Guys, I'm SO sorry that I haven't been able to reply to any reviews this time. But you know why that is? It's because I've been writing THIS so quickly! So please forgive me? ;)

I want to take this moment to thank you all awesomely for being… well… so awesome! This story is getting so much attention, and I'm really flattered so many of you guys like it! Seriously, THANK YOU!!!

PS. Hero wasn't perfect, but I really loved some of the moments in it. My favourite being Booth standing with the woman Teddy loved but never told, and Booth seeing Teddy's ghost standing with the woman Booth loved but never told (YET!).

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CHAPTER 17

"Queen isn't enough."

"What?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "You… queen isn't enough. You are…"

"So I'm more frigid? More insensitive?"

"What?"

"Colder, Booth? Is that what you meant? I'm assuming 'ice' is in reference to my lack of social tact and direct nature? Well thank you! Thank you very much for saying I should be more than a queen!"

He looked horrified.
"No! No, that's not what I meant! Bones, I told you I don't agree with those guys! I meant that queen will never be enough for you. Forget ice… you… how could you think I would ever… you're fire, Bones, not ice."

I took a step back, to save myself. But it was too late.

"You… you are perfect. You're not pompous or sit on a throne, that's why queen isn't an adjective that defines you! You have passion, and you're smart and you manage to make me laugh even though you know about the harshness of life better than anyone else. You are beautiful, but your grace, that beauty is… worthy of a better word."

I couldn't speak.

"That's why queen isn't… enough. Forget the ice."

If only I could remember it.

*

"Brennan what's wrong?" Angela's voice sounded concerned, not annoyed this time. I held the phone to my ear with my shoulder, because I was trying to get dressed for the wretched party while talking to my friend, something harder to accomplish than may seem.

"I'm just tired, Angela. I'll see you now, right?"

"Of course. I'm already dressed and about to leave, unlike others."

"Sorry. I'll see you in twenty minutes, okay?"

"Okay. Just let me say something first."

"What is it, Ange?"

"I think you're worried. I don't know why, so don't ask me, but something's happened and it has to do with Booth, of course… but I've decided it's up to you to tell me. When you're ready, you will, that's that. But Bren, tonight, if that's what you're afraid of, of seeing him tonight, I'll help, okay? I'll be there all the time if you need me."

I nodded, then realised I was speaking on the phone.

"Thank you, Angela."

More than ever, I felt the unlikely bond between me and the artist grow.

I hung up the phone and glanced at myself in the mirror. Fear was what had made me do what I'd done, which was try and look as beautiful as I could. Fear that Booth would suffer less than I. Fear that tonight, with water falling from the sky and the sunset obscured by clouds, would be our downfall.

Another image, clear as my reflection staring back with fear in her eyes, came into my mind. It was me, dressed exactly as I was now, standing on white marble steps, not ascending or descending, simply there.

I was soaked. My hair no longer elegantly combed, my blue dress no longer swishing around my thighs when I moved. I was barefoot, and my high heeled shoes lay discarded on a side, shining blue against the pale steps.

I breathed, and that was the only sound in this strange world.

*

"Dr Brennan, thank you."

I nodded at Cam but didn't stay to talk to her, because being here was the absolute last thing I wanted, and it was her fault. She was conversing with two older men who clearly held a high position in the Jeffersonia, and who I in fact knew, but had no respect for right now.

We'd worked all evening yesterday, and all of today, and the only progress we'd made had been discovering the model of the knife used to murder Jeanie Whitmore. Which turned out to be available at any convenience store in the area, and so not helpful.

Angela was standing alone, so I quickly went to her. "Hey Ange."

"Sweetie, you look fantastic. That blue goes with your eyes and… oh I'm speechless!"

I laughed. "You look great too, Angela." She did. Angela was wearing a dark brown dress to just below her knees, and a high ponytail.

"Thanks."

We talked for a while about a music group coming for a concert nearby, and Angela really wanted to go and see them. I wondered whether we'd have found Anne Stoker by that time.

And then she nudged my on the arm and pointed.
"Booth's here, Bren."

I turned to look, and almost dislocated my jaw.

Booth was wearing his usual dark suit and white shirt, but no tie this time. Two buttons had been undone and the delicious V shape made him look younger and… well… incredibly attractive. More so than usual.

When he saw me he didn't look at my eyes. Not for a while.

"Hey Bones."

I chuckled.

"It's polite to make eye-contact when initiating a conversation, Booth."

He did, and I regretted making the observation.

"I'm sorry, Bones." He smiled. "You look very nice."

"As do you."

"Thanks."

Angela cleared her throat loudly.
"Hey, Booth."

"Angela! Looking good. Aren't you going to let the guys in the room make it through the evening without embarrassing themselves by flirting with you?"

"Of course not!" She laughed and sauntered away. I panicked. She'd lied! She said she'd stay with me and she'd lied!

Two FBI Agents who'd also collaborated with the Jeffersonian on a few occasions came toward us, however. They both knew Booth, who was polite and introduced me to them.

"Hey guys, this is Temperance Brennan, my partner."

But not them to me. How strange.

"Wow, so this is the famous IQ."

I rolled my eyes.
"I hope you're aware of the fact that I already know what those letters stand for?"

The Agent who'd spoken laughed, and the one next to him punched him in the arm.

"She got you, Dan."

Dan smiled appreciatively at me and asked Booth:

"So? Is she as smart as everyone says? 'Cause she's definitely hotter than I'd heard."

"Smarter." Booth said proudly.

The other Agent, the one who'd punched Dan, turned to me.

"So is it true that Booth's got a sweet sugary soft spot for you?"

"I… don't know what that means."

"Shut up, Fred."

"Seriously man, how can you concentrate on work with her around?"
"Booth and I are partners." I informed them firmly.

"Is it true you've gone undercover as a couple?"

This was beginning to feel like an interrogation.

"Yes. During a case in Las Vegas…"

"Is it true you kissed him to get a trailer for your convict dad?"

"Hey, easy pal…" Booth began.
"To spend Christmas in, yes, I…"

"And you really aren't a couple?"

"No, we're partners…"

Booth groaned.

"Bones, don't answer these idiots, okay? Just ignore their stupid questions."

"Wait, just one more!" Fred said, looking at me admiringly. "Dr Brennan, is it true that you've seen Booth naked?"

"What? How can they know that?"

The two men began to clap with broad grins on their faces. "Hell, yeah!" and "Well done Seeley!" could be heard occasionally as well. People were beginning to look our way, and Angela raised her eyebrows at me inquisitively. I felt very lost, and my head began to hurt. What had I done wrong now? Why couldn't I get anything right with people?

I only understood dead bodies. Bones.

"They didn't know that until you just told them, Bones. There was a stupid rumour going around that we'd slept together and..."

"It was a mistake." I said faintly, feeling a twinge of nausea. The Agent's laughter rang loud in my ears, and every clap of their hands sent a throb of pain up my neck. "I didn't know you'd be in the… shower… when I…"

"Bones?"

Booth's concerned face shimmered before my eyes. I swayed where I stood, thinking I should have probably eaten lunch today, or at least breakfast.

"Bones, are you okay?"

His arms around me.

The laughter loud, too loud…

Booth…

I fainted.

*

"Bones. Bones!"

Waking up to Booth practically lying on top of me was less pleasant than I could have anticipated. Or more, depending on your perspective.

I sat up, noting everyone was standing around me with various degrees of concern on their faces.

"Are you okay, Dr Brennan?" Cam asked.

"Fine. I'm all right."

"You sure, sweetie? You look a bit pale…"

Booth was clutching my shoulders, his face millimetres away. "You had me worried there for a few moments, Bones."

"I should eat."

Of everything I could have said with his breath mixing with mine, I chose the most direct, and the less likely to result in him kissing me. Or me kissing him. With everyone else watching. All around us.

It was hard to remember sometimes that we weren't alone.

"I'm fine, Angela. You can all go back to the party."

"Let's get you something to eat, Bones."

I stood up refusing his help, my dress rustling into place, and took a deep breath. His closeness was confusing to my brain. "Actually, I think I'll get some air. Alone." I said sharply, because when he looked like that nothing prevented me from losing reason completely.

People began sauntering away now that the entertainment was over. I felt relieved, and quickly twisted away from Booth's grip to try and find that cold air that would give me back my rational thoughts.

*

As I walked away from the crowd and went downstairs to the lab, I tried to forget his look of concern. Fainting was nothing. Nothing to being shot, to feeling blood on his hands, fainting was nothing. So he had no right to look like that, no right at all to be so worried and protective. No right make me feel so taken care of, so cared about.

No right!

As I stomped my way past the platform, I noticed a monitor was still on. Taking care to slip my card past the security system, I walked up, heels clicking with every step I took.

It was a simple X-ray someone had forgotten to turn off. I quickly moved to do so myself, but then I realised whose it was.

Jeanie Whitmore's skull. Bashed by the handle of a wooden knife with so much force she'd died. The fractures. The pattern of breaks in the bone which told me the exact angle at which the son of a bitch who'd killed her had struck.

The same son of a bitch who right now could be torturing or killing a young girl. A frightened teenager…

What would the mother do if she saw me like this? Dressed for a party, fantasising about my partner like a schoolgirl…? Would she hit me? I'd deserve it. I'd deserve it all for forgetting about the scared child who, at this very moment, felt a bone-chilling fear beyond anything imaginable. The kind of fear I had once felt.

I'd deserve anything. Fresh air? No air was fresher than the air outside, was it? Who cared about the thunder? About the rain? About some stupid party?

So throwing caution to the air, I ran outside straight into the storm. Unaware of the dark figure following me.

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Caution to the WIND, Bones!

Nope, I'm not asking you to review. I've nailed you guys with requests in every single chap, so this time I'm NOT going to ask you for a review. Nope. I bet you're all too busy, anyway.

Too busy to review a chapter which was written with so much care and thought about you… a chapter written FOR you, really, because reviews are what keep me writing…

See? I'm not asking. I mean, if you want to, sure, I'd be happy. But there's no need. Don't feel forced or anything.

Really.

;)