A/N: For those of you who aren't reading my other story and didn't already see my apology, I'm so, so, sorry for taking so long to update. You guys are great, and I don't want you thinking that I forgot about you, because I didn't. This month has just been hectic.

And I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to save Sweets' in person confrontation for it's own chapter. =]

Chapter Seven


"So who's this other guy you've got?

Which other rubes are riding hot-shot, sugar?

I could have swore you said before 'no more, for sure'

What'd I believe you for?

You don't love me at all

But don't think that it bothers me at all

you're a bad-hearted, boy-trap, babydoll

but you're, you're so damn hot."

-"You're So Damn Hot" by Ok Go


Brennan was fairly sure her heart stopped beating for a few seconds when she realized the phone she had pressed against her ear wasn't her own. How was she supposed to explain this one away? As far as Sweets knew, they weren't speaking. She had Hacker tell him as well.

"Um," Brennan started, glancing over at Booth, who simply shrugged, as if to tell her she was on her own with this one, "oh, well, I was actually bringing some case files over to Booth, since I won't be working on them anymore."

She looked at Booth again, as he simply cocked an eyebrow at her.

"At midnight?" Sweets asked.

"Well I was very busy today, so I had to bring them over late," she lied, biting her lip in anticipation of what he would say next, "did you want to speak to Booth? Because I was just about to leave anyway."

"Either one of you is fine," Sweets sounded confused, but Brennan hoped he would just leave it there, and stop asking questions, "I just wanted to ask if the two of you have completely lost your minds, that's all."

"No, well, I haven't at least. Listen, Doctor Sweets, would you be able to call back at a more convenient time? It's late, I'm about to leave, and Booth is about to go to sleep. We both have work early in the morning tomorrow."

"No, no," Sweets picked up on how she was trying to avoid the conversation immediately, "I'm sure you guys will be fine in the morning. We have to talk about how you two just decided to sever a five year partnership over a little fight. You two fight all the time. I think you're both being a little rash by ending your partnership."

"No offence, Doctor Sweets, but it really isn't any of your business what Booth and I do," she said, not intending to sound as rude as she did, "we don't get along anymore. If we continued to work together it would only be a hindrance on the FBI. I thought you, of all people, would understand that, considering your training."

"Doctor Brennan, I think the three of us need to sit down together and-"

"Listen Sweets, Bones and I don't need you to step in the middle of our fight and teach us how to talk it out," Booth grabbed the phone from his ex partner to scold the psychologist, "we know what we're doing."

"Well obviously you don't because you two ruined your partnership over a misunderstanding," Sweets, oddly enough, didn't feel intimidated by Booth at the moment, "we should discuss what happened, and come up with a solution so you two can get back to working together like you should be."

"Yeah, that's great, now if you don't mind, I'm trying to go to bed."

"But, Booth I wasn't fin-"

Booth closed his phone, mid sentence, and tossed it back onto the night stand next to Brennan's, turning his head to look at her again, seeing her smiling mischievously.

"I thought he'd never stop talking," Booth told her, reaching over to cup the side of her face again.

"Technically he didn't," Brennan reminded him, "you hung up on him when he was in the middle of speaking."

"Tomato, tomahto," he smiled charmingly, tracing his fingers down the side of her neck, "so are you really leaving?"

"No, of course not," she laughed, bracing her hands on his shoulders, "what? Do you think I'm a fool? The middle of the night is when I'm most enthusiastic. And, besides, I still haven't gotten that shower you promised me."

"You know, just a few more hours, and technically you'll have spent the night," he teased, "now that isn't part of our agreement, is it?"

"Well if you don't want me spending the night then you better get to work," she teased back at him, "even though, I think there could be an exception to the rule if we spend the night having passionate, uninhibited, sex."

"I don't know about you, but I have to get up early tomorrow. Not sure how well that would work out."

"You're boring," she teased, "where's the adventurous Seeley Booth I used to know?"

"He left, along with my self respect and conscience," Booth told her, only half kidding.

"Oh, don't start feeling bad now," she rolled her eyes, as he leaned down to kiss her collarbone softly, "at least wait until I leave to start metaphorically drowning yourself in guilt."

"I don't feel guilty," he lied, moving to the center of her chest to give it the same attention, "it's just sex, Temperance."

"Just really, really, great sex," she corrected him playfully, "I've always been a fan of passionate, 'rip each other's clothes off' intercourse."

"That's funny, because I clearly remember you enjoying the first time we slept together, and that was slow and gentle," he reminded her, kissing along the line of her jaw now.

"I enjoyed that, I guess, but I enjoy this more," she lied.

Booth knew she was lying, but didn't press the issue, not wanting to irritate her and start another argument that would only result in her leaving. He simply wrapped his arm instinctively around her shoulders and pulled her close, immediately feeling her hand press to his chest and push him away.

"Stop trying to cuddle with me," she complained.

"Sorry, sorry," he held his hands up in a sarcastic surrender, "force of habit, I guess."

"Most habits are unhealthy," she sat up, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Shut up, please," he rolled his eyes playfully as Brennan glanced at him, wanting to be mad, but winding up chuckling instead.

"Are you going to handcuff me if I don't?" She questioned suggestively.

"I just might," he joked, smiling in the same suggestive way up at her.

"Well then I must comply, because I don't think we have time for that," she glanced over at the clock, "I have to leave soon."

She rolled her eyes playfully when he groaned, covering his eyes with his forearm.

"No," he complained, turning over onto his side and propping himself up on his elbow to look at her, "I thought we were having a good time."

"We were. We are," she assured him, "but, it's late, and I have to go to work tomorrow."

"I know, I know," he groaned in frustration, throwing his arm over his eyes "it's just," he paused, peeking at her from behind his forearm, "this is gonna sound stupid, but, when Hannah's out of town, I get kind of lonely at night. So, I've been liking having you here."

Brennan looked at him with a confused expression. For their relationship being just sex, he certainly was getting just a bit sentimental.

"Booth, if you're asking me to stay the night, I'm going to have to decline," she warned.

"No, of course I'm not," he chuckled half-heartedly, "I don't know. I was just, being stupid, I guess. Forget I said anything."

Brennan smiled with the same half-heartedness and touched his shoulder gently, subtly offering him some comfort, since she knew he was feeling a little self conscious after all that.

"Hey," her voice was low when she grabbed his attention, "let's go take that shower."


"Do you think it would be better for us to call each other Temperance and Seeley in situations like this?" Brennan asked, running a towel through her hair after she zipped the side of her dress back up, glancing over at the clock to see it was already 2:15.

Booth looked at his partner curiously, opening his dresser drawer to find a pair of sweat pants to sleep in once he put on a fresh pair of boxers, his chest still containing visible droplets of water.

"Why?" He asked, not following where she was going with her question.

"I don't know," Brennan shrugged, "less intimate."

"Don't you think calling each other Temperance and Seeley would make it more intimate?" Booth asked, pausing when he realized that 'intimate' was not exactly the word she was thinking, but the only one she was brave enough to use, "ah, you mean less real."

"I never said that," she said defensively, seeing the look he was giving her, which let her know that he'd figured her out, "I, don't know why you would think that."

"Because, calling me 'Booth' is making it real for you. It's forcing you to face the fact that you're sleeping with your partner, well, ex-partner" he half smiled at her, "if it makes you feel any better, I don't really like the whole Bones and Booth thing in bed either."

"Too real?" Brennan asked, hopefully, grateful that it wasn't just her.

"Too, intimate," he smiled, letting her know, silently, that she was right.

Brennan smiled as well, picking up on the subtle hint as she stepped in front of him to wipe the water off his chest with the corner of the towel she was using on her hair. Booth tousled her damp hair and leaned down to kiss her again, only to feel her pull herself away before she could get too involved.

"Mmm, no," she mumbled against his lips before she pushed herself away from him, "we can't go through that again. I really must get going."

"Temperance," he complained, "we only have tomorrow night, and then Hannah comes back. Can't you stay for another hour?"

Brennan groaned back at him in a whining tone when he pulled her back to him, making it ten times harder for her to say no.

"So once Hannah's back, this is, over?" She asked, pressing a soft kiss to his chest.

"No," he assured her, stroking her hair before he remembered what she said about being affectionate, stopping before she could chew him out for it, "no, of course not. It just won't be as often. I know you live alone, but I can't just go out every night without her getting suspicious."

"We could always grab a hotel on our lunch break," she suggested, moving her hand to grip his shoulder.

"You don't think anyone would get suspicious?"

He couldn't resist running his hands over her sides, unable to resist the way the little black dress defined her curves.

"They wouldn't know where we were," Brennan reminded him, grabbing his wrists to stop his actions, "you need to stop doing that before we wind up having sex again."

"That was kind of the point," he smiled charmingly.

Brennan smiled and rolled her eyes, giving him one last kiss before she stepped away from him for good.

"Goodbye, Seeley," she laughed.

"Bye," he laughed as well, smiling when he saw the way her eyes were almost shimmering at him, "tomorrow night?"

Brennan looked over her shoulder when she went to leave his bedroom.

"It's a date."