Disclaimer: No, Santa didn't bring me Bones for Christmas. Title from the Little Big Town song Novocaine.
Spoilers: Reference to 3x05 Mummy in the Maze.
A/N: I've had this idea jotted down for a while so I was excited when it seemed to want to be written this weekend. I hope you enjoy. :)
"Bones?" Booth's voice preceded him into her office by mere seconds.
"Yeah?" She stood and reached for her lab coat.
"I was just dropping off some more background information on the Scardino case." He paused, glancing at the coat rack. "Ange said you had a doctor's appointment and that you'd probably left already..."
"I'm not going."
"Why not?" He set the stack of papers on her desk and turned to face her, an eyebrow quirking in question.
"It's just an appointment for a tetanus shot." She slid into her coat. "Nothing I can't miss. There's too much for me to be working on here anyhow."
"The lab is not going to fall apart if you leave for an hour to get a shot."
"Obviously. I leave all the time to go out in the field. There's a lot going on this week though with the case, the research we're helping Jack with, and-" Her voice dropped until it was nearly inaudible. In fact, Booth found himself leaning in to catch what she said. "I don't really like needles."
"You're afraid of needles?" His head tilted as if appraising her. "That's not logical."
"And a fear of clowns is?"
"I'm not afraid of clowns! I just don't like them very much."
"Parsnip, parsnipe."
"Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe." He shook his head. These little quirks of hers didn't really surprise him anymore. Actually, they were quite...endearing. "And stop trying to change the subject. You're really afraid of needles?"
"I'm not afraid of them. I'm just not...fond of them."
He felt the corner of his mouth turn up, but otherwise let the comment slide. "You've survived shots in the past. Why not go and get it over with?"
"Those were shots I needed to have to travel. This is voluntary." She glanced out into the lab only to find that Clark had finished the work for Hodgins. She shrugged off her coat and started towards the papers he'd just deposited on her desk.
"Obviously, your doctor doesn't think so." He stepped in between her and the desk. "Come on, I'll take you." He draped his arm across her shoulders and started propelling her out the door of her office. She smiled, relaxing against him. Somehow his presence alone eased any tension surrounding her. She wasn't about to analyze that now; she just enjoyed it. "Let's go," He chuckled and turned, shooting her one of his brightest charm smiles. "you can even squeeze my hand..."