Chapter 26 - Wheels

- Navigate your way to location of ceremony

- Spend at least two nights in a one-bedroom hotel room

...

"God, Bones - did you pack everything you own?"

Brennan shrugged. "I find that it's always best to be prepared."

Booth scoffed as he heaved the last suitcase into the back of the car. "That's exactly what Hodgins says when he's trying to defend his paranoid ramblings. And you know what-" he slammed the trunk shut, and turned to point at her. "- this is just as bad."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're just upset because the FBI is making you drive the tiny car to the wedding instead of giving you back your SUV."

His shoulders slumped, the edge in his tone melting away immediately. "Why couldn't they have just ... let me have my wheels back? I mean-" he scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest "the trunk would have been easier to cram all your suitcases in, for one thing."

"It also burns twice as much gas, not to mention the amount of pollution you'd be -"

"Bad for the environment. Got it. Look - as interesting as this is, we've gotta go or we're gonna be late." Halfway towards the drivers door, he turned to smirk at her. "I'll just, you know - Google it later or something."

She rolled her eyes, and followed him around the front of the car to sit in the passangers seat.

This was going to be fun.

...

They had barely left the driveway, and had already managed to get lost. Convinced he knew where they were going, Booth had ignored his partner's advice and stayed on the highway instead of turning off, leaving them not only heading in the wrong direction, but also unable to turn around.

Brennan sighed tiredly. "Booth, we need to go back."

"Look, Bones, I'm gonna get us there, okay? Just - have a little faith."

"You know, this road's not going to take us there just because you close your eyes and wish really hard."

"Don't be so cynical, Bones-" He drummed the steering wheel with his thumbs. "I have a knack for this type of thing."

She laughed sarcasically. "Oh I get it, now your gut is navigating for us."

"Do you have a problem with my gut?"

She shrugged. "Not at all." His appreciative smile faded quickly as she added under her breath, "I was just hoping to get there before the wedding ends."

He exhaled deeply. "Fine, we'll do it your way. Just - hand me the map."

Her eyebrows raised. "If you want to navigate, Booth, you can let me drive."

"Yeah, nice try, Bones. Look - whatd'ya say we just ... change the topic, okay?"

She shrugged again. "Fine."

"Great."

There was a long pause before Brennan began to speak again, her tone softer. "You believe in weddings, right?"

"Weddings happen every day, Bones - it's kinda hard not to believe in them."

She rolled her eyes. "I just meant - you ... agree with the concept, right?"

He nodded slowly, careful to keep his eyes on the road. "Yeah, Bones, I do - and I know you don't, but..."

He let his sentance trail off. Brennan looked over at him. "It's fine, Booth." She paused. "I know that you think its important. That's all I need to know."

He observed her for a long moment before smiling out of the corner of his eye. "You know ... you might change your mind this weekend."

The side of her mouth twitched upwards. "I doubt it."

"Come on, Bones - everybody has fun at weddings. Just ... do what people do. You might surprise yourself."

He let his eyes linger on her a moment longer before turning back to the road, tapping the steering wheel as he drove. When he spoke again, his voice was deliberately casual.

"So ... you brought your dress?"

She frowned over at him. "Yes, I deffinately brought the dress I bought for the wedding to the wedding."

He nodded slowly. "And - you're sure I'm not allowed to look at it?"

"I don't understand your fascination with my dress, Booth." She looked over at him calmly, but she felt her chest tightening.

He shrugged, deliberately avoiding eye contact. "What do you say we put on some tunes."

She continued to watch him as he flicked on the radio, turning the dial blindly to try and find something discernible through the static fuzz.

Fact: Booth is thinking a lot about that dress.

...

The windows were tinted black by the time they were back on track towards their destination. Booth had finally admitted defeat and stopped at a nearby gas station to ask for directions, and by he time he returned to the car, Brennan was beginning to doze off. He shook her shoulder gently, and she awoke with a start, smiling up at him tiredly.

"Hey. Up you get, Bones - we're good to go."

She propped her elbow up against the windshield, head resting in her palm as she watched him climb into the drivers seat. "That must have been hard for you - I know how much you hate asking for help."

He was about to retort when she yawned widely. "Geez, Bones - you look like you're trying to catch flies over there."

She just frowned. "I don't know what that means."

He jumped into the drivers seat, closing the door and turning to fact her. "It means you look tired."

"I'm not tired, I'm just -" her phrase was cut off by another yawn, which she attempted to stifle without avail. "-hungry."

"You know, Bones - you don't have to stay up for me. I mean, I'm the one who got us lost in the first place."

She shrugged. "It's okay - I want to keep you company."

He grinned proudly. "Hey - thanks, Bones-" Booth let his sentance tril of as something caught his eye out her window. The car that had just pulled out was soon pulling over to the side of the road again.

Brennan frowned groggily. "What are you doing, Booth? We just came from here."

He began to get out of the car. "I'll just be a minute."

She sighed in exasperation. "We're never gonna get there."

"Bones, just trust me, okay? You'll be glad I stopped." He flashed her a quick grin before hopping out of the car once again.

As the sound of his footsteps on the gravel faded into the distance, her eyes slowly began to slide shut. The overhead light flickered off, plunging her into complete darkness, and the sudden weight of her lethargy hit her like a freight train.

...

Booth trotted back to the car, grinning excitedly, a large bag of Thai take-out in each hand.

"Hey, Bones, look what I found at the-"

He halted abruptly when he saw his partner, curled up on her seat with her head pressed uncomfortably against the windshield, fast asleep. Dropping the bags of take-out in the space between their seats, he took off his jacket and got in the car, carefully closing the door so as not to disturb her. After switching off the radio and the overhead light (which had flickered back on the moment he had opened the car door), he folded his coat and leaned over, lifting her head gently with one hand and placing the make-shift pillow under her neck with the other. He swallow a laugh when she grunted uncerimoniously as he settled her back against the seat, and, after a moment's debate, gently pushed a strand of hair out of her face before leaning back to admire his handiwork. She didn't seem any more comfortable than she had against she cold glass, but somehow, it still made him feel better that he had tried.

Stealing one last glance at her limp frame, he pulled back onto the road for a long night of driving. He had fought her tooth-and-nail to be able to be behind the wheel, but at that moment, he would have given anything to be in her place.

That, Agent Booth, is irony.

...

Brennan woke with a start as a trunk slammed shut somewhere behind her. In front of her were several un-opened bags of take-out food, and she was lying on someone's jacket. Disoriented, she pushed herself into a sitting position, squinting into the darkness for Booth's outline.

He was just bringing the last one of Brennan's bags into their small one-bedroom motel room when it started to rain. Ducking through the doorway, he set down the suitase, the bag from the store where his partner had bought her dress earlier that day catching his eye. He was trying to sneak a peak without actually touching her things when he heard movement in the doorway.

Booth turned to see Brennan standing in the threshold, damp from her walk through the rain. Smiling to himself at the sight of her messy hair, he hurriedly kicked the bag out of sight and turned to look at her.

"Hey, sleepy-head. Welcome back."

Her mouth curved into a smile, and she held up the two take-out bags in her hands. "I see you bought Thai."

"Yeah..." he slolwy began to make his way over to her. "But it's cold."

She closed the door behind her, looking at him appreciatively. "Thanks, Booth."

He shrugged. "Hey - you've gotta eat, right?"

"Yeah -" she scrunched her face apologetically. "I'm sorry I feel asleep on you. I'm not a very good travelling companion, I guess."

"Don't worry about it; you were tired."

Her eyebrows raised as they sunk down onto the edge of the bed beside eachother. "And I'm not the one who got us lost."

He laughed sarcastically. "Funny, Bones."

She smiled slightly. "Although I have to admit, besides that obvious error-"

"Which we've agreed not to discuss..."

"-I actually enjoyed myself today."

He turned to look at her, his voice softening. "Yeah - me too."

When it felt like she should be looking away, she yawned again, and both sets of eyes gravitated towards the single washroom as their thoughts turned to sleep.

Booth's mouth opened and closed awkwardly as he looked from Brennan to the bathroom. "Do you, uh - wanna -" he gestured uncomfortably, "go first?"

Smiling to herself at his discomfort, she nodded tiredly and began to trudge toward the bathroom door, flashing him a quick smile before closing it behind her. He sat stiffly at the corner of the bed, listening to the water turning on and off and wondering vaguely what could possibly be taking her so long, until she finally emerged, hair falling in loose waves around her shoulders and face scrubbed clean.

Booth looked at her hesistantly, more uncomfortable than ever. After a moment, though, he stood up.

"I'll just -" he pointed towards the room she had just vacated, staring at her blankly for a moment before hastily trotting through the door, almost afraid of what he might find on the other side as he closed it behind him. When he finally emerged, awkwardness greatly subdued, he found Brennan making up the couch with spare sheets and pillows.

"Hey - thanks, Bones."

She turned to look up at his cocky grin. "Oh, it's not for you - it's for me."

"What? No - you have to take the bed. You're more tired than I am."

Her eyebrows raised. "I'm not the one who's been driving all day."

"Look, Bones - I'm the one who got us lost, okay? And I'm the one who's sleeping on the couch."

She frowned at him. "That's not necessary."

They stared at eachother for a moment, and her eyes narrowed. "If this is because I'm a woman, Booth, that is an antiquated tradtition that has no place in-"

"Woah - Bones." He held up his hands defensively. "Wayyyy too late for a lecture, thanks. Look - we'll trade off. I'll take the couch tomorrow night, hows that?"

She put her hands on her hips. "If we're trading off, I might as well drive tomorrow too."

He scoffed. "Yeah, nice try, Bones - you fell asleep today. That means no driving."

She opened her mouth defensively. "Wha-? You left me all alone!"

"To bring you dinner."

"Cold dinner."

"Cold because you fell asleep."

She spoke as if trying to explain something particularly difficult to someone particularly slow. "I feel asleep ... because you went to get dinner."

He paused. "You've already said that."

Sighing deeply, she sank down onto the bed, looking up at him tiredly and realizing she didn't have the energy to get back up. "Why don't we just - call it a night?" She raised an eyebrow, smiling coyly. "I'll bet that couch is looking pretty good right about now."

As Booth got himself settled in his make-shift bed, Brennan crawled under the thick motel covers and settled herself against the high stack of pillows.

Once he was comortable, Booth turned to her quickly before flicking off the lights. "Night, Bones."

Her voice was quiet; almost to herself. "Goodnight, Booth."

...

A/N: Okay, so long chapter. I've got the rest of the story all mapped out, 30 chapters in total, but your feedback is still important - if theres anything you want, let me know, and I'll try and put it in. Plus, I love the reviews :) Next up, they'll arrive at the hotel they'll be staying at for the wedding, and go out for their 'fancy dinner'.