They were sitting over the fairground, the lights winking and people screaming with laughter on the rides below them.

Neither noticed. They were each too focussed on the other to take note of the view.

They were sitting very far above the ground, and had been for the last fifteen minutes.

The Ferris wheel had become stuck just as they'd reached the top.

Hence, they'd been bickering for the last ten minutes.

It was almost mathematical, how Brennan could predict Booth would presently say something to aggravate her. At least she knew it was coming.

"You know, Bones. This is all your fault."

Her jaw dropped at this. So much for forewarned being forearmed.

"That is a blatant lie."

"I don't think so."

"Just because you have issues with clowns does not mean you can use them as an excuse when you don't win a competition."

He snorted, and shifted on the seat to face her. "Okay, massive leap there, Bones."

"Then why is this my fault?"

"Because you picked the Ferris wheel, and now we're going to be stuck here the rest of the night. Good job."

"I could not possibly have known the Ferris wheel would get stuck-"

"- And hey, what do you mean, issues with clowns? I do not have issues with clowns."

She glared at him. "You shot one."

"Yeah, but that was an outlet for other issues, not an expression of hatred for the clown in question, Bones. Also, not a real clown."

She raised her brows at him. "Well, obviously you chose that symbol to shoot at because of some subconscious need. Probably dating back to your childhood, when most phobias begin."

He stared at her, then looked heavenward, presumably for some sort of guidance.

"Oh, great, I have a phobia now? Bones, what is it with you and putting everyone in a box? You can't just tie everyone up in neat little packages, you know? People are very complicated beings."

"You're being very defensive about this."

"Well, ha, you're the one spouting all the psychological nonsense, here. Not me."

"I am not using psychology."

"Yeah, you are, and can we please just enjoy the view here, Bones? We're gonna be up here a while, we may as well take in the scenery."

"You started it."

He just stared below, at the other rides.

She huffed. "Fine."

He glanced back at her. "Good."

"Great."

He thought a moment, unexpectedly breaking into that cocky grin. "Wonderful."

She refused to smile back. "Ecstatic."

"Fabulous."

"Grand." He was watching her, to see if she'd break into a smile. She wouldn't. Wouldn't.

"Genius."

She blinked at him. "You can't use genius. It's not a word that generally indicates approval. "

He smirked at her. "Yeah, but you just said more than one word. So I win."

She shrugged. "We weren't competing."

"Yes, we were."

Her mouth twitched. "No, we weren't."

He winked at her. "Ah, the classic cry of the defeated."

She couldn't stop a smile forming, and he grinned at her in triumph.

"Okay, Bones. Truce?"

She sighed, philosophical. She usually forgave him sooner, rather than later, anyway. That was the pattern.

"Okay."

Booth eyed her, then, satisfied she meant it, scooted a little closer.

"So, I never would have picked you for a Ferris wheel kinda gal, Bones."

"I don't especially like them."

He sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth. But politely.

"Then, would you care to explain to me why we are stuck up here, helpless, on a ride you have no especial feelings for. Just so I can get a clear picture."

She looked at him, measuring, then glanced away.

"You'll laugh at me."

He shrugged, and reached out to tug on a strand of hair falling over her shoulder.

"Hey, you always laugh at me for not knowing the names of all the bones I bring you. It'll be a nice change of pace."

She batted his hand away, ignoring the jolt of pleasure she'd felt when he'd touched her. She never laughed at him. Well, mostly never did. Mainly with Hodgins or Zack, when he couldn't hear her and start plotting revenge.

But she understood he was trying to make her comfortable, get her to open up. It didn't take him long, anymore.

She sighed. "I just…it's peaceful, up here. I've never liked crowds, and I hate having to navigate through a maze of rides and stalls. I hate not knowing where I am. So when I was younger, I used to take this ride. So I could memorise the park. So I knew everything."

"You got on by yourself." As usual, he'd picked up the words beneath the words, the ones she generally didn't speak or even acknowledge. It didn't mean she was used to it, though.

She at looked him, defensive.

"Well, I didn't really have any friends. People pretty much thought I was…odd, anyway, and when my parents disappeared…" She trailed off, then shook her head, her mouth quirked in a half smile, remembering.

"They used to make Russ and his cronies take me. I'd protest, and he'd protest, and my Dad would say, you have to look out for her. That's what families do. And then Russ'd shut up." She took a deep breath, tried to smile, then failing, looked away, at the crowds below.

"I always ended up alone, anyway. It just…seemed to work better."

Booth was silent, but she could feel him, watching her.

She closed her eyes, remembering the sadness she'd felt, being a teenager alone at a fairground. Remembered walking through crowds of people and feeling so completely alone.

Remembered wishing she had someone; a person to walk beside her.

Someone fully, one hundred percent hers, not Russ or one of his friends taking pity on her.

Booth cleared his throat, and she looked back at him.

"You're not alone, now, Temperance."

She met his gaze steadily, trusting the emotion she saw in his eyes. Here was someone who saw her for who she was, and wasn't deterred in the slightest by what they saw. She was grateful, for that.

"No, I'm not." She agreed, punching him lightly on the arm, breaking the tension before it turned into something she wasn't sure she was ready for. At least not yet.

He smiled at her, then exhaled deeply, looking back at the stars.

"You ever wish things were different, Bones?"

"I don't know what you mean." But she sure as hell suspected.

He looked at her, seeing too much, as always. "You know what? Just forget it."

"What?" Perversely, now she wanted to know. Completely illogical, and yet perfectly normal, when you factored Booth into the equation.

"Nothing, okay Bones? Drop it." He shifted uncomfortably, causing the chair to rock.

"Don't do that." She gripped the side of the chair. Just because she liked the view didn't mean she wanted to plummet to her untimely death. Knowing, in detail, every single way her bones could break from this height did not enhance the prospect.

"Scared, Bones?" He rocked the chair a little more, watching her, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"No." She said firmly, glaring at him as she gripped the chair tighter.

He rocked the chair harder.

"Booth!"

The fear in her eyes made him stop. He reached out and brushed his hand along her cheek as the chair slowed.

"It's okay, Bones. I'd never let anything happen to you, you know that."

She nodded, savouring the warmth of his hand on her face. It was starting to get cold.

"I know. It's just a little hard to remember when your partner's trying to kill you."

"I wasn't trying to kill you, Bones. Loosen up, huh?"

"Hey. When your headstone reads 'Cause of Death: My Partner Was an Idiot', then we'll talk."

"That's not funny, Bones."

"I wasn't joking, Booth."

But she smiled at him as she pulled her coat tighter, anyway.

He laughed, sliding across the seat to pull her into his side.

"Cold up here, huh?"

"Yeah." She murmured, resting her head on his shoulder.

She did that a lot now, going home after a late case, or when he coerced her into watching a movie with him. She had to admit, she knew what a few things meant, now, although the whole Velma thing remained a mystery.

Sometimes, as she was falling asleep, he'd shift and his arm would come around her, and she'd feel so…safe. It was hard to admit, how safe she felt.

They sat there in silence, and she looked up at the stars, contemplating how out of the billions of choices, if you chose to focus on that one special cluster, that one possibility of guidance out of the darkness, you could find your way home.

His hand stroked her shoulder, lightly, and she relaxed as his warmth seeped into her bones.

She tapped his hand and looked at him, looking at her.

"So, what did you mean, different?"

Authors note:

Wow, how good am I? My hands are maimed and bloody from typing so much in one day. Not actually because I wrote that much. More because I'm not especially good/fast at typing. Next chapter…Following the pattern, should be the squints, but I really want to finish up with Booth and Brennan- I'm a victim of suspense…of my own making. It's so, so sad. Oh, well. Have a lovely week guys. Oh, and thanks to everyone reading and reviewing- your comments completely make my day, so I appreciate it! And thank you to squint-squad, who made the most excellent point that Booth shot a clown, which was just…so cool.