Day 1

It was one of those moments that had been becoming more and more frequent—where they would be very nice to one another for no reason at all. They stood in her office, laughing quietly at something he had said as all the other lights in the lab were automatically turned off. He held out her jacket for her and she slipped into it, still laughing a little to herself. They were gathering their things, and they couldn't stop smiling.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed as she checked her messages one last time. The lab was completely still except for them, and they both had to admit they liked that feeling very much.

"Who did you call?" she asked with a vague interest once she had finished her task.

"Thai food," he said smugly, putting his hands in his pockets. He knew she couldn't resist Thai food.

"How much?" she asked him suspiciously. The invitation was unspoken but acknowledged.

He just smiled. "Enough for four people, so you and I will probably end up fighting over the last few bites of Pad Thai."

"We spend too much time together," she said with a laugh as the grabbed the last of her things and a box of files. He took the box from her and smiled at her cute resentment of his helpfulness. Old habits die hard.

"You're not sick of me, are you?" he asked with mock despair as she turned off the light to her office. They were going to have to make their way to the parking lot in complete darkness.

"Of course not, I'm just worried about our social lives. I barely talk to anyone I don't work with. My best friend is my partner, and not only am I friends with the people I work with, but the people I work with are my only frien—"

"Whoa whoa whoa there, Bones," he said, turning to face her and putting his hands on her shoulders to stop her. "I thought Angela was your best friend."

"She is."

"But you just said—"

"Can't I have more than one?" she asked defensively as she walked around him to continue to the parking lot in the darkness.

"Well no, not really, because you know, 'best' implies that there's only one, and while I'm flattered by the title I don't think Angela would be so happy to hear that she has to share."

"Are you kidding? She'd be thrilled."

"Hey, Bones," he said, jogging a little to catch up with her. "You really consider me your best friend?"

"One of them."

"Okay, fine, one of your best friends?"

"I don't see why this comes as a surprise to you, Booth. I spend seventy-five percent of my time with you and I tell you everything. We're honest with each other and we get along very well." She stopped, hearing him laugh a few paces behind her. "What? What's so funny?"

"It's just that it's so unlike you to give that kind of title. I always figured you used it with Angela because she made you."

"Friendship is one of the most important parts of society, Booth. And besides, it's one of the few things in my life that has never let me down." Her voice sounded minutely sad and he knew the source. Too many times her family had let her down. Her friends were her family. He was her family.

"Friendship and science, huh Bones?" he asked, putting his arm around her shoulders. This was a new thing he'd been doing a lot recently. But she didn't complain.

"Exactly," she nodded, her voice sounding lighter again. There was a moment of silent walking until Booth's stomach growled. She laughed. "You should take better care of yourself."

"Bones, we worked the case for 48 hours straight. So-rry if I forgot a meal, oh Princess-of-all-things-healthy." They had reached the parking lot, and she laughed again as she took the box of files from him and put them in her car. "Maybe you should pack me lunches," he mused. "You know, turkey and mayonnaise loaded with lettuce…"

"I'm not going to do that and you know I don't have any turkey anyway, Booth," she said, closing the rear driver's side door and leaning against it.

He took her hand suddenly in the darkness and pulled her away from the car. "Come on, Bones," he said, as if he suddenly had the best idea ever.

"Where are we going?"

"To my car. It's at the back of the lot." He turned around, but kept walking, keeping her in tow. "You know, I should get a parking spot here."

"You don't work here, Booth. And why do I need to go to your car?" she asked as he dragged her along playfully.

"Because I'm taking you home. To my house. For Thai food."

"I have my own car."

"Aw come on, Bones, be friendly to the environment."

"My car is much more eco-friendly than your government-issued clanker."

"Clunker, Bones. It's called a clunker." But he didn't make an argument in his defense. When they reached his car, she got in without further argument. Time spent with Booth was never necessarily a bad thing. And the last case had been a tough one.

Though she would have liked to deny everything between them, it was no secret that the lines of their partnership had long ago been blurred beyond recognition by their friendship. They were one in the same for a long time, and now the professional part of their relationship was slipping away, replaced by the closest friendship Brennan had ever experienced. She would have also liked to deny that she loved every moment of it. But she loved it. She really, really did.