At 8 p.m. sharp, Booth stood in front of Brennan's door and knocked. He nervously tugged at the bow tie at his neck. This evening was very important for him. Somehow he had the feeling that something special was going to happen tonight…that it'd be a turning point…a change in direction.

He laughed softly to himself, wondering why he'd been stupid enough to promise not to kiss her this evening. He paused when heard noises on the other side of the door. Suddenly the door opened and she was standing in front of him. He gasped out loud as she beamed at him.

He knew his partner was beautiful—gorgeous, if he was honest—but he wasn't expecting this. Charming, seductive, sexy…these were the first thoughts that ran through his head, but he still hadn't found his voice yet.

He knew he was supposed to say something, but his mind was blank. He could only give her his widest smile at the moment. She waved her hand, gesturing for him to come in. He walked past her and entered her living room before turning to her. "You look stunning."

She gave him a slight smile. "Thanks. You don't look bad, either." She ran her eyes over his body. The black tuxedo suited him well, as far as she could tell. Because he'd put on a coat over his suit, his physique was partially hidden from view. It was cold outside, so of course it was very reasonable, but she was still disappointed.

Noticing her interest, he gave her a wide grin and opened his overcoat so she could have a better look. "I told you I look gorgeous in a tux." He winked slyly at her. "What d'ya think?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "It appears you weren't exaggerating. Just a minute…let me get my wrap…" She had no coat to go with her dress, only the stole she'd wisely acquired to go with it. She bent over the couch where it was lying to pick it up.

She heard Booth take a deep breath. Obviously, he'd had a nice view of her bare back. She wrapped the stole around her shoulders and turned to him. The expression on her face gave no indication of how much it affected her when he looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "I guess we should go…"

"Um…yeah. I guess so. After all, we don't want to miss the New Year's countdown…"

§§§

After leaving his coat and her stole in the cloakroom, they walked together toward the main conference room, which had been converted into a ballroom for the evening.

As always, he put his hand on the small of her back to guide her in the right direction. At that moment, however, he felt a slight twitch run through her body.

His fingers rested on her silky skin, just brushing lightly over her back. He'd never placed his hand there without a piece of cloth between them. If it were up to him, he wouldn't take his hand away from there all evening.

Brennan had felt it, too. Her skin was tingling under his fingers, and a comforting warmth flooded through her.

His hand stayed there while he introduced her to some of the other employees and greeted old acquaintances. Brennan was particularly pleased to visit with Director Cullen and his wife, Julia. She hadn't seen Julia for a long time. Ever since she'd discovered the cause of her daughter's cancer, the two women had enjoyed a special bond.

"Dr. Brennan. How nice to see you!" Julia Cullen greeted her warmly and hugged her briefly. "You look beautiful tonight." Her eyes ran over Brennan's dress with a warm glance. "I love your gown."

Brennan, who rarely heard such compliments from another woman, smiled sheepishly. "Thank you. I've received positive feedback on my choice of attire."

Julia nodded understandingly. "Let me guess…that must have been from Agent Booth." She gave her a knowing smile and then looked for her husband, who had greeted someone else earlier and now turned to them. "Sam, look, here's Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth. Don't they look adorable?" Julia Cullen glanced at her husband and nudged him slightly.

Sam Cullen chuckled and held out his hand to greet Brennan first, and then Booth. "Glad you could come." He smiled at his wife. "And my wife is right, you both look adorable." He winked at Booth, who, of course, understood the joke immediately. "I still have a few guests to greet, but I see we're sitting at the same table, so we'll still have a chance to chat." With an apologizing glance, he took his wife's elbow in his hand and led her away from Booth and Brennan.

While Booth and Brennan greeted several other guests, Brennan wasn't at all surprised that Booth didn't let her leave his side for one moment. His protective demeanor was prominent in the interactions with others. His posture sent only one message: 'This is my girl, so hands off'. She smiled slightly as she felt his hand again, now leading her to the table for the dinner that was about to begin.

The food was excellent, and the conversation with the Cullens was light and fun. Julia wanted to know every detail about what had happened since Booth and Brennan first started working together and all the hurdles they had overcome throughout that period of time. Brennan complained that she still hadn't been issued a gun from the FBI, and that, of course, prompted Booth to point out that he was her gun.

After dinner there was live music and the couples took to the dance floor. Director Cullen gave his wife an understanding look and then invited Brennan to dance with him. Surprised but delighted, she agreed. This left only one option for Booth, and that was to ask Julia Cullen to dance as well. She readily agreed. She had to admit she had a soft spot for Booth. He was a likable young man who had already achieved so much in his life and yet he still carried a heavy burden. Her husband had told her about his time as a soldier and sniper, his time as a prisoner of war, and how he joined the FBI.

Her husband had taken the young man under his wing a bit in the beginning, and Booth soon turned out to be one of his best agents: committed and goal-oriented, successful and loyal to his work…and through it all, he'd still managed to be a good and caring father to his son.

Julia watched his facial expression as they danced. She couldn't help but notice that his eyes kept searching for Brennan on the dance floor. "Agent Booth, you have a very beautiful partner.," she said, trying to engage him in conversation.

"Yeah." He glanced at Brennan again before turning to Julia. "She is really very pretty." Julia noticed how his eyes began to shine. Oh, he was obviously madly in love with his partner. Sam hadn't told her anything about the particulars, only that the two were obviously a couple. She was happy for them.

"How long have you been dating Dr. Brennan?," she asked, smiling at Booth.

"Oh no, Julia. We're not dating. Bones and I are just partners, that's all. Just partners." He tried to convince Julia, but she was having none of it.

"Nonsense. Everyone here can see how much you love her. Believe me, I know. I used to be in the FBI, too. I know how to read people."

This was new information for Booth. "Really? I didn't know that." He was trying hard not to think about what Julia had said in the first part of her sentence…and how directly she'd hit the nail on the head.

"Yes, that's where I met Sam, although we were in completely different departments. Soon after we got married, we had our children, so I left the Bureau to stay home with them."

Booth just nodded. Somehow, he was only half listening, still preoccupied with the thought that strangers could see how he felt about Bones, which made him uncomfortable. Obviously. he needed to keep himself more in control. Easier said than done…

Julia continued the conversation. "You know, we have two other older kids. Amy was a latecomer. She was considerably younger than her siblings." A shadow ran across her face. The loss of her daughter was still too recent and the memory was painful.

Booth noticed the change and tried to get Julia's mind off those sad feelings as he led her across the dance floor. He decided to address what she had told him about being in love, as embarrassing as it would be for him. "So you think everyone can see how much Bones means to me?" He looked at her questioningly. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, you can't hide that." Julia beamed at him. This young man was a quintessential alpha male in demeanor, and yet so insecure when it came to his partner and his feelings for her. It touched her heart. "But fear not, Agent Booth. I think she returns your feelings."

Booth looked at her in astonishment. "You really believe that?" If Julia Cullen was so sure about them, maybe she'd seen something in Bones' behavior, too.

Julia nodded confidently. "Yes, believe me. Listen…let me give you a bit of advice. Have some courage, okay?"

He grinned as he shrugged at her. "Whatever you say…"

§§§

"Dr Brennan, it's very nice to have you here with us this evening. I'm glad that Booth brought you as his date. You're an important liaison for us." He winked at her. "But I think you know that already, am I right?"

Brennan nodded. "I think I understand what you want to say." A glance across the dance floor at Booth, however, reminded her that he was playing an equally important part. "However, I couldn't be as successful as I am without Booth. I provide the facts, while he puts the pieces of evidence together and draws conclusions from them." She smiled mischievously. "Or rather, as he would say…he uses his gut feelings."

Cullen smiled in amusement. "You could be right about that." After a short pause and a few turns, he resumed the conversation. "Well, how are things with you and Booth going? Are you two okay?" He wanted to press her for a bit of information. The rumors at the Hoover had been running at full steam lately. According to Bureau gossip, the two were now a couple. There was a story running around about them kissing under the mistletoe in front of Caroline Julian. He knew most rumors were pure nonsense, but now that he had seen them together that evening, he began to wonder if there might be something to it.

"I don't know exactly what you're talking about." Brennan looked at him questioningly. "There's nothing between Booth and myself. We're just partners."

"Are you sure about that?" Cullen couldn't suppress his grin. "I think Booth is pretty smitten with you. He adores you."

"You're probably wrong, Director Cullen. I assure you we're professional, and there's nothing going on between us. We follow FBI protocol in an exemplary manner." It was important for her to reassure Booth's boss that they weren't doing anything that wasn't FBI compliant. She absolutely didn't want to get Booth into trouble.

Cullen looked at her in surprise. "What are you talking about? What protocol?"

Brennan was now very irritated. "Booth told me the FBI doesn't allow employees to be romantically involved. Isn't that true?"

Cullen suddenly knew what she was talking about. "Yes, but only if said employees work in the same department." He winked at her. "And you're not even officially an FBI agent. For Booth and you, that rule doesn't apply at all."

Brennan was surprised and took a few minutes to think about what this would mean for her and Booth. She even wondered if Booth knew this and had deliberately left her in the dark. Maybe he wasn't interested in her, and that's why he kept her at a distance.

Brennan needed a few minutes to herself. Luckily, the music had just ended and she took the opportunity to apologize. She briefly let Booth know that she wanted to go to the bathroom so he wouldn't immediately start looking for her.

She locked herself in the stall so she could think for a moment. What bothered her most was why Booth hadn't told her the exact content of the rule. The more she thought about it, the more she became convinced that he hadn't done this to keep her at a distance. His behavior lately, and especially tonight, seemed to say the opposite…that he liked being with her and might want to intensify the relationship between them.

Eventually, she decided that perhaps Booth himself had misinterpreted that rule. She freshened up for a moment and went back into the hall.

She hadn't gotten far, however, when Booth's colleague Charlie approached her to ask for the next dance. And after Charlie's turn, another colleague was ready to take his place. Brennan didn't want to be rude, so she agreed.

All the while, though, she felt Booth's eyes on her. She also saw the looks Booth gave his colleagues when he thought they were hugging her too tightly or running their hands too far down her back. He sat at their table, sipping on his drink as his eyes followed her every move.

He tugged nervously at the collar of his shirt. He just had enough, this had to end immediately. Bones was his date and his co-workers were constantly claiming her company. He wanted to get up and dance with her himself, when he saw that she had left the dance floor and was walking in his direction.

He couldn't help but beam at her, happy that she finally remembered that she was there with him. When she arrived at the table, he stood up to adjust her chair. As she sat down, his arm went instantly around the back of the chair, making clear to everyone in the room that there was no longer any chance of her getting away from him tonight. NO WAY! She's here with me!

AN: I think Booth needs to step up now. He is right, she is there with him. Let's see how this story goes on. Happy if you will let me read your thoughts in a review.

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