(The Man in the Wall)

This is a reminder that this story is AU. I am taking a lot of liberties with this story.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Brennan wasn't sure what had happened between Booth and his girlfriend Tessa and she didn't really care. He and Tessa were no longer dating and Brennan thought this might be a good time to see if he was interested in having a sexual relationship with her.

Dipping her spoon in the corn and crab soup, Brennan watched as Booth used his chopsticks to pick up some Mongolian Beef. "Are you still mourning over your separation with Tessa?"

"Mourning?" Booth paused his chopsticks before he placed the meat in his mouth. "I'm not mourning anything. We broke up and it was mutual. I'm fine."

His words said one thing and his testy tone said another. Brennan knew she was terrible with non-verbal communication and she didn't want to make a mistake. "You went on vacation and you said you might not come back."

Trying to be patient, Booth placed his food back on his plate. "It's just something people say, Bones. I'm not upset over Tessa. It's not like I haven't broke up with someone before." Booth sighed. "My personal relationships never last very long. I don't know why, they just don't. Can we talk about something else please?"

His comments about his relationships never lasting caused her to reconsider what she had been about to do. If Booth was incapable of sustaining a relationship for very long then perhaps it would be better if they remained friends. Her greatest fear was moving into a sexual relationship with him and then something happening to destroy it and their friendship. She liked her friendship with Booth and she didn't want to risk losing it. "Yes, of course. There is a fundraiser for the Jeffersonian next weekend. Would you like to attend it with me? You are the liaison between the FBI and the Jeffersonian and you should probably represent the FBI at the function. We are attempting to entice our wealthy patrons into investing in the Medico-Legal Lab. Dr. Hodgins would like a new Mass Spectrometer and a nitrogen generator."

Surprised that she was asking him, Booth smiled. "Sure, if you want me too. That is if you don't have a date."

"I'm not seeing anyone right now, Booth." Brennan spooned some of her soup in her mouth and chewed it methodically.

Pleased that his partner was still single, Booth used his chopsticks to pick up some of his meal. "Well alrighty then. It's a date."

Three words and Brennan almost lost her breath. It's a date. A little unnerved by her reaction, Brennan swallowed and turned her gaze upon her bowl. Not sure what she was feeling, she stared at her spoon sitting in the bowl and tried to understand why her heart was beating a little faster than normal. Confused, she stirred the cooling soup. "Um yes. I'm looking forward to it. It's formal, so you will need to wear at least a dark suit and tie."

"I got it Bones." Slightly annoyed with her assumption, Booth shook his head. "I know what to wear." Popping some of his food into his mouth, he chewed it slowly while staring at Brennan.

His stare a little disconcerting, Brennan placed her spoon down. "What?"

Booth swallowed his bite of food and smiled. "You seem to go to a lot of functions. You just went to one two weeks ago, you wore that black and beige lacy dress. It was real nice. You looked real nice."

"It's the season for functions." Brennan remembered his compliment about the dress and was pleased that he liked her choice of wardrobe. "In the fall and winter months some of us at the Jeffersonian have a few charity events and fund raisers that we are required to attend. The last event I attended was a charity event. Next week's is a fund raiser."

His food getting cold, Booth dug into it with his chopsticks and began to eat in earnest. Brennan mulled over his declaration about his going with her being a date. She didn't usually mull over anything, but she intended to be very careful with Booth. She had no intention of making a mistake and ruining their friendship. She was starting to cherish it as much as her friendship with Angela.

Brennan's odd looks at him when she thought he wasn't looking were making him a little nervous. He wasn't sure what was going on and he put it down to just his imagination. After all, they were friends and she might just be concerned about Tessa dumping his ass. Not that I know why she dumped me of course. 'It's not you it's me.' What a load of bullshit.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

The evening of the fund raiser came and Booth picked up Brennan at her apartment and drove her to the event. Her dress was a long ankle length dress. It had simple lines and emphasized her curves which Booth greatly appreciated. The blood red roses printed over the black material were placed like a trellis from her left ankle to her left breast. "Wow, Bones. Very nice."

Brennan was also impressed with Booth's black suit, gray shirt and gray tie. The suit emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist and she felt he was quite handsome. It actually worried her that some predatory female might try to snare him that night. He was single again and since he wasn't mourning his breakup with Tessa, he was available. Since she had no intention of dating Booth, she wasn't sure why she cared, but she did. She finally decided that she didn't want someone to make him sad again. She hated it when he was sad. "You look very nice too Booth."

Proud that he had such a beautiful woman on his arm when he entered the hall, Booth almost swaggered when heads turned to watch them enter the room. "Don't forget you promised to dance with me tonight."

"I didn't forget." Brennan was aware of the stares and knew that she and Booth were a striking couple. Not really happy with the females in the room ogling her date, Brennan looped her arm around his arm. "I do have to mingle with our benefactors and I will have to dance with a few of them, but once my obligations are met, I will be more than happy to dance with you."

Dr. Goodman spied Brennan and Booth entering the room and turned towards his wife. "Well this should be interesting."

Curious, Felicia Goodman turned to stare at the couple her husband was staring at. "What do you mean? Is something going on with Temperance that I don't know about?"

Daniel Goodman was a very good administrator and he kept his finger on the pulse of the Jeffersonian. "I'm not sure really. It's just that this is the first time Agent Booth has escorted Temperance to a function for the Jeffersonian. They claim they're just partners and nothing is going on between them, but God knows if that's true or not."

"Oh Temperance is very honest, Daniel." Felicia laughed. "You know she's a terrible liar."

Leary of his star scientist, Goodman shook his head very slowly. "But she has a very steep learning curve and her partner has been teaching her things."

"Things?" Felicia stared at Booth. "What kind of things?"

Determined to keep an eye on the couple during the night, Goodman turned to face his wife. "Colloquialisms, slang, cop speak, how to shoot a gun with greater accuracy . . . things like that."

"Well that seems harmless enough." Mrs. Goodman didn't see a problem at all. "You know they make a very attractive couple. Are you sure they aren't dating? Their lack of personal space seems to be telling me a different story."

Goodman shook his head. "They say they aren't." He glanced at Brennan while she broke away from Booth to talk to Steven Mars, a very rich man who was infatuated with Brennan. He also noticed that Booth walked over to the bar and ordered a drink. "Well since Temperance has a lot of admirers, if there is anything going on between them, I would say that Booth's patience will be tried tonight."

"Or hers will be." Felicia noticed a very pretty blond woman move over to where Booth was waiting for his drink and placed her hand on his arm. Felicia wasn't the only one to notice it either.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

A little cliff hanger. Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.