Chapter 4

"Okay," Brennan sighed, placing her hands deliberately on her hips as she stepped back to admire her handiwork. Layed out of the ground in front of her were not only the contents of the trailer's drawers and cupboards in their entirety, but also those of Booth and Brennan's bags, all organized into neat piles according to their function.

"We have plenty of non-perishable food, water, blankets, and sanitary products to carry us through the rest of the week." She looked at Booth pointedly, "You packed more than enough clean underwear."

Booth, who had been sitting on the coffee table in a comfortable state of innocent disinterest the entire time Brennan had been pulling apart the trailer, suddenly snapped to attention. His eyes darted from Brennan to the piles on the ground and back, until the full gravity of the situation hit him. Gaping slightly, he snatched the neatly folded boxers from their place on top of a pile of his personal belongings, (all of which he had just come to realize were displayed unabashedly out in the open), before shoving them clumsily under a nearby chair.

"I - Bones!"

"What?" She gave him a blank frown.

"You can't just - those are my -" he blinked at her. "You know, someone really needs to explain the whole concept of boundaries to you."

"I don't see what you're so worked up about, Booth - it's normal to bring underwear on trips like this." She raised an eyebrow, smiling out of the corner of her mouth. "In fact, it would have been considerably more embarrassing if you hadn't packed any underwear."

Booth sputtered. As he could think of no response that seemed even remotely adequate, he continued to stare at his partner with wide-eyed incredulousness until he caught a glimpse of her own pile out of the corner of his eye.

After assessing it for a moment, he turned back to Brennan, face lit up with a cocky half-smile. "Your pile's looking a little thin there, Bones. Missing something?"

Her eyes wandered momentarily to her own considerably more modestly represented pile, before shrugging slightly. "I already knew I'd packed clean underwear, so there was no need for me to waste time adding it."

"So you're telling me that that's the only reason you didn't stick your - you know ..." Booth looked at her uncomfortably.

"- Underwear?"

"- undergarments - on display is because you already knew they were there?"

"Yes."

"So it had nothingto do with embarrassment."

She shook her head, and when he just continued to stare at her in disbelief, she gestured towards her own suitcase. "Would it make you feel better if your dumped my suitcase out on the floor, Booth?"

He rolled his eyes. "What are we - eight?"

She just frowned at him. "I'm thirty-two."

Booth stared at her for a moment before sighing in defeat. "That's great, Bones. Now whatd'ya say we get all this stuff back where it belongs, alright?"

She was still frowning as he propelled her towards the kitchen, stooping to pick up scattered items off the ground with his free hand as he went.

Before they stepped over the linoleum threshold into the kitchen, he stole one last glance at her partially-packed suitcase, swallowing hard. Then, clearing his throat distractedly, he turned to face Brennan, (who was looking forlornly out the window), and tapped her shoulder, suddenly excited.

"Hey - Bones." When she turned to look at him, he flashed her a signature grin. "I've got an idea for dinner."

...