A/N : Hey people! Thanks for the kind reviews you sent me. As you can see, I'm a Foreigner fan since Hot Blooded was used in the show. I was working on this chapter while listening to my Best Of Foreigner and there was this song, which gave me this idea. I hope you won't think it's too cheesy, especially the end. Please be honest, and if you didn't like that very much, don't be afraid to tell me so. Good reading anyway!

Chapter 4 : Around the mulberry bush

Booth turned on the CD player. Even though her head was turned towards him, he didn't need to look at his partner to know that she was still sleeping peacefully. He knew her well enough to know that music wouldn't wake her up if he didn't put on it too loud; besides, it would prevent him from falling asleep as well, for the long road he was driving on couldn't have been more straight and boring.

The first notes of the song told him that the CD playing was The Best of Foreigner.

"So long, I've been looking too hard, I've been waiting too long…"

Looking too hard, not really. Hey, you can't look for love. Ready or not, love comes to you when you're expecting it the least. And sometimes, the love is associated with an unexpected person.

Waiting too long, definitely. He couldn't keep his eyes from leaving the road and turning to his sleeping partner. And he couldn't prevent a slight sigh escaping from his mouth.

"Sometimes I don't know what I will find, I only know it's a matter of time…"

As a response, Brennan sighed in her sleep and her head rolled to the other side. He bit his lower lip, his gaze alternating between the road and her. If he had dared to, and if he had been able to, he would have stretched his arm and brushed her cheek.

"When you love someone, when you love someone
It feels so right, so warm and true, I need to know if you feel it too…"

Her lips seemed so smooth, half-parted as though an incitation. Jeez. Why did it feel so right? It was NOT right.

"Maybe I'm wrong, won't you tell me if I'm coming on too strong…"

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, pushing the air out of his lungs, for he really had to calm himself down or the car would soon go off the road. Of course he was wrong. It was wrong that his heart beat so painfully in his chest when he saw her, wrong to feel this uncontrollable warmth burning his body every time they touched, wrong to concentrate on her rather than his work.

"This heart of mine has been hurt before, this time I wanna be sure…"

I felt so wrong to talk about professionalism when all he wanted was to kiss her, so wrong to act as if nothing had changed when all he needed was to hold her tight.

"I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life
I've been waiting for a girl like you…"

"How long before we arrive?"

Her sleepy voice startled him back to reality. Except for her eyelids she hadn't moved, and her clear eyes were looking at him innocently now.

He turned the radio off nervously, wondering if she had caught him looking at her.

"Not long. Fifteen minutes, maybe."

She stretched her arms in front of her, then he felt that she had turned back her gaze to him.

"You can leave the music on. I like that song."

"Here we go 'round the mulberry bush
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush…"

Chloe kneeled in the grass. She knew that he was here; that he was watching her, guarding her. But she didn't care. She just had to pretend that she was alone. She stretched her arm and examined the mulberry bush. The berries were pale and small. Of course; it was only July.

She lay on the ground and stared at the crowns of the trees. Their cool shadow protected her from the heat of the burning July sun. She closed her eyes and managed to concentrate on the smells which tickled her nostrils. The smell of the grass, of the soil, of the trees; the smell of the summer breeze, the smell of the flowers. Then, she turned her attention to the sounds around her. The chirping of the birds, the buzzing of the insects; the sound of the trembling leaves.

Her eyes still closed, she grabbed a handful of grass and soil, as if to connect herself to the earth, tie herself to this place. And she wished she'd stay here forever.

"The sacrum is small, still developing. It's a little girl, about six to eight years old. Caucasian."

Kneeling on the ground, with latex gloves on her hands, Brennan was doing her best to remove the soil and dry leaves that concealed the small body, trying not to scratch herself on the brambles of the mulberry bush that had expanded itself over the remains of the poor child buried here.

The sheriff, a kind man with a beard, approached her, curious.

"Do you know the cause of death?"

Brennan got to her feet, shaking her head in reply.

"I can't be sure of that yet, I need the body sent back to DC and examined at the Jeffersonian."

She pulled off her gloves and turned to Booth.

"Maybe I should come back to DC and help Zack with the body. It's not that far, I'll rent a car."

"No!" He cleared his throat, for he had said this louder than he intended to. "I mean, Zack is a big boy now, he can do that part of the job alone. He doesn't need you anymore, or he wouldn't have his degree, right?"

Brennan stared at him thoughtfully before nodding.

"Yep. That's right", she said simply.

Booth eyed her suspiciously. He was obviously waiting for a counter-argument to come. But she found none; or hadn't intended to find any. Wow… He hadn't got used to her agreeing with him yet. It had happened a few times during the last past weeks, and it was still leaving him speechless. But, hey, he wouldn't be caught complaining about that.

"Besides, I'd rather have you helping me with the interrogations."

"Yes, there will be a lot to do", she agreed with a smile.

Booth couldn't help his lips curving in a smile. She was so damned sexy when she agreed with him. But his smile faded and turned into an annoyed expression when the sheriff stepped between them, ruining the moment.

"Agent Booth, Doctor Brennan, what do you need from me and my staff now?"

"As Doctor Brennan said, the body's gonna be brought back to the Jeffersonian Institution in DC. We'll be needing a little of your time today: we have a few questions to ask you before the body is identified."

"Not a problem. I'm at your disposal."

"Thank you sheriff, I appreciate that", Booth said, frowning slightly for Brennan had grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and was pulling it to get his attention.

"Booth… I need to talk to you in private."

"Uh… Sure."

He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her away.

"What is it?"

"About the body, I said that I couldn't ensure anything but I did note some important elements, although they have to be confirmed by further exams at the lab. There are no marks of injuries. She hasn't been stabbed, or strangled, or blown up. Not even tied. I think she may have been choked."

"I don't understand… Why didn't you want to say that in front of everybody?"

"Because that's not all. I'm almost sure this girl has been sexually abused."

"Oh, God… How do you know?"

"Well, by looking at…"

He waved his hands dismissively, immediately regretting to have asked the question.

"Okay, okay", he interrupted her. "Actually, I don't really wanna know about it."

"I thought it better to say nothing until we're sure. But I think we should begin to direct our investigation to child abduction, and..."

"… and list the sexual offenders in the region", Booth finished her sentence, before huffing under the sympathetic gaze of his partner. He began to dread what they would discover. He could already feel it. This was going to be a long, tough case.

"Chloe, honey, we gotta go now."

Chloe opened her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. The sun playing with her short locks of blonde hair, she was there, standing next to her with her hands on her hips. Her mother. She offered her hand to her little girl and, laughing, Chloe stretched her arm to take it. But they never touched. Instead, it were his strong and firm hands again, grabbing her under the armpits to force her to get to her feet.

"C'mon now, Becky, I gotta go to the city to buy some stuff, so you're gonna be a good girl and stay quietly in your room."

Surprisingly, she didn't care. She didn't bother crying. She didn't even whine. She wouldn't resist now, didn't react anymore. She had come to wonder if she could even feel anything. He could do what he wanted to her. Call her Becky, lock her in a cold, dark cellar. For he could never steal her memories, he could never suppress her dreams. He could grab her hand, but he could never stop her from imagining that her mother was holding it tenderly. He could scold her when she sang, but he could never stop this song from humming in her head.

"Here we go 'round the mulberry bush
So early in the morning…"

Dawn was slowly settling in the small town of Tappahannock, Virginia. Booth pushed back his empty plate and stretched his arms and legs with a groan of exhaustion. The whining Parker, barking Rebecca, the trip and the long day of walking and investigation had ended getting the better of him.

"Tired?" Brennan asked, surprised. "It's only a quarter to ten."

"Hey, who drove?" he pointed out.

"You never let me drive anyway", she retorted with a shrug.

"That's right, because I don't want y…" A yawn stopped him from finishing his sentence. "Oh, never mind. I'm too tired to argue, tonight."

When he sat up, Brennan imitated him and they headed quietly to the elevator. The corridor leading to their adjacent rooms was empty and silent.

"Wanna come watch TV with me?" he offered.

She let out a slight laugh. "You're gonna fall asleep, Booth. You'd better turn off both the TV and the lights."

"Yeah… You're right, I… I'd better do that. Look, Bones, I…" he ran his hand through his short hair, seeming pretty embarrassed. "There's something that is, you know… bothering me."

She eyed him inquisitively.

"What is it?"

"Uh… Remember our last session with Sweets?"

"Sure. What about it?" she asked, sliding her card through the small electronic case to open the door.

Booth followed her inside and leaned his shoulder and head against the wall of the hall.

"What would have happened if they had split us up?"

Brennan stopped and turned to him, frowning.

"What are you talking about? Is there something you didn't tell me?"

"No! No, I mean, if this was our last case… what would become of us?"

"If we didn't work together anymore?"

When he nodded, she let herself drop onto the bed, puzzled.

"I guess we…" she began, struggling to find words. "I guess we'd see each other occasionally… I don't know, Booth. I'd like to say that I'm never gonna have to identify a murdered person again in my life, unfortunately this is far from the truth. And obviously, they are not gonna split us up, so why are you asking this?"

"Because I'm thinking, that's all… Because if we'd stop working together, a lot of things would change, and I…"

She stared at him, a perplex and worried look stretched across her face.

"You don't want us to stop working together, do you?"

"No, Bones, I just wanted to say that if we were obliged to, I don't want our friendship to go away with our partnership. After all we've been through together, I simply can't accept that our relationship can be summed up to a coffee."

She gave him a sincere and relieved smile.

"Oh… Well… Neither can I."

As he smiled back in relief, she sat up and moved closer to him.

"Look Booth, I know how difficult things are with Parker and Rebecca. And I know how difficult the cases about children are for you. I'm sorry if you're upset about this case… I just wanted to say that I'm here, you know, just the way that you are there for me when I have problems with my father."

"Thank you Bones."

He opened his arms to her. To be honest, he had firstly meant to close the space between their bodies and envelop her in his arms. After all, he remembered her approving when he had proposed that the day he'd get scared and hug her, they'd be even. Not that he was scared at the moment. But it would work all the same, wouldn't it?

No. Not really. And it was so not appropriate.

"Come here" he invited her anyway.

And with the most beautiful smile from her he had ever seen, she came to wrap her arms around him, as he pulled her close to his body. She hugged him a little tighter than she knew she should; and he didn't hold her as tight as he would have wanted to.

But when they pulled apart, there was no awkwardness between them; there never was. There was only gratefulness and friendship in their eyes. In any case, there was the deep emotional connection which they kept repeating to themselves was a strong partnership, although both of their hearts had beaten way too strong against the other's chest to fit that description.

"Good night, Bones", he whispered, a little too tenderly.

"Good night, Booth", she answered with a smile which she didn't realise was so warm.

When he had regained his room, he noted that the song which he had heard earlier was playing in his mind, and he couldn't help humming to it.

"I've been waiting for a girl like you…"

A/N : Okay, so what did you think? Was it too much? To be honest, I truly believe that Booth is visibly in love with his partner now… That's why I can't help writing this kind of things… I hope you won't tell me it was OOC, it's my worse nightmare, but please tell me honestly what you think! I love you all, thanks for reading!