Author's Note: Thanks for all the review! Hope this chapter is as well received as the last one...


Angela knew something had happened the moment she saw Booth. Tempe had gotten out of the elevator on their floor so she could gather some extra gloves from her room for the recovery, and Booth had traveled up the last floor to gather Hodgins and Angela. He knocked on the door and Angela instantly threw it opened.

"It's about time you got here…where's Tempe?" She eyed him curiously for a second and then felt a smile erupt across her face.

Booth looked at her with innocence. "She went back to our room to get some gloves. C'mon, we have to go, we have another body."

The mention of another set of remains distracted Angela from her study of Booth for a moment. "Another body? Where?"

"Apparently behind a miniature golf course," Booth said, with a slight shrug.

"Wow, imagine explaining that one to the kids while on vacation…" Hodgins said, standing up from the bed he had been sitting on.

Booth nodded. "They want us to go and help recover it."

"You mean they don't know how to recover it, and they want us to do it for them," Hodgins replied as he stuffed his feet into shoes.

They met Temperance in the lobby, and the sight of her instantly confirmed Angela's suspicions. She surveyed the pair for a quick second. Their hair was mussed, there cheeks were flushed, and both were being extremely careful not to touch or look at one another, but their distance did not suggest anger. They stole fast glances at one another when they thought no one was looking, and they both carried themselves with a kind of false casual confidence, though Angela noted that they both seemed strangely relaxed, like a weight had been lifted. Angela was also slightly amused to note that despite the fact that they were on their way to go package up a dead body, both Booth and Temperance looked as though they were desperately fighting the urge to smile. However, even though they gave it their best shot, Angela still noticed small smiles playing across their faces for the briefest seconds when their defenses slipped.

Angela wanted to squeal in delight; even Hodgins noticed a change in their demeanor, though he was less perceptive in his observation.

"What's up? What are you guys smiling at?" he asked as he and Angela sat in the back seat of the SUV. They had moved the papers to allow them sitting room, and Tempe and Booth were arranged in their usual positions in the front. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Angela swatted his leg. "Ouch, what?"

"Nothing's up," Booth answered. He looked in the review mirror, and catching the skeptical glances from the backseat, he shrugged. "Bones and I just made some progress on the case, that's all."

Angela nodded, unable to suppress her smile. She definitely sure that they had made "progress".

The arrived at the golf course a few short minutes later, which was already surrounded by the flashing lights of police cars and the chattering of people. An officer approached them, and after the usual formalities, they were taken to the body.

It was partially buried behind the golf course, near the trashcans, on the side of the chain link fence opposite from the actual course. The remains were partially decomposed, though they weren't fully skeletal. Temperance surveyed the image before snapping a quick picture of it and preparing to remove it from its resting place. These bones hadn't been here long; it appeared that they had been buried, but that recently an animal had tried to dig them up.

Hodgins was soon by Temperance's side, helping her photograph and recover the remains. Angela looked on with grotesque interest; she wasn't as good at dealing with decomposed bodies as Tempe and Hodgins were, but she was improving. She noted that the victims face had been badly beaten.

Booth glanced at the body and instantly felt sickened. Some bastard did this to a person. They destroyed a human life. He felt rage surge up in him; the scene was appalling. A nearby officer soon approached him.

The officer explained that the remains had been found by an eighteen year old girl who worked at the golf course. She had been taking out some trash when she noticed a terrible smell near the trash cans. At first, the officer explained, she just assumed it was something in the garbage, but since she had heard about the other bodied being found on the refuge, she was curious. She had gotten a flashing light to look around, and had come upon the body.

Booth nodded, instantly feeling sorry for the girl. She would obviously be upset. The officer then explained that the girl had screamed, and several other people who heard her had come out to see what was going on. The girl had fainted, but they soon understood why. They had called the police a few minutes later.

Booth nodded again, stealing a glance at Temperance. She was steadily working on the recovery of the body, snapping pictures and collecting data.

"Hey, Bones," he called out to her.

"Yes?" she answered without looking up, still absorbed in the task at hand.

"I have some people I need to talk to. I'll get one of the officers to give me a ride back to the hotel."

Temperance nodded, glancing up only briefly. "Okay, just give the keys to Angela."

He nodded and handed over the keys. Angela smiled at him as she accepted them. He eyed her strangely, and then glanced briefly in Tempe's direction, as if seeking an explanation. Tempe didn't notice, however, as she was once again absorbed in the body. He looked back at Angela, who winked at him. "Don't worry, Sweetie, if you hurry back, I'm sure she'll wait up for you."

A slightly flush came to Booth's cheeks as he tried desperately to smother the smile that threatened to cover his face at the thought. He did his best to give her an innocent, puzzled look. "Listen, Ange, normally I'd love to stay here and figure out what you're talking about, but right now I've got to go talk to the girl who found the body."

Angela nodded, winking again, before turning away and letting Booth off the hook.


Temperance was, in fact, not awake when Booth returned to the hotel, however. This was not because she hadn't wanted to wait for him, but because he didn't make it back until almost 3:00am. Temperance, Angela, and Hodgins had gotten done around midnight, and after a fast round of questions that Temperance dodged, the three squints had tiredly headed back into the hotel and cleaned up for bed. Temperance stayed up until about 1:30, flipping through channels, trying to find something of interest. The strain of the day won in the end, however, and by the time Booth stumbled in, she was already long gone.

Booth's interviews had gone well, but he had encountered a great deal of trouble with Chincoteague Police. Apparently there was a question of jurisdiction due to the fact that the remains had been found in the state of Virginia with no direct linking between the bones found on the Refuge. Booth was convinced that the killer of the young girl they had found that night was the same person who killed their other victims, but it had been an uphill battle with the local authorities. In the end, he had only gotten his way because he had a forensic anthropologist who could actually do something with the remains that was useful. She would be left to determine of the body had been left by the same sick person who had left the others.

Booth entered the room quietly, his motions covered by the low sounds of the TV which was still on. Booth smiled at the sleeping form of the anthropologist as the flickering lights from the screen danced across her features. She looked so peaceful, angelic. Her breathing was deep and rhythmic, and her hair was gently splayed on the pillow beside her face. She was curled on her side, and blankets covered her to halfway up her upper arm. Booth removed his shoes and changed quickly before clicking the television off and kneeling beside her. His face was level with hers, and he gazed at her tenderly. She took his breath away. Being careful not to wake her, he reached out his hand smoothed the hair away from her face, pushing it so it fell down behind her neck. She moved almost imperceptibly in her sleep as his light touch barely grazed her skin, and he felt himself smile. There were women in the world who spend hours every day trying to make themselves more appealing to men; they agonized over the right thing to say, or to do, they spent ridiculous amount of money on material things, and they were insatiable in their desire to be noticed. And yet, in a world that was a swirling sea of materialism, he realized there was nothing more breathtaking, nothing more erotic, nothing more awe-inspiring than the sight of Temperance Brennan, lying silently like the statue of a goddess, sleeping. He had never known another woman like her; she challenged him, she wasn't afraid of him, and she was fragile and powerful at the same time. She mesmerized him.

His fingers still lingered, barely touching her face, as he thought about her. He leaned forward and softly kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Bones," he whispered. He moved the blankets up cover her, and then circled the bed, crawling in behind her, and soon he fell asleep while steadily inhaling the scent of her hair.


Temperance awoke in the morning to find her limbs tangled with those of a sleeping FBI agent. His arms were securely circling her. 'Protecting me,' she thought. 'Always protecting me.'

She carefully disentangled herself, and then padded quietly to the bathroom where she showered and got dressed. When she came out, he was still sound asleep. She reached out and opened the door with the intent to get them both some coffee, and found herself almost running into Angela's fist, which was raised in the air in preparation to knock.

After getting over the initial shock of nearly being hit in the head, Temperance quietly told Angela to keep her voice down, since Booth was still asleep. Angela peaked into the room and saw that only one bed was made and almost squealed in delight. She grabbed Tempe's arm and dragged her from the room, closing the door behind them as she did so.

"Okay, tell me everything," she said, her eyes shinning.

Temperance looked at her blankly. "About what?"

Angela gave Temperance a once over. "Okay, you didn't have sex, but you kissed and then last night you slept in the same bed. How was it?"

Temperance looked at Angela in surprise. "What did you…how did you…what?"

Angela smiled in a conspiratorial manner. "That amazing, huh?"

Temperance groaned. "I'm not having this conversation," she said as she walked in the direction of lobby.

Angela laughed softly under breath as she followed Temperance. "Yeah," she murmured to herself as she followed her friend. "It was that amazing." Temperance, who didn't hear the statement, did not comment.

Temperance returned to the room a short time later with the coffee. The hotel coffee didn't hold a candle to the coffee from the coffeehouse, but it was a hot beverage nonetheless. Angela had gone back to her own room in an effort to give Tempe and Booth some space.

Booth was up and showered when Temperance came back in.

"Morning," he said with a smile when he saw her.

"Morning," she replied. "What time did you get in last night?" She handed him his cup.

"Mmm, thanks," he replied, taking it from her hands. "Around 3:00. We had some issues with jurisdiction."

"Oh," Tempe replied as they both drank a sip of the coffee. They both put their cups down after the first or second sip; they had become coffee snobs.

They stood for a moment, trying not to look at each other, not really sure what to do. They talked idly for a few minutes about the case.

"Well, I guess we should get ready to go, Hodgins and Angela are probably ready by now," Temperance said.

"Yeah, we should go," Booth agreed, nodding.

Neither of them moved. And then, as if possessed, Booth practically lunged forward and he and Temperance were kissing again.

Temperance responded with similar fervor, and soon they were practically devouring one another in the hotel room. Booth's pulse raced as his hands held her face and her hands fluttered between holding his arms and his sides.

They both needed to breath, but breathing meant that there would be space between them, and so they instead chose to steal gasps of air while practically panting into one another's mouths.

Temperance's mind reeled. A few short days ago she was shocked by the idea of Booth holding her hand; now, they were standing in a hotel room kissing with a passion she had never known before.

They eventually broke contact, not because they wanted to, but because they needed to leave. Temperance grabbed and brush and smoothed her hair back into place while Booth went into the bathroom, smoothing his down with his fingers and splashing cold water on his face. When they left the room, Booth resting his hand on the small of Temperance's back and she felt electricity shoot up her spine.


They met with Angela and Hodgins, got coffee, and headed back to the lab. They worked steadily through most of the morning, and by 11:00 they had their first break of the day.

"I think I found her," Booth said, his voice quiet, as if speaking loudly would scare the image away from his computer screen. Angela, Hodgins, and Temperance were at his side in a moment. "Her name is Lindsey Barron, age 18 when she went missing."

Temperance began going over the bones yet again when Booth began calling out the features from the girl's case file. Everything matched. They had victim number three.

"Lindsey went missing during a smoke break at work. She went outside for a cigarette and never came back in," Booth read from the screen. "Around 2:30 in the afternoon."

"Another one missing in the middle of the day…" Hodgins commented. The other three nodded.

"But here's the real kicker," Booth said. The squints turned to face him. "She lived in Pennsylvania. And that's where she was last seen." His eyes scanned the screen. "No mention of Chincoteague anywhere in her records."

Angela looked up in mild surprise. "If she was listed with Chincoteague, how did you find her records?"

"National archives. Bones thought of it last night," Booth said, his eyes still reading the information.

"So, our killer had ties with the island and Pennsylvania now?" Hodgins asked.

"Or killers. We might be dealing with two different murder investigations," Temperance commented.

"That just happened to have similar bone breaks and just happened to be dumped in the same place? Not likely," Booth replied.

Temperance shrugged. "It may not be probable, but…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, examine all possible angles," Booth replied. He lifted his eyes as a boyish mischief overtook them. "Hey, maybe they were at this party, right? And then…"

His words were cut off by Tempe's condescending gaze. " Ha. Ha. Ha," she said dryly. Booth just grinned.

Booth made the necessary phone calls to have the Barron family informed of their daughter's death, and as he went through the processes of dealing with the FBI and Pennsylvania officials, the squints worked steadily on the other remains.

At 3:30, Angela announced that they had yet another face. This one was for the victim at the miniature golf course; since her remains were not fully decomposed, Angela had and easier time with her face.

They began their now routine search of the records, and soon found that they were coming up empty. A while later, Booth, who desperately wanted to stretch his legs, said that he was going to go get some more files from the car that they hadn't brought in from the night before.

As he routed around in the backseat, gathering the files that had been strewn about, he heard the sound of a cell phone ringing. He recognized that it was Bones', and smiled as he remembered how it had gotten into the backseat of his car. He grabbed it and answered without looking at the ID.

"Bones' phone," he said as he continued to gather papers.

"Um, hi, is Temperance there?"

Booth stiffened at the sound of Brian's voice. "She's busy right now, can I take a message?" he practically growled back. He felt himself grow protective.

Brian's voice was tinged with the same assertive masculinity as Booth's. He didn't like the idea of another man answering his girlfriend's cell phone. "When will she be free?"

"Hard to say. She's working on a case," Booth replied curtly.

Brian sighed, realizing there wasn't anything he could do. "Well, have her call me later when she gets a chance," he said.

"I'll be sure to give her the message," Booth replied, and with that he hung up. He stared at the phone for a moment. He hated that someone else was calling Bones. His Bones. After a moment's hesitation, he opened the "received calls" list and deleted Brian's name. He then dropped the phone into his pocket to return to her as he gathered the files and headed back inside.


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