Seeing that everyone loved the chapter on Brennan getting jealous, this is the Booth-version. Enjoy!

But before we start, a special thanks to: LoveShipper, 554Laura, kareneb, Lauwy (I'm not sure if I'll write that scene you wanted but yes, more Parker stories are in the works), JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett, GalaxieGurl (thanks for the very insightful and lengthy review, that's why I'm determined my teenage daughter doesn't learn of certain things I did when I was a teen, agree with you on your assessment of Booth), yoshimi0701, gatewatcher, ZinaR, Robin, FaithinBones, jsboneslover, Monique Sampson, conservativegirl, grc73, mendenbar (not bad, I reckon you did something right).

As mentioned, more Parker stories are coming. In the meantime, given the angsty-ness of the latest chapter in my other story, I needed to write some fluff.

Jealous II

Booth hated formal events. He hated dressing up, plastering a fake smile on his face and making small talk with people who thought too highly of themselves. He was a tee shirt and jeans kind of guy. It was bad enough that he had to wear suits to work every day so he disliked it even more when he was forced to wear a tuxedo. The only times he willingly got into one were always because of Brennan.

It was the annual Jeffersonian gala dinner, honouring mainly the institution's patrons. It was mandatory for all staff of the Jeffersonian to attend and since his wife was going, it meant he had to go along too. The night hadn't been all that bad, he got to slow dance with his beautiful wife and snack on expensive hor d'oeuvres. The cocktails hadn't been half bad either.

Brennan had then left him alone as she went on her obligatory rounds to mingle with the Jeffersonian's important guests and he was left to observe her from a distance. His mind recalled the last time they were all dressed up, just before the opening of the Anoch exhibit. It was a bitter-sweet memory. She had looked stunning in her little black dress and he had almost kissed her that night. He remembered that she had been seeing Assistant Director Hacker casually then. That memory made a feeling of unease rise in the pit of his stomach but the feeling was quickly banished when he reminded himself that she had chosen him in the end and he could now kiss her freely whenever he wanted.

Tonight, dressed in a similar black dress, she still looked just as stunning, if not more. It was no wonder she was surrounded by men, all wanting her to pay them attention. Booth wasn't worried, he knew Brennan could hold her own. Those men were mostly nerdy, skinny types with thick glasses or older balding men with beer bellies. He was handsome and in excellent shape. They couldn't possibly hold a candle to him. Booth wasn't worried. Those other guys could only gaze with envy upon what belonged to him.

And then another man came into the fray. He had a blonde buzz cut and a beard that made him look ruggedly handsome. Just like Booth, the tuxedo he was wearing did little to hide the fact that he worked out. And just like Booth, the tux fit the man snuggly in all the right places, accentuating his muscled form and broad shoulders. The other men that were surrounding Brennan looked duly intimidated by his arrival and scattered. No introductions seemed necessary, the man clearly knew Brennan. Booth pulled at the bow tie of his tux uncomfortably. The blonde man cracked a joke and Brennan threw her head back laughing. The unknown man placed a hand on Brennan's arm as the two laughed together. A sensation Booth recognised as jealousy started to grow. He watched as the man leaned in closely to whisper something into Brennan's ear and she smiled back at him in response. The jealousy was now full blown. That smile his wife just flashed was meant only for him. Booth decided he had seen enough and started towards her.

"Oh hi Booth." Brennan greeted her husband as he approached. "This is Dr Chris Emerson. He's an archaeologist who has just joined the Jeffersonian. Chris this is my husband, Seeley Booth."

"Nice to meet you Agent Booth." Chris shook Booth's hand. "Temperance told me you work with the FBI."

Temperance?! Booth forced a smile. He squeezed Chris' hand with more force than necessary. "So, you've worked with Bones before? You guys seem to know each other well."

"Bones?" Chris laughed. "That's real cute." He winked at Brennan. "Yeah Temperance and I met years ago when we were on a dig together in Peru. But that was a long time ago."

"Yes, very long. Before I came to work here."

Booth nodded, not really caring.

"Chris was just reminding me of the time we worked late at the dig site, just the two of us and it rained. We had to take our clothes off and – "

Booth held out his hand. The image of his Bones in her underwear with another man was not a pleasant one at all.

"Look Bones, we gotta go. The sitter called."

"Oh, are the kids alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, she umm, she has a family emergency and needs to go."

"Then we should leave then."

"Yeah, we really should get going."

"I'll see you around Chris." Brennan nodded at Chris.

"Maybe lunch tomorrow?"

"Yes. That would be nice. We can catch up then."

Lunch? Catch up? Booth frowned as he placed his hand on the small of her back, practically pushing her towards the door.

In the car on the way home, Booth knew he had to fess up to Brennan. Once they got home, she would figure out that he had lied.

"Listen Bones, about just now… what I said about the sitter, she doesn't really have a family emergency. I just wanted to get out of there." Booth paused to cast a cautious glance at Brennan. "You mad?"

"You were bored."

"Yeah, something like that."

"I can understand that. I was getting bored too until Chris showed up."

Chris again. He remembered the circumstances under which Brennan had met this Dr Chris Emerson. Jealousy welled up again. It was fine if he had been her ex-lover, but the fact that he seemed so cosy with Brennan now and they were working in the same building didn't sit well with Booth. The story about her and Chris stripping in the rain came back and he tried to banish the images his brain was conjuring up.

"Did you and Chris umm… I mean…" Booth couldn't bring himself to say it. "Were you guys seeing each other?"

"Why?"

"Just curious Bones."

"No. We were merely friends. We were the only Americans on that dig and we had much in common. He's very much like you."

"Right." He remembered Brennan's opinion on sex back theen. It was a means to satisfy biological urges and the fact that they were just friends was no guarantee they hadn't slept together.

"So you guys didn't, you know… hook up?"

"Hook up being the euphemism for sex?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you so intent on knowing - " Brennan was rather clueless when it came to reading people but through the years she had learnt to read Booth very well. "Booth are you jealous of Chris?"

"What me? Nah." Booth tried to shrug nonchalantly.

"You are."

"No, I'm not."

"You clearly are Booth. To put you at ease, Chris and I never had sex. He suggested it back then but we were so busy and after the dig ended I had to hurry back for a teaching assignment. I have no desire to have sex with him now. You should know me better than that. I told you before, you're my home. I would never jeopardise what we have."

Booth sighed. He had managed to upset her.

"Look I'm sorry. About lying about the sitter and about being jealous. It's not that I don't trust you, I know you would never cheat on me, but you're beautiful. A lot of guys see that and sometimes, a woman looks so good, a guy can't help himself. I just hate the thought of you with another guy that's all. And like you said Chris is a lot like me. He probably smarter than me too."

"He is attractive and certainly has a very high IQ."

"You're not helping Bones."

"You didn't let me finish Booth. He is attractive but I have you. And you're clearly more attractive than he is, I have no interest in other men except you."

Booth flashed Brennan a smile, relieved.

… …

The next day, to his dismay, when Booth had texted Brennan to see if she wanted to grab lunch with him, Brennan had replied that she had agreed to go to lunch with Chris. The day after, he found Chris chatting with Brennan in her office when he went to pick her from work.

Brennan was oblivious to a lot of things and what she perceived as innocent friendship, Booth could see that it was an attempt by the handsome archaeologist to woo her. Some men just had no morals. Booth knew it was time for him to step in.

The next morning, he had made a trip to the Jeffersonian with the intent of taking Brennan out to lunch. As expected Chris was sitting on the couch in Brennan's office, while she was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi Dr Emerson." Booth said as he entered Brennan's office.

"Chris."

"Right Chris. What are you doing here? Things kinda slow in your department? No Indiana Jones type things you need to do?"

Chris laughed. "I always make time for Temperance. I was waiting for her to finish her work and see if she wanted to grab some lunch."

Booth offered Chris a cocky smile. "Well you see, lunch with Temperance, that's our thing."

"Maybe it can be our thing instead. Since we work in the same building."

Booth shook his head. "No, no, no. I see what you're doing, even if Bones can't."

"And what exactly am I doing?"

"Look you had your chance with her years ago and you missed it. She's happily married to me now okay? So back off."

"Don't you think it should be up to Temperance to decide if she's happily married?" Chris stood. He was a big man like Booth. The two men squared-up, staring each other down. "These days a ring on the finger doesn't really mean much. People get divorced all the time. She's gonna see I'm a better man than you are, smarter too."

"Just because you maybe work out in the gym, get into shape doesn't mean a thing. I'm in good shape. I work out and take care of how I look, just like you. You know I'm with the FBI but I was with the Rangers too. I was a sniper. A real good one. The people I took out never saw it coming." Booth wasn't proud of his past but he felt that the current circumstance justified the stating of his abilities. He lowered his voice for effect. "They were gone, just like that, with just one shot."

Booth paused to push back his suit jacket, resting a hand on his hip to reveal the gun that was holstered at his left hip . "I'll say it again in case you didn't hear me the first time. Stay away from my wife."

Chris didn't back away but he seemed to have gotten the message. "Pity. Temperance doesn't know what she's missing."

"I'm certainly not missing anything." Brennan's voice suddenly pierced the air.

Busted! Booth groaned inwardly. He hoped Brennan hadn't heard their entire exchange, because she would have definitely gotten angry at him.

"Chris, you're a nice man. But I am happily married as Booth said and I have no feelings of attraction to you whatsoever. Our relationship can never extend beyond friendship."

"I see." Chris conceded. "Well then I'll be taking my leave."

Booth glared at him as he left Brennan's office, before turning back to her. "Look Bones, before you yell at me – "

"Why would I yell at you?"

"Cos you heard everything I said and you're not property to be fought over and you're a strong independent woman who can stand up for herself. You don't need me to stake my claim over you."

"While you're right on all counts, I do find it rather arousing to think that you would challenge another man over me. Historically, men had always fought over women. In Medieval times, the winner of jousting tournaments was usually rewarded with a fair maiden."

Booth quirked a smile, amused. "So you're my fair maiden?"

Brennan smiled back. "Aren't I?"

"And I'm like a knight?" Booth took a step towards Brennan, closing the distance between them.

"Yes."

Booth's grin widened. "And you're not mad at me?" He took another step towards her.

"At first, but not now."

"You find what I did arousing huh?" His face was now inches from hers.

"Yes."

Booth leaned down to press his lips to hers, kissing her softly. As they parted he asked, slightly out of breath, "So are you aroused enough for us to go home and maybe – "

"Have sex? The answer is yes."

Booth beamed at her as he took her hand and pulled her toward the door.

"For the record, I didn't need you to step in Booth. If Chris had made any unwanted advances I could've put him in his place."

"I know. What I wasn't sure about was if you even knew he was making a move on you."

"I would've known."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"I would have."

"Fine, you would have, eventually." Booth placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her out the door. "C'mon, let's get outta here. I'll use the sirens."