Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review. Hope you enjoy this offering. T.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
"Well that was a colossal waste of time," Sweets sighed, tossing his pen down on the table and sinking dejectedly down into his chair.
"Not true," argued Booth, closing the folder he had been making notes in while interviewing the last 3 men on the road crew and meeting Sweets' eyes levelly. "We now know that it's very unlikely that any of the road crew was responsible for the equipment sabotage. Add to that the fact that none of them have ties to the area and that pretty much rules them out as the murderer."
"Why would you think the murderer is a local?" asked Sweets, sitting up straight and leaning forward, his eyes alight with interest.
"I didn't say that," cautioned Booth, "but whoever messed with the equipment was able to sneak around and not be seen. Plus the intruder we had onsite this morning easily evaded five men and we didn't find a trace of him even after daylight."
"And that would indicate a prior knowledge of the area," Sweets mused slowly, linking his fingers on the table and staring at them thoughtfully. "When you put it like that, I would have to agree," he acknowledged, nodding. "So what's next?"
"I look at everyone else that had access to the equipment," Booth raised the folder he was holding in the air, waving it around a little. "Then I interview some more while we wait for Bones to finish up," he sighed, laying the folder down and opening it.
"Are you going to notify the little girl's parents this afternoon?" Sweets asked softly, taking a sip of coffee, his eyes remaining on Booth's face, knowing this was a sensitive area for the agent.
"Julie, Sweets, her name was Julie Ford," Booth snapped before he could stop himself. It was a valid question, just not one that he had the power to make. The powers that be had decided to hold off on notifications until all the bodies had been identified, citing that the media had settled down a little when they had gotten nothing of import from the PR guy and they were left with only speculation. They were certain and Booth had to agree that the instant they made the first notification, it would leak and the media would pounce, turning these parents' grief into a real circus. Despite his understanding of his superiors' reasoning, Booth was feeling really ambivalent about the decision itself.
As a parent himself, he couldn't imagine what these people had been going through for the last three years, the crushing, emotional devastation of your child simply disappearing, of not knowing if they were dead or alive. Was it really fair of them to put these people through even one more day of that hell when they had the power to stop it? Or were they still holding onto hope, despite how unlikely it was that their child would be coming home? Would the real hell begin when they stripped that hope away, telling them that their child was gone forever, that they would never hear their voice again, never hold them in their arms again? Maybe he was just trying to justify the delay to himself but Booth had to believe that any parent would continue to hope their child was alive until presented with irrefutable evidence to the contrary and his notification would eradicate that hope, shattering their lives once again. If that was the case, he honestly didn't see the harm in letting them hold onto that hope for a couple of more days. They had the rest of their lives to grieve. "No, I'm going to wait until all the identifications have been made," he finally answered.
"I understand," Sweets nodded. "No matter when you do it, this news is going to devastate them," he mused aloud, flinching when Booth looked at him incredulously.
"Yeah, Sweets, I do know that already. And, by the way, thanks for the pep talk," Booth said sarcastically.
"Sorry," Sweets shrugged sheepishly. "You being a parent yourself, this must be a really hard case for you to work on." Ignoring the death glare Booth sent him, the psychologist bravely continued, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, Sweets, I don't want to talk about it," Booth snapped, opening another folder and turning his attention to the papers inside. Sweets bit his lip and silently debated on the wisdom of pushing Booth on this one. Bad idea, he finally decided.
"Do you want some help?" he sighed, gesturing to the stack of folders at Booth's elbow.
"No talking," Booth warned without looking up.
"No talking," agreed Sweets with a defeated sigh, eagerly reaching for the folder Booth pushed toward him.
Brennan sat back on her heels and wiped an arm across her sweating brow, reaching for her bottle of water and critically surveying the scene with satisfaction, finally beginning to feel like they were making headway. Despite the recent disturbance of the grave, the first two bodies they had removed had somehow remained almost prone, almost completely articulated. The third had been angled and thus far they had only recovered the skull and the right side of the torso. But in the last half hour, Brennan had started to see tell tale signs that they were approaching the jumbled heap of disarticulated bones that was more common in mass graves.
The disinterment process might go slightly more quickly now but once the remains were fully exhumed, it would be a labor intensive, time consuming prospect to reassemble the skeletons. A process that would need to be completed here if they weren't able to identify everyone through dental records or Angela's expert sketches. At this point, Brennan estimated that they had at least two more days of digging and it would take at least that long to reassemble the skeletons for an ID.
Lowering the water bottle from her mouth after taking a long, refreshing swig, she caught sight of her watch and silently cursed. Crap, it was already after 4 pm and she needed to contact Clark. Biting her lower lip in indecision, she surveyed the interns, reluctant to leave them digging without her. She knew they were perfectly competent, none of them had made a single mistake in the last two days in these difficult circumstances and it was her own control issues that were giving her a problem but that didn't make it any easier to let go of that control.
Besides contacting Clark, she needed to examine the other two sets of remains so they could be sent to the Jeffersonian tonight and there was no way she could be two places at once. She had a decision to make. She could either let the interns stay here and work or she could make them stop and sit around uselessly for the next couple of hours while she completed her tasks. While the first option gave her a twinge of anxiety, the second was completely illogical considering that they would simply be removing soil for at least another couple of hours before they got to the remains and that in itself told her what she had to do. She was just going to have to give the interns precise instructions and trust them, something that didn't come easy to her. Recapping her water bottle and setting it aside with an inaudible sigh, she straightened her spine and cleared her throat, instantly bringing four pairs of eyes to her.
"I need to be in the lab for a while," she began, mentally calculating just how quickly she could finish in the lab and get back here. The interns immediately laid down their tools and started to stand. "No, I want you to keep working," Brennan instructed.
"Really?" gasped Daisy, looking at Brennan like she had just handed her the keys to the city.
"Yes," nodded Brennan, her eyes meeting Daisy's then moving on to each intern to make sure they were paying close attention. "You're all aware of the process, so just continue to remove the soil for Hodgins to sift through. Take your time. If you run into remains, stop immediately and come get me. Do you understand?" Each intern nodded eagerly as her eyes went from face to face. Despite her belief in their abilities, it was unbelievably difficult for Brennan to make herself stand and turn to climb out of the substantial hole they had made so far. A hand appeared in her line of vision and she looked up to see Hodgins grinning down at her. Grabbing the helping hand, Brennan allowed Hodgins to pull her up beside him.
"I'll keep an eye on them if you like, Dr. B.," he offered and Brennan nodded, touched at the offer and surprised that it actually made her feel a little better about not being there. After all, Hodgins was the resident dirt expert and the interns were digging in the dirt.
"Thanks, Hodgins," she returned gratefully, knowing she could trust him. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"No problem," he assured her with a grin, "I was getting a little bored working by myself so I'm going to enjoy this."
"Just let them do their job, Hodgins," Brennan warned, rolling her eyes at the way he was rubbing his hands together in gleeful anticipation.
"Sure thing," he agreed cheerfully, the twinkle in his eyes making her doubt his compliance. "I promise I won't hurt or traumatize them in any way," he sighed at her doubtful look.
Deciding she didn't have time to stand here and debate the issue, she gave him a warning look and turned back toward the interns who had their heads down, trying to pretend they weren't straining to hear her and Hodgins' conversation. "Hodgins is in charge until I get back," she said firmly and turned toward the door, not waiting for the interns' nods of compliance.
"Okay, boys and girl, you heard her, you belong to me until she gets back," Hodgins cackled, turning to the interns and rubbing his hands together, his grin widening at their collective groan.
Brennan rolled her eyes at his melodrama and kept walking, knowing Hodgins might have some fun with the interns but he wouldn't really hurt them nor do anything to compromise the evidence collection. Reaching out and pulling the door to the greenhouse open, she gasped when she was immediately doused by a curtain of rain and a fierce gust of wind buffeted her body, forcing her to take a step backward. Allowing the door to swing closed, she wiped the water from her face and squeezed it from her soaked ponytail, surprised that such an intense storm was raging outside and she hadn't even realized it was raining. Granted when she was focused on her work, she tuned out her surroundings but even standing this close to the door, she could barely hear the howl of the wind because of the superior construction of Hodgins' greenhouse. Impressive, but she could study the design later. Right now, she needed to get to the lab. She didn't have an umbrella but one really wouldn't do her any good, it would be snatched out of her hands the moment she stepped out into that wind. Besides, it wasn't like she could get much wetter. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the door, only to blink in surprise when a hand covered hers on the handle. Turning her head, she looked into Hodgins' concerned, blue eyes.
"Are you sure you want to go out in that?" he asked, having seen and heard just how bad the raging storm was in the brief time the door had been open. "Maybe you should wait for it to calm down," he encouraged, feeling that since Booth wasn't here, he should step in and try to talk her out of going out into a dangerous situation. Brennan was touched by his concern but she had things to do.
"I'll be fine, Hodgins," she assured him, her voice firm and determined and he knew she would be doing what she wanted regardless of his objections. Sighing and hoping Booth wouldn't kick his ass for not stopping her, he figured he could at least offer her a little protection.
Leaning over and scooping something off a pile on the floor that Brennan hadn't noticed before, he held out a rain poncho still in its package. "At least put this on," he urged. "Please," he quickly added for good measure.
"Fine," sighed Brennan, taking the proffered poncho, tearing it open and quickly donning it, stuffing the plastic packaging in her pocket for proper disposal later. Hodgins nodded in approval and reached for the door handle to hold it open for her.
"Ready?" he asked and she nodded. "Be careful," he added and received another nod, pulling the door open and watching her disappear into the storm with trepidation, truly concerned for her safety but knowing there was nothing else he could do. Sighing, he turned back to the industrious interns, hoping for the best.
Fifteen long minutes later, Brennan fought to keep the wind from jerking the lab door out of her hand as she stepped inside. Using both hands, she finally managed to pull the door closed hard enough to latch and leaned against the counter to catch her breath, her legs shaking with the effort it had taken to fight the wind and cross the area between the greenhouse and the lab. It had taken three times as long to reach the lab as normal and the battering wind had rendered the poncho virtually useless, whipping it in all directions and allowing the driving rain to penetrate underneath, soaking her to the skin.
Cam's head lifted as the door to the lab opened, wondering who in the world would be out in this mess. She got her answer only seconds later when Brennan's hand reached up and pushed the plastic hood off of her head. Not that it had done her much good, Cam decided, noting the water streaming down her face from her soaked hair. Grabbing a couple of towels from a stack the Talbert's had thoughtfully provided for just such an occurrence, she hurried toward Brennan, biting her tongue to hold back the scolding for being out in this weather that was struggling to escape. It would be pointless, inappropriate and probably not well received. "Here you go, Dr. Brennan," she said holding out a fluffy white towel.
Brennan stripped off the poncho and hung it on one of the hooks provided for lab coats, making sure it wasn't close enough to get them wet. "Thanks, Cam," she muttered gratefully, taking the towel and blotting her wet face. Bending over, she wound the towel around her dripping hair, picked up the second towel and headed toward the bathroom, anxious to get into something dry.
In the tiny bathroom, she quickly stripped off the saturated blue jumpsuit and dropped it into a sodden heap onto the floor, looking around for the jeans she was certain she had left folded on the shelf above the toilet this morning. They weren't there. Blinking, her eyes thoroughly searched every inch of the minuscule space. Still no pants. Okay, maybe she had left them in the other room which presented its own set of problems. There was no way she was marching out there in her current state of undress to search for her missing pants and she shuddered at the thought of asking Cam to look around for them and the explanations that would entail. That was definitely not going to happen. This was not good, thought Brennan running a hand across her forehead repeatedly and pacing the confines of the small room, but she still had options so there was no need to panic. "Cam, can you hand me another jumpsuit, please?" she requested in relief as the answer came to her.
"Sorry, can't," Cam called back a little too cheerfully to suit Brennan. "We're all out. Angela took all of them back to the lodge to be washed."
Well, crap, now she had a problem, Brennan acknowledged, looking down at the tank top and pair of skimpy boy short panties that she was wearing. She was normally fully dressed under the jumpsuits but because of how hot it had gotten yesterday when they were digging and the bathroom being available for changing, she hadn't bothered this morning, opting for comfort over modesty. A choice she was now regretting but it would be pointless to dwell on it. What was she going to do?
Since her options were so limited, it didn't take her long to go through them. There was no way she was getting back into that waterlogged jumpsuit which, literally, left her with the clothes on her back so she would just have to work with what she had. "Cam, could you hand me a lab coat, please?" she called. Within seconds, there was a knock on the door and Cam's hand appeared with the requested coat when Brennan cracked the door open. "Thanks," she grabbed the coat and quickly closed the door. Stripping off the uncomfortably damp tank top, she dried herself off and used the second towel to blot as much moisture from the top as she could. She would prefer to leave it off entirely but there was no way she was prancing around the lab in a lab coat and panties, especially in front of Cam. She would just have to suffer through the discomfort. Quickly toweling her hair as dry as possible, she finger combed it out, slipped the damp tank top back on and donned the lab coat, studying herself critically in the tiny mirror, hoping she didn't look quite as underdressed to Cam as she did to herself. Knowing she couldn't spend the rest of the night in the bathroom, she lifted her head and opened the door.
Cam glanced up as Brennan came out of the bathroom, her eyes widening at the bare legs beneath the coat and the flash of bare thigh when the lower edges of the coat separated with every step. Her eyes flew to Brennan's face but she wasn't about to comment.
"Don't ask," Brennan muttered uncomfortably, walking to where Cam was standing with the last set of remains.
"Wasn't going to," Cam returned even more uncomfortably, crossing her arms over her chest and vowing not to glance below Brennan's face for the rest of the day.
"Do you have an ID yet?" Brennan questioned, pulling on a set of gloves, instantly slipping into work mode.
"I've narrowed it down to two possibilities," Cam sighed.
"Even with dental records?" Brennan's brow furrowed. It shouldn't be that difficult to compare dental x rays and get an ID.
"I'm using the dental records but two of the boys had no dental work whatsoever and the portable machine for dental X rays isn't working," she sighed in frustration. Brennan blinked in surprise. They had the latest, high quality equipment and it was very unusual for any of it to simply break down.
"Are you sure it wasn't tampered with?" Brennan asked, her mind instantly going to Booth's theory about their being a saboteur amongst their ranks. She didn't really see how anyone could have gotten into the lab and sabotaged any of the equipment but she trusted Booth and his gut implicitly.
"I'm sure," Cam nodded. They had all been filled in on the sabotage and intruder and warned to be careful so she knew where Brennan was coming from. "It just went kaput while I was using it," she explained, "and when I called the company hoping for an easy fix like a reset button, they explained that that particular model was being recalled for just this problem."
"Okay," Brennan nodded. "Give me a minute to talk to Clark then I'll look over the remains and see if I can identify them," Brennan offered, not liking the rushed feeling she was getting from the need to so quickly ship the bodies out.
"You can't talk to Clark. The satellite hookup is out because of the storm," Cam winced and waited for the explosion.
Brennan was beginning to feel like her hands were tied behind her back, that nothing was ever going to go right on this case. Add to that the fact that she was physically tired from lack of sleep, physically frustrated from lack of Booth and was currently standing here in her underwear and a lab coat and she had to admit that she had had better days. She was feeling just a tad out of control, not to mention extremely unprofessional and spent several long seconds convincing herself that it would serve no useful purpose for her to take her frustrations out on Cam. She had worked in much more difficult circumstances than these, she reminded herself, she simply had to take care of one thing at a time, starting with checking on the interns. Tamping down her irritation, she looked around for the two agents who were supposed to be guarding the lab and turned a questioning look on Cam. "Where are the agents?"
"Up front," snorted Cam in amusement, "they said it creeps them out to be back here." She and Brennan shared an eye roll that lightened the atmosphere considerably. "Did you need them for something?" she asked politely, eying Brennan warily, still not sure she completely safe from an explosion.
"Yes, I want to use their radio to check on the progress of the interns," Brennan started toward the front of the bus and Cam's eyes widened as the anthropologist's normal, long legged stride made the bottom of the lab coat flutter around her bare legs, making it apparent she wasn't wearing any pants underneath.
"Wait," Cam gasped, knowing there was no way the agent's weren't going to notice the flash of thigh and enjoy the show, frantically trying to come up with a tactful way to keep Brennan where she was.
"What?" Brennan asked impatiently and Cam sighed. She didn't think "I don't think Booth will like you flashing all the other agents" was overly tactful and no way in hell was she going there. Her eye fell on the medical file lying on the table and she grabbed onto it like a lifeline.
"I'll do it," she said brightly. "Why don't you take a look at the remains and see if you can ID them?" she asked desperately, shoving the medical file at Brennan and smiling brightly in the face of the look Brennan was giving her that said she was acting like she was slightly unhinged.
"Okay," Brennan said, reaching out slowly and carefully removing the folder from Cam's hands as if she were wary of making any sudden moves.
"Thanks," chirped Cam brightly, swinging on her heel and heading toward the front of the lab, rolling her eyes at her own behavior. She was a little surprised at her need to protect Brennan from what would really amount to little more than embarrassment but she owed her that and a hell of a lot more for her earlier behavior. Five minutes later, she returned to report that according to Hodgins, everything was fine, not surprised when Brennan barely spared her a glance, nodded, then turned back to her remains, giving Cam her trademark go away and let me work my magic wave. Having been on the receiving end of this phenomenon many times, Cam went.
Two hours later, Booth entered the mobile lab and shook the rain off of his umbrella, grateful that there had been a lull in the storm. According to the weather channel it was temporary, they would be bombarded with even more torrential downpours and damaging winds in the next couple of hours and he wanted to take this time to make sure the site was as secure as they could make it and all his people were safely tucked away before it hit. Hanging up the umbrella, he turned into the lab, his eyes immediately zeroing in on Brennan who was, not surprisingly, seated beside the pull out table, examining remains, periodically making notes in a folder on the table beside her.
"Well, it looks like the storm has calmed down some," Cam said softly from behind him and Booth turned his head toward her.
"Yeah, but it's supposed to amp back up pretty soon. You should finish up here and get back to the lodge," he advised.
"I'm ready anytime," Cam nodded. "You might want to talk to Brennan. She's determined to make an ID on the last set of remains before she leaves and that's virtually impossible considering what she has to work with."
"Cam, you should know better than that by now. Plus, she doesn't know the meaning of the word impossible," Booth chided, his eyes drifting back to Brennan, a tender smile settling on his lips.
Oh, yeah, they were definitely involved, Cam decided, doing an internal happy dance, desperately wanting to congratulate Booth and wish them happiness. But she was afraid that would lead to a discussion of why it hadn't happened sooner and that was a chat she wanted to avoid at all costs. "That's true," Cam conceded, "but you still might want to hurry her up. I've been trying but she just ignores me and waves me off."
"I'll take care of it," Booth grinned, pushing away from the counter and walking toward Brennan.
"Hi," he said softly and Brennan's head immediately came up, a welcoming smile lighting her face.
"Hi," she returned. "When did you get here?"
"Just now," he returned. "I came to make sure the site was secure and pick you up."
"But, Booth, I can't go anywhere," she gasped, swinging around on the stool so she was facing him, the action causing her lab coat edges to part and reveal almost the entire length of one long, slender thigh. "I have to identify these remains before they get sent to the Jeffersonian tonight," she explained but Booth had lost the ability to understand the spoken word the instant his eyes riveted on all the soft, silky skin on display. His mind instantly pictured her naked under the coat, one of his favorite fantasies, then, of course, it jumped to him peeling her out of the lab coat and what that would lead to, his gut clenching and his body beginning to harden at the vivid images. Blinking at the flush of arousal spreading across Booth's cheeks and his darkening eyes, Brennan followed his gaze to her bare thigh and gasped, jerking the lab coat back up to cover it, spinning around on the stool until her legs were under the table.
Not particularly caring for his luscious view being blocked, Booth forced his eyes up to Brennan's slightly embarrassed face which was now in profile to him. Stepping up behind her until her back was pressed against his chest, he lowered his head until his mouth was next to her ear. "What are you wearing under that lab coat?" he whispered.
"You don't want to know," she whispered back, turning her head until their faces were so close their noses bumped.
"Oh, I really, really do," he rasped fervently, fighting the urge to lean in those extra couple of inches and capture her lips with his.
"Umm, I'm going to just go wait in the car," Cam said, shifting uncomfortably at the intimate scene unfolding before her. She wasn't at all jealous but she did feel like a voyeur and she had to admit that her heart ached just a little at the intent, adoring way Booth looked at Brennan, a way he had never looked at her even during their most passionate moments, a way she was sure he never had not ever would look at any other woman besides Brennan.
"No need, Cam," Booth answered without altering his position or glancing in her direction. "You can tell me or, better yet, you can show me what you have on under that lab coat later," he promised huskily directly into Brennan's ear.
"Maybe," Brennan teased, holding his eyes.
"You can count on it," Booth returned, unable to resist nuzzling her ear with his nose before he straightened and looked at Cam. "I need about ten minutes then I'll have someone take you and the interns back to camp."
"I sent the interns back about half an hour ago. Are you telling me they didn't make it back?" Brennan broke in, looking a little concerned.
"I'm sure they're there," Booth soothed, his hand coming up to stroke up and down her back. "I didn't see them but I've been busy. I probably just missed seeing them come in. I'm sure the kiddies are fine, Baby," he smiled down at her reassuringly, not even catching his slip of the tongue.
"They'd better be, Booth," Brennan muttered, gnawing on her lower lip, "or I'll hold your agent responsible," she warned.
"If Breyer has mistreated the interns in any way, you have my heartfelt permission to kick his ass. Okay?" Booth laughed, reaching for the satellite phone to call the lodge and confirm the interns were there so she would stop worrying and settle down.
"Dr. Brennan, are you sure there's nothing I can do to help you finish up?" Cam asked Brennan yet again while Booth was making his call.
"I don't think so, Cam," Brennan sighed in frustration. "We just don't have a significant enough portion of the remains to make a positive identification."
"Okay, Bones, all of the junior squints are safely present and accounted for back at base camp," Booth told her with a grin. "Now what's the deal with the ID?" he asked, having heard the tail end of Brennan's remark. His eyes ran over the few bones laid out on the table and he honestly didn't see how anyone, even his Bones, could take such a small portion of the human body and give him an ID but he knew, given enough time and the proper equipment she could do exactly that.
"I don't have enough of the remains to give you a positive ID before they go to the Jeffersonian tonight," she admitted, sounding like she was confessing to all seven of the deadly sins.
"They're not going to the Jeffersonian tonight," Booth automatically corrected, his hand dropping to her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "The chopper's grounded until the weather clears," he explained. "Can't you just do your DNA thingie?" he asked Cam suddenly.
"Don't you think I would already have done my DNA thingie if I could?" she snorted, rolling her eyes.
"We don't have a DNA sequencer on board, Booth," Brennan explained patiently. "They're extremely expensive so it wouldn't be cost effective to equip the mobile lab with one."
"They're also way too sensitive to be hauled around on a bus," added Cam, a little stung that Booth would think she had failed to do something so basic if she'd had the equipment to do so.
"Okay, fine," conceded Booth, running a hand through his hair. "What do you need to get me an ID?" he asked, his eyes meeting Brennan's.
"The rest of the body," she said instantly.
"And how long before we have that?"
"I expect it to take at least two more days to exhume the rest of the remains and it will take at least that long to reassemble them," she sighed.
"We can have Angela do a sketch in the morning," Cam inserted. "That is if you can spare her, Booth," she grinned.
"Believe it or not, Cam, she did a hell of a good job today," Booth admitted. "But, yeah, I'll give her back."
"Why don't we just have Clark send us a replacement for the portable dental X-ray?" Brennan asked quietly and Cam blinked, feeling like she should give herself a duh slap to the forehead.
"Good idea, Dr. Brennan," Cam admitted.
"You'll be able to use it to ID the bodies?" Booth queried.
"It will help," answered Cam, "and it will most certainly help speed the process."
"Yes, especially since the rest of the remains are unlikely to be articulated," Brennan interjected. "In a mass grave, there isn't really isn't anything separating the bodies," she explained at Booth's raised brow. "As the bodies decay, the bones shift…,"
"And they wind up in a big, jumbled pile," Booth broke in, remembering a show Brennan had made him watch on the discovery channel. Okay, she hadn't exactly made him watch it and he had actually found it very interesting once he got past the fact that those were real people in the grave and focused on the science.
"Exactly," Brennan beamed at him and he felt his chest swell with pride.
"And Clark will have one of these things just lying around?" Booth questioned.
"Yes, we have several units in the lab. It shouldn't be a problem for him to send one out," Cam answered.
"Okay, then, problem solved. We'll send Julie Ford's body to the lab in the morning, Clark can send your X-ray whatever and we'll be set," Booth rubbed his hands together with a grin.
"I want to take a closer look at those remains tonight," Brennan informed him. "Of course you do," Booth sighed. "Fine, but the storm is going to be starting up again before long and it's supposed to be even worse than before. I want everyone tucked in for the night before that happens. You have an hour," he informed her firmly.
"An hour?" she gasped, her eyes narrowing. "But, Booth, an hour isn't enough time."
"One hour, Bones," he repeated, leaning down until they were nose to nose. "I will carry you out of here kicking and screaming if I have to," he warned teasingly.
"I'd like to see you try," she hissed, glaring at him.
"If you're not ready in an hour that's exactly what you'll see," he promised, his voice full of laughter, wanting to lean down and kiss that pouting mouth so badly he could taste it. Her eyes became slits over blazing blue orbs promising retribution at a later date. Winking at her, he nuzzled her nose with his and straightened, removing himself from temptation, ignoring the look of amused indulgence Cam was giving them. Brennan immediately popped up off the stool and pushed past him, muttering under her breath. From the tone, Booth had no doubt he was the subject and the tirade was less than complimentary so he didn't even try to eavesdrop as she stomped over to where the other remains were laid out on another pull out, steel table and plopped down on a stool beside them.
"You do know she can kick your ass, don't you?" asked Cam, her eyes glowing with admiration. She had never seen anyone, even Booth, handle Brennan quite that well before.
"Yeah," Booth acknowledged, "but she won't." He sounded confident but Cam had her doubts, especially when Brennan snorted at his comment and continued to mutter under her breath. "Give me a couple of minutes to talk to my guys, Cam, then I'll have them take you to the lodge," he requested, turning on his heel and heading for the front of the bus before she could comment.
Cam's grin widened as he paused beside the irate anthropologist, tucked her hair behind her ear, then leaned down to whisper something in her ear. Brennan pretended to ignore him and ducked her head but Cam saw her biting her lower lip to hide a smile. Those two were so darned cute together it was damned near disgusting.