Thank you for the wonderful reviews.

I don't own Bones.

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Sitting in Max's apartment, Joseph picked up the blueberry scone Max had bought at a bakery and took a bite. Smiling, he chewed and spoke around his bite of pastry, "Man these are good."

Smirking, Max watched Joseph take another bite, "They should be. Those people at the bakery charged me enough for them. Still, you get what you pay for and I really like them. So, you want to hear what Tempe told me about your son?"

Curious, Joseph took a drink of milk and smiled, "Fire away."

Nodding, Max leaned back in his chair, "Well, Benson went by the Lab the day after I had them meet at the diner. He waited across the street until he saw Seeley's truck pull into the parking garage. The boy said he sauntered in to her office like he owned the place and asked her if she'd like to go to lunch with him. He'd seen Booth I mean Seeley on the couch when he walked in; but he said he pretended like he didn't. He said he acted his ass off and feigned surprise when Seeley stood up and protested that he and Tempe were already going to lunch. Benson said the look on Booth's face was kind of scary."

Snorting, Joseph shook his head, "Hell, that kid is afraid of everyone. I don't get that. He's 6 feet two, he probably weighs 190 pounds and he looks like he works out all of the time and yet he's afraid of anyone that shows the least bit of testosterone. I don't get it."

Shrugging his shoulders, Max explained, "Benson's father was a junky. You don't want to know what he did to Benson when the boy was a child. He was probably eight years old when Boyd found out and rescued him. Boyd is about fifteen years older than Benson. He almost killed Benson's father over the whole thing. He beat him up so badly that the guy had to be hospitalized. Anyway, Benson is afraid for a reason."

Swallowing, Joseph turned pale. "Okay, sorry."

Shaking his head, Max sipped some of his coffee, "You didn't know. Anyway, Benson is a good kid and he's trying to overcome a lot of shit. He does pretty well and Boyd talked him into taking self-defense classes last year. He's doing pretty well and his confidence is growing with it. Still, someone like me or Booth or you scare the shit out him. This is a big deal for him, cornering someone like Booth is a challenge to him; but, so far he's done pretty well. He knows that he isn't going to be fighting Seeley so that helps. I had told him that the first time Seeley threatened him that he could walk away. I don't want to mess up Benson over this. I promised Boyd that nothing would happen to the boy."

Nodding his head, Joseph sighed, "Okay, I think I'd better change the way I talk to him. I just thought he was prissy and was afraid someone would mess up that pretty face of his."

Sipping more coffee, Max sighed, "Yeah, he's way too pretty for a man. That's been a problem for him. A lot of men take an instant dislike to him because he looks really hot. Of course, he's a chick magnet and Boyd has had to read the riot act to him more than once. Since he had that close call with an angry boy friend two years ago, he's been very careful about whom he dates. Thank God. He's a real puzzle. He's 29 years old but sometimes I swear he acts like he's 16 and then he'll surprise the shit out of me and act more mature than I am."

Breaking off a piece of scone, Joseph asked, "So tell me about what happened next."

Smiling, Max continued the story, "Yeah, Tempe agreed that Seeley and her had plans to go to lunch together; but, she invited the boy to go along. The boy said that Seeley lost all of the expression on his face."

Sighing, Joseph leaned forward, "His wall went up. That's not good. That means that he felt hurt and he didn't want Tempe to know it."

Sadly, Max agreed, "Yeah, I figured. Benson went to lunch with them and he said he tried to monopolize Tempe's time as much as he could; but, he said that Tempe got annoyed with all of the flirting and told him she wasn't interested in him sexually. He said the look on Seeley's face scared the hell out of him too. He said it was like Seeley was watching him like he was a bug and was just trying to figure out how to squash him without getting his shoes dirty. I told the boy to stop and not go near Tempe again. I'm pretty sure Seeley would never hurt Benson; but, it doesn't take much to scare the boy and I can't risk upsetting him too much. Boyd would never forgive me."

Nodding his head, Joseph captured his bottom lip between his teeth. Staring at his scone, he finally looked up, "Okay, you know what. We suck as match makers. I don't want to screw up their relationship and we can see Tempe isn't really interested in anyone else besides my boy if he she can snub Benson. Let's just forget it. Seeley probably got a little jealous; but, those two only have cow eyes for each other. They're just going to have to get their own shit together."

Frowning, Max shook his head, "We need to make them take each other more seriously."

Picking up a piece of scone, Joseph smiled, "They do take each other seriously. They're just afraid to make a wrong move."

Shaking his head, Max responded, "Tempe and Seeley are not going to connect unless they can see they're going to lose each other. This has been going on for years. They both have nerves of steel as far as I'm concerned."

Shrugging his shoulders, Joseph moved his plate away from him, "They already know they belong to each other. Sooner or later they'll have to get brave enough to make a move. Us fiddling isn't going to make it go any faster. Let's just stay out of it, okay Max?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Max frowned, "Sure."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Sitting in the Royal Diner, Max and Boyd's daughter, Candice saw Booth and Brennan enter the diner at the same time. "Are you sure you know what you're doing Uncle Max. This seems like a nutty idea to me."

Patting her hand, Max shook his head, "Come on this is going to be fun."

Waving his hand, Max called out as his daughter and her partner came closer, "Hey, why don't you join us?"

Smiling, Brennan moved to their table and sat down across from Max. Booth, taking the remaining seat, sat down across from the young woman sitting next to Max.

Smiling, Max pointed to Candice, "This is a daughter of a friend of mine, Candice Palmer. Candice, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Tempe and her partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth."

The lovely young woman reached out her hand towards Booth, "I'm so happy to meet you. I'm going to college right now. I'm trying to get my master's in Criminology. Once I graduate, I plan to apply to the FBI."

Smiling, Booth shook Candice's hand, "That's great to hear. The FBI is always looking for good candidates. How long before you graduate?"

Smiling shyly, Candice watched Booth release her hand and she let it rest on the table, "Well, I'm on an accelerated course and should graduate in three years instead of four. I was wondering if you could tell me what I can expect if I'm allowed entry into the FBI Academy and what it's like to be an agent. I've been training in self-defense since I was in junior high school. I almost made it in to the last Olympics but I just didn't quite have what it took to be picked. I was one under the wire."

Impressed, Booth responded, "Wow, that's very impressive."

Watching Booth lean towards Candice and talk to her with such enthusiasm, Brennan clearly was trying to keep her face neutral and clearly failing.

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