Surprise! Our readers get a cool Labor Day weekend treat. Chapters 10 - 12 will be coming out today, Saturday, and Sunday for you to enjoy on this magnificent holiday.

A/N: So our Stormtrooper and Princess are now alone enjoying a pleasant night along the Mall. What do they talk about? More importantly, how does the Balance return to the Force?

Aubrey and Jessica walked along the Mall, enjoying the pleasant Indian summer night. They'd settled into a comfortable pace, chatting quietly about nothing in particular. It seemed they both had something on their minds, but each needed some time to get their thoughts together. As they got closer to the Lincoln Memorial, Jessica stopped and gazed thoughtfully at the imposing marble structure.

Aubrey soon realized she wasn't walking next to him and turned to see where she was. "Jess, why are you staring at the Lincoln Memorial?"

She continued to look for a moment before turning to her companion, pointing toward Lincoln's chair. "You see right there, on that side? When I was younger, before I left for MSU, I used to go there a lot. I guess you could call it my "thinking spot". It was where I could escape from my life at home."

"Yeah, I get that." He waited patiently until she was ready to continue.

"Do you remember me telling you about how my mom has Bipolar II Disorder?" Jessica spoke so softly he could barely hear her. "When she was on her meds, she had her moments where she was almost like a real mom. However, when she wasn't, it's hard to describe how bad it was at my house."

The redhead took a breath to calm her nerves. "My mother constantly kept our household on eggshells. We always had to think about what to say to her and how to say it. When she was in one of her depressions, we had to try to avoid her at all costs because she was so angry or sad. It was like we just instinctively went into survival mode, I guess. My dad tried to be both parents to us, and he did the best he could, but it wore him down. Michael and Stephan say they can remember when my mom wasn't as bad, but by the time Jason and I came along, I don't think she cared anymore about putting up a front. All she knew was she hated her life, and she blamed all of us for that...it was usually my dad's fault or something one of us kids had done that had ruined things for her."

Jessica glanced at Aubrey, relieved that he was listening intently. She took another deep breath before she continued.

"We always knew when Mom had stopped taking her meds. She'd try to hide it, but we learned how to tell when she was in one of her hypomanic phases. One time she decided to repaint the living room at 1:30 in the morning, or there was the time she decided that she wanted to write a composition on our concert grand piano. Every time something called her away, she got mad and did what she had to do to get back to that damn piano."

Jessica took a deep breath to control her emotions. "Of course, I can't forget when I was twelve and I had my first period. I wasn't going to tell her but she figured it out, and then decided we had to go shopping for sanitary supplies at 3:00 in the morning because she wasn't tired. The next day she went out to buy new outfits for both of us because she'd decided to put together a last minute dinner party for my father's department for that evening."

"He was head of the Neuroscience department at George Mason University, right?", Aubrey asked.

"Yeah, he was.", Jessica said. "He was the department chair for several years."

"I didn't mean to interrupt.", Aubrey said with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Aubrey.", Jessica replied before continuing. "So, she decided to put together this big dinner party because she thought her ideas were always so spectacular and she just knew everyone loved her so much that they'd be excited to cancel their plans and come. She gave my dad about four hours' notice to let everybody know."

Aubrey could see the reticence in Jessica. He gave her time to compose her thoughts before she continued.

"She was so angry when no one showed up...we had all this leftover food that would probably go to waste. Of course, she screamed at my dad because, according to her, it was all his fault because he'd deliberately ruined her plans by not telling anyone about her invitation. It didn't matter to her that no one had enough notice to make plans for babysitters and things like that. Nothing is ever her fault, you know."

Aubrey nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I get that. It must be difficult to deal with that sort of thing."

"My mom used to get depressed a lot, too, where she'd just sit by herself in the living room, staring off into space. When she wasn't angry with all of us she would just be...numb." Jessica closed her eyes for a moment before she continued. "One day when I was fourteen, my Mom was depressed, and she accused my father of putting rat poison in her food, when in actuality it was just Metamucil for himself. He denied it but she didn't listen, saying that…"

Aubrey could see that what she was trying to explain was painful for her. "Jess, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to-"

"But I am ready to talk about this, Aubrey.", Jessica retorted. "I need to tell you..."

"All right. I'll be glad to listen.", he said, waiting for her to speak.

The redhead took a deep breath before continuing. "She said he wasn't going to be able to kill her because...she would do it herself instead. Grabbing the glass of water I had nearby, she broke it and tried to…cut her own throat before my father stopped her. He had to admit her to the psych ward that night."

"Jesus…", Aubrey said quietly. "That's terrible…"

"Yeah, it was, especially since it wasn't the last time she tried to...end things." Jessica sniffled a bit as a tear rolled down her cheek. "When the doctors put her on an anti-psychotic drug in addition to her lithium, life at our house became much worse. Mom would go on and on about how the meds were making her life more difficult...how she couldn't drink any alcohol because of the drug interaction...how she'd lost her sex drive…random stuff that her kids really didn't need to know…"

Jessica couldn't stop her herself as she continued to share things she'd never told anyone. "After that, she stopped taking her meds frequently. When she went into hypomania, because my father couldn't keep up with her…you know, sexually...Mom had several extramarital affairs, and she didn't care who knew about them. As she grew older it seemed she resented us even more because we were a reminder that her life didn't turn out as she'd expected. So when she got intense or when my parents would scream at each other behind closed doors, I would hop on the Metro and come here."

Aubrey knew how she felt, having had a difficult childhood of his own, but that was a story for another day. He nodded silently as she continued.

"I didn't feel like such a burden to anyone here. I didn't want anyone to feel obligated to take care of me. My dad had enough things to do without worrying about me more than he already did, you know? When he wasn't wrapped up in dealing with my mom's shit, he worried about us kids, particularly Jack, Aaron, and me, because we were child prodigies like he was growing up. We were different enough without people treating us like we were some sort of science experiment. Being with other kids like us at the cooperative was so nice."

Aubrey knew what it was like to feel different as a kid, but they could talk about that later. For now, he decided it was more important to listen to what Jessica had to say.

"I'd just sit here and think about escaping somewhere where no one knew our family. I just wanted to go to a place where I could be just be...me. I'd be gone for hours, but eventually, one of my brothers or my dad would come into DC to get me and we would drive back to Bethesda...back to our house at the cooperative, and then we'd all try to act like nothing had happened." She paused to wipe some tears from her cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Jess." Wanting to comfort her, Aubrey pointed to a nearby bench. "Let's sit here for a minute, okay?" He handed her his handkerchief. "Here…"

"Thanks." She smoothed her gown as she settled next to him, shrugging slightly as she stared at the sidewalk in front of her. "I'm sorry...I guess I've been babbling."

"I don't think you're babbling." Aubrey shook his head as he looked out over the Mall. "I think we've needed to have this talk for a long time."

"Yeah, I guess so." Jessica sighed softly before continuing. "As you can imagine, I stuck out like a sore thumb at Michigan State. I was fifteen years old, but my peers were eighteen or nineteen. They were all eager to party...to try new things...to have sex. I got there eventually, but it seemed most cute and interesting guys weren't interested in a girl who was usually smarter than them or who liked stuff like science fiction and graphic novels. The few who did like me made me really uncomfortable. One got so clingy that I felt like I couldn't breathe and then, after my dad's stroke, it was just easier to keep things casual because guys would get sick of me after a while, you know? As one of my former boyfriends said, I was the fun and quirky party girl who was good for a casual lay, but I had too much emotional baggage to really be anyone's girlfriend."

Aubrey was disgusted. "What an asshole! You didn't deserve to be treated that way..."

The redhead chuckled. "I know that now, Superman, but at the time, it really hurt. I told myself that I liked having my options open and that being tied down to one guy kept me from what I wanted to be...a kick ass anthropologist like Dr. B. She was why I got into forensic anthropology in the first place, you know?"

"It's so cool that you get to learn from a world famous scientist like her." Aubrey said.

"Yeah, it is. I was so pumped when I got accepted into the program. Anyway, when I got in at the Jeffersonian lab, I still felt the same way about guys. I didn't want to be tied down. Sweets was fun, but after three hook ups with him, he came to me and told me that Daisy was pregnant."

She saw the irritation on Aubrey's face and put her hand up to quell his outburst. "He didn't sleep with her when we were together, I promise. It was the same old story, though. He liked me, but he was in love with Daisy. It was obvious and I wasn't going to stand in the way of that, so I told him to go to her."

Jessica laughed again. "I had to work with her a week later, and it was really weird. We had to examine a set of remains together, but we didn't really talk to each other for over an hour. Then she asked me what it was like to go to school in Michigan for seven years as compared to American University. That eventually led to us talking about guys...which naturally led to us talking about Sweets. When we were done for the day, we went out for drinks...well, a beer for me and club soda for her, and that was the start of our friendship. She never held it against me...you know, that I'd been with him."

"I've always wondered how that came about." Aubrey said with a chuckle. "I'm glad you girls worked that out."

"I promised myself after that little fiasco that I would put all my focus on my internship, because relationships scared me to death. I didn't want to be like my parents and constantly fight with someone I was supposed to love, and it seemed to me that I was meant for casual relationships because I wasn't going to dumb myself down for any guy."

"Good. I like you just the way you are." Aubrey reached over to pat her knee. "Don't sell yourself short, okay? If a guy can't handle you being a genius who got into Mensa when she was 17 years old, he doesn't deserve you."

Jessica smiled as she turned to Aubrey. "So now we come to you...this really cute agent that I met during the Hayes Robertson case who shocked me by being such a sweet guy. After that case, you'd come by the lab just to tell me jokes and to chat, remember? Then we worked together for the first time on the Hodsell case...and I knew. Oh, did I know…"

"I don't get it." Obviously confused, Aubrey shook his head. "You knew what, Jess?"

"That you were different from all the other guys I'd ever known. You didn't treat me like some weirdo prodigy. You seemed really interested in what I had to say and you liked me for who I was. I've never trusted someone like I trust you, James Aubrey. When you told me about your dad, I knew I could talk to you about my mom. After I did, you didn't look at me with disgust or make an excuse to leave."

"Why would I do that?", Aubrey asked. "It's not your fault your mother has a mental illness. Just like when you told me that I'm not my father, you're not your mother, Jess."

Jessica hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "When Caroline asked you to do that background check on me, it shook me up a bit. I thought, 'this is it, he's not going to be my friend anymore. I'm going to screw things up for him so he can't run for Congress.'"

Blushing slightly, Aubrey cringed at her remark. "I was such an idiot…I really feel bad about running that background check on you...poking into your business like that..."

"But then you sent me that gift bag with a white flag and a stuffed pigeon toy with that note saying no crow was available for you to eat but you would eat a whole pigeon. You charmed me into that first date, Aubrey."

Aubrey shrugged shyly. "Because I liked you...a lot, Jess. I was just intimidated, that's all."

She rolled her eyes at the silly man next to her. "Why?"

Aubrey looked at her, once again dumbfounded. "You really don't see it, do you?"

"See what?", Jessica said. "I know you think I'm pretty but-"

"You're not just pretty, Jessica.", Aubrey said quietly. "You are beautiful...outside and inside. Plus, you'd had all these adventures while I was this staid, normal FBI agent. A girl like you could have any guy she wanted."

Aubrey's words cut Jessica to her core. "No, I couldn't, Aubrey, because when I finally found someone who said he loved me and meant it for more than to get me into bed, I panicked. I had a knee jerk reaction, not just because you felt so strongly about me, but also because I felt that way about you. I went to that class in Scotland all tied up in knots because I didn't know what was wrong with me. I know now I shouldn't have gone to that class, Superman, because I wasn't here for you when your dad showed up…"

"That's in all the past, okay, Jess..."

"No, it's not okay...", Jessica sniffled as she wiped her eyes with Aubrey's handkerchief. "I practically abandoned you…"

"Hey, enough, alright?" Aubrey put his knuckle under her chin, gently lifting her face so she could look into his eyes. "You don't have to worry about that any more. Dr. B recommended you for that class, and I would have been a shitty boyfriend to stand in the way of an opportunity for you to study at such a great university. Anyway, you had no way of knowing when my dad was actually going to show up, okay? Stop beating yourself up over that."

Jessica sniffled a little bit as she continued. "But I just left you to fend for yourself, Aubrey. I didn't think to talk to you about how you felt about things. You must have been hurt when I just announced that I got accepted for this class and took off three days later, especially since it was right after you tried to tell me how you felt about me."

Aubrey couldn't deny what she said. "I felt...well, it just reinforced what I thought after that night...that I was pushing you too hard, like maybe the stuff with my father was too much for you to handle. That's why whenever you wanted to talk about him and how I was coping, I changed the subject. Of course...I didn't want to push you away, but I ended up doing that anyway."

Shifting nervously on the bench, he reached over to take Jessica's hand. "Listen, there's something I need to tell you, okay?" He exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. "I want to apologize for ruining what we had together. I know I screwed up badly with how I handled that whole LA promotion thing. I can't tell you how many times I've gone through everything in my head, wishing I could go back and change things. I'm so sorry for being such an asshole. I didn't ever want to hurt you and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. I just wasn't sure what to do, you know? I knew I wanted to have you with me, but I wasn't sure just how involved we should be…we both seemed to have our doubts..."

Jessica looked at him with tears in her eyes. "James, if you had said that to me when we first discussed your promotion, it would've made a difference. I would've said yes to moving with you."

"What?" Aubrey was stunned. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Yes. Instead, I felt rejected, like I was just an afterthought. You know, get a fancy new promotion...check. Move clear across the country...check. New apartment...check. Figure out how to move the cat...check. Girlfriend...oh, shit. Got to tell the girlfriend."

"Jessica…" He knew he'd done exactly that. "You're right. I know I should've told you sooner, but I was so….afraid, I guess. I mean, I really wanted that promotion. I thought I wanted to go to LA, and I knew I wanted you to come with me. However, I also knew that would be difficult for you to do that with your internship at the lab. I thought maybe I'd stay to be here with you, but you seemed panicked at the thought of us having a serious relationship and I didn't want to pressure you. I was trying to take some time to think it through, but I guess it would've been so much easier to have been honest with you from the beginning so we could've decided things together. Instead, I ended up shutting you out."

"I don't ever want to feel that way again. I hated it...that feeling that you didn't trust me enough to confide in me." Jessica crossed her arms across her chest. "And if you didn't trust me to tell me about how things were with your dad, or about a possible promotion, how could we ever have a lasting relationship? I felt pushed into a corner, and I couldn't see any way to get out of this mess except to make a clean break from you." She sniffled slightly as she brushed tears from her cheek. "I didn't think you wanted me anymore."

"No, I've always wanted you. I didn't want to drive you away. The way I feel about you, Jessica...it's so hard to explain. All I can say is that I've never felt this way about anyone else...and I never will. It's like you complete me...you soothe my soul, you know? I'm not sure I can live without you."

The agent sat for a moment to gather his thoughts, blinking back a few tears. "It was hard, because I knew I wasn't ready to get married or even live together. I wanted you, but I didn't realize how much I needed you until you told me no and said we had no future together in LA or anywhere else. I didn't just lose my lover, Jessica...I was losing my best friend. Then when we were at the crime scene and it seemed like you were freezing me out, it just about killed me."

"But you had Karen…", Jessica began softly.

"No, I never 'had' Karen. I picked her brain because you two were friends and talking to her about my dad after I saw him at the diner helped me a lot. I didn't want to go with Karen to Daisy's wedding, but like an idiot, I let her talk me into it. I didn't ask her, by the way. She suggested going with her as a way to move on from you. I thought she was invited, I swear. Then when we got there, you had that jackass Gerald with you as your date…"

"Yeah…that was a mistake..." She grimaced at the thought of the crude antiquities intern.

"He's always been after you, Jess. It made me feel so insecure sometimes. I mean, the guy looks like he should be on the cover of GQ."

"Aubrey, you're twice, no, ten times the man he is.", Jessica said. She fidgeted with her purse, not wanting to look at him. "You know, I overheard about you and Karen from those agents while we were at the crime scene and it made me so angry. Then you came up to me all charming and asking how I was, but I was so hurt and mad at myself that I took it out on you."

"Why were you mad at yourself?" Aubrey gave her a quizzical look.

Surprised at the question, Jessica turned to the agent and laughed. "Don't you know? You're a catch, James Aubrey. I had the pick of the litter and instead of talking to you about things, I freaked out and broke up with you. Then, to make matters worse, it looked like you had quickly moved on someone else. I'd lost my best friend because I was too scared to take a chance on you. Dr. B was right."

"About what?" Now Aubrey was really confused.

"I was scared to death of how I felt about you. It was easier to justify breaking up with you because it hurt so much to realize that I caused all this mess, and then I lost you and then I slapped you…I'm so sorry..."

Aubrey couldn't let her take it all on herself. "I deserved to be smacked for what I said after the wedding, Jessica. I was jealous and it was disgusting and uncalled for. No...we both did this. Booth was right about that."

It was Jessica's turn to be confused. "Booth was right about what?"

Aubrey leaned back and closed his eyes. "It was both of us. Love is supposed to be a wonderful thing between two people...but all it did was freak us out. It was easier to have great sex and hang out like always without ever having to make a commitment. Booth said I needed to grow up...and he was right. You weren't the only one placing all the blame, Jess. It was easier to convince myself that you were overreacting over nothing and that you just needed to get over yourself. When Booth told me about the crap going around about me and Karen, everything made sense. No wonder you didn't believe me when I said I wasn't with her. You were right when you thought I was a douche bag-"

"I didn't think you were a douchebag-"

"Fine...an inconsiderate asshole, then. I wanted to make you jealous...and to hurt like I was hurting... so I threw Karen in your face. However, all I did was alienate you and make her think I was really interested in her."

Jessica couldn't contain her curiosity. "Yeah, I saw she kissed you at the wedding reception."

"Yeah...on the lips...hard!", Aubrey said with a shudder. "That wasn't the worst of it. She tried to jiggle my jewels..." When he described what happened after their fight, Jessica laughed out loud.

"So not funny, Jess." Aubrey tried to look annoyed.

"So very funny, Aubrey. Man, we both got groped Saturday night. Daisy's wedding really sucked for both of us, didn't it?"

Suddenly, the two of them were laughing so hard they had tears streaming from their eyes. It felt so good to laugh together again, but when they calmed down, reality hit them.

"So what do we do now?", Jessica asked softly. "Are you still interested in me? Do you still want to be friends with me?"

"Oh, Jess...I've never wanted anything more in my whole life. I just want to be with you, okay? No promotion is important enough for me to lose you. When I realized I might not have you to share my success with, I didn't care about it anymore. It doesn't mean anything without you. That's why I'd decided to say no…because you didn't seem interested in moving…"

"No? You were going to say no? But it was a great move for your career…" Jessica shook her head in disbelief. "So you changed your mind? You were going to stay no matter what?"

"Yeah..." Aubrey stared out across the Reflecting Pool as he remembered that awful day. "...but with everything that happened, you know, with the Jeffersonian being bombed and all, I didn't get a chance to tell you. We were supposed to finish our conversation later, but things went to hell…" He sighed as he studied his shoes. "So if I had asked you the right way, when I first found out about the promotion, you would've gone with me to California…"

"And if I'd given you a chance to explain instead of making assumptions about what you wanted, you would've told me that you were going to stay here in DC, no matter what." Jessica didn't know if she should laugh or cry. "And Karen…"

"Karen is not my new girlfriend, and I'm guessing that Gerald is not your new boyfriend, so there we are." Aubrey ran his hand down his face. "It seems our communication skills suck. I'd say we need some major improvement in that area."

"You're right.", Jessica agreed. "We've been stuck in this mess for too long...not talking to each other...not saying what we mean or how we really feel." Giggling softly, she smiled sadly at Aubrey. "It's like carbonite, isn't it?"

"Carbonite?" Puzzled, he turned to her for an explanation.

"You know, we've been stuck in a rut, going along like usual, each hoping the other knows what we're thinking and feeling, like Han Solo and Leia in The Empire Strikes Back. They don't say anything about how they truly feel about each other until Darth Vader is going to freeze Han in the carbonite, and then Leia says…."

"I love you." Aubrey finally understood. "And Han says…"

"I know." Jessica continued softly. "If we don't say everything...if we don't tell each other the whole truth, feelings and all, we won't ever know if we can make it together as a couple."

"Yeah, you're right." Aubrey studied his fingernails for a few minutes. "Booth thinks neither one of us is ready for a relationship until we figure out why each of us did what we did."

Jessica sighed. "Dr. B said the same thing."

Aubrey hoped he wasn't breaking a confidence. "Have you heard about how strained things were with Booth and Dr. B after she'd turned him down when he wanted to be more than friends? Or what happened after Booth got back from Afghanistan and Dr. B came home from that island she went to with Daisy and when his new girlfriend showed up…"

"I've heard most of the story from Daisy, but she said it wasn't something to bring up to Booth or Dr. B."

"Well, things got really bad until he broke up with that reporter he was living with….Hannah Burley...you know from TV?" When Jessica nodded, he continued. "After she left, their relationship improved somewhat, but they still didn't talk about how things were between them, you know? Booth said one day while they were stuck in an elevator during a blizzard, they laid everything out on the table, including the all the issues that were keeping them apart. He said it was awkward as fuck, but once they talked it all out, they decided to rebuild their friendship while working on their own stuff, and it took the pressure off. Only then, when they knew they were ready, would they try to be together."

"Really?" Jessica was astonished. "That must've been really scary for both of them."

"Yeah. He said they've always talked and been open with each other after that, no matter how uncomfortable it was. It must've worked because now they're married with two kids and they managed to get back together after Booth fell off the gambling wagon a year and a half ago."

Both were quiet for a moment as they contemplated the situation before Aubrey's phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, he quickly pushed the IGNORE button before putting it back in his pocket. "You know I love you, don't you, Jessica? Being really in love with you is exhilarating, but it scares the shit out of me...

Jessica brushed away a tear. "What are you trying to say, Aubrey?"

Aubrey looked into her worried eyes and tried to smile. "I know I'm not ready to be in a relationship with you...or anyone else for that matter. I need to grow up and I need to figure some things out first. We both need to figure things out."

The redhead finally understood what he meant. "You mean...we work on why I'm so scared to make a commitment and why you keep holding things back from me?"

"Yeah. Booth made me realize if we have any chance of being together, we have to work on ourselves first before we can be together or otherwise, we'll just fail again. I can't take that risk...I couldn't handle losing you again."

Jessica nodded resolutely as she made her decision. "We'll just start over. For right now, we'll be friends, but we'll work on our communication. When we get our own problems worked out, we can work on being together. The big question is this...what do we do if people start sticking their noses into our business? Aren't you afraid that we might feel pressured into rushing things again?"

"First, we only tell people we choose to tell. Second, if anybody gets nosy, we tell them to mind their own damn business and then we talk it over with each other. Shitty communication got us in this mess, Jess. We can't let things slide, okay?", Aubrey responded. "I can't guarantee the future, but I think we can do this. If we can have one tenth what Booth and Doctor B have, then...we can do anything. Above all else, I will wait as long as you need me to...you know that, right? When I commit to something, I don't quit."

Jessica's heart melted when she heard his simple, heartfelt declaration. Never had anyone considered her needs that important. She couldn't help the tears that rolled down her cheek.

Aubrey thought he said the right thing, but he felt sick when she started to cry. "Oh shit...I said the wrong thing again, didn't I? Jess, I'm so sorry-"

"No, no you didn't.", Jessica said as she wiped her eyes. "James Aubrey, you said the most perfect thing any man could ever say to a woman."

They smiled at each other before Aubrey realized how dark the Mall was. Looking at his phone, he gasped in surprise. "Crap, Jess, it's almost eleven o'clock."

"I totally didn't notice how late it was.", the redhead said as she shivered slightly. "Getting cold, I notice."

"Nice Yoda.", Aubrey said before pulling off his top section of armor and gently placing it around her upper body. "A little heavy, but it's warm. Doesn't do much for the dress, though..."

"Thanks, Boyfriend." Jessica couldn't help but grin at Aubrey's bashful smile. "You don't mind if I call you Boyfriend, do you?"

"Of course not….Damn it!" Their tender moment was broken by Aubrey's phone ringing again. Picking it up, he groaned before putting it back in his pocket.

"It was Karen, wasn't it? She's the one who's been calling you all evening…"

"Yes.", Aubrey said. "I guess she was sent to work at the Seattle field office this week. Now she's back...and my peaceful week is officially over..."

"It's probably because you missed your hot date tonight.", Jessica said with a chuckle.

"Hot date?" Aubrey looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, your 'girlfriend...,", Jessica said, as she made quotation marks in the air. "...sent me a text Wednesday asking about...you know what, it's better if I just show you."

Jessica pulled out her phone and found the text in question. Showing it to Aubrey, she saw the annoyed look in his eyes.

"What the-"

"Did you develop some sort of panty fetish within the last month or so? She's very concerned about making her underwear appealing to you, Superman."

"The only underwear I want to see is yours, Jessica.", Aubrey said as he rubbed his face in frustration. "Great. She stalks me at work, shows up at my apartment without calling, pisses off my cat, annoys the shit out of me at Daisy's wedding, hits on me more than once, rearranges the pictures in my living room, and now this…"

Jessica moved down the bench closer to Aubrey. "She rearranged things in your living room without your permission? That's just creepy. What are you going to do?"

Aubrey made a snarky face. "Booth said I should try not being available for lunch and that I should be strictly professional at work. Hopefully that will take care of it. I've already told her I just want to be friends." Aubrey shrugged casually. "It's my own fault that I led her on, so now I have to deal with it." He decided to change the subject. "So what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Working hard on my dissertation since I've let that slide lately." She gave him a hopeful wink. "However, maybe we can have dinner together."

"Can't. Having dinner with Booth, Dr. B and the Mini Booths, but can I call you tomorrow night?"

"Sure.", Jessica said. "What are your plans next week?"

"I have lunch meetings all week, you know, so I can dodge a certain profiler." He gave Jessica a wink. "However, it's Retro Science Fiction night Wednesday night at the Cineplex. They're showing The Thing From Another World. I love that one..."

"Me, too. Diner for dinner first?", Jessica said with a smile. "My treat…"

"Well, in that case, definitely dinner first."

"Okay, it's a date, Agent Aubrey.", Jessica said. "Just don't tell Obi-Wan Kenobi. I don't think he'd understand why Princess Leia would go out with a Stormtrooper...even if he is cute." She giggled as he pulled her up from the bench. "You know, the Princess wouldn't make that sort of pact with the enemy."

Aubrey flashed a dimpled smile as he bumped her shoulder with his. "C'mon, Princess. I'll take you home."

The two friends walked away arm in arm, both feeling positive about their relationship for the first time in a long time.