Hello, little readers. I'm being true to form and posting my next chapter a week or so after I did the last one.

The story is still rated T but in a couple chapters I may be switching it to M. It just depends on whether or not I can get that kind of material out of me. Not a great smut writer but we'll have to see, won't we?

The Greatest Gift - Chapter Four: Game of 20 Questions
Rating: T
Summary: It's the follow-up date and Booth decides to play a little game of twenty questions while he and Bones do their thing.
Spoilers: Um...not really.
Shout-outs: A big shout-out to all of you who have reviewed! And definitely to my newest buddy, QTR. I don't know if you read Bones fics but if you do I can assure you that I am about to work on what we talked about. I had a break-through:-)

On with the show...

Chapter Four:

Brennan stared in irritation at the large box on her living room floor. Why did the stupid thing have to get here at such an inconvenient time? If it had only come the day before or a couple hours earlier she could have had one of the guys stay and install it. When it came to electronics outside of her job she was hopeless.

"Maybe I could ask Booth," she mumbled to herself as her fingers traced the large white letters on the box. She already knew where she wanted it; already had the wires going through the walls. But she had no idea how to connect it and she sure as hell wasn't strong enough to lift the stupid thing up on the wall.

She couldn't even lift the box an inch from the floor, it was so frigging heavy.

"Knock, knock."

Brennan spun around, falling back from her crouching position onto her back. Booth was standing in her doorway and was wearing his annoying-as-hell smile with jeans and a T-shirt with a large logo from something that she guessed to be a movie.

"What are you doing just barging into my apartment?" she cried as she scrambled back to her feet. "I could have been undressed!"

"Ha," Booth snorted, shaking his head in amusement. "Your door was wide open, Bones. Did you leave it like that on purpose or did your brilliant mind take a break for a moment?"

Brennan scowled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm trying to work something out. I must have forgotten. But you still could have knocked."

"I did. You heard me." He shrugged. "I'll try again. Knock, knock."

She raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly. "Fine, Booth. Come in."

His grin widened as he walked the rest of the way into her apartment and shut the door behind him. His eyes fell to the box and suddenly widened. "Bones? What is that?"

"I decided to get another TV."

"How much to you make being a Squint, Bones? Because this is a extra-large screen, high definition, plasma screen TV." Booth shook his head and knelt down next to the box, running his fingers gingerly over the edges.

"I've been saving the random royalties from my latest novel. I get a check each month from the book stores and it actually didn't take long to save up the money—probably three months or so. My last TV was a piece of junk and the men at the store said that this one was the best kind. But it's really starting to tick me off." She growled that last statement, throwing another scowl at the box.

"You haven't even opened it, Bones."

"I know but I suck at mechanical appliances. All I have to do is look at this thing and I get angry."

Booth was staring at her passionate face with his eyebrows raised and a small, teasing smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She looked up at him with a frown.

"What's so funny?" she snapped, uncrossing her arms and dropping them to her side.

Booth shook his head and walked over to her. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her in close so that when he looked down their noses nearly touched. He heard her breath catch and his smile only widened slightly as his free hand grabbed her other wrist. "Although your outburst over a simple television is quite amusing, I was actually thinking about how beautiful you look when you're angry. Maybe I should buy you another TV for your bedroom just to see you angry like this again."

"I have a TV for my bedroom already, Booth," she said, her fists clenching and unclenching as she stared straight at him and tried to ignore her heart hammering loudly.

"Really?" Booth cocked his head as he digested yet another piece of information about her. "I thought you didn't watch TV."

"I don't. But it's always nice to be able to catch up on the news while I'm getting ready for work. I'm what you call a news junkie." She tried to laugh but it came out slightly strangled as images of the night before flashed through her mind. She cursed silently as her body moved subconsciously even closer so that their bodies were touching and their faces even closer.

"Is that all you're addicted to or is there something else that I should probably know about?" Booth's voice was rough as he leaned in closer to brush his nose against hers softly.

She shook her head, pushing down the thoughts that were surfacing against her will.

"Well that's good. I can deal with an addiction to news."

And then he moved forward the rest of the way and pressed his lips against hers.

She gasped at the contact and her eyes closed. His hands moved hers behind her back as his body moved closer to hers and his thumbs made small circles on the inside of her wrists.

When they pulled away, he kissed her cheek gently and then released her hands, moving his own to rub against her arms. "How about we go out for lunch and then when we get back I'll help you with that TV. Then you won't have to get so angry."

She nodded slowly, her eyes still half closed. "'Kay," she mumbled as she willed her breath to return to normal.

Booth responded by smiling and stepping away, stretching his arms out beside him. "Great! Now let's get going before the traffic becomes too congested."

Brennan looked down at her attire—jeans and a baggy T. The delivery men had arrived when she was only wearing a towel and she'd thrown on the first thing she could grab—and frowned. "Where are we going? I want to go change."

"We're going to an American restaurant." Booth eyed her outfit and smiled. "I don't think I've ever seen you in a T-shirt that big."

"It's Russ'. He left it and I needed to grab something fast when the delivery guys got here. And what exactly does an American restaurant entail?"

"French-Fries, Burgers, and Milkshakes: the three greatest foods ever created in...ever." He smiled and eyed her again. "It's not fancy."

Brennan nodded and pointed at his chest firmly. "Stay here." And she turned around on her heel, marching back to her bedroom.

A mere ten minutes later, Brennan walked back into the living room to find Booth standing in exactly the same spot as he had been when she left him. She smiled awkwardly as his eyebrows raised and he looked up and down her body, taking in her new outfit. She'd settled on a pair of jeans and her boots with a black tight shirt and a silver chain around her neck.

Stretching her arms out at either side of her, she smiled. "Do you like?"

Booth nodded slowly and a grin stretched to show his teeth. "I love it. God, Bones. What else do you have in that closet of yours?"

Brennan frowned as a blush crept to her cheeks, much to her dismay. "So how far away is this restaurant?"

"I don't know," Booth shrugged. "About ten to twenty minutes. Give or take, depending on traffic, of course." He extended an arm and wiggled his fingers, encouraging her to take his hand. Shyly, she complied and a new smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. He winked and closed his fingers around her hand, small against his larger ones. "Come on, Bones. Let's get out of here."

She nodded and followed him out of the apartment, grabbing the purse hanging next to the door. They walked slowly down the stairs, hand-in-hand, until they got out to the parking lot to Booth's Sedan. Sliding into the passenger seat, Brennan ran her fingers over the thin silver chain around her neck, twisting it nervously as she watched Booth walk around the front of the car to his side. When he was in the seat next to her and the car was on the road, she turned to him and smiled softly.

"I ordered a new cable system the other day."

Booth laughed as he shot a look her way before glancing back at the road. "You sound so proud of yourself, Bones. So what are you getting?"

"I think it's called TyBo or something like that. Angela said that I should get it."

"You're getting TiVo?" Booth gaped at her incredulously for a long moment. "This is all so wrong, Bones. You do know that, right?"

"What's so wrong with it? I'm entitled to trivial entertainment as much as the next person, aren't I?"

"Maybe but that doesn't mean that you can go and get a plasma TV and TiVo when I'm still stuck with a twenty-five inch and lousy DirecTV. It's just rude." He smiled over at her to convey the fact that he was joking. "What are you going to do with TiVo, anyway? Record the History Channel?"

"What's wrong with that?" She cocked her head and scrunched her eyebrows together in slight annoyance.

Booth scoffed as he brought the car to a stand-still behind a tour bus. Turning to her, he ran a finger down her cheek, his lips twitching as he felt her shiver underneath his touch. "Nothing's wrong with that, Bones. But you better let me come over to enjoy it with you." His smile widened as her face flushed once again and she ducked her head in embarrassment. Looking over at her, his fingers twitched on the steering wheel with the urge to touch her. That kiss back in apartment had not been planned. He had been as shocked as she when he grabbed her and pulled her against him but it would have felt wrong to just let her go. So he'd decided on a little banter and maybe a lingering gaze but when she had brought up the news – the most innocent of topics next to the weather – he had suddenly been overcome with the urge to take full control over her body.

But he'd been more than content with a kiss.

And the glazed look in her eyes was enough verification of her enjoyment for him to decide to kiss her again later that evening.

"Booth!"

Brennan was waving a hand in front of his face and as he turned to look at her annoyed expression the sounds of angry drivers came to his ears. He'd forgotten to drive and the light was green. "Oh," Booth said sheepishly as he pressed the gas pedal and eased the car forward and around the corner. "Sorry about that. Lost track of where I was for a moment."

"That's a dangerous habit, Booth," Brennan commented as she settled back into her seat and folded her arms over her breast. "Next time you do that you could get cause an accident."

"I'm sorry, Bones," Booth said somberly, pressing a hand over his heart and casting a smile over at her. "I'll try to keep us and the car in one piece."

She nodded. "That would be good."

Smirking, Booth leaned back in the seat as they hit another red light. After a moment of silence, he looked back over at her and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "How about we play a game while we wait in this God-forsaken traffic?"

Brennan looked over at him incredulously and let out a small laugh of laughter. "A game Booth? What kind of game are you suggesting?"

"How about 20 Questions?"

"I've never heard of it."

"You haven't heard of 20 Questions?" It was Booth's turn to look incredulous.

"No. What is it?"

"Well," Booth sighed deeply as he eased the car slowly down a small back street. "Usually one person picks something – like a person, a place, a thing, whatever – and the other person gets to ask twenty questions about it. If the person guessing can come up with what the thing then they win. But I think that in this case I am going to make a few modifications. You ask a question abut me – anything you like – and I answer truthfully. Then it's my turn. How about it?" he smiled over at her as his finger tapped on the steering wheel.

She stared at him suspiciously. "What would those questions be about?"

Booth shrugged. "Anything. Everything. It doesn't matter as long as the answer is truthful. So what do you say? Do you want to play?"

Brennan heaved a heavy sigh and paused for a long moment before slowly nodding. "Fine. Do I get to go first?"

"No." Booth grinned. "I do. First question: what's your favorite color?"

"What? My favorite color? What kind of a question is that?"

"A simple one used to lead up to larger ones." Booth chuckled and turned the car around a corner. "Just answer the question. What colors do you prefer?"

"Uh...red. I like red." She shook her head slowly. "Red or green."

"Hmm, I would have pegged you as a blue person."

"What is a blue person, Booth?" Brennan sighed, looking over at him with an amused smile tugging at her lips.

"A blue person is…a blue person. Solemn, I guess. I don't know. I guess, now that I think about it, you are a red person. But not green. Red is passionate about things – their work, their family, everything. But I don't know what a green person is." He smiled and winked over at her. "Now it's my turn."

"What?" Brennan cried. "But I didn't get to ask my question!"

"Yes you did. Your question was what a blue person was. Now it's my turn. What was the most interesting place you ever visited."

"Ugh," Brennan groaned as she leaned her head back on the headrest and gazed at the ceiling. "China," she muttered slowly. "Or India. They were both very intriguing. I loved hiking the Great Wall and walking around the streets of rural India. And the locals in both areas were something different all together. They had so many stories to tell and it was sometimes frightening how different their society is from ours. I knew it was that way but I never knew the full extent of it. There is only so much that books can tell you. You have to see for yourself."

The car came to a stop and Brennan looked out the window to see that they were pulling into a parking lot in front of a small restaurant.

"Don't tell me that you know the owners of this place too, Booth," she sighed as he turned off the car.

"Nah. I don't think that it's a privately owned place. I've only come here twice before. I've been wanting to come back for ages but never had an opportunity." He unbuckled and opened the car door. "Come on." Brennan followed in his suite, unbuckling and slipping out of the car, closing the door before Booth could get around the front to help her.

They walked together up a small stone path and through a set of wood and glass doors into a dark waiting room filled with soft jazz music. A waiter took their names and looked down in his book, saying, "Ah! Mr. Booth. Follow me this way and I'll show you to your table." They were led to a small booth that sat against a glass wall. It was lighter back her, with large windows on the other side. When the were comfortably seated, Brennan stared at her menu and chewed on her bottom lip.

"So what about you, Booth?" she asked, glancing only for a moment over the top of her menu. "Where is the most interesting place that you've ever been to?"

Booth laughed softly as he closed his menu and set it down, apparently already decided. "I haven't been to exotic places like you have, Bones. I think the most interesting place that I've been to would have to be Auschwitz. I went there one summer and visited the concentration camps."

Brennan nodded. "I've been there."

"It's like the skeleton of a million peoples' hopes, lives, and dreams, isn't it?" Booth shook his head sadly before reaching over a tapping her menu. "I'd try the chili-fries. They're excellent."

"Yeah, okay," she muttered as she closed the plastic menu. Looking up, she met the eyes of a small waitress with a wide smile. Tapping on Booth's hand, she nodded at the girl.

Booth looked up and gave the girl a grin. "Hello."

The girl seemed taken aback by his charm smile and Brennan remembered the first time that he shot it in her direction. She pitited the girl but when she saw her obvious size under her uniform and her blatant ardor for Booth, that pity soon evaporated and her eyes flicked warily to Booth, trying to gauge his reaction. He was looking at her and she instinctively ducked her head in embarrassment.

"Are you ready to order now or do you need more time? I could go get you some drinks if you'd like that." The girl was speaking fast, her face visibly red and her eyes resting only on Booth. "Oh!" she gasped and shook her head in embarrassment. "My name is Kitty and I will be your server today." The flush grew until her cheeks resembled the color of a cherry. Brennan swallowed a smile.

"I think we're ready, don't you Bones?" Booth was staring at Brennan intently, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. When she nodded, he looked briefly up at the girl and handed her the menus. "I'd like the steak-burger with fries and a coke. She wants the chili fries and…" he glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow. "Usual Coke?" She nodded and his smile widened a bit more. "And a coke with lemon slices in it."

The girl nodded, writing a note on her pad before she grasped the menus and gave him an award-winning smile. "I'll be right back with your drinks, then!" and she walked quickly away, back towards the kitchens.

"So. It's my turn, isn't it?"

It took a moment for Brennan to understand the meaning of his words but realization dawned quickly enough and she nodded slowly. "Yes."

"What's your favorite holiday?"

Brennan sighed as her finger made small circles on the table. "I don't really know, actually. You already know my views on Christmas…"

"Christmas Killer," Booth sighed, nodding knowingly.

"And most of the other ones are for children. Our modern Halloween is simply the candy companies exploiting one of the more historically fascinating holiday to gain money and in the process they slandered a perfectly innocent tradition and made it seem evil. And my opinion of Easter is quite similar to that of Christmas. So what else is there?"

Booth groaned and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Can't you ever just enjoy something, Bones? Like the lights during Christmas and the decorations on Halloween? Sometimes things can just be fun for the heck of it."

"I can so enjoy things for the heck of it!" Brennan said slowly as the waitress set their glasses in front of them.

"Really? Give me two examples."

"No. It's my turn to ask the question." She smiled and leaned forward across the table. Her hands moved to rest on her lap as she thought of a good question to ask him. Booth watched her, a tightness forming in his stomach at the look of concentration on her face and the way that her eyes narrowed as she debated. Finally, a smile touched her eyes and she looked up with realization. "What is your favorite candy?"

Booth let out a bark of laughter as he sat back and took a sip of his drink. "Jelly Beans. I love jelly beans."

Brennan smiled as she mimicked his movements, sitting back in her chair. "Your turn," she said as she mentally calculated her next couple of questions and deciding that she might actually grow to enjoy this game.

Not positive if I like this chapter but it was needed for the next couple. Some things were started, touches were exchanged...it was all very subtle-ish. Next chapter will have a little more Hodgela and the finale of the date. Where will it all lead? I don't know. :-) This thing is writing itself here.

Deamon

(Reviews feed my soul. And if you don't give a damn about my soul then they also feed my pretty little kitty, Snow White. O.O meow)

(And they feed my imaginary people.)