Sincere apologies for not posting this more promptly. The website wouldn't let me upload it yesterday, for some reason! I am overjoyed by the response this story has gotten and the number of alerts on it! That makes me very happy. :) Thanks to everyone for reviewing, it means so much to me. I love hearing your thoughts.

So, without further ado, here it is. More notes at the bottom!

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Four Months Earlier

They had been bickering so much that it was starting to bother people around them. It had already been a tense, difficult week, and at the moment they were stuck in the middle of a case relating to the sexual abuse and deaths of at least three children. That was why Booth was acting so distant, she was sure, but it didn't justify the way he was snapping at Brennan every time she spoke. After the fourth time he gave her a snide retort, she turned on him, eyes blazing, and Angela could hardly blame her.

"Booth, I didn't kill these children," she gestured at the tables holding their tiny remains. "Nor am I the reason we aren't making headway on this case. So stop taking your anger out on me like a temperamental, irrational child." she spat out the last word.

Angela had been showing Hodgins and Cam her drawing of the third victim when this happened, and now they were all staring at the pair silently. Angela knew what would happen next- Booth's blazingly dark eyes would soften, his rigid posture would relax, and he'd apologize and perhaps give her a hug. That was the Booth they had all come to know and love.

Instead, however, he yelled, "You know what, Bones? I think it is your fault. I think there's more information in this evidence, and you and your squint squad here-" he waved a hand toward the three of them, who hastily pretended they weren't watching the exchange "-aren't looking hard enough to find it!" he was towering over her, an intimidating tactic Angela was sure he used on particularly frustrating suspects.

Brennan took a step back, glaring at him. He returned the cold look without saying a word. Then, in an instant, Booth turned on his heel and stalked away, off of the platform and through the double doors.

Angela watched as Brennan walked off in the other direction, heels clacking on the floor as she made her way to her office. She, Cam, and Hodgins just looked at each other for a moment, eyes wide. Angela turned and quickly followed Brennan to her office.

"Sweetie?" she said as she knocked on the open door. "Can I come in?"

Brennan didn't answer, just kept shuffling papers on her desk. Angela could see her eyes shining as she walked over to stand in front of her. "Would you like to talk about what just happened?" she asked gently.

"Not particularly." Brennan said fiercely.

"Whoa, sweetie, don't take this out on me." she said, her hands in the air. "What is going on? You and Booth have been fighting for days. And not even the cute, we're-going-to-get-married-someday, repressed sexual tension fighting." she half joked.

Angela was rewarded with a scathing look from her best friend. "I'm not sure I know what that means." Brennan said.

"Of course you don't, honey. Look, why is Booth so mad? I've never seen him yell at you like that. In fact, he even picked on me, and Hodgins and Cam." she leaned toward Brennan. "Spill."

She sighed heavily and sat down. "I may have implied he was stupid, earlier today."

"What?!" Angela was confused. "You may have implied-"

"Admittedly, it may have been a bit more than an implication." Brennan leaned back and considered something. "Or perhaps it was a… lot more than an implication."

Angela just gaped at her.

"What? He keeps hitting the same dead ends in this case, but he refuses to try a different approach!" she stood back up. "He's so stubborn, and he just will not step back and look at the case from another angle. He insists on blaming our stall in the case on lack of specific evidence, and not on the fact that he won't interrogate Darius Randall! He insists that Connor DeVries is guilty, although there is no evidence to support that conclusion." she took a breath, giving Angela a moment to say something. When she offered nothing, Brennan continued. "He maintains this irrational faith in his instinct. 'Bones, you don't understand, this is my gut. My gut doesn't lie.'" She did a passable albeit humorous impression of Booth.

"Honey, this is Booth. How often is he wrong?" Angela asked.

"That isn't the point! He's wrong sometimes, and this is one of those times!" Brennan said angrily.

"Does it matter? I know this case stresses you out, and it hits him right where it hurts, and you're both frustrated that you haven't solved it and caught the stupid bastard yet. But you will, you always do, and when you're done, you'll want to go out and celebrate with your very hot, very available FBI agent. Right?"

"Perhaps." she agreed grudgingly.

"Good, so go kiss and make up, and quit calling him stupid. It's that easy!" Angela said happily.

"Thanks, Ang. I know I can always count on you for completely unbiased advice."

"Wow, was that sarcasm from our own Dr. Temperance Brennan? Impressive!" Angela smiled as she walked out of the office, not offended in the slightest.

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She sighed as she watched Angela walk out of the office. She sat back down, slowly, and put her head in her hands. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as Angela made it sound. She had really hurt Booth, and he had in turn hurt her back.

They'd been getting on each other's last nerve for a few weeks now. It wasn't just the case, it was something else. She didn't know what- Booth was the feelings guy, after all- but it hadn't gone away like she had expected. Instead, things had been distant and strained between them, both waiting for the other to apologize.

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Booth blew quickly past the people scurrying around on the way to his office, slamming the door behind him and throwing himself into his chair. He was so angry with her. It bothered him that he could speak that way to her- and her team- and feel no guilt. Not yet, anyways. He was sure that in awhile- a few hours, or perhaps even minutes- he would have to call her and apologize. No, that wouldn't suffice, he'd have to go back over there.

But how could he? He knew that although he was overwhelmingly angry right now, that was just masking a fresher, deeper hurt. Bones was a genius, he had accepted that fact long, long ago. He knew he wasn't even half as intelligent as her, but hearing her say it so harshly had gone straight to his core. She had sounded so blazingly spiteful, and as per usual, she was right. She was always right, for God's sake. It defined her. She was Dr. Temperance Brennan, and she was right.

But heart, intuition, gut, that was his arena, his playing field. The sole fact that she was edging into his territory bothered him, and then to call him out and tell him that he was wrong? Why couldn't she stay in the lab, doing her squint-y things, and let the dirty work be done by him? Because she's Bones, he reminded himself. And even if she belongs in the lab, she could still be right.

They spent so much time together than sometimes he believed his conscience had taken on her voice. When he was deeply muddled by his own judgments, his own errors, her voice inside him gently (and sometimes not so gently) reminded him of the other side of things.

But he was so sure he was right about this! His gut told him DeVries was one bad dude, no matter what the evidence said. He had such a strong feeling about this guy, and he couldn't shake it for the life of him. That didn't give Bones the right to belittle him like she did.

But he had turned around and done the same thing. She hurt him, so he hit her back, hard, ratcheting up the tension as he blamed her for his ineptitudes. He knew it was his fault this guy was out there, and he couldn't stomach it.

He waited a respectful hour, then picked up his phone and called her.

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Her phone buzzed, and she immediately knew it was him. She didn't even have to look at it- it was like even her cell phone sounded more irritating when he was the person on the other end. She ignored it.

----

Fine, so she was ignoring him. Two could play at that game. He wasn't going to be the one to come crawling back to her, because it wasn't always his fault. The squint squad would call if they had any leads, after all.

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OK, I know... I didn't really give you the answers you were looking for quite yet. Soon, I promise. :) I may post the next installment this evening...
-Hanna