A/N: Hi everyone, sorry for the delay but I have been so busy, not had time to draw breath! Hope those of you who celebrate had a lovely Christmas.

This is just a short one so you know I haven't forgotten about the story, and thanks again for all the great reviews.


Part 21

Booth was pacing. Pacing was good, pacing he could do, it was easy, straightforward, didn't require any thought. It's a pity that the rest of my life isn't so simple, he thought to himself as he wore a hole in the carpet outside Gordon Gordon's office. Wyatt's secretary glanced at him with a sympathetic, yet slightly annoyed expression and he marvelled at how she could express two completely contrasting emotions in one look.

He was really sick of all this waiting, he felt as though he had spent the last couple of months waiting for exactly this point in time. The time when he would see Bones again and know once and for all whether his life was going to go back to how it had been before all this started; but was that even possible? He wasn't a fool; he knew things could never be the same between them again, two people couldn't experience such a traumatic event and not be forever changed by it, but maybe they could at least find a compromise, some way to move on and regain the solid foundation of their…………………………..what? Friendship? Relationship? Partnership? – is that even a word, Booth pondered. His feelings for Bones were almost indefinable, were they friends? Colleagues? More?

If anything, the time spent away from Bones had only served to further confuse his feelings for her. He had missed her terribly, she was the first thing he thought about when he woke up and as he always fell asleep with her consuming his thoughts, he often dreamt about her as well. Even when working and completely engrossed in his case files, she would still invade his mind, and the time spent worrying about her and wondering how she was, was driving him crazy. When he received the phone call from Wyatt yesterday asking him to come today, he had been relieved to at least know he would finally have some resolution to his constant questioning of Bones' state of mind.

Booth knew Bones was already here, the secretary didn't need to tell him; he had caught the subtle fragrance of her perfume as soon as he walked in and he was amazed at this considering the powerful scent of whatever it was that the secretary was wearing. Once again he cursed himself for being so hyper-sensitive to Bones presence, feeling as though he had no control over his reaction to her. The psychiatrist had been annoyingly vague on the phone; he had just stated that Doctor Brennan had requested that Booth attend for part of her appointment today; that was it! And now he was left wondering again! Wondering whether this was it and his work with Bones would never be restated or whether it would be the complete opposite and they would once more be fighting the bad guys together. All he knew for sure was that if the door to Wyatt's office didn't open soon, he was going to explode!

In Wyatt's office, Tempe was feeling similarly anxious; she knew Booth was here, she recognised his footsteps wearing down the rug outside the door and she questioned herself as to when she had become so attuned to his proximity to her. She was so distracted that she was struggling to listen to what Doctor Wyatt was saying to her. Fortunately the astute psychiatrist was well aware of this and questioned her demeanour.

"Doctor Brennan, I can see you are distracted and I'm assuming it is due to Agent Booth's attendance at the session today, am I correct?"

The usually articulate forensic anthropologist just nodded in response, her attention now solely focussed on the door.

"Do you want me to ask him to join us now?" Doctor Wyatt asked.

Bones head whipped round in reaction to the question.

"No, no, not yet," she replied quickly, her heart pounding suddenly in her chest, "I'm not ready," she added.

Sensing her distress, Gordon softened his tone.

"Temperance," he said softly, the use of her first name refocusing her attention completely, "what is it that you are afraid of?" he asked.

Clenching her fists in an attempt to stop her hands from shaking, Tempe blinked back tears as she spoke, "I'm afraid of letting him down," she whispered. Usually she would feel shame at mentioning such a weakness, but over the last few weeks Doctor Wyatt had become someone she trusted, an irony which was not lost on her considering her previous loathing of all things of a psychological nature.

"And how do you think you will let him down?" he asked.

Temperance thought for a minute before responding.

"I don't want to be frightened of him anymore, I know how much it upset him when I broke my wrist; even though it wasn't his fault I know he blamed himself for it. I just want him to know that I do trust him and that he can rely on me to do my job, that I'm not going to turn into a snivelling wreck again."

"So you don't want him to see you vulnerable?" Gordon asked.

"Yes," Bones answered definitively.

"Why not?" Wyatt asked again.

"Because that's not who I am," Bones replied, "he wants a partner who is professional, reliable and confident. Not a hysterical woman who is scared of her own shadow."

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh on yourself there Doctor Brennan, and besides how do you now what characteristics Booth wants in a partner? Have you ever asked him?"

"No, but I know Booth, he values professionalism and expertise, not weakness and vulnerability."

Wyatt pondered Bones' answer for a moment.

"I don't think you're giving Agent Booth enough credit for being a sensitive human being, from my experience of talking with him he strikes me as a person who is very astute at understanding the feelings of others and I believe the characteristics he would value most are honesty and integrity, and I really don't think that you need to worry about letting him down Doctor Brennan, I sincerely believe that Agent Booth would forgive you for almost anything."

Scowling with confusion, Temperance questioned what Wyatt was implying by that statement.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Tell me Doctor Brennan, have you and Agent Booth ever spoken about your feelings for each other?" Doctor Wyatt asked, already knowing the answer he would get.

Tempe really didn't want to answer that question, so she responded with the trusted defence of complete denial.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Oh come on Doctor Brennan, you're an intelligent woman, don't pretend you don't know exactly what I mean," Gordon stated, this was an area he hadn't yet explored with Doctor Brennan, but he knew that the issues between the forensic anthropologist and the FBI agent may have been resolved much earlier if the feelings between them were only those of two work colleagues. He knew that his comments would unnerve Doctor Brennan but if their reunion was to be a success then she needed to see Agent Booth without a planned response to his presence.

"We work together, how we may or may not feel is irrelevant, we have a job to do," Bones' responded, pleased with herself for giving such a rational explanation.

"I would say your feelings are completely relevant Doctor Brennan, I've already said that I believe Agent Booth values honesty greatly, so if he and his partner are not honest with each other, how can their relationship work?" Wyatt asked.

Bones really couldn't answer that question; she didn't know what to say. Her feelings for Booth were so complex and unsettling that she had never allowed herself to define them, all she knew was that at this moment in time she wanted her partner back, she wasn't willing to think beyond that. But what if Wyatt was right?

While she was still pondering the ramifications of that question, Wyatt decided the time had come to invite Booth into the office.

"I'm going to ask Agent Booth to come in now Doctor Brennan," he stated.

Bones nodded and tried to quell the sudden rush of butterflies in her stomach.

Standing and opening the door, Doctor Wyatt smiled at the person on the other side.

"Agent Booth, welcome, please join us," he invited.

Stepping into the room, brown eyes locked with blue and everything else faded into insignificance.

A/N: Sorry for the cliffie, but I had to throw another one in before the end. Not long to go now and I promise the next chapter will be longer and very interesting... ;-)