Chapter 2

Brennan stood contemplating the contents of her fridge. She really wasn't in the mood for the cob salad she had been planning to have for dinner, but everything else was frozen and would take too long. She thought about going out to get sushi, but she was too tired. She sighed. Cob salad it is. She had started pulling out the salad makings when she heard the doorbell.

Peering through the peephole, she felt a smile spread across her face. She opened the door to her partner. "Thought you might want some company." Booth had a pizza and a six pack of beer to go with the cocky smile on his face. Brennan put her hand on her hip and considered letting him in. It was hard to deny him when he had that smile on his face, and well he knew it. "C'mon, Bones, you can fill me in on the case while we eat."

"How do you know I don't already have company?" she inquired indignantly. She was somewhat miffed that he had assumed she had no social life and would be home alone on a Friday night.

"If you had plans for tonight, you would have mentioned it earlier at the lab. C'mon, Bones, have a heart. The pizza's getting cold and the beer's getting warm."

Brennan pulled the door open and he grinned wider, taking the pizza and beer into the kitchen. He pulled plates from the cabinet and napkins out of the napkin holder on the counter. Brennan was struck by how comfortable he was in her apartment.

When they were settled with their pizza and beer on each end of the couch, Brennan gave him a run down of the progress on the case so far.

"The woman's throat was cut, right to left, so we're probably looking for a left handed killer. No purse or shoes were found at the scene. She wore a blonde wig, which was found under her left shoulder. It's possible if fell off during the struggle and she fell on top of it. Based on her attire, we think she was a prostitute. Hodgins' preliminary insect analysis puts her death at about 37 days ago. The skeleton will be macerated by tomorrow morning and I'm hoping to find curf marks that will help determine the kind of weapon. Zach will attach the tissue markers to the skull tomorrow morning and Angela should have a 3-D model in the Angelator by tomorrow afternoon."

Booth wiped his mouth and nodded thoughtfully. "Victim should be in the system if she was a prostitute. You think we'll have an ID tomorrow then?"

Brennan didn't like to promise a time frame on someone else's work, but she nodded. "I think that's possible, barring any problems." She set her plate on the coffee table, took a swig of her beer and put the bottle beside the plate. She sat back on the couch and rolled her shoulders, trying to work out the tension. Booth put his plate and bottle down too and scooted closer to her.

"Turn around," Booth commanded softly. Brennan froze, unsure that she could handle whatever he was about to do. "C'mon, Bones, trust me. If you don't like it, just say so and I'll stop."

She decided to give in because making an issue of it might make him think she couldn't handle a little platonic shoulder rub. She turned and lifted her hair from her neck. His large, warm hands closed on her shoulders and began massaging the tense muscles, moving up to her neck and back down again. She couldn't stop a low moan of pleasure. Her arms dropped to her sides.

"Drop your head forward," his warm, caressing voice said low. She obeyed and the wonderful massage continued. Then his hands moved down her arms and his hands linked with hers and she found herself cradled against his solid chest. Her head fell back against his shoulder and she felt his lips on her neck, sending thrills to all parts of her body. "Temperance," he whispered against her ear, sending a jolt of desire to follow the thrills. He turned her in his arms and kissed her temple, the outside corner of her eye, her cheek, until finally his lips met hers and sent her senses soaring. She responded without thinking, unable to resist opening her mouth to deepen the kiss. Her pulse was racing and she couldn't seem to catch her breath. When he pulled back they were both panting as though at the end of a marathon. Brennan's ayes opened to find him looking down at her with passion in his eyes and a strange half smile on his lips.

"Wow," he said softly and she found herself blushing a little. Wow was right, she thought. No doubt about it, the man knew how to kiss. She pulled away a little and he allowed it, keeping his arm around her.

"Booth, when you were shot, it--scared me. My first thought was that you were dead and I hadn't told you..." He was watching her intently, waiting for her to continue. She dropped her eyes and finished on a whisper. "I hadn't told you that I l-love you." Tears welled up and her eyes met his. "Then it turned out it was a minor injury and you were fine and I was so relieved. But at the same time I felt mad...at you, for scaring me like that."

Booth's lips twitched as he resisted the urge to smile. He could tell she needed to get it all out and he knew they wouldn't get anywhere until she did.

She hadn't missed the twitch of his lips and pulled back some more. "Don't laugh at me! I don't allow people to get close--it leaves me open to heartache. It's not even a conscious thing most of the time. But I find life kind of empty as a result. And I don't want an empty life."

Booth stroked her cheek and ran his thumb over the sweet dent in her chin. "I think I can help you with that, if you'll let me." His eyes dropped to her lips then back up to her eyes. "We can take it slow, but I want you to know, I love you so much it hurts. I want to keep you safe for the rest of your life, if you'll let me." He kissed her again, briefly this time, and stood up.

Brennan stood up too, feeling a bit awkward. She didn't think she was ready to take the next step with him yet, but wasn't sure how to communicate that without hurting his feelings. She needn't have worried. He was pulling on his jacket and heading for the door. She followed, feeling a bit deflated. He seemed to be a little too anxious to leave. He turned at the door and gave her a smile. "I have Parker this weekend. Want to go to the park with us? We could have a picnic."

She hesitated. She sometimes felt uncomfortable around kids, but it seemed a good way to spend some time with Booth with a little chaperone. Besides, she loved Parker. He was a sweet version of Booth in miniature. "Sure, sounds like fun. What time?"

The huge grin on his face was her reward. "Great! We'll pick you up at 11:00." With that he was gone, and Brennan closed the door, smiling softly. For the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to Saturday.