A/N: It is confession time again! Sorry for the radio silence over the past few weeks, the flue got to me :(. There were some things that Booth and Lilly haven't yet been able to get off their chest during that dinner that really needed to be said. I think this chapter has a positive ending, so I hope you'll like it. Thank you Kareneb for reviewing the previous chapters. I appreciate it.

WARNING: The conversation mentions what shouldn't be named according to a few readers ;).

A few days before:

Going back to the lab for the first time thankfully hadn't been as awful as she had built it up to be. Hodgins had welcomed her with open arms, which had felt nice and uncomfortable at the same time. She hated to say or even think it, but she was glad that Wendell apparently wasn't the intern of the week.

Daisy had been there on the platform as well, but after spending time with Dr. Edison, she apparently had decided that being professional and focused under all circumstances was a key element of being a scientist. Which Lilly was thankful for: Daisy's hard work and uninterrupted dedication had led her to find evidence that meant that the surroundings of the crime scene had to be re-examined, meaning Hodgins, Daisy, Booth and Brennan and Lilly herself were going on another little road trip.

A road trip meant not being at the lab and not having to be a suspect of interrogation by Angela for today. Lilly wasn't sure if Booth knew that she had heard the commotion when Hodgins and Angela had dropped off a bag with her clothes on that Saturday morning, but she had. Unfortunately, she did not know for sure what Angela and Booth had been screaming about, but by ways of deducing she had allowed herself to jump to the conclusion that it had something to do with her. Add the later gained knowledge that Angela and Hodgins had overheard Stein on the phone and Angela's hope for Booth and Bones getting together and it didn't even feel like jumping to conclusions anymore. So, when the opportunity came to avoid Angela for a little longer, she had jumped at the chance.

Truth be told Lilly was also worried about seeing Dr. Brennan again, but Booth had been too busy catching up on what he liked to call the squint lingo information delivery system that Lilly hadn't yet needed or had the chance to talk to Dr. Brennan.

Everyone being busy at the crime scene, gave Lilly the perfect opportunity to hide in plain sight and observe. She realized that she hadn't had many chances to even do that. Usually, when she had been working with Dr. Brennan, they stayed at the lab. Lilly didn't mind that. She would hate to be the cause of contamination of evidence or simply just be in the way. That was also the reason she hardly ever joined Booth to brand new crime scenes. Rookie agents had told her that going to a crime scene was equal parts exciting, scary, gross and tiring.

But now she was sort of here at a crime scene. This crime scene had already been processed so now there weren't as many people as for a brand-new scene. There also was the advantage that the body had already been taken to the lab. Since it wasn't the first time scientist and law enforcement were at the scene, Booth had only called in two crime scene techs.

Lilly had seen Booth walking around the plot with Dr. Brennan as they discussed what additional tests needed to be done. Did they always walk side to side? With what seemed automatism, Booth placed his hand on the small of Temperance back to guide her past a hurdle. Lilly looked around and no one besides her was noticing. She wasn't sure if this was completely new, or a restart of showing affections of the same old ways between the partners. She would love to ask someone which option it was, but she had promised Booth not to alert anyone that they were giving a different type of relationship a shot. So, for now, she would just observe and draw her own conclusions.

Today

"I need to tell you something. Until now I didn't see a chance to tell you but I think you need to know." Booth started the conversation as he shifted into another gear. With the ride to the federal penitentiary ahead, he figured it would be the perfect time to tell Lilly about the reason he had gone to Bones during that first weekend.

Her anxiety rising, Lilly turned to look at Booth. "Is... this about... uhm... Stein?"

"What? Oh no, it is not." Booth tried to reassure her. "Though, I am not sure you'll find this any better..." Taking a second to breathe out slowly, he waited a few seconds before continuing, blurting out what was on his mind. "I.. told Bones about what happened between us. With Hodgins and especially Angela knowing, I thought it would be best if I told her. I am sorry that I invaded your privacy by doing so but I didn't see any other viable option." Booth worried about how Lilly would react. Maybe he had been too forward, but after spending years with Bones and the squints it was his go-to method for interpersonal relationships with his coworkers and also friends for difficult subjects.

A look of surprise crossed Lilly's face. "Huh..." was all she said.

"What?" Booth asked carefully as he quickly glanced her way as he also needed to watch the ongoing traffic. This was quickly turning into the type of conversation that needed the possibility of eye contact.

That wasn't nearly as dramatic as a confession as she had expected when Booth told her he wanted to talk about something. It had only worried her what the topic was because he had felt the need to introduce it. But Dr. Brennan knowing didn't sound too bad. As a matter of fact, it would have been more surprising to her if Booth hadn't told Dr. B. But did Dr. B. knowing and Hodgins and Angela knowing mean that everyone now knew? Turning her head to look out the window, she started to bite her nail.

"Please tell me what you are thinking. It's understandable if you're angry and I deserve whatever you want to dish out, but you know about me and Bones, I needed to take that risk." I can deal with anger, it is the silent treatment that I don't know what to do with.

"Do you think Wendell knows?" Lilly asked. She had paused the nail-biting to read Booth's face. What she saw was surprise and relieve and it confused her. Why would he find that a relieve?

"I don't know, but knowing the team, yes there is a chance he knows too." There was a rather large chance that Wendell would have heard by now, but he decided to keep the probabilities to himself. Within a second after answering her he noticed how her face dropped. She didn't look angry at him, more like worried sick about the possible consequences.

"Oh... that is not good", she said as she looked down.

Pulling over and swiftly parking the car into a parallel spot, he gently turned her face back to him. "Lilly, you need to relax, okay? Even if he already knows, that does not have to mean anything."

"Oh really? Would you still like me if you were Wendell?" She stared at him, her eyes almost burning into him.

Okay, that is anger all right. Treading more lightly, he continued. "Well... Probably yes. Bones didn't kick me out of her life for it, so why would Wendell do that? If you care about someone, you are willing to look past flaws and past mistakes."

Trying to read the emotions and sincerity in that statement, Lilly observed Booth's expressions. "What if the roles were reversed? What if Dr. Brennan had decided on a quickie while you were waiting for her to love you? Would you be okay with that?" Lilly specified the question, trying to keep her calm. Dr. Brennan didn't seem like the jealous type and she needed to know if Booth had answered from Dr. Brennan's perspective on purpose or just because he found that more suiting to her question. And to ascertain what Wendell could be feeling, Dr. Brennan would be a much fairer comparison than Booth.

Okay wasn't the right word. He had definitely hated seeing Bones go out with all sorts of men throughout the years. Pretty early on he had felt like he should have been the man that took her out on dates and into her bed. That he should have been the man that gave her the love and devotion Bones so truly deserved. When Temperance had started dating Sully he had thought he would lose his mind. Sully was a great guy and if he (Booth) couldn't have a personal life with Bones, Sully was the best guy he had seen her date throughout all those years. And there had been plenty, like the two guys at a time and that freaky stalker. But he still had disliked it very much when he had seen Bones and Timothy together and when Sully had asked Bones to go away for a whole year. Loving someone not only meant looking past their flaws and mistakes, but it also meant wishing them the best, even if that best didn't include yourself. It had been hard but he had managed. Thankfully that was now behind them.

"Should I take your silence as the answer that you wouldn't be okay with it?" There was disappointment in Lilly's voice; she had expected him to have an answer.

"No, you shouldn't. I just got lost in thought for a second there. You really don't think that Bones hasn't dated in all those years? She has had plenty of dates that probably ended in a bedroom." Booth cringed as he thought about it. "Did I like the idea of that? No, I still don't actually, but I was alright with it, because it was Bones' life and the time for her and I wasn't right yet. It also doesn't mean that I wasn't jealous, but it never took away from my feelings for Bones." Booth responded.

"Hm. Well, Wendell isn't you or Dr. Brennan." Lilly said as somewhat of an afterthought.

"No, he isn't but he is a reasonable guy. If the question is bothering you, maybe you should just ask him.

When she didn't respond he mentally connected some dots, leading him into another direction. "You haven't spoken to or seen Wendell since?" That would be concerning.

"No."

His gut told him that probably wasn't all of what was going on. "Have you even been at the lab since Bones wanted to go back to the crime scene?"

Her voice got smaller as she once more answered with a no, this time it was barely audible.

He waited for her to continue with her explanation. When no words further flowed out, he continued with another question. "Why are you trying to avoid the lab?"

Lilly shrugged, feeling like a girl who had been caught red-handed with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Come on, Lilly, you can't keep avoiding the rest of the team." As she met his eyes all on her own this time, he saw her insecurity. Damn, maybe today wasn't the right moment after all for this conversation.

The tone of Booth's voice was so soft and filled with what she suspected was some sort of petty, she felt she needed to answer and hopefully defend herself while doing so. "At first I didn't go because I felt confused and upset. I just wanted to be alone and talk to as little people as possible. Then I started to feel trapped in being alone which got me to Sweets but the alone time also gave me time to worry about the whole team learning about what Stein did. I didn't even consider that they would learn about what we did… Now knowing that everyone probably also knows about that too, makes me want to not go back ever again. I am not sure I can ever look Dr. Brennan into the eyes again or Angela..." Strangely enough, she wasn't that worried about Hodgins' reaction.

"Woah! Don't panic on me here, okay. "

"I am not panicking, I am just feeling stupid," Lilly said dryly as put her hands on the dashboard and resting her head on it. Why do I keep missing so much lately? I really need to get my head out of my ass…

"You know you are not stupid. As Bones likes to say: we only work with the best. There is nothing wrong, okay? The team isn't fast to judge personal relationship stuff in the first place. Dating between coworkers is normal. You already know that it has happened at the lab several times before. Cam and I, Angela and Hodgins and before that Angela and Wendell, Bones and one of my colleagues, Bones and my boss, Sweets and Daisy."

Lilly looked at him, her face giving away some of the doubt she was feeling. Dating isn't exactly what happened, is it? "Maybe, but none of them were 15 years apart and you are not accounting for the fact that Angela is wishing for you and Dr. Brennan getting together, you said so yourself."

"Yeah Angela means well but sometimes she just overreacts. But you can't let fear of her reaction ruin going to the Jeffersonian and learning all the squinty things." Someday he was going to have to tell Lilly that Angela had in fact already freaked out, but he wasn't going to knock any more confidence out of Lilly.

"I thought you didn't want me to turn into a squint, so you should be happy I am focusing on the legal part of my job."

Booth smiled, he knew she was deflecting, but he let her. "You're right, I don't want you to turn into someone I can only understand while holding a dictionary but I am against you not learning as much as you can or should be learning."

"Well, you can't make me go back." She stubbornly said.

He held in a chuckle. Sometimes she was just as bad as Parker could be – and just as obvious. "I can and I will if you don't go back by yourself voluntarily". He promised. "The team is this strong because we help each other. They have let you have the time you needed for yourself, but I think it is time to get back. Let them be your friends. I know for a fact Bones isn't mad at you and neither is Hodgins. Angela is probably hitting herself for being so quick to judge." Or at the very least she should be doing that and I hope she is. "Putting it off longer will only make it harder for you to return. They have been asking about how you've been doing and that includes Wendell. I am sure Wendell would be thrilled to see you again as well."

"What are you? My dad?", disgruntled Lilly said.

Booth chuckled, this time not able to hold it in. "I am a dad, so maybe I am acting like one. And as you know, fathers are always right."

Lilly rolled her eyes.

Recognizing the pensive look that meant the person sporting it needed to have time to think, Booth shifted the car back into gear. First, they were going to interrogate their criminal witness and then they would head over to the lab. It was time to rip that bandage off.

For the next minutes, the car ride was silent.

Booth wasn't wrong that she needed time to process. Her thoughts took her back to the last time she had been around the squint squad, more specifically to the conclusions she had reached about the partners. Mentally she went through them and added the new information. They really were made for each other and if Dr. Brennan was willing to look past Booth's rite of passage from a failed relationship like that. Lilly wondered if she would ever be able to do that if you had loved and cared about someone for such a long time without having been able to act on it.

From the moment Stein had bothered her and Booth had got her to move in, Lilly had been greatly motivated to get back to her own apartment. It wasn't because she had been uncomfortable. At first, she wanted to go back because it would make telling herself that nothing substantial had happened easier. It wasn't until Booth had told her about his true feelings about Dr. B. that her motivation to be back at her own apartment again had intensified and had gotten an added dimension. The real issue had been finding a way to open that discussion again. Booth could be rather manipulative in his tries of convincing her and her previous attempts to reopen the discussion had failed miserably. Sure, that probably had something to do with the fact that she hadn't felt that great mentally, but she knew it was time to try again and put some of that legal convincing and negotiation skill into practice.

As Booth took the exit from the highway, Lily blurted out: "I think I should move out."

"What? Is this because I told Bones?"

Lilly shook her head. "No. I am not mad at you for telling Dr. B. It makes sense that you would tell Dr. Brennan anyway. I've been thinking about moving out for a while. I was waiting for the right moment to bring it up, but since we were already having a rather uncomfortable conversation now, I thought I might as get this conversation over with as well."

The look on Booth's face was still skeptical. "Okay, sure, we can discuss it. But nothing has changed with Stein, he could still pose a threat to you." On the back of his mind, he wondered if Caroline had already put her plan into action. Until he knew how that was going to play out, Booth was afraid to let Lilly get back to her own life. Criminals could be dangerous especially manipulation ones and Stein definitely was a master manipulator.

Lilly looked at him. So far, this conversation is going exactly as I expected... "Hear me out, okay. I've been thinking about you and Dr. Brennan. Me staying at your apartment isn't going to help that along. A couple of days ago at the crime scene, I finally got the chance to see you and Dr. B. in action and the affection between the two of you shows. Nothing unprofessional or anything, but I've never seen you and Dr. Brennan so comfortable and close with each other. I don't think anyone else saw, so either everyone was too focused or they are used to it or they haven't picked up on the change in your dynamic. I know that the second date is up soon and I think me staying with you any longer isn't necessary; I haven't even seen Stein since the incident and I think I am mentally stable enough to manage to do what needs to be done again."

That really sounded like she had given it quite some thought. "Did Sweets tell you that you are out of the water with Stein being a threat?" Booth asked point blank.

Since she still hadn't told Sweets everything that had happened, so in return, Sweets hadn't been very forthcoming with his risk analysis of Stein's behavior. She also hadn't even mentioned that she planned to have this conversation with Booth to Sweets. Lilly hesitated as she considered lying, waiting a little too long to respond. When she opened her mouth, Booth beat her to it.

"Yeah, don't bother, that is a no. You can't even bring yourself to lying." He was insulted she even considered lying when he was never anything other than honest to her.

Lilly looked at him and gave a small nod. "Yeah, because you're always honest and upfront with me, lying to you is pretty hard. Especially when you're just looking out for me. But I am sure it will be okay. Stein can't be that stupid right? If he'd go after me now to try again or whatever, he knows that would kill his career for sure."

The silent threat towards Stein that she would file a complaint if he were to try again hung in the air.

"I don't know", Booth said, accepting her silent apology. "That is more Sweets' area of expertise and I've seen people give up more than just their job just to satisfy their wants."

Lilly nodded. "I get that. But I feel like I'll be holding both all of us back if I stay. That is what changed. You don't think so? Imagine your next date. Everything goes well, you want to take Dr. Brennan back to your apartment and I am sitting on your couch. That can't work, Booth. I think you are already incredibly lucky that she isn't angry about you sleeping with me and having me stay over anyway. Maybe Stein will always be a danger, Sweets already got to that point that I realize that. Maybe he isn't a danger to me anymore already. I can't stay at your place forever. I'll always appreciate you helping me, but it is time for both of us to get back to our own lives."

"Bones and I decided to take our time, so I am pretty sure we won't be taking each other home next time," Booth said, defending his partner and himself felt so natural and he hoped that mentioning Bones would successfully distract Lilly from the current subject.

Lilly looked at him. That is quite the weak defense. "Oh, you don't really mean that. Okay maybe you think that is how it should and will go, but I think you're subconsciously just waiting for me to get out of your hair. I think it is sweet, wonderful that you're so worried about me, but I frankly am worried about you and Dr. Brennan too." She thought for a second to find her next words. "Last time you asked me if Stein was holding me back from pursuing or getting pursued by Wendell. Let me return that question. If I am not the one holding you back from making the move on Dr. Brennan, what is?

"Nothing is, except that Bones and I decided to take things slow."

Lilly looked at him, sporting a don't shit me now look. "Booth. Dr. Brennan and you have been taking things slow for 6 years now. At least that is what it sounded like to me. What are you afraid of?"

"Nothing, I have faith she and I will work out." Maybe trying to change the subject hadn't been the best idea...

Lilly squeezed one eye shut. "You don't look like it." Telling Dr. Brennan could have gone wrong very easily… Lilly realized.

"Okay. Of course, I am scared she and I will ruin our friendship. I've listened to Bones tell me that for years, so somewhere I am worried about that even though I am convinced she and I can work."

Lilly nodded. "At the risk of sounding like Sweets: it is a good thing you're willing to admit that. Though, I have to wonder: did you tell Dr. Brennan to maybe sabotage yourself?"

"Like you are avoiding Wendell at all costs?"

Taken aback by his defensiveness, Lilly's jaw dropped slightly. Maybe she was pushing her luck, but she had wanted to be a good friend by helping Booth like he had helped her. "I don't think that is a fair comparison..."

Regretting his words, Booth apologized. "I don't want to sabotage Bones and myself and I don't think I am doing so." As he thought about it the realization hit that in fact, he might have. He had thought he had needed to tell Bones because it was the honest thing to do and she deserved his honesty at the very least as his partner, as his friend and as the woman he hoped to have a future with.

Booth wanted to deny Lilly's accusation, but before he got a whole word out, he changed his mind. "I don't think so, but maybe it is possible? She and I do kind of have a history of doing that…" The realization hit him hard.

"I didn't mean to upset you by asking. If you'd like to discuss it, you know I am always available to talk things through you want to keep a secret from the team a little longer. Though, I am not going to help with the unconscious sabotaging. In a way I guess I already did more than my share without realizing it…" Lilly said, trying to shake off the guilt she felt toward Dr. Brennan. "So, in conclusion, I think me moving out needs to be the next step. For both of us." Seeing the hesitation on Booth, she continued. "You really don't have to worry about my wellbeing. I think I am pretty much back to normal again." Except when you bring up Wendell, because I am not sure what to do about that… "I'll continue seeing Dr. Sweets too and I'll make sure to not get left behind at the FJD Building after hours without a backup plan to get home safely. Heck, I'm even fine with you calling in that security detail, or whatever that is called again."

Booth smiled at the urgency in her voice. "You're really that desperate to go back home?"

Shrugging, she nodded. "I think so. Going back home and living alone again is also not going to get any easier by delaying it." Lilly threw his words back at him. "You can't protect me from everything, no matter how hard you try. Sometimes shitty things happen but after wallowing in it for a while it is time to move on, right?"

"Okay. I get it. Can we at least delay the migration project until the weekend? That way we have some time to move all your stuff back. You can't really take the metro with all those stacks of books you brought over." And it will give me time to ask Caroline how getting Stein out of the Tristate Area is coming along. Maybe even call Metro to ask them to drive through your street once every two hours during the evening.

Happy she got Booth so see her point of view without having to really fight him, she nodded. "That is fine, I don't think there is much time before the weekend anyway."

Booth nodded. "Just promise me, two things. First that you'll be careful if you leave work after hours. You can always call me if you need a ride…"

"Done, I will if that's necessary. Thanks to Micah I am pretty much friends with all the security guards at the Jeffersonian, FBI and Justice Department. I promise I have more than enough backup plans to get from those doors to my front door."

"Okay, good. The second is: you're going to visit Wendell and reschedule that thing you recently canceled."

A/N: Remember Micah? I really liked him and his wisdom. So, how are we feeling? Relieved that Lilly is moving out? Disappointed I didn't skip this? I'd love to hear what you think! Next up is another installment of Project Disappear.