AN: This chapter takes place during and immediately after 'The Glowing Bones in the Old Stone House'. I hope you enjoy. There's a lot of dialogue from the episode in this, so if you haven't seen the episode, you might not want to read. Otherwise, I hope this lives up to the praise I've received from it. By the way, BonesDBchippie, you didn't review the last chapter. Shame on you.

"You know, Angela turned down Hodgins again," Brennan said as she began to pull on her biohazard suit. Booth paused as he did the same thing, and then looked at her.

"What?"

"Hodgins proposed, and Angela turned him down."

"You really want to talk about this now?" He looked at her incredulously. As she pulled the suit up over his shoulders, she looked at him.

"Why not? There's been no confirmation of danger yet."

"It's just weird, you know? Talking about marriage when we're trying to avoid radiation poisoning."

"What's weird is Angela thinking about marriage at all." Brennan smirked, then watched, confused as Booth walked away, shaking his head. With a sigh, she followed him, knowing that it probably wasn't the best idea to discuss something that was a sore subject with Booth, but she really didn't see the harm. He knew her own views on marriage, and it wasn't like they were anywhere close to that stage. The last sexual encounter they'd had was incredible, but neither had decided anything permanent for their relationship. It was still casual, wasn't it? Frowning, she left at a jog to catch up with Booth and the cop leading them to the remains. Neither of the partners said anything for a few minutes, but finally, Booth couldn't take it anymore.

"People fall in love and they get married, it's what people do," Booth said, not looking at his partner. How could she be so glib about emotions with the connection they had? She had to think this was now more than just casual.

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it."

"I'm just saying…you believe in love, don't you?"

"I believe that dopamine and norepinepherine simulate euphoria because of certain biological triggers like scent, symmetrical features…"

"Symmetrical features?"

"Yes. It's an indication of a good breeder. You appear to be a very good breeder." She really couldn't help the little smirk that crossed her lips as she commented. Booth looked at her, stunned, but his attention turned to the officer as he began to chuckle.

"How long have you two been going out," the officer asked the pair. Booth and Brennan looked at each other uneasily.

"We're…we're partners," they answered together. The cop looked at them and shook his head.

"Uh-huh. Me and my partner talk baseball." With another shake of his head, he led Brennan into a small stone house containing the remains they were on-site to look at. Booth watched them walk away and sighed. He'd been hoping that Brennan would open up more to him, but apparently she just didn't get it. Feeling particularly snappish, he shouted out to her, "You might not want to admit it Bones, but there are some things like love that can't be measured in your lab."

Brennan looked back at him, watching him mutter as he caught up to her again. There was something wrong with him, but she didn't want to think about what that would mean. They were supposed to just be friends with benefits, right?

XxXxX

"Are you still torturing Hodgins," Brennan asked her best friend as they headed to her office. Angela grinned and looked at the forensic anthropologist.

"He loves it."

"Why don't you say no and put him out of his misery?"

"What if I want to say yes?" Brennan laughed and looked over at the artist.

"You?"

"Sometimes your brain just shuts off because you're in love."

"One can't logically base a decision on momentary happiness." Brennan looked over her shoulder as they entered the office and began to take off her lab coat. She had some paperwork to get done, and had nothing more she needed to do with the remains on her table at the moment.

"Haven't you ever just looked at a guy and said screw it," Angela asked as Brennan sat down. "Maybe not the best choice of words…like when you were with Sully. Don't you regret letting him go?" Brennan looked up at Angela sharply. Yes, Sully leaving her, albeit by her decision had been hard, but she had Booth to turn to now.

"I made a decision. Regrets are of no real purpose. If you want to be impulsive, why don't you just say yes?" Angela shook her head at her friend. She'd let the subject change for now.

"Because, I've also got you in my head telling me that marriage will hobble my personal and legal freedom. You're a very difficult best friend to have." Temperance opened her mouth to respond, but answered her phone as it rang instead.

"Brennan…I'll grab my things." Brennan hung up the phone and looked at Angela. "Artie's story checked out. Carly took out a restraining order on Dan, and Dan took out a two million dollar life insurance policy on her." She grabbed her purse and turned to head out of the office. Before leaving, she turned around once more. "See? Marriage, it's just…"

"Oh, just go," Angela said, somewhat defeated.

"Okay," Brennan responded, leaving her friend alone in the office. With a sigh, Angela headed toward her own office. As much as she loved her best friend, sometimes Brennan could be a little dense. Love and marriage weren't some archaic or biological thing that could be quantified or dismissed. The sooner that Brennan learned that, the better it would be for her. The forensic anthropologist needed to let someone in for good. Even if she never got married, she shouldn't hide from love. Their conversation would continue, just not right now.

XxXxX

Brennan was back later that evening after speaking with the victim's husband. She was looking over the 'My Space' page that Carly had made. Angela sat with her as they sifted through the information on the site.

"Do you really think her husband killed her? I mean it makes sense he would spare Abby." Angela looked at Brennan, waiting for a response.

"I don't think I'm the person to ask about the psychology of relationships."

"You know, when I said before that you were the difficult friend inside my head, it's not necessarily a bad thing." The two women looked at each other before Brennan let out a sigh.

"I know that sharing a strong emotional attachment with another human being can be a good thing, but there seems to be a disconnect between my mind and…"

"You know, I shouldn't have brought up Sully before, I'm sorry."

"It's just…if a relationship seems more than casual, I feel that I need to posit the potential problems, the probabilities of success and failure, or…"

"You get scared." Brennan looked back up at Angela, her eyes bright with a few unshed tears. How could Angela say it so much easier than she herself could?

"And I miss so much, don't I?"

"I want to say no, but yeah, you do. And so does whoever you're keeping yourself from."

"So was it a mistake?"

"Sweetie, only you can know that for sure." Angela reached over and squeezed her friend's shoulder. "Only you know what you had with Sully. It's just, to me, you seemed to have a great connection. Now, you have that with Booth…"

"No, it's just casual. It's not just casual. I don't know what it is to be perfectly honest. At first, it was just a fling."

"You two have an incredible connection. You both care about each other, and not everyone has that. Don't ruin things by shutting him out. You need to give yourself over to that man and see where it takes you. Stop analyzing, and just go."

"I don't know if I can."

"Look, why don't you start with something simple and invite him over for dinner."

"But we always have dinner together."

"Then do something different, just find a way to connect that doesn't involve sex, okay?"

XxXxX

Booth sat on his couch, bored. The case was over, and for once, he and his Bones hadn't gone out to dinner. He shifted his position and grabbed the remote for his television, turning it on and flipping through the channels. Nothing looked good, not that he was really paying any attention anyway. What he really wanted to do was see Temperance. He was still a little sore about her flippant attitude about love, but it didn't really surprise him. She always pushed people away, but maybe there was a way that he could show her love wasn't a scary thing. Resolutely, he picked up his phone and called her.

"Brennan," she said when she answered the call.

"Hey Bones, I was wondering if maybe you'd be up for some dinner."

"Actually, I was just going to call you regarding dinner."

"Great, so where do you want to go?"

"I was thinking you could just come over here."

"Do you want me to stop and pick up something?"

"No, that's not necessary; just maybe pick up a bottle of wine?"

"Sure. I'll see you in a few."

"Okay. See you then." Booth hung up his phone and grinned. Looked like things were a little more up than he thought.

It didn't take him long to get the wine and show up at Brennan's apartment. When she answered his knock, she gave him a smile and offered him a quick kiss on the lips. She led him to her dining room and sat him at the table. There was already a glass of beer waiting for him.

"I know you aren't a huge wine fan, so I took a liberty," she explained as she stepped into her kitchen. She slipped on a pair of hot gloves after dishing food onto a plate for herself and Booth.

"You know, you should let me help," he said as he watched her. She picked up his plate and carried it to him, smiling as she caught his eye.

"No. Cleaning up, you can do that." She set the plate down and went to get her own.

"Great," he muttered before looking at the food. His face instantly broke into a grin. "Wow! Mac and cheese. Bones, this looks fantastic." The chef in the case they had just worked had been known for her incredible baked mac and cheese, something she had shown Brennan how to make, and now, she made it for him. His grin grew as Brennan looked up at him, a genuinely surprised smile on her face.

"Yeah? Really?"

"I mean…you shouldn't have. All this work, just for me?"

"What? No, I mean it wasn't that much." She watched as he took his first bite. The look of ecstasy that crossed it turned to her, and she could feel herself growing warm under his gaze.

"Mmmmm…this is unbelievable."

"You like it?"

"I'd like to be alone with it." He grinned at her and dug into it further.

"She said I could go with my instincts, so I put in a little fresh ground nutmeg," Brennan informed, speaking of what she'd learned from the victim, Carly.

"Well, she taught you well. Thanks Bones."

"Yeah, well, you know…you have to eat right?"

"Yeah, gotta eat. Always got to eat." He offered her a wink as they both continued eating the delicious meal.

Later, after eating and cleaning up, the pair was on Brennan's couch. Booth had his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in closely to his side. Jazz played quietly on the radio, and both sat quietly, listening to the music. Temperance snuggled closer to his side, thinking about something they'd briefly talked about while out on the case over the past week. He'd said that some of his fondest memories were of family dinners.

"Why is food related to your best memories," she asked, glancing back toward Booth. He looked down at her and smiled.

"My mom's Italian, so I think food equals love was encoded into her dna."

"That's ridiculous," she smiled, placing her head comfortably on the FBI agent's shoulder.

"Well, that's how it seems. I remember this one time, I'd had a really bad day. I was only like eleven or twelve and had tried out for a baseball team, but didn't make the cut. So when I got home, all upset, my mom made my favorite food to cheer me up."

"Oh really, and what's your favorite, pie?"

"No. Mac and cheese," he grinned at her. She nudged him gently on the side as she grinned at him. "That wasn't the only way my mom showed she cared though."

"Really, what else did she do?"

"She could comfort with just a touch. Jared and I always knew that Mom loved us, because even if she didn't say the words, she let us know." Booth pulled her closer to his body and kissed her hair. Brennan closed her eyes, enjoying his gentle embrace and the soft music playing in the background. She let her mind wander into the dangerous territory of her childhood, thinking about her parents and their relationship.

Matthew Brennan sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in front of him and his paper up as he read through the science section. Christine walked out of the kitchen, setting plates of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of Tempe and Russ. As she passed by Matthew again, she leaned down, put her arms around his neck and kissed him noisily. Matthew smiled, set down the newspaper and pulled his wife onto his lap.

"You call that a kiss, sweetheart? I don't think so." He adjusted his grip on her waist and kissed her soundly on the lips. Temperance watched the scene, smiling. She knew that they loved each other and hoped that she would find that kind of love one day. The spell was broken when Russ groaned loudly.

"Oh please, could you two go to your room if you're going to act that way?"

Temperance grinned and shifted her position. She caught Booth's eye and was surprised to see him looking down at her curiously.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing, really. Just thinking about things." She kissed his lips and laid her head on his chest. Was this the intimacy that she'd always kept herself from? Never in any of her relationships had she been content to just sit with someone. She'd come closest to Sully, but it always led to sex. She hadn't made love with him, nor had she just been with him. There was always an expectation for sex, but this, what she had with Booth was different. So long as he just held her, she was content.