Sparkles in your eyes put the stars to shame

Story by Isobel and Fanny :o)

Spoilers – hmmm… yeah, maybe some... But the story is surely situated before the season 4 finale… you will see :o)

Disclaimer – nothing is mine… sorry folks… just the idea of this story… you know how this works :o)

Author's notes – I was sitting in my office and I was telling my friend about a dream I had last night… and the idea of this story came to my mind. The story is situated into Prague because I am from Prague and I love the city. And I am sure that all guide books and encyclopedias will tell you about all the historical aspects and stuff but the true beauty is not written there… you have to see it to understand… All those parks and the river with islands and bridges and all those narrow streets and squares and all those festivals around here… all those nice buildings and historic parts… Prague is real beauty, trust me. So if you are planning on vacation time in Czech – in Prague – let me know, I can give you some tips where to go and what to see :o) Oh and I think that all places mentioned in the story are on pictures somewhere in my computer but also the Internet is full of them so you can see them all :o) In case you'd want some help – feel free to ask :o) I was not sure about translating all the names…. you will see what I mean :o) I hope you will enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it :o) Reviews are most welcomed!! :o)

Chapter 1 – Vacation time?

Booth was sitting at the meeting with Cullen and two of his colleagues from different departments of the Bureau. They were going through their strategy for a specific case. Several different teams were working on this one for weeks and now finally the trial was about to happen. Like many other meetings, it was was rather boring. Booth was mostly staring into nowhere out of Cullen´s window.

It was beautiful day in the middle of June and the weather was almost calling for attention, it seemed like it was screaming "get out of the office and go hiking or walking or make love to somebody or whatever, just get out…". All those blossoming flowers and trees were putting some crazy ideas into Booth´s head, involving romantic dates and kissing and comfortable rain, you know, stuff like that. Oh and everything was involving one particular woman.

Yeah, Booth was not paying attention to the meeting. It was pointless to try. He has been in his office the whole week. No cases, just paperwork and that fact was killing him. At least he would have Parker the whole weekend. That was something to look forward to.

He needed to smile. Two days ago he was finished a little bit earlier and he called Angela and found out that they were working only on some limbo cases and that they were all rather bored. Well Brennan was of course enjoying her work but Angela was sure that even her best friend could use some activities outside the lab. So they drew up a plan for them all.

That day Angela appreciated Booth's call because she was sort of bored. There was no fun in the Institute. She needed to do something and she was angry that she was spending all those nice days in the office. And when Booth called obviously bored from his own office, he had that marvelous idea of doing something crazy. So she made some phone calls, talked to Cam and everything was set. She told Jack that they were going to do something with Booth that afternoon. Jack approved, because he started to miss the Agent. Cam was okay with it as well, she said yes to that after all. And then there was Brennan. Angela tried to persuade her into leaving the office early, but she neglected. So Angela called Booth. She was sure he would make Bren to leave the lab.

Booth was sure that Bones would mind their plan. He needed to persuade her to go with him and his chances would be higher in case he would be alone with her so he arranged Angela to go ahead with Hodgins. He would meet them there. Cam told them that she had promised Michele to spend the afternoon with her; but when she told the girl about their plans she agreed happily. So she went home to pick her up and they would meet all the others there. Booth was satisfied with that. All the squint squad, plus a nice young lady. He took his wallet and keys and left the Bureau early. He waltzed into the Jeffersonian and realized that only Bones was there. He found her in limbo working on some bones. Yeah, what a surprise.

"Hey, Bones."

She looked up at him. She could not miss how happy he looked.

"Booth, what are you doing here? Do we have a case?"

Did she just sound like she wanted him to say yes? He could only smile at her. It was cute, that she wanted to have a case to be able to work with him.

"Why Bones, did you miss me?"

He tried the million-watt-smile on his face. He even had the courage to bounce his shoulder against hers. At first she looked angry but then a smile started to form on her face. This man behaved like such a kid sometimes. And he was cute while doing so.

"Why are you here, Booth?"

"I came to drag you out because the sun is shining and birds are singing and the trees are all green… you know it is almost summer so let's go, enjoy a beautiful summer day with me."

She was not sure about what to reply. He was aware of that.

"I will also buy you nice milk shake on our way, what do you think?"

She started to laugh. He looked like he was trying to persuade his son into doing something with him. The expression he had on his face was priceless.

"Okay, Booth", she agreed.

He smiled at her and accompanied her into her office. She grabbed her stuff and followed him to his car. She left her own car in the parking lot. They stopped by the diner to get the promised milk shake and then he took his way out of the city. He refused to tell her where they were going. Of course she tried to get it out of him but she was not successful. And then suddenly she saw Cam´s and Ange´s car. Booth pulled up next to the squint´s cars and killed the engine. When she hopped out of the car she gave him a curious look. He just smiled at her. He put his hand around her shoulders and brought her to their friends with a smile upon his face.

Michele was looking at Bones and Booth and she noticed some weird things. Booth was really hunky, but she understood that he was dating the lady that was with him. Then she realized that Cam used to date him.

"I can understand that you dated him twice. He is just hot. Shame that he is taken."

Angela and Cam were smiling broadly.

"Well, he is taken be he does not know that."

"How do you mean that?"

"Well they are just partners and just friends, nothing more. They are not romantically involved and they are not sleeping together."

"Right. You really believe that crap?"

Michele asked them seriously, rolling her eyes. Both women began to laugh. Michele had hit the nail on its head. Angela and Cam looked at her and suddenly she felt uncomfortable.

"What? Did I say something?"

Both women just smiled at her.

"Well I think that some girl's talk and gossiping is on the horizon, huh?"

"Yeah, Ange, I agree", Cam said.

They decided to tell Michele some stories about those two. The girl was now part of their lives and Cam was grateful for her friends. It was good to have them. Thanks to Angela Michele even stopped smoking. Cam never asked why she stopped. She was just grateful she did. And now she was there with them, watching the famous duo walking towards them, grinning and completely oblivious to how they looked like to the outside world.

Angela and Booth planned something for them all. They went outside the city because there was a new high rope course in the forest. They had ropes, tyres, boards and various other barriers set up in the trees and it all looked really cool. When they entered they were provided with slightly sweaty smelling helmets and every one got a fitting set of climbing equipment. After they had been taught how to use the hooks, they were allowed to start climbing on their own.

They spend a few hours there. They had fun. In the evening they were exhausted from laughing and climbing and swinging and jumping and who knows from what else. It had been great.

Now Booth realized that those two agents had stood up and left the office. Yeah, he could stop his day-dreaming just in time. Well it was not a dream but blissful memories. He smiled.

Cullen asked him to stay. He had some news for him.

In the Institute Angela was chatting with Cam because there was practically no work for them. Jack was visiting Zach that day so he was not around. And Brennan was working on her book. They finished their last limbo case in the morning, after which they decided that they would not start another one. The persuading Brennan part was a bit more difficult but at some point she agreed with them.

Temperance Brennan was in her office indeed, but she was not working on her book. She was sitting on her couch, going through one small box she kept as her biggest secret. It was a box with photos and small things she loved the most. It was her past, in that box. She was enjoying all those happy faces on the photos. There was a time where she had not been able to do this but recently she was okay with facing her own past and memories. Angela would say that she "let her barriers down and allowed the FBI-candy to show her what it meant to be alive and loved" or something like that.

Booth came into the Jeffersonian and he witnessed something unusual. There was no skeleton on the platform, work areas were mostly empty and Bones was nowhere to be seen. He noticed Angela with Cam sitting up there in the lounge so he waved and smiled at them. The girls did the same. He would swear something completely crazy crossed their faces, but he decided that he did not want to know for sure.

He made his way into the office where his Bones was. He saw her sitting on the couch, looking at some pictures, holding something. Was she actually going through the memory box she had? He knew about it because it was him who gave her some things from her past and she immediately put them in there without realizing that he did not know about the box. So she had no other choice but to tell him. He told her that it was normal to have such a box and he promised her, that one day he would allow her to see his box.

He knocked on the door and entered the office. His smile disappeared when he saw the sad expression on her face. She looked sad but happy at the same time. Was she all right?

Since the day she told him that she wanted to believe in love and stuff like that, he started to see her differently. Well he knew things about her and her past a long time before that day, but this conversation about love told him even more. And she allowed him to see her vulnerable. And he did the same. Their unique bond was even more unique now. He was sure of that. That evening they watched a romantic movie. Yeah, Love Actually is such a romantic movie. But he could not resist. And to his surprise she liked it. She was laughing and sometimes even looked upset about some parts. She was a romantic woman after all…

He could not be sure but he would swear that while watching the scene at the airport she remembered him picking her up the day before she blackmailed him into taking her out into the field… and all those other times as well. But he remembered the day when she was coming back from her after-Christmas trip. He saw her with his father in the trailer, smiling at him through the window, all touched and moved with her "I love my gift, Booth" and then she called him that she would be landing in three hours and she asked him if he could pick her up. Of course he did. He was thinking about her during those long two weeks daily. Because he needed to go to Vermont with Parker she left without saying goodbye... So this was the first time after the Christmas night that he was supposed to see her. He was nervous and he was afraid that she would only say "hi". But when she saw him standing there and waiting for her, she dropped her bags and hugged him like she truly missed him a lot. She did not let go for a long time and he just held her, he was smiling and he felt fine again. He had one of the major parts of his life and world in his arms once again…

When the movie was about to end she was asleep. She moved during the evening so she was lying on the couch with him, her head on his lap. He was stroking her hair and after a while he scooped her up in his arms and put her into his bed. Of course he went back to the living room afterwards to get some sleep himself - on the couch. He was a gentleman after all. He was not able to sleep at all because he had the image of her in his bed in front of his eyes the whole night. It was a nice image, yeah, very nice, but also very stimulating in that let´s-cross-the-damn-line way so there was no chance for him to sleep at all.

Now she was looking at pictures from her childhood and when she noticed him she tried to hide her emotions. But he sat down next to her and squeezed her knee. She gave him a smile and let him be there with her and her memories.

"I love this picture."

"Why?"

"It was my first day at school. At first I was afraid of going there but then I changed my mind. I liked it there. I was not exactly what you call a friendly child you know, so it was hard for me. During the lunch break some elder boys were not nice to me. I was scared."

She stopped with her story. She was tracing the picture with her fingers. She was there, Russ was standing behind her, holding her close and it was obvious that the boy loved his sister very much.

"Russ came there and let everybody know that I was his little sister. They started to show me some respect. It was something to be his sister. Well at the beginning… We made this picture at home. Mom prepared dinner and Russ brought me a new pencil case. There was our solar system painted on it. I kissed him and our mom took the camera and Russ said that he would not be on the picture while being kissed by me, so he hugged me like this."

She stopped with her story once more. She had that dreamy look upon her face, the one that was full of memories. He could only smile.

"This picture looks nice, Bones. It is really beautiful."

"Did you have a picture wall at home, Booth?" she suddenly asked. He was not sure why she was asking but he decided a long time ago to tell her anything she might want to know. He leaned back against the couch and for a brief moment he closed his eyes. She was not sure what would come next.

"Yeah, we used to have a picture wall. It was in the hall. More precisely on the wall at the staircase. My mom loved it. She put up some pictures of her in her childhood and some of my dad's childhood as well on it. And then their wedding and pictures of me and Jared and our whole family."

When he stopped she knew something was wrong. She did not ask him. She just leaned in closer, put her head on his shoulder and to her surprise he did not hesitate with putting his arm around her. But it felt nice.

"One day my dad got drunk pretty much. He noticed some stuff in the living room and got all angry. He was screaming and he wanted to punch mom. I stepped in. He punched me and then grabbed me and well … he threw me at the wall and our picture wall was destroyed. Mom was afraid, so she did not make another one. Actually she tried to hide all dangerous objects from the living room and the whole house."

She did not expect him to say something like that at all. She looked at him but he was staring at his lap. She could sense that something was terribly wrong but she was not sure.

"Bones I am leaving next week for a conference."

"What kind of conference? And where are you going?"

"Well the United Nations organized some sort of conference for law enforcements of all member states. There will be people from different countries and different departments, with different skills and experiences. The Bureau is sending some of their people. Cullen told me today that he wanted me to go. It will be more like a seminary. And it is in Prague."

"PRAGUE?!"

Her voice betrayed her. She was in pure shock. Prague is in the middle of Europe! He would be gone for god knows how long and he would be in Prague? That was too much. She had no idea why she was acting like that. She was the one to fly away to various countries all the time. So why was she so sad and frightened that he would leave her?

He noticed the tone of her voice and he also noticed how scared she looked for a while before she regained control over herself. He did not like that.

"Bones, something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong. It's just I expected New York or maybe Japan or Russia but not Czech Republic. "

"I will be gone for just about a week, Bones. Nothing to worry about."

"I am not worried."

She replied maybe too quickly. She was about to get up but somehow she could not make herself to do so. He was absently caressing her arm with his fingers and she liked that. She was not supposed to like anything like that.

Booth was thinking. He needed to know what was wrong. He did some searching in the depths of his mind and then it hit him. Her mother's birthday were about to come. She was not used to face it. But he made her. And this time she would be alone again. She could not possible think that he was leaving her, right?

Booth wanted to talk to her but Angela appeared in the office all of a sudden. He wanted to ask her to come back later but his phone rang. He got up, excused himself and walked away.

Angela sat down next to Bren. The original reason why she came there in the first place was forgotten when she saw how upset her friend was. She touched her hand and Bren gave her puzzled look. Angela just raised her eyebrow.

"Booth is leaving. He is going to Prague to some sort of conference. Something about United Nations."

"Something about United Nations? You do not remember?"

Bones was taken aback. Was it the truth? Did she really not remember? He told her that was for sure. But then he said "Prague" and she suddenly forgot. She blushed a little.

Angela was looking at her with concern in her eyes. Bren's eyes travelled out from the office to figure of her partner standing outside, still on the phone. Then she traveled back to the box on her table.

"Sweetie if you want him to stay just say so and I am sure he will stay gladly."

"No, Angela, that is ridiculous. Why would I want him to stay?"

"Fine, so you do not want him to stay. So go with him."

"What? Why?"

"Okay, let me see. It is a conference, so maybe you can learn something. Maybe you can give those guys a lecture, you will see Prague and trust me, that city is gorgeous. And you will have Booth all for yourself."

"Angela…"

"Don't argue with me, Bren. You can use some vacation and we all know that. You will enjoy it. And besides something is telling me that you really really want to go, don´t you?"

Angela just smiled at her and walked away. The reason why she had come into the office was simply forgotten. It was not important anymore. She met Booth on her way. He was smiling and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. He told her "you look beautiful, Ange". She was shocked. What the hell was wrong with him? Was he on some drugs? Oh boy… But he would have Parker for the whole weekend so maybe he was just thrilled. She was honestly confused. But she really could understand Bren's troubles. With this smile the Agent should have a license or something for it… it should be illegal.

When Angela had made a few steps she could hear her friend asking the question.

"Booth, I was wondering… You think you might want some company? I mean I have never been to Prague and I can use some vacation…"

So this is the end. Sorry about the park – I am not sure if something like that exists around DC but my good friend told me about one in Germany so I put it in there… And – I just love Love Actually so … hehe… :o) Now your time to tell me what do you think :o) Oh and next chapter will be posted soon! :o)