A/N Assignments, Case Studies, and Finals, oh my! Oh yeah, and work. I meant to be back sooner, but I thought I had two weeks between spring semester and summer semester when it turned out I only had one week. One week of summer vacation. I feel like that might have been a little excessive. Just too much. I got bored. Or maybe not. Okay, so maybe those are just excuses. But I was insanely busy and since this writing thing seems to keep me at least somewhat sane I've been going a little crazy.

The real question here is do you want me to keep going? I have more chapters planned for this. Whether I continue or move on to something else is up to you people entirely. Audience participation, yeah!

This one is for Love2Read2Much. I hope it's everything you hoped and dreamed for. I really struggled with this one. I seem to struggle with season 1 quite a bit. And I'll be honest. I've been cheating...with In Plain Sight. If you haven't watched it, I'd recommend it!

End of super long A/N. But remember, I own nothing!


Tag for A Boy in a Bush 01x05

Brennan: I knew you'd back me up. I knew you wouldn't make me a liar.

Booth: Hmm. How did you know?

Brennan: Because you want to go to heaven.

Booth: But you don't believe in heaven.

Brennan: But you do.


Brennan took a few steps before turning back to look at her partner.

"Booth," she called after him, "what you did for Dr. Hodgins...Thank you."

"No problem, Bones." He got the distinct feeling she'd meant to say something more.

In fact she had meant to say more. This man—her partner. He infuriated her at times; yet she knew innately that she could trust him. He'd proven that today in keeping her promise to that little boy. It bothered her that she couldn't put her finger on this feeling she'd developed for Special Agent Seeley Booth. They were partners, colleagues. But her mind flickered back to one tequila inspired moment of passion in the rain a little over a year ago. Suddenly Brennan was yanked back into the present.

"Dr. Brennan, do you plan on joining us tonight?" Dr. Goodman's disembodied voice jolting her back into the lab.

"I'll be there in a moment."

Booth smiled at his partner and turned to leave again. Before he could take more than another few steps Brennan called after him again.

"Booth...I have to go to this benefit tonight."

He gave her a quizzical look, "Yeah. I know." He was uncertain as to why she was telling him something he was already well aware of.

"Yes. But afterward...I don't have any plans and I'm sure I'll be in need of a drink...If you're interested." She felt as if he heart had just leapt into her throat although rationally she knew that was impossible.

"Dr. Brennan..." Dr. Goodman was becoming increasingly impatient.

"Uh. Yeah, sure. Give me a call. We can meet at the Thai place, I'm sure I'll need something to eat after a night of paperwork."

With that Brennan turned and walked out of the lab to meet her coworkers.

Booth stood in place for a few minutes before remembering how to use his legs. Had his partner just asked him on a date? Unlikely. She probably just wanted to talk about the case. He sighed and walked out of the now empty lab. It was back to the Hoover to work on piles of paperwork while he awaited a phone call from his partner.


It was close to midnight when Brennan was finally able to extract herself from the party...if you could call it that. She wondered if she should call Booth. It was late. It was unlikely that he was still at work.

But he was still at work. He was pushing paperwork around his desk looking for any excuse that wouldn't make it seem like he'd been sitting there waiting for her call.

Finally Brennan decided she'd just call and apologize for getting done so late and maybe suggest meeting next Friday night instead. In truth she found that she simply wanted to hear his voice. She pulled up Booth's name in her contact list, but hesitated before hitting send.

"Booth." He sounded exhausted even to himself.

"Hi." The sound of her voice soothed the nervousness he wasn't really aware of. "Sorry it's so late. I didn't realize we would be forced to stay for the entire event. Maybe we could do this another night."

"Oh." Had she detected a hint of disappointment? Unlikely, given her inaptitude at reading people. "Yeah I guess that would be okay." Relief. Maybe that's what she'd detected. It frustrated her that she couldn't read vocal cues.

"Well. I'll see you on Monday then?" She was about to hang up when Booth finally found his voice.

"Bones. Did you...I mean, have you eaten yet?" Great job. Of course she'd eaten. She'd just spent an entire night at a fancy donor sponsored party. His bitter inner monologue was interrupted by her answer.

"I did." She answered. The last little bit of the hope he'd had of seeing her tonight had just been snuffed out. "But it's been several hours and that food really wasn't all that impressive." She paused. "Are you hungry?"

And there was hope. "I could eat." He smiled.

"Would you like to meet at Wong Foo's? I believe they have both the food and beer suggested earlier."

"Sounds like a plan." He agreed.

Brennan smiled at the fluttering feeling in her stomach. It had been awhile since making plans with a man had elicited that particular response.

Booth made it out of the Hoover and into his SUV in record time. Ten minutes later he pulled up at Wong Foo's just in time to meet his partner. She'd changed into jeans and a button down shirt but her hair was still up and she was still breathtakingly beautiful where Booth was concerned.

The partners made small talk and nursed their beers as they waited for whatever dishes Sid had decided on for them. They discussed the case a little more. Booth wanted to ask more about Brennan's time in foster care, but sensed that that was a topic she was unlikely to divulge much about. Who was this woman sitting next to him? She was beautiful and mysterious yet rational sometimes to a fault with a mania for the truth that he could only admire.

"So how did you really get that scar on your hip? It doesn't appear to be an injury that would be acquired while playing games as a child."

Ah. A taboo subject of his own. He wasn't about to go telling his partner about the horrors of war he'd experienced. Someday maybe. But not tonight. "You caught me, Bones. It's not from playing soldier with my brother. But, like your time in foster care, it's not really something I like to talk about." He prayed she'd leave it at that.

And she did leave it at that. She understood that the place and time for that particular revelation was neither here nor now.


By the time the partners finished their meals and drinks it had begun to rain. Neither was drunk, but the night was reminiscent of one many months ago. Brennan had gotten a ride to Wong Foo's with Angela who'd made several remarks about getting together with "that-hot-FBI-guy." As they walked out of the restaurant Brennan started to hail a cab when Booth stopped her.

"Why don't you let me give you a ride home tonight?"

"That's unnecessary, Booth. You'd be going out of your way to take me home."

"No worries, Bones. It's late, you shouldn't have to take a cab, just let me take you home."

It was late. Brennan wasn't in the mood to argue with Booth's alpha-male tendencies. And truth be told the idea of Booth giving her a ride home wasn't as aversive as she'd tried to lead him to believe.

The partners settled into a comfortable silence that was interrupted only by Brennan giving directions to her apartment. When they arrived Booth got out to open Brennan's door for her unsurprised by the fact that she was already out of the vehicle and halfway up the walk before he'd even gotten to the passenger's side of the vehicle. He shook his head and smiled.

"Bones, you could at least let me walk you to the door..."

"Why? That would be unnecessary given that you merely requested to take the place of the cab I would have taken. A cab driver would not have walked me to the door."

"And that's what's wrong with cab drivers in this city, Bones." He lamented.

"I don't know what that means." Brennan stopped and turned to face him startled by his sudden closeness. There was that fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach again that signaled uncertainty and nerves.

Booth, it seemed, had no concept of personal space. In the short amount of time the partners had been working together he'd developed this habit of standing just a little too close. While any other man exhibiting this behavior would have quickly found himself in intense physical pain in a matter of seconds, Brennan found that not only was she not unnerved by Booth's brazen behavior she was mildly excited by it.

"It means…" he trailed off. "Never mind." He said quietly. This obviously wasn't going where he'd anticipated. His right hand came up to cup the back of his neck. He sighed heavily and turned to leave. "Goodnight, Bones."

Instantly Brennan felt the disappointment sink in. She wasn't entirely sure where it came from since she hadn't really stopped to anticipate how she might like this evening to go. Before she could check herself Brennan's mouth betrayed her. "Booth wait!" She called after him. She walked back toward the SUV and grabbed his elbow to spin him back around to face her. "I'm not good at this."

"Not good at what, Bones?" He questioned.

"This." She gestured between them.

"I'm not sure I understand." Booth really wasn't sure he understood what she was trying to say. She tended to be very direct, almost to a fault. For once he honestly wasn't sure what exactly his brilliant partner was trying to say to him.

She sighed heavily. "I'm not good with interpersonal relationships. I can't read people. And don't seem to adhere to dating norms."

"Woah, Bones. Slow down. No one said we were dating." That came out wrong. He saw her flinch almost imperceptibly. "Wait…God, now I can't get it right." Before he dug an even deeper metaphoric hole he decided to just act. He leaned into her and tilted her chin up toward him. "You have to tell me if you don't want this," he whispered, "because if I start I'm not sure I can stop."

He tasted like Thai food and beer and Booth. She hadn't stopped him; hadn't wanted to. She stopped thinking and let her body melt into his.

Booth, for his part, was stunned that he was still upright and not in pain. Once the initial shock passed he realized he probably shouldn't continue this in front of Brennan's building. He broke the kiss, struggling to pull himself away. Brennan's lips followed him until he backed out of range.

"We should...not out here." He was a little breathless.

Wordlessly she took Booth's hand and lead him into her apartment building. She opted for the stairs knowing they may not make it off the elevator. When Brennan stopped at her door to unlock it Booth was at her back trailing kisses down her neck while his hands gripped her hips.

As soon as they were in Brennan's apartment she turned in Booth's arms pulling him into another kiss. As she trailed kisses down his jaw and began to unbutton his shirt she pushed him back toward her bedroom. His hands found the buttons on her shirt, but he quickly became frustrated at their small size. As his hands abandoned her shirt for her pants Brennan began to unbutton her own shirt exposing her chest to Booth.

"Finally." He growled into her ear eliciting a sharp inhalation on her part.

Brennan pushed his dress shirt off of his shoulders and ran her fingers along the planes of his chest. He was hard and smooth like she'd imagined he'd be. She backed Booth into the bed until his knees gave way and he sat down. Brennan immediately climbed onto him while he grabbed her hips and ground her into the hard ridge of his erection. She sighed into his ear and set a slow rhythm.

After several minutes of groping one another like teenagers, Booth finally regained some semblance of control and rolled her onto the bed to make quick work of her jeans leaving her only in a bra and panties. His jeans came next. He climbed up his partner and lifted her gently to unclasp her bra. He took one hardened nipple into his mouth while he palmed the other breast.

"Ahh. Booth." She cried out softly. He catalogued that response as one he'd definitely like to hear again.

He switched sides giving the other breast equal attention while her hands made their way down his body. Her fingers toyed with the waistband of his boxers before diving in and fisting him in one smooth motion.

"Shit!" He ground out as he stiffened even more than he thought possible in her hand.

"Now, Booth." She purred into his ear.

"I want to taste you." It almost sounded like a complaint.

"Later," she whispered, "I want you now."

Somehow she'd already rid herself of her panties without him knowing and she was currently working on his boxers. He shifted and pulled them off and lined himself up at her center.

He dipped two fingers in, testing her, sending shudders through her body.

"Booth." She warned.

She took him into her hand and guided him to her. He dipped the head of his cock in slowly before retreating again.

"Booth." She warned again, this time almost pleading.

He dipped into her again, but this time she pulled him to her sheathing him in one fluid motion.

Booth let out a feral moan and stayed stock still for fear that he'd come right there. After a few moments Brennan began to rock into him urging him into a gentle pace.

Booth leaned into her and kissed along her jaw and neck making a trail back to her breasts before taking one into his mouth. Brennan moaned in pleasure and he felt her clench around him.

"Come for me." He commanded softly.

A few more strokes sent her hurtling over the edge chanting his name softly. As she came down from the high Brennan began to grind her hips into Booth's setting a faster rhythm. Her nails raked down his back and she urged him closer and closer to the edge. He'd have marks in the morning, but it would be so worth it.

"I'm so close." Brennan gasped as she urged him into a faster rhythm. "Harder." She pleaded.

"I know." He whispered into her ear as he plunged into her harder, faster, deeper.

He kissed her, pouring all of himself into her, and their moans were swallowed as he pushed her over the brink and tumbled after her.

"Bones. Oh god. Yes!" he gasped as he emptied himself into her.

They lay there, spent, until one of them could move again. Finally Booth shifted so he wouldn't crush her. Brennan whimpered at the loss of him. He never pegged her for a snuggler, but as soon as he'd found a comfortable position Brennan threw an arm over his waist and a intertwined her legs with his as they drifted off.


Booth awoke to bright light filtering through curtains. Strange. He had blackout curtains, his bedroom was always dark. Then it occurred to him where he was and who the beautiful woman next to him was and he smiled. No regrets, just like she'd promised him one rainy night many months ago.

Brennan began to stir and realized there was a man in bed next to her. A moment of panic seized her before she remembered the previous night. She smiled and snuggled into his side her face settled into the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. She could get used to this. And just as she'd promised him, there were no regrets.


A/N Just kidding. I think the one at the top was long enough for like 6 chapters. Review, let me know if you want more!