A/N Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I was very happy I got so many. Thank you! And keep pushing that button at the end of the page!

As usual, I don't own Bones, and I'm not making money out of this.

XxXxXxX

Not In This Life

Chapter eight: For Better or Worse

After Gayle Brown had gotten out of Booth's office, they had talked about where they should go, whether or not they should go to Booth's place or Brennan's for the week. They had finally decided that it was better to go to Booth's place. The arguments that had won over was that Parker was supposed to come see his father this Saturday, and Booth had added something like: "I also own a TV, and a DVD player, which you don't." Brennan had said that it was a good point.

Booth decided that now was the best time to go talk to Cullen to explain the situation. The Assistant Director wasn't very happy about this, but seeing the embarrassment in both the agent and the doctor's faces, he decided not to worsen the situation. Since the death of his daughter Amy, Cullen had gone softer on Brennan. Softer, yes, but not mad. He still wasn't about to let her handle a gun anytime soon.

As they walked out of the Cullen's office, Booth looked at his watch. It was 2:44pm. They decided they still had time to interview Sophie Newton and Evelyn Thompson's parents. It took them 45 minutes to get to Sophie Newton's parent's house and inform them that their daughter had been found dead.Mr. and Mrs. Newton were devastated at the news of their daughter's death, but at the same time it did provide closure to the grieving couple. They told Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan that they didn't know of anybody who would want to harm their daughter.They offered their condolences and before they left Booth handed the couple his card and asked them to please call if they remembered anything else that seemed important.

The same kind of event happened with Evelyn Thompson's parents, and the pair left the house empty handed.

"We're getting nowhere." Said Brennan.

"Yeah…it's really disturbing." Added Booth as they both walked back to the SUV. "Nobody knows anything. My best guess is that the husbands are as clueless."

"Gut feeling?" Asked Tempe with a smile.

"Yep! Gut feeling." Answered Booth, opening the door of his black SUV.

"It's almost 5pm Booth, I think we better go back. I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too." She saw a vein pop on his right temple. Stress. She knew he was thinking about her coming back to his place tonight.

"I can sleep at home tonight Booth." She said as she saw him sigh. "I'll pack my suitcase for tomorrow." It will give me more time to calm down, and him to de-stress!

"No Bones, it's okay." He turned to face her as he stopped the car on a red light. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we'll catch this guy." And the sooner I'll stop being so damn nervous!

"Right." Damn!

XxXxX

Booth dropped Tempe off at her apartment and then drove back to his place to do a bit of clean up, get the guest room ready for her and prepare something quick for dinner.

As she was putting her clothes in a suitcase, Temperance got a call from Angela.

"Hi Sweetie! I wanted to know if it was okay for me to come and get you at 7:00pm tonight to practice what we talked about."

"What did we talk about?" We talk about a lot of things.

"For Zach's birthday party!" She desperately said. "Don't tell me you already forgot?"

"No, no, Ange, I didn't forget. I just have a lot on my mind right now." Like Booth…

"What's wrong?" She asked out of concern.

"Hum…" Brennan wasn't sure if she should tell her friend and was evasive with her answer. "You know what, I don't need to practice."

"But I do." Angela firmly said.

"Okay then…but…I won't be here at 7:00pm. In fact, I won't be living here for the next couple of days." She reluctantly told the brunette.

"Why? What happened? A flood? A fire? Are you hurt? Where will you sleep?"

"Ange! Stop! At least give me time to answer!" She cried out of desperation.

"I'm sorry Sweetie, go on."

"Are you sitting down?" Brennan asked as she took a deep breath to give her the strength to tell her friend the big news. She'll have a stroke.

"Oh-My-God." She's dying. She has cancer.

"I'm fine…I'lljustbelivingwithBoothforthenextweekorso." Brennan said very quickly and waited to hear her friend scream her joy, but she heard nothing. "Angela? Are you still alive?"

"Yes." She finally answered, a huge smile on her face. Thank you God! "What happened?" I knew Jimmy Malone from 4th grade was wrong when he told me God wouldn't answer my prayers anymore because I had lifted up my skirt in front of him to show him what girls looked like!

"Booth and I met this profiler this afternoon, her name is Gayle Brown. She's an old friend of his." Brennan paused after saying that; not knowing why she had thought it was necessary to tell Angela that fact. "Well, she thinks that Booth and I have to go undercover as newlyweds to catch the killer." She heard some kind of squeak on the other end of the phone.

"As newlyweds?" Repeated the brunette as she tried to keep a steady composure in her voice but was failing terribly. She was happy her friend wasn't seeing her right now because she was jumping up and down in her living room, grinning like a kid that had just been handed a bowl full of candy.

"Yeah…She thinks it's better for us to live together to learn to be comfortable around each other to be able to fool the Cruise Ship Serial Killer."

"Smart woman." Only replied Angela. I love her!

"She is an intelligent woman, but I'm not so sure Booth and I living together is such a smart idea."

"Why?" It's genius!

"What if we end up killing each other?" She reluctantly asked, genuinely afraid it might actually happen.

"What if you end up licking each other?" Angela casually suggested.

"Did you just say licking?" Tempe asked her friend, a smile on her lips, not surprised she would actually suggest that. That's a thought…

"I meant liking each other." Angela corrected, laughing. Nah…I meant licking.

"I think it's safe to say that we do like each other Ange." We're good friends now.

"Sweetie, I meant more than friends." The artist explained to Brennan, who stayed silent. "Anyway, did you exchange the rings?" She teased.

"Oh god!" Temperance almost cried out. "I didn't think about that!" It will be so awkward…

"It will be difficult to pass as a real couple Brenn if you guys don't wear wedding rings."

"I know, I know. You're right." How the hell will I tell him that?

"Of course I'm right." I'm always right.

"Your ego must be so proud right now." Brennan told her friend with a smile on her face.

"You have no idea…"Angela replied with satisfaction.

"I have one of my mother's ring's that I could wear. It fits my finger, I've tried it." She sighed. Oh god.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Angela asked, knowing this was a bit too much for her friend right now.

"Yes, I need for you to go get my mail and water my plants if possible. In case the killer does follow us, I don't want to jeopardize the case."

"Sure. No problem." Angela was so happy that she was going to stay at Booth's house for the next couple of days that she was willing to do anything. "Have you packed your cases?"

"That's what I'm doing right now."

"Put in a sexy nightgown or two." Angela cockily suggested. "Like the blue and black one we bought together."

"Angela!" Someone should stop her!

"Trust me. You have to always be prepared for every situation."

"I'm not a boyscout Ange."

"No, but you'll thank me when you'll need it.You know, keep by bed in case of FIRE! so you're not running out naked."

Brennan let out a laugh. "Don't be stupid. We're just friends." Tempe rectified. "Seriously, what would I look like if he saw me wearing it?"

"Amazing." He'd probably want to jump you in a nanosecond!

Brennan snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm only going there on a professional basis." As she said those words, she was looking at the sexy piece of lingerie, trying to decide if she should put it in there or not. "We're just friends." The anthropologist said again as she neatly folded the nightgown and put it in her suitcase along with a few other choices of sleepwear. Just in case.

"Haven't I heard that before…" Desperately said the artist more as a statement than a question, rolling her eyes to the ceiling.

XxXxX

Temperance put her suitcase in the trunk of her car next to the bags of food from her refrigerator. She grabbed her laptop on the way out and locked her front door. She had ideas to start her third book and wanted to write about it as soon as possible.

Twenty minutes later she parked her car on the driveway in front of Booth's house and got out. She stopped her walk and stared at his house. It was a nice looking bungalow of about 30 years. The house was made of stones and the window frames and the door were made of dark tainted wood. A few of Parker's toys were outside on the grass. It was sober, clean, and looked warm.

She took a deep breath as she acknowledged how nervous she was. It's only Booth, there are no reasons to be nervous. She got her case out of the trunk and saw him come out of his house to help her. He took her suitcase in one hand and a bag of food in the other.

"I'm okay." She objected as she went to get her purse and her laptop.

"Don't be so feminist Bones, it's actually a nice gesture I'm doing." He gave her his charm smile and walked inside his house. As she walked in, she felt like a stranger invading a private place.

"I'll give you the nickel tour." Booth casually said to her like it wasn't weird at all. He was as nervous as she was, but he could always put his charm act to hide it. He showed her the kitchen, the living room, and as they walked in the hallway, there was the bathroom on her right, and then Parker's room on her left.

"I also loved Winnie the Pooh as a kid." Tempe said, smiling at the memory of her being about 4 years old, sitting on her bed cuddling a huge Winnie the Pooh her father had gotten for her at Disney Land.

"And this is my bedroom." Booth finally said. "Well, our bedroom." As he said those words, he saw Brennan's face become white and the smile leave her face. Booth tried to look as serious as possible but couldn't hold it anymore and started to laugh out loud. "Bones! Relax! I was kidding!" He said, still laughing. "Your bedroom is just behind you." She let out a nervous laugh and turned around, relieved to see Booth had a guest room. He put her suitcase inside, beside the door. The bedroom walls were painted a light beige. There was a dresser for her to put her clothes in and a big bed with dark red covers, almost burgundy.

"For a moment I thought you were serious." Oh! You won't get away with this so easily Seeley Booth!

For a moment I thought I was too. "I knew the look on your face would be priceless, I just wanted to see it."She turned to face him and gave him a light smile that made his heart skip a beat. "Did you eat? I made pasta." Booth changed the subject.

"Sounds good, I'm hungry." She said, following Booth to the kitchen after deposing her laptop on the bed. The kitchen walls were a pale yellow that gave a sunny look to it. In the middle of the place there was a beautiful wooden kitchen table that looked antique. "It's a very nice table." She said to him as she caressed the wood.

"It belonged to my grandmother." Booth specified. "I sort of inherited it when she died five years ago. I restored it myself; it took me three months." He looked proud of the job he had done with it.

"You did a very good job Booth. It's beautiful."

"Thank you." He went to get two plates from the kitchen cupboards and grabbed the big bowl of pasta to put it on the table. "Do you want something to drink? A beer or a glass of wine maybe?"

Brennan looked at her watch as saw 5:15pm. "I'll take one beer. Angela is coming to get me in 45 minutes." They both sat at the kitchen table.

Booth smiled. "So you told her?" She must have flipped out!

"I didn't really have a choice since she was coming to get me at my place tonight." She answered, returning his smile.

"Did she have a heart attack?"

"I think she did, from what I heard on the other end of the phone." They both giggled and took a sip of beer. "Thank you for making dinner, that was nice of you."

"Bah…it's nothing."

"I'll do it tomorrow." She saw he was about to say something when she added: "I insist."

"Okay." He said as he heard her cell phone ring.

"Brennan." She was silent for a moment. "Hi Russ! I'm sorry I didn't call you…Yes, I know, I'm not home. I'm at Booth's for the next couple of days. It's a long story. Do you want to eat lunch with me tomorrow? Yes? Good. I'll see you at noon at the Jeffersonian okay? Great. Bye." She smiled and hung up her phone.

"So you two are getting along?" He asked as he saw the smile on her lips.

"Yes, we are." She answered, thoughtful.

"I'm happy for you Bones." Booth genuinely told her.

"Thank you. I'm glad we finally got to work it out."

The rest of the dinnercontinued with idle chit-chat, and it wasn't long before Angela knocked on the door, a huge grin on her face.

"Should I say Congratulations?" She teased as Booth opened the front door.

"You could, but it's at the risk of loosing a few teeth." He answered back with a smirk.

"Ah! Ah…Where's the happy bride?" Angela asked, popping her head in the living room and not seeing her.

"She's in her bedroom. It's the last door or your left." He told her, showing her the direction of the room.

"And here I thought you both shared a room." She said while she walked past him as he closed the front door. "Brenn? You're coming?"

"Yes, Ange! I'm ready. I needed to brush my teeth." She said as she walked out of the bathroom, her toothbrush in her hand.

"Good thinking. I sure don't want you having bad breath with your face two inches away from mine."

"What are you girls up to?" Asked Booth, standing in the doorway of Brennan's bedroom.

"That, my man." Angela started to say. "Is a surprise for you guys that we're preparing for Zach's birthday party."Wouldn't he like to know…

"I'm not the birthday boy, you could tell me." He suggested, looking like a kid about to learn of a most forbidden secret.

"Not a chance in hell." Answered Brennan. "You want to see it, you show up at Zach's birthday party."

"Come on Bones!" Booth complained. "It's not like we're buddies! He's just a kid!"

"You, on the other hand, are a grown man, and you're invited. It would mean a lot to him if you go." Brennan said to Booth. "He respects you, even if you treat him like a kid."

"He is a kid!" He exclaimed. "He doesn't even have facial hair!" Angela chucked behind him and Tempe shot her a fuming look.

"Look Booth, you do as you please." Said Angela. "You go or stay home, but we will all be there having the time of our lives. And if I were you, I'd go." She added with a wink as both girls got out of the bedroom.

"I want you here before midnight!" He said to Tempe, grinning, and showing her his watch with his finger.

"He wants you before midnight." The artist murmured to her friend, which made her smile, and she gave her a light slap on her arm.

Tempe turned her head towards Booth and gave him a kiss in the air before smiling and closed the door behind her.

"What was that for?" Angela asked her friend, knowing it's not like her to do that.

"Revenge." She simply answered.

XxXxX

After the two hours practice with Angela, they decided to go for a beer at Wong Foo's. They got in and sat at the bar.

"Hi Sid!" Brennan said to the barman.

"Hi girls! How are you today?"

"Good." Answered Angela before turning to Tempe. "You know, you should call your husband to see if he wants to join us." She suggested, smiling.

Sid, who had been serving drinks to other customers, lifted his head up looking surprised, and stared at Brennan. "I didn't know you were married."

"She got married today." Replied Angela, putting her arms around her friend. "She's spending her honeymoon with me. Isn't she an angel?" Sid didn't look too sure of that.

"It's a long story Sid." Explained the forensic-anthropologist to the barman. She took her cell phone out of her pocket and called Booth. "Hey, it's me. We're at Wong Foo's for a drink. You want to come? Good, see you in a few." And she hung up.

There is no need to explain the surprise on Sid's face when he saw Booth push the front door of the pub 20 minutes later and come sit besides Temperance.

"I'll take a beer Sid." He said, looking at his friend's questioning look. "What?" He asked as both girls were trying to keep a straight face.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me." Sid said to him. "What's worse is that you didn't even invite me."

"Invite you where?" Booth didn't think they had told Sid about the wedding, so he genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.

"To your wedding!" He shouted in the bar as Booth took a sip of beer and spilled it everywhere. "I'm hurt man!"

"Relax Sid!" He said back, now laughing. He bent forward and told him to get closer. "We're not really married. It's make belief, for a case."

"Oh…"

"It's a long story."

Sid walked toward Angela to give a beer to a client and murmured to her: "Here I thought they had finally gotten together." He rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"You and me my friend, we think alike."

"So?" Asked Sid. "Where are the rings?" For a second time that evening, Booth spilled his beer everywhere. "Man, you gotta learn how to drink." Sid told his friend, wiping up spilt beer, a smirk on his face. Booth turned to Brennan with a stunned face.

"I didn't think about that." Damn, I must look like the most unromantic man in the world.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it later." She uncomfortably shifted her position on the bar stool. Do we have to have this conversation here!

"Later when?" Annoyingly asked Angela, taking a sip of beer. "Later soon." She added and then saw the faces both Brennan and Booth were giving her. "What! Married couples do wear wedding rings!"

Booth opened his mouth to say something, but he found himself saying something completely different from what he was going to say: "She's got a point."

"Of course I do." What would they do without me?

Tempe turned her face from Angela to her partner. "I have a pearl ring that belonged to my mother I could wear."

"Pearl?" Snorted Angela. "You didn't tell me it was a pearl ring! Pearls are for tears. Do you want your marriage to be doomed?" Not on my watch!

Booth, Brennan and Sid looked at Angela with a stunned face. Finally, it was Brennan who spoke first. "Ange?" She asked, as she passed a hand right in front of her face. "It's not real, remember?"

"Oh crap…I'm dreaming again." She said, before she got a slap behind the head from Brennan. "Hey! What was that for?"

"To get you out of your dream." She seriously said to the brunette as Booth chuckled.

After a couple of songs, a few laughs and another beer, Angela finally stood up. She kissed Brennan good night and said goodbye to the guys. "We all didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night Angela." They all said back.

"You know Brenn, it's pretty great this arrangement of yours. I don't have to drive you back home." She grinned.

"It won't last forever Ange."

"Yeah, yeah. Sleep tight."

"Don't let the big bugs bite." Brennan finished, smiling.

"I think she means 'bed bugs' Angela." Booth told the artist as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"It depends on the bug." Angela added with a wink, which made Sid laugh.

Booth and Brennan both negatively shook their heads.

"Dear Angela…" Angela started to say, imitating her friend. "She's some piece of work, but I won't exchange her for all the gold in the world."

"I've never been a gold digger." Brennan told her friend before she disappeared behind the front door of the Pub.

"We're gonna go too Sid." Said Booth to his friend as he stood up. "And don't worry man: if I ever get married, you'll be invited."

"I better be." He said, refusing the money they were giving him. "It's on the house, after all, it's your honeymoon." They both grimaced at Sid. "Good night you guys. Be safe." They both stared at him with questioning looks. "No really!" Sid clarified, laughing. "There was no pun intended. I meant it for the road."

"Just checking."

XxXxX

When they arrived at Booth's place, it was almost midnight and Temperance asked if it would be a problem if she took a shower.

"Why would it be a problem?" Surprisingly asked Booth.

"I don't know, because it's almost midnight?"

"Parker isn't here, and I won't be sleeping in the next 15 minutes. You do as you please." He showed her where the clean towels were and where to put them afterwards. "I would mind if you didn't take showers while living here Bones, not the other way around." He added with a smirk.

"You don't have to worry about that then, I do have a good hygiene."

"Always good to know." He said as he closed the bathroom door on his way out. This is so her to tell me that.

Tempe had brought her own soap and shampoo, but she felt as if she was intruding as she stepped in the shower. She was once more amazed at how clean everything was. When she had first come into his house, she had seen how clean everything looked, and it had surprised her because usually, a man's place was clean to a certain minimum. Booth's place was spotless clean, and she was sure it was because of the years he had spent in the army since those guys were very strict to keep everything bright and shinny.

A few minutes later she got out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and saw Booth in the living room making sure all the doors and windows were locked. He sure looks good in those Calvin Klein boxers.

"I'm not obsessive-compulsive Bones." He said to her as she stepped in her bedroom to change. Like I needed to see a wet dripping Bones wrapped in a towel before going to sleep. This is so not going to be easy.

"I didn't think you had OCD." She told him, tightly clinging on her towel as she stood in the doorway. I thought you looked hot!…Oh! my God!… I did not just think that! Stop it!

"We can never be too careful in my line of work. A lot of people want me dead." Would you just stop standing in front of me half naked and dripping wet!

"That's reassuring." She sarcastically said as she closed the door behind her. She got out about two minutes later wearing boxer sleep short and a white tank top. She put the towels in the laundry basket and went back to her room.

"Good night Booth." She said as she saw him turn off the light since his bedroom door wasn't totally closed.

"G'night Bones." He said back, barely looking at her.

She slid under the covers, stared at the dim light of the hallway and half an hour later both of them were sound sleep. It hadn't been three hours of sleep when she was awaken by the sound of Booth's home phone ringing. It had not rang twice when she heard her cell phone ring.

"Brennan." She said in a sleepy voice before she heard Dr. Goodman's voice. "Okay. We'll be there." She hung up and reluctantly got out of bed. Another sleepless night.

As she opened the door of her bedroom, she saw Booth yawning as he stood in the doorway of his bedroom, his hair all messed up. He passed a hand in his face and stared at her for a split second, then he smiled.

"Was it as good for you as it was for me?"

She pouted. "If only."

(TBC)