"Agent Booth, what a surprise!" Sweets leaned against the doorframe of his apartment, attempting to block Booth's view into the room. He was dressed only in a pair of plaid pajamas pants. Booth had not changed since his day at work and was still dressed in his usual suit and a snappy purple tie.

"Can it, kiddo. We need to talk." Booth growled and placed one hand on the door, pushing it open a little wider.

"Ah, yes. Well, you see, now isn't really a good time. Perhaps tomorrow? If you call my receptionist, she can set you up with an appointment." Sweets coughed, placing his bare foot against the door to resist Booth's push.

"Sweets." Booth's snarl had surpassed frightening, and the young psychologist realized the dangerous edge to the tone. He stepped back suddenly, subconsciously, and Booth muscled his way into the room.

"Agent Booth, this is really not appropriate." Sweets gestured to his bare-chested appearance.

Booth barked a laugh. "Whatever you've got under your panties, Sweets, I've seen it." Sweets blushed at the implication of his femininity but his stammers were interrupted by Booth. "Nice place. Would've thought you'd have life size action figures, but those are probably in the back. You can bring them out, Sweets, it's not like there are going to be any women here that you need to hide them from."

If anything, Sweets face paled instead of blushing. "Agent Booth, can I ask why you found it necessary to barge into my apartment at-" he glanced at the clock above his stove "twelve-thirty on a Monday night?"

"I told you. We need to talk. Got any beer?" Booth loosened his tie with one hand and pulled the fridge open with his other.

"Are you drunk, Agent Booth?"

"Trust me, if I was drunk, you'd know it, Sweets. I'm barely restraining myself from pummeling you to shreds as is." He pulled a face at the options of alcohol in the fridge before selecting a cheap beer.

"I have to ask you not to drink that." Sweets reached over and took the beer from Booth.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anybody you have it. I know you're underage." But Booth didn't argue with Sweets as he placed it back in the refrigerator.

"Lancelot?" A sleepy voice called from the end of a long hallway. Booth's face paled as he glanced down the hall and saw Daisy Wick dressed in a masculine bathrobe. "Who is it? It's late." Booth's gaze snapped back to Sweets', waiting to see his response.

"It's about work, babe. Go back to bed. I'll be there as soon as I can." Sweets maintained eye contact with Booth even as he spoke with his girlfriend.

"I'll miss you, cupcake." Daisy called softly before padding back into the bedroom.

Booth had to give the man some credit, for Sweets didn't even blush at the nickname. The psychologist sighed, resigning himself to a long night. "What is so urgent that it must be discussed now, Agent Booth?"

Booth pulled off his suit jacket and slung it on the counter. "Do you have any idea what you almost said to her?"

"I told you, Agent Booth, I am required not to share any of the information you give me with any other party. That includes your partner."

Booth rolled his eyes. "I'm not worried about you telling her that I love her, though we'll talk about that in a minute. You don't even realize how close you were to the truth tonight, do you?"

Sweets padded over to a small table in the corner of the room, collecting a legal pad and pen from a drawer. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"No, no notes today, Sweets." Booth pulled the pad from Sweets' hands and threw it back onto the counter.

"Agent Booth…" Sweets protest was quiet but indignant. "I have allowed you into my house at nearly one in the morning. I've allowed you to pull me from my bed, my girlfriend. I understand you are upset about something, but I will not allow you to manhandle me. Now, either calm down and explain yourself, or make an appointment with my receptionist."

"It takes a man to be manhandled, Sweets." But the venom had mostly disappeared from Booth's voice. "It's just… you were so close to ruining everything."

"I've assured you multiple times, Booth, I will not share your feelings for Doctor Brennan with anybody unless they become a detriment to your work."

"It's not about that, Sweets!" A pointed look from Sweets and Booth lowered his voice. "You told her that she was tied down. You said that she's tied to her work and attached to her life as it is."

Sweets paled slightly, realizing the implication of the words. He sat down heavily in a chair at the kitchen table. "I said nothing of the sort, Agent Booth. I merely recapitulated what she had stated about herself. You did not allow me to share my thoughts on the matter."

Booth placed both hands on the counter and leaned across it menacingly, making Sweets feel almost as if he were being interrogated by the agent.

"And what are your thoughts, Sweets?" Booth's voice was a low growl once more.

Sweets sighed running a hand over a smooth jaw. If Booth had been in a better mood, he would have commented on the lack of stubble there, but he continued to glare the psychologist down in silence.

"I think that Doctor Brennan is a complex human with conflicting emotions. She longs to fit in and be loved, and you have given her security in her place in the world. In that sense, she is tied down."

A long silence filled the room as the agent continued to stare Sweets down. "Do you understand what would happen if you made her think that? If you made her think she was trapped? She'd run, Sweets. She'd leave and never look back. I'd lose her."

"I understand that in the past, Doctor Brennan has set a precedent for running any time she feels that she has to stay. But I don't think you put enough faith in your relationship, Agent Booth. Doctor Brennan's ties are to you, not to anything else. She has demonstrated an awesome amount of trust in you both as a work partner and as a friend."

Booth nodded. "Exactly, Sweets. That's exactly it. She trusts me, and if you turn that around to make her feel like she's stuck, it'll ruin everything. She'll turn around and run. That's why I've got to take this slowly."

Sweets shook his head. "You aren't listening, Agent Booth. Doctor Brennan trusts you. She has allowed you close enough to her to make a difference. She listens to what you have to say. If you told her you loved her, she wouldn't run. Part of her already knows that, and the rest of her wants it to be true."

"But love scares her." Booth's anger had dissipated to be replaced by the weariness one only knows late in the night after a long day of difficult emotions and conversations.

"No, Agent Booth. She's not scared of love. She's scared of not having love."

"Sweets, you're being ridiculous. That makes no sense."

"Think about it. In the past, those that have loved her have always left. Even those she thought had to love her. It's not having somebody love her that she's worried about. Her fear lies in her judgment. She's terrified to allow herself to love again."

"I know all that, Sweets."

Sweets held up a hand to silence Booth before continuing. "That's where her hatred for psychology comes from – she's terrible at it. She hides behind facts ad things that she can prove because she can't prove emotions, she can't prove feelings. When she meddled with feelings in the past, she was wrong. In her eyes, those she loves never love her back enough to stay with her."

"But you told me not to tell her that I love her." Booth's confusion was palpable.

Sweets stood and crossed the room to where the agent had retreated and was leaning against the counter in frustration.

"You need to show her, Booth. You need to prove to her that your feelings are true. She has already placed her trust in you beyond anything she's ever done before. If you just tell her that you love her, it might ruin that. You need to show her that you love her before you do anything else."

"You just said that you can't prove emotion, Sweets. How and I supposed to do it?" Booth's voice was low and his gaze was directed at the linoleum, desperate for the younger scientist not to see his watery, frustrated eyes.

"I said that she can't prove feelings, Booth. You can- you're a man of feelings to her logic. You just need to find a way. It's not going to be easy, but she's not a rock. She'll come around. Her feelings from you are so strong. It's awesome, really. She'll get there. You just need to help her along."

Booth turned on his heel and headed for the door. He was almost out of the frame before he stopped and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. When he spoke, it was to the hall more than it was to the doctor behind him.

"I'm trying. I'm trying so damn hard." And with that, Booth left, pulling the door closed behind him.

A/N: This is the second chapter that I've posted today to make up for my long absence. I hope you are still reading, but I have no way of knowing unless you review! Please let a worried author know if she should continue or whether she lost all of her readers. Chapter eight will be up tomorrow!