Temperance couldn't sleep. Several things were milling around in her head making it nearly impossible to drift off into a peaceful slumber. The situation with David was enough to make her crazy in and of itself, but it was her conversation with Russ that had her on edge. She felt sure he would spend the holiday with her this year, but instead, he said he was staying in Morehead City with his girlfriend. Some brother he is. He can't even take the time to spend Christmas with me. As tears began to prick at her eyes, she fought them valiantly. She was not going to cry. She could handle everything the world threw at her and not bat an eye. She could look at the situation in an analytical fashion and come up with the solution. She did not need to discuss her problems with anyone. No, she did not need to know what anyone's advice would be, not Angela…definitely not Angela. The artist would tell her to give into her feelings and sleep with Booth.
What were her feelings regarding the special agent? He was beginning to encroach on Angela's spot as the best friend. He was the one who protected her, who lied for her, who comforted her. She was grateful for their relationship, and would reciprocate the attention in an instant. He made her think, he made her laugh, he made her love, and it scared the hell out of her. David however, he was safe. He was polite, most of the time. His recent jealous bouts were a little annoying, but in general, he was pleasant company. The got along, and could have an intellectual conversation without it resorting in an argument. He put her on a pedestal, but then again, so did Booth
Temperance sighed. Why did everything always end up at Booth? She looked at the clock and groaned. Two o'clock in the morning. At this rate, she wouldn't get any sleep whatsoever. Temperance climbed out of bed and threw on a robe. If she couldn't sleep, then maybe a drive would clear her head enough to get her sleepy. She grabbed her keys and headed from the apartment, pulling the robe tightly around her body to ward off the freezing temperatures.
XxXxX
Booth awoke with a start when he heard his doorbell ring. He rubbed a hand over his face in an attempt to wake up slightly, then groaned when he saw the time; two-thirty in the morning. He climbed out of his warm bed and stumbled toward the door to answer it. If Russ decided to drive up tonight, I'm going to kill him. Seeley swung the door open and was surprised to see Temperance standing on his doorstep, shivering. Damn it, what's she doing here?
"Bones, please tell me there's a really good reason for you to be on my doorstep at two thirty in the morning."
"When you were dating Rebecca did you ever introduce her to your family?"
"This is why you drove here?"
"Booth, can I please come in? It's freezing out here." Tempe rubbed her hands up and down her arms to rid herself of the goose bumps. Booth looked back over his shoulder to make sure there was no evidence of his plan, then stepped aside to allow her inside. Once he shut the door, he led her to his couch, and sat her down with her back to the hallway.
"Okay, why do you want to know whether or not Rebecca met my family?"
"David invited me to join him at his parent's house Christmas day. I just wanted to gauge why he might have done that. I mean, you asked Rebecca to marry you, so she had to mean a lot to you, thus you would have introduced her to your family, right?" Booth looked at Temperance. They could not be having this conversation right now. Booth's gaze flicked for a millisecond down the hallway to ensure that Matthew wasn't about to pop out of the room and yell 'surprise'.
"Bones, the reason I asked Rebecca to marry me was because she was pregnant. I was never truly in love with her, and only wanted to do the right thing."
"But did your family meet her?"
"My brother introduced her to me. They already knew her. It isn't a fair comparison."
"Well, then what about Tessa?"
"No. They never met Tessa."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Bones, it's too late to be having this conversation. Now is that the only thing that's bothering you, or is it something else, because I'd really like to be in bed, asleep right now." Seeley watched, surprised as tears welled up in Brennan's eyes.
"Russ isn't coming up for Christmas." She swiped angrily at the tears. "And it's really stupid that I'm this upset because I don't like Christmas, but I feel like he's abandoning me all over again."
Seeley pulled her into a tight hug, and felt her bury her face into his shoulder, trying to stop the flow of tears. He rubbed her back and gave a small kiss to the top of her head. When she clamed down some, he let go of her.
"Temperance, no one is abandoning you. I'm sure there's a really good reason why he can't make it up."
"Then why didn't he tell me?"
"Bones, look. Your brother loves you. He is not going to leave you, and neither am I for that matter. Now, I suggest you go home and get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning. If it's still bothering you then, call me and I'll come over, okay?"
"Okay." Temperance hedged. She was a bit upset that Booth seemed to be blowing her off, but he was probably right. Once she could go to sleep, then she'd be able to think more rationally about everything.
"That's my girl." Booth gave her a sleepy grin. She smiled back at him, and then stood. As she was turning around, the door to the guest bedroom began to open. With only a split second to act, Booth grabbed Temperance by the arm, pulled her to him and planted his lips on hers. Though it was only meant to distract her long enough for Matthew to shut the door, Seeley was surprised at the intensity, and even more surprised to find Temperance kissing him back. He tangled one hand into her silky hair, while the other made a shooing motion at Matthew before settling on the small of her back.
Temperance wrapped her arms around Seeley's neck and ran her fingers through his hair. Shivers erupted all over her body at every contact point between their bodies. The rational part of her brain that was telling her to break contact quickly began to shut down, allowing her to wrap her entire being into the moment.
Seeley's mind screamed at him to stop as he felt himself react to the sensations he was experiencing. Once he heard the soft click of the guest bedroom door shut, he pulled away, his forehead remaining in contact with hers. She met his eyes and looked confused.
"Bones, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."
"What?"
"Look, if you weren't with David, things might be different, but I have never cheated on anyone, and I don't intend to make you do that to your boyfriend. I'm sorry."
Temperance swallowed, hard. She had wanted the kiss to turn into something more, and completely disregarded her relationship with David. She dropped her gaze, feeling a little sick over the incident. Without another word to Booth, she left the house. He watched her go, knowing that if he prevented her from leaving, he would break his own moral code.
Matthew opened the bedroom door, and met Seeley's gaze.
"Sorry, prostate thing. I haven't been able to sleep through the night in years."
"Yeah, thanks for that bit of un-needed information." Booth muttered as he headed for his bedroom. Matthew watched him as he walked past.
"Where are you going?"
"To take a cold shower and go to bed."
