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Ch. 9

Brennan squirmed in his arms as he strode purposefully out of the hospital. "Booth put me down, I can walk," she demanded as she tried to wiggle free. He tightened his grasp and looked down at her.

"I will put you down when we get to the car Bones" he replied evenly, looking down at her with a smile, he knew he was irritating her and he loved it, she was so easy to rile up sometimes.

With a resigned sigh, she stopped struggling and huffed "fine"

Finally reaching his SUV, he opened the passenger door and placed her in, and began to reach for the seatbelt and she slapped at him and said testily "I can handle that part Booth, move it" as she clicked in her seat belt, and pulling the door shut.

Grinning as he walked around the back of the SUV, tossing his ever present poker chip in the air and catching it, he got in and started the engine. Before putting it into drive, he stopped and turned to look over at her. She was still pale, and had a huge bandage on her forehead, with a trace of blood soaked through it already. It made him so mad that this happened, he was just grateful he found her when he did.

"So you wanna tell me what the hell happened in the 5 minutes from when I talked to you to when I found you on the hall floor Bones?" he asked quietly

"I don't really know, I hung up with you, before I could put the phone down, there was a knock at the door. I figured it was the building manager stopping by for a new key, so I opened up, and before I could see who it was, someone hit me with something hard, and that is all I remember, other than coming to in your car for a few seconds" she finished, looking away from him, gazing out the window at the darkening streets as they sped down the road.

"My head is killing me by the way," she added

"Which is to be expected with a concussion Bones" he pointed out, "so you didn't see the guy huh?" he said slowly, processing what she told him

"Hey…. where are we going anyway? The turn to my place was back there," she said, pointing back over her shoulder, looking at him with an irritated look on her face

"I am not in the mood for this you know…" she warned him

"Yeah, we are going to my place. Your place seems to be a magnet for trouble, so until this mess is straightened out, you are stuck with me Bones" he advised her, trying to keep his tone light, eyes back on the road.

"Great. How am I going to get any work done on my book? Plus, I have to go to work tomorrow you know, and I have to get my car taken care of too" she pointed out to him, as if this was all new information

"Okay, the book can wait for a few days, I can take you to work, and we can have the dealership pick up the car, how's that sound huh?" he said, very satisfied with himself for coming up with an answer for each of her arguments

Letting out another annoyed sigh, she didn't respond. Her head was killing her, she was slightly nauseated, tired, and dizzy also. She was grumpy and just wanted to go home. How was she supposed to rest with him hovering around her?

After a while, he pulled into the driveway of his house, and he parked and turned off the SUV.

Turning towards her, he told her "Now just sit there alright? I am going to help you in, I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself any worse than you are already, so sit still, will ya?" he told the stubborn doctor, a stern look on his face

Tipping her head back on the headrest of the seat, she closed her eyes a moment as she waited for her partner to help her out of the SUV. She hated this relying on someone to take care of her. She'd been doing just fine for years, and Booth knew this. On the other hand…. it was sort of nice having someone around who actually cared about her, she thought with a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

She opened her eyes and turned to see him opening the passenger door, and he took her hand and arm, and gently led her to the front steps of his house. Jingling his keys in his hands until he found the right one, he unlocked the door, and blindly reached around the side of the wall to the switch that turned on the lights. Holding the door open, he held her hand and arm and led her to the couch, commanding, "Now sit here a second can ya? I want to get you a glass of water to take one of these huge pain pills the Doctor gave you okay Bones?" he said, and wandered out of the room.

"You want anything else?" he called out to her from the kitchen.

She could hear the cupboard door open and slam, and water running.

"No, I am fine" she called back, absently rubbing the bandaged spot on her head, and wincing at the oncoming pain.

Booth re emerged with 2 huge white capsules and a glass of water. "Here ya go, down the hatch" he quipped handing her the pills.

Accepting the drugs and water, she swallowed both and laid her head back on the back of the couch. Her head felt like it was going to explode.

"Okay, so I am suppose to wake you up every once in a while to make sure you're not dead, so if you want, you can go lay down in my bedroom, or…" suddenly realizing how that sounded "that is, uh, unless you are more comfortable out here, or, a…" he trailed off uncomfortably, looking everywhere but at his partner, who was gazing up at him with a strange express on her face.

Brennan was looking up at Booth, who was suddenly looking quite embarrassed.

Lay down in his bedroom. Oh the thoughts that jumped into her head at that.

Wait wait wait…what are you thinking? She thought to herself, surprised at herself, sounding just like Angela

We aren't even like that she reminded herself.

Plus, that is not why you are here, so just relax, okay? She chided herself.

Trying to keep her voice steady, she replied "Yes, that's fine. I am tired, and my head is killing me, I am sure I will be better after I rest a while, then maybe I'll have a bite to eat and we can try to figure out what all these things mean" she said, deciding to stand up to see how she felt - she stood abruptly, and before he had a chance to take a step back, her face was instantly inches from his. She could feel his warm breath on her face, her eyes drifting up towards his eyes, pausing a second on his mouth.

He stood there, frozen, and heard her breath catch, his heart was hammering in his chest, and he was convinced she could hear it too, it was so loud. He watched her look up at his eyes, stopping at his mouth, he caught himself doing the same, and unconsciously moving his head down towards her.

"I'm going to kiss you now" he breathed.

And then leaning down, he pressed his lips against hers; he lingered at the edge of her tongue. She did not resist, much to his surprise, her tongue was inviting, her lips warm and moist. He withdrew slowly, and his lips found hers again. This time he was more daring, more exploratory.

It had been too long since he'd been kissed ardently. For too long he had not felt the alchemy of intertwining tongues. When she offered him her lips for the third time, he surrendered, feeling her arms twine around his neck, her fingers in his hair, driving him crazy. He slipped his own arms around her small waist, and pulled her closer, the pace picking up a notch.

He felt so good; his strong arms were around her waist, his masculine scent surrounding her as he kissed her like she'd never been kissed before. She didn't want it to end she thought to herself, as she felt his arousal pressing against her.

A ringing interrupted them. He swore. She looked down at the floor as he left their embrace.

He pulled away from her, sorry to stop what they had started, and leaned to answer the phone on the end table.

"Hello?" he answered, slightly impatient

He was greeted with silence, then a faint click.

Great. He stopped kissing her to answer a wrong number. Perfect.

She was still in the same spot, her mouth swollen from their kisses, her eyes slightly dazed. Without another word, she walked off towards the bedroom, and he heard the door softly click shut.

Unsure what to do now; he stood there for a moment, confused about what had just happened. God I hope this isn't just a one-time thing he worried, raking a hand through his already mussed hair.

He'd kissed her. She kissed him back. No ass kicking had ensued. Interesting. No way was this just from a bump on the head he told himself confidently. Maybe she didn't just think of him as only her partner, maybe she was feeling the same as he was he thought to himself. This wasn't gratitude either.

Grinning like an idiot, he plopped down on the couch, and clicked on the TV. He'd go check on her in a little while.

Glancing down at the coffee table in front of the couch, he spied the files he'd brought from the office that his fellow agents had found on the possible location of her father. He'd go through that after the football game he decided. Rising, and heading into the kitchen, he grabbed a beer and yawned, he went back to the couch to watch the game for a while before he had to check on her again.

I have to make an honest effort at staying awake here he thought.

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Why in the world did I do that? She wondered to herself, confused, as she sat on the edge of his bed, in the dim bedroom, the bedside lamp casting a glow across the bed and walls.

One second she was standing there, looking at him, the next second they were making out in his living room, moments from doing who knows what, she reflected.

Must be this bump on the head, we aren't like that…are we? She asked herself

Shaking her head slightly, she lie back on his bed, and without even removing the comforter, fell asleep almost instantly.

End ch. 9

You know the drill…