The next morning, Temperance made her way to the Royal Diner to meet with Dr. Wyatt. The whole situation with Booth was growing much more confusing. They both decided that their relationship should remain completely professional, so why then had she been so disappointed that he hadn't kissed her last night? With a sigh, she walked into the restaurant and spotted Gordon Wyatt at his now usual booth.

"Ah, Dr. Brennan, it's a pleasure to see you again. Please, have a seat." Wyatt offered her a kind smile and motioned for her to sit down. Once seated, the therapist looked at her a bit more seriously. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Why would you think I didn't go because of Booth? I know what you said but I still want to know why you chose that route."

"Dr. Brennan, how long before you began to see Agent Sullivan did you and Booth sleep together?" Brennan looked at him, stunned. It took her a moment to respond to the question, and she fidgeted as she answered.

"I...what? Booth said he didn't tell you about that."

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth didn't tell me anything. He didn't have to."

"What do you mean he didn't have to?"

"Let me ask you a question, why is it that you are so afraid of your feelings?"

"I'm not afraid of my feelings; I just don't think they have a place in my work environment. If I get attached, or feel anything, it makes my job much more difficult."

"So you would rather be alone and scared than loved and secure."

"I'm not afraid...people leave, and it's better to not get involved...it's safer."

"And why is it safer?"

"Dr. Wyatt, no offense to you, because you're a highly intelligent man, but I don't want this to turn into something where I blame my parents and brother for leaving me at the age of fifteen. That's where this is headed, right? I have left over issues from being abandoned by the people I love."

"Dr. Brennan this really isn't about them. You have been in relationships in the past am I right? Why don't you tell me about them?"

"Where do you want me to start, from the first, or more recently?"

"Well you don't have to go through a list but why don't we go from Sully and work our way back. And not all of them please. I think we should stick to the ones that make the most noise in your life."

"Well, with Sully, he was the agent assigned to work the case that Booth had to sit out on. I wasn't sure whether or not to take him seriously, but we worked well together and he's a good guy, so when he invited me to dinner, I accepted."

"Go on."

"I saw Sully a few times and was surprised that we hadn't even kissed. I didn't think much on it until Angela wanted to know if we'd slept together. She insisted that I make the first move after we thought he had an issue regarding his performance."

"Okay, so you and this Sully, you were intimate because of curiosity?"

"I don't know that it was curiosity per se, maybe more...I know he cared about me, and since he'd made no move to further the relationship, I took the initiative."

"Well Dr. Brennan, I have an appointment I have to get to so I want you to think about something. Why is it that you are okay with being intimate with Agent Sullivan who in all fairness was your partner but not with Booth who is also your partner? What makes them so different?" Wyatt took a last sip of his tea and stood to leave the diner. Brennan watched him leave and sat a while longer thinking about her answer. Why was it so different when Booth was involved? Sully waited until the case was over and she was again with her partner before asking her out. Was that the difference? He made it clear he didn't mix work with pleasure. But what about Booth? Clearly, he had no problem with more than a professional relationship if he had been seeing Cam. Brennan sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. Why did he have to make everything so complicated?

XxXxX

Booth paced in his office, knowing full well that he should be getting to the growing stack of files on his desk. He glanced at his watch and sighed. Dr. Wyatt was supposed to be there in a few minutes. The relationship with Temperance was growing more confusing to him, especially after the kiss they nearly shared the night before. He was sure she wanted it as much as he had. At the slight knock on his door, Booth looked up and motioned Gordon Wyatt inside.

"Thank you for coming, I'm just…I needed someone to talk to."

"Of course Agent Booth. Now, how can I help you?"

"I almost kissed my partner last night," Booth sputtered out, one hand running through his hair as he continued to pace. Dr. Wyatt simply looked at the agent with a contemplative expression.

"What do you think it means?"

"What do I think it means? I don't know. I mean, I want to be there for her as a friend but then I can't stop thinking about…" Booth stopped short of saying 'her touch', not wanting to go more in depth.

"Interesting... you want to be there as her friend but you can't help but be drawn to her in ways not too foreign to either of you." The FBI agent laughed nervously before looking over at Dr. Wyatt.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, doc."

"It is the heart's rhythm that causes our brain to skip beats."

"What?"

"Agent Booth, I'm curious about your reluctance to discuss matters of intimacy. Have you and Dr. Brennan been intimate?" As Wyatt asked the questions, Booth's eyes widened in surprise. He cleared his throat and offered a nervous laugh before speaking again.

"Intimate? You mean in that non actual, not touching, brain thing... right?"

"Now Agent Booth, let me make it simple. Have you and your Bones been physically intimate?"

"Um, why do you ask?"

"It seems to me that you have a few unresolved issues that stem from your relationship with Dr. Brennan."

"What unresolved issues do I have? I mean we're friends, we're partners, how does that mean I have issues? I don't have...what does me sleeping with her have to do with our relationship? It was just a brief...it was only twice."

"Interesting... very interesting. You act as though it never happened. Why do you think that is? Do you feel you did something wrong?"

"Wrong? I didn't do anything wrong, you know? It was...it just happened, and how would that be wrong? Okay granted we aren't in a relationship...well we are, but not that type."

"Are you ashamed of what happened? Feel like it was a mistake?"

"No, it wasn't a mistake. It was unexpected."

"What was so unexpected Agent Booth? You are two attractive adults who are attracted to each other. I am sure it was fantasized on both parts many a time prior to the engaging."

"Fantasizing? I uh…" Booth swallowed hard. He certainly didn't want to discuss any sexual fantasies he'd had about Bones to his therapist. There had to be something sacred, right?

"One question Agent Booth, where did these unions take place?"

"Where? Ha, isn't that a little, um inappropriate?" He pulled on his collar a little bit.

"Not at all Agent Booth, it may be the key to unraveling the mysteries of the entire situation."

"It was um, in a hotel room and..." he trailed off, pulling on his collar again.

"I'm sorry; I didn't catch that last part."

"In my, uh, SUV."

"Interesting… so the hotel room, were you on a case or was this a mutual choice of location?"

"A case. How is this important?"

"Well since it seems that both encounters where on borrowed time. Both were attached to work. Have you though about why that is? Are you worried she won't see the real you out of the suit? When you put away those funky socks, wild ties and erotic belt buckles, will she accept you? Will she accept who you are without them? Will you let her in?" Booth opened his mouth to speak, but before he could answer, Wyatt began to speak again. "Tell me Agent Booth, why is it that your relationship didn't carry on after these two occasions?"

"We uh… Ahem. We mutually decided to not pursue it."

"So one did not initiate the end?"

"No, I sort of told her we should end it."

"So you backed out of it for what reason? You pulled the plug so to speak. Why?"

"I uh thought it would be best to maintain a professional relationship. I told her before then that people in my line of work can't be in relationships."

"And yet Sully seems not to have agreed with you on that stance. He seemed to have no issue with pursuing Dr. Brennan. Did you have a problem with the fact that a friend and fellow agent was dating your partner?"

"I just want her to be happy. That's all. If she was happy with him, then who am I to step in the way?"

"If you feel so deeply for her, why have you never made your feelings known?"

"Because I don't know what I feel."

"I think you do, Agent Booth. What you need to do is evaluate why you're so afraid to let her into your life outside of the work environment. Until then, there's not much I can help you with, I'm afraid." With that, Dr. Wyatt patted Booth on the shoulder before leaving the office. Booth watched him leave and heaved a sigh. He felt a bit bad lying to Dr. Wyatt. The problem wasn't in his own emotions. He did know how he felt about her. The problem was, he didn't know if the feelings were reciprocated.