(The Pain in the Heart)

I don't own Bones.

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She had always considered Booth to be a prude. He hated to talk about sex whenever she brought it up insisting that she change the topic, so what else was she supposed to believe? The man was puritanical in his beliefs and she had come to accept that.

Her anger had grown during the day and she had finally come to the conclusion that she needed to confront Booth about what had happened. She wanted to know why someone she considered a friend didn't trust her enough to let her know he wasn't dead when he had gone undercover. It had been a shock to find out that Booth was alive and a bigger shock when she found out that her partner and the FBI didn't trust her with that knowledge. In fact it hurt. She wasn't the cold person everyone seemed to think she was. She had feelings like everyone else and not to be trusted by her friend and the FBI made her feel like an outsider and she wasn't was she?

When she had arrived at his apartment, it had been her intention of knocking on the door, but instead she had used a key he kept in a rock outside his door. For a policeman he was way too trusting as far as she was concerned. Anyone with a minimum of intelligence could take one look at the rock and realize that it wasn't real. Once inside the apartment she had heard music coming from the bathroom. Her anger dictating her actions, she had slid the bathroom door open and found her partner sitting in a bathtub, a strange hat on his head, a cigar in his mouth and a comic book in his hand.

The sight of her partner relaxing in hot water infuriated her more. Wanting his complete attention, she moved the needle from the record playing on a record player in the corner of the room, probably scratching it, not that she cared.

Steeping forward she had confronted him about his betrayal. "You should have told me you weren't dead."

Frustrated that she didn't get why she hadn't been told, he once more tried to explain. "I already explained this to you. The Bureau has to vet everyone when there is a security issue. I was following protocol."

That word. She was getting sick of hearing that word from her partner. "Protocol?"

"Yes." What more did she want him to say?

Brennan didn't want to hear about protocol. "We've been partners for three years and you've broken protocol before, sometimes putting my life in danger, which makes sense because you clearly don't have any real concern for me."

That was a step too far. Furious, he stood and forcefully reminded her why he had been shot by Pam Nunnen in the first place. "I took a bullet for you." He was so angry, his breathing was hard causing the tube running from his can of beer attached to his hat to practically bounce from his chest.

She didn't want that to be an excuse for anything. "Once! That only goes so far." As the seconds of silence slipped by, she couldn't help but let her eyes flick downwards momentarily. She had never seen her partner in the nude before and to say he was beautiful would be an understatement. His body was well toned and his proportions were pleasing. As the seconds ticked on with her partner standing in front of her, she felt she had to break that silence. "Would you like a towel?"

Much to his chagrin, Booth realized that he was standing naked in front of his partner and that was probably not the wisest thing he could do. He was exposed and though he knew he had a good looking body, that wasn't the point. He was a gentleman after all. As he sat down, he knew he needed to end the conversation. "Fine. What is it I should have done? What did you want me to do?"

"You could have called me." And that was what she wanted to say to him and for him to understand. She was completely trustworthy and to not be trusted made her feel like she wasn't Booth's friend at all. Was she just his partner after all? "Did you really think I needed to be vetted by your boss? Don't you trust me?"

He was unhappy that she thought that of him. Of course he trusted her. She was probably the only person in the world besides his grandfather that he truly trusted. "Of course I do." Of course he did, what the hell? Why would she ask him that? He trusted her with his life. He really needed to find out who had not contacted her about his status. The last thing he had wanted to do was upset his partner. That was why she was on his list. She would always be on his list as far as he was concerned.

Their conversation was continued in calmer tones. He promised to find out why she wasn't told and she was satisfied for the moment. At least he hoped so. As she left, she paused and decided to compliment him on his demeanor. "Just so you know, I find your lack of puritan modesty very refreshing."

It was at that point that Booth was reminded that he was naked and his partner was seeing him in all of his glory. Moving his comic book, he covered the lower part of his body from her view and wondered why he hadn't demanded that she leave the room when she had first shown up. After she left, he placed his comic book on the floor, leaned back against his tub and thought about repercussions. What were the repercussions of allowing his partner access to his bathroom, talking to her while naked and not demanding privacy? She was just his friend, his partner. What did it mean?

As she left the apartment, she was careful to lock the door behind her. She had had a very productive conversation with her partner and she knew he would find out who in the FBI didn't trust her. In the meantime, she had a few things to ruminate about. Her partner had not ordered her from his bathroom when she had barged in even though he was naked. What did that mean? He had sat there, stood in front of her then sat once more never making an effort to cover himself. That was both surprising and thought provoking. He clearly was not the prude she had thought he was.

If he really wasn't a prude, then why did he shut down their conversations if she started talking about sex? Was it because they were just friends and he didn't feel comfortable talking about his sex life with friends? Was that normal? She wasn't sure. Most of her adult life had been spent around scientists and most of them were quite frank about bodily functions and sex. Talking about sex never seemed to disturb the people she worked with. Booth on the other hand wasn't a scientist and he was very religious. Perhaps she had misjudged his responses. It might be that those in non-scientific fields were more cautious about sexual discussions. She wished she could ask Booth, but of course she couldn't. He hated to talk about sex. Not because he was a prude though and that was fascinating. Very fascinating.

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