Thank you for reviewing my story.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

After he entered Cullen's office, Booth noticed that the Deputy Director was waiting for him. Booth kept his face emotionless as he sat down on the chair across from Cullen's desk and decided to wait for Cullen to make the first move. Feeling a little vulnerable, he folded his arms across his chest and tried to be patient.

Observing Booth's body language, Cullen leaned forward and clasped his hands on his desk top. "Dr. Sweets informed me that your partner may have got engaged last night."

Stoically, Booth shrugged his shoulders. "That's why I'm here?"

Cullen hated that Booth was going through a load of crap, but he had to make sure his head of Major Crimes wasn't a lit stick of dynamite. "Yes, it is. Dr. Sweets told me that you've had quite a week . . . You had a health scare, your girlfriend dumped you and now your partner may have got engaged. He was worried that the stress may have been too much for you. I guess we're all worried about you."

Embarrassed that he was the center of so much attention, Booth pointed towards the side of his head. "That's why the headache. That's why I should be home."

The Deputy Director understood Booth was embarrassed, but he had to makes sure that the agent was mentally handling the hits he'd been taking. "Dr. Sweets was concerned that you might do something drastic when you found out that Dr. Brennan was engaged."

Very annoyed, Booth protested, "Dr. Sweets is a damn busy body. Why would I do something drastic? What did he mean by drastic? I'm not a psycho . . . I wouldn't go postal if Bones got engaged and it pisses me off if he thinks I would . . . What kind of a man do you and he think I am? This is ridiculous. I get a headache and the world thinks I'm going to kill someone. I really don't appreciate this, not one bit. It's wrong . . . just wrong."

Holding up his hands in a placating manner, Cullen shook his head. "Look, no one is accusing you of anything. We're just all a little concerned, that's all. In the last two years, you've been kidnapped and almost killed, you had a brain tumor, your partner shut down your partnership with the Jeffersonian, you were in Afghanistan for several months, you've come back to a very stressful job, your girlfriend dumps you, you thought you might have another brain tumor and your partner may have gotten herself engaged which ultimately could change our arrangement with the Jeffersonian again. You look me in the eye and tell me that isn't a lot of stress for one man to be under. Tell me that's not a lot of crap to deal with."

His personal history laid out like that, Booth realized that it sounded pretty bad, but it was his life and he was handling it. "Okay, I've had a few things to deal with, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go all crazy and start killing people . . . This is nuts. This kind of thing can ruin a man's reputation and his career. I sure as hell don't appreciate this. Where is hell is Dr. Sweets anyway? I think I need to have a talk with him."

Cullen decided that Booth wasn't having the trouble his psychologist was worried about and he was starting to regret bothering his agent. "Dr. Sweets is currently looking for you. You had your phone going to voicemail."

Shaking his head, Booth pointed at his head again. "I have a headache. I was at home, in bed. I was trying to sleep my way out of the headache, but no . . . Sweets is listening to gossip and telling my Boss I'm a whack job and I have to get out of bed and come back to work to prove I'm not . . . This is absolute shit and you know it." Rubbing his head, Booth moaned under his breath and thought. "Damn it now I really do have a damn headache."

The Deputy Director leaned back in his chair and watch Booth rub his head. "Look . . . I'm sorry, Booth. I really am. I should have known better than to listen to idle gossip, but you have to see it from my perspective. An FBI psychologist comes to me and he's worried about one of my agents. An agent that, well . . . let's face it, you do have a temper and you have the patience of a gnat sometimes, so yeah I listened. I couldn't risk not listening to him . . . Thank God he;'s wrong. This isn't going to reflect badly on you, I can assure you. Now, you have a headache and I can clearly see that you are in pain. Go home, get some rest and come back tomorrow."

Relieved that Cullen was letting him go, Booth stood up. "If it's a migraine I might be out tomorrow. Sometimes it takes me a few hours before I know if it is or not."

Nodding his head, Cullen sympathized with Booth. "Sure, I get them myself. Just let Barbara know in the morning if you aren't coming in or not."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Knocking on Brennan's apartment door, Booth waited as patiently as possible. Drumming his fingers on the wall next to the door, he glared at the closed door and after a few minutes,he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called his partner. "Hey Bones, where the hell are you? I'm standing outside your apartment door."

Picking up her grocery bags from the check out counter, Brennan stepped towards the store's entrance. "I'm at the market. I wanted to cook dinner for us and I realized that I needed a few things."

Surprised, Booth was pleased that they were staying in for dinner. "Oh, do you want me to come down there and help you bring the shopping back?"

Shaking her head, Brennan walked out of the store. "No, that won't be necessary. It's just a few bags. Why don't you use your emergency key for my apartment and let yourself in? I should be there in about seven or ten minutes depending upon traffic patterns."

Amused, Booth leaned against the wall and smiled at her cuteness. "Okay, I'll see you in seven to ten minutes depending on traffic patterns."

oooooooooooooooooooo

Brennan was approaching her apartment building when she spied Sweets standing in front of the building staring at her. Irritated, she decided that Dr. Lance Sweets needed a lesson in professionalism. Quickly formulating a plan, she decided to initiate it and then let Booth know about her plan when she saw him.

She soon found herself standing next to Sweets and started by questioning him. "What are you doing here?"

Relieved to see that Brennan was okay, Sweets replied, "I'm looking for Agent Booth. Have you seen him?"

Glancing at the entrance to her apartment, the anthropologist nodded her head. "I have seen Booth many times. Are you talking about a specific time period?"

Irritated, Sweets needed to talk to her and he knew insulting her wouldn't get him anywhere. "Very good . . . Yeah, I meant have you seen Agent Booth today?"

Shifting her bags from one hand to the other, Brennan didn't answer the question. "Why are you looking for Booth? Why not call him? He does own a phone."

Embarrassed to admit it, Sweets sighed. "He won't answer his phone. He's ducking my calls."

Shrugging her shoulders, Brennan looked down at her bags. "I have ice cream in my bag and it is melting as we speak. What do you want with Booth?"

Sweets knew he'd better get to the point or she'd just walk away from him. "Well, uh . . . there is a rumor going around that you got engaged last night and I know Booth heard about it. I just wanted to make sure he's okay. Has he tried to contact you?"

Shaking her head, Brennan shifted the bags in her hand once more. "No he has not tried to contact me. Why would the fact that I'm engaged upset him?"

Reluctantly, Sweets answered, "Well, uh, you see, you may not know it, but he broke up with Hannah a few days ago. He thought he might have a brain tumor and the second Hannah heard the words brain tumor she bugged out and she left him. I know that he likes you a lot . . . well if we're going to be honest, he loves you and . . . "

Holding up her hand, Brennan interrupted Sweets. "Stop . . . He doesn't love me. We're friends and nothing more. We're partners."

Just for once, Sweets wished that she would accept that Booth loved her and maybe just maybe she loved Booth. "That may be how you feel about Agent Booth, but I'm telling you that he loves you and I'm afraid he might not react well when he hears that you're engaged. You know how he hates it when guys pay too much attention to you and . . ."

Furious, Brennan kept her face an unemotional mask. "I think you're wrong. I don't think my engagement will affect him. He is my friend and he will be happy for me."

Shaking his head again, Sweets implored her, "Please Dr. Brennan . . . Agent Booth has been under enormous pressure for over a year now. I worry about how he's going to react when he confronts you about your engagement."

She'd had enough of his foolishness. "Your worries are groundless. Now if you don't mind, I need to go up to my apartment before my ice cream melts completely."

Stepping away from Brennan so she could pass him, Sweets tried once more. "Please Dr. Brennan. If you hear from Booth, let me know."

Not acknowledging the younger man, Brennan entered her apartment building and crossed the lobby to the elevator.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Opening her door, Brennan found Booth sitting on her couch with his head in his hands. Looking up, he tried to smile. "Hey you have any aspirin or Advil? I really do have a headache now. I never realized how paranoid people can be when . . . hell, I'll take Tylenol if you don't have any Advil."

Concerned, Brennan walked in to the kitchen, put her ice cream in the freezer and then walked from the kitchen to the bathroom. Retrieving some Advil, she carried it and a glass of water back to Booth. Handing the pills to him, she then handed him the water. "Sweets was waiting for me outside of my apartment building. I am very irritated at his assumptions about you and his reliance on gossip. He is being very unprofessional."

Nodding his head, Booth held the now empty glass in his hands. "Yeah, he told Cullen that I was some volcano ready to erupt and destroy everyone in my path. I told Cullen that I didn't appreciate that shit at all. I convinced him that Sweets is an idiot and he gave me the rest of the day off. If I milk it right, I can get tomorrow off too. I told him I have a headache, which isn't a damn lie anymore. I really do have a headache. This is ridiculous. People are really afraid of me . . . me!"

Brennan sat on the couch next to Booth and placed her hand on his arm. "I think Dr. Sweets needs to learn a lesson about gossip and spreading wild innuendo. I told him that I haven't seen you today and I didn't deny that I am engaged."

Surprised, Booth stared at his partner. "Are you crazy? What do hope to accomplish by doing that?"

Sniffing, Brennan explained, "Since everyone is insisting that I am engaged, I thought I would add to the bedlam by saying that I am. I of course am not engaged, but if everyone thinks I am then they will run around like a goose with it's head lopped off trying to find out who my imaginary fiancé is. It should be quite amusing and perhaps they will learn to avoid gossip. Also, just because there have been shootings in offices doesn't mean that every time someone is unhappy they will go postal. It's a ridiculous assumption and it can do a lot of harm to that person's reputation."

Puzzled at her reasoning, Booth responded, "That's a chicken with it's head cut off and that's what I told Cullen . . . I think you're crazy if you think this plan of yours is going to end well. We work with people who solve crimes for a living. They're sharp as they come. I really think you shouldn't do this. I mean I really really think this is a bad idea."

Smiling at her partner, Brennan assured him. "Well I don't."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth leaned back against the couch. "What did Cam want?"

Certain that her plan would work, Brennan leaned against her partner and placed her hand on his thigh. "She called me to find out what happened last night. She knew we had gone on a date last night, so she wanted to know if you proposed to me."

Wary, Booth watched Brennan start to rub small circles on his leg. "And what did you tell her?"

Squeezing his thigh, Brennan started making larger circles. "I told her I am not engaged."

Shaking his head, Booth watched her hand move closer to his groin. "Bones, you're . . . What happens when Cam says you aren't engaged and Sweets says you are?"

Her hand now moving slowly toward the object of her desire, Brennan chuckled. "I don't know. This is going to be a fascinating experiment. I may even be able to write a paper when this is done."

Booth moved his arm around her waist and leaned over to kiss her. "Oh goody . . . Oh!"

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Reviews would be great thanks.