As Brennan stepped into the medico-legal lab, she heard a high-pitched noise that could only mean one thing…Angela. Oh great, here it comes.
"So, did you sleep with him?"
"Ange!"
"What?" Angela looked over her shoulder for a second before turning back to Brennan. "Are you worried about them hearing? Don't bother, I already gave them the good news."
"What's there to tell? We haven't even dated yet! I left David and stayed with Booth, and that's all."
"Sure Sweetie," Angela patted Tempe's hand. "You keep telling yourself that. So, is he a good kisser?" Tempe tried to glare at her best friend, but her facial muscles seemed to have a mind of their own as they bowed her mouth into a smile.
"Perfect." Angela let out another squeal. Temperance clamped her hand down onto her friend's mouth and dragged Angela into her office.
"I so knew he would be a good kisser! What else did you to do while there?"
"We worked Ange, that's it."
"You mean to tell me that now you're available, and you spent the entire weekend with that Hottie FBI agent and all you did was kiss him?"
"Yes, Angela. That's it." Brennan paused for a moment. "I think he said he loved me."
"And did you say it back?" Angela turned more serious. She looked intently at her friend.
"No. When I asked what he said, he changed the subject."
"Sweetie, did you want to say it back?" Brennan looked at Angela. Did she want to say it back?
"I don't know." Angela gently led Temperance to the couch and both sat down. Tempe ran a hand over her face before looking at her best friend.
"You know, I watched this show once on…you know what, it's best I don't go there. Anyway, they had an anthropologist on that studied love. She said there was a simple way to tell if you were in love with someone."
"Ange, are you going to try to use science against me?"
"Of course not. Sweetie. Just bear with me okay?"
"Fine," Temperance sighed. She was interested in seeing where Angela would go with this.
"We're going to talk about Booth here. Objectively, how would you describe him?"
"Objectively? He's tall, takes care of himself, and dresses well. He's handsome…" Temperance smiled as she thought of his smile and the way it brightened his eyes. "He has the most expressive eyes I've ever seen. You know that expression; the eyes are the windows to the soul? I think it's true in his case. You can tell what he's thinking by his eyes. You can see his compassion, his strength, his…love there." Temperance trailed off on the thought. That's what was there, love. It was there overwhelmingly, but she had never noticed before. No, she had noticed, but hadn't been able to put a label to the emotion.
"And how often do you think of him? Don't lie, Bren, because I'll know it if you're lying."
"As of late, he's been causing me distractions in a work environment. I had to make him leave the room when I was looking over the remains of our latest victim." Angela smirked at Brennan's answer. Let's see, mood change? Check. Can't get him off of her mind? Check. Would she be willing to die for him?
"And would you die for him? Would you risk your life to save his?"
"Yes."
"Oh, Sweetie, you're in love! You are head over heels in love with Seeley Booth! I knew it."
"Angela, please, I don't want to do this right now," Brennan sighed. "Let's just get back to work. I'm expecting those remains from South Carolina to arrive soon."
"They've already shown up, Bren." Bones looked at Angela and left her office, heading for the examination platform. Zach looked up at Brennan when she reached the remains, as did Hodgins.
"So, is it true? You and Booth are knocking boots?" Hodgins grinned. Tempe looked up at him sharply, a glare on her visage. Hodgins looked at her for a moment, and turned back to his microscope. She was quickly developing a headache over the issue thanks to Angela.
About two hours later, Booth showed up, scanning himself onto the platform. He stepped up behind Bones, placed his hand on the small of her back, and then leaned down to look at the remains.
"This our vic?" Brennan looked over her shoulder at Booth, his face just inches from hers. He offered her a slow smile and watched as her cheeks flushed.
"You know, I really shouldn't have told you…about the smile thing," she said as she offered one of her own. "Yes, this is the newest victim. I need to get the bones cleaned, then I can have Angela reconstruct the face for you."
"Just call me when you have any information." Booth moved away from Brennan and leaned back on a railing. Brennan turned to face him, snapped off her latex gloves, and placed her hand lightly on his forearm.
"Are you going somewhere?"
"Yeah. I finally found the whereabouts of Callie Stevenson's friends, the ones she went on the climbing trip with. Anyway, they go to school here in DC, but they live in Chicago during the summer and winter breaks."
"How long will you be away?"
"What, you miss me already? I'll be out of town for two days. I need a favor though."
"Anything."
"Parker insisted on getting a dog. Rebecca was nice enough to look in on him while we were in South Carolina, but I need someone to make sure he's behaving himself while I'm gone." Booth pulled a spare key from his pocket and handed it to Brennan. He rolled his eyes skyward for a moment at Angela's squeal.
"Sure, I can do that. What's the dog's name?"
"Fang." Brennan arched an eyebrow, and nodded in amusement. Seeley flashed her another smile and pushed away from the railing "I've got to go, but we can discuss the other thing when I get back."
"Sweetie, if you're going to discuss a date, then just say the word." Angela approached the pair. Her eyes flicked to their hands. Neither had noticed that they were standing, fingers entwined.
"Angela…" Booth began, but the artist cut him off.
"You've just spent the weekend together in South Carolina, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be afraid of the word 'date'."
"She's right Booth. Besides, she did catch us together." Brennan smiled at her partner. He shook his head in amusement.
"Fine. We'll talk about that date when I get back." Booth leaned down to kiss Temperance, but on seeing Angela preparing to squeal again, diverted his path and kissed Tempe's cheek instead. At the look of disappointment on both women's face, Booth laughed and walked away.
"Oh, you two are so moving fast. Already at Stage Three and you haven't even been on a date."
"Stage three? Refresh my memory."
"You know, exchange keys."
"Ange, I'm pretty sure that him giving me his key to watch his dog doesn't qualify as stage three."
"He has a dog?"
"Apparently." Brennan turned from her friend and put on some gloves before returning to the remains.
"Well, do you want me to help you pack for the 'dog sitting'?"
"I'm only going to stop by and make sure the thing is fed."
"No Sweetie, you need to do more than that. You're going to stay at Booth's place and watch that little ankle biter."
"With a name like Fang, I hardly think the dog is little."
"Fang. How cute."
XxXxX
Brennan huffed, frustrated as she sat on her bed. Angela was going through her drawers, looking for clothes to pack for a few days at Booth's. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, with more cascading there by the second.
"You have to have something he'll love."
"Ange, I'm pretty sure that the dog really won't care what I have on."
"It's not the dog I'm concerned about. Ha! I knew they were still here!" Angela pulled a pair of small cotton shorts, black in color with a word emblazoned on the back.
"Angela, I am not going to wear those." Brennan was horrified. She had to borrow them from Angela when she spilled wine on a pair of pants one night. "Just take them back."
"Oh no, they're yours."
"No! I certainly never wear them, and I don't find myself 'Juicy'."
"But Booth will."
XxXxX
Booth reached his motel, glad to finally be able to lie down for a little while. He had three people to track down in order to find out more about Callie Stevenson. The fact that her mother knew so little about her disturbed him. Of course, Callie might have been ashamed of her career choice, but the knowledge that her mother didn't know she was a rock climber…something didn't fit here, and he needed to discover what that was.
XxXxX
Temperance stepped up to Booth's doorstep with a little bit of trepidation. He hadn't said anything other than Parker insisted they get a dog. Was it a big dog? Was it a puppy, or fully-grown? What if it thought she was breaking into his house and tried to attack her? This is ridiculous. Booth wouldn't get a dangerous dog for Parker. I'm sure everything is fine. Brennan took a deep breath and entered the apartment. Everything was quiet.
"Fang? Here boy." Temperance let her gaze sweep around the apartment. The last time she was there, Tessa had emerged from his bedroom wearing nothing but one of his dress shirts. She heard the slight sound of nails clicking on the wood floor and turned to face the dog named Fang. The sight of a rat running across the floor startled her and she scrambled backwards and onto a couch. Then, the rat barked. Wait, rats don't bark. The little dog that stood there looked at her curiously. It had to be the smallest thing she had ever seen, maybe three pounds total. "Fang?" The little dog wagged its tail.
Brennan climbed off of the couch, approached the miniscule dog and held out a tentative hand. Fang sniffed her hand, and then gave her fingers a tiny lick. Brennan smiled down at the Chihuahua.
"Well, aren't you just the sweetest little thing."
XxXxX
Morning found Booth in a residential section of Chicago land. He stood outside of a small two-story house, double-checking to make sure he was at the correct address. Satisfied, he made his way to the door. A slightly balding man of about thirty answered his knock moments later. The man stood at about six feet tall, and had permanent five o'clock shadow.
"Erick Peisker?" Booth looked at him and waited for an answer.
"Whatever it is you're touting, I don't want to be a part of it."
"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI. I have a few questions in regards to the disappearance of Callie Stevenson."
"Oh, of course. Come in." Erick moved out of the way to allow Booth inside. He followed the man inside and looked around. The place was filled with birch and stainless steel furniture. Erick indicated a spot on a couch that was covered with a shag rug type material. "Now, what are these questions of yours?"
"You were the one who reported Callie missing, correct?"
"Yes. She was supposed to arrive shortly after me, but when a day had passed and she hadn't shown up, I got worried."
"How long have you known her?"
"About three years. We go to college together and have some of the same classes."
"What did Callie do as far as work was concerned."
"She was an exotic dancer, but she also worked at the school library. Didn't want her parents to know what she did for a living. If you had a daughter, would you want to know that she was a stripper?"
"And what about the fact that her mother said she didn't rock climb?"
"She didn't. We went on a camping trip. Just because most people go to that particular state park to climb up the side of a cliff doesn't mean that everyone does, Agent Booth."
"Did you happen to see anyone suspicious around? Was anyone taking an unnatural interest in Callie?"
"Yeah, there was one guy…Jeff something or other. Didn't really pay too much attention. Callie seemed to know him, but I'd never seen him before."
"Alright, well, thank you for your time Mr. Peisker. If you can think of anything else that might be important, please give me a call." Booth handed a business card to Erick and stood.
"Agent Booth, do you have any word about Callie?"
"Her remains were found about halfway down a cliff face. I'm sorry." Booth looked at the man and noticed the sadness and grief that washed over his features. Erick nodded, trying to hold back the tears. Booth left and crossed Erick's name off his list to interview. He still had two more to go.
XxXxX
Brennan showed up to the lab late. Angela was on the lookout for her best friend. The bones of their second victim had been cleaned, and Angela was well on her way to finishing her tissue depth markers. As Temperance tried to make her way to her office, undetected, three heads popped into view from the examination platform, like prairie dogs in the plains of Nebraska.
"So, Sweetie, how was your foray into dog sitting."
"It was fine. Do we have any new information on our victim?" Brennan turned to face her colleagues, keeping her bag out of view.
"Same as with Callie Stevenson, no particulate evidence to indicate that she tried to prevent a fall. I did however find fibers that did not belong to the victim. I sent them out for analysis and should have the report within the hour," Hodgins informed her. Angela, in the meantime was examining Brennan's odd behavior curiously.
"Bren, what's in your bag?"
"Nothing's in my bag."
"Uh-huh, and that would be why you're hiding it behind your back. Something's there that you don't want me to find."
"That's not true. There's nothing of interest at all in my purse." She didn't see Dr. Goodman walk up behind her. He looked curiously at her bag, eyebrows knit together.
"Dr. Brennan, is there any particular reason you have a Chihuahua in your purse?"
"Bren, please tell me you aren't going all Paris Hilton on me."
"I don't know what that means." Angela bounded down from the platform and gently snatched away Brennan's purse. She looked at it and grinned wickedly. "Is this cute little ball of fur, Fang?"
"I couldn't very well leave him alone. I don't know what time I'll be leaving here! I don't want him to be by himself all day." The little dog licked the end of Angela's nose.
"And I can see why. He's adorable. What a wittel cutie! Aren't you!" Angela cooed at the dog.
"Ladies, may I remind you that this is still a work environment. I expect that the dog will not cause any problems here." Goodman glared at Temperance, who only nodded in response.
XxXxX
Tempe stepped out of the shower and into her pajamas. It had been a long day at the lab, but with Angela's swift work, they managed to get an identification on the victim…Shelby Grayson. Brennan tried to get hold of Booth, but his phone kept sending her to his voice mail.
Now that she had the opportunity to relax, she was going to take full advantage of it. Brennan stepped into Booth's living room and looked over his music collection. It was much more diverse than she would have thought, and she quickly settled on Santana. Brennan turned up the volume on the stereo so it was blasting, the bass pounding through her body. She picked up Fang and began dancing to the Latin Beat.
Booth heard the stereo long before he got to his apartment. What's going on in there? Did the dog throw a party? He put his key in the lock and turned it. He eased the door open, but shouldn't have been concerned about being heard. There was no way he would be heard over the volume of the music. The sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks, however. He saw a pair of long, slim legs disappearing into shorts emblazoned with the word 'Juicy'. Next, he saw Brennan straighten up to her full height as she gyrated to the beat of the music. She held something in her hands.
With a smirk, Booth snuck up behind Temperance. Slowly, he slid his arm around her waist. That was a mistake. He wasn't quick enough to avoid the elbow to his stomach, but avoided further damage by backing away quickly. Fang began to bark at Booth as Temperance whirled around, ready to face her attacker. When she saw Seeley almost doubled over, she dropped her stance and set the dog down.
"Oh, Booth, I'm sorry. You shouldn't sneak up on me like that." She reached out to examine the injured area. Booth relished the feel of her hands on his skin, but still pouted from being hit so hard. "What're you doing back so soon? You said you'd be gone two days."
"The interviews took a lot less time than I thought. Besides, if I stayed away, I wouldn't have seen you looking so 'juicy'." Booth pulled Brennan into his arms, despite her weak protest and began to dance with her.
"I am not juicy!"
"I beg to differ there, Bones. You are indeed very…juicy." He leaned in for a kiss, and unlike the morning before, he didn't need to divert course to her cheek. Brennan met him halfway, her lips latching onto his, and her hands winding around his neck. On the ground, Fang began to growl at Booth, and grabbed hold of the agent's pant leg.
Booth maneuvered through the living room as his hands slid under the silky camisole. He groaned as Temperance caught his bottom lip in her teeth, and sucked on it. He felt her grab the hem of his t-shirt and tug it towards his head. They separated for the briefest of moments as Temperance slid the shirt off Booth's body. With a crash, she was against the wall, and her lips sought out Seeley's again.
Booth caressed her sides, leaving little heat trails in his wake. She gasped a little, arching toward him. Fang let go of Booth's pants leg and barked at him. The barking turned into a growl. As Tempe's hands slid down his torso, Booth became aware of a warm, wet sensation on his leg and sock. He looked down just as the Chihuahua lowered his leg.
"God Damn it!" Booth pulled away from Temperance and looked at his jeans. A distinct wet spot was at the bottom of the leg and on his shoe as well. Temperance looked and began to laugh.
"Perhaps you should get cleaned up." She said between gasps. Seeley glared at her briefly, and then at the dog.
"Yeah, I suppose I'd better." With that, he left Temperance alone in the living room to her laughter.