It looks like Aubrey and Jessica have another stop to make. Let's find out what happens as our favorite pair go to Booth and Brennan's house for round two of Thanksgiving...

After hanging out with Jessica's family for the afternoon, the couple left with delectable leftovers for Aubrey as well as tentative plans for spending Christmas and some other evenings together. Instead of taking 495 into Virginia, they took MD 355 back into DC so the FBI agent could drop off his food and feed Skinner before heading to Booth and Brennan's.

"So...um...I guess I should tell you that Karen may still be there when we arrive at Booth and Dr. B's.", Aubrey stated as they crossed the border into Washington DC. "She said she had nowhere to go, but Booth told her to arrive about 1:00. We may be dodging a bullet by getting there later."

"Superman, she will be there.", Jessica grumbled as she sipped a Coke she swiped from her family gathering. "No way she's leaving without a glimpse of her Aubrey."

"I am not her Aubrey, Jess.", the agent said in an exasperated tone before borrowing the red can from his girlfriend and taking a drink. "I'm your Superman."

"I know that Aubrey, but you know I'm right about her. Even if she's dating Steve, she still has the hots for you.", the redhead said confidently.

"I prefer to be optimistic today. This is a holy day after all.", Aubrey said as they got closer to his neighborhood. "Maybe God will be on our side."

"Okay…", Jessica said with a smirk. 'Dr. B is right...they don't have to say you're right because knowing it is enough.'

When they arrived at the Mighty Hut II at 4:00, they were happy to see all the cars in the driveway. Then they saw another one.

"Shit...why is she still here?", Aubrey muttered as he parked next to Hodgins' modified car.

"You know why…", Jessica giggled as she got out.

"I know, I know…", the agent replied.

"Don't worry...I'll protect you.", the anthropologist said with a smirk. "Besides, are you going to let a crazy profiler ruin your holy day?"

After sharing a smile and a kiss, they walked up to the door and knocked. When the door opened, they were greeted by Parker and then Booth.

"Hey, it's Aubrey and Jessica.", Booth said while holding a beer. "It's about time you two got here. Join us. Wendell and Andie got here about fifteen minutes ago."

After Parker took their coats and Jessica thanked the teenager, Aubrey headed over to Brennan. "Dr. B?"

The anthropologist merely pointed to the center island, where there was plenty of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and other various items. Next to the dinner choices were pumpkin, apple, and cherry pies.

"I did make more of those tofu artichoke squares you enjoyed last year, and I made a Tofurkey tetrazzini as well."

"Oh yeah…", the agent said. He moved two steps before being stopped by Brennan.

"Now don't eat it all, Aubrey. Booth wants leftovers for the weekend."

Aubrey saw the food again and his heart sank. "Awww….c'mon...it's Thanksgiving. After all, I do have a reputation to maintain..."

Jessica rubbed her boyfriend's arm. "Aubrey, you got a lot of leftovers from my brother's house. Remember?"

Aubrey looked at the dazzling display of food just a few feet away. "That's true…those leftovers will probably get me through lunch and dinner tomorrow."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

In the guest bathroom, Karen washed her hands before examining her makeup. People's reaction to her since she arrived around 1:00 had ranged from stiff politeness, courtesy of Drs. Edison, Saroyan, and Vaziri, to haughty indifference from Brennan, all the way to being obviously ignored by Daisy, Angela, Michelle, and a recently arrived Andie, unless social convention forced them to do otherwise.

Remembering her humiliation by Dr. Brennan at Aubrey's birthday party, Karen had made an effort to be nice to the children in attendance. Luckily, Drs. Saroyan and Vaziri's two eldest sons were old enough to hang with Parker, who was playing video games with the head of the house. The youngest one was watching a movie with Christine and Michael Vincent in what Booth called his "man cave".

The result: She'd been bored for the last three hours.

Once again, she second guessed her decision to not discuss spending Thanksgiving with Steve. She'd hoped to snag an invite to Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan's gathering with him as her date so she could show her boyfriend off to everyone. However, when he announced last Friday that he was going home for the holiday, he didn't extend an invitation for her to go with him, and she didn't push for it. Yes they had only been together for a month, but it still surprised her that he hadn't offered, especially as much time as they'd spent in very close contact. He had only talked to her twice since he left, once when he arrived, and this morning when she called him. He wasn't very happy that she'd awakened him as Wisconsin was one hour behind DC, but she couldn't wait to talk to him on the holiday.

However, she didn't cry about missing Steve and the holidays with him too much, because she knew she could count on Aubrey to get her an invitation to dinner here. All it took was some fake ignorance that her boyfriend had left town early and a sob story.

Of course, he would bring that twat Jessica here, too, who was after her boyfriend.

Karen held her temper in as she thought once again about the repeated calls Steve kept getting from an unknown number last week. He might have been content to ignore it, but she wasn't. She had to push him to trace the number, which he told her Friday night traced back to some unknown burner phone.

But the profiler was certain it wasn't just any burner phone. Steve told her after dinner Saturday how he'd caught Jessica checking him out more than once that evening. He also explained how during a couple of her visits to Aubrey at the Hoover she always stopped at his desk and flirted with him.

Karen wasn't surprised. She could tell from Day One that the intern couldn't handle being in a monogamous relationship.

It was also obvious to Karen that the hang up and unknown number calls were also Jessica using a burner phone to call him without Aubrey knowing. Obviously, the thrill of the chase that came from getting her former boyfriend back was wearing off for the intern, and she wanted a real man...a man like Steve.

'Poor James...she's going to hurt him again, isn't she? That skank is nothing but trouble.'

Well, that insipid college student was in for a big surprise if she thought things would be that easy, because she couldn't have him. Steve Bower was taken. Jessica Warren may have sunk her claws into James Aubrey, but she wouldn't let the little bitch burn her twice. Soon, she'll come out on top, the intern would be gone, and her spot in the group would be assured.

She was part of the Jeffersonian team, even if Jessica didn't want to acknowledge it. The intern could use every trick she knew to push Karen out. In the end, though, she was the FBI profiler for the Jeffersonian cases and more important than a lowly graduate student ever could be. It took some maneuvering to get an invite to Drs. Saroyan and Vaziri's wedding back in August, but making her presence known at Founding Fathers and at the lab during the cases she worked did the trick.

If the late Dr. Sweets, who was basically an overgrown child, could make himself part of their tight knit group, then with little bit of effort and social acumen, anyone could.

Then once that happened, Aubrey would get sick of whatever Jessica had between her legs and come crawling to her, begging for another chance. She had a lot to offer now because she'd recently purchased the Better Sex DVD set as well as finishing her copy of Sam Jones' book How to Give a Hand Job That Will Blow His Mind. She smiled happily. Steve had definitely liked the one she'd given him in the 4th floor men's room at the Hoover last week.

Of course, she'd have to let Aubrey know that he was too late. He would be sorry, too because she had a real man now.

'Where the hell was Aubrey?', Karen wondered as she touched up her lipstick. 'He always brags about coming here for dinner.'

Once again, she debated on whether to leave, but decided to wait a little longer. Satisfied that she looked good, she came out of the bathroom and was excited to see Aubrey was finally there. Walking over to him quickly, she stood next to him as he was looking over the food on the counter.

"You made it, finally. I wondered if you'd forgotten about us.", Karen said before laughing at her own joke. She batted her eyelashes at him in an effort to flirt. "Happy Thanksgiving, Aubrey."

"Hi, Karen.", Aubrey said, his attention focused on the holiday offerings. "Happy Thanksgiving."

Jessica saw Karen fawning all over her boyfriend, who was too preoccupied with all the food in front of him to notice the profiler's blatant flirtations. Unable to stop herself, she walked over to the two. As she got closer, she heard the other woman's end of the conversation.

"It must have been lonely for you and your cat today, Aubrey.", Karen said. "Why didn't come over sooner?"

"Because he was with me.", Jessica said before she looped her arm into Aubrey's free one. Kissing him on the cheek, she turned and smiled at the glimmer of annoyance in the profiler's eyes. "Happy Thanksgiving, Karen. Where's Steve?"

"With his family in Wisconsin. He's coming home tomorrow.", Karen said to the unwelcome redhead presence in front of her. "It's too soon for us to spend the holidays together."

"I see.", Jessica said. "Perhaps by Christmas you'll change your mind. The holidays are best when you spend them with the one you love."

"Perhaps." The profiler began pouring herself another glass of wine, ignoring Jessica's loaded comment. "So, you guys certainly took your time getting here today. Dinner was at 1:00."

The redhead turned and saw her boyfriend filling two plates with glee. Returning her attention to the other woman, she smiled pleasantly. "We ate dinner with my father, three of my brothers, and their families in Bethesda earlier today, so they could get to know Aubrey better."

Karen hid her shock at that bit of news. "Jessica, from what you told me about your brothers, they're very overprotective. Aubrey, you must have been nervous that she threw you into the gauntlet like that..."

"Jess's brothers are great guys, and we've got plans next weekend to have dinner with her brother Stephan and his wife Gail. Got to watch old movies with Charlie, met some of her nieces and a nephew, and had an amazing meal." Aubrey dumped a huge spoonful of stuffing onto his plate, deciding the profiler didn't need to know about Eleanor.

"Charlie?", Karen asked in confusion.

"Jess's father.", Aubrey said before scooping mashed potatoes onto his plate. "He's a great guy with an excellent taste in movies...a professor of neurosciences…tops in his field before he retired from George Mason University."

"You...you met her father...wow...back together for a month, and she's already pushing the family on you. Seems pretty rushed to me."

Jessica knew what Karen was up to, but she chose not to make a scene. "Well, Aubrey and I have known each other for over two years and we've been friends for a year and a half. Meeting my family was way overdue, Karen. In any case, he's met my dad before today."

Karen let out a low whistle. "Wow...you've already met her father? That's strange, isn't it? Isn't he like all bedridden from a stroke?"

"Yes, he had a stroke about eight years ago, but he's not an invalid.", Jessica replied with a forced smile. "He's partially paralyzed on his right side, and still has trouble speaking. However, he has some mobility and all of his mental faculties. He's even a member of Mensa."

Aubrey made room on his plate before making his way down the buffet, deciding that Jessica put the profiler in her place. "Yeah, I met Charlie several months ago when Jess took me with her to visit him at his nursing home. Oh yeah...cherry pie!"

Jessica wanted to be polite, but she couldn't resist a dig. "It's been a great afternoon. It was nice that Booth and Dr. B were very accommodating to everyone since most of us here had other plans as well."

Karen was annoyed as she realized that Booth had given her the invite knowing Aubrey wouldn't be here until later. Keeping her temper in check, she pretended to grin. "That's very nice. My friends and I have been spending the day together celebrating this wonderful holiday."

"I'm sure everyone enjoyed having you here today". Jessica quickly glanced around the room and saw that no one else seemed to agree. Keeping the glee to herself, she turned to her mentor. "Dr. B, can I help you put away some of the food?"

"I'm fine for now, Ms. Warren. I'll let Aubrey…"

The ladies turned to see the hollow legged agent making himself comfortable in a chair near the television with a full plate of Thanksgiving food, a smaller plate with pumpkin and cherry pie, and a Yuengling. Quickly situating himself, he took a bite of the cherry pie and groaned in ecstasy.

"Awww, this pie is…awesome.", the agent said before trying the pumpkin pie. "Oh man, so going for seconds…and thirds. So good. Can't wait to try the apple pie and the ambrosia next."

Booth turned and pointed to his friend while holding his beer. "Don't eat all my apple pie, Aubrey. I know where you live."

"…get what he wants.", Brennan finished.

The women laughed before joining Angela, Daisy, Cam, Michelle, and Andie at the center island with Karen following behind. Leaning her elbow against the counter, the artist smiled.

"Dish, Jessica. How did Aubrey do at dinner with your family?"

Jessica took a sip and chose her words carefully with Karen's prying ears nearby. "Very well…and he didn't eat all the food."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

For ten minutes, Karen sat with the ladies and listened in on their conversation, trying not to be bored. She hated football, but maybe she could talk with Aubrey during the game since Jessica was ignoring him.

'How shameful….she ambushed him with her family and then she ditches him for a hen gathering.'

Going towards the living room, Karen saw Christine eying Aubrey as she, Michael Vincent, and Jordan Vaziri came into the main room. Before she lost her chance, the profiler sat in the chair next to the agent.

Keeping his cool, Aubrey glanced at the young girl, who looked crestfallen. Quickly giving Karen a dirty look, the agent put a smile on his face. "How about grabbing that pillow from your dad? Then you can come sit in front of me, Christine."

Booth held out the pillow for his daughter, who smiled happily. "Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome, Monkey."

The young child walked up and put the pillow down in front of Aubrey between his legs as the other two kids situated themselves on the floor in front of the couch. When she was satisfied that it was fluffed just the way she wanted, she sat down on it.

"Can you see the TV all right, Christine?", Aubrey asked.

"Yes. Thank you, Uncle Aubrey.", Christine said before putting her focus on the game.

Karen leaned in towards the agent next to her. "So, Aubrey…sounds like you've had an interesting holiday."

Aubrey shrugged at Karen before turning to watch the show again. "Yep."

Leaning towards the television in feigned interest, she asked around. "Now, who are we rooting for?"

The guys looked at the profiler like she was crazy. "Obviously Washington, Karen, since Daisy's husband plays for them.", Wendell said before putting his attention back to the screen.

"I don't know much about football, Aubrey. I may need your help explaining it. It looks really complicated."

"You've got your phone with you, right? Look it up on Google, Karen.", Booth said, annoyed at the woman who was talking loudly over the commentators. "He doesn't have time to explain it to you, especially with all that food on his plate to occupy him."

"You want me to use Wikipedia? That could be wrong. I understand things better when someone explains it to me verbally."

"Ask Bones, then.", Booth said as he continued to watch the pre-game show. "She researched football thoroughly before I took her to an Eagles game several years ago."

"Yes, Dr. Delfs. I'm very familiar with the concepts and the history of the game.", Brennan said from the kitchen. "I'll be glad to share my knowledge with you."

Karen gave a wan smile to the forensic anthropologist before turning back to Aubrey. "It seems like Jessica would rather talk to the ladies. Not a sports fan like I am, is she?"

Clark, Wendell, and Arastoo snickered, along with Aubrey, getting the profiler's attention. "What's so funny, you guys?"

Arastoo calmed down as he explained the joke. "Jessica likes sports, Karen…"

"Big fan of MSU football and basketball...and isn't afraid to let everyone know it.", Wendell said before pointing to himself and the other two. "The four of us have watched games together at Founding Fathers."

"Remember that argument she got into with that guy during the MSU-Notre Dame game last year because she made fun of their quarterback's multiple fumbles?", Clark chimed in.

"Yeah. He told her to shut up and 'to go back to hosting tea parties or do needlepoint.' since girls 'don't know shit about football.'", Arastoo added. "I thought she was gonna kick his ass."

"Yeah, Jess told me about she shot back with how she would host a tea party and do needlepoint when he went on a diet to lose the 'wide load of sexist pig he carried with him.'", Aubrey responded before taking a bite of potatoes.

"That guy's friends laughed at him, but he shut up for the rest of the game.", Wendell chuckled.

"That's not nice for her to ditch her boyfriend to hang out with a bunch of guys in a bar.", Karen said. "Women shouldn't do that. It doesn't look right and makes you look bad, Aubrey."

That comment got Aubrey's attention. "Um, why shouldn't my girlfriend meet up with friends to watch a game? Also, how does that make me look bad?"

Karen took a drink of her wine. "You know...it gives people the wrong impression...that she's looking for a hook up and stepping out on her man."

Aubrey didn't like the implication that the profiler was making about his redhead. "Sometimes I join Jess and the guys...sometimes I don't. Sometimes Andie and/or Cam join them. My girlfriend is allowed to have friends outside of me, male or female. Frankly, Karen, I don't care what others think, and if the patrons of Founding Fathers are paying more attention to what my girlfriend is doing with her friends instead of watching the game, they should get a life, don't you think?"

Karen caught the warning in the agent's eyes as well as the irritated expressions from the other men in the living room. "Sure, Aubrey, of course. Absolutely. I only meant that-"

"Dr. Delfs, my daddy says it rude to talk while others are watching television.", Christine chimed in from the floor.

All the guys barely held back their laughs at the child's rebuke of the profiler. Aubrey stuffed a large bite of pie in his mouth to keep himself in check.

'Good girl, Christine.'

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

In the kitchen, the ladies either drank or held their mouth shut to keep from laughing themselves silly. It stopped when Karen responded by sitting closer to Aubrey, who moved over in his chair to get away from her.

Brennan turned to Jessica, who was beginning to look annoyed. "Ms. Warren, are you concerned about Dr. Delfs' attentions towards Aubrey?"

"Am I worried that he'll hook up with her? No way.", Jessica said confidently. "I can trust Aubrey, and I know he has no interest in her."

"But she's still getting on your nerves, isn't she?", Cam said. "She seems to lack certain... boundaries."

"You could say that.", Jessica said as she took another pull of her beer.

"Lacking boundaries is being polite, Cam.", Angela said before sipping her club soda. "She's salivating at the chance to jump on Aubrey's lap when he finishes eating. We all know she came over this afternoon because she wanted to see him."

Daisy giggled as she watched Aubrey take another bite of pie. "Of course, it may be awhile until he actually quits eating…"

"Isn't she dating that other agent?", Michelle asked. "I saw him at the Hoover for my Phase Two testing last week...what's his name...oh, Bower. He was checking me out and then when I grabbed a bottle of water from the break room, he said I had eyes like hot chocolate and I was a sweet young thing...yuck."

"He hit on you?", Cam said in an irritated tone. "I'm going to talk to Aubrey-"

"Don't worry, Mom. Uncle Booth walked in and gave him the death stare. I think Agent Bower crapped his pants because he walked away very quickly. Then Uncle Booth said to let him know if 'that dumbass' bothers me again.", Michelle said with a smile.

"Ugh, Steve Bower is such a pig...the perv actually hit on me a few days after the Halloween Gala at the diner.", Jessica said before sipping her beer. "Karen was describing how much 'fun' they'd had after the Gala while he was trying to play footsie with me under the table."

"Does Aubrey know?", Angela said in a low voice.

"No, because he'll get pissed, but I nailed Bower in the shin with the heel of my boot, so I'm sure he's not stupid enough to try it again.", Jessica said. "I've actually thought about telling Karen, but...",

Daisy took a drink of her beer. "I wouldn't. She has to know his reputation, and look at how she is following Aubrey around like a puppy today. She's no better than Agent Bower."

Jessica looked at Aubrey ignoring Karen as he ate and watched the pregame show. "She's really pissing me off. She's got a boyfriend...why is she still stalking mine? Is she that desperate for a man's attention since Agent Bower is out of town?"

Brennan tolerated the profiler's presence because she had nowhere to go for the holiday. However, she was not appreciative of the distress the woman was causing her intern.

"Ms. Warren, within each society there is an alpha female. This is also true in committed relationships. Sometimes, though, there are interlopers who threaten the natural balance of the society and/or a committed relationship.", Brennan said. "With Booth's superior physicality and perfect bone structure frequently being admired by other women, I have found from personal experience that when this happens that it's best to guard my territory. I recommend that since your first message didn't make the impact that it should have on Dr. Delfs, perhaps you need to send another message to the interloper. I'm sure Aubrey would appreciate it as well. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Jessica heard her mentor's words and realized what she had to do. "Yes, of course, Dr. B. Thank you."

The ladies watched as the redhead finished her drink. Walking over to the food, she made up another plate before getting two beers from the fridge and walking towards the guys.

"Girls, this is going to be good.", Andie said with a smirk. "Go get that bitch, Jessica."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Wendell saw Jessica coming towards the living room and nudged Arastoo as he nodded toward Karen. "Jessica is going to get her…"

"I know...it's going to be awesome.", the forensic anthropologist said. "Clark, hand me the bowl of popcorn."

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Aubrey felt Karen scoot her chair closer to him, so he moved up for some space and as far to the right as he could without jostling Christine.

"Karen, do you want to switch seats?", Aubrey asked, tired of her closeness.

"I'm fine, Aubrey. I just want a good view of the game."

Booth looked over at Parker, who moved up from his spot on the couch. "Aubrey, I can sit over there if you want to switch seats."

Looking at the teenager in relief, he smiled while moving to get up. "That's nice of you, Parker. Thanks."

"Actually, Parker, that won't be necessary.", Jessica said as she got close to Aubrey. "Superman, I brought you some more food and another beer."

Aubrey figured out what his girlfriend was doing and damn it if it wasn't making him hot. "Thank you, Jessica."

"You're welcome.", the redhead said before turning to the profiler. "Karen, I didn't know you liked football."

Surprised, she turned to Jessica. "Oh, I do. I don't understand a lot of it, but I I know what touchdowns are. I hope if I have questions, someone can explain it to me."

"Well, as Booth said, Dr. B can explain it to you in a way that won't disrupt the game for everyone here.", Jessica said pointedly as she looked around.

"Well, I'll just watch and learn.", Karen replied. "I'm sure Aubrey can help me if I need it."

'So the interloper didn't get the first message.' Jessica thought as she made her next move. "Hmmmm, no seats left…."

Looking down, the redhead smiled at Christine. "Is it okay if I sit with Uncle Aubrey, too?"

The young girl looked up and nodded happily. "Yes, Jessica."

Everyone except Karen chuckled as Aubrey put his plates on the end table before opening up his arms to his girlfriend. After settling in, the agent quickly finished his plate before starting on the new one.

"Now Aubrey, no touchy feely during the game.", Clark said with a smile.

The agent looked to his friend and grinned back as the redhead stole a piece of turkey from his plate. "Now Clark, don't be jealous that I have a girlfriend."

The anthropologist laughed before throwing popcorn at the agent. "Screw you, Aubrey."

"Hey…", Booth said while pointing to his daughter. "Watch your language."

Karen was annoyed with the interruption. "Jessica...I thought you were out in the kitchen enjoying some girl talk?"

"I was", the redhead said as she stole a bite of Aubrey's cherry pie. "But I missed my boyfriend..."

"...and your boyfriend missed you, too.", Aubrey replied as he kissed her cheek.

From the kitchen, reactions to Jessica trumping Karen ranged from quiet laughter from Angela to a smile and nod from Cam. Nearby, the guys were all snickering at the profiler's indignation. Brennan, however, made her contribution in her own way.

"You know, Dr. Delfs, if it's too hard to understand the game, we could use some help in the kitchen. Angela should be resting in a comfortable chair instead of on a hard bar stool. Yours would be perfect for her, so she can sit with her husband and put her feet up."

Seeing everyone look at her, Karen reluctantly got up. "Actually, I think I'll take off. I have some cases to work on...including a profile I'm working on for Steve that I want to have ready for him when he get home tomorrow."

The attendees watched as Brennan retrieved the woman's coat from the hall closet. After she put it on, Karen stood for a moment before adjusting her purse.

"It's pretty dark out now…"

"The motion sensor lights illuminate the driveway quite effectively, Dr. Delfs.", Brennan said. "However, if you prefer someone to walk you to your vehicle, I'm sure my husband would be glad to assist you to your car."

Booth, who was watching the game, heard his wife's words and turned around with a stricken expression. Seeing the stern look his wife gave him made his face change into a fake smile. "Of course...Karen."

"No...no I'm okay.", Karen said before grabbing her her uneaten Asparagus Tart from the center island. "I'll just take my food home since I'm sure everyone is full. Good night."

The group created a cacophony of 'Good night' as the profiler walked out the door. When she was gone, Michael Vincent went up to his dad. "I don't like her, Dad. She wasn't nice to Jessica and she smells stinky."

Everyone lost their composure as they laughed. With all the strength he could muster, Hodgins straightened his face and looked at his son. "Her perfume was strong but you were polite, just like we always taught you to be, Michael Vincent. When the baby is born you get to help us with teaching your new brother or sister that, too."

"Nice save, Hodgins.", Wendell said before sipping his beer.

Four hours later, all lights at Aubrey's house were off except for the light above the stove, a lamp in his master bedroom, and the en-suite bathroom. On his bed, Skinner was sleeping next to two sets of clothing dropped on it haphazardly.

In the bathroom, Aubrey and Jessica were relaxing in his jet tub with Bob Dylan's Positively 4th Street played softly from on her phone as it sat on the sink. The agent held Jessica close as she leaned up against him. Their eyes were closed as they enjoyed the quiet.

"Today was a good day, Aubrey."

The lanky man began playing with Jessica's pinned up hair as she leaned on his shoulder. "It was a good day, Jess. Even Karen was less annoying than usual."

Jessica snickered. "Yeah, whatever...I don't care if she's dating Agent Bower, she still wants in your pants, Superman."

"Well, she's not getting in them.", Aubrey replied. "It was pretty hot that you were marking me as your territory."

Jessica played dumb. "How did I do that, Aubrey?"

Aubrey's hand gently caressed Jessica's leg under the water. "Oh, I don't know...brought me food...sat on my lap…pissed off Karen..."

"You were hungry, Aubrey, and she wouldn't let you eat.", Jessica said with a smile. "Also, are you suggesting I should have sat on Clark's lap instead today? He is single."

Aubrey's response was to tickle Jessica under her knee. "Oh shit, stop. Stop tickling me! Fine...fine...I didn't like her flirting with you, so Dr. B said I needed to send a message to the interloper to make sure she knew who you belonged to...and that's what I did."

Aubrey pulled her closer in the water and kissed her temple softly. "You know you have nothing to worry about with Karen, right Jessica? I love you."

"I know, Superman. But...it was still fun.", Jessica said. "And you liked it, right? Me being territorial about you?"

"Not denying it, Jess.", the agent replied before kissing her again on the head. "And I liked your family a lot...your mother being the exception."

Jessica's hand was on Aubrey's knee. "Yeah...I was kind of hoping you would never have to meet her. She has a way of...sucking the air out of the room."

Aubrey continued to play with Jessica's hair. "You could cut the tension between your parents with a knife."

"Yeah. It's ironic that they had this great love years ago, and now it's all shit. I think a part of my father still loves the Eleanor Gordon he fell in love with, but they shouldn't have ever been married."

Aubrey thought about something Charlie said the day he visited. "I have a confession to make."

Jessica turned around. "What's that, Superman?"

The agent debated, hoping she wouldn't be mad. "I...visited your dad after your mother demanded you come up to Philly."

Jessica looked confused. "Why? I'm not angry or anything, but I'm curious."

"I needed some advice and he gave it to me. He's a wise man, your father. After we talked, we watched Gilda."

The redhead waited for further details. When she didn't get any, she narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to tell me what you two talked about, are you?"

"Nope, but he did say something that I'm curious about."

Jessica settled back with her head into his neck. "Curious, huh? What do you want to know?"

Aubrey wasn't sure how to ask. "Charlie said he didn't realize his marriage was over until you got hurt. What happened, Jessica?"

Jessica closed her eyes and debated with herself. "It's...hard for me to….you know…"

The agent realized he upset his girlfriend. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up-"

"It's okay, Superman.", Jessica said. "I'll tell you about it someday...but I don't want to talk about that right now."

The room was silent for a few minutes before Aubrey spoke his mind again. "Jess, I'm sorry for being an ass with your mother. It was not my place as a guest to speak out like that. I'm sure it was embarrassing to your family. I don't know what came over me..."

Jessica turned to Aubrey. "Embarrassing? Once again, you stood up to a bully for me and also for my brothers. Superman, my brothers like you even more now, as well as my sisters and my dad. You weren't an ass...you were being the good person I know you are."

Aubrey's hand caressed her back. "Sure that you're not angry at me for back talking your mother? You held your own, like your brothers, but she was really pissing me off. Nobody is gonna talk like that to the woman I love and get away with it..."

"No…I'm not angry at you...not at all". Jessica gently caressed his face. "I should be thanking you. You are the best person I know, James Aubrey. You stand up for people every day as an FBI agent. You stand up for your friends...my family...and for me. Nobody has really done that before, save for my brothers and father. When you do that, it makes me love you more."

"Really?", Aubrey asked, still a little unsure.

"Really.", Jessica said. Kissing his cheek, she turned back and leaned against him in the water. "I'm just glad today was good. My brothers like you...you defended my family's honor...you got to eat lots of food…"

Aubrey began laughing as she continued. "...I repelled an interloper...all in all, a good day."

"Yes, and we will have an excellent Thanksgiving weekend in my house.", Aubrey replied.

"So Genny was okay with covering tomorrow?", the redhead asked.

"Yeah. I told her to take December 26th off as a thank you. I'm glad Hodgins closed the lab for the holiday."

"Dr. Saroyan usually does it every year. If a case comes in, only essential volunteer personnel come in as well as obviously Hodgins, Angela, Dr. B, and the FBI pathologist who is covering for Dr. Saroyan. God, that woman such an uptight bitch."

Aubrey chuckled. "Dr. Boyd isn't that bad…"

Jessica turned around. "Superman, you couldn't pull a needle out of her butt with a tractor. I think the FBI just wanted her out of their hair for a while."

"Well, Cam is coming back in March and things will be status quo again.". Aubrey grinned as he rubbed Jessica's shoulder. "Now, an important question. Are you really getting up at like 5:00 tomorrow for Black Friday? Those people are nuts."

"Yes. There are some great bargains this year. One of those bargains may or may not be for you."

"Don't spend a lot on me, Jessica.", Aubrey said. "I know you have money saved up in your trust fund, but you're still a grad student."

Jessica pecked her boyfriend on the lips. "Don't worry about me, Superman. Besides, I should say the same to you, too."

Aubrey rolled his eyes. "Fine. So what are our plans for this weekend?"

Jessica smiled. "Quality time together with and without Skinner."

"Do I get a hint?", Aubrey asked.

The redhead considered for a moment. "We may...or may not be naked for at least some of it."

"I'm all for that.", the agent said as his hand began to gently move up and down her thigh. "With that said, Ms. Warren, I suggest we get a head start on our weekend."

"Oh, really...", Jessica said with a smirk before turning around. "I think I like that idea, Agent Aubrey."

The couple immediately began making out in the hot tub. It wasn't long before he pulled the redhead on his lap, where she moved her lips moved his neck and collarbone. In the water, one of Jessica's hand slowly caressed his skin along his happy trail down. Aubrey responded by pulling her closer and closing his mouth over her left breast. He feasted further to his girlfriend's moans of pleasure. As he moved to taste her other one, his phone vibrated and the couple groaned at the interruption.

"That better be one majorly dead body.", Aubrey said before shaking off his hand. Looking at the caller ID, he groaned. "Ugh...Karen. Sorry Jess...I think she calling about a profile for one of Steve's cases. Give me just a minute."

"One, James Aubrey.", Jessica said as she leaned back. "I'll be counting…"

Picking up the phone, he answered and hit speaker. "Karen, what's up?"

"I have that profile done for Steve if you want to go over it tonight."

Aubrey rolled his eyes. "Steve is supposed to be back tomorrow afternoon. He can go over it then."

"Actually, he just called. The weather is bad and his flight was cancelled, so he's going to fly home Sunday morning. Is he going to be in trouble?"

'He probably wanted more time with his family.' Aubrey thought. "It's fine, Karen, as long as he has vacation time to cover it. Just email it to him and Genny."

"Are you sure? It does involve bank robbery...that's important."

"I agree. That is why I said to copy the email to Genny, because she's in charge tomorrow. Now, I have to go. Talk to you later, Karen. Good night." Aubrey hung up his phone. "Now, where were we?"

Jessica smiled before putting her arms around Aubrey's neck. "Right about here." She muttered before the two embraced in the bubbly water.