Only if I

My version of Booth and Brennans' tensions after Sully leaves. Their problems won't be solved by counseling, but perhaps sex.…. Written after 'Bride' but before 'Churchyard'

--

So I took today off work, a glorious and rare midweek day off, paid vacation and all. Figured maybe do a bit of laundry, clean up the house. But what happens? I end up writing a Bones fic instead. I've tried not to be obsessed with this show, but … I'm not planning this to be a super long fic or anything. I just couldn't resist.

--

"Are we almost done?" the small woman asked, checking her watch for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"Almost, Mrs. Morgan. We do have a few more questions about the death of your husband," Booth said bluntly, annoyed that she was suddenly inattentive to their questioning. The woman made a wounded noise at his words and he immediately felt bad. She was young, not even thirty, and she had lost her husband. "Sorry," he muttered. Sneaking a quick peak at his partner, he tried to catch her eye, but she didn't look at him. Booth sighed. Something was definitely out of sync between the two of them. Usually by the time they were at this stage of a case, so close to the end, they were completely attuned to one another. Not lately.

"Is there somewhere to you have to be?" Brennan asked gesturing to the woman's watch.

She didn't answer at first, but turned to look in the direction of her tv.

"A tv show?" Brennan asked incredulously. "You think a tv show is more important than talking to the FBI?"

"It's this show, John Edwards, Crossing Over," the woman said while looking down at her hands. "I just started watching it after Ted went missing."

"That's ok, Becky," Booth said. "We won't take up too much more time. You won't miss much." Becky smiled at him gratefully.

"Wait," Brennan interrupted. "What show?"

Sighing, Booth explained. "It's this show where the guy … communicates with, um, the deceased." He rushed the last part in a vain attempt to run it by his partner without comment.

Becky spoke first, saying quietly. "I've become a bit obsessed with it." Swallowing hard, she fought to keep her emotions in check. "I know it's stupid, but sometimes I think maybe I could talk to-" She stopped, unable to voice her grief.

"I know. It's ok," Booth said soothingly as he watched a tears fall from her eyes. It was obvious the woman was in distress. Well, obvious to almost everyone.

"So there is a program on the tv," Brennan said pointing towards the offending device, "in which the host purports to 'communicate with the deceased'?" Booth didn't like her tone and he moved to cut her off, taking a step closer to Brennan and grabbing her arm.

"Yes, family members of people in the audience," Becky explained, slightly embarrassed, but obviously quite familiar with the premise.

"Bones," Booth whispered warningly, but she ignored him, focused on the woman before them instead.

"And you actually think that this man will allow you to speak with your dead husband?" Brennan asked in obvious disbelief. Becky stared back at them, but didn't say anything.

"Bones!" Booth whispered again, more insistent this time, applying light pressure to her arm. Shrugging out of his grasp, Brennan shot him an annoyed look before continuing.

"You went to college, Brown if I remember correctly. How could you possibly believe that? It's not rational," Brennan said, her voice getting louder.

Fresh tears welled up in Becky's eyes. Abandoning Brennan's side, Booth said, "I'm sorry. We just have a few more questions. About your husband, not anything television related," He added, giving Brennan a meaningful and hopefully understood glance.

"I don't know," Becky said tearfully, "I think I'm done for now."

"Listen, I'm sorry if Dr. Brennan offended you," Booth apologized in his most soothing voice. He knew that they were going to need her testimony in court and the last thing he wanted to do was piss her off.

"What?" Brennan asked. "How have I offended -"

"I think you should leave now," Becky said her voice stronger than it had been all night.

"Right," Booth said in defeat. "Again, we're very sorry for your loss," he added, placing extra emphasis on 'we.'

"Come on, Bones," Booth said putting his arm around her shoulders and escorting her out of the house before she could say anything else.

--

When they opened the door to her house, a steady rain greeted them. The storm, which had been threatening all day, had finally broke. Booth remotely unlocked the doors to the SUV and they both ran for cover.

"God Dammit Bones!" Booth shouted the moment the door of the SUV slammed behind him.

"What?" she asked eyeing her partner cautiously. She shook her hair and beads of water sprinkled the interior of the car.

Booth wiped the rain from his face and quickly drove out of the parking lot. He was so angry he was having trouble forming articulate thoughts. He wondered if she seriously didn't know what she had done. "What? You insulted and attacked that woman until she asked us to leave."

"That is not why she wanted us to leave." Brennan argued. She couldn't believe that he was trying to blame this on her. She had merely been trying to understand this tv show and why a well educated woman would watch and believe in it.

"Well, she was cooperating just fine until you called her an idiot," Booth said feeling his patience with his partner begin to wane.

"I did not call her an idiot!" she practically shouted in reply.

Booth gripped the steering wheel tightly and took several deep breaths to calm himself. When she got this way she was impossible to deal with and she had been like this a lot lately.

"You're better than this, Bones," he said finally.

"So you're saying I'm not good enough?" she asked, anger only slightly masking the hurt in her voice. The hurt didn't go unnoticed by Booth. Furious as he was right now he still hated seeing her upset.

Booth took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Ok, Bones. Mrs. Morgan is probably going to be one of our key witness. You were mean and you made her cry. We are going to go back over there tomorrow morning and make everything right."

"I am not apologizing," She replied reflexively.

Choosing to let the subject drop for now, Booth said. "And you are staying in whatever crappy little place I have to stay at." She stiffened at his statement. "Especially since it's your fault," Booth added under his breath.

Silence fell and the darkness covered them; they stared out the window watching the lights of roadside businesses pass by.

--

Booth pulled off the road after about ten minutes of driving and up to a hotel called the Vacation Inn. It was what he was used to; his paltry FBI per diem didn't leave many appealing options. Of course, the Vacation Inn was probably below the standards of his wealthier partner. Well, that was too bad, he thought and he didn't wait for her approval before he jumped out of the car and headed towards the front desk. She quickly undid her seat belt and hurried after him. She hated it when he did that; marched off without her so she had to run to keep up with him. Like some child or sidekick. It was obvious he was angry with her. He never hid it well, the clenched jaw, the erect posture, the tone in which he said, "Bones."

They didn't speak until they were standing outside of their respective rooms. For now, the rain had subsided leaving the night cold and soggy. The overnight stay in Maryland hadn't been planned, but both had long ago packed an emergency overnight kit into the SUV. Brennan couldn't remember what was in hers, so its contents would be a surprise. She knew that they weren't done discussing the case or their interview with Becky Morgan. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Brennan stared out into the night. Things weren't usually so tense between the two of them. But the discord between them was palpable and she wasn't sure how to remedy that.

"See you," Booth mumbled as he unlocked the hotel room door next to hers. He disappeared inside, holding her gaze with his dark eyes for several seconds before closing the door. A shiver ran through her, but she wasn't sure if it was from the damp cold or from his look.

After a long, hot shower, Brennan felt much better. Well, she felt much warmer anyway. The situation with Booth bothered her. Maybe more than it should. Over and over she had analyzed the conversation with Becky Morgan in her mind and it didn't seem so bad. Someone was overreacting, but she wasn't sure if it was Becky, Booth, or her. Lately, there seemed to be so much she wasn't sure about. One thing she was sure about was that she needed to talk to Booth. To plan their strategy for tomorrow if nothing else.

Picking up her room key, she headed for the door, but stopped to look at her reflection in the mirror on the way out. Her emergency bag had consisted of mainly casual clothes. She was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a light jacket. She combed her hair with her fingers, trying to get it to lay right before she stopped herself. There was no need to worry about her appearance. She was only going to see Booth. And only about business. As she turned away from the mirror, the adjoining door caught her eye. She opened her side and knocked tentatively on his.

After a wait long enough that she was just about to turn around, Booth finally opened his side. He was wearing the same suit pants as early but had stripped down to only a tank top, a towel tossed carelessly over his shoulder and a toothbrush propped in his mouth. She could hear the shower running behind him and couldn't help appreciate the muscles the tank top revealed. For just a moment, she forgot why she was there.

"I was just about to get in the shower," Booth said, stepping aside so she could enter the room.

Hesitating at the door, she said, "I'm sorry, I'll go." Booth shook his head and gestured for her to enter. He went into the bathroom and turned off the shower. When he emerged, the towel and toothbrush were gone.

"Are you sure you don't want to shower first?" Brennan said. "We can talk later and the shower was really nice." Booth watched her, noticing her wet hair and how her damp t-shirt clung seductively to her body in several places.

He cleared his throat and said, "It's ok. You want to sit?" he asked motioning to the only chair in the room.

"No, I'm fine," Brennan answered. Following Booth's gaze, she realized that she was fidgeting with her room key. She set it down on the dresser and put her hands in her pockets. "So, we should probably talk about tomorrow," she said.

"You are going to apologize to Becky and we are going to finish asking her about Ted," Booth replied firmly.

"I already told you, I'm not apologizing," Brennan said as her anger returned. "I was merely trying to do my job and to understand."

"Oh come on, Bones!" Booth replied in frustration. "You attacked the woman until she cried and threw us out of her house. She wasn't some serial killer or annoying bureaucrat. Becky was a woman who had just lost her husband. She hadn't done anything wrong and she was telling us everything we wanted to know."

"Booth, I didn't do anything different today than I do any other day," she said coldly. "By know I'm sure you know how I behave in interrogations."

"Yea, I do, Bones, but this lady was an innocent victim. I thought you might have a little sensitivity and empathy. Clearly, I was wrong."

"I have never been under the delusion that my mother would try to speak to me through a television," she volleyed back.

Booth threw up his hands. "What the hell, Bones? You've been bitchy for weeks. You're upset about Sully leaving. I get it. You want to take it out on me, fine, but you damn well better drop the attitude when we are dealing with grieving widows who are future witnesses for the prosecution!"

Brennan was taken aback by Booth's charge. She took several steps towards him and said, "I have not been a bitch."

"Yes. You. Have." Booth insisted. He moved closer until she finally took a step back. "Ever since Sully left. I'm sorry you didn't go, Bones." Booth continued his advance while she slowly backed up. "I'm sorry that you could be on a beach right now instead of stuck here with me."

Brennan felt the wall behind her and she leaned gratefully against it. Booth intensity was almost frightening. Almost. She tried to match it. "If I wanted to be on a on a beach right now with Sully Booth, I would be."

He put a hand on the wall above her head and moved in, asking quietly, "Then why aren't you?"

Brennan shivered in spite of herself. "I told you. I stayed because of work."

"So it had nothing to do with me?" Booth asked.

"Obviously you are a part of my work," she replied.

"I'm not talking about work," He said huskily.

He was so close that she could feel the warmth from his body. Without thinking, she slowly extended her hand and placed it on his waist, spreading her fingers out to feel him underneath the fabric of his tank top. Unsure if she wanted to push him away or bring him closer.

"Well, what about you?" she asked. "You've been sarcastic and moody lately."

"You almost ran off with another man." Booth said, tracing his fingers down her cheek.

"And you don't want that?" she breathed.

In answer, Booth slid the hand that was still propped against the wall down until it was even with her head. With his other hand, he gently took hold of her face and slowly moved in to kiss her. Her hair was still wet from her shower as his hand moved around the back of her neck, pulling her even closer to him.

Brennan responded by putting both hands around his waist. Some part of her knew she shouldn't enjoy this embrace, but she couldn't help it, the feeling was too overwhelming. Finally, they broke apart; Brennan wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get control. She was tempted to kiss him again and she knew that even the slightest movement would initiate things. Things that she had barely imagined. But she stayed frozen.

They stared at each other, standing so close, but not quite touching, until Booth put a hand on her arm. "Bones," he began tenderly, but realized he wasn't sure what else to say. She nodded and gave his hand a quick squeeze with hers, leaving her hand there a little longer than she meant to.

"I guess, I'll uh … see you in the morning," Brennan said awkwardly. She stepped away from him and towards the adjoining door.

He followed her, holding the door behind her as she entered her room. She didn't seem upset, but Booth wasn't sure how to read her actions. She hadn't karate chopped him, so that was a good thing. She was leaving though, so that wasn't great.

"Bones," he called before he knew what he was actually going to say. "Um," he faltered as she turned her clear blue eyes on him. "There's a little place across the parking lot. We could get something to drink and eat there." Booth paused, but she didn't speak so he continued, "Will you meet me there in an hour?"

Brennan considered his question in silence. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her lips were still warm from his kiss. "Maybe," was all she could manage before she shut the door to his room.

--

Well I'm gonna leave it there cause I really should accomplish something, like clothes to wear to work tomorrow. Plus, all my Bones fics have had sex in the first chapter, so this time I'm gonna get crazy and leave it till chapter two.

I'd love to know what you think