Chapter 7: Bourne To Play This Game
Going to be honest, I'm pretty sure this thing just writes itself. I never know what's happening until I've read it over.
"Okay," said Jared, rummaging through his bag. "We have some trilogies and whatnot. I'll read them off and we'll all vote yes or no."
"Okay, what do we have?" Booth asked, his arm around Brennan who was leaning her head back over his elbow, icing her black eye.
"Number one: Star Wars."
"Which ones?" asked Padme, "Episodes 1-3 or 4-6?" Jared checked the spine of the cases.
"The old school ones."
"I hate Star Wars," protested Brennan loudly. They all turned to stare at her as she lowered the ice pack defiantly.
"Have you even seen it?" scoffed Booth.
"No," she said mulishly.
"But it's science fiction," said Booth with his usual charming smile, "it even has the word science in the title. You'll like it."
"I hate science fiction," griped Brennan, "Everything is wrong. Nothing they accomplish could ever actually happen. They completely violate the laws of physics! I mean, warp drive. The warp theory states that you can travel millions of light years in very little time; do you realize how much energy it would take to propel a ship in stasis to a velocity of that magnitude in a vacuum with absolutely no mass?"
"Warp drive is Star Trek," pointed out Jared. Booth shot him a glare.
"Whatever," said Brennan petulantly. "I say no." The two brothers shared a glance and Jared shrugged.
"Next we have Lord of the Rings. I vote yes."
"Me too," chimed Padme.
"No," groaned Brennan dramatically, flinging her hands out in a theatrical gesture. Booth caught one before it knocked his teeth in. "Why would I be better off with fantasy than science fiction?"
"I'm with you there Bones," commented Booth, "also, it's 1:30. These three movies are 12 hours long; it'll be 1:30 am before we're finished, and I have to take Bones home tonight."
"Will you be staying with her?" asked Padme, completely straight faced. Booth searched for a hint of a taunt but found none.
"I don't know," he answered honestly.
"Next!" called Brennan loudly. Booth frowned at her.
"You feeling okay there Bones?" he put his hand on her forehead.
"I'm fine," she scoffed.
"You're pretty hot," he pointed out.
"You too," she returned pushing futilely at his ribcage.
"I bet it's the painkillers," offered Padme. Booth's face broke into a slow smile, considering the impending amusements he could tease her with.
"Next!" called Brennan more loudly. Jared dug through his bag.
"How about Back to the Future?" In unison, Booth and Brennan gave thumbs down.
"Ridiculous hypothesis," she shrugged completely in sync with Booth who said,
"Only the first one is good."
"Harry Potter?" suggested Padme, taking matters to her own hands. Even Jared declined.
"And you think Lord of the Rings is long."
"Plus the plot it tired and trite," pointed out Brennan, "it's the classic bildungsroman archetypal epic of a young boy overcoming the obstacles –"
"I happen to love Harry Potter," frowned Booth, "I read them to Parker."
"Based on Tempe's resistance to science fiction, I'll just skip The Matrix."
"What else have you got?" sighed Booth.
"Last two," said Jared, "I've got all the Pirates of the Carribean movies and the Bourne trilogy."
"Jason Bourne," said Padme immediately.
"Agreed," seconded Booth.
"I got no qualms," shrugged Jared. All three looked at Brennan who shrugged blankly.
"I've never seen any of them."
"Do you know what they are?" cried Jared in outrage as Padme moved to set the first disk in the cradle of the DVD player.
"They're spy movies. Espionage stuff. He's an assassin with amnesia." Booth grinned. "The stunts are epic." Brennan frowned.
"I would think you would hate a government conspiracy movie about an assassin. Doesn't that remind you of your own exploits in the military?" There was a painful, awkward silence as Booth clenched his jaw.
"Tempe," said Jared under his breath.
"Movie!" squealed Padme loudly, effectively breaking the thick tension by jumping onto Jared who fell in a dramatic tackle on top of her.
"Get off!" she panted. He instead struck a model pose, propping his hand under his ear and grinding more heavily on top of her.
"No, no, this is good. I could spend around eight or nine hours like this."
"Jared!" Booth looked over at Brennan to gage how comfortable she felt with the two of them wrestling on the couch. She had tilted her head backwards and her eyes were closed, frozen peas thawed and tucked under one arm. Her face was pale and covered in goosebumps where it wasn't purple.
"Hey Bones, hey…" his unease immediately forgotten, he jumped up a few feet and dragged the blanket he had used overnight over her. Tucking her firmly in, he then wedged himself close to her, draping an arm around her. Woozy, she immediately tipped into the space between his arm and his collarbone, like her head was meant to fit there.
"You can wake me up when it starts," she murmured sleepily. He assented, but she couldn't hear him as she was already falling asleep; instead his voice reverberated in his chest cavity and she listened to it with a slight thrill. The only other thought she had before she fell asleep is that he was lying; she could tell he wouldn't wake her for the world.
The gunshots woke her. She started awake, flinching both out of reflex and realizing where she was. She sat up quickly, looking in awe at the television screen. Glancing to one side while attempting to tame her hair, she saw Padme snuggled, wide eyed, over Jared's lap, his hands idly stroking her hair, her cheek or the bare skin between her sleeve and her neck as he too, stared avidly at the film.
"What's going on?" she asked Booth. He looked at her, slightly irked.
"It's a movie Bones."
"I meant in the plot. What's happened?"
"We're halfway through," he groused.
"I want to know what's happening." They received twin glares from Padme and Jared.
"Shh, I'll tell you later."
"We have two other movies Booth, I won't understand."
"I'll tell you in between," he murmured.
"Why not now?"
"Bones, there are other people here."
"I'm confused."
"Just watch. You'll catch on."
"What if I don't?"
"You're the genius. Figure it out."
"Booth!"
"Shh!" Both Jared and Padme hissed.
"Booth, who is that man? I know him!" she said excitedly. "He's an actor! Yes, yes, Angela speaks highly of him." Booth rolled his eyes. "Mike David or something."
"Matt Damon." Padme's voice was clipped.
"Anyways – why is he carrying a gun?" Booth refused to answer, staring pointedly at the screen. "And why is he in a bank? Where did he get those passports? Oh! Who's that? Why are they fighting? And who's she-" Booth's hand clamped over her face.
"Hush, Bones," he grumbled into her ear. "Just…Shh." She glared at him with her pristinely blue eye and her other squinting around layers of black and purple skin, her furrowed brow wrinkling the bandage taped there. He refused to engage, not looking at her or letting go, even when she began squirming. It had little effect; he had trapped her tightly between the edge of the couch arm and his own body. The blanket was cocooned around her so even her arms were pinned. She thrashed her head a little, but then glared viciously at him as a smug little smile crept onto his lips. She did the only thing he could think of.
"Ugh! Bones!" Booth held his hand away from her mouth, a long trail of saliva still connecting the two as she smiled superciliously. "I'd expect this from Parker, but, ugh…" he wiped his hand on his jeans. He turned his disgruntled face to find Padme and Jared sharing a knowing smile. Disgusted both with them and Bones' long tongue, he stood up. "I'm making popcorn," he grunted.
"Can we stop the movie for a moment?" Brennan politely requested, freeing herself from the hot sauna of the blanket. "I'm a little behind."
Booth groaned as Padme obliged. After the summary, Booth returned with two bowls of popcorn, still smelling sweetly of butter.
"This is going to clog your arteries," Brennan told him primly. Booth retaliated by licking the kernels up with his tongue.
"Hey," she pouted, "that's just gross."
"But fun," he grinned. "I had to put up with your tongue, so now you'll have to put up with mine." Padme coughed a little into her Diet Coke.
"Fun?" she frowned. They were ignoring the movie. Booth held the bowl beneath her chin.
"Try it," he urged with his little boy's smile. Gingerly, she stuck her tongue onto a flake of popcorn. It stuck, and she retracted it gleefully. She laughed, as did he and they ate the entire bowl that way, to the other couple's disgust.
Eventually Padme shrugged out of Jared's casual embrace and popped the next movie in.
"I wasn't done," protested Brennan, "Booth was distracting me at the ending."
"I could be distracting Padme," muttered Jared under his breath, "but that would defeat the purpose of actually watching a movie, which is why we asked you here."
"To chaperone?" said Booth dryly.
"It's the other way around," smirked Jared. He ducked as Booth punched him in the arm. "Ouch," he griped.
As the next movie began, so did Brennan's insistent whispers into Booth's ear. Both irritated and completely disconcerted at the fanning tendrils of her scent whisking over his jaw and down his neck, Booth shivered beneath his clothes before clamping his hand around her jaw.
"YEHT GVO" she seethed around his fingers.
"No more licking," he instructed, his finger waggling in front of her eyes. "Now hold still. I got you some frozen corn for your eye and a fresh bowl of Epsom salt. Oh, yeah, and a glass of orange juice that I suppose," he beamed coyly, "you'll have to wait to drink." He reached for the ice pack and settled it over her eye, forcing her to hold it in place with one of her hands. The other scrabbled futilely at the outside of his knuckles until his other hand grasped hers tightly on the couch between them. Glancing sideways in an attempt to devise a devious plot, Brennan was shocked to notice Jared and Padme's similar pose, their hands grasped loosely between them, radiant smiles on their faces as Padme watched the television and Jared watched her face in its glow. Disconcerted, Brennan went for stealth.
Laying her head against his shoulder, she snuggled into his chest. Booth looked down at her in surprise until he saw her face and he started sniggering under his breath.
"Almost had me there Bones, almost did. But I know you too well to fall for this little plan." Stiffening upright, she sat, glaring, forcing the beads of icy corn into her flesh until Booth pried her fingers away and replaced it with a hot washcloth of Epsom salt water. They were silent for several minutes, and gradually Brennan felt Booth unwind next to her and grow less vigilant. At that precise moment she sucked a fold of skin between her teeth and watched his eyes grow wide.
"You wouldn't," he hissed. She nodded. He shrugged. "You wouldn't," he said confidently. She hadn't been planning to, but his cockiness aggravated her. She bit down until she heard a satisfying howl.
"Jesus Bones! What have I told you! No teeth, we've been over this, no teeth." Jared and Padme dissolved into helpless laughter at the entendre and tittered even when Booth glared at them. Brennan smugly drank her orange juice and watched the movie. Sour and hurt, Booth sank back into the cushions next to her. His anger brimmed between them until she actually felt slightly bad. However, as the movie progressed, his muscles slowly unwound, his arms uncrossed, and she watched as his neck unknotted. He reached for the popcorn and offered her some as a peace offering. Meekly, she acquiesced by taking a small handful.
"That was ours," said Jared sardonically. "But feel free." However, Jared was suddenly occupied with Padme climbing into his lap and settling herself.
Booth and Brennan shared a look and had to look away from each other to keep from giggling. She felt the last of the tension ease. She looked mournfully for the blanket until Booth, grinning, reached behind the couch where he had vengefully hidden it. Brennan smiled, and she saw his smile falter; she didn't remember why until he gentle hands reached up to peel away the white bandage. She tried to stop him, but he batted her hands away as he examined her stitches. Patting it gently back into place, Booth looked chagrined. Instead, Brennan spread the blanket over the both of them and drew her legs up. After flailing for a few minutes, she was upset she couldn't find a position that was comfortable. Fed up with her squirming, Booth drew her legs firmly over his. Settling into the corner of the couch, they both finally turned their attention to the movie.
At 7:30 the final movie concluded as Brennan blinked sleepily awake.
"I fell asleep again?" she squawked, a bit peeved. "What happened? Did he shoot everyone? Did they leave him alone?"
"You'll have to watch them again and see," smiled Jared.
"You could watch them again with Booth," suggested Padme. Brennan clenched her jaw mulishly and glared at him.
"I told you to keep me awake."
"After all that popcorn Bones, you got a little drowsy."
"Drugs always have that effect on me," she said gloomily. She squinted, trying to recall the afternoon; it was a hazy blur. "Was I inappropriate?" she said, swallowing. She was less concerned with making a fool of herself than with what she might have confessed.
"Well let's see," teased Booth, ticking things off on his fingers, "You licked me. Slurped up the popcorn, and then bit me. Oh, and while you were asleep, you kicked me too." Brennan blushed, but Booth laid off of her when he saw the headache forming between her eyes.
"I think your black eye looks better," offered Padme as she and Jared packed up to leave.
"Thanks for all your help," returned Brennan with a gracious nod. Padme smiled and her eyes flicked irritatingly from her face to Booth's, the way that Cam's and Angela's were constantly doing. "Good luck…with that."
"Okay," said Brennan blankly. Padme hugged her briefly.
"Don't play dumb," she called her out in a whisper. She drew back and waved cheerily, and the two of them left, leaving Brennan still blushing.
"Come on then Bones," said Booth cheekily, "time to move this party back to your place." Brennan stood, but upon turning her head she winced.
"Ugh, I reek."
"I was gonna say something Bones," joked Booth, "but I didn't want to hurt your feelings."
"I should shower." Booth was immediately concerned.
"I don't know if that's a good idea. Why don't you wait until we get back to your apartment? You could wait for Angela-"
"I'm not severely injured Booth," she groaned. "I'm fine. The concussion never presented itself. It has been over 24 hours. And I've spent every minute with you. Have I seemed any different in that time?" She held her breath, unsure of his response.
"Not really," he conceded, nose wrinkling, "other than biting me. And interrupting the movie." She frowned back around her black eye, but winced when it tugged the skin of her forehead too taut.
"Easy there Bones, you've had a long day. Hand please."
"I have not! I've been asleep and what-" he grabbed her hand and she flushed. He held it a second too long, grinning cockily before opening her fingers gently and dropping the narcotic into her palm.
"I don't want this," she said looking at it with disgust. "It makes me tired. And queasy."
"You're upset. And in pain, this will help."
"I hardly think drugging me is a way to help anything," she scoffed. He grimaced but laughed. He pulled a serious face.
"Don't make me force you to take it." She scowled, but judging his reaction, she dutifully finished the rest of her orange juice and took the pill.
"You'll stay tonight?" she asked as he helped her gather her things, motioning her to leave the dirty dishes where they were. Ignoring him, she took her utensils to the sink and chucked the corn back in the freezer next to the peas.
"Bones," he said softly as she washed the dishes over his protests. "Bones," he said more loudly, his hands wrapping around her forearms. "Stop. Just stop. Let me get you home." Her skin was hot and flushed under his hands. "You're pretty warm. Let's get you to your apartment. You can take a shower, I'll get you ice packs, and tuck you in. We'll go from there okay?"
"You're saying no." Her voice was small, hurt. Booth immediately felt a rush of protectiveness inflate his chest.
"I'll stay," he said definitively, "if you want me to."
"I…do."
"Okay. Let me pack a bag. Grab the keys okay?"
20 minutes later he pulled into her apartment complex and looked over at her head; she had turned away from him in the car, partly, he guessed, out of embarrassment for her vulnerability, and partly out of her stubbornness not to make him feel guilty for her face.
"Bones," he said. "Bones." He leaned over to blow childishly in her ear when he realized she was sound asleep. His sudden churlishness over her immature behavior evaporated. Sighing, he exited his side and slung both of the bags over his broad shoulders. Opening her door, he carefully maneuvered her out of the car into his arms. Grunting, he kicked the door shut as she nuzzled her head against his bicep drowsily.
The doorman opened the door and grinned at Booth as he helped push the elevator buttons. Luckily, Brennan's face was turned so that her black eye was hidden from view.
Getting into her apartment was a little more tricky as her keys were in one of the bags slung over his shoulder, but he managed to turn the key with a little jostling. Right as he reached for the handle, the door yanked itself open and Booth, startled, dropped the keys clenched between his teeth. He blinked.
"Max."
