A/N: So apparently, I like to write stories that put the characters in dangerous situations, where they have to get out alive and figure out their relationship issues. This is set somewhere between Hannah leaving and B&B becoming a couple. I don't own Bones.

Temperance Brennan, renowned forensic anthropologist, turned toward her partner and friend, Agent Seeley Booth. He looked miserable, and she felt a twinge of sympathy for him.

"I think we should go up in a plane," Brennan suggested. It was early afternoon in Virginia and they'd spent the last several hours tromping through the forest. Some days, it seemed, hard work just didn't pay off.

Bodies were nothing new in Medico-Legal lab at the Jeffersonian Institute, but the newest one was proving perplexing. The body, discovered behind an abandoned mall, was covered in sticks and leaves. The lack of matching vegetation and blood, despite the gunshot wound to the head, made it a clear body dump. It was definitely a different kind of excitement than the skateboarders had been expecting.

Angela had managed to identify him using the serial number on a hip implant,. Robert Anderson, an accountant by day, but an avid hunter on his vacations. His hobby made Booth suspect his death might have been an accident, but several days later, the actual crime scene remained elusive. And without a crime scene, there was no way to prove Booth's hunch was correct.

Based on particulate evidence, Hodgins had narrowed down the possible crime scene to a specific part of the woods. He was sure the murder site was a cabin built of pine. Records checks hadn't found any land or cabin registered to their victim and the only clues they had to go on were those provided by Hodgins.

But despite searching and checking maps for the last several hours, the two partners had not been able to find any sign of that location.

So they were at an impasse. Give up and try again another day, or find another way to get what they were after.

Brennan wasn't one to give up easily.

Neither was Booth. But, he was dirty and sweaty from hiking around the forest all morning. None of the cabins they'd checked had been the right one. And he knew Bones wouldn't be satisfied until they managed to find it. And that was looking less and less likely with each passing minute.

At the moment, anything that could shorten this afternoon sounded like a good plan. Even if the plan involved something as crazy as a small plane.

"Where are we going to find a plane? And a pilot? Because unless you've suddenly taken up a hobby I'm not aware of, we are going to need one of those, too." His voice was harsh. But he couldn't seem to stop himself. He could blame his attitude on being tired and frustrated, but that wasn't totally true.

Things had been awkward between them at best lately. And a lot of the that, well most of it actually, was his fault. Every word that came out of his mouth was more abrupt than it needed to be.

That night in the SUV, Bones had admitted she wanted to take a chance with him and he'd shot her down. Offered to call someone to be with her, when that was usually his job.

If he had been less of a man, he would have left Hannah that moment for a chance to build a life with the woman currently watching him curiously. Unfortunately for both of them, he wasn't. Hannah wasn't a consolation prize he'd said instead, even though she clearly was.

Then, Hannah turned down his marriage proposal and left. Bones spent the night at the bar with him, listening to his words as he claimed he wanted nothing more from her than a work relationship. And at the time, that had been the truth.

But it wasn't true anymore. Hadn't been for a little while now. He thought, that maybe, they both finally might be in the same place at the same time. She was ready, and so was he, to take things to the next level.

Now, the difficulty was finding a way to broach that topic with her. She'd given no indication, since his declaration in the bar, that she might still be interested in pursuing a relationship with him.

He didn't know what to do.

And after that night at the Hoover more than a year ago, he was terrified the wrong words about his feelings would drive her away from him again.

So in a sick way, pretending he was mad at her seemed like the safer choice at the moment. Maybe she'd blame it on his recent emotional turmoil. It took away any chance that she would get a hint of his feelings and run for the hills.

Of course, if that happened again, he had no intention of letting her go. This time he'd follow her to the ends of the Earth and back if that's what it took.

A part of him hoped she would simply take the lead and give some sign that she was still interested. She'd done it once, there was a chance she'd do it again, right?

And maybe hell would freeze over this afternoon.

So, instead of telling her how beautiful she looked, despite the heat and the dirt that was smudged on her cheek, he waited, bent over, with his hands on his knees. He wanted nothing more for Bones to say that they were giving up. Then they would get in his SUV, turn the air conditioner on full blast, and stay there until winter.

He looked up at his partner and fought a sigh at the determined look on her face. Any hope of air conditioning drifted away.

"I saw an airfield on our way in. Maybe there's someone there who could help us." Brennan took a long drink from a bottle of water she was carrying. Her eyes were cool, hiding whatever she was thinking. "I think we might have a better chance of finding the area Hodgins suggested if we were above it, rather than stumbling around on the ground."

Remembering the tree branch he'd recently tripped over, Booth resisted the urge to rub at his sore shin. "We don't even know if there is anything to find. Why don't we just go back to Washington and try to narrow down the search area?" His voice had taken on a pleading quality but he didn't care. He just wanted out of there.

The bug boy was usually much better at this. But the information they'd been given was just too general. And who's to say the cabin they found would even be the right one. The last four hadn't been.

"We've come this far, Booth. Let's give it the afternoon. If we don't see anything, we can always head back in the morning." She gave him one of those looks that he always found hard to say no to. He spent a moment wondering if she was learning to do it on purpose to get what she wanted.

"An hour," he heard himself say. "If we can find a plane, I'll give it one hour. Otherwise we're going back to DC. Tonight." A night in a hotel with her was the last thing he wanted right now. There were too many pitfalls to be found in rooms filled with nothing but beds.

She narrowed her eyes at him, prepared to argue. But something in his face stopped her and Booth wondered what she saw there. She was usually so poor at that sort of thing. Maybe he wasn't the only one who'd changed a lot in the last year.

"Fine," she agreed, much too readily. "We'll drive back to DC tonight if that's what you want. Despite the fact that it would make much more sense to stay overnight and drive back in the morning."

"Tonight, Bones." He studied her face and noted the hurt there before she managed to hide it again. He made a conscious effort to try and soften his tone. "But we still have a few more hours. Let's go see if we can find a plane."