A/N: Welcome to my entry for the Bonesology Winter challenge. I've chosen to write a story using a list of words from each letter in the word Valentine.

This story is supposed to be fluffy fun, so it may seem that Booth and Brennan are acting slightly out of character at the crime scene. I hope the readers will allow me a bit of artistic license.

This story is set after season 12.

"Come on, Bones…," Booth whined, tapping his foot in irritation as he watched his wife do her initial examination of a body that had recently been discovered at a home in the heart of the District of Columbia. He checked his watch with a heavy sigh. "I'm not even sure why we're here. I mean, this body has a lot of flesh, right? Not exactly your cup of tea, you know? And we're supposed to be getting ready for our Valentine's vacation weekend, right? I think this case can wait until we get back on Monday…so why not just do a cursory exam and then we can let the FBI techs take it from there. Maybe they can even shove it off on the Metro guys if we're lucky. Anyway, we need to get going. It's after three, and I still need to pack, okay? Like I said last night, I'd like to leave by five PM. Besides, I want to try that new Vietnamese restaurant before we head to Virginia..."

"Hmm…" Brennan was in full concentration mode as she studied the deceased, a man who appeared to be in his fifties. Finally she glanced at her agitated husband. "I know the circumstances are unusual, Booth, but I'm filling in for Cam today so she can help Michelle move into her new apartment. I won't be long...I just need to record my initial impressions." She took her phone out of her pocket and accessed an app. "You might find this interesting, Booth. It's called a 'virtual secretary'. I can speak to my phone and my words go directly to my dictation files…and then I can share them with Cam as well so she has them when she conducts the autopsy."

"Yeah, great." He made a valiant, if unsuccessful, effort to be impressed with her new bit of technology. "It records everything you say. Wonderful. So does that mean we can leave soon? This doesn't seem to be an extraordinary case, Bones. I'm pretty sure Agent Volker can supervise the scene without us, and we can check in with him on Tuesday..."

"I'm not sure how the app will make my examination faster…" She stood with her hands on her hips as she surveyed the patio where the body had been found. "Various items appear to be out of place...that stool has been knocked over…a glass tumbler was shattered...based on my initial visual inspection, there was a struggle of some sort."

"A struggle. Okay." He dutifully took out his note cards and recorded the information. "Look, I get it...you need to be precise...no stone left unturned, right? That's why you're such a valued team member at the Jeffersonian…Cam was probably thrilled when you said you'd cover for her. After all, you're so versatile...looking at dried out bones one day, and icky messes the next." Booth nodded, moving to stand next to Brennan so he could get a better look at the crime scene. "Everyone knows you're the best…a veritable paean of excellence…"

"Of course, I'm the best. No one would ever doubt the veracity of that statement." She rolled her eyes at him in mock exasperation. "However, with your overly effusive praise, it seems as if you're playing on my vanity...probably because you desire something from me, correct? Something of a sexual nature?"

Booth smiled hopefully. "Maybe. Is it working?"

"No." She shook her head decisively. "I must be thorough in my investigation...you know that, Booth…especially since I'm slightly less unfamiliar with working with a body in this rather 'complete' state." She muttered some vague reference to a venerated anatomy textbook before continuing. "Not much blood except the large amount on his head…"

Even though he knew it was verboten at a crime scene, Booth decided to press his point. Sidling up closer to Brennan, he discreetly whispered in her ear. "Don't forget...we've got a nice villa waiting for us in Cape Charles...the bedroom is secluded, with a veranda that overlooks the ocean. It'll be chilly, so we can snuggle up together under one of those soft velour blankets as we sit by the fireplace...you know, so we can keep each other warm…if you get my drift...you can wear that vanilla musk perfume I like so much...it'll be very romantic..."

She pretended to ignore him as she hunkered down next to the body, continuing her dictation with a flirty smirk. "The deceased, a middle aged man, was found by his neighbor, who had heard a sharp bang and so came to investigate. The deceased is prone, holding the neck of a broken violin in his left hand. There is no bow evident. There are no marks on the body other than those consistent with a blow to the head. There is a large terracotta pot that apparently once held African violets lying in pieces around the deceased. Question: did the pot hit the man on the head, thus causing his death? Ask Hodgins to swab for particulates. Question: how was the pot dislodged? Check the niche for evidence. Question: was this man the victim of a crime or was this an accident? Further analysis is necessary." She turned to the technician behind her. "Make sure you scoop up all the soil and the vermiculite so Dr. Hodgins can examine it in the lab. Also, check that niche for trace evidence...the pot was probably sitting up there…"

Straightening up, Brennan brushed some dirt from her jumpsuit. "Anyway, I'm not certain why you're so concerned about our weekend plans, Booth. After all, Valentine's Day isn't until next weekend…"

"Which is why we could get the villa this weekend. C'mon, Bones...we discussed this weeks ago. We need some alone time to reconnect, right? We need to do something for ourselves every now and then...something besides varnishing shelves and cleaning out closets, I mean."

"...but in the past we've both agreed that Valentine's Day isn't a real holiday." She put her phone back in her pocket and gave the FBI tech some more instructions about which photographs she wanted taken before continuing. "Are you saying that your affectionate impulses should be confined to one day a year? I'd be vastly disappointed if that was the case, Booth."

"What? NO! Of course not..." Vexed by the sudden turn of their conversation, he quickly backtracked. "Look, you know I love you, Bones. I show you that every day...I tell you that every chance I get…"

"That's true...you do verbalize your feelings quite frequently...and you are very intentional in the way you demonstrate your affection…"

"Right?" Wearing an impish grin, Booth shrugged as he jammed his hands into his overcoat's pockets. "It's just that I think we need to get away from the rest of the world from time to time, that's all...away from the stress of our jobs and running a household..."

"So, in other words, you're not satisfied with merely having sex as often as you want while we're at home...you want to have sex in a more exotic locale." She nodded as she pulled off her gloves. "That makes sense...it's almost Valentine's Day...men want sex…"

Hearing the tech suppress a giggle, Booth narrowed his eyes at his wife. "Great. Why are we even talking about this now, Bones?"

"I apologize. I've forgotten about your rather Victorian views on discussing sex." She wore a sly grin, regarding him furtively as he tried to brush aside his embarrassment. "However, you're the one who brought it up, Booth. I'm merely responding to your suggestion."

Walking past him, she not so casually bumped against him, reminding him once again of the voluptuous curves hidden beneath that blue jumpsuit. Inhaling deeply, he scratched his chin as he followed her, trying to explain himself. "Look...here's the deal, okay? I want to go out of town this weekend with my wife, okay? I've arranged a babysitter for our kids, and I've found us a nice place to stay. We're gonna spend some quality one on one time together, in various ways, and come back late on Monday evening, refreshed and ready to tackle the world again, alright? It has nothing to do with Valentine's Day...that was just an excuse to go away for the weekend. There...satisfied?"

She turned to face him with a knowing smile, and now it was her turn to whisper into his ear. "Well, if I'm not satisfied now, I certainly will be when we get back from our weekend, won't I?" Smiling happily, she turned and walked away.

"You little vixen…," Booth mumbled, shaking his head at her audacity, and trying not to break his own rule about not laughing at a crime scene. "You think you can tease me like that and get away with it? Well, two can play that game..."

Shedding his overcoat, he walked back over to the deceased and stood with his hands on his hips, knowing it would open his jacket in such a way that she might get a view of his shoulder holster, which she usually found quite fascinating. He flexed his muscles a bit as he pointed to the battered violin in the dead man's hand. "So what...he was practicing out here? Where's the bow?"

Brennan paused, stopping to admire her husband's outstanding physique. He was very well structured, and she was certainly looking forward to spending some quality time with him over the weekend, but not without pretending to put up a fight. "I'm not sure. The neighbor didn't report hearing any music...just a loud bang…"

"A loud bang, huh?" Raising an eyebrow suggestively, Booth cast an appreciative glance at his wife. "That sounds interesting...I wonder if there was a lot of moaning to go with that bang…"

Brennan pinched her lips together to keep from laughing out loud. "Not that I'm aware of…" She glanced at the technician, who was pretending not to know what they were talking about. "I'm sure the bow must be around here somewhere…"

"I see. Well, maybe it's in the house. I'll have the techs look for it." Pointing to the splintered wood, he shrugged. "You know, the strings on the violin look pretty worn...he must've been using some stiff strokes on that thing…long, hard, slow, deliberate strokes...he could probably make that baby sing. I bet it felt real good, too, when it was vibrating under his touch...almost like he was making love to it... "

Brennan nodded in agreement. "Yes, I see what you mean. I'm sure that would be a very intense experience..." Exhaling sharply, she waved to another nearby technician. "Agent Booth and I need to leave immediately, so Agent Volker will temporarily be in charge." Turning to the young agent, she gestured at the body. "Make sure they take lots of pictures and collect copious amounts of evidence." She picked up her bag and smiled at her husband. "Are you ready, Booth?"

Ready to claim victory in the battle of the sexes, Booth sauntered over to her. "I'm always ready…"

"Very funny."

They climbed into the SUV and she reached over to put her hand on his thigh. "I'm ready, too. Why don't we crawl into the back seat?"

"Bones!," Booth hissed, shocked at her suggestion. "We can't make love here...not in the driveway of a crime scene…"

She laughed out loud as she winked at him. "In that case, you'd better use the siren on the way home…I'm not sure how much longer I can wait..."

"Oh yeah…well then, let's vamoose!" He quickly put the truck in reverse and turned on the flashing lights and siren. "Virginia, here we come…"

The words I used were valiant, violet, victory, vacation, violin, and victim.

If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it.