AN: Thanks as always to my phenomenal beta CalleighAryn for her support and suggestions.

AN2: Next Friday (December 28), Eric Millegan will be singing the national anthem at a Portland Trailblazers game! CalleighAryn and I will be there—anyone else planning to go?

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Booth was afraid to open his eyes.

He told himself that he was being stupid. There were times when being afraid made sense, like when he was an army ranger in a hostile country, or when a psycho killer set his sights on him—or worse, Parker or Bones. Right now, however, he was safe, lying in a comfortable bed, and, as far as he knew, no one he loved was in mortal danger. As Bones would say, it wasn't logical to be afraid…and yet the thought that last night's lovemaking might be nothing more than a dream was truly terrifying.

It had to be a dream, right? Bones hadn't really invited him into her bedroom. They hadn't "broken the laws of physics" again…and again….and again. She hadn't whispered that she loved him when she thought he was asleep. The whole night had been the stuff of his fantasies, so it must have been a dream. When he opened his eyes, he would find that he was in his own bed in his own apartment. Today was no different than any other day. He would get dressed, go to work, and pretend that he didn't dream about tearing his partner's clothes off and making love to her all night long.

On the other hand, his dreams about Bones weren't usually this vivid. Maybe, just maybe, those things had really happened. If he were brave enough to open his eyes, he might see that he was in her bedroom, in her bed. With his eyes still closed, he raised his hands in prayer. Please, please, God, let me wake up next to Bones. A few moments later he lowered his hands guiltily, realizing that it was probably sinful to pray that he had had lots of hot premarital sex with his partner. He imagined his Catholic school teachers scowling at him, but he hoped God would understand. After all, He was the one who had made her so beautiful, so amazing, so…so Bones.

Accepting that he couldn't keep his eyes closed forever, he took a deep breath and opened them. He found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. So far, so good. His eyes moved down to the sheets on the bed. Definitely not his. These sheets were a different color and much nicer than the ones on his bed. With high hopes he turned his head…and was rewarded with the sight of his sleeping partner. His sleeping, naked partner. If Bones wanted proof that the man upstairs existed, Booth had just found it.

God, she was breathtaking…and gorgeous…and incredible…and wonderful. Booth could spend all day with a thesaurus and still not describe the depth of feelings that welled up inside him whenever he looked at her. As he watched her now, her face illuminated by the early morning sunlight, he couldn't tear his eyes away. He was thinking that she seemed perfectly peaceful and content when he saw her shiver. Instantly he brought her into his arms, happily sharing his body heat. Bones would never have to worry about being cold while Seeley Booth was in her bed.

As he held her close, he fell asleep again, dreaming about her until her shrieking alarm clock pulled him back into the waking world. His first instinct was to curse the alarm for interrupting such pleasant dreams, but his annoyance melted away when he discovered his partner still in his arms. Having Bones beside him in real life was much better than any dream.

"Good morning," he said, flashing the charm smile he reserved just for her.

"Good morning," she echoed, returning the smile as she opened her eyes. "Did you sleep well?"

Booth almost laughed. We didn't exactly get a lot of sleep in last night. "Yeah. Your bed is very comfortable."

She ran her hands along his biceps. "You're welcome to sleep in it anytime."

"Th--thanks." Wow. That's the hottest thing anyone's ever said to me. "Did you sleep alright?"

She nodded. "I did, but now it's time to get up."

"It can't be," he pouted. "What time is it?"

"Five."

"Five in the morning?" Well it's obviously not five at night. Great job impressing her with your intelligence. "I mean, that's so early. Let's stay in bed for at least a few more minutes. Please?" Now I sound like Parker when he's begging for a new toy.

He could see that she was considering it. "I had planned to go to the lab early--"

"The lab isn't going anywhere, and no one's going to touch your bones." His eyes twinkled with mischief. "Well, no one but me." He moved his hands down her back, tracing her spine. After years of holding himself back, he was grateful that he could touch her like this, that he could feel Bones' bones beneath her smooth skin. When he saw that beautiful mouth of hers open (presumably to argue with him), he kissed her tenderly. "Have I convinced you, or should I kiss you again?"

"Kiss me again."

He gladly did as he was told. "Well?"

She smiled. "Ten more minutes."

"Twenty."

"Fifteen."

"Deal."

After fifteen minutes of kissing and snuggling was up, he still wasn't ready to let her go. "I need to take a shower," she argued.

"No, you don't. You smell wonderful." He started kissing his way down her body.

"Boooooth…," she moaned. He loved the sounds she made and the way she said his name when his mouth was on her. "Come with me," she whispered.

"You know I will," he promised between increasingly passionate kisses.

Her words came out in gasps. "I meant… you… come… to… shower…with me…save water."

Booth found that he was equally breathless. "Okay…anything…for the…to help the… environ…ment." He jumped out of bed and pulled her with him into the shower, continuing to kiss her everywhere as the hot water rolled down his back. He was feeling very proud of the effect he was having on her when she turned the tables on him, using her skilled hands and mouth to make him moan and shout her name—her real name. If he had been thinking clearly he might have been worried about waking the neighbors, but the only thought in his head was that he never wanted her to stop. When they were both satisfied, they took their time scrubbing each other clean.

Booth grabbed towels for them when Bones turned the shower off. Who knew that getting ready for work could be so much fun?

XXXXXXXXXX

As Booth entered the FBI building two hours later, he was smiling from ear to ear. He wouldn't have thought it was possible to be this happy on a Monday morning.

"Congratulations, Booth," Agent Sanders said as he and his partner, Agent Lin, passed him in a corridor.

"What?" Booth stopped mid-stride. Although his body was in the Hoover building, his mind had been back in the shower with Bones. He had no idea what Sanders had said.

The two men turned around and smirked at him. "Congratulations," Sanders repeated.

"For what?" Booth asked.

Sanders and Lin exchanged a glance, silently asking each other if Booth was serious. "For finally banging that hot doctor of yours," Lin answered.

Booth prayed that his face wouldn't give him away. "What are you talking about?" How the hell do these guys know that I slept with Bones? No, they can't know. There's no way… unless we were being watched. Oh God, if someone saw everything we did last night and this morning, he'd be selling tickets.

Sanders laughed. "Come on, Booth. Everyone knows that you and your partner hooked up in the bathroom at Jimmy's reception."

Oh, that. Of all the people who could have seen us leaving the bathroom together, it had to be Kal Roberts, the biggest mouth in the Bureau. "Dr. Brennan and I have a strictly professional relationship." It's not unprofessional to make love to your partner when you're off the clock and in the privacy of her bedroom…or bathroom.

Sanders' mouth settled into an unpleasant smile. "Sure. That explains why you held her so close when you were dancing."

"And why it took you five minutes to put that garter on her leg," Lin put in.

It was hardly five minutes. Maybe one… or two…or two and a half? I don't know. When Bones asked me to touch her, time stopped. Anyway, it's none of your damn business. "I have work to do," Booth spat. He tried to walk away, but Sanders and Lin blocked his path.

"Hey, no one blames you," Lin said. "If I had caught the garter, I would have taken my time too."

Sanders nodded. "Amen to that. I wouldn't have given it away like that dumb kid Charlie." He turned to his partner. "Why would he do that?"

"Maybe he was afraid that Booth would beat him up for touching his girl," Lin reasoned. "Or that he would shoot him like he shot that ice cream truck."

I don't normally shoot people I work with (unless they're trying to kill my partner), but I might be willing to make an exception in your case. "Dr. Brennan isn't my girl. She's a woman—a strong, independent woman who's a lot smarter than the two of you put together."

"We already know she's a genius," Sanders retorted. "Tell us something we don't know…like what it's like to tap that ass."

Don't let them get to you. They might be jerks, but they're still FBI agents. If you kick their asses right here in the hallway, you'll get suspended. If you get suspended, you can't work with Bones. "Are you asking me what it's like because you've never been with a woman before? It's a lot of fun. You guys should try it sometime." Booth pushed his way past them and continued walking down the corridor.

When he reached his office, he slammed the door behind him. How dare those bastards talk about Bones that way! They were acting like she was nothing more than a conquest to him. They were just jealous. It was a safe bet that neither of them had ever loved a woman as deeply as he loved Bones. If he wasn't so angry, he might have felt sorry for them. While he had spent last night making love to the incomparable Temperance Brennan, they had probably been sitting at home alone watching television and drinking cheap beer.

He wondered if it was true that everyone thought he and Bones had hooked up at Jimmy's wedding. Should he prepare himself for more agents smirking at him and making rude comments about his partner? If they talked crap to him alone, he would handle it, but what if they were stupid enough to say something obscene to Bones and she hit them? She had already hit Kal once. Cullen would be pissed if he heard that his partner was going around assaulting FBI agents, even if they deserved it.

Booth's stomach turned at the thought of his boss. Cullen hadn't been at the wedding, but he could have heard about the lies Kal was spreading. If Cullen believed that he and Bones were romantically involved, he could terminate their partnership. Maybe Kal or Sanders or Lin or any of the other agents who had been lusting after her at the wedding would become her new partner. He imagined Kal kneeling beside her at a crime scene, putting his arm around her, looking at her with those lecherous eyes, plotting to get her into bed...no, he couldn't let that happen.

He pushed the disgusting image out of his mind and buried himself in paperwork. A couple hours later, when he left his office to use the bathroom, he noticed his fellow agents regarding him with curious stares. Some even smiled or winked at him. When he returned to his office, he decided that he needed to get out of the building for a while before he hurt someone. He and Bones didn't have a case at the moment, but maybe he could invent some excuse for going to the Jeffersonian. He looked through his pile of paperwork, hoping to find an incomplete form or something she had forgotten to sign. Unfortunately, everything was in order. Why did she have to be so organized all the time? Screw it. I'll think of something on the way.

He had grabbed his jacket and car keys and was halfway out the door when his phone rang. He was tempted to ignore it, but his sense of duty would not be denied. "Booth," he said into the phone.

A female voice responded. It took Booth a few seconds to recognize the voice as belonging to Cullen's secretary, Alice. "Agent Booth, Deputy Director Cullen would like to see you in his office."

"When?" Booth asked, although he was fairly sure he knew the answer.

"Now."

"Of course. I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and swore. Maybe his wanting to see me has nothing to do with the rumors about me and Bones…or maybe I'm totally screwed.

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