Author’s Note: Thanks for reading and for the amazing reviews and for the story alerts! So... I guess I’ll just take a deep breath and continue – no pressure to meet expectations, right? :)

Setting: The spring and summer of late season 4.

Disclaimer: Not mine. But this is how I’d like them to be.

4. I'm So Glad You Found Me

“No hope, no harm” sits at the very top of Temperance Brennan’s personal code of conduct. She is proud of how effective this principle has proved to be, on more than one occasion. She also likes it that it can be expressed almost mathematically: disappointment tends towards zero when there are no expectations in the first place.

The flip side of the coin is that the converse is also true. The higher the expectations, the more bitter the disappointment. And Brennan has very high expectations of herself.

She just hates psychology. Particularly when it reflects negatively on her behavior.

Entropy pulls everything apart at the subatomic level. Even if it sits rather uneasily with her innate desire for order, she has to accept that chaos underpins the universe.

But she forgot to take into account how hard it is to actually watch the world tip upside down.

Time to restore the balance.

Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.

“Angela says that you’re protective of me because you didn’t have anyone to protect you, and you don’t want that for me.”

He is sitting in that damn chair in his office, raising his head from the paperwork at the sound of her voice. She is standing in the doorway, watching him with that blunt earnestness that so often disarms him.

“Angela’s a little too insightful for her own good”, he mutters.

He is silent for a moment, then he looks up at her.

“Is this your way of apologizing, Bones?”

“I… I guess so.”

He watches her for another beat.

“OK.”

A moment later, she realizes that the anticipated relief has failed to materialize. The universe remains stubbornly skewed. Perhaps it is the fact that she can’t see even the hint of a smile on his face?

“What are you doing over there? Come on in – we need to go over the case, see if we missed anything.”

He half turns in his chair and stretches his hand towards the mountain of paperwork behind, wincing slightly as the movement pulls at his sore ribs.

She experiences a surge of protectiveness so strong that she feels dizzy for a second. She lowers herself in a chair, her hands instinctively gripping the armrests, anchoring herself.

“Do you want some coffee? You look tired.” Booth’s voice pulls her out of her reverie.

“...yes, thanks.”

She gives in when he returns. One step is all it takes, and she is wrapping her arms around his waist. He recovers quickly, setting the cup blindly on the desk, pulling her in a close hug.

So this is how everything falls into place, she thinks.

They hold each other amidst paperwork, photographs, the smell of coffee and each other’s warmth.

“Booth?” she asks, her voice muffled.

“Yeah.”

“How long did it take me last time?”

He can feel her words vibrate in his chest.

“Mhm...?”

“You know, when you came back. How long did it take me to... smile or apologize?”

Forty-three days.

“Sssh, don’t worry about that now", he says, holding her a little tighter.

Perhaps there is something to be said for atonement or redemption, after all. What an incongruous idea, she thinks.

So that’s why she was so upset (I swear, it was as much a surprise for me as it was for you). But anyhow, nothing as sweet as making up. Right? :)

“No hope, no harm” is a line from a song by the Smiths, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me – check it out on youtube (I have to warn you, though, it has one of the longest intros in history). And ‘Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.’ is from William Blake – who else? A fitting homage (I hope) to our favorite shrink, Gordon Gordon.

Reviews are all that I need. Seriously.