A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed. Ya made me feel like whipping out another chapter. Again, thanks to rightersblock for beta...ing (not sure if that's a word)
Special Agent Seeley Booth loved cars. Some of his fondest memories involved his dad and a piece-of-junk car. They would spend entire weekends covered in grease and living on nothing but sandwiches and laughter. It was a lot of work fixing up those old cars, but the pride and satisfaction he felt when he heard the engine revved up was indescribable. Booth was fiercely dedicated to his job but often longed for some free time and a visit to a junkyard. As much as he loved the thrill of cars and driving, he had never had much luck with conversations that took place in his cars. His father had given him the painful, but inevitable 'talk' in their first fixer-upper at the age of eleven. That magical first serious girlfriend had dumped him in that same car for his best friend. Rebecca had presented him with custody papers in a car. The list went on and on.
And then there was Bones. Yes, he and Dr. Temperance Brennan had access to a colorful inventory of car conversations. The inside of Booth's government-issue SUV had heard many a bizarre conversation. From talk of cannibals, the exchanging of relationship advice, both rational and… not, to the unending debate of the existence of God; they were all there. Sometimes, though, they branched away from their stock conversations and came up with something new. Arguing about being lost was something new.
"Booth, all of these dirt roads look the same. How do you know? You don't do you? We're lost." Brennan removed her sunglasses and set them on the dashboard.
"No we're not, we haven't been driving long enough to be lost."
"It doesn't take very long to get lost." Now she was raking her fingers through her hair and collecting it on top of her head. Booth was to feel a little warm himself. Booth watched as she twisted the hair band around her hair, leaving it in a messy tangle of auburn waves. Then he realized that he'd just missed his turn. How did he let her distract him like this? Booth whipped the car around and headed back in the opposite direction.
"I knew we were lost." Bones put her sunglasses back on and looked at him triumphantly.
"We're not lost. I just missed the… Bones, why don't you work on that tic-tac-toe looking thing with the numbers?"
"It's called Sudoku. The origins of the puzzle-game are European and American, though the Japanese name was adopted. An eighteenth century mathematician, Euler, who you've heard of perhaps…"
"You know what… Bones… why don't you just look out the window?" The not-so-subtle request for silence earned him a glare, which he studiously ignored. With an exasperated sigh, Brennan turned and watched the slow marquee of trees and fields. It was a beautiful day. The scenery was mottled with shadows from the clouds that graced the clear blue sky. The afternoon sun had warmed the window and Brennan found herself resting her forehead against the glass. The peace of the country outside settled over them in the form of a comfortable silence.
Ten minutes had passed and Booth glanced at his partner. He had to admit that all that crap about Bones 'being one of the guys' had been a total load. Sometimes he didn't think before he let the words come out. Looking at her now, Booth couldn't help but to appreciate her beauty. Her head was resting against the window and she had closed her eyes. It was the most unguarded and relaxed he had seen her in a long time. The sun streamed in on her side of the car and caressed soft features.
Booth reached to turn on the radio and found a station playing some classical guitar music, perfect for a drive in the country. He needed this. Even if they were on their way to a crime scene, for now he was able to breathe a little and feel that he carried no responsibilities. Booth was even more appreciative of the time when he considered that Bones seem to have the same need. To give her this time was the best thing he'd done for her in a while.
The sharp sound of his cell phone assaulted the calm and broke Booth from his reverie. Bones jerked upright with a gentle gasp. Casting an apologetic glance in her direction, Booth flipped open the phone with slightly more force than necessary.
"Booth." The tone of his voice was not welcoming. "You've got to be kidding me… alright… just make sure that the paperwork gets done so this doesn't happen again." Booth ended the call and met the gaze of a curious forensic anthropologist.
"What happened?" Booth was turning the SUV around once again to start back towards the city.
"The guys out there just confirmed that the remains found belong to an old, unmarked graveyard. They don't think there's any reason to investigate."
"It would still be interesting to study them—find out what kind of lives they led, maybe even identify what family owned the cemetery. It could prove to be very valuable information for certain people." Brennan had removed her sunglasses once again and was twirling them thoughtfully.
"No, Bones. You already have too much to do. There's no time for play."
"So says the man who has no objections to ogling at me while he gets us lost. It could have been a legitimate crime scene." Booth was left speechless. In the past, he had doubted that her blunt observations proceeded from true social ignorance because he had never known a woman to be so… so…. clueless. Bones never ceased to amaze him.
"I was not ogling. I was thinking."
"About me." God, she was relentless.
"About how relaxed you looked." A tortured expression wiped away her smug smile and turned away from him again. "Bones? You ok?" Booth reached over and tentatively touched her shoulder.
"I'm fine." Brennan sighed and let her hand fall against the window. "I'm just tired, that's all."
"Well, sorry all you got to do today was drive around with me."
The winter sun had been down for about an hour by the time Booth pulled into the parking lot of the Jeffersonian Institute. The air had cooled rapidly and it was now rather frosty outside. Brennan glanced up from her blackberry and found that most of the Institute had gone home for the night. She realized it wasn't Booth's fault, but she was slightly annoyed at the wasted day. There was a lot of work to be done on a new exhibit for the museum. The project was already a little behind schedule as it was. Brennan was collecting her things as Booth swung around to employee entrance. She felt Booth looking at her as the car rolled to a stop.
"You're not planning on working tonight, are you?"
"I have to catch up on what I missed today."
"Oh come on, Bones." Booth waggled his eyebrows comically and pasted on a goofy grin. "Live a little! Angela and Jack are going to some club tonight. You should go."
"Why don't you? Angela called you." Brennan shoved her last file into her bag and opened the door.
"That's because she knew I would invite you. If she'd called you…"
"Booth, I have to work. I have to." With that, she stepped out of the car. Brennan moved to close the door, then hesitated. "Oh, I really enjoyed driving around with you all day." The door slammed and Temperance Brennan disappeared inside her self-prescribed prison. Had Booth known the hidden dangers inside, he would have refused to leave her.
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