(The Bikini in the Soup)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it. I was worried that everyone might be getting tired of Hannah stories.

I definitely don't own Bones.

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As far as Booth was concerned, it had been a crazy day. Cam had taken it into her head that their case needed to be solved in one day and Booth hadn't cared one way or the other. Valentine's Day was just a normal day as far as he was concerned and whether it took one day or four days to solve the crime didn't matter to him as long as it was solved.

He spent most of the day deflecting his friends and co-workers in their attempts to show sympathy towards him for breaking up with Hannah just before such a romantic holiday. His irritation grew as the day progressed and by the time they had solved their crime he found himself filled with hatred for such a ridiculous holiday.

Brennan had agreed with Booth that the day was a normal day like any other and had spent most of the day warding off former lovers trying to hook up with her. She had found it very insulting that they had assumed it was okay to call her at the last minute and try to make a date with her on a day reserved for lovers. Just because they weren't dating at the time didn't give them the right to treat her like a last minute booty call.

Once their case had been solved, Brennan had worried about her friend. She considered Booth to be a very romantic man and he was alone on Valentine's Day. Even though he had claimed that Valentine's Day meant nothing to him, she felt that he was just hiding his hurt from her and that he felt emotional pain that he was alone. They had agreed not to buy gifts for each other and in the end she had kept her word, after all borrowing something is not buying it.

The gun range was Booth's place of refuge when he needed to blow off steam and Brennan knew that quite well. She made arrangements with the curator of the Roaring 20's exhibit at the Jeffersonian and had borrowed two tommy guns and the ammunition that went with them. Eager to carry out her plan for her partner, she promised to replace the bullets they were going to use and to take care of the weapons while they were in her possession.

Once she had presented her gift to Booth, she realized that it had been an excellent plan. They shot at paper valentine hearts, had laughed and had a great time together and that's what friends do.

Leaving the gun range, Booth helped Brennan carry the Tommy guns to Brennan's car. "This was pretty cool, Bones, pretty cool. I mean, we got to celebrate The St. Valentine's Day Massacre and we had a lot of fun doing it . . . didn't we?"

The back of her car open, Brennan carefully placed the borrowed weapons in the trunk. "Yes we did." Closing the trunk, Brennan turned to face her partner. "After I return the weapons to the Jeffersonian I plan to go to the Diner for coffee and dessert. Would you like to join me?"

Booth had felt the tension of the day erase itself from his body while he had been inside the shooting range, but her words suddenly brought it crashing back. "No . . . I mean . . . um, well, I was just going to go home and um . . . watch TV or something." He wasn't sure why he was balking, but the look on her face told him that he was being inconsiderate and not very nice to his partner after all the trouble she had gone through for him. "You know what . . . sure I'd like to join you. I just, um . . . Maybe I should follow you back to the Jeffersonian and help you take the guns back to the exhibit. It will be quicker and you won't have to lug two heavy guns through the Jeffersonian."

Pleased that he had changed his mind, Brennan smiled. "Actually, I'm just going to lock them in my office and give them back tomorrow morning, but thank you, I will accept your help."

Fishing his truck keys out of his jacket pocket, Booth held them up. "Okay, I'll drive over there and meet you in the parking garage. Park next to the elevators and we can be in and out in no time."

"I'll park in Cam's parking space since she's not there this evening." Watching Booth walk away, Brennan called after him. "I'll follow you to the Jeffersonian, Booth."

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The Royal Diner not as busy as Booth thought it would be, brought back to him once more that a lot of people were on dates tonight and they were not having their dates in a 24 hour Diner. Waiting for his slice of pie and coffee, Booth leaned back against his chair and looked out of the window next to their table. "I . . . I'm glad we're together tonight, Bones. We had fun and believe me, I needed it and so did you . . . Those jerks that called you today, I'm glad you turned them down. They don't deserve you for a friend . . . not at all."

Her cheeks a bright pink, Brennan wasn't sure why she was blushing, but chose to ignore the fact that she was. "They're actually very nice, Booth. I think they were feeling the pressure that our society places on single people on this specific day. We're bombarded with commercials about what to buy our loved ones, places to eat, nice hotels to stay at and some people start to feel like they're losers because they aren't with anyone romantically. That's why this holiday is so ridiculous. Just because you're alone doesn't mean you're lonely, but society tries to tell us that we are."

"Yeah . . . there isn't anything wrong with being alone." Finally turning his gaze back towards his partner, Booth shook his head. "I've been alone my whole life and I'm fine with that . . . I have to be." Realizing that he sounded insencure, Booth leaned forward and placed his crossed arms on the table. "Hey . . . you went to a lot of trouble for me tonight and I didn't do anything for you . . . I'm sorry that I didn't get you a little something . . . as a friend . . . I should have bought you some candy or something."

Their dessert and coffee now being delivered, Brennan leaned back against her chair so the waitress could place her piece of cheesecake and coffee in front of her. Once the waitress was gone, Brennan picked up her fork. "We agreed not to buy each other anything Booth, so you didn't do anything wrong. I didn't buy you anything. I just borrowed two guns so we could shoot them."

Sipping his coffee, Booth knew she was just trying to ease his mind. "You know Bones, you really are a great friend. You told me you were last week and you are . . . you really are."

Proud of Booth's thoughtful compliment, Brennan smiled. "I know. I'm just glad you see that. I've always been a good friend and so have you."

Not sure that was true, Booth cleared his throat nervously. "Maybe not, Bones . . . Ever since we came back from the ends of the earth I've been kind of standoffish. I know that, but I thought I had to be . . . it was dumb I guess . . . I just . . ." Trailing off, Booth thought carefully about what he wanted to say. "At first my idea was not to put any pressure on you or me. You'd told me up front that you weren't interested in me and I . . . I wanted to respect that and then Hannah came and well, I wanted to be the boyfriend she needed me to be, but your friend at the same time and it was just confusing and . . . God, what a mess . . . I should have been a better friend and I wasn't, but I guess I didn't know how."

Brennan considered what he had just said an understatement, but it was the truth. Their lives had been a mess for such a long time that somehow it seemed normal for a man to have a girlfriend and another woman as a best friend at the same time. Certainly Brennan hadn't seen anything wrong with their arrangement. Booth had the relationship he wanted and she had the friend she needed. "No, Booth, it was alright . . . it was confusing, but we didn't walk away from each other and that was the important part. You vowed a long time ago to never leave me and you didn't."

Still not sure these last few months hadn't been a dream or a nightmare, Booth laughed without mirth. "You know someday I'm going to look back and this is going to make sense to me. Right now, I haven't the faintest idea what I've been trying to do since I came back from Afghanistan but . . . someday this is going to make sense to me . . . God I hope it does anyway."

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