Scribbles-A Willgirl and AnaG Collaboration

That was oddly sweet and extremely smutty. Good job!

i smut!

It was really smutty, but also very sweet.
And I liked the change of perspective it's always interesting to get to know both sides of the story.
Can't wait for next week!

A/N: Well, this one was interesting. First of all, thank you for all your reviews, and thanks for reading. We both appreciate it. This week's words were: expire and ranger, so we immediately thought of Booth of course. It's pre-show and angsty and I'd like to issue a tissue alert. It's also quite long as well! We hope you enjoy!

Booth leaned closer to the mirror and cautiously pressed the edge of his thumb against his lip. The stinging pain was instant, his breath hissed over his teeth at the first touch. Giving up on the do-it-yourself first aid, he stepped back from the cracked washbasin and appraised the image reflected back at him.

Busted lip. One eye swollen shut. And given the ache in his left kidney, the odds were good that he would be pissing blood for a while. He had to admit, they'd gotten the best of him. Of course, with two goons holding his arms had something to do with it. Not a fair fight or Knuckles wouldn't have gotten the first punch in.

Knuckles, he thought, a chuckle escaping before the split in his lip reminded him that as dumb as the name was, it was well earned. Joe Deluca certainly thought so. Knuckles was his go-to guy when a payment was late. Shaking his head, he spit into the sink, ignoring the tint of blood in the bottom of the basin.

With a sigh, he walked back into his room, grabbed a lukewarm can from the six-pack next to the television. Knocking a pizza box from the edge of the bed, he sat down, absently scratching the stubble along his jaw. He took a long pull from his beer, his eyes traveling the room as he swallowed. Matted carpet that might have been green once upon a time. Orange and purple bedspread that had seen better days even before he'd left it wadded on the floor. Fast food detritus, empty bottles lining the rickety TV stand. The place was a dump.

Only a stop along the way, he told himself. He was only one game away, maybe two, from leaving this shithole behind. He could feel the dice warming up, his luck changing. Soon he'd be flush. On top of the world. That's what he'd tried to tell them, but good old Knuckles wasn't having it. Asshole.

He was so caught up in planning what he would do with his soon-to-be winnings--high roller suite at Caesar's, maybe take that hot waitress from Pat's out dancing--that it took a moment for the knocking on the door to bring him back to earth.

Slowly getting up off the bed, he scanned the room for something sharp. If they were coming back for more, he would at least be ready this time. He silently made his way down the hall and glanced in the peephole. The visitor was worse than anything Joe Deluca could have thrown at him.

It was his father.

He ran his hand through his hair and unchained the lock, swinging the door open to meet the worried eyes of the man he hadn't spoken to in barely a year.

"Hi Dad."

"Seeley." The elder Booth said gruffly, entering the room and surveying the mess with a look of distaste.

"What are you doing here?"

This was all he needed. His father to come here and tell him how to take care of his life. As if them both being in a war meant that he knew all.

"I came to see you. Thought maybe we could grab something to eat?"

He nodded, calculating in his head how much dinner would take from his pot. Maybe he could get his dad to pay. He gestured towards the door and they headed out.

Five minutes later, they were in a local diner, facing each other, not uttering a word.

"How's Mom?" he finally asked, not really wanting to know the answer but feeling the need to fill the unceasing void.

"She's great. Busy as ever, as usual. We had a big family dinner last week for Jared's birthday. Everyone was asking about you."

Booth nodded. "What lie did you tell them?"

"Lee..."

"Forget it Dad, okay?" he said, more harshly then he intended.

Jared was a sore subject. He was the favored son, graduated with honors, great job, great girlfriend. His life was perfect. Of course, he didn't have to go into the miltary like Booth did in order to pay for college. Oh no, Mom and Dad managed to pony up enough money for that on their own. Ironically, he did anyway. Came out a fucking hero of course. Booth knew he hadn't seen a lot of action, not like he had, but it didn't matter. Mom was still all agog over his glory.

He rubbed his eyes and shook his head slightly, as if that would rid him of the persistent headache.

"What do you want Dad?"

He needed to wrap this up quick. He needed to get back to the tables tonight if he was going to have a chance in hell of earning the money back in order to pay Knuckle's boss.

He braced himself for a lecture but instead, his dad just reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, handing it to him.

Booth reached for the paper and realized instantly that it was a cheque, folded in two. His father had brought him money. He opened it up and looked at the amount, his heart pounding rapidly.

It was $10,000. Enough to pay off Deluca and have a bit left over. He was going to be safe.

He grinned in spite of himself. He knew his luck was changing, he just knew.

"Dad, I..."

"Take this money and get yourself out of whatever trouble you're in, son. And then use this."

He handed over a plane ticket.

"Dad...."

The elder Booth got up, dropping a few bills on the table. "Come home son."

And with that, he was gone.

Booth fingered the plane ticket and then tucked it into his pocket, along with the cheque. The first thing he was going to do was head to a bank. Then he would pay off Deluca and figure out what to do next. Maybe head home, maybe cash in the ticket for someplace else, who knew.

As he walked along the strip, his eyes darted to the casinos and the revelatory on the streets. He thought of the cheque, burning a hole in his pocket. $10,000 was good. But it wasn't quite good enough. Not if he really wanted to make a new start. He needed more than that.

All he needed was a few games of craps, right? He could turn that $10,000 into 50 grand and then he would never have to play again. He veered right into the MGM Grand and his grin widened. He could do this.


xxxxxxxxxx

He watched the runway speeding by, rising up to meet the wheels of the plane as it touched down with a jarring thud. The plane taxied into the terminal, sliding past other jets, baggage handlers scurrying around in their carts. The inside of the cabin was filled with the sounds of seatbelts clicking and people shuffling their bags. But he was numb to all of it, his mind still replaying the image of the dealer raking in the last of his chips, the look in the other man's eyes. Loser.

"Welcome to Dulles International Airport. The temperature today is...."

The tinny squawk from the front of the cabin finally brought him closer to the surface, and he rose from his seat. On auto-pilot, he reached into the overhead bin, trying to ignore the light weight of his bag, the faded and worn olive-green fabric. All he had left to call his own. Everything else had been left on a felt table, tossed away with one roll of the dice. Everything gone. Including his pride.

He blinked rapidly, realizing that he'd made it into the terminal in some sort of fugue state, no idea how he had gotten there. People swirled around him. Lugging suitcases, herding kids. Families loudly greeting each other at the gates, their happiness ringing loud and true.

Shoving his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket, he pushed the thought of family away. Even if he had shown up in Pittsburgh, he knew that he couldn't face them. His mother brightly avoiding any hint of the failure hovering around him, Dad not bothering to hide his disappointment. The smug undertone to anything that came out of Jared's mouth.

Bypassing the baggage carosels, he wandered out to the line of taxis. A cabbie motioned him over, but he just shook his head. He knew he need to move, but he had no destination. Had chosen D.C. because it was the next available flight out of McCarren.

Booth began walking, vaguely hoping that some sort of answer might cross his path. Something thumped against his shoulder, and at him limit, turned to tell off whoever it was that had hit him. Instead, he found himself staring open-mouthed at the face of young kid, his head boot-camp skint and overstuffed duffle hanging from his shoulder.

" 'Scuse me, sir," the kid said.

"No, uh, no problem."

He was still standing there, long after the soldier had disappeared into a waiting car. And then, slowly, reluctantly, he reached for his wallet, sliding his fingers through the few worn bills, past a useless, expired credit card from a time when things were better. Finally, he withdrew a smudged scrap of paper, a single name and number scrawled across its crease.

Once a Ranger, always a Ranger they said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

15 minutes later he was a in a cab and headed towards the suburbs of D.C. He fiddled with a poker chip, flipping it between his hands and rolling it around. It was his last chip. He had lost his money and later, after heading back to his room, he found it on the bedside table. His urge to spend it was tempered by the fact that he couldn't even place a real bet with it. And as he rushed out of the room, anxious to avoid another bout with Deluca's guys, he reached for it and put it in his pocket, just in case.

Now, as he looked at it, he felt his heart sink. He didn't know what he was doing here. Part of him wanted to tell the cabbie to turn around and head back but he wouldn't be able to afford it.

Plus, he didn't have anywhere to go.

He sighed and resigned himself to whatever was coming next. Maybe Hank would let him stay a few nights until he got his shit together. What that meant, he wasn't sure. He was already itching to go back to the tables and it hadn't even been a full day. He just needed to find a way to turn his luck around. He was so close this time, he could taste it.

The cab slowed and pulled to the side of the road in front of a red brick house.

"That'll be $27.50". The cabbie said.

"What?" he said, squeezing his hands into fists. He only had $21.00 and now he had to convince this cabbie that it was good enough.

"$27.50." The cabbie repeated, tonelessly.

"Umm...well..." He reached in and pulled out the $20 in his pocket. "All I have is..."

A rap at the window caused him to look up and he saw Hank smiling at him.

He nodded and gave what he hoped was a smile back before turning to the cabbie.

"Look, can we make a deal or something...." His tone was desperate and as he clutched the $20 bill in his hand, he blinked hard. He had $10,000. More than that before and now it was gone, now he was here, without even enough to pay a god damn taxi. He couldn't even fucking feed himself.

The door opened and he felt Hank's stare.

"Sorry Hank, I'm just paying..."

"Here."

He turned and saw Hank with a $20 bill in his hand.

"I..." He couldn't speak. All he could remember was the look in his father's face when he handed him the cheque and told him to come home. He could never do that now.

"Take it." Hank said softly.

He nodded and took the money, turning and handing it to the driver. Getting his duffel bag, he got out of the cab and turned to Hank, who was waiting at the bottom of the driveway.

"I'm sorry."

He gripped his duffel bag tighter as he tried to get the words out, tried to explain what happened.

A tear rolled down his cheek but he barely noticed.

"I'm sorry." He repeated. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Hank nodded as they slowly made their way up the driveway. "It's going to be okay Seeley."

Booth stopped, suddenly unable to move under the weight of the doubt pushing down on him. What if Hank was wrong? What if he fucked this up, the same way he had everything else in his life? If this didn't work, if he managed to destroy the last good thing...

"Booth..."

He looked at his friend, for the first time in a long time, not trying to hide anything. He didn't have the strength for it anymore. Hank nodded his head once in the direction of the house and then placed both hands on the wheels of his chair, waiting a moment before heading towards the open door.

Booth watched as Hank disappeared into the house, leaving the door open. And then, his hand shifting the strap of the duffel on his shoulder, he took the first step.

Wow I loved it!
I always wondered what Booth's story might have been like.
Sounds like it was pretty hard and he just barely made it through his gambling problems.

Can't wait for next week!

I read this last night but didn't get a chance to comment. I loved it! I love reading about Booth's past! Awesome!

A/N: I know, I know, can you forgive us? It's been a couple of weeks but we are back with a vengence. We hope you like this story and thank you for the reviews!

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Do you have gossip for us, Eunice?"

The woman nodded and moved closer, well as close as she could get on these large chairs. "Seeley is bringing someone."

"He is?"

"Really?"

"Seeley has a gun?" the third voice chirped.

"Really, Edna, you should put your hearing aid in." Eunice frowned.

The frown couldn't stay for long however. Not at the thought of her grand-nephew finally bringing someone home. And she finally got to share some gossip with the rest of the girls. The girls in question were Mary Booth, her sister in law, Amelia Warren, a second cousin and Edna Booth, the 91 year old matriach of the family. Mary, as usual, didn't know anything, despite the fact that her husband was the closest to James, Seeley's father. Which is why it always pleased Eunice to provide the latest gossip. And this gossip had everyone buzzing.

Seeley Booth was the last unmarried child of the Booth clan and it perplexed everyone as to why. After all, he was the most handsome, that couldn't be denied.

Of course he did have 'The Affair' with that Rebecca girl and while no one approved, they did get an addition to the family out of it. Eunice loved Parker, he would come and hug her and the other ladies, unlike the other children.

"Who is it?" Mary asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"What? Oh, I'm not sure, it's a big surprise."

"Who's got a disguise?"

"Edna, turn on your hearing aid please." She said loudly, shaking her head.

"Okay, fine." Edna said, muttering under her breath as she adjusted her hearing aid. "Now, tell me...what's this about disguises? It's Thanksgiving for heaven's sake not...."

"Sur-prise, Edna dear. Seeley is a bringing a new girl with him this year and no one knows a thing about her."

"Well, it's about time."

The clatch of ladies all nodded their agreement. Seeley was a good boy and needed to settle down.

"I hope this one's not like that Tessa. That one thought she peed rosewater."

"Edna!"

"Put your teeth back in your mouth, Eunice. You know it's true."

"Hmmphh."

"Does anyone know anything about her? The new one, I mean?"

"I just hope she's a good Christian woman."

"I don't know, Eunice. James told my Frank that she was a scientist." Mary chimed in with a knowing look.

"What does that have to do with the price of tea bags in China, Mary?" Edna called out.

"Well, everyone knows all of those scientists are athiests."

Mary's proclamation sent the group into a twitter.

"Seeley's a good church-going man. He would have more sense than that."

"Maybe not if she was good in the sack."

"Edna! A little decorum, please!"

"Oh, hell's bells. There's not a one of us that hasn't been up to some hanky panky at some point in our lives. Eunice I seem to recall your being caught with that Nichols boy with his hand in your knickers....

"Why I never..."

"Yes, you did." Mary said, giggling.

"You hush up, Mary. Unless you want everyone to hear about..."

"Ladies! Back to what's important here. Seeley's mystery lady."

"Right." the others nodded in agreement.

"When are they coming?" Amelia asked.

"Hopefully soon." Edna grumbled. "I'm starving."

"Now we all know Seeley and we know he would pick someone nice."

"Hopefully for good."

"I agree. That boy's got to get married. Back in my day, the men who didn't get married by 30 were suspicious and criminal."

"Edna, Seeley's an FBI agent, remember? He's not a criminal."

"I'm just sayin..."

"Look, there he is." Mary exclaimed, pointing to the entrance. "He brought Parker too."

"So that she-devil let him have him..." Edna muttered.

"Is that her?"

All four heads focused in on the woman behind Booth.

"Well....she's different." Mary said. "I don't know about her looks..."

"Now Mary Booth, just because you're as plain as plain can be, doesn't mean you can snipe on others. Besides, she's pretty."

"She doesn't look like the others."

"You mean, blonde and big bosomed?"

"Edna!"

Edna just shrugged her shoulders. "Now here they come..."

"Hi Auntie Eunice, Hi Auntie Mary, Hi 'Melia, Hi Granny Edna." Parker said, giving each one of them a hug.

"Well now, you've grown." Eunice commented.

"At least two inches since last time." Booth commented, moving closer.

None of the eagle eyed ladies missed the hand squeeze he gave to the woman next to him.

"This is Temperance Brennan. Bones, this is my Aunt Eunice, my Aunt Mary, my cousin Amelia, and my grandmother, Edna."

"Bones?" Eunice asked, eyebrow raising.

"Just a nickname." Booth said hastily.

"Enough of that, come give your grandmother a big hug. You too Bones."

Each woman waited patiently for her hug and the chance to appraise Seeley's new woman from up close. Once each had their turn, an expectant silence descended in the room.

"So, uh, are Mom and Dad around?" Booth finally asked.

"Rosalie called a little while ago. She and James should be here any moment."

"Okay. I guess we'll just..."

"Seeley?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"The other boys are in the den watching a football game. Why don't you and Parker join them?"

"That'd be great, Aunt Eunice, but I don't think Bones would enjoy..."

"Oh, she...Bones, is it? Yes, Bones can stay here with us. It will give a chance to chat."

"Really, Amelia, I don't think..."

"It's okay, Booth."

"Are you sure?" He leaned closer. "They look harmless, but..."

"Go. Enjoy the game."

"Okay." He replied, reluctantly accepting her decision. He turned to the the older women. "You promise to be on your best behavior?"

They all pretended to have their feathers ruffled by his question, his smile having taken the sting out of his words.

"Of course, dear."

"Promise."

"Really, Seeley, I never..."

"Call me if you need me. I'll just be..."

They watched in unison as he left the room, and when he glanced back once more, they all made sure to have the most innocent of expressions on their faces.

"Would you like some tea, dear?" Mary asked once he was gone.

"That would wonderful. Thank you."

A few precious moments of inquisition were lost as the tea was served and the first few sips were taken in silence. It was Amelia that made the first foray.

"Seeley's very handsome, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. His features are very symmetri..."

"Enough small talk. So how long have you two been bumping uglies?" Edna interrupted.

"Edna! You'll have to excuse her..."

"I don't need anyone making excuses for me. I'm an old woman and don't have time to waste on being hoity-toity. So young lady....?"

"I don't know what that means."

"I heard it on the Springer show. It's what you young people call it, isn't it? Doing the deed, dancing with the one-eyed snake, the horizontal mambo...oh for heaven's sake, Eunice, you're not going to faint are you..."

"Oh. You mean sexual intercourse..."

"That's exactly what I mean. It's very important that the sex is good. My Leonard and I were married for forty years and right up until the day he died we...

"One more word, Edna, and I swear I'm going to take the batteries right out of your hearing aid." Eunice said, red-faced.

"It's alright. As the matriarchal figure, Edna is simply expressing the alpha-female imperative to..."

"The alpha-who? What does that mean?"

"It means I'm the boss of all of you gabbling ninnies is what it means." Edna said triumphantly. "Take that Eunice!"

Eunice grabbed for her cane and Amelia quickly stood, blocking her path to Edna.

"Would you like to see some family photos, Temperance?" She asked, hurriedly trying to squelch the impending confrontation.

"I didn't mean to...." Brennan started to explain, but stopped when Amelia practically shoved an album into her hands.

"Pictures, dear. Nice, safe pictures."

"You know anthropologically speaking family photo albums are an excellent archival....Oh."

They all waited for her to continue so they could make some sense of what she was saying, but her words trailed away. She had opened the book and was looking at the first page. They all knew that picture. Seeley was three, sitting in the chair at his father's barber shop, grinning from ear to ear, so proud of his 'big-boy' haircut.

Each woman looked knowingly at the other, and with unspoken agreement, remained quiet as she slowly turned the pages of the album. They had been prepared to throw down the gauntlet to make sure this Bones person was good enough for their Seeley, but they knew this was the real test.

They watched as she smiled and knew it was the one of Seeley and Jared playing army 'mens'. They nodded along as she tilted her head and knew it was the one with after he'd lost his first tooth. And to a one, they sighed when she brushed her fingers over the last one, the one Rosalie snapped before he headed off to boot camp. Because by then they knew.

She closed the album, and hesitated before looking up at them.

"Thank you."

Edna studied her for a moment and then stood, slowly walking over to where Brennan was sitting.

"I think you'll do just fine."

Then she sat down and patted Brennan on the shoulder.

"But, listen. If you ever need to spice things up in the boudoir, Leonard and I swore by page 68 in that Joy of Sex book...."

"Edna!"

lol Oh I love Edna!!! Excellent job!!!

hee hee............omg.....that was awesome...........who doesnt love edna?????? how funny.......and so sweet too...........love love loved it you two.............wonderful..........

I loved it. I read all of them so far. I must say my favorite was the smutty one, but it seems that is the theme for me lately. lol. great job on all of them though!

How can Booth blush everytime Bones says something about sex, when he has a grandmother like Edna?
I really love her.....and I would say she is really intelligent too....she understoood everything Bones said....
Loved the idea with the photo-album.....although now I'm a little sad that I couldn't see these pics too.....

giggling loved it!

Very, very good. That actually put me in a good mood. I love the 'babbling ninnies.' <3

I laughed SO HARD! Edna is something!!!

A/N: WE'RE BAAAAAAAACKKKKKKK!!!!!! Here's another Scribble, we hope you like it. Words: hideous and stem.

Brennan was itchy. No, itchy wasn't a strong enough word for how she felt. Her whole body was on fire and she couldn't stop scratching. She tried to take a deep breath but failed, her stuffed nose only allowing tiny snorts of air to pass through. She glared at the offending item on her desk and tried to determine how to dispose of it without feeling worse. (Not that it was possible).

This was all her own fault. She had been getting antsy lately, even going so far as to snap at Booth over something trivial. It was then she realized that she needed to alleviate her sexual frustration immediately. So she had called up Thomas Wynbourne, a donor she met at the latest Jeffersonian gala and asked him out. He was handsome with an impressive musculature, so it was quite easy to fall into bed with him. The sex was excellent of course, and she found herself feeling much more calm.

But then of course, Thomas had to continue to pursue her, despite her insistence that it was a one night thing. She went out on a second date (since Angela advised her to give him a second chance) and found it as boring as the first. The sex was still great though. But she hadn't seen him since. It had been eight days and she assumed that he had gotten the hint and left her alone.

But that's when the bouquet of death arrived.

She surveyed the floral monstrosity from as great a distance as the dimensions of her office would allow her. It sat there, defying description even as it continued to emit its toxic waves of pollen and other assorted allergens. The thing was massive; Thomas must have selected half a dozen of every type of flower the shop had available before cleaning them out of baby's breath and fern fronds in the process. Brennan couldn't help but think that whatever florist had created this travesty should be alleviated of their license....and that Thomas needed a serious lecture on the subject of overcompensating.

'And limits,' she thought as another series of sneezes overtook her.
"Oh...my...god."

"Don't say anything Angela, please. Just get rid of this before I...."
"What did you do you naughty naughty girl?" Angela said with a knowing smile as she ignored Brennan in favor of searching the arrangement for the card.
"What? Nothing. I didn't do anything....to deserve...." Brennan tried to speak, but the next incipient sneeze gave Angela all the opening she needed. "Bren. This thing needs its own zip code. The guy...."
"Thomas."
"Okay. Thomas. He must have spent a fortune. So either you were a very, very ...

A low whistle interrupted before Angela could travel further down that particular path. Brennan would have been grateful, had she not immediately identified the source.

"Well, well...what do we have here?" Booth said as he sauntered into the office with a smirk that told Brennan that this was not going to be good. Not good at all.
"Booth please..."

"Nice flowers Bones."

"No, no they aren't. I..." She then let out a horrifyingly loud sneeze that caused both Angela and Booth to turn and stare.

"Sorry, I.." she started fleetingly, before seeing both of them burst out in laughter.

She pouted as she watched them laugh over her current situation.

"S..sorry Bones." Booth said, through his chuckles.

She sniffed again and crossed her arms.

"Can you please get rid of it?" she asked, when they had both finally calmed down.

"Aww, come on Bones, don't you want to keep it around for a bit? It's kind of..."

"Tacky? Overdone?" Angela supplied.

"Look." she said firmly. "I'm not seeing him again and I wasn't expecting this since it's been over a week. Okay?" She knew she was getting testy but frankly she could barely breathe.

"If it's been over a week, how come he sent them today?" Angela inquired. Booth looked equally confused.

Tears welled in her eyes that were unfortunately not allergy related.

"I have no idea. Can you please remove it? I'm going to the bathroom."

She didn't wait for an answer as she made her way to the bathroom. As she looked at herself in the mirror she reasoned that it wasn't a big deal for her two closest friends to forget her birthday. After all, anthropologically speaking, the celebration of one's birthday is little more than an ego boost.

Studying her reflection, she told herself that she didn't need the validation of gift, cards or a frivolous party with an anachronistic cake and balloons. A confident, independent, successful woman didn't need those things to feel good about herself. Straightening her shoulders, she pressed a dampened paper towel beneath her reddened eyes, trying to erase the evidence of tears that definitely, most absolutely, were only an immunological response to the pollen in those damn flowers.

xxxxxxx

Settling onto her couch, Brennan sipped from her wineglass. Smoky blues drifted the stereo, the scratchiness from the original recording adding to the aching beauty of the song. She drew her legs beneath her, fingers tapping slowly against the glass as she looked around the shadowed room. For a moment, she considered the novel resting on the table, but there was no curiosity to see how the plot unwound. Without having to look, she also knew that there were journal articles to be read, email to be checked, notes from her editor to review. None of it, though, held any appeal.

With a sigh, she stood and began to wander the room, unsettled by the disconnect she felt from the space that she knew so well, that usually brought her such comfort with its familiarity. Why now did it feel so empty?

...alone on your birthday....

She barely had time to dismiss the thought, to return to the mantra that she had repeated throughout the day, when a knock sounded on the door. For a second, she allowed the tiny flare of anticipation, before realizing that it probably signaled nothing more than the arrival of the Chinese food she had ordered.

...alone on your birthday....

Taking another sip of wine, she reached for the bills that she had placed on the counter and headed for the door.

Swinging it open, her mouth formed an 'o' of surprise as she saw Booth standing on the other side.

"Hey." he said, shuffling his feet.

She frowned for a moment, wondering what was wrong. He wasn't acting himself. There was no ego and swagger; instead awkward nervousness prevailed.

"Can I come in?"

She nodded and opened the door further so he could step inside. It wasn't until they were on the couch that she realized he had something in his hand that looked suspiciously like something wrapped in tissue and paper. Before she could continue to observe, she felt Booth's hand on her knee.

"Listen, Temperance, can we talk?"

She nodded, shivering as she heard him use her given name. Whatever it was, it must be important.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier. As soon as you left, I realized why you were sent the flowers. It's your birthday. I'm sorry that I forgot and frankly I can understand if you are mad at me.."

"I'm not." she interrupted.

"I got you something." He said, hesitantly. "I know it's not as extravagant, but I know you like them so..." He trailed off and thrust the package in front of her.

"You didn't have to..." she said, as she unwound the tissue paper. There inside, lay five daffodils, their colour as bright as the sun. Her favourite.

She looked up and saw his face, nervously awaiting her reaction.

And that was the moment she fell in love with him.