A/N: Huge, huge thanks to Bellabun for reading through the last chapter for me. She is awesome. (I meant to say this last time, but was sleepy and forgot.)

And we're now firmly back to a T rating for this and most other chapters. Thanks to those who reviewed and enjoyed the last one; there may still be the occasional M chapter in future.

Venus ascending is surely your star...

If asked to describe Temperance Brennan, very few people would use the term "party girl," and the ones who did would clearly not know her very well.

She hated parties. As a child, she had been a little too over-competitive during musical chairs and had once inadvertently inflicted a nosebleed on a mermaid in a race for the last chair at an Under the Sea party. In high school, she had rarely been invited to parties, partly because she was moved around too often to make friends, and partly because she wasn't actually any good at making friends. In college, she'd attended a couple of fraternity parties in her freshman year, but had decided against going to any more after she'd inflicted another, entirely intentional, nosebleed on the star quarterback when he grabbed her ass and drunkenly shoved his tongue down her throat.

At the Jeffersonian, the parties had a far less sexual overtone - unless you were Jack Hodgins and Angela Montenegro and then every occasion had a sexual overtone - but they were still a deeply uncomfortable and awkward experience for Brennan. Being one of the few bonafide scientists there, she had to listen in annoyance as the wealthy donors all said how unpleasant her job was, and how disgusting dead bodies were. Having learned to keep her mouth shut and not point out that they would all be corpses themselves one day, she often found herself switching onto autopilot as the same questions were asked again and again.

Tonight was no different.

The party she was attending was a joint celebration of the one hundred and sixtieth anniversary of the Jeffersonian's opening and the acquisition of a new space shuttle which had carried out important research on the moon, so the ever original party-planners had staged the event in the Air and Space museum. She and her team had been forced to attend, to the extent that Cam had practically herded them into the limo to get them there and apparently Booth had been subjected to similar pressure at the FBI, with his boss telling him that a Bureau representative was required at the event, and he was the one who had to fall on the grenade.

His presence had not gone entirely unnoticed. Many of the women at the party had spotted the only FBI agent in the building, seen him talking to Brennan, and had all leapt to the same conclusion, namely that the real-life version of Special Agent Andy Lister was every bit as attractive as the one described in her books. Temperance had thus spent a large part of the evening trying to correct their erroneous assumptions regarding herself and her partner, only to be pressed for every little detail about Booth when they'd discovered he was single.

After three hours of smiling through her teeth and nodding politely, Brennan had finally managed to make an escape, seeking a secluded spot to rest and wishing that she was curled up on her couch with a good book instead of being dressed in a gown that she kept standing on by accident, wearing deeply uncomfortable shoes and having pins all but driven into her scalp to hold her intricate hairstyle in place.

As she made her way through the museum in search of respite from the constant barrage of conversation, she reached a dead end when the long corridor she was walking down suddenly ended in an official looking red door, bearing the label, "Planetarium. Employees only." Looking around her, she saw that there were still a few couples sitting together on the benches near the windows, meaning that even the furthest part of the museum was populated.

Motivated by the desire for peace and quiet, she walked confidently up to the red door, deciding that, as an employee of the Jeffersonian, she had every right to hide away in the dark recesses of the planetarium for a while before returning to the party. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door, walked inside and saw the universe explode above her head.

When she'd recovered from the shock of the fact that the supposedly closed planetarium was currently playing a show, her eyes scanned the room suspiciously, looking for the intruder who'd sneaked into an off-limits area to catch up on their knowledge of the solar system.

"Hey, Bones."

To say she was surprised to see Booth would be a lie. Letting the door fall shut behind her, her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the auditorium and she saw her partner sitting in the center of the room, his feet resting on the back of the chair in front of him and his white dress shirt glowing slightly in the light from the ceiling.

Staying in her position by the door, she asked, in a half-hearted attempt to chide him, "What are you doing here?"

Booth's voice traveled across the room and she was struck by how tired he sounded as he answered, "I'm watching the show. I brought Parker here a few weeks ago, but he doesn't like the dark, so we skipped this place. I'm just seeing what I missed."

Still not entering fully, she glanced up at the domed ceiling, watching as the projector showed the creation of the Milky Way galaxy, complete with swirling colors and fiery stars. Realising that something was missing, she inquired, "Why is there no sound?"

"Because I couldn't find the button that said "Sound"," he replied honestly, and she caught the smile on his lips as the above universe flashed into life. "The play button was big and green, so that was fairly easy to spot, but the rest weren't as obvious." He sighed, stretching back in his chair as the hint of despondency returned to his voice, "It's not like it matters anyway. The visual's nice enough."

There was a moment's silence as they both stared entranced at the solar system above their heads, the planets moving slowly around the blazing sun. As the program focused in on the outer planets, Booth glanced over at Brennan, asking quietly, "You going to come in and watch?" She didn't move, torn between the general immorality involved in using company facilities for private gain and her desire not to leave the comforting seclusion of the theater. Seeing her hesitation, Booth added, "The show'll be running whether you're here or not - I don't know how you turn it off."

Persuaded by his words, she walked carefully towards the center of the dome, feeling as though she was stepping into another world. The film was now showing a recreation of Neptune, and the room was bathed in an eerie blue light, strangely reminiscient of an aquarium, as Temperance made her way down Booth's row, wary of stepping on her dress in the disorienting darkness.

He looked over at her as she approached, the sapphire light glinting off the silver neckline to her dress and painting her pale skin a light blue color. Fully aware that she was avoiding the party outside, Booth found no reason to speak, instead just gesturing to the chair next to him and fixing his eyes back on the moving images as she sat down, removing her painful shoes before copying Booth's position and letting her feet rest on the seat back while slouching into the comfortable chair.

"Ah!"

Brennan's cry of pain shocked them both, and Booth immediately sat upright in concern, ignoring the previously fascinating sights. "What happened?"

Feeling guilty at the worried tone in his voice, she shook her head, allaying his fears. "Nothing, it's just these pins." She lifted her hands to the back of her head, trying in vain to tug out the hair grips that had just dug further into her scalp. "Go back to watching the show."

Even as she spoke she knew he wouldn't do as she asked. Turning to face her, Booth put his hands on her shoulders and faced her away from him, allowing him access to her hair. She began to protest, but he cut her off, his voice quiet but firm, "Let me."

He offered no further argument and silence quickly descended once again as his nimble fingers moved to her head, gently pulling out the thin grips from her tightly-styled hair. Unable to look up at the ceiling, Temperance could only stare straight ahead as the lights danced prettily across the rows of seats, and wondered why Booth was so uncharacteristically silent.

Her attempts at understanding her partner's behavior proved to be futile. As his fingers sifted tenderly through her hair, her skin started to tingle and her mind was robbed of any coherent thoughts. He worked with an impressive logic, starting from the nape of her neck and moving slowly upwards in a zig-zag pattern, locating the pins through touch rather than sight and then capturing them between his short nails, easing them smoothly out of her auburn hair. She felt herself relax under his featherlight touch, as though he removed some of her stress and frustration with each grip he collected.

"I'm done."

Surprised and mildly disappointed by his quiet statement, Brennan turned round to find he was already back in his chair, eyes fixed upwards while Saturn now rotated above them. Still not wishing to speak, she relaxed back in the chair, propping up her stockinged feet and letting her dress slide to her knees. Mutely, she watched as the orange-red rings were magnified and reduced, uncertain of what to say to her partner, but deciding that he'd talk to her if he wanted to.

"I feel kind of bad for Pluto."

She looked over at him with a confused frown, unable to believe that this was the reason for his melancholy mood. Booth's eyes were a mixture of emotions as he stared upwards, speaking as though to himself, "I mean, one day, he's a planet. He's got a place in the solar system, other planets around him, a definite role to fulfill. People know he's there. And then the next day, someone just decides that he's not good enough anymore and so they kick him out and leave him on his own."

Temperance was deeply perplexed now, but said nothing, hoping Booth would enlighten her as to his sudden empathy with the former planet. He continued, emotion now creeping into his voice, "It's not like he asked to be a planet in the first place. But it happened, and he stepped up, and was a pretty good planet for all those years. And now it's like they've thrown all that in his face. What's he supposed to do now? Sure, he could orbit away to join another solar system, but this one's still here and he should always be a part of it."

Ignoring the physical impossibilities of a planet "orbiting away", she cut in, unable to fathom the meaning behind his words, but at least getting the basic principle, "Booth, I don't think you're talking about Pluto anymore."

Booth said nothing for a few moments, seemingly unaware of this fact himself. Lowering his eyes to a spot somewhere in the darkness in front of him, he stated quietly, "I was supposed to have Parker tonight."

Still not entirely sure why he was so dejected, she hazarded a guess, "Did Rebecca give you a hard time about it?"

He shook his head, an ironic smile playing on his lips. "She was fine about it for once."

Searching for another reason, Brennan tried again, asking bluntly, "Was Parker disappointed?"

There was a pause and it seemed painful for Booth to answer, "No."

Failing to see the problem, she said optimistically, "Well, that's good, right?"

"No, Bones, it's not good!" he snapped loudly. He took a deep breath before turning to face her with a tired sigh. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you."

Waving away his apology, she asked again, somewhat taken aback by what he'd just said, "You want your son to be disappointed?"

Putting his head in his hands, he said quietly, "Of course I don't. No parent would. I just want him to want me, that's all."

She offered no response and he leaned back again, his eyes forward as he explained, "Drew's moved in with Rebecca and now he's all Parker talks about. Every time I get to see him, he spends the whole day telling me that Drew did this, and Drew can do that. Even the stupid little things, like reading him a story or making him a snack, Drew can apparently do better than me."

Brennan could hear the anger in his voice as he spoke, but that was almost drowned out by the hurt in his words. "I've tried, you know? I've taken him to the zoo, the park, this museum, everywhere he used to like to go, but I just keep screwing it up. I'd forget he hates the dark, or I wouldn't pack the right stuff, or I'd yell at him for something he didn't do. And every time I do mess up, I feel like I'm driving him closer and closer to Drew." His voice became bitter as he mocked, "Look Parker, see how crappy your old daddy is compared to your new one?"

He took a deep breath, before letting the repressed emotions pour out of him further. "And now every time I can't see him, he doesn't care. When I spoke to him at night, it used to make him really happy to tell me about his day at school, but now even that seems like a chore." He looked up at her for the first time, sheer helplessness in his eyes as he asked softly, "What am I supposed to do, Bones? I'm losing my own son..."

Brennan felt helplessness surge through her too as she met his eyes, knowing she was no expert on domestic relationships. Having no choice but to go with what she knew, she spoke slowly, hoping he would understand what she was trying to say, "All humans change and adapt as they grow older, and this happens very quickly in infants. Likes, dislikes, fears, enthusiasms all change with time, and it's probable that Parker is just growing up."

She saw a flash of panic in Booth's eyes and hurriedly continued, "But no matter what age you are, there's always a biological and social connection between you and your parents. It's evolution's way of perpetuating the species; children and parents have firm ties established so parents will care for children in their youth and children will care for their parents when they are too old to look after themselves." She gave him a small smile. "Forgetting that your child doesn't like the planetarium is not enough to destroy bonds forged by a millenia of evolution."

For the first time that evening a genuine smile crossed Booth's face and he said sincerely, "Thank you, Bones."

She returned the smile and their gaze held for a moment, their faces illuminated by the lights from above. The color of the room suddenly changed, jolting them out of their reverie, and they both leaned back in the chairs simultaneously and somewhat quickly. Staring up at the image of Mercury that was now covering the dome, Booth said with a smile, "Good to know I'm not going to be plutoed then."

Watching as the small yellowish planet was replaced by a familiar green and blue one, Brennan stated, "If we were to apply a planetary comparison accurately to your situation, I would say you're more like Earth."

"Okay..." he replied, unsure if he wanted to know what prompted that thought.

She was going to tell him anyway. "I only say that because it's the people on Earth who set these boundaries on Space. There's no firm order to the universe, only the constructs that we impose on it. In the same way, you're the one imposing criteria on your relationship with your son by measuring it in phone calls and day trips. You're his father, and that's the only part of any of this that isn't subject to opinion."

Unexpectedly reassured by her words, Booth glanced over at her with a grin. "Bones, you're getting way better at this whole metaphor thing." The look on her face told him she was horrified by this news and his grin only widened. Earth vanished from view, only to be replaced by a misty green planet and he shrugged as he said casually, "Well, if I'm Earth, that makes you Venus."

Brennan raised her eyebrows, almost insulted by the comparison. "In what way am I Venus?"

"Because you're sat next to me," he answered simply.

She rolled her eyes. "By that logic I could be Mars - that's the other planet "sat next to" Earth."

He smiled, amused by how seriously she was taking the discussion. "Yeah, but Mars is a guy planet. You're not a guy."

Before she could argue further, the light from the ceiling disappeared as the show ended, with soft lighting appearing around the edges of the dome to guide them out. Instinctively getting to his feet with a groan, Booth sighed, "Guess that's our cue to leave." He checked his watch. "It's late enough for us to get out of here if you want a ride home? Unless you'd prefer to stay and chat to the rich people some more..."

Brennan was on her feet in a flash, eager for any opportunity to avoid the rest of the party. "A ride would be great." She moved to put her feet in her shoes again, but Booth stopped her.

"You might not want to do that - I put all those hair grips in your shoe for safe-keeping."

Glancing down, she saw the nest of pins in her shoe and picked up the heels instead, secretly grateful for any excuse not to wear them. Tiredly, they made their way to the exit, both lulled into a sleepy state by the dark silence of the dormant planetarium. Opening the door, they headed down the corridor together, doing their best to look innocent and composed, which was difficult given that Booth's jacket was slung over his shoulder and his bow-tie was undone, while his partner had dishevelled hair and no shoes.

Reaching the end of the corridor and the doors to the parking lot, Brennan and Booth's plan for an inconspicuous getaway was foiled as someone cleared their throat loudly behind them.

Turning round guiltily, they were met with the smiling face of Angela Montenegro who said teasingly, "Subtle. Very subtle. Almost as though you didn't just sneak out of the deserted planetarium together."

Realising how their situation looked, they began to protest, but she waved them silent. "I'm not judging." She indicated the hors d'oeuvres in her hand with a grin. "I'm just here for some time-out snacks." The absence of Hodgins made it very clear to the two partners exactly what she was taking a time out from and they both suppressed a shudder.

Seeing that they obviously didn't want to talk, Angela backed away, more than happy just to see them leaving together. "I'll just let you guys go... But, Bren?" Temperance looked up at her question and the artist finished with a knowing smile, "Hope you enjoyed the Big Bang."

This whole story was partly written so I could use the verb "plutoed" in a fic. I only found out it was a real word yesterday and so was very excited by the knowledge.

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