She twisted the ring on her finger again and again as she sat beside her partner on the small loveseat in the psychologist's office. Doctor Lance Sweets was on one of his many tangents about sharing feelings, or trusting in one another, or whatnot, and Brennan just bided her time until the time came when they could return to their 'normal lives' of crime solving. She stared at her long finger as her finger twirled her ring, her thoughts on going back to the lab, her mind's focus on the body that lay waiting for her on the platform.

She could see her partner's leg bouncing up and down slightly out of the corner of her eye, and could tell that he simply wanted to tell the psychologist that they had better things to do, and was very obviously keeping his mouth shut. It had only been a week since Vincent Nigel-Murray had been killed, and though Doctor Sweets' rants had become quite redundant, the meetings were still mandatory after a tragic event, and they were being forced to sit through them.

"Doctor Brennan?" Sweets' voice wedged its way into her mind, and she looked up distractedly. "Doctor Brennan, are you even listening to me?" He asked. His forehead was knitted, and he had that look on his face that he'd get when he spoke to her. It was a mix between someone holding in gas, and a chastising parent, and it always made her feel uncomfortable.

"Hey, Bones, are you okay?" Her partner asked, catching her eyes for a moment, he touched her hand as she realized she had rubbed her finger raw beneath her ring.

She looked her partner in the eyes for a moment and couldn't respond immediately, the intensity of his gaze was not surprising, but she couldn't seem to force the words from her lips. "Bones?"

"I should go." She whispered, embarrassed that she was going to now retreat, but finding no other alternative. "You understand, right?" She said directly to Booth, offering no explanation to Doctor Sweets. She stood up and gathered her purse,

"Doctor Brennan, I really don't think you should just get up in the middle of a session, we were discussing…"

She looked to him and her mouth opened slightly. "I don't care." She stated firmly. "I don't… care what we were discussing, because I wasn't listening. I have other pressing matters to attend to, and…"

"Doctor Brennan." Sweets stated firmly, as if he were shouting at a child to sit down and be silent.

"Hey, hey, hey…" Booth said, starting to sit up, he was stopped by Brennan's hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine, Booth. I can handle this." She said, turning around, she eyed the doctor, who remained in his chair. She remained standing over the psychologist, and looked down at him as he stared up at her. "Why don't you ever call me by my first name?" She asked in a tone that conveyed absolute no humor.

"Excuse me?" He asked, a chuckle on the edge of his lips, the smile on his face bordered on sarcastic and she straightened her posture slightly.

"You never call me by my first name." She repeated. "You never even call me simply by my last name as you often do with Agent Booth. You call me 'Doctor Brennan', and it never wavers."

"I am just being respectful." He replied, allowing his voice to become a bit defensive.

"So, when you call Angela by her first name, or Hodgins or Booth by their last name, you're being disrespectful." She nodded her head. "I understand."

"No." He shook his head, straightening in the chair. "No, that's not what I meant at all." He said, looking up at her. "Doctor Brennan, what is all of this about?"

"Doctor Sweets, I don't believe that you and I are compatible." She said, sensing her partner's eyes on her, she turned to face his surprised expression. "I don't think that you're compatible for either one of us."

"Doctor Brennan, I think we just need to calm down, and look at this calmly and rationally."

"No." She replied stubbornly. "There is nothing to discuss." She replied. "We came to you originally because the FBI thought that there was an issue to be dealt with between Booth and I regarding my father's arrest. That issue has long since been resolved, Doctor Sweets. I think it's time for Booth and I to move on."

"There are other issues, Doctor Brennan." Sweets said, trying to remain calm despite the rising panic in his chest. He was very quickly losing control over this session, and he needed to get that control back. "Please have a seat."

"No." She stated. "I don't think that I will have a seat. I have wasted enough of my valuable time sitting beside my partner, not working on our partnership. Instead, we've been victim to your lectures, your experiments, your snide attitude and assumptions." She straightened, looking to Booth for support. Her partner's eyes were on the psychologist, and he looked up at Brennan with an encouraging nod. Brennan cleared her throat. "The work that Booth and I do together is built on a level of trust that you will never understand. There are times when I am surprised at the lengths I am willing to go to ensure his safety, and the fear that I feel each and every day that something horrible will go wrong. I trust him implicitly. I know that he knows how to do his job, and he allows me to do mine. We do not stand in one another's way, and we don't constantly vie for the spotlight, as you seem to do." She stated, feeling her partner's hand touching hers, she turned sharply, and he was standing beside her. "Booth, I'm…" She stopped.

"I'm not stopping you." He whispered, keeping his hand in hers, she turned toward the doctor, feeling his fingertips kneading hers.

"I understand that I… don't always agree with your methods of doing things, I don't… adhere to your set of rules."

"You hate psychology, Doctor Brennan. You have always disparaged my chosen field, and belittled my work."

Brennan straightened with renewed ire for the psychologist. "You understand, Doctor Sweets, that Booth and I… we don't have the same belief systems. You understand, that I prefer science to my gut, correct?" She asked, looking him in the eyes, she received no reply. "Is that correct."

"Yes, but I don't understand how…"

"The point I am making Doctor Sweets, is that you've lost faith in me. You've lost all faith in who I am, who I have become. You've lost faith in me, and because of that, I don't believe that it would be fair to waste our time participating in these sessions. There was a time when I was sure that you respected me, Doctor Sweets, but recently, there are far too many examples to the contrary." She said, slipping her hand from her partner's, she was sure she had the strength to finish this conversation on her own.

"Doctor Brennan, I don't think you understand…." He said, finally standing up.

"Stop." She said, holding her hand out for emphasis. She watched him flail for a moment, trying to find his words. "Just, stop."

"Doctor Brennan, you've always trashed my profession. You've always been disrespectful to me, to what I do, to what I've worked so hard for. I think I have a right to have an opinion of your work as well. I have the right to have an opinion of your attitude, and your treatment toward others. I respect what you do for this agency, I respect what you do for the greater good of our society."

"But you believe that I am a mere robot amongst humans." She stated bluntly. "You feel that I am cold, closed off and bitter. You have absolutely no faith in my judgment, my beliefs, or my own feelings. You call me 'Doctor' Brennan and rationalize to me that you're using it in a professional sense, when all I hear from the word is mockery. You claim to be my friend, you claim to care about my feelings, yet you send Booth and I in opposite directions as if you can't stand to see either of us standing on our own two feet. We were sent to you as partners to find resolution for our differences, and somehow you only managed to make it worse." She said, glancing to Booth. She could see the warmth in his eyes, the support for her cause, and she continued. " When we finally stepped back from your threats of separation, Doctor Sweets... That's when we found our way. You have been nothing but an impedance in our personal endeavors, and though I respect your professional opinion, and your profiling abilities, and I understand that Booth has a great deal of respect for you, I can honestly say that I have absolutely no respect for you as a friend."

"You'd prefer it if I called you Temperance?"

"I'd prefer it if you'd listen to what I am saying, Doctor Sweets." She said. "I'm done." She said, straightening her posture. "There was a time when I was close minded, and built walls around myself for protection. That time has passed, and I have moved on. You have obviously stayed in the same place. So what I am saying... Doctor Sweets." She said, clearing her throat. "I think it's about time you grew up." She said, ensuring that her pointed glare reached the psychologist, before she turned on her heel, and walked triumphantly out the door.

Sweets stood with his jaw slightly agape, his eyes on the door as it slammed firmly behind Brennan.

"Well." Booth said, nodding toward the door as Sweets looked to him. "I should probably go." He replied, taking a step backwards toward the door.

"Booth."

"Sorry, Sweets. You're the one that built the house of cards. It's not my fault you messed with the wrong tornado." He said, giving Sweets a half apologetic glance. "I'm always going to take her side, man. Always." Booth said, as he turned toward the door and picked up his step, closing the door firmly behind him, as he left Sweets speechless in their absence.