It was early on a Friday night, and Angela groaned as Brennan pulled out another stack of files to work on. "Sweetie…you're working too much, " Angela shook her head as she leaned up against Brennan's desk, "I'm telling you…"

"Bones…" Booth walked in the door, like he normally did, but this time he was wearing a tuxedo, "I need a favor."

"She says yes" Angela spoke up.

"Ange!" Brennan stood up and walked around the desk. "I do not."

"Bren…look at those shoulders" Angela didn't even bother to lower her voice.

Booth smirked and winked. "Thanks."

"Anytime" Angela smiled.

"Why are you here, Booth?" Brennan frowned.

"Ah, yes…Bones…I need you tonight."

"She says YES!"

"ANGE!"

Angela raised her eyebrows. "I'm just saying…."

Brennan shook her head. "For what purpose could you possibly need me, Booth?" she asked, then glared at Angela when she snickered. "Angela, you can't just go around answering yes to all of Booth's questions. What if he'd come in here and asked me to marry him or something?"

"Bones!"

"Then she TOTALLY says YES!" Angela nodded and laughed when both Brennan and Booth sputtered. "What? He's already in a tux…maybe he is asking you."

Brennan turned to Booth. "Are you asking me to marry you?"

Booth's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically. "What?" He raised his hands. "What is wrong with you people? No…I just…God, Bones…I just wondered if you'd go with me to the Kennedy Center tonight. Jeez."

"Oh" Brennan nodded. "That makes more sense."

Angela held up her hand. "Not that I'm not glad to see you here, Booth, but…why exactly are you just asking her…" she looked at her watch, "I'm guessing….about one hour to curtain?"

Booth pulled at his collar. "Well…that's the thing. The FBI, we all got tickets for Wynton Marsalis and his orchestra, and I have two, and you know…I was going to take Parker, and he was going to come, and he had a little tuxedo too, right? Very cool." Booth asserted. "But…he's sick. And Rebecca won't let him come."

Brennan eyed him for a moment. "I'm sorry."

Booth looked up from where he'd been looking at his shoes. "Thanks, Bones."

Angela rolled her eyes at one more of their 'moments'. "So are you going to go, Bren, or what?"

"I'm not exactly dressed."

"You look fine to me" Booth said at the same time Angela said "No problem."

Brennan looked to her friend. "You'll help me?"

Angela nodded. "Oh yeah. She'll meet you there, Booth."

Booth clapped his hands together. "So you're saying yes?"

"She says yes" Angela answered again.

"Uh, great…but there…" Booth winced. "There's uh, there's one more thing."

"What is it, Booth?" Brennan asked him.

"Well, the FBI assigned us boxes, then handed out tickets. And there are four people to a box, so…you and I…we're paired with Sweets…with Sweets and Daisy."

Neither woman spoke for a couple of moments, and Booth raised his eyebrows. "So what do you say, Bones? Still yes?"

Brennan looked to Angela for guidance, but Angela shook her head.

"Uh, huh. I'll tell Booth you'll marry him; I'll tell him yes to just about anything else for you. But you're on your own with this one."

Brennan pursed her lips and sighed, then bit her lip as she looked at the floor. "Okay, I'll do it."

"You sure, Bones? Cause I guess I could just buy the tickets and not go."

"No…that's not right, Booth" she answered. "I said I'll go, and I will."

"Thanks Bones" Booth smiled genuinely. "See you in an hour" he called as he left the office.

Brennan sighed as she turned toward Angela. "We'd better hurry."

"Yes, let's go." Angela pulled her coat on quickly. "Oh, Bren…good luck."

Brennan didn't even pretend to not know what Angela was talking about. "I know. But hopefully the music will be good, and there won't be much time for conversation."

Angela laughed. "You're a good friend to Booth, you know."

"Well, he's my partner." Brennan shrugged as they walked outside. "He'd do the same for me."

"Sure, sweetie" Angela nodded as they got to their cars. "Plus he looks mighty fine in those tux pants yeah?"

Brennan didn't comment, but as she got into her car, she chuckled and had to admit to herself that Angela did make a good point.

--b&b—

Fifty five minutes later, Booth stood outside the box at the Kennedy Center nervously tapping his program against his palm. Where was she?

"Agent Booth" Sweets poked his head out of the curtain. "It's about to start."

"I know" Booth nodded. "I want to wait for Bones. Make sure she makes it okay."

"Okay" Sweets shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Booth sighed and supposed his partner wouldn't have any trouble finding their seats, but the truth was that he really didn't feel like being in there with Sweets and Ms. Wick. He'd had a very, very limited exposure to the girl, but the small amount had been enough for him to know that it was a good thing Sweets was a trained psychiatrist.

"Booth" Brennan was walking quickly toward him, and Booth blinked a few times. He thought she always looked great, but those times where she upped the wow factor never failed to take his breath away.

"Whoa…uh, hey Bones." He cupped her elbow and on an instinct he didn't see coming, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "You look great."

They both froze, then Brennan pulled back, her elbow still grasped in his palm between them. Their eyes met at the completely unnatural naturalness of the action he'd taken.

With a small half smile, Booth motioned with his other hand to the curtain. "Let's go in?"

Brennan nodded, and Booth kept his hand on her arm as they made their way to their seats.

"Hi Dr. Brennan" Daisy waved from the other side of Sweets and Brennan nodded.

"Hello" she smiled, "And hello, Dr. Sweets."

Sweets raised a hand. "Hello, Dr. Brennan."

Brennan sat in the seat closest to the wall with Booth between her and Sweets.

Daisy leaned over her boyfriend and smiled widely. "Dr. Brennan, remember when you said you didn't fraternize at work? Well…we're not at work!"

"Actually, you got fired---

"Hey, uh…" Booth interrupted. "I think it's starting" He shifted in his chair and cracked his back. "Probably time to be quiet."

"Yes, probably a good idea" Sweets agreed, smiling at Daisy.

Booth looked to his partner and rolled his eyes, and she smiled. "Thanks" she whispered, nudging her shoulder against his.

Booth looked to where her slim, bare shoulder lingered against his broader covered one, then back up to her face. "Thank you for coming tonight."

Their eyes lingered as the lights all around grew dimmer until the entire auditorium was immersed in darkness.

The first crack of a drum caught Brennan's attention, and she turned quickly to look at the stage.

Booth smiled as he watched her. Although the night hadn't turned out the way he'd imagined it would, he couldn't say he was unhappy.

--b&b--

Brennan felt the fluttering in her stomach only jazz could provide. She realized she was leaning forward in her chair, subconsciously trying to get closer to the instruments. She felt foolish for a moment until she realized the other three people in her section were doing the same thing. That made her feel good. It wasn't often that Brennan felt connected to other humans like that. Of course, she did share an extraordinarily high IQ with both Sweets and Daisy, and Booth…well…her eyes traveled across his strong back…well, Booth was Booth.

Daisy looked over then, and caught her looking at Booth. At first Brennan flushed, but there was no judgment on Daisy's face. In fact, the younger woman was just smiling kindly.

"I like the piano best" Daisy offered

Brennan nodded. "I like the bass."

Daisy perked up. "I like the bass too; it's probably my second favorite" she rushed, and Brennan felt disappointed.

She forced a smile, then turned back to the stage. She glanced back to see that Daisy's brow had furrowed in confusion, and Brennan felt a twinge of guilt. She blinked and turned to see that Booth was looking at her strangely.

"Something wrong, Bones?" he sat back and turned toward her fully.

Brennan looked past him and saw that Sweets and Daisy were having their own conversation, so she nodded. "Have you ever had someone in your life who infuriated you in some ways, but who you also felt slightly…I don't know, responsible for?"

Booth's eyebrows rose for a quick second, and then he smiled. "Sure, Bones…what's up?"

It had grown quiet, so she shook her head. "It's nothing." She shrugged.

Booth let it slide. "Okay, Bones. Are you enjoying this?" he asked, knowing the answer.

"It's excellent, Booth." Brennan smiled. "I'll never understand how two or three notes that would sound terrible together suddenly sound amazing when supported by other instruments." She sighed. "But…I also find that in this case, I'm satisfied with not knowing. I enjoy the mystery of jazz music…" she trailed off as she realized she was kind of rambling on.

Booth didn't seem to mind, in fact he was smiling at her, but behind him Sweets and Daisy were also listening to her and smiling as well.

Sweets stood up as the lights also rose, signaling the end of the first third. "Want to grab some fresh air, Daisy?"

She accepted his hand and smiled. "Thanks, Lance. Wasn't I just telling you the other day how mysterious I thought jazz music was?" she asked, sparing a glance toward Booth and Brennan shyly.

"Uh…did you?" Sweets asked as he ushered her away. "I guess I forgot that."

Just as they were almost out, Sweets turned back. "Uh, Agent Booth, um…Daisy and I were thinking about grabbing some dinner after this. Do you have a recommendation?"

Booth's chest puffed out a bit. "Well, Sweets…let me think about it. A good meal? That can't be rushed…" he grinned, and Sweets nodded.

"Thanks" the young doctor said as he and Daisy walked through the curtain.

"Booth" Brennan hissed. "Daisy makes me crazy!" her eyes grew bright. "For someone who is so smart…why can't she have a single original thought?!?"

Booth chuckled, "Well, Bones…you can't blame her."

"Why can't I?"

He sighed. "Look, Bones…you're you and…well…"

"Well, what?" Brennan crossed her arms.

"Now don't go getting all huffy with me. I'm trying to pay you a compliment. When I say you're you, I mean, you're…you" he smiled, and she uncrossed her arms. "Daisy wants to be like you"

"I see" Brennan bit her lower lip in thought.

"Good…and…you just need to accept that Daisy has a crush on you."

Brennan's jaw dropped. "What? No she does not! There is nothing sexual about my relationship with my graduate students, former or otherwise!"

Booth held up his hand. "I'm not talking about that kind of crush. I'm talking about a…" his left eye squinted shut as he considered his words. "A braincrush" he snapped his fingers. "That's what it is! Daisy has a braincrush on you, Bones." He grinned, "Come on, admit it…yeah?"

Brennan shook her head but chuckled a bit. "Fine, I'll admit it…if you admit that Sweets has a crush on you…"

Booth swallowed and shook his head. "Oh no. No, no, no, Bones. Not happening."

"I'm not saying a sexual crush, Booth" she clarified with a teasing tone. "He has a…I don't know…it's your charm, or…charisma. He has a charismacrush on you!"

Booth couldn't very well refute her, unless he wanted to negate his own argument (and charisma). "Okay, fine. We agree that they…admire us"

"Fine"

"So what do we do about it, huh?"

"Do about it?" she asked. "Nothing. It's not our problem."

"Aw, Bones, come on" Booth shook his head. "That's not very nice. We can at least be a little nicer and understanding, don't you think?"

Brennan considered this. "I suppose." She nodded, "Yes, I suppose I really do have a lot to offer Daisy."

"Attagirl, Bones. And I'll be nicer to Sweets. It won't hurt me to help him along with things like picking out a place to eat, all that stuff."

"So we agree" Brennan nodded. "We'll help them."

"Yeah, Bones…we'll help them."

"Hey guys" Sweets interrupted them as he and Daisy walked back inside.

Booth stood up politely. "Hey, guys" he slapped Sweets on the back. "Listen, Daisy, I'm going to swap seats with you. Bones here wanted a chance to talk to you some, and I'm going to chat with Sweets about a good place for dinner."

Brennan barely swallowed back a slight panic, but managed to nod as Daisy's face was so eagerly pleased. The younger woman sat quickly, and Brennan smiled back at her. "Hello Daisy"

"Hi Dr. Brennan" she breathed.

"Actually…" Brennan began. "Since you aren't a student of mine, you could call me Temperance" she offered.

Daisy's brow lowered in thought. "If you don't mind being called Dr. Brennan, I'd prefer that"

Brennan nodded. "That is fine."

"Unless you really WANT me to call you Temperance. Then I suppose I could do it, Dr. Brennan. I...I mean, Temperance. Temperance Brennan."

Brennan held up her hand. "Dr. Brennan is fine. A lot of people call me that" she offered, "Sweets calls me that."

Both women turned toward the men to see them talking quietly about something. The middle section of music was beginning and so Sweets and Booth stopped talking and focused on the stage. Sweets turned to Daisy and smiled, reaching out his hand. She took it and twined her fingers in his with a smile of her own.

Brennan watched at how easily the two of them seemed to get along, and she looked up to see Booth looking at her.

She smiled and without thinking gave him a little wave. The music started up again, and he looked to the stage, then turned and gave her a goofy thumbs up.

Brennan chuckled to herself as she turned to face the direction of the music. For all of his rough edges, there were times when Booth was quite…sweet.

--b&b--

"You know, Sweets" Booth murmured. "Even though Bones' social skills can be a little rough around the edges, she actually can be kind of sweet."

Sweets glanced over toward the two women and smiled. "Yeah. She's learned that from you, though, you know."

Booth squinted. "I don't think so."

"It's true" Sweets whispered. "Her humanity is because of you."

"Not so fast, Sweets." Booth held up a hand and leaned closer so only Sweets could hear. "She has the biggest heart of anyone I've EVER known. And, I guess" he pulled at his collar. "That her ability to share that can be a result of our partnership, but trust me…it was there all along."

"Touché, Agent Booth" Sweets smiled. "But, the real question is…how has she helped you?"

Booth narrowed his eyes. "This isn't some therapy session, is it?"

Sweets tilted his head. "What can I say? I love analyzing everything."

"Well, in that case, I'll tell you that she's helped me get into a lot of classy restaurants. For example…Poloma's?"

Sweets was impressed. "On C Street? Whoa…I've never known ANYONE who could get into Poloma's."

Booth nodded. "Well, Sweets, I think we can make that happen. Tonight, if you're lucky."

Sweets shook his head. "Wow. Me. Getting into Poloma's."

--b&b—

Brennan saw Booth talking with Sweets like normal people and felt a little guilty that she'd been slightly ignoring Daisy. Taking a deep breath, she turned. "So, Daisy…what have you been doing with your time, lately?" THAT seemed like a safe enough question.

Daisy beamed. "Well, I've been reading a lot. Lance and I both did one of those career profile things; his is psychology" she giggled. "Go figure!" she laughed, and Brennan raised her eyebrows and avoided Daisy's exuberant hand gesturing.

"Yes, who would have thought that?" she swallowed.

"Anyways…mine was all over the place" Daisy shook her head and sighed. "I just don't know what I want to do, you know?'

Brennan bit her lip. She DIDN'T know what that was like. "Well, you're very, very bright, so I'm sure something will fit, eventually."

Daisy sighed. "Oh, thank you Dr. Brennan. It means so much to hear you say that."

"It's my pleasure" Brennan smiled, and she meant it.

By this time, the second set of music was completed, and as all four of them stood to stretch and applaud the musicians, Brennan caught Booth's gaze across the box. She motioned with her head toward the curtain, and he stretched his arms above his head.

"Well, I think I'm going to get some fresh air. What do you say, Bones, want to come with me?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

As they made their way through the crowd, Booth stopped her for a moment with a hand on her elbow. "Listen, Bones…."

She stopped and turned, and his words were lost momentarily as he looked at her closely in the light of the lobby chandeliers.

"What is it, Booth?" she asked, a small nervous smile playing at her lips.

"It's nothing. I mean…you look great." His own lips smiled a bit too. "That's not nothing, I just meant…well, thanks for coming tonight. I appreciate it. Especially on short notice."

"Sure, Booth. I'm having a good time."

Booth was pleased with her genuine response and kept his hand on her elbow as they walked toward the door. "Let's stay inside Bones, but just enjoy the breeze, okay?"

"Sure." She replied, letting her arm fall back to her side after he released it. "You seem to be getting along well with Sweets tonight."

Booth shrugged a shoulder. "Well, he's not so bad; when he's not analyzing everything I say."

Brennan chuckled. "True."

"But what about you, huh?" He smiled. "You and Daisy…best friends."

"Hardly" Brennan snorted, "However, I have come to the conclusion that in very small doses, her conversation can be enjoyable." Brennan swallowed a bit. "Plus, she really is very…nice, so it's hard to be mean about it."

"Yeah" Booth nodded. "That's kind of how I feel about Sweets. He's a good person, you know?"

"Yes, I agree, Booth. You were right that we both had a lot to teach them."

Booth smiled at her. "Think you can get all four of us into Poloma's tonight?"

Brennan raised her eyebrows and whistled softly. "Oh…well, I could try. Do you have your phone?"

"Sure, here you go, Bones. I'm going to go back to the box. I'll see you when you get back."

Brennan smiled as she turned away slightly, dialing information.

--b&b--

"Well, Sweets" Booth pressed his hand to Brennan's back as they entered the upscale bar, "Thanks for letting us tag along on your dinner."

Sweets smiled slightly at the lie. "You're very welcome. Thanks for coming along. You too, Dr. Brennan."

She smiled and nodded, allowing the waiter to help her with her seat. "I'm glad we could all come here. It's been awhile since I've been here."

Sweets played it cool and helped Daisy into her seat. "Well, it's been awhile since we've had anything but pizza and diner food, so I figured it was time for something nicer. I'm guessing Poloma's doesn't serve pizza or apple pie." He joked.

"You'd think" Booth chuckled. "What are you going to have, Daisy?"

The younger girl opened the menu and about choked when she saw the prices. "Oh, um…I'm not sure."

Booth knew how she felt and smiled. "Well, Bones, how about you?"

Brennan considered her options and shrugged. "Since it's so late, I'll probably just have a salad. I'd hate to waste a lot of money on something I won't really eat."

Daisy's ears perked up. "Well, if you're having a salad, Dr. Brennan, maybe I should have one too."

"You can get whatever you want, Daisy" Sweets patted her hand, and Daisy looked unsure.

Booth took pity on her. It was almost sad how eager this girl was to please. "Well, the salads are pretty good here, or so I've heard. I'm a steak kind of guy, and so is our boy, Sweets. So if you don't like your salad, I'm sure he'll share with you."

Daisy looked at her boyfriend, and he nodded. "Sure, I'll…I'll share" Sweets spared a small glance to Booth, and he nodded slightly.

"Yep, Daisy" he grinned. "And Bones here, she can share my steak too, if she wants" he turned his head toward her and chuckled. "How about it, Bones? Tonight the night?"

"No way" she shook her head, but smiled. "Only salad for me."

"Salad for me too" Daisy asserted, and smiled at Brennan.

Booth watched as Brennan gritted her teeth a bit, but smiled in return.

--b&b--

The food part of dinner went very smoothly, and Brennan even went so far as to pretend to try a bite of Booth's steak, just to encourage Daisy to have some of Sweets'. Of course, she immediately wiped it from her mouth with her napkin, but only Booth saw that.

His throat was tight from trying not to laugh, but he was also very pleased with her efforts. Sparing a glance at her, he lifted his wineglass to her in a small toast.

Brennan felt pleased with his approval and raised hers toward him as well before taking another sip.

"Well, I think it's time to go home" Sweets said as they finished paying the bill.

Brennan watched as Sweets stood with Daisy and helped her with her dress coat, and then once again casually took her hand in his as they left the restaurant.

"What are you thinking about, Bones?" Booth asked as they made their way over to her car.

Brennan paused before opening the door. "I was thinking about Sweets and Daisy." she admitted.

"Oh yeah?" Booth leaned against the side of her car. "What about?"

Brennan looked down for a moment, before meeting his eyes. "I was thinking that they genuinely seem to like each other. They get along, and whatever faults each one has, the other seems to be willing to overlook."

Booth considered her words and nodded. "I think you're right, Bones."

"And it kind of makes you think, Booth." Brennan continued, but looked down and opened up her car door, moving to sit inside.

"Makes me think what, Bones?" he smiled as he leaned over slightly.

"That…that there really might be someone out there for everyone." She answered quickly, then pulled on her door, shutting Booth out.

He didn't say anything else, and just bumped his knuckles slightly against her window in a small wave, then stepped back, turning to walk over to his SUV. "Just gotta be open enough to see it…" he reminded himself.