Thank you for all of the encouraging reviews. For the folks who don't like that B & B aren't in every chapter, I'm sorry that bothers you but I write what I want to write. Asking me to add them to every chapter in every review isn't going to change that. Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you don't like my story, you have the option to stop reading it or enjoy the other multiple characters making appearances. I appreciate all my fans, but I'm not going to change storylines to make one reader happy.

I do have stand alone chapters coming that may tickle your fancy more, but they come when they come.

Okay, no more author notes. Let's get back to reading...

Aubrey and Jessica spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon together having fun in his bedroom, celebrating their renewed acquaintance in between snacking on a DiAngelo's pizza they had delivered in for a late lunch. Finally, he walked Jessica to her Jeep parked outside around 7:00 PM.

Taking his hand, Jessica looked up at him. "I'm glad we spent today together, Aubrey."

He kissed her hand. "Me, too. We have a lot of things to sort out and things to rebuild, but…this is good for us."

"It is. We're still good with not telling everyone, right?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah. I want to keep…whatever we have right now, between us. Like I said, I will probably tell Booth soon, but I trust him not to say anything."

"So do I. I don't want to hear everyone's opinions right now, Aubrey." The redhead squeezed his hand. "Wherever we end up, I want to do it because we do it. Just us, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah I agree." Aubrey felt the wind begin to blow harder. "You should get home, Jess. They say we're supposed to get up to six inches of snow."

"Okay." Jessica got in the vehicle, started it up, and rolled down the window. "How about you come over tomorrow afternoon? You can grab us some Winkleman's for lunch and we can talk some more about stuff."

"As long as we're not snowed in, that sounds great, Jess." He kissed Jessica through the window. "See you tomorrow. Text me when you get home."

"I will. Bye, Aubrey…"

He watched her slowly drive away back to her apartment. Feeling the chill, Aubrey headed back inside. Lying down on his couch, he thought over his wonderful day until there was a knock on his door. "Who on earth would be out in this weather? Hopefully it's not Jessica with car trouble."

Getting up, he looked through his Judas Hole and groaned. He debated on whether to ignore the visitor but decided to be an adult. Opening the door, he greeted his guest, who was holding a box in one hand and the other hand holding what looked like a container of coffee.

"Karen, what can I do for you?"

"Can I come in?" Karen saw the reluctance on his face. "Please? I brought donuts and coffee."

"All right." Holding the door for her, he led her inside the building and into his apartment. "What brings you here, Karen?"

"A peace offering." The profiler set the stuff down on the small dining room table. Turning around, she fidgeted her hands. "Um, I don't know where to start…"

"Start at the beginning, Karen." Aubrey said, more abruptly than he intended.

"Okay…" the profiler exhaled and then began to speak. "I'm sorry…for being a pain…for being mean…for just…everything that I did. I just…I love you, Aubrey. I've been crazy about you since that day I saw you in the hospital room. There was just…something about you, you know? I just wanted your attention, so I worked to get it any way I could. Stealing your burger…lobbying to be the profiler on your cases…whatever. I didn't want to notice that you were avoiding me, especially when I would see you around with Jessica. I figured she was just some fling you were having and that you would tire of her immaturity eventually."

"Jessica's immaturity?" Aubrey crossed his arms. "That's rich."

"Yeah, I guess I deserved that." Brushing snow out of her hair, she didn't miss the look of irritation on Skinner's face as he watched her from the living room. "I see Skinner is his lovely, cheerful self with me…"

"Karen…"

"Sorry. As I was saying, I did put you in a spot that day in Booth's office when I asked you out for coffee and I was a brat when you backed out of our date because you were seeing Jessica. When I got back from Kansas City, I was having a bad time and…I decided that I was going to have what I wanted for once in my life…which was you."

Karen grabbed her scarf and wringed it in her hands. "It amazed me that Jessica tried to be my friend. Honestly, I thought she was just doing it to keep her eye on me and I resented the fact that you two were so…natural and fun together. You were always friendly with me but not as easygoing as you were with her. I should have accepted that you two were together, but instead, I abused my friendships with both of you to find your weaknesses because…I wanted you."

"I see." Aubrey replied. Seeing Karen had more to say, he nodded. "Go on."

"I'd also noticed how close you and the lab were to each other and I wanted to be part of that so badly, so I pushed…and pushed. When it wasn't enough, I pushed harder and played dirty, like getting Cam and Dr. Vaziri a wedding present so she would give me a wedding invitation. Of course, my plans to flirt with you went to crap when you got all wastie face and were there with Jessica."

"Yeah, because she was my girlfriend, Karen."

"Of course. You know, when you first came to me about the LA offer, the right thing would have been to tell you to talk to Jessica right away, but I didn't. When you brought up being torn about asking Jessica to join you, I should have told you that with her program, she probably wouldn't have been able to join you instead of pushing you to ask her. Can I sit down at the table?"

When Aubrey nodded affirmatively, she pulled out the chair and sat. "When you two broke up, I saw my chance, but you…were a difficult nut to crack. I kept telling myself that Jessica was just a fling for you and that Jessica only saw you as a fling, but I knew better. Once she was gone…I pushed slowly and then finally, we got together. After we slept together, I chose to ignore you when you said you weren't ready for an exclusive relationship, so I talked myself into believing you were afraid of another commitment and if I just pushed you enough, you would come around. Of course, all I did was frustrate myself when you wouldn't play along, which made me jealous and insecure."

Aubrey was wary but gestured for her to continue. "Good to know."

"I didn't want you to think about Jessica…or anyone to for that matter. It was always like, 'Jessica this, Jessica that', you know? I was so jealous that I tried to make people not like her, including you. I figured that if I continued to be pushy enough, you would give in and that the group would accept me instead of her." Karen gave a sad smile. "Then she came back, and she was always around. When she kept hanging around no matter what I did, I became even more of a jealous shrew. I just wanted them to be my friends instead of hers, that's all, but all I did was drive everyone away."

"You're saying all the right things here, but you're forgetting something." Aubrey held onto the back of the other chair and completed his thought. "Jessica did nothing to you but try to be your friend, Karen. No pretenses, no ulterior motive. The fact you took her friendship and not only threw it back at her, but also plotted behind her back doesn't sit well with me. You know that, right?"

"I get that. I do owe her an apology. I tried to go by her apartment earlier, but she wasn't home." Karen shrugged. "I'll try her again when I get back."

"That's a good idea, Karen." Aubrey responded before realizing what she'd said. "'Get back?' Where are you going?"

"Jake Tanner called this morning and asked me to head out to Seattle to consult with their field office. I was going to go today, but with the snowstorm, my flight was delayed until late tomorrow afternoon." Karen got up. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for being so nasty. You made me do a lot of thinking last night and I realized that I don't want to be that person anymore. We both deserve better, don't you think?"

Aubrey still couldn't believe how conciliatory Karen was. He wondered if she was feeding him a line, but she seemed genuine. "Yeah, I guess we both do."

"Good." Karen got up and closed her coat. "Well, I'm going to leave so I don't wear out my welcome. Enjoy the coffee and donuts, Aubrey. Maybe I'll see you around, huh?"

The agent watched her head out and stopped her. "Karen…wait." When she turned around, he inched closer. "Listen, I know it's beginning to snow, but how about you stick around for a cup of coffee before you go? A good donut and coffee is usually better shared with a friend, don't you think?"

The profiler couldn't believe her luck. "Really?"

Aubrey could see the genuine shock and relief in her eyes. Coming around to pull the other chair out, he gestured with his hand. "Come on, sit down for a few minutes and tell me about your case in Seattle."

"Okay." Karen took off her coat and sit down. Accepting the cup of coffee from Aubrey, she took it gratefully. "Thanks, Aubrey."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Jessica braved the blowing snow before walking into Founding Fathers, clearing the snow off her hair. Heading up to the bar, she saw her favorite bartender. "Hey Mike, is it all right to put in a small takeout order? I've got the munchies."

"Yeah. You picked a good time because we may close in a while due to the weather. What's your pleasure, tonight?"

Fifteen minutes later, Jessica was enjoying a beer as she waited for her order. Realizing Aubrey might get worried, she sent him a quick message.

Stopped at FF for some munchies b4 heading home. Will let u know when I get there.

Aubrey's answer had her intrigued. Have unexpected company. Will TTU abt it l8r. Keep me posted & drive safe.

She smiled as she remembered their day together. A nice sunny morning down at the Reflecting Pool as they talked and argued…followed by an afternoon full of hot and amazing lovemaking. Then a promise to take things at their own speed. Yes, today was turning out to be a good day.

"Hey, Jessica. Fancy meeting you around here."

Remaining calm, she turned and saw Adam standing there with a drink in his hand. "Adam, how are you?"

"Not bad." the intern smiled. "You know, it's a cold night tonight."

Jessica sipped her ale. "Yes, it is. What's your point?"

"My point is, there's a lot of snow coming tonight and you're going to need a place to go." Adam sat down next to her and gave her a feral stare. "How about coming home with me tonight? I'm willing to let bygones be bygones and we can keep each other warm if you know what I mean."

'Really?' Jessica rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not that cold. Why don't you call up your fuck friend if you're lonely? I'm sure she's free tonight."

Frustrated, the blonde leaned against the bar. "Come on Jessica…I'm free…you're free and easy…and your Feeb Aubrey isn't around. You know, we could be good together. It's just a fuck…no commitments or feelings."

Mike came out with her food and after paying, she finished off her beer. "No thanks, Adam. I have better prospects at home tonight involving me with a good book and riding out this snowstorm. Good night."

Adam got up from the bar stool and stared her down. "You keep playing hard to get and one day I won't be around, Jessica."

"Okay, good to know." Jessica called back as she walked out of the bar with her bag. Getting in her vehicle, she set her food in the other seat and started up her vehicle for home.

"I'll never settle for you, Adam Levinson. I've got James Aubrey."