What I Wish I Could've Said

Rated: T

Disclaimer: I own nothing... Obviously. Just playing in someone else's sandbox for a bit.

Summary: Hindsight is always 20/20. Everyone has a single moment that they wish they could have said something better than what they actually did. A completely random series of what-if vignettes.

Ch 9: That Time Brennan Collected Evidence

To say it was a surreal experience, Booth thought, was an understatement. Sitting on the examination table in the bones room, with Brennan eying him like he was a pile of evidence to be processed was slightly unnerving. She had looked at him many times over the years, her emotional responses running the gamut from angry and exasperated to relieved and joyful. However, Brennan had never looked at him like he was a simple pile of data to be assessed and processed - until today.

He was grateful that she went through the motions of maintaining some casual conversation, about Parker and the holidays. Yes, Booth was grateful, even if he did think it strange that Brennan was alternating between chatting about Christmas dinner and tossing out compliments about his perfect… well, Booth couldn't quite recall which part of his skeleton had impressed Brennan. But, he did know that it pleased him to know she thought that he was exceptional. And, if you'd just give me the chance, I'd show you some other areas where I've managed to perfect my skills, Booth thought. He then immediately mentally smacked himself down for having those types of thoughts about his partner, even as Brennan politely asked him to get off the table and stand up. As he complied with her request, in his movements, Booth thought he caught a whiff of the milk and honey body wash she'd used for as long as he'd known her. Taking a deeper breath, Booth nodded as he confirmed his assessment. Yup, that's, Bones, Booth thought. I'd know her scent anywhere. He pushed, indulging himself with a couple of more deep breaths, and then thought ruefully, God, I just hope it doesn't start to drive me nuts, 'cause that's really the last thing I need. Not here, not now, and please not when she's this close. But, I should be okay just as long as I don't smell her body wash *and* her shampoo. Yeah, I should be good- Booth's internal monologue was interrupted when Brennan suddenly moved, and she was soon kneeling down in front of Booth. It only took a few seconds before the smell hit him, and when it did, Booth immediately felt his body tense at the sensation. Oh, no. That's… yeah, that's her shampoo. Oh, God. I'm screwed. So screwed. And, oh, wow- she smells good. Really, really good.

As Booth's brain caught up with processing the sensory information, it suddenly dawned on him that Brennan was kneeling, in front of him, and she was reaching for his belt buckle.

"Whoa!" Booth said, instinctively wanting to back away from her, but finding himself unable to do so with the examination table pressed up against his back. "What... what? Is there stuff on my pants?"

Brennan nodded innocently. "Yeah. Vascular tissue on your Cocky belt buckle."

She then reached for the belt buckle, quickly removed it and set it on the evidence tray before she deftly loosened the belt and pulled it free from the loops of his suit's trousers. The swift movement sent a tingle throughout Booth's body, and his brain immediately sent a warning that he prayed wouldn't be ignored. This is not what it seems like. This is you're partner. She's collecting evidence for a murder investigation. Don't screw this up, Booth. Just… don't.

As Brennan set the belt on the examination tray, Booth nervously said, "Oh, right. Slides right off, and, uh, we're done."

Shaking her head, Brennan looked up at him and said decisively, "No."

Looking at her, the confusion evident on his face, Booth tilted his head as he asked, "Huh?"

Nodding at him, Brennan finally said the words that Booth had spent years dreaming about her saying to him. And, moreover, Brennan said them with a completely straight face, a face so deadpan that Booth knew she wasn't a good enough actress to be lying as a part of some horribly cruel joke. "I have to remove your pants."

He saw her mouth move, and Booth knew he had heard Brennan speak the words. But, his mind immediately prioritized the sensory information it was choosing to process when Booth felt a tug at the waistband of his trousers. Again, Brennan's nimble fingers were deftly pulling the buttons of his pants free, and as she started to slowly push the trousers off his hips, Booth knew he was fighting a losing battle with himself.

"All right, you know, I'm just gonna start reciting some saints, you know-"

At Booth's obvious discomfort, Brennan tried to stifle a laugh that she had been holding in from a good two to three minutes. She reveled in seeing Booth squirm under her scientific ministrations, and a part of her also delighted that she was finally being allowed to touch him in this way… the way she had dreamed of touching him for years, even if it just was finally just occurring in the course of conducting an investigation. Forcing herself not to lift her eyes to meet his, Brennan felt Booth's body tense again as she slowly pulled the pants down his legs, but she couldn't keep herself from allowing a small smile to crack the corners of her mouth as she heard Booth begin to mutter to himself.

"St. Joseph, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John-"

When she had set the pants on the examination tray, Brennan allowed herself to sneak a peak at Booth's face. His eyes were still squeezed shut. He still seemed to be muttering to himself as his head bobbed slightly, almost as if he were trying to count something. Suddenly realizing what unique situation they were in, the evil part of Brennan screamed at her that she couldn't not to take advantage of the opportunity. She had to, she just had to at least play with Booth… even if it was just a little bit. If Brennan had any qualms about torturing her partner, they quickly disappeared when a small movement caught her attention, and Brennan suddenly felt herself flush at her realization of what had finally happened. Well, that certainly took long enough, Brennan admitted to herself, a bit of relief finally flowing through her. I was beginning to think that he was impervious to my close proximity and the tactile stimulation he experienced as I removed his clothing. Physiologically, any male should have been responsive to such stimuli, to say nothing of the more personal issue that I thought Booth would have reacted to the fact that it was me who was stimulating him in such a way much, much sooner-

And, then, without thinking, Brennan suddenly opened her mouth and the question popped out before she had even realized she'd asked it.

"Booth?"

His body flinched at the word as soon as Brennan spoke. Oh, please God. Don't tell me she needs the boxers, too. Please leave me some shred of whatever's left of my dignity.

"Yeah, Bones?" Booth finally managed to eek out, his voice cracking just a bit - much to his disgust and annoyance.

"I have a question I need to ask you," Brennan said, and it wasn't lost on Booth that, unless he was very much mistaken, Brennan's voice seemed to have found the half-octave that Booth's had lost in the past few minutes.

"Yeah, Bones?" Booth repeated again.

Raising her blue eyes - which Booth knew, he just knew were a darker color than their normal appearance - Brennan met Booth's as she exhaled. Booth could feel the warm moisture of her breath hit his stomach, crawling across the skin of his navel in a way that made Booth's own breath catch in his throat. At last, she spoke, never breaking contact with his soft brown eyes.

"Have you often found yourself in this position?"

Whatever question Booth had been expecting, it wasn't that one. He was at a loss at to how to answer the question, not quite sure as to what Brennan meant, and the confusion was clear enough on his face that Brennan quickly amended her query.

"That is to say, I'm not asking if you've been undressed in the lab for the purposes of furnishing evidence for a homicide investigation. But, more directly,... have you often found yourself standing with a female kneeling in a submissive position in front of you?"

The squitiness of her words - asking Booth what he knew Brennan was really daring to ask him - and he made no mistakes about it because given this time, place, and situation, it was a dare with her asking him that question - it turned Booth on in a way he'd never imagined. She couldn't have aroused him further if she'd used the most vulgar and profane expletives to rephrase the question, and suddenly, Booth knew there was no holy litany he could recite that would help him now.

Realizing there was no choice but to proceed forward, Booth asked, "Before I answer that question, you asking for any particular reason, Bones? Or, it is just general curiosity?"

Seemingly of her body's own volition, and acting without any input from her brain, Brennan's hands came to rest lightly on Booth's hips. Brennan slowly stood up, pressing her body against Booth's as she slid up the length of his torso. Leaning in, as she tilted her head to move to her face close to his ear, and Brennan sensuously whispered. "Both."

She slowly pulled back, and at that moment, the pair realized how their current situation had quickly changed to something very, very different than either one of them had ever anticipated occurring a mere ten minutes before. Heart pounding, Brennan again adjusted her head so that she was leaning in just close enough to Booth's mouth so that he could kiss her if he wanted to - and, thankfully for Brennan - that was exactly what Booth did.

-TBC-