I know the tone of the story didn't warrant much shippiness (though I liked the way Booth wanted to squash the mouthy surgeon g )
but...
I felt one little thing was missing.

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"It's almost 8, wanna stop at Wong Foo's for a late bite and a beer before I drop you off?", Seeley Booth asked his partner, who'd been staring off into the distance, lost deep in thought.

Bones turned back to him and replied with a soft sigh, "No thanks, I'm not really hungry. I just want to get my car and go home."

"Nah, me neither...", Booth agreed, and he resumed brooding.

The trip back to the Jeffersonian in Booth's black SUV passed mostly in a melancholy silence.

He and Bones were both in a pensive mood, thinking about another case closed, another success. Helluva "success," he thought. Although many of the graft recipients would be saved, there would be no reprieve for a great kid like Amy. Justice had never seemed so imperfect.

Still…yet another perp was caught in an open-and-shut case thanks to their teamwork. Speaking of which...

Booth realized what thought had been nagging at him, and suddenly swerved out of traffic, smoothly bringing the big vehicle to a rapid stop.

Startled, Temperance asked "Is something wrong?".

He put the transmission in park and turned to her, ready to take his lumps. "Just a little something that's been bothering me that I need to make right."

She gazed at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak. That was another thing he liked about Bones, he thought to himself, most other women would immediately jump in with twenty questions.

"I owe you an apology for the other day."

Clearly perplexed, she waited patiently for him to continue.

After a deep breath, "Temperance, you know how I tease you about your people skills sometimes, or about not knowing when to keep quiet?"

She nodded, not sure where this was going, with his rare use of her real name.

"When I tried to shush you, to keep you from upsetting the Cullens with your cancer questions... well… my instincts were wrong, and your scientific instincts were right. I'm sorry. We'd be an even better team if I listened better." He looked away chagrined, waiting for her response.

Touched by his obvious sincerity, Temperance squelched the "I told you so" that would have been warranted by their normal bickering, and after a moment reached out to give his arm on the wheel a brief squeeze and replied, "Thank you. I suppose that works both ways".

Relieved, he looked up to meet her small smile with one of his own.
"What a pair, huh?" So, maybe all was well he thought, feeling the weight starting to lift from his shoulders.

They sat in silence smiling at each other for a moment before she added, with even more warmth to her voice, eyes shining, "You are a surprising man, Seeley."

He felt himself grinning like an idiot at the belatedly returned compliment, and held out his right hand for a handshake.
"Partners?"

She took the proffered hand, her soft warm touch lingering this time.
"Partners," she agreed, now mirroring his own broad smile, the dark mood now totally dissipated.

She let the companionable silence last a moment longer then added, "Can I change my mind about that dinner?"

Shaking his head, he put the SUV back in gear and looked over his shoulder to spot a gap in the oncoming stream of headlights.
"Always a woman's prerogative," he agreed amiably.

They zoomed back into traffic.