"Booth and I will not be discussing the sexual encounter that led to this pregnancy." Thank god Bones said it before he had to.
"That is totally understandable." Sweets nodded. "However…" Of course there was a however. There was always a however with this kid. "I am curious how you're dealing with the attraction that you've been suppressing all these years. Now that it has found an outlet I mean." He clarified and Booth groaned. "Typically a sexual experience makes it much more difficult to sublimate attraction and causes extreme tension." No shit Sherlock.
"She's not attracted to me." He snapped, was there an echo in this room? Bones was looking at him funny.
"What did you say?" Sweets asked. There was an amused gleam in his beady little eyes that made Booth highly uncomfortable.
"He's not attracted to me." Bones said it at the exact same time, only he'd said the word "she", and she'd used the word "he". Weird. Bones actually thought that he wasn't attracted to her? How was that possible? Like he hadn't been lusting after her for years. Like he didn't spend every second with her in a constant state of arousal. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so bizarre. The woman had to know… didn't she? Sweets nodded as though he'd expected them to say the same thing in unison all along.
"Good… that's good…now as your partnership becomes more and more complex and the boundaries between your personal and professional lives become more blurry, it will become even more important that you are honest with each other."
"I'm always honest with Booth." Bones argued.
"We all know that isn't true Dr. Brennan." Wow. The kid had balls now. He'd finally grown a pair. "Now the FBI has chosen to allow this partnership to continue due to your extremely high success rate, but that is only the case so long as I believe you to be capable of handling this." Booth's eyes narrowed in on Doogie.
"Is that a threat?" he growled.
"You're very intimidating." Sweets' voice cracked a little. "But your lives are on the line here… and for the next few months, your baby's life is on the line too. And I take that responsibility seriously. When you're distracted or uncertain about your partnership, you make mistakes. And the FBI can't afford those kinds of mistakes." His voice was grave and he sounded quite a bit older than his years. The past year must have changed Sweets too. "People could die. Murderers could go free…or god forbid something could happen to that baby." A chill went down Booth's spine at those words. "I will not tolerate your intimidation, your evasive tactics, or your dishonesty." He sensed Bones bristle at his side. "If you cannot make that kind of commitment to me right now, I will dissolve this partnership today." There was no mistaking the look in the kid's eyes. He'd do it. Booth had no doubt. "Now do I have your commitment?" He asked. Booth heard himself agree and Bones' strong affirmation echoed his own.
"Great." Sweets smiled, making him look less threatening and more like the man child they knew and loved. But Booth wasn't fooled. This kid had a new attitude and a spine of steel. They weren't gonna get away with the shit they'd been pulling with him these past few years. "Now we'll start with something small. We have to establish ground zero. Where do you stand?" For his part, Booth had no idea where he stood, and he had no desire to find out either. "All we're going to do today is deal with the comments you just made about attraction. You both believe that your partner is not sexually attracted to you. Which you have to admit is… odd… under the circumstances." He stood. "So you need to find out if that assumption is fact or fiction. I'm leaving you alone for ten minutes to discuss those statements and come to an agreed upon conclusion." And then he was gone.
The couch seemed smaller than usual and he could hear the clock ticking on Sweets' wall. What the hell was the point of this? What was he supposed to say? That he wanted her? She knew that already, despite her statement to the contrary. She'd probably always known it. So why force him to say it out loud. And for that matter, why force Bones to say that she didn't want him? He knew it, she knew it, Sweets knew it…. This was totally pointless.
"Your assumption is incorrect." He heard her say, her voice was distant and cold. He knew from experience that she masked fear that way. She was scared, maybe just as scared as he was.
"I know you think I'm symmetrical and whatever Bones but you're not actually attracted to me. I know when a woman responds to me that way and it's only happened a handful of times with you over the past six years. I'd call that… sporadic confusion, not attraction.
"When?"
"The night we kissed the first time." She nodded and he wracked his brain for another instance. "The night at the museum." He'd almost kissed her that night. And he could have sworn that she wanted it as much as he had. She nodded again. "The time we had sex… and then a couple weeks ago, at the diner… when I threatened to haul you into the bathroom stall." She blushed, wordlessly affirming his assumption.
"I am attracted to you all of the time Booth. I'm simply better at hiding it than most women." She was staring at the floor and chewing on her bottom lip.
"All of the time." He repeated stupidly. What the hell was she saying?
"Since the day we met." She confirmed. "I chose not to act on those feelings for numerous reasons, but that doesn't mean they aren't still there."
"Those feelings." He repeated, he sounded like an idiot. He knew that, but he couldn't seem to form a sentence. Years of insecurity, of sexual tension, of pain and love and unfulfilled desires were clouding his mind, making thought impossible.
"I use the term feelings to quantify attraction, though it's more of a physiological response than an emotional feeling. However, I assume you understand my meaning." She babbled. "I know you don't share those feelings and I am comfortable with that."
"So let me make sure I'm understanding what you're saying." He cuffed the back of his neck with one hand and tried to reason it through. "Somewhere in that brilliant brain of yours, you've created a world where you are… physiologically attracted to me, and I am… not attracted to you at all?" This was too strange. This was what he got for falling in love with a squint.
"You said you were moving on Booth… and then I was… rude after you saved my life, and you are actively dating women who are much more beautiful than I am… and now I have swollen ankles and a distended abdomen and abnormally large breasts… I assumed that any attraction you may have felt for me would have disappeared in light of all those things." A distended abdomen? God she was adorable.
"Bones…" he interrupted her with an exasperated smile. "You're carrying my child." How could he not be attracted to her? He couldn't imagine it. "I have never wanted you more." He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and tilted his face towards her, wondering how she would respond to his honesty, hating how vulnerable it made him feel. She looked confused rather than disgusted, that cute forehead crinkle appeared between her eyebrows.
"You don't… act like it though." Never one to beat around the bush his Bones.
"Look…" He sat up and sucked in a deep fortifying breath. "You're too scared to pursue this thing between us and I get that. I may not agree with it but I get it." She looked like she was going to interrupt but he stopped her. "I can keep things professional and friendly, it's not a problem for me." He lied. "But I'm only human Bones. I'm a guy."
"I don't know what that means." The cute wrinkle moved when she spoke, distracting him for a moment.
"It means…It means you gotta help me out here Bones. You can't go around talking about how you're attracted to me and undressing me with your eyes like you did the other day. It won't work." Their gazes locked and he swore he saw a flicker of longing there. Heat lurking in those deep blue eyes. But he'd been wrong about these things before.
"But what if…" She began softly just as Sweets walked in and plopped down in front of them.
"So?" he asked. Booth wanted to throw something at him. What if what? What had she been about to say?
"We were both incorrect in our assumptions." Bones admitted, her eyes still locked with his own. He felt the words all the way down to his toes. They were both wrong. She wanted him. She might not be in love with him but she wanted him. Damn, that would make keeping his hands off her a lot more difficult.
"Great." Sweets sighed in satisfaction. "Excellent work. I know that was difficult for you." The kid had no idea. "See you next week."