A/N: So I'll throw this out there right away...This one is smutless. It's been written and ready to post for awhile, but let's face it...I'm lazy. Summer semester and work are kicking my ass. Then I went on vacation and well, I just wanted to kick back and watch baseball and drink beer like any good American. So here I am on the 4th of July posting because it's just too effing hot to go outside and enjoy a day off.

Anyway, it's been pointed out that most (if not all) of these stories focus mostly on Brennan. I suppose that would be because I'm a woman and I identify with Brennan. And well, I just don't feel like I speak Booth very well. The next few are already written and will be posted as soon as I find time to proofread them. After that I suppose I'll give Booth's POV a try if you all are up for it. Probably 5 maybe 6 chapters left then I'll be moving along to something else that's been bouncing around in my head like a ping pong ball (really distracting when you're trying to do school work).

Tag for 02x10 The Headless Witch in the Woods

[Booth has arrested Will, he joins Brennan in her office]
Bones: I sure know how to pick 'em, don't I?
Booth: Well, you know, our perceptions are always colored by what we hope, what we fear, what we love. We do the best we can.
Bones: I'm afraid my best isn't good enough. I can read bones, not people.
Booth: Oh, you know, you had no trouble seeing through me.
Bones: It's a good thing I like being alone.
Booth: You know what, Bones? You're not alone. Okay?
Bones: Booth...
Booth: You're my partner, ok? It's a guy hug. Take it.

Brennan took the guy hug. And she knew it should be just a hug. She shouldn't feel this way about her partner. Regardless of what she knew Brennan let herself let go for just a minute. She wondered...no she hoped that if she allowed herself this one concession that she'd be able to pick up and compartmentalize these rather unpartnerly feelings she'd been feeling about her partner.

Booth gave the guy hug. And he knew full well that it wasn't just a hug. He shouldn't feel this way about his partner. But really, it didn't matter what he knew. In that moment he let himself hug his partner, really hug her. He hoped that, that hug would be enough. It would have to be.

Finally Brennan gathered herself and started to pull away. The problem with that; however, was that Booth wasn't ready to let go. And so he didn't. This of course caused Brennan's fight or flight response to kick in. Actually it was more like a fight and flight response because she immediately and violently extracted herself from Booth's grip.

"What the hell, Bones?" He questioned from the floor.

It hadn't actually occurred to her that Booth was going to give her exactly what she'd been dreaming of—literally dreaming of—for the better part of a year and a half.

"I-I...I uh..." Brennan turned on her heel and walked out of her office leaving one very confused Booth on the floor to collect himself.

Brennan took off across the lab and made a beeline for the Jeffersonian parking garage before deciding that, that's exactly where Booth would go looking for her first. She made another turn and headed for the bathroom. She couldn't go to Angela's office. That would require explanation and Booth could easily find her there. There really wasn't any other area that she was intimately familiar with where Booth couldn't access her. So, bathroom it was.

This is totally and completely irrational. Why am I hiding from Booth? Because he wouldn't let me go? Because he was hugging me? Logically, neither of those reasons should have caused the chain of events that just occurred. You were enjoying the hug. You wanted more. He gave more. You dropped him on the floor and left without answering the question he was well within his rights to ask. What is wrong with you?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of the door as it opened just a few inches. Brennan had expected Angela's head to poke through the door, or maybe even Cam's much as she disliked the woman. She assumed Booth would find someone to look for her in the places he couldn't go.

"Bones? You in there?" He didn't dare look inside for fear that someone other than Brennan was inside.

Brennan stood stock still next to the couch in the lounge area. Why is there even a couch in here? Probably for instances like this when women hide from men for totally irrational reasons.

"Bones. I know you're in there." His voice came again through the cracked door. "Your car is still in the parking garage and you're not in Limbo or Angela's office."

"It's Modular Bone Storage, Booth." Shit. Cover blown.

Brennan continued to stand just out of sight hoping Booth would just go away and knowing that would never happen.

"Are you alone in there, Bones?"

"No." Came her reply.

"See, here's the thing, Bones. You don't lie. Therefore, when you do lie, it's immediately obvious." Booth poked his head through the cracked door to confirm his suspicions. When he determined that Brennan was indeed alone he slipped inside and locked the door.

Brennan stared at him. Frozen in place. Totally unsure of what would or should happen next. She knew she owed Booth an explanation for dropping him on the floor. All things considered she had really, really overreacted when Booth failed to let go of her.

Logically Brennan couldn't figure out why she'd reacted that way. Sure Booth had, had to convince her to accept the hug, but once he'd hugged her she'd actually found herself enjoying it. She'd wanted the hug to continue. So why had she, in the vernacular, freaked out? She was generally averse to casual physical contact, but that's not really what this was. Booth regularly invaded her personal space, so that couldn't have been it either. It definitely wasn't the Gravedigger ordeal. After that she'd actually almost craved physical contact, particularly with Booth. The only other possibility was that she was afraid of what would happen if Booth knew she was enjoying the hug, that she wanted more. Was that really it?

Booth could almost see the wheels turning in his partner's head. Whatever was going on she was doing her best to process and compartmentalize in typical Brennan fashion. He watched her for a moment before slowly advancing. He came to a stop a few feet in front of her. By this time Brennan had taken a seat on the couch.

"Bones?" He asked softly. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"There are many processes occurring in the human brain at any given—"

"That's not what I mean and you know it." He chided gently. "Was it the hug? Too much? I should have—"

Now it was her turn to interrupt. "No!" She said with just a little too much force. "I just...It's just...I don't know..." Brennan nearly melted back into the couch.

"Can I?" Booth gestured to the couch and Brennan nodded. "I'll never understand why there are couches in women's bathrooms."

Brennan chuckled. "Well we've got that in common."

"Good. Things in common are good. Talking. Talking is good." Booth was rambling nervously. "Look Bones...I'm sorry. About earlier. I guess I got a little carried away. It was just supposed to be a guy hug. I let it go to long. I just...The thing with the Gravedigger. That was hell. Then the brother in this last case. I...I know you liked him and... Well, I just felt like I wasn't protecting you like partners do. I let the Gravedigger get you and then I let you go out with that guy even though my gut told me not to let you do it."

Brennan listened quietly as Booth finished his little speech. She was as surprised as he was that she hadn't interrupted him. So what if Booth's gut told him not to let her go out with that guy. He had no evidence. And the issue with the Gravedigger well that was just ridiculous. Even if Booth had been there it would have ended with the two of them buried in that car rather than her and Hodgins. However, uncharacteristically she found that she couldn't say any of this to Booth in that moment.

Instead Brennan did something that shocked them both. She turned to Booth and hugged him. She pulled him to her and buried her face in his shoulder inhaling his scent. Before she could reign it, in a sob escaped her.

"Whoa, Bones." He said, surprised. "It's okay."

Booth shifted on the couch so he could put his arms around her pulling her closer to him. Before he realized what he was doing Booth dropped a kiss on Brennan's head as he tried to sooth away whatever was bothering her. Brennan tensed in his arms which caused Booth to tense. After a few seconds she lifted her head to look at him.

"Booth." It was almost a whisper.

"Come on, Bones. Tell me what's wrong." Please don't run away again.

"I...The hug...I just..."

Booth sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have done that. I'm—"

"No, Booth." Brennan sniffed. "I wanted the hug. I wanted..."

"Bones." He chuckled. "It's okay to want a hug. You didn't have to body slam me because you wanted a hug." He said jokingly.

"No, Booth" She repeated. "I wanted more than just a guy hug." It was out before she could reapply the filter between her brain and mouth. Once she realized what she'd said she dropped her gaze and started to pull away.

Relatively certain he wouldn't be dumped on the floor this time Booth grabbed for his partner again to stop her from running. "Don't go."

Brennan froze and turned to look at Booth confusion plastered on her face. "Booth...I...we." She wasn't sure what she was trying to say, but it was definitely some excuse for why they couldn't do this despite that fact that this was the only thing she wanted to be doing.

Booth, figuring at this point she wouldn't hurt him too badly, decided to take his chances. He reached out to her and pulled her close again. "Bones." He whispered. His hand came up to cup her cheek and pull her gently to him.

He kissed her. Gently at first; but Brennan who did nothing half way, poured herself into the kiss after she recovered from the initial shock that was her partner's lips on hers. Booth's tongue slide across Brennan's lower lip asking for access. She immediately opened up to him as their tongues dueled for dominance. The kiss continued for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time before the partners came up for air.

Booth rested his forehead on Brennan's as he tried to catch his breath. "Bones." He panted. "Don't run. Please don't run from this. From us."

Brennan's eyes were wide with shock at Booth's ability to read exactly what was going on in her mind. "I won't." She answered softly.

They sat that way for a few moments before they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Bren?" Came Angela's muffled voice. "I know you're in there. You're the only one who would still be here this late. What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Nothing, Ange." She forced her voice to sound normal. "I'll be out in a moment. Could you grab my bag out of my office and we'll leave?"

"Sure, sweetie." Angela grinned. She knew Booth had gone to find Brennan after she'd unceremoniously dumped him on the floor after that hug that just radiated sexual tension. "Whatever you and Agent Sexy are doing in there, I expect details, and I expect hot details since this door is locked." She commented after jiggling the handle.

"Ange!" Brennan shrieked before collapsing into a fit of laughter with Booth.

"Well, this'll be all over the lab before tomorrow morning." He chuckled as a blush tinged his cheeks and the tips of his ears. He leaned in to kiss Brennan once more before helping her up.

"Oh, Booth. You don't give her enough credit. The entire Jeffersonian Institute will be well aware of the events of this evening before we come in tomorrow morning." She returned his kiss and took his hand as she stood up.

Booth smiled as he considered that fact that she'd said 'before we come in tomorrow morning.' He took her hand and led her out of the bathroom and into the arms of a clearly delighted Angela Montenegro.