A/N: Here's a nice, long chapter as a Christmas treat!!! Happy Holidays to Everyone!

He pulled up in front of the Jeffersonian and slowly got out. 'Here we go.' He thought to himself. He walked into the building and nodded at the security guard. There was no one in the building and it felt eerie. He headed towards her office and stopped suddenly when he looked in the window. She was asleep in her chair, her long hair cascading around her. 'She looks beautiful.' He thought to himself. He loved seeing her like this, completely relaxed and calm. He moved towards the door and stepped in her office. He wasn't sure whether he should wake her or not. He didn't have time to make a decision. She suddenly opened her eyes, shot up and looked around.

'Oh god, Booth, I'm so sorry." She said. She started to smooth out her dress.

"Bones." He said, grabbing her hand to stop her frantic movements. "It's okay. It's only five after."

"I didn't get much sleep last night." She admitted.

"Yeah, me either." He replied. "So are you ready to go?"

"Absolutely." She said, grabbing her purse.

He put his hand on her back to guide her out of her office and was startled by his hand making contact with her skin. He felt her shiver uncontrollably and he had the urge to push her up against the wall and make love to her right there. 'Slowly.' He thought to himself. He led her out to the car.

"By the way." He whispered into her ear. "You look gorgeous."

He saw her blush and she whispered back "Thank you."

They got into the car and drove off. About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at what looked to her like a deserted alleyway.

"Booth where are we?" she asked.

"You'll see." He replied. "Come on."

She followed him out of the car and down the alleyway. They came to a stop in front of and old wooden door. He knocked on the door and waited for it to open. The door quickly opened and a short, balding man stepped out.

"Seeley." He cried, giving him a huge hug. "Come in, come in."

She stepped inside and looked around in shock. It was beautiful. There were clusters of small tables scattered throughout the room. A beautiful crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. It felt homey and elegant at the same time. "Wow." She said, looking awed.

"Is this her?" the man said, pointing at her.

"Yeah" Booth replied. "Frank Williams, meet Dr. Temperance Brennan. Bones this is Frank, owner of the best Italian restaurant in DC."

"Nice to meet you." Frank said, grasping her hand. "I've heard so much about you. Come in, I have your table ready. By the way." He said, nudging Booth. "Mary's on the warpath so watch.."

"Seeley Booth." A woman shouted, coming from the kitchen. "Some nerve you have coming in here after staying away for a month. I've a right mind to start making you peel potatoes."

"I'm sorry, Mary." Booth said looking sheepish. "It won't happen again."

"It better not." Mary said. "Now give me a hug."

Booth bent over and gave her a big hug. "Mary this is my friend, Dr. Temperance Brennan." He said, gesturing to Brennan.

"The bone lady?" Mary asked. "So you finally made a move eh, Seeley?"

Booth shuffled his feet and looked away, embarrassed.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you." Mary said, shaking her hand.

"It's nice to meet you as well." She said.

"Frank show them to their table. I need to get back to the kitchen." Mary said, walking away.

"Right this way." Frank said, leading them past the cluster of tables. There was only seven or eight other people in the restaurant. He opened a curtain and revealed a back room with more tables. "You are right here. I will be back in a moment." He turned and headed out of the room.

"Thanks Frank." Booth said, heading over to the table. As they sat down, she started looking around again.

"I have questions." She said.

"You always have questions." Booth said, laughing.

"Hey!" she protested. "Just because I'm inquisitive.."

"And determined and focused and… beautiful." He said, reaching up and stroking her cheek.

"Booth." She said, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks again. What was it is about this man that made her keep blushing. She really needed to stop it, she probably looked like an idiot.

"So." He said, removing his hand and placing it on the table. "What are the questions?"

"First of all, where are we? I have never heard of this restaurant before."

"That's because it's a well kept secret. Frank and Mary basically run the restaurant for their friends and family." He replied.

"And they stay in business?" she asked.

"Bones, once you taste the food, you will have your answer to that. Now what are the other questions?" he said.

"Do you know everyone in this town? And why do they all know me?" she said.

Booth laughed. "Well, I've known Uncle Pete since I was nine."

"Is this when he caught you kissing behind the trees?" she said, smiling.

"I can't believe he told everyone that." He said, shaking his head. "But yeah. During the winter, I head over there with my hockey skates and skate around. It helps me keep my mind off things. Eventually, Pete brings some coffee or hot chocolate and we end up talking. As for Frank and Mary.."

"Talking about me again, Seeley." Frank said, as he stepped into the room. He was holding two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. "I hope you don't mind, but Mary took the pleasure of picking out the wine for you." He placed the glasses and the bottle on the table. "You like red, right?"

"How did you know?" she asked, surprised that a complete stranger would know her preference.

"Well, after working in a restaurant for over 25 years, you get a feeling about what different kinds of people like. And you my dear, are a red wine drinker." Frank said. "So what horrible lies was Seeley saying about me?"

"He was about to tell me how he met you." She replied.

"That was along time ago, wasn't it?" Frank said, looking at Booth.

"Yeah." Booth replied. "I met Mary in the grocery store, just after I started working for the FBI. I was picking up a frozen dinner when all of the sudden this voice behind me said 'Don't eat that garbage.' I turned around and there was Mary, hands on her hips looking at me like I was in trouble." Booth started to laugh. "Before I knew it, I was here, eating the most delicious pasta ever."

"You just went with her?" she asked.

"My wife can be very persuasive." Frank said, laughing. "All I remember was her stepping through the door with him standing behind her. She said that he was a nice FBI agent that she had met and that clearly he needed to be fed properly."

"And I have been eating here ever since." Booth said.

"Yes you have. Although I have to say, Mary is ecstatic that you finally brought someone with you. She's been after you for years to bring a woman in here." Frank said, smirking.

"Yeah well…" Booth trailed off.

"I will leave you two alone. Holler when you have decided what you want to eat." Frank said, heading out of the room.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes, his hand resting on top of hers.

"You didn't answer my last question." She said. "Why does everyone know me?"

"Because you know.. you tend to talk to people about the ones you love." he said.

"Booth.." she said, pulling her hand away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean.." he said, sitting back in his chair looking flustered. "What I meant was that you're my partner so they would know about you."

She picked up the menu, unsure of what to say. 'Just tell him you love him too.' The voice in her head said. But she couldn't. She knew she loved him. But saying it out loud meant that it was real, and she couldn't deal with that right now. There were too many factors to consider, too many problems. She looked at him and smiled faintly. "So, what are you having?" she said.

"Lasagne." Booth said automatically. "Mary makes the best lasagne. What about you?"

"Hmm, I think I am getting the tortellini." She replied, unconsciously licking her lips.

"Good choice." He replied. "Let me go tell Frank." He got up and headed out of the room, leaving her sitting there alone.

'Now what?' she thought to herself. She didn't know what to do. Of course, she had been on dates before, but they were usually with academic people. They would spend most of the date talking about anthropology and other such things. She had the sudden urge to find out everything she could about Booth. His favourite colour, his childhood memories. She was interrupted in her thoughts by Booth sitting back down.

"Order's in." he said. "It shouldn't be too long."

"Good, because I'm starving." She replied.

"I'm just glad I'm not having fries so you can't steal them." He said, laughing.

"I can't help it if yours are always better than mine." She replied. "So.. how was Christmas day?"

"It was the best." Booth said, his eyes shining. "Watching Parker wake up and see the milk and cookies and the presents Santa left him. It was…fantastic. The end of Christmas day wasn't so bad either." He said, grinning at her. "How about you?"

"It was good. Hodgins and Angela were nice. They didn't really force Christmas on me. It was definitely different then what I usually do. And yeah, the end of the day was good too." She said, shyly.

"I'm glad, Temperance." He said, placing his hand in hers. "So.. what do you want to talk about?"

"Umm, well.." she said, hesitating.

"Wait." He said, holding up his hand. "It can't be about work."

"I wasn't going to talk about work." She protested.

"Sorry." He said. "Go ahead."

"I just wanted to ask… I mean I realized that we don't know things about each other." She said.

"Bones, you probably know me better than anyone else." He replied, squeezing her hand.

"But we still don't know things. You know, favourite colour, favourite band, all of that." She said.

"Well, my favourite colour is blue and as for my favourite band, there are too many to like. However I am leaning heavily towards Foreigner.." he said.

"Booth!" she replied, laughing as she recalled the memory. She became serious and she thought about what had happened next.

"You got hurt. I thought.." she whispered.

"What?" he said, looking equally serious.

"I thought you left me." She said, unaware of the tear rolling down her cheek.

"I wouldn't do that Temperance." He said, raising his hand and wiping the tear away.

"You can't say that." She said.

He cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes. "Yes." He whispered. "Yes I can." They stared at each other for a few minutes until they were interrupted by Frank entering the room.

She pulled away from him and straightened up.

"Here we go." Frank said, placing the food in front of them. "I hope you like it."

Booth took a deep breath and smelled the lasagne. "Mmmmm" he said.

"How are you two doing for wine? Good?" Frank said.

"Excellent." She replied. "Thank you."

"Not a problem." Frank said, leaving them alone again.

She took one bite of her tortellini and almost moaned in delight. Booth wasn't kidding. This was the best she had ever had.

"Good huh?" he said, staring at her.

"Mmmm." She said in response. As they ate, they asked each other questions and talked and laughed like they normally did. She felt completely comfortable with him and all her first date insecurities drifted away.

"So, can we come here again?" she asked, taking the last bite of her tortellini.

"I don't know." he said smiling. "It depends on whether I can take you out for another date."

"Yeah I'd like that." She said, feeling shy again.

They finished their meal and headed back out the front of the restaurant, where Frank and Mary were sitting having a coffee.

"Mary that was delicious." Booth said, going over and giving her a hug.

"Yes it was fantastic." She said. "Thank you so much."

"Not a problem, honey." Mary said, giving her a hug. "It was worth it to see you here with Seeley." She turned to Booth. "Now Seeley, get that boy of yours in here, will you?"

"Absolutely." He replied as he shook Frank's hand. They waved goodbye and headed back out through the wooden door and to the car. When they got there, Booth put his hands on her arm to stop her from getting in the car.

"I just wanted to say thanks." He said, turning her towards him. "For going out on a date with me. For giving this a chance."

"Your welcome." She replied. She moved closer to him and pressed her lips against his. The kiss deepened and soon they were up against the car furiously making out. They parted for air, and she stared into his eyes. "Seeley.." she said, trailing off. She had the sudden urge to listen to his heart beat and she lowered her head and pressed it against his chest. They stood like that for a while.

"I… I.." she said. She wanted to tell him about everything that she was feeling and how it scared her. Being with him made her feel like she never wanted to be alone again. And for someone who had spent her life practicing to be alone, that was a big deal.

"Shush." He said, brushing a lock of hair off her face. "I know." He lifted her head up and kissed her again. They both reluctantly pulled away.

"I guess we should go." She said, shakily.

"Yeah, we have to work tomorrow unfortunately." Booth replied.

They got into the car and he drove her back to her apartment. He was the perfect date, walking her to the door and placing a kiss on her lips.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah." She replied. She watched him get into his car and drive off and then headed into her apartment, already anticipating seeing him tomorrow.