A/N: Hello again! I'm here and updating... finally. I really did NOT mean to leave you all with that cliffhanger for so many days, but it couldn't be helped, unfortunately. Real life happened, plus I re-wrote this chapter at least four times. But here it is, finally, and I hope you enjoy it.

I had over 80 reviews for the last chapter, which is... amazing. You guy are amazing. Thank you SO much! I want to, and absolutely will, reply to each of you individually, but as one reviewer stated, "Forget reviews - just post!"Or something to that effect. So I took that advice and concentrated on getting the next section up as quickly as I could instead of replying to reviews first. But I will still be replying to you all in the morning because I love hearing from you and discussing the chapters with you. =)

I know many of you have a lot of expectations for this chapter and I hope that it meets them! I'm not an angsty writer, so don't worry too much about that. And if your thirst for kissing is not quenched here, trust that it will be in upcoming chapters. ;-) Hint, hint.

Thank you to my wonderful beta, Hannah Taylor1. It's almost Thursday... and those of you who follow her story, "Problem Solving, The Booth and Brennan Way," know that means it's almost time for an update. Make sure you check it out and review! She's a very busy lady and she's working really hard to keep herself updating and me updating as well. =) Send her lots and lots of love for it.

Disclaimer: I don't own them...

~B/B~

Thursday 8:23 P.M.

Lowering his head, he captured her mouth with his and sank them both back down into the couch.

Warmth and softness surrounded Booth as his lips melded with Brennan's, touching, tasting and taking from her everything that she was giving. His hand cupped her face, his thumb gently tracing her cheek bone. Her hands were in his hair, dragging through it and leaving delicious trails of sensation in the wake of her nails. He slipped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him, and her lips parted under his in response, inviting him to explore her mouth. The first tentative touch of his tongue taunted a moan out from between her lips.

The sound sent him crashing back to reality as his mind cleared and he comprehended what was happening. He had his partner pinned to his couch and was recklessly crossing the line that they had drawn for themselves so long ago as his lips plundered hers and his hands urged her closer.

His eyes flew open and he jerked away from her, sitting up as though her skin had erupted into flames and was burning him. He pushed himself to the other end of the couch, knocking over her long-forgotten plate of pizza in the process.

"Bones, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean… I have no idea… I'm so sorry."

He closed his eyes, trying to process what had just happened, and figure out how to explain himself to her without sending her running out his door. Berating himself, he mourned the years of careful self-control that meant nothing now. They had been wiped away in one moment of weakness and insanity and… the need to finally act on what had started to feel so natural to him.

When he opened his eyes again, he watched as his partner slowly sat up, her fingers straightening her hair, the back of her hand pressing against her lips. She slid both of her feet to the floor and reached down to pick up the plate of pizza, settling it neatly back on the coffee table.

Unable to stand her calm silence, he pleaded, "Bones, say something. Do you want to yell at me? You can hit me if you want. I'm not going to stop you."

"Booth, relax." Brennan shook her head. "I'm not angry."

He raised his eyebrows, feeling shock rather than relief. "You're not?"

"No." Brennan settled herself back against the couch, her flush lingering in her cheeks. "If you recall, I responded to your advances."

Her words, formal as they were, sent him plunging into the memory of her mouth moving under his. She was right. He'd initiated the kiss, but in his panic over his actions, he'd failed to take into account the fact that she had urged him on willingly. Reaching up, he smoothed down the hair that she had ruffled with her roaming fingers.

"Why?" He demanded. Being abrupt was usually her thing, but in this case he desperately needed to know. Her easy acceptance of what had happened between them was throwing him completely off. If he had been a betting man, and he had been, he'd have staked a year's salary on her being long gone by now.

And yet here she was.

"Why, Bones?" He asked again.

She took a deep breath before she answered and he could have sworn he saw discomfort flicker briefly on her calm face. "We're both very attractive people, Booth. People with healthy biological urges. It's only natural that we be attracted to each other."

Force of habit had him wanting to baldly deny any attraction, but he figured that was relatively pointless considering only moments earlier he had been kissing her like his life depended on it. Heck, it had felt like his life really did depend on it.

When he didn't respond, she continued. "We have been attracted to each other since our first case. We've simply chosen to compartmentalize those feelings in order to cultivate a more productive partnership and friendship. But compartmentalization, while quite effective, is not flawless, Booth. It is perfectly logical, considering our level of familiarity with each other and the amount of time we spend together, that circumstances could lead us to… slip-up."

He could do little more than blink at her and be amazed at her ability to rationalize her way through anything. His entire being objected to her clinical assessment of what had happened. He hadn't kissed her because he felt a particularly strong biological urge hit him at the exact moment he happened to be on top of her.

He had kissed her because she was adorable when she was holding a Nerf gun, because she was sexy in his underclothes, because she was his best friend, and an amazing person and because she was… Bones. His Bones.

She was still waiting for him to respond, and he looked into her eyes, reading her the way only he could. Her words were straightforward enough, casual enough. To a stranger or an acquaintance, even a close friend, she might appear to be entirely calm and rational. But he knew why she laced her fingers together in her lap. He knew why she jutted her chin forward just enough to be barely noticeable. He knew what it meant when she suddenly began blinking more rapidly.

It meant she was nervous, vulnerable. It meant she needed him to step in and protect her from whatever it was that was chipping away at the protective casing of her world. Just because it was him that was doing the chipping this time, didn't mean he couldn't also be the one to fix it.

He sat forward on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees, maintaining his hold on her gaze. "A slip-up." He nodded slowly. "Perfectly natural."

"Yes." She said firmly. "In fact, anthropology demonstrates that people with similar physical, mental or economical status in a society inevitably seek each other out for companionship, both platonically and romantically. This phenomenon is evident in nearly all cultures, from the most ancient to…"

"Bones…" He cut her off, shaking his head gently. "Don't go all squinty on me here, ok? Not now." It was just another sign of her anxiety, but it wasn't one he was willing to indulge at the moment. Not when they had so much else to discuss.

She started to protest, but stopped and simply nodded. "Booth…"

He heard the request in her voice and stepped up. "Look, Bones, you're right. You're right. People slip up sometimes." A brain wave hit him, and he snapped his fingers. "Hey, remember Rebecca? That was a mistake, right? We just got our old feelings all jumbled up and we… well anyway. It's the same kind of thing. It happens."

"Yes!" She latched on to his analogy eagerly. "Exactly. You were attracted to Rebecca and you had strong feelings for her…"

"Sure. I love Becca. You know… not in that way. Anymore. Just in the…"

"In the way you love me. As a friend."

He dropped his eyes, wishing he didn't feel like he was lying to her somehow. "Right."

"But you and Rebecca are still friends." Brennan continued. "Your lack of self-control didn't cost you your friendship."

He jerked his eyes back up to hers. "Geez, Bones, no. Of course not. And it's not going to cost us ours." He felt his throat tighten as he spoke. "Right?"

Brennan nodded, offering something close to a smile. "Right."

He let out a sigh, lifting his hand to the back of his neck to rub out some of the tension there. Sitting back against the couch again, figuring it was in the best interest of them both if he kept a little space between them, he asked, "So what now? What do we do here?"

Brennan looked around the room. "I suppose we could recover the darts we've scattered around your apartment and conclude your lesson." Was her thoughtful reply.

He gaped at her. "Seriously, Bones?"

She frowned. "I had assumed we were done with the game, but if you…"

"Bones!" He shook his head in amazement. "I'm asking about the… kiss. What do we do about the kiss?"

"Oh." Brennan's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What is it that you would like to do about it?"

Rinse and repeat.

He nearly rolled his eyes at himself, dropping his hand from his neck and resting it on a denim-clad thigh. "I don't know, Bones. I guess we just… forget about it."

Brennan cocked her head. "I think that would be impossible. However, it is probably best that we act as though we have forgotten it." She paused, thinking, nodding to herself. "As though it were a contaminant in an experiment . We will simply disregard the results it produced."

Once again, he balked against her reasoning, not wanting to associate words like contaminant and disregard with his memory of their kiss. He wanted to associate words like warmth and softness and desire with the feeling of her mouth on his. But those were the kinds of thoughts he owed it to her not to have. Those were the thoughts that he was going to have to find a way to lock back away in the dark recesses of his mind where they belonged.

So disregarding the contaminant it was.

"Yeah," He nodded. "Sure. We'll just disregard it. Never happened."

"I think that's best."

"Yep. Me too."

Silence fell between them, the awkwardness that had stayed somewhat at bay while they were consumed with figuring out what had happened between them now rushing back in. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and found her looking at him too. He couldn't help but wonder if she was remembering their kiss as vividly as he was. The very idea of it made him want to squirm like four-year-old Parker getting a haircut.

Unable to take it any longer, he spoke. "So, I, uh, guess we're done here."

"Yes." Brennan stood, smoothing his undershirt over her stomach, unwittingly tempting him to take back every word he'd just said, grab her and kiss her all over again. He resisted and she continued, "I'll just get my things. I left my clothes on your bed."

Of course she had. "Yeah, sure." He stood too, gesturing down the hall. "No problem. Just… go on back. I'll just stay out here and…" He trailed off, feeling stupid. "Anyway, you know where the bedroom is."

Brennan disappeared and Booth sank back down into the couch, dropping his head into his hands and cursing himself. "Great move." He muttered under his breath. "No, really… well done. Why don't you just maul your partner tonight, Seeley? Oh, and while you're at it, make sure the kiss is so amazing that you'll never be able to forget what you can't have."

Standing up again, he kicked the coffee table hard enough to send their empty beer bottles clattering and case files falling to the floor. Cursing out loud this time, he bent over to pick them up.

"Booth…?" Brennan's voice sounded soft and far away. "Are you alright?"

"Great, Bones!" He called back to her. "Doing great out here. You? What about you? Everything ok?"

There was a long pause that gave him plenty of time to kick himself.

"I'm fine, Booth."

"Good. Great." He tossed the case files back on the table before heading to the kitchen. "Glad to hear it."

~B/B~

Thursday 8:31 P.M.

Brennan sighed, sitting herself down on Booth's bed. Even she could hear the thick tension in his tone just now as he called to her from the living room. Closing her eyes, she reached up and touched her lips, wondering at the fact that she could still almost feel the pressure he had placed there. The immediate response she'd had to him had been shocking and a little embarrassing, especially when he was suddenly scrambling off of and away from her, while she was still so deep in the throes of the kiss that her overactive brain hadn't even begun to process what she was doing.

She had meant everything she had said to him. Every word. She was attracted to him. There was little point in denying it. And he was obviously attracted to her. She would expect nothing less. Given those variables, the logical conclusion to draw is that at some point, that biological attraction would override their better judgment and lead them to act on it.

It didn't mean anything more than a natural, physical reaction to each other.

Standing up, she slipped off his borrowed clothes and replaced them with her own, carefully folding his underthings and laying them on the bed. Walking over to the mirror, she scrutinized her features, taking in the flushed skin, the glittering eyes, the full lips. She was still aroused and almost grateful to see the physical manifestations of it.

It had to be her arousal that was responsible for the regret she felt that the kiss had ended as quickly as it had. It had to be what was making her wish he had counteracted her logic, instead of being so willing to accept it. But arousal would fade, and so would her regrets, and then everything would be back to normal. They'd made a mistake and they would move on.

Finally ready, Brennan opened the door to his bedroom and stepped back out into the hall, closing the door behind her. She headed back to the living room, searching for him and finding him in the kitchen, putting away the left over pizza. A pile of darts sat on his counter and all the picture frames and the few knick-knacks he'd protected were back in place. He looked calmer too, and she was relieved. When she stepped into the kitchen, he glanced towards her, a hesitant smile on his lips.

"You cleaned quickly." She observed, gesturing around the room. "I would have helped."

"Nah, don't worry about it." He shrugged. "My mess, not yours."

He stayed by the fridge and she seemed unable to move away from the doorway, leaving a good five or six feet of space between them. They were still awkward and the tension prompted her to react in the only way she knew how.

"I should go home now. I have a number of things to accomplish tonight before I go to bed and then tomorrow will be a very long day. I need to get some rest."

"Right, yeah." Booth ran a hand over his jaw and moved towards her, passing her to grab his keys off of the small table beside his door. "I'll drive you back to your car."

"There's no need." Brennan accepted the purse he handed to her. "I'll just call a cab. It'll be simpler."

He gave her a look and shook his head. "No way, Bones. I'm taking you back."

When she still hesitated, he let out a sigh and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, it's alright if you're not comfortable being alone with me right now, Bones. If you want, you can call the cab and I'll just follow behind. Make sure you get home alright."

Brennan's eyes widened and she took a step towards him. "No, it's not that, Booth."

"Then what?"

"Nothing." She decided, picking up her coat and putting it on without his assistance for the first time in… longer than she could remember. "I accept your offer. Thank you."

He held the door open for her, giving her a brief smile. "No problem."

~B/B~

They rode in silence for the most part. He occasionally grumbled about traffic and she asked what he meant when he'd said one driver was, "dumber than a box of rocks." But other than that, the silence lingered and threatened to suffocate them.

Brennan was relieved when he pulled up to her car in the Jeffersonian parking garage. She reached for the door handle and had started to climb down from his truck when she felt his hand on her arm. Settling back into her seat, she met his eyes.

"Look, Bones…" He trailed off, his jaw clenching down. "I just… I know we're pretending nothing happened and all… but you know that I'm sorry, right? Yeah, you kissed me back but… I started it and I feel like a jerk who took advantage of you."

"Booth…"

"Let me finish. Look, you can trust me, ok? It's not going to happen again. I won't slip-up again. I don't care about biological urges and inevitabilities and whatnot. I'm not going to let any of that happen again. Alright? Do you know that?"

"Booth, stop talking." Brennan ordered sharply. "You and I both know that I am perfectly capable of defending myself if necessary, just as we both know that, had I protested for even a moment, you would have immediately stopped. I appreciate the sentiment of your apology, but it's unnecessary."

Booth gave a semblance of a smile. "Trust me, Bones, it was necessary. I needed to say it. But thanks." He took a deep breath before speaking again. "Then before we forget the whole thing… there's something else we should figure out. Sweets." Booth gave her a sheepish look. "Tomorrow morning, bright and early."

"Ah." Brennan nodded. "I see."

"Yeah. Look, Bones, there are some things the kid just doesn't need to know about…"

"There have been several such things lately."

Booth let out a small laugh, produced more by nerves than amusement. "Yeah, I guess there have. Still…"

"I'm not going to inform Sweets about our slip-up, Booth. If that is your concern."

"Good. Ok. Me either. He'd just take it the wrong way, and we don't need to mess with that right now."

Brennan nodded. "I agree."

"Right."

They looked at each other for a long moment, and Brennan stirred restlessly under his gaze. "I should go."

"Sure."Booth shifted his gaze away. "Guess you should. I'll see ya tomorrow, Bones."

Brennan started to get out of the car once again, but stopped, looking over her shoulder at her partner. "I'm glad we're ok, Booth."

"Yeah, we're great." He gave her a smile. "Night."

"Goodnight, Booth."

~B/B~

Friday 8:01 A.M.

Booth leaned against the doorjamb of his partner's office, watching as she went through her early morning routine, locating what she needed to work on, checking messages, reading emails. The pale blue dress she had on highlighted her eyes and her figure all at once, unobstructed by her lab coat. She hadn't had any reason to tie her hair back from her face yet, and it was still spilling down around her shoulders, framing her face. She looked beautiful.

His hand shoved deep in his pocket, rubbing at the smooth center of his faithful poker chip, as he steeled himself to do what he had decided he had to. He had to go in there and act like nothing had ever happened. She was used to taking cues from him in social situations. If he could just act like it was any other morning, she would too, and they could just go on like always. Just like they had said they would. Just as if he'd been able to sleep last night, just as if he still didn't remember what it was like to really kiss her.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled his hand out of his pocket and knocked lightly, smiling easily at her when she raised her eyes to his.

"Heya, Bones." He strode in, finding his usual perching spot on her desk. "I just got the weirdest call from Sweets."

"Oh?" Her tone was cautious, reserved, but her expression was open enough, and he just kept smiling at her.

"Yeah, he said he wants to meet on the grounds of the Hoover building. You know, that track I showed you one time. Where we do some of our training." He shrugged easily. "He wouldn't say why, but I was told to make sure you knew, so here I am. You look nice this morning. I like that color."

Brennan looked down at her dress, then back at him, her head tilted slightly as she studied him. "Thank you." She finally answered, smiling.

He rapped his knuckles against her desk, easing his hip off of the polished wood. "Yep. So, since I'm here anyway, wanna just catch a ride back to with me? I figure we'll start in on the case right after Sweets. I came in a little early and worked up some new leads I want to follow through on. Sound good?"

She was really smiling now. "Yes, that should be fine."

"Great." He walked over to where she had draped her coat over the couch and held it out for her. "Traffic is still a little heavy. We should go ahead and leave."

She let him help her into her coat, and he was careful to make sure that his hands didn't rest or linger on her anywhere. As soon as he'd accomplished his task, he took a step back, camouflaging the distancing movement by looking around her office. "Need anything else?"

"No, I'm ready."

"Then let's move it. Chop, chop, Bones. Busy day here."

He walked beside her as they left the building, sending her side-long glances now and then to see if she had picked up on the fact that he was deliberately not touching her as they walked. If she did notice, she wasn't reacting, and he was grateful for small miracles.

Talking to her normally was done easily enough, but the touching was something he was going to have to work himself back up to. Right now, just the thought of resting his hand on the small of her back had him contemplating about how easily he could use the position of his fingers to guide her into his body. That was a temptation he didn't need.

Shock jolted through him as her hand slid around his arm. He looked down at her and she met his gaze happily. She looked so pleased, so relieved that things were normal between them, that he didn't have the heart to disengage himself from her, even if the touch of her fingers had sent his heart rate spiking. Resigning himself to the setback in his plan to keep his distance, he returned her smile and placed his free hand over hers, pressing her fingers lightly.

Nothing like a little self-imposed torture to start off a day.

~B/B~

Friday 8:33 A.M.

On the car ride over, he'd begun a debate with her over something he knew absolutely nothing about, making just the right number of completely unfounded statements to set her off. When she'd begun arguing with him, he stubbornly stuck to his original point, holding back his pleased smile as she slipped right back into normal interactions with him. The familiarity of their back and forth was well worth having to listen to her ramble on even as they walked across the Hoover grounds towards the area Sweets had designated.

"… so, obviously, Booth, leeches do have a proper place in modern medicine. Without them, surgeons would have little defense against venous insufficiency."

He shook his head. "Sorry, Bones, not possible. That's just way too gross."

"You cannot disregard fact based on your level of revulsion to it!" Brennan insisted as they approached the impatiently waiting Sweets.

"Good morning, Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan." Sweets stepped forward, waving a hand. "Obviously you two have already found something argue about this morning. Is it something we need to discuss?"

"Not unless you're interested in leech functions." Booth said drolly.

Sweets paused. "Uh, no. Good because I had to pull a lot of strings to have this field set up for us and we really need to get rolling But first… how did the teaching assignment go?"

Booth could feel Brennan's eyes on him, but didn't turn to look at her. "Bones made me do yoga." Booth offered, stalling the inevitable discussion of the Nerf war.

Sweets eyes lit up. "Yoga? You're kidding? You actually did yoga?"

"Oh yeah. There was definite twisting of some stuff and some stretching of other things. You know… yoga stuff." Booth narrowed his gaze. "But that's never to be repeated, Sweets. Got that? Cause only the three of us here know about it, and if people start talking saying thing to me, I'll know it was you. Bones here knows better than to say anything, don't you, Bones?"

Sweets was holding back his laugh and raised his hands in mock surrender. "No, no, I get it. I mean, do you even know what the guys would say to you if they knew?" Sweets shook his head, the laugh escaping him. "Wow. That is so great. You have no idea."

Booth crossed his arms over his chest. "Sweets?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Sweets cleared his throat, stifling his amusement and nodding. "Uh, right. Sorry." He managed. "Anyway, what did you teach Dr. Brennan?"

"Booth instructed me on playing with Nerf guns." Brennan spoke up before Booth could give his carefully cultivated reply. "We engaged in a Nerf battle in his apartment, which was very enjoyable despite the fact that there was not a clear winner."

"A Nerf war." Sweets looked between the partners. "You had a Nerf war."

"Is there something amusing about that too, Sweets?" Booth challenged the therapist.

"No… no. Just… hard to imagine." Sweets shook his head. "Well I guess, in a roundabout way, you guys got the point of the exercise."

"Which was what, precisely?" Brennan asked. "Because I attempted to decipher the benefit to our partnership, and was unable to find one."

"Well, Dr. Brennan, would you have ever had a Nerf war if Agent Booth hadn't chosen that as his activity to teach you?"

Brennan frowned. "There's no way for me to answer that question." She said slowly, then glanced at Booth. "But I suppose I can state that is not an activity I would likely have pursued on my own."

"Hmm." Sweets turned to Booth. "And would you have ever have tried yoga if not for Dr. Brennan?"

"Definitely not."

"So… you both have things that you can add to each other's lives. Even small things like this. And, I think you guys have to admit that even though you were both wary at first about these lessons, in the end you enjoyed them."

Booth glanced at Brennan and found her staring back at him. He swallowed hard, knowing they were both attaching a different meaning to Sweets words, and looked quickly away.

Sweets was still talking. "Which means… if you two keep open minds about learning from each other and listening to each other's point of views, you'll probably be glad of it in the long run."

Getting impatient and definitely ready to stop talking about last night's events before someone – Bones – accidentally gave them away, Booth snapped his fingers, gesturing to the field. "That's great and all, Sweets, but what are we doing out here? Is there a point or did your doctor just recommend you get more vitamin D?"

Brennan chuckled. "Sweets, that is amusing because the sun provides vitamin D through skin absorption, and see… you are quite pale. Booth is implying that your skin color is abnormal."

"Thank you, Dr. Brennan." Sweets muttered. "So glad you explained that to me."

Booth grinned down at his partner, bumping his shoulder against hers, feeling a moment of complete normalcy as they shared the joke.

"If either of you are actually concerned, the reason we're out here is because most of our session is going to be dedicated to trust exercises. I've got a couple things I want us to do, but they both require one of you to be blindfolded. Are you guys ok with that?"

The partners exchanged glances. "I think you should just tell us what we're doing, Sweets." Booth crossed his arms, eyeing the therapist.

"The first is something called a blind crossing." Sweets explained. "One of you will stand in a designated spot, while the other is blindfolded, standing about thirty feet away. Whichever of you is not blindfolded will use verbal directions to guide the other to you."

"Why?" Brennan frowned, her eyes narrowing.

"Well it's a trust exercise, Dr. Brennan. It's designed to build trust." Sweets said slowly.

"Hey, just watch the sarcasm there, Sweets." Booth interjected. "I think what Bones wants to know is why in the world we would agree to that? We didn't come to you to work on building trust, you know. We already trust each other with our lives every time we go out in the field. We don't need to work on trust, we need to work on the opposite of that."

Sweets held his ground. "I understand why you and Dr. Brennan have come to me for help. I do. All I ask is that you actually allow me to help you. By strengthening your trust in each other, it will be easier for you to be sure of each other, even when there are other people you're involved with. Building trust is essential to creating a healthy relationship of any kind."

"And shouting to each other across thirty feet is going to give us a healthier relationship?" Booth challenged.

"It will build trust, yes. And so will the Running Free exercise." Sweets insisted.

"Which is what?" Brennan asked.

"It's an exercise where one of you will, once again, be blindfolded while one of you is not. You'll hold hands, start at a slow walk, and gradually get faster until you're running together. Most people find it quiet liberating."

"Yeah, I'm not doing that." Booth shook his head, starting to turn away. "Sorry, Sweets, but we have important stuff to do. I'm not gonna run around in a field with a blindfold on. Not happening."

"Booth…"

"Bones, come on. Let's go."

"Booth, we agreed to submit to Sweets' therapy techniques. If you want to avoid this particular exercise, you'll have to use your veto."

Booth gave her a look. "Fine, Bones, I veto it. We good now?" He clapped his hands together. "To the car!"

"I don't think it's very wise for you to use your veto simply because you don't see the point in Sweets' suggestion." Brennan placed her hand on Booth's arm, holding him back. "Your veto could be much better used on an activity designed to create a change in our partnership that you didn't want. For instance, in hindsight, perhaps you should have used your veto on the teaching assignment."

"Bones!" Booth hissed, leaning close in a belated attempt to encourage her to talk quietly. "Have you lost your mind?" He muttered under his breath.

"Why would you have vetoed the teaching assignment?" Sweets drew closer, his interest piqued.

"We wouldn't have." Booth said quickly, taking Brennan's arm and placing just enough pressure on it to distract her from answering Sweets herself. "Why would we? Hey, you know what we should do right now though? The blindfold thingy. Bones is right… better to save the veto. Lead the way, Sweets."

Sweets raised his eyebrow, looking between the two for a long moment. "Ok, I'm picking up on a weird vibe here, but we don't have a lot of time on the field so we kind of need to keep moving."

"Right behind you."

When Sweets turned away to walk over the area set aside for them, Booth shot a glance at Brennan. "Bones, think before you speak, will you? You almost just gave us away."

"I was making a point." Brennan protested.

"Yeah, well, we're supposed to be acting like it didn't happen. We can't do that if we talk about it and especially if we talk about it in front of Sweets."

"I apologize." Brennan sniffed, pulling her arm from his grasp. "In the future, I will be more careful about even alluding to yesterday evening, considering it upsets you so much."

She moved ahead of him, walking closer to Sweets and he stopped, gesturing helplessly at the air before resting a hand on his hip. This morning was not going according to plan in the slightest.

"Agent Booth?"

"Yeah, yeah."

~B/B~

Friday 8:54 A.M.

Sweets tied Brennan's blindfold behind her head and moved to stand in front of her. "Ok, how does that feel?" When she nodded her acceptance, he held up his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Without pausing, Brennan reached her hand up and deftly felt his fingers before lowering at again. "Three."

Sweets shot an astounded look at Booth who was standing at Brennan's side, smirking. "Uh… ok, you get that that's not what I was asking right? I was asking if you could see."

Brennan cocked her head, looking slightly comical with the black fabric tied around her eyes. "Of course I can't see, Sweets. I'm blindfolded."

"Anyway…" Sweets shook his head. "Just stand here, right at this spot. Agent Booth and I are going to head over to the finish line and he will call to you when he's ready, ok? If at any time you feel uncomfortable, just let us know."

"I understand."

"Good. Agent Booth?"

"Yeah, I get it. Look, Sweets, can you give me a minute with my partner, here? Just head on over to the wherever and I'll be there in a second."

"If there's something you need to say to Dr. Brennan, then…"

"Sweets." Booth cut him off with a look. "I'll be there in a second."

Looking vaguely irritated, Sweets nodded and walked away, leaving the two partners alone. Booth turned to Brennan, touching her arm so she would know where he was.

"Bones, look, if we're gonna do this you have to actually be listening to me. If you're focused on being mad at me instead of what I'm saying to you, you could hurt yourself. So just… don't be mad anymore, alright? I'm sorry."

"I'm not angry."

"Sure you are, Bones. I snapped at you and I shouldn't have. You just freaked me out there for a second, ok? Maybe I'm still a little on edge after… everything."

"You seemed fine this morning." Her voice held a note of vulnerability and he sighed, sliding his hand down to hers.

"I am fine. We're fine. But you're the compartmentalization expert here, not me. Give me a little time, alright?"

"Fine."

"Thanks, Bones." He squeezed her fingers before releasing her hand. "So you're good to start now? You're going to listen to what I'm telling you and actually do it for once?"

"I don't have much choice, do I?"

"Not really." He chuckled. "Hey, maybe I'll keep you blindfolded in the field all the time."

He easily dodged the hand she intended to slap against his shoulder. "Behave, Bones. I'll call for you in just a second. Don't worry, ok?"

"I'm fine."

Booth walked over to Sweets, giving the therapist a glance as he settled into place.

"Everything ok?" Sweets asked casually.

"Peachy." Booth responded just as easily. Then, raising his voice, he called to his partner. "Bones? Can you hear me?"

"Yes." Her answer was calm and confident, making him smile.

"Alright, you're about thirty feet away from me, Bones. A little to my left. I want you to take three good sized steps to your right, ok?"

"I need stricter parameters, Booth. I'm not sure what you mean by good-sized."

Booth smiled, involuntarily taking a step towards her. Sweets reached out and stopped him, laying a hand on his arm. "You have to stay behind the line, Agent Booth."

Booth glanced from the young psychologist's face to the hand on his arm, raising his eyebrows. Sweets dropped his hand quickly and Booth took the required step back.

"Booth?"

"I'm here, Bones. Look, just take three regular steps to the right, ok? We'll go from there."

She complied and he eyeballed her position. "Great job, Bones. I'm straight ahead of you now. If you walked a straight line for thirty feet, you'd be right in front of me. Understand?"

"Yes." Brennan started to walk forward.

"Hold on, Bones. Sweets stuck some stuff in your way. Just stay where you are for a second." Booth leaned to his right, eyeing the distance between where she was and the first box she'd have to walk around. "Two steps forward, Bones."

"Regular sized steps?"

"Yep."

She followed his directions and he slowly guided her around the first box, praising her loudly when she completed the task easily. "Hey, Bones?"

"Yes?"

"Guess what… Sweets here laid out the course on a pattern. Genius, right? Just keep doing the same thing. Two steps forward, two to the left, two steps forward and two to the right. You need to do it four more times and you'll be done."

Brennan nodded and began navigating the remainder of the course with a precision that undermined any necessity for further guidance. Sweets crossed his arms and glared at Booth who only smirked in return.

"You know, the point of the exercise is for you to guide her the entire way."

Booth laughed. "Bones isn't that kind of girl, Sweets. All she needs is to be shown what to do and then she'll do it flawlessly every time. She's not the type who needs you to hold her hand."

Sweets nodded. "Hmm, that's too bad, considering how much you enjoy holding her hand."

Booth gaped for a moment, before glaring. "You know… you should really watch yourself, Sweets. Small guy like you… you could run into trouble someday."

Rather than responding to the thinly veiled threat, Sweets nodded towards Brennan who was quickly approaching the two men. "Here she comes."

"Booth? Am I in the correct place."

"Yep, you're doing great, Bones. Couple more steps, ok? I'm holding out my hand, but the kid dictator won't let me cross the line, so you'll have to come run into it, alright?"

Brennan moved forward, holding out her own hand until her fingers met Booth's and held on as he pulled her across the line.

"There ya go." He released her and moved his hands up to the back of her head, untying the blindfold and easing it off of her. "All done."

Brennan smiled briefly and reached her hands up to smooth down her hair. Booth watched her, taking in the look of concentration on her face, the sheen of her hair in the sunlight. Brennan's eyes locked with his and she raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Uh, nothing." He lifted his hand to her cheek and wiped away an imaginary smudge. "You had something here." He told her, using the pad of his thumb to smooth across her cheekbone as memories of the night before once assaulted him.

"Thank you." She handed him the blindfold. "Your turn, I believe."

He stared at the scrap of cloth in his hand and frowned. "I don't know, Bones. Good as you are, I've had a lot more training than you. I'd just feel better if I was the one leading when we're running."

Brennan's mouth formed something dangerously close to a pout. "You agreed to this. When Sweets first brought out the blindfold, I clearly stated that I would dislike running while blindfolded and you agreed that you would be the one to do so."

"Yeah…" Booth hesitated.

Sweets stepped around the agent and took the blindfold from him. "It's kind of a done deal now, Agent Booth. You each have to be blindfolded for one exercise and Dr. Brennan already put her time in. Awesome job, by the way, Dr. Brennan. Very controlled."

"I'm very good at most things, Sweets."

"Agent Booth, I'm going to blindfold you now, alright?" Sweets chose to ignore Brennan's response, moving on quickly.

"Sure, why not." Booth muttered as the world suddenly disappeared behind the black fabric.

"Alright," Sweets stepped back and Booth suddenly heard his voice on his left side. "Dr. Brennan, do you see the circular track that starts right over there? I want you to lead Agent Booth along it. You should walk for the first half, jog for the second and work up to a run as you start the second lap. Two laps altogether. Are you comfortable with that?"

"What about if I'm comfortable with it?" Booth piped up, deciding he did not like not being able to see. It made him jittery, and he was already jittery enough as it was.

Brennan reached out and took his hand. "We understand." She answered for both of them. "Booth, I'm going to begin walking now. The track starts approximately four and a half meters to our right."

"That doesn't help me, Bones."

"Just follow me. I won't allow you to fall."

'I'm not worried about falling." Booth muttered, but let Brennan lead him, their hands linked between them. As they approached the course, neither spoke much and Booth slowly adjusted until he could find the pleasure in simply walking beside his partner. Her fingers were cool against his, her hand small in his large one.

"You're awfully quiet, Bones." He said when several minutes had passed. "Everything alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine." She informed him. "But we will need to begin jogging in a moment though. Are you prepared for that?"

"Sure, whatever." He nodded, raising his free hand to loosen the collar of his shirt that suddenly felt tight against his neck. "Just say the word, Bones."

A moment later he felt her speed up beside him. "Jog now, Booth." She instructed and he matched her pace, her hand still tight in his. It was disorienting to be moving so quickly while he couldn't see and he gripped her hand a little tighter, grateful that he really could trust her. He couldn't think of another person that he would ever agree to do this with.

Moments passed and he tracked the gentle curve of the path in his mind, knowing that they would soon be speeding up again.

"We need to run now, Booth." Came her slightly breathless voice and he nodded, waiting for her to speed up so that he could match his pace to hers. It was surprising to him how well he could read her even though he couldn't see her. He could tell when the track was about to curve by the way she pressed her fingers against his hand, he could tell when she was looking over at him by the strange sensation that crawled over his skin while her eyes were pinned on him. He could hear her breath quickening and knew she would have a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead, glimmering on her neck.

He was so focused on using his senses to read her, that he wasn't paying attention to what she actually said as she attempted to warn him to come to a stop. When she suddenly stopped beside him, he stumbled for a moment and she reached out her hand to steady him as he searched for his balance.

Latching on to her, he steadied himself, her arm wrapped around his torso, his around her shoulders. The blindfold was starting to slip down and he reached his free hand up and took it off, dropping it on the ground as he wiped sweat out of his eyes.

He could sense her looking at him again and met her gaze against his better judgment, brown eyes locking on blue. She smiled and he returned the gesture faintly.

"You did very well, Booth." She rested her hand against his chest and pushed back slightly from him, tilting her head to see him better. "If this exercise actually does measure levels of trust, it would seem that we certainly aren't lacking."

"Nah, we're pretty good in the trust department." He lifted his arm from her shoulders and reached up to wipe it over his face. "You were great out there too. Very smooth, confident. You done good, Bones."

"Thank you." She smiled in genuine pleasure and he let out a sigh, wishing that her every expression, every gesture, didn't make him want to taste her lips again.

Sweets walked over, clapping lightly. "You guys, that was wicked smooth. I didn't want to tell you this before, but most people fall at least once when they're doing this. But it was like you were reading each other without even talking. Displaying that level of trust is really impressive"

"Bones is a good leader."

"And Booth is very surefooted."

"Yeah, well you both did really well, but, uh, we kind of have to get off the field pretty much now. So the session is done for today and you have an assignment free weekend. Sort of."

"Sort of?" Booth cocked an eyebrow at the therapist. "What does that mean?"

"Well, you don't have to do anything… you just have to not do something." Sweets said helpfully.

Brennan frowned. "I don't understand."

"Agent Booth, you will be with your son this weekend, won't you? I assume so, considering you weren't last weekend."

"Yeah, I'll have Parker, Sweets, but leave him out of this. Why are you asking about him?"

Sweets held up a pacifying hand. "Only because that means you won't be working this weekend, right?"

"Right…"

"Good. Because your assignment for the weekend is to spend it apart. Like with the vacation, no contact at all."

"Why?" Brennan asked, looking at Booth in what he briefly considered to be alarm, before deciding he'd misread the expression.

"Because you've been spending a lot of time together this week with the therapy and the various assignments. It's important to keep a balance, create some distance. So, since you two have no professional reason to be together this weekend, your task is to not see each other until Monday."

Booth looked at Brennan and noted her discomfort with the idea. Normally he would have simply ignored Sweets' request or at least fought against it pretty hard, but, truthfully, he could use some distance from his apparently irresistible partner. Maybe a weekend to clear his head, do some confessing and some soul searching was exactly what he needed to get things back to normal between them.

Shrugging nonchalantly, Booth spoke. "Sure, Sweets. Weekend apart, got it. Which means we need to book. Thanks for the… running and stuff, but we need to get busy."

He pointedly didn't look at Brennan, not wanting to see disappointment on her face if it was there. He hated making her unhappy, but comforted himself with the fact that, in the long run, she'd be a lot happier if he got his act together.

Clapping Sweets on the arm, Booth gestured to his partner. "Let's move it, Bones. Looks like we've got a full plate today."

~B/B~

Ok, so I know this was long! I tried to shorten it, but it would only ever be lengthened. Hope you guys don't mind.

I am actually VERY nervous about this chapter, so if you all would be SO wonderful as to review again this time, I would really, really appreciate it. We writers (as many of you know) spend hours and hours working on these chapters for readers and hearing back from you makes all the effort completely worth it. So drop me a note! =)

Next chapter hint: Since when do two people EVER stay that rational about kissing? ;-)