Sweet Southern Boy

By: Banana Flavored Eskimo

"I think we should have intercourse."

Special Agent Seeley Booth – or Booth as he preferred to be called – stumbled slightly from his standing position as he stared wide-eyed at the brunette beside him.

The statuesque woman had been casually overlooking her notes when she had decided to announce her sudden interest in sex.

Sure he had become more used to her matter-of-fact way of blurting out her thoughts, but she still caught him off guard from time to time.

"Bones, you want to wait until we're not on the job to tell me that?"

Dr. Temperence Brennan stared at her partner – physically, emotionally and professionally – with a perplexed expression. "I don't understand. You encouraged me to be more direct with my feelings and I feel that intercourse would be highly satisfying this evening. I thought you would be in agreement."

"Well of course I'm in agreement," Booth muttered rather embarrassingly as he looked around to see a number of Smithsonian personnel doing a poor job at concealing their interest and amusement in the duo.

"Then it's settled. We will have intercourse after we put Christine to sleep this evening. Would 9PM be satisfactory? I know you enjoy watching episodes of the Justice League online."

Booth cast a quick glare at a wayward snicker he heard as he rubbed the back of his neck in awkwardness. "Sure Bones. Sex tonight. Let's just move on from the subject and get back to wrapping up this case."

"Intercourse will most definitely be beneficiary to you. It will definitely ease your agitation."

Booth resisted the urge to smack his head against the wall.

"Um Dr. Brennan?"

Booth looked up to see a random person looking between the two with uncertainty.

"Yes?"

"There's a young woman here to see you Dr. Brennan."

"I'm sorry, but I can not entertain anyone at this time. I need to finish categorizing these notes for the FBI."

The person looked rather weary as they shifted from foot to foot.

Booth rolled his eyes. "Alright. Spit it out."

"The young woman is here to talk about Mr. Nigel-Murray."

That got their attention.

Vincent Nigel-Murray was one of Bone's most promising interns before he had been taken down by a sniper that had been intent on killing Booth.

Bones took an unsteady step backwards before her knees seemed to give out and she collapsed into her chair.

Booth was at her side in an instant.

"Booth…"

Memories plagued the two as they recalled the young man that had been far too young to leave the world behind.

Taking a deep breath, Booth finally looked to the person that had delivered the news. "Who is she?"

"His cousin. A Miss Hermione Granger."

Hermione Granger drummed her fingers steadily against the cool steel of the table.

Why she was placed in an interrogation room was beyond her, but she found the entire ordeal to be rather agitating.

When the war had finished, her first order of business had been retrieving her parents. It was a long and trying process, but she had found them healthy, happy and with a new child on the way.

Needless to say, Jean and Henry Granger weren't really concerned about their eldest for they had created a new family.

It had hurt, but the young witch had supposed she had been partly at fault.

During her time at Hogwarts, she had spent more time with the Weasely family than her own.

The harsh reality of the situation was that although her parents loved her, they had grown apart.

Therefore, she left them in Australia oblivious to her existence and the entire Wizarding world.

The months that followed proved to be absolute chaos as the entirety of Wizarding Europe needed to be rebuilt.

She had done her part and smiled pretty for the camera, but all she wanted was a sense of normalacy and escape.

Harry had been most supportive. Despite his fame, he was still that shy boy that liked to ease away from the spotlight. Therefore, when she mentioned her desire to speak with her darling cousin Vincent, he had been absolutely supportive.

Ron was another story.

The red head was adamant that they would be together, but no matter how many times she explained that their kiss was due to extenuating circumstances, he was still stubborn in his quest to make her a true Weasely.

As far as he knew, she was on her monthly. It was the only time he respected her privacy.

Learning of Vincent's death from her distraught Aunt had not been easy for her.

She and Vincent were incredibly close. In fact, he knew that she was a witch and it was because of her that he became and Atheist. What was so amazing about Jesus walking on water when you had a cousin that could do the same?

It also helped that they were both extremely intellectual people. Few could understand the cousins when they launched into a discussion – or more often debate – about anything under the sun.

Vince was her closest friend – besides Harry and Ron – and she loved him dearly.

To learn that he had been killed was a staggering blow.

Now she demanded answers and she would get them.

Which is why she was currently sitting in a room in Maryland, United States, waiting for the one they called Dr. Temperence Brennan.

Booth stared incredulously at a slightly contrite psychologist. "You placed her in the interrogation room?"

Dr. Lance Sweets had the decency to shy away from eye contact. "Well, we weren't exactly sure about her claim and I wanted to study her behavior. Dr. Brennan has many enemies."

Booth sighed.

He could understand – and appreciate – his logic, but this was a delicate matter. "So what did you find?"

"Other than her nervous habits of nail-biting and finger drumming, nothing."

"Nervous habits?"

Sweets nodded his head to the petite brunette behind the two-way mirror. "The sound of her drumming is methodical, yet steady. She's thinking – which is understandable – and most likely stressed."

"Gee, I wonder why. Maybe it could be due to the fact that we use this room to question suspects?"

"The conference room was in use. It was all we had," Sweets replied.

"Yea, yea. Anyways, is it alright to let Bones in there with her?"

Sweets laughed. "She's at the most 5'2" and can't weight any more than 112 tops. I'm pretty sure Dr. Brennan could take her down."

Booth simply stared at the young Doctor with a hard expression.

Sweets needlessly cleared his throat. "Yes. Of course. It's very safe and her story checks out. She is definitely the cousin."

"You are not at all what I expected."

Hermione was somewhat taken aback. No greeting?

Blinking owlishly for a moment, she stood from her seated position and held out her hand. "Hermione Granger."

Bones regarded her hand momentarily, taking note of the slender digits and somewhat obvious protrusions. Peculiar scarring weaved an intricate web around her fingers, wrists and continued into the sleeve of her smart blazer.

This girl was slightly malnourished and looked to be abused.

The thought unsettled her.

"Dr. Temperence Brennan," she replied after a moment's hesitation and gave her hand a gentle and quick pump.

"I'm Vince's younger cousin."

"Yes. I see that you shared traits with your cousin. You both have the same jaw structure as your mandibles are highly defined. In most cultures, it's considered a very attractive trait."

Hermione blinked again.

Is this what Harry felt like when she babbled random facts? It certainly was a bit overwhelming.

"Thank you," the witch said, choosing to take her words as a compliment.

"You are most welcome."

"I know that it's been a very long time, but I was schooling in Scotland and I lost touch with Vince. It was difficult to learn of his passing and when his mother told me, I needed to come here. I need closure."

Bones simply stared at the young woman, her deep green eyes saddened a she continued to identify more physical similarities between the two.

Add to the fact that the young woman was currently speaking with that same British tilt and Bones almost had to look away.

Nigel had been wonderful.

He would have made an outstanding anthropologist and an even more amazing friend.

She missed him.

"Could you tell me how he died? Aunt Mary said something about a sniper?"

The sudden opening of the door drew the attention of the two brunettes as they watched Agent Booth walk in steadily.

Hermione drew in a sharp breath as she watched his dark eyes connect with her own honeyed gaze.

He was giving her such an intense stare that she felt her heart beat accelerate.

Booth continued his easy stride before he dropped to one knee before the small brunette and took one of her small hands into his own.

When he spoke, it was with such reverence and emotion. "Your cousin was a good man and he died saving me."

Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan were incredibly forthcoming with everything regarding her cousin and she appreciated that.

They didn't sugarcoat anything.

It was something she had forgotton.

She had always been petite. As a child growing up, she remembered her slender elder cousin easily using her head as an arm rest. It both annoyed and amused her.

Unfortunately, she stayed the same miserable height she was since her third year of Hogwarts and due to this, it caused her boys to grow incredibly protective of her.

She supposed it was a male trait to see a tiny female to be in need to protection.

Due to this, she was usually treated as if she were fragile and as if the slightest bit of bad news would devastate her. This only seemed to increase with the defeat of Voldermort.

People often forgot that she was on the frontlines when gazing at her small frame.

Therefore, it was quite refreshing to be addressed as an adult that could handle any sort of news, despite the deep sadness it brought.

"Did he suffer?"

"No," replied Bones. "No he didn't."

Hermione nodded. At least his death was swift.

"Nigel was brilliant. Did you know he was on Jeopardy?"

The young witch felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips. "Actually yes. I teased him incessantly when he answered a question wrong. It was absolutely ridiculous he forgot the author of 'Der schwarze Tod im vierzehnten Jahrhundert'!"

Bones laughed. "I know. I too pointed out his mistake."

Booth blinked at the two brunettes.

Seemed as if physical appearance wasn't the only thing Hermione had in common with her cousin. It was looking as if she was a genius too.

"Thank you so much Dr. Brennan. I truly appreciate all the time you and Special Agent Booth have given. I hoped I didn't intrude too terribly upon your schedule."

Booth simply waved his hand dismissively. "Nah. It's alright."

"You know Miss Granger, I'm always looking for more interns and your knowledge of medical texts leads me to believe that you share the same interests as Nigel did?"

Hermione blushed prettily at the praise. "I admit that I also have a retentive memory. However, whereas Nigel was more interested in anatomy, I found myself absolutely entranced with chemical compounds and botany."

Dr. Brennan didn't need to know that when she said chemicals and botany, she meant potions and herbology. Minor differences really.

Booth grinned.

She was a squint.

A cute squint, but still a squint.

"I see. Do you happen to have any work that I can look at?"

"Are you offering me a job Dr. Brennan?"

"It depends on your body of work, but if you're half as competent as Mr. Nigel-Murray then yes. I would most definitely think that having you work with Dr. Hodgins to be most beneficial to our team."

"The Dr. Jack Hodgins!?"

Booth smirked.

Did Hodgins just get his first fangirl?

"You know of him," stated Bones.

"Of course! I read his paper on 'The Polymerization of Tectosilicates.' It was amazing."

"Dr. Brennan. I know you asked me to watch over your youngin' for a moment, but she's been jumpier than a jackrabbit and I figure she be wantin' her Mama."

An involuntary shiver raced across her spine as she head this incredibly handsome stranger speak with a slow southern drawl.

She always did have a thing for Western movies and that accent was making her weak in the knees.

Bones easily took her daughter from the young Mr. Abernathy and placed a soft kiss upon her brow. "Mr. Abernathy, I would like to introduce you to Miss Hermione Granger. She may be working with us in the future."

Finn Abernathy immediately took off his cap as he stared at the petite brunette with a dazed smile. She was like a glass of cool water to a cowboy in a desert.

Her curly hair was wild and he wondered if it felt as soft as it looked. She was a tiny bit, but he liked small women. She could stand to put a bit more meat on her bones, but it didn't detract from the fact that she was beautiful

Booth frowned at that look. Snapping his fingers, he gave the younger intern a firm glare. "No."

Finn merely looked down, only to offer a crooked grin to the now blushing brunette.

Hermione's only response was to bite her lip to keep herself from giggling like a twit.

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Abernathy."

Sweet Jesus.

Her voice was like honey.

"Trust me darlin'. The pleasure is most definitely mine."

Booth shook his head at the scene. He really couldn't help it. He felt responsible for Hermione and he wasn't about to let John Wayne over there charm her over.

Besides, she looked much too young to date.

Booth chose that moment to take the grinning intern by his ear and firmly escort him from the room. "Time to go lover boy."

Despite being dragged away rather uncomfortably, he was able to call out one last farewell. "You take care now Miss Granger. I hope to be seein' you around here."

At this action, Hermione really couldn't hold back her giggle as she watched him be pulled away with a shy smile of her own.

What a sweet southern boy.

Authors Note:

I don't know if I'll add to this, but it's a oneshot for now. We'll see what happens.

I've been watching A LOT of Bones and this popped up into my head after watching Finn be introduced to the team. I adore him and his southern charm.

Review?

- Banana Flavored Eskimo