Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, but I am obsessed!

Author's Note: So, I was on Google Docs the other day and realized that I hadn't updated this story in 26 days. Oops. It then took me another five days to come up with a chapter. I started writing a different word, but then this story popped out instead. Enjoy.

Chapter Sixteen: Torschlusspanik

Torschlusspanik: German – Translated literally, this word means "gate-closing panic," but its contextual meaning refers to "the fear of diminishing opportunities as one ages."

"You are grumpy."

Booth looked up from his drink to glare at his partner. "Thanks, Doc. Where are Dopey and Happy?"

Brennan's eyebrow raised, "Who?"

Booth shook his head and took a sip of his drink. "Sweets and Angela, where'd they go?"

"Sweets is over at the bar, introducing himself to the woman in the red dress. And I believe Angela is checking in with Hodgins. He was supposed to be here over an hour ago. He is trying to use the excuse that Michael was throwing a tantrum, but Angela doesn't believe him."

Booth took another sip of his drink. "Yeah, well, we all know how he feels about big wig parties and rubbing elbows with these kinds of people at these kind of shindigs. Believe me, if I didn't have to be here, I wouldn't be." He gulped his scotch, grimacing as the alcohol poured down his throat.

"Why are you in such a sour mood?" Brennan asked, genuinely concerned.

Only tonight, Booth didn't want her concern. He didn't want to explain things to her. Booth's voice was harsh in its reply. "I'm not allowed to be in a bad mood?" Brennan looked as if he had slapped her, and he instantly regretted his tone. "I'm sorry, I'm just not in the mood to be here."

Brennan frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be having fun? Isn't this a party?"

Booth groaned. Apparently, he wasn't going to get out of explaining things to Brennan tonight. "Yes, but it's a retirement party."

"I don't understand, Agent Reilly is your friend. None of us would be here if it wasn't for your relationship with him."

Booth lowered his head and shook it. "Yeah, but Sam. It's just... I can't believe that he's retiring, that he's walking away."

Brennan finally sat herself on the stool next to Booth, pulling the half empty drink out of his hands and setting it at her side. It was still within his reach, but he didn't want to test her. She placed her own glass of water in his hand, urging him to drink it. "Well, he is quite advanced in years. He is an accomplished agent, he can be proud of the cases that he has solved, and enjoy some peace and quiet. In fact, he told me earlier that he plans on taking up fishing."

Booth snorted into his water glass. "Fishing, that's what he's going to be reduced to? Fishing?"

"It is a very popular past-time Booth, I don't know why you would feel so indignant over his life choices. It was his decision."

"I'm indignant because he trained me, he's one of the best agents that I've ever known, and he's just walking away. How can he just give up?"

"Give up? Booth, he isn't giving up. He's been here for decades, he's been as dedicated and driven as any other agent here. He's obsessed over cases, just like us. He's almost gone too far, just like we have on occasion. It's his time."

Booth fingered the rim of the now empty glass before pushing it out of his way. "Is that what you think of us?"

"I don't understand."

"That one day, we are just going to say, 'OK, we did it, that's enough. Let's go home?' Is it going to be that easy to walk away?"

Brennan signaled a waiter, grabbing two new glasses of water off of his tray before addressing her partner. In all of their years of partnership, she had grown better at understanding his emotions. She sipped from her own cool glass and faced the agent. "No, of course it isn't. Is this why you are so upset? You are thinking about your own retirement? Booth that is years, maybe even decades away."

Booth ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know. Maybe. We've been doing this for so long, what are we going to do when it's over?"

Brennan sighed his name, "Booth."

"Yeah, I mean, how long are we realistically going to be able to remain partners, to do what we do? Hell, I'm in my forties and my bones creak like I've already got one foot in the grave. And I saw the look on your face when you got that invite to dig the other day. You were interested. I saw the glint in your eye."

"I haven't made any decisions yet."

"Right, yet. You are still thinking about it. You want to go."

"Well, I'll say no, if it means that much to you."

Booth finally reached over and grabbed his scotch back, downing the remains, before turning apologetically back to his partner. "That's not the point."

"Then what is your point?"

"I'm not getting any younger. I won't always be Special Agent Seeley Booth. I'm not always going to be out in the field, solving murders. All of this," Booth gestured around the room, where agents were grouped together, and his own team was huddled, "Is just going to go away."

Brennan placed her hand on his forearm, and again called his name softly. He barely heard her as he kept going on his tirade. "And us, you and me. God, we have an expiration date. Someday, maybe soon, I'm going to be shuttled over to some desk job, and then you'll go crawling back to your basement, and we'll be two ships passing in the night."

Brennen squeezed his arm, quirking an eyebrow. "You are mixing your metaphors."

Booth's eyes shifted over to his partner. "I'm pouring out my heart here, and you are focusing on my grammar."

Brennan would have laughed if it wasn't for the seriousness of his expression. "I'm sorry. But, Booth, you are being melodramatic. Yes, someday we will retire. I know that we can't be out in the field forever. But, we've talked about this before. Someday, we will have to make the decision to walk away, that we've done enough. And we have to trust that those that we've trained can take up the mantle and continue to bring justice to the world."

She paused to take a breath, "But even when we are one day no longer work partners, it won't be the end of us. We are more than coffee, aren't we?" Brennan gave him a soft smile, nudging his shoulder with her own, hoping that he too would remember how they once defined their relationship.

Of course he remembered their first sessions with Sweets. "Yeah, we are more than coffee. Even if there were no more murders..."

She continued where he left off. "We're more than coffee. We're..."

"Partners. Always." Booth reached out his hand and pulled Brennan close, releasing the tension of the evening, silently apologizing for his sullen behavior.

Brennan leaned her head on his shoulder, accepting his unspoken apology. "Yes, always."

Booth kissed his partner's forehead and reached down to toy with the ring on his partner's hand. "I'm sorry that I was so grumpy tonight."

She leaned more heavily onto his side, inhaling his calming scent. "Are you feeling better now?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I'm more than just my job right?"

"Of course you are a superb FBI agent, but that doesn't solely define who you are. You are also a great father, a good brother, an excellent friend, and a fine husband."

"Just fine?" At his teasing tone, Brennan sat up and pushed him. He nearly fell off of his stool at her force. "Kidding, Bones. I'm just kidding. Come on, Sweetheart, let's go say hello to our friends. I see Hodgins has finally arrived."

Brennan stood, still admonishing him, even as she wrapped an arm around his waist. "Just because I am feeling sorry for you doesn't mean that you can use unapproved nicknames."

Booth placed his own hand at her back and grinned. "Right, Babe. Oh, looks like Sweets is getting that girl's phone number. Our baby duck is growing up."

"You are being ridiculous."

Booth's steps halted. "You know what, I've changed my mind."

Brennan stopped along side him, "You have?"

"Instead, I want to kiss my beautiful wife in front of all of our friends, and then I want to take her home and kiss our little girl good-night. And then I want to take my partner to bed and ravish her."

Booth could have sworn that Brennan flushed at the proposition. "Are you sure that you are up for that? That your bones aren't going to creak in your old age?"

Booth leaned over and kissed his wife on her nose, "I'm going to just forget you said that. I am a man in my prime. Now go say good night to our friends, while I say bye to Sam and meet me at the exit in three minutes. We've got a lot of work to do before we retire." He kissed her deeply, while Angela cat-called and Sweets turned scarlet. After a few moments, Booth released her lips and then disengaged to go and find his friend.

He was stopped by Brennan calling his name, "Booth?"

He turned back to face his partner. "Yeah?"

"Make it two minutes."