Part 1

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Part 1

"She does that too, you know."

I jumped at the sound of Angela's voice. I had been watching Bones through the glass while she packed her things into her a bag, preparing to go home. I had already told her I was headed home and walked out into the hallway, but I'd glanced back and noticed that she her eyes were filled with tears as she looked around her office. The sight of those tears caught me by surprise and I hadn't been able to move from the spot I was in.

Turning back towards Angela, I asked, "Does what?"

"Watches you. When you think she's not looking."

"Bones doesn't watch me. And I wasn't—Wait, why am I explaining this to you?"

Pulling her denim jacket closed, Angela began fastening them before answering, "I don't know. I was just telling you because I thought you'd like to know."

I nodded and looked back at Bones, who was now pulling on a long gray sweater that wrapped around her thin shoulder like a robe. "I'm worried about her," I said simply, needing to express the feeling to someone.

"Me too."

In the office, Bones walked around her desk to turn off the lamps and gather up the bag she had packed.

"I was thinking about inviting myself over to her place."

Angela raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. We both watched her use her sleeve to dry the dampness in her eyes before walking towards the door. I shifted, about to leave, when she stopped and turned back, apparently having forgotten something.

"You should do that. She'd probably like that. She might have to fight you a bit."

"Yeah."

"Goodnight, Booth. Take care of her," Angela said, giving me a quick pat on the shoulder before walking down the hall towards the exit.

"Goodnight," I called after her softly, not wanting to alert Bones to my presence just yet.

I watched Angela until she disappeared around a corner, then turned my eyes back to Bones. She was now kneeling on the ground by her desk, feeling around on the floor. I wondered what she had lost. When after a few moments she's still crawling around on the floor, I go back to the door to her office. I knock a few times on the door and hear her cry sharply in surprise.

Opening the door, I stepped inside calling her name to announce my presence. Her head popped up from the other side of her desk. In the pale light from the hallway, I could only make out the highlights of her cheeks, forehead, lips and the gloss of her eyes as she replied, "Booth! I thought you were going home?"

"I was going to, but I ran into Angela and then I realized that I'd forgotten something."

Even in the dim light, I could see her nose and forehead crinkle slightly in confusion. "Did something fall out of your pocket?"

I chuckled, shook my heads, and came around the desk to where she was still kneeling on the floor. As I moved, I felt my toe make contact with something on the floor and bent to pick it up. It was a set of keys. Probably what she'd been hunting for on the ground. "Ahh, found it," I teased, holding her keys up in the air.

She squinted at my hand, then hopped to her feet. "Booth! Those are my keys. I was looking for those. I had them in my pocket—"

"I'll make you a deal."

"I'm not making a deal for my own keys. They're no good to you anyway."

"Sure they are. They're my ticket."

Stepping towards me, she moved into the light and I could see the stern frown that was pinching her lips back, complimented by her arms, which were crossed stiffly across her chest. "Ticket to what?" She asked, leaning in and narrowing her eyes, erasing the question in her statement and transforming it into a demand.

Holding the keys up close to my face, I pretended to read words from one of the keys. "This ticket hereby entitles one Agent Seeley Booth to one night on his partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan's wonderfully comfortable couch."

"No, Booth. Give me my keys. I want to—"

I snatched the keys back instinctively and slid them into the pocket hidden on the inside of my suit jacket with a grin. "You see, today the Squint Family received some devastating news," I continued, still lightly teasing, "And this particular step-child would really like to make sure that his friend isn't alone tonight."

This earned me a little smile and watched as she took a step closer to me. "You really want to go home with me?" She asked, tilting her head questioningly.

"Yup. And I decided that I'm not taking no for an answer. So, get your things, I've got your keys. I'm driving you home."

I watched her, expecting a refusal, but one never came. Instead, she pulled her sweater in tight around her and scooped up her bag before moving to the door. She turned back to look at me and I realized that she was waiting for me. Quickly I walked over next to her and then together we walked out of the lab in silence. Once we were outside and headed for the parking lot, I reached over and took her hand. She glanced at me briefly, with a look that seemed uncertain, but then squeezed my hands and began looking around the parking lot for my SUV.

Soon we were headed down Constitution and she surprised me by reaching over to turn on the radio. Generally, she wouldn't allow me to turn on the radio because she preferred to talk about the case at hand. But tonight there was no case and she was channel surfing freely on my stereo. Strangely, it didn't even surprise me when she landed on WETA.

She turned to look at me, a puzzled expression on her face. "Booth, why didn't I know you listen to classical music?"

"Why would you think that?" I asked, equally confused.

"The presets. You've got WETA, a classical music station, in your presets."

"Oh, that. It's still there from when Parker was younger. It seemed to help him sleep when we got stuck in traffic."

"Hmmm…" was all her only response, as she turned to look out the window. The glow from the city reflected off her face as she stared down the Potomac as they crossed over the 14th Street Bridge. After a long moment, she asked, "Booth, do think we could go for a drive?" She glanced over at me, her lips drawn tightly in.

"Yeah, sure. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know."

Quickly, I veered across the empty lanes of traffic, taking the George Washington Parkway exit. Her hand grabbed onto the handle on the door in surprise and she turned to gape at me.

"Booth! You just cut across three lanes of traffic! You didn't even look!"

The world outside the car grew dark as the trees filled in around the roadway. "I knew no one was back there, Bones. Just relax."

She crossed her arms and sat back against the seat, letting out a slight sigh. "Where are we going to go?"

"I was just going to drive out of the city, maybe we'll come up with something."

"Okay, just keep driving," she replied, her neck and yawning softly.

It was fairly late and mostly the parkway was empty as we wove through the trees along the river, driving away from the city. I wasn't sure where we were headed, except away. I tried to keep my eyes on the road, but when I heard her begin to snore, I glance over at her and see that her arms have loosened and moved to rest lazily on her lap. The sight of her dozing brought a smile to my face.

Taking one hand off the wheel, I reached over to slide an arm behind her head, squeezing her shoulder gently. Her head lolled over, resting gently against my arm. Letting out a small groan, she turned in her sleep, curling into me, leaning across the console to bring her face to rest on my shoulder. The light snoring slowly faded and by the time we reached the Beltway.

The traffic had picked up slightly, so I kept my eyes focused ahead, wondering if I should head back to her place. Clearly she was exhausted, but before falling asleep she had seemed hesitant to go home. Ahead, I saw the signs for the exit to I-270 and I shifted lanes to prepare to follow it north. I laughed at myself, glancing over at the sleeping Bones, thinking that we'd already crossed through three states, and soon we'd be cruising into West Virginia if I kept this up, and if she got angry she could technically have me arrested for kidnapping.

Once we had merged onto I-270, I took the first exit and pulled into a gas station. Gently, I sat her upright in the seat, bringing her back to consciousness unintentionally. She looked up at me groggily, then around her, trying to figure out where she was. Before she could speak, I explained, "We're in Maryland. I had to stop for gas. Figured I'd see if you wanted to keep going."

"I fell asleep?" She asked, very confused.

"Out like a light, Bones. You even snored a little."

She glared at me, but avoided her wrath by hopping out and moving around the pump. While I pumped gas, she stumbled, still unsteady from sleep, into the gas station. Shaking my head, I leaned against the side of the car, waiting for the tank to fill.

It was a fairly cool night and beyond the canopy of light provided by the gas station it was dark except for the flashes of headlights passing on the highway. I could see the dim silhouette of the mountains beyond and I realized that this was what Bones needed. I had no idea what lay hidden in the darkness. There was probably a small town here, some houses, a few shops. But I had never seen them and the night was not going to reveal their presence.

She re-emerged from the gas station, her hair now hanging loosely around her shoulders. That sweater robe was now draped across her arm and she was carrying a plastic bag that bulged from the contents. Her shoulders were now bare, covered only by the slim straps of her brown top. Vaguely I wondered what had happened to the jacket she had been wearing earlier that matched that top.

I felt the pump jerk to a stop in my hand and I turned to hang the pump back up. She appeared by my side as I waited for the receipt to print. "Booth, I got us some snacks. They didn't have anything vaguely resembling food in there. But I seem to remember you saying something about twinies…"

"You mean twinkies?"

"Uhh…" She reaches into the bag, pulling the box out. "Yeah, twinkies. I also got us some little candies… oh and this." With a grin, she dug into the bag, pulling up a bottle of Maker's Mark. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, looking up to meet her eyes. "I seem to remember you saying something about a bottle of hard liquor being a necessary part of the basic theory of getting drunk."

"You want to get drunk?"

"Yes."

"Should we head back to your place then?"

"No, I like it out here. It's quiet. Maybe we can find a hotel. I'll pay for the room. I just need to separate myself from the entire situation."

"Okay, but you don't have to pay for it. Remember, I started all this, Bones. Come on, let's go. We'll get back on the highway until we find ourselves a hotel." As we got in, I tried to avoid thinking of the fact that she hadn't mentioned separate rooms.

Once we were back on the road, she turned to me and asked, "So, Booth, what exactly are the twinkies?"

"Good."

"No, I mean, what are they? I know they're full of processed flour and sugars and preservatives, but what exactly do they taste like?"

"They taste like twinkies. How can you not know what twinkies taste like?"

"Because I've never had one."

I rolled my eyes and looked up ahead on the road. I saw a sign for a Motel 6 glowing above the tree line. Glancing over at her, I ask, "That work for you?"

"Yes."

A few minutes later I pulled into the darkened parking lot of the motel and get out of the car before Bones can object. Once inside, I book us a room with two double beds, deciding that if she decides she wants to change her mind I can always come back down and get another room. Back in the car, Bones is leaning sleepily against the window and smiles at me as I approach. I raise my hand and motion for her to get out of the car.

She hops out and I hit the lock button before leading her to our room at the end of the row of doors. The parking lot is nearly empty and at the door, she holds out her hand. "Let me have my room key, Booth, I want to go freshen up a bit before we continue."

My eyes flash up to meet hers and I try to look innocent. "You only said one room earlier, Bones. If you want I'll—" I said, turning back towards the office to go get another room.

Her hand on my shoulder stops me and I turn back to face her. "No, don't worry about it. You got one with two beds, right?"

"Yeah." I turned back to the door, sliding the keycard in to release the lock. Opening the door, I hold it open to let her inside first. She steps inside and heads immediately for the nearest bed, falling back on it. The bag with the little stash of treats she had purchased was lying next to her. I snatch it up and pull out the box of twinkies. Her head pops up and she looks at me strangely.

"What are you doing Booth?"

"You are going to learn about the wonder of twinkies." I say, extracting a plastic wrapped treat. Sitting down next to her, I open the packet and pull it out. She eyes it dubiously. I break off a bite sized piece from one end and bring it to her mouth. Her lips don't open and her eyes flick over to me, uncertain as to whether she believed me.

"Open up, Bones." Reluctantly, she opened her mouth, her tongue swiping across her bottom lip. I gently push the piece into her mouth and wait while she slowly chews it. A smile spreads across her face and she brings her hand up to take the rest from me. I shake a finger at her, "Uh-uh. Let me."

Feeling brave, I dipped a finger into the filling, lifting the dollop of fluffy white goo to her. Again, she looked at me cautiously, not quite sure what to make of me at this moment. Then she grinned and sucked my finger into her mouth. My eyes widened as I felt her tongue flick over my finger, cleaning off all of the sugary goop. She pulled back, keeping her lips sucked tightly around my finger. I unsuccessfully attempted suppress the groan that bubbled up in my throat. Biting my lip, I watched as she licked her lips in satisfaction. "Now are you gonna let me have the rest?" She asked, giggling.

But all of her giggling stopped when I shook my head, and dipped my finger in again. I proffered the finger again and waited, daring her with my eyes to do it again. I could see her eyes were wide with surprise and I thought for a moment that she was going to back out. Then her hand came up and took hold of my wrist, wrapping my tongue around the tip of my finger. I was frozen in place as she sucked my finger in my mouth, drawing it in and out a few times, taking far more time than was necessary to clear away the stickiness.

This time when she pulled back, she met my eyes under lowered eyelids. Her face was slightly flushed and her lips were still parted. She held my eyes as her hand went to the twinkie and dipped two fingers in and then brought it to my lips. At first, I thought she was asking me to taste it as she had. But then she put a dollop on my nose, some on my cheeks, and my chin, breaking out in a fit of laughter. I watched in shock as she leaned in and went after the traces of filling she had left on my face. Her lips came to my nose first, wrapping her lips around the spot and then swiping her tongue quickly across my skin. Next, she kissed and licked her way across my cheeks and finally to my chin. There, she lingered, sucking tenderly. I dropped the spongy treat on the floor and brought my hands to her thighs.

Then her lips rose higher, sucking in my bottom lip. My fingers quivered, squeezing her thighs as she shifted higher still to fully kiss me on the lips. She explored my lips lightly, sucking then sliding her tongue across, sighing softly into me as I brought a hand to the back of her neck, stroking the hair there. Suddenly, her phone began to ring, and she jumped up to her feet, fairly ripping herself from my hands. As she disappeared into the bathroom to talk, I sat, still glued to my spot, struggling to catch my breath. Raking a hair through my hair, I tried to remember how it had gotten so out of control.