Booth had been chipping away at the mountain of paperwork on his desk, completely immersed in his work, for the last two hours when Brennan knocked on his door.

Looking up, he smiled, glad for the distraction…and what a terrific, good-looking distraction she was…

He mentally shook himself. "Hey, Bones. What's up?" he asked her lightly.

"I…just wanted to give you this. In person." In her hand she held a familiar yellow-lined paper, folded neatly.

"Oh," Booth was surprised. He stood up, crossing the room to stand in front of her. "Why?"

"Angela has been trying to persuade me to let you read a note of a more personal nature," she explained. "I don't know why. It seems important to her, although I did my best to explain to her the purpose of these notes, which by nature is not personal, but professional, but-"

"Bones," he interrupted her, holding a finger to her lips.

She did a double take, stepping back unconsciously.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Can I- can I see it?"

She studied him for a moment and then silently handed it to him. Looking at her, he unfolded it slowly, his heart beating faster.

The last few weeks had been very odd. The more notes they exchanged, the more little things Booth noticed about her, and the more his thoughts strayed to her when his mind was idle.

He looked down at the paper. He read it quickly, then swallowed and read it again, slowly, buying himself time.

"I don't know how this is at all helpful, but when I asked Sweets if it was a good idea, he seemed to concur with Angela, so I figured I would trust them-"

She babbled occasionally, when she felt uncomfortable or unsure of herself. He looked up at her finally, smiling. She was tense and still talking about their "working relationship."

Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward, placing his lips on hers hesitantly. She stiffened, clearly she hadn't been expecting this. Then, to his surprise, she relaxed and her lips remained firmly pressed against his. The kiss lasted no more than a few seconds, and then she pulled away.

He looked at her. His body and his brain fought an intense battle in the moment that followed, as they stood there, staring at each other. His body screamed at him, Grab her! Kiss her like you mean it and never let go! while his brain told him to apologize and claim insanity while he still could.

In the end, he did neither, because Brennan shook her head as though banishing an irritating insect and then walked out of his office without looking back.

His instinct told him to run after her. He should, and he knew it. He should apologize, promise that it meant nothing and move on. He didn't; he couldn't. Sinking into the nearest chair, Booth sat, completely expressionless, not moving.

----

I'm sorry it's been awhile. I hope the content made up for the time lapse.
On a happier note, THEY'RE BACK!!! Who's excited?!?! I already heart the new season insanely and can't wait for more!! :D
Reviews make me almost as happy as brand new fixes of my favorite FBI agent! ;)