"The only award that most assumed Temperance Brennan couldn't possibility ever win was perhaps the one she deserved most of all."

A/N : I'm aware that this is very outdated, cannon-wise, but I felt it just had to be written...

Disclaimer: Yes, I write fan fiction in between all the owning Bones I do. Not.

"I don't give a flying fuck about what Hacker thinks. The Steelers won't lose this year; we've got a great half back."

Brennan's eyes widened, taking on the appearance of a startled owl. It was not uncommon for the scientist to be perplexed by her partner's idioms. This one launched her on a brief but distracting internal query concerning the two species of which she was certain engaged in in-flight copulation; eagles over the Rockies, and humans in airplanes over just about anywhere.

"Bones, you in there?" Booth's forehead was creased in confusion, which confirmed Brennan's theory the she had sectioned out. A forced smile and weak nod of her head later, Booth had returned his attention to Hannah. It had been like this for months, neither partner able to get a - what was the term Angela had used? Read, her internal self supplied helpfully - read on each other. Of course, it was not entirely the fault of their fading connection.

It was hard for anyone to grasp the concept that Temperance Brennan would lie. This was not an accident.

She was more than proficient in the art of deceit, and she was well aware of this. However, she chose to be truthful - most of the time. This, too, was intentional. After all, if one was pathologically incapable of speaking anything but the facts, wouldn't it stand to reason that anything that came out of their mouth could be trusted?

In the course of her partnership with one Seeley Booth, this skill of hers had become obsolete; even when they went undercover, her talent went untapped. But today... Today, she had called on every last modicum of hidden skill that she had amassed over the years to deceive the one person she had not thought it possible to lie to.

This begged the question; were her emotions truly that well concealed, or did he even give a (to borrow his terminology ) 'flying fuck ' anymore? Though fucks could not actually become airborne, the phrase's inferred meaning seemed to translate her sentiments perfectly.

In fact, Brennan reflected as the coolness of his gaze fleetingly met hers before he turned away to laugh at something the blonde woman accompanying them had said, no one in the group that he had once assured her was a 'family' had noticed in the least as she retreated back into her lab for days on end, nor had anyone commented on her not having slept well in more than a week, much less eaten anything substantial in longer than that.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she noted that both of them were now angled towards her expectantly. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. What did you say?" Booth's mouth turned up in the corner, forming the quirky, cocky half-grin she adored. As her social worker had said to her numerous times,'the show must go on', and maybe, just maybe, now was time to forfeit her role as leading lady.

Lights.

Camera.

Action.

A/N: Alright, this is my first-ever time writing fan fiction, and I have no beta yet, so all mistakes are completely my own. Love it? Hate it? Suggestions for improvement? Please comment!