A LITTLE FUN UNDER THE SUN
Disclaimer: We've been over this before. We do not own Bones.
Author's notes niah1988: Well, we haven't been completely honest with you. There isn't just one S-moment in this chapter. No, there are two S-moments! One, as you might have guessed, is a bit °checks to see if there aren't any minors around° steamy. Well, "steamy" actually. And the other one... °grins broadly° Let's just say it's kind of like the kite-moment; a nice twist!
Author's notes Addictt: Wow, this one is looong, you guys! I L-O-V-E this chapter! As Niah said.. Steamy, yes! Finally something happens what you all have been waiting for.. So, what are you waiting for? Go give it a read and write us a review! Thank you!
For the reviewers: We love every single one of your reviews! Please, write more! We're greedy for your thoughts! Loads of thanks and cookies to jemb, muppetmadness, warmfuzzys, brennanmars, skellingtonlover, mereva, Boness 57, seeley's sweetheart, SnoopGirl69, ali09, maricejayo, Becca Hilpz, a911chic, jaed961, xxkatrina, infernored2937, jerseybones, canadianagurl, estelsphere, BonesDBchippie, Bellabun, krisnina77, kickstergal, sas.90, bones-is-love, 9ud9ir190ne6ad, IrishChic20, Amasayda, Serienjunkie 91, Andree-Anne, wolfmyjic, Xlisa, sue, bandbforever, Ruby Stew, PurplePicklesUnite, squinter, Binas and astrakane.
Thanks Kelei for the beta-job!
We switch POV's a couple of times, but this chapter is mostly written in Booth's POV.
° Chapter 6 - Passing A Corner °
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Around 6am...
Shivers run down my spine and wake me up from my slumber. Delicate hands running their warm fingertips over my arm are causing those shivers. My eyes pop open. There's only one person that could be touching me in this bed at six in the morning - Bones.
I lift my head to take a look at her face; her eyelids are firmly closed. She's still sleeping. Great, she's touching me in her sleep... again.
A grin sneaks over my face. She doesn't remember the stuff she does in her sleep, so I might as well lie back and enjoy. I know; that's bad of me, but hey, this is probably one of the few times I allow the both of us to go further than usual. After all, it's easier to push yourself past boundaries in the disguise of the night than in broad daylight.
As I lay down my head again, she begins to shift around, rubbing her feet over my shins and pushing back her hips multiple times. Her movements are accompanied by soft grunts and moans. I arch an eyebrow. That must be one hell of a dream she's having!
I glance over at her. She's lying with her back to me, her legs drawn up a bit and her feet inches away from my shins. She buries her face in her pillow before rolling her hips. Then she begins to move around again. I watch her conduct. If she keeps that shifting around thing up, she'll be pressed to me in no time.
Suddenly she moans. "Booth..."
My eyes widen in surprise. Last night she used my name as well, but I sort of dismissed that as coincidence. But now I hear my last name roll over her lips, for the second time in a row, I can safely say that this is more than coincidental. I wonder if she's aware that she dreams about me, and not about Sully.
I sigh deeply and put my hands behind my head. I stare at the ceiling for a few silent minutes. The only sounds that occasionally break the silence are the ones Brennan is making with her constant shifting around.
Last night she was disgruntled after a phone conversation with Sully. I don't know what exactly transpired between them, except that they had some sort of argument about me. I was tempted to burst out in disbelieving laughter when she told me. I try my best to stay out of their way, while she keeps bringing me up in almost every conversation they have. Whether I like it or not, I'm stealing her away from Sully. I'm ignoring what my mother has once taught me.
Then why am I enjoying it so much? I shouldn't be this thrilled about breaking my own rules. I'm the one who put restrictions on our relationship. I'm the one who desperately wanted to stay in safe territory. And now... Now she's closing in on me. She's crossing the line. And I'm not stopping her. How hypocritical is that?
Suddenly Brennan rolls over to her other side. As if she has done it dozens of times before, her hand creeps over my stomach and her head finds its way to the crook of my arm. She even drapes one of her legs over my waist. For a couple of seconds all the air is drawn from my lungs. My hands fly to the sheets to take a firm hold of them - almost as if I want to strangle them. This is not happening. This cannot be happening!
The night before, I was the one who made the first move. I made sure there was no evidence of my actions when she woke up. But now... Now she's cuddling up against me; not in a cute way like the first night, no, this is another kind of cuddling. You know who hug each other like this in bed? Couples who know each other intimately. The last time I checked, Bones and I knew an awful lot about each other, but not that much.
I relax when she stops moving. An arm and leg wrapped around me I can handle; as long as she stays perfectly still, that is. A goofy grin spreads on my face when I look down on the top of her head. Here she is, my partner, curled up against me, dreaming something that I can only describe as "steamy", judging by the number of moans, grunts and hip rolls. And the best thing is that she's doing all those things to me in her sleep. Why else would she be moaning my name?
When I agreed to tag along, I certainly didn't expect this to happen. Sure, I hoped to see her hop around in a bikini, and sure, I hoped to get her to rub my back, but not even in my wildest dreams did I dare to wish she'd wrap herself around me like this. Oh wait, we're not in my dreams, but in hers.
The feeling of her warm mouth pressed against my skin takes me off-guard. What the hell is she doing?! I don't have to look down to know that she's kissing her way around my chest, dancing her fingertips over my stomach and tightening her lock around my waist. A moan escapes me when she catches a nipple with her mouth. I stagger when I dare to glance down. Just look at the contrast between my already tanned and her creamy, ever so lightly sunburned, skin. My eyes are glued to her lips when she drags them up and down my torso. My breath becomes ragged when her knee begins to draw slow stimulating circles on the one spot that really doesn't need any stimulating. This is just too much to take in for me. It's too sudden, too sexy, and too damn erotic to be real.
I check her eyelids. They're still closed. She's doing all this in her sleep. I groan, partly in frustration, partly because she's launched another attack on one of my nipples. I used to dress myself while sleepwalking; it's possible that she does this... this... in her sleep.
My eyes squeezed tightly shut and my hands gripping the sheets in a death vice, I contemplate my options. What I really should do is push her away, and find another place to sleep. But this feels so good. A shiver runs up and down my spine when she places a tender kiss right next to my heart. I'm torn between being a gentleman and doing what I've been longing to do for quite some time now.
I reach up and carefully run my fingers through her hair, combing it out of her face. She immediately tilts her head to meet my hand.
"Mmm..." she hums.
Her eyelids flutter. For a second I'm afraid she's waking up. Then she cocks her head even more to the side and presses a featherlike kiss on my palm. Wearing a content smile, she settles down again in the crook of my arm, leaving me gasping for air. Did this just happen? Did Bones just kiss my hand?
Apparently she isn't done with surprising me. First she nuzzles my side with her nose; next she sneaks both her arms around my waist to pull herself even closer. "Hmmm, Booth..." she murmurs.
Are you trying to kill me here, Bones? How can I resist you when you're mumbling my name, while being curled up against me in those skimpy clothes?
I close my eyes and groan softly. That's it. I've lost the battle. No more holding back. Well, as long as she's asleep any way...
Wrapping my arms around her fragile frame, I let my chin rest on top of her head and wait for sleep to come and take me away.
A while later something brushing my side wakes me up. Is she at it again? I mumble something under my breath and tighten my grip on her frame. Feel free to fulfil my needs at any possible time, Bones, just not now. It's in the middle of the night, for Pete's sake! I get cranky if I'm sleep deprived, so you really shouldn't be messing with my night rest right now.
"Bones, not now," I mumble in her hair.
To my surprise she pushes my arms away. I open my eyes to check on what she's up to this time. She raises herself up on her arms and before I can stop her, she swings her leg over my lower body and sits down on… you know where.
My hands find their way to her hips when her thighs lock around my waist. A moan escapes me. This is just… just… Damn it, I can't think straight with her pushing like that against me!
Then she begins to kiss my neck. The way we shoot arguments back and forth in those heated discussions we regularly have, I would have expected her to be as explosive in bed. Instead of feverishly devouring my skin, she tenderly grazes my neck with her teeth and lips. Who would have thought one day my partner would be this gentle with me?
When she circles around my Adam's apple with her tongue, I realise I'm losing myself in the moment. If she doesn't wake up in the next few minutes, I'm rolling her over to return the torture she's submitting me to.
I briefly wonder if she regularly does these kinds of things in her sleep. If she does, then I fully understand why her ex-boyfriends never complained! I mean, what sane man would turn down a sleepwalker who knows exactly how to push his buttons? Well, she's more like a "sleeplover", actually.
One good hip roll makes me forget all my thoughts and pushes me over the edge. She has broken down my last defence. No man, not even a monk, can resist a beautiful woman straddling him while showering him with tender gestures. She's just too tempting to push away.
I carefully slide my fingers in her hair. Murmuring her name against her skin, I place a trail of soft kisses from her ear to her chin. This is beautiful. She is beautiful, and sweet, and soft, and… very much awake.
My heart forgets to hammer against my ribcage for a couple of seconds as I stare into her eyes. Our breaths mingle, my thumbs slowly stroke her cheekbones and her irises widen and narrow.
"Booth, what are we doing?"
I look down to our lower bodies that are firmly pushed against each other. We'd be connected in the most intimate way if it wasn't for our clothes. "We aren't dancing the tango, by the looks of it. More like the love limbo, I'm afraid."
Her gaze flicks down as well. Then she raises an eyebrow. "Why didn't you stop me?"
In cases where you can't think of a witty comeback line, keep your mouth shut. That's an advice my father gave me a long time ago. This is one of those situations he was talking about. It's probably the smartest and safest thing to do to remain quiet now.
She sits up straight, putting even more of her weight on my sensitive parts. I moan involuntarily.
"You're enjoying this," she accuses me, hands on hips and eyes narrowed to slits.
I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and will the desire away. No use; it's too strong.
"Don't try to avoid the question, Booth. I've got proof right here." To emphasize her point, she pushes her hips down, extracting a deep groan from me. "Be honest, Booth. Are you enjoying this?"
You have no idea what you're doing here, Bones. If you force me to answer that question, you'll make me change our relationship irrevocably. You don't have the right to make me the one who messes everything up. You just can't make me… I softly moan when she rolls her hips again. Apparently you can.
I grab her hips and drag her off me. I stare down intensely at her when I tell her, "What do you want me to say here, Bones? That I'll never forget how it feels between your thighs? That I wish I could make you cry out in pleasure?" I bring my face down. "Let me ask you a question; did you enjoy it?"
She gulps once, twice, and blinks a couple of times. "Yes, I did."
I fall down onto the bed, sighing deeply. "We're in trouble."
"Yes, we are," she sighs as well.
We lie beside each other for some time, both staring up at the ceiling. Then I get up, grab my clothes and make my way to the door.
She sits up. "Booth, where are you going?"
"I need to clear my head," I throw over my shoulder.
"But we need to talk about this. Hasn't your shrink taught you anything?"
Great, just drag Gordon Gordon into this, Bones! I ignore her words and close the door. We'll talk later about this, just not now when I'm still doped up on desire.
One hour later…
After having wandered over the beach for about an hour, I return to the beach house. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how our friendship has changed because of a couple of vivid and explicit dreams.
I casually stroll through the door and right into a conversation between Angela and Zach.
"Zach, here's Booth. Try talking to him. I'm sure he can help you out."
Angela shoves Zach in my direction and disappears to the kitchen, leaving the two of us to stare after her. I slowly turn to the young scientist.
"I understand it if you don't want to talk to me because of the guy thing," Zach apologises.
I plant one hand on my hip, the other one I use to pinch my nose bridge. I've gone down a new road with Bones, why not do the same with Zach?
"Listen kid; let's forget about the guy thing for now, 'kay? I'm willing to try a little man-to-man convo here, as long as you stay far away from tips on how to improve your sex life."
Zach nods. "It's Elena."
"What did I tell you? No sex," I grumble.
"It's not about sex. It's about our future." Zach frowns and stares at the kitchen counter. "We're leaving tonight. Logic suggests that…"
"Wait, we're leaving tonight? I thought we were spending an entire week here?"
"Yes, a five day week. Dr. Goodman arranged it so that we'd arrive on Monday morning and would leave again on Friday evening. But that's unimportant information. What I'm concerned about is what I'm leaving behind."
It finally dawns on me what he's so worried about. "Elena," I nod in understanding.
"Yes, Elena. Logic suggests that I should leave without looking back, and consider her as a vacation fling. Only, I'm struggling to do so."
"You've really taken a liking to this girl, haven't you?"
I don't know what freaks me out more; the fact that Zach has found a girl or the fact that I'm actually having this conversation with him.
"She's amazing," Zach sighs. "She's unlike everyone I've ever met. She's the most special and beautiful woman in the entire world, which is quite an illogical statement. It's impossible for me to compare her to every other woman because I haven't met all the women walking around," Zach finishes, more to himself than to me.
I guess he's having a hard time processing the fact that he's in love with Elena. The woman you're in love with is always the most unbelievable lady in the world, no matter how incredible all the other women are. Just between you and me, I think Zach has never been in love before. It must be weird for a logic-loving science type kid like himself to experience such an illogical emotion as love.
"Well then, kiddo…" I comradely give him a gentle slap on the back. "Defy logic."
He gives me a sad look. "I can't do that, right? Logic is what I've based my every decision on. I would betray myself if I gave logic up. No woman is worth betraying yourself for, are they?"
I shake my head. "It's either logic or Elena. Your choice." I turn around and head off to the kitchen to help Angela with setting the table.
Half an hour later…
As I sit down at the table, Bones avoids my gaze and pretends she's busy preparing a sandwich. Yeah, right; she's "busy". Hodgins is telling her about yesterday, how Angela gracefully fell in his arms. I see Brennan's cheeks turn into an ever so light shade of pink; what's up with that? She "attacked" me in my sleep; I should be the one blushing! I shake my head and smile at the happy couple. Zach seems awfully quiet... even for... being Zach. I hope our little conversation didn't set him too much off-guard. After some chit-chatting, the daily topic returns, asked by Angela. What a nice surprise.
"So... Any plans for today? Anyone?"
"What did you have in mind, Angela?" Ah, why did Bones need to do that? Now our ritual is broken! We're supposed to mumble our no's, then Angela asks what we'd like to do, then she disapproves almost every plan and introduces her own. It's all spoiled now.
"Well, I've read great reviews on the internet about SCUBA-diving." Everyone nods, and a smile appears on Hodgins' and Bones' face. Angela continues with more enthusiasm. "A small company in Cockburn Town organizes sailing trips in High, Low and Middle Cay. So... What do you think?"
"So we're actually going to dive?" Zach asks, speaking for the first time in ten minutes. Angela nods and smiles.
"Hmhm, it's all-inclusive. And not that expensive!"
"Let's do it!" She convinced me, but I don't know about the rest.
"I'm always up for diving," Hodgins says and Brennan nods.
"Me too."
"It's fine with me," Zach agrees a little absent-minded.
And just like that, we set our day schedule. We agree to leave in half an hour, so everyone can get ready. I make a quick run over the beach, shower and dress myself. All in 28 minutes sharp. Nice.
Of course, I get to drive with Bones next to me. The whole drive she doesn't say anything, and if she does, she gives brief answers and avoids looking at me. I decide to turn up the volume of the music, so the silence doesn't prevail. What's up with everybody? First Zach, now Brennan. Or is it the other way around?
Ten minutes of bad music later, I park the SUV before a little shop. A flashy neon sign tells me it's called "San Scuba". We all get our bags and walk into the shop.
"Good afternoon, welcome to San Scuba," a woman behind the counter greets us.
"Hi, we'd like to make one of those all-inclusive SCUBA-diving trips," Angela says, walking towards the woman.
"Five persons?"
Angela looks around at Zach. "Is Elena coming?"
Zach shakes his head. "She has to work."
"Yes, five persons please," Angela nods.
"Okay, I'm gonna make a call. One moment, please," the woman smiles at Angela before taking her phone. Two minutes later she walks towards us.
"Two of my colleagues are sailing towards us. You can walk towards the dock; they'll be there in five minutes. All the equipment is on board. You can recognise the boat by its name; Hannah. Now all I need is one of your names, please?"
Hodgins steps forward and the woman writes his name down at the counter. Ten minutes later we all are on the boat.
"Welcome on the Hannah," one of the two African-American men says. "I'm Stephen, and he's Daniel. Again; welcome aboard."
We quickly introduce ourselves. Stephen gets everything ready so that the boat can sail away, while Daniel starts explaining some rules.
"Now... Have any of you dived before, or have a certificate?"
"I have a certificate," Brennan says, followed by Hodgins; "Me too."
"Okay, then this is how we're going to do it. Angela, you form a team with Jack. Seeley, was it?" I give a quick nod. "You're with Temperance. Zach, you stay together with me." He starts handing out gloves, flippers and other diving equipment. "You can put this on in ten minutes, when we arrive at Low Cay. We'll dive for about an hour there, and take a break on a little piece of land at High Cay."
He also hands out one yellow line to every pair. "This is what we call a "buddy line"." I quietly snort. That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard and seen. "You attach yourselves onto your partner with this line." Brennan glares at me. I decide to ignore it, this time. "It's just for safety; you never know what could happen under water. So... If you have any questions, I'm right here. The last thing I want to say before you jump of this boat - Enjoy!"
We separate and I walk after "my buddy". She's leaning against the rail, staring into the water. This morning I refused to open up because of the desire that made me crave for her. Now that I've got control over myself again, I'm ready to discuss what happened.
"Bones, we need to talk."
She shrugs. "I don't want to talk." I walk a little closer, and put my hands on the rail too. "I need to think."
"You can't keep avoiding and ignoring me."
A little sigh escapes her. "I know that. Can we just not talk about it, and forget it? Forget it all?" For the first time she looks me in the eyes. To me, they're like an open book. Desperation, fear and confusion; they're all clouding her eyes. I slowly shake my head.
"No, we can't." I'm not sure if I say that for our relationships sake, or for my own. I know I want her, but I can't force her to give up things because she wants me too. Things like Sully and her pride.
"I just need time..."
My hand reaches for her face, but stops when she turns back to the water again.
"TACK!" Stephen suddenly yells. Brennan and I look at each other. Then I see sailcloth coming our way.
"Duck!" I tell her, which is kind of useless, seeing as I take her down with me. The sailcloth swings over us, and Stephen shouts an excuse. I look at Brennan, a smile tugging at my lips.
"Sorry," I say, and a smile spreads across her face as well.
"Thanks for saving me."
My gut tells me we're not only talking about the sailcloth here. I get up and give her my hand. She takes it, I lift her up and we walk towards the rest of the group.
"We're almost entering Low Cay," Daniel tells us and we start to pull our diving suits on.
Could someone please tell me what belongs where? I closely watch Hodgins and start stripping down to my swim shorts. Then I get confused. There are so many pieces of clothing; I don't know which one to put on first. I lost Hodgins' track, so there is one option left for me - asking Bones.
"Bones, could you help me, please?" She turns around and gives me an annoyed look. She's already in her suit, although her zipper isn't closed yet.
"What are you, a five year old?!" she snaps, but seconds later she softens. "Sorry..."
"It's okay," I tell her. At least she's talking to me, showing emotion. I'd rather have that, than a silent robot. "Now, will you help me?"
She nods and sorts out all the stuff in front of me.
"This is the suit itself; you pull this on first," she hands me the suit. I pull it on while she continues sorting the pile out.
"Here, let me give you a hand with that zipper," I tell her, and a memory floats into my mind. Las Vegas, we're dressing up as Tony and Roxy. I told her she was hot. Just like now. Even though, or maybe because, she's wearing a rubber suit.
After we've closed each others zippers, she continues informing me on all the equipment and I listen to her.
"These are gloves and boots; I'm sure you know what to do with them. This is the diving mask; you can put it on later. Hmm... Flippers come next, I think. After you've put them on, you can put the BC on." She points at something which looks like a bullet-proof vest.
"BC?" I give her a confused look.
"Buoyancy compensator, or buoyancy control device. They're also called stab jackets. Your pressured air is attached to it, as is the rest of your equipment," she points at all sort of lines, meters, and flasks.
"What are those?"
"There is a manometer, to measure the pressure of the air, a flashlight, a knife, compass..."
"Wait a minute. A knife?"
"Yes. When you're stuck, a knife comes in handy to free yourself. Or when there's a strong current, you can pull yourself forward. You have one on your BC and one attached to your leg." She points to a slip knot on my suit.
"Thanks Bones. I really appreciate this," I throw her one of my charm smiles. She shakes her head smiling, and continues dressing herself.
Within five minutes everybody is fully dressed. We aren't sailing anymore, the anchor is down and some sort of diving flag is up. Bones told me it's mandatory. Daniel has pulled on a diving suit too, since Stephen is staying aboard.
"Okay… Seeley and Temperance, you can enter the water first."
Irritation rises every time he calls us by our first names, and I'm assuming Bones is feeling the same way. But I don't want to be rude, so I let it be. Stephen attaches our buddy line and we walk towards the edge of the boat.
"On three, you jump backwards. Okay?"
"Way ay minuy," I say. I roll my eyes and take that thing in my mouth out. Stephen and Brennan mentioned its name to me, but I forgot. "Wait a minute," I repeat myself. "Why backwards?"
"Otherwise, you'll dive into the boat." Stephen manages to keep his face straight, but I swear I see the rest of our team grinning behind their masks.
"Sounds pretty logical," I say and put "the thing" back in my mouth.
"Okay, ready?" Stephen asks, and Brennan and I put our thumbs up.
"One... Two… Three!"
I arch my back and jump backwards. The first thing I notice is the warm water. It's all around me. After a few seconds the water becomes clear. The bubbles are gone, and a beautiful reef appears.
I swim to my right, slowly breathing somewhat strange air. Beautiful colours, a few fish with the strangest scales I've ever seen. I swim a few feet again, until I'm hampered. A sharp pull keeps me from swimming. I glare at the cause, which is the infamous buddy line. Great.
I look to my right, and see Brennan swimming towards me. She rolls her eyes when she's close to me. Typical.
I point towards the strange fish, and a sparkle appears in her eyes. Never thought that Brennan would be a woman who'd get a kick out of studying strange fish. Suddenly I feel a sort of wave of water flowing against us. Then the bubbles appear again. Probably Hodgins and Angela, who joined us.
(First POV. We've been inside Booth's mind long enough now, don't you think? It's Hodgins' turn now.)
As the bubbles disappear, I look at Booth and Brennan on my right. That Stephen-guy must've annoyed the hell out of them, calling them by their first names. A chuckle rises in my throat, but I manage to keep it in. I glance at my left, where Angela is signing me to swim forward. Something must've attracted her attention. I swim with her, and discover a big, correction, very big coral polyp. Its tentacles slowly wave at us. We swim a bit more forward, as a school fish passes us.
Seen Angela's body language, she loves this. I take her hand and together we swim a little deeper. Suddenly her body language changes. Drastically. She's literally jumping my bones. Normally, I wouldn't mind, not even a bit. But now, her eyes are as big as saucers and she clamps onto my body.
I look around and spot the thing she's afraid of - a Manta Ray. If you've never heard of it, it's a huge ray. They're peaceful though, most of the time. Lots of scuba divers see them. Some even come down just to see them. Except for serial killers, or for wicked witches from a forest, I've never seen Angela that scared. Just to calm her down, we slowly swim away from the ray. If we don't bother him, he won't bother us either.
Numerous times she throws scared glances around her. After five minutes, she relaxes. I look around, and the ray seems to be gone. I give her a thumb up. She takes my hand again to lead me to something very unusual…
(POV is Zach's now)
In the past half hour I've seen many things. Starfish -even blue ones- shrimps, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and lots of fish. All nice and educational, but I'm not really focused. My head, or rather my heart, is with Elena. Tonight could be the last time I see her. Only the thought of it makes me immensely sad.
All of this, it just doesn't makes sense. It's like Booth said, logic or Elena. I've trusted on logic all my life. But here's something new, something I've never experienced before. I have a feeling I can trust Elena for the rest of my life. Do I have to pick one? Isn't it possible to have a little of both? If I choose Elena, there isn't a logical reason behind it. I have no idea how to work this out; I work in DC, while Elena is here.
What is it with this woman any way? I've kissed other women before; I even had sex with them. Something I haven't done with Elena; yet. Or maybe never. It depends. But still I'm willing to put my life upside down for her.
I feel things I've never felt for those other women. It's all very radical; not logical, not rational, not even national. How very clever of me.
I can't conclude anything out of this. There are no clues, no facts, nothing is certain. Some would say this is about the heart. Others will say it's about the head.
I can't choose. I just can't pick one. Isn't there something in between? Heart, head. Feelings, facts.
Mouth. My mouth is between my heart and head. Mouth as in voice! A voice can speak facts and feelings. A voice will speak from the heart and the head. Will my inner voice tell me what to do?
(Boothy Boo again, lol)
I can't believe how much you can see in one whole hour. I can tell you it's a lot. Once back at the boat, everyone removes their diving suits and Hodgins begins telling us a juicy story about Angela and a ray. Angela defends herself and slaps Hodgins playfully on his arm. Stephen and Daniel make the boat go sailing again, and everyone enjoys the warmth of the sun upon his or her body.
Ten minutes of relaxing later the boat stops again for our arranged break. There is no dock, so we lay anchor down and dive into the water. Swimming closer towards the beach, it turns out it's not that deep. We continue walking. A few seconds later a sharp pain in my foot makes me gasp for air.
"Ah!"
Automatically I keep on walking. It turns out it isn't the smartest thing to do. Now I've captured Brennan's attention, who turns around with one arched eyebrow.
"What's wrong?"
"My foot; I think I've just stepped onto something!" She comes walking towards me, and looks down behind me.
"It looks like you've stepped onto a starfish, Booth."
"A starfish?" Cynical edge; nice one, Seeley. Don't make her forget that you're still annoyed that she didn't want to talk earlier.
I sigh and hop a few feet towards the beach, just to get away from that… thing. "How painful is it?" Great, now she is doctoring me while I'm hopping on one foot!
"It itches. No, burns. No, itches. Actually, both. It's spreading all over my foot," I mutter and fall down onto the safe sand.
"Let me take a look," she says and she's already grabbing my foot. I quickly pull away.
"No!"
"What? Why?"
"You are not taking a look at my foot!" She rolls her eyes again.
"Come over yourself, Booth. I'm a doctor," she tells me like I've never noticed. She takes my foot again and this time I let her. She does have a soft and delicate touch…
"It's all red and puffy." That's just great. "It doesn't look good." Well, it doesn't feel that comfortable either.
"What's going on, you guys?" Angela, with Hodgins, Zach, Daniel and Stephen behind her.
"Booth here stepped on a starfish."
"Really?" Some sniggering from Hodgins. I shoot him a glare. He immediately stops.
"Did you know starfish have a pair of genitalia on every arm?" Zach will always be Zach, no matter how sad or confused he is.
"Guys! What are we going to do here?" I ask them, resisting the urge to wave my arms around to catch their attention. Sometimes these people really need to learn to focus.
"I think you should let another doctor check this out," Brennan tells me, looking again at my foot.
"I think so too," Stephen says and looks at Daniel. "Should we take him to Nassau?"
A sparkle appears in Zach's eyes. Great. The kid's getting to see his girl because I trekked onto a starfish.
"What needs to be done needs to be done," Daniel simply states as they help me get up.
Half an hour later, at the hospital in Nassau…
"Is this really necessary?" I can keep trying. I don't feel so happy about someone poking and prodding my red, puffy foot.
"Yes, Booth. For the fourth time, this is necessary."
We're all standing; well, I'm lying in a bed in the emergency room of the hospital in Nassau. In the emergency room, for God's sake! Only Stephen is left behind, to look after the boat. Daniel has come with us, as have all the squints.
"Good afternoon," a familiar voice greets us, shoving the curtain before the bed aside.
"Zach!" A tone of surprise, happiness. "Dr. Brennan, Jack, Angela, Booth." All of us a quick nod and smile. "Daniel?" Again, surprise.
"Elena, what a coincidence!" They hug each other. Not good. I glance at Zach, who's keeping a straight face but the jealousy is almost dripping off of him. "How have you been?"
"Good," she nods and looks at Zach. "Great, actually," a big smile. Zach, one; Daniel, zero. "How can I help you?"
"I stepped onto a starfish," I say before anyone else says it with an amount of irony, sarcasm or cynicism.
"I'll take a look," she tells me and grabs a pair of gloves. Like I said, poking and prodding. After a minute of touching, she turns around and takes an instrument that looks like a pair of tweezers.
"Whoa! What are you going to do?"
"There's some kind of thorn in there. It's best if I take it out, right now." Wait, no anaesthetic?
"Ouch!" A sharp pain washes through my body. Quick she is, but still, it wasn't nice. Or painless. I should have asked for anaesthetic when I had the chance. Wait, I didn't have a chance! Damn your girl, Zach!
"You can stop whimpering; the thorn's out." She takes off her gloves. Whimpering? Who's whimpering? I'm not!
"What do we do now?" Brennan.
"The best thing is to soak it in warm water when you get home. Keep it clean, I'll put on some gauze for the trip back, but take it off when you get home. It needs fresh air. Use no painkillers, you need to be able to feel pain, just to be sure nothing is wrong with your nerves." My nerves? This keeps getting worse!
She turns around and gets some gauze out of a drawer. She carefully puts it on, and gives us a shy smile.
"All done now."
"Thanks," I mutter and get up with Brennan supporting me. Hodgins and Angela follow, but Zach and Daniel stay behind. Three minutes later they join us again, a triumphant smile on Zach's face. Probably a 2-0 ending for Zach.
The last part of our sailing trip passes by very quietly. Not that bad, actually. I wouldn't survive another starfish attack.
Five minutes after we've stepped onto land again, we walk -I hop- towards our car. We stop in front of the grandma seat, a smile plastered on Brennan's face.
"Wait... No..." I weakly try.
"You can't possibly drive with that leg of yours, Booth."
"It's my foot," I mumble defensively as I slide onto the seat. This day keeps getting better by the minute.
Brennan walks around the car and sits down satisfied on the driver's seat. Why is everyone getting these benefits while I'm stuck with a hole in my foot?!
Zach, Angela and Hodgins crawl into the backseat and we drive onto the highway. I mutter a few words about stupid starfish as I turn up the music again.
Later that day…
A small campfire at my feet is eating away a pile of dry branches. I smile as I stare into the flames. This is nice. Sitting around a campfire, making smores, is the perfect ending for this eventful vacation. I pull my stick with a marshmallow on top out of the fire just when Brennan sits down next to me.
She sighs. "We need to talk."
"Are you done thinking?" I ask, slightly sarcastic.
I'm annoyed here. Why does she always need to be in control? Then I sigh and I shake my head. We are both always struggling to outdo the other. It's part of our relationship. I should be listening to her, instead of scaring her away. If we don't talk now, we'll never talk, and then it will all be forgotten. And I really don't want to forget what happened this morning.
"Yes, I'm done," she says, then pauses. "We crossed a line today."
I raise my eyebrows. Is she using that metaphor on purpose? If I had known she would one day use it against me, I would have never said it in the first place.
"A line or the line?" I carefully probe.
Brennan remains silent before she frowns. "A line."
I internally cheer in joy. She's not bringing that line-business up again! "Of course we crossed a line," I smoothly reply. "This is the first time we've taken a vacation together, the five of us." I trust the marshmallow in her direction. "Smore?"
She rolls her eyes, but takes the stick from my hands any way. "Fine. We've crossed the line then."
When will things ever go down the easy way with her? I think as I cringe. My resolve of talking about what transpired between us earlier today crumbles. It never dawned on me where a thorough discussion could lead us; far into unknown territory, to be exact.
"I should really stop talking about lines," I hear her mumble.
I couldn't agree more, Bones. You're messing with the rules I laid down a while ago. You should turn back now, instead of standing about, hesitating whether or not you're up for the challenge if you dare to cross into uncharted land. You don't have a clue about what's hiding behind my lines, Bones.
"Have you ever dreamed about me? In a sexual way, I mean," she suddenly asks.
See, that's one of the secrets I'm covering up with a nice little rule.
"I umm…"
"Because I've been having explicit dreams about you lately." Sending me a weak smile, she glances over at me. "In case you didn't notice…"
"It was pretty hard not to notice; with you straddling me and all."
I pick up another stick and put a marshmallow on the tip. We both gaze at the white snack as I hold it into the fire.
"Do you know what worries me the most?" Brennan softly says. I shake my head, but refuse to take my eyes off that marshmallow. "That Angela and Sully are right."
I lift my eyebrows. Angela, I understand; Sully, I don't. "What has Sully got to do with this?"
She sighs. "He has accused me several times of feeling something for you."
My breath hitches in my throat. No, no, no; don't drag your feelings into this, Bones. Where is the calm and rational Brennan when you need her?
"He's right. There's this… spark between us. There's tension, Booth."
I take a deep breath. I'm about to say something that's painfully true, but needs to be said. "I know that there's something playing between us, Bones, but we have to ignore it."
"Why?" That's my Bones; always eager to know every single detail, no matter how dirty or hurtful it is.
"This "spark" has always been there, but you chose to ignore it when Sully came along. Why would you risk giving up what you have with Sully over something that has always been there?"
"But maybe this thing," she gestures between us, "is worth giving up Sully for."
I reach out to pat her hand. If I thought telling her to ignore our attraction was painful, I will be devastated when I say what I have to say for both our sakes. "It's not worth it, Bones." I'm not worth it, but let's not tell her that, okay?
"How can you say that?"
"Bones," I grumble. "We've been over this before. Sully is a good guy."
"Stop saying that!" she interrupts me. "Every time I bring up Sully, you tell me he's a good guy. Stop repeating those infernal words; they annoy me! You're a good guy yourself!"
That's really something I don't want to hear now, Bones. I'm trying my best here to push you down the only road that leads to your happiness, and then you give me that compliment. How am I supposed to make you see that Sully isn't that bad for you -better than all those other ex-boyfriends of yours, any way- if you use my own words against me?
The annoyance bubbling up inside of me makes me reckless. Reckless enough to toss my smore into the fire and turn to face her. "Fine. Let's make a deal here. When we are back in D.C., you forget all about this conversation." I hold up my hand to shush her protests. "You forget everything and give things a go with Sully. If, after some time, you discover I'm right; you will live a happy ever after with Sully. If I'm wrong," Taking a deep breath, I continue, "We'll see where our spark takes us."
"Deal," she nods. "I have to warn you, though." She throws me a smile. "I'm never wrong."
I know, Bones, I know, but you have to give me some time here to get used to the idea of living out my wildest dreams, of being with you.
Smiling at her, I reach out to squeeze her hand. "Let's go home, Bones."
A couple of hours later, on the plane home…
I'm sitting next to the window, just like on the flight to the Bahamas. Not that it makes any difference. It's too dark outside to see a thing. My gaze wanders through the plane. Sitting three rows ahead of us are Hodgins and Angela. Well, they're sleeping, actually. Angela has put her head on Hodgins' shoulder. Hodgins, on the other hand, has a protective arm wrapped around her and his chin is resting on top of her head.
Zach is sitting next to them, looking a lot like a lost puppy. I guess, in the end, he couldn't find the courage to defy logic. I can't blame him. It takes guts to change who you are. Following logic is easier than listening to your heart.
A small sad sigh rolls over my lips when my eyes come to a rest on my partner, sleeping peacefully next to me. It would have been too easy to just give in to that tension. It's not my task to direct her life, but I just had to guide her back to Sully. I don't want to be the one guilty of ruining her chance at happiness.
I carefully drape a blanket over her sleeping form. At least we're not running away from each other any more. I now see that denying our mutual attraction was the easiest way out. Trying to stop her from getting closer by drawing an imaginary line seemed like a good idea at the time, but was another easy escape plan in the end.
We have made a deal. I stop running, as long as she explores the possibilities of her relationship with Sully.
No more laying down the rules. All that's left for me to do now is waiting.
I know she's never wrong; that's why I can rest assured about sending her back to Sully. She'll find her way back to me; she always does. Just like we're finding our way back to Washington now.
Addictt: We're supposed to have a funny conversation here.
niah1988: I know.
Addictt: I don't know what to say.
niah1988: Join the club. My mind's still dwelling on the image of a half naked Booth lying in bed.
Addictt: °sighs° Booth's abs…
niah1988: Uh-huh… °joins Addictt in the sighing° Oh no… Addictt, we've got to stop daydreaming about Booth. Now!
Addictt: Why?
niah1988: °points at a door that suddenly opens before she holds on tight to her chair, in an attempt not to be sucked through the door° That's why. Gutter room!