Disclaimer: Bones and all the characters therein are owned by FOX, Hart Hanson and Kathy Reichs.

Red Handed

When Booth walked into the Medico-Legal lab at the Jeffersonian Institute he found it almost completely deserted, while it was only four o'clock in the afternoon. He recognized a few faces as he walked past the platform and over to Brennan's office, but none of the Squints he normally worked with. As their absence was highly unusual, he wondered about their whereabouts. Figuring his partner would have to return to her office sometime, he decided to wait for her in there. Reaching said office, he found the door closed and the lights off. He tried the handle and was able to open the door for it was left unlocked. He stepped inside and turned on the lights before heading over to her desk.

Standing behind said desk, leaning on the back of the chair, he bit his lower lip. He knew Brennan had a daily planner and opted whether or not to look in it to try and find out where she was. He supposed it would be alright since it was a work planner and they were after all partners and thus working together. Or perhaps that was just his conscience trying to justify his actions. Nevertheless, he found the planner next to her computer and opened it to the right date. He took in the reminder she had scribbled down on the page in blue ink. Apparently she had a three o'clock appointment with Dr. Goodman. Satisfied with the information, he closed the planner and put it back where he'd found it. Trying to remember the last time he had seen the administrator since Camille's arrival at the institute, he sat down in Brennan's desk chair, reclining in it.

However, all thoughts about either doctor left his mind when his curious eyes landed on the manuscript of Brennan's new book. The carton box sat on the corner of the desk and he couldn't help but pull it towards him. It was almost as if it was calling out to him, begging to be read. He eyed the text that was printed on the first page. It had her name and the title of the book on it, along with some copyright information. He took a deep breath before lifting up the front page. He smiled when he saw she had once again dedicated the book to him. He felt honored and proud. He put the page down and then took the whole stack of papers out of the box. He carefully turned the stack over, so that the last page was now on top. He was curious to find out if she had ended the novel with another steamy scene between the characters Kathy and Andy. He took the last two pages in his hand and began to read. His eyes widened when he understood that the paragraph he'd started on was indeed about the two characters. Apparently, they found themselves in her office after solving the case and locking up the criminals. He quickly skimmed through the words until he got to the part where Kathy and Andy were making out on the desk in her office. The account was described to the very detail. Booth rarely picked up a book, but now it looked like he was attempting to break the world record in fast reading. When he got to the last sentence, his mouth was dry and his face flushed. It was almost as if Brennan had used his fantasies as inspiration for her novel.

"Do you think it's smutty?"

Booth's head shot up and to his right, finding Brennan in the doorway of her office, looking at him with raised eyebrows. Booth quickly let go of the pages, returning them to the stack. When he glanced back at his partner, he tried to look as innocent as he could, but they both knew she had caught him red handed. There was no use in denying that.

However, he wasn't sure if he'd heard her question right. "What?"

"Would you describe those last few paragraphs as smutty? My editor told me the book needed more smutty scenes between the characters of Kathy Reichs and Andy Lister. I'm not sure if this is what she meant by smutty, so I tried to look it up on the internet and I found that a smutty novel is one that is indecent or obscene," Brennan explained, unaware of his discomfort about the subject. "So, do you think that having sexual intercourse on a desk at an office would be considered smutty?"

"I think it qualifies," Booth gulped.

Brennan nodded as she walked up to her desk, standing still across from Booth. She picked up the manuscript and put it back in its box. "So, why did you decide it was okay for you to read this?"

"I just wanted to find out what would happen with Kathy and Andy," Booth shrugged it off.

"That doesn't actually answer my question," Brennan replied, one hand on her hip as she shot him an accusing glare. "Why are you so fixated with them anyway?"

"They're… interesting characters."

"You know it's just fiction, right? Andy isn't based on you."

"I… didn't say that."

"You've thought so in the past."

"Well, you told me I was wrong." He didn't elaborate that he still didn't believe her. Almost all the characters in her book resembled real-life persons. Persons he knew. Persons like himself.

"Okay. As long as you remember that," Brennan told him and he nodded. "So, what did you think?"

"About what?"

"About what you just read, of course. You agreed that the physical act I described was smutty. What else?"

Booth swallowed hard. "It was good. Interesting. The ending was nice. They caught the bad guys. I always like that," he told her, not mentioning that it depicted his wildest fantasies and had left him so turned on, he was glad he was sitting behind her desk, the piece of furniture covering his arousal. "So, yeah, I really liked it."

Brennan smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"You know you weren't supposed to see it yet, right?" She couldn't help bringing that up again. She had meant to give him the first copy, but now that he had seen the manuscript already, she was less excited about handing it to him. The magic of that moment was gone.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry," he replied sheepishly. "When I saw it on your desk, I just couldn't resist."

"Well, I suppose I should take that as a compliment and not get mad at you," Brennan decided. She moved over to the side of her desk and sat down on the edge, facing him.

Booth smirked. "So, you think Andy has strong arms?"

"Kathy thinks so," she corrected him.

"What else does she think?"

"I thought you just read it?"

"Obviously not the whole book. Besides, I like the author to tell me herself."

She smiled. "She thinks he has…" She looked at Booth for a moment before she continued. "He has warm, dark brown eyes. A good physique. Alpha-male qualities."

"You sound a lot like her," Booth replied with a grin. He couldn't help but think she was listing his own qualities.

"Well, I do write her…"

"So you do put some of yourself in it, then?"

"Yes, my imagination, Booth."

"No real life experiences?"

"I guess it's only logical that it's a mixture of both. I suppose you can't really write what you don't know."

"Interesting."

"Hmm."

"Are you open to someone else's ideas?"

"Depends."

"On what?" he asked.

"On whether they are good ideas."

He smiled. "Of course."

"People always come up to me with ideas, but I've never actually used them. I have the story in my head and if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit."

"Can I give it a try?"

"Writing?"

"I meant giving you an idea for your next story."

"You can try. I can't promise you anything, but go ahead. You're my partner, I trust your input will be sincere."

"It is."

"So, what do you want to see happening next?"

"I'd like for Kathy and Andy to be honest about their feelings for each other."

Brennan frowned for his suggestion came to her as a surprise. "You don't think they are now?"

"Up to a certain point."

"Really?" She was curious why he thought so and urged him to explain.

"I think their feelings go much deeper. They're just afraid to risk their partnership."

"So what should they do?"

"They should talk about it."

"How do you see that happening?" Brennan asked as she began to understand that he might not be talking about the characters in her book any longer.

"Well, perhaps a little like this…" Booth pushed the chair back and stood up. He took a step forward, so he was only inches away from Brennan and grabbed her hands. "They should be close. Kinda like this."

"Uh huh," Brennan nodded, the beginnings of a blush appearing on her cheeks. "And then?"

"He could smile at her and tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. And instead of bringing his hand back down, he could let it linger on her cheek. Like this..." Booth told her while carrying out exactly what he said. "And Kathy would allow the intimate moment to occur. She'd smile back at him. And then Andy would…"

Brennan interrupted him in a whisper. "Let's stop calling them Andy and Kathy, shall we?"

Booth looked her in the eyes and understood that she understood. He nodded. "He'd continue by telling her that she's beautiful." Not taking his eyes off of her, he rubbed the pad of his thumb over her cheek in a soft caress. "You are beautiful, Bones."

"Thank you," she replied, melting in his hands. "So, what happens next? Can she tell him how much he really means to her?"

Booth smiled. "I think that would be a wonderful idea."

"I care a lot about you, Booth. And I think I want us to be more than just partners."

"I want that, too."

"So, would he kiss her next?"

"Yes, he's dying to do that."

"That would bode well for her, because she's been thinking about that for a long time, too."

As their faces were only an inch apart by then, it wasn't long before the gap was closed and their lips were softly brushing against each other. The kiss was slow and tender, deep and lingering, sensual and passionate. Their tongues tangled and entwined, not in a battle for dominance but in a dance of equals. When they finally withdrew, it was slow and reluctant.

"I think I love this idea of yours, but I don't want it to be fiction. I want it to be real," Brennan spoke softly.

Lovingly, Booth brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes. He smiled at her. "I'd rather experience this in real life, too, than read about it in your book."

She wrapped her arms back around his neck with a smile. "I'm glad we're agreed."

"I'm still honored to be in your book, though."

"I'm honored to have you in my real life."

He kissed her forehead, then grinned. "You don't deny it then? I am in the book?"

"Like you believed me in the first place."

"True."

Brennan frowned a little. "Was it really that obvious though?"

"It was wishful thinking for the most part, but yes."

She laughed. "Well, then maybe I should admit it was wishful writing on my part. Maybe I was living a little through Kathy."

"There's no longer any need for you to do that."

"I'm glad."

"Me, too, Bones. Me too."

"I think in my book they would kiss again at this moment."

"Well, as I'm such a big fan…" he murmured before connecting their lips for the second time that afternoon on the desk in her office. Life began to resemble a scene from a certain book.

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