Temperance hadn't thought about dating in a long time. It wasn't that she wasn't attracted to boys, she was a teenager after all, but she was busy surviving. There wasn't time for the silly crushes she used to giggle about with her mother.

When Booth brought up the prospect of dating, at first she was terrified. This was Booth, her best friend. She knew the odds of a relationship between them lasting beyond high school. She wasn't going to risk their friendship over some biological urges.

Then again, Eric was cute. Not as pleasing to the eye as Booth, but cute. She was honestly considering Booth's offer to teach her to dance, when she remembered she wasn't a carefree girl anymore. If she went to the dance, she would be in the Queen Bee's territory. She would have to find an appropriate dress and even if she could afford it, the Colter's probably wouldn't let her go and going to the dance would mean leaving Lance alone with no one to protect him.

It wasn't worth it.

Instead, she focused on her school work, that and sneaking an extreme hair growth formula into Regina's body wash. Everything was going as planned, until Booth brought up

"So, I know you don't want to go to the dance, but what about just a date?" he asked as they walked to school Thursday.

"That would depend," she shrugged.

"On what?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, Eric would actually have to ask me."

Booth laughed. "I guess that would be a good start."

The next day as she was walking to Library, Eric asked her to get a slice of pizza after school and she agreed. During Chemistry she told Booth about her plans, and asked him to look out for Lance until she got home. Of course he agreed, another part of the puzzle of her reluctance to go to the dance, settling in his mind.

Once home, he waited impatiently for the boys to get home. No music, or television show, book or movie could hold his attention. Meanwhile, Temperance made polite conversation with Eric. He was pleasing to look at, and very polite, but when she asked if he had read anything interesting lately, he listed off the required reading list. The conversation didn't improve from there. Eric spent the entire time talking about ghostbusters.

All in all, she was walking into Booth's house a little more than an hour after she left school.

"Hey," Booth called, alerted to her arrival by the sound of the door opening. "You're home early?"

Instead of saying anything, she simple flopped on the couch and flipped on the TV.

"What's wrong? Did something happen? Did he do something?" Booth asked getting more agitated with each question.

Temperance grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the couch beside her, not letting go even after he was settled. "It was fine, Booth. Relax. It was just… I don't know…" she shrugged.

"Not what you were hoping for?" he offered, glad he didn't have to kick Eric's ass the next time he saw him.

"Yes, I guess that is true. This date was an experiment for me. I wanted to see what it would be like to be a normal girl."

"Normal?"

"Everyone treats me differently. They have ever since I went into the system. I was a little unusual before my parents left. I was more interested in science than dances and clothes, but that was ok, because my dad was the science teacher, and I had grown up with all the kids in my class. They knew me when we were all toothless kindergarteners. I went to 5 different schools last year. Five sets of popular girls calling me Morticia or Wednesday or Mrs. Munster. Five teams of jocks shoving me in lockers. Five counselors telling me it would get better. I finally had someone ask me out, and I wanted to know what it would be like to just be a normal girl on a date for once."

Booth tried to process everything that had just come pouring out of her. "Well? How was it?"

"Honestly?"

Booth nodded

"Boring."

"What?"

"Eric was nice and all, but we didn't have anything in common. He just wanted to talk about his best plays, and ghostbusters."

"Oh, do I bore you?" he asked nervously.

Temperance's eyes widened in surprise. "No, of course not. You are my best friend, Booth."

"I am?" He asked, surprised.

She blushed and pulled her hand away. "No, I meant best of Friends. Just friends. I just said we were friends. No big deal."

"I think you like me, Bones. I think I am your best friend," he teased, but then her eyes grew more panicked, and he quickly backed off. "You are my best friend, Bones. You are probably the only friend I have that really knows me."

"I am?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he grinned. "And as my best friend, you should let me teach you to dance."

"But Booth, I'm not going to the dance."

"I know that, but someday you are going to meet someone who isn't boring, and who sees you for who you really are and when that day comes, you are going to want to blow them away with your awesome dance moves."

"Well, I already know few things," she said with a smirk.

Booth turned on the radio. "Well, show me what ya got."

Girls just want to have fun, played in the background as she jumped, kicked, and shimmied around the room. Booth watched until she grabbed his hand, when the boys walked in a moment later, they looked at older kids like they were crazy, before joining them dancing around the room.

The afternoon was spent dancing. Later when Temperance and Lance returned to the Colter's, Jared sat at the table working on his homework.

"I miss dancing with mom," he said quietly.

"I know, Bud, me too."

"I like Tempe."

"Yeah, me too," Booth sighed. "Me too."