Disclaimer -- They're not mine. Admitting it out loud only makes the pain worse.

A/N - Not much to say about this one, hope you like it. It's pure fluff, don't expect anything deep or meaningful K?

Thanks again to redrider6612 for going over this for me and pointing out all my stupid mistakes. I was looking over some of my older stories and boy are there a lot of them!

Click, click, click, click

The sound of a clicking pen had to be one of the most annoying noises in the entire world Booth thought as he leaned against the railing that outlined the platform in centre of the lab, clicking his "Federal Bureau of Investigation" pen. Unfortunately for Booth, the squints seemed unfazed by his latest attempt to draw them out of their work induced trances. Zach hovered over the bones of their latest victim, Hodgins gazed down a microscope in the corner and Brennan was poring over entomology reports. Angela was hunched over her sketch pad also fighting off boredom as she waited for Hodgins to take her to dinner. The lab was practically deserted and silence had reigned over their little gathering for the last ten minutes. To say that Booth was impatient and fidgety would be a gross understatement.

"Bones," Booth practically whined, "how much longer is this going to take?" He continued clicking his pen as he ambled across the platform to take a glimpse at the jumble of letters and numbers that had her so engrossed. It might as well have been written in Swedish for all he could make of it.

"Just a few more minutes," said Brennan distractedly, and Booth felt like a child being told that he would just have to wait a few more minutes before Mommy could take him to the park.

"That's what you said five minutes ago Bones, and we have an interview in ten minutes. Can't you look over those later?" They really were going to be late if she took any longer.

"Booth, this information is extremely pertinent to our investigation and could have great bearing on the questions you are about to ask Edward Foster." Brennan sounded exasperated. Booth rolled his eyes and decided to just shut up and let her do her thing, even if she was going to make them late. He tried to brood, but couldn't. He could never stay mad at her for very long, and God knows it wasn't for lack of trying.

"Alright," said Brennan finally," I'm ready."

"Good," said Booth sarcastically, "I'm sure you've discovered something new and important that'll bust this case wide open."

Unfortunately, sarcasm was usually lost on Brennan.

"No, not really," she said calmly. "Nothing we didn't already know."

Booth groaned, "What? You wasted all that time for…..you know what, let's just go."

He shook his head. Only Bones could get away with wasting his precious time like this on a regular basis. In fact, the thing that really bothered him was that lately he had been having to constantly remind himself that he was supposed to find these things about her annoying instead of endearing and, well…..completely adorable. When she made him late for meetings he was supposed to be irritated, not feel that whatever she had done to hold him up was worth the tongue lashing he received from his boss. When she was arguing angrily with him he was supposed to get pissed as well, not distracted by how cute she looked with her eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed.

Even now he was thinking to himself how admirable her dedication to their work was, instead of how they were keeping everyone waiting. He was so pathetic.

Just as she was grabbing her coat he heard: "Dr Brennan, if you could look at…."

"No!" he shouted, throwing his arms up in the air, sending his pen soaring across the platform. "We are leaving!"

"Booth," said Brennan sternly, "this will only take a second."

"Fine," grunted Booth, "I'll meet you in the truck." Time always seemed to slow down when he hovered in the lab, especially when they had somewhere to be.

He strode toward the steps, but unfortunately failed to notice his pen which had landed directly at the top of the stairs. Four quick strides and he found himself flying headlong down the steps.

Everything went black.

B B B

Brennan shook her head at Booth's outburst. What was he so anxious about? It wasn't as if they could start interviewing their suspect without the two of them present and whatever Zach had to show her could be very important. It could alter their entire approach to this interview if what he found aided their investigation even to the smallest degree. Did that man ever use his head?

She had to smile though, as she recalled the pout he had sported just minutes ago that she had to admit was kind of cute.

Suddenly she head a shout and looked over to see Booth go head over heels down the steps and knock his head at the bottom. In that second all thoughts of the case left and were replaced only with concern for him. So what if he had been angry at her five seconds ago, he probably had good reason, she could be very trying and….Oh God, what if he had a concussion?

"Booth!" she cried, racing down the steps, almost tripping herself in her rush to reach him. He wasn't moving. She felt for his pulse and placed her ear next to his mouth. He was breathing, he had a pulse. Now she just had to get her own breathing under control. Zach began to follow her toward Booth, but Brennan turned to him and barked: "Call 911!" as she lifted his head gently onto her lap.

Angela ran down the steps and settled herself beside Booth. Hodgins was close behind her, but she quickly ordered him to go make sure that Zach wasn't confusing the hell out of the 911 Operator before turning her gaze on Brennan.

"Sweetie," she said calmly," I'm sure he's going to be alright."

Angela's words hardly registered as she began slowly stroking his forehead.

"Booth……Booth…." she repeated.

Booth began to stir and Brennan let out a huge sigh of relief.

B B B

"Booth…..Booth..."

Booth's head was pounding, like someone was driving nails into it. The pain was overwhelming. What happened? He vaguely remembered his swan dive down the steps, but his mind was wrapped in a thick haze that didn't allow coherent thought and he was left wondering when the person using the sledgehammer inside his head was gong to take a break.

The ground beneath him suddenly moved. Something was different; where was the hard floor that he had become so intimate with moments ago? He shifted his head, which was now cushioned by something soft and warm. He didn't want to open his eyes; didn't want to move. His current position was much too comfortable.

A hand stroked his face, the touch was gentle and soothing and all he wanted to do was lay there and enjoy it. He had oriented himself enough by now to realize that he was being held….definitely by a woman. And not just any woman. That scent, that touch, that voice, that was finally permeating the pain induced fog that had enveloped his senses, could belong to no one but his partner.

How many nights had he fantasized about Bones holding him this way, but under decidedly different, more romantic, circumstances that didn't involve him being incapacitated. He lost himself in the concern in her voice calling his name. and the feel of her fingertips delicately moving across his forehead. This had to be another dream; it felt way too good to be real.

Where was he again?

Maybe he'd died and gone to Heaven, he thought as he finally opened his eyes and the vision of her face smiling softly with relief swam into focus She looked so beautiful, like an angel. Her hair hung loosely, framing her face which was so close he could feel her breath whispering across his cheek.

"Hey, Bones," he said groggily, "I think I fell."

She nodded," Yes, you did take a fall; a pretty nasty one."

"Nasty….Okay," he said drowsily and his eyes began to slip shut. Sleep would help; sleep was good. He vaguely heard Brennan tell Angela to go and make sure someone was meeting the Ambulance.

"No, Booth!" she ordered, jarring him awake, "keep your eyes open! You could have a concussion."

"But Bones..." began Booth. Brennan just shook her head, causing her hair to brush softly against his face.

"No 'buts', eyes open!" she said firmly. "Talk to me, you need to stay awake."

Booth thought for a second, but all that came to mind was how her hair was glowing under the bright lights of the lab. He lifted a hand up and twirled a long strand around his finger. "Look at your hair. So shiny," he said, mesmerized.

Apparently receiving a blow to the head was very similar to being drunk, as Booth seemed to have lost all ability to censor his words.

A confused look flashed across Brennan's face.

"An ambulance is coming," she said, unsure how to respond to his compliment.

"Okay…but I don't want to move. Hmmm," he sighed, snuggling his head deeper into her lap as if it were a fluffy pillow. "Soft."

Brennan began to panic--could he have suffered some brain damage?

"Booth, are you alright?" she asked, "how many fingers am I holding up?"

She held up her hand, but Booth wasn't looking. He was on a roll now.

"'Course I'm okay," he said, wondering how she could ask such a silly question. "You smell so good. Could you keep…you know….with your hand…."

She hesitated before placing her hand on his forehead again, deciding that he must be somewhat okay; at least he was forming complete sentences. Sort of.

"Mm hmm…yeah, like that. Feels so nice." He moaned appreciatively and Brennan trembled at the sound.

She cracked a small smile; it was kind of amusing, but it was also much too enjoyable. She was beginning to notice, objectively of course, how touching Booth, in any way, seemed to relieve her stress or anxiety and left her feeling….content, happy even. Having her hands on him, even under these circumstances, was calming her as well as him. Plus, he'd asked her to, and who was she to deny an injured man?

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Booth's voice.

"My head hurts," he moaned quietly. The sharp pains had subsided, but a dull pounding still pulsed through his skull.

"I know," she said sympathetically, "you hit your head pretty hard. It will leave quite a mark later."

"It sure will," he sighed. His brightened subtly, "Maybe if you kissed it, it would feel better."

His mind was clearing and even as he said the words he cringed inwardly. Did he really just say that? What else had he said to her? He knew he should be mortified; after all, he had just asked her to kiss him, but oddly enough, all he felt was curiosity and anticipation. Would she actually grant his request?

"Are you serious?" she asked. That was a dumb question, he was obviously still loopy from his fall, of course he wasn't serious. She watched his eyes continue to clear, relief flooding her that he was going to be alright. She was also grateful as this would hopefully mean the end of his random compliments which were leaving her far too excited for her own good. The way he had been looking at her…..a girl could only take so much.

She couldn't have been more wrong. It seemed that even after his return to reality, Booth wasn't going to let this go.

"Yeah," he said. "I really think it would make me feel better."

"Really?"

No Bones, not really…Yes!

He looked at her with a challenge in his gaze, but it was mixed with something that she was forced to acknowledge as hope. She looked at him for a second before leaning down and pressing her lips softly against his forehead. She pulled back and looked him directly in the eye.

"Did that help?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, but I'm still in a lot of pain," he told her. Where was this coming from? What were they doing? And why were they doing whatever they were doing in the middle of the lab? He saw Zach reenter the room, but halt his approach. By this point he didn't care who was standing around them, he had felt her lips caress his skin and all he knew was that he wanted more.

He was shocked when she asked him: "Where does it hurt Booth?"

He paused before pointing to his chin. "Here."

She placed a gentle kiss where his finger had been.

He lifted his hand and pointed to his cheek. "Here too." He held his breath.

Again, she leaned down and gently kissed his cheek which was also beginning to sport a nice bruise to match the one on his forehead. He'd certainly feel that one, she thought to herself. She also couldn't stop herself from wondering how many people would look at him and question what he had done to make his notoriously violent partner so angry.

She really couldn't believe she was doing this, but it was simply one friend offering comfort to another, right?

But any chance of pretending that these kisses were simply a comforting gesture was shot to smithereens when he looked into her eyes and pointed to his lips.

"It hurts here too."

He raised himself up on one elbow and looked at her expectantly.

Her eyes widened, but the panic that she should have felt was missing. In truth every time he got hurt, even something as small as a cut, she was reminded that her 'knight' was still a mortal man. Did she want to wait until their last chance had slipped away or should she finally take Angela's advice? She had never been an advocate of the "Carpe Diem" attitude when it came to her emotions and men, especially when that man was Booth. Biological urges she could deal with, but this…..She could hear Angela in her head telling her to shut down the rational side of her brain just this once!

Life really was too short, she decided, to pass on something she had come to want in the worst way. She closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his.

Booth immediately responded, letting one of his hands slip into her hair as he deepened the kiss. Now he knew he was dreaming. He had wanted this with her for the longest time, but he had never expected it to feel so good. Years of history with her and he had never imagined anything so sweet.

"Thanks," he whispered as she pulled away. The ambulance men were coming through the front entrance and the noise level was rapidly increasing, but something in him felt the need to whisper.

She shivered at the intimacy of his tone and smiled almost bashfully.

"Anytime, Booth."

"Well, this pain isn't going to go away overnight," he said mischievously.

His boldness caught her off guard for a second, but she made a quick recovery. "Then I guess I have my work cut out for me."

At this he grinned and pulled her towards him again.

B B B

Angela guided the paramedics into the lab, but stopped dead when she saw Booth and Brennan on the floor in each others arms.

She turned to the two paramedics and held up her hand.

"Wait!" she said forcefully.

"But ma'am," began one of them, wondering what this lady, who had been in such a hurry only seconds ago, could be thinking, "he may have a …"

"No!" she declared, in a tone that was decidedly hostile. "If you break that up, I will personally make sure that the only ones needing medical attention will be you two."

The medics shrugged, the man they had been called in to aid certainly didn't look like he'd be requiring any attention from them any time soon.

Today seems a very appropriate day to post this story. I hit my head on the side of a door this morning. I tend to look down when I walk, I think it has something to do with my brutal eyesight. Anyway, I've got a killer headache, but reviews just might make me feel better!

Thanks for reading !