Brennan sat curled up on her couch, buried in a pile of textbooks and professional journals, when she heard a knock on her door. Rising to answer it, she discovered David on the other side, holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Surprise!" he grinned.

"David," she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I know I should have called because you hate surprises, but I couldn't help myself," he explained sheepishly. "I wanted to see you so badly I just came right over."

She showed him inside, accepting the flowers. "That's very sweet, but I'm working…"

"At home at this time of night? Booth's got you on a short leash, huh?"

His voice sounds strained. "A leash? Leashes are for pets, David. I hope you're not implying that I am Booth's pet."

He smiled. "It's an expression, Tempe. It means he basically watches your every move and keeps you very busy so you don't do something he doesn't like."

She put the bouquet in a vase and brought it out to the living room. "Oh. Well, that doesn't sound like Booth at all. We work together, and we both do a lot of things the other person doesn't like."

"But he's around a lot. Maybe more than he needs to be," David suggested carefully. "Like right now…he's not here now is he?"

"What? Of course he's not here now," she shot back, her temper beginning to flare.

The spark in her eyes coupled with her swift reaction rekindled an insight in his mind. "I knew it," he replied softly. "I saw it the first time we met, in the interrogation room…I knew it then. But you assured me it was nothing, and I believed you."

"David, what are you talking about?" she snapped.

He frowned and met her gaze. "I'm talking about you being in love with Booth."

"What?!" she practically yelped. "I'm in love with Booth?"

"Yes, you are," he insisted steadily. "And it's too bad, too. We could really have had something together."

Still in shock from his accusation, Brennan didn't realize what he was saying. "Could have had…?"

David nodded. "I think it's best, at least until you resolve this thing with your partner, that we don't see each other anymore."

The even tone of his voice struck her. "You don't seem too upset about it. Aren't people supposed to be upset when they break up? That is what we're doing, right?"

David nodded. "I guess a little part of me knew better than to get too attached," he decided. "But I am disappointed in your choice of alternatives."

"Not that I'm agreeing with your assumption regarding me and Booth," she prefaced her response, her curiosity getting the better of her, "but why would you be disappointed if I chose him instead of someone else that wasn't you?"

He sighed. "Come on, Tempe. He's rough-mannered, he's blue-collar, he treats you like his assistant instead of his partner, and the man has never even taken a class at a community college! You're cultured, refined…you have a doctoral degree and board certification in Forensic Anthropology for God's sake! You deserve someone so much better than him."

The anger that had been building inside her flashed into such a rage that she didn't even think to correct his misconceptions. "Get out!" she yelled, her finger shooting out in the direction of the door. "You come here without calling, bring up Booth so you can ask me about my feelings for him, accuse me of being in love with him…and then you insult him? He is my partner, and my friend, and I will not stand here and let you speak of him this way!"

"Tempe…" he stuttered, stunned by her reaction. She never had that kind of passion for me.

"No, David. You don't want to see me again? Fine. Leave!"

Another attempt at protest was squashed with lightning speed, and seconds later David stalked out the door, trying to hide the I-told-you-so smirk he knew was forming on his lips.

Brennan leaned against the closed door attempting to calm herself, more amazed by her response than David had been. What the hell was that?! She paced around the living room for a few minutes, continuing the attempt to compose herself, knowing it wasn't working.

"Okay," she said aloud in her most reasoned voice, "there are only two ways I can get past this. I can vent my anger here in the living room, where no one will ever know how…" She searched for the appropriate word and was surprised when she found what it was. "…upset I am. Or I can do something else, something that requires my full and undivided attention…"

She glanced around the room, her eyes falling on the textbooks and journals she had been wading through for one of her current cases. "Those should work nicely."

Five minutes later she knew she was wrong. She couldn't focus on the case, or even on the words right in front of her. I'm an excellent reader, but I've read this page three times and I still have no idea what it says. She dumped the books unceremoniously onto the floor and rose, grabbing her jacket, keys and cell phone on her way out the door. Punching the appropriate speed dial button, she climbed into the driver's seat of her car and turned the key. A quick conversation assured her that she was welcome where she intended to go despite the late hour, and she sped off.

Booth opened the door before she had a chance to knock. "Hey Bones," he greeted her, trying to disguise the worry in his voice. "Come on in."

"How did you know I was here already?" she wondered, slowly entering his home.

He closed the door behind her. "I was just going to get something out of the car," he fibbed, unwilling to admit he'd been watching for her. The he shifted the topic of conversation back to his partner. "So what's going on? You were very cryptic on the phone."

Brennan sighed. "David came over tonight."

Great. Boyfriend troubles. He forced himself to remain calm. "What happened?"

She moved into the living room and began pacing around, picking up where she had left off in her own home. "He showed up at my door without calling," she explained. "Then he started looking for you…"

"For me?" Booth interrupted. "Why?"

Brennan shook her head. "I don't know. Something about a leash."

A leash? I always knew there was something wrong with that guy.

She continued pacing. "Then he started talking about how I'm in love with you…how he knew it the first time I met him face to face in the interrogation room that day…"

Booth's expression softened unconsciously. "There are worse things he could say."

She halted suddenly and threw out her hands. "But he did! He said that you were rough-mannered and blue-collar, that you treat me poorly, and you were uneducated…"

"And what did you say to that?" Booth asked quietly, his own anger beginning to simmer.

Brennan shook her head and dropped her hands. "I told him to get out," she answered, matching his tone, though the fury was still written plainly on her face. "I made him leave."

She broke up with her boyfriend over me?! He quickly pushed the thought aside and re-focused on her. Taking a few steps toward her, he brushed a hand over her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

She sighed heavily and frowned. "I supposed I will be. I'm disappointed that I won't have David's companionship anymore—he seemed like the perfect complimentary personality for me, and I really enjoyed spending time with him."

Booth felt his heart sink just a little bit—but he's such an ass!—and again subdued his feelings.

Brennan lifted her bright blue eyes to his dark brown ones and said firmly, "Maybe you're not as educated as I am, or very cultured or refined, but you are intelligent and excellent with people and a good friend to me. Everyone has faults, but I don't want to be with anyone who is so closed-minded he can't see what kind of man you really are. You're an important part of my life."

He was touched by her words, by her body language as she spoke them—her voice gentle, her eyes shining. But he refused to show it. Instead, he reached out and rested a hand on her hip, pulling her closer to him in an effort to comfort her. "Geez, Bones," he grinned, "you're gettin' all sentimental on me."

She smiled back, noting the teasing quality of his voice, and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. "You always know what to say to make me feel better."

"It isn't the words, Temperance," he replied, wrapping both arms around her and allowing some seriousness into his tone. "It's about the connection with the person who says them."

The use of her first name triggered another smile, this one softer than the last. She stretched her arms around his neck and hugged him, suppressing her scientific explanation of Booth's "connection" theory for the moment. "And you and I have that."

She's learning. It wasn't a question or a dissertation on the science of human emotion, he grinned to himself. And she didn't mention that meathead who broke up with her. "Yeah," he replied, squeezing her affectionately. "We do."