Disclaimer: I still do not own any of the characters/settings , nor am I making any money from any of this.

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Booth fidgeted impatiently as his partner flipped open what seemed like the hundredth birthday card she'd read in the store. From where he stood it looked just as acceptable as the previous ninety-nine had.

Brennan finally seemed to register his irritation. Her eyes flitted briefly from the card in her hand to him.

"I don't want Parker to think I'm being disingenuous." She explained.

"Bones," Pleading crept into his already impatient tone. "I doubt he even knows what that means."

"It's not really the semantics I'm worried about as much as the sentiment."

Booth groaned inwardly. She was taking this way too seriously.

"He is a six-year-old boy, Bones. H-"

"Almost seven." She interjected matter-of-factly.

"Fine." He set his jaw and continued. "An almost seven-year-old boy. Regardless, the only reason he even bothers to open the cards is that Rebecca makes him. Yeah, maybe it's cool if there's a racecar on the card…but what's even cooler is whatever happens to be in the wrapping paper under the card."

She fixed him with a stare.

"That's your opinion."

"That's a MAN's opinion." He countered.

"Well, fortunately Parker has hardly had the opportunity to pass any of the significant milestones that would grant him the status of "man" in our society. So your outlook really carries no importance to his." She turned back to the card rack ahead of her as if that settled the issue.

Booth closed his eyes for a moment and regained his composure before continuing.

"Bones, all I'm saying is that you are making way more of this than you have to…and there are so many better ways I can think of to be spending our lunch break. Starting with, I dunno…maybe eating lunch?" His sarcasm was punctuated by a well-timed growl from his stomach.

She sighed. "If you're so hungry you can just head out yourself. I'll meet you later."

"No Bones, you won't. You're going to stand here and shuffle through all these until I end up having to come back for you." He of all people knew how much focus she could dedicate to a single task.

"Perhaps my progress would be quicker if I was able to concentrate fully." Temperance replied critically. "You're very edgy today…it's interfering with my attentiveness."

"I'm not edgy. I'm hungry!"

"Booth, to some people the card is a very important part of gift-giving…it can set the tone for the whole process. Besides, aren't you the one who's always telling me to use my heart as well as my brain?"

"I'm also the one who tells you to trust my gut…" He motioned towards his midsection. "and right now my gut is starving!"

She rolled her eyes and then focused them once again on the bright paper products lining the walls. "Just a few more minutes." She promised.

Booth slumped against a nearby wall. The first few times he'd seen her select a card and carefully examine it before finding some reason to reject it had been endearing to see, cute even. After all, he'd seen her struggle in the past to grasp so many social concepts that fell outside of her realm of experience; he had to give her credit for wanting to do this right. But as time had dragged on, and his hasty breakfast became further and further away the amount of cards she studied became much less charming…and far more annoying. He had seen people purchase houses with less research and consideration than this.

Temperance was now contentedly flipping through a series of pop-up cards.

A movement in his peripheral vision caught Seeley's attention. He threw his head back in exasperation as he saw one of the staff members emerge from the back room with a box of fresh stock. He bitterly cursed whoever had decided there weren't enough cards out already.

The clerk walked past him and dropped the box off to the side. Booth saw Brennan's eyes light up at the prospect of new candidates, but his eyes lit even more when the side of the box proclaimed the contents to be "Sympathy Cards – Various". He had never been more thankful for mankind's mortality than at that moment.

Finally Brennan reached the end of the aisle and turned her attention to a few cards she held in her hand as the most promising candidates. She carefully reread each of them, deposited the rejects back into their slots, and with more than a hint of pride walked back to Booth with her chosen card.

"Okay." She beamed at having completed her task. Booth couldn't help but return the smile. "What do you think of this?" She presented the card she had chosen to him eagerly.

"I think it's perfect." He stated.

"Really?" She pressed.

"Yeah, I mean it's funny, it's age-appropriate, it's got pirates. Parker's going to really like it."

"You think so?"

"Yes…" his tone then took a complete turn. "Which is exactly why it's the one I picked out half an hour ago!" He finished his response incredulously and brought the identical copy in his own hand up to her eye-level, his dark eyes boring into hers with frustration.

"What?" She grabbed his card and held it beside hers. She glared at him disbelievingly. Finally she thrust his copy back and him and began to turn back towards the shelves.

"Whoa!" He grabbed her elbow and wheeled her back to face him. "No. No way are you starting this again…not unless you're planning to turn this lunch break into a sick day or something."

"But it seems a bit indecorous to-"

"You know what? I will just put mine back Bones. I can find another one tomorrow."

"That hardly seems fair…I can just get the one that was my second choice, it was right here" She shrugged out of his grasp and swapped out her card for another.

"There!" She handed him the new selection with another expectant smile.

Booth took the card from her and thumbed it open. Temperance waited tentatively for his reaction, and her smile faltered when his expression soured.

"What? What's wrong with it?" She was slightly confused. It had seemed an appropriate choice.

"Nothing." He answered, still studying the paper in his hand. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with it." A small pout formed at his mouth.

Brennan threw a confused glace from her partner to the card and back. His reaction seemed to contradict his assessment.

He brandished her new choice in the air. "This is so much better than mine!" he complained loudly.

The smile returned to Brennan's face at full force. "See?" She taunted. "That's why it's important to do careful research." She attempted to grab her card from Booth. He quickly jerked his hand away so it was out of her reach.

"You know Bones…" He began his overly nice tones immediately recognizable to his partner. She could tell he was trying to placate her for whatever was coming next. "This card" he indicated hers that he still held just beyond her reach. "was only your second choice…." Booth sort of sneered at the mention of the second place ranking. " …and I am nothing, if not a gentleman. So I am willing to, once again, offer you your first choice card." He offered her his pirate pun card, a cheesy imitation of his charm smile in place attempting to coerce her.

"Booth…" She mimicked his sickly sweet tone. "I appreciate the gesture, but I just couldn't let you do that." She leaned across his arm and grabbed her card from his hands. The sparkle in his eyes died a bit as he realized she wasn't falling for his ploy. "You know…" She continued as she began to make her way towards the counter. "…no changies…no take-backs" She smiled triumphantly as she turned to pay for the card.

Booth smirked at her back, and crossed the aisle to join her at the till. "Fine, no take-backs…." He handed the teller a few bills to pay for his own card. "…but I'm still starving, how about some take-out?"

The cashier returned his change, and the partners headed out the door.

"Takeout sounds good… but I get to choose the restaurant." She baited him. "I think we've proven my taste is superior."

Seeley rolled his eyes…hopefully she didn't need as much time to sort through menus as she had the cards.

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A.N.: Just a short chapter to let you all know that I didn't abandon the story. I'm so sorry! I've just been suffering from a bout of writer's block. Hopefully you haven't all forgotten about this story….reviews let me know it's worth my time (or yours!) *nudge*. (Pretty please?).

As always please leave any suggestions in a review or pm.