Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, they were great! As far as this chapter goes, let me warn you now, I've been reading your reviews and a lot of you aren't going to like this one. Seriously. You're going to freak out and write me mean reviews. But it's okay; I'm ready for it. Go ahead, scream, yell, threaten my life, whatever. As long as you don't follow through on anything, we'll all be fine. I mean, after all, if you kill me, you'll never know what happens, will you:-) Enjoy...


Booth stepped out to make the necessary calls about Sandra Hall a few minutes later. Someone would be sent to alert her parents, and the file on her would be updated. After he left the room, Angela, Hodgins, and Temperance set about the task of gathering up all pertinent evidence on Sandra. It would be catalogued, and eventually Sandra's remains would be returned to her parent's for burial. First, however, they would be sent back to the Jeffersonian. Temperance phoned Zach and informed him that the remains were coming; since the body was not fully skeletal, they would attempt to take DNA samples. Not only would this provide them with a completely positive ID, they also could get lucky enough to get something on her killer.

Zach assured Dr. Brennan that he would gather the samples, and also told her that everything at the Jeffersonian was going smoothly. Temperance off-handedly asked how things were going with Meg, and Zach replied that they were going very well. The earnestness of his voice was almost enough to make Temperance laugh; it was as if he were speaking about a class as opposed to outings to pick up girls.

Temperance clicked off her cell phone and dropped it into her pocket, turning her attention back to the remains. "Zach said he'd get the samples for us, so all we have to do now is package the body. We can have it sent out tomorrow."

Hodgins nodded in response as Temperance's phone impatiently began to ring. Tempe's eyes were still on the bones when she answered, and she didn't bother to look at the ID before saying, "Brennan."

"Hey, Honey, how's everything going down there?"

The sound of Brian's voice caught Tempe off guard. "Hey," she replied, as she turned and walked out of the room. She passed Booth on her way, as he was walking back in. She didn't meet his gaze as she passed. "Everything's going fine. We're making progress."

"That's great," Brian said. "So, does that mean you'll be coming home soon?"

"Yeah, I guess it does," Tempe replied. Her thoughts strayed to Booth. When she went back to D.C., she would be forced to deal with the reality of what was happening between them.

Brian was quiet for a beat. "You don't seem happy about that."

"Hmm? Oh, no, I am," Temperance replied, her brain snapping back to the conversation at hand. "I'm just distracted, I guess. Trying to figure out what's going on with the case, that's all."

"Oh," Brian answered. "So…the case is going well, though? You're closing in on whoever it is?"

Temperance explained about the lack of continuity in the victims, forgetting for a moment that she wasn't talking to Booth. Brian was quiet, listening.

"So, there's no apparent profile? Other than the fact that their young, I mean."

"No. None that I can find, anyway. It's almost as if someone just…randomly picked these kids. I don't know." Tempe sighed in frustration. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe they were just randomly picked," Brian offered. "Maybe the killer just…liked them. I mean, they were all attractive kids. Maybe he was just a sexual predator."

Temperance was quiet for a beat. "How did you know they were all attractive?"

"You described them as attractive."

"I did?"

"Tempe…are you okay? You don't seem real plugged in here."

Temperance was quiet for a second. Had she described the victims as attractive? She couldn't remember. She also couldn't figure out why it bothered her so much. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said again. "I guess I'm just hypothesizing. Booth must have gotten into my head." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them.

"Oh," Brian said, quietly. "Booth. Right." There was a beat of silence that Temperance didn't fill. "Speaking of Booth," Brian continued, his voice sounding as though he were practically grimacing every time he said the FBI agent's name, "why didn't you ever call me back? I was starting to get a little worried."

Temperance thought back to the conversation she had with Brian when she blew him off at the hotel. It seemed as though it had happened a million years ago. "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. I meant to call, but then I got so wrapped up in the case, I guess time just got away from me." 'Oh, yeah, and I was also making out with my work partner,' she mentally added.

"Oh, right. I understand," Brian answered. His voice sounded a bit relieved, though Temperance wasn't sure why. He laughed slightly. "I'm sorry."

Temperance was confused. "Why?"

"For getting jealous. I mean, I'll admit, after I talked to Booth yesterday, I was worried he wouldn't give you the message. That's mostly why I called today, if you want to know the truth. I know it's stupid, but I just…I like you a lot, Tempe. I guess I was just afraid I was going to lose you." He spoke honestly, without even a hint of guile in his voice.

Temperance was frozen. Booth had answered her phone yesterday? And spoken to Brian? "It's not stupid, Brian," she said, not wanting him to know that he had been right about what had happened. "It was my fault. I just got distracted, that was all." Booth hadn't told her that Brian had called. Booth didn't want her to know that Brian had called. "Hey, listen, I have to go. I'll call you back tomorrow or something, okay?"

"Sure," Brian answered, sounded relaxed and normal. "Talk to you later, Honey."

Temperance grimaced. The terms of affection were getting old. And fast. "Talk to you later." She clicked off her phone and headed back inside.

Angela looked up when she entered. "Everything okay back at the Jeffersonian?" she asked.

"Yeah," Tempe answered. "That was just Brian."

Booth's head snapped up, and Temperance looked over at him. Angela surveyed them both with interest. "What did he want?" Booth asked, his voice a bit more rough than he would have liked.

"To talk to me." Temperance's voice was like ice, and the tone surprised Angela.

"Sweetie, is everything okay?"

Temperance turned to look at Angela, and her tone softened. "Yeah, everything's fine." She turned to face Booth. "Can I talk to you outside for a minute?'

Her tone was not threatening, but somehow this didn't comfort Booth. She was too calm. "Sure," he said, standing up. He followed her outside.

She stood, looking at the ground, with her arms crossed in front of her, holding onto her upper arms. She looked cold, even though it was a brutally hot summer's day. She sighed. "Why?"

"Why what?" Booth asked.

She looked up at him. Her tone was still soft. "Don't. We both know what I'm talking about. I want to know why."

Booth didn't know what to say. As he stood silently, he looked away from Tempe, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shift her gaze back to the ground and give a slight nod. "Listen, Bones…"

She put her hand up to stop him, her eyes still not meeting his. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, and sighed loudly. He didn't know what to do; her silence bewildered him.

What she did next confused him even more. She step forward and reached out, gentle touching his chest. Her eyes were still cast downward, and as he stared at her, she lifted her head without warning, and captured his lips.

His hands instantly flew to her back, clutching her, pulling her close. Her hands, which were still on his chest, slowly snaked up to his face, her fingers lightly grazing his jaw line. His tongue fought with hers as if the furry and anger that should have been shouted seconds before was now being expressed. His hand moved and his fingers burrowed into her hair, grasping at her, somehow knowing that this was too good to be true.

Temperance felt herself melt. She felt Booth's chest and arms, hard with muscle, pressing against her and hold her tightly. She felt his hands on her, pressing and moving firmly but with careful respect. Her knees felt weak. She never wanted to stop; she felt her control begin to fade away, and she quickly tried to step back, trying to regain her composure.

He kept his arms firmly on her, preventing her from moving away. He rested his forehead against hers and looked at her as her gaze remained pointed at the ground. "Bones…" he said, his voice low and filled with emotion. She shook her head to stop him, and careful removed herself from his grasp. She resumed her earlier stance, her hands resting on her upper arms.

"How can I trust that, Booth?" her voice was quiet and devoid of apparent emotion.

Booth stared at her, perplexed. "What?"

She looked up and allowed her gaze to meet his then. Her eyes were empty, hollow, and she looked at him with cool detachment, as if she hadn't been kissing him only moments before. "Tell me why you didn't give me the message."

Booth sighed. "Listen, Bones…"

She cut him off. "Why did you feel you had the right not to tell me?"

"Bones…"

"Why did you believe you had the right to answer my phone in the first place?"

"Bones!"

"How did you see it as your place to interfere in my personal life?"

"Bones, stop it, liste…"

"What gave you the right to withhold information about my life from me!"

"BONES!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she practically screamed. She dropped her gaze back to the ground, and they both stood in silence for a moment.

After a short time, Temperance spoke. Her voice was quiet again. "You had no right."

Booth was frustrated now, and this frustration fueled his speech. "I had no right! I had no right! Need I remind you of what has been going on with us for the past two days? Do you remember any of that? No? Well then let me refresh your memory by reminding you of what happened TWO MINUTES AGO! And now you say I have to right to be involved in your personal life!"

"I'm dating Brian. You know that. What has happened in the past two days hasn't changed that." Her voice was hard and unyielding, punctuating every word.

Booth was stunned. "No. You're not. You're not his. You're mine." He instantly regretted his choice of words when he saw her reaction.

"I'm yours? I'M YOURS? No, Agent Booth, I am not yours, and I am not Brian's! No one owns me, and I am perfectly capable of handling my own life!"

"Then why are you still seeing that jerk!" he shouted back.

"It is not your place to decide who I should and should not date!"

"He isn't good enough for you!"

"What!"

"You can do better than him!"

"You mean you, Booth? You're better than him!"

"Yes, damn it! At least I appreciate you!"

Temperance stared at him, shaking her head. "No. You lied to me."

Booth sighed angrily. "Okay. Fine. I forgot you the message. That makes me a terrible human being!"

"I checked my received calls when you gave me my phone back to make sure I hadn't missed any calls from the Jeffersonian. Brian's name wasn't there. You deleted it; you hid it from me."

Booth couldn't answer.

Temperance threw up her hands, sighing angrily, pacing. "I don't believe this. With what we do all day, how can you so easily dismiss another person!"

Booth paused. "What?"

"We spend all day looking at the remains of people who have been brutally killed, their lives taken away by what you define as heartless monsters. Don't you see how hypocritical it is for you to then just ignore someone else's emotions? You claim to care about people, you claim to want to fight for them, but when it comes to something you want, you don't mind hurting people who get in the way!"

"This is different, Bones! This is…"

"This is what, Booth? What is this!"

"This is us!"

"There is no 'us'! The only way this is different is that this is something you want! The world does not revolve around you!"

Her words stung, and they both dropped into a bitter silence, their stances defensive, both enraged with one another.

Angela walked out then, and noted the way the two were standing. "Everything okay out here?" she asked, her eyes scanning the pair.

"Fine," Temperance answered, her voice sharper than razors.

"Fine," Booth answered as well, his voice tingled with boiling rage.

Angela looked at the two and wanted to groan. All the progress they had made in the past two days seemed to be slipping away.


The rest of the day was passed in an uncomfortable silence between Booth and Brennan. They refused to speak cordially to one another, and when they were forced to communicate, their words were coated in hot anger and disdain. By the time they went to dinner that night, Tempe and Booth were practically refusing to look at one another.

"Oh, my God, can't you two please just talk about this!" Angela finally exclaimed, throwing her fork onto her plate.

Booth and Temperance gave one another icy stares.

"I have nothing to say to her," Booth said, his tone hard edged.

"You have nothing to say to me? You're the one who lied!" Temperance shot back.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Booth replied, his tone dripping sarcasm. "I guess I just received a few mixed messages from you based on your actions."

"You're apparently very good and mixing up your messages!"

"OH, could you two please STOP!" Hodgins cut in. Temperance and Booth stared at one another in silence.

"You two are acting like children!" Angela commented.

Hodgins shook his head. "If this is how children act, we're never having any."

The evening did not improve after dinner. Arguments flared as the four walked back to the hotel. One particularly heated moment resulted in the utterances of 'bastard' and 'bitch' by Temperance and Booth, respectively.

When they finally made it back, Angela and Hodgins wanted to cry for joy; they wanted nothing more than the peace and quiet that would come with their room.

They weren't that lucky.

"Who's sleeping where?" Booth asked as the walked into the parking lot.

Angela and Hodgins looked at him with confusion. Hodgins spoke, saying, "well, you and Dr. Brennan are staying in…"

"No," Temperance cut it. "I'm not staying in a room with him."

"And I'm not staying with her," Booth added.

Angela sighed angrily. "Fine. Temperance can stay in our room with me, Booth can share his room with Hodgins."

Hodgins didn't look thrilled, but consented because he was sick of listening to fighting.

"Sounds good to me," Temperance said.

"Me, too. Good luck, Ange, night, Bones."

"Don't call me 'Bones'! That is not…"

"Your name yeah yeah yeah I get it, chill out Dr. Brennan."

"Whatever, Booth. Maybe you should call your proctologist and see if he can locate your head."

"OKAY, on that note…" Angela said, steering Temperance away from Booth, who was being restrained by Hodgins. "We're leaving now. We'll take the stairs, Jack, why don't you take Romeo in the elevator."

Hodgins nodded. "Great. Night guys, love you, Ange," he called as he lead Booth away.

"Love you, too, Jack. Night, Booth."

Booth only grunted in response, and Angela lead her very angry best friend toward the staircase, mental wishing that this little trip was just a dream, and that in a few minutes she would wake up and everything would be back to normal.


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