I think its no secret, but Seasons 3 and 4 were complete shite. I have a few beloved scenes, yes, and every now and then I love the cases and the random jokes, and Sweets goes from extremely irritating to hilarious, but that's only about ten percent of both seasons- I am crossing my fingers and crossing my heart that season 5 won't be total crap. The season 4 finale did have me genuinely smiling from beginning to end- I'm hoping that's the start of a trend. Man I miss the indie vibe and the cool shots and the mad sexy writing- Fuck.

Ahhh…. I miss season 2. Which is why I'm going to be a little nostalgic on yo' ass in this oneshot.

Remember Judas on a pole?

Flight Instinct

Part Two

He could remember the last time he'd lost control like that. Really, really lost control, heck, if it hadn't been for wonder boy Zack, he'd have kissed her. Drawn her close, shown her that she was his, and that he was her family, that he would never drive away like that, betray her like that…

It was the second time she'd seen her family disappear, and watching her cuffed to that bench, staring at him with wide eyes, her heart racing- the entire case had been a whirlwind of emotion and fake guy hugs (nobody, nobody straight anyways, hugs a guy like that).

They were on the sidewalk, by the diner, not too far away from where they were last night, and his fingertips were grazing her chin, holding her face up to meet her eyes. God she was beautiful, her eyes shining with well restrained tears. He could have kissed her, and he could feel his shoulders leaning forward when Zack banged on the dinner window, and they both turned to see the Squint Squad Extraordinaire looking at them from inside.

They went inside, both smiling, and he tried not to think about how it would have looked if Cam had seen him kiss her, or if she'd even noticed how much he'd dammed wanted to.

"I love you."

He couldn't help it. He'd paused a moment, but his mind was completely blank. When he looked up, and saw her eyes, the words literally flew from his lips, and he couldn't believe he'd said it. She'd asked him what he'd been about to say, and he couldn't control it- he couldn't control his heart, the way he swallowed nervously, the way his eyes were drilling holes into hers, trying to figure if her expression was one of pure horror or shock or something else- he remembered Cam's words. He was going to crack the shell, and fuck, he wasn't even half sure he should be doing that in the first place.

He remembered her. This other version of Bones, a woman with the same skin and mouth and hands and eyes- a woman with red lipstick and a sassy smile, with blue eyes that looked at him with love, a woman who he'd shared his soul with. A woman he'd called Bren- fuck, he missed her. But it was more twisted than that, he could completely remember Bones. And the cases, and the missed kisses and arguments and all of their issues. He remembered Parker, and his gambling problem (he hadn't been feeling all the effects of that problem since the coma, and was very thankful for that), and he remembered to go to Church the first Sunday he could. He remembered Rebecca's body, and the pain of rejection, the doubt at being a father. He remembered this life, completely. And he knew Sweets wasn't a bartender, Angela wasn't a completely ditsy hostess, Hodgin's wasn't a drunk novelist (he still was a conspiracy theorist, though, so things never change.)

He remembered (and was in love with) a complete fabrication of his medication-addled brain. A coma-symptom, this love he felt for her. Then why, when he looked into Temperance Brennan's eyes, Bone's eyes, why did he feel like the entire world was melting away slowly, leaving only her and her wide eyes staring at him dumbfounded?

For crying out loud, he chastised himself, I'm acting like a teenager who has never been in love.

He is in love with her, that's for sure.

"You know, in the professional sense…" he takes it all back, but sugarcoats it. Her look softens into confusion. "In an attagirl kind of way." He knocks her on the shoulder, and regrets it immediately.

Then she smiles, very, very discretely, repeating his words. Finally, as if relieved, she decides to acknowledge that she can has a window to flee her own fears, and she smiles, hitting him in the chest.

"Right back at you, Booth." She makes a big show, "I love you too!" nearly shouting, but it's empty of emotion, and Booth feels like an empty steel container.

This is all wrong, and he shouldn't have told her this here, not now, everything was wrong, and its only when Carolyn appears seemingly out of nowhere to put them both out of their misery, that Booth breathes a little bit better.