They walked toward the parking lot together, and as they reached the SUV, Brennan started to slow. Booth could feel the slight pull on him and glanced to her curiously. "Can we take my car?" She asked, looking toward Booth with a slightly pleading look. His eyebrow lifted and he stopped and almost complained, quickly remembering that this was a date, not just a random case with his partner.

"Bones…" He said softly, still holding her arm, he watched her turn her head toward another part of the parking lot.

"I'll let you drive it." She said, holding up the key in her hand, she pushed the unlock button, and two rows down, they heard the sound of a horn beep once to indicate it was unlocked. She watched his eyebrow lift. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course." He said, as if it were a stupid question.

"Then let's take my car." She said, smiling slyly as she tugged his arm. He came willingly, and she walked around a couple of large SUVs, revealing a brand new deep blue mustang convertible.

"Wait, this is your car?" He asked, his eyes wide as a smile rose on his lips.

"Well, it's a rental." She said, looking toward him. "Angela told me that I should get something flashy. It is very fast. Do you want to drive it?"

"Yes!" he said enthusiastically, glancing to her as she smiled. "I mean, yes please." He grinned as she tossed him the key. "This is so awesome, Bones." He said, opening the driver's side door, he looked over at her and again remembered that they were on a date. "Do you want me to…"

"No." She said, shaking her head with a smile. "Just get in, so we can go." She said, watching that boyish grin return as he climbed into his seat. She shook her head and opened her door, slipping into the car. As soon as she settled in and reached for her seatbelt, she noticed he was fidgeting with buttons and ranting about what a beautiful car it was. She let him have his moment, not understanding anything he was saying as he rattled on. "Are you going to put the top down?" She asked, watching him glance to her with a smile.

"You don't mind? It won't mess up your hair?" He asked, watching as she sent him an incredulous look. "Alright, Bones, you asked for it." He grinned. With that, he started the car and prepped the top to be put down, watching in awe as it tucked itself behind them, and they were suddenly bathed in sunlight, both with bright smiles.


They drove down the main drag, the warm August wind blowing in their faces, and the sun shining down on them as they made their way down the road. Booth drove effortlessly, glancing to Brennan occasionally.

"Are you nervous?" She asked suddenly, watching as he turned his head and glanced at her.

"What?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the road again.

"Are you nervous about taking me out on an actual date? You said earlier that you were scared. Are you nervous right now?" She asked.

"Not right now, no." He said, glancing toward her. "I mean, it's not like we haven't spent time in a car together before." He said, chuckling slightly. "Are you nervous?"

"Perhaps a little." She shrugged. "I am extremely comfortable being with you, the way that we have always been. We've been partners and friends for a long time. I don't know what to expect, or how to behave that will not make you uncomfortable. For example, do I hold your hand? When do we kiss? Will we have intercourse this evening, or decide to wait?"

"Woah, woah… Bones. Why don't we just focus on one thing at a time, okay? Yes, you can hold my hand any time." He said, grabbing her hand in his, he watched her eyes focus on them for a moment. "The kissing… I don't know, whenever it compels you." He said, lifting her hand to his lips, he gently kissed her fingertips, she tipped her head back and watched him, clearly humored. "And the other thing…"

"Intercourse." She said, watching him cringe.

"Yeah, that… we don't have to just jump into bed, you know? We can just do this stuff in our own time, okay? Let's start with mini-golf and dinner and see where the night takes us, okay? We're not in a hurry." He said, giving her hand a squeeze to let her know that everything was okay.

"Okay." She nodded, wanting to say more, but she knew that the conversation made Booth a little squeamish. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable." She said, watching him glance to her.

"It's fine, Bones. We're good. I'm used to being uncomfortable around you." He said, making a face at her annoyed expression. They pulled into a parking lot of a fairly busy mini-golf facility, he watched as she sat up a little straighter, and looked out at the course. "Are you ready to lose at mini-golf?" He asked, pushing the button to send the top of the car back up.

"Is this how it's going to be? You're going to garbage talk your way through a game of mini-golf on our first date?" She asked as he let out a laugh.

"It's trash talk, Bones… and yeah, that's how it's going to be." He said, listening to her laugh as they both climbed out of the car.


It was approaching 7:30 when they finished their game, walking side by side toward the car, Booth looked at his watch and let out a grunt. Brennan had a smile on her face as she reached for his arm. "It's okay that you lost, Booth." She said, watching him roll his eyes. "Sometimes it happens." She said as she patted his arm with her hand.

"Yeah, it happens. It happens when you're playing with a golf wonk, nerdy scientist." He muttered as he ambled slightly, and she looked up at him with a scowl.

"I won fairly." She said stubbornly.

"You won, because you came up with a damn equation for each hole. I mean you measured half of them… who would have thought the guy in the snack shop would have a damn tape measure." He grunted.

"The tape measure came in very handy." She said with a smile. "I did very well." She said as she rested her head on his arm as they walked toward the car.

He watched her self-satisfied grin and smiled himself, shaking his head at her immodest, yet perfectly 'Bones' behavior. "Are you hungry?" He asked, watching her lift her head and look into his eyes.

"I am extremely hungry." She said, as they reached the car.

"Good, so am I. I did a little research. I know just the place." He said, reaching for the passenger door, he opened it for her. She gave him a curious look, and he shook his head. "Don't say a word, just get in the car."

She smiled at him and leaned forward. She grabbed his shirt in her fist , pulled him in, and kissed him solidly on the lips. She then flattened her palm and pushed herself away a bit, licking her lips as she smiled at him and climbed into the car, looking up at his surprised expression. "What? I felt compelled." She said with a shrug. He licked his own lips, shook his head and closed the door, and then quickly made his way around the car to the driver's side.


They rode in silence for a little while, and Booth reached across the center console to take her hand in his. He turned off the main road onto another road, and followed it slowly. He pulled up to a small Victorian home, a sign in the front declaring the restaurant's name, and as he parked the car, he glanced over toward her. "Do you want the full chivalry treatment, or do you just want to do everything by yourself?" He asked, listening to her melodic laugh as he grinned at her.

"I can open my own doors, but I do appreciate the option." She said sincerely.

"Anytime, Bones." He said, climbing from the car, he walked around the front and waited for her to join him, and together they walked into the restaurant.

They were seated, and quickly ordered, pleased with the atmosphere of the restaurant. There was soft music floating through the air, and a candle flickering on the table. They were pretty quiet at first, not exactly sure what to talk about, but entirely comfortable in one another's company.

"So, have you talked to Parker, told him that you're home?" She asked, watching Booth's brow furrow at the sound of his son's name.

"No." He said, his voice just a bit abrupt. He didn't mean to sound harsh, and stammered a bit as he tried to explain. "I haven't told him yet, or talked to him about it. He was so proud of me for going over there, you know? I don't want to disappoint him." Booth said with a sigh.

"I don't think he'll be disappointed in you, Booth. If you told him what you told me, I think he'd be proud of you." She said sincerely.

"No. No, Bones. I can't tell him that. He's just a kid, you know? I'll just tell him that they didn't need my help any more or something. I'll just tell him that I trained them really fast, and then got to come home early." He said, drumming his fingers on the table as he stared at them.

"I think he'd understand if you told him that you missed him." She said, watching as Booth's eyes lifted. "That's what you told me, isn't it."

He smiled slightly at her and nodded. "Yeah." He sighed. "Yeah, that's what I told you."

"Besides, it doesn't matter why you're home, Booth. You're home. That's what matters. You're back where you belong." She said, reaching across the table for his hands, he took them and gave them a supportive squeeze.

The waiter stopped by with their salads, and they reluctantly released hands. Booth took the fork in his hand and shoved it into a piece of lettuce as he watched her for a moment. "You told Angela that I was back, right?"

Brennan looked up at him and shook her head. "No." She said, taking a bite of her salad, she watched his confused expression.

"You said she called, I just assumed you told her that I was here too, and…oh, right…" He nodded his head.

"Yeah." She said. "If she knew that you and I were at a hotel together on the beach for two weeks…"

"We'd be able to hear her scream from Paris." He said, watching as her brow furrowed in confusion. "Just a figure of speech, Bones." He said. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her that I had a date with another hotel guest." She shrugged.

"Not a lie." He said, nodding his head. "Good one, Bones."

"Thank you." She said, shrugging a little. "She was still incredibly curious."

"I bet." He laughed, finishing up his salad, he pushed the plate away and leaned on the table slightly. "I'm enjoying our time together. You know? No case, no squints… I just wanted to let you know."

"You seemed awfully needy earlier." She teased, taking a bite of her salad as he narrowed his eyes at her. "You came to my room two hours early because you were bored. You were lucky that I was ready." She said playfully.

"What were you doing in your room?" He asked.

She pushed her plate away and leaned on the table slightly. "I was lying on the bed, thinking of you." She said in a low, husky voice. She lifted an eyebrow suggestively as he let out a laugh and sat back, a laugh loud enough to startle another patron across the restaurant. "What?" she said with her own laugh. "I was!" She shook her head. "I was also extremely bored. I'm not afraid to say that I can be a very needy person as well." She said, lifting her wine glass, she sipped it and watched him over the rim of the glass.

"Well good, two needy people, together at last." He said, holding up his glass to her, she grinned as she toasted his sentiment, and they waited patiently for their dinner.