Oh look, an update! And... I don't think it took me a month this time, did it? Life's been crazy, so I wrote this in intervals. I didn't get a chance to read it through, so if there are any really prominent errors, do let me know, please.

A light snow hit the ground around them, and he watched as she frowned harder, glancing up at the sky as though blaming it for trying to compromise the remains.

"Hey, can we get some better cover over the good doctor here?" he called to the group of cops that were gathered around closer to the road. One of them broke away from the others and popped his car trunk, digging around for a moment before emerging with a tarp that he carried down the slight incline to them.

"Here," he said, holding out one edge to Booth, who quickly accepted it, making quick work of attaching it to a tree branch. A make-shift tent, not very proper or neat looking, now covered the air over Bones' head, and she nodded in approval at him, allowing the faintest of smiles before she turned her attention back to the skeleton.

"Female, mid-thirties... Caucasian. Looks like there was a childhood break to the tibia... that could help with identification."

"Anything there in that bag?" he asked, nodding towards a torn cloth item next to the body. "Maybe a wallet or something?"

"I doubt it, Booth, given how thoroughly these officers seem to have disrupted the remains before our arrival. I'm sure they looked through it already." She didn't look up as she spoke, and her frown deepened as she leaned closer to sniff at the skull. He groaned and looked away, catching the irritable look on the cop's face who stood right next to her. Clearly, her assumptions hadn't been far off. The man shifted and then stalked back up the banking to rejoin the others.

"You really should be wearing a thicker coat," he said, breaking the silence as she continued to carefully clear away the dry leaves and other debris of the forest-edge which surrounded the victim. She didn't even offer him a glance this time, just a quick shake of her head.

"The only other jacket I have is too bulky for work like this; it would get in the way. This one is light and comfortable."

"But you're shaking like a leaf, Bones," he complained.

She tilted her head and picked up a leaf, passing it to him. "Doesn't look too bad to me," she muttered.

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Actually, not really. I'm trying to... you know, focus?"

He chuckled, but didn't interrupt again, despite the turn in the temperature as snow began to fall much more rapidly around them, soaking into his hair and gathering thickly on his broad shoulders.

He brushed at it, but ultimately gave up as it accumulated again almost instantly.

"You can go, you know," she said simply, leaning a little closer to the skull. "I don't need a babysitter."

How she'd sensed his growing discomfort without even being turned enough to see him from the corner of her eye he didn't know, but she wasn't wrong. Except, of course, in thinking that he was going to just take off.

"Oh, sure, Bones. I'll just head back home, warm up, get some hot chocolate... totally forget about the fact that you're out here alone in a blizzard."

She just nodded, probably not even listening. He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands deeper into his coat pockets, staying exactly where he was.

It didn't appear as if she'd be finished anytime soon, so he occupied himself with his thoughts, which, as of late, had not been very cheery. He was getting desperate, trying to figure out what to do. He ran his fingers over the velvet of the little box in his deep pocket, and scowled at nothing in particular.

There had been a faint trace of hope in him that he might be able to work up the courage sometime shortly after Christmas, but it was now well over a week into January and here he was, still as silent as ever. And maybe this was what she needed, just being a couple, living together... nothing else. But he couldn't shake away that wish for more, or that hope that things could turn in his favor. She believed in love, after all, and she most certainly hadn't when he'd first met her. And she trusted him, too... as far as he could tell, she wasn't afraid of him taking off at any second. But then again, as well as he knew her, he couldn't claim to be a mind reader. An awful lot probably went on in that genius head of hers that he didn't know about.

And at some point, eventually, she might even decide she wanted kids. But he wouldn't push her for that one; when and if she was ready, though... he would be more than willing to take that path.

The whole problem was just working up the courage. Why was it that that of all things, was such an issue around her? He was Seeley Booth; he'd never had a problem with courage in his life. He'd had to step up as a kid to protect his little brother, he'd become a star athlete in high school, he'd gone off to fight a goddamned war... and then he'd ended up here, in the FBI, still risking his life everyday. And he couldn't say a few words to the woman he loved.

It seemed like maybe this would always follow him around. Would there ever come a day when he could speak his mind completely with her, and not be concerned about how she might respond? Because ever since he'd realized he was in love with her, he'd been terrified of her finding out. And once he finally managed to tell her, and succeeded in gaining a relationship, he couldn't take the next step. Once again, the fear of losing her simply outweighed anything else.

How would he be expected to go on if he lost her? He couldn't, especially not if it was his fault that she had been frightened away in the first place. If he'd learned anything over the years, it was to be careful with her. She wanted to be the strong one, the one that never needed to be rescued, or comforted... but still, you had to be careful. He would never, never say she was damaged... just hurt. She'd probably faced more suffering than he had, even through all his rough patches. Now, where she was, she deserved to be given every respect and ounce of care he possibly could provide. Without annoying her.

At long last, in what must have been another ten minutes or so, she was standing up, and the moment she was free of the little tent covering her dark hair started to collect thick, white flakes. Her eyes were that clear blue color they got whenever she was thinking about a lot, but not worrying about anything. She was simply working over the details she'd been able to get so far on this case in her head, at a rate that he never would have been able to follow.

Signaling over his shoulder to call down the team of FBI agents that had been waiting by the roadside in their van, he smiled warmly at her. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Bones," he teased.

She scowled. "I don't get it."

"You just get, you know... caught up in what you're doing. C'mon, let's go grab a bite to eat at the Founding Fathers; Angela called me just a minute ago saying the team was heading there when they got out. We'll meet up with them, eat some food, have some nice non-murder-related conversation, and head back to the apartment for some shut-eye." Her eyes went up to the sky in surprise, and he chuckled. "Yeah, the afternoon came and went, Bones. It's like..." he pulled back his coat sleeve and squinted at his watch, "Five o'clock already."

"That's still fairly early," she pointed out, but he shrugged the comment off.

"Yeah, but we aren't going back to the lab. They," he pointed to the FBI crew that had begun to congregate around the body, "Are under orders to deliver it safe and sound to the Jeffersonian." She opened her mouth, but he raised a finger and pressed it to her lips, silencing her. "They'll also get soil samples and particulates. Relax."

She smiled slightly at that, but pushed his finger away from her mouth and spun on her heel, grabbing his hand as she did so and pulling him up the slope with her.

"We'll stop back at the apartment before we head to the Founding Fathers," she informed him in her matter-of-fact way. "We both need to change. And besides..." a slightly seductive smile tilted up one side of her mouth, "The team probably won't be there for another twenty minutes or so..."

They reached the SUV, and he pulled her back around to kiss her soundly as the snowflakes fell around them in a white blur, the cold not seeming to matter anymore.

"We can be a little late," he suggested, his voice gravelly.

She grabbed the keys before he knew what she was doing, offering a simple explanation. "I drive faster than you."

Well, he couldn't argue with that.

"So then, Nigel is just standing there, holding one end of this ax that's stuck in the floor, and Cam just looks at him like she has no idea what to think... while Hodgins is busy sneaking out behind her!"

The table erupted in laughter, and Booth punched the young doctor lightly on the arm. He had just received his doctorate a few weeks ago, and become a full time employee of the Jeffersonian. It seemed, though, that the new title hadn't had any effect on his tendency to get in trouble with Hodgins.

"Might I ask why, exactly, Hodgins wasn't the one swinging the ax in the first place? I thought he would have been the one eagerly hacking away at the melons." The question came curiously from the late arrival, Sweets, who Angela had insisted on inviting along since he was practically family with the team anyways.

Hodgins waved off Cam when she started to answer, and addressed the table himself. "Well, you see, I'd actually already gotten in a few good swings. The first few melons should show that. And after that watermelon incident last year... when I saw Cam coming around the corner..."

"You passed off the punishment to the other guy!" Booth guessed, grinning. "Real smooth, Hodgins, real smooth."

Hodgins shrugged, still smiling like an idiot. "It's not like I thought I'd get away with it, either. Just... couldn't resist, you know?"

"I really should stop listening to you," Nigel offered lightly from his end of the table.

"And I should really start keeping a better eye on him," added Angela, kissing her husband on the cheek. "One of these days you're going to get fired, you know."

"I really shouldn't say this," Cam started off cautiously, "But I can honestly tell you all that I don't think I'd ever be able to fire any one of you."

Hodgins immediately laughed, and then raised a hand for a high five with Nigel, "Oh, I told you so! Ha!"

Bones was looking at them both quizzically, so Booth cut in to offer his take on the situation. "I'm assuming Nigel was afraid of being fired because of all those rather... unfortunate... disasters which seem to occur around him and our bug guy here."

"Just a bit," the young man conceded, and they all chuckled again at his honesty.

"I hate to say it, but I think this might destroy some of the power I've been holding over your heads," Cam muttered, but there was humor flashing in her eyes. "If anyone ever got fired, it would probably be me, from somewhere high over my head. You're all lucky that we have a high success rate at that lab, because otherwise who knows who you'd have breathing down your necks, especially if you thought I was bad."

"Well, at least I wouldn't be too bothered," Booth commented with a lopsided grin. "I work for the government of the United States of America... not a museum."

"Technically, doesn't that mean that the rest of us all stand greater chances of being fired?" Nigel rationalized, "Seeing as... you know, we work for both the Jeffersonian and the FBI?"

"Lucky for you, the FBI likes solving murders more than dealing with bothersome things like damaged property from experimentation."

"And, apparently, they don't care much about relationships if that doesn't effect solve rate," Sweets added in, raising his eyebrows at the two of them.

Booth grinned. "Got that right. Bones and me," he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze, "We're the best crime-solving team they could ever get. You apparently agree, otherwise I'm sure you would have put in some sort of... request to break up our partnership."

The psychologist tipped his head to the side, "Actually, I wasn't given much leeway on the matter. They said it was up to me, but it all came down to the higher-ups. Besides, Cullen doesn't really take my opinion into account when it comes to the two of you anymore. Apparently he has an issue with my objectiveness while I'm 'tailing you around like a puppy' for my book."

Booth shook with laughter, pulling Bones up against him more before addressing that latest comment. "And don't we know it. But hey," he added seriously, "Even I gotta say you make a good asset to the team. Bones here might not believe much in your psycho-mumble-jumbo, and to be honest neither do I... and I doubt Hodgins takes much from it either, or Nigel..."

"We get the point," Sweets muttered.

Booth nodded quickly, "Yeah, but it all boils down to getting the job done. And somehow you do it. Plus, you can actually be a pretty cool guy," he tossed on the end, trying to make his tone sound light and surprised by that fact, but he knew it came out like a compliment. Sweets beamed, but quickly covered it by reaching forward to pick up his sandwich and take another bite.

"Did you notice we always end up talking about work?" Angela said, breaking the silence that had arisen when they'd all suddenly become interested in their food again. She herself was pretty immersed in her food, with a large chocolate shake and a big plate of French fries that Booth suspected were a side-effect of her expectancy. "Come on, let's talk about something a bit more fun. What's everyone doing this weekend? Hodgins and I are heading to visit my father in Texas."

Hodgins grimaced slightly, clearly concerned about the coming reunion with the slightly frightening man. Booth couldn't really blame him, even though he had a pretty challenging father-in-law to deal with himself. Who wasn't technically a father-in-law given that he was still fighting with how to convince her to marry him... but the point still applied.

"I'm attending a conference on bone grafting with some of my college friends," Nigel offered. It sounded like a very poor way to spend a weekend, but the kid seemed just as enthusiastic about skeletons as Bones did, so he'd probably have a great time.

"Daisy and I are probably just going to... you know... stay in."

Booth cracked a smile at that. Those two still hadn't decided to tie the knot, but clearly it had to be coming soon. And Sweets had that nervous look to him whenever he talked about his girlfriend... one that Booth knew he probably reflected pretty well. It was a look that said he was nervous at the same time as being ecstatic. How to move forward, in the psychologist's case, was going to be a hell of a lot easier than it would be for him, though.

Everyone's eyes had gravitated to either Cam or him and Bones, but Cam was the one that spoke up first.

"I have a date," she said, trying to sound professional but not fully avoiding the excited flash in her eyes.

"First, or have you been hiding this from us?" Ange questioned, the gossip clearly having piqued her interest.

"Second," Cam corrected with a nod of her head, "And it seems to be going fairly well. Nothing... drastic. Just some... company."

They all smiled knowingly, and then the attention was fully on him. As if they all knew he'd be the one speaking up for the pair of them.

Bones, though, jumped in before he could. "I, for one, would like to spend my weekend working on this latest case. It's assumable that we won't solve it by tomorrow, so working into Saturday would be the most efficient way to get the most information as fast as possible."

Ange rolled her eyes immediately, and then locked her eyes seriously on Booth, her gaze piercing him harshly, "You are not letting her work."

He allowed a smile, and nudged the woman next to him playfully, "Nope, we're not working." She gave him an incredulous look of irritation, but he went onwards, ignoring it. "I've actually got plans for how we're going to spend our time off."

"We do?"

"No, I do," he corrected, giving her an antagonistic grin. "You will have to wait and see."

She crossed her arms in frustration, but didn't complain verbally, simply offering a roll of her eyes before she leaned forward and snatched several French fries from his plate, using his ketchup as well.

Sweets was watching with fascination lighting up his face, and Booth kicked him under the table.

"Ow!" yelped Nigel.

"Oops, sorry about that, kid." He redirected and kicked again.

"Hey!" Sweets complained, yanking his leg away and reaching a hand down to rub his shin.

Booth offered him a shrug in response, and then pulled the conversation back to a popular topic in the lab; the naming of Angela and Hodgins' baby.

"So far we've ruled out our own names," Ange said, her smile huge and her hand rested across her abdomen, Hodgins' placed on top of it lightly. "We don't want any Jack Hodgins' II running around. We want something unique."

"You mean, you want unique," Hodgins corrected quickly, "I want simple. There is no way we're naming our child Picasso or something."

"That was a last name, not a first name. It would be Pablo, if you're aiming for that particular artist."

Hodgins made a face. "No way. What about..." he eyed the collection of people around the table, and they all tried to look elsewhere and draw as little attention as possible. "How about Brennan?" he teased. "You know, it is a boy's name."

Bones looked slightly alarmed at the prospect, but the conversation was light rather than serious, so Booth wasn't overly concerned.

"When are you going to find out if it's a boy or a girl?" Sweets asked curiously.

"We aren't," was the answer that Angela instantly supplied. "Surprise is what makes it so much more enjoyable. I think we'll have narrowed it down to one name for each possibility, though, by the time junior joins us."

"But you have a... feeling, about which it might be?" the shrink guessed.

"I'm leaning towards boy, but I could be wrong," she said with a slight smile that suggested otherwise. Angela was not the unsure type. If she thought it was a boy, through motherly instinct or whatever it was... there was a good chance her first sense was completely correct. He remembered Rebecca telling him at some point, before they'd found out for sure, that she'd thought Parker was a boy.

The rest of the evening passed smoothly, and it was late when they finally started to gather their coats and get ready to head their separate ways for the night. As Booth helped Hodgins calculate the bill, since no one had been willing to let someone else take the entire weight of their meals for themselves (even though Hodgins had offered), he overheard Angela pulling Brennan aside for a quiet conversation.

He knew he should have moved away, but how on earth could he do that once he heard what Angela wanted to talk about?

"Sweetie, I was reading your face all night, is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," she said, but she'd spoken too quickly, and he knew she was lying. Angela was just as perceptive as he was, of course.

"Bull. Come on, Bren, I'm your best friend." She lowered her voice, "Is this about... you know, me being pregnant? Because I'm still here. I might be a bit busier than usual pretty soon, but that does not mean you're losing me. Or that you're getting away from me that easily. Junior's gunna need a God-mother, now isn't he?"

"I... Ange, are you serious?"

"Of course I am. You think I'd let anyone else take that role?" she snorted in disbelief.

"You know that I'm not... I'm not good with children, Ange, and I don't know if I..."

"After everything I hear about you and Parker, and everything I've seen with you and children... please tell me you don't expect me to still believe that. Please tell me you don't still believe that."

He risked a glance to the side, and saw Bones biting her lip and directing her eyes at the floor for a fleeting second before they locked back on Angela's again, worry lighting up in their blue depths. He didn't need to be right in front of her, or even close, to recognize it anymore. To recognize anything on her face, to be honest. But he directed his eyes away, knowing that she'd feel his stare if he kept them there to long.

Hodgins had finished calculating and the rest of the group was laying down bills. He tossed his and Bones' money down, not even able to feel the thrill of getting away with paying for her that he usually got... like a child successfully outwitting a parent... because he was too focused on what was being said behind him.

They were getting quieter, and he edged a few inches over, hoping he wasn't being ridiculously obvious. And that he wouldn't get his ass kicked for this later if he was.

There was a slight awe to Angela's voice now, though, and he couldn't understand why until her words sunk in. And they certainly sunk in fast.

"You've thought about it." There was no response from Bones, which meant no admission... but also no denial. And that was as good as a confession for him. For Angela, too. "Brennan, how long have you been considering this for?" There was a very short pause, in which Bones started to say something, followed by a quick cut off by Angela. "Don't you dare try to lie to me; I read you better than anyone. Except maybe your boyfriend, but seriously..."

"Shh..." Brennan hissed, and from the corner of his eye he saw a flurry of motion, and had to tip his head to see. He faked scratching the other side of his head to compensate, and then bent to swipe a crumb off the seat he'd been sitting at, hoping to appear as non-eavesdropping as possible.

Bones had seized Angela's elbow and dragged her away. In a second, they were around by the door, the cool air from outside rushing in as an older man left and making both their hair billow. Neither shivered or moved away as they continued their conversation, all of their words now beyond Booth's reach.

He sighed, and then made small talk with the lingering group of men that still remained next to the table. The place was mostly quiet now; only a young couple remained in a booth across the room, and they didn't seem too bothered by anything around them. They were far too busy making out.

Booth wondered if he'd ever get out of here, but at the same time he wanted to give Angela and Bones as much time to talk as they needed. The last thing he wanted to do was cut them off, because that would no doubt make her self-conscious and quiet for the rest of the night. And if Angela got all the details, he'd stand a better chance of getting them out of her later. If they really were talking about what he thought they were... well, she'd no doubt be eager to help him.

Suddenly, all the things he'd been considering lately, that he'd been struggling so helplessly with, didn't seem so out of reach after all.

*Hopeful expression* I'm eager to write the next chapter... but motivation always helps... so, if you hit that lovely button I will love you. And I will try to respond to reviews from now on, because I've been horribly lax with that and I feel bad for it.

Thanks for reading! :)

Oh, and a happy Superbowl to all of you. Despite the fact that I watch only the commercials and don't care about sports XD