I rarely write one-shots, but this is one of the few. And it's my take on how Body in the Oven might have ended. You can't tell me Brennan was totally clueless about the librarian fantasy. She's an anthropologist, for goodness sake. Sexual fantasies have been around as long as human kind has been here.

And the usual disclaimers apply. I don't own. Never have. Never will.

Object of My Fantasy

She wasn't as clueless as everybody thought she was.

Despite her wordless "What does that mean?" face she put on for Booth when he spilled his librarian fantasy to her, she did recognize it for what it was. It took her a little while, but it did finally hit her. Booth had her playing a starring role in his sex fantasy. One that involved a librarian, overdue books and penalties. Brennan was sure that between Booth's overdue book fetish and his continuous offers of pie, Sweets would have a field day with this one.

To be truthful, she had enjoyed a good chuckle over the visual of herself as the seemingly uptight, over-sexed librarian having to punish Booth for his overdue books. First, every time she even alluded to sex, the Catholic school boy in him caused his boxers to get in a twist and Booth to be very uncomfortable for long minutes. Secondly, she was so not his type. And as far as Brennan knew, Booth had two types: long, blonde, and leggy or mocha-skinned, brunette, and leggy.

Temperance Brennan was neither – and she knew it. So for Booth to have her front and center in his sex fantasy was…odd.

Still, as she stared at her reflection in her office's bathroom mirror, she had to wonder if it was just the situation that made her the porn star of his librarian wet dream – what with her in the glasses and her hair up in a bun – or if perhaps all of Booth's proclamations about lines and boundaries and his espousing that they were just partners was all an act. That maybe, just maybe, beneath that dowdy FBI suit, he did have the hots for her.

Truthfully, she wasn't sure. Since they had returned from China, their relationship rapidly returned to normal. Her little speech on the plane made it clear to Booth that their partnership was one of the top priorities in her life. He had seemingly gratefully accepted that and they had gone on with their lives and their partnership. But every time she pulled her hair back in a bun, she remembered.

Brennan just wondered if Booth did, too, as she once again pulled her hair back in an elastic and tucked the unruly stray ends behind her ears. He had been nothing but friendly and professional since they set foot back in the lab. His low, silky, sexy voice – the one that asked her to remove her glasses and shake her hair out – hadn't been heard at all.

Maybe she was reading too much into this. Maybe she just thought he had stalked over to her in an almost predatory way on the plane before he asked her to be his librarian. Maybe he was just…what was the term Angela used? Playing her. Did Booth play women? Probably. At least in his younger days. And who knows? Maybe he did now when the nights got too long and too cold to spend them alone. He had had no long-term attachments since Cam. Would Booth deny himself the release of a one-night stand?

Brennan shook herself out of her thoughts as she donned her lab coat and strode up to the platform to examine the remains they had brought in earlier. It was late and he had long left to go to a PTA meeting with Rebecca at Parker's school. She would be alone tonight with her bones and her thoughts. Maybe she could make sense of both.

"Hey…I thought I'd find you here, even though I hoped you had gone home to get some sleep." His voice startled her out of her examination of her remains. Brennan had been so engrossed in her work, she didn't even hear him swipe his card and mount the steps.

"Booth…"

Dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, the object of her thoughts materialized and leaned against the railing.

"I thought you were at a PTA meeting."

"Do you know what time it is, Bones?"

Temperance shook her head. When she was working, the clock stood still.

"It's after ten," he continued. "I have to pass the lab on the way back from Parker's school and when I saw your office light on, I figured you were either still working with the remains or were asleep on your couch. Thought that if you were working I'd make you go home and if you were asleep, I'd wake you up and then make you go home."

He delivered the last statement with a charm smile before continuing. "So pack it up and get it in gear. Go home and catch some sleep. We can start again tomorrow."

It was the closest thing he'd been to normal since China. His smile and his eyes were warm and Booth was completely relaxed. The lab was deserted. God only knew when they'd be alone again. All that Temperance needed was courage. She took a deep breath before peeling off her gloves and throwing them in the hazmat bin.

"Did you mean what you said?" she asked bluntly and to the point.

"Sure. You need sleep. We can start tomorrow."

Obtuse man…

"No," she said softly, coming over to stand by his side and lean against the railing herself. "That's not what I mean."

"I don't understand…"

Wasn't that supposed to be her line? She gulped before continuing. "On the plane…while we were flying to China. The 'take off your glasses and shake out your hair and penalties for overdue books' thing. Did you mean it?"

His face said it all. He never expected her to revisit that scene. To be sure, he had. Countless times since that flight. Her in a button-to-the-neck dress, hair pulled back in a bun, those glasses on her pert nose, asking him did he know how he was going to pay his overdue book fees? He replayed that dream and his payment in vivid detail for long nights after they got back.

But he never expected her to ask about it. For as far as he could tell, she didn't understand it all the first time and then had let it go as the case developed.

"Ah…that…" He shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Yes, that."

"Ah…been talking to Angela, huh?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm not as dumb as people think I am. I can be slow about some things, but this one I figured out all by myself, Booth. So I want to know, did you mean it? Do you want me to be your librarian?"

"Bones…it was the moment…the glasses…the hair…"

"So you didn't mean it." She turned slightly so he wouldn't see the disappointment beginning to bloom on her face. She had been right. She wasn't his type. She was his partner and that was all. Temperance guessed she should be grateful for that much and his friendship. At least he was in her life.

"No. I didn't mean it." Booth watched her face crumple a little at the edges and quickly continued. "At least not that way."

"Then what – "

"Bones." In a second he was back at her side, using one of his large hands to first gently cradle her face before turning her back to look him in the eyes. Eyes that were now dark with desire and something else much stronger. "That…librarian thing was a fantasy. Something that wasn't real."

"I know. I just…what you said…"

"I shouldn't have said it. At least not that way." Booth took a deep breath. "Do want to know if I have dreams about you?"

Temperance nodded, her eyes still caught in his.

"Then the answer is 'yes'. Almost every night. I have dreams that you're in trouble and I can't get to you. I have dreams that I can't find you and you're calling out to me." His eyes darkened even more and his other arm found its way around her waist as his lips turned up in a comic near-leer. "And yes, some nights you're my librarian, my naughty nurse, my French maid, and my Catholic school teacher."

Temperance felt the air leave her lungs. "Oh…"

"But mostly, do you know what I dream about?"

She shook her head as he let his eyes roam over her face, finally settling on her lips.

"Us. Breaking the law of physics." He lightly touched her lips with his own – soft as a butterfly's wing and just as quickly he pulled away. "With no Caroline and steamboats, no wise-ass father's making smart remarks, nobody. Just us." He touched his mouth to hers again. "trying our damnedest to occupy the same space. That's my fantasy of you."

In two light kisses, he stole her heart and soul. Temperance was having trouble breathing and her lips were having difficulty forming words. They simply wanted to be back under his again. She finally managed an "Oh."

"Umhmm," he softly hummed, this time his lips finding her cheekbone and caressing it. "You. Me. Same space. No physics."

Temperance thought her lungs had locked up and she would never be able to breathe correctly again. "What if…" she had to swallow hard to get the words out around the lump in her throat. "What if I told you I fantasize about the same thing?"

A long, heated look from his brown eyes warmed her in response. Temperance felt a flame begin to flicker in her belly as his hand moved from her cheek, over her collarbone, over her breast, to gently join his other arm at her waist.

"I'd say great minds think alike. Finally," he murmured against her lips before claiming them this time in a long, wet kiss. One that arched her back and curled her toes and made all sane thoughts leave her head. If Booth had wanted to undress her then and there and have her on top of the autopsy table, she wouldn't have uttered a word of protest.

Time stood still until they broke apart. Booth took a deep breath. There was no going back. He ran a nervous hand through his hair. "So…"

"The diner?" she asked automatically, still not being able to think straight.

"No. I was thinking more along the lines of my place." A soft kiss to her forehead followed. "We can try breaking those laws, if you want."

"Oh, I want. Very much." She playfully pulled the elastic out of her hair and shook it. "And maybe later we can discuss those overdue book fees."