CH
Booth strolled into the kitchen shaking his head. "Bones, you're not going to believe this."
The two women in the room looked at him curiously.
"They don't have a hotel here." He announced.
"Sure we do." Darlene said, returning her attention to the corpse in front of her. "It's closed for repairs."
"Repairs?" Brennan asked.
"It had a slight fire."
"SLIGHT?" Booth cried out. "It's burnt to the ground!"
"Just the front part."
"It was all front." Booth muttered darkly.
"Pretty much." Darlene agreed. "Don't worry about it, you can stay in Phil's cabin. He won't mind. He's in the city right now."
"Who's Phil?" Booth asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.
"The old coroner. He had a heart attack this morning. Owns the hotel too. Probably the fire was the cause of the heart attack." She held up the corpse's hand and started pulling the skin off. "He'd be glad to let you stay in the cabin."
"Excellent." Brennan replied. "That will suit us nicely."
"Wait." Booth interrupted, remembering the discussion about Uncle Fred. "The cabin has plumbing, right?"
"Indoor?" Darlene said innocently.
Booth closed his eyes and thunked his head against the door frame. "Why me?"
"Relax." Darlene chuckled. "He's got plumbing. It's a helluva cabin."
"We're almost done here for now Booth, how about I meet you at the diner across the street in an hour?" Brennan said, looking around the room. "We'll figure it out then. Darlene? Do you see the scalpel?"
"Right here."
"Thanks. This is very interesting."
Booth sighed and left, heading for the diner across the street. A bunch of pickups were parked out front, in various states of rustiness.
He felt overdressed in his FBI regulation suit.
A silence fell as he walked through the door, then after he'd been eyeballed by every person there the conversations resumed.
"Congratulations." The waitress said, leading him to a table in the back. "You passed the test."
"What test is that?" Booth said, loosening his tie.
"The Tax and Politics test."
He sat down in a chair and took the menu she handed to him. "What?"
"You're not a tax man, and you're not a politican." She held her pen to the pad of paper in her other hand. "What'll you have to drink honey?"
"Water please. How do you know I'm not?"
"You didn't smile and you didn't smirk."
Booth blinked at her uncertainly. "Which does which?"
"Tax men smirk."
He squinted as he thought. "You're right. They do."
She winked at him conspiratorily. "I'll be right back with that water."
He watched her walk away with a smile on his face. Old enough to be his mother, but she could probably walk him into the ground, and from the smack upside the head she delivered to the guy at the bar when he pinched her butt, she could probably take him in a fight too.
She was back in a flash, setting the water down in front of him. "You having Chinese or Western?"
"Burger please. With Fries. Gravy."
"Burger and works. Right." She wrote it down. "Dessert?"
"Do I smell pie?"
"Yes you do. Apple or Blueberry?"
"Apple please."
"Sure thing son."
The man at the bar looked around and opened his mouth. "Hey Molly, get that fine rear over here and quit hitting on the customers!" A saucy grin split his lined face.
"Shut up Earl." She smiled back. "Don't mind him." She told Booth. "That old geezer is my husband."
A ripple of laughter went through the room, and Booth nodded. "Good to know." He grinned at her, and she smacked him on the top of his head lightly with the notebook.
"Well arn't you the one!"
CH
"So." Brennan said, sitting down across from Booth with a thud, dropping her purse on the floor. "Darlene phoned, and it's ok if we use the cabin, the key is under the flower pot on the front step, and the bedding is in a closet. Apparently, we want to go to the grocery store though, because there is no food."
Booth blinked at her. "Pie?"
She shook her head. "No thanks. Apparently, the grocery store is two blocks that way, and it closes at seven, so we should hurry." She pulled a pen and a piece of paper out of her jacket pocket. "I'm going to make a list. We'll need coffee, coffee filters, cream, sugar, bagels, cream cheese, popcorn, lavender bubble bath,"
Booth choked and hastily swallowed. "Bubble bath?"
"I smell like death Booth, I'm having a bath."
"Oh, is that what that is?"
She sighed and studied her list. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Can't we just eat here?"
"I like to eat at six, after I come home from my jog. Bacon?"
"Eggs. Toast."
"You mean bread."
"It's the same thing."
"No it isn't. How do I know that you didn't mean garlic toast?"
Booth wrinkled his face in disgust. "Garlic toast for breakfast?"
"With hasbrowns! Great idea Booth. Do you think we should get toliet paper?"
Booth put down his fork and stared across the table at her. She was chewing on the end of the pen, her brown hair tucked behind one ear as she studied her list like it held the holy grail.
"We'll get whatever you want Bones." He said finally. "How long do you think we'll be staying?"
She scanned her list again, making tiny notations and a few additions. "I don't know Booth, at least three days. I've got cause of death, but I have to send some digital images to Angela tonight, and Hodgins won't get the clothing I sent until tommorow at the earliest, and those tests always take twenty four hours or so."
"Uh huh." Booth nodded, eating the last of his pie. "Well, I guess it's time to go grocery shopping then."
She stood up and picked up her bag, tucking the list carefully inside. "Do we have a vehicle?"
Booth motioned with his thumb. "The green four wheel drive. It's a loaner."
"Rental?"
"No. They don't have rentals here. But apparently John's wife is in Toronto at her sisters place getting ready for a wedding and won't be back for a week. He said we should use it, that the battery will die if it doesn't get used for a week."
Brennan shrugged. "Sounds great."
Booth paid his bill and led her outside to the vehicle. "Apparently the cargo door is rusted shut, so we'll have to put the groceries in the backseat."
She climbed in and looked. "Baby seats?"
Booth just shrugged and started it up. "Grocery store. Left or right?"
"Right."
Brennan shoved the second last bag into the back seat and stood holding the bag of potatoes and then mini watermelon she'd purchased on a whim. The floor was full of groceries, and the only place left was the two car seats, one facing forward, one facing back.
She studied the seats and then shrugged, carefully placing the watermelon in the the rear facing seat and the potatoes in the forward facing one, carefully strapping them in so they wouldn't jolt around. Then she stepped back with a smile and closed the door, climbing into the passenger seat to wait for Booth, who had gotten distracted in the hardware store next door.
A few minutes later he walked out with a small yellow bag and climbed in, starting the vehicle. "Got everything?"
"Yes I think so."
He turned around and gaped. "Uh oh."
She spun around and looked anxiously at the groceries. "What?"
He looked from her to the potatoes and then back to her again. "Are you feeling ok?"
"Yes, why?"
"Any strange maternal urges lately?"
"I've been thinking about getting a cat, why?"
He looked back at the potatoes and noticed the watermelon, tightly secured in the baby carrier. "No reason."
"You're acting very strangely Booth."
He caught himself checking the backseat again. "I'm fine. Everything's great."
"Ok." She turned her attention to the yellow bag. "What did you buy?"
"A screwdriver."
"A screwdriver?"
"Yeah, it's great! It's got all the bits, and they're all inside the casing, and then you just push the one you want forwards." He smiled triumphantly. "No more loosing the bits!"
CH
They sat in the car, staring out at the cabin in front of them.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Booth asked finally.
"Yes." Brennan answered, checking her hand drawn map. "This is it. It's going to be used as a hunting lodge next year."
Booth raised his eyebrows. "It's... Palatial."
"I've seen bigger." Brennan replied, opening her door and stepping out. "Let's get our stuff inside, it's getting colder."
"Welcome to Canada." Booth muttered. "Where there is no limit to how cold it can get."
Brennan stuck her head back in the car. "You sound cranky. Are you cranky Booth?"
He grimaced. "No. I'm fine. Go open the door, and I'll bring the groceries and our bags in."
She smiled and ran up the stairs to the huge double doors.
The only thing about this place that said 'cabin', was the fact it was constructed of rough hewn logs.
Booth sighed and got out, opening the back door to pull out the grocery bags.
He'd been hoping for a tiny little one room place, where they would have had to share a bed.
A small bed.
One of those old fashioned 3/4 sized ones, with the brown metal bed frame.
Unfortunately for him, this place looked like it had multiple bedrooms. And probably two living rooms.
Probably filled with game trophies.
Stuffed birds.
He shuddered. He hated birds.
Those beady little eyes.
He stepped into the now glowing "cabin" and looked around. Brennan had turned all the lights on. Tiled flooring led the way to the kitchen, just visable through another doorway. To his left and right were hardwood flooring, with oriental carpets rolled up on the sides of the room. Wood burning fireplaces bookended the wide room, giving him a ray of hope.
"Bones?"
"Yeah?"
"Does this place have central heating?" He dropped the bags on the entrance floor and turned to go back for the rest.
"I don't know." She called out. "I can't find a thermostat, but I do see registers. It's cold in here though, maybe we should light a fire?"
He grinned on his way out the door.
Maybe they'd get to snuggle in front of the fire...
He shut the car door with a slam.
The last load.
Brennan's bags weighed a ton.
He dropped them in the entryway and shut the big door behind him. "Bones?"
"In here!" She called from the kitchen.
The grocery bags had disappeared, and he supposed she was putting the groceries away somewhere.
"Where do you want your bags?" He asked, crossing his fingers.
"Oh." She walked out of the kitchen, a pensive look on her face. "I don't know. There appears to be four bedrooms, but only two are furnished so far. They both have fireplaces, so just pick one."
He clenched his jaw to keep his disappointment from showing. "Ok, sounds good." He picked up the bags again and headed for the hallway that exited the room.
"Wait! Check the bathrooms first. I want whichever room has a jacuzzi tub." She announced, spinning on her heel and heading back to the kitchen, mumbling something about not being able to find the oven, and how was she supposed to make mac and cheese without an oven?
A smile twitched the corners of Booth's mouth.
At least he was going to get mac and cheese.
The first two bedrooms were empty, just as she had said. An office, and a full bathroom were next.
A gently curving staircase led to the second floor, annoucing the end of the hallway, and he went up it curiously. Someone had made it by hand.
A short landing at the top was framed by two doors, and he pushed one open. A handmade four poster bed with a filmy white duvet stood in the place of honour in the huge room. He set the bags down with a thump.
"Now THAT'S a bed." He announced to himself.
Another door just to the side stood open, and he peeked inside. A whirlpool jacuzzi and full shower.
"I guess this is Bones's rooms then." He shook his head in wonderment.
No matter where they ended up, she always seemed to get amazing accomadation, while he ended up with a windowless broom closet.
He left her bags in the room and went next door, holding his breath as he pushed it open and turned on the light.
The bed was big. Solid. Covered in a black duvet. A huge TV sat on the dresser.
He dropped his bag and started laughing in relief.
Paradise.
His room also had an en-suite. With a whirlpool bath. Shower. The works.
He sat on the edge of the bed and flipped the TV on.
His mouth dropped open.
And he stifled the unmanly squeal that burbled in his chest.
Full subscription to the Playboy channel.
Ten different twenty-four hour sports network channels.
And no national geographic.
He was in heaven.
CH
Booth left his room with a smile on his face, shutting the door carefully behind him.
Brennan's room didn't have a TV.
Neither did the lounge/living room downstairs.
Could it be?
Did he have the only TV in the house in his bedroom?
Diabolical possibilites filled his mind.
But there was a definate nip in the air now, he needed to start some fires.
He thundered down the stairs and strode into the kitchen, a lovely aroma meeting his nose.
"You found the oven?" He asked.
"Yes. They hid it behind a cupboard door."
Booth laughed out loud. "Tricky buggers."
Brennan looked at him from the side of her eyes and smiled. He seemed much happier.
"I'm going to start some fires." He announced.
"Wood is stacked just outside the door there." She pointed, sipping a mug of tea.
"Hey, did you make me any?" He asked, heading for the door.
"I thought you didn't like tea."
"I like the stuff that reminds me of coffee."
"This is blueberry herbal."
"I like blueberries."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I will make you some while you start the fires."
He winked at her and opened the back door, grabbing some kindling and blocks of wood.
"How many should I start?" He asked in a low voice.
Her breath caught in her throat. "Um. I don't know." She forced out, biting her lip. When he used that voice her fingers and toes and everything in between tingled.
All of a sudden she didn't care about fires.
There were better ways to get warm.
He glanced at her on his way to the wood stove in the corner of the room. She was staring wide eyed into her tea, her lower lip between her teeth.
"Bones?"
She blinked and jumped up, wiping suddenly sweaty palms against her hips. "Tea! Right. Sorry, I was... thinking.."
She took a deep breath and reached for the kettle, turning on the stove burner.
She'd been thinking alright.
Of Booth... and her... twisted up in the sheets of her bed...
She HAD to get a grip.
"Mac and Cheese alright for tonight?" She asked, clearing her voice.
He was crouched in front of the wood stove, and a tiny flame was flickering within, reflecting light onto his face when he turned to smile at her.
"Sounds great Bones."
