Day Eight
Booth
4p.m. – 11p.m.

It wasn’t that Booth didn’t appreciate the whole thing – the ceremony and the wolf and the meaning behind it, because he definitely did. And yeah, he’d had a pretty great time in the kayak with Bones, watching the way she pushed herself, frankly a little turned on by the way she set her jaw and that little ripple of muscle in her back and shoulders as she paddled.

In fact, he definitely appreciated all of it - every minute. It was just that he’d been doing a lot of thinking over the last day or so, and the thing he was thinking about the most? Okay – the thing he was thinking about the most was Bones, and the way she’d kind of tackled and kissed the hell out of him the night before – the way she tasted, the way she felt, the way he’d leapt to attention like he was a sixteen-year-old kid again… Yeah, he’d been thinking a lot about that.

Coming in at a pretty close second, though, was Parker.

Which he guessed was probably silly, since Booth had only been away from his kid for a week. But he couldn’t help it – he really liked Parker. Missed the hell out of him when they were apart, and had a blast when they were together. And this week, he couldn’t help but think that Parker would’ve had a great time out here. Obviously, Booth was glad Parker wasn’t around for everything – he was a good father, but he was no saint. Still, the kayaking, the swimming, the campfires? Parker really would’ve loved that stuff.

So, by the time they finished handing out little wooden animals and talking for the thousandth time that week about their feelings, Booth was ready to get moving. Finally, after all the animals were handed out and Tripp finished his hundredth heartfelt speel, Cam rolled her eyes in Booth’s direction. He realized that he was tapping his foot, his knee going fast and his hands doing that keyed up drumming thing they did sometimes when he was anxious.

“Okay, you have to stop that. Seriously.” She gave Booth her best, no bullshit, eyebrows-raised-I’ll-kill-you-now look of steel, and he couldn’t help but be a little turned on. It was just Cam, but he figured there’d always be a little bit of that left between them. She turned to the instructor seriously. “Tripp, you’re gonna have to cut this thing short before Seeley has a stroke. Or I brain him.”

Tripp nodded and smiled. “Got it. All right then, you guys – be well. Be safe. Be kind. And… I’ll see you tonight at Billy’s.”

Booth shook his head, still not quite able to believe that he’d survived a week in the woods with a bunch of granola and hippies, only to have been informed by Cam that now he was gonna have to spend a night out on the town with the very same hippies. But at least there’d be no granola this time out.

As he was cutting out to grab his cell phone, Bones called after him.

“Say hi to Parker for me,” she said, and he turned and smiled at her.

“You got it, Bones.”

As he was walking away, he thought about what it would be like to be back in D.C. with his partner. They’d kissed – twice now. Him and Bones. He had no idea how Bones felt about it, but based on that weird little outburst around the circle this morning, she was obviously thinking about it. And worried – that much was clear, which worried him, because if there was ever a time for her to freak out, this would be it. Hell, she’d practically sent him packing when all they did was hug at Jack and Angela’s almost-wedding, and then she gave him the cold shoulder for a whole day after they got too close around the campfire the other night.

He had to push all those thoughts out of his head then and there, he decided, because there was no way he was gonna figure it all out at the moment. Instead, he wandered around for a few minutes until he found a spot with semi-decent reception, and hit number one on his speed dial.

Rebecca answered. Booth smiled a little, actually glad to hear her voice. Whatever had and hadn’t happened between them – and seriously, there was a lot of water under that bridge – she was responsible for pretty much the best thing that had ever happened to him. For that reason alone, Rebecca would always be an important part of his life.

“Back from the camping trip from hell?” she asked.

She must’ve seen his number on the caller ID – he liked that she didn’t bother with ‘Hello’ or ‘How are you?’ Just got to the nitty-gritty – he realized it was something she had in common with Bones, and the thought made him smile.

“It wasn’t so bad,” he said.

“Oh, really?” Bec said, like he’d just said something big. “I thought you were being dragged out there against your will and you’d rather dance naked – ”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” he interrupted. “I remember. Nah, it was fine – you know, whatever. No big deal.” He stopped, because he had no idea where to start or what to say without spilling the Bones thing – Rebecca could read him like a friggin’ book, and no way was he ready for that. So, he decided dodging the conversation completely was his best bet.

“Listen, I’m not sure how long I’m gonna get a signal – I’ll tell you all the bloody details when I get back, I swear. Is Parker around?”

“Hang on – he’s outside with some friends. I’ll go get him.”

“Nah, that’s okay – ” Booth started to say, though he was definitely disappointed. Rebecca laughed.

“Are you kidding? He’s been waiting all day to talk to you – if he found out you called and I didn’t get him, I’d be in the doghouse for a week.”

Booth felt a little rush of pride, along with a hefty-sized lump in his throat. He swallowed around it and managed, “Okay then – go get him,” without sounding too bad, and he kind of shook his head at what a sap he was. He could do dead bodies and psychotic killers and everything in between, but Parker could make him crumble in a second – always could. It was definitely one of the biggest surprises he’d gotten when he became a father – how everything he thought he understood about who he was and what he was capable of, just changed overnight.

A minute later, Parker himself was on the line – a little out of breath, but definitely happy to hear from his old man.

“Dad? Are you still in Maine?”

Booth grinned. “Yeah, buddy – I’m still here. Tired and sunburned and hungry – man am I hungry. I could go for one of those burgers over at Ella’s.”

“I went over there the other night with Chris and his mom,” Parker told him excitedly. “Chris couldn’t even finish one burger, and when I told him that one time you ate four he said he didn’t believe me. Do you think you could take Chris and me there when you get home, and eat four burgers so he knows I wasn’t making it up?”

Booth laughed outright. “Yeah, Parks – heck, as hungry as I am now, I bet I could eat five of ‘em. So, how’s your week been otherwise? You been good for your Mom?”

“Yeah, Dad, of course,” Parker told him, and Booth could almost see the eye roll.

“No holding up liquor stores or robbing banks while I was gone, right?” Booth prodded, until Parker giggled.

“No, Dad. You’re so weird.”

Parker kind of faded out for a second, so Booth hurried to wrap things up.

“Listen, buddy, I’m gonna have to go before I lose reception – not a lot of cell phone towers out here in the boonies. But I just wanted to check in and let you know I missed you this week. We on for ice cream Wednesday night?”

“Definitely!” Parker said, and there was no mistaking the enthusiasm in his voice.

“You know I love you, right buddy?” Booth asked, making an effort to keep his voice light.

“I love you too, Dad. See ya Wednesday.”

Booth snapped his phone shut and stood still for a second, just thinking about his life. Every so often he did this – thought about what he’d seen and where he was now, about the fact that he had a healthy, bright, happy kid and a job that he liked and a partner that he… well, whatever. He didn’t like to get sappy about the whole thing, but he also didn’t want to take any of it for granted. He looked over at the group, still hanging out in the grass together. Bones was talking to Angela about something – the two women’s heads sort of bowed together, laughing, and for some reason just that sight kind of got him. He really loved to see Bones laugh, loved the casual, easy way the women had together.

It was warm out, the sun shining, a breeze coming off the water. He was healthy, he was happy, he was strong. Not really caring if anyone was watching, he kind of closed his eyes and did a quick, silent ‘Thank you’ to the man upstairs – just because it seemed like the moment called for it. It wasn’t like he made a big production of the whole thing, but sometimes it just seemed like a little gratitude was in order. Afterward, he put his cell phone back in his pocket, shook off all the deep thoughts, and called to the others.

“Hey,” he yelled, moving fast, clapping his hands once to get everyone’s attention. “All right, are we ready to get outta here or what? We’ve got three hours before Tripp here’s comin’ to take us out on the town, and I plan on spending at least two and a half of those asleep in a real bed. Let’s get this show on the road.”

The hotel was right on Route One headed out of town – not much of a view, but Tripp said the best ice cream on the planet was right across the road, and there was a movie theatre next door. Not that it really mattered to Booth – honestly, all he wanted was to take the longest, hottest shower known to man, strip down to his jockeys, and crawl between crisp, clean sheets. And he didn’t plan on letting the fact that he was sharing a room with Sweets keep him from that plan. Jack and Angela had claimed one of the rooms for themselves, which meant Booth either had to find a legitimate reason why he should be rooming with Bones, or had to shut up and deal with spending the night with Sweets. Now, he was starting to doubt his decision.

As soon as they checked in, Booth called first dibs on the bathroom. Sweets griped a little, but he must’ve caught the look in Booth’s eye because a second later, he just shut up and crashed out on his bed with a book. Which meant Booth was alone, more or less. He closed the bathroom door and put the shower on high, took his time on the pot after being forced to dig holes in the woods for the past week, and finally stripped down and got into the shower.

God, it felt good. There was great water pressure, so he let the spray rain down hard between his shoulder blades, running down his back and over his ass and just generally hitting all the spots that ached from a week of running himself ragged. He kind of took stock of himself, realizing that he’d probably dropped a couple pounds around his middle, but he felt good – strong, healthy, kind of clear about stuff. Okay, not totally clear, but he thought maybe he was getting there.

The problem, of course, was whether or not Bones was clear. Based on the conversation around the circle that morning, he was thinking she probably wasn’t – which meant it was on his shoulders to steer her in the right direction. Except he wasn’t really sure what the right direction might be – he just knew he liked spending time with her. Felt like he could tell her just about anything, and that was really saying something for him. And now that they’d sort of introduced this new aspect of the relationship, he didn’t really know any better than she did how it would affect them.

He closed his eyes, deciding that he just wouldn’t think about it for a while. But of course that only made him think about it more, and before he knew it he was remembering the way she felt pressed against him, that thing she’d done with her tongue last night and the curve of her thigh when they were in the sleeping bag the night before that…

It didn’t take long before Booth – exhausted as he was – had a head full of completely wrong Bones thoughts and one hell of a hard on. He stroked himself fast, little flashes of Bones playing through his head until he came hard and then stood supporting himself with his hands against the shower wall, directly under the spray while his heart slowed and the pictures faded.

Afterward, he decided he was officially ready to pass out for the next forty-eight hours. He managed to climb out of the shower, dry himself off, pull on a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and stumble into the next room. Sweets was already in the bed closest to the air conditioner, sound asleep. Booth felt another twinge of regret when he saw how young the psychologist looked, laying there with black eyes and his nose still too swollen to breathe through.

Booth sat at the end of the other bed and turned the TV on low. He went straight for ESPN, reading the crawl at the bottom of the screen to get caught up on the games he’d missed. Sweets mumbled something, kind of snorted, and then jolted awake – Booth looked over at him, waiting to see if the kid was really up.

“What time is it?” Sweets asked, which Booth knew by now didn’t mean he was actually awake.

“Almost five. Are you up, or are you dreaming?”

Sweets sat up, ran a hand through his hair. “No, I’m up. Did anybody call?”

Booth just looked at him. “What am I, your secretary? How the hell should I know – I was in the shower.” He paused. “Why, are you expecting someone to call?”

The younger man looked a little embarrassed. “Well – not exactly. I mean, it’s possible. They both said they might, and I have tentative plans this evening so…”

Booth’s head was starting to throb, and that bed was definitely calling his name.

“Sweets, what the hell are you talkin’ about?”

Sweets started to answer, but Booth held up his hand. “Hang on – ” He stood, kind of hobbled to his bed, and climbed under the covers. “Okay, go,” he told Sweets. “Talk as long as you want, just don’t expect me to talk back.”

So, Sweets dove into all his girl troubles, going on and on about how nuts he was about Daisy, but how Daisy was just plain nuts and wouldn’t he be a healthier guy if he went for Belle and dropped Daisy. He stopped talking at that point, and Booth had that heavy, drugged feeling that meant he was about to pass out.

He’d just gotten to sleep when the room phone rang, jolting him completely awake.

Apparently, it was Belle.

Booth lay there and listened to Sweets babble to her about the course and a bunch of bands Booth had never heard of and then analyze everyone in their group – carefully avoiding any mention of Booth or Bones. It took only about sixty seconds for Booth to decide he was officially in hell.

“Why can’t you use your cell for this?” he kind of growled, and Sweets put his hand over the phone.

“I forgot to charge it while we were gone – is this bothering you?”

“No, Sweets,” Booth said, shooting a glare at the kid. “There’s nothing I’d rather have as background noise for my nap than you and your girlfriend babbling about – ”

Sweets got the picture.

“Uh – Belle? Listen, maybe we should just talk later, at the bar. Yeah, Booth is trying to sleep.” There was a pause before Sweets said, “Oh – uh, really? Sure. I mean – yeah, I guess that would be okay. I’ll see you in half an hour.”

He hung up the phone, and Booth breathed a sigh of relief, ready to get back to some quality power napping.

“Oh God,” he heard Sweets say.

Oh God was right. Booth rolled over and opened one eye, determined not to encourage Sweets by asking him what was wrong. The psychologist was sitting on the edge of his bed with a sort of shell shocked look on his face, rocking just a little.

“This is not good,” Sweets said, and Booth had the feeling he wasn’t actually talking to anyone. Booth closed his eyes again, determined not to take the bait.

“This is definitely very, very not good,” Sweets said.

He got up, and Booth opened one eye again and watched the kid pace the floor. Back and forth, back and forth, the floor creaking on every fourth step until finally Booth sat bolt upright, his eyebrows climbing his forehead.

“What the hell’s the problem, Sweets? So you go out with Belle – you have a drink. You talk, have a good time – and then you get on the plane tomorrow and by tomorrow night you and Daisy are making sweet geek love and everything’s peachy again. The thing with Belle’s not gonna happen, get over it.”

Sweets hesitated just a second before he blurted out, “But you don’t understand – the thing with Belle already happened. It’s out there. I’m officially a cheater – me. And there’s no taking it back, and I know I don’t want to lose Daisy but I can hardly just dismiss Belle after what happened, because that would make me more of a jerk than I already am.”

Okay, that was definitely not what Booth was expecting. “You slept with Belle?”

Sweets looked at him in horror. “What? No – of course not. Unlike the rest of you, I have some control over my baser desires. And I have a girlfriend.”

“Well then what the hell are you bitching about, Sweets?” Booth demanded, aware that his voice was definitely rising.

Sweets sighed. Long and slow and painful, and Booth might have felt for the guy if he hadn’t already had his fill of Lance Sweets about three days ago.

“We kissed. I kissed her – and not just a peck on the cheek, either.” He was pacing the room again. Booth took a breath, realizing that his nap window was closing fast. “A kiss is a uniquely intimate expression of one’s feelings, and I just laid it out there. And now I’m going to see her again, and who knows what I’ll do when we’re alone with no danger of being discovered.”

Booth shook his head. “This is about a kiss?”

“It wasn’t just a kiss, all right? It was a good kiss. A great kiss. And I know I love Daisy – I mean, I’m pretty sure I do. Or I at least am very fond of her, and I could definitely see the relationship going further. And yet, here I am in Maine kissing some other woman and not only enjoying it, but hoping that it will happen again.”

Booth massaged his temples, but it did almost nothing to ease the pain in his head. Great. He closed his eyes, sat up in bed, and found himself thinking again of Bones. And, more specifically, kissing Bones - how unexpected it had been in some ways, but how in others it had felt like the most natural thing in the world. Which brought him back to the conversation around the circle that morning, and the way Bones had looked when she’d said that she didn’t know what she was taking back or how it would change things.

They’d done okay all day long, working together and joking around and generally being the partners they’d always been, but he hadn’t actually said word one about what it would be like when they got back to D.C. He knew Bones – knew how amazing she was on just about every playing field, but this was one area where she really relied on him. There was no question in Booth's mind that she was waiting for him to give her a clue about how he was feeling and what should happen next, and he realized suddenly that he’d completely dropped the ball on that. Hell, she’d probably already overthought the whole thing all to hell and decided they should go back to the same old thing once they got back to D.C. And all of a sudden he realized that, as it turned out, he didn’t want that at all.

He stood, realizing that Sweets was still babbling at him. Booth took another deep breath, and looked at the kid.

“You’re twenty-two, right?” he asked.

Sweets nodded.

“Right. Look, I don’t know if you’re in love with Daisy. I don’t even know if you’re in love with Belle. I do know that you’re a jackass to go around kissing someone when you’ve got a girlfriend – but it happens, right? Call Daisy. For God’s sake, don’t tell her about the kiss – just talk to her. Once you do, I’m pretty sure you’ll know whether you really wanna spend the afternoon alone with Belle.”

He was getting dressed while he was saying all this, checking his reflection in the mirror after he’d pulled on jeans and a jacket and put his wallet in his back pocket. Sweets looked at him in surprise.

“Wait, where are you going? I thought you wanted to rest.”

Booth rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well – I can rest when I’m dead. I’ve gotta take care of something.”

Sweets kind of looked at him funny, like he knew something was up but, strangely enough, was too smart to actually ask questions. Maybe he'd learned something this week after all. Booth was already out the door and halfway down the hall before he realized that he didn’t have a clue what the hell he was going to say. Still, he kept going – this was Bones, after all. He’d figure it out once he got there, but he didn’t want to risk giving her anymore time to talk herself out of this than he already had.

On the way to Bones’s room, Booth stopped a cleaning lady in the hallway. The woman was pushing a cart overloaded with cleaning supplies and plastic bags of dirty laundry; she was tall and too thin, had the yellow skin and wrinkled mouth of a longtime smoker. He thought of a saying his old man used to use: rode hard and put away wet. He’d never much cared for the saying, but he could see how it might fit in this case.

“Excuse me,” he said. She looked up, and he kind of smiled when her hand went to her hair, straightening a little where she stood when she saw him. You still got it, Seeley, he thought with some relief. He could definitely use a little confidence boost before having whatever talk he was about to have with Bones.

“You need fresh towels?” the woman asked, and Booth shook his head.

“No – no thanks, the room’s great. I just wondered if you could tell me a quiet spot around here to take someone.”

Her face sort of fell. “Oh – you mean like a romantic spot?”

He thought about this for a second. Was that what he meant? It seemed like way too much trouble to explain all the crazy details of his relationship with Bones, so he just nodded.

“Yeah, I guess so. Just somewhere to talk,” he added, in case she was getting the wrong idea.

The woman nodded, like this was all the information she needed. “Lighthouse, breakwater, or Children’s Chapel. Lighthouse and breakwater are closer – this time of afternoon, the lighthouse’ll be less crowded. You know, just in case the talking gets old and you wanna do something else.” She winked at him, and he rolled his eyes.

“Right. Thanks. And where do I find the lighthouse?”

She gave him directions he was hoping he’d remember once they were on the road, and a minute later he was back on his way to Bones’s room. He got more nervous the closer he got – which was just dumb, he kept telling himself. This was Bones – Bones, for crying out loud. He knew her inside-out. She was his best friend, his partner, someone who’d proven more than once that she’d be there when things got tough. So they’d kissed a couple of times – was that really such a big deal? So maybe things between them were about to change, in ways he had a hard time picturing and was maybe terrified to admit…

Okay, this definitely wasn’t helping.

He reached her door, and just stood there for a minute or two. He thought again of the advice he’d given Sweets – how he’d told her to just call Daisy and talk to her, and he’d probably have the answer from there. After a little more agonizing, he finally decided to take his own advice. He took a deep breath or two, and knocked on the door.

Bones answered the door with her hair still wet, wearing a fluffy white bathrobe. She kind of blinked at him when she opened the door, like he was the last person on the planet she’d expected to see.

“Booth. I – I thought you were going to rest before Tripp picks us up tonight.”

He nodded, trying not to look too floored by how good she looked. Her robe was open at the throat, and there was a drop of water on her collarbone and it occurred to him completely out of the blue that he suddenly really, really wanted to taste that water.

Okay, now that definitely wasn’t helping.

“Yeah, well – Sweets had other ideas. Where’s Cam?”

They were standing at the door, Booth still outside the room and Bones still in. She looked at him blankly for a second, like she’d forgotten she had a roommate.

“She went with Tripp. Did you – um, did you want to come in?”

She moved out of the way a little, and Booth took one look inside the room with the big, empty beds and Bones standing there with probably not a stitch on under that robe and he just swallowed. Hard. And shook his head.

“Uh – no. No, definitely not.” He didn’t miss the look that crossed her face, that little flash of first confusion and then hurt. Get it together, Seeley, he ordered himself.

“I was actually hoping maybe we could go for a ride. Have a little time just the two of us, before the whole gang’s back together tonight.”

She gave him that skeptical Bones look he knew so well. “Where is everyone else? We can’t just take the only mode of transportation and leave them.”

He grinned, comfortable now that we were back in familiar territory. He put something out there, Bones shot it down, he kept at her until she gave in. Now this, he could do. “Sure we can – my keys, my call. I’m sure Jack and Angela are busy doing somethin’ I don’t really want to think about, God only knows when Tripp and Cam are coming back, and Sweets has his own problems. Come on, Bones… We’ve got less than twenty-four hours before you’re buried back at the Jeffersonian again – let’s check out the sights.”

He half expected her to come up with some lame excuse about catching up on e-mails or something, so he was surprised when she actually nodded without arguing more.

“All right – just let me change.”

Before they left, they got ice cream from the place across the street that Tripp had recommended. It was a little white shack with a line all the way to the road, but Booth figured good ice cream was worth the wait. Bones wore a sarong that had just about knocked him on his ass when she came out of the bathroom in the hotel – it was a pretty African print that hugged her body in all the right ways, and standing in line Booth didn’t miss the fact that just about every guy in the place had their eye on his partner.

He stepped a little closer, resting his hand on that spot at the small of her back that – up until a few days ago – had been one of the few places he was allowed to touch in their day-to-day lives. This time, though, the contact sent a charge of electricity right up his spine (and, let’s face it, to a few other places he was trying not to think about). It took more than a little effort to stay focused on choosing an ice cream flavor from the board in the window instead of just turning around and taking Bones where she stood.

But, he managed it. Bones ordered a bowl of ginger ice cream, which Booth gave her shit about because it wasn’t a real ice cream flavor; Booth ordered peppermint stick in a waffle cone, which he insisted was not only a real ice cream flavor, but was the best ice cream flavor. He was surprised at how it didn’t seem awkward between them at all, given the conversation they were about to have – Bones had been a little weird when they first got in the car, but she seemed to calm down once she realized he was the same old Booth. Or, at least he was trying like hell to be.

Once they were in the car, he thought the ice cream would be a good idea because they could just eat if he couldn’t think of anything to say. But, it turned out they had plenty to talk about: what was going on between Tripp and Cam, whether Sweets should stay with Daisy, if Bones should buy a summer place in the area. They talked about the weather, about how they both kind of missed not being on the water, Bones talked about a couple cases she was looking forward to getting back to…

It kind of blew Booth’s mind actually, that they would’ve just spent the past eight days without more than a few hours apart each day, and still have this much to say. He liked the way she used her hands when she talked, the way her blue eyes sparkled when she laughed, how she turned her body toward him when he was saying something… He almost went off the road when she kind of moaned when she took the first bite of ice cream, a low, throaty sound that he suddenly really, really wanted to hear again. Only next time, he wanted to be the reason she was making it.

“That good, huh?” he grinned, and she actually blushed.

“It’s delicious – Tripp was right. How’s yours?”

“Good.” He tried handing it to her. “Here, have a bite. Let me try yours.”

She didn’t take the cone from him, holding her dish out of reach. “I thought ginger wasn’t a real ice cream flavor.”

“It’s not, Bones,” he said with an exasperated sigh. “Vanilla, chocolate, blueberry, peppermint stick… those are real ice cream flavors. Ginger’s some hoity-toity made-up flavor that normal people wouldn’t be caught dead eating.”

He took another bite of his peppermint stick, and Bones had another spoonful of her ginger. She moaned again – this time on purpose, he could tell by the glint in her eye when he looked at her.

“Nope – you had your chance. I’m not gonna beg for your ice cream, no matter how much moaning you do.”

She nodded. “Suit yourself.”

And then she ate the whole bowl, without offering him a single bite. And scraped the spoon along the sides, to make sure she’d gotten every last bit. Booth’s waffle cone was actually huge – it wouldn’t have been a big deal for him to let her have a taste, but there was no way after that. He crunched loudly on the last piece of cone, then looked over at Bones.

“Good ice cream.”

She grinned at him. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

She was sitting with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, the window down partway so that the wind ruffled her hair. Over the past week, she’d gotten probably more sun than she usually allowed herself – there were streaks of blonde in her hair, her skin a little more tanned than usual. It wouldn’t be completely out of line to say she was kind of glowing, actually.

That was when the nerves kicked in for Booth. Bones seemed oblivious to the change, watching the sights now that they were on the back roads with the ocean off to one side, green trees and greener hills spilling on into the distance. By the time they’d gotten to the lighthouse, he had to take a second to pull himself together and get back on track. The conversation between them died, and he could tell that Bones was getting nervous, too – withdrawing a little, waiting for a cue from him about how this thing was gonna go.

The lighthouse was at the end of an old dirt road; Booth parked the SUV in a mostly-empty dirt lot, and would have opened the door for Bones but she’d already hopped out. Beyond the parking lot, there was a sheer drop leading to clear blue ocean, behind an old wooden guardrail on the right side of the road, a solid wall of trees to the left. The wind had come up a little, so that it was cooler out now – Booth took off his jacket and put it around Bones’s bare shoulders. She made a face.

“You don’t need to give me your coat – you’ll be cold. I should have brought one myself.”

He rolled his eyes. “Just take it, okay? You really want me to be the schmuck who lets his girl freeze just to prove a point?”

She kind of looked at him when he said that, but he couldn’t read her expression. She did keep the coat on, though, which he thought might be progress. They kept walking.

There was a long flight of white stairs leading to the top of the lighthouse, set on a cliff overlooking the water. It wasn’t a big climb, especially after a week of kayaking for hours on end. Still, they were quiet on the walk up, and Booth was getting edgier the closer they got to whatever conversation it turned out they were going to have. There was almost no one there, just a group of kids sitting over by the ledges, and they passed an older couple on the stairs.

At the top, all Booth could see was ocean and islands for miles. He tried to figure out where they’d been – which islands they’d visited, whether they’d paddled through any of the dozens of inlets on all sides, but he couldn’t tell. The wind blew through Bones’s hair, and she leaned so far out over the railing that Booth finally grabbed the back of her jacket (or his, technically).

“Geez, Bones – be careful. Do you see how far down those rocks are?”

She pulled back, and turned around. Which meant now they were facing each other, and it seemed like the moment had pretty much arrived – time for the talk. Would they or wouldn’t they? Should they or shouldn’t they? And did she even want to, really? All the questions and uncertainty were frankly starting to make him a little queasy, and when he looked at her he realized that she’d gotten that sort of guarded look he always hated to see.

He was about to say something, when she beat him to the punch. She took a deep breath and kind of squared her shoulders, like she was about to walk into battle.

“I’ve been thinking about what happened between us this week,” she said.

He kind of smiled, just a little kick of a grin on one side because he suddenly had an idea where this was going.

“Oh, yeah? You come up with any theories?”

She nodded seriously. “I have. And I think that it’s completely natural for us to feel a certain degree of physical attraction, given the complexity of our relationship and the number of charged, life-threatening situations we’ve faced over the years. Many of the chemicals released in the body during a threatening situation are the same ones released in a moment of sexual – ” She stopped short, wrinkling her forehead at him. “Why are you smiling like that? I’ve put a great deal of thought into this.”

He sighed. “Yeah, Bones, I’m sure you have. So, according to this theory we somehow got confused when people were trying to kill us, and when we spent a week without someone trying to kill us, the same old juices were flowing and our bodies didn’t know what to do so we just… kissed. That’s your theory.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Well, yes – though the terms are obviously somewhat crude, that’s an accurate summarization.”

It took a second for him to figure out where to go from there. The older couple was gone, but the kids over at the ledges were still there – there were three or four of them, and it made him nervous to see them that close to the edge. Finally, he pulled his attention back to Bones, who was waiting for him to say something. And it wasn’t even like this was a surprise – hell, he’d known from the minute Angela dared them to spend the night in the sleeping bag that this would be coming. Still, it was mind-boggling the lengths Bones would go to to keep the two of them from ending up together. Or even starting, for Christ’s sake.

“You’re kidding, right? So the whole kissing thing – you coming to find me, talking all night after solo and then the thing after dinner last night… You’re saying that was all because of chemicals in our brain and a lack of bad guys. That’s your story.”

He took another step toward her, his voice still not rising – because this time, he knew. He knew exactly what she wanted, even if she didn’t have a goddamn clue. And if it killed him, he was gonna make sure she figured it out once and for all.

“I’m merely saying that perhaps we weren’t acting rationally – it was an intense few days, and it’s completely natural for two healthy, attractive adults to develop a certain sexual attraction. But we obviously weren’t thinking of the impact our actions might have on the partnership.”

“I was thinking about them, Bones,” he said, without even stopping to think about it. “Okay? Trust me, that’s all I’ve been thinking about for the past week. Hell, before we got out here I was thinking about the impact our actions might have on the goddamn partnership.”

Somehow, they’d gotten turned around – Bones was standing with her back against the lighthouse now, Booth leaning into her. He took a step toward her, so close now that her heat was burning straight through him. He put a hand on either side of her head, his body pinning her without actually exerting any real force – if she wanted to get away, it’d be easy for her to do.

“This isn’t just chemicals, Bones – you know it, and I know it. It’s not just sex, and it’s not just danger. Not to me, and I don’t think to you either. There’s something there.”

She actually looked outright terrified for a second, but Booth didn’t move because he suddenly knew it wasn’t him she was terrified of. He just stayed there with their bodies pressed together and her heartbeat pounding in his ears, waiting for Bones to work it out in her own time.

“What if it doesn’t work?” she asked, this weird mix of vulnerable and defiant in the set of her jaw and the light in her eyes. He knew that if he wasn’t straight with her now, that was it – she’d run, and God only knew if they’d ever get this chance again. So he didn’t look away, and he told her the truth.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I just know that I think we should try. Take it slow, but stop pretending there’s not something here.” He paused, allowing just a little bit of a grin. “C’mon, Bones… Let’s give it a shot.”

A second passed, and then another one. Finally, she gave him this little smile, twisting her body just the tiniest bit against him. “If it doesn’t work, we go back to being partners. And we don’t tell anyone – at least, not right away.”

He tried to keep from grinning like an idiot, and nodded seriously instead. “Yeah, good. Good idea. The last thing we need is Sweets poking around while we’re just getting started.”

She nodded her agreement, and then there was another second of silence between them when it seemed like everything that had ever gone on between them before was about to crash into whatever would come next, and for some reason Booth really wanted to remember that moment. He leaned in closer, and she leaned back, and when their lips met she tasted like the sweetest goddamn summer he’d ever tasted. He pinned her against the lighthouse and took a shaky breath when she wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss until his jeans were way too tight and his head was way too light and there were about a thousand things he would rather be doing than going out for drinks with their friends.

When they finally managed to pull themselves together and make their slow way back to the car, he draped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer while they walked. She lay her head against his shoulder, and Booth tried not to think about things like coming back here for a week with her and Parker, or what it would be like to spend a weekend in bed together, or how many times he could draw that ice cream moan from her in a night.

Once they got back in the SUV, it took Bones about sixty seconds to fall asleep. She had Booth’s jacket over her, her body leaning toward him a little while she slept. By the time they got back, the rest of the crew was waiting in the parking lot for them – Booth nudged his partner awake, all too aware that everyone was watching as he parked the car.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty – time to get up.”

She opened her eyes reluctantly. “I don’t understand why we’re going out at all. It would be much more sensible to say goodbye to Tripp and Belle now and just go to bed.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Well, I don’t know how much more sensible it’d be, but it’d sure be a hell of a lot more fun.”

She rolled her eyes, but there was no mistaking the blush climbing her cheeks. “That’s not what I meant,” she said, stopping just short of a scowl, forehead creased.

Both turned on the patented Seeley Charm Smile, and actually winked at her – winked, for Christ’s sake.

“Sure ya didn’t, Bones,” he said, and he couldn’t keep from putting a little swagger in his step when he got out of the car.

He still didn’t know what would happen between them in the next few months, but he was suddenly really looking forward to finding out. Oh yeah, this was gonna be fun.

Billy’s Tavern and Oyster Bar was pretty much the smallest bar Booth had ever been in. Luckily, since it was a small-town bar on a Sunday night, it was pretty much just their group there anyway. Belle was conspicuously absent – which Booth took to mean Sweets had talked to Daisy. Still, the kid didn’t look too broken up – in fact, he actually seemed to be in a pretty good mood, joking and maybe flirting a little more than he actually should have with Angela, drinking a little more than he should have considering they had a six a.m. wake up call, and definitely getting way too personal with Booth.

“I’m just saying,” Sweets was telling him, “that I’ve been very impressed with the group dynamic we’ve demonstrated during this course. I know, I know, Belle was somewhat taken aback by our unconventional methods, but I think she just hasn’t been out in the world enough to recognize the validity of alternative approaches.”

The psychologist had pulled Booth off to the side of the group, and had been babbling incoherently for about twenty minutes. Brennan and Tripp had been deep in a conversation about South American monkey colonies or something when Booth left, and Cam and Jack and Angela were playing quarters, laughing and generally living it up.

“And you,” Sweets continued, actually hitting Booth in the chest with the hand holding his gin and tonic, splashing a little on Booth’s shirt. Booth didn’t move, but the look he gave Sweets was enough to make the psychologist take a step back. “You are actually a very impressive leader. The picture of the wolf – intensely loyal, thoughtful…”

Booth gave him a look, holding up his hand for the kid to stop. “Look, I know we’re one short on girls here tonight, but you’ve gotta stop hitting on me like this.”

Sweets grinned – not a stupid grin, not even an annoying one, and maybe it was all the sun he’d gotten all week, or (more likely) the memory of that mind-numbing kiss he’d shared with Bones earlier, but he realized Sweets was kind of growing on him.

“You’re a very funny man, Agent Booth. A sense of humor is important – that’s why I like Daisy so much.” He shook his head, kind of mournfully. “Belle was beautiful, but she really didn’t understand me at all. It never could have worked.”

Booth nodded at this. “Yeah, plus she was a little nutty. At least someone like Daisy, you know what you’re getting – you end up with a girl like Belle, it’s only a matter of time before the crazy bites you in the ass. That’s the kind of crazy you’ve gotta watch out for.”

Sweets seemed to be considering this – or else he was so drunk he’d forgotten Booth was still there. Either way, Booth took it as an opportunity to get back to the others. Once he had, he realized that the climbing instructor – Jeremy, the guy who’d been all over Cam at the campfire a few nights back – had joined them at some point, and now was sitting next to Bones giving her lessons on how to flip a quarter into a glass. She had this intense look of concentration on her face, and Booth didn’t miss the way Jeremy had his arm draped across the back of the seat, sort of leaning into his girl. Bones was oblivious, of course – she would’ve been just as clueless without the two beers or the shot of whiskey Jeremy had apparently bought her in Booth’s absence, but now she didn’t stand a shot.

Booth had already declared himself the designated driver for the night, so he was sober as a deacon. He took a breath and kept his head, managing to keep his temper in check when he returned to the table.

“Hey, Jeremy – good to see you.” He kind of pushed the guy aside, sitting himself right in between him and Bones. “When’d you get here?”

Jeremy shot him a look, but Booth knew he wouldn’t call him on it. The guy just slid down a little, and Bones smiled widely at Booth. You could drive a truck through her pupils, and she gave him a sexy little grin that no one in the place could have missed.

“You’re back,” she said.

He nodded, looking around to see who was watching this little exchange. Everyone, it turned out.

“Yeah, Bones – geez, how much have you had to drink?”

She thought seriously. “Not that much – typically, I don’t drink more than a glass of wine at dinner, though. And I think I may have lost some weight while we were on the course, so it’s possible I miscalculated my tolerance.”

She leaned into him, resting her hand on his chest when she said loudly, “I think Jeremy may have been hitting on me. He used the game as an excuse, but in ancient mating rituals it was common for males to assert their dominance over a female by demonstrating mastery of a sport or during a hunting expedition.”

Booth chuckled. “You don’t say, Bones.”

She leaned in a little further, stopping just short of resting her head on his chest. Angela was following the whole exchange with a smirk, while the rest of the group pretended they weren’t watching.

“I’m very tired,” Bones said quietly. Booth just sat there, not touching her, hating that he couldn’t just put his arm around her or brush the hair off her forehead. Instead, he squeezed her arm in what he hoped looked like a partnerly show of support, stood up and nodded to the others.

“All right, guys – I know it’s kind of early, but what’s say we get packed up and head back to the hotel? I’m beat.”

He was surprised when no one complained. Cam and Tripp took off together, with Cam assuring everyone that she’d be back by the time they had to leave in the morning. Booth watched her go and he liked the fact that Tripp put his arm around her when they were walking away, not seeming like he cared at all about pretending he wasn’t crazy about Booth’s ex.

Bones fell asleep again on the way back to the hotel. Booth dropped everyone else at the door, then parked the car and came around to the passenger side, grateful to have a few minutes of peace with his partner. Her breathing was even, her head tilted a little to the side and a few strands of hair falling loose over her forehead. Booth brushed the hair back, feeling that same spark he’d felt earlier when he touched her at the lighthouse. She opened her eyes, disoriented for a second before she saw him and smiled.

“I fell asleep,” she told him.

He grinned. “Yeah, I noticed.” He took a quick look around to make sure everyone had gone inside, then leaned in. She turned toward him, wrapping her arms around him when they kissed, her mouth sweet and soft and welcoming.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” he told her, feeling kind of shy about it.

She studied him, like she wasn’t sure whether he was serious or not. “We’ll have to be more careful when we get home. I think Angela suspects something.”

Booth rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well – the way you were looking at me at the bar, I think everyone suspects something.” She looked uneasy, so he added quickly, “I’m sure it’ll be fine – once we get back to D.C., everything’ll go back to normal and we can just pretend we’re the same old Booth and Bones. No one’ll have a clue.”

She didn’t look convinced, but it seemed to make her feel a little better. There was a second or two of silence, before she nodded toward the hotel. He didn’t miss the way she was looking at him or the sort of awkward beat when she said quietly, “So, we should probably go in.”

He took a breath. Nodded. Held his hand out to her, which she took, and got out of the car. They walked back into the hotel with his arm around her shoulders, Bones kind of leaning into him, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so nervous about the end of a non-date.

He walked her to her door, because that’s what any self-respecting gentleman would do.

Once they got there, she looked at him uncertainly.

“Cam will be gone for the night,” she said.

He nodded, but he wasn’t sure what to say to that. Part of him wanted to just say that four years of waiting was enough – they had a hotel room all to themselves, no interruptions and nothing stopping them from a night of mind-blowing, knee-buckling sex.

Unfortunately, a bigger part of him was telling him pretty clearly that he was exhausted. And she was a little drunk. And they had a wake-up call at six a.m., before going back to their crazy-ass lives in D.C. He was trying to figure out how to explain all of this to Bones, who he imagined would just make fun of him for having more rules about sex than the Pope. But instead, she stood on her toes and put her arms around him, kissing him like they’d been doing this for years, instead of just a few days.

“We should probably get some sleep,” she said, and he didn’t miss the little twinge of regret in her voice.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “We probably should.” He returned the kiss, running his tongue along her bottom lip, his hands at the small of her back and their hips kind of melded together. After a second or two of that, he pulled back because he knew if he didn’t, there was no way he was turning around and leaving.

“Christ, Bones – you know you’re killing me, right?”

She actually grinned at that – this little surprised look in her eye, and she raised her eyebrows and looked at him in a way he’d never seen her look at him before. But damn, could he get used to it.

“I know," she said, looking pretty pleased with herself. "See you in the morning?”

He nodded. She unlocked her door and went inside. Booth stood there for a second or two, getting himself back under control and trying to put a cap on the grin he was wearing. Walking down the hall, he pulled out a quarter and flipped it while he walked, whistling a little under his breath.

Oh yeah, he was definitely looking forward to getting back home.

FIN

A/N - I just want to say thanks to everyone who has been so very sweet and supportive about this fic, sorry I haven't commented back to everyone recently, but every comment is read and truly appreciated, make no mistake about it. I also want to let people know that I'll be posting a sequel to this story beginning in the next few days, entitled The Killer in the Classroom. I tend to post new chapters up at fanfiction.net first, because it's so much simpler to upload everything there... So, if you're looking for faster updates, you can find me here. Guess that's it for this one... Don't forget to comment if you liked the story, 'cause it makes me write ever so much faster. And, as always, thanks so much for reading! - Jen