Chapter Seven: Signs and Wonders

When Booth pulled into Brennan's parking garage later that evening, he had already intended to walk her to her door for safety. Between the two of them, they had been kidnapped at least 4 times, and Booth didn't ever feel completely comfortable letting Brennan walk alone at night when he could be there to protect her. However, when he took a surreptitious look around while heading towards her parking space, he spotted a very familiar, floppy-hair-bearing head sitting in a sedan close to the elevator. Unbelievable.

"Bones. Believe it or not, Sully is staking us out. Blue sedan by the elevators. Don't stare."

Brennan looked in the side mirror of the SUV and easily spotted their prey. "Oh, for goodness sake! I knew this was going to happen. Nothing we ever do is easy, is it?"

Booth, thinking that was probably the understatement of the century, laughed heartily. "You are not kidding, Bones. Easy is something we just can't do."

"So, what do we do? Just walk up to the apartment and hope he doesn't follow?"

"That was pretty much my plan, Bones. Just let me work my alpha-male charm again and wait until I open your door for you, alright?" Booth replied, getting out of the car.

Brennan watched Booth walk in front of the SUV, mentally preparing herself for the plan that had suddenly popped into her head when she saw that Sully was stalking them. 'I hope that Booth can play along.' she thought to herself. 'This might knock those striped socks right off his feet.'

When Booth opened the door, Brennan launched herself into his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and planted a huge kiss on his lips. Booth staggered backwards from the unexpected but certainly not unwelcome assault. His back hit the car behind him with a loud THUMP, and his hands immediately went to Brennan's rear to hold her in place. Before he knew what either of them was doing, he was kissing her back with a passion that he had never felt for any other woman. He felt as if he could do this forever, holding her in his arms, kissing her with abandon, listening to the mewling sounds coming from her throat...he was finally right where he'd always wanted to be.

For her part, Brennan crossed the threshold from playacting for Sully's benefit to losing herself in kissing Booth almost as soon as his hands splayed across her backside. 'Lord, this man can kiss...' she mused happily, then let her mind go completely blank, filling her senses with nothing else but the feel of his hard body against hers, the smell of his aftershave and something uniquely Booth surrounding her, and the press of his lips and tongue on hers. She was well and truly lost in the sensation.

When they finally stopped to breathe, Booth pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, "Uh, Bones...where the he11 did that come from? Not that I'm complaining, mind you..."

Brennan swallowed, opening her eyes to look back at him. "I...I don't know. I thought that if we showed Sully that we were together, maybe he would get the point and leave. But...I...I just couldn't seem to stop! That was...unbelievable!"

Booth had to agree wholeheartedly. He grinned back at her, and with a laugh, said "Yeah, I think 'unbelievable' sort of covers it, Bones. But I think we've stood here long enough, we should probably take this show upstairs."

"I suppose we should." Brennan reluctantly released her hold on Booth and slid down his body, suddenly thrilled to notice that her reaction to the kiss was most certainly and most obviously shared by Booth. She did all she could to repress a girlish giggle at the thought of having that kind of effect on him.

"Do you need a minute, Booth? Or can you walk?" she said, looking up at him through her lashes.

"Seriously, Bones. Let's not go there right now. I'm busy picturing dead bodies and football games right now. I should be good to go."

Brennan gave up the fight and let herself laugh out loud at Booth's predicament. Luckily, he also saw the humor in the situation and laughed with her as he threw an arm around her and led her right past the car where Sully sat, gaping, and entered the open elevator.

As the doors closed, Brennan turned to him with a question. "Booth, do you normally spend the night after a sexual conquest or do you leave to go back to your own bed?"

"Uh, well...actually Bones, I don't do casual so I've never left in the middle of the night."

"Oh. Good to know." Brennan looked down to hide the grin on her face. "I suppose I can make up the guest room for you."

The elevator reached Brennan's floor, as Booth replied, "That'd be great, Bones. Thanks."

"It's the very least I can do. I mean, you are doing this to help me out, after all. And maybe I can think of some other way to repay you for this." she said as she opened the door and walked in. "Something much more elaborate."

Booth's mind immediately went to about one hundred different ways she could show her appreciation, but he kept his mouth in check. "It's okay, Bones. I'm glad to do it."

"No, Booth. I really want to show you how much what you're doing means to me. But first, there is something we really need to talk about." Brennan gestured to the couch, indicating that Booth sit, as she rooted around in her desk for a piece of paper and a pencil.

She took a deep breath and sat down across from Booth, mentally preparing herself for the hardest conversation she would ever have. While Booth watched her, she drew a long line down the middle of the paper, and then handed it to Booth.

"What is this, Bones? I don't get it."

"It's your stupid line, Booth. And I want you to erase it. Now."