(The Girl in the Fridge)

This is a reminder, this story is AU.

I don't own Bones.

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Sitting in his apartment later that evening, Booth stared at the ceiling as he laid on the couch. I wish I had been more honest with Bones, but I couldn't. She wouldn't understand. How could I tell her that I think I'm falling in love with her, but I don't want to jeopardize our partnership? I still want to work with her. She's fantastic. She's so damn smart and she's so beautiful and I really really like her. Okay, I might even love her, but I'm not willing to break up our partnership. Not now. We're doing so well. I'm making a difference. We're making a difference.

Shit, why does life have to be so complicated?

I want to help people that need it like Pops did for me. God if he hadn't saved me from that piece of shit sperm donor that thought he was my father, I'd be dead by now. I'd be bones in a grave. I need to make a difference. I need my life to count for something. I've taken so many lives because my government asked me to and now I get to give something back. I get to help solve serious crimes. I get to make assholes pay for the evil things they've done. I made a promise to myself that I'd make a difference and . . . God this is so unfair.

Booth stood up, stretched his back and then moved into the kitchen. After snagging a beer from the fridge, he walked back into the living room and plopped down on the couch.

She's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me besides the birth of my son. She likes me and we get along pretty well. Sure she drives me nuts sometimes, but Pops says I probably drive her nuts with my shit too . . . yeah. Look at what she's done for me. I quit gambling. All because I want to be a better man for her. Hell I didn't even really know her when I did that, but she's special. She's so damn special. She made me get my shit together. No one has ever made me want to be better than I am. She's magic and I don't know what I'm going to do if she ever gives up on me. Almost everyone in my life has.

Frustrated with his thoughts, Booth swallowed some of his beer. "Okay, just don't go there. Your life if finally turning around, just don't invite trouble. She's my partner, she likes me and we're doing great stuff together. Don't see problems where they don't exist. If she gets tired of my shit and stops being my partner then I'll cross that path when I get to it. In the meantime, I can't screw this up. I can't tell her that I might love her. She doesn't believe in love or marriage, so it wouldn't do any good to tell her about my feelings anyway. Just let sleeping dogs lay. Just be her friend. Yeah . . . I can do that.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Typing away on her laptop, Brennan stopped to read what she'd written and instantly became frustrated with herself. Her story had gone off on an unexpected tangent and it didn't follow her outline at all. Quickly deleting what she had just typed, she saved the file, closed the lid and sat staring at the window across from the table.

The night was cool and she had shut the window earlier because of it. I'm glad Booth let me know what the rules for friendship are. His rules are different from Angela's rules, but I expected that. Angela and Booth are very different personalities and yet I think I can count on them to guide me through our friendship. I just wish I was better at social situations. I've never really cared before, but I think it's nice that I have two such great friends like Angela and Booth.

Brennan picked up her bottle of beer and sipped some of the cool liquid. I would have liked to have had a physical relationship with Booth, but I can see he just wants to be friends and that's fine. I have other ways to help me sexually if and when I need it, so I don't need Booth for that. I've never had a boyfriend as an adult before and I think I like it.

Hm, is that the correct way to think of Booth? He's a man not a boy and really doesn't the word boyfriend connote a form of intimacy? We're friends, but perhaps he isn't my boyfriend. He's just a friend. Boyfriend is such a juvenile word and usually does imply a romantic relationship of some sort, so no . . . he isn't my boyfriend. I really haven't had a boyfriend since I was in college. Well, Michael wasn't really my boyfriend. He was my professor and my first lover and Peter was my lover too, but not really a boyfriend per se. Yes, social labels can be very awkward and confusing especially to me. They're just traps for the unwary.

Her bottle now empty, Brennan stood up and moved into the kitchen. After she threw the bottle in the recycling bin, she removed an apple from the counter and bit into it. Booth is very attractive and it would probably be a pleasing experience to have sex with him. He's in excellent health and I know he works out. His stamina is quite good. I don't believe in love, but I do find myself wondering what it would be like to be emotionally attached to him. He can be quite sarcastic sometimes, but other times he is very considerate and he is kind to me most of the time. He isn't afraid of my intellect and that's rare enough as it is. He's quite unique and I find myself drawn to him. It can't be love since it doesn't really exist, but I do like him a lot and he likes me. He makes me feel like I'm connected to the world. He helps me and I like that. I like that very much.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Brennan was familiar with the phrase 'speak of the devil and he'll appear', but it was quite a shock that she had just thought about Michael Stires the previous week and here he was back in her life again. Life sometimes consisted of strange coincidences. Booth had told her as a rule he didn't believe in coincidences especially during a murder investigation, but eerily enough they do happen.

Michael turned out to be a big disappointment and he had caused Brennan to also experience a milder form of disappointment with her partner.

"Bones, I want to apologize to you for telling the prosecutor about your childhood." The more Booth thought about it the more he realized that he shouldn't have done it. "I was trying to get the jury to see that you are a kind and caring woman not a cold Vulcan, but that was the prosecutor's job not mine. I'm sorry he embarrassed you in front of the jury. I promise I'll never do that again. What is between us stays between us, okay?"

She had been furious that Booth had told the prosecutor about the disappearance of her parents, but she knew why he did it and she forgave him. "I don't know what a Vulcan is, but I've already told you I understand Booth. You wanted to win the case. I get it. If I had been in your shoes I might have done the same thing. I don't know . . . I think what goes on between us should stay between us. This is about trust and it would help us if we treated confidences as something not to be repeated to others."

"Thanks Bones." Booth was glad his friendship hadn't been damaged with Brennan. "Hey, if you're up to it, let's go to the movies this weekend. You can pick the movie."

Brennan appreciated the effort her friend was making to get back into her good graces. "That sounds good, Booth. I'll go online and see what's playing."

Relieved that Brennan was now back in a good mood, Booth smiled. "Just no musicals. I hate those things."

Amused, Brennan nodded her head. "Yes I know. No musicals."

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Let me know what you think of my story.