Here is part of my entry for the Bones Summer Challenge. For this story, I chose to do the following challenge:

Challenge 3 (Revisiting the past):

Pick your favorite episode from each season of the show and then write a story that references something from each one, whether it's a character returning, the team reminiscing or reflecting on a turning point in their lives, a line of dialog, similar case, etc.

I tweaked it a little bit because, like most Bones fans, I can't pick just one favorite episode from each season, so a couple of episodes will be mentioned obliquely in each chapter.

The chapters will probably be posted at random intervals as the mood strikes. I was going to wait until I had more written, but this chapter kept nagging me to publish it, so here we go.

I hope you enjoy my story. I think that as we go through the chapters, my readers will be able to see the overlying theme.

This chapter is set in season 1. If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it. Laura

It had been a long day of traveling, and it wasn't over yet. After a four hour drive from Aurora, Washington, to the Sea-Tac airport, Booth and Brennan were waiting to board the flight that would take them home to DC.

Tired and hungry, Booth grunted in frustration as he checked his phone and then put it back in his pocket. "Dammit…"

"What's wrong, Booth?" Brennan looked up from her book and watched as he dug around in his carry on to find his snacks. "Don't you have any service?"

"Oh, I've got service...all the bars are lit up all nice and bright, see?" He held out the phone where his partner could see it. "That's not the problem." Seeing her concern, he gave her a dismissive wave. "Don't worry about it...it's not a big deal…"

"I disagree. You've checked your phone approximately every five minutes for the last hour. Obviously something about your phone is bothering you." She shrugged as she turned back to her book. "However, if you don't wish to discuss it, that's fine. I just thought that I could help. After all, you've told me several times that partners share things...that it builds trust...but I wouldn't want to intrude…"

Booth rolled his eyes as he grumbled to himself. Of course she'd remember what he'd said when they first began working together. He hadn't quite gotten used to the fact that she could remember practically everything he'd said word for word. He knew if he wanted her to trust him, he'd have to follow through...he'd have to tell her what was going on. Clearing his throat, he stared at his phone. "I was just hoping that Tessa had called me, that's all."

Brennan's brow furrowed as she studied Booth. "You haven't heard from her at all this past week?" Closing her book, she thought through the situation. "Perhaps we were out of cellular telephone range while we were in Aurora. I had to use my portable antenna to access the internet..."

"Maybe...but she didn't leave any messages at the hotel for me, either. I sent her a text as soon as we got there, but I guess she ignored it." Booth grimaced slightly as he checked the phone again. "She's mad at me…"

"Oh." Unsure of what to say, Brennan stared at the book on her lap. "I'm sorry…"

"Yeah...it's no big deal. She'll get over it." Booth sat back in his seat and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before turning to Brennan, watching as she reopened her book. He had to admit...Dr. Brennan was quite a beautiful woman, and in some respects, he could see why Tessa might be jealous, but still…

Finally the silence between them seemed heavy with things unsaid, and he decided to clear the air. "So...here's the deal. Remember when I took out that terrorist at that conference? And it was a pretty intense situation, so afterwards we went for a drink, right? Well, Tessa was unhappy that I was so late getting home...I hadn't called her to tell her where I was…"

"...and she was worried about you." Brennan looked up from her book. "Just as I suspected. That seems to be a perfectly normal reaction. After all, she cares for you…"

"Yeah, but it was more than her not knowing where I was. She wanted to know who I'd been with and what we'd been doing...what we'd talked about...where we had gone...it was like she didn't trust me, and it kinda bugged me. I mean, I don't ask her about everything she does at her job."

Booth hesitated slightly as he noticed how intensely blue Brennan's eyes were...they were striking. Maybe that was the problem. The partners who ran the law firm where Tessa worked were both bald, pudgy men in their late fifties. It would never occur to him to be jealous of those guys. Brennan, on the other hand, was beautiful.

His random thoughts were interrupted as she spoke again. "Why didn't you just tell here what you were doing? You were having a drink with your partner after completing a difficult assignment. After all, that was the truth. There's nothing complicated about that."

"I did tell her that, and she wanted to know why she hadn't been invited to come along, but, you know...it was a spur of the moment thing, remember? We hadn't planned it...we just went to Sid's so I could decompress some before I went home. Taking out that guy like I did...I needed to come down from the stress." He cringed as he remembered the argument that had ensued when he finally got home. Tessa wanted to know all the tiny little details, but Booth couldn't bring himself to describe exactly how he'd nailed the bad guy in the forehead in a crowded building...she just wouldn't understand that...not like Bones did. Dinner that night had been silent...Tessa was withdrawn, upset that he'd had to kill someone. It had made him feel so awkward. He was uncomfortable with having to tell her about it, knowing that she wouldn't realize how much it bothered him as well.

Maybe that was the difference...Bones rarely made him uncomfortable when it came to his work. She accepted him without judgment, and it was refreshing...he could tell her anything...

Stretching slightly as he shifted in his seat, he continued. "Anyway...when she found out I was going to be taking this trip with you, and that she wasn't invited, she was really annoyed with me. She wanted to know everything we'd be doing, but, you know...I had no idea of what all this investigation would entail…but I knew we wouldn't have time to do anything fun while we were here, because I'd be working..."

"You mean you didn't know we'd be doing things like scooping up bear feces or tracking forest rangers who eat bear meat or dancing in a noisy bar so we could interrogate suspects…"

"Yeah...I guess." He couldn't help but smile when he remembered how cute Brennan had looked when they were dancing. "The point is this...I don't think I should have to explain everything that me and you do together while we're on a case. I think she should trust me...she should know that I wouldn't do anything inappropriate because I'm committed to her…besides, all this case stuff would be boring for her, right? Why would she want to know all of that?"

Brennan turned a page in her book. "Perhaps she wants to understand your work in a more intimate way. Anthropologically speaking, the identity of most men is tied to their career and how successful they are at that career. More successful men have a higher status in society. Tessa may be trying to relate to you better, that's all. She probably wants to encourage you so you'll become more successful."

"But I shouldn't have to tell her every little thing. What goes on in a case should be just ours, right?" He paused slightly. Maybe he was being selfish, but he had no desire to tell Tessa everything that happened when he was working with Brennan. There were things that happened between them that his girlfriend just wouldn't understand. Their discussions about life, religion, philosophy...little tidbits about their pasts that they'd shared with each other...how they felt about various things...Tessa would think it was weird, when, instead, it was just a part of their work relationship. He and Brennan spent a lot of time together, and it was natural that they'd become close, right? "I think she just needs to mind her own business. She doesn't need to know all the gory details."

"Unfortunately, that attitude may come across as uncaring as far as she is concerned. It's my understanding that open communication between partners is imperative if a relationship is to flourish." She gave him a sidelong glance as she put her book away. "Tessa may feel as if you're hiding something from her, and that probably hurts her feelings."

"Maybe so, but it kinda hurts my feelings that she hasn't called me. I don't like getting the silent treatment when I haven't actually done anything wrong." Grumbling softly, he put his phone back in his pocket. "I think she's overreacting…'

Brennan sighed as she shook her head. The solution was so simple, but Booth was a stubborn man. "You could call her, you know…"

"Yeah, I could, but I'm not the one who had a tantrum because someone had to go on a trip for work." Booth's complaint was interrupted by the gate agent's announcement that their plane was ready to board.

They quickly found their seats and got situated as the flight attendants bustled down the aisle. Brennan took out a notebook and looked through their case notes. "It's hard to imagine that our perpetrator is a cannibal…"

"I know, right?" Leaning back in his seat, he stared out the small window. It was hard to picture himself telling Tessa that they'd arrested a cannibal after looking through bear poop in the remote Washington forest, and he wondered how she'd react when he told her that the crazy doctor had eaten the heart of one of the victims, and that the other victim had been identified from a tattoo on a skin fragment.

In fact, he thought it might be funny to tell her that, just to see what she'd say, but he knew Tessa wouldn't believe that wild story and then she'd be mad at him all over again for teasing her, even though he'd be telling her the absolute truth. She just didn't get it...a lot of things like that happened to him and Bones for some reason. Between the two of them, they'd already solved some pretty crazy cases.

Closing his eyes, he sighed softly. Although he'd never tell his partner, he'd come to suspect that Tessa wasn't as interested in his work as who he was working with. His girlfriend was jealous of Brennan, pure and simple.

However, that didn't change how he felt about his partner. The work they did together was special...too special to be dissected by a needy girlfriend. He and Brennan were becoming a great team, and close friends. He'd worked too hard to gain Brennan's trust and there was no way he was gonna backtrack just because his girlfriend was jealous of her. There was no way he was going to give up on this partnership now that they'd hit their stride.

Nodding to himself, he made a decision about working with Brennan. He was going to make sure that whatever happened during their partnership would remain theirs, no matter what Tessa thought about it.

As long as he worked with Brennan, he'd work to maintain her trust. He wouldn't allow everything they knew about each other to become common knowledge.

What was theirs would be theirs alone.