A/N: So this entry is out of order with the other posts under this title, but I couldn't wait to share it with you all. I had a wonderful opportunity to co write this story with the very talented AlphaGirl13. She wrote Brennan's point of view for this post, and I wrote Booth's pov. If you haven't checked out her stories, you need to do so! They're very enjoyable. She'has an exceptional knack seeing things through Brennan's eyes.

Brennan speaks first...written by AlphaGirl13

I stood off to the side, avoiding the crowds of people gathered in the auditorium. Every now and then, I smiled politely at another scientist and nodded my recognition. I retreated slowly until I was standing in front of the doors to the exhibit. Running my hand over the elegant door handle, I tried desperately to calm my nerves. My heart beat quickly, a reaction to the adrenaline flowing through my blood. I felt an uncomfortable heat in my stomach and my hand shook slightly on the door handle. I hated speaking at events. Lecturing was no problem; I loved educating young and eager students. But a room full of professionals was another story altogether. They were knowledgeable people; people who would be judging every word I said. I gripped the handle tightly and shut my eyes, trying to chase away the anxious thoughts.

Suddenly, a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I stiffened nervously, but a low voice set my body at ease.

""Hiya, Bones."

I turned from the doors and smiled slightly at my partner.

"What are you doing out here? The party's about to start. Don't you need to be in with all the guests?" He asked as his eyes roamed over my face. I knew he was searching for an answer, but as I glanced towards the auditorium doors, my palms grew slightly damp. I had hated the interview for my doctorate; I had hated the interview for my position at the Jeffersonian; and I had hated every research proposal I had ever done.

And every time, I was scared. The feeling was illogical, but I was terrified. I hated being judged, I hated feeling unwanted or unappreciated. And that night was no exception. So instead of facing the professionals in the next room, I did something very childish: I grabbed Booth's hand and pulled him through the exhibit doors.

"I want to show you the exhibit since you were involved in the recovery of the ruby. Come on…"

He followed me quietly, trying not to alert the others to what we were doing. But as soon as we were out of earshot, he turned to me, slightly panicked.

"Bones! We're not supposed to be down here yet!" he whispered.

I chuckled. He was always a rule follower.

"You're with me Booth. This is my find, you're not going to get into trouble."

He walked forward, mesmerized by the ornate displays. Only at the last second did I notice the extravagant gold emblem on the floor.

"Don't! Don't step on that!"

"Why?!"

But as soon as he asked the question, he moved on.

"God this is so cool!"

We walked towards the glass cases, separated by the center display.

"So" Booth asked. "He wasn't trampled by his brother?"

I was still nervous, but the science of a find was always something I could fall back on. I could focus on the facts; they were something I could prove, something I knew conclusively.

"No." I pointed at the linen wrapped mummy. "Meti suffered from Osteogenesis Imperfecta."

Booth leaned down to look at the ruby, and I copied his gesture, trying to maintain his attention. He smiled at me through the glass, and I felt my temperature rise. He had an effect on me that I couldn't for the life of me describe. His eyes reflected the light from the ruby and seemed to sparkle. I immediately returned the warm smile, enjoying his company no matter how it made me feel.

"Otherwise known as brittle bone disease. Meti's fall from his horse killed him. Anok was innocent; his mother was right."

I slowly felt myself relaxing. It was amazing how just a few minutes with him could so drastically change my mood. We hadn't even talked about the speech, and yet he had calmed me in ways I could never describe.

"So it only took 3000 years for someone to hear her." Booth said softly.

I smiled at him; he always found the oddest aspect about a case to latch onto and take wisdom from.

Returning my smile with his confident, goofy grin, he spoke sincerely.

"You know, I'll tell you what, if I was Egypt, I'd throw you a party too."

I chuckled slightly, appreciating his kind words. But my mind immediately returned to the problem waiting upstairs. Just because I was avoiding it, didn't mean it had gone away. The hot feeling in my stomach returned, and my heart rate increased. I shut my eyes and drew in and let out a long slow breath, willing my heart to slow.

"I have to speak."

Finally meeting my partner's gaze, I voiced the fear I had never revealed to anyone.

"I hate these things."

I adjusted my position nervously and my eyes dropped to stare at the floor. I was supposed to be this confident, fiery person who stood up to anyone or anything in her way. What would he think of the fears behind the facade?

"What're you talking about Bones?"

He took a step forward, offering me his charm smile.

"You're great at these things. Listen, you changed history. How many people can say that?"

"You can!" I protested, smiling. "Every arrest you make changes history."

I stepped in, closing the gap between us. "You make the world safer." You make me safer I thought silently.

"With your help." He clarified.

We were close enough now for his aftershave to fog my mind. Just being in his presence made my knees weak and my heart pound. I hated that I had no control over my own body, but I stepped closer anyway.

"So. Andrew. I thought you were going to this thing. That's what he told me." Booth moved in just a little closer.

My eyes widened as I contemplated the best way to handle the situation. I had canceled with Andrew because I didn't want him to watch me speak. I didn't want him to see me nervous or shaken. I didn't want him to comfort me. I didn't want him to be a part of what Booth and I already had.

"I was, yes. But…" I took a shallow breath. We were near enough to feel the other's body heat. I shook my head slightly and continued.

"...You and I. This was our case. And I guess…"

He stepped in until we were close enough to see every detail on each other's face. His eyes shone brightly in the low lightning of the museum. They were the color of melted chocolate, and I felt lost in their depths. It was ridiculous, but I felt my heartbeat speed up and the feeling in my stomach returned. But this time, it wasn't nervousness, it was anticipation. I didn't know what was going to happen; I didn't know what I wanted to happen.

"...what goes on between us, that should just be ours. Isn't that what you said?" My voice trailed off into an almost whisper as my eyes traced every detail of his face.

"Yeah." He murmured, hardly loud enough to hear.

We were so close. It wouldn't be at all difficult for me to lean in. I could do it. The feeling in my stomach disappeared as I moved even closer. I was unsure of my actions, but in that moment, my heart was steady and my body was calm. Booth tipped his head towards mine and for a moment I thought…

But laughing on the stairwell interrupted us.

"Come on you two! The ambassador is about to speak." Angela called from the banister.

Booth turned back to me, and the moment was gone. Whatever we were going to say, whatever we were going to do, the chance was gone. I reached out to adjust his crooked bowtie, glancing at his eyes awkwardly.

"Thanks." He smiled and reached to tuck a lock of hair behind my shoulder. His hand grazed my collarbone and I felt a tremor travel up my back.

We turned and walked away, back towards the hundreds of people waiting for a speech. But for the first time that night, I wasn't nervous. I wasn't imagining every possible negative outcome. Instead, my head was filled with thoughts of Booth, and how close we were. How close we came to…

I climbed the stairs briskly, shaking the idea from my head. If I couldn't focus on my speech, I'd make a fool of myself. But Booth glanced at me and smiled widely, making my steps falter for half a second. He trusted that I could do it. He thought that I could successfully do my speech. And if he had trust in my abilities, then how could I possibly fail?

I returned the smile and entered the auditorium with my chin held high.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Booth speaks...by 5546Laura

I'm swearing at my reflection in the mirror as I try to fix this goddamn bow tie. See, this is why I hate tuxedos...you gotta wear a stupid bow tie. And with this one, no matter how I try to adjust it, it feels like it's crooked...but, then I realize the tie isn't the real problem. The real problem is that I'm going to see the new Meti exhibit without Bones, because she's bringing Hacker. God, I hate to think about that idiot with Bones, but this time it's my own damn fault. He straight up asked me if there was anything between me and Bones, and being a coward, I said no, even though my insides were screaming yes. So Hacker is going with Bones tonight, and I'm gonna be a pathetic solo act this evening. But I gotta be there to support her, because she's my Bones.

I walked into the Egyptian wing of the museum, following a whole crowd of people as we enter the ballroom. Who knew so many people would be interested in some 3000 year old Egyptian prince? Everybody's milling around, trying to figure out where to stand or sit...and then I see her. There's Bones, standing by herself in front of a large set of double doors. God, she looks gorgeous...I mean she's always beautiful, but tonight...tonight she's just perfect. I guess that jackass Hacker didn't even have the common courtesy to wait with her...maybe he's parking the car, because he's nowhere to be seen…

"Hiya, Bones. What are you doing out here? The party's about to start. Don't you need to be in with all the guests?"

She seems nervous for some reason, but she gives me a small grin and grabs my hand. "I want to show you the exhibit first since you were involved in the recovery of the ruby. Come on…" I follow her quietly, trying not to draw attention to myself. I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be here yet, since the exhibit hasn't opened, but she says it's okay since it's her discovery. We dodge the big gold emblem on the floor...some sort of alarm, I guess, and she bends down to look at me through that glass box that holds the ruby and smiles at me...and I think I'm gonna melt. That smile...Jesus….it does things to me I can't explain. But then she's nervous all over again as we walk past the mummies.

I can always tell when Bones is nervous because she strings together all these big words. So she's telling me about the bone disease that Meti has, and I'm trying to listen, but I'm distracted by the display, and by the intense look on her face, and by how she looks in that dress. She's telling me that she's gonna get justice for Anok and his mother, even if it takes 3000 years. Yeah, that's my Bones…that's the woman I know and love...

"If I was Egypt, I'd throw you a party, too, Bones….this is so cool…" The look that crosses her face unsettles me a bit. "What's wrong?"

"I have to speak...I hate these things…"

"What are you talking about, Bones? You changed history. How many people get to say that?" I grin as I move closer to her, trying to boost her confidence, and then she absolutely floors me.

"You do, Booth. You change history every time you arrest someone. You make the world safer…" God...she thinks I really can do that? I guess I never thought of it that way. I'm just doing my job, you know? My heart starts to pound a little bit as I move closer to her.

"With your help…" I'm close enough to her now that her perfume is starting to cloud my mind a bit. She is so beautiful, and suddenly I don't give a damn about Egyptian princes or murder cases, or history...until I'm reminded of one big ugly part of my recent history. "So, um...Andrew...I thought you were bringing him to this thing with you tonight...at least that's what he told me…." I'm standing there, waiting for my heart to be broken again…but then she says...

"I was going to, but then I remembered what you said...about what's ours being ours, and this was our case, Booth…wasn't that what you said?"

"Yeah…" I'm so close to Bones now that I can see all the shades of blue in her eyes, and how smooth her skin is, and I can see every detail about how that dress fits, and I can hardly breathe. I can't think about anything except she's so beautiful...and she's looking at me like she wants me to kiss her, and all I can think about as she's talking is how soft her lips look, and how I want to kiss her so much, and I'm just gonna do it...I'm gonna kiss her….

And then we heard all the noise on the stairs. It's Angela, telling us the ambassador is going to speak. That's when I decide that I really hate the ambassador right now...but I look back at Bones, and she gives me this sly little smile and reaches up to fix my tie, and I thank God for crooked tuxedo ties. I need to touch her... it's overwhelming...it's all I can think about, but I'm a little nervous, too...so I reach up and flick her hair off her shoulder, knowing that I'm gonna spend the rest of the evening wishing that the ambassador could have waited a few more minutes before his speech began.

So we turn, and go back up the stairs to the party, so I can be there when Bones changes history again.