Gold_Wolf_Productions

[Addictt]

So.. Here it is.. The first chapter of ALFUTS [one of our dear abbreviations ^^]

I hope you all enjoy!


A LITTLE FUN UNDER THE SUN


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: We do not own Bones, wish we did though.
Rating: It’s T-rated for a reason, people. Let’s just say that some characters in the story are going to have certain thoughts °cough fantasies cough° about their fellow characters.

Author's note Addictt: I'm so excited to write this story with niah1988. She's such a great writer. I hope you all enjoy this little fluff-fic!

Author's note niah1988: Our first attempt at co-writing:) Be kind, review and tell us if we'd better stop our partnership before things get too ugly. lol Addictt writes an excellent Dr. Goodman! I'd like to point out that this fic is not, I repeat NOT, a part of my Postcard Series. And oh yes, this story is supposed to be fluffy and quite humorous. Therefore the characters may appear a tad OOC.

Loads of thanks to Kelei, our beta. We can’t thank you enough for your help.

Scenes in italics are flashbacks. This chapter is written in Brennan's POV.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

° Chapter 1 - Come Along with Me °
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

I sigh and look down at my tickets. My mind drifts back to the memory of how I got them.

"Temperance, sit down," Dr. Goodman said and smiled. I obliged, albeit sceptically.

"So, why did you want to talk to me?" I asked friendly, but firm. There was a skeleton waiting for me.

"I have an offer for you," he answered while handing me an envelope. I opened it to find two tickets.

"Tickets..." I exclaimed, very surprised. "To San Salvador Island?"

"Yes," was the only thing he said.

"What for?"

"Vacation," Dr. Goodman replied, in his strong African-American tone, as if this was completely normal. Now I wasn't just surprised, I was confused too.

"You want me to go to the Bahamas?"

"Yes. Everybody goes on vacation from time to time. You haven't been away for years."

"I have," I interrupted him. "I've been to all kind of places."

"Yes, for work maybe," he immediately returned. "Go, Dr. Brennan. Have some fun, relax, do what other people do. Socialize."

I'm still not sure what Dr. Goodman meant exactly, but he had a point. Anthropologically speaking, a lot of people go on vacation. It seems to be very relaxing, on some level, and they are able to do their work more accurately afterwards. Some even speak of a new 'energy'. They also consider themselves happier.

Even though there is no logical reason to, I have decided to go. The skeleton from limbo can wait a couple of weeks longer. Dr. Goodman insisted that I take two weeks off, although the trip to the Bahamas is for only seven days. I asked him why I should take another week off, but he said I should find out myself. Sometimes that man really confuses me. I hate being confused. It annoys the hell out of me.

I take out my cell phone, press number 1 on my speed dial and wait a few seconds.

"Booth."

"Hey Booth... I was wondering if you’d want to join me for a drink tonight."

"Of course, Bones. I love spending some time with my favourite anthropologist." I can't help but smile at his words.

"So, I’ll see you tonight at Wong Foo's?"

"I'll be there," he says and after a quick goodbye we end our call.

That evening...

"Well, Bones... Did you really want to have a drink with me or is there something else?" Booth asks as we sit down at the bar. Sometimes he knows me too well.

"Actually, both…" I take a sip from my drink and smile at the thought of what is coming next.

"What is it?" Booth probes, throwing me his infamous charm smile.

"Would you like to go to the Bahamas with me?" I blurt out, just dropping the subject on him in my usually blunt manner.

"Are you serious?" he asks friendly, looking me straight in the eye. His lips curl into an even larger charm smile.

"Yes... Dr. Goodman insisted I take some weeks off, and gave me these tickets," I reply and push the two tickets forward. "He told me to socialize..." I nod at my last words. Now he's just showing off with his charm smile. It's humanly impossible to keep smirking like that for more than five minutes! I try to read his face, but there is nothing to see except that darn smile. I guess my people skills haven't improved as much as I sometimes like to claim.

"Would you like to go with me?" I ask again, trying to sound unaffected. No way I'm going to give him the pleasure of seeing me melt down just because he's giving me the large-grin-and-twinkling-eyes combination.

"Of course Bones! I'd love to."

I take another sip from my drink and can't help but feel very satisfied.

"Can I ask you a question?" he suddenly blurts out and his eyes lock onto mine. He has turned serious; I wonder why.

"Sure."

"Why aren't you taking Sully with you?" I didn't expect that question. I avert my gaze to my drink and look up again into his brown eyes that contain a curious but still friendly expression.

"Well, Dr. Goodman told me to socialize; I socialize enough with Sully. Plus I like spending time in your company. Is that a bad thing?" I retort, a little insecure.

"No! God no, Bones. I'm glad you asked me," he answers and the twinkle in his eyes intensifies. I give him one of my rare smiles in return.

We remain silent for a few minutes. Then he starts to drum softly on the table as I drink up what's left of my drink. I take only one ticket, put it in my bag and smile at him again. "We're leaving next week," I announce as I get off my chair before slowly walking out of Wong Foo's.

When I get outside, my subtle smile isn't so subtle anymore. My partner's going with me to the Bahamas!

One week later, somewhere at the airport…

“Do you see them?� Angela asks as they walk through the gate. The two scientists accompanying her shake their heads. “Damn it,� the artist mutters. “They must’ve already boarded the plane.�

In the mean while, on the plane…

Booth stops to indicate the seat next to the window. I shake my head. “I’m not taking that seat, Booth.�

He raises his eyebrows. "It's fine, Bones. You can have the seat next to the window."

“No Booth, I'm not sitting there.�

"Bones, please," he nearly begs.

I shake my head again. “No Booth, I’m not sitting there.�

"Bones, just take the damned seat!" he says through clenched teeth.

“And risk having a fidgety FBI agent sitting next to me? Do you think I'm stupid or what? You are taking the seat next to the window, Booth; that way you'll have something to occupy yourself with while I'm reading a book.�

Silently but with a scowling look on his face, Booth squeezes his broad frame between the two rows of seats. "I do not fidget," he retorts after flopping down on the rather tight seat.

“Yes, you do,� I shoot back, rolling my eyes. “It usually takes half an hour before you begin shifting around in your seat, and start complaining about how bored you are. Poking me in the side and snatching my papers away usually accompany your whines.�

Booth mutters something unintelligible and slides a bit down in his seat, only to prop himself up again when he hears a familiar squeal ring through the plane, followed by a loud thump and someone exclaiming, “Dude! Watch where you’re falling!�

He turns to me with a dangerous smile on his face. "Bones, could you be so kind as to explain to me why you invited the rest of the squints?"

I give him a confused stare. “I didn't invite them.�

"Then why are Angela, Hodgins and Zach nosing about on our plane? I'm pretty sure they aren't our flight attendants."

I look up just in time to see my best friend rushing towards me. The old lady with the huge hat that’s blocking the path gives me a couple of extra seconds to gather my thoughts. What on earth are they doing here?

“Sweetie, we found you!� Angela exclaims as she throws herself at me.

I return her hug, my brain already working at the speed of light to figure out the odds of the rest of my team showing up at exactly the same day, hour and plane as Booth and I. "Angela," I carefully start. "What are you doing here?"

"Leaving for the Bahamas! We are going to have such a great time. Just think of all the things we can do: sip Margaritas, catch a bit of sun on the beach, go for a swim... Hey, Hodgins can teach us how to surf!"

Somewhere along Angela's ramble, I close my eyes in a vain attempt to regain my calm. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. I crack one eye open to take a peek at Booth's face. He's blankly staring at the back of the seat in front of him. Now is not a good time for your poker face, Booth! "Seriously Ange, why are you here? I thought Dr. Goodman only had two tickets."

"Oh we aren't here on Goodman's request. We heard about your little get-away to sunny San Salvador and we thought 'Hey, why let them have all the fun?' That's why we're here."

"Right…" I slowly nod. I'm about to say that the thought of the rest of my 'Squint Squad' tagging along doesn't bother me, when the sight of Hodgins and Zach struggling to be the first to sit down next to the window catches my attention.

"I claim the window seat!" Zach states in a loud voice.

"No way man, I'm sitting there."

"Why should you? I was here first."

"I'm the one who paid for our tickets so it's only fair that I get to sit there!" Hodgins counters.

Another rather violent struggle follows his words. Angela rolls her eyes. "Men. Why want children if you've already got a boyfriend with the mental age of a ten year old?"

"Alright man, there's only one way to settle this." Hodgins holds out his fist. Zach does the same. With raised eyebrows I watch them bob their fists up and down three times before forming different shapes. Zach's holding out a flat hand while Hodgins' fist is still clenched.

"Ha! Paper beats rock! I get the window seat," Zach exclaims before settling down onto the seat he just won through a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Hodgins groans at the triumphant expression Zach's wearing.

"I'm never taking rock again!" he grumbles.

Angela lets out a deep sigh. "Right... Like I said, underneath all that brilliance, the mental age of a ten year old." She pats my hand, sending me a Cheshire grin. "You two behave while we're up in the air."

And with that she rushes off to her own seat a couple of rows in front of us. "Boys, boys... Let's behave, shall we? Hodgins, Zach won that seat fair and square but look at it this way: you get to spend the flight sitting next to me." She receives an approving mumble for an answer.

Behave? We should behave? What does she expect we're going to do? Set the plane on fire? Throw our bags of peanuts at our fellow passengers? Have a quick shag in the plane's bathroom? I shake my head and turn to Booth who still hasn't moved his gaze from the back of the seat in front of him.

"It was supposed to be just the two of us," he mumbles after a minute of silent staring.

"And now it's the five of us. It's a fun week out between friends. You're acting as if we were going on a romantic get-away and they've interrupted the whole thing."

"That's exactly what they did," he mutters under his breath.

I've clearly heard his words but prefer not to react to them. My reaction would only trigger something Angela qualified as "behaving badly". Instead I resolve to give him a strange stare. This is going to be a long flight, I can already tell.

A lot of hours later…

"I had no idea it would take so long to get here," Zach says.

"The Bahamas, baby!" Hodgins exclaims with a smirk. Angela smiles and puts her arm through his.

"First the flight to Miami, then a flight towards Nassau Airport and then the ferry towards San Salvador Island," I say, outlining our day so far as I walk next to Booth. My team is walking in front of us, chattering loudly. Now and then we hear a few squeals from Angela who doesn’t miss an opportunity to stress the beauty of our surroundings.

"Did you know San Salvador was the first island, or even land, sighted and visited by Columbus?" I ask Booth.

"No, I didn't Bones."

"The beauty of these islands surpasses that of any other as much as the day surpasses the night in splendour, were his words."

"That's terrific, Bones. He should have been a poet," he mutters. He has been like that ever since we got on the plane in Washington.

"What's wrong, Booth?"

"Nothing, nothing," he denies and smiles at me. We all put our bags and suitcases in the back of the SUV we've rented, and I am stunned to see what Angela has brought with her.

"Two suitcases and a bag?" I ask her.

"What?" Angela retorts innocently.

"What is in there?"

"Sweetie," a smile appears on her face. "Magazines, sun cream, bikinis, skirts, hot pants… you name it, I have it. I even brought some things for you, knowing you would only bring one suitcase," she says pointing at my single bag.

"I don't attach to material things, such as clothes," I reply and shrug.

We get in the car, with Booth and I in the front, me driving for once, and the others crawl into the back.

"There is a big Catholic church in Cockburn Town," I inform Booth, hoping it'll change his mood.

"Really?" he queries, getting his map out of his pocket. He studies it for a moment; a smile appears on his face. "Yeah, I've heard about this. Thanks, Bones," he says and looks at me for a moment. A little spark appears in his eyes again, or is it just the sun playing tricks on me?

Suddenly Booth begins to chuckle.

"What?" I ask. The three people in the backseat become really quiet all of a sudden.

"There's this beach..." Booth says, still chuckling. "It's called Bonefish Bay."

He looks at me with a large grin, but I don't get it, and neither do the others.

"Bonefish," he explains. "Bone...fish." When he doesn't get any response, he sighs. "Never mind you people. It's funny." He shakes his head, and continues studying his map.

Ten minutes later we arrive at the beach house, or rather, beach villa. We get out of the car, stretching our sore limbs. Booth whistles approvingly.

"Wow!" Angela says as we get our stuff out of the car. Booth throws the keys up in the air once, like he always does before opening a door.

"Welcome to paradise," he announces and we walk into the house. We first enter a combined room, with a satellite TV, a couch, a loveseat and a coffee table on the right. Then, moving to the left, we see two big sliding doors leading to the veranda, and a master view of the beach. On our right we find an open kitchen.

Booth settles down on the couch while I get us some drinks. Angela, Hodgins and Zach are invading the rest of the house. I give Booth a glass of water, and sit down beside him.

"So, what do you think Bones?"

"I like it, I really like it. This house... it's amazing."

"It sure is," he responds. We make ourselves a little more comfortable when Angela and the boys return to the living room.

"Hey, why don't you boys get some groceries, while Bren and I... talk over some stuff, okay?" Angela suggests.

"I don't see why all the three of us should go?" Zach asks confused.

"Dude, they want some chick-time," Hodgins explains and together with Booth they walk out of the door. Just before Booth closes the door, he winks at me. I blush and look away. I silently scold at myself for not being able to keep that blush off my face. We've only been here for fifteen minutes and already I'm losing control.

"Sweetie, it looks like you’re already a bit sunburned," Angela notes concerned when she sits down beside me. "Here," she says, handing me a tube of sun cream. Not wanting to tell the real cause of my red skin, I put the sun cream on. It can't hurt anyway. "So, Booth looked quite disappointed when he saw us," Angela starts, looking at me with her big, dark eyes.

"He's fine," I say, trying to avoid the subject.

"If you say so... Well, he won't be disappointed anymore when he finds out he is sharing a room with you."

"What?" I exclaim, panic rising inside of me. Okay, I've shared a room with him before; he has seen me in the morning quite a few times. But this is different; this isn't work related! "What do you mean, sharing a room with me?"

"Well, since Dr. Goodman booked this gorgeous house just for the two of you, there are only two bedrooms. Zach is sleeping on the couch and well..." Angela gestures at nothing in particular to point out the obvious.

"I am not sharing a room with Booth! Just put him and Hodgins together!"

"Don't freak out like that, Bren. He adores you. I'd say, take your chance while you're at it. I sure know what to do when I'd be sharing a room with such a fine piece of FBI-eye candy."

"I am not sleeping with Booth!"

"Fine. Then you sleep next to Booth. But I am taking the other room with Hodgins. It's nothing personal sweetie, but unless you've developed something extra down there that I don't know about, I'm not so keen about sharing a room with you rather than with Hodgins."

I sigh. She's right. What could happen? Stupid question. Anything could happen. Booth and I... On vacation... Sleeping together in one room... There'll probably be only one bed so that would mean... I briefly close my eyes to ban out the sensual images of a dark bedroom, a large comfy bed and silky sheets. Stop! Nothing could happen. This side of me, these thoughts ... They're not supposed to include Booth. I'm together with Sully!

"Bren? Hello?" Angela waves her hands before my eyes.

"Yes. Sure. Whatever makes you happy," I absentmindedly agree. My thoughts are still circling around sliding into bed with my partner. I thought I had banished those images from my mind when I decided to go for Sully? It's the surroundings. It has to be the surroundings. Or else I'm in big trouble.

Later that evening...

"So... Are you excited about sharing a room with me?"

"Why would I be?" Has he been reading my thoughts? "It's not like we haven't done that before, Booth," I counter, sauntering over to the bedroom door with Booth in tow.

"Yeah but we had separate beds back then."

"And I'm sure there'll be two beds now as well." Please let there be two beds. Please let there be two beds. Please let there be ... I open the door to find not two, but one very large and very cosy looking bed. Damn it, this is not good.

"Or maybe not," Booth exclaims just a tad too happy for my liking. "Looks like we're sleeping in the same bed, Bones."

I internally moan in frustration. How am I going to survive the upcoming night with him sleeping less than half a yard away? Once again I prefer not to react to his statement and instead turn away to get changed in the adjoining bathroom. When I re-enter the bedroom, I find a half naked Booth standing with his back to me at the other side of the room. I guess he took the opportunity to change as well while I was away. Right, no staring at the man, Temperance. He's got nothing you haven't seen before. Except maybe that scar on his lower back... Or that scar on his right shoulder... For crying out loud, I've got someone waiting at home for me! Honestly Booth, why are you one of those men who sleep with nothing on except a pair of boxers?

When I feel his gaze settle on me, I become aware of the fact that I'm not the only one who has chosen a different sleeping ensemble from what we usually wear when we're sharing a room while we're on a case. The way he's gawking at me, I'm pretty sure he hasn't seen me yet in a tank top and a very short pair of shorts. I nervously tug at the hem of my top.

"So, how are we going to do this?"

"Well ehm ... You take one side of the bed. I take the other side and uhm ... We stay at our respective sides of the line." Is it just me or is he nervous too? And what's up with that line? You really like drawing lines, now don't you Booth?

I pull myself together and crawl under the covers; Booth follows my example. We lie beside each other for a few silent moments before he clears his throat and states in his teasing voice, "Do me one favour, Bones. If you happen to have some very... explicit dreams about Sully tonight, don't even think about confusing me with him because then, I swear to God, I'm pushing you out of this bed!"

I roll my eyes and resist the urge to slap him. Instead I roll onto my side and mumble, "Night, Booth."

"Night, Bones." He chuckles.

Explicit thoughts about Sully; good thing Booth can joke about it. Hold it right there, Temperance. Booth and explicit dreams in one sentence? Those three words thrown together are enough to make me shuffle closer to the edge of the bed. The more distance there is between us, the more comfortable I get. It's best to have as much space as possible between us, just in case I do have explicit dreams.

Anthropologically speaking I'm acting foolish. It's perfectly normal to have erotic dreams about strong, healthy males with scars all over their bodies. I cringe at my own thoughts. Males? As in the plural form of male? What other man could I be fantasizing about besides Sully? And scars? Sully doesn't have any scars... It's our surroundings. It has to be the surroundings. What other explanation could there be for this sudden interest in Booth's physique? We're partners. That's it. There's nothing behind that line. Great, now I'm the one who's drawing lines!

We're partners. If I keep that in mind, I'll survive this night without doing, thinking or dreaming something stupid.

We're partners. I keep repeating this to myself until I feel my eyelids falling shut.

"We're partners," I mumble incoherently before sliding off into a deep sleep.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Addictt: I can hardly wait to post the next chapter! It's ... amazing ... wicked ... superb!

niah1988: Yeah, I really want to see the look on our readers' faces when they read about the k...

Addictt: °covers Niah's mouth and gives the reader an angelic smile° Read and review, people. Those are the magic words to make us post! °drags Niah to a secluded corner° What have I told you about spoiling surprises??

[niah1988]

Yay, now it's my turn to post a chapter. One of my favourite chapters, actually! I think you should know I really enjoy writing from Booth's POV... Hehe, I so love putting dirty thoughts in his head.

This chapter is written in Booth's POV.

° Chapter 2 - Never Underestimate a Girl °
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

This is not the vacation I had been hoping for. My back hurts, my feet are cold, and I'm grumpy thanks to a lack of sleep. You aren't supposed to feel like crap when you're on vacation with a beautiful and smart woman! But then again, that woman is Dr. Temperance Brennan. Nothing is normal with her around. And I'm not talking about the fact that she can make any man feel like an insignificant dot in the universe. Hell, she could even make Einstein feel like a nerd with the IQ of a peanut! Good thing that I have found the perfect defense against her ever flowing stream of knowledge: my smile! I just flash her my infamous "charm smile" -her words, not mine- and she stops spouting facts. Pretty neat defense system, don't you think?

I grunt and stretch my legs out. Just then I hear the woman lying in bed shift around. Is she finally waking up?

"Booth?" she mumbles, her voice thick with sleep.

"Yeah, down here."

I hear more shifting around before I see her head appear over the edge of the bed. I feel a sharp tug at my heart at the sight of her half-closed eyes and her tousled hair. I can't remember her looking so sexy the last time we spent the night in the same room. Oh right, she was already up and running about by the time I had found enough energy to crawl out of bed. I guess this time she's the one having trouble waking up.

"What the hell are you doing down there, Booth?"

I give her a sarcastic smile. "Dancing the tango, Bones. I'm dancing the frigging tango."

Her eyes slide over the make-shift bed I created sometime in the middle of the night. With avid interest I watch as her eyes pop open. Ha, I bet she's awake now!

"You slept on the ground." From the tone of her voice I can deduct that it's not a question but a statement. I slowly nod, waiting for the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. When I see a faint blush appear on her features, I know she's aware of what happened last night. "I didn't..." She's staring intensely at me now with those big blue eyes.

"Yeah..." I get up and rub my lower back.

Her stare descends to the pair of boxers that are hanging dangerously low on my hips. I decide to leave them there; that way she'll have something extra to stare at. Because she's staring; no doubt about that. And yes, I like being in the centre of her attention. She's with someone else but yeah, I enjoy catching her fleeting glances at my body. That's not something a good Catholic is supposed to think, right?

"I didn't..." she asks again, pointing at my boxers.

"Try to pull them off?" I continue. "Yeah. You tried but I managed to free myself from your grasp. You were pretty determined to get them off. Didn't know you wanted me that bad, Bones." The smile I toss her with my words seems to trouble her even more. I lean forward, putting my arms on the bed to support my weight. "I'm just kidding, Bones. Nothing happened. The only thing you did, was snuggle up against me."

And I liked every second of it. I liked it a bit too much, to be honest. That's why I made a headlong dive for the ground. I can handle her sneaking peeks at me but her snuggling up against me? Do you know how much effort it took for me to move away when she was pushing her soft curves against all the right places? Even though I've got a sore back now, I know I did the right thing. It would've been too awkward, not to mention very damaging for our relationship, if we had woken up in each others arms.

I turn my focus back on her, just in time to see relief wash over her features. "It's not nice to tease me, Booth."

I shrug and walk over to the adjoining bathroom. "You don't like me teasing you? Then sue me."

Not nice to tease her? We've always teased each other! Or is this one of those subjects she doesn't like to be teased about? Like, for example, the fact that she can't carry a gun? That would mean she is genuinely concerned something has happened. Hold it right there, Seeley boy. Let's not go down that road. She's with Sully. I'm staying behind my line. Period. End of story. Got that?

But I can't help but to tease her some more. Just before I shut the bathroom door behind me, I say to her "You owe me a back rub, Bones!"

When I get out of the shower, I quickly dress myself before brushing my teeth. When I'm done, I look into the mirror and smile. Looking good, I think, flashing myself a charm smile. I put some gel into my hair, check myself again and wonder when I've become so vain. With that thought in mind I walk into the combined living room.

"Morning Booth," Angela says melodiously. She's standing behind the kitchen counter, together with Temperance. "Morning," I reply and smile at them.

"Breakfast is almost ready," Temperance announces and returns my smile. The beauty of her rare smiles still takes my breath away, even after all those months we've been working together. She and Angela both have a flower in their hair, which obviously is one of Angela's crazy ideas. I catch myself staring, so I avert my gaze towards the dining table. It's filled with all sorts of fruit.

Hawaiian theme. Nice.

"Looking good, ladies," I say grinning at the two women behind the counter before joining Zach and Hodgins at the table. I sit down next to Hodgins; Zach's is perched on the edge of the table.

"Your back hurts," Zach notes, staring at me with narrowed eyes. Sometimes that little squint really freaks me out. Nothing escapes his 'super squint' stare.

I see Temperance's head shoot up which causes Angela to look at her, then at me and back at Temperance again. She's onto something and that's bad. Really bad. Trust me, you wouldn't want Angela around when you're trying to cover up something that involves the bedroom.

"How do you..." My voice betrays my confusion. I should know better, I really should, after spending nearly two years with these people. "Never mind."

Angela and Temperance join us at the table, placing a basket of toasted French rolls in front of us.

"Mmm..." Hodgins hums mouth-watering as he picks up the scent spreading through the room.

"How come, Booth?" Angela probes, with an 'I-know-you-two-had-sex' grin and completely ignoring Hodgins.

"I uhm..." I see Temperance glance at me. She's probably worried I'm going to fill the squints in about her little dream-episode. I take a piece of pineapple, smiling my infamous charm smile at Angela. "Different bed from the one at home." Temperance relaxes and Angela sighs. Sorry Angela, but I'm not about to give you all the juicy details. I'm not a tattletale.

I chew on my piece of pineapple. It's delicious. I should consider eating this for breakfast more often. We all enjoy the silence for a while, eating our lovely meal.

"So..." That's just typical for Angela, breaking the silence with a useless word. We all stare at her but she doesn't notice, or she pretends not to notice. "Jack and I saw the sunset this morning," she continues with a mouth full of bread. Hodgins nods and smiles.

"Yeah, it was beautiful," he adds, and both of them have this faraway look in their eyes.

I turn my attention to Temperance, who also looks a bit distracted. Within seconds she’s aware I’m staring. A blush appears on her cheeks. I can't help but smile, an embarrassed Temperance is a very cute looking Temperance. I cast a downward glance at my plate, still smiling but trying to control my thoughts. I was raised well; I can't steal things from other people. I have already stolen too many lives as a sniper; I'm determined to be a better man now. I can't steal Temperance away from Sully. Hands and eyes off, that's my new motto. Maybe if I keep telling myself that, it will become a bit easier to follow my own words...

"So, what's everybody's plan for today?" Angela breaks the silence again, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Catch up on my reading." Zach.

"Go for a run." Me.

"Not sure yet." Temperance.

"Whatever you want, baby." Hodgins.

"Ah, come on people!" the artist exclaims. "We're on the Bahamas. Have any of you ever heard of a little something called the beach?"

I shrug. "I'm in."

Hodgins nods.

Temperance shrugs too. "Sure."

We all look at Zach. "I guess I can read on the beach," he says, raising his eyebrows.

"All right, that's settled then," Angela concludes, utterly content with our easy approval of her suggestion. "In one hour you're all ready, no excuses accepted," she decides, pointing at everyone. "Make sure to put sunscreen on." Her finger stops to point at me. "You're driving."

We all mumble our acceptance and finish our meal.

Fifteen minutes later I'm running along the shoreline. I'm trying to sort my thoughts out but with every damn step I take, images of her flashes trough my head. Bones sleeping, Bones trying to snuggle up against me, Bones with a flower in her hair... For eight miles she haunts my mind.

When I return to our beach house, Angela and Hodgins are sitting outside. They're laughing and talking. We greet each other as I walk into the house. Zach's watching TV, almost possessed with the images flashing across the screen. Some sort of documentary. I guess he's not into TVs, much like his mentor, and he's trying to catch up now.

I pass by in silence and walk into the bedroom. I sit down on 'my side' of the king size bed, breathing in and out as steady as possible. What the hell, I think and I drop myself all over the bed. When my heavy breathing has slowed down, I become more aware of my surroundings. First, I realise I smell some kind of perfume. I sniff around before I shake my head, smiling broadly. It's Bones' perfume. It's all over 'her side' of the bed. Then, I smell something else. I sit up straight and look around me. The shower. Someone must have turned it on less than a minute ago because I could have sworn the room was silent when I entered it. I hear the water falling down on the showers surface. In a strange way it tickles my senses. There's something intimate about hearing a shower run while you're in another room, wondering who could be standing under that steady stream of warm water (or cold water in some very specific cases).

I lift my weight on my arms, stretch my legs and push myself off the bed, landing on my feet. I tiptoe to the door of the bathroom, all the while listening closely to the sound of the shower. I'm sure I hear something else besides water cascading down. I place my ear on the door and try to concentrate. I listen for half a minute and when I recognise the tune, I'm having a lot of trouble not to laugh out loud. I never pegged Bones as a person who whistles tunes when she's in the shower. Hawaii Five-O. How very... 60's of her. I've told her before that she's like my grandmother. Now she's just provided me with extra proof. It's charming though if you count in where we are and the breakfast we've had.

Suddenly I hear the shower being turned off. My first thought: Oh God, she's probably naked. My second thought: Run! I quietly walk away from the door and begin searching trough my bag for my swim trunks, like I've never eavesdropped on her. I smile at my own hypocrisy. I allow myself to invade one of her personal moments without her knowing but I'm too scared to let her find out.

Ten minutes later I'm behind the wheel of the SUV with Temperance beside me. Now I'm sure what the second scent was when I sniffed around earlier. Shower gel with the aroma of oranges. It's all over her. And I can't get enough of it. It's amazing how I sometimes get turned on just by picking up her perfume. It's quite annoying really, because... well... because I can't do a damned thing about my urges! She'd kick my ass straight into the hospital.

"Take the second on the right," she tells me. Normally I wouldn't let her tell me what to do but hey, this is her vacation. Anything the lady desires, right?

So, I follow her directions and soon we're at the parking lot of Snow Bay.

"Snow Bay; where the sand is as fine as snow," Zach reads out of the brochure.

"Booth, Jack, Zach... Could you please?" Angela spreads her arms out over the all the stuff she brought with her.

I sigh and put a bag over my shoulder. I pick up the parasol, the picnic cooler and a heavy -a very heavy- bag. Zach and Hodgins follow my lead and we walk onto the beach. I keep wondering why women do that, you know, asking us to carry their stuff. Or how they succeed at convincing us. Now Zach, Hodgins and I are carrying all the stuff we didn't drag along with us and they are carrying one simple, light bag. Filled with towels. And to top it all, they’re carrying it together.

We keep walking on for what seems like forever until Angela finally tells us to stop. We start unpacking our bags and unfolding our towels. Angela and Temperance choose to sit next to each other. Hodgins places his bath towel on Angela's left. So, I have a choice: Hodgins or Temperance. I pick the safest option and place my beach towel next to Hodgins. I’d rather have a boring day than risk giving in to my urges and jump Temperance's bones. Because yeah... that really wouldn't go down the right way, don't you think?

Zach deposits his towel next to me what causes me to have double feelings. One; it's Zach -the Supersquint- lying next to me, only clad in a T-shirt and Bermudas. He'd better live up to our "guy thing" and keep his mouth shut. Second; I'm glad he's not lying next to my Temperance. With his unhealthy fixation and all...

This is going to be one quiet afternoon. I can already tell.

Carrying all that heavy stuff over what seemed like ten miles combined with the heat really isn't doing us guys any good. I notice that Hodgins and Zach are, just like me, gasping for air. There should be a law against the abuse of men on vacation! Just because we've got more muscles than the average woman, doesn't mean that they can make us carry their bags! Although I didn't mind portraying my strength in front of my favourite anthropologist... I should smack myself for thinking that thought. I'm being an alpha male again. Damn, that sounded just a tad too squinty...

Hodgins is the first to remove his clothes and to strut around in his swimming shorts. Navy blue. You'd guess the lab coats are enough blue for a human being, but na-ah. I remove my shirt and in the corner of my eye, through my sunglasses, I see Temperance staring. I command my lips not to curl into a smile, otherwise my "I don't care you're looking" cover would be blown away, just like that. I just keep watching her from the position I'm in. My heart does a little flip in my chest when I see her smile because of my swimming shorts. White with red flowers. I knew she'd like it when I packed it.

It doesn't take Zach long to follow Hodgins and me. In less than a minute, he's undressed as well. Green - that's not too bad. At least he isn't trying to bring the blue of his lab coat to the beach.

I really attract attention around these guys with my flashy swimwear, but I don't mind. Certainly not if I attract the attention of a certain female forensic anthropologist. I should really smack myself over the head for always seeking her attention.

The girls however, don't undress. They sit down, Angela wearing a little dress and Temperance a tank top with shorts. And the short in shorts doesn't fail his value here, believe me. They start chatting about unimportant stuff. Hodgins is lying on his stomach with his eyes closed. I begin putting some sunscreen on my arms and chest. When I look to my left, Zach is already absorbed in his book. In a glance I see the book's title: "People watching, The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language". Typical, I snort quietly. When I'm done rubbing, I take off my sunglasses and lie down. I close my eyes and relax my body.

That is until I hear Angela exclaim "Come on, honey. Let's go for a swim."

Her words wake me up momentarily from the lovely daydream I was having -trust me, daydreaming about Bones doing the dance of the seven veils is a very nice way to entertain a man's mind- but I immediately doze off again. Angela's probably asking Hodgins to tag along.

"Sure, Ange. Just let me get rid of these shorts and my top."

I don't think my eyes have ever popped open that fast. I'm still staring at the blue cloudless sky when I hear Temperance rummaging around two towels away from me. Slowly as not to arise any suspicion, I prop myself up and pretend to study the waves that crash onto the beach a bit further. Angela quickly strips down from her dress and reveals a dark blue bikini with white polka dots. Blue seems to be the favourite colour of that couple.

I mentally prepare myself for what I'm about to see. Witnessing Temperance run around in a skimpy bikini isn't something I think I could handle without preparation. Relief washes over me when I see a pair of shorts and a not-too-revealing swim top appear from under her clothes. Good old Bones, thank God she's not into skimpy swimwear! My imagination -not to mention my libido- wouldn't survive!

Angela gasps. "Where did you dig that thing up? In your grandmother's closet?"

Temperance huffs. "No Ange, I did not..."

"I told you that you were like my grandmother, Bones," I interrupt them, chuckling. All I get in return is a scowl. Ouch, bad move there, Seeley boy.

"Let's go, Angela."

She defiantly tilts her chin up and gives me one last glare before she stomps off towards the sea with Angela following closely. I shake my head and begin chuckling again. But the laughter quickly dies on my lips when I catch sight of her swaying hips. Even though she's just lost the argument, she wins. It frustrates the hell out of me!

Later that afternoon...

Well into the afternoon I find myself turning around on my beach towel for the umpteenth time. The only time I've left my towel was when I went for a quick swim. You would go for a swim as well if you had seen Bones jogging over the beach, completely wet! When there's no cold shower around, the sea's a great alternative.

I can’t help but smile when I remember how I annoyed Temperance by pulling out my disposable camera and by taking a picture of her in her "grandma bikini". She probably didn’t expect me to drag the thing with me to the beach. You guessed wrong, Bones! I would be crazy to let the opportunity slip to snap a shot of you in your bikini, even if it covered too much to my liking.

Zach and Hodgins are wandering about a couple of yards to my left. They're trying to get their humongous kite in the air. Angela's lying on her beach towel, catching some sun. Suddenly I feel the sand beside me move. I crack one eye open and am met with the sight of a slightly sunburned Temperance gazing down on me.

"Bones?" I ask, holding a hand up to block the sun from shining in my eyes.

"I was wondering if you could rub some sun cream on my back." Crap, that's a question I really didn't want to hear from her.

I sit up straight. "Uhm... Sure." She hands me her bottle of sunscreen. I put some on her back and start massaging it into her skin. This is one of those situations where my army training comes in handy.

"Thanks for not telling the others about our night,� she softly says. Now Bones, you can't go around asking people to rub sun scream on your back and make those statements at the same time. You're making it sound like something has actually happened! Talk about stimulating testosterone...

I continue my massage on her back. The sun cream's already completely rubbed in but hey, she seems to be unaware of that fact so who am I to fill her in? "No problem, Bones." Without asking I put some sun cream on her arms too. She doesn't seem bothered at all by my attention, even though she only asked to do her back.

Loud shouts coming from my left get me to abandon her skin for a minute. It seems that Hodgins and Zach have actually succeeded at getting their huge kite to fly. Angela, Temperance and I watch them, amused smiles plastered on our faces. All of a sudden the kite seems to take a life of its own. It sails through the air at a dazzling speed, pulling the young man along who's holding the handles at the end of the strings. Enthralled by the sight of Zach first being dragged through the sand and then being pulled into the air where he floats around for a few seconds before he touches the ground again with a thud, I feel a deep chuckle rumble in my throat. I burst out into laughing when I see Hodgins run after Zach, trying to catch him. When Hodgins wraps his arms around Zach in an attempt to keep him grounded, but ends up being lifted into the air as well, I completely lose it. I'm bent over double, laughing my head off, when Temperance taps my shoulder.

"Go help them, Booth."

"What? Why? They're hysterical!"

"Booth..."

I wipe the tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks away and get up, mumbling "You're being bossy again, you know that?" Women! I'm telling you, there should be a law against the abuse of men on vacation!

Sighing deeply I make my way over to the dubious pair who's trying to stop the kite from pulling them into the sea. I reach out to tug at the strings.

"No! Don't touch the strings, man! They'll break!" Hodgins exclaims. "We worked too damn hard to build that thing to let it fly away now."

"Fine," I grumble, putting my arms around Hodgins' waist. Oh boy, I never imagined getting into this position with bug boy. It's everything but acceptable. "I'll keep you two down. Just... pull that damn kite back."

I seem to have overestimated myself. A sudden whoosh of air pushes the kite even higher in the sky. I dig my heels deep into the sand, trying very hard not to be lifted up in the air as well, like the two squints that are currently dangling at the end of the strings connected to the kite. One moment I'm doing my best at keeping us all grounded, the next moment a look of horror washes over my face as I witness the kite starting a very steep descend. Somehow the humongous thing has managed to turn its tip downwards, straight at us.

"It's coming down!" Zach shrieks, completely unaware of how stupid it is to point out the obvious.

He immediately lets go of the strings and huddles down on the sand. Hodgins pushes the handles at the end of the strings, which you normally use to control the kite, into my hands and dives down too. I stand there, my gaze switching between the handles and the rapidly approaching kite, unsure of what to do. Then the ridiculousness of this whole scene dawns on me. Why the hell am I still standing here? I throw the handles away and make a mad dash for my beach towel. No way am I going to let that thing flatten me like a bug!

I've just reached my towel when I see the kite crash into the sand. Not one, not two, but at least seven yards away from where I was standing three seconds ago and where Zach and Hodgins are still lying curled up. Crap, I ran away from something that wasn't even close to flattening me like the bug I compared myself with. I glance at Angela and Temperance who are all but rolling over the ground, laughing and clutching their sides. No doubt our little display of manliness is the cause of their laughing fit.

Great, now Bones will have something to tease me about until the end of our days. I'm never going to live this one down.

A while later…

After we've sunbathed for an hour or so, our very active artist gets a little bored.

"Come on guys, what do you say? Let's play a little card game," Angela proposes.

"Sure, baby. Anything you want," Hodgins immediately agrees. He and Angela share a smile and a kiss.

Zach's still grieving over the loss of his precious kite. The thing shattered to pieces the second it hit the ground. I guess he likes building kites next to robots. Temperance's shrugging and agreeing pushes me to agree as well. I cringe at her words though. "Sure, but not poker or any other type of card game that can be associated with gambling." Some things are private, Bones!

"That doesn't leave us much choice," the artist says, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"What about Hearts?" Hodgins suggests.

Angela grins. "Perfect! You boys against us girls. When either Bren or I have the lowest amount of hearts, you three prepare dinner. Otherwise, when one of you wins, we cook."

We play the game three times and Zach starts adding the scores.

I didn't play very well, but I wasn't bad either. Until Zach gave me the Queen of Spades. Followed by Temperance who gave me a few hearts in a row.

"All right," Zach sighs. "Angela: 26 penalty points. Booth: 19 points. Me: 14 points. Hodgins: 9 points and the winner is Dr. Brennan with 6 penalty points."

"That means we’ve got an extra hour left before dinner to do some shopping!" Angela nudges Temperance with her arm.

"What do you mean, shopping? We bought groceries this morning," Temperance mutters confused.

"Sweetie, believe me, we've got to buy some decent swimming clothes for you," Angela explains. Her mouth contracts for a second and her eyes narrow. "Or even better, less decent."

While Temperance resists a little bit more, Zach and Hodgins bend their heads towards me.

"You can cook, right?" Hodgins asks and they stare at me with big blank eyes. I put on my sunglasses and while letting out a deep sigh, I lie down on my towel and close my eyes.

That evening, in the kitchen...

I'm in my element. Ordering about Hodgins and Zach while keeping an eye on the cooking pots on the cooking-range is the kind of thing I like to do. I should've become a chef instead of an FBI-agent. But then I wouldn't have met Temperance. Right, glad I went for the job of cleaning up the streets of Washington D.C. as a crime fighter.

Thanks to losing that card game I get to show off my cooking skills. They're not back from their shopping trip just yet but when they do, they'll see our -technically mine but hey, I don't want to take all the credit- achievement and won't know what divine cooking wonder they've called upon themselves!

Later that evening...

"Dinner was delicious, Booth," Temperance praises me.

"Thanks Bones, I really appreciate that," I answer and we exchange a small smile.

Angela and Hodgins are outside on the beach. They're probably... Wait, I don't even want to think about what they're doing. Zach is sitting at the dining table, absorbed in his book again. Bones and I... We're just watching some TV and having a beer. Enjoying each other’s company, that's for sure.

When Temperance finishes her second bottle of beer she stifles a yawn. Five minutes later, she stands up.

"I'm off to bed. Are you coming?"

A shiver runs up my spine. She's being her usual blunt self again. Sometimes she really pushes my buttons, even if it's unintentionally. One of these days I'm going to ignore the better part of me and take advantage of her ambiguous statements.

"I... umm..." Focus here, cowboy. She's not into you. You know you can't lie next to her in one bed with her awake, tipsy and only wearing that tank top and that pair of shorts you desperately want to pull off. You can crawl into bed later tonight; just not right now, with all that sexual energy racing through your veins.

"I'm just going to watch the end of this movie. I'll be up in fifteen minutes."

She shrugs and wishes Zach goodnight.

I'll be up in fifteen minutes? What was I thinking? Her taste for ambiguous statements must've rubbed off on me.

I absentmindedly watch the movie for half an hour. That way I'll know for sure that she's asleep. Afterwards I clean up some stuff, and walk into our bedroom where I find a soft snoring Temperance. I pull off my clothes and crawl into the bed.

"Sweet dreams, Bones," I whisper before I close my eyes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
niah1988: Hey Addictt, do you think we're... you know... crazy?

Addictt: I think we most definitely are.

niah1988: Oh right, was just checking...
_________________
Whatever life throws at you, throw it right back.
Use your uniqueness!

[Addictt]

There are a couple of POV-changes in this chapter. No worries, we'll give you a fair warning when we jump into someone else's mind. We start with Angela’s POV.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

° Chapter 3 - Sun In His Eyes °
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

When the first beams of sunlight burst through the shutter, I wake up. I turn on my side to take a look at Jack. Eyes closed, lips curled into a content smile, and equal breathing. Conclusion: he is sleeping peacefully. A smile appears on my face when I think about the past two days. It has been so romantic but still casual around our friends. I think about the times we've walked on the beach, holding hands, laughing, and kissing... It was a tremendous idea, coming along with Brennan and Booth.

Then, out of nowhere, a splitting headache wracks my brain. I had a little too much wine yesterday, it seems. Note to me: make anti-hangover smoothies for breakfast. I study Jack's face more thoroughly. His freckles have become more visible, due to the sun. His nose is slightly sunburned, which looks adorable.

"You're staring at me," Hodgins mumbles. How could he notice that? He has his eyes closed! "You are giggling softly, you're shifting and sighing," he answers my thoughts.

"All right, you caught me." I smile and shake my head. He opens his eyes and smiles too. "Good morning," I greet him softly before I lean forward and kiss him tenderly on his lips.

"Morning," he returns as I lay my head on his chest. We just enjoy the silence and each other for a few minutes, until I hear him groan.

"What?" I ask, lifting my head up, looking into his crystal blue eyes.

"I have a splitting headache."

"Tell me about it," I sigh. I crawl out of bed and quickly brush my hair. "I'm gonna get us some breakfast," I say and he smiles at me.

"Thanks baby."

I've experienced he likes to stay in bed a while after waking up. But I don't mind; times like these give me the opportunity to nose around a bit. The rest of my team will probably still be fast asleep so I have an excellent opportunity to pay them a little 'surprise visit'. Who knows, I might actually catch them doing something nasty.

I walk out of our room and sneak trough the hall. When I'm at Bren and Booth's room, the door is practically screaming at me. It's half open! I just have to take a peek inside; taking peeks at private things is a habit I really have to get rid off, come to think of. Aren't there any special meetings for curious people who like to nose about? Like the PA - Peekers Anonymous?

I walk a little closer and listen carefully. I quickly distinguish two equal breaths. They're still sleeping. This is my chance to go in and see what’s going on in that king-size bed of theirs.

Curiosity is a curse sometimes. That's probably why people say that 'curiosity killed the cat'. I'm telling you, I need an PA-meeting!

I know I should resist my curious nature but I can't. I'm doing this for Brennan; she's my friend. I want her to be happy. And I happen to know that Booth's the man that can make that happen. Even though she declares to everyone who listens that 'they're just partners', I know that deep down she knows as well that Booth's right for her. Otherwise she would've asked Sully to come along with her.

I push the door open a bit more and stick my head around the corner. I quickly bring my hand up to cover my mouth, forcing myself to keep back a squeal of victory. It's like my dream is coming true. Beams of sunlight are falling upon the king-size bed, highlighting the couple lying in it, curled up against each other. Brennan is lying with her head on Booth's bare chest and her hand is placed a bit lower on his bare stomach. I can swear I see a content smile on their peaceful faces. I feel a giggle rising inside of me when I see Booth's mouth is hanging a bit open, almost as if he's drooling. I tiptoe back into the hall with an evil grin on my face.

(Switch of POV - We’re now in Brennan’s head)

Slowly I'm waking up thanks to faint sounds coming from the kitchen. With every passing second I become more aware of my surroundings. Wait a minute... My pillow is moving! Up and down. Up and down. I open my eyes, blink a few times because of the sun and then remain motionless. My head... on Booth's chest. Oh no, not good. Not good! How did this happen? Oh no... I squeeze my eyes shut as images from my dream flash through my head.

Warm fingers pressing into my sides... A warm mouth roaming over my shoulders... A cool breeze washing over my exposed skin... Stubble of his beginning beard scraping over my cheeks... A hand exploring my stomach, belly-button and the beginning of my ribcage... My own hands reaching out to touch his well-trained arms and chest... My lips caressing a path across the skin of his neck, slowly working their way up to his mouth...

Oh crap, I didn't... I let my eyes slide over the smooth surface of his skin. My eyes lock onto a small trail of red marks. Oh, apparently I did.

Very carefully I free myself from his grip, trying not to wake him. Relief rushes through me when I see we both still have our clothes on. I'm not sure it's just relief, though. It could be disappointment as well that I feel but I quickly push that feeling away. I'm relieved, I keep telling myself. Feeling anything else would mean big trouble.

I stand next to the bed for a minute, just thinking. Hopefully he won't remember a thing when he wakes up. I'm aware of the empty space in my stomach and my mind is screaming for coffee. Kitchen; that's where I need to go if I ever want to wake up completely. I quietly sneak out of the room, towards the kitchen.

"Morning sweetie," Angela whispers when I enter the combined living room. I look over to the couch, where Zach is still fast asleep. I softly return the greeting.

"Okay," I whisper to Angela after I've gotten a mug from the kitchen cupboard. "Explain the grin."

"I saw you!" she softly announces in an accusing tone.

"You saw me where?" I ask, continuing my coffee-ritual.

"Upon Booth!"

"I was not-" Okay, voice down, remember? "...upon Booth!" I shoot back in a fierce whisper.

Angela puts a few chopped up pieces of fruit in a bowl. "Like I said, I saw you. Denial isn't going to work this time."

I sigh and lean closer to her. "You need to help me." I'm begging... How low can you go? "Really Ange, you've got to help me!" Damn, I'm sounding desperate here. "It cannot happen again!"

Her mouth drops open. "Again? Like in 'it has happened before'?" I sigh deeply. Damn it, I've given away too much.

"Apparently I've been having explicit dreams..."

"About Sully? Right?" Angela interrupts me.

"No..." I frown. I should learn to think before I open that smart-ass mouth of mine. "I don’t know," I sigh. "Yes."

"Sweetie..." Compassion, hope and joy - all in one word. We hear Zach moving around on the couch, followed by the sound of a loud yawn. "We'll talk later," she tells me with a smile. "Right now, I have to make some serious anti-hangover drinks!"

"Anti-hangover drinks?"

"Yeah, Jack and I had quite a party last night on the beach."

I slowly nod my head before I turn to leave the kitchen. There's still someone snoring the day away in my bed!

I enter the bedroom, fully intending to drag my partner out of bed. I squat down at his side to take a good look at him. That stupid line he drew the first night obviously didn't help last night. Well, what else was there to expect from an imaginary line?

I allow myself the pleasure of watching him sleep for a few moments. The urge to run my fingers through his ruffled up hair makes my hands tingle but I can't give in. What if he wakes up? It would raise too many difficult questions that I'm not ready to hear, let alone answer.

"Booth, wake up." I softly nudge his shoulder.

He just grumbles and turns away from me, rolling onto his stomach. My eyes slide over his naked back. I frown. Is that sunburn? Booth's entire back side has quite a red colour. Some parts are even covered with small white bulges. I reach out to place my cool hand on his skin. Warm. Hot even. It's definitely sunburn. He'll have to stay out of the sun today. Stubborn man, I silently scoff. He should've asked me yesterday to put sun cream on his back but no, he'd have to play the tough guy who refuses to ask for any help! Instead of getting someone to rub sun cream on his back, he preferred to leave it unprotected. I snort. Just look at where your 'toughness' got you, Booth.

I shift my hand around on his back. It's just some minor sunburn. It'll be mostly gone by tomorrow if he listens to my advice. I feel a shiver run down his spine. It's probably a reaction to the coolness of my hand. Then I hear him mutter something unintelligible. Two seconds later he moves away from my touch. He's now lying on my side of the bed. I raise my eyebrows when I see him clutch my pillow. Uttering some more grumbles, he buries his nose in it. Right, this is an awkward situation. I'm watching my partner hug my pillow and breathe in my scent. That's embarrassing! But quite interesting nonetheless...

I crawl onto the bed to shake his shoulder again, this time more forceful. "Booth, wake up."

"Bones..." he grumbles, swatting my hand away. "Leave a man be."

"Booth..."

"Bones, please." He shifts onto his side and draws his legs up a bit. "I'm fine where I am."

I lift my eyebrows. "Really? That would be on my side of the bed."

His eyes fly open to verify the correctness of my words. In about five seconds he manages to scramble out of bed and onto his feet. He scratches the back of his head while giving me a sheepish grin.

"That uhm... I didn't mean to..."

I decide to help him out. It's not his fault that he accidentally rolled over in his sleep. "Booth, it's fine." I give him a gentle smile, which he returns. "You'll have to watch your back today. You've got some minor sunburn," I point out.

Booth throws a glance over his shoulder to check the state of his back. "Damn it," he mutters.

"You should've asked me to put sun cream on your back."

He slowly nods before making his way over to the bathroom. My eyes follow him. I wonder if he's noticed that I haven't asked him yet to put on something extra to wear in bed. Is it bad to check out other men when you're sleeping with someone on a regular basis? I let out a deep sigh. It probably is.

"I'll keep that in mind, Bones," he says to me. Then he closes the bathroom door, blocking my view on his nicely shaped posture. It's the sunburn. I'm a doctor; I'm only interested in the sunburn. Honestly!

Later that morning...

I've successfully convinced the others to stay away from the beach for a couple of hours. That way Booth's sunburn can calm down a bit. The downside of my success is that I'm now stuck in a go-cart with my partner, pedalling like a nut. Why oh why have I ever agreed to this plan?

In case you've never been in a go-cart, I have to warn you that it's quite exhausting. The whole thing is made of metal pipes, two seats, a couple of cogwheels, a chain, a steering wheel and, of course, a pair of brakes. You move the thing forward by pushing down the pedals that are below each seat. It's basically like riding a bike, only you're sitting next to someone and there's a steering wheel like in a car. I glare at Booth who's sitting next to me, happily rubbing his palms over the steering wheel. Will there ever be a time when I'm behind the wheel and he's sitting in the 'grandma seat'?

Zach, Hodgins and Angela are sitting in their own go-cart. Yes, there are also go-carts for more than two persons. At the go-cart shop where we rented our rides, there even was a go-cart made for six persons! Why we decided to get two carts for two and three people each is still a mystery to me. Angela was the one that talked to the manager so I'm pretty sure that this is another 'subtle' way of her to push me to hook up with Booth.

Zach's cramped up in the backseat of Hodgins' and Angela's cart. His position looks quite uncomfortable but I wouldn't mind trading places with him. If I were in the back, I wouldn't have to pedal my legs off!

"Hey, you do know how to stop these things, right?" Hodgins shouts at us.

I groan. "Of course we do, Hodgins. You just give the stick between your legs a good jerk."

The way Hodgins' mouth falls open before he joins his girlfriend in a hysterical laughing fit, tells me I've said something stupid. I frown and look at Booth who's snickering. Then it dawns on me. I groan again. Great, I've just made a complete fool out of myself.

A minute or so later the laughter finally stops. We continue our journey across the boulevard near the beach. We have to avoid a couple of pedestrians but most of the time we have enough room to pedal next to each other.

"Hey guys, what would you say about a little race?" Angela yells at us.

Booth and I both shrug.

"We'll race you to that group of palm trees. The winner gets to choose the afternoon activity."

"You're on!" Booth grins.

Zach begins to shift around frantically. "I'd like to get out now. I don't want to be in the back when you're participating in a mad street car race."

"Sure Zach-o," Hodgins agrees. He and Angela stop their go-cart. At seeing Angela's questioning look, the entomologist explains, "With Zach off our cart, we'll have less weight to carry with us."

Zach climbs out of the go-cart and moves out of the way. Hodgins asks him to give us the start signal. Zach agrees to count to three. The second the word 'three' tumbles out of his mouth, all four of us push down hard on the pedals, sending our carts flying forward. Even though I'm giving my everything, the cart being manoeuvred by Hodgins seems to gain more speed and is slowly moving away from us. I hear Booth groan.

"This is ridiculous." I puff out, getting more frustrated by the second.

"Ok, first of all, you're ruining the fun," Booth tells me off. "Secondly, do you really want to get your ass whooped by bug boy and his crew?"

I think his words over for two seconds. "No, I don't," I reluctantly agree.

"Then I suggest you start pedalling."

Later that day, somewhere in the afternoon...

I still can't believe we lost. I thought our partnership would be victorious in every situation! I guess I was wrong. Just thinking that makes me queasy. I'm not used to being wrong; it's against my nature to be in second place. Oh well, at least I am not the only one who's lost the race.

Hodgins and Angela won by far, at least three yards! The cramp in Booth's legs is probably the cause. Of course he blames me.

Why do men always have to win? The anthropological explanation is that men want to prove their strength and superiority. They have to be on top of their game to look after their women and children. If we apply that to our little go-cart race, then we'd find that Booth and Hodgins wanted to prove their evasiveness with those vehicles to Angela and me, their women.

Right, their women... That's something I'm not comfortable thinking.

I'm aware that Booth considers me as his. He's stood up plenty of times to 'defend my honour'. Heck, he'd punch every guy that so much as sneezed on me to a bloody pulp if I didn't stop him. I've often pointed out that I'm not his property. Just because I tolerate him around in the lab, doesn't mean I've got a thing for him.

Unfortunately that's exactly what Angela's theory of 'our mutual bottled up sexual frustration' is based on.

I'm temporarily distracted by Hodgins dragging Zach and Booth along with him towards the water. Squinting my eyes to cast a quick glance on my partner's back, I notice that his sunburn has calmed down a bit. Good. If it hadn't, I would've been forced to drag him back under that parasol by his ears!

From the corner of my eye, I see Angela shifting around until she's sitting right next to me. It's quite an impressive achievement, really. I can imagine wiggling around on a beach, sitting on your towel, while you're trying to keep sand from creeping on top of it, can be extremely difficult.

I let out a sigh and mentally prepare myself for what's coming - a deep conversation. Would she classify me as 'mad and insane' if I got up and ran off before she even opened her mouth? I mean, I'm all open to logical discussions, but with Angela, the opposite is often true. It's not that I don't appreciate it that she tries to make me open up about my feelings, but sometimes it can be incredibly annoying. Especially after having had a couple of explicit dreams about someone who's everything but my boyfriend.

"Sweetie, we need to talk."

My whole body tenses up. What have I told you? Another deep conversation. Let's hope she'll behave out of character, just like I've been doing ever since I got on that plane in Washington. Let's imagine she'll manage to avoid the subject 'bad dreams about my partner' for a whole minute. Right, like that's ever going to happen...

(And we jump right into Angela’s head again)

I see her body tense up so I give her a reassuring smile. I've noticed that every time I try to broach an emotional subject, she clams up - both mentally and physically. Judging how she's holding her spine stiff, I'd say that she's performing the clamming up act again.

"Relax, sweetie. It's only me, nobody can hear us," I gesture with my hand, looking at the boys who are paddling away on their surfboards.

I hear her sigh and from the corner of my eye I see her stare at me. I avert my gaze from the boys to look at her. Oh Bren, if you could only see the fear flashing across your face. Maybe then you'd finally understand why I'm trying to get you to open up about what you feel. It’s never good to keep emotions bottled up inside, Brennan.

"So... You've been having sex dreams about Booth?" Her eyes widen at my blunt words. You're not the only one who's good at shocking people, sweetie! It doesn't go unnoticed by me that she suddenly finds the sand around us, and her beach towel, very interesting. Good luck with ignoring me, Bren. I smile at her bent head. "Bren? Sex dreams?"

"No... no!" Her lips contract, which indicates that she's thinking. "They're not sex dreams. They're just... explicit."

"Explicit?" I repeat suspicious.

"Yes," she answers. "There's a difference."

We look at the boys for a few minutes. Jack is standing on his board now, rolling over a wave. I admire the way he controls his board. It's like he was born to surf, next to examining bugs and soil of course. Booth is tumbling down into the water, while Zach is splashing around, trying to climb up his own board.

"But uhm..." I'm trying to search for the right words. There aren't any. "...they're about sex, right?"

I hear her sigh again.

"I don't wanna talk about it, okay Ange?"

I remember she asked for my help a few hours ago, but I decide to let that pass. It's just like her to cry out for help one second and crawl back behind her walls the next. I've learnt that eventually she comes out of her hiding place. You just have to be patient. It's a well-kept secret. I'm one of the few people who have made that discovery. Booth and I that is...

"Okay, sweetie. But everything is okay though, between you and Sully I mean?" I ask worried and look at her. She's confused, I can tell.

"We had a fight, before I left," she mumbles. I remain silent and let her talk. I told you she'd open up. All it takes is a bit of patience. "He was disappointed I didn't invite him with me. At least, I guess he was disappointed... I'm not good at reading people, you know that Ange!" I wonder if she's aware that she's rambling? "He accused me of preferring Booth over him. Obviously, I disagreed. It's not that I didn't want Sully to go with me, but... I don't know..." She takes a deep breath, holds it in and breathes out slowly. "Dr. Goodman told me to socialize. I just thought that, rationally speaking, I already have a good connection with Sully... Not that I don't have a good connection with Booth!" This is getting more interesting by the minute! Maybe she'll finally admit how close she and Booth are if I let her ramble long enough. "I haven’t known Sully as long as Booth, and I guess..." Although I'm silently begging for her to finish her sentence, she doesn't. Damn it! "Ange, I don't know what to do. Was it wrong, what I did?" She looks at me with desperation in her eyes. This is one of the rare moments she really opens up to me.

"Sweetie, you weren't obliged to take Sully nor Booth on this trip. It was your own choice. Sully just doesn't think as rational as you do, and honestly, I think he feels threatened by Booth."

Her eyebrows furrow and she responds immediately. "Why? I'm just friends with Booth, he knows that. There's a line there... I'm not in a relationship with my partn-"

"Bren," I interrupt her.

"What?"

I raise my eyebrows to answer her question. Her shoulders drop a little, and her eyes narrow to focus on the sea. A smile appears on her face. Now it's my turn to ask what's wrong, and she points at the sea. I follow her probing finger and a smile appears on my face too. All three boys are surfing, 'catching their wave'. Brennan starts clapping her hands, laughing now. All the worry that was etched in her face a couple of moments ago has vanished. I hang my head in disappointment for a second. I was so close to getting her to admit why she chose Booth over Sully! Then I lift my head again to take a good look at the surfing threesome and raise my arms to encourage them, all the while cheering loudly.

Half an hour later, they return with a proud grin on their faces. We all laugh and talk a bit, until the sun begins to set. Everyone calms down and we split up to do some individual activities. Zach falls asleep on his towel, Brennan and Booth are whispering to each other under the parasol as Jack and I walk along the shoreline.

That evening…

"Bren? Booth? Can I come in?" I ask while knocking on their door.

"Booth isn't here, you can come in, Ange," I hear her say and I walk into the room.

"He isn't?"

"Don't sound so disappointed," she tells me with a smile. She is standing in front of the mirror, wearing her favourite pair of jeans and a cute top. It's nice, but not good enough. Not if she ever wants some serious attention from men. Men like Booth.

"But we're leaving in thirty minutes! Where'd he go?"

She shrugs and her reflection looks at me.

"Jogging I suppose... What do you think of this... outfit?" I grin at the memory of her saying 'costume' once.

"Is that the best you've brought with you?" I walk towards her suitcase, which is lying on her bed.

"Angela!" she protests, but I don't listen and search through her clothes. Jeans, skirts - no short ones though - tank tops, shorts…

"Ah!" I take out a cocktail dress. Black, short and sexy. Perfect. "Put this on."

She sighs, but takes the dress and disappears in the bathroom nonetheless. A minute later she comes back.

"Wow," I say. "It's perfect!" The dress is flawless. Everything - from the swell of her breasts to the dip of her stomach and the curve of her hips - shows perfection. I wish I had such a dress.

"I'm not sure..." She whirls around in front of the mirror to observe her reflexion.

"Sweetie... You want to wear this. Otherwise you wouldn't have packed it." I turn around and walk towards the door.

"You are wearing this tonight!" I tell her and I open the door, and bump into Booth. A shirtless Booth. A sweating Booth. It's not hard to let your imagination drift off now…

"Oh, sorry there Angela," Booth says and steps away. I just grin before I walk away, slow enough to overhear Booths words.

"Wow… Bones… Who are you going to seduce tonight?"

One hour later…

One hour later we're standing at a bar in a little club in Cockburn Town. A local DJ is playing R&B and everyone is having a good time.

Booth and Brennan are talking and laughing, and so are Jack, Zach and I. Although... Zach does seem a bit distracted. I follow his gaze, and see a girl; a very pretty Spanish girl.

"Go," I tell him. He looks at me, a little confused. "Go," I repeat myself. In the meantime Jack and Booth also look at Zach. Zach rises and walks over to the girl. A little nervous, but he's actually doing it.

"He is actually going there!" Jack says and he laughs together with Booth. Brennan looks at me with confusion written all over her face, and I smile at her.

"It's a guy thing."

She nods and we continue to listen to Jack and Booth.

Temperance’s POV again - Yeah, we’re switching a lot, aren’t we?

It's a guy thing... That pretty much explains it all, doesn't it? Let's take an anthropological look at this display of manly behaviour, shall we? Hodgins' remark is probably a statement made out of disbelief. And they're laughing, not just Hodgins but Booth as well. I frown. Why are they laughing and keeping their eyes on Zach's form moving through the massive amount of people on the dance floor? Maybe it's for the best that I keep my mouth shut and listen to what they're saying.

"Oh man, he's going down," Hodgins laughs. "I'll bet you he's going to start rambling about robots after two minutes." The entomologist watches his colleague struggle to get past a fairly large woman. "Or about bones..."

Booth's eyebrows shoot up. "Bones? What is he going to say about Bones?"

I feel the urge to say that I'm standing less than a yard away but somehow I manage to resist that urge. I'm a scientist, an observer. I should seize this opportunity to study male behaviour. I tune in again just in time to hear Hodgins say, "Not everything's about Dr. Brennan, dude."

"Watch it, pal. It's not because we're on vacation that I don’t have my gun with me," Booth snaps, obviously annoyed because Hodgins caught his Freudian slip.

The two men continue their observation, until they see Zach coming to a stop about three yards away from his target, the Spanish girl. The young scientist crosses his arms in front of his chest and frowns his forehead while clearly studying the girl.

Hodgins quirks an eyebrow. "What the hell is he doing?"

"I think he's checking her out." Booth quirks an eyebrow as well. "At least, that's what I think he's doing..." He laughs quietly before taking a swig from his drink. "That kid's been reading too much in that book of his. What was it called again?"

"'People watching, The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language," Hodgins replies.

"Right, a guide to body language," Booth snorts. "I wonder where he dug up that thing."

"I gave it to him." A look of surprise washes over Booth's face as he turns to look at me. Damn it, I just couldn't keep myself from spilling that information. "Since neither of you two," I nod at Hodgins and Booth, "wanted to help him, I decided to give him that book."

"Not everything can be learned from a book, Bones," Booth says. "Some things you just have to know."

"Really?" I reply sarcastically. "Why don't you enlighten me by giving me an example?"

I realise the mistake I've made when I see his eyes narrow and a large smile creep onto his face. What have you done, Temperance? That broad-smile-twinkling-eyes combination can only mean trouble.

"Well Bones, when a guy decides to move in on a girl, he has to possess a little something I like to call 'the technique'."

"The technique?" I echo confused, already feeling my skin start to pucker at the sound of his voice. Is it me or does his voice sound lower than usually?

He takes a step closer to me. I put on a blank expression in an attempt to disguise the feelings that are coursing through my veins. Feeling him so close to me reminds me of the past nights. Especially the last one...

I try to keep still but fail at stopping a shiver from running down my spine. I have to pull myself together, or else he's going to notice what an effect he has on me. This is really not the place nor the time to remember how his stubble scraped across my skin.

"Yeah, the technique. If a guy uses it correctly, the girl he's after will be fawning all over him."

Somehow I manage to collect whatever is left of my rational thoughts. "That's ridiculous, Booth!"

He shakes his head. "No it's not, Bones. The technique has worked for me every time."

It has, Booth? I wonder if you ever used it on me... "And how does, pray tell, this technique work?"

Oh no... Why is he coming even closer? And why is he wearing that damn charm smile again?

"You really want to know, Bones?" I slowly nod. "Well then, let me show you."

My eyes widen at his words. This is one of those times where you just wish you could disappear in the blink of an eye. Although I'm fiercely wishing for something unexpected to happen, like a helicopter bursting into the room with one of those rope ladders dangling down, I decide to not let Booth get the better of me. I'm a grown woman, for crying out loud! Plenty of men have tried to ‘check me out’ and ‘chat me up’. If I remain objective and look at Booth's moves in a clinical, detached way, everything's going to be fine.

I just finish thinking that thought when I catch sight of Booth's smile. Oh no, I know that smile. It's the one he uses when he needs something from me but knows I'm going to put up a fight; I've nickname that dangerous grin his "predator smile".

"Go ahead, Booth. Use your technique on me," I bravely say. I lean forward to add in a husk voice "Make me sweat."

He seems to hesitate for a couple of seconds, obviously taken aback by my last words. He's not the only one, though, who's surprised to hear me say such a thing. From the corner of my eye I can see Angela's eyebrows lift up to unknown heights before a Cheshire grin appears on her face. Hodgins gives me a strange look before he turns back to observing Zach.

"Well, Bones..." Booth begins, casually putting his arm on top of the bar we're standing at. "The first thing that's important while using the technique, is maintaining eye contact with the girl. The guy has to make sure that the girl's looking at him every step of the way."

I slowly nod as I lock eyes with him. Keep eye contact with the guy, check. That part shouldn't be so hard since that twinkle in his eyes is quite interesting to look at. I feel him coming even closer. His arm resting on the bar is merely an inch away from my own. My skin's puckering again; I've never been this grateful of dim light before.

"When the guy is sure he's got the girl's attention, he moves on to the next phase of the technique."

"And what phase is that?" I reply in a slightly sarcastic voice. Maybe I'll be able to maintain my role as a clinical observer if I keep an edge to my words?

"The smiling phase, Bones. The guy tosses the girl his most charming smile." He immediately throws me his infamous charm smile to portray what he's talking about. I feel a smile tug at my own lips. Why is it that I never seem able to control my mouth whenever he's smiling at me like that? "And when the guy's certain that he's got the girl's undivided attention, he pushes things up a notch," Booth continues.

"He does?" I ask, trying to stay sarcastic but somehow failing to do so. I could kick myself for sounding that breathless. "What does the guy do then?"

Booth brings his face down a bit, unbelievably close to mine. Even in the dim light I can distinguish the small gold spots that surround his irises. "He invades her personal space."

Five words that sent even more shivers down my spine. Brief memories of my dream of last night flash through my mind. I wonder if Booth has somehow found out about the situation we were in when we woke up... I snap back to reality when I feel Booth's hand covering my own. He brings his head down even further until his mouth is at my ear's level.

"And then the guy asks the girl if she wants something to drink," he says in a low voice.

He pulls back a bit to take a look at my face. I'm struggling to keep up my air of indifference. He's close enough to see the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end thanks to his whispering in my ear and all I can do, no all I have to do, is stare straight ahead of me and pretend he's got no effect on me whatsoever. Usually I succeed at keeping him at a distance but ever since we got on that plane, away from our regular lives, I have found myself slowly stepping away from the comfortable work pattern I have with Booth. Letting him test his technique on me is just one of those things that I usually wouldn't allow but am participating in now because I'm on holiday. Or maybe because I want to find out how far he's willing to go to prove his point.

"Come on, Bones. Work with me here," Booth interrupts my thoughts. "Just pretend you're that girl. Just for a minute, and tell me what you'd like to drink."

I force myself to roll my eyes, like I always do. "Fine, Booth. I'll play along." I plaster a sensual smile on my face and lean forward to whisper in his ear. "Sex on the beach, please." I can barely contain a chuckle when I hear his breath hitch.

Then he chuckles himself. "Nice try Bones, but that joke is as old as the hills." He leans in again. "I'll just get you a Mojito, what do you say?"

All I can do is nod and watch him raise his hand to signal the bartender. Maybe a few sips of alcohol will make me forget my dreams and how well Booth's technique is messing up my rational senses. A minute later I'm happily sipping my drink, all the while sneaking glances at Booth who's looking at me with a smug smile. "What?" I ask, a bit annoyed.

"And then, Bones, when the girl's gotten a drink, the guy moves in for the kill." I raise my eyebrows as I take another sip. "He asks for her phone number," Booth explains.

I'll never admit it out loud but if he ever pulled those tricks on me, I wouldn't hesitate to give him my number! Then an idea strikes me. Tossing him a small smile, I reply "I'm not going to give you my number but you can buy me another drink."

He laughs but orders a new cocktail anyway. We then turn our attention back to Zach who's taken a few steps closer to the girl. "He's not using the technique. How does he think he's going to get some, then?" Booth mumbles. I roll my eyes, this time without forcing myself.

"Not everyone needs that stupid technique to get someone's number, Booth!"

"Hey! No bad-mouthing my technique, Bones!"

"Will you two shut up for a moment?" Angela intervenes. "I'm loving it that you're bickering and all because, phew, that certainly creates sexual tension but go do it somewhere else. We're watching Zach here. I think he's getting lucky..."

(Angela’s POV again)

Booth and Brennan bickering their pants off could lead to, well... a situation where their pants are literally off but I'm more interested in seeing the antics of our Zach. Him trying to get a girl's number isn't something you usually see him do around the lab!

"Oh no," I hear Jack say. "She's giving him the ‘from what planet are you from’ look. Poor Zach, he's getting his ass kicked out there."

But at that moment, the girl leans against his chest and whispers something into his ear. He blushes and she writes something, I guess her phone number, down on a beer mat. Then she walks away, Zach sighs and returns to us. I feel excitement bubble up inside of me. Zach's gotten her number, even though all the odds were against him!

As Zach's struggling to get through the mass again, I happily take hold of Jack's arm. "You read the look wrong!"

"No baby, I didn't."

"But she wrote something down."

Jack shrugs. "Maybe she's glad that he's out of the ordinary?"

Zach's finally through the mass and joins our little group again. "Tell us everything," I say enthusiastically. My curiosity couldn't be much worse at the moment.

"I am not going to tell you everything," Zach warns us. "But her name is Elena, she is a doctor at the emergency department in Nassau, and she has given me her phone number," he adds quickly.

"Congratulations, Zach," Jack says with a large smile. "I guess I've rubbed off on you anyway."

"What did she whisper into your ear?" I eagerly ask. Damn my curiosity!

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Oh, come on..." I beg.

"Fine," he sighs. "She said: 'Video te insignem esse.'"

"Wow," Jack exclaims, still smiling.

"Impressive," Brennan adds.

"Okay, even I know that's Latin... But what does it mean?" Booth asks, looking at Brennan.

"It means," she retorts, "that she thinks Zach is special."

"She could've told him that in English," Booth says and raises his eyebrows.

"Actually, it was pretty advanced Latin. A.c.I construction," Jack tells him. Booth looks at him confused.

"A.c.I.?" Booth repeats. "Just because you throw in a nice little abbreviation, doesn't mean that I know what you're talking about."

"Accusativus cum Infinitivo," the entomologists explains. "It's a..."

"All right, stop!!" I say and they all look at me.

"Vacation, people. Does anyone remember the meaning of that word?" I give each and everyone a pointed look. "It's very nice of Elena to say something like that to Zach. And I, for one, am happy for you," I say to Zach. "No Latin-talk from now on; got it?" They all nod at me. "Good... So, who would like to give that dance floor a try?"

Three and a half hours later..

"Okay, did any of us not drink any alcohol tonight?" I ask, standing before the SUV on the parking lot.

"I didn't," Zach states.

"That doesn't help us, you can't drive," I return, feeling pretty light-headed. "None of us can now... We've all been drinking."

"Tired," Brennan yawns, and leans against Booth for support.

"I've only had two drinks," Booth announces, suggesting driving anyway.

"No, we aren't going to take any risks."

"Then what are you suggesting, baby?" Jack asks me.

"Call a cab?"

"You do that," Booth says, throwing his phone to Jack. In the meanwhile, Brennan's placing her head on Booths shoulder. She closes her eyes as she leans heavier against him. She even slides down a bit. Booth quickly locks his hand around her arm to keep her on her feet. Her eyes open again.

"Gee Bones, how much have you been drinking?"

She gives him a sheepish grin. "Not much."

"She had seven Mojito's," Zach informs us, reminding us all that he's got one brilliant memory.

"Tired," Brennan mumbles before she starts leaning heavily against Booth again.

"I bet you are," Booth says a bit grumpy as he wraps an arm around his partner's shoulders to prevent her from sliding down onto the ground.

"The cab will be here in a few minutes," Jack tells us. A low humming sound coming from my best friend makes him shoot her a confused look. He's probably wondering what she's doing in Booth's arms. I might be a little intoxicated but even I can tell how much she's enjoying their proximity.

"What happened to the good doctor here?"

"Drunk," the rest of us, minus Brennan, answer simultaneously.

A couple of minutes later the cab arrives. We all get in, Booth supporting Brennan as much as he can.

At the beach villa...

Half an hour later we're back at our place. We all bid each other goodnight and disappear into our respective rooms (or couch in Zach's case) to go to bed. Right before the door of Booth and Brennan's bedroom closes, I hear her say, "So, did I seduce anyone tonight, Boothy?" I tuck that bit of information away in my mind; it might come in handy someday. I enter my own bedroom where I immediately change into something more comfortable.

I slide under the covers before I snuggle up against Hodgins and give him a goodnight kiss.

"Sweet dreams, Jack."

"Sleep tight, Angela," he replies with a tender smile. I return his smile right before I slide off into a peaceful sleep.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Addictt: °sighs° I wish Booth would perform his "technique" on me...

niah1988: °sighs as well° I hear ya, sister...

Addictt: Maybe we should kidnap him so that we can force him to use his charm on us?

niah1988: °grins wickedly° See, this is why I love you so much, girl! °drags Addictt off to a secluded room to plot Booth's kidnapping°

[niah1988]

This chapter's mainly written in Booth's POV but somewhere in the middle we will take a peek at everything that happens through Zach’s eyes.

Oh, and we reveal the secret meaning behind the word 'flumour'! lol Secret meaning... *snickers at her own joke*

° Chapter 4 - A Little More Personal °
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

What does a man do when he's cold? He searches for a source of heat of course. Since there isn't a campfire around or some sort of heating system, I have only one option left - snuggle up against Bones. I crack one eye open to take a peek at my partner who's lying curled up at the other side of the bed. A snort escapes me when I see she has claimed the entire blanket. No wonder my toes are freezing!

Maybe the alcohol that is still running in my blood is making me a bit reckless but I reach over to wrap my arm around her waist and drag her over to my side of the bed. Those seven Mojitos she's had must've knocked her into one hell of a deep sleep because all she does is mumble something incoherent about Tarzan and Jane. I hesitate for one, maybe two seconds, before I lie down behind her, her body pulled flush against me, my nose in the dip of her neck and my left hand tucked under my pillow. My other hand I place protectively on her abdomen after I've draped the blanket over the two of us. There, that's a lot warmer.

With her scent invading my nose and her body heat slowly seeping into my skin, I drift off to sleep.

Until she wakes me up again some time later.

"You Booth, me Bones," she mumbles.

I barely manage to contain my chuckles. You Booth, me Bones? I never pegged you as someone who talks in her sleep, Bones, let alone quote a very famous movie line! The chuckles quickly die in my throat when she begins shifting around. Emitting soft groans, she pulls her legs up high, buries her head deeper into her pillow and covers my arm with her warm hands. I stay perfectly still, hoping she'll wake up and move away when she realises what she's doing. Or maybe I don't move a muscle because I want her to stay like this, relaxed and bending just the right way to fit perfectly in my embrace.

Her next action takes me by surprise. Temperance pushing back her hips draws all the blood to one particular place, leaving me gasping for air. Is she having another vivid dream? I'm pondering whether or not to take a headlong dive for the ground when she softly sighs my name. Not Michael's, or David's, or Sully's, or the name of any other guy she has ever slept with; no, my name.

It's enough to quiet any possible arguments my conscious might throw up, enough to freeze my movements in mid-air, enough to still the dozens of thoughts that are running through my head. The minute my name rolls over those sweet lips of hers, followed by a string of soft moans and sighs, my resolution of not steeling someone's property vanishes in thin air. I no longer care we're just partners. I no longer care what issues our position might cause in the morning. And I certainly don't care if she's seeing someone, aka my former friend, at the moment. Temperance Brennan, my partner in solving crimes, is lying curled up against me, sighing my name while probably dreaming inappropriate things.

Life can't get much better now.

That's why I bury my nose in her hair, tuck my legs firmly behind hers, and surrender myself to a blissful sleep.

Around 7.30am...

I yawn before I slowly open my eyes. The corners of my mouth curl up in a satisfied smile when I feel her stomach move up and down under my hand. She's still lying in my arms, even after all those hours of sleep. Just when I'm about to close my eyes again, she begins to move around. My eyes widen in fear. It's one thing to brush away all thoughts about crossing lines in the middle of the night, when it's just you who's aware of just how far you've crossed into dangerous territory. It's an entirely different story when the person you crossed the line for is waking up in the morning. In the same bed. In your arms!

I pull away my hand and roll to my side of the bed as fast as I can. Unfortunately, in my hurry, I roll away too fast. With a small yelp I tip over the edge of the bed and land on the ground with a muffled thud. I'm rubbing my sore spots and mumbling curses at the carpet when I hear more shifting around in the bed. Seconds later Brennan pokes her head over the edge to look at me.

"Are you dancing the tango again?"

"Bones..." I grumble, but the rest of my words never make it out of my mouth. I can't help but stare at her as she gives me a curious but innocent look. Is she even aware of the fact that she has spent almost an entire night in my arms?

She bravely meets my stare, her eyebrows slowly rising up. Eventually, I'm the one who turns away, refusing to participate any longer in this silent stare show down. Maybe it's for the best that she doesn't remember what happened last night. I don't want her to ruin the moment with some scientific explanation of how it is completely natural that people instinctively search for a source of heat when they're cold, body heat in our case. Oh great, I don't need her to ruin my mood with scientific mumbo jumbo; I'm already doing that myself!

"I'm in the shower if you need me," I throw over my shoulder after I've gotten up.

Damn it, Bones. Stop staring at me like that. Your stare is almost burning a hole in the back of my head. And my shoulders. Not to mention my hips. My mood immediately lifts. She might not remember how I held her in my arms and how she murmured my name but she can't deny that she can't help but stare at my physique. As I walk into the bathroom, part of me hopes she'll take my words literally and join me in the shower because she needs me. I shake my head. Pull yourself together, Seeley. You're taking things too fast again. She's together with Sully, for crying out loud!

I draw in a deep breath before I turn around to close the door. I catch sight of her still lying on our bed, staring at me. I flash her a half-crooked smile. I might have to restrain myself for the moment but that doesn't mean I can't tease her, right?

"You still owe me a back-rub, Bones!"

A couple of hours later, at the beach...

I pull up at Snowbay again. There are a couple of other beaches we could go to but so far we're enjoying it here. Angela once again instructs us to grab all the bags and carry them to our regular spot on the beach. Not this time, Angela. I've played your pack mule for too long now. I straighten up to my full length and flatly tell the artist that if she wants to drag all that stuff with her, that she should be the one carrying it. To my surprise she just shrugs and grabs a couple of bags before walking off towards the beach. Temperance, Hodgins and Zach do the same, leaving me behind with only one small bag to carry.

Guilt immediately washes over me. Just look at how Angela's struggling with all that stuff... I cringe when I see her trip and nearly fall down. She manages to stay upright though. The decision is quickly made. Even though I don't like being her mule, and my partner’s mule at the same time, this isn't how my mother raised me. She taught me that a true gentleman always tries to make life easier for women. Technically Angela and Temperance aren't my women in the intimate relationship kind of way -even though I wouldn't mind pursuing that idea with my partner- but I'm responsible for them nevertheless! Just imagine what would happen if they didn't have me around if some deranged nutcase came by and began emptying his gun on them? Hodgins and Zach would probably try to protect them but they wouldn't do as good as I. Wow, hold it right there. What makes you think we're going to get shot while we're on holiday, hmmm Seeley? I shake my head. I definitely need this vacation.

I rush forward to "my two women" to give them a hand with their bags. Angela flashes me her all knowing smile while Temperance resolves to glare, even though I can clearly see the corners of her mouth twitch upwards. Crap, I've been played. They knowingly conceded when I told them to carry their own things because, being the gentleman that I am, I'd quickly come to their rescue and offer to take over all their bags. I mentally smack myself for being so stupid when they load all their things into my arms. Now I'm carrying even more stuff than the previous days! This would have never happened if I had just said yes instead of no in the beginning.

A couple of minutes later we arrive at our usual spot on the beach. We lay down our towels in the exact same order as the first day. I'm once again grateful for Temperance not lying so close to me. I don’t think I could handle her lying at less than half a yard away after our rather eventful night. I quickly strip down to my swimming shorts, just like Hodgins and Zach are doing. From the corner of my eye, I can see Temperance fingering the hem of her shirt. Wait a minute, is she nervous? I suppress a snort. Bones is almost never nervous, but what could be the cause of her fumbling then?

"Come on, Bones. Get out of those clothes," I say. Oh boy, never thought I was going to say such a thing to her out loud in a public place with the squints within hearing range. "It's too hot to keep them on." Correction, you are too hot to keep them on. I groan. Here I go again with all my luscious thoughts. That's what happens when you haven't slept with anyone in a while. "Or are you afraid to show us your grandma bikini again?"

My words earn me a piercing scowl from her. Good. Very good. Scowl at me, Bones, I'm begging you. You glaring at me will distract me from your long legs sticking out of that short pair or shorts you're wearing. I give her a large smile in return, which falters in the end because all of a sudden, all I can think about is how adorable she looks when she's giving me those piercing stares.

"Booth, for the last time," she begins, only to be interrupted by Angela the next second.

"She isn't wearing her grandma bikini, Booth. We went shopping, remember?" The artist then turns to her friend. "Come on Bren, do as the man asked you. Strip those clothes off and show him your fabulous new swimming outfit!"

Temperance groans in response but pulls her shirt over her head anyway. If we had been in a cartoon, my jaw would’ve literally hit the floor. So long grandma and hello hot granddaughter!

I’m glad I’m wearing my sunglasses. That way she can’t see how my eyes bug out when her new swimming top appears. Just enough fabric to cover up what needs to be covered up -in a public place; in the bedroom is something entirely different- and two small strings, one around her neck and one around her torso, to keep the skimpy thing in place. I immediately note that with one well-timed tug I could pull one of those strings loose, which would result in something that can only be described as very naughty and bad enough to get myself kicked onto the next plane home.

When I see her pop the button of her shorts, I clear my throat and take off my sunglasses, pretending to be busy with cleaning them. I grit my teeth as she pushes her shorts down those long legs of her, revealing a matching skimpy bottom piece. Again, just enough fabric to cover the unmentionables and a couple of strings tied together at her hips. If only I could reach over and… I shake my head. Remember what happened to Epps' arm when he tried to touch her hand. Just imagine what she’d do to you if you touched her hip…

Maybe she’d push back against my hand, just like she did last night? Oh boy, time for another mental slapping.

“Dude, if you gawk at her any longer, I’m giving you a twenty to stuff down her cleavage.�

I glare at Hodgins who has sat down beside me. “Back off,� I bark, sounding a lot more stressed than I want to. I can’t help it. My thoughts were everywhere but at the beach a couple of seconds ago. You can't blame a man for chewing one's head off when he gets interrupted in his staring.

“I’m just saying that you’re gawking at her like she’s a stripper. If you wanna survive today, you’d better keep your eyes to yourself, before Dr. Brennan notices anything.�

I give him a surprised look, perplexed by his advice. Since when does he look out for me? I guess all our collaborating on cases has caused this. Oh well, I might as well listen to him. Especially if I want to avoid the hospital today...

"So Booth, what do you think?" Angela cheerfully asks.

My gaze flies to my partner again. What do I think? Hot as hell! But that's not something you say to your partner... or your friend for that matter. Especially not when you've got feelings for said friend.

"Nice," I comment. Because that one-syllable word sounds too ridiculous to my liking, I try to elaborate. "Very nice." Way to elaborate, dufus... I loudly clear my throat before I put on my sunglasses again. "Really Bones, you look nice. You picked out a nice bikini."

And that's all they're getting out of me.

About half an hour later, Hodgins, Angela and Zach are throwing a Frisbee at each other. I sigh and take out my sun cream. Moments later I'm done with rubbing the cream over my arms and chest. Suddenly I feel someone squat down behind me. Turning around, surprise written all over my face, I find my partner sitting down behind me, reaching out to take my bottle of sun cream.

"Bones, what the hell are you doing?"

"Unless you want to get sunburned again, I suggest you shut up and let me do your back."

Why is it that every time she's wearing a bikini, her double entendres become even more... double? Let her do my back? You can do much more than my back, Bones. Why not just 'me'?

I have to suppress a shiver when her warm hand and the cool liquid touch my back. She's right. I don't want to get sunburned again. That's why I have to endure this sweet, sweet torture. It takes all the willpower I have to stay focussed and not get carried away by my imagination. I mean, come on! Wouldn’t you be distracted if a beautiful woman rubbed sun cream in your skin?

"Done," Temperance simply states five minutes later.

"Thanks," I softly reply. I draw in a deep breath before I slowly turn around. "Bones..." I begin. "About your bikini..."

She lifts her eyebrows while giving me a nod, encouraging me to continue.

"Remember what I said about that dress in Vegas?"

She nods again.

"Well... The same goes for your bikini."

Surprise passes over her face before she gives me a small smile. I visibly relax when she comradely pats my shoulder, saying, "You don't look so bad yourself in those swimming trunks."

I grin broadly at her. "Thanks Bones, but let's be honest here. There aren't many clothes I don't look good in!"

I receive a good roll of her eyes for an answer but she smiles nonetheless. "Keep an eye on that back of yours," she tells me.

"Okay mom..." I playfully reply.

She doesn't show this side of her very often. I'm touched that she's looking out for me. I mean, I already knew she has my back whenever we're on a case but this is one of the first times she bothers to check on me with smaller things, like making sure the skin of my back doesn't get turned bright red and crispy again.

I don't complain when she's all 'sneeze on me and you're dead'. I like it when she turns to me when she's trying to step out of her safe world of science and I certainly like it when she's being seductive without being aware of the effect she’s causing, but this side of her, that tender and caring bit, now that is something that makes me long even more for her.

Zach's POV

I observe everyone for a while. Angela and Hodgins left a couple of minutes ago towards the sea, probably to do some swimming, or maybe for some kind of playing. It's really not my business.

Dr. Brennan and Booth are tanning, but every now and then they look at each other. They exchange a smile, close their eyes and pretend it didn't happen. Over and over again. I really don't see the point. Maybe this is what the book, that Dr. Brennan gave me, meant by reflection... Yes, this definitely could be it. Desmond Morris is a clever man. He is an artist, just like Angela. He paints surrealism; I saw his work in London once. He is a writer, zoologist and ethnologist. He also travels around the world... I remember reading he has been in the Caribbean too. He is a respectable man, Desmond Morris. I sigh at my own thoughts. It actually doesn't matter. All of that, it just... doesn't matter.

I think back to last night. I really like Elena. She's a nice, pretty and smart young woman. And she likes me. With that thought my lips curl into a smile. I reach for my bag and search for my cell phone. Should I call her, or not? I try to keep my head cool when dozens of thoughts run through my head.

Why should I call her? Reason number one, I can get to see her again. Reason number two, I can get to hear her again. Reason number three, I can get to laugh with her again. Reason number four, I can get to... Fine, I just want to be with her.

Then, why shouldn't I call her? One, maybe it's too early. I don't want to seem pushy. But... I don't have that much time, I'm leaving in a few days. Two, maybe she doesn't like me. I'm not sure. She smiled a lot last night though... She even touched me. Plus, she gave me her phone number, and the number of her pager.

Conclusion: I won't call her.

No, I will send her a text message. I nod decisively at my thoughts. That's it. I'm sending her a text message instead of risking sounding nervous and scare her away. I turn on my cell, and think about what I'm going to send her. Ten minutes later I receive her response.

Zach, I would love to see you again. I have the day off from work. Where do you want to meet? x Elena.

A smile spreads across my face. She wants to meet me again! Quickly I respond to her message.

I'm at Snowbay. I don't know if you want to come here? You could meet my-

My what? Colleagues? Friends? Yes, friends. You wouldn't be invited on a vacation if you were just colleagues, right? A few minutes later my phone beeps again. I open the message.

I'll be there in 30. x Elena

Oh my God. I, soon-to-be-doctor Zach Addy, have a date.

Almost an hour later...

"So, tell me... What do you do for a living?" Elena asks me with a smile, as we sit in a beach bar with Ice Teas in front of us.

"I work at the Jeffersonian in Washington, as the assistant of Dr. Brennan. I'm trying to get my doctorate Forensic Anthropology. I'm also studying to get a doctorate in Engineering, but I mostly work at the Jeffersonian."

I'm rambling. I shouldn't. According to Desmond Morris, rambling is a sign of nervousness. Even though I'm nervous -if I would lift my drink to take a sip, I would spill Ice Tea all over myself because of my trembling hands; that's what nerves to do me- Elena's smiling at me. Either she doesn't notice my nerves or pretends that I'm in complete control of my feelings.

"That sounds really impressive. I've read Dr. Brennan’s novels. They're pretty good," she tells me.

I smile. "Yes, I guess so. Tell me a little more about your work."

"Well... I'm an intern at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau. I work at the emergency department. I'm now in my second year."

"You're amazing." Did I just say that out loud? I glance at her. I did. Darn it. A blush appears on my face. "I'm sorry, that was-"

"It's O.K., Zach. Thank you..." Again, her sweet smile. I could just lose myself in that smile, even though that's humanly impossible. "Did you have anything in mind for today?" She whirls the umbrella from her drink between her thumb and index finger.

"Maybe I could introduce you to my friends, and then we could have lunch somewhere?" I ask a little insecure.

"Sounds like a great plan," she convinces me and I can see a twinkle appear in her light brown eyes.

Switch back to Booth's POV

I'm currently standing knee-deep in Mediterranean blue water, waiting for Hodgins and Bones to join me, Angela, Zach and... Helen? Elyna? Helyna? Doesn't matter. Although I have to say that I'm fairly impressed with his catch. He must've done something right, otherwise she wouldn't smile at him like that. I briefly wonder if he even knows the meaning of the smile she's throwing him. Probably not. Unless that Morris-guy has included a chapter about female smiles in his book?

"Here is the Frisbee," Hodgins announces as he and Brennan finally arrive at the shoreline, the entomologist holding the Frisbee.

"Great," I reply. I happily rub my hands. This is something I'm going to enjoy immensely. In my mind I can already see Bones jump out of the water to catch that Frisbee. I shake my head in disbelief. Why does it seem that I can't stop thinking about her in every possible, really dirty, way?

The six of us wade out of the water, wanting to begin the game fairly easy. For the next five minutes we lazily throw the Frisbee at each other, before slowly but surely moving into the water. When the water reaches halfway up our calves, we begin making things more difficult for each other. Angela throws the Frisbee in such a way that I have to duck and almost dive to catch it before it hits the water. Moments later Hodgins bites the dust -well, the water- when I whirl the Frisbee his way. Hodgins aiming the miniature UFO in Brennan's direction, makes her splash further into the sea, sending jets of water flying everywhere. Completely engrossed by her care-free behaviour -I can't remember a single time when she's acted so childish- I don't see the Frisbee coming my way until it hits my forehead with a soft bump.

"Bones!" I groan, rubbing my head.

"What?" she innocently asks. "Didn't your sniper senses see that Frisbee coming?"

I stare at her for a minute -my sniper senses, what the...?- before I toss the bright orange disk aside and rapidly close the distance between us. I hook my arm around her waist and completely ignore her protests as I drag her further into the water. Eventually, when the water reaches up to our belly-buttons, I put my foot down firmly and drag her forward, making her trip over my foot and fall down back first into the water. I nearly bend over double when she comes up for air, spitting out salty water and wearing a very dangerous looking scowl. Before I have time to stop laughing, she lunges herself forward against me. Together we topple down into the water again.

I stop breathing for a second. Not because I'm underwater, but because I'm mesmerised by what I see in front of me. Her face is no more than an inch away from mine. Clouds of bubbles caress her features as they rise up to the water's surface. I gasp for air, gulping down salty water in the process, when her eyelids fly open to search for my face. We gaze at each other for a brief moment while we float around between a ceiling of water and a floor of sand. Then the need for oxygen becomes too urgent. Flashing her a small smile, I push myself upwards again. The second we come up for air, we hear Angela calling.

"Hey guys, if you want a private moment, all you have to do is say so. No need to hide underwater, you know!"

I wade back to our small group, Bones in tow. "Yeah yeah, Angela. Let's see more throwing and less talking." I quickly pick up the Frisbee and toss it her way. Maybe that'll keep her busy for a while. The last thing I need is for her to get on my case about how Bones and I just shared "an intimate moment" underwater.

A while later...

About an hour ago we left the water to do some separate activities. Zach is walking along the shoreline with whats-her-name?.. Elena. Angela and Hodgins are getting some ice cream, and Bones and I are lying down on our towels, again. The whole day we’ve been playing games with each other. Stare and smile. Classic. It’s actually one of the techniques Bones and I talked about yesterday. Although she probably doesn’t remember anymore...

I roll over to her side; now we’re only a few inches apart. Since we were the only two that wanted to do some tanning, she has moved her towel right next to mine. Her sudden actions evoked mixed feelings inside of me. All day I have been wishing for her to lie down next to me so I could feel my senses tingle because of her proximity, but at the same time I prayed for her to stay far, far away from me. There's no telling what I'll do if she stays this close to me for more than five minutes... all relaxed... wearing her tiny bikini... I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and command my libido to calm down.

“Booth.. What are you doing?� she asks me, cracking one eye open to look at me.

“I’m done playing. You up for some real action?� I throw a shadow over her when I get up. Both her eyes immediately open.

“Hey, get out of my sun!� she exclaims, propping herself up on her elbows.

I roll my eyes and extend my hand. "Come on, Bones. Get up," I say as I pull her to her feet after she has taken my hand.

Her soft touch makes me feel feverish, like her hands absorb my energy. I wait just one second too long to let go of her hand. Typical, I quietly snort. Having all those thoughts about her has lead to my stupid behaviour. I glance at her. She doesn't seem to have noticed my slip-up. Phew, that was a close one. No more slip-ups, 'kay Seeley? You can't afford to mess up things now.

“Okay Bones.. See that palm tree at the end of the beach?� I point out my finger to our right.

She nods.

“Last one there is a rotten egg.� I start running, but not after I have thrown her one last charm smile.

“I don't have the right shoes!� I hear her call after me. “Nor the right clothes!�

“No, you don’t,� I mumble, snickering. I know I shouldn’t be playing her like that, but give a man a break. If anyone, I say, anyone would see her in that bikini his mind would go playing tricks on him.

When I have found a steady rhythm, I look around to see where she is. The answer is stunning, in multiple ways. She is running a few feet behind me, wearing her shorts and tank top, and she is catching up. She must’ve seen my shocked face, because a smile spreads rapidly across her features. I quickly look forward again, before my mind starts visualizing pictures of her taking off her clothes again, while running. Come to think of it, she sure got dressed fast. I wonder if she could take those clothes off with the same speed.

Ten minutes long we keep running, sometimes I'm ahead and sometimes she is. As the end nears, we're running beside each other. Whenever I accelerate, she adjusts her speed to keep up and whenever she breaks away, I make an effort to catch up again.

A warm breeze whirls through her hair and we exchange a small smile. I wonder if I have ever seen her so beautiful. Images of the previous days flash through my mind. I wonder why every time I am running she is in my head, and I can't get her out. Hell, she's always on my mind. Suddenly, I become aware of my surroundings again. She is way ahead of me! Look where that dirty mind of yours had brought you this time, Seeley boy.

I speed up, and try to catch up with her. Which, obviously, isn't working. That woman sure knows how to use her legs!

My gaze is suddenly captured by them. Tall and slender, tanned and... Whoa, focus Seeley, focus. Do not look at the lady's legs! In the next couple of seconds I try to close the distance between us. My efforts are useless though. She reaches the palm tree a few seconds before me. Seconds!

Both breathing heavily, we lie down in front of the palm tree.

"What were you thinking about there, Booth, that got you distracted like that?"

"Nothing, really," I try to sound careless. It's not like I can tell the truth, is it? Just imagine if I did. Hey Bones, I was just drooling all over your legs, imagining what it would feel like if you wrapped them around me. Oh, you want to wrap your hands around my neck now to strangle me? Oh sure, go right ahead! Ha, if you think I'm going to tell the truth here, then you're sorely mistaken!

"Looks like you're the rotten egg, Booth. Remind me to bring a clothes peg with me to put on my nose the next time you visit the lab."

Another thing, which is irresistible about Bones; her weird sense of humour and her laugh. I give her a smile, despite the fact I've lost. She has won fair and square. No use crying over my temporary loss of manliness because I've lost to a girl. I'd lose every single game if it made her smile like that.

"Seems like Zach is having a great time," I say, when I've gotten a hold of my breath.

"Yes..." She remains silent for a few seconds, before she mumbles "So am I..."

"Really?" I ask, surprised by her sudden revelation.

"Yes, I haven't had a vacation like this since I was a kid. Since... you know," she trails off, masking the rest of her sentence with a subtle cough.

"Yeah... I know," I say with comfort in my voice before I take her hand. "It's okay, Bones." I stroke her hand with my thumb and I feel her slowly relax. We remain in that position for a few minutes. "It's been a while since I've been away on vacation myself."

She raises her eyebrows. "You went last year, with Tessa."

"She bailed out on me, remember?"

"Oh right..."

Something in her answer tells me she mentioned Tessa on purpose. I mean, Bones forgetting something? Come on! Hodgins would sooner abandon his conspiracy theories than that my partner would forget something. I decide to poke around a little.

"You didn't really like Tessa, did you Bones?"

She scrunches up her face. "What kind of question is that, Booth?"

"Fine, a different question then. What do you remember of last night?"

"I remember you using that infamous technique of yours on me. Then you bought me a couple of Mojitos."

"How many do you think you had?"

"Four... maybe five," she hesitantly replies.

She has lost count after the fourth cocktail. Great. Just absolutely great. She doesn't remember leaning against me for support, nor does she remember what she said to me in our bedroom. Or how I peeled her clothes off to get her ready for bed. For a brief moment my breathing speeds up again.

Don't go there, I command myself, but it is useless. Before I can stop myself I vividly recall how she smiled and tugged at my shirt after I had unzipped her dress. I struggled to keep my hands from touching her smooth skin; I can tell you that wasn't an easy task with all that alcohol running through my blood. As you might know, alcohol pushes us to ignore all stop signs and do exactly what we want to do. I'm just lucky I only playfully tapped her behind as I shoved her in the direction of the bathroom.

The last thing I remember is her coming out again, wearing her pyjamas, before she climbed into bed next to me. I know I should be proud of myself. A man never takes advantage of a woman when she's intoxicated, but last night was awfully tempting. If I had wanted to, I could've kissed her, and she would've been none the wiser.

Stop going there, I mentally scold myself. Nothing happened. Be proud. I give her a sideway look. Doesn't she remember anything at all?

"You called me 'Boothy'," I announce.

The effect is immediate. Her eyes widen and she gives me an incredulous look. "I did?"

"Yeah, you did." After a couple of seconds of hesitating, I decide to tell her what else she has said. The truth before everything, right? Well, the partial truth. Telling her absolutely everything would only complicate our friendship. "You asked me if you had seduced anyone last night."

"Did I?" she probes, lifting her eyebrows again.

"Yep, you asked me that exact question."

"No, I mean, did I seduce anyone last night?"

My blood races through my veins as I once again recall the entire bedroom scene. It wasn't just there that she pulled such a trick on me. At the club, when we were dancing -I believe it was after her sixth Mojito- she grabbed my hands to do a weird imitation of our dance in that bar in Aurora.

"Maybe you did... Maybe you didn't..." I reply mysteriously. There is no way I'm going to reveal what kind of effect she had on me last night.

She nods before turning her gaze towards the sea. "Thank you, Booth, for coming along with me. I needed to get away from work for a while. Away from Sully..."

This is my chance. I should tell her how wrong he is for her. I should tell her about the dull ache in my chest whenever I hear her say his name, how that same ache cuts through me the second I see them together. I really should... but I don't. For some unknown reason I can't push myself past my self-drawn lines. For the first time since I have laid down the rules for that thing we've got going on between the two of us, I wonder who I'm trying to protect here. My partner or myself?

"How's Sully anyway?" Great move there. Instead of asking how they are doing, you asked how he is doing. I suppress a sigh. Yet another slip-up... I silently pray she hasn't noticed my reluctance of acknowledging they're a couple.

"He's fine... I suppose..." She draws her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them. "Are you happy for me, Booth?"

Whoa, where the hell did that question come from?! I shouldn't be so surprised. She's a very blunt woman. Combine that with Angela's efforts at getting her to open up about her feelings and you get that sudden question.

"Uhm... Yeah, I suppose I am. If you're happy, I'm happy." I imitate her movements, only I loosely rest my arms on top of my knees instead of wrapping them around my legs. "I'm happy for you, Bones," I say a bit firmer. Idiot, what the hell are you saying?! Do you want to push her even more towards her boyfriend? "Sully's a good guy, you know." I guess I do.

"So are you," she immediately returns.

Unintentionally she gives me an opportunity to wiggle myself out of this emotional conversation. "Of course I am. I'm simply the best," I say, tossing her a grin. Then I get up and reach out my hand, inviting her to take it so that I can pull her to her feet.

She carefully slides her hand into mine. "Yes, you are," she softly states when she's standing up right again.

I stare at her. Did she just say that I'm better than Sully? "As are you," I compliment her. If she notices that I'm not just talking about how good she's at her job, I'm going to slap myself around the place.

"Thank you, Booth. That means a lot to me."

"To me too," I mutter almost too quiet to be heard.

If only she knew how her compliment has just boosted my self-esteem. Can't fill her in though. She'd probably start another rant about the size of my ego. But when I look up to meet her eyes, I'm hit full-force by the surprise swimming around in her eyes. Does she really think I don't appreciate her compliments?

I shake my head. How many times do we have to go over this, cowboy? No more emotional talks with the lady. If you're not careful you might accidentally spill something that isn't supposed to be spilled.

I give her a wink as I let go of her hands. Apparently I haven't let go after I pulled her to her feet. What really interests me is that she didn't seem to mind us holding hands. Hmm... Right, snap back to reality, Seeley. Now!

"What do you think, Bones, you up for some ice cream?

"Sure," she answers, giving me a small smile.

"Great," I smile back. "Let's go then." I wrap my arm around her shoulder as we walk back to the rest of our team to tell them we're going to get ourselves something to cool off.

That evening, when the sun is setting...

I walk through our bedroom towards the bathroom to take a quick shower, when I hear voices coming from outside. Angela and Hodgins. They're talking about Zach and the girl. Interesting. I lean against a wall to eavesdrop on them.

"She's nice though," I hear Angela say. I nod and cross my arms. Yes, she is.

"And pretty." I concur!

"Hodgins!" Maybe that wasn't a smooth move, Hodgins.

"Sorry... She's smart too." She sure sounds a lot like Bones, if you add all those things up. But Bones is better nonetheless, but maybe I am a bit biased...

"Yes, she is. Do you know how Zach feels about her?" Interesting question there, Angela.

"No, not really." We all know how she feels about him, though. I mean, that girl obviously likes boy genius. Otherwise she wouldn't have stayed near him while we were playing in the water.

"Don't you guys talk?" Guys don't talk about feelings, Angela. I expected you knew that!

"About science, yes. About illegal experiments, yes. But stuff like that... no." Like I said, deep conversations about feelings is a no-no for a couple of tough guys.

"Hmm..."

They don't speak for a minute. Then I hear chairs being scraped over the floor, followed by the sound of Angela's flip-flops. They're walking away, damn it.

"I hope they get together soon." I do too, Hodgins. Although I'm never going to admit it out loud, I think Zach deserves his own special lady. When I no longer hear Angela's flip-flops I sigh and enter the bathroom.

The rest of the evening passes by slowly and very peacefully. We've decided to stay 'home' after last night to give every one of us our own little private moment.

After my shower I walk quietly through the house. Zach's designing a new kite and Bones is reading in the living room. I walk into the kitchen, and look through the window. There I see Angela and Hodgins, sitting on the beach, Angela drawing the waves and Hodgins just relaxing.

I open the fridge to search for a drink. Beer, Ice Tea, wine, water... Nothing really attracts me at the moment. I take a glass and decide to have some milk. Then I feel a pair of eyes looking at me. I turn around and see Bones staring at me. Her lips curl into a little smile. I lift my glass and eyebrows, gesturing if she wants a drink too. She shakes her head and her large smile tells me she's glad I asked. I return the smile and walk out of the house to search for my own private spot.

I sit down under a nearby tree. Slowly I empty my glass of milk, all the while pondering whether or not to call Parker. I eventually grab my phone and dial Rebecca's home number. Ten minutes later I say goodbye to Rebecca, who tells me Parker has to go to bed. I wish her goodnight before I end the call.

I rest against the tree for another ten minutes, before returning to the house. When I enter the living room again, Bones and Zach are still at the same place, right where I left them.

"Can I turn the TV on?"

"Sure." Zach doesn't even look up from his drawing.

"Go ahead," Brennan tells me and scoots over so I can sit on the couch.

I sit down next to her and flip through some channels. Local news, the Disney channel, CNN, BBC, AMC... Hey, the last one might be interesting. I check the TV guide to see what movie is coming up next. Miami Supercops! One of my favourite classic movies. I grin widely and make myself comfortable.

Half an hour later Brennan puts away her book and joins me in watching the movie. After an hour she starts yawning, and ten minutes later she falls asleep against my shoulder. Zach doesn't say anything and neither do I, but we both look at her for a brief moment. All that playing around today must've worn her out more than we all thought. About half an hour later Zach throws me a hesitant look.

Understanding what he's trying to ask here, I whisper, "I'll take her to bed." I softly nudge her shoulder. "Hey, Bones... Wake up..." She groans, obviously annoyed that I dare to tear her away from her sleep. "Bones..." I nudge her side this time.

"Booth," she mumbles, her eyes still closed. "Stop poking me. I'm trying to sleep here."

"Bones, I'd appreciate it if you could wake up long enough to walk over to our own bed. The couch is Zach's bed, and I really don't want to trade you for him." Brennan just mumbles something incoherent. "Bones, I'm being serious here!" More mumbling from the anthropologist. Okay, if she wants to play it like that... "Fine. I guess I'll just have to carry you to our room."

Before I even have the time to scoop her up in my arms, she jumps to her feet, thrusting a finger at me. "You are not carrying me around the house. I've got a pair of legs that I know how to use, thank you."

Oh Bones, not the legs again! I just got them out of my mind! Shaking my head and sighing deeply, I nod at Zach before I follow my partner to our room. It would've been great if she had let me carry her around -I would've done my role of knight in shining armour justice- but she decided to have none of that. Too bad. Oh well, at least I get to spend yet another night with her in one bed.

My mood brightens at recalling the previous night. Who knows, I might get lucky again...

-------------------

niah1988: I think I just came up with a new genre, flumour!

Addictt: What the? °gives niah a strange look°

niah1988: You know, our story is full of fluff and humour, therefore 'flumour'!

Addictt: °raises her eyebrows even more°

niah1988: What? Isn't 'flumour' a great word?

Addictt: °gives niah an encouraging pat on the shoulder° Of course it is, honey. Of course it is... °mouths at the reader° HELP ME!
_________________
Whatever life throws at you, throw it right back.
Use your uniqueness!

[Addictt]

Again a few POV-changes. We start with Zach.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

° No Reason To Be Shy °
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

My lips trail over her slightly darker skin. Her black hair is draped around us. My fingers are clamped around her waist. I trail down her neck, breasts, and belly-button. She arches her back and lets out a soft moan. My fingers play over her spine, while she nibbles softly on my ear. I trace her shoulder blades with my index fingers. Her cheeks touching my neck burn my skin. Her hands caress my legs, as she calls out my name. "Zach... Zach... Zach!� Her voice becomes louder and louder.

"Zach! Zach! Wake up, Zach!"

Immediately I shoot upright. Gasping for breath, I look up. It’s Angela who’s calling my name. Not Elena… unfortunately…

"Are you all right? You're all sweaty."

If she only knew what made me sweat…

"I'm okay Angela, really," I reply, giving her a weak smile. She shrugs and walks on into the kitchen.

"Bad dream?"

Not at all… But I would rather die than have her ever find out. Correction, if anyone ever found out.

"Yeah. Did you sleep well?" Good move, Zach. Change the subject.

"I slept great, actually," she answers and a grin spreads across her face. I really don't want to know what she's thinking right now.

"Angela?"

"Yes, honey?" Sometimes I really wish she wouldn't call me that. My name’s Zach, not ‘honey’. I get up from the couch to retrieve a clean shirt and pair of trousers.

"Can I use your shower?" I ask.

"Sure. Be careful though, Jack doesn't like to be awoken early." I give her a quick nod and rush towards the bedroom. Maybe a shower will cool me down.

A while later…

One hour later everyone's awake and present at the dining table. We enjoy a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs. Angela is all happy and perky, Hodgins and Dr. Brennan are still yawning. I don’t know about Booth, though. I can't read him; I never could and probably never will. I resolve to stare straight ahead of me. Fragments of my dream play through my head. So this is how it feels to long desperately for someone…

"Let's try another beach today," Angela suddenly suggests.

"Which one did you have in mind?" Dr. Brennan asks.

"I don't know. I'm not the one who read the brochure. Zach, Booth? Suggestions please."

"What about Long Bay? It's on the other side of the island. I’ve heard there are great waves and also facilities to play volleyball," Booth informs her.

"Sounds great!" Hodgins exclaims. Angela and Dr. Brennan nod in agreement.

Another hour later we're driving towards the beach. I take out my cell to send a text message. Two minutes later a little beep resounds in the SUV, causing everyone to jump a little.

"Gee Zach," Booth mumbles a little irritated. Four pairs of eyes look at me. Two compassionate, one curious and the last one annoyed.

I retort a quick excuse and check my inbox.

I'll have to work until 2pm, but how about I meet you afterwards? I'll give you a call. x Elena

I smile. That little message has just made my day.

(Switch to Brennan's POV)

I let out a deep sigh when Booth finally pulls up at Long Bay. My whole body is itching to explore this new place. We've only got three days left, including today, before we have to head home. My stomach turns at the thought. We will all have to leave this pleasant atmosphere behind to chase criminals again. It will be a huge adjustment to go back to how things were before I asked Booth to come along with me. I'm not sure I want things to go back to normal, but at the same time I don't want them to be how they are now.

This morning I woke up with my behind and back pressed against Booth's body. Fortunately he had his back to me and was still fast asleep, leaving me a chance to put some distance between both our behinds. But as I was scooting away, the memories of two nights ago flooded my memory. When I woke up the day before, Booth rolled away so fast that he tipped over the edge. What could've caused his rapid movements?

I involuntarily shiver when I open my door and get out of the car. Let's just hope nothing has happened in between going to sleep and waking up...

Yes, I don't want things to stay how they are now. I've got a boyfriend back home, who doesn't miss an opportunity to compare himself with Booth. Like I don't do that enough myself! And here I've got a partner who's slowly but surely closing in on me, whether it's intentional or not. The worst thing is that I’m rather enjoying this cat-and-mouse game we're playing. I barely hold back a frustrated groan. I'm on vacation. I shouldn't be mulling about this kind of stuff.

"Hey Bren, stop kicking the sand and come here!" Angela shouts, pulling me out of my reveries.

You have no idea how glad I am that you came along, Angela. Without you I would've been stuck here all week with Booth. I frown as I make my way over to my friends. I first planned on coming here alone with him, so why does that idea give me the creeps?

My spine stiffens when I brush past Booth. From the corner of my eye I catch the look he throws me. Right, that's why. When I bravely asked him to tag along, I momentarily forgot about the electric currents that are always running between us. It would've been hard, but enjoyable at the same time if Angela and the rest hadn't accompanied us.

I barely suppress the urge to kick the sand again. Why am I thinking about what could have happened if the rest of my team hadn't flown down here with us?

Ten minutes later the four of us are staring at an available volleyball spot. Yes, the four of us. As soon as Elena joined our small group, Zach practically dragged her away.

"Come on Jack, we'll take this side. Bren, you and Booth take the other side of the net."

I shrug and walk over to the left side of the net in the middle of the volleyball field.

"Booth, didn't you hear me?" Angela asks my partner.

Booth simply crosses his arms before his broad chest, shaking his head. "Leave me out it, Angela. I'm not playing volleyball."

"Why not?"

"It's a stupid game. That's why."

"What?! How can you say that?" Angela huffs. They argue back and forth for about five minutes until Angela throws her hands up in despair. "Talk to him, Bren!"

I remain quiet. I should talk to him? Why? Like he's going to listen to me! At receiving an exasperated look from Angela, I sigh deeply and put my hands on my hips in an attempt to look stern. "Booth, do you really want me to get my ass whooped again by Hodgins and Angela?"

"Of course not!"

"Then get your butt here and play a game of volleyball with us."

I struggle not to smile when he saunters over to me, looking like he really doesn't feel like participating, but does so anyway for my sake. When I catch sight of the light dancing in his eyes, I can no longer keep a straight face. He actually enjoyed my threat!

Without further ado we all get into position and begin tossing and pushing the ball back and forth over the net. After a while we all remove our clothes and continue our game in our swimming clothes. This time I have even more trouble with concentrating. Booth running around to catch the ball wouldn’t distract me this much. It’s that he’s only clad in a pair of swimming shorts while he’s jumping around like a loon. For someone who doesn't like volleyball, he sure tries to catch as many balls as he can.

My gaze travels over his broad backside. The scars on his shoulder and lower back capture my attention again. One of these days I really have to ask him how he got them. Because I'm caught up in my examination of his back, I don't notice the large white volleyball coming straight at me. I stumble a bit back in surprise when it hits my stomach. Booth turns around to give me an amused look.

"You all right there, Bones? Didn't your super squint radar see that ball?"

"Shut up, Booth," I groan. "I would've seen it coming if your broad frame hadn't blocked my view!" Oh crap, why did I say that?

"My broad frame?"

"Shut up, Booth," I snap again before throwing the ball in the air and shooting it over the net at Hodgins.

He returns my move with ease. Focused on catching the ball before it hits the sand, and because I want to ignore the smug look on Booth's face, I run over to the middle of the field; only to run straight into a wall, or something very similar. I expect to fall back and end up in the sand, but a pair of arms slide around my waist and keep me on my feet. I slowly lift my head and gulp when I look straight into the face of my partner. Oh no, this isn't good. I'm in his arms while we're both wearing one or two pieces of clothing. That's just begging for something naughty to happen.

"Watch yourself, Bones. Wouldn't want you to break anything," he grins.

"Booth," I breathe. "I didn't see you there."

He gives me an innocent smile. "You didn't see my broad frame?"

"You're going to bring that one up forever, aren't you?" I say, rolling my eyes.

I notice that he still hasn't let go of me, and I don't feel the need to tell him to do so. Somehow this feels very familiar to me. I know that we've hugged before, but this kind of hug is different. This one feels... Feels like what? Pleasant? Comfortable? Don't go down that path of thought, Temperance. Turn back now!

"Of course," he answers me. This time he sends me a smug smile. How many frigging smiles does that man have?!

I shift a bit in his arms. "Well, it's true."

He cocks his eyebrows. "What's true?"

"You have a broad frame. You're a well-built man..." I internally moan in frustration. You're a well-built man?! Why don't you just tell him all about your dreams as well while you're at it? Come on Temperance; try to make this sound a bit more scientific. "You've got a nice bone structure and good muscle definition. So yes, you have a broad frame. I even think you're broader than Sully." I cringe. I mentioned my boyfriend. Way to go, Temperance...

But my words don't seem to have the effect I feared they would have. Instead of frowning and pushing me away, he tosses me a half-crooked smile before gently unwrapping his arms from my waist. He then playfully nudges me. "Come on Bones, we've got to show bug boy and his girlfriend every corner of this sandbox."

Some time later…

A few hours later we all take a surfboard and move towards the water. The volleyball game ended equal; we both won 3 games. In the mean time Zach and Elena have joined us again. After some whispering between the guys, they decide to teach us how to surf. They also decide we should split up into teams. Zach with Elena, Hodgins with Angela, and, of course, Booth and I end up together.

I feel anxious and excited at the same time. It's a great opportunity to learn something new. Plus, I’m teamed up with Booth. For once he’ll teach me something new instead of the other way around. Come to think of it, I'll be one, maybe two feet away from him. Crap… I realize I’m at a turning-point here. For the next hour or so I’ll be unbelievably close to him. I'll feel his energy, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Most of the time it makes me feel safe, and even more confident. However… Do I really want to be near him after all my dreams?

"Come on, Bones. How long are you going to stare at the water, instead of wading in? You don’t have to be afraid to drown to death, you know. I’m right here to save you in case you have forgotten how to swim."

I sigh and roll my eyes. Then I slowly walk into the water, part of me wanting to tease Booth, the other part enjoying the warmth of the water. A couple of feet away Hodgins and Angela also enter the water.

(Switch to Hodgins POV)

Carefully Angela slides into the water. The waves caress her hips as we move forward. I sigh deeply. I’ll never tire of watching her move around. She’s got this grace to her step that captures my attention every single time.

"I can surf, you know," she tells me with a smile.

"I know, baby," I reply. That doesn't mean I can't help you. I have alpha-male tendencies too, you know.

She climbs onto her board and starts paddling.

"Are you coming?"

"I’ll join you later. I'm going to watch you first," I say in a teasing tone. She rolls her eyes and gets up into a squatting position.

While I wonder how many times a woman can roll her eyes in a lifetime, a wave rolls towards us and drags her away on her board. I swim along with her, mostly being carried by the water. In the middle of the wave she loses her balance and falls of her board. I reach out for her. She falls into my arms with a shriek. Then the wave reaches its climax and washes over us.

Angela presses her body tightly against mine while capturing my lips. This is one of the things I love about her; the unexpected, spur of the moment, actions.

Kissing and laughing we rise to the surface of the water again. Really nothing could've disturbed me at that moment. Until I hear a blissful exclamation coming from my right.

(Switch Zach's POV - Are you guys getting confused? lol)

A tickling feeling rises inside my stomach as we surf over the wave. Yes, we. Elena and I are standing together on one board, holding each other tightly. Our warm bodies move simultaneously, to obtain perfect balance.

Her head turns to look at me, and she gives me a large smile, which I return. Her body gestures tell she trusts me. She knows I won't let us crash into the water. I smile and revel in the feeling of being in control of the board. She trusts me enough to give up control, which has to be a sign.

Just when I begin to lean forward, the wave is subduing. I have to turn around as to not let us crash. We squat down before paddling back. Suddenly Elena takes my hand and smiles at me.

"That was awesome," I tell her, returning her large grin.

"I've never surfed like that," she says impressed.

"Let's do it again!"

I throw another smile at her, before I put my hand in the water and splash some at her. She giggles softly and returns the gesture, only with more force. A wave of water washes over me, making me look like a drowned cat. Her giggle intensifies and I laugh with her. A few seconds later we're both stuck in a laughing fit, nearly rolling off our board into the water.

(Yup, another switch. Now we’re back in Brennan’s head.)

I hear two couples on my right laughing happily as I’m standing next to Booth in the water.

"So… Finally ready to surf a little, Bones?" Booth asks a bit irritated. I guess he’s annoyed because it took me five minutes to enter the water and walk towards him. Fine, Booth. I’ll save the slow wading for next time.

"I'm ready. Teach," I retort playfully. A smile tugs at his lips. Oh… I guess he appreciated how I walked into the water after all. Or maybe he’s just basking in the fact that I don’t know the first thing about surfing.

"Fine," he replies, his mood lighting up considerably. "First I'll give you a few instructions. When you’re up on that board, I’ll stand by your side. Just in case you fall."

I snort. Alpha-male tendencies! Why is it such a problem when a woman hurts herself? It helps her evolve into a stronger, more confident woman. It's like men want women to be weak and dependent, just to show off their strength.

"First, you climb on your board," Booth instructs me. He places his right hand onto my surfboard and holds my arm with his other. His wet hand feels cold on my warm skin. I shiver. Who knew the contact of cold on warm could be so… sexy.

I decide to keep my mouth shut, to prevent embarrassing conversations. I lean on my arms and climb, a little awkwardly, onto the board, which is slippery and unsteady. His grip tightens to prevent me from tumbling down, face first, into the water. A flash from my dreams appears in my mind. His hands tight around my arms… My hot cheeks pressed against his broad shoulders…

"Then, you lie down. Flat, on your stomach."

His voice takes me back to reality. His instructions make me a little uncomfortable. I'm only wearing two pieces of fabric that don't leave much to the imagination in this position. I follow his directions nonetheless; even though my cheeks redden so much that it feels like my face is on fire. I focus on the horizon, hoping he won't notice a thing.

"Now, you paddle."

"I paddle?" I raise an eyebrow and look him in the eye. A smile appears on his face.

"Yes, with your arms," he says and climbs onto his own board. My eyes are glued to his broad shoulders for a moment before heading for his lower back, which leads to a fine piece of buttocks. A very fine piece, I might add.

"Like this," Booth continues. My gaze quickly adjusts to his arms. His tensed, strong muscles move him forward, sliding through the water with grace. I follow his example and quickly paddle next to him.

"Now, when you feel a wave rising," he looks at me while moving forward, "You lift yourself up. You carefully keep yourself in balance, and move your body in a way you won't fall. Once you’re up, you can adjust your course with your feet."

"What? I do what once I’m up? How am I supposed to…"

Suddenly I feel the water rise and Booth quickly stands up. I do as he does, making a few strange movements to keep myself in balance. The wave is two feet high before I know it. I stagger from left to right to keep in balance.

"Move your feet to steer your board!" Booth shouts. I panic a bit. Move my feet? I'm already having trouble standing up, and now I have to move my feet as well? You’re crazy, Booth!

The wave grows higher and higher, as I look down at my feet. Water rapidly flows around my board, when I arch my spine a little backward, which causes my board to fly forward. I fall into the wave, water wrapping around me. Within seconds I feel the water subduing and I rise to the surface.

I try to catch my breath, but instead water fills my mouth. Coughing madly, my feet find the bottom, making it possible for me to stand up. I am soaked from head to toe. While coughing a few more times, I wipe a few sticky hairs out of my face. Now I see Booth walking towards me, with a concerned look on his face.

"Bones, are you all right?"

Between two coughs I roll my eyes. "I'm fine."

"You fell." Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Booth. At least he's not making fun of me; I wouldn’t survive if he did that. Or better yet, he wouldn’t survive. My lips curl into a small as I think of a couple of ways to torture him if he dares to crack a joke about my inability to stay up-right on a surf board.

Again, I tell him I'm fine. I cough one more time and take a few steps forward to reach out for my board.

"Want to take another try, Bones?"

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I have already rolled them dozens of times today.

"I'll pass this one, thank you," I say with a little snobbishness and walks towards dry, safe sand. At least I don’t risk falling onto my face there!

Somewhere in the afternoon, at an ice cream stall…

(°evil laugh° Yet another POV switch. Are you guys keeping up? Now it’s Angela’s turn.)

I wish those two would just confess their feelings for each other. Letting out a deep sigh, I avert my gaze from Zach and Elena, and instead focus on my other favourite couple, Bren and Booth. Those two are even worse. While Zach and Elena have known each other for just a couple of days, Brennan and Booth already know each other for about two years. It's about time for them to stop dancing around each other like two nervous teenagers.

I sigh again. Even though I'd like nothing more than to force them to kiss each other, just to prove how powerful that spark between them is, my hands are tied. No matter how many hints I drop, no matter how many insightful conversations I have with Brennan, and no matter how many times I point out how they'd give their lives to save each other, in the end it's up to them to take the first step. I can't force them into a relationship, regardless of how badly I want to do that.

Besides, Brennan's already seeing someone at the moment. Sully seems to make her happy... to some extent. Now if she was with Booth... No Angela, don't go there. Sully's a good guy. At least he hasn't tried to hurt Bren yet, or even worse, tried to leave her. He seems to genuinely care about her. The feeling's mutual I suppose. Bren's smiling a lot lately, and she isn't that focussed on her job any more. Maybe 'focussed' isn't the correct word. Obsessed is more appropriate. She used to bury herself in her work for tons of reasons, but lately I've noticed a change. She's got other interests now besides identifying victims. That's good, I suppose, as long as they are the right interests.

She's told me she and Sully had an argument right before she left for the airport. Apparently things aren't going that great between them. Trouble in paradise, so to speak. Every couple should disagree from time to time, but there's a difference in between disagreeing and disagreeing. When Booth and Brennan disagree, they create such a heavy tension that I often wonder how they can resist jumping each other. It's different between Sully and Brennan. Sully looks like a free-spirited, enjoy-life-to-the-fullest kind of man. I'm sure that whenever he starts an argument, something bad is up. Or something really bothers him.

I can imagine it must be hard for him to be constantly compared to Booth, and be found the lesser man every single time.

"What flavour do you want, babe?" Jack asks me, interrupting my train of thought.

"Surprise me," I absent-mindedly reply as I refocus on my favourite soon-to-be couple.

Just look at them. All cosy and easy around each other... But they really have to take the bickering somewhere else. How am I supposed to enjoy my ice cream when they're practically yelling at each other about what flavour is the tastiest? I shake my head and accept the cone Jack hands me. One of these days I'm just going to shove them in a closet until they do something about those disagreements, not to mention that ever-present sexual tension!

"I'm telling you, Bones, nothing beats vanilla ice cream with those chunks of chocolate in."

"Oh, you mean stracciatella?"

"Bones! The name doesn't matter; it's the flavour that counts."

She shakes her head. "Fine, I'll have whatever you’re having, since you’re obviously the ice cream expert.�

I'm not kidding here. If they keep up this up, I'll have one hell of a headache by the end of the day. How do they succeed at ignoring their mutual attraction?!

Moments later I have to stifle a laugh. I watch Booth dip his fingers in his stracciatella ice cream before playfully tapping Brennan's nose. She's speechless for a moment. First, she stares down at her nose covered in ice cream, and then she turns her scowl onto her partner. Uh ow... If I were you, Booth, I'd run as far and as fast as my legs would carry me! That's one unhealthy glare she's giving you! Wait a minute, is that a hint of amusement I see in her eyes?

"You actually look cute now, Bones. Maybe if I put some more on, your scowl will disappear," Booth jokes.

"Booth! Don't you..." Booth quickly paints her cheek with ice cream. "Dare..." Brennan lamely finishes. "Booth!"

Booth just grins. "Nope, you're still scowling. Maybe I need to cover your other cheek as well."

For the third time he scoops up a bit of ice cream and reaches for her cheek. Only Brennan's prepared this time. She efficiently blocks his arm. Booth smiles at her before freeing his arm and bringing his fingers to her face again. Brennan slaps his hand away this time. Before Jack and I know it, they throw away their ice cream cones and start a friendly struggle. The way they're moving around each other tells me this isn't their first playful battle. I wonder how many they've already had... I grin. Yet another piece of information I have to tuck away for future reference. You never know when it might come in handy!

I tilt my head to give Jack a warm smile. "They're at it again," I whisper. He nods his head in agreement.

When I turn my gaze back onto Booth and Brennan, I'm surprised to see they're both laying on the ground, flat on their backs. What the hell happened?

"Ouch," Booth pants. "That last slap hurt me, Bones! Now I've got a boo-boo... I think you need to kiss it to make me feel better."

Brennan rolls her eyes and slaps his arm. "Big baby," she mutters.

"Now it's my turn," I quietly say to Jack. I casually stalk over to my best friend and her partner after I have winked at my boyfriend. "Having fun, Bren?" I ask her as I hover over her.

She quickly scrambles to her feet and gives me her don't-go-there-Angela look. I simply shrug. She should have expected me to ask such a thing. Someone's got to point out how strong their chemistry is!

Booth gets up as well. "Just look what you did, Bones. Now my ice cream is covered in sand!"

"What I did?" Brennan exclaims. "You're the one who couldn't keep his hands to himself!"

I shake my head. Here they go again... Will they ever stop squabbling? They head off to the ice cream stall to get another cone, all the while continuing their heated discussion about who's to blame for their lost ice creams. Shaking my head again, I smile to myself. No matter how happy Sully makes her, he'll never fulfil her wildest dreams. He'll never reach up to her high standards, meaning he'll never be like Booth.

Just then I see her smear a bit of chocolate ice cream across Booth's face, leaving him stare at her, eyes wide and his mouth hanging slightly open. I softly laugh. No matter what they say; they're perfect for each other. They're partners.

(Brennan's POV… again)

Because the guys taught us how to surf, we promised to make dinner. We as in Angela and I. Zach took Elena to a restaurant when we left the beach.

We decided to make Chicken Salad. Angela is frying the chicken, while I chop up tomatoes, an onion and lettuce.

"So… You seemed to have quite some fun with Booth this afternoon?" A light, indifferent tone. She’s planning something, probably a more blunt question.

"Angela," I sigh, indicating I don't want to have one of these conversations.

"Sweetie, I'm just trying to make small-talk here," she states innocently.

"But why does every conversation have to be about Booth?" I growl. I didn't mean to be that harsh, but it just came out like that. All these talks about Booth have been bothering me lately, because talking about him makes me wonder if, maybe, Angela is right about us after all.

"Bren, what’s on your mind?"

She doesn't sound mad, more concerned. For a few seconds we only hear the oil sputtering in the frying pan. We both remain motionless. Then I chop a tomato in half, and let out a sigh.

"Well, Angela, b-� I don’t even get to finish my sentence because Angela immediately jumps in.

"Why didn't you say so?! What's wrong?"

"I really don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry, Ange. I need to figure this out on my own." That's true. This isn't something Angela could help me with. This… thing, is something I need to sort out by myself.

Suddenly my cell phone starts to ring. I quickly wipe off my hands on a towel and look at the display. Sully. A knot tightens in my stomach. The one person I really don’t want to talk to is ringing me up. Damn it, life can be so cruel sometimes.

"Can you take it from here?" I ask a little guilty. Angela gives me a thumbs up, signalling she’s got everything covered. I grab my cell and answer the call.

"Brennan."

"You could see it was me so why the formal greeting? Aren't you comfortable calling right now?" His voice tries to disguise his disappointment, or maybe even disapproval.

"Give me a second, please," I say as I walk out of the door. I look around me and see a tree nearby. It looks like a quite comfortable place, therefore I sit down.

"Yes?" He sounds relaxed, a tad fresh maybe.

"I'm there…" I say, letting out a little sigh. "How have you been?"

"Fine, I guess... Just work. The usual, you know," I can picture him sitting on his couch, shrugging at his own words.

"Yeah, I know," I reply and look around me. This spot… It has something to it. Some kind of smell. And it's not an unpleasant one.

"So, how is life in the Bahamas?" A very casual question. I have to hand it to him; he knows how to switch smoothly between emotions.

"It's good," I say. I avoid the words 'great' and ‘fantastic’. "It's very warm at the moment. The beaches are wonderful, and the people here are very nice. Oh, and the house Dr. Goodman rented is beautiful," I enumerate a few things.

"Hmhm," Sully confirms. "I'm glad. I mean; I'm glad you're having a good time. You are, right?" Why is he so nervous? And why is he avoiding Booth? And now they say women are sneaky. I feel like kicking myself two seconds later. Sully asks me if I’m having a good time and I immediately think of my partner…

"Yes, Sully, I am," I retort. The agitation from five minutes ago returns, making me shift around a bit.

"Temperance?" Him calling me by my first name makes me cringe sometimes. Like right now. Somehow he always reminds me of Booth, and of how he pronounces my name.

"Yes?" I swallow, like a child who's about to be punished by his parents. This is leading towards Booth. Somehow, everything does lately…

"I've missed you." Not exactly what I expected.

I move my elbow backwards to scratch my neck, but it bumps into something hard. I look around and see a knocked over glass. Once there was a white substance in it, you can see by small traces on the inside of the glass. What is glass that has been previously filled with a white substance doing here?

"Tempe?"

"Yes, sorry. I was a bit... distracted." I know my excuse sounds lame, but hey, you try to think of something when your mind is elsewhere. Somewhere with a certain FBI-agent who insists on drinking at least one glass of milk a day.

"By who?" Who? Great assumption there, buddy! The agitation grows inside of me, like an itch, irritating you to no end when you don't scratch. I feel like scratching now. Big time. Not my itch, more like Sully’s eyes. Wow, since when am I this bitchy towards him?

"Who? What do you mean, 'who'?" Edgy, but restrained. Good one, Temperance.

"I'm asking if Booth is around," Sully spits out. There it is. I just knew he was going to bring my partner up at some point. “He seems to be around every single time I talk to you so I’m just assuming he’s listening to this conversation as well.�

"We're back at where we started, aren't we? Not everything I do involves Booth!" I’m beginning to get pissed off. Seriously pissed off. “You’re the one who always brings him up. If you don’t like talking about him, then don’t mention him.� A silence falls. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that last part… I groan in frustration. I’ve had enough of it. I’m not in the mood to try a more subtle approach. "I'm done talking," I snort and press the end-of-call button before standing up.

I’m furious. Very confused as well, but mostly furious. How dare he talk so condescending about my partnership with Booth? We’re a great team, and that’s all we are - a team! Why can’t Sully see that? Is he that blinded by jealousy?

Or is he the only one who wants to see the truth?

I shake my head. The truth is Booth and I get along very well, better than most working partners do. We’re best friends and each other’s confidants. I have told him things that I didn’t think I’d ever share with a man. Of course Angela knows a lot of my secrets, but Booth does as well. I don’t think I could ever fill Sully in on some parts of my life. Whatever we’ve got going on, it can’t be compared to what Booth and I have already established.

This realisation throws me even more off balance. What on earth am I doing with Sully when I already know there isn’t going to be a happy ending for us? Why did I even allow him to get this close to me?

I sigh. Simple; it was the easiest path to follow. There weren’t any lines to cross with him, unlike with Booth. Beginning a relationship with my partner would complicate… well, everything. What would become of our work relationship, not to mention our friendship? Shaking my head, I make my way outside. Even though taking our relationship to the next level isn’t something I’m willing to do just yet, I have to make it clear to him that I’m not excluding the possibility.

I saunter over the beach, non-stop scanning the area, while I remember my dreams and how Booth gawked at me every time I took off my clothes. A smile tugs at my lips. I wouldn’t mind exploring some kind of physical relationship with Booth, but something tells me it wouldn’t be enough for him. And perhaps I would share his opinion; who knows…

Right Temperance, back away from those thoughts! Let’s concentrate on deepening the friendship first, shall we?

Five minutes later I sit down in the sand to gaze at the waves crashing onto the beach. No sign of Booth. I sigh. Maybe it’s for the best. There is no telling what I could blurt out in this state of mind.

I groan when I see a familiar figure coming towards me. He breaks into a slow jog when he catches sight of me. What a coincidence, I think. The second you stop looking for him, he shows up. Moments later he flops down beside me.

“Hey Bones, what are you doing here?�

I lean back on my hands, lift my eyebrows and stare at him for a couple of seconds. “Trying to clear my head.�

“What happened?� he probes.

I quietly snort. Typical. I try to be as vague as possible while he pokes and prods until I give in. I might as well make it easy for him. After all, I have decided to take our friendship a bit further. Conversations about my love life are an important part of a deep friendship. Or maybe I just feel like torturing myself by thinking of my relationship with Sully. Whatever there is left, any way.

“I just got off the phone with Sully.�

Booth nods, but refrains from giving any comment. What’s up with that, Booth? Usually you have an opinion about everything! “We sort of had an argument.�

He digs his heels deep into the sand before replying, “Really?�

I have to suppress a groan. First Sully annoys me with his shallow presumptions and now Booth’s playing hide and seek. Stop dodging the subject, Booth! I need to know your opinion on this one.

“Yes, really.�

You’re not the only one who can give a lame answer, Booth.

For some unknown reason Booth remains silent. I tuck my hair behind my ears and stare off in the distance. For a couple of minutes we just enjoy the sight and sound of the wind and the waves.

Finally Booth decides to break the silence.

“You should try to work out whatever problems you two have got going on, Bones. Sully’s a good guy…�

“We’ve been over that before, Booth,� I interrupt him.

“I know. All I’m trying to say here is that nowadays it’s hard to find a decent guy. You should consider yourself lucky to have found Sully.�

What kind of crap are you trying to sell there, Booth? You’re a decent guy yourself and I have found you long before I met Sully! Damn it, here I go again with the comparing… Focus on friendship, Temperance. Focus on friendship.

“You sound as if you’ve been out to find a decent guy yourself,� I say, giving him a small smile. Way to go, Temperance. Make a lame joke to steer the conversation away from Sully.

“Bones,� he grumbles. He suddenly gets up and stalks off, leaving me to stare at his back.

What on earth have I said wrong this time? It’s not like him to just walk away after my attempt at cracking a joke. Yesterday we had such a thoughtful conversation. What happened to the sensitive stuff he managed to produce then?

“For your information, the argument was about you!� I shout after him.

He immediately comes to a stop. Even from this distance I can see his muscles tense up. He obviously doesn’t like me mentioning Sully. Too bad, Booth, but we have to be able to discuss every possible subject, including my love life. Well, the parts I’m willing to share with you that is.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he turns around to look at me. He takes a few tentative steps in my direction, and then stops again. “I wish you’d stop mentioning me to Sully, Bones. No guy likes to hear stuff about his girlfriend’s partner. You’ll destroy your relationship if you keep bringing me up.�

I shrug and get up too. “You’re my partner, Booth. If Sully can’t deal with me talking about you every once in a while, then he shouldn’t be with me at all.�

Booth sighs. “Don’t stay stuff like that, Bones.�

“Why not?� I shoot back. The irritation I felt after Sully’s phone call is raging through my body again. Sometimes men can be so infuriating!

“Because he might be your only chance at happiness!� Booth replies, exasperated.

“Booth, that’s ridiculous! I was already happy long before Sully came along. Why should he be the one to make me even happier?�

Holy… I didn’t mean to say that. Really, I didn’t. Now Booth knows I’m not fully behind my relationship with Sully.

Booth slowly walks to me, his brow furrowed and with a serious look in his eyes. “Doesn’t he make you happy, Bones?�

“Of course he does… sort of. I mean…� I sigh and finish lamely, “He should. He’s a good guy, after all.� I cross my arms and avert my gaze to the ocean. “I have no regrets of starting something with him if that’s what you’re thinking, Booth. It’s just that he’s not the only one who can make me smile.�

Even though he remains silent, I know what he wants to ask. After all the time we have spent together, I’m finally able to read him like an open book. Well, sometimes… I slowly turn back to face him.

“You make me smile too, Booth,� I tell him.

He stares at me, completely caught by surprise. “I do?�

All I can do is nod in agreement. “You do.� All my irritation fades away when I see him break into an ear to ear grin.

“Thanks, Bones,� he softly says. “That means a lot to me.�

We gaze at each other until the awkwardness of our situation finally dawns on us.

Booth clears his throat. “What would you say if we steered away from sensitive subjects onto something more pleasant?� I shrug. “Come on, I’ll race you to the shoreline.�

He swivels around and makes a mad dash for the water. I chase after him after I’ve shaken my head. Leave it up to Booth to make a run for it, in both a literal as well as a figurative sense.

We reach the shoreline at the same time. Booth tosses me a grin before rolling up his trousers and running into the shallow water. Once again I follow his example. Moments later we’re chasing each other along the shoreline like two adolescents. Before I know it, my trousers and shirt are wet because of Booth’s splashing. I, of course, return the gesture.

Eventually I have to get out of the water because I can’t seem to breathe any more from all the running and laughing. I fall down onto the sand and try to steady my breathing. Booth stays in the water though.

My eyes travel over his posture. Just look at how he’s standing there, the water reaching halfway up his calves and the sun setting behind him. How I wish I had brought my camera along on this trip! The scene playing out before me is one of those things you want to capture in a picture.

My eyes grow wide when I see Booth dig up his disposable camera from his pocket. That rat bastard! He had his camera with him all this time. Who knows what pictures he has already taken! Speaking of which, I think he’s snapping one of me right now.

I quickly get up and walk over to him. Without saying a word I snatch the camera out of his hands and saunter back to my previous spot. I turn around before pointing the lens at him and pushing down the button. There. Now I’ve captured the moment after all.

Shaking his head, Booth approaches me. “That’s not nice, Bones. You don’t go around stealing people’s cameras.�

“I didn’t steal it; I borrowed it. Big difference there,� I point out.

“Whatever, Bones,� he shrugs. Then he begins to grin again. “You wanna make sand angels?�

“Sand angels?� I echo, confusion apparent in my voice.

“Yeah, like snow angels only you make them in the sand.�

“Booth, that’s something I haven’t done since I was five years old. What makes you think I’m going to lie down now to grub around in the sand?�

“Because it’s fun, Bones. It’s simply fun. Something we both need right now,� he says, mumbling the last part. He lies down in the sand and gestures at me to do the same. “Come on, Bones. What are you afraid of? It’s just a beach, not quicksand.�

I sigh, but oblige anyway. I lie down, stretch out my arms and legs and move them around, pushing the sand aside. Booth does the same. Then we get up to look at our work. On the ground are now two fresh imprints of “sand angels�.

Booth chuckles before dragging his heel through the sand to form the letter B. “There. Now we both know that the left one is me. B for Booth,� he explains.

I mimic his movements and draw a B as well. He lifts his eyebrows. “A ‘B’?�

“Yeah, for Bones.�

He chuckles again. “So you have finally accepted my nickname for you.�

“Well yes, it has kind of grown on me,� I say, smiling at him.

“Let’s go back to the beach villa, Bones. I’ve had enough surprises for today.�

I nod. We walk back to the villa, side by side, both lost in thought.

Yes, today has been very surprising. I’ve made a couple of important realisations. I guess you could say I’ve had some sort of epiphany. All that’s left now is to see how my realisations are going to affect my friendship with Booth.

(One last POV switch. It’s Zach’s turn again.)

We exit the restaurant, both laughing at one of her stories of when she first started out as an intern. Before we went to dinner, we went to the ferry and made a trip around San Salvador. Once we got back, we entered the first restaurant in sight, called Seafront Restaurant. Now that the darkness has fallen, it’s time for her to get back onto the ferry to head home. I offer to walk her to the pier. When our laughs subdue, I take her hand into mine. We both enjoy the silence for a while.

"I really had a good time today. I haven't laughed so much in ages," she tells me with a content smile.

"Me too. I'm glad you were able to come down."

To answer, she gives a soft squeeze of my hand. We walk in silence for a few more minutes, until we arrive at the pier. We stand still and she steps towards me.

"I really, really enjoyed myself, Zach," she whispers. Moonlight falls upon her dark hair, and reflects in her eyes. My other hand touches her hair, stroking it softly. We both lean in. Within seconds our lips meet; first softly, later on more fiercely. Her arms sneak around my neck, my hands rest on her lower back. Just when our kiss becomes more and more passionate, and a warm feeling is stretching out to every inch of my body, a low, harsh sound disturbs our moment.

"That's the ferry. I have to catch it; it's the last one," she whispers disappointed.

"Go. I'll call you tomorrow," I tell her, and lean in for the last time. Her lips kiss mine, before we separate and she runs off to catch the ferry.

For the first time in my life, I'm speechless. Many things have made me loose my breath; the results of my IQ test, my invitation for the Jeffersonian, my first real report on a body, Christmas with my family... But it was never like this.

The ferry sails away. I see Elena waving at me. I wave back before grabbing my phone. Thank you, I send to her and let out a sigh. This definitely has been the best moment of my life so far.

Fifteen minutes later I arrive at the beach house. Luckily, the door is still open. I sneak inside, and listen if I hear anyone. Nothing. I haven't seen anyone outside either, so everyone is probably in bed. Which is where I must go. Quietly I change into my pyjamas and lie down on the couch. I grab the spare pillow and blanket and make myself comfortable. My breathing slows down as I remember the events of today. Every one of them makes my lips curl into a smile, before I drift off to a carefree sleep.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
niah1988: You know, I’ll let you guys in on a secret. In the next chapter, there’s going to be an S-moment.
Addictt: An S-moment? Ooh, that sounds interesting! What are you planning writing, sweetie? Tell me!

niah1988: Later, honey, later. Don’t want to ruin the anticipation for our dear readers!

Addictt: °giggles° Our own little conspiracy; love it!

[niah1988]

Yay, now it's my turn to post a chapter! Unfortunately the story is almost over. There's only one more chapter to go. For those of you who are interested, Addictt and I are thinking about writing another joint story, so stay tuned!

° Chapter 6 - Passing A Corner °
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Around 6am...

Shivers run down my spine and wake me up from my slumber. Delicate hands running their warm fingertips over my arm are causing those shivers. My eyes pop open. There's only one person that could be touching me in this bed at six in the morning - Bones.

I lift my head to take a look at her face; her eyelids are firmly closed. She's still sleeping. Great, she's touching me in her sleep... again.

A grin sneaks over my face. She doesn't remember the stuff she does in her sleep, so I might as well lie back and enjoy. I know; that's bad of me, but hey, this is probably one of the few times I allow the both of us to go further than usual. After all, it's easier to push yourself past boundaries in the disguise of the night than in broad daylight.

As I lay down my head again, she begins to shift around, rubbing her feet over my shins and pushing back her hips multiple times. Her movements are accompanied by soft grunts and moans. I arch an eyebrow. That must be one hell of a dream she's having!

I glance over at her. She's lying with her back to me, her legs drawn up a bit and her feet inches away from my shins. She buries her face in her pillow before rolling her hips. Then she begins to move around again. I watch her conduct. If she keeps that shifting around thing up, she'll be pressed to me in no time.

Suddenly she moans. "Booth..."

My eyes widen in surprise. Last night she used my name as well, but I sort of dismissed that as coincidence. But now I hear my last name roll over her lips, for the second time in a row, I can safely say that this is more than coincidental. I wonder if she's aware that she dreams about me, and not about Sully.

I sigh deeply and put my hands behind my head. I stare at the ceiling for a few silent minutes. The only sounds that occasionally break the silence are the ones Brennan is making with her constant shifting around.

Last night she was disgruntled after a phone conversation with Sully. I don't know what exactly transpired between them, except that they had some sort of argument about me. I was tempted to burst out in disbelieving laughter when she told me. I try my best to stay out of their way, while she keeps bringing me up in almost every conversation they have. Whether I like it or not, I'm stealing her away from Sully. I'm ignoring what my mother has once taught me.

Then why am I enjoying it so much? I shouldn't be this thrilled about breaking my own rules. I'm the one who put restrictions on our relationship. I'm the one who desperately wanted to stay in safe territory. And now... Now she's closing in on me. She's crossing the line. And I'm not stopping her. How hypocritical is that?

Suddenly Brennan rolls over to her other side. As if she has done it dozens of times before, her hand creeps over my stomach and her head finds its way to the crook of my arm. She even drapes one of her legs over my waist. For a couple of seconds all the air is drawn from my lungs. My hands fly to the sheets to take a firm hold of them - almost as if I want to strangle them. This is not happening. This cannot be happening!

The night before, I was the one who made the first move. I made sure there was no evidence of my actions when she woke up. But now... Now she's cuddling up against me; not in a cute way like the first night, no, this is another kind of cuddling. You know who hug each other like this in bed? Couples who know each other intimately. The last time I checked, Bones and I knew an awful lot about each other, but not that much.

I relax when she stops moving. An arm and leg wrapped around me I can handle; as long as she stays perfectly still, that is. A goofy grin spreads on my face when I look down on the top of her head. Here she is, my partner, curled up against me, dreaming something that I can only describe as "steamy", judging by the number of moans, grunts and hip rolls. And the best thing is that she's doing all those things to me in her sleep. Why else would she be moaning my name?

When I agreed to tag along, I certainly didn't expect this to happen. Sure, I hoped to see her hop around in a bikini, and sure, I hoped to get her to rub my back, but not even in my wildest dreams did I dare to wish she'd wrap herself around me like this. Oh wait, we're not in my dreams, but in hers.

The feeling of her warm mouth pressed against my skin takes me off-guard. What the hell is she doing?! I don't have to look down to know that she's kissing her way around my chest, dancing her fingertips over my stomach and tightening her lock around my waist. A moan escapes me when she catches a nipple with her mouth. I stagger when I dare to glance down. Just look at the contrast between my already tanned and her creamy, ever so lightly sunburned, skin. My eyes are glued to her lips when she drags them up and down my torso. My breath becomes ragged when her knee begins to draw slow stimulating circles on the one spot that really doesn't need any stimulating. This is just too much to take in for me. It's too sudden, too sexy, and too damn erotic to be real.

I check her eyelids. They're still closed. She's doing all this in her sleep. I groan, partly in frustration, partly because she's launched another attack on one of my nipples. I used to dress myself while sleepwalking; it's possible that she does this... this... in her sleep.

My eyes squeezed tightly shut and my hands gripping the sheets in a death vice, I contemplate my options. What I really should do is push her away, and find another place to sleep. But this feels so good. A shiver runs up and down my spine when she places a tender kiss right next to my heart. I'm torn between being a gentleman and doing what I've been longing to do for quite some time now.

I reach up and carefully run my fingers through her hair, combing it out of her face. She immediately tilts her head to meet my hand.

"Mmm..." she hums.

Her eyelids flutter. For a second I'm afraid she's waking up. Then she cocks her head even more to the side and presses a featherlike kiss on my palm. Wearing a content smile, she settles down again in the crook of my arm, leaving me gasping for air. Did this just happen? Did Bones just kiss my hand?

Apparently she isn't done with surprising me. First she nuzzles my side with her nose; next she sneaks both her arms around my waist to pull herself even closer. "Hmmm, Booth..." she murmurs.

Are you trying to kill me here, Bones? How can I resist you when you're mumbling my name, while being curled up against me in those skimpy clothes?

I close my eyes and groan softly. That's it. I've lost the battle. No more holding back. Well, as long as she's asleep any way...

Wrapping my arms around her fragile frame, I let my chin rest on top of her head and wait for sleep to come and take me away.

A while later something brushing my side wakes me up. Is she at it again? I mumble something under my breath and tighten my grip on her frame. Feel free to fulfil my needs at any possible time, Bones, just not now. It’s in the middle of the night, for Pete’s sake! I get cranky if I’m sleep deprived, so you really shouldn’t be messing with my night rest right now.

“Bones, not now,� I mumble in her hair.

To my surprise she pushes my arms away. I open my eyes to check on what she’s up to this time. She raises herself up on her arms and before I can stop her, she swings her leg over my lower body and sits down on… you know where.

My hands find their way to her hips when her thighs lock around my waist. A moan escapes me. This is just… just… Damn it, I can’t think straight with her pushing like that against me!

Then she begins to kiss my neck. The way we shoot arguments back and forth in those heated discussions we regularly have, I would have expected her to be as explosive in bed. Instead of feverishly devouring my skin, she tenderly grazes my neck with her teeth and lips. Who would have thought one day my partner would be this gentle with me?

When she circles around my Adam’s apple with her tongue, I realise I’m losing myself in the moment. If she doesn’t wake up in the next few minutes, I’m rolling her over to return the torture she’s submitting me to.

I briefly wonder if she regularly does these kinds of things in her sleep. If she does, then I fully understand why her ex-boyfriends never complained! I mean, what sane man would turn down a sleepwalker who knows exactly how to push his buttons? Well, she’s more like a “sleeplover�, actually.

One good hip roll makes me forget all my thoughts and pushes me over the edge. She has broken down my last defence. No man, not even a monk, can resist a beautiful woman straddling him while showering him with tender gestures. She’s just too tempting to push away.

I carefully slide my fingers in her hair. Murmuring her name against her skin, I place a trail of soft kisses from her ear to her chin. This is beautiful. She is beautiful, and sweet, and soft, and… very much awake.

My heart forgets to hammer against my ribcage for a couple of seconds as I stare into her eyes. Our breaths mingle, my thumbs slowly stroke her cheekbones and her irises widen and narrow.

“Booth, what are we doing?�

I look down to our lower bodies that are firmly pushed against each other. We’d be connected in the most intimate way if it wasn’t for our clothes. “We aren’t dancing the tango, by the looks of it. More like the love limbo, I’m afraid.�

Her gaze flicks down as well. Then she raises an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you stop me?�

In cases where you can’t think of a witty comeback line, keep your mouth shut. That’s an advice my father gave me a long time ago. This is one of those situations he was talking about. It’s probably the smartest and safest thing to do to remain quiet now.

She sits up straight, putting even more of her weight on my sensitive parts. I moan involuntarily.

“You’re enjoying this,� she accuses me, hands on hips and eyes narrowed to slits.

I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and will the desire away. No use; it’s too strong.

“Don’t try to avoid the question, Booth. I’ve got proof right here.� To emphasize her point, she pushes her hips down, extracting a deep groan from me. “Be honest, Booth. Are you enjoying this?�

You have no idea what you’re doing here, Bones. If you force me to answer that question, you’ll make me change our relationship irrevocably. You don’t have the right to make me the one who messes everything up. You just can’t make me… I softly moan when she rolls her hips again. Apparently you can.

I grab her hips and drag her off me. I stare down intensely at her when I tell her, “What do you want me to say here, Bones? That I’ll never forget how it feels between your thighs? That I wish I could make you cry out in pleasure?� I bring my face down. “Let me ask you a question; did you enjoy it?�

She gulps once, twice, and blinks a couple of times. “Yes, I did.�

I fall down onto the bed, sighing deeply. “We’re in trouble.�

“Yes, we are,� she sighs as well.

We lie beside each other for some time, both staring up at the ceiling. Then I get up, grab my clothes and make my way to the door.

She sits up. “Booth, where are you going?�

“I need to clear my head,� I throw over my shoulder.

“But we need to talk about this. Hasn’t your shrink taught you anything?�

Great, just drag Gordon Gordon into this, Bones! I ignore her words and close the door. We’ll talk later about this, just not now when I’m still doped up on desire.

One hour later…

After having wandered over the beach for about an hour, I return to the beach house. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how our friendship has changed because of a couple of vivid and explicit dreams.

I casually stroll through the door and right into a conversation between Angela and Zach.

“Zach, here’s Booth. Try talking to him. I’m sure he can help you out.�

Angela shoves Zach in my direction and disappears to the kitchen, leaving the two of us to stare after her. I slowly turn to the young scientist.

“I understand it if you don’t want to talk to me because of the guy thing,� Zach apologises.

I plant one hand on my hip, the other one I use to pinch my nose bridge. I’ve gone down a new road with Bones, why not do the same with Zach?

“Listen kid; let’s forget about the guy thing for now, ‘kay? I’m willing to try a little man-to-man convo here, as long as you stay far away from tips on how to improve your sex life.�

Zach nods. “It’s Elena.�

“What did I tell you? No sex,� I grumble.

“It’s not about sex. It’s about our future.� Zach frowns and stares at the kitchen counter. “We’re leaving tonight. Logic suggests that…�

“Wait, we’re leaving tonight? I thought we were spending an entire week here?�

“Yes, a five day week. Dr. Goodman arranged it so that we’d arrive on Monday morning and would leave again on Friday evening. But that’s unimportant information. What I’m concerned about is what I’m leaving behind.�

It finally dawns on me what he’s so worried about. “Elena,� I nod in understanding.

“Yes, Elena. Logic suggests that I should leave without looking back, and consider her as a vacation fling. Only, I’m struggling to do so.�

“You’ve really taken a liking to this girl, haven’t you?�

I don’t know what freaks me out more; the fact that Zach has found a girl or the fact that I’m actually having this conversation with him.

“She’s amazing,� Zach sighs. “She’s unlike everyone I’ve ever met. She’s the most special and beautiful woman in the entire world, which is quite an illogical statement. It’s impossible for me to compare her to every other woman because I haven’t met all the women walking around,� Zach finishes, more to himself than to me.

I guess he’s having a hard time processing the fact that he’s in love with Elena. The woman you’re in love with is always the most unbelievable lady in the world, no matter how incredible all the other women are. Just between you and me, I think Zach has never been in love before. It must be weird for a logic-loving science type kid like himself to experience such an illogical emotion as love.

“Well then, kiddo…� I comradely give him a gentle slap on the back. “Defy logic.�

He gives me a sad look. “I can’t do that, right? Logic is what I’ve based my every decision on. I would betray myself if I gave logic up. No woman is worth betraying yourself for, are they?�

I shake my head. “It’s either logic or Elena. Your choice.� I turn around and head off to the kitchen to help Angela with setting the table.

Half an hour later…

As I sit down at the table, Bones avoids my gaze and pretends she's busy preparing a sandwich. Yeah, right; she's "busy". Hodgins is telling her about yesterday, how Angela gracefully fell in his arms. I see Brennan’s cheeks turn into an ever so light shade of pink; what's up with that? She "attacked" me in my sleep; I should be the one blushing! I shake my head and smile at the happy couple. Zach seems awfully quiet... even for... being Zach. I hope our little conversation didn't set him too much off-guard. After some chit-chatting, the daily topic returns, asked by Angela. What a nice surprise.

"So... Any plans for today? Anyone?"

"What did you have in mind, Angela?" Ah, why did Bones need to do that? Now our ritual is broken! We're supposed to mumble our no's, then Angela asks what we'd like to do, then she disapproves almost every plan and introduces her own. It's all spoiled now.

"Well, I've read great reviews on the internet about SCUBA-diving." Everyone nods, and a smile appears on Hodgins’ and Bones' face. Angela continues with more enthusiasm. "A small company in Cockburn Town organizes sailing trips in High, Low and Middle Cay. So... What do you think?"

"So we're actually going to dive?" Zach asks, speaking for the first time in ten minutes. Angela nods and smiles.

"Hmhm, it's all-inclusive. And not that expensive!"

"Let's do it!" She convinced me, but I don't know about the rest.

"I'm always up for diving," Hodgins says and Brennan nods.

"Me too."

"It's fine with me," Zach agrees a little absent-minded.

And just like that, we set our day schedule. We agree to leave in half an hour, so everyone can get ready. I make a quick run over the beach, shower and dress myself. All in 28 minutes sharp. Nice.

Of course, I get to drive with Bones next to me. The whole drive she doesn't say anything, and if she does, she gives brief answers and avoids looking at me. I decide to turn up the volume of the music, so the silence doesn't prevail. What's up with everybody? First Zach, now Brennan. Or is it the other way around?

Ten minutes of bad music later, I park the SUV before a little shop. A flashy neon sign tells me it's called "San Scuba". We all get our bags and walk into the shop.

"Good afternoon, welcome to San Scuba," a woman behind the counter greets us.

"Hi, we'd like to make one of those all-inclusive SCUBA-diving trips," Angela says, walking towards the woman.

"Five persons?"

Angela looks around at Zach. "Is Elena coming?"

Zach shakes his head. "She has to work."

"Yes, five persons please," Angela nods.

"Okay, I'm gonna make a call. One moment, please," the woman smiles at Angela before taking her phone. Two minutes later she walks towards us.

"Two of my colleagues are sailing towards us. You can walk towards the dock; they'll be there in five minutes. All the equipment is on board. You can recognise the boat by its name; Hannah. Now all I need is one of your names, please?"

Hodgins steps forward and the woman writes his name down at the counter. Ten minutes later we all are on the boat.

"Welcome on the Hannah," one of the two African-American men says. "I'm Stephen, and he's Daniel. Again; welcome aboard."

We quickly introduce ourselves. Stephen gets everything ready so that the boat can sail away, while Daniel starts explaining some rules.

"Now... Have any of you dived before, or have a certificate?"

"I have a certificate," Brennan says, followed by Hodgins; "Me too."

"Okay, then this is how we're going to do it. Angela, you form a team with Jack. Seeley, was it?" I give a quick nod. "You're with Temperance. Zach, you stay together with me." He starts handing out gloves, flippers and other diving equipment. "You can put this on in ten minutes, when we arrive at Low Cay. We'll dive for about an hour there, and take a break on a little piece of land at High Cay."

He also hands out one yellow line to every pair. "This is what we call a "buddy line"." I quietly snort. That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard and seen. "You attach yourselves onto your partner with this line." Brennan glares at me. I decide to ignore it, this time. "It's just for safety; you never know what could happen under water. So... If you have any questions, I'm right here. The last thing I want to say before you jump of this boat - Enjoy!"

We separate and I walk after "my buddy". She's leaning against the rail, staring into the water. This morning I refused to open up because of the desire that made me crave for her. Now that I've got control over myself again, I'm ready to discuss what happened.

"Bones, we need to talk."

She shrugs. "I don't want to talk." I walk a little closer, and put my hands on the rail too. "I need to think."

"You can't keep avoiding and ignoring me."

A little sigh escapes her. "I know that. Can we just not talk about it, and forget it? Forget it all?" For the first time she looks me in the eyes. To me, they're like an open book. Desperation, fear and confusion; they’re all clouding her eyes. I slowly shake my head.

"No, we can't." I'm not sure if I say that for our relationships sake, or for my own. I know I want her, but I can't force her to give up things because she wants me too. Things like Sully and her pride.

"I just need time..."

My hand reaches for her face, but stops when she turns back to the water again.

"TACK!" Stephen suddenly yells. Brennan and I look at each other. Then I see sailcloth coming our way.

"Duck!" I tell her, which is kind of useless, seeing as I take her down with me. The sailcloth swings over us, and Stephen shouts an excuse. I look at Brennan, a smile tugging at my lips.

"Sorry," I say, and a smile spreads across her face as well.

"Thanks for saving me.�

My gut tells me we're not only talking about the sailcloth here. I get up and give her my hand. She takes it, I lift her up and we walk towards the rest of the group.

"We're almost entering Low Cay," Daniel tells us and we start to pull our diving suits on.

Could someone please tell me what belongs where? I closely watch Hodgins and start stripping down to my swim shorts. Then I get confused. There are so many pieces of clothing; I don't know which one to put on first. I lost Hodgins' track, so there is one option left for me - asking Bones.

"Bones, could you help me, please?" She turns around and gives me an annoyed look. She's already in her suit, although her zipper isn't closed yet.

"What are you, a five year old?!" she snaps, but seconds later she softens. "Sorry..."

"It's okay," I tell her. At least she's talking to me, showing emotion. I’d rather have that, than a silent robot. "Now, will you help me?"

She nods and sorts out all the stuff in front of me.

"This is the suit itself; you pull this on first," she hands me the suit. I pull it on while she continues sorting the pile out.

"Here, let me give you a hand with that zipper," I tell her, and a memory floats into my mind. Las Vegas, we're dressing up as Tony and Roxy. I told her she was hot. Just like now. Even though, or maybe because, she’s wearing a rubber suit.

After we’ve closed each others zippers, she continues informing me on all the equipment and I listen to her.

"These are gloves and boots; I’m sure you know what to do with them. This is the diving mask; you can put it on later. Hmm... Flippers come next, I think. After you've put them on, you can put the BC on.� She points at something which looks like a bullet-proof vest.

"BC?" I give her a confused look.

"Buoyancy compensator, or buoyancy control device. They're also called stab jackets. Your pressured air is attached to it, as is the rest of your equipment," she points at all sort of lines, meters, and flasks.

"What are those?"

"There is a manometer, to measure the pressure of the air, a flashlight, a knife, compass..."

"Wait a minute. A knife?"

"Yes. When you’re stuck, a knife comes in handy to free yourself. Or when there's a strong current, you can pull yourself forward. You have one on your BC and one attached to your leg." She points to a slip knot on my suit.

"Thanks Bones. I really appreciate this," I throw her one of my charm smiles. She shakes her head smiling, and continues dressing herself.

Within five minutes everybody is fully dressed. We aren't sailing anymore, the anchor is down and some sort of diving flag is up. Bones told me it's mandatory. Daniel has pulled on a diving suit too, since Stephen is staying aboard.

"Okay… Seeley and Temperance, you can enter the water first."

Irritation rises every time he calls us by our first names, and I'm assuming Bones is feeling the same way. But I don't want to be rude, so I let it be. Stephen attaches our buddy line and we walk towards the edge of the boat.

"On three, you jump backwards. Okay?"

"Way ay minuy," I say. I roll my eyes and take that thing in my mouth out. Stephen and Brennan mentioned its name to me, but I forgot. "Wait a minute," I repeat myself. "Why backwards?"

"Otherwise, you'll dive into the boat." Stephen manages to keep his face straight, but I swear I see the rest of our team grinning behind their masks.

"Sounds pretty logical," I say and put "the thing" back in my mouth.

"Okay, ready?" Stephen asks, and Brennan and I put our thumbs up.

"One... Two… Three!"

I arch my back and jump backwards. The first thing I notice is the warm water. It’s all around me. After a few seconds the water becomes clear. The bubbles are gone, and a beautiful reef appears.

I swim to my right, slowly breathing somewhat strange air. Beautiful colours, a few fish with the strangest scales I've ever seen. I swim a few feet again, until I'm hampered. A sharp pull keeps me from swimming. I glare at the cause, which is the infamous buddy line. Great.

I look to my right, and see Brennan swimming towards me. She rolls her eyes when she's close to me. Typical.

I point towards the strange fish, and a sparkle appears in her eyes. Never thought that Brennan would be a woman who'd get a kick out of studying strange fish. Suddenly I feel a sort of wave of water flowing against us. Then the bubbles appear again. Probably Hodgins and Angela, who joined us.

(First POV-switch. We’ve been inside Booth’s mind long enough now, don’t you think? It’s Hodgins’ turn now.)

As the bubbles disappear, I look at Booth and Brennan on my right. That Stephen-guy must've annoyed the hell out of them, calling them by their first names. A chuckle rises in my throat, but I manage to keep it in. I glance at my left, where Angela is signing me to swim forward. Something must've attracted her attention. I swim with her, and discover a big, correction, very big coral polyp. Its tentacles slowly wave at us. We swim a bit more forward, as a school fish passes us.

Seen Angela's body language, she loves this. I take her hand and together we swim a little deeper. Suddenly her body language changes. Drastically. She's literally jumping my bones. Normally, I wouldn't mind, not even a bit. But now, her eyes are as big as saucers and she clamps onto my body.

I look around and spot the thing she's afraid of - a Manta Ray. If you've never heard of it, it's a huge ray. They're peaceful though, most of the time. Lots of scuba divers see them. Some even come down just to see them. Except for serial killers, or for wicked witches from a forest, I've never seen Angela that scared. Just to calm her down, we slowly swim away from the ray. If we don't bother him, he won't bother us either.

Numerous times she throws scared glances around her. After five minutes, she relaxes. I look around, and the ray seems to be gone. I give her a thumb up. She takes my hand again to lead me to something very unusual…

(POV is Zach’s now)

In the past half hour I've seen many things. Starfish -even blue ones- shrimps, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and lots of fish. All nice and educational, but I'm not really focused. My head, or rather my heart, is with Elena. Tonight could be the last time I see her. Only the thought of it makes me immensely sad.

All of this, it just doesn't makes sense. It's like Booth said, logic or Elena. I've trusted on logic all my life. But here's something new, something I've never experienced before. I have a feeling I can trust Elena for the rest of my life. Do I have to pick one? Isn't it possible to have a little of both? If I choose Elena, there isn't a logical reason behind it. I have no idea how to work this out; I work in DC, while Elena is here.

What is it with this woman any way? I've kissed other women before; I even had sex with them. Something I haven’t done with Elena; yet. Or maybe never. It depends. But still I'm willing to put my life upside down for her.

I feel things I've never felt for those other women. It's all very radical; not logical, not rational, not even national. How very clever of me.

I can't conclude anything out of this. There are no clues, no facts, nothing is certain. Some would say this is about the heart. Others will say it's about the head.

I can't choose. I just can't pick one. Isn't there something in between? Heart, head. Feelings, facts.

Mouth. My mouth is between my heart and head. Mouth as in voice! A voice can speak facts and feelings. A voice will speak from the heart and the head. Will my inner voice tell me what to do?

(Boothy Boo again, lol)

I can't believe how much you can see in one whole hour. I can tell you it’s a lot. Once back at the boat, everyone removes their diving suits and Hodgins begins telling us a juicy story about Angela and a ray. Angela defends herself and slaps Hodgins playfully on his arm. Stephen and Daniel make the boat go sailing again, and everyone enjoys the warmth of the sun upon his or her body.

Ten minutes of relaxing later the boat stops again for our arranged break. There is no dock, so we lay anchor down and dive into the water. Swimming closer towards the beach, it turns out it's not that deep. We continue walking. A few seconds later a sharp pain in my foot makes me gasp for air.

"Ah!"

Automatically I keep on walking. It turns out it isn’t the smartest thing to do. Now I've captured Brennan's attention, who turns around with one arched eyebrow.

"What's wrong?"

"My foot; I think I've just stepped onto something!" She comes walking towards me, and looks down behind me.

"It looks like you've stepped onto a starfish, Booth."

"A starfish?" Cynical edge; nice one, Seeley. Don’t make her forget that you’re still annoyed that she didn’t want to talk earlier.

I sigh and hop a few feet towards the beach, just to get away from that… thing. "How painful is it?" Great, now she is doctoring me while I'm hopping on one foot!

"It itches. No, burns. No, itches. Actually, both. It's spreading all over my foot," I mutter and fall down onto the safe sand.

"Let me take a look," she says and she's already grabbing my foot. I quickly pull away.

"No!"

"What? Why?"

"You are not taking a look at my foot!" She rolls her eyes again.

"Come over yourself, Booth. I'm a doctor," she tells me like I've never noticed. She takes my foot again and this time I let her. She does have a soft and delicate touch…

"It's all red and puffy." That's just great. "It doesn't look good." Well, it doesn't feel that comfortable either.

"What's going on, you guys?" Angela, with Hodgins, Zach, Daniel and Stephen behind her.

"Booth here stepped on a starfish."

"Really?" Some sniggering from Hodgins. I shoot him a glare. He immediately stops.

"Did you know starfish have a pair of genitalia on every arm?" Zach will always be Zach, no matter how sad or confused he is.

"Guys! What are we going to do here?" I ask them, resisting the urge to wave my arms around to catch their attention. Sometimes these people really need to learn to focus.

"I think you should let another doctor check this out," Brennan tells me, looking again at my foot.

"I think so too," Stephen says and looks at Daniel. "Should we take him to Nassau?"

A sparkle appears in Zach's eyes. Great. The kid's getting to see his girl because I trekked onto a starfish.

"What needs to be done needs to be done," Daniel simply states as they help me get up.

Half an hour later, at the hospital in Nassau…

"Is this really necessary?" I can keep trying. I don't feel so happy about someone poking and prodding my red, puffy foot.

"Yes, Booth. For the fourth time, this is necessary."

We're all standing; well, I'm lying in a bed in the emergency room of the hospital in Nassau. In the emergency room, for God's sake! Only Stephen is left behind, to look after the boat. Daniel has come with us, as have all the squints.

"Good afternoon," a familiar voice greets us, shoving the curtain before the bed aside.

"Zach!" A tone of surprise, happiness. "Dr. Brennan, Jack, Angela, Booth." All of us a quick nod and smile. "Daniel?" Again, surprise.

"Elena, what a coincidence!" They hug each other. Not good. I glance at Zach, who's keeping a straight face but the jealousy is almost dripping off of him. "How have you been?"

"Good," she nods and looks at Zach. "Great, actually," a big smile. Zach, one; Daniel, zero. "How can I help you?"

"I stepped onto a starfish," I say before anyone else says it with an amount of irony, sarcasm or cynicism.

"I'll take a look," she tells me and grabs a pair of gloves. Like I said, poking and prodding. After a minute of touching, she turns around and takes an instrument that looks like a pair of tweezers.

"Whoa! What are you going to do?"

"There's some kind of thorn in there. It's best if I take it out, right now." Wait, no anaesthetic?

"Ouch!" A sharp pain washes through my body. Quick she is, but still, it wasn't nice. Or painless. I should have asked for anaesthetic when I had the chance. Wait, I didn’t have a chance! Damn your girl, Zach!

"You can stop whimpering; the thorn’s out." She takes off her gloves. Whimpering? Who’s whimpering? I’m not!

"What do we do now?" Brennan.

"The best thing is to soak it in warm water when you get home. Keep it clean, I'll put on some gauze for the trip back, but take it off when you get home. It needs fresh air. Use no painkillers, you need to be able to feel pain, just to be sure nothing is wrong with your nerves." My nerves? This keeps getting worse!

She turns around and gets some gauze out of a drawer. She carefully puts it on, and gives us a shy smile.

"All done now."

"Thanks," I mutter and get up with Brennan supporting me. Hodgins and Angela follow, but Zach and Daniel stay behind. Three minutes later they join us again, a triumphant smile on Zach’s face. Probably a 2-0 ending for Zach.

The last part of our sailing trip passes by very quietly. Not that bad, actually. I wouldn’t survive another starfish attack.

Five minutes after we've stepped onto land again, we walk -I hop- towards our car. We stop in front of the grandma seat, a smile plastered on Brennan’s face.

"Wait... No..." I weakly try.

"You can't possibly drive with that leg of yours, Booth."

"It's my foot," I mumble defensively as I slide onto the seat. This day keeps getting better by the minute.

Brennan walks around the car and sits down satisfied on the driver’s seat. Why is everyone getting these benefits while I'm stuck with a hole in my foot?!

Zach, Angela and Hodgins crawl into the backseat and we drive onto the highway. I mutter a few words about stupid starfish as I turn up the music again.

Later that day…

A small campfire at my feet is eating away a pile of dry branches. I smile as I stare into the flames. This is nice. Sitting around a campfire, making smores, is the perfect ending for this eventful vacation. I pull my stick with a marshmallow on top out of the fire just when Brennan sits down next to me.

She sighs. “We need to talk.�

“Are you done thinking?� I ask, slightly sarcastic.

I’m annoyed here. Why does she always need to be in control? Then I sigh and I shake my head. We are both always struggling to outdo the other. It’s part of our relationship. I should be listening to her, instead of scaring her away. If we don’t talk now, we’ll never talk, and then it will all be forgotten. And I really don’t want to forget what happened this morning.

“Yes, I’m done,� she says, then pauses. “We crossed a line today.�

I raise my eyebrows. Is she using that metaphor on purpose? If I had known she would one day use it against me, I would have never said it in the first place.

“A line or the line?� I carefully probe.

Brennan remains silent before she frowns. “A line.�

I internally cheer in joy. She’s not bringing that line-business up again! “Of course we crossed a line,� I smoothly reply. “This is the first time we’ve taken a vacation together, the five of us.� I trust the marshmallow in her direction. “Smore?�

She rolls her eyes, but takes the stick from my hands any way. “Fine. We’ve crossed the line then.�

When will things ever go down the easy way with her? I think as I cringe. My resolve of talking about what transpired between us earlier today crumbles. It never dawned on me where a thorough discussion could lead us; far into unknown territory, to be exact.

“I should really stop talking about lines,� I hear her mumble.

I couldn’t agree more, Bones. You’re messing with the rules I laid down a while ago. You should turn back now, instead of standing about, hesitating whether or not you’re up for the challenge if you dare to cross into uncharted land. You don’t have a clue about what’s hiding behind my lines, Bones.

“Have you ever dreamed about me? In a sexual way, I mean,� she suddenly asks.

See, that’s one of the secrets I’m covering up with a nice little rule.

“I umm…�

“Because I’ve been having explicit dreams about you lately.� Sending me a weak smile, she glances over at me. “In case you didn’t notice…�

“It was pretty hard not to notice; with you straddling me and all.�

I pick up another stick and put a marshmallow on the tip. We both gaze at the white snack as I hold it into the fire.

“Do you know what worries me the most?� Brennan softly says. I shake my head, but refuse to take my eyes off that marshmallow. “That Angela and Sully are right.�

I lift my eyebrows. Angela, I understand; Sully, I don’t. “What has Sully got to do with this?�

She sighs. “He has accused me several times of feeling something for you.�

My breath hitches in my throat. No, no, no; don’t drag your feelings into this, Bones. Where is the calm and rational Brennan when you need her?

“He’s right. There’s this… spark between us. There’s tension, Booth.�

I take a deep breath. I’m about to say something that’s painfully true, but needs to be said. “I know that there’s something playing between us, Bones, but we have to ignore it.�

“Why?� That’s my Bones; always eager to know every single detail, no matter how dirty or hurtful it is.

“This “spark� has always been there, but you chose to ignore it when Sully came along. Why would you risk giving up what you have with Sully over something that has always been there?�

“But maybe this thing,� she gestures between us, “is worth giving up Sully for.�

I reach out to pat her hand. If I thought telling her to ignore our attraction was painful, I will be devastated when I say what I have to say for both our sakes. “It’s not worth it, Bones.� I’m not worth it, but let’s not tell her that, okay?

“How can you say that?�

“Bones,� I grumble. “We’ve been over this before. Sully is a good guy.�

“Stop saying that!� she interrupts me. “Every time I bring up Sully, you tell me he’s a good guy. Stop repeating those infernal words; they annoy me! You’re a good guy yourself!�

That’s really something I don’t want to hear now, Bones. I’m trying my best here to push you down the only road that leads to your happiness, and then you give me that compliment. How am I supposed to make you see that Sully isn’t that bad for you -better than all those other ex-boyfriends of yours, any way- if you use my own words against me?

The annoyance bubbling up inside of me makes me reckless. Reckless enough to toss my smore into the fire and turn to face her. “Fine. Let’s make a deal here. When we are back in D.C., you forget all about this conversation.� I hold up my hand to shush her protests. “You forget everything and give things a go with Sully. If, after some time, you discover I’m right; you will live a happy ever after with Sully. If I’m wrong,� Taking a deep breath, I continue, “We’ll see where our spark takes us.�

“Deal,� she nods. “I have to warn you, though.� She throws me a smile. “I’m never wrong.�

I know, Bones, I know, but you have to give me some time here to get used to the idea of living out my wildest dreams, of being with you.

Smiling at her, I reach out to squeeze her hand. “Let’s go home, Bones.�

A couple of hours later, on the plane home…

I’m sitting next to the window, just like on the flight to the Bahamas. Not that it makes any difference. It’s too dark outside to see a thing. My gaze wanders through the plane. Sitting three rows ahead of us are Hodgins and Angela. Well, they’re sleeping, actually. Angela has put her head on Hodgins’ shoulder. Hodgins, on the other hand, has a protective arm wrapped around her and his chin is resting on top of her head.

Zach is sitting next to them, looking a lot like a lost puppy. I guess, in the end, he couldn’t find the courage to defy logic. I can’t blame him. It takes guts to change who you are. Following logic is easier than listening to your heart.

A small sad sigh rolls over my lips when my eyes come to a rest on my partner, sleeping peacefully next to me. It would have been too easy to just give in to that tension. It’s not my task to direct her life, but I just had to guide her back to Sully. I don’t want to be the one guilty of ruining her chance at happiness.

I carefully drape a blanket over her sleeping form. At least we’re not running away from each other any more. I now see that denying our mutual attraction was the easiest way out. Trying to stop her from getting closer by drawing an imaginary line seemed like a good idea at the time, but was another easy escape plan in the end.

We have made a deal. I stop running, as long as she explores the possibilities of her relationship with Sully.

No more laying down the rules. All that’s left for me to do now is waiting.

I know she’s never wrong; that’s why I can rest assured about sending her back to Sully. She’ll find her way back to me; she always does. Just like we’re finding our way back to Washington now.

-----------

Addictt: We’re supposed to have a funny conversation here.

niah1988: I know.

Addictt: I don’t know what to say.

niah1988: Join the club. My mind’s still dwelling on the image of a half naked Booth lying in bed.

Addictt: °sighs° Booth’s abs…

niah1988: Uh-huh… °joins Addictt in the sighing° Oh no… Addictt, we’ve got to stop daydreaming about Booth. Now!

Addictt: Why?

niah1988: °points at a door that suddenly opens before she holds on tight to her chair, in an attempt not to be sucked through the door° That’s why. Gutter room!
_________________
Whatever life throws at you, throw it right back.
Use your uniqueness!

[Addictt]

° Chapter 7 - Other Side Of The World °
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

(Brennan's POV)

My sheet slowly slides over my bare skin. In a few seconds it's gone. He sure does know how to wake someone up. I furrow my eyebrows in vexation.

“Sully, that’s cold,� I grumble, my voice still thick with sleep.

No response. The moment to open my eyes arrives. I let out a little grunt and bury my face in the pillow. My own pillow. I’m not a person who easily gets attached to material things, but I sure love my pillow. And my bed. My soft, comfortable - my own yawn interrupts my thoughts. Now it’s really time to open my eyes.

White, bright sunbeams fall upon my retina. Another grunt escapes my lips while my eyes adjust to the sudden burst of light.

Sully’s sitting on the side of the bed, the sheet wrapped around him, leaving me uncovered. Something about his position makes me feel uncomfortable. He’s tensed.

“Sully?�

No reply. I prop myself up to take a closer look. My eyebrows furrow again, this time in confusion. A blush appears on my cheeks and suddenly I’m not that cold anymore. He’s looking at the vacation snapshots Booth took with his camera. I offered to let them develop at the Jeffersonian; I have my connections there. That way we would have them back sooner. I make a mental note to take my digital camera with me the next time. All this nonsense with developing rolls of films... In what century do we live? The 18th?

I scramble out of bed, put on a pair of panties and a shirt. I walk over to Sully and sit down next to him.

“Sully?� Again, no answer. “Sullivan,� I repeat, now a little firm.

He continues staring straight ahead, but he hands the pictures to me nonetheless and stands up.

“We need to talk.� And with that, he walks away to the bathroom, the sheet trailing his footsteps.

I let out a weak sigh. This is going to turn into one of these conversations we had before, during and right after I got back from vacation. I really feel like telling him off for being this annoying with me, but I told Booth I was going to give our relationship another try. However, I can’t keep that strange, intrusive feeling out of my stomach, when I think this could turn out all wrong. Maybe it’s fear, maybe it’s hope. Or it could simply be adrenaline. Yes, that’s probably it. It’s a perfectly rational... – I smile at my own thoughts. I really need to find a new mantra.

I get up, I get dressed and I walk off to the kitchen, to pour myself a cup of coffee as I wonder how this is going to work out.

Ten minutes later I’m staring at the photos again.

“What's wrong with them, Sully?� I question him as he shows me picture by picture.

“It’s proof.� I know proof, or better, evidence when I come across it. This, however, is not proof.

“Of what?� I carefully probe.

“It’s shows that Booth is the right guy for you. Not me... At least not anymore. I can’t connect to you, Temperance. I wonder if I was ever able to, to be honest,� he sighs.

“Sully,� I say a little agitated. For the love of everything scientific, I’ve had it with the "I'm not the right guy for you" conversations I've had with these two!

“No, Tempe, you need to listen. Look at these!� He shoves a picture of me and Booth on the sailboat in my direction. It was the conversation after that morning. “You open up to this man so easily, Tempe, but when it comes to me... It’s just so damn hard,� he says and shakes his head disappointed.

I remain quiet and stare at the photos. I hate psychology, but he has a point. The pictures do tell a story, show emotions I don’t know if I’m willing to share.

“I’m trying,� I say more to myself than to him.

“Maybe you’re trying not hard enough,� he retorts, bitterness evident in his voice.

I could resist, make protests. I could fight for this relationship, but am I willing to do that? Am I willing to give up my heart, and serve up my soul to someone I don’t entirely know? I've already shared more with him than I thought I'd ever do with a man in such a short period of time. I guess it wasn't enough. Sully's the kind of man who wants everything, absolutely everything. He won't settle for less. I'm on the other side of the spectrum. I've mostly preferred short passionate relationships over long term commitments, because I didn't want to create memories that I could lose. He is willing to give me his everything; he only expects my full participation. Too bad I'm not going to cooperate. Not all persons are worth crossing the line for.

A cold silence settles between us, and the only sounds that are heard, are our steady breathing and Sully shuffling through the pictures. My gaze shifts from the snapshots towards the door. What am I still doing here? This situation isn’t making me or Sully happy. Am I wasting my time? A soft snort from Sully pulls me away from my thoughts. I look at him; his eyebrows are furrowed as he studies a picture of me.

“What?� I ask, trying to let my voice sound neutral and indifferent.

“It’s not your best shot, that’s all,� he mumbles and puts the photos away.

Well, that was nice. Not. He stands up and clears his throat. I look at him; my gaze softens when I see his face. Sadness, frustration and again a little bitterness. And all of this is seen by a person with a lack of people skills. Ironic, isn’t it?

“I better leave,� he says. I stare off in the distance, slowly letting his words sink in. He grabs his car keys and walks towards the door. Halfway he stops, and without turning he snorts, "This is all the proof I needed."

I tilt my head. "What proof have I given you this time?"

"You aren't stopping me. You aren't keeping me from leaving, Tempe. If you believed we could work this out, you would have stopped me. Instead, you're just standing there, watching me go away." He shakes his head. "If I was him, you'd be hanging around my neck by now, threatening to break a bone or two if I dared to walk through that door."

I bow my head in guilt. He's right. If he had been Booth, he would have been sprawled out on the ground by now, because I didn't want him to go.

“Tempe?� His voice attracts my attention and I look at him again. “Just be happy, okay? This is for the best,� he tells me before opening the door and walking away.

I turn my body and crash down on the couch. As I stare at the ceiling, memories, thoughts and images wash through my head. This is it. We're through. But is it really what I desire?

(Zach’sPOV)

Seventy-six... Seventy-seven... Seventy-eight... Seventy-nine. Seventy-nine flagstones at the ceiling. It’s the fourth time I’ve count them the last half hour, and every time I come across the same solution; seventy-nine. And it doesn’t help me one bit with my inner conflicts. Did I make the right decision, leaving Elena behind? Is this what I really want?

A soft knock interrupts my thoughts.

"Yes?"

The door opens and Hodgins walks in.

"Hey,� he says, sitting down beside me. "Still moping about Elena?"

"I’m not moping," I reply a little harsh.

"Dude, it’s okay. Haven't you heard something of her?"

"Yes, I have. But it seems like it’s not enough. We call, send e-mails and text messages, but it’s not the same. There’s a lack of..." I quickly look him into the eye, assuring myself he’s not laughing at me. "You know, the physical stuff."

He calmly nods and stands up.

"I really hope the best for you, Zach," he tells me and hands me an envelope. "Maybe this will help."

I grab the envelope before he quietly leaves the room. A logo on the envelope tells me it’s from the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau. That’s where Elena works! I ignore my manners and rip the envelope open.

Dear Mr. Addy,

The board of directors from the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau is asking for your help.

About a week ago, a 36-year old female came to our hospital with, and we quote, ‘pain in her bones’. We are running test but still can’t find anything. We subdued the patient with morphine, but we need to find the cause of her problems.

One of the patient’s doctors, dr. E. Earhart, informed us about you. We understand you’re trying to receive your doctorate in Forensic Anthropology and we’d appreciate it if you would accept our offer to work with us. We'd like you to come down here to help us find a cure for this patient.

We have already contacted the Jeffersonian Institute and Dr. Goodman is willing to give you a paid leave of absence with a maximum of three weeks. You'd also receive a generous recompense from us.

We hope to hear from you soon. You could start immediately.

Sincerely,

The Princess Margaret Hospital

I resist the urge to run around the house, screaming like a little boy and jump into the air. Instead, I take out my cell and call the airport. After five beeps, a mechanically altered voice tells me to hold. I pace around the room, waiting with a huge smile plastered on my face. This isn’t something I need to think about. This is logic. It’s a great opportunity to learn something new, to make experiences and, of course, to be with Elena. Dr. Elena Earhart didn’t forget me! She even recommended me to the boards! I clasp my cell between my head and my shoulder and haul my suitcase under the bed. Just when I hear someone answer my call, the phone drops onto the floor. I quickly pick it up and mumble my name.

“This is Zach Addy. I’d like to leave with the first flight to Miami. Half an hour? That’s great. Thank you.�

(Let's switch back to Brennan's POV for "the grand finale")

Sid's giving me that look of his. He knows what has happened two hours ago, even without asking. I give him a small smile when he places another cup of hot chocolate in front of me. It's in the middle of summer, but there is nothing as soothing as hot chocolate after a break-up. I should be devastated about Sully walking away. He's, after all, another one in a row of men who have left me. But I'm not devastated; it hurts a bit, of course, but I'm far from devastated. I'm actually somewhat pleased. No more Sully means no more harsh conversations about whether or not there is something going on between Booth and me.

A smile fights its way to my lips as I sip my hot chocolate. There is definitely something between the two of us, and I'm about to push it up a notch.

I did as Booth asked. I've explored my relationship with Sully some more, before coming to the conclusion that it was going nowhere. Sully is a good guy, but not the right one for me. I chuckle at my own thoughts. Unintentionally, Booth and Sully have rubbed off on me. If you hear nothing but "right guy this" and "right guy that" you easily begin to think along the same lines. Booth was wrong about my relation with Sully, so now he has no choice but to, and I quote, see where our spark takes us.

The sound of the door opening and closing paints an impossibly large smile on my face. Who wouldn't be happy at the prospect of rubbing an "I told you so" in someone's face? To my disappointment it isn't Booth who walks into Wong Foo's; it's Angela and Hodgins. I quickly turn back to my cup. Maybe if I don't make eye-contact, Angela will leave me alone. The last thing I need is a deep conversation with her.

Suppressing a deep sigh, I stir my hot chocolate when Angela sits down next to me. Behind me I hear Hodgins yell, "Sid, my man, is today the day that seven organ soup will go down the right way?" I guess there is no escaping Angela. On the other hand, maybe it's for the best that I have a conversation with her before I talk to Booth. Call it "a practice round".

"Hey Bren," Angela softly begins.

"Angela," I acknowledge her presence. I refrain from saying anything else. It's up to her to get this conversation started.

"When are you coming back to work?" she asks before she smiles at Sid when he places a Mojito on the bar.

I take another sip of my hot chocolate. "Monday. Dr. Goodman insisted I'd take two weeks off. Today's my last day off."

Curious to no end, Angela points at my drink. "Hot chocolate? You only drink that when you've broken up with someone." Then realization dawns on her. "Sully's gone?"

I nod. "Yeah, he's out of the picture." I even manage to produce a small smile, instead of the large face-splitting grin I feel like giving. Really, I'm a bit bummed that it didn't work out with Sully, but I'm now moving on to greener pastures. If those greener pastures want me of course. I'm surprised to feel Angela's hand patting my shoulder.

"Maybe it's for the best that you two broke up," she says to me, her eyes full of understanding.

"Maybe so, yes," I shrug one shoulder. "He just wasn't..."

"Booth," Angela finishes.

The corners of my mouth curl upwards as I slowly turn my cup around on the bar. Angela truly is my best friend. She knows what I'm about to say, even before I find the right words. It's sometimes freaky how well she can read me. Although I guess right now I didn't make it that difficult for her. She has always been on my case about getting together with Booth. All her subtle hints became annoying at some point, but now they just amuse me. I'm curious to see what arguments she's going to throw up this time.

"Can't say I didn't see this coming, Bren," the artist sighs.

Raising my eyebrows to unknown heights, I tilt my head to look at her. "Excuse me? Don't tell me you deliberately pushed me towards Sully, even though you knew things weren't going to work out?"

Angela quietly laughs. "Of course not, Bren. You make me sound like this horrible plot master who enjoys drawing up schemes." She lifts her Mojito to her mouth to take a sip, before continuing her explanation. "Sully was a nice change, Bren. He was different from everyone you had dated before. He made you smile and laugh; he even made you loosen up a bit more, but in the end..." She shakes her head a bit.

"I know what you're trying to say here, Angela, and I appreciate it," I help her out. "I have no regrets about my relationship with him. Sully has made me understand a couple of things."

He did, he really did. It's amazing, and very complicated, to comprehend how clearly things get after you've been in a different kind of relationship. I'm ready to move on though. I don't think I've ever been this thrilled about beginning something entirely new, a serious commitment. Come to think of it, all my previous relationships were more like spur-of-the-moment kind of things. I have done a lot of thinking about this one; I'm just not sure if that's a good sign.

I shake my head. Of course it's a good sign. Everything I've succeeded at was first thoroughly thought through.

I'm briefly distracted when Angela slides a picture across the bar. A quiet frustrated groan vibrates in my throat. Not another one! Haven't pictures of our vacation got me into enough trouble already? I quickly glance at it. It's one of Booth and me sitting under a parasol on the beach. It looks like we're having a rather intimate conversation, judging by how close we're sitting.

I smile as I remember that moment. If I'm not mistaken, Angela and Hodgins were walking along the shoreline, while I gave Booth instructions as to how to treat his sunburn. Nothing intimate there, but it sure seems that way if you take a closer look at this photograph.

"Good memories, Bren?" Angela asks me with an ear to ear grin. "Were you recalling how you called him "Boothy"?"

"You heard that?" I groan. "In my defense, I was drunk. Everything I say in that state is irrelevant in the following conversations."

"Relax," she sooths me. "I wasn't planning on rubbing it in your face. I just wanted to point out that something has changed while we were in the Bahamas. Before our joined vacation, you would have never called him by that name, not even under the influence of seven Mojitos."

The best thing to do in this kind of situation is to simply keep your mouth shut. Angela's on a roll. She's determined to show me the right path, one that leads straight to Booth. You're wasting your time here, Angela. I've already mapped out a route myself.

"This picture is proof of how at ease you were around each other, of how you still are. Have you seen Booth since we got back?"

I shake my head. "No, I haven't."

"Well, when you do, you have to show him this."

One eyebrow lifted, I stare at her. "Why? It's a shot of us sitting under a parasol. What's so special about it?" Besides, I've got a bunch of pictures myself to show him, but Angela doesn't need to know about them.

"Just show him. Promise me, okay?"

The door opening and closing keeps me from answering. My mouth curves into a smile, as well as Angela's, when we both see who walks in. Booth stops dead in his tracks, his tie and top buttons of his shirt undone, his jacket draped over one of his arms, when he lays eyes on us.

Angela's smile grows in force. "I guess that's my cue to leave." Then she quickly turns to me and whispers, "Forget the friends, go straight for the benefits." She taps the picture lying on the bar to emphasize her words. Leaving me with that piece of advice, she stands up and heads over to Hodgins who's slurping away on his seven organ soup.

Friends? Benefits? Oh right, that conversation... Some time ago Angela suggested that I'd become "friends with benefits" with Booth. I swiftly dismissed that idea back then. I would still do now. I don't want to be friends with benefits. I want, as Angela put it so nicely, to have just the benefits with him. Of course I still want to preserve part of our friendship, but I mostly want to take it to another level. A level where there is a bit of friendship, tons of benefits and maybe something more. I'm looking for long term benefits, so to speak.

Booth throws his jacket over an empty barstool and slides onto the seat that Angela previously occupied. "Hey Bones," he greets me before he pulls a small bowl of salty nuts closer. His forearms resting on the edge of the bar, he fiddles with a peanut for a few seconds and then pops it into his mouth.

"Hey Booth," I mumble as I reach for my bag. Moments later I drop a folder filled with pictures onto the counter. "Had them developed yesterday. There are a couple of interesting shots amongst them."

He immediately opens the folder and begins to sort through the pile. In no time he has all the photographs spread out on the bar. "Our surroundings were absolutely breathtaking," he says as he gazes at a couple of shots of the beach, the sea and the sunset. I nod in agreement. A grin spreads on his face when his gaze lands on a picture of us sitting in our go-cart. "We had fun there, hadn't we Bones?"

"Yeah, even though you didn't let me drive. As usual," I retort, crossing my arms on top of the bar.

"Some things will never change, Bones." And some things will, Booth. We are about to change, you just don't know it yet.

"It looks like you enjoyed my "grandma bikini" more than you lead on," I say, gesturing at a photo of me in my bikini, lying on the beach.

Booth slightly reddens. "Well, you know, just wanted to show you how big your fashion faux pas was."

I laugh. "You sounded just like Angela there. I'll take you with me on my next shopping trip, instead of her."

He grins at me before pointing at the next picture. "You really look cute there, do you know that?" Did he just call me cute? I lean a bit over to study the photograph he's talking about. Oh right, it's the one where I've got stracciatella smeared all over my nose.

"Not as cute as you," I reply, sliding a snapshot of the both of us with ice cream on our faces in his direction.

Booth shakes his head, chuckling. "I think we need another vacation. We're calling each other cute." He intensely studies the picture for a minute. "I think I'm going to put this one on my desk."

I shove my elbow in his side. "And make me the laughing stock of the entire FBI? No way, Booth! You do that and I'm showing them this," I hold up a photo of my partner huddling down in the sand, his behind sticking up in the air and his hands covering his head. "You ran away from a kite, remember?"

"Bones," Booth groans. "You wouldn't dare! I've got a reputation to think about." He averts his eyes again to the pile spread out on the bar as he mumbles, "You love blackmailing me way too much."

When I throw a glance over Booth's bent head, I see Angela and Hodgins making their way towards the door. Good, they're leaving. Perfect. I roll my eyes when Angela mouths "Show him!" at me. Why on earth does she want Booth to see that picture? Shaking my head, I turn back to the man slowly working his way through the stack of photographs.

"I like this one," he mumbles, nudging another shot towards me.

I recognize it as the one he took during one of our last days, right before we made sand angels. It's a close-up of me, sitting in the sand, with the wind playing through my hair and the light of the setting sun on my face. It's actually the picture that Sully disliked. I watch him pick it up to stare at it, smiling softly. It reminds me of how he gazed at the picture of a fifteen year old me.

This is the opening I have been waiting for. Booth, you better prepare. It's time to draw some new lines; lines that will mark our new relationship!

My eyes land on the picture Angela handed me. I suddenly understand the meaning behind it. Good old Angela, I can always depend on you to give me a push in the right direction. I carefully slide the snapshot over to Booth. He frowns as he picks it up.

"Angela wanted me to show you this," I explain.

"Why? It's a shot of us sitting under a parasol."

Shrugging one shoulder, I say, "She thought we were having an intimate conversation."

"You were giving me advice about my sunburn..." he slowly replies.

"I know, but Angela seemed convinced otherwise. Goes to show what kind of a wrong impression a picture can give." I cross my arms on the bar and lean a bit forward while I tilt my head to look at him. "Maybe we weren't having a deep conversation back then, but we had one on our last day. Do you remember your promise?"

He rapidly drops the photographs he has been holding for the last minute and sits up straight. "Do you remember your promise?"

"Of course I do," I tell him, all the while gathering my photos. When they're safely tucked away again in their folder, I lift my head to meet his stare. "And I can assure you that I have lived by it ever since we got back. To be honest, not a day has gone by without recalling our campfire conversation." Tucking away the folder in my bag, I take a deep breath. Then I go back to my last stance, leaning on the counter with crossed arms. "You are wrong, Booth."

He blinks a couple of times. Next he slowly rubs the palms of his hands over his thighs, as his gaze drifts through the room. Eventually he faces me again. "I am?"

"Yes, you are," I nod.

"Well, in that case..." He gets up, grabs his jacket and heads off to the door.

I stare at his back. Why the hell is he leaving? And why did he seem lost a minute ago? I thought he felt the same attraction? That he wanted to take things further as well? Instead, he's walking away, just like that. Is there any logic behind his decision to run away?

Then he turns around, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his jacket hanging from his arm. I stare at him, at the twinkle darting around in his eyes and at the charm smile playing around his lips.

"So umm... I'll pick you up at eight this Saturday?"

Laughing softly, I nod at him. "Works for me."

"Great." His smile brightens even more. "I guess it's a date then," Booth throws at me, walking backwards.

"I guess it is," I reply, tilting my head and giving him a broad smile.

"I'll see you then, Bones," he grins right before he turns around the corner.

Sid comes over to me with a large Martini. I take a sip after I've eaten the olive swimming around in the liquid. Yeah Booth, it's a date, I think satisfied.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
niah1988: I wonder how many people want to strangle us right now for ending it here...

Addictt: °throws a glance over her shoulder° Umm, sweetie?

niah1988: I mean, we're just ending it HERE. Brennan and Booth haven't even kissed!

Addictt: °taps Niah's shoulder° Sweetie, I think you need to know something...

niah1988: Do you think they'll strangle us slowly or do you think they're just going to kick our butts?

Addictt: °points at something behind them° I think they're sending a mob after us.

niah1988: °glances over her shoulder° Oh dear Lord, they've got pitch-forks... And torches... And... For the love of Booth's abs, they've even got rotten eggs and tomatoes!

Addictt: Less talking, more running!! (And reviewing!)