So beginning tonight well you can change your mind.

You know it's never too late.

You're gonna be alright, alright.

So come on we can trust, there's something in common between us.

Oh come on we can find, there's something in common between our lives.

How was it November? Angela and Hodgins and been gone for a month. She and Booth had been living together civilly for a month. They had been raising Katie together…for a month. She just couldn't comprehend how quickly things had changed.

It was Sunday and Brennan was currently sitting on the couch watching some ridiculous children's program with Katie. She certainly didn't understand how "The Wiggles" were in any way beneficial to the child.

"And now they're singing again," Brennan groaned.

"Ah come on, Bones," Booth laughed, entering the room. "Their music is really awesome."

"I beg to differ."

He joined them on the couch, still laughing at the whole situation. "I never thought I would see the day when Dr. Temperance Brennan started watching 'The Wiggles.'"

"I'm not watching it; Katie is. I'm just sitting here with her."

"Really? What's the episode about?"

"Shapes and colors, which, if you ask me, have absolutely no correlation. Just because you're teaching the child the color red, doesn't mean you need to take the opportunity to also teach them about the heart shape which looks absolutely nothing like the real human heart."

"At least real hearts are red. It's not like they're teaching them hearts along with the color blue."

"It's still ridiculous."

"She's one, Bones. Would you rather force her to watch the Discovery Channel?"

"I tried. She didn't appear to enjoy it."

Booth burst into another fit of laughter.

"I'm glad you find this so entertaining," Brennan said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry! Sorry, I'll change the subject. What case are you working on now?"

"I am not at liberty to discuss the case with you, seeing as how it's not yours."

"It's me, Bones. I was your partner for six years. I'm still FBI."

The words hit her hard. I was your partner for six years. For six years he had stood by her side and she by his. She'd been allowed to interview suspects and was involved with 100 percent of the case. These days, all she ever saw was the inside of the lab besides the initial discovery of the body. Greg was certainly no Booth. He just didn't understand her the way Booth did; nor had he tried. To him, she was just another squint, not his friend.

"Well you're not my partner anymore," Brennan finally said.

"And that was your decision," Booth told her.

"No, it was yours," she reminded him.

Booth sighed. "Look I really don't want to get into this right now."

"What is there to get into? I'm right; you're wrong, end of story."

"You're the one who chose to leave, Brennan!'

"And you're the one who gave me the ultimatum!"

Katie began to cry in Brennan's arms.

"Now look what you did," she chastised, standing up and bouncing Katie around in her arms.

"Me? How is this my fault?" Booth asked, standing up next to her.

"Will you just stop trying to pick a fight with me? Come on, Booth we've moved passed this."

"Have we? I mean, if we're still acting like this, there still has to be some unresolved issues somewhere."

"Okay, so what are they? What's keeping us on edge with each other?"

Booth sighed. "I don't know."

"Well neither do I."

Brennan returned to her spot on the couch, still rocking Katie in an effort to calm her down. Booth stood staring at them for a moment, before sitting back down as well. He leaned back into the cushions, scrubbing a hand over his face. In theory, he knew what was off between them: they were both still in love with each other, but were both just too damn stubborn to admit it.

"It's a child's case," Brennan spoke up. "Judging by the teeth, the child is around the age of 7. At that age, it's hard to be certain about sex, because they have yet to reach puberty, but I'm pretty sure it's female. Our new artist, on the other hand, is certain the child is male based off of my tissue markers. She's an idiot. Can't she notice that the child has a rounded jaw, a non-prominent brow line, and high cheekbones? Those are all female skull characteristics. And don't even get me started on the incompetency of our new entomologist. I told Cam not to hire them, but did she listen to me? No. All of it just makes me want to run off and search for hominids instead. Katie is the only thing really keeping me here."

At the mention of her name, Katie looked up at Brennan. Her crying had stopped and she now wiggled anxiously in Brennan's arms. So Brennan put her down on the floor where she crawled over to her ball and began batting it around the living room.

"How's Greg?" Booth asked, needing to know if he had indeed been replaced.

"He won't let me be involved in the investigation beyond the lab. And I feel like he's afraid of me…"

"Oh, he is. He said, and I quote, 'she tries to bite my head off every time I so much as enter her precious lab.'"

Brennan sighed, burying her head in her hands. "I used to love my job, but now I'm starting to hate it."

Booth reached over to rub her back. "Would things be better if I came back?"

Brennan lifted her head up to meet his gaze. "If you came back, we would be around each other practically 24/7."

"What, don't think we could handle that?"

"I don't…we could always try couldn't we? And if it doesn't work out…I don't want to say that I need you there, but…I really do need you there."

"I'll talk to Hacker. I know he still has a soft spot for you, so I'm sure he'll oblige."

"Thank you," Brennan said barely above a whisper.

"It's no problem. It'll be good to be back with my old team again."

"What's left of us."

Booth draped his arm around her shoulders. "Things will be better once I'm back and can take you out of that lab." When Brennan simply nodded in response, Booth continued. "So, uh, now that this is my case after all, do you have a cause of death yet?"

"Strangulation."

"Any suspects?"

"We don't even know who she is yet, Booth. Like I said, that damn artist is convinced she's a he. And since I can't get her to create an accurate sketch, we have nothing to release to the media. And the entomologist can't remember which part of Virginia the insects he found on her are indigenous from. And we have yet to find a botanist, so the pollen spores we have are useless. The fact that we've solved any cases at all since their deaths is a miracle."

"And these people were the best that Cam could find?"

Brennan shrugged shaking her head.

"Well this is unfortunate," Booth quipped.

Brennan felt a laugh bubbling up from her throat, but stopped it when she realized she and Booth had been fighting the same tired fight mere minutes ago and were now sitting with his arm draped around her.

"Booth," she started tentatively, "how is it that we can be fighting one minute and then be like this the next? We've been experiencing these little mood swings ever since we became friends again."

"Like I said, Bones. We just have a lot of unresolved issues. And clearly they all stem out of our rejections of one another. I think we just need to move pass it all; start fresh."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"Well," Booth started, moving closer to her. "Perhaps we could…where's Katie?"

"What?"

Booth gestured to the floor in front of them where Katie's ball sat all by itself. "She was right there and now…"

Brennan's face grew ashen. "I haven't put the baby gates up yet this morning."

The two jumped to their feet and began calling out her name as they searched the main floor for her. After a few minutes they found her in the foyer, using the basket full of umbrellas to help her stand.

"She's standing!" Booth exclaimed. "Has she ever done that before?"

"Well, developmentally speaking, she should be walking by now. But I suppose the trauma could have set her back a month or two."

"Or she's just a slow developer."

"That's ridiculous. Have you met her parents? This child is bound to be a genius."

"Bones –"

"I'm serious, Booth. Angela was more than just an artist. She had a knack for technology. You've seen the things she's been able to do. And Hodgins, he had several doctorates in various areas. Therefore, Katie –"

"No, no, no, Bones. Look!"

Brennan looked back down at Katie. She had let go of her basket crutch and was standing all on her own. She attempted to take a few steps forward, but she fell almost instantly. Katie looked up at Booth and Brennan with wide eyes. Brennan bent down to scoop her up in her arms.

"Katie, that was so good! I told Booth you were smart!"

"Why don't you put her down and let her try again, Bones? She didn't get very far."

Brennan did, but Katie merely started to crawl away from them.

"Apparently she doesn't perform well in front of an audience," Booth joked.

"Well, it's no matter. She has plenty of time to succeed. Oh, should we be looking into preschools for her?"

"Preschool? Already?"

"Yes, I hear you have to apply early if you want to get into the best ones. And Katie deserves the best. Giving her a head start at learning is key."

"Have you been reading those parenting books again?"

"Booth, I'm serious!"

"So am I. Rebecca and I started Parker in preschool when he was three and it was nothing fancy. He's turned out just fine."

"Well sure, but I want Katie to be more than 'fine;' I want her to be extraordinary."

Booth simply sighed having no real response to that. He wandered off in the direction that Katie had crawled, realizing that they had allowed her to crawl away from them again and that the baby gates were still not set up.

"Whatever you want, Bones," Booth called over his shoulder.

"Hey now, don't use that tone with me. I've known you long enough to recognize that you're being derisive."

Booth chuckled to himself as he found Katie back in the living room playing with her ball again. He had never felt quite so…domestic.

The next morning, Brennan sat in her office staring at the sketches Annah had given her. She'd finally convinced the stubborn artist that the skeleton was indeed female and she had fixed the sketches accordingly. Brennan had to admit that the artist was very talented; her sketches were every bit as detailed as Angela's had been. Now if only she would listen to the anthropologist the first time around when it came to sexing the individual…

She looked up at the sound of knocking on her door. Greg stood in her doorway, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"May I help you?" Brennan asked, placing the sketch she had been observing back down on her desk.

"You're kicking me off of your services," he said bluntly.

"I'm not kicking you off of anything. Booth has merely agreed to return to the team."

"You don't have the authority to decide who works your cases."

"Oh I think I do. But to humor you, let's say that I don't. However, Hacker has that authority and he and I go way back. I'd say that it's been a pleasure Agent Thompson, but it really hasn't been. So now, if you'll excuse me –"

"No," Greg said forcefully, stepping into her office. "I like this job; I won't let you reassign me."

Brennan ran a hand through her hair before standing up and stepping around to the front of her desk.

"You like this job? Really? You certainly fooled me. Your work is sloppy. You appear to have no regards for the victim. The only thing you seem to care about is your case closure rate. So excuse me for wanting a partner who actually cares."

Greg took a step towards her and Brennan instinctively grabbed his arm and bent it behind his back. A slur of curse words escaped his lips just as Booth appeared in the doorway.

"Am I interrupting something?" Booth asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No," Brennan replied, releasing Greg from her grip. "Agent Thompson was just leaving…for good."

He simply stood there rubbing his arm and staring at Brennan in disbelief.

"Seriously man, I would leave if I were you. She has more martial arts training than you'd believe," Booth told him.

Greg mumbled something incoherent and then quickly exited her office.

"He try to make a pass at you or something?" Booth smirked.

"He was being rude and I felt threatened by his presence. I also had an overwhelming urge to kick him in the testicles."

Booth snorted. "And did you?"

"No, you showed up before I had the chance."

"Such a shame," Booth laughed shaking his head. "You know, I've missed this side of you."

"What side of me?" Brennan asked, moving back to sit in her desk chair.

"The badass Brennan who doesn't need anyone to protect her."

"Oh, she's been here. She just hasn't had any reason to be 'badass' in a while."

"It's kind of hot."

"You find a lot of things to be kind of hot," Brennan stated, picking up Annah's sketches again. "Did you need something or…?"

"No, not really. Just dropping by because I can."

"Admit it, you missed me."

"What?" Booth laughed.

"We've been apart for a whole two hours now, and you just couldn't stand it."

"Oh, I don't think so. I missed the lab, maybe, but not you."

Brennan narrowed her eyes at him, a smile creeping across her face. Booth returned her mischievous smile, picking a sketch up from her desk. "Oh I see your artist finally agreed to make the victim female. Wow, she's not half bad either. Almost as good as Angela."

"Almost," Brennan mumbled, staring back down at the other two sketches.

"What exactly are you accomplishing by staring at these?"

"Nothing," she sighed, taking the third sketch away from him.

"Well, the body's that way," Booth said sarcastically, pointing at the platform.

"And I've told you, I already determined cause of death and all of that. Now we just need to identify her so we can catch her murderer."

"Has your entomologist gotten his shit together yet?"

"I don't know what that expression means, but I'm going to say no…"

"Hmm right, I think I'll go yell at Cam now."

"And what exactly is that going to accomplish?"

"Not sure, but it sounds like fun."

Brennan shook her head as Booth moved to leave her office. "Welcome back, Agent Booth."

"It's good to be back, Dr. Brennan."

"Word on the street has it that you're trying to run this place into the ground," Booth said upon entering Cam's office.

"Seeley!" Cam exclaimed. "First of all, welcome back. Second of all, stop talking to Dr. Brennan."

"Kind of hard not to talk to the woman I live with. And since we're partners again, communication is sort of key. But uh, they're no Angela and Hodgins, huh?"

Cam groaned. "I'm beginning to feel like there are very few people qualified for this job."

"So why'd you hire them?"

"They looked good on paper. And we're still in need of a botanist. You wouldn't by any chance happen to know one, would you?"

"Can't say that I do. Listen, Camille, Bones is really getting stressed over this case. I don't know if it's because she's really missing her old team and friends or if she's just frustrated because her new team can't seem to do anything right."

"Yes, Seeley I know. I've talked to her. I just don't know what she expects me to do about it. We needed to solve this case like yesterday and Ms. Cooper and Dr. Wessland were our most qualified applicants. Angela and Hodgins have just set the standard too high. I'm hoping that having you back will calm her down a bit."

"Well considering I walked in on her trying to beat up Greg, I'd hope so."

"She was doing what now?"

"Don't worry about it."

Cam ran a hand over her face, standing up from her desk.

"How are you two doing by the way?" she asked.

"We're fine. Things are pretty much normal between us now."

"So I'm assuming you haven't told her about Hannah yet."

"Camille, we've been through this. She doesn't need to know about that. Her not knowing doesn't affect our relationship at all."

"I still think you should tell her. You owe her that much."

"I owe it to her not to tell her. You don't know her like I do…this…she can't handle it. Now please stop trying to guilt me into telling her."

"I sure hope you know what you're doing, Seeley. I'd really hate for this to come back around and bite you in the ass."

"There's no way that it could," Booth said fumbling with a rubber band he'd picked up off of her desk. "Hey are you still planning on having a staff Christmas party next month?"

"I hadn't really given it much thought, why?"

"Well I was just thinking that Bones probably wouldn't be all that comfortable with these new recruits there. So maybe just us, Sweets, and the squinterns? Hell, Caroline could come if she really wanted to. But this ah Dr. what's his name and new artist chick…I feel like the Jeffersonian's annual New Year's Eve party should be enough 'staff bonding' to tide them over, don't you think?"

"I suppose…" Cam trailed off knitting her eyebrows together in confusion.

"Look, I don't know if anyone ever told you this, but her parents left around Christmas time. It's really a sensitive time of year for her. And I just think that with Angela and Hodgins gone, she needs to spend it with her other friends she considers family and not two random staff members she clearly hates."

"Fine, I won't invite them. But it's only November 10th, Seeley. Why the sudden urge to bring this up now?"

"I just ordered her Christmas present before I came over here, so it was on my mind."

Cam smiled, understanding flooding her face. "You know, I'm really glad that you two were able to work things out; even though it was under such terrible circumstances. Everything just felt so wrong with you two fighting. I mean you're Booth and Brennan; two halves of one whole."

"Yeah that's what Angela used to say... It does feel good to have her back. You're a great listener and all, but Bones? She knows my secrets; just like I know hers."

It was weird to think that mere months ago he and Brennan hadn't been on speaking terms. That mere months ago, all they had to do was look at each other and a fight would break out. And that now, things were basically the same way they had always been between them. Booth just wasn't sure what scared him more: the fact that his feelings for Brennan had easily been absent for a good year or the fact that his feelings for her had come crashing back at such a full force.

AN: Decided to ditch my set update schedule and just update whenever I feel like it. So it'll be more constant now and not just every Friday/Saturday. Get excited! Like what you've been reading? Let me know! I LOVE reading your reviews. :)