Booth woke up early. It was way too early, even for him. Then again, he hadn't really slept. He'd been too worried about Zack. If he was totally honest, he was worried for himself too. Booth didn't know what was going on with him, didn't understand it. All he'd wanted to do all night was go back to Zack. To hold him, to comfort him, to... Booth shook his head, taking a deep mouthful from his coffee cup. Rubbing is eyes roughly, Booth didn't noticed Zack appearing in the doorframe.

"Booth," He said meekly, his voice almost a whisper. Booth looked up quickly.

"Hey," He replied, immediately turning to the coffee pot. "You want coffee?" Zack shook his head, although Booth couldn't see it.

"No thanks," He said once he'd realised this fact. Booth nodded and turned back to the young PhD.

"Did you sleep?" Booth asked softly, sitting down at the breakfast bar. Zack nodded slowly.

"I think so," He replied, sitting opposite Booth. "Last night is all a bit of a blur. I don't really remember getting here, falling asleep. All I remember is... you holding me." Zack looked at Booth carefully with these words, analysing the FBI agent's reaction. Booth merely looked further into his cup.

"I don't have to get you to work for another hour or so," Booth mumbled. "You want some breakfast or something?" Zack shook his head, whispering a 'no' with his eyes still fixed on Booth. Closing his eyes, Zack held back a sigh. After a moment or two of silence, he finally opened them.

"Thank you," He said, his voice louder than before, yet still with the timidity it always bore. Booth looked up, his eyes connecting with Zack's.
"For last night I mean," Zack continued, keeping eye contact with the older man across from him. "I didn't know where else to go."

"It was nothing," Booth smiled softly.

"Well, it meant a lot to me," Zack smiled, standing up. "Y'know, I think I could do with some breakfast. I'll buy." Booth looked at Zack shortly before smiling and standing up too.

"Sounds good to me."

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Brennan smiled as soon as she saw Zack walking in with Booth. They both seemed happy, and comfortable in each other's company. Angela seemed to notice this too.

"Hey guys," She smiled. "When did you two get so pally?" Zack smiled and shrugged.

"We bumped into each other on the way in," Booth smiled. Hodgins smirked and shook his head.

"How did you get in, Zack?" He said, turning in his chair. "I came to wake you up this morning and you weren't there." Zack looked around for a second.

"I took a cab," He mumbled. "I went for a long walk last night. Ended up a little lost." Hodgins smiled to himself, he could tell Zack was lying.

"You should be more careful," He replied, his voice uncharacteristically soft. Zack nodded, smiling at Hodgins, before wandering over to his workstation. Hodgins immediately stood up, indicating for Booth to follow him to a quiet corner.

"So, what's going on?" Hodgins asked as soon as they were out of earshot. "You wanna make friends with Zack before he gets shipped out to Iraq?"

"He's not going to Iraq," Booth replied immediately. Hodgins looked at him for a moment, shocked.

"What?"

"A war zone is no place for him to be. He's not going. I'll make sure of it." Hodgins continued to look at Booth for a minute, before smiling softly.

"Thank you, Booth."

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"Hey Booth." Booth turned around at the sound of his name.

"Bones," He smiled. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Brennan smiled. "I heard about what you're doing. Keeping Zack here." Booth shrugged lightly, noting the soft smile on Brennan's lips.

"It's not like I'm keeping him here against his will. He knows in his heart that he needs to be here, not away in some war torn country getting shot at." Brennan nodded, her smile not wavering for a moment. After a while of just looking at each other, Booth smirked and looked away.

"What?"

"Nothing," Brennan replied. "I'm just… proud of you. You care about Zack, no matter what you've said before, you really care about him." Booth smiled lightly and nodded.

"What can I say," He replied. "After all this time, I kinda feel like part of the family." After these words, Booth shifted slightly, looking at Brennan sheepishly. Brennan's smile widened, and she seemed to take a marginal step towards Booth.

"That's sweet," She said quietly. Booth smiled for a moment as silence rose between them again.

"Hey, why don't we go out tonight," Brennan said finally. "Get a drink and talk. Just the two of us." Booth smiled shortly before nodding.

"Yeah," He nodded. "Sounds great." Brennan nodded back, before turning away slowly.

"I'll see you later," She said cheerfully before turning fully and walking away.