An icy wind blew and bare trees shivered beneath a dark grey sky. Beneath the trees, two dark figures trudged wearily along a narrow road. They were not dressed for hiking. The first figure, a woman, wore grey overalls and a long black coat which appeared to be several sizes too large. Her lips were pursed in obvious annoyance.
"I can't believe you left the headlights on," she complained.
The man rolled his eyes and stared beseechingly at the sky, as if praying for strength. He wore a black suit and black leather shoes, regulation FBI dress code. The bright red scarf around his neck seemed insufficient defence against the biting wind.
"For the third time, Bones, I'm sorry," he said, walking behind her like a chastened puppy. "Besides, if you hadn't taken so long there would have been someone from the forensics team still there to give us a ride."
Temperance Brennan stopped and turned so suddenly that agent Booth almost walked into her. "I was being thorough," she snapped.
Her eyes glinted dangerously and Booth stared, mesmerized for a moment. He knew he should back off and apologise again, but he got a perverse pleasure out of provoking her sometimes. Brennan's face was flushed with anger and the exertion of walking almost two miles. As he stared, tiny snowflakes began to settle in her hair. Snowflakes?
They both looked skyward at the same time. "Shit," said Booth.
Brennan shivered and Booth regretted allowing her to talk him into walking. They should have just stayed in the SUV. There was no cell reception in this god-forsaken valley but someone would have noticed they were missing by nightfall.
"How far are we from the town?" she asked quietly, her anger forgotten.
"Another two miles at least. That's a long way to walk in this weather." Booth peered down the road but couldn't see any sign of civilisation. No cars or buildings, just bare trees and hills. He made a snap decision. "We need to go back to that cabin we saw half a mile back and find shelter." They had knocked on the cabin door earlier and determined it was unoccupied but Booth decided he could break the lock and get them inside if necessary.
"What? No, Booth, I can carry on," Brennan insisted. "Look, you can have your coat back if you're cold." She started unbuttoning the woollen coat but Booth grabbed her hands to stop her.
"We're going back, Bones." He said in a voice that forbade argument. He took her by the arm and they turned around as the snowfall grew heavier.
For the last quarter mile they could barely see through the storm. Brennan was exhausted and tried to hang back for a rest but Booth firmly pulled her onward. When they reached the cabin he was so cold he couldn't even feel his shoulder when he rammed the door open. Brennan collapsed in a heap on the wooden floor while Booth shut the door against the wind and snow.
He surveyed the interior of the cabin. It was small and rustic but had a pot-belly stove and, mercifully, a phone. Booth picked it up and was relieved to hear a dial tone. He called the sheriff's office to inform them of their predicament. The sheriff wasn't keen on sending out a car in the storm and Booth agreed that they could wait out the bad weather in the cabin.
He put the phone down and turned to check on Bones. "I take it we're going to be here a while," she said wryly.
Booth noticed in her pale face and touched her forehead worriedly. "Bones, you're freezing."
She shrugged off his concern. "My epidermis is below optimal temperature," she admitted, "but I don't really feel cold, just tired".
That statement made Booth even more worried. "You are hypothermic. We need to get you warmed up quickly." He searched the room and was relieved to discover a plentiful supply of firelighters and fuel for the pot-belly stove. Within a few minutes he had a crackling fire started and went looking for blankets.
The cabin had a small bedroom at one end but Booth decided it would be warmer to stay in the main room with the stove. He dragged a threadbare old mattress from the bed and plonked it down a few metres from the stove, blankets and all. Brennan watched with a bemused expression on her face. He helped her stand up.
"Let's get you out of these wet clothes," he said anxiously, unbuttoning the coat.
"Booth!" she slapped his hands away and tried to do it herself. But her hands were numb and she fumbled with the buttons for a few moments before turning back to her partner with a frustrated sigh. He gently removed the coat and shoes and then unzipped her overalls. Her pants and shirt were also damp and cold. He hesitated a moment but then started to undo the buttons of her shirt. She sucked in a breath. Booth steeled himself for a slap of protest but it never came. Brennan closed her eyes and acquiesced to being undressed without a word.
Her shirt parted to reveal a white lace bra and Booth's breath hitched involuntarily. But the goose-bumps on her chest reminded him of the need for urgency. He took a deep breath and unbuttoned her pants, pulling them to her ankles in one fluid movement. The testosterone-fuelled part of his brain noted the matching white lace panties. The same part of his brain yelled in protest as he bundled her up in a blanket, obstructing the view. Then he stripped off his own sodden clothes, wrapped himself in a blanket and sat down on the mattress beside her.
Temperance watched her partner through heavy-lidded eyes as he undressed. She already knew he was a well-structured man but would not willingly miss an opportunity to collect more evidence. Booth's damp shirt clung appealingly to his muscles. He peeled it off to reveal a smooth, tanned chest. She once told him she was glad he wasn't a woman, and she was even more glad now. Then he dropped his trousers to reveal a pair of satin Bugs Bunny boxer shorts.
Brennan quickly wiped the smile from her face as he turned around, and pretended to examine the roof of the cabin. Booth grabbed a blanket and flopped down beside her.
"Are you warming up there, Bones?"
Brennan bit her lip. Her extremities still felt cold and numb. "Not really," she admitted.
His head snapped up and he looked at her in concern. "We need to share body heat then. Move over, Bones." He unwrapped her blanket and eased in beside her.
Brennan didn't bother arguing. She knew it was the sensible thing to and there were worse ways she could think of to wait out a storm than lying in the arms of her partner. Booth put his arms around her and pulled her close into a spooning position. He didn't seem to quite know where to put his hands but eventually settled them on her stomach. Brennan sighed happily at the warmth radiating from his bare chest. His breath teased the back of her neck and she breathed in his unique, Boothy scent.
"The last time I had to huddle together for warmth, it was with a bunch of soldiers who hadn't bathed in three days," Booth informed her lightly.
Brennan frowned. "I bathed just this morning".
"I know," Booth assured her quickly. "I'm just saying that this is a much more pleasant experience than last time."
"I must admit I find this experience pleasant too. It's been a while since I had a man's arms around me,"
"I'm sorry, Bones," Booth squeezed her comfortingly.
Brennan lay quietly in his arms, tracing lazy circles on his forearms where they rested on her stomach. The fire crackled behind them and wind and snow continued to beat against the windows.
There was a gap between their hips and Brennan realised she still had a cold patch on her backside. She tried to press closer into Booth's warmth but he pulled away slightly. She frowned and tried again to wriggle closer.
"Bones, stop it!" said Booth in a pained voice.
"What? You offered to share your warmth," she said crossly.
"Yes, just not…that part of me."
Understanding glimmered in Temperance's brain. "Do you have an erection, Booth? It is a perfectly natural response to being in bed with a woman. And it would make your groin area particularly warm," she added hopefully.
The rest of Booth stiffened. "I will not be treated like some kind of heated towel-rail," he growled.
"But it's your fault I got hypothermia. The least you could do is warm me up properly," she pouted.
Booth groaned in frustration and pulled her closer. Brennan smiled at the unmistakeable feel of a rock-hard object poking her in the buttock. So she hadn't been wrong. She wriggled a bit more to find a comfortable position and then sighed in contentment.
"Comfortable now, Bones?" Booth asked. Brennan noticed he was breathing faster.
"I'm getting there," she replied smugly.
Booth noticed the fire was burning low and he steeled himself to get out of the warm blankets and put more fuel in it. Bones seemed a lot warmer now and hadn't moved in while, thankfully. He wondered if she was asleep. He gently tried to withdraw his arm and move away.
"No," she growled sleepily, clutching his arm.
"Bones, I have to put more wood on the fire or it will go out."
"Very well. But don't take long."
Booth extracted himself from their nest and immediately shivered. The stove fire wasn't yet hot enough to heat up the room. He put some larger pieces of wood on the fire. There were four shaker-style chairs in the kitchen so he move them closer to the stove and hung their clothes on them to dry.
He dived back into the warmth of the blankets.
"Booth!" Brennan shrieked. "Your phalanges are freezing!"
Booth guiltily removed the offending foot from her leg. "Sorry about that,"
Brennan rolled over and looked at him with a glint in her eye. "I suppose it's only fair that I warm you up now." Booth shook his head and tried to explain that he was perfectly capable of warming up by himself but Brennan didn't listen. She pushed him down and lay on top of him, chest to chest, legs intertwined with his.
Booth's erection immediately returned with full force as her luscious female body melded to his. He was only human, after all. "Bones, what are you doing?" he manage to gasp.
She smiled at him, their faces only inches apart. "Obviously, I am attempting to warm you up, Booth. And enjoying a bit of physical stimulation as well," she added as an afterthought.
Booth groan as she wriggled her hips as a demonstration. "I can see that, Bones, but why?"
"Because I don't know when I'll get another chance like this," She replied simply.
Booth lay there and tried to think. Part of his brain wanted to rip off his partner's lacy underwear and thrust his aching cock into her seemingly willing body But the other part of his brain coldly informed him that would be a terrible idea and scolded him for even considering it.
Brennan started tracing the outline of his pectoral muscles and Booth realised the longer he spent thinking about it, the harder it would be to maintain self control.
"Bones, as much as I'm enjoying this, you know it is very inappropriate, right?"
"Why?" she pouted. "Why can't we have physical intercourse?" Her hand moved upwards and she touched his face, a surprisingly intimate gesture.
Booth struggled to put together a logical reply. "Because we work together, that's why."
"There is no rule prohibiting agents from having intimate relations with consultants," she retorted.
"Well, there is another reason. Sex is not just about the physical for me, I need a long-term committed relationship."
"Did you have a long-term committed relationship with Dr Saroyan?" She asked coyly.
Damn. Trust Brennan to bring that one up. Booth struggled to come up with a response while her hands kept roaming. She lowered her lips to his chest and planted gentle kisses there.
"That was different," he said lamely. "She wasn't as important to me as you are."
Brennan raised her eyebrows quizzically. "So, you only have sex with people who aren't important to you?"
"What? No! That's not it."
"I think I understand," she said coolly. "You're just not attracted to me." She slid off his body and retreated to the other side of the mattress.
Booth ached at the loss of her sweet body against his and he grabbed her arm to stop her going any further. "You know damn wall that's not true," he said angrily.
"Oh?" Brennan replied.
Booth took her hand and placed it on his rock-hard erection. "See how attracted I am Bones. And it's like this almost every time I'm near you."
Brennan smiled triumphantly and her figures closed around him. "Now that I know that, you can't just expect me to do nothing about it." She began stroking up and down through the thin satin fabric of his boxers. Booth gasped at the delicious sensation. He had the distinct feeling he had just been manipulated but was almost too far gone to care. "Oh God, I'm in trouble now," he groaned.
Brennan grasped his erection more forcefully and with a crooked smile, dared him to respond. She was not only crossing his metaphorical line, but vandalising it so it was hardly discernable anymore. Booth suddenly rose up and pulled her into his embrace, kissing her hungrily on the lips. Within minutes they divested each other of remaining clothing and were well on the way to achieving bliss.
Sheriff Donald approached the cabin a couple of hours later and saw a plume of smoke rising from it. He knocked loudly on the door.
"Sheriff," agent Booth said cordially, opening the door a crack. He appeared to be wearing nothing but a woollen blanket. "Our clothes are drying beside the fire," Booth explained sheepishly.
"Right, well I'm here with some jumper leads so if you want to come with me to your car…" Donald said hesitantly.
"Great, just give us a few minutes to get dressed will you?" Booth went to shut the door again but not before the sheriff caught a glimpse of Brennan lying in the blankets behind him. Lucky bugger, he thought.