Note: Sorry for the delay. I had my idea of where this was going to go. So did B&B. They won.

Title: Jail

Disclaimer: I don't own them

BbBbBbBb BbBbBbBb BbBbBbBb

The sheriff rode past the small pond as the sun began to set. After three days of traveling, the train had finally arrived at the station at noon. He had taken the time for a quick meal, then retrieved his mount from the stables and started on his way. As he rode, he found himself wishing he could spend more time with his son than his yearly visits to the city allowed, but he knew Parker was better off with his aunt and uncle than in a frontier settlement with a father who never knew when he'd be home.

Silhouetted against the sunset was the town he now called home. He wondered how the town had fared in his absence. Sure, his deputy was a good man, but Wendell was still young, and he knew better than anyone that life can change in a moment.

The town was quiet when he arrived. Faint music drifted out from the saloon door, and quiet light shone from Miss Maggie's place. Other than that, Main Street was dark – except for the light from the small jail. He rode to the livery stable behind the jail and made sure his horse was taken care of before walking to the jail. He removed his hat and shook it, watching the dust drift across the beacon of light shining from the door. Uncorking his canteen, he took a swig of water before walking through the door.

BbBbBbBb

The deputy knocked over his chair in his haste to stand. "Sheriff!"

The jailhouse consisted of an office area and two small cells. Booth grinned at his deputy as he threw his hat onto the cluttered desk. "Nice shiner. What happened?"

Wendell flushed. "There was a brawl in front of the general store this afternoon. It was chaos. I got it under control, but not before I took one to the eye."

Booth's attention was drawn to one of the cells where a woman stood, hands on her hips, tapping her foot. "I hope you're here to let me out of here."

Booth's smile spread across his face. She was gorgeous – and more than a little annoyed. Somehow, he couldn't stop from teasing her, just a bit. "I'm not sure, ma'am. I don't have the whole story yet." He looked at Wendell. "What's she in for?"

Wendell flushed. "She's the one who hit me."

"She's the one who hit you?" He laughed, enjoying his deputy's embarrassment. Booth leaned against the desk. "I can't wait to hear this story."

Wendell examined the wooden floor, suddenly interested in the knots in the floorboards. "Like I said, sheriff, there was a brawl. Agnes sent her son Jimmy over to get me, and I responded. When I got there, she was attacking Hiram Taffett in the street – just punching him like crazy. Two of his men were holding him back, but no one could catch her. I stepped between them and she hit me."

Booth raised one eyebrow. "That's when you arrested her? Assaulting an officer of the law, I assume?" He looked over at Brennan. "That's pretty serious. We might have to wait for a judge for this one."

Annoyed and embarrassed, Brennan snapped, "Look, I know I embarrassed your friend here, but I have work to do. My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan, and I'm the town's only doctor. I can't be sitting around here."

Shocked, Booth's head snapped to look at Wendell. "She's the new doctor?"

Wendell nodded warily.

"I'm standing right here, and I assure you that I am the new doctor. Can I go now?"

Booth's eyes locked on Brennan's. "Go home, Wendell."

BbBbBbBb

When the door shut behind Wendell, Booth picked up the ring of keys from the desk and unlocked the cell. Gesturing towards one of the chairs by the desk, he waited silently until Brennan walked out of the cell and sat down. When she was seated, he pulled the other chair to the side of the desk and sat facing her.

"Hiram can be an ass."

Brennan looked up in surprise. "I've figured that out."

"What did he say to you?"

Brennan pondered how to answer that. Booth continued, "Like I said, the man is an ass. I'm guessing he had a problem with you being a doctor."

Brennan nodded. "Yes. He made a comment about me being in town to work at Miss Maggie's, he wouldn't believe I was the doctor. I lost my temper. It's hard enough for a woman to gain respect as a doctor, I don't need him telling people I'm a lady of the night."

Booth's eyes twinkled at her. "Well, they do important work too, but I'll agree it's not the same."

Brennan laughed. "Yeah. I've only been in town two weeks, but Miss Maggie's place seems very popular."

"Well, there aren't a lot of women in town, and those there are fit into one of two categories- married women and the girls at Maggie's. And now you."

The smile disappeared from Brennan's face. "Yes. A lot of people seem to have a problem with me being here. Hiram wasn't much worse than some of the others."

"They'll come around."

"I hope so."

Booth stood and held out his hand. "They will. These are good people. They just need a bit of time to adapt. Come on, Doctor. I'll walk you home."

"I don't need protecting."

Booth laughed. "Oh, it's not you I'm protecting. I saw what you did to Wendell."

BbBbBbBb

Outside the saloon, a sleeping dog woke long enough to raise his head and stare at them as they strolled side by side through the quiet town. Brennan had taken a room at the only boarding house in town – a small establishment run by a Mrs. Karst - and she told him stories of dinners with her fellow boarders – the pastor and his wife, the schoolteacher, and a traveling salesman who had just arrived in town. As they finished laughing at a mishap involving a chicken dinner, Booth looked at her in alarm. "Did Wendell feed you tonight?"

Brennan shook her head. "No, he offered but I wasn't hungry. Too angry, I guess."

Booth put her arm around her shoulder, saying, "You need to eat. You're a doctor, you should know that." He started guiding her down a narrow alleyway.

Brennan looked at him, puzzled. "Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to my place so that I can make you something. I'm not the greatest cook, but I think I can manage pancakes."

Brennan stopped in her tracks. "You're taking me back to your place?"

Booth stopped, holding up both hands. "I don't want you to think … I wouldn't take advantage of you. I just think you should eat. But you're right, it would be inappropriate." He clapped his hands together. "I know! I'll take you to the boarding house and wake Mrs. Karst. I'm sure she'll fix you something once she knows you haven't eaten."

Brennan shook her head. "No! She works hard, she needs her sleep." She took his hand in hers. "I trust you. Let's go to your place. You can cook for me."

BbBbBbBb

When Booth opened the door to his small house, he was grateful that his once-a week housekeeper had come by to make sure his icebox was filled with ice and stocked with eggs and milk, and to remove the dust that had accumulated during his absence. Suddenly, he was aware at how small the one room was.

Acutely conscious of the bed in the corner, he nodded toward the table, saying, "Have a seat. I'll just get the stove started." He pulled kindling from the wood box and started to build a fire in the stove.

When he had the fire started, he looked up. Brennan was looking around with interest at her surroundings. When she caught him looking at her, she smiled, a small blush tinting her cheeks. "I like your place. It must be nice not to have people around all of the time. At the boarding house, my room is probably a quarter of the size of this room, and sometimes I just want to escape it, but there are always other people in the parlor." She shrugged. "I can't really blame them – they probably want to escape their rooms, too – but I wish I had a place of my own."

Booth smiled back. "It is nice, but it gets lonely, you know? Sometimes I wish I had someone to share it with." He opened a cupboard and pulled out a bowl. As he started measuring ingredients, he continued ruefully, "I guess you always want what you don't have."

As she watched Booth mix the batter, Brennan blurted out something she had been wondering since they left the jail. "Do you go to Miss Maggie's?"

Booth's hand stilled and he looked over at her. "What?"

Brennan stumbled over her words. "I was just wondering … you're not married, and it seems like most of the men in town visit her place, and ..." Embarrassed, she covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, please pretend I didn't ask you that."

Booth set the bowl down on the table and pulled her hands from her face so that he could look her in the eye. "I was married. Rebecca – my wife – she died giving birth to our son. He lives in the city with my brother and his wife. But … Rebecca died a long time ago and, yes, I have visited Maggie's."

Brennan couldn't meet his eyes. "It's really none of my business. I shouldn't have asked."

Booth picked up the bowl and began to mix the batter. As he concentrated on getting rid of the lumps, he said, "I don't mind. I was a little surprised, but that's OK. Let's say that you can ask me anything you want – but for every question you ask me, I can ask you one in return. Does that seem fair?"

Brennan clasped her hands together in her lap. "OK. What do you want to ask?"

Booth smiled at her as he poured the batter onto the preheated pan. "Why did you become a doctor?"

As Booth concentrated on watching bubbles form in the pancake batter, Brennan answered, "My dad was cut his arm a few years ago. It didn't look serious, but it got infected. The doctor used leeches, but they didn't help. They cut off his arm, but he was so sick. After a week, he died. It seemed so unnecessary. I wanted to do better – to find better ways to help people than that."

Booth flipped the pancakes. "I'm sorry about your dad." He raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Your turn."

"Do you miss your son?"

"Every day. But I know he's better off with Jared. Why did you come to our small town?"

They traded questions and answers as they ate their simple meal, poking and prodding in an attempt to find out everything they could about each other. When the meal was over and the dishes were washed and stacked neatly in the cupboard, Booth reluctantly said, "I guess I should see you home."

"I guess." They walked towards the door.

As Booth reached for the door handle, he said, "I know it's crazy, but I wish you didn't have to go."

Brennan stopped. "I don't have to go."

Booth's head whipped around to look at her. "But … people will talk if you're here all night."

Brennan shrugged and she grinned mischievously. "I'm not here. I'm still at the jail. Didn't you hear? I was arrested for assaulting an officer of the law." She stepped towards him and placed her hands on her shoulders. "I can stay … if you want me to."

Booth swallowed nervously. "I don't want to take advantage of you."

"Maybe I'm the one taking advantage of you." Her eyes twinkled at his, and he gave in to the kiss he had been wanting since the moment he first saw her.

When he broke off the kiss to lead her to the bed, she wasn't sure whether they had been kissing for a minute or an hour. He cursed as he fumbled with the row of buttons on the back of her dress, then apologized for using that kind of language around a lady. At her throaty, intimate laugh, he yanked his own shirt over his head, not caring about the buttons that went flying.

They came together, their bodies moving together as if they were made for each other. When they were sated, they lay together on the bed, sharing stories and secrets they had never shared with anyone else.

As the sun began to peek over the horizon, they reluctantly rose and dressed. Wordlessly, they left the small house and walked back to the jail. At a respectable hour, he went through the charade of releasing her from jail and walking her home.

When they reached the boarding house, they said goodbye. As she walked through the door, he turned to go. Hands in his pockets, he whistled as he walked down the quiet street.

It was good to be home.

BbBbBbBb BbBbBbBb BbBbBbBb

Suggestions for K?

BbBbBbBb