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Brennan saw him as soon as she stepped out of the elevator. He was sitting by her door, a bag of takeout on the floor beside him. "Booth, what are you doing here?!" She walked over to him, an expression of concern on her face. "Are you trying to put yourself back into the hospital?" She reached down to help him up, grabbing the bag of food in the process.

Booth smiled at her. "If you would get home at a decent hour..."

Brennan unlocked her door, and walked into the apartment, Booth following behind her. Booth walked over and collapsed onto the sofa. He tried to hide it, but she saw the flash of pain that passed across his face.

"You shouldn't be out of your apartment, much less driving around, and being a delivery man." She busied herself getting the food out, setting it on the coffee table. "If you needed to see me, you should have called me. I would have..." Her voice trailed off.

"Would have what?" Booth crossed his arms in front of him, and stared at her. "Would have come over?"

She looked at him for a moment. "I..I'm just going to go change." She disappeared into the bedroom.

Booth reached into his jacket and pulled out his medication. The pain was a steady ache, and he knew he had probably overdone it today, but he had caught her off guard, and he was going to use that to his advantage.

Brennan quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and sat down on the bed. She should have known he would come here. He was willing to give her time, but only on his own terms. She thought she had been prepared to tell him that they couldn't pursue this, there was just too much at stake, but just being near him made her want to forget everything, to just fall into his arms. She shook off her thoughts. No, she could do this. She was strong. She had been through a lot of tough times, this should be easy. So why did it feel like the hardest thing she had ever had to do?

BBB

Booth watched her as she finished clearing the table. He loved watching her, whether she was working, or just sitting at her computer. She was beautiful, but it was more than that. It was the way she carried herself, the way she put all of herself in everything she did. He smiled when she sat down, as far away from him as possible. As if she thought that would make a difference. Booth had always been a man of action. When he wanted something, he went after it until he succeeded. Bones was smart, but this time she had met her match.

"Are you okay?" Brennan's voice pulled Booth back to reality.

"What?"

"You really don't look that good. You were supposed to stay home and rest."

"Bones, I'm okay, really."

"Look, why don't I take you home? You need rest, and we can do this another time."

Booth leaned forward. "I'm not letting you run away again."

"I'm not running away, Booth. I'm just concerned. Besides, there's really nothing to talk about. You were right. I was upset yesterday. I wanted to thank you for what you did, for not.."

"Temperance, you don't have to apologize, and you don't have to thank me. That's not what you're running from, anyway."

"Booth, I can't.."

"See, Bones, right there. Beginning a sentence with 'I can't' doesn't bode well for the conversation." He absently rubbed a hand across his wound.

"Look, Booth. What you said last night..."

"What, that I love you? I didn't just say it, Temperance, I meant it."

Brennan stood up, and started pacing. "Booth..."

"Look, do you think I woke up one morning and thought 'Gee, what could I do to make my life more complicated? Oh, I know, I 'll fall in love with my partner.'?" He stood up. "That's not how it happened."

"It doesn't matter, Booth. This...you and me... It can never work. We're too different. And what you want out of life, I can't give you."

"Okay, why don't you tell me what I want."

"Booth, you don't have to get defensive. I just..."

"Actually, I do." He started to walk toward her, but she backed away. "Unfortunately, Bones, everything with you is a battle. It's my job to break down your defenses. To storm the castle, so to speak." He smiled, remembering their first 'stakeout'. "To get to the princess inside."

She didn't return the smile. She couldn't let him get to her. "I'm just trying to be rational. The only reason to be in a relationship is to find someone to spend your life with. If you believe in that sort of thing, which I don't. But I know you do, which is why..."

"Bones, that's a nice rational argument. But guess what? Love isn't rational. It's unpredictable. It's something you don't have a choice in. You don't choose who you love. Love chooses you. And it's not something you can talk yourself out of." He had been walking towards her, and she had been backing away, until the wall stopped her. He closed the distance between them. "It's not up to you to decide who's right for me, Temperance." He reached out and touched her cheek.

"Booth, I..." His nearness was intoxicating. She could feel the heat from his body, and she felt her body responding. All her thoughts left her. "I can't think when you do that." Her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Then don't think." He leaned forward, his lips inches from hers. "Just feel. For once in your life, Temperance, let go. Forget all your anthropological thinking, and just feel." He moved forward, and touched his lips to hers.