Hiatus by Allyson H.

AllyH's Note: After yesterday's mood swing-y Brennan, are you now ready for seductive Brennan? Then read on…

Week 10, day 7

"Well, I'm stubborn and wrong, but at least I know it. I can move it along and hope I can get through this." – Vanessa Carlton, 'Heroes and Thieves'

Like Analeigh had predicted, Booth had kindly volunteered to help Brennan wash her hair. There was an anxious flutter in her stomach as she entered the bathroom in preparation of Booth. The plan was simple. He was waiting for her in the bedroom, expecting her to only take her shirt off, so that she could lean forward or backwards as he rinsed her hair. She had promised to call for him when she was ready, claiming that she had to shave her armpits first, while in fact she was stripping down to nothing and would make her way into the shower. He would not get to see her until she was already dripping wet under the shower, so he could not cover her as soon as he saw her.

Brennan took off her clothing with a single hand; she was quickly becoming accustomed to having an arm in cast. She was lucky that it had not been her right one instead. As she shrugged off her blouse, she leaned forward and turned on the shower, letting the water run warm. She shed the rest of her outfit quickly and put a stool in the shower so that she could sit down in the shower and Booth could reach her hair more easily. That is, assuming they would ever get to that part.

Brennan smiled as she felt the warm water with the back of her. It was perfect, nice and stimulating. She placed a fluffy, long white towel on the heater and fixed a plastic bag over her left arm to prevent it from getting wet. Alright, she spoke to herself, show-time. Literally. Brennan carefully entered the shower and stepped underneath the warm spray. It felt good on her skin and relaxed the tension in her muscles. She closed her eyes and shook her head, throwing her hair back under the water. She bit her lip, knowing it was now or never. "Booth?" she called out. "I'm ready."

The door opened almost immediately. "Good, I was starting to get worried. Did you manage t—" He stopped dead in his tracks as he did not see Brennan bend over the bathtub, like he had pictured in his mind, but standing naked in the shower. The water glistened on her skin like diamonds on a light-colored ribbon. Booth quickly turned his back to her, willing himself to get his breathing back under control. "Bones? Why are you in the shower?"

Brennan grinned. She had a bath tub and a separate shower in her bathroom. Her shower stall was a bit small, but if she left the glass door open, there was more than enough space for another person to come and join her. She straightened her back, pushing her chest out, but since Booth was turned away, he could not see what she was doing in there. "I figured it was more effective to get showered and have my hair washed in one go." Well, he had better self-control than Analeigh had expected. She was going to have to think of something else. "I'll go sit down, Booth, to make it easier for you."

Booth heard her drag the stool closer to her and her wet footsteps as she moved to sit down. Good, he would be safe now. She was just sitting there, with her back towards him. He could handle that. If he kept his eyes focused on her hair, he would be fine. They would both be fine. Booth took a quick glance over his shoulder. Yes, she was facing away from him. Good. "Alright, what shampoo would you like me to use?" He had thought wrong when he thought it would be easier like this. Her back was small and tight, she had her toned legs stretched out ahead of her. When she looked at him over her shoulder, with eyes that just screamed naughty to him, he knew he was close to losing this fight.

"The lavender one is fine. I'll get it for you." Without any further warning, Brennan bend forward to grab the bottle from the ground. Booth noticed her spine stretching, her chest pressing against her knees as she leaned down and her hips raising up slightly in the process. That is when he put two and two together. She was seducing him deliberately. He should have known this would happen.

Booth chuckled slightly when she handed him the shampoo. Oh, do not worry Brennan, he could give as good as he got. He flicked the lid of the bottle and poured some of the purple gel onto his hand. "Alright Bones," he said, placing one hand on her shoulder and then carefully sliding it upwards to her ear, gently caressing the skin there, before he ran his other hand with the shampoo through her hair. He gently tugged at the strands of her hair as he massaged it in very slowly.

"Booth…" she breathed, as she inhaled a large gulp of air at the anticipation of him touching her more.

Booth grinned cheekily, which she was not able to see. He ran his fingertips along her scalp, teasing it in gentle slides. He took his time dividing the shampoo over her hair and he could feel her grow impatient. When he was done with it, he let her hair drop against her back and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. He then moved them down her upper arms in a teasing and suggestive gesture, leaving white shampoo traces behind on her skin. "So, who put you up to this, huh?" He spoke in a very soft voice, watching goose bumps appear on her arm. "Was it Angela?"

Brennan raised an eyebrow, but a smile appeared on her face. He was not easy to fool, but all of that did not matter as long as the outcome would be the same. "Analeigh did," she answered truthfully. She felt his hands come to a stop. "Angela suggested I would just attack you in your sleep." Brennan clarified.

Booth slowly reached forward to grab the shower head so that he could rinse her hair. He had to lean over her a little and he had to force himself to keep his eyes ahead of himself. "Analeigh?" He asked, confused and surprised. "The same Analeigh who's our midwife? The twenty-year old?" He started washing the shampoo from the ends of her hair.

"Booth, she already had a child. She's obviously sexually active…" Booth gulped, instantly deciding he did not want to talk about it any further. He shielded her eyes with his free hand as he sprayed the shampoo from the top of her hair. She extended her neck backwards so the water would fall down her hair instead of her face. Booth felt the urgent need to press a kiss to the pale skin there, but he fought it.

It had been months since he had first seen her naked, but it was weird how just now he noticed a few striking things about her body. For instance, she had a small birthmark, right above her rear. Her spine was very sensitive, because when he ran his fingers across it, she felt ticklish. She had a scar to her left side, just below her rib cage. There were many things he had yet to learn about her.

She requested him to shampoo her hair again, before using a conditioner and he obliged her without making any more conversation with her. The truth was that he wanted to, but since she was sitting there, in her birthday outfit, he felt very uncomfortable. It was easy now, to say something wrong or use unintentional innuendo. Booth thought Brennan was very beautiful and he reminded himself to think of something very non-stimulating. Decomposing bodies, mac and cheese with kiwi, therapy with Sweets, fleshy bones… Wait, what?

Brennan reached up to turn the shower off and Booth put the shower head back in its original place. Brennan got up and turned herself around, only to find Booth holding out the towel, shading her body from his view. Brennan laughed. The prudish side of him would probably never change. Maybe seduction was too obvious to him. She took the towel gratefully and wrapped it around her body, using her left arm to trap the fabric as she fixed a knot right above her chest with her free arm, so he finally dared to look at her.

Her hair was still dripping from the shower water, and tiny droplets ran down her shoulders and into the towel. Her eye lashes were stuck together and he realized that she was even more beautiful without make-up. He preferred her like this, in a natural and pure state. He approached her, wanting to help drying her hair, but first decided he would free her left hand from the plastic bag. Brennan followed his movements with her eyes and raised her arm as he gently tugged at its cover. Their eyes met when he looked back up at her, to make sure that she was not in any kind of pain or discomfort.

"Do you… do you need any help with anything?" Booth stammered. He reached out with one hand to rub the towel against her back, in an attempt to help her, or warm her. He was not entirely sure anymore.

Their eyes remained locked as Brennan took another step towards him, hesitantly. "I can think of something." She raised her chin up and stood on her tip-toes, so could she reach his face and gently press a kiss on his lips. It was different this time. Unlike all the other kisses they shared, this was a tentative peck as she softly molded her lips to fit against his. It demanded nothing, but offered everything as it was a clear invitation to come back for more.

Booth saw the emotional vulnerability in her eyes along with the deep feelings she had for him. This was no longer about arousal anymore. It had everything to do with their chemistry and the intimate connection that they shared. This was what he had been talking about all along. This was the difference between sex and making love. "But Bones, your arm—"

"…is protected in a cast," Brennan finished the sentence for him, letting out a ragged breath. "Booth, you can't hurt it anymore."

Booth thought, but only for a little while, because he was attracted to her like a magnet and he leaned in to kiss her back, this time with a little more pressure of the lips. "Okay," he said, making her smile brightly. "Okay." She remained quiet, so glad with his confirmation that everything was alright now and that they could finally be together again in the way they both had longer for, for quite some time.

Their lips met again and again as Booth unconsciously backed her against her washstand. As she steadied herself against the marble piece of furniture with one hand, she used her broken arm to wrap itself around his neck and pull him down closer towards her. As she widened her stance, Booth could step in between her legs before deepening the kiss. Brennan responded by pressing her body against his fully and Booth gasped into her mouth as the towel left very little to the imagination.

The kiss got heated very quickly after that. Their tongues danced against each other's as Booth placed both of his on her naked shoulder blades and stroked the sensitized skin there. Brennan let go of the washing basin with her hand so she could reach between them and start unbuttoning his shirt.

"We should try to make it to the bedroom," Booth whispered before he continued slanting his mouth over hers time and time again. Her eyes opened only to nod at him at his suggestion, but then they closed again as her hands finished undoing the last of his buttons. Booth shrugged out of his shirt, discarding it to the ground, before pressing her warm and slightly moist body against his naked chest. He let his hands travel down to her naked thighs and then grabbed them, pushing her up to sit on the washstand as he continued kissing her.

Once Brennan reached for his belt, they broke apart for a little while to smile at each other, their eyes glazed in the arousal that had spiked between them. The warm feeling in Brennan's lower abdomen intensified as he pressed his clothed lower body against hers. She arched her back as Booth sought out her neck, pressing tiny kisses to the side of it, earning a small moan from her.

During their frantic necking, Brennan's towel had become untied at the top and it was now trapped between Booth and her own body. Booth slid his hand from her back to the front, tickling the undersides of her breasts with his thumbs. She moaned again as he gently massaged the skin there, taking his time to re-explore her. Just a few more seconds, he told himself and then he would take her to her bed. Right now, the feeling of them close together like this was too enjoyable to give up yet.

Brennan was still fumbling with Booth's belt, but was a bit caught up in her own arousal. Booth's open mouthed kisses had trailed their way from her neck to her throat and back up to her lips and she did not want to break away to look down. He could undo it himself if needed.

Booth moved his hands up her chest and placed them to rest on her breasts, until… the doorbell rang.

Booth and Brennan broke apart as if they had just been caught in the act, staring into the direction of her front door. "Are you expecting anyone?" Booth asked with a sigh, knowing that they were forced to answer it anyway.

"No." Brennan said, shaking her wet hair along with her head. "Maybe it's my dad again." He had showed up announced the previous time. Booth swallowed nervously and grabbed another towel from a pile next to the washstand. He held it in his left hand as he covered his lower body with it.

'I'll get it. I'll just pretend to be…cleaning." He reached for his shirt on the ground and put it back on, irregularly buttoning it here and there. At this moment, he could not care that much about the way he looked as long as he was wearing something. "I'll keep him busy while you get dressed." Booth quickly left the bathroom before he got a chance to look at Brennan again.

She was left sitting there, slightly dazed by this sudden interruption. Damn, she had gotten so close too! Reluctantly, she stepped back down and grabbed her underwear from the heater. She stumbled a little as she put on her panties, fighting to get her left foot through the correct hole as she could barely grasp the material with the fingers on her casted arm. Her thoughts were occupied with what had just happened between her and Booth and what would have happened if it had not been for the stupid bell. Maybe, the next time he was here in her apartment, she would just turn it off.

She was still inwardly cursing every factor that could have contributed to their early separation from each other's arms, when Booth re-appeared in the door post of her bathroom. She had just fixed her bra and put on a light blue tank top as she looked up at him. For some reason, he was smiling. Did he really think this was funny?

"Your visitor," Booth started, chuckling again. "…was a Jehovah's witness. He came to ask if you have found God in your life."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe, if he had not showed up, I would have." She complained. Booth had to stop himself from laughing out loud, realizing the irony. In his own religious beliefs, by sleeping with someone outside of marriage, he had been just about to defy Him.

"Maybe it's a sign." Booth teased her with a wink. He quickly walked off towards her kitchen as Brennan bent down and threw a slipper at him. She smiled a little at his comment. At times like these, she deliberately chose to ignore all possible signs.

AllyH's Note: Poor Brennan. When will they ever get the privacy to really enjoy this new relationship?

I received news today that I was officially declined for the permanent position of head nurse. Even though I've been temping there for half a year, they say there have been people with a lot more experience than I am. My temping agency however, thinks it's about money, because hiring me there permanently means that the nursing home will have to 'buy' me from the temping agency. Oh well, I'm looking forward to a new challenge. Just wanted to thank EVERYONE who's been thinking of me. I'm going to enjoy being the only female EMT this weekend and forget about the nickname I've already been given there today (Albino, because of my hair and skin).

Tomorrow: Speculation on Brennan's condition continues when Sweets finds her a place in an eating disorder clinic. Sweets talks to the rest of the team on how he plans to intervene…