Disclaimer: I don't own Bones and I don't own the 12 Days of Christmas either. Although I do know the words to several different versions..
Mlbrunnel: Ha yeah might be painful for poor Booth's danglie bits
1956JohnDeere50: I didn't like him either. I mean I know she had relationships but he was smug, arrogant, egotistical and I just wanted to smack him.
Tero0102: Yeah my vault is full of absolutely useless information and I find writing these stories has made mine overflow =)
dreambetty: I almost wet myself reading your review. That would be a good way to describe Stires. The longer he hangs around the more he smells.
yenyen76:Stires will get more and more obnoxious but I WILL deal with him *rubs hands together* And as far as Simon goes..I just ignored him, he's a peon
Bonesgirl4ever: LOL I'm glad that you're enjoying it that much! Yay for vacation!
EowynGoldberry: Thanks! I was wondering where you disappeared to ;-P
luckywynner86: you said squeee lol
Mendenbar: hang in there only four more days and then they'll give you something that should make it go away and if you're like Booth, giving your family a holiday they'll talk about for years. =P
DWBBfan: Ha G'night John Boy...I didn't even think about that when I was writing it!
BlueMoonFan: Welcome to my little corner of the Bones world! Glad you're finding it interesting. I'm sure by the end of the story you'll hate Stires...I write characters readers love to hate.
Chkgun93: Went all woodsy on this one lol
jmbatt: *snicker* Stires will SOOOOO get what's coming to him but not until chapter 11 soorrryy. Yeah Dr. Goodman has one of those voices..kinda like Morgan Freeman, he's got one of them too. Makes me like them even more =)
NatesMama: I wouldn't call Stires a tool. Tools have a purpose and they're useful, it's insulting to them ;-P
Thank you everyone for your aweseome reviews! I really do love reading them!
December 16th
Christine stepped out of her tent and looked around for Rover who had not come into the tent with her last night. She walked towards Brennan's tent expecting to find him in on top of the poor woman.
"Rover," she called softly, listening for movement.
Hearing none, she looked toward the hammock because Booth had become the dog's third favorite person. Walking towards the hammock, she clapped her hand over her mouth and stifled her laugh. She walked back to the kitchen and let go of her mouth and roared in laughter. Jen was standing in the tent drinking a cup of coffee and looked at her professor as if she had lost her mind.
"Are you okay, Dr. Santiago?" Jen asked, trying not to laugh at the woman's hysterics.
When Christine had slowed to gasping breaths, she waved for Jen to follow her. Jen followed her professor in curiosity over what could cause such hysterics. Christine stopped near the hammock where Jen knew Booth had been sleeping. Looking over, she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter as well. The two women made their way to the kitchen and rolled in laughter.
"Oh, I have to get a picture," Jen said, skipping to her tent.
Returning to the spot they had been standing in earlier, she snapped a few pictures. Christine stood next to her and they spoke quietly while sipping their coffee. Stires walked up behind them and snorted.
"So, Tempe has gotten into exhibitionism then," Stires sneered. Christine turned her head and looked at the man.
"Dr. Stires, your jealousy makes you a very ugly person. You had your chance with Tempe and ruined it," Christine said firmly.
Jen looked at the ground and pretended not to hear the heated conversation. Christine smiled and let out a low whistle, the hammock shifted and all the occupants were dumped onto the ground. Booth came awake when the hammock started to swing.
He looked up so see Brennan spinning out above him. Reaching out his hands, he caught her as she fell towards him. Brennan came awake as she spun through the air; she landed with an ommph on top of Booth. Both looked up at the whistles and cat calls from the interns standing a foot or so away. Booth looked at Brennan and she looked back at him. They burst into laughter at their current predicament and position.
"Someone mind telling us what just happened? I don't flip myself out of my hammock," Booth called out.
"I have a picture that explains everything," Jen offered in reply.
"I'll look at it later. Bones, would you be so kind as to get off me?" He asked her, laughter twinkling in his eyes.
"Nope, this is better than those horrible cots and a little better than the hammock," Brennan said, closing her eyes and pretending to go back to sleep.
"Very funny, Bones, now get off me," Booth said, chuckling.
"Tempe, get off him. You are acting like a child," Stires said firmly.
"You know, Bones, I can go all caveman and kick his ass if you want me to," Booth offered. The interns that had gathered to watch the unfolding events chuckled at his statement.
"No, I'll get up," Brennan muttered. Pulling her knees up next to his hips and pushing up with her arms, she sat in a straddling position.
"Kinky," Jen called out, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Booth's face turned red and Brennan grinned. Stires growled and stomped off. Christine chuckled at Stires anger. Brennan pushed up into a standing position and stepped over Booth. Heading to her tent, she quickly changed her clothes and prepared for the day. Booth took several deep breaths, stood up, grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom to change.
Half an hour later, Booth and Brennan were standing in the kitchen sipping their coffee and looking at the picture Jen had taken. The picture showed the Booth and Brennan snuggled in the hammock and directly on top of them was Rover. Booth was chuckling and Brennan let out a loud sigh.
Rover came and sat next to her leg, he pointed his nose high in the air and looked at them standing behind him. Thumping his tail, he let his tongue loll out in a doggie grin. Brennan petted the top of his head and grinned down at the dog. Booth shook his head and swallowed down the last of his coffee. Christine walked in and looked over at Jen and Booth.
"We're going to bring back the remains we found today and run some basic tests. Tempe, there was a few sets of remains found in the fourth pit. Will you start clearing them off please?" She asked Brennan casually.
"Yes, I can do that. I need to leave then if there are several sets to uncover," Brennan murmured.
She grabbed a protein bar, shouldered her bag and took off towards the dig site. Booth chuckled as he realized it was the exact same bag that she had carried to crime scenes for years.
"What's so funny, Booth?" Jen asked him, sipping her coffee.
"Bones, really doesn't like change," he commented.
"How did you arrive at that conclusion?" Jen inquired, looking over her shoulder at the departing woman.
"That bag she is carrying, she has carried that to every crime scene for the last five years. She carries it everywhere but formal functions," Booth said. Jen chuckled and finished her coffee.
"She got that when we were in Africa. It's handmade hippo leather," Christine said.
Booth shuddered, knowing that the last time she had been in Africa was when she went to Rwanda. Finishing his coffee, he turned and glanced up as a gust of wind blew through the tent. Walking over to his hammock, he picked up his duffel, swung it on his shoulder, carried it to the kitchen tent, and dropped it under one of the tables.
He stood waiting for Jen to join him. It had become a daily experience for them walk to the dig site together. Jen walked up to where he was standing and smiled.
"Well, that was an interesting morning," Jen teased. Booth chuckled at her teasing statement.
"With Bones you never know what your day will be like," Booth chuckled.
"I'm still trying to figure out how Rover even got into the hammock with the two of you," Jen laughed.
"Not hard he's a big dog. I also have a tendency to put my foot on the ground if I feel the hammock swing. Years of sleeping in them teaches you that if you don't do that you can end up on the ground," Booth told her with a grin.
"It's interesting that Rover took to Dr. Brennan so quick," Jen mused.
"She's a dog person. That and apparently he's known her for years," Booth said, thinking back to Ripley.
"She's not what I expected at all," Jen murmured.
"Let me guess? You heard she was mean, cold, and bitchy," Booth sighed.
"Pretty much," Jen agreed.
"Well, she has had difficulty with social situations but she is getting much better. And she relaxes around me. So in this situation most of her contact is not one on one. You're starting to sound like a psychologist," Booth said.
"I have a Bachelor's in psychology. Not much good I just found it to be interesting," Jen laughed.
"Don't tell Bones," Booth told her.
They reached the dig site and Brennan pointed them to a pit. Booth set his bag down on the edge and pulled out his tools. Jen did the same and then they carefully slid into the pit. Dr. Santiago moved to the edge of the pit and pointed to the northwest corner.
"You two need to start over in that corner. The archeology students uncovered a set of remains, they are roped off over there," Christine told them.
"Shouldn't they have a doctorate with them," Stires called out loudly. Christine sighed and rolled her eyes when she saw Booth clench his jaw.
"They are only doing initial observations, pictures, and preliminary documentation," Christine snapped. Stires was starting to get on her last nerve.
Booth spent the morning removing dirt from the remains and discussing various things. Booth was silent as they uncovered the skull. They continued to work silently and worry creased Jen's brow. Booth had become silent and brooding.
Brennan slid down into the pit at lunchtime to check their progress. They had the skull and shoulders uncovered and Brennan could see Booth was upset. Sighing, she squatted down next to him and grasped his wrist, stopping the brushing he was doing. She scanned the remains and turned to look at him.
"Booth, these are not murder victims. At this particular time in history infant and child mortality rate was high," Brennan said gently. Booth swallowed and shook his head in understanding.
"Come on, Booth. It's time to eat," Brennan urged.
Booth let out a low dark chuckle that made her frown and Jen flinch. The three of them stood and walked up the incline out of the pit. Booth stalked to his bag and pulled out his lunch. Walking to where he had sat yesterday, he flopped down onto the ground. Brennan pulled her protein bar from her messenger bag and sat down next to him. Jen sat on the other side and pulled out her sandwich. Christine walked over and sat down with them.
"What did you find over there," she asked.
"A child," Booth said shortly. Christine 'hmmmd' around her mouth full of food.
"The first one is always hard," Christine said sympathetically.
"Christine, this is not his first one in the sense of seeing the skeleton. This is the first one without them having been murdered," Brennan said softly.
Christine sat in silence contemplating how to comfort her student. Stires came over and stood with his arms crossed, staring at them. Brennan looked up at him and her brow scrunched.
"You found another set of remains, you should be excited," Stires told them.
"Stires-" Booth began.
"Dr. Stires to you," Stires cut him off.
"Okay. Dr. Stires, there is nothing exciting about finding a dead child. Whether they died of natural causes, whether they were murdered, buried properly or dumped in a hole. A child is the prospect of the future and should be nurtured and protected," Booth growled in frustration. Brennan reached over and clasped the top of his arm.
"What a bunch of sentimental drivel. You should not have come on this dig. You are not even a scientist," Stires spat.
"Well, I guess I'm not a scientist either," Jen muttered. Christine's head shot up at Jen's muttered statement.
"Why would that be?" Christine asked her sharply her eyes narrowing.
"If it means you do not grieve the loss of children or murder victims because they are just a piece of the puzzle then I have no interest in being a scientist," Jen said, glaring at Stires.
"You would have to talk to Booth and Tempe about the murder aspect as I am just an anthropologist. But anthropologically speaking it is normal for people to mourn even for those they do not know. I do feel bad about the remains but I do not let that cloud my study of them. Most of the digs I do, I request that the government have them re-interned to where they were found," Christine said.
"So, what about murder victims then?" Jen asked turning to face Booth and Brennan. Booth knew forensic anthropology was Jen's main interest.
"If you are just doing identification then you do not see faces anymore. You just see bones and as inhumane as that sounds it is a necessity. You would metaphorically go nuts if you saw the faces on all the skeletons you view. I work with Booth and because of that I have a harder time compartmentalizing. There have been times when I have angered him by my cold clinical attitude. However, he has learned it is a necessary evil," Brennan said, slowly.
"You still mourn them but at the same time you get the satisfaction of putting the murder in jail," Booth said quietly.
"Or sometimes you are called in as an expert witness to refute another's testimony," Brennan said, chewing slowly on her protein bar. Stires snorted at her statement causing everyone to look up at him.
"You were not refuting my findings, Michael, you tried to destroy my reputation," Brennan growled. Booth had stiffened at Stires snort.
"Dr. Stires, your work on that particular case and the way you handled it was what lost you a lot of respect in the field," Christine calmly said, speaking while chewing.
Jen's mouth fell open and she stared at Stires. Stires turned and stalked off leaving them sitting there. Jen turned to look at Dr. Santiago.
"He really is an asshole isn't he?" Jen muttered, picking at her food.
"Yes, but that shouldn't stop you from taking his classes. He is an excellent professor. Very knowledgeable. As Booth would say he's just not a very nice person," Brennan said. Booth let out a low chuckle and Brennan glanced at him.
"I would use very different adjectives, Bones," Booth said.
"I can imagine," Brennan muttered.
"Oh, no, Bones. You have never been introduced to that part of my vocabulary. I'd be in confession for days if I used a few of them," Booth muttered.
Christine burst into a rolling laugh and Jen's eyebrow quirked up. Booth saw Brennan's eyes narrow and her mouth pursed.
"Oh no, that was not a challenge, Bones. There's a reason you haven't heard them. I don't like using them around women so please don't try to get me to," Booth said.
Standing up, he walked to the pit and slid down the side. Brennan sat with the same look on her face and Christine laughed. Jen shook her head and followed Booth down into the pit. Brennan stood up, brushed the back of her shorts, then followed the two interns into the pit. When she arrived at where they were standing she found two Master's interns fighting with Booth and Jen.
"We have seniority," Ramirez rumbled at Jen. Jen crossed her arms and glared at the man.
"Only over Booth and that's because he just arrived. But he's working with me," Jen spat back. Booth stood with his hands on his hips glaring at the two other interns.
"Mr. Carlson, Mr. Ramirez where have you been for the last three days?" Brennan snapped at the two interns. Their mouths fell open and their eyes bugged at the sight of one angry Dr. Brennan storming towards them.
"Well," she snapped, waiting for an answer.
"We were given three days off so we went into town," Carlson said, shifting his feet.
"Hey, Ramirez her face is above her shoulders," Booth said sharply, snapping his fingers to draw the students attention away from Brennan's chest.
Brennan turned her head to look at Ramirez. He shot her a flirty look, winked, and then said something completely inappropriate in Spanish. Jen realized that Booth had understood what Ramirez said when his face became granite hard. Grabbing his arm, she planted her feet.
"Booth, don't," Jen whispered.
"Is the old man going to beat me up?" Ramirez taunted, shooting a smirk at Booth.
"No, the old woman is," Brennan snarled. Ramirez blinked and he was looking at the sky. The interns were standing around him howling in laughter. Blinking, he sat upright and groaned as pain pierced his head. Glancing around at the other interns, he frowned.
"What happened?" He asked in a quiet tone of voice.
"Well, you said something completely inappropriate to Dr. Brennan, made fun of her boyfriend, and then got decked. You've been unconscious for about five minutes now," Jen said, squatting down next to him.
"You're lucky she didn't break your jaw. She has a mean right hook," Jen told him. Ramirez growled and struggled to his feet.
"Don't man. Booth talked her into not sending you back," Carlson advised.
The interns left for their respective pits and began to work. Ramirez went to the pit where Carlson was working and began helping him log the bones on the remains that had been found a few days prior. The afternoon dragged by with the humidity rising. Christine called for the work to stop and Booth looked up at her in question. She glanced at her watch then the sky.
"We need to cover this up with the pavilion tent. The rains will start in about two hours," she said.
Booth nodded and headed to where the others were standing. He laughed when he saw a portable military tent commonly used for storage. He began sifting through poles and snapping them together. Stires looked up from the directions and glared at him.
"Mr. Booth, what do you think you're doing?" Stires snapped at him in a superior tone.
"I am putting together a FTS100 75 x 126 storage tent. Commonly used for storage or military medical tents," Booth replied with ease.
"It would be more intelligent to follow the directions, Mr. Booth," Stires said snidely. Booth chuckled and looked at Stires.
"Hand the instructions to Bones since she would be the only one to make heads or tails of those things," Booth said.
"I can understand them," Stires said.
"Tell you what. I'll keep doing what I'm doing and you keep doing what you're doing and we'll see who finishes first," Booth said, grinning.
Stires turned in a huff and began reading the instructions. He was halfway down the page and Booth had all the poles put together. An hour later, the sky was covered in dark clouds and thunder rumbled ominously. The frame began to rise and Stires gaped as the canvas dangled over the edges. He began to chuckle at what he thought was a mistake. His mouth dropped open when the interns on the sides tugged a few ropes and the sides fell into place. They began to tighten the ropes and tack them down.
"You finished with those directions, Dr. Stires?" Booth called out cheerily with a smile.
Brennan stood near the back corner trying to control her grin. After everything had been tied down, Booth grabbed his backpack and waited for Brennan to join him. She grabbed her messenger bag and they headed back to camp. Jen was two steps behind them and saw his hand slip to her lower back.
By the time Stires came into camp the rain was pouring down and he was soaked. He stood glaring at Booth, Brennan, Christine and Jen as they stood in the kitchen tent drinking a cup of coffee. He stomped to his tent and slammed inside. Booth bent down and began rifling through his duffel bag. Standing up, he held a small water proof bag in his hands. He stuffed a towel, his bathing supplies and dry clothes into it.
"I'm going to go take a shower," Booth grinned.
Brennan rolled her eyes and chuckled at his joke.
"I'm going to go work on my book," Brennan said, starting towards her tent. Booth continued past her tent and made it to the edge of the clearing when he heard.
"Shit, Shit, Shit," Brennan screeched. Booth didn't even pause as he turned and ran towards her tent, dropping his bag in the process.
"Bones," he called.
"Shit," she answered.
Booth came to halt in front of her tent and ducked in through the doors. He stopped suddenly when he saw three huge spiders reared back with their front legs up. Grabbing Brennan, he pulled her out of the tent. They landed in the mud with a thump. Booth was quick to get in an upright position and pull her away from the tent door.
They heard two thumps and saw the side of the tent shiver with the third. Christine came running over in time to see the spiders scurry from Brennan's tent.
"Where the hell is Hodgins when you need him," Booth muttered. Brennan sat shivering and staring at the tent door as the rain poured down on them.
"Come on, Bones," Booth said, pulling her up and leading her to the kitchen tent. Christine splashed behind them her face pale. Brennan was wrapped around Booth and shaking when Christine stepped into the kitchen tent.
"I sent John after them," Christine said breathlessly.
"Bones, I thought you were only scared of snakes," Booth teased her. Christine smacked his arm lightly glaring at him.
"Phoen-Phoeneutria fera," Brennan stuttered out. Booth pushed her wet hair out of her face.
"Bones, I'm not Hodgins," Booth said gently.
"Brazilian Wandering Spider," Christine said harshly.
Booth sucked in a breath. As part of his sniper training he had been given a list of things to look out for. Those were not like the description they had been given.
"I thought they had black undersides," Booth exclaimed.
"That's Phoeneutria Nigriventer," Brennan stuttered.
Booth pulled Brennan even tighter into his chest and rubbed his hand down her back. Word had spread and interns were trying to pack into the kitchen tent. John came back a few moments later and grabbed a torch and a lighter. Christine let out a sigh and groaned.
"I found a burrow and it's full of sacs. I'm going to burn them out and smash anything that comes out," John said.
"Be careful John those things are mean," Christine said.
"Yeah, don't I know it," John muttered as he walked off. Brennan finally stopped shaking and looked up at Booth.
"Booth, you're covered in mud," Brennan murmured. Booth looked at her, rolled his eyes and began to laugh.
"Bones, you are too," Booth pointed out. Her eyes twinkled and she finally joined him in laughing.
"You two are weird," Smalls said with a smile. Booth and Brennan stopped laughing looked at him, then at each other and began laughing again.
"Come on, Bones. I'll get your stuff and you can get cleaned up," Booth offered.
Brennan followed him out of the kitchen tent. He stepped in her tent and scanned for spiders. Seeing nothing, he picked up her suitcase and set in on the bed. Unzipping it, he threw it open, and carefully picked through the items and pulled out clothes for her. He stared incredulously at her underwear selection. What would possess her to bring those kinds of underwear on a dig?
"Bones, do you have a waterproof bag?" Booth called out in choked tone. Brennan let out a husky laugh before she answered.
"My messenger bag is waterproof," she answered.
Booth picked up her bag and shoved the necessary items in it. Flipping the suitcase closed, he zipped it up and set it on the floor. He grabbed her bag and handed it to her. They walked toward the edge of the encampment where his bag still lay on the ground. Booth swept it up in his arms without breaking stride. He led her over to the pool behind the waterfall and sat on the rock with his back to the water. He heard her stripping down and jumped when her underwear landed next to him with a plop. Glancing down, he saw a pair pale pink panties and blinked.
"You seriously wear those on a dig?' He asked in stunned amazement.
"They are what I wear. Why would where I wear them matter?" She asked him her voice tinged in curiosity. Booth shrugged but didn't say anything. Booth could hear her splashing around in the water and his mind painted all kinds of fun images.
"Temperance! Temperance!" Stires voice called out frantically as his crashing feet could be heard over the water. Booth sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You know for a doctor he's pretty stupid," Booth called over his shoulder. Brennan giggled and Booth's mouth fell open in surprise.
"Did you just giggle?" Booth asked in stunned amazement.
"I do not giggle. I occasionally laugh in a short spasmodic manner," Brennan said.
"That's giggling, Bones," Booth laughed.
Stires came crashing up to where Booth was sitting and tried to get around him. Even though the rain had stopped Stires clothing was plastered to his skin. Booth leaned left and right blocking Stires line of sight.
"Do you mind. I'm trying to talk to Temperance," Stires snarled at Booth.
"You do not talk with your eyes, Stires," Booth growled. Brennan giggled behind him again.
"Tempe are you giggling? You sound like a little girl," Stires said. Booth growled at the insulting tone in Stires voice.
"What do you want, Michael?" Brennan snapped from behind Booth.
Booth barely held back a hiss of pleasure when he felt her naked form pressed against his back. She must be kneeling he thought to himself.
"Temperance Brennan, get down here right now," Stires bellowed. Brennan stiffened and Booth growled low in the back of his throat.
"Again, what do you want, Michael?" Brennan snapped her eyes going dark in anger.
"I heard that you had spiders in your tent and I came to check to make sure you were okay," Stires said n a huff.
"As you can see I'm fine. Now leave," she said shortly. Booth let out a chuckle at her blunt answer.
"Tempe, what is going on with you? You have never been one to ignore my overtures before," Michael said. Booth grunted rolled his eyes and stared up into the fading light of the evening.
"You need to be quiet, Caveman," Stires snapped at Booth.
Booth glanced down as he saw Brennan's hand reaching for the towel. Stretching his hand out, he picked it up and placed it under her hand. He felt her shifting around behind him. Brennan jumped down from the rock wrapped in the towel and stalked towards Stires.
"Michael, I will not have sexual intercourse with you again. I don't like to use absolutes but the closest word as a descriptor would be never. I will never have sexual intercourse with you again. I have no interest in you socially and I don't need you professionally. So, do not infer, ask, or speak about it again. Whether Booth is a caveman or not, he is my caveman. So, if you do not stop I'll let him use a club to beat you with," Brennan snarled.
Booth's mouth fell open at her statement and then he roared in laughter. Stires stood there with his mouth hanging open, looking at one very angry Temperance Brennan. Booth finished laughing, stood up on the rock stripped to his boxers then jumped into the pool. A minute later, Brennan and Stires were still staring each other down when Booth's boxers landed on the rock with a plop next to her pink panties. Booth dove under the water and let his smile spread. Experiment his ass, she had claimed him as hers. He was soaping his hair, ignoring the pair on the other side of the rock when he heard his name called.
"Booth?" Jen's voice carried over the water. Booth ducked under the water to rinse his hair. When he came back up Brennan had Jen pinned with her stare. Booth chuckled and looked over at Brennan.
"Bones, she's not interested in me. If she had come about four minutes earlier I would have been worried," Booth said soothingly.
"I don't know what that mean," Brennan said with a frown.
"He means I am a lesbian," Jen said bluntly.
"What do you need, Jen?" Booth asked her knowing that she didn't normally bother him while he bathed.
"Your backpack was ringing. I didn't answer it but I figured if someone was calling it might be important," Jen said.
Brennan looked at Booth.
"Parker," they said in unison.
Jen got an eyeful as Brennan and Booth scrambled to dry off and put clothes on. Glancing around Booth realized the rain had temporarily stopped. They threw their stuff together and headed back to camp at a sprint. Jen followed them worried at their pace. They came to a stop at his duffel in the kitchen tent. Pulling out his phone, Booth checked calls. He saw it was Rebecca who had called. Brennan ran to her tent and carefully picked through her stuff. Pulling out her phone, she carried it to Booth.
"I have a global calling plan," she told him as she handed him her phone. He took her phone and dialed Rebecca's number. He mouthed a 'thank you' as the phone rang.
"Hey Rebecca, what's up? I was in the shower," Booth said.
Jen erupted into laughter at his statement.
"WHO IS THAT?" Rebecca's voice screeched from the phone. Booth held the phone away from his ear and Brennan rolled her eyes.
"A friend. Now what did you need, Rebecca?" Booth asked again, frowning. He listened and sighed a sad sigh.
"No, Rebecca you told me you and Drew were taking him to Vermont so I made plans of my own. No, I can't change them. I'm not even in the country, Rebecca," Booth said. He pulled the phone away from his ear.
"What do you mean you're not in the country. Let me guess you followed 'Bones' on some weird trip. I swear, Seeley. If you miss time with your son because of her," Rebecca howled through the line.
Brennan set her jaw and pointed out of the camp. Booth nodded and headed back to the waterfall to finish the conversation. Booth returned to the camp five minutes later to see two people sitting width wise in his hammock as if were a chair. Walking over, he chuckled as he saw Brennan and Jen swinging in the hammock talking. When he got closer his face turned red as he realized they were talking about him.
"Some guys get all the girls," Smalls said, smirking as he walked by.
The girls looked up to find Booth standing there with his feet crossed at the ankles, right foot balanced on the toes and arms crossed watching them. Jen grinned mischievously and Brennan wore a mirroring look. Booth groaned and ran his hand down his face.
"Dinner is MRE's tonight since everything is too wet to start a fire," Jen said casually.
She got up from the hammock without dumping Brennan and ambled to the kitchen tent. Booth followed Jen, grabbed some food and headed back to the hammock. He stopped the swinging motion and sat down next to Brennan. He handed her the food he'd grabbed for her. They were eating and gently swinging when Christine approached them.
"Are you two okay?" She asked looking at them. They looked up at her in surprise at her question.
"Yes," they said together. Christine smiled, nodded then walked away.
"You haven't said anything about the 'you're my caveman' comment," Brennan noted.
"You always tell the truth," Booth said with a shrug.
"You don't belong to me," Brennan said.
"Yeah, I do, Bones. I have every since you hit that judge," Booth told her. She smiled at the memory of her hitting judge Hastey.
"No, you don't. You are not a piece of property," Brennan argued.
"It's not that kind of owning, Bones. It means that there is a metaphoric piece of me that is yours and only yours. No one else gets to see it, touch it or can change it, and never will because I choose for it to be that way. It's a piece of me that belongs to you in every sense of the word. Pops, Jared, and Parker are the only other ones that have their own piece of me it's just a lot smaller," Booth told her. Brennan tilted her head thoughtfully.
"So those metaphoric pieces of me that I let you and no one else see are yours?" Brennan questioned haltingly.
"Only if you want them to be. You can only belong someone else of your own free will," Booth said, chewing on a piece of pound cake.
Brennan tilted her head again. Neither of them saw the two people standing in the kitchen tent watching them.
"Are they like this all the time?" Christine asked, looking over at Dr. Goodman. He put his chin in his fingers and paused thoughtfully.
"Yes, they are a strange pairing. She's serious and he's fun. He's a lover and she's a fighter. Night and Day. They complement each other so well. They fight,excuse me, bicker but don't get angry," Goodman said, rubbing his chin with his thumb. Christine watched the two in the hammock discussing something.
"I never thought I'd see Temperance get that attached to a man. Even when she was with Michael she wasn't attached perse," Christine said thoughtfully.
"Agent Booth is still trying to convince Dr. Brennan that love is not ephemeral," Dr. Goodman chuckled.
"Good luck with that one," Christine muttered.
"I think he has what she needs to believe," Dr. Goodman disagreed.
They went their separate ways and zipped themselves into their respective tents. As everyone settled into sleep thunder rumbled in the distance. The night passed and the two in the hammock fell into a comfortable silence. After a moment of silence a voice rang out in the camp.
"On the third day of Christmas my dig site gave to me,
Three big ass spiders
Two stupid interns
and
A Sexy Alpha Male Sleeping in the Trees."
Laughter rang out as with the two previous nights.
"Good night, Jen," Booth called out his voice full of laughter.
A/N: Okay Brazilian wandering spiders are nasty aggressive little fers. I almost threw up doing research on them. I really REALLY hate spiders. BWS are the ones that nest in bunches of bananas and kill harvesters. There are several species and the Phoeneutria Nigriventer are the most poisonous. The burrow into the ground to lay their eggs. They are called wandering spiders because they move across the jungle floor and they like to 'nest' in dark places. So if your camping..your sleeping bag, your suitcase/backpack, food storage tubs are favorites. Now is that all holiday cheeriness? LOL