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Bones is not mine. Not even an eency, weency bit.
Booth finally made it back to Brennan's apartment, sniffling most of the way.
Brennan spent the majority of the time that he shuffled around the apartment, putting the items away, biting down furiously on the inside of her cheek. She was finding it difficult to even look at her traumatised partner. When, after twenty seconds of hopping frantically around in a circle and eventually firing the final item, still concealed in it's bag, into Brennan's room, a quick snort of laughter escaped her. As soon as Booth turned his enlarged eyes on her, the snort rapidly turned into a rather unconvincing cough.
"Thanks Booth."
The poor man looked exhausted. He collapsed onto the couch beside her, breathing heavily. As much as she wanted to ridicule him to within an inch of his life over how childishly he was acting, this intensity of wanting was matched, even surpassed, by the need to keep concealed how much she actually needed him. What was even more uncomfortable to admit, and something that her subconscious kept probing at deep into the darkest hours of the night, was how this need did not stem from her simply being injured. Definitely not a sensible thought to be dwelling on.
After a few minutes of allowing him to wallow in his misery, Brennan tentatively poked him in the ribs.
"Come on, Booth. You made me wait until you got home before I could have my shower. The least you could do is help me to start the process."
Booth shot up.
"The least? The LEAST?! I've just…and then…followed by…oh God…that was just so…"
He curled up into a ball, moaning fitfully.
Giving him a playful smack on the backside, Brennan shifted herself into a standing position.
Booth snapped to attention, eager to help and revived somewhat by her kidding around.
He sloped off to the bathroom, mumbling something about her owing him big time. Brennan sighed. She really would have to find some kind of gesture to show how much she appreciated his help. She'd worry about that later.
She hopped along to the bathroom herself. Booth had already set up two towels as close to the bath as possible: Brennan's shower was positioned over the bathtub. Booth was moving the floor mat into what he felt was the most useful position. He then reached up and switched the shower on. As the first drops of water echoed off the plain white tiles, he turned to her with a grin.
"All done. You won't even have to lift a finger."
She smiled gratefully and squeezed his bicep gently in appreciation.
"Could you put the plug in?"
He looked at her, eyebrows raised.
"I thought you were having a shower?"
"I am…but…maybe…just maybe if I find that too difficult, I could just sit down and have some semblance of a bath. It might…it might be easier to keep my leg elevated from a sitting position. But I probably won't need to anyway."
Knowing from experience that it was wisest to simply say nothing, Booth silently did what she requested. When he was finished, he turned to her once more.
"So, if you wanna get…ah…undressed (the pitch of his voice increased dramatically), I can come back in when you're done and just sit on the toilet…" He gestured towards the ceramic toilet, lid down.
Brennan spluttered.
"What? No! When you said earlier that you'd sit nearby, I thought you meant sit…nearby. Not right on top of me! You can just sit outside. What if I fell…?"
Booth looked exasperated.
"All the more reason for me to…"
"No, I meant, what if I fell and you SAW…you know…things…"
Booth shot her his best charm smile.
"Can I remind you that you're trying to get me to leave…not encouraging me to stay?"
Brennan growled. He must have been practising that smile. It was taking all of her willpower not to invite him to join her.
"Booth, you can just sit outside. I'll keep the door unlocked so if something goes wrong…" She made a door opening motion with her hand.
Looking quite disappointed, Booth nodded curtly and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. He waited a couple of seconds to make sure she didn't turn the key in the lock, then looked around the apartment for something to do.
He decided he could try and tackle some of her laundry. He dragged the basket over to her couch, well within earshot of the bathroom. Feeling slightly nervous, he peered inside.
What reason did he have to feel guilty? He was only a friend helping out another friend, after all. This was a perfectly innocent gesture. So why did it feel…well, naughty?
He gave himself a brief mental talking to, and then dipped his hands into the basket. He placed the resulting articles beside him on the seat. He sorted the two pairs of trousers and four different types of tops into 'dark' and 'light' piles. He let out the breath he hadn't even realised he was holding. This was fine. This was perfectly normal. Encouraged, he reached his hands in again.
This time he came up with the items he had secretly been hoping to find all along. Brennan's underwear. He had already seen the type of underwear she wore for…special occasions, but this…this felt more personal somehow. More intimate. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this was what she was daily hiding under her clothes. Things nobody ever got to see. Except her. And now, him.
Feeling himself grow warm at this new, unforseen connection between himself and his partner, he set about sorting these particular items of clothing into their respective piles. He handled them gently, respectfully, trying his utmost not to imagine Brennan wearing them.
A sudden shout split the air.
Booth jumped up, scattering underwear everywhere. He raced over to the bathroom and began hammering on the door.
"Bones? Bones? Are you ok? Bones, I'm coming in."
He gently eased the door open and poked his head inside. Steam momentarily obscured his vision. Once his eyes had adjusted, he focused his gaze on the shower curtain that hid Brennan from view.
"Bones?"
He heard a heavy sigh.
"Sorry, Booth. I'm fine. I just…I was trying to wash my back, which is harder than it sounds when you're trying to keep one leg out of the water, and I just lost my balance. Don't really know how."
Booth smiled to himself.
"Sounds hard enough, Bones. You ok?"
"I'm fine, really."
"You wanna try that sitting down idea?"
"I guess."
Booth quickly suppressed a grin, knowing how difficult it was for her to admit defeat.
He heard a splash as she eased herself into the water.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm…I don't know where my sponge is."
Trying desperately to fight his anticipation, Booth moved closer to the shower curtain.
"Look, Bones, why don't I just wash your back for you? I won't look, I promise. I can do that a lot easier than you can…and you…you can work on keeping your cast out of the water."
Silence greeted him.
"Bones?"
"Ok, Booth. I…that was more tiring than I thought it would be. And this cast is pretty heavy."
Incredulous at the lack of argument, Booth settled himself on the bathtub's edge. Slowly, visibly trembling, he reached a hand around the curtain that separated the two.
"Where's the sponge, Bones?"
"Here. I found it."
She passed a warm, wet, ball of material into his hand. He could tell from the angle with which she did this, even without seeing, that she had her back to him. Unbeknownst to the other, each shivered slightly at the contact.
Booth was so nervous he managed to drop the sponge straight into the water.
"Aw sh…sorry, Bones. Hang on…"
He plunged a hand into the still warm liquid and swirled it around, searching blindly for the escaped sponge. After a number of seconds, during which time Booth got redder and redder at his apparent ineptitude, and Brennan let out one surprised yelp when his fingers made contact with somewhere unexpected and rather delicate to the touch, Booth held the sponge in his hand once more.
He reached his other hand around the curtain and squeezed some of the water out of the sopping material. He returned this hand back from behind the divide, an enticing, sophisticated scent accompanying this gesture.
He gently moved the sponge until it made contact with her skin. Both let out quiet gasps at the touch. Gaining confidence, Booth began to swirl the material across the smooth surface of her back.
Time seemed to freeze. Neither spoke. Neither seemed to breathe either.
After about two minutes, Brennan offered, "You know, Booth, there's a top section to my back as well."
Booth started, nearly dropping the sponge again. He moved it further north.
"I was just being thorough." he muttered sulkily, not really sure if this was for her ears or his own.
Brennan smiled secretly and straightened her back, relishing the feeling of the material travelling over her skin. Booth. She couldn't believe that Booth was technically washing her. If Angela could see this… She let her head fall back.
"Are you cold, Bones?" Concern was evident in his voice. He'd felt her shudder violently.
"Em, yeah. Probably time we stopped…eh, I mean, I got out."
He nodded, forgetting she couldn't see him. He dropped the sponge gently into the water and moved his hand out from behind the curtain. His fingers brushed off her skin as he did. He honestly couldn't tell if this had been a deliberate move on his part or if it was purely accidental. Either way, he could feel her burning up.
He stood up slowly, afraid any sudden movements would cause the memory of the last few minutes to fragment and scatter across the room, lost forever. He really didn't want to forget it.
"You alright, Bones?"
He heard the sounds of falling water as she stood up and an affirmative grunt from Brennan.
He handed the towels in to her. She took them off him wordlessly, then closed a hand briefly over his and gave it a quick squeeze.
"You're welcome, Bones."
He moved towards the door. He couldn't stop staring at the shiny spot on his hand where her wet skin had touched his. Before he left, he clarified, "You definitely paid me back, Bones. In fact, how about every time you owe me something, we just settle it this way?"
He quickly shut the door before she had a chance to protest. He never heard her spontaneous, quiet, even delighted, giggling.