LoveShipper, 554Laura (glad it did), Vmf447 (they get plenty of chances in my other chapters), jsboneslover, RobinAngelena (yup was a pretty good episode, though I still miss him as Booth), topaz270 (I will), bookwormlady (lol great response Dad), GalaxieGurl, mendenbar (this review made me laugh too), hushedgreylily (thanks), zats, FaithinBones (they aren't always that bad), regbride12 (watching the Booth kids grow up would've been a treat)
So the story credit goes to FaithinBones. She allowed me to use an idea from her series, A Family Affair and spin something out of it. The following takes place not too long after the finale.
Painting
Booth wondered if it was actually possible to be literally bored to death. He dragged his feet as he followed Brennan through the museum, waiting patiently as she gawked and attempted to explain each exhibit with much enthusiasm. At first, it was cute and he found her exuberance rather endearing but after the fifth exhibit or so, Booth began to wonder if agreeing to accompany her to the opening of the museum's new wing was such a good idea.
As they approached a sculpture of a naked man, Booth frowned. "There're kids here, is this even appropriate?"
"This is art Booth." Brennan explained.
He scoffed. "This isn't very accurate, I mean… whose balls are actually that big?"
"It would be up to the sculptor to decide if he wants an accurate representation of his model. Although, you have no need to feel threatened. Your genitalia are bigger than average males."
Booth grinned, puffing out his chest slightly. He returned his gaze to the sculpture. "You would think that it's really hard to stay still for that long huh?"
"No, not really. I posed nude for Angela once. She did allow me breaks in between. It wasn't all that difficult."
"Whoa, what?! You did? When was that?" Booth asked, suddenly feeling more awake. If Angela had in possession a painting of his wife naked, he would definitely want to get his hands on that.
"It was the year after our first case, when we were not on speaking terms. Angela wanted to raise money in her bid to move to Paris, so she decided to auction off some of her work. She needed someone to pose in the nude for her. Since she didn't have money to hire a model, I offered to pose for her without any need for payment."
"Auction?! Did you say auction?"
"Yes."
"So someone actually bought that naked painting of you?"
"Is it so hard to believe that someone would buy a naked painting of me?"
"No, it's not hard to believe at all." He remembered how she looked back then. It was no surprise someone bought it. The thought that there was a painting of his wife in the nude hanging on someone's wall made him very unhappy.
"Do you know who bought it?"
"No. I was merely the subject of the painting. I have no idea what happened to it after the painting was completed."
"This is bad. If it was auctioned off, I need to get it back."
"Why is it so important that you get the painting back?"
"Because Bones, I can't have some guy sitting in his room somewhere with a naked painting of you. Who knows what he does or what he's thinking of when he's looking at you. And what about people who go over? You're my wife Bones and the only two people in the world who should see you naked are me and your doctor. Of which, the guy who bought the painting are neither!"
"It's just art Booth. And how do you know it's a guy?"
"No! It's not just art. It's a naked painting. Of you!" Booth knew what a good artist Angela was. He knew the painting of Brennan would be in great detail and likeness to her. He loathed to think that somewhere out there, some other man was looking lustfully at his wife in her state of undress. "And of course it's a guy, I mean you're… you. You're beautiful."
"That was years ago Booth, the chances of you finding that painting are slim at best."
"I'm getting that painting back."
…
The next morning Booth stormed into Angela's office.
"Oh hey Booth, what's up? Do we have a case?"
"No. But I need your help."
"Sure."
"You know that painting you did of Bones naked?"
"Oh. She told you."
"Yeah. I can't believe neither of you told me. If it wasn't for our trip to the museum yesterday, I wouldn't have known."
"That was a long time ago. Before you two were even partners."
"Right, I get that. But Bones and I are married now. I can't have a naked painting of my wife somewhere out there!"
"Why not?"
"Why not?!"
"It's art."
"What did you and Bones rehearse lines or something? It's not just art. It's a naked painting of Bones. My Bones."
"Okay, okay, so I get that you're possessive over Bren. And it's really hot by the way – "
"Look I just need to get it back." Booth interrupted her, annoyed.
Angela chuckled incredulously. "You do know that was more than ten years ago right? The guy who bought it might gave replaced it with some other painting by now."
Booth shook his head. "I know I wouldn't. Especially if I didn't have someone to satisfy my… my you know… and I needed to satisfy those needs myself?"
"Sexual needs?"
"Yeah." Booth blew out a breath, trying to contain his irritation. "So you gonna help me or not?"
"It was more than ten years ago."
"I heard you the first time."
"And it was an auction. I remember there was a rather fierce bidding competition between two guys who wanted to buy it. I made quite a lot of money off that painting."
"See that's exactly my point! You and I both know that Bones is hot and the person who bought it is probably some rich perv. What if he sees Bones again one day on the street and figures he wants the real thing huh?"
"The odds of that happening are really small and the person who bought it might not even live in DC anymore."
"Angela please."
"You do know the difficulty of the task right? It's not like I issued receipts."
"Look, you crack codes and reconstruct faces that have been blown up. Tracking down this guy should be a piece of cake."
"I'll try."
"No. You've gotta do more than try."
"Fine, I'll find it."
"Thanks Angela."
"You're welcome Studly. How about in return, you pose naked for me one day?"
"Not in a million years. But I will help you satisfy your next craving." He pointed at Angela's pregnant belly.
"Oh really?"
"Food craving Angela! You're about to have Hodgins' baby for crying out loud."
Angela laughed.
"You know you wouldn't have to go to all this trouble if you didn't paint Bones naked in the first place."
"She was just being a friend. I was broke. I couldn't afford a model. And you know how she was back then. It was my way of getting her to loosen up a little. Who knew she'd end up marrying you?"
"Just find me the guy who bought the painting okay?"
"Okay."
There'll be a Part II to this.