(After Blackout in the Blizzard)

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I don't own Bones.

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With a little free time on his hand, Booth spent Saturday morning doing a little shopping. He felt it was time to update some of his wardrobe and picked up a few new shirts, slacks and socks. He also bought a new jacket and a pair of brown boots. Satisfied with his purchases he dropped by his barber shop and got a haircut.

As usual the barber wanted him to try out a new hair style, but Booth didn't see anything wrong with the one he had. Once it was cut, he made sure it was what he wanted and left the shop whistling as he walked. Oddly, he didn't notice he was doing that until he stopped to stand in front of a flower shop and looked at the bouquet on display. His whistling echoing back from the glass, he closed his lips and shook his head. Man, what happened to angry with the world? Amused with himself, Booth stared at the bouquet for a few minutes and decided that that wasn't a step he was going to take, at least not at the moment. He might not be angry with the world, but he was still in a funk about his life. He'd taken a lot of heavy hits in the last year and he was still struggling with the whys. Until he figured out why his life kept taking drastic detours he was too afraid to push forward. He could only fail so many times and he was certain he had reached his limit at least for now.

No longer interested in the flowers, Booth moved down the sidewalk, across the street and over to his truck. Once he was settled in the driver's seat, he took out his phone and made a call.

Brennan.

"Hey Bones, I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner tonight." Booth stared at the flower shop in the distance and then shook his head. "I mean if you're free and want company."

Yes, of course. Would you like me to meet you somewhere?

"Sure." They talked over where would be the best place to eat and finished their conversation. Grimly, Booth ended his call and placed the phone on the seat next to him. What are you doing? It's too soon . . . it's just dinner and . . . it's just dinner. Determined not to make too much of what he was going to do that evening, Booth started his truck, checked for oncoming traffic and safely entered the road.

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She was surprised when she saw her partner enter the restaurant. He was dressed rather nicely in a new deep red long sleeved shirt and a pair of black slacks. She hadn't expected that and she admired the confident way he moved towards the table to meet her. Once he sat down across from her, he smiled and glanced around the room. "This place is new so I can't guarantee that it's any good."

Brennan had studied the menu before Booth arrived and she had found the Vegan dishes listed to be interesting. She was looking forward to tasting the steamed buns with Tempura King Oyster mushrooms and the fried rice. "I've perused the menu and it has an excellent Vegan and vegetarian listing. I also checked and they have the short ribs which I know you enjoy if you're interested."

Eager to check out the menu, Booth looked it over and his mouth watered at some of the food choices he could make. "Wow, this could end up being our favorite restaurant." He wanted to order the Mongolian Lamb, but he knew that Brennan hated it when he ate lamb or veal. "I think I'll get the roast pork with garlic sauce. Don't worry, I have breath mints in my pocket."

Amused Brennan chuckled. "That's good. You may need to share them with me." Ever since they had spent a day trapped in the elevator at Booth's apartment building, Brennan had noticed that her partner wasn't as tense as he had been when he broke up with Hannah. It would seem that their talk that day had done them both good. She felt they had an idea what they wanted to do in the future and it was just a matter of time before they achieved their goal. In the meantime, Brennan was enjoying their renewed friendship and making it stronger.

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They met at the Founding Fathers for drinks and Brennan entered the bar dressed in a new light floral print blouse and white slacks. She had decided to let her hair fall naturally on her shoulders and not pin it up. She was wearing new leather sandals and felt a little over dressed until she spied Booth waving at her. He was wearing a new black long sleeved shirt with blue jeans and he looked very attractive. Her heart racing a little faster than normal, she almost felt breathless. They had met many times over the years for drinks and dinner, but this was the first time that she could recall that they were both dressing nicely for their get-togethers and she liked it. It almost felt like they were dating even though she knew they weren't. "The traffic was rather intense tonight. Sorry I'm late."

"Not a problem Bones." Booth admired Brennan's blouse and liked the way it emphasized the contours of her breasts. Down Boy. She's just your partner. Don't even go there. "You look very nice. Is the blouse new?"

"Yes, it is." Brennan placed her purse on the floor next to her feet and ordered a glass of wine. "Is your shirt new? It looks new."

Booth quickly looked down and then back at Brennan. "Yeah. It's been awhile since I bought some new shirts, so I bought a couple the last time I went to the mall." It dawned on Booth that they were both wearing new clothes and wondered what that meant. "Would you like to do anything this evening? We could go listen to some jazz."

"I think I would like that, thank you." Brennan waited for the server to place her wineglass on the table and then turned her attention back towards Booth. "Dad has decided to go visit Russ for the next two weeks."

He wasn't really interested in what Max was up to, but it was a safe topic of conversation. "How's Hayley?"

"She's doing well." Brennan sipped her wine and let her gaze move around the room momentarily. The crowd was a typical Friday night crowd and everyone seemed to be in a festive mood. "Dad wanted to help celebrate Russ's birthday."

Booth didn't ask why Brennan didn't go with Max. "That's nice . . . Parker's class is having a father/child pancake breakfast next week . . . it should be fun."

"It probably will be." Brennan loved Booth's son and found the boy to be a joy to be around. "He really loves pancakes."

"I'll say especially chocolate chip pancakes, but the paper says they're going to serve buttermilk pancakes." Booth glanced at the crowd around them and felt it was getting too crowded. "Drink up and we'll go. Maybe we can stop by the Diner and get a snack before we go to the club."

Amused that Booth always seemed to be ready to snack, Brennan retrieved her purse and stood up. "Maybe some pie for you. I'd like some cheesecake I think."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

They were back from Florida; their case was solved and Walter's pilot had delivered the murderer they had been looking for. After they had an Agent come and pick up Lambert Chaisson, Booth and Brennan continued their walk. They had never really gone for walks before, but that was something they had started recently. As they walked down the quiet street, they talked about their case, Walter and how much Booth hated him. They also talked about Parker, Max, a new book that Booth had just started reading and a story idea Brennan had for her next book.

Brennan found the experience to be pleasant. They were in no rush to be anywhere, the temperature was mild and both were relaxed and comfortable with each other's company. As the weeks had progressed, Booth appeared to be calmer and happier and their conversations were quite interesting and filled with anecdotes about work or people that they knew. Brennan had started to think of what they were doing as dating, but she chose not to ask Booth if that was what they were doing. Why introduce anxiety into the situation unnecessarily? If Booth agreed that they were dating, then things would immediately change between them and Brennan wasn't quite ready and she didn't think Booth was either. If he told her no, then it would make the situation between them awkward and might stop their progress and she did think they were progressing.

If there was one thing Brennan regretted it was the fact that she was terrible at picking up clues about social situations. At this point in time, she had decided that she would follow Booth's lead and let him decide when they were ready for more than a partnership. She wanted to make sure he was ready and that he was no longer angry with anything. She felt she was almost ready, but still hesitated to admit for certain if she was strong enough to move forward. She still worried that any relationship that she had with Booth would end like all of hers and for that matter all of his had done in the past. Fear kept her from committing completely to the idea of love, but she knew that she would have to try eventually if there was ever going to be more than a friendship between her and Booth.

For the time being, they would go on their non-date dates, strengthen their ties and when the time came, they would both cross the line that separated them. They would cross it together and they would enter a new social situation that would either make them stronger or destroy them. Not destroy them. No matter what happens they would always be friends. Always. I will not allow anything to destroy our friendship and I am certain he won't either.

"Bones, you're so quiet." Booth knew that Brennan was still working on her strength versus impervious thing and he was willing to wait. He was certain that he was done being angry. It was self-destructive and he'd seen what could happen if you wallowed in that shit. His father was a prime example. Angry with the world, not happy and determined to make everyone around him unhappy. That was not who Booth was and it never would be. Of course he slipped up sometimes, but he was human. He knew that he had to move forward always forward. The past was a trap that could pull him under. All he had to do was be patient and someday, someday soon, he and his partner would finally get together and he knew it would be great for both of them. They were meant to be together, he just needed to be patient and he and Brennan would finally get what they both wanted.

"I was just thinking about how much I enjoy being with you." Brennan smiled and captured his hand in her hand. "I love our friendship. I like that we can go for walks and talk about anything. It's quite enjoyable."

It felt so right to be holding her hand as they walked and he was determined to do it more often. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" He didn't know what the future was going to bring, but he hoped it would always be like this. Booth wanted to always be able to hold her hand. It was a small thing and yet it seemed so right.

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