Bones on the Beach
By JustAnnW
Chapter 1
What if Booth and Brennan didn't go their separate ways in May...
"What are you doing for vacation?" Angela Hodges asked Brennan after telling her about her upcoming honeymoon in Paris.
"I'm going to the beach. Relax. Write. Try to get some perspective," said Dr. Temperance Brennan.
"Perspective on what?" questioned her friend curiously. "Perspective on Booth?"
"Forget I said anything. I need to do some writing, and I enjoy the beach."
"You're going to the beach?" asked Booth as he poked his head in her office.
"Yes. I rented a house in Nags Head for a week."
"That sounds nice. I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do with Parker next week," Booth
Angela nudged Brennan. They exchanged eye gestures.
"Would you and Parker like to share the house with me? It's very spacious. Much more room than I need, 3 bedrooms, right on the beach."
"Oh, that'd be wonderful, Bones!"
They arrived Saturday afternoon. After unloading the car, Brennan showed them around. There was a full kitchen which opened into a two story great room with an enormous fireplace, big screen tv, and an incredible view of the ocean. There were two good sized bedrooms with an adjoining bath just passed the great room, and an open staircase leading up to the master suite with private balcony. "I rent this place a few times a year. I spend a lot of time enjoying the balcony and writing, so you two can have the run of the downstairs." Brennan said.
"This is cool, Bones!" said Parker.
"Yeah, Bones. I really appreciate this," Smiled Booth.
Brennan smiled back. Booth brought so much more to the partnership than she did. She liked it when she could do something for him. "Come on. I'll show you the beach."
Through the sliding glass door from the great room lead to an enormous deck a few steps down to the beach.
Parker kicked off his flip flops and ran to the ocean. Booth laughed at his son. "Look at the waves, Dad! Can I get a boogie board?"
"Sure! There's a beach shop around here, isn't there Bones?"
"Yes. There's a shop about a mile inland which has a little of everything. And there're bikes in the garage we can use while we're here." Bones thought. It's going to be very different than vacationing alone. She liked that.
"Can we go swimming now?" Parker asked.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Parker." said Brennan. She pointed to the menacing gray sky.
A moment later it was pouring! It was only a few yards back to the house, but they were soaked. Booth chuckled, and then he saw Brennan drenched, her white linen top rather revealing. He got a lump in his throat. And somewhere else, too.
She caught him staring. "What?"
"Uhh," he looked around and saw Parker, behind them, standing on the deck in the rain, acting ridiculous. "Excuse me, Bones. Parker! Get in here and get those wet clothes off!" Brennan went to her room.
She immerged a minute later in a robe with her hair in a turban. She knocked on the closed bedroom door. "Booth? Did you find the ..." He opened the door, wearing just his wet boxer shorts. His well toned chest still damp. Booth has excellent bone structure.
"What?"
"Towels. Did you find the towels?"
"Yeah, we're good."
"Dad! I can't find my underwear!" complained Parker.
"Okay." said Brennan, feeling awkward.
A few minutes later Brennan had changed into dry, comfortable clothes. She had set up her laptop and began to write when Parker and Booth returned from the bedroom, also in dry casual clothes. Booth carried the wet clothes to the washer in the mudroom. Parker flopped on the couch and grabbed the remote, only to be rewarded with static.
"The rain seems to have disrupted the signal from the satellite," said Brennan, looking up from her computer.
"Great! Can't go swimming! Can't watch TV! I hope this rain doesn't last all week!" he whined.
Brennan finished typing a sentence and looked up again. "Actually, the forecast for this week looks very promising. This storm should blow over by morning."
Booth felt guilty that Parker was being whiney and disturbing Bones. "Come on, Champ! Let's go find that beach shop, and on the way back we'll pick up some dinner," he suggested.
A minute later, the house was quiet, except for the sound of the rain. It was just like the last time she had stayed here. Yet now, it felt lonely.
Brennan wrote some outlines and recalled facts from the case that was the basis for her next book, but found it hard to write anything significant. By the time the guys returned, she welcomed the interruption.
" Bones! Check out my boogie board!" said Parker as he ran in. He had chosen a black board with two waves in a circle forming the yin-yang symbol.
"Very cool, Parker."
"Thanks. And we got sand toys. We saw there's a lot to do around town, too! There's an arcade and mini golf and deep sea fishing and whale and dolphin watching tours. Dad said you might like that 'cause he said you like dolphins. And we got lots of food for grilling out. Dad makes the best steaks on the grill!" He was very excited.
"Sounds wonderful. But I don't know about grilling out tonight," she looked out the window at the continued rain.
"No, tonight we have pizza!" said Booth, placing a large box in front of her on the table. Brennan gladly closed up her computer.
Half an hour later, they were cleaning up from dinner. Parker asked, "Do you want to play Monopoly, Bones?"
"Buddy, remember we talked about this. Bones needs to work on her book, so we need to give her some space. How about you and I set up the game in your room?" said Booth.
"Its okay, Booth, I'd like to play Monopoly, too."
"Are you sure? We Booth men are pretty cut throat when it comes to Monopoly!"
"I assure you, I'm quite good."
And thus the battle was on.
Three hours later, amid laughter and smiles and some trash talk, the battle was over, and Parker reigned victorious. "Okay, champ. Time for bed!" said his father.
"But its summer vacation!" pleaded his son.
"Well, I'm going to bed. When I'm here I like to get up early and go jogging along the beach." said Brennan.
"Would you like some company?" Booth asked eagerly.
"Sure! How's seven o'clock?" replied Brennan.
"Sounds good. Is that okay with you Parker, if we leave you alone for an hour? We won't be far, and I'll have my cell phone."
"Yeah. That's cool. I'll probably still be asleep anyway." Parker yawned. "Good night, Dad." He hugged his dad and then stood in front of Brennan with his arms out, not really sure. Brennan wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. "Good night, Bones."
"Thank you Parker. Good night." Brennan turned to Booth after Parker had closed the bedroom door. "He's a good kid."
"Good night, Bones. Thanks again for inviting us," said Booth as he hugged her.
As she pulled away from the embrace, she didn't let go of his arms. There was that growingly familiar moment between them, when they were just inches apart, lost in each other's eyes. He wanted so much to kiss her, but knew she didn't want that. But he knew she didn't want to pull away. She liked being close to him. She liked studying this moment, analyzing it. Maybe she was trying to make it make sense, understand what she was feeling. "I'm glad you're here." she said softly. "Good night, Booth."
The next morning, after their jog, Bones sat on the deck at the table with an umbrella and her laptop. Booth and Parker played on the beach. She watched them swimming and riding the waves. They built a sandcastle and tossed a Frisbee. Booth was such a good father. She studied his toned body, the way his wet physique glistened in the sun.
Bones used her observations to make notes about Detective Andy.
She was finishing her first chapter when Parker came up to her. "Did you see me catch that wave, Bones?"
"I saw you! You were very competent on you boogie board."
"Thanks. Are you gonna go swimming?" said the ten year old.
"I'm thinking about it."
Booth came over. "Come on, Bones. The water's great!"
"Okay, I'll just finish this chapter."
A few minutes later, she strolled down the beach in her black swim suit. Booth's jaw dropped.
"What?" she asked.
"You're hot!" said Booth.
"Yes. That's why I'm going swimming!"
They swam and splashed in the ocean. They enjoyed wading in the water while the waves crashed around them. Suddenly a large wave approached. Booth grabbed Bones so she wouldn't be knocked over. "I gotcha!" he said, holding her waist. She put her hands on his shoulders. For a moment they just stood there, two wet mostly naked bodies, separated only by some nylon fabric. He longed to deepen the connection, to embrace her and taste the salt water on her soft skin. Just the thought made him glad the murky sea water obscured the view of his tent like swim trunks.
"I'm fine," Bones said, but she didn't pull away. She studied him again, the broad shoulders, the excellent bone structure, the look in his eyes. Moreover, she pondered the feeling inside she got every time he looked at her that way. She felt warmth and longing which she associated with lust, but something else; Comfort and security, but also confusion and a sort of weightlessness inside.
Splash! Parker surprised them!
They played in the waves and on the beach for the rest of the afternoon.
Showered and dressed in casual summer clothes, Bones came downstairs to find Booth, showered and handsome in a tee-shirt and jean shorts. He was reading one of her books. He glanced up and grinned. "I'm Detective Andy, right?"
She sighed and tried to grab the book from him. "I told you already. Nobody IS anybody. They are fictional characters. "
He would not relinquish the book. "This Detective Andy sounds a lot like me, brave, handsome." he taunted.
Bones made another attempt to get the book away from him. "It's true you have SOME similar characteristics. But that's all! Now give me the book!"
"Come on Bones, I want to read it." Booth said.
"Okay, fine. What should we do for dinner? There're some nice restaurants in town, and a great fish market."She said, changing the subject.
"Not tonight! I bought those steaks yesterday, remember? I'm going to make you the best steak you've ever had!" declared Booth, as he headed to the deck.
"Sounds great! I'll bake some potatoes and make a salad." Brennan liked when they had dinner together at home, well, her place or his. It was so much nicer than eating alone.
Booth lit the grill and came back into the kitchen to retrieve the steaks from the fridge. To Brennan's surprise, he had already tenderized them and set them in a marinade. Judging by the temperature of the pan, he must have done that right as they came in and she took her shower. The guy plans ahead.
After she'd put the potatoes in the oven to bake, and made the salad, Brennan popped open two beers and headed to the deck. She handed Booth a beer and they clinked bottles and each took a sip.
"So do you really think I'm handsome?" he asked with a grin.
She chuckled. She thought she had successfully gotten him off that topic. "Well, anthropologically, you have excellent symmetry. You have distinctive facial features, strong bone structure, well toned muscular physique, and very expressive eyes. Imperially, you are handsome."
He laughed that she couldn't just say it. She had to analyze it. Analyze him. And obviously, she had.
He smiled at her just as a summer breeze tossed her wavy brown hair. "And you're beautiful."
Brennan turned from him so he couldn't see her blush. She sat at the table where she had abandoned her laptop some hours earlier. She opened it up and browsed the work she had done today. Did she have time to start another chapter?
"What's your new book about?" Booth asked, joining her at the table.
"I'm writing about a Wiccan coven, loosely based on the case we had a few months ago."
"Oh, I thought that now that the gravedigger case has been solved, you would write about that."
Brennan froze. Without looking at him, she said. "I don't want to write about that."
Booth placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. It's over now. She can't hurt anybody anymore."
"I know." Just stop thinking about it. Change the subject, she thought to herself. "Where's Parker?"
"He's in his room playing a video game. He really needed some down time."
Bones packed up her laptop, put it inside, and then sat on a deck chair watching the ocean. Booth sat quietly next to her, except when he periodically checked on the steaks.
Parker joined them for dinner. He bargained that he would eat his salad if he could have dessert after. Booth beamed with pride when Brennan said it was the best steak she'd ever had. They ate and laughed and had a good time as afternoon turned to evening. Parker exclaimed his conquests of the video game he'd been playing, and Brennan admired Booth's attentiveness to what to her seemed like nonsense but what obviously important to the ten year old. The two discussed strategy while she studied the bond between father and son.
"Hey, Bud. I think we're boring Bones." Said Booth, realizing they had been ignoring her.
"No, not at all. I find it fascinating. You should listen to your dad. He's an excellent sportsman."
"I know." Parker smiled proudly at his dad. "I bet I know what you'd like to talk about! S'mores!" And before the adults had time to respond, he ran to the pantry and returned with graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. "All women like chocolate, right?"
Booth laughed at Parker's attempt bond with Bones.
"Well, Parker, I don't know if all women like chocolate, but your conclusion is plausible because chocolate contains endorphins that ..." Brennan began.
"Bones,..." Said Booth, gesturing to his son's face which went from excited to confused.
"I love chocolate," she said.
"Great!" said the boy as he ran to get the skewers they had bought yesterday.
Bones got the aluminum foil and began to make little graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow sandwiches. "What are you doing?" Booth asked.
"What? This is how my mother taught me to make s'mores! She'd make little sandwiches and wrap them in foil and set them on the coals after a cook out. Everything melts together in five minutes," explained Brennan.
"Dad! We have to show her how to do it right!" declared Parker. "You roast the marshmallow like this," he demonstrated by putting a marshmallow on a skewer. "No, if we were in the woods we'd use sticks, but since we're not we got these at the grocery store." Booth let his son take the lead and quietly followed suit.
"Now roast your marshmallow until it starts to turn brown, but don't let it burn." Parker instructed. Booth was so enraptured by the scene that he wasn't paying attention to his own marshmallow. "Dad! Yours is burning!"
Brennan laughed at Booth's failure and frustration as he blew out the burning sugar, threw it away, and started over.
"Okay, Bones. Now we sandwich it between the crackers and chocolate!" instructed Parker. He skillfully demonstrated the technique, then gabbled his up in three bites and began roasting a second marshmallow, he teaching job complete. "You like it?" he asked.
Brennan tried to maintain composure while chewing the sweet gooey mess. "It's very good."
Booth assembled his own and took a bite. "Thanks for indulging him, Bones." he said quietly to her.
"He's a wonderful teacher." she exclaimed. "You have some chocolate on your chin." Booth wipes his chin but misses a drop. Brennan dabbed it with her finger, then licked the chocolate off her finger. She wasn't sure which she enjoyed more, the taste of the chocolate or of Booth.
After clean up and a game of Scrabble, Parker was ready for bed. He hugged his dad and Brennan good night. Brennan marveled at how natural it felt to hug this little guy.
Brennan was tired, but the sea air made her restless, and she went for a walk on the beach. She could not remember a more perfect day in her life. But what does it mean? She had planned this trip, not only to work on her new book, but also to try to get some perspective about her relationship with Booth. The fact that he and his son had come along was not her original intention, but she enjoyed having them here. It was great to see Booth outside of work, away from all the stress of solving murders. It was great to see him interact with Parker. It reminded her of how a family is supposed to be, and made her feel part of that family.
She knew that she had grown to care about Booth a great deal in the last five years, and that he cared about her. They trusted each other with their lives. And they were good friends. They had fun together, and they were there for each other. Brennan had become aware of some physical desire between them, but he is a sexually appealing man and she is an attractive woman. And she knew he is a fantastic kisser.
But it wasn't until that night in April that he told her he wanted a relationship that she realized he really likes her, maybe even loves her. And she pushed him away, wanting things to stay the way things were, even though she knows that all things change. She told him she didn't have his open heart, and that she couldn't change. Inside, Brennan was terrified!
Usually, Brennan was intrigued by the unknown. She had tremendous curiosity and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. If she didn't understand something she pursued it and studied it until it made sense. But she is afraid of this unknown; the unknown that is her feelings when she gets close to Booth. Her pulse races, her thoughts are blurred, and she has butterflies in her stomach. These feelings confuse her. She's never felt like this before around anybody.
Booth wasn't just some attractive man who asked her out. Brennan knew him, respected him, admired him, and trusted him. He was the most honorable and caring man she'd ever known. He deserved a warm, caring, loving woman, and she was not.
When she returned to the beach house he was there, standing on the deck, looking for her. When he saw her, his face lit up. "There you are, Bones! I was worried."
"Why? I can take of myself," she exclaimed.
He thought it best not to continue. "You want some wine?"
"I'd love some, thank you."
"Beautiful night isn't it?" he asked, handing her her glass.
"Yes."
"We're having a wonderful time. Thanks again for letting Parker and I join you."
"I'm having a wonderful time, too," declared Brennan.
"I'm glad." He put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder and they watched the waves crash along the shore under the moonlight sky.
