The next morning Brennan awoke to the sound of knocking on her door

The next morning Brennan awoke to the sound of knocking on her door.

She stumbled to the door and opened it to find Booth holding two cups of coffee.

"Bones, looking good…"
"Coffee…shut up…hi…"

Booth laughed and handed her the coffee.
"What did you do last night?"

"I went over to Angela's to help her blow up some balloons."

"…And drank a bottle of tequila?"

"No, then we went shopping and then to Figaro's. Maybe we had too much to drink."

After they'd bought their dresses, the blue one and a pretty maroon one for Angela, they'd wanted the night to last longer and had gone to the classy uptown bar for a couple of drinks. Angela had forbidden her from talking about Booth, and to just have fun. Every time she mentioned Booth's name, she had to drink a shot. Needless to say, she hadn't been aware of how many times she mentioned Booth in one day. It wasn't her fault, she'd said. They were partners, of course, she valued his opinion. Angela had been ruthless, though, and within three hours, Brennan had been plenty toasted. She decided not to tell him about that part of her drinking escapades.

"How did you get home? You didn't drive did you?"

"No…of course not. Booth. Jack had his limo driver come pick us up and take us home."

"Oh…that's good. Sounds like fun."

"Hmmm…not right now, it's not."

Booth laughed at her hangover.

"Finish your coffee, go take a shower and a couple of aspirin, and I'll make you some breakfast."

She just stood there.

"Bones?"

"I'm…not sure I can."
"Not sure you can what?"

"Make it to the bathroom. Everything is really fuzzy."

"Okay, I'll help you. Is your bathroom off of your bedroom?"

"Yeah"

Even in her woozy state, Brennan had to admit that she'd thought of Booth carrying her into her bedroom. Of course, when she'd thought of it, she didn't smell like booze. She could feel Booth clench his teeth, and turned around to see what he was looking at. She'd done some handwashing of her delicates the day before, so some of her bras were hanging over the shower.

"I'm sorry Booth." Immediately an image of him holding her close the morning before superimposed their current situation. She realized he was still holding her up. He smelled so good, and the skin of his throat looked so soft. What if she reached up and touched it? With her lips?

"It's okay, Bones." He turned the shower on and practically threw her inside, clothes and all. "I'll see you in the kitchen."

Brennan stood in the shower letting the water pound away her hangover and humiliation. She'd never been the type to throw herself at a guy, so why had she done it to Booth two days in a row? 'It's his eyes' she thought.

They were pretty amazing, she admitted to herself. Dark, sometimes serious, sometimes compassionate. His eyes were proud when he was with Parker, sometimes playful… 'and hot'…her body reminded her, 'don't forget how they blaze'. She groaned and turned the knob to cold to jolt her body back into platonic submission.

Booth didn't hear her yelp because he was busy chopping vegetables for an omelet. He let the chopping break down his arousal and humiliation. He'd never been the type to practically maul a woman, so why had he done it to Bones two days in a row? 'It's her eyes' he thought.

They were pretty amazing, he admitted to himself. Clear, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes determined. Her eyes were soft when she'd seen Parker with the dogs today, 'and hot'…his libido reminded him, 'don't forget how they can see right through you'. He groaned as he accidentally sliced his thumb. He turned and ran it under cold water, hoping the pain would keep him in check.

Just as Booth was serving the omelet onto two plates, Brennan entered the kitchen. She'd put on an oversize sweatshirt over her yoga pants, and her hair was wet. She looked cute and twelve and sexy at the same time. She also looked nervous, so he did the right thing and tried to make her feel better.

'Here you go, Bones. Good for what ails you."

"Thanks Booth. What did you and Parker do last night?"
"Well, after we got home, he decided he wanted to watch Madagascar."

"What's that?"

"It's a cartoon movie where zoo animals escape and are accidentally shipped back to their natural habitats."

"Oh…sounds fun."

"It actually kind of is. Sounds like I might have a potential future zoologist on my hands."

"That would be cool. He did love those dogs, too. Why don't you have a dog?"

"Well…I don't really have time, you know that…and…well…I know that if I had a dog, Parker would love it very much, but right now, I want him to concentrate on loving people, people who can love him back."

Brennan checked his face for any signs of deeper meaning, but it seemed he was being sincere and talking about a general love for people.

"He's good."

"What?"

"He's kind, and nice, and cares for people and animals. He is a good boy."
"Yeah, he is special, isn't he?"

"Like you."

"What's that?"

"Um…he is like you, Booth. You are good."

"Thanks Bones."

He stood up to take their plates to the kitchen.

"I cook and clean too, by the way."

She laughed, "Well, I guess you make a pretty good date too."

"Um...speaking of that...do you want to go to the engagement party with me?"

"Yes...I was going to ask you the same thing. I owe you one from the auction."

"Yeah, you do."

She grinned and threw a dishtowel at him.
"Ready to work on the speech?"
"Yeah, sure."

Brennan pulled out a pen and pad of paper before they walked to the living room couch.

"Okay, Bones, what do you have so far?"

"Nothing, really. I really don't know where to start."

"Okay, okay. I'll help you. First, why don't you let me write while you talk. You can think freely, and I'll jot down ideas I think are good, okay?"

"Sure."

"Why don't you tell me how you and Angela met."
"I went to Northwestern, and her cousin was my roommate. Angela came to town to visit and we hit it off. She would visit two or three weekends a month after that. I was her birdman."
'Her what?"

"Birdman. I went to bars with her and helped her get dates."
"Wingman, Bones, wingman." He laughed.

"Oh, yeah, whatever. Anyways, when I got a job at the Jeffersonian, I asked her to think about joining my team."
"That's nice. Okay, how about a few things you really appreciate about her."

"She's kind, and funny, and she kicks me out of my comfort zone. I hate that sometimes, but mostly she's right, and I know it's because she cares about me. I never had a sister, but if I did, I'd want it to be her."
"All of that is perfect, Bones. You should say those things in your speech."
"Really?"

"Yes…so, how to you feel about her getting married?"

"I'm happy and sad at the same time, you know? I'm selfish…I want her to be best friends with me forever, but, you are right, she's going to be best friends with Hodgins now. Sometimes I hate it, but, he's so crazy about her, that it makes it okay, does that make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense, Bones, and I think you've written your speech."

"Really?"

"Yes…I should probably get going. Do you want a ride to your car?"

"Yeah, sure."

As they rode in Booth's SUV, it was silent, but in a nice way. Brennan stared at his hands on the steering wheel. He was using the perfect amount of pressure to be totally in control, and Brennan realized she was jealous. Somehow Booth had figured out how to be in control and also be free to experience emotion.

"So, are you just going to head home after you get your car?"

"Oh, um, no. I'm going to run and get a gift for them and then I have an appointment to get my hair done at 2. Then I'll go home and get ready. Can you pick me up by 6?"

"Yeah, sure…um…are you going to get your hair done the same way as the auction?" he cleared his throat.

She remembered the look in his eyes at the auction.
"Yes, I think I will. Did you like it?"

"Yeah…" he gasped, "I mean, yes, yes I did like it. It was very… 'hot, sexy, gorgeous' ran through his mind, "It was very nice."

She could see by the way he was now clenching the steering wheel as he pulled up to her car and shifted into park that he thought it was more than nice, and maybe he wasn't as much in control as she'd thought.

"Well, I hope you'll be wearing your tuxedo again, because I also thought it was…nice."

His eyes flew to hers and the connection of heat threatened to shimmer to the surface.

"I feel the same way about you, Booth."
"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you ever got married, I'd be sad. It wouldn't be the same between us. You'd…be with someone else…I'd be happy and sad at the same time. She'd have to be crazy about you, of course, but that's not hard to imagine."

"Bones" he choked.

This time she leaned to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thanks for your help with the speech, and for the ride, Booth. I'll see you later." She whispered.

Booth stared straight ahead while she got into her car and drove away. It was another five minutes before he trusted himself to drive.