matter…" Booth was pensive.

"That´s right. A last piece of advice, honey." Her apple pie was almost gone. "All those lines, walls or boundaries in general, they can be very versatile. As long as you don´t transpose them, they will protect you. Right now, behind your line, you are safe, but are you satisfied?"

It was not a question to be taken lightly. Booth looked, really looked into his heart for the true answer.

"No. I´m not satisfied. I want everything and I want it with Bones."

"Winner takes it all, honey." Tifa finished her coffee. "So, you are at a point were you have to make a choice. To either waste your life drawing lines, or live and cross them. But take this little advice from somebody who has crossed the line." She looked intently at him. "If you screw the odds and risk getting out of your comfort zone, if you take a chance, what you get in the other side… It´s once-in-a-lifetime spectacular."

"So, what you are saying is that it is worth the risk?"

"Trust me, it's totally worth it."

It had stopped raining outside. The sky was clearing and the sun was slowly illuminating the city again.

"And the sun shines again! I guess I better get going." Tiffany started getting ready to leave. "Don't go back to the gloomy days, Agent Seeley Booth. If I ever come back to DC, I wanna see you well into your happy ending."

"Thank you for the advice, Doctor Tiffany Locke." Booth shook her hand. "I wish you a very happy 'Ever ever after'."

She smiled at him one last time. "Get your Bones, Tiger."

And then she was gone.

Booth sipped the remains of his coffee with a much calmer spirit. He was a man of action, after all. Now that he had decided to act on his feelings, his earlier restlessness had disappeared as he formulated a course of action for the most important mission of his life. He would bide his time carefully and wait for an opening to make his move.

His gut had never betrayed him as a sniper. He was counting with it now too.

Soon, he would tell her. Even if she accepted him, it wouldn't be easy, he was sure of that much. But he was willing to give it a try. They were a great team at work. He was sure they would make a great team as a couple too, so much that he would let himself fall freely into the abyss of the unknown.

Because Bones was worth it. He trusted her to catch him.

As he exited the dinner, Booth felt the sunshine kissing his face like a lover's caress and he let a serene smile take over his features.

Operation: 'Screw the lines' had just begun.

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