Author's Note: I am so happy by the response I'm having with this Fic that I'm seriously thinking I should write another one when this one is finished.
(Oh, fool me, I already started the other one!)
Back to earth, I'd like to thank you all once again for being here with me. I'm really enjoying all this.
Oh the biggest chapter of the entire fic.
Oh, I feel I should say there's some angst on the way too. Enjoy!
*
MASQUERADE
Chapter 9 – Ring Ring
He had been with many women before but certainly none of them was like his beautiful Tempe.
The bubbles forming around his body was as soft as her smell on his skin. Unfortunately, he needed to remove her perfume off of his skin or he couldn't think about the case. How good was that night? He couldn't put what he was feeling into words.
They reached three weeks and at least she couldn't say he was planning it or something…
"Plan." The word came out while the water came down washing his back.
It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Bones reacted pretty… well, he must confess. But what if she was in shock or still lazy because of sleep?
Damn it Booth, when did you become such a chicken? Focus, man!
That was it. No more games. She told him that he was the one for having her act like this all the time and the one who brought that "maybe more" line. Booth knew she was trying to excuse one more time, throwing things on him trying to convince herself she wasn't feeling something for him. Since it was the only rational reason from a brain woman, he was okay with it.
Time to face the truth behind the door.
He opened the door and was surprised by Brennan entering the bathroom quickly, carrying her bath accessories.
"What the-"
Before he had the chance to ask, she closed the door.
He stopped for a moment trying to understand but the minute he remembered she was the good, old Brennan, he gave up trying to understand.
Somehow, he remembered Dani's visit the previous night. Weird situation but it was now bugging him inside. How weird, he thought. When did Cullen start to send messages through other agents?
Meanwhile, at Jeffersonian…
"Angela, I was wondering how Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan are dealing with this enclosure condition, stuck in a ship. Pretty odd."
Angela looked up from her notes and rolled her eyes, smiling. "Believe me, they're dealing with it well."
"Hm." Cam kept looking at the artist but her thoughts were far away, thinking how Angela was so calm and so sure of her words, considering she was the partners official cupid, that wasn't the kind of reaction she expected.
"Can I ask you a question, Angela?"
"Yes?" No, shut up! her brain yelled.
"Well," Cam sighed. "Did you give them Cullen's message? The one in the envelope you 'accidentally' opened before they left?"
Angela tried her best not to show her surprise. How damn did she know? Ok, the envelope, everybody knew what she did, but she thought they were worth the sacrifice.
"Angela?"
"Oh, I just remember I left some papers on the Angelator so, excuse me!" The artist quickly walked away as fast as she could.
Cam looked suspiciously at the woman running away from her office. She crossed her arms and slowly shook the head. "Later, Angela. Later."
*
"Jack, my office, NOW!" She grabbed him by the arm while all he could do was leave his notes with the scared trainee.
"What did I do?" he asked as she dragged him to her office, closing the door behind him.
Back to the ship…
"I was wondering… what if we're on the wrong track?"
Booth looked down at her knees, her back turned to him as she analyzed the floor. Those were the first words she'd directed to him since the awkward situation back in the cabin that morning.
"Booth?" she called, looking over her shoulders. The man stood in silence near the door, his hands in his pockets. Booth was staring.
"I'm sorry," he closed his eyes for a moment. "What?"
Brennan assumed her last position. "I need you to focus, what's going on with you?"
Oh, snap. The words took him aback and he didn't have any warning. How come she just placed a knife right in his heart?
Booth almost laughed. He was nervous, she completely pushed him over the edge with the last sentence. It seemed she forgot their night. Could it be possible?
What? What a question! I can't stop thinking about our night, ruining my job because of you and even when you're down on your knees it brings me some memories and I'm fucking mad 'cause I can't focus and you make things WORSE talking like you don't remember what we did, what we had!!
"Booth… this is getting quite confusing and I think we should talk to Cullen because… all the time we spend on this ship is not helping. We have absolutely nothing that could solidify the accusations we had." She talked in her scientist tone.
What about last night and what we got, huh?
"Booth, stop daydreaming!" She suddenly brought him back to earth hard. "What's going on with you today?"
She stepped closer to where he was and he opened his eyes, surprised. When did she stand up and get this close?
He was surprised by her question, not by her movement.
"I made an appointment, I need to know if you'll do your job as my partner," she insisted, in a softer tone this time.
He looked her in the eyes, for the very first time that day. When had things got so cold between them? Hard to believe the last time he looked at her like this, she was coming in his mouth. Doing nothing but bringing each other to wonderful pleasure and now… when did she become herself again?
"I refuse to believe you're pretending nothing happened."
"Well, actually, nothing happened. We're running in circles on this case. I'm not surprised because I saw it coming. I always thought it wasn't a good idea from the beginning. I don't know why Sweets was so happy about it, we didn't have a good-"
"BONES!" he suddenly exploded, more shocked than her. "I'm talking about you and me, fucking each other's brains out last night!"
"Booth!" she whispered, surprised.
"Forget it, okay? I'm sorry, I'm trying hard not to…No, I am so not sorry!" He shook his head, running his fingers through his hair, trying to cool down. "Just forget it, Bones."
He turned his back to her and opened the door, ready to leave.
"W-W-Where are you going?" she asked.
"The search is over, we didn't find anything. I'm going to report everything to Cullen right now. He needs to know this ship has absolutely nothing that indicates any crime scenario." His tone quickly turned into something between cold and professional. "Don't look shocked, we're just working, remember?"
He slammed the door behind him, making Brennan jump. She felt like someone stole all the air out of the cabin. She closed her eyes for a moment trying to avoid the terrible feeling in her heart. She didn't fail and she succeeded. One more day and she was sure he would be fine and so would she. Brennan was never good dealing with feelings, she always had a hard time trying to handle them and for the first time in her life, she really realized she could emotionally hurt Booth.
She'd hurt his feelings.
She'd hurt herself by hurting him.
Bravo.
*
Brennan ran upstairs not knowing exactly why she was running, but she could see the ship was pretty empty.
Whatever it was he was mad about, it would pass. She understood he needed some time alone. So did she.
The memories of the previous night were coming in waves into her head and the feeling of going nowhere, specially now, hit her hard.
He was her partner. He was her friend. And now… what was Booth to her?
She was scared. She didn't know the answer. She was afraid. What if someone found out? What if Cullen found out? The career, the friendship… everything would come to an end if they'd separated them. She wanted to avoid all thoughts and this stupid feeling burning up inside her, but reality pulled her back again. Be rational. Focus and especially, stay calm. Being honest to myself is part of the process as well, Brennan.
Damn it, I'm alone and I'm freaking out and… Booth's not here!
Brennan found herself almost crying. Where was he? She needed him. NOW.
"Hey Dr. Brennan!"
"Oh no." She shut her eyes recognizing the female voice behind her. This wasn't a good time, really. "Danielle," she said, turning around to face the special agent.
"I… I was passing by, and I was wondering if you happened to know where Seeley is?"
C'mon, shoot!! "Sorry, I don't."
"Oh, you don't?" The woman seemed confused. "I thought you guys…"
"Look, if you want to know if Booth and I are together, romantically speaking, the answer is no, we're not, so, if you want to create some romantic situation hoping a future romantic and sexual relationship with him, don't worry. I'm not…" She found it hard to continue. "Apparently we'll never…"
Dani grinned nervously. "Well, I wasn't going to ask this but, well… since you're saying…" She sighed looking around and then back to Brennan. "Thank you, Dr. Brennan."
"You're more than welcome. Look, I…" She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, considering how stupid she was acting. "I have to go, I need- I need to go, excuse me."
Brennan didn't wait for the woman to say anything more and walked away without looking back. She needed to find Booth.
*
She searched everywhere for 3 hours and started to consider herself the best guide of the ship.
Three hours is enough. Okay, I confess I'm worried!
She sat on a chair near one of the pools and dropped her head onto the table. She put both of the arms up to get her head comfortable and closed her eyes. Brennan was tired and hungry but she wouldn't rest nor eat before finding him. She was missing the ringing of her cellphone like when he called her, his excited voice telling her there was a new case.
Missed the jokes about her lack of knowledge in the pop culture field.
Missed him giggling at her when she didn't understand his slang.
Missed his charming smile when he wanted to persuade her.
Missed his confused expression when she talked scientifically.
Missed his touch.
Hm?
She blinked and raised her head. Missing his… touch?
She shook her head and leaned down again. She was feeling lost. And mad at herself for being so cold to him after all. What would she do if he didn't want to talk to her anymore? What if he told her he didn't want her to call him or didn't even want be her partner… anymore? All of those things ran through her head at the same time making her feel worse.
When did I become so dependent on him? Three hours without him and I'm like this? And what about this 'Dani'? Although she never said a word, I know she wants something more than just working with Booth, again. But I won't be in the way, definitely not! And why would I?
Brennan heard soft thunder and raised her head. Twenty minutes had passed and she really felt tired.
The first thought she had was Booth, in the rain, alone and pissed off at her. She slowly stood up and the rain fell down. She didn't worry about getting a cold, she just slowly walked back down to the hallway and into the cabin they shared.
She took her towel and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. Between sighs and blinks, the warm water came down on her pale skin. She couldn't avoid the feeling she was ruining everything. After all these years he had admitted he wanted her and something inside her, bugged her because it felt good to have him entirely. It felt amazing to feel his skin to hers, his mouth to hers, his member pulsing inside her.
Brennan closed her eyes for a moment and let the good sensation of the water hit her head.
*
Booth opened the bathroom door and blinked in surprise. "I didn't know you were here, sorry."
Brennan had the towel wrapped around her body, her wet hair indicating to Booth she'd just taken a bath. He was back. He avoided her gaze, his tone low but tense at the same time. He was just closing the door when Brennan's voice stopped him.
"Where have you been?"
His look went from the floor to her blue eyes. "I told you."
"No." She shook her head quickly, trying to remember. "No, you didn't. By the way, I was looking for you." She walked near him.
"You were?" She could hear some sarcasm in his voice. "Why?"
"Because I- we need to go somewhere else tonight."
She looked serious. "What, did you find anything?,"
"Actually, I'd rather answer that later, I need to change first then we can go."
She quickly took a look up and down his body. His jeans and the shirt not wet as his hair was. She bit the inside of her mouth, wondering if he'd done anything that required him to take a shower.
Booth shrugged. "Right." He was ready to leave the bathroom when she called his name. He turned to see her once again.
"Special Agent Fisher was looking for you."
She looked down for a moment, trying not to look directly to his eyes.
He seemed a bit surprised and without saying anything, he left.
Brennan sighed and closed her eyes.
*
"Where are you taking me?"
She was concerned because Booth was too quiet. He'd barely said anything to her after she'd left the bathroom and while she was changing into better clothes, she asked him to change as well. Brennan was waiting for him to ask why but it never happened.
Now was the first time he'd asked her anything.
"We're close," was the only answer she gave.
*
They walked through the lobby and then into one of the nightclubs.
"Concert." He sighed looking around, his hands on his hips. "I hoped this would have had something to do with the case, Bones, because I'm not in the mood to socialize."
She looked up at him, his beautiful male lines, the jaw and those liquid brown eyes scanning the area in his best special agent look. Please, don't be mad, she wished inside.
"Let's go inside," she said and gesticulated for him to follow her.
He hesitated for a moment but followed his beautiful partner in her black, fancy dress. Damn, her perfume, already stuck in me again! Damn it!
"Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the incomparable, Jazmine Sullivan*!" the announcer said from the small stage. People started to applaud.
"I don't know who she is, do you?" Brennan tried to break the awkward silence between them.
He looked at the artist greeting the audience and shook his head. "I think I've heard about her songs."
"Booth-" she started but someone cut her off.
"-SUGAR!"
Brennan was interrupted by a loud sound and it wasn't any thunder. Worse.
Danielle Fisher, in a sexy green shirt, dark blue jeans and heels that left Brennan speechless for a moment.
"Hey!" Booth half smiled and the two adults hugged while Brennan watched.
The artist started to sing and everybody started to dance according to the beat and the three of them were the only ones not copying.
"Need You Bad, I love this song!" The woman grinned at Booth who exchanged a quick look with Bones.
Danielle simply ignored Brennan's presence and started to talk to Booth, very close to his ear and they both laughed at something she said.
The colorful lights hit them all the time and Brennan's expression was clearly telling that wasn't the right time for this woman to appear and steal Booth's attention.
Brennan approached and fingered his shoulder several times, a little harder than usual.
"I still need to talk to you," she said politely when he looked at her and he nodded.
"Oh, am I interrupting anything?" Danielle asked, hugging Booth by the waist.
Even he was surprised but it was Brennan who spoke first. "I'm going to get a drink," she said coldly looking only at him, who kept staring back at her.
Brennan went to the bar and ordered two drinks. She looked around and everybody was enjoying the song. All the couples were dancing and interacting together and for a second she felt jealous.
She got the drinks and walked back to where Booth and Danielle were but she stopped walking. She stopped breathing and thinking.
Her blue eyes were shocked by the scene of the two talking dangerously close to each other's face. No way, not now!
She drank her drink straight down then drank Booths' too.. Trying to swallow the drink, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Another song started to play and Brennan still didn't know what to do.
"So…" Danielle put her arms around Booth's neck and he raised his eyebrows when the woman started to dance, slowly moving her hips. "I've been thinking," she smiled and he faked a smile in return. He looked around searching for Brennan, but he couldn't see her anywhere. "What about you and me remember the old times since no one could blame us now?"
Why
can't I, leave him alone?
Break the chains that trap me in, and
let him go
Brennan started to walk towards the two of them but then stopped abruptly. Damn. She knew she needed to do something, suddenly the "don't worry" she'd said to Danielle earlier was no longer available now. And she knew she would regret it but she wasn't going to stand there and watch that woman taking Booth from her. She went back to the bar and ordered two more drinks.
Why
can't I... just break free?
Can't explain what kind of hold he has
on me
Booth was kind of speechless.
"Dani, what we had,"
"I know, I know, but I also know it was good, very good." She approached his face a few inches more. "Very good," she said seductively.
Both heard someone clearing their throat. They looked to find Brennanstaring at them with challenging eyes.
"Danielle?" she said firmly looking directly at the woman.
(I wanna say no) I wanna say No, but all I say is Yes
"Yes?"
Danielle replied coldly. (I wanna move on) I wanna move on, and not second guess
"Bones," Booth suddenly said but at the same time shut up noticing he couldn't do anything.
(I
wanna let go) I wanna let go, but he just gets the best of me
Brennan drank the other drink fast."Could you please, take a step back?"
Danielle
smiled and Brennan felt some irony in her expression. "Only if you
leave me and my old friend alone 5 more minutes. Deal?" What
is this, that makes me weak and fall?
Even tho, it ain't no good
at all
What is this, that keeps me here?
When it's brought me
so much pain thru the years
"Not even for a second more."
(I
wanna say no) I wanna say No, but all I say is Yes
(I wanna move
on) I wanna move on, and not second guess
(I wanna let go) I wanna
let go, but he just gets the best of me
(Best of me, best of me)
"What?"
"!"
"Bones!"
Booth tried to get her attention. He sure has never seen Brennan like
this before! (Don't
why, why I stay)
It should be a crime what your doin' to me
(And
how u keep, keep me comin' back)
"But darling, you said it was okay for you, right?" Danielle said leaning her head to his shoulders. Brennan closed both of her hands into tight fists.
"Don't call me darling."
And
I don't understand how you do me like that
(But all I do is love
you)
"Wait," Booth pushed Danielle apart from him. "I need to talk to her first," he said looking at Danielle.
"Talk to me first? First of WHAT?" Brennan crossed the arms and raised one of the eyebrows.
"You were the one to drag me here, you said you wanted to talk, here I am, let's talk!" he said pointing a finger at her, which sent her out of control.
"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THIS, ESPECIALLY IN FRONT OF HER!"
When
all I should do is leave
But it ain't easy when he's got the
best of me
"Why, you just yelled at me? You don't own me!" Booth raised his tone but immediately stopped talking when he saw something in her eyes he recognized very well. He'd learned how to read the signs in every woman he'd met before. And there it was again, burning out of Brennan's eyes.
(I
wanna say no) I wanna say No, but all I say is Yes
(I wanna move
on) I wanna move on, and not second guess
(I wanna let go) I wanna
let go, but he just gets the best of me
She
was dangerously jealous of him. (Best of me, best of me)
"You know what?" She got closer his face. She was feeling blind by the anger she was feeling now and Brennan probably didn't notice Booth's mood changing drastically. "Stay with her and enjoy the night."
When Booth realized, she was gone, disappearing behind people.
"Shit," he murmured under his breath and was soon caught by surprise by a pair of arms embracing him around the waist.
"So… where were we?" Danielle smiled.
To Be Continued…
Jazmine Sullivan. She's a great singer and I highly rec her songs to y'all. "Need You Bad" and "Best Of Me" were the two songs that I decided to include in this chapter and guess what. I don't own anything related to them or the artist, I'm just a fan who admits has great taste in music and unique talent to appreciate all the great and big reviews she'll receive of the lovely readers who just read this chapter. *cool*
No matter if you want to kill me or not, let me know what you think and I promise, the next chapter will be updated as fast as you want.
