(After 'The Hole in the Heart')

This is my Bonesology Valentine's Day fanfic gift exchange story. Kathy (Dukefan) wanted Booth and Brennan as the main characters and since she didn't have a preference for ratings, this story is rated T.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Booth checked his tie in the mirror for the third time. It was new and he wanted to make sure it was the right one for his suit. This night was going to be important, very important. Satisfied that the tie was perfect, he pulled his watch on to his left wrist and checked the time. "Shit, I have to get a move on." He had taken a lot of time shaving, but he wanted his face to be smooth with no stubble marring his face. The last thing he wanted was to show up on his first date with Brennan looking like he didn't care what he looked like. This evening was just too important.

Pulling his phone from his jacket pocket, Booth made a call.

Brennan.

"Hey, I'm on my way." Booth wanted her to be ready when he got there. "Our reservation is at eight."

I'm ready.

"Great. I love you." He still couldn't believe he was allowed to say that to her.

I love you too.

And she said it back. Life was good.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Once they were at the restaurant, Booth gave the hostess his name and they were shown to their reserved table.

"I'm very impressed, Booth." And Brennan was. "It's very hard to get a reservation at this restaurant."

As he sat down, Booth looked around and noticed that there were no empty tables to be seen in the room. "Don't I know it. I used some pull to get this reservation." When he had called Gordon Wyatt and asked him if he could get him a reservation the chef had laughed. Clearly amused the man had told him the problem wasn't a problem at all if his dinner guest was the famous mystery writer, Temperance Brennan. Gordon had been right, Booth had mentioned that Brennan was part of the reservation and miraculously a reservation had been cancelled and given to him.

Brennan assumed that he had found a way to get the Deputy Director to call in the favor to get the reservation. "I've heard that their Pasta Chandel has garnered excellent reviews."

Taking the menu from the server, Booth flipped it open and studied what they were serving. Brennan also opened her menu and checked the vegetarian dishes that were being offered. Both found a tantalizing selection was being offered and they were reluctant to select anything until they read the entire menu. While Brennan tried to decide upon her main course, Booth's phone rang. Annoyed, he shook his head and answered the phone. "Booth."

Could you come and get me . . . I'm in trouble . . . I don't know who else to call . . . please?

"Sweets, what's going on?" His young friend sounded afraid, very afraid.

Well, I . . . um . . . well, someone stole my car . . . while I was in it and . . .

"What?" No wonder the boy sounded afraid, if he'd been carjacked. "Where are you? Are you alright?"

Yeah, kinda . . . I'm on 14th street near Q Street. . . I was going to Le Diplomate . . . I was supposed to go to Le Diplomate . . . I was going to meet Daisy . . . I . . . Do you want me to call a cab? I can call a cab if you can't come.

"No stay where you are. Bones and I are coming to get you. Just make sure you're in a safe place." Booth stood up. "Bones, Sweets is in trouble. He was carjacked. We have to leave now."

Brennan grabbed her purse, pulled some money from her wallet and handed it to the server. "This should be enough to cover the reservation." Hurrying, she followed Booth out of the restaurant. "Booth is Sweets alright?"

"He says he is, but he sounds shook up to me." He turned to face Brennan. "I'll go get the SUV. You wait here." Booth didn't think it was a good idea for Brennan to run in high heels to the truck. Jogging towards his car, Booth pulled his keys from his jacket pocket and hoped Sweets really was alright.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Booth drove slowly down 14th street and found Sweets standing on the corner of Q Street. Pulling over, he stopped the truck and hopped out of the SUV with Brennan doing the same. "Sweets are you alright?"

Feeling a little light headed, the young psychologist turned to face his friends. "The guy hit me on the head with his gun. I think I may be bleeding." He touched his scalp where blood was oozing down the side of his face. "I was an idiot. I wasn't paying attention . . . I parked on Q street and just as I opened the door of my car, this guy grabbed me and pulled me out of the car. I tried to fight him off, but he hit me on the head with a pistol. He took my car keys and my wallet from my jacket pocket . . . he didn't take my phone. It was in my pants pocket . . . my head is bleeding . . ."

Brennan removed a handkerchief from her purse and pressed it against her friend's head. "Here, press this against the wound . . . Booth. We should take him to the hospital."

"And call the police once we get him there." Booth was amazed that someone had been so brazen to attack the boy in such a well lit area. It also made him angry that no one had stopped and asked the kid if he needed help. They just drove by pretending not to see him. "Come on, Sweets, get in my truck. We'll take you to the hospital. Did you call Daisy? Does Daisy know what happened?"

"Daisy . . . no. I didn't call her. I didn't want to upset her." Sweets had been afraid that if he called his girlfriend, she might be in danger if she came down to check on him. The restaurant is in a nice neighborhood, so he wasn't sure if the robbery was just opportunistic or not.

Booth guided his young friend to the SUV. "Yeah, so now she thinks you stood her up . . . Bones call Daisy and let her know what happened, please." After he got Sweets situated in the back seat, Booth got back in to his truck and started the engine while Brennan finished her phone call then got in the passenger side of the truck.

"Daisy will meet us at the hospital."

"Okay." Booth glanced back at his young friend and saw him pressing a bloody hand against his wound. The blood covering the side of his head and face looked bad, but most scalp wounds looked worse that they were.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

They were sitting in the waiting room of the Emergency Ward when Daisy rushed in. "Oh, where is Lance? Is he alright?"

"He needs a couple of stitches, but he's fine." Booth pointed at the empty seat next to him. "Being hit on the head rattled him a little bit, but he's okay. I think he's more upset that the guy stole his car and wallet."

"Thank goodness the man didn't kill him." Daisy sat down and looked around. "Can I go see him?"

Brennan shook her head. "No, there is a policeman in the room with him taking his statement. Once his stitches are in place and the police officer is done he'll be released. "

"Poor Lance." Daisy's left knee started moving up and down revealing her nervous state. "He really wanted to eat at Le Diplomate tonight."

Since his own dinner plans had been destroyed, Booth wasn't very sympathetic about a missed dinner by Daisy or Sweets. "He can always make another reservation." His first date with Brennan wasn't exactly the date he had planned and he wanted to make it up to her if he could. He just needed to think about how to do it.

First the police officer appeared from the back, nodded his head at Booth and left, then Lance made an appearance. Relieved to see her Lancelot, Daisy rushed across the room and threw her arms around her boyfriend. "Oh Lance, I was so worried about you."

Sweets hugged his girlfriend and then released her. Clasping her hand, he walked over to where Booth and Brennan were now standing. "Thank you for coming to get me . . . I've never been through something like this before, it was just so . . . shocking . . . thank you."

Glad to see the young man was looking better, Booth tapped him lightly on the shoulder with a clenched fist. "It's alright. Do you want us to take you home?"

"Oh, that won't be necessary, I can take him home." Daisy didn't want her boyfriend to be alone once he got home. "I'll stay with him tonight to make sure he's alright."

That was fine with Booth. "Great." Grabbing Brennan's hand, he hurried her towards the exit trying to make an escape while they still could. Once they were outside, Booth slowed his pace while he and Brennan walked towards his SUV. "I'm sorry our first date was a bust. I really wanted to show you a good time. I promise the next date will be a lot better."

Brennan squeezed Booth's hand. "It was a very interesting date, Booth. Not at all like the usual dates I've been on in the past and yet I don't really have anything to complain about. We got a reservation at one of the most popular restaurants in the city which was quite an achievement I must say and we rescued a friend from a very difficult situation. It was a very Boothy evening."

"A Boothy evening?" He wasn't sure if she was kidding him or not. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? "Um . . . it's too late to use our dinner reservation, but we can still go out. Would you like to go and eat somewhere? You name the place and I'll take you there."

She thought about it and smiled. "You may take me to the Royal Diner."

"The Royal Diner?" Booth stopped and turned to face his girlfriend. "We eat there all the time. It's not fancy, I mean it's just a diner. I want to take you to someplace really nice. The Royal Diner isn't special at all."

"That's where you are wrong Booth." Brennan captured one of his shirt collars with her right hand. "You may not think it's special, but I do." She kissed him gently on the lips. "It's where we go to relax and just be us. We know the wait staff and they know us. If we want something special they try to accommodate us. It feels like home in a way. No matter how much of a bad day you or I are having, the Royal Diner gives us comfort. It's our place and isn't that special?"

It was one of his favorite places to eat, but it just wasn't romantic and that is what he had wanted for Brennan. "If you want to, sure we'll go." It was such a let down from earlier in the evening and he felt bad that Brennan wasn't getting treated to something better, something that showed her how much she meant to him.

He seemed sad and Brennan wasn't sure why. "If you wish to go somewhere else we can. It was just a suggestion." She knew this was supposed to be their first date, so maybe he was disappointed that she didn't seem to understand how special that was. Maybe she wasn't being clear enough. "I appreciated that you made the reservation earlier tonight. It was a wonderful surprise even if we didn't get to eat there . . . I know you wanted it to be a special time for us, but it really isn't necessary Booth. Being with you, in a monogamous relationship . . . I don't really care where we go as long as we're together."

"Really?" Her words made him feel loved and a little less anxious about how the evening had gone. He knew she was being honest with him and he knew that she wasn't someone that sugar coated anything. It was one of the things he loved about her. "I wanted to show you how much you mean to me, but I don't need a fancy restaurant to show you that . . . Let's go to the diner and eat and then we can go back to my place afterwards. I have a bottle of wine in the fridge that I know is your favorite. Maybe we could dance for a little while and . . . then make love."

"That sounds wonderful Booth." It sounded perfect to Brennan. "It's a good thing we're not working tomorrow. I plan to make sure you're too tired to move by the time morning comes."

"Wow!" Booth was definitely interested in Brennan's part of the plan. "What are we waiting for? Let's go." Once they reached the SUV and before Brennan could walk around to the passenger side, Booth pulled her into his arms. "Just to let you know, you're going to be so tired tomorrow morning you're going to sleep all day. Two can definitely play that game."

That sounded so exciting to Brennan. "That is something I will look forward to . . . I think our first date is going to be an enormous success, Booth. The best one we've ever had."

"The only one we've ever had." Booth laughed. "I swear the next date is going to be a lot better than this one. I'm going to accidentally leave my phone in the truck and so are you. We are going to have a perfect date the next time no matter what happens." Booth kissed her and enjoyed the kiss even more when she responded.

A cough interrupted them. "Um, could you lend me $20 until I can go to the bank next Monday?" Sweets was hungry and he wanted to order pizza when he got home.

Daisy stared at Booth and her mentor as they separated from what looked like a very hot kiss. "Are you two dating now? I didn't know you were a couple. When did that happen?"

Reluctantly, Brennan released Booth's collar and turned to face her intern. "Yes, we are . . . we have been in a relationship for one month now."

Amazed, Sweets stared at the couple with his mouth open. "Holy Shit!" He didn't normally curse, but if there was a time to do it then this was it. " Sorry, I meant congratulations."

Their secret blown, Booth handed Sweets $30. "Here, go home and rest. Pay me back Monday." Gently pushing the couple away from the SUV, Booth smiled at his girlfriend. "Okay Bones. Let's boogy. We have plans and nothing is going to get in our way."

Once they were in the truck, they both turned and started a kiss that was long, passionate and just a little alarming in its intensity. Breathless Booth shifted in his seat and tried to make himself more comfortable. "We're going to my place. We can order pizza."

"Good plan." Brennan was more than ready to get her partner naked and in bed. "Pizza and wine, we don't need to eat out."

"No, we don't." Booth started his truck and left the parking lot. "Well this night didn't start out like I planned, but I think it's going to end the way I wanted it to."

"Me too." Brennan thought their first date was quite satisfactory so far. It would be perfect when the night was finished.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you thought of my story. Thank you.