Drive a Little Too Slow

Sitting in Sweet's office, Brennan could feel Booth's agitation radiating off of his body. They'd just been informed that the mandatory team-building exercise they thought they'd escaped by having a mandatory appointment with him at the same time, was still in fact mandatory, and they'd have to head over to Rock Creek Park immediately.

"This is crap, Sweets. We do team building with you in these stupid sessions." Booth groused, and Brennan nodded.

"Yes, we should be exempt. You should write to the department head on our behalf." Brennan added, and Booth looked at her with a smile.

"Write us up a little doctor's note, Sweets, I'm supposed to meet Hannah for lunch." Booth pointed at their young friend, grinning triumphantly, but Sweets just shook his head, explaining that this was team building for the entire major crimes division, not just partner's therapy.

Huffing, Booth rose from the couch without another word and headed for the door as Brennan hurried after him, glancing back at Sweets with a withering glare. She knew it wasn't his fault, but it did help to have somewhere to aim their displeasure.. She caught up to Booth at the elevator just as the door opened and watched him angrily jab the parking structure floor as they stood side by side waiting for the doors to close.

The entire ride down to the underground parking was filled with Booth grunting and crossing and uncrossing his arms. Brennan would laugh at how petulant he appeared if she didn't think it would set him off on a tangent.

"I'll drive!" Temperance nearly shouted as they exited the elevator into the dimly lit parking garage where they'd both parked.

"You are not driving. I am driving." Booth informed her firmly, and she groaned inwardly, trying not to pout. If he could be petulant, so could she.

"You never let me drive." She countered, reaching into her bag to get her keys out as she kept up with his long and determined strides.

Booth just shook his head and continued heading toward his SUV. "That's a hyperbole. I've let you drive tons of times." He argued, and Brennan jerked as she halted suddenly. Where did he even pick up the word hyperbole, and speaking of, tons of times was most certainly a hyperbole too. "I can almost smell the smoke coming off of that overworked thinker, Bones." He commented, and she frowned. How'd he know she was thinking?

"Fine. I'll drive myself over. I'll meet you there." She told him, aiming for casual disinterest and heading toward her own car. Taking much longer strides than she normally would as she rapidly changed course, she counted to three in her head before she heard his quick steps jogging in her direction to catch up.

"Fine, you can drive this time." He relented, and she did nothing to hide her victorious smile as she unlocked her car and slid into the driver's side. She'd expected him to call her bluff, but he didn't. Point one for Brennan.

Three minutes into the ride, Booth was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, fidgeting with the different dials on her dashboard and flicking the radio stations around.

Five minutes in, he had sighed heavily as she slowed and stopped at an amber light for a third time, each sigh a little bit louder than the last.

By the ten minute mark, he was bouncing his knee and commenting on the local speed limits. "Bones, you drive slower than the grannies in motorised scooters at Pops' retirement home." He groused as a red sports car zipped past them.

Sparing him a sideways glare, she signalled and changed lanes. "I'm driving the legal speed limit, Booth. As an officer of the law, I would expect you to appreciate that." She informed him matter-of-factly, receiving an exaggerated groan.

"How is Hank?" She asked, smiling fondly at the thought of Booth's grandfather. She truly enjoyed his candour. She was rewarded for her efforts as Booth chuckled and began regaling her with his Pops' latest antics and stories from their weekly phone calls and most recent visit.

Brennan smiled to herself, listening attentively to her partner's rumbling voice. She loved that she could hear how much Booth adored his grandfather in the simple sound of his voice while he spoke of the older man. She hated that they were almost at their destination; she'd been enjoying the ride. He always sped through traffic, sirens blaring, to get to places, even when they weren't heading to a crime scene, which was the only time she was perfectly okay with his speed-racing. Brennan, on the other hand, took her time to arrive at their destination, enjoying the ride and her chance to drive, but mostly just wanting to prolong the quiet times they got to spend together in the car. Their time alone had been reduced dramatically in recent months already. She was in no hurry to speed these stolen moments along. She knew it drove him nuts to lose control, and he'd complain the entire ride, but there was something she just truly enjoyed about being in the car with Booth, so she took her time, purposely driving exactly the speed limit, or a little slower when she could.