Disclaimer: We still don't own anything

Disclaimer: We still don't own anything. But, if that happens to change, you'll be the first to know. :-D

Angela peeked from her office to look in at her best friend. Temperance had that stunned look on her face. Ah, she's writing. With a smile, the artist sauntered into her best friend's office, her clipboard in hand. Brennan looked up momentarily, and then offered Angela a small smile before returning her concentration to the computer screen.

"Bren, I'm really sorry you can't go to Bali. What were you most looking forward to?"

"Why do you want to know, Ange?"

"No reason."

Brennan's confusion was evident as she looked up once more. "Angela, if you don't have reason for wanting to know, then why did you ask?"

"Because, sweetie, it's what friends do. They take an interest in their friends' interests just for the sake of being interested in their friends."

Brennan continued to stare blankly at her friend. She realized that Angela was using was her "the reason should have been obvious" tone. Of course, that tone also implied that her answer made some sort of sense. Which it didn't. Fine. If she's not going to explain why... Brennan looked at Angela for a moment before answering her friend.

"I really wanted to visit the Tanah Lot temple. It's situated right on the coast, and you can only get to it at low tide. It's beautiful." She sighed wistfully.

"I've been there, just before my trip to Fiji. Speaking of which, I really need to track down Grayson..."

Still lost in thought about the temple, Brennan only caught the end of Angela's comment. "Which one was Grayson, again?"

"The one I apparently married." A thoughtful look passed across her face. "One of these days I should probably figure out if that's really gonna stick. I mean, I might not want to be married at some point. Well, not married already...in case I decide to get married for real."

Brennan was starting to get a headache. "Angela, did you have something you needed from me? Because, you're not making much sense."

"I can't just come in here and talk to you because I'm interested in how your day is going?"

"Angela, you're never just interested in my day. Now what do you want?"

"Nothing. Have you ever had any Balinese food? It's really good."

"Yes, Ange. What's with the sudden interest? Did Booth put you up to this?"

"Why would you say that? You don't trust your man?"

Angela was amused, although not surprised, when Brennan snorted a denial. What did surprise her was the slight flush that crept across her friend's cheeks.

"He's not 'my man' Angela."

Oh, that's her hedging know-it-all tone. "Hhmm. I don't know, honey. You seem to be lacking some of your usual conviction." She tilted her head to the side, eyes gleaming. "Is there something new that I should know about where your hunky agent is concerned?"

Brennan thought about trying to re-direct the conversation, but there was something that was bothering her.

"If a man said that he wasn't going to tell you what you were doing on a date, but said it would be...active, what would you think?"

Angela let out a loud guffaw, but sobered herself at Tempe's indignant glare.

"Sweetie, have you set up a date with someone?"

"Um, maybe...yes."

"And would that someone be Sexy Seeley Booth?"

With an indulgent smile, Brennan said, "Why don't we just leave it at 'someone' for now? What do you think it means?"

Okay. How do I answer without giving away what I know? "Well, I'd say that you'll want to prepare for just about anything." Pausing for effect, Angela then gave her friend her best leering expression. "If you're lucky, maybe Booth...I mean this mysterious 'someone' of yours...will take you for the wildest ride of your life."

"You think we'll go to an amusement park? I don't think that's it."

Angela stared at Brennan. The woman was clueless, completely clueless.

"You know what, let's just say that if a man said that to me, I'd expect to be riding something by the end of the day."

"You think he'll take me horseback riding? Somehow, that doesn't sound like him."

Angela opened her mouth, but couldn't think of a single thing to say. "I...You..." Shaking her head, she took a deep breath. "Bren, sweetie...what I'm trying to say is that you might want to... open your mind to the possibilities of the moment. Don't plan so much. When you get to it, just go with the flow."

"I don't know..."

"What that means. Why am I not surprised? I'm going back to my office now, while you contemplate what I've said. If any revelations strike, I'm only across the lab, okay?" Angela offered her friend a smile and left the office. Once she was out of earshot, she pulled out her cell phone and made a call.

"Booth."

"Hey, it's me. You're gonna have your work cut out for you on this one. That woman is the most clueless person, well, maybe aside from Zack, that I have ever met."

"Did you find out where she wants to go?"

"Yeah, this really great Temple called Tonah Lot. I've been there. It's incredible, and lucky for you, I have the footage for it."

"Great. I'm leaving it all in your capable hands Angela."

"I'll do what I can; you know that. I'll see if I can put something together to make it…easier on you."

"Thanks, Angela. I appreciate it."

Oh, I just bet you will. Walking to her office, Angela ended the call and made a mental note to search for the latest swimwear fashions from Brazil. They'll never know what hit them.

Angela shut her door and began an Internet search. She grinned evilly as she perused through pages of women's swimwear. Hmmm, turquoise looks terrible on Bren. What about red? Oh, God, no. Those are hideous. Wait a second...that forest green one. Perfect. And now for Booth.

No. No. God, I thought those went out of style in the '40's. She paged through another dozen or so sites that claimed to feature the latest in men's swimwear fashions. Then, she happened across a picture of a swimmer from the last US Olympic team. Oh yes! In red. She chuckled. If it worked for Mulder...

With her work complete, Angela pulled out her credit card and made the purchase. The suits would be here with plenty of time to spare.

xxxxx

Booth looked over the various artifacts from Bali that were displayed on the screen. He had to find the perfect item for Bones so she would have a souvenir from her 'trip'. The problem was that he just didn't know what would work. She usually brought home skeletal remains from her vacation spots, but he certainly wasn't going to supply her with another skull for her vast collection. Hmmm, what to get her.

I'm sure she'd love the jewelry, but that doesn't seem thoughtful enough. What have we talked about that would be special for her? He smiled as he saw a reference to bamboo. It was considered to have protective qualities. They used it for many different items, even for food. But, what caught his eye held a little more meaning for him. And hopefully for her. He carefully checked each picture and finally chose a handmade bamboo flute with carvings that told a tale that, he thought, would hold a very special meaning for his Bones.

xxxxx

Brennan stood at Seeley's door and took a deep breath. She held two bags of Greek food from Daphne's, but still wasn't quite sure what she was doing there. Her resolve steeled from the oxygen, she knocked on his door. What if he doesn't want to see me? What if he was only asking me on a date because he felt bad that I couldn't go on vacation? Why am I here? Why... her internal dialogue was cut short as Seeley opened the door. His face immediately lit up at the sight of her. Okay, so maybe he does want to see me.

"Bones, what are you doing here?"

"I, uh, saw your lights from the street and thought maybe...I brought Daphne's." She finished lamely.

He smiled fondly at the memory of a similar, if reversed, conversation. "You just happened to see my lights from the road after stopping by Daphne's for food?"

His grin then widened as he watched her fumble for an answer. God I missed her.

"Well, you know, I was hungry, and I stopped to get food and...Can I come in?" Tempe tried not to let the blush cover her cheeks, but failed miserably. Seeley stepped aside to let her into his apartment. As he shut the door, he placed his hand on her back and gave an internal fist pump as he heard her intake of breath. He guided her into the living room, his television providing a soft glow to the room.

"In that case, Bones, I'm glad you were hungry. Can I get you something to drink? Tea? Wine?" He smirked as she nervously ran a hand through her hair. "A shot of Jack?" He was rewarded with a laugh.

"Wine would be nice. Thanks."

"Hey, it's the least I can do since you brought the food." He continued speaking over his shoulder as he walked to the kitchen, "Feel free to change the channel. I had just turned the TV on and hadn't found anything to watch, yet."

"I wouldn't know what to watch, although I hear the History Channel and Discovery Channel have some interesting programming. Apparently the archaeological site in the Czech Republic I'll be assisting with will be in one of their programs. I'm supposed to do an interview for it, I think." Brennan prattled, much more comfortable as she slipped into work mode. Booth grinned as he got out two wine glasses. He was glad she was relaxing a little after her rather nervous entrance.

"I'm sure it'll be fascinating, Bones. Red or white?"

"Um, white, thanks." Temperance sat down onto the couch and looked over at the television. With a groan, she watched the news as a report on the Jeffersonian came on.

"You know, I still don't know why I have to be here for this stupid exhibit opening."

Booth walked into the room holding two glasses of wine. "Huh?"

She pointed to the TV screen where some bleach-blond reporter with extra-white teeth was rambling on about "a technological breakthrough" that was "straight out of Star Trek".

"Oh. That." Booth handed her one of the glasses and gave her his best charm smile. "Well, think of it this way. If you were going on your vacation, we wouldn't be going on our date."

"We could have gone on a date anytime within the last two weeks, Booth." Brennan took a sip of the wine, enjoying the flavor before swallowing it.

"That would have been a little hard with me out of town, but I like the thought that you can't wait to spend the day with me."

Placing her glass on the coffee table, she moved closer to him as he sat on the sofa beside her. "Booth?"

"Yeah," he said, distracted by how close she was getting.

Brennan tilted her head toward his and took a deep breath. Looking him in the eye, she said, "Eat your food before you head gets away from you."

He laughed before pulling a gyro from one of the bags. It smelled delicious, and he suddenly realized how hungry he really was.

"Why did you come here, Temperance? Was it just to make sure I wasn't going to whither away to nothing, or was there another reason, like maybe you missed me?" Booth reached for his wine glass to take a sip.

"I hardly think you're going to suffer from malnutrition after a few hours. Actually, I'm curious about something Angela said."

"Did you tell her we were going out?"

"Not exactly. She said that I should expect to be riding something by the end of the day."

Booth choked on the bite of gyro that he had been about to swallow. After a full minute of coughing and Brennan slapping him on the back, he was finally able to take a deep breath. "She said what?" Wiping a tear from his eye and coughing again, he contemplated ways to torture his so-called helper.

"She said I should expect to ride something. Why? What's wrong? I just wanted to ask in case I would need to wear something special or bring along my riding crop."

"While that idea has a certain appeal, I'm really not into the whole sex toys thing." Booth watched as she took in the information. Once she reached the conclusion, her face turned red and a look of horror overtook her expression.

"She was talking about sex? Why would she assume the date would end in sex? She didn't know I was talking about you!"

Tucking away the meaning behind that statement for later review, Booth chuckled and handed her wine to her. "Well, it is Angela we're talking about here. Don't all conversations with her lead to sex?" Seeing Brennan's eyes grow wide, he realized what he had just said and tried to fix his statement. "I don't mean that they actually lead to having sex. Just to talking about it. You know…in that innuendo-laden, Angela kinda way."

Brennan seemed to accept the explanation and said no more on that issue. She did, however bring up the date again.

"What exactly are we going to do? I mean, you yourself did say it was going to be active. Active how? Is it shooting range active, or hiking on a trail active."

"How about this. You just bring a backpack or something with a change of clothes so we can make like boy scouts and be prepared for anything."

"Booth, I'm capable of many things, but I don't think being a Boy Scout is one of them. How does that advice actually help me?"

"Bones, just bring some extra clothes, okay?" As she nodded, he leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Relax, Temperance. It's just me. You trust me, right?"

She gasped as the words caressed her skin. She turned her head sharply, her face only millimeters from Booths.

"Of c-c-course I trust you." Her voice was almost a whisper as she found herself wanting him to close in that last remaining distance. A slow smile slid over Seeley's face as he looked at her.

"Good." He then very slowly leaned even closer, watching as her eyes fluttered closed. Turning his head only slightly, he brushed his lips across her cheek. Pulling back, he waited for her to open her eyes. When she did, he nodded to the food on the coffee table, unable to keep from grinning. "Now, eat your food before it gets cold."