Attraction, part 2

They were at Brennan's apartment, wrapping up the paperwork on the case over Thai food. Brennan made a grab for the mee krob, but Booth was faster. Grinning in triumph, he dug in with his chopsticks. She rolled her eyes and reached for the rice.

"So when are you going to ask Amanda Collins out?" she asked, zeroing in on the one subject Booth DID NOT want to discuss.

"I'm not," he said, focusing on his food.

She frowned at him, chopsticks frozen in midair. "Why not? The case is closed and she didn't do it. I'd think you would jump at the chance to--"

Booth forced a nonchalant shrug. "She wasn't that pretty."

Brennan's mouth fell open. "You're kidding, right? She was gorgeous!" Booth kept eating, but his ears were red and suddenly something occurred to her. "You already asked her, didn't you? And she turned you down!"

His gaze snapped to hers. Damn, she was getting too perceptive for his own comfort. Sighing, he set the carton down and sat back. "She won't date cops. Said she had a boyfriend who was a cop and she couldn't handle it."

She finally shut her mouth. "I bet that doesn't happen very often."

Booth frowned. "What?"

She rolled her eyes. "A woman turning you down. You're probably used to getting any woman you want."

He shrugged. "Hey, can't win them all. She probably wasn't 'the one' anyway."

It was her turn to frown. "You still believe in that, huh?"

'Here we go,' he thought with dread. 'Don't answer, don't answer, don't answer,' urged his inner voice. "Yes, I do," he said over the voice's protests.

"If there is such thing as 'the one', what happens if you never meet? Are you supposed to spend your whole life looking?" she asked, sincerely curious.

"I guess so. Either that or you settle for the closest you can find."

She was chewing thoughtfully. "Is that what you were doing with Rebecca? Settling?"

As usual, when she brought up Rebecca, it put him on the defensive. 'I told you,' the inner voice said with satisfaction, 'but you just had to go there.' "No, at the time I thought she was the one. And chances are, if we'd gotten married, we'd still be together, maybe have a couple more kids by now."

"Really? Do you still love her?" she probed, looking at him like he was a fascinating specimen to study.

Setting the carton aside, he leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees and scrubbed his hands down his face. "No, not that way."

She frowned. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but his eyes met hers and his next words silenced her. "If love isn't nurtured...if the two people aren't together to nurture it, it tends to fade, to change, until it isn't the same any more. I care about Rebecca as the mother of my son, but that's all it is now."

For the first time that Booth could remember, she was speechless. She had an odd look on her face that he couldn't fathom. When she finally spoke, her voice had a catch in it and there was a longing there that caught at his heart.

"H-how do you know when you've met the one?"

He took a moment to consider his reply. "When you can't stop thinking of them…can't imagine your life without them…when something great happens to you and they are the first one you think of telling…when they are the last thing you think of before falling asleep…when your dreams are filled with them…when they are the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning." The certainty in his voice made her realize he was speaking from experience. She had to know.

"You've had that with someone, haven't you?" she whispered.

His eyes were soft as he looked deep into hers. "Not yet, but I'm working on it," he said softly, with a slight smile.

Suddenly the intimacy in his gaze was too much for her. She broke his gaze and cleared her throat, making a move to rise. His hand on her arm stopped her and her eyes met his again.

"I'm waiting for her to realize there is such a thing as true love, such a thing as 'the one'. When she does, I'm hoping it's me she turns to."

Her eyes flew wide as his meaning became clear. Panic rose in her. Pulling away from him, she bounded to her feet and walked away, stopping with her back to him and her hands twisted together. He was quiet behind her, leaving her to work it out. After a long moment her shoulders straightened and she turned to face him.

"It's really late," she said, bending to gather up the file. "I'm sure you have things you need to do..."

Booth sighed. She wasn't ready. And he was okay with that. He could wait. Standing, he helped her clean up the remains of their dinner. Their time would come, he was dead certain of that. Because he was already there, experiencing everything he had described to her. For right now, he would do what he could to restore their easy comraderie, satisfied that he had planted the seed.

Well now, did you like that? Hmmmm? Click the little blue button and tell musie. Part 3 will be posted tomorrow. Thank you for reading and reviewing!