Disclaimer: Bones and its affiliated characters do not belong to me. I mean no copyright infringement. There are quotes from the episode that do not belong to me. I've interjected thoughts, altered scenes and added scenes.

A Blizzard of Confessions, Wishes, and Promises

Chapter 2: The Frozen Peas for Melting Hearts

Sweets came back with a bag of frozen peas for Booth's shoulder. He sat against the fenced wall to hold the bag in place and Brennan settled in beside him.

"Isn't it strange when fate brings people together at right moment?" mused Sweets as he sat on the stairs next to the elevator.

"I don't believe in fate," said Brennan.

"It's not funny," Booth said.

What did Booth mean by that? He's the heart guy. He's the religious guy. He's the guy that believes things always happen eventually. Booth believes in fate. Has that changed?

Sweets wasn't going to give up. "Listen to my point. You find yourselves here."

"Trapped," said Booth.

It didn't deter Sweets. "You could look at it that way… or you could see it as an opportunity."

"Sweets," Booth was getting annoyed. "Stop shrinking around the bush. Just say what it is you want to say."

"What do you think of resuming therapy for one or two months?"

"What?" yelled Booth.

"Why?" asked Brennan.

"No. Forget about why. No. It's not gonna happen. And why would you bring that up now?"

"Let's be honest," said Sweets. "A lot has happened over the past few months. Now I know that Hannah's presence has stirred up a lot of feelings between you."

Booth's hands balled up into fists. "Stop! Right there!"

"I agree," said Brennan.

Sweets surprised them when he didn't back down. Maybe it was because Booth was stuck in the elevator and couldn't walk away from him. "No. Because I care about you. Both of you."

"You know what?" Booth grabbed the bag of peas from his shoulder. "Stop or I'll hit you with the frozen peas."

But Sweets continued. "I know that you've been forthcoming about your feelings for each other in the past."

"The past is the past," Booth said sternly.

"But as a couple…"

Brennan interrupted. "No. Booth and I are not a couple."

"I understand. I'm just saying that…"

"Stop! Just stop! Alright. Just listen to my words. It is…. Over!" His anger had been escalating since Sweets sat down and started to talk with them. And Booth sent the frozen bag of peas sailing towards Sweets. The bars broke the bag wide open and peas flew in all directions.

"Don't you ever mention Hannah, again! Understand?"

Brennan felt a little out of place in the argument, but ultimately she was worried about her best friend. Booth didn't deserve to be treated that way. He was obviously still hurting. He may not even believe in fate, anymore. Perhaps when he said he was done with women, it was his way of agreeing that love is ephemeral. He wasn't supposed to be learning from her. She was learning from him. She spent months alone in the Maluku Islands examining her life with Booth and his beliefs in his metaphorical heart.

Sweets was the psychologist. Why couldn't he see what Booth needed? Looking back and forth between the two men, Booth's guarded face looked like it was made of stone and Sweets looked guilty and rejected.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Sweets had been smart and left them alone. The partners sat in silence for about ten minutes. "Listen Bones, I'm sorry for letting my anger get out of control. I hope I didn't scare you in any way. Are we still good?"

"Do you mean are we staying partners?" He chuckled and nodded. "Well, then yes. We're good."

"Good. That's Good."

Brennan asked him a question hesitantly. "Can I talk to you about Cam without you getting too upset?"

"Why Cam?"

"Because I thought you used to be really good friends."

"We are good friends. What's this all about?"

"She's more of a neutral person." Booth's mind was full of questions. "I'm worried about you Booth. And it's not my place to help you."

"Bones, I was wrong to give you that ultimatum. When I said partners, I assumed we could be partners and friends like we always have been. Friends help each other."

"Not this time, Booth. Sweets was right about one thing. HB affected our working relationship."

Booth's eyebrows lifted and he wore a smirk. "HB?"

"You don't want to hear her name. Maybe Cam can help you get through all the confusing feelings and thoughts about yourself, and women in general."

"Bones, please," he begged. "You promised."

"I know. But it's disturbing to see you change the beliefs you've had your whole life." She felt like she was risking a lot talking to him like this, but she cared too much not to miss the opening Sweets made.

"You're in pain. Here. Sit between my legs and let me massage your sore muscles."

She was glad when he didn't even hesitate. "Bones, that feels really good. I can feel my body relaxing already."

"The stress can exasperate an injury. If I can relieve some of that, I want to."

After a few quiet moments, Brennan tried to make her suggestion one more time. "You know, if you do talk to Cam, it could keep Sweets off your back."

Booth snorted. "I don't think that's possible."

"Anything's possible. Cam can push him away."

"Anything is possible? What did you do with the Temperance Brennan I know?"

"She's been evolving while you weren't looking."

That hurt. "I feel like I've let you down. I've changed, too, but not for the better."

"I'm not sure what you think you've done wrong, but you need to forgive yourself so everything can feel right again, so you're romanticized beliefs can return."

"Why are you encouraging that when you don't have many of the same beliefs?

"First of all, you're the man who became everything to me. The man I'd do anything for even if it meant having regrets, letting you go so you can be happy, and running away so I wouldn't burden you. Secondly, you reminded me before we left that everything would change. It's evolution. I've been evolving since I was in the Maluku Islands. I got what I wanted and needed. Time and space."

It was a lot to take in for Booth. And his head was starting to hurt from the referred pain in his shoulder. "I need to think about what you just said. I owe that to both of us. But right now, my head is starting to throb. I wish I had my pillow and soft bed. I guess you're right, these chairs were a stupid idea. This is all my fault."

"So now you're taking credit for the blizzard?"

"Don't make me laugh. My head hurts."

"I've got an idea. It's not the best plan, but it might be better than no plan. I can fold up one of the blankets on my lap and you can use it as a pillow. Use the other blanket to keep yourself as warm as possible."

"How do you expect to stay warm?"

"I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about. I'm just as much an alpha-female as you are an alpha-male. And in this situation, I win."

He chuckled again. "Stop that," he said softly.

"Stop what?"

"Making me laugh."

"I don't understand what was funny. The colder you get, the tenser you'll become. If you tense your muscles, then you'll increase your pain."

"You said you get to win this time. Bones, how often do I actually get to win an argument?"

"That's impossible for me to answer, Booth. I don't count those kinds of things. To make a guess about something that occurs without physical markers would be foolish."

"Squint!"

"Eyes."

"Eyes?"

"Glasses."

"No way, not that game."

"Yes way."

"Wrong."

"Right."

"Left."

"Left-overs."

"Boring."

"Paper work"

"Wait, paper work is boring?"

"You don't like it either."

"Well, that's technically true. But when I do it with you, it goes much quicker. And the view is beautiful."

Brennan half snorted and half laughed. "Are you sure it isn't the Thai food that makes it better?"

"Well, that helps, too."

"Maybe Sweets won't show his face around here for awhile. You can try and sleep a little. Don't think that you have to entertain me."

Booth didn't think it would be possible to sleep. He was uncomfortable. The floor was hard and Brennan was too close. "Are you trying to get me to stay quiet? Because as nice as this is to be able to lie down, it's not comfortable enough to actually sleep."

"I would have thought you'd have slept in worse conditions in Afghanistan."

She caught me there. "The sand is better than concrete. And I wasn't anxious about sleeping with my head on your lap."

"No. I'm a poor substitute." She gasped. Will I ever learn to stop being so blunt and selfish? "I'm sorry. We finally get rid of Sweets and I've said something about her twice now."

"Bones, we've been partners for years. I know how you operate and you didn't refer to her to try and fix me or hurt me."

All was silent for a few moments. He closed his eye to feign sleep to remove the uneasiness that had settled in. When Brennan started to run her fingers through his hair, he thought that maybe he would be able to sleep. "That feels nice, Bones. I might be able to sleep after all."

As she continued to lightly massage his head, he thought about the things she'd said over the past several minutes. He couldn't let her believe she was a substitute for Hannah. She wasn't second best. She would never be a consolation prize… if they ever did have a more intimate relationship.

"Bones?" He hadn't opened his eyes yet, and after a few moments, he wondered why she hadn't responded. When he looked at her, he found that she had closed her eyes. He hated to disturb her, but…

"Bones?" he said just a little louder. She looked at him with her beautiful blue eyes. "You're not a substitute." He waited a few moments to let that soak in. "You're not a substitute. She was."

Brennan had so many questions. Over the past few months, his life had been full of contradictions. She wondered if that was upsetting him more than losing Hannah.

Booth interrupted her thoughts with one of his own. "Do you think it's possible for us to be together one day?"

Author's Notes: Wow! I'm honored by how much attention this story has received through alerts, favorites, and reviews. Thank you!

OooopsAmObsessed, Lady-josie, SouthunLady, mendenbar, PotterLover1996, Boneslover10, talo0518, and JET1967… Thank you for the quick encouragement. I was happy to read that it was sweet and funny with good banter. On the topic of Sweets, he has annoyed me most of the season. But without him in the elevator episode, I'm not sure B&B would be moving in the right direction, yet. So maybe one day I'll be able to forgive him. LOL

I hope you enjoyed the second chapter, too!