We're back in DC and things are about to heat up for our favorite couple...
"The plan is simple, really." Carrying a large shopping bag early on Monday morning, Brennan scanned her ID card as she entered the Hoover's lobby, waited patiently as the guard looked over the packages within the bag, and then made her way to the mailroom. "I'll ask to have this parcel taken up to Booth's office and then leave. That way I won't have to worry about any awkward chance encounters with him, and Parker will still receive his gifts from me. Excellent…I'm glad I thought of it."
As she stepped up to the mailroom counter, however, she realized she'd forgotten to consider one major, very annoying, obstacle. "Oh...good morning, Holly…"
"Dr. Brennan! Good morning? How are you?" Flipping her blonde ponytail over her shoulder, Holly looked up in surprise at her visitor. "I haven't seen you around here lately, but I suppose that's because you've been so busy, what with it being the Christmas season and all, right? I get that, you know...I mean, I was just telling my friend Maxine about how I'm up to my eyeballs in packages to wrap, and I have to take Mama shopping this evening so she can get her Christmas chores taken care of, too, plus I have to take my dog Jojo to the groomers. He hates the groomers, but he has to go...he looks like such a raggedy little hairball if he doesn't go on a regular basis. He's gonna get one of those razor cuts like they give to Yorkies sometimes...I mean, he's a Silky terrier, but I don't think it'll make any difference under his sweater. I mean, I know the difference but a lot of people think all little long haired dogs look the same. Anyway, I got him the cutest little Christmas sweater…it's got little elves on it...and it has a hat to go with it..."
Clearing her throat loudly, Brennan finally interrupted the clerk's aimless chatter. "Excuse me, Holly, but I'm in somewhat of a hurry." The anthropologist put the bag up on the counter. "I need this parcel delivered to Special Agent Booth's office today."
Grinning happily, the buxom young woman nodded eagerly. "Oh yes, ma'am. Right away! You can count on me! In fact, I'll take it up myself personally, just as soon as we're through here. Just sign here, please…" After checking the signature line, the clerk picked up the bag and put a label on it. "I tell you what...I don't mind going up to see Special Agent Booth one bit...no siree, not one little bit. He's a fine looking man, isn't he? And those shoulders…so broad...and that cute little tushy..." Holly stopped and pretended to fan herself. "I mean, he is one hot dude…I've had some wicked hot fantasies about him, you know? A lot of us girls down here in the mailroom have...we fight over who gets to deliver stuff to him, you know...but I have seniority, and I usually win...I mean, going up to see that man is well worth fighting for...he's a hottie..."
Astonished by Holly's gushing praise of Booth's physique, Brennan arched an eyebrow at her in amazement. "So I take it that you think Agent Booth is attractive?"
"Oh, God...who doesn't? Yes ma'am, Dr. Brennan...he is one hot property, if you know what I mean…that man is definitely one studly dude." Holly's face took on a dreamy expression. "He's so well built, and his smile...well, his smile is to die for, what with those dimples and all...and he's so...so...you know...so macho. He's a guy who knows how to be in charge, right? A real man's man..." Leaning over the counter, she winked at Brennan before lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "C'mon, Dr. Brennan...I know you must've noticed it, too. After all, you're his partner, right? You know how hot he is...how manly he is...how...how...sexy he is...I mean, he's to die for, am I right?"
Somewhat disconcerted by Holly's raptures over Booth, Brennan nodded cautiously. "Yes…I'll have to admit...he's very attractive. He does have remarkable facial symmetry...however, we're simply colleagues, Holly, so it's not really appropriate for me to comment on that..."
"Oh...yeah...right. Strictly professional. Right. Whatever you say. I get it. Can't have everyone at the FBI thinking that you've got the hots for Agent Booth, right?" Holly chuckled as she gave Brennan a thumbs up, accompanied by a broad wink. "So tell me, Dr. Brennan, just between us girls...have you ever seen him without a shirt? I bet his pecs are amazing, aren't they? And I bet he has a six pack to die for, right? Man, I'd like to see that for myself..." She stuck out her tongue as if she was panting. "Yeah, baby…I've imagined running my fingers over those muscles, alright. It'd definitely put me in the mood, you know? Whoa, baby..."
Still unsettled by Holly's exuberant appreciation of Booth's sex appeal, Brennan tried to ignore the clerk's comments. "Well, he usually wears an undershirt, so…but, as I said, it's really not appropriate for us to discuss Agent Booth's physical attributes like this. He and I have a strictly professional relationship, so..."
"An undershirt? Oh my God? That's even better! I can just imagine him in a snug white tee shirt that shows off the muscles in his chest and his arms...whoa…" Licking her lips, Holly winked at Brennan, again. "I imagine that'd be some nice scenery…and boy, would I like to take in the view..."
"Yes, it is very nice, and I can say with certainty that he has perfect acromia, and his arms are very well muscled.," Brennan admitted, smiling to herself as she remembered collecting evidence from his clothing after the Santa Claus explosion the previous year. "However...we really shouldn't discuss Agent Booth as if he was merely a sex object."
"Oh, I don't know why not…" Holly shrugged, obviously annoyed at being corrected. "I'm sure the guys in this building talk about us girls like that." Her expression soon changed to a sly smile. "C'mon, Dr. Brennan...please? Give me a little hint, just between you and me...kind of like a little Christmas gift. I swear, it won't go any further, okay? He's got a gorgeous body, right? You said he had great arms, so what about the rest of him? Man, I'd like to feel those arms around me..."
Suddenly Brennan's memory flashed back to the time when she'd gone to see Booth in his apartment after the FBI had faked his death. She could still clearly recall everything about that moment...how she'd charged into his bathroom...how he'd risen from the bathtub like a Greek god rising out of the sea...how he appeared to tower over her...the rippling, well defined muscles of his torso...the muscular thighs...the droplets of water streaming down his body...all of that bronze skin...how she got an eyeful of everything….
"Yes, well…" Coughing nervously, Brennan offered up a tight smile as she tried to maintain her composure. "Please make sure Agent Booth gets this package today, Holly. Thank you."
"My definite pleasure, ma'am." Holly waved as she shouldered the bag so she could run her very pleasant errand. "Merry Christmas…"
"And to you, too."
As she left the mailroom, Brennan sighed softly as she considered what had just occurred. She was quite surprised when she realized that she was furious with Holly for not only noticing, but also for so blatantly commenting on the fact that Booth was such a handsome man.
"Booth is a handsome man!," she said to herself in a defensive tone. "It's something that would be obvious to any heterosexual woman. It's unrealistic to think that women could ignore that about him. Of course, he's desirable...so why does it bother me that Holly said something about it? It's not like she could ignore it...with his symmetry and his well structured physique, most women would instinctively consider him a good candidate for breeding purposes. Why do I care about that? It's simply basic anthropology..."
Ever the scientist, she ruminated on the question for a minute or two, and the answer was soon obvious to her. "As an alpha female, I must consider Booth, the alpha male, to be mine...and a part of my territory...which is ridiculous! We don't have that sort of relationship! We're work partners, nothing more. I have no right to be annoyed with Holly's lusting after Booth...it's a perfectly normal female reaction to an attractive man…and yet, it appears that somehow I've formed an attachment of a more intimate emotional, and most likely, sexual nature with him...as if I want him for my mate, which is, of course, extremely impractical, given our current situation..."
She was so consumed by her thoughts of Booth that she didn't pay much attention to the man standing beside her until he spoke to her.
"Bones? What are you doing here?"
"Booth! Oh…" The vision of him rising out of the bathtub filled her brain again, and she felt herself blushing as she realized her body was instinctively responding to his virile masculinity. She couldn't help but notice the acceleration of her pulse rate, but she tried to ignore it, hoping to appear calm. "Um...hi."
"Hi." He inhaled sharply as she looked up at him with those beautiful blue eyes. "So...what's up?"
"Oh…" This was just the awkward meeting she had hoped to avoid, and yet here she was, engaged in just such a meeting. "I had to drop something off at the mailroom."
"I see…" His brows knit in confusion as he considered her explanation. "Is it case related?"
"Um...no." She shifted from one foot to another nervously, wondering if he knew about the effect his male pheromones were having on her respiration rate and body temperature. "I have to go…"
"Okay…" He watched her stride away and then jogged to catch up with her. "Hey, do you have time for a cup of coffee?"
She had the time, but was this how she wanted to spend it? Did she want to endure the awkward pauses and emotional upheavals that had rebuilt the wall between them over the past six months?
It didn't take long before her body's instinctive responses to him goaded her into an answer.
Seeing his pleading eyes, she exhaled slowly. "Sure. Let's go get a cup of coffee..."
Thanks for reading. If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it. Laura.