It was harder than Booth figured it would be to even get out of the plane. He hoped it wasn't an indication on how the rest of this little adventure was going to go.

It took several attempts to get the door of the plane open, so the two of them could crawl and wiggle their way out of the mangled wreckage.

The plane had come to rest on the ground, wedged between several trees. Booth looked up at the sky, noting the solid canopy above them. Even if someone was aware they needed help, it would be almost impossible to see the wreckage from the air.

No matter which way he looked, that was all he could see. Trees and more trees.

He'd never hated nature so much in his entire life.

With the two of them standing out in the open air, Booth began to assess just how dire their situation was. He contemplated how much to hide from his partner, and how angry she would be when he did so.

But he should have known not to bother. She was just as smart as he was, smarter in fact, as far as he was concerned, and she would come to the same conclusions he did.

"We aren't dressed for one night in the woods. One of our biggest risks tonight is hypothermia." Brennan was standing next to him, just as rapidly assessing what they would need to survive.

Booth looked down at his jeans and t-shirt and over to his partner, who was dressed very similarly. Neither of them wore a jacket, but both at least had hiking shoes on their feet.

"We need to find something to start a fire." He met her blue eyes. "You didn't happen to learn how to start a fire with sticks on all of those crazy digs you went on?"

He was trying to lighten the mood, but she didn't see it that way.

Bones narrowed her eyes at him. "I would have thought that was something you learned in military."

"Trust me, Bones, there weren't any sticks in Afghanistan. Just a lot of sand," he said. His voice lost any humor it had, taking on the same harsh tone he'd been using to speak to her for weeks.

And Afghanistan? Why would he bring that up? Any mention of that place automatically brought to mind the person who'd followed him home.

She nodded and pressed her lips together. "Maybe there's something we can use in the plane," she mumbled, walking away from him.

Booth kicked at the ground. "Shit. Bones, wait," he called after her.

She stopped, but didn't turn.

He grabbed her arm. "That's not what I meant. I didn't mean-" he stumbled over the explanation, not sure how to apologize for something he'd been doing for weeks. I'm sorry I'm an idiot just didn't seem like enough.

She'd tried to ignore it at first, the way he spoke to her like he'd rather be talking to anyone else, chalking it up to Hannah leaving. But she was tired of it. Unfortunately, now didn't seem like the appropriate time to call him on it.

She'd gone to Angela about it. When his words made her want to slam a door in his face instead of leaving to go to a crime scene with him.

"He's angry," Angela explained.

"Why?" Brennan asked. "I didn't turn down his proposal."

"But you did turn him down, Sweetie. And even though you told him you made a mistake, right now he's too angry at women in general to remember that."

"But that doesn't explain why he keep talking to me the way he does."

Angela sighed, wondering how to explain it so Brennan would understand. "Because he feels safe with you. He's working through his anger and he knows that you will still be waiting for him on the other side, no matter what he says to you or how he says it in the meantime."

"It's okay, Booth," excusing his behavior just as she had the last several months. "We're both under a lot of stress right now." Her voice was calm. She refused to look up and meet his eyes. Instead, they remained focused on the hand circling her arm.

If she looked up, he'd easily read the lie there. It wasn't okay with her. Hadn't been since the beginning. She was just trying to be patient like Angela had suggested.

"Bones, look at me."

He felt her sigh, but after a moment, she did as he ordered. When her blue eyes finally met his, they were empty of emotion. She was hiding behind the mask.

"I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I didn't mean to bring up Afghanistan."

Damn. That wasn't what he meant to say. Why couldn't he just be honest with her?

She looked at him, clearly confused. That's why he thought she was mad? Maybe she wasn't the only one who was inept with emotions.

"Why not? Afghanistan was part of your military experience and it happened quite recently. It is only natural that you would refer to it."

It was his turn to sigh. "You're right, Bones. I shouldn't be so sensitive about it."

"No," she agreed. "You shouldn't be."

She pulled away from his grip and headed toward the plane. "I think we need to talk, Booth. But right now, I want to come up with a plan to help us survive."

Booth watched her walk away, her steps steady. He rubbed his hand over his face, angry at himself. It was time to stop making excuses for what he was doing. And why would she ever give any indication that she was still interested in him when he acted like he was mad at her all the time?

Digging around in a plane with a dead body would have made him cringe. She didn't hesitate as she climbed back in to look for supplies. Compartmentalizing had always been one of her strengths.

He couldn't help but notice the view as she climbed back into the wreckage and he mentally gave himself a kick. First he snapped at her, then he stared at her. God, could he get any more screwed up?

Now was not the time to have wild fantasies. This was not a campout in the woods, where civilization was in easy reach. One or both of them could easily die in this forest, their bodies eventually being found by hunters.

If they were lucky.

Booth walked away to grab dry sticks. She was right when she said hypothermia was a big worry for them. If she didn't find anything handy in the plane, like matches, the two of them would find another way to start a fire.

There were several dead trees in the area, and the branches at the bottom were drier than those on the ground. Quickly, he broke off several to carry back to the plane, careful to make sure one didn't fall out of the tree and land on his head.

He'd managed to survive a plane crash. He didn't want to be killed by a tree branch instead.

Food, water, shelter were the big three when it came to survival. That was what he needed to worry about right now. Not whether or not Bones was going to slap him the next time he opened his mouth to speak to her. It wouldn't be the first, or even the second time she'd done it. And she had a mean swing when she was angry.

Snapping off one last branch, he turned to head back. It seemed they would have lots of time to sort all of this out. And he better figure out what he wanted to say to her, or he was going to screw this up.

Again.