Hey, I was so busy posting chapters I didn't post a disclaimer! In case it's really necessary… do you think Booth and Bones wouldn't have kissed at least a 10000 steamboats worth if Bones was mine? Was that sentence waaay to oddly phrased? Either way, Bones isn't mine. *leaves to go cry "WHY? WHY!" Against the wall*

This chap is slightly shorter, namely because I am a very impatient writer, and want to get to the good stuff without boring anyone. ;) hope I'm doing okay so far!

Also… cobalt! Thanks for making me notice, Maverick Point, it's just that cobalt, in Spanish, means a kind of bronze :)

-I wonder wether I could convince them that with each review Booth will remove a piece of clothing? Hmmm… maybe they don't realise I live half the world away from him!- Muahahahahaha!

CHAPTER 4: Partners vs. Therapist

"Although the Bureau appreciates the fine work done by both Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan during the course of their investigations, it is my duty to inform you that the Brennan-Booth partnership is officially severed, and that you, ..."

They met halfway. For once, they met halfway and the questions burning inside of them poured out without restraint. What had happened? Did the other know anything? What would they do? When they could both draw a breath and calm down, they decided to do what they had always done best. They decided to solve the case.

Four days earlier…

She wasn't exactly smiling, but her eyes shone a little, not too much, he hadn't decided on the intensity yet. A 50 Watt bulb, maybe? Or the soft glow of a dimly lit room? He wondered whether asking her to look at him would sound bad, and then realised it would be bad, because he was driving and, lately, it was incredibly… distracting… if she watched him.

She glanced at him, and he seemed to be concentrating on something. It was not the first time she asked herself what he was thinking. If only she could see into his mind, then everything would be clear. If only that wasn't a physical impossibility.

He parked the car he never let her drive and they got out, for once, not speaking. It had been a quiet trip, and they both wondered why.

*

"Doctor Lenney."

"Doctor Brennan. Agent Booth, please sit down."

He had known, of course, that Booth would take the right side and Brennan the left. He hadn't known they would sit as far away from each other as the couch permitted.

"We've already spoken separately and I'm quite confident that I've managed to correct Dr Sweets' notes, but it's necessary to speak with you together."

"Why? I'm the same person whether Booth is here or not. And my answers to any questions will remain the same."

"I'd like to observe how you relate, Dr Brennan. Live interaction is important."

She seemed to think about it, and then nodded.

"Yes, I understand. Of course it's a necessity."

Booth, who had been silent through all this, now glanced at Dr Lenney with apprehension. He wasn't going to apologise for what he'd done, and hoped the doctor wasn't going to punish him for that in some sick, psychological way.

"First of all, I'd like you both to turn away from each other."

It was a simple question, but their reactions held far from simple answers. Instead of doing as the doctor suggested, Booth seemed to actually turn and face toward Brennan even more, and she looked at her partner for a moment and then frowned, as though she had expected to find the cause of this strange request in his face, but hadn't.

"Why?" she asked, crossing her legs. A gesture not lost on Booth, whose eyes momentarily drifted there.

"On second thought, that won't be necessary." Dr Lenney wrote for a while and his face puckered in concentration. The duo exchanged another glance, this time nervous.

"Dr Brennan, please stand up."

This time, she did as he asked without complaining. Brennan found herself reacting nervously every time Dr Lenney wrote something down on his notes, and preferred he not do it.

"Let's talk about the case surrounding the arrest of your father, Dr Brennan."

"Why am I standing?"
"It's an exercise."

"That is not a precise answer, however I suppose it justifies your request. The case surrounding the arrest began when we found human remains on the roof of the Hotel…"

*

An hour later, Booth was driving Brennan home.

"Did you think it was very strange, that he made me stand up and explain, and then he made you stand and tell the same story from your point of view?"

"Yes I did, Bones."

"Me too."

After a short pause…
"It'll be fine, right?" her voice sounded confident, off-hand. And yet she'd asked, so he knew the answer was important.

"Of course. We're partners."

She smiled, and he finally decided how her eyes shone.

"Partners."

They didn't know they only had three more days left.