(After the Change in the Game)

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I don't own Bones.

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It was Brennan's idea to wait to tell everyone about their new relationship and for the most part, Booth was fine with it. She wanted time to adjust to the fact that she and Booth were more than partners and she wanted to make sure the relationship was strong enough to survive the two very head strong personalities involved in the relationship.

Booth knew she was afraid and he wanted her to be comfortable with him and their new status as a couple. The 'just partners' weren't 'just partners' anymore and Booth planned to keep it that way.

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One of their first cases as a romantic couple seemed to be bizarre in that the body didn't have any hands, feet or a head for that matter. The Richmond Police department had called in Booth's team because they had been unable to track down who the victim was. The local coroner could only say that the body was that of a young woman between the ages of 25 and 35. He felt she was of African American descent, but it was possible she was of Caribbean descent. They had extracted DNA from the body and had run it through every database they had access to, but her DNA wasn't listed in any of the databases, nor did she appear to have a close relative in the databases either. Frustrated that her case was going nowhere, Detective Patrice Adams asked permission for the FBI to be brought in and that permission was given.

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Detective Adams was shocked at just how good looking Agent Seeley Booth was when she met him. His movie star good looks made her want to get to know him better and that was a fact. When introduced to Agent Booth's partner, Adams gave the forensic anthropologist a limp hand shake and a weak smile. The detective didn't care for squints as she felt they we more interested in facts than justice.

Once the introductions were made, Adams escorted the partners to the coroner's office so that Brennan could examine the body. Booth sat on a chair near the door trying to stay out of the way of his partner while Detective Adams moved a chair over to sit next to him. "How long have you been partners with Dr. Brennan?" She didn't really care, but it was a good ice breaker.

"Six years." Booth glanced at Brennan and noticed her move her index finger over the body's exposed neck. "Dr. Brennan is the best and that's why we have the highest solve rate in the FBI." Booth was proud of the work he and Brennan had done for the FBI and wasn't above bragging about it.

The detective glanced at Brennan and shuddered when the squint moved her finger under the loose skin attached to the neck. Repulsed, she turned her attention back to the good looking FBI Agent. "Yes, your partnership is quite famous in certain circles. While Dr. Brennan continues to do whatever she's doing why don't you and I go get a cup of coffee? She doesn't really need us here right now."

A cup of coffee sounded good, but he wasn't going to leave his partner alone in a strange city with a bunch of people he didn't know. "No thanks. I'll stay here just in case my partner needs me."

Brennan had overheard the detective's offer and turned to face her boyfriend. "Booth, I'd like a cup of coffee if you don't mind. Maybe you and the detective could make a coffee run and bring me back a large cup. You know what I like."

Still reluctant to leave his partner in a strange place, Booth glanced at the city coroner standing next to his lover and decided that Brennan could take him down if he tried some bullshit with her. Standing, Booth nodded his head and gave her a smile. "You got it Bones. Want a snack to go with it?"

"No thank you. Just the coffee." Brennan returned Booth's smile then returned to the examination of the poor unfortunate victim lying on the table.

Just to be friendly, Booth called out to the coroner, Dr. Abrams. "Hey doc want some coffee too?"

Waving his right hand, Dr. Adams kept his attention on Brennan's hands. "No thank you."

"Well, let's go detective." Booth moved towards the door and waited for Detective Adams to join him in the hallway.

Once they were alone, the detective walked closer next to the agent than was necessary. "I know we need specialists like her, but what she does gives me the willies."

Amused, Booth walked to the end of the hallway and into the lobby. "You get used to it, although truthfully, soupy bodies are the worst. I hate those. I think it's pretty amazing that Bones can even identify bodies that aren't bodies anymore."

"You call your partner Bones?" Adams found the notion amusing. "Dr. Abrams hates it when anyone tries to call him that. He insists that nicknames are degrading and unprofessional."

Booth frowned as he entered the street and asked which way to go to get the coffee. The detective pointed to the right and across the street which pleased Booth. The trip for coffee was going to be a short one. "Bones is the leading expert in forensic anthropology in this country and her specialty is bones. She doesn't mind the nickname since she knows I call her that with respect."

As they crossed the street, Adams let Booth move in front of her so she could inspect his posterior. She liked what she saw.

After Booth entered the shop, he ordered two coffees, three donuts and a spinach and fetta cheese filled croissant to go. The donuts were for him and the croissant was for Brennan just in case she got hungry later. After he received his order he waited for Detective Adams to get her order of coffee and a bagel slathered with cream cheese and they left the shop.

Once they were across the street and standing in front of the coroner's office, Detective Adams stopped Booth. "Are you dating anyone?"

Since his relationship was a secret at the moment, Booth lied. "Not right now."

Before he could enter the building Adams blocked his way and smiled at him. "I'm not seeing anyone either. Richmond isn't that far away from D.C., maybe we could hook up on our days off. I'm a fun date."

He hated to lie to the detective, but he needed a way out of her invitation without hurting her feelings. A partial lie sprang to mind and he went with that. "I just got over a bad relationship not too long ago. I'm doing the single thing right now, but thanks for the offer."

Determined to not let the Agent slip away, Adams persisted. "I've been through those too. They can be rough, but you know being with someone can give you a whole new perspective. A little fun and little romance and that bad relationship would end up just being a bad dream."

Annoyed that the detective wasn't taking a hint, Booth sighed. "Look no offense, but I'm not interested. I'm here to do a job not to look for a new girlfriend, so let's go check on my partner, okay?"

Since she considered herself to be a beautiful woman, the detective stared intently at Booth and voiced what she was thinking. "Are you gay?"

His eyes mere slits, Booth stared at the detective and wondered why the hell she couldn't take no without questioning his sexual preferences. "No, I'm not. Are you?"

"No." Detective Adams shook her head and decided that Booth might be too much trouble. "Let's go see what your partner is doing."

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Taking a break, Brennan took the coffee from Booth and once she saw the croissant, she took that too. She hadn't realized she was hungry until she had seen the pastry. Munching on her snack while sitting on the chair Booth had been sitting on earlier, Brennan hummed in pleasure. "This is quite delicious."

Already done with his donuts, Booth sipped his coffee. The coffee was rich and he loved the flavor. "The donuts were good too. We'll have to get some more on the way back home."

The detective was sitting on the chair next to Brennan eating her bagel and sipping her coffee. Disappointed that Booth hadn't been interested in her sexually, when the Agent left the room to go wash his sticky hand in the bathroom, she spoke to Brennan out of curiosity. "Agent Booth says he is getting over a messy relationship."

Surprised that Booth would mention that to someone he didn't know, Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, he is."

"I tried to get him to hook up with me, but he isn't interested." The detective found it hard to believe that Booth had turned her down.

"Booth took his breakup with Hannah hard." Brennan was irritated that the detective was hitting on her partner and lover. It didn't seem very professional and the fact that the detective was beautiful just added to her irritation.

Detective Adams thought that Booth was having an unnecessary pity party. "Well, he'll never get over it if he doesn't start dating again. I could help him if he'd let me. Of course if he's that hung up over his ex then he might not be worth the trouble. Why did he break up?"

Not about to answer that question, Brennan shook her head. "I do not talk about Booth's or my personal life. It is unprofessional . . . He isn't hung up on his ex though. He is just enjoying his other options at this time." Brennan hoped she had said that right. She was trying to get the detective to back off, but she knew her use of popular speech wasn't perfect. She thought it over and decided to make herself clearer. "Booth is currently starting a new relationship with someone else, but it is new, so he doesn't talk about it."

Now Adams was angry. The Agent had told her that he wasn't dating anyone and his partner said he was. She hated people to manipulate her and the Agent seemed to be lying to her for no reason except to brush her off. "He could have told me that instead of telling me he's single and not interested."

Caught in a social situation that made her uncomfortable, Brennan tried to extract herself from the conversation. "Perhaps it was easier to tell you that he wasn't seeing anyone so that you wouldn't feel the sting of rejection."

Booth entered the room and was confronted with an angry detective. "Agent Booth, you didn't have to lie to me. When I asked you if you'd like to hook up all you had to do was say you weren't interested and you were already seeing someone. Giving me a sob story to put me off was just wrong. I don't like being lied to."

"I didn't lie." Booth was confused and staring at Brennan. "I told you I just got over a bad relationship and I did."

"You said you weren't dating anyone." Detective Adams wasn't sure why she was angry. Perhaps she wasn't used to rejection. "I'm a big girl. I can take no when someone tells me no."

Embarrassed, Booth tried to figure out how his turning down the detective gently made him a bad guy. Besides he was keeping his relationship a secret because Brennan wanted him to. Damn it. "Look, I'm here to do a job with my partner. I'm not here looking for lovers or girlfriends. You want it plain vanilla then here it is. I'm not interested in hooking up with you. My reasons are personal and none of your damn business. When I said no that should have been the end of it."

Amused, Dr. Abrams laughed from across the room and turned in his chair to look at the detective. "Okay you two, let's not get carried away. This isn't a soap opera. Detective Adams, the man isn't from around here. Why bother?"

Her cheeks a bright red, Detective Adams knew she had let pride get in her way and she was being very unprofessional. She knew she was not used to being rejected and she had let that cause her to be unwise in her responses to the Agent. It was a character flaw her mother had told her to watch out for quite a few times and it was definitely something she needed to work on. "Yeah . . . sorry Agent Booth. No means no. I get it . . . I have some phone calls I need to make."

Once she was out of the room, Booth sat down next to Brennan. "What the hell Bones. Why are you talking about my private life to strangers? You're the one who said not to."

"I don't know." Brennan stared glumly at the coroner sitting across the room and finally stood up. "I need to talk to you, Booth." Leaving the room, she waited for her partner to join her in the hallway.

Confused with Brennan's actions so far, Booth soon joined her and stared at his partner trying to figure out what was going on. "What do you mean you don't know?"

Her cheeks a dusty red, Brennan sighed and shook her head. "I don't know Booth."

The flushed cheeks, her refusal to answer and Booth suddenly understood. "Oh I think you do know . . . Detective Adams is pretty and I'm a hot looking guy with a cool job . . ." He didn't finish the sentence because he knew he didn't have to.

"Alright, I do know why." Brennan was angry that she was jealous of someone paying Booth attention that was of a sexual nature. "I think we should tell everyone we're a couple. Hiding our relationship is nonsense."

"Oh I agree." Booth stepped closer, pulled Brennan into his embrace and kissed her. "The detective may be pretty, but she isn't as beautiful as you are Bones. You're gorgeous and I only have eyes for you."

His words were assuring and made her feel wanted. "I am the standard. You said so yourself."

"That you are Bones." Booth kissed her once more. "You will always be the standard."

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