Only if I Chapter 4, a bones fanfic

Ch 4.

This was all ready to post on Saturday, but for some reason I couldn't get anything uploaded all weekend. The extra time means it's pretty well edited, so that's a plus. Thanks for the reviews last time, it's always interesting to know what parts strike people.

The door opened with a whoosh of air as Booth shoved it out of his way. Stomping outside, he whipped out his cell phone, his fingers automatically going for speed dial 1. But he stopped himself just in time. He dropped the phone to his side. What am I worried about?, he wondered as he paced along the sculptured lawn. Bones wasn't going to run off with some herpologist guy. Angela had been right the first time; she had forgotten he was coming over because she was so immersed in her work.

Booth stopped walking and leaned up against an oak tree. Briefly, he pictured himself driving to whatever university she was at, just to make sure. He could; Angela knew where this guy worked. Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought. As temping as it may sound right now, he knew it wasn't a good idea. This was one of those times when he just needed to have a little faith. He could call her though - just to tell her he was here with some possible id's. That was a perfectly legitimate reason.

"Booth?" a familiar voice broke into his thoughts.

"Bones, hey," Booth looked up, both surprised and relived.

"What are you doing out here? I saw you walking off when I drove in?" she asked concerned.

"I was just waiting for you," he raised the files.

Her face fell as she remembered. "I'm sorry. Hodgins discovered a snake fang among the clothing. Dr. Marr is leaving tomorrow and I really wanted to get it analyzed."

"That's ok Bones," Booth said joining her on the sidewalk. "I haven't been here too long. And that fang thing might narrow down our candidates."

Completely instep, they walked back toward the entrance to the lab, Brennan just close enough to Booth that their shoulders occasionally touched. He met her eyes and she gave him a bright smile. Immediately, he was grateful that he hadn't followed her.

"So what did you find out about the fang?" Booth tried to push the ex-boyfriend factor out of his thoughts.

"Not much yet," she ducked under his arm as Booth held the door open for her. "Dr. Marr should have some information for us later."

"So this Dr. Marr, he's … good, huh?" Booth tried to sound casual.

"He's very good. He's also very … arrogant." Brennan concluded.

"Oh yeah? Any other words you want to use to describe him?" he pressed.

"Not really," she gave him a curious look. They entered her office and Booth flopped down on the couch, tossing the folder onto the table in front of him and stretching out, his arms extended over his head.

Brennan sat down at her desk and turned her attention to her computer. "What you aren't gonna help?" Booth asked. "First you tell me you are going to be here and then you leave. Now you need to what, check your email?"

Seconds after he finished speaking her printer whirred to life. She picked up the paper and sat next to him on the couch, though not too close. "Zach's updated report."

"Oh," Booth gave her an apologetic smile.

She set the papers on the table. Putting her hands on her knees she said, "I am sorry Booth. I should have been here. I know I need to pay more attention to things like that. I am trying." Her brows were knitted tightly together.

"Hey, it's ok" Booth leaned over, covering her hand with his. "We're doing fine," he said reassuringly.

She looked at the door and pulled her hand out from under his, clearing her throat.

"So what have you got?" she asked, nodding at the folder on the table.

"We narrowed it down to about 80 possibles based on the time of death, age, and height you provided." He opened the folder and rifled through it. "One guy was a vet, so I'm thinking with the snake fang, maybe we should check him out first."

"Zach found a prior break. There's a fracture on the ulna that predated the other injuries by several years," Brennan read from the report. "And evidence of bite marks?" she continued, intrigued. "Apparently, he was attacked by an animal."

Booth found the report he was looking for and passed it over. "Dr. Andrew Ramsay. Age 53. He ran a veterinary clinic and animal sanctuary out by Rt. 24. Went missing three months ago."

Brennan read in silence, the flipping of pages occasionally filling the air. "It could be him," she declared finally. "Can you get his medical records sent over?" she looked up from the paper to see that Booth was already dialing.

"Ok, they'll be here in about an hour," he flipping his phone shut. "So … what should we do while we wait?" he asked with a wicked grin.

Brennan smiled back in spite of herself. "Well, we are going to get an update from Hodgins and Angela." She brushed past him towards the door. "Grab the picture, Angela should have something for us to compare it too."

"That's amazing," Booth said holding Angela's drawing up next to the picture of Andrew Ramsay. Side by side the similarities were readily apparent.

"Yes, sometimes I even amaze myself," Angela smiled proudly.

"You even knew he was compassionate," Brennan said. Both Angela and Booth looked at her strangely. "What?" she asked defensively. "He devoted his life to taking care of animals, of course he was compassionate."

Angela laughed and headed for her desk. She turned back to tease her friend even further, but caught Booth giving Brennan a look so hot that she felt herself blush. Quickly, she busied herself with several drawing pencils. Something was definitely going on between the two of them. She was hurt that Brennan didn't talk to her about it; though her friend could be very private when things were important. Angela would give her a little time before she pried, but not too much.

Brennan cleared her throat and said, "Thanks Ange. I think we've found our victim. We need to check in with Hodgins."

"Oh, he's not here. He said he had some research to do, but I'm supposed to tell you," she looked skyward as she struggled to recall the specific scientific terms. "Basically, he found some exotic plants, which he was oddly excited about. He said to tell you that the murder scene might be some sort of exotic garden. He also found compost, or something less pleasant."

"Wow," Booth said optimistically. "Maybe this will be like that other case and there will only be like one plant in the country." He pulled the poker chip out of his pocket and flipped it in the air. Hopeful of anything that would speed up the case so they could finally have some time to relax.

"Maybe," Brennan said. "Thanks Ange." She touched Booth on the arm and he put down the drawing and followed her.

"You guys have fun," Angela called out suggestively behind them.

The Ark Animal Veterinary Clinic and Animal Sanctuary was almost an hour of out D.C. situated on several acres of lightly wooded, rolling land. Brennan read pertinent facts from the case file while Booth drove. "No suspects, no substantial leads, very little forensic evidence. No evidence of foul play. He was well liked and respected by everyone."

"I guess not everyone," Booth sighed. Cases like this with relatively no leads could be long and difficult. As they neared, Booth and Brennan fell silent; neither wanting to deliver the news of death. The buildings sat back removed from the road, four in all; a house, a barn, a storage shed, and what looked to be the clinic. Booth drove up to the house. They exchanged a quick look before Booth knocked on the door of the house. There was no answer. He knocked again.

"Can I help you?" called a female voice from behind them. They turned to see a woman standing on the porch of the clinic, shading her eyes as she watched them. The woman stayed where she was, so Booth and Brennan went to her.

"Mrs. Ramsay?" Booth asked. "I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth," he flashed his badge, "and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan."

Mrs. Ramsay's face drained of color. "The FBI?" she asked warily.

"Yes," Booth nodded.

"And you," she said turning her attention to Brennan, "are you a coroner?" she choked on the last word.

"I'm a forensic anthropologist," Brennan said delicately. There was a flicker of recognition in the woman's eyes before they went dead.

"You've found his body then," the woman's voice shaky.

"Yes, we believe we have. Let's go inside, Mrs. Ramsay." Booth rushed ahead to open the door and Brennan put her arm around the woman and led her inside.

"Please come back to the office." They followed her down the hallway. Booth used the opportunity to check the place out. It was obvious that they had fallen on hard times. Several expensive looking machines sat covered in dust, unused.

Anne sat behind a large wooden desk while Booth and Brennan took the chairs opposite. She leaned her head back against the high back of the chair and closed her eyes. Her chest rose and fell with her deep breaths and tears slid from her eyes. They gave her time and she finally opened her eyes and shook her head. "Ok," she exhaled slowly.

Brennan looked at Booth and he nodded slightly. "Mrs. Ramsay, was your husband ever attacked by an animal on his arm?" She touched her own forearm approximating the area of the injury.

"Please call me Anne." She wiped fresh tears from her eyes with a kleenex. "A year ago he was attacked by a husky we had taken in. The poor dog had been abused. It was a bad bite, twenty seven stitches and all the way down to the bone."

"We found evidence of that. We will perform a DNA test to be absolutely sure … but it's him." Brennan was positive and she wanted to give the woman answers. "We're every sorry for you loss," she said.

Booth nodded sympathetically. His was glad to see his partner was doing well with Mrs. Ramsay, who held up to the news surprisingly well. Booth got the impression she had been preparing herself for it for quite a while.

"How did he die?" she asked, quietly gripping a pen tightly in her hand.

"We are not positive yet, but probably a gunshot wound," Brennan answered. Mrs. Ramsay took another quiet moment.

"We read the report," Booth said gently, "At the time, you couldn't think of anyone who might want to harm your husband, has anything changed?"

"No, I know there were some financial problems. Andrew always cared more about his animals that his finances. He could never say no, would never turn an animal away." Anne smiled through her tears as she remembered. "Who would want to hurt him?" she mumbled.

"Did you ever keep snakes here, venomous snakes?" Brennan asked.

"Occasionally something local, a rattlesnake or copperhead." She sniffled. "When can I bury him?"

"As soon as we are done with the investigation. We will try to finish quickly," Brennan promised.

Anne looked closely at her. "You know my sister loves your books. It's a little surreal that you are here, telling me this."

"I'm sorry," Brennan said ruefully.

"No, don't be sorry. I know that you are the best, both of you. I know you'll find out who killed him."

Booth and Brennan rose to leave. "Are you going to be alright? Is there someone you can call?" Booth was reluctant to leave her alone.

"My daughter. I'll probably stay with her for a few days, if you need to get in touch with me."

"Thank you Mrs. Ramsay and again we are very sorry," Booth said soothingly.

"I knew this day would come," Anne said sadly. "My Andrew would never leave me. He would have done anything he could to get back to me. At least now the waiting is over." She picked up a phone on her desk and began dialing.

Stepping out the front door of the clinic, they saw a man pushing a wheelbarrow across the lot. Booth gave Brennan a puzzled look and started towards the man. He flashed his badge and gave the usual introductions. The man's name was Leon. For five years, he had worked at The Ark as a maintenance man. Doing odd jobs, helping with the animals.

"But there are no employees on the books any longer," Brennan interrupted.

"Does she pay you in cash?" Booth asked. Leon looked nervously towards the clinic and nodded "It's ok. That's not what we are here about."

Nodding, he looked nervously to the clinic. "Did she mention Stephens? She didn't last time. I know it's family and it's none of my business, but there was some stuff that went on there."

"Whose Stephens?" Booth focused intently on Leon.

"Mark Stephens. He used to be married to her daughter. Helped to run the place. He handled the business end and Doc worked with the animals. Something happened and they got a divorce. It was ugly man; she wanted nothing to do with him. All the sudden he was out of the business. He wasn't too happy about it."

"Thanks, we will check that out," Booth said, giving the worker his most intimidating look.

"So were gonna bring this Stephens guy in, right?" Brennan asked once they were back in the car.

"You bet." Booth rolled down his window and enjoyed the warm spring air. "Son-in-law kicked out of the family business, that's a motive."

Brennan checked a message on her phone. "Doug has some information for us on the fang. I need to meet him back at his office."

"No problem. We can head over there now." Booth didn't like the idea of her seeing this guy alone. Besides, he couldn't help but be curious about the men Bones had been with, no matter how much he didn't want to think about it.

"Don't you need to go pick up Stephens?"

"That's ok, I'll have someone bring him in for us." Booth reached for his phone and called in the request.

They approached the sprawling building on the Georgetown campus that housed the herpetology department. "Booth," Brennan grabbed his arm to keep him from going in. She pulled him over to the side. "I'm not sure if I am supposed to tell you, but I went on several dates with Dr. Marr."

"Anything recent, or-" Booth kept his face passive.

"No it was several years ago. It doesn't mean anything; I just thought maybe I should mention it," she finished awkwardly. "I'm not sure what the rule is."

Booth smiled. "There are no 'rules' here Bones," he said making air quotes as he said rules. "I know you love rules so we could make some up…" he offered mischievously trying to get her to smile. She looked so serious.

"Oh, I thought - no guidelines or anything?" She didn't quite believe him. It seemed there were tons of little dating do's and don'ts that everyone knew but her. Angela, for example, was an expert at the subject; she'd even developed a set of stages for a relationship.

"How about the truth," Booth proposed with soft eyes. Brennan nodded; the truth was something she could handle.

"Ok Bones," Booth said as he led them back towards the door, "Let's see what kind of guy you used to date," he added under his breath.

Dr. Marr was bent over something in the corner of his office when they entered, his long hair hiding his face. "Doug?" Brennan called.

He stood up, a bright smile on his face, which dimmed slightly when he saw Booth standing behind her. "Tempe," Dr. Marr said in greeting.

He came closer as if to hug her, but Brennan stepped to the side and said, "This is my partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth." Booth stuck out his hand and cut him off, appraising the man before him. He was shorter than Booth and looked like a surfer, complete with several well-worn hemp necklaces around his neck. The handshake lasted a split second longer than it should, both men taking the opportunity to size up the other. Booth's grip was firm, but so was Marr's.

"Come here," Dr. Marr waved them over to a table in the corner. Booth tripped on a pile of magazines stacked precariously in the middle of the floor.

"Sorry," Dr. Marr shot back over his shoulder. "I try to spend as little time as possible here."

"I don't blame you," Booth looked around the room with disgust.

"Dr. Marr prefers to spend most of his time in the field," Brennan felt compelled to explain. Booth's only response was a quizzical look.

"Might as well be out there discovering and experiencing life and nature. Not trapped in some building living by someone else's rules," he philosophized.

"The fang," Booth prompted, he wasn't in the mood to listen to the guy's life story.

"Well, accurate identification of a species by one fang alone is not easy. This fang does have several unique characteristics." Sliding a tray under the microscope, he motioned for Brennan to look. Leaning close to her, he rested his hand on her shoulder as he spoke. "As you can see the fang is hollow. Several families such as Colubridae, Elapidae, and Viperidae use these hollow fangs to deliver the venom to their prey."

Brennan straightened up, and Booth was relieved to see Dr. Marr's somewhat disappointed look. "Take a look," she said to Booth.

"Also," Dr. Marr continued, "This fang is very large. Almost 5 centimeters, not counting the broken tip. There are few species that have fangs that long. My best guess is that we are looking at a Atracaspis microlepidota, burrowing viper or Bitis gabonica, a Gaboon viper. Both commonly found in Africa. The burrowing viper has a small head that doesn't display the normal characteristics of a viper. And the Gaboon, well-" Dr. Marr paused for a moment and looked at Brennan. "I believe we saw one in Mbandaka that time, down by the river. Very large with a triangular head."

Brennan felt Booth shift beside her at the mention of the African village. "Oh right," Brennan said uncomfortably. "So there's no way this could be from a local venomous snake?" she asked quickly.

"No. Not with a fang this long," he said dismissively. "You found this at a crime scene?"

"Yes," Brennan answered, reluctant to give him too many details.

"It's rare. The snake would have been rare and illegal to possess. You don't just come across this by accident." Dr. Marr carefully packaged the fang and handed it back to Brennan along with a slip of paper with a phone number scribbled on it.

Booth let out a rush of air at the sight of the phone number.

"This is the number of one of my best students, Ken. He should be able to help you with anything else. Tempe," he said stepping towards her, causing Booth to shift closer as well, "it was great to see you." Marr said, deciding not to go for another hug as he surveyed her partner's dark look and aggressive posture.

"Right, um you too. And thank you." Brennan turned towards the door.

"And G-man," Dr. Marr called.

When Booth turned to look, Dr. Marr flashed him the peace sign. Booth stopped dead, but Brennan put her arm on his back and gave him a push. "Come on Booth," she muttered.

"Did he just give me the piece sign?" Booth asked incredulously.

"Better than the other sign he could have given you," Brennan said dryly as she kept him moving in the proper direction down the hall.

The sun had already set by the time they arrived back at Booth's apartment. They both were tired and hungry. Booth couldn't say that he was disappointed that Stephens now lived in Oregon and wouldn't be available for questioning right away. Ordering takeout and relaxing had been the winning plan for the evening. Brennan walked into Booth's kitchen and picked up the takeout menus from their usual spot. "Do you feel like Thai? Chinese? Indian?" she asked flipping through the menus.

Booth took two from her and stared down at them, not actually processing what he was seeing. "So," he began stiffly, "I thought you said that you and the snake guy only went on a few dates."

"We did." She confirmed his statement, not entirely surprised that the subject had come up.

"So what's this stuff with Africa?" he continued.

"That's where we dated. Africa," she said matter-of-factly. "I was working on a dig and he was studying the local snake population."

"Right," Booth said a bit dejected. Of course, she would have relationships in exotic locations. Beautiful women, even complex ones like Brennan, are rarely wanting for company. It wasn't that Booth didn't have the same travel experiences; he had been all over the world too. Both of their travels centered on the dead, but the similarities ended there; his left less time for enjoying the local surroundings.

Brennan could tell by his expression that he was troubled.

"Booth," Brennan set down the menus and focused on him. "This really bothers you doesn't it?"

"No," he replied unconvincingly.

"You are jealous." She gave him an exasperating smirk.

"Nah, Bones, you got it all wrong," Booth said. He leaned back against the table, setting the menus down and crossing his arms over his chest.

"No I don't," she insisted. "You are jealous." Booth chose to attribute the excitement in her voice to reading his mood, not the jealousy itself.

"Of who, the hippie surfer snake guy? Please," Booth said dismissively. She held his gaze, the smirk still on her lips. "Maybe a little," he conceded after a pause.

"You know," Brennan said walking towards him, "I wouldn't expect a guy whose belt buckle says 'cocky' to get jealous so easily." She tugged on the belt buckle and he sucked in his breath. Her hand remained on the buckle as she stepped in closer.

"There must be something I can do to convince you that you have no reason to be jealous." Brennan's voice was low and husky, making everything she said sound extremely sexy. Booth was completely mesmerized as she ran her hands up his chest, stopping at his collar. One by one, she unbuttoned the buttons of his shirt and slipped it off his shoulders. She took her time, enjoying his smooth skin beneath her fingers, before she turned her attention back to the belt buckle.

Neither said a word as she loosened his pants, which dropped unceremoniously to the floor, soon joined by his boxers. Booth took several deep breaths, in a futile attempt to calm himself. He watched as she pulled her shirt up and over her head, revealing a black bra covering white skin. He couldn't quite believe that this was happening.

But when Brennan finally moved kissing first his chest, then his shoulder, and finally his neck, his ability to question anything disappeared. And when one of her hands snaked back down his front, skimming slowly past his abdomen, Booth was lucky he had the table to support him.

"Oh God," Booth grunted.

"Not God," she whispered into his ear. "only Bones."

That was it. Booth couldn't take it any longer. He grabbed her and turned, setting her up on the table. He fumbled with her zipper for a moment. In one fluid motion, he lifted her up with one arm and slid her pants off with the other. At last, he kissed her, capturing her mouth with his, sliding his hands up her thighs and pulling her tightly against him. As he moved against her, she clutched his back, her nails digging into his skin. When she finally called out his name with abandon, it didn't take him long to join her.

The living room was lit softly from behind, the light in the kitchen the only one on in the entire place. Booth and Brennan sat curled up together on the couch under a blanket. Booth occasionally kissed her, but for now he was content, holding her tightly against him.

"I'm still hungry," Brennan said languidly.

Booth laughed. "Yeah, we should order something. But that means we have to get up and most likely put on clothes."

"Soon," she exhaled contentedly.

"Go out with me tomorrow," Booth asked impulsively.

"What? Don't we have to work?"

Shifting so he could sit up straighter, Booth said, "It's Saturday. We've been working for," he stopped to count, "seventeen straight days. This case is important, but it's not urgent. There's not much we can do until we question Stephens."

"I don't know Booth," she turned to face him.

"We can work all morning, but I've tickets to a Nats game for me and Parker. And after I'm done with my son, there's nothing I'd like to do more than to go out with you. We can get dressed up, go somewhere nice, maybe go dancing."

"But what if someone sees us?" As soon as she said it, she knew it was the wrong thing to say. She expected to see anger in his face, but he just sighed, temporarily resigned to the notion that, for now, their relationship was a secret.

"We'll go somewhere out of the way where no one will see us. What do you say, Bones?" His face was hopeful.

Brennan couldn't help but see the irony. "I know I'm not very good at this, but aren't you supposed to ask me out before we have sex on your table?"

"Well, you know me. I don't always do things by the book." He gave her his most disarming smile.

"Yes Booth, I will go on a date with you tomorrow." She was both excited and apprehensive. Booth kissed her, starting with her neck, and all thoughts of dates and take-out food were put on hold.

Coming up: Booth and Parker go to the game. Brennan goes dress shopping. Booth and Brennan make a dangerous break in the case. Will they actually make on their date?

Oh and please review!! I've got a crappy week at work this week and they really brighten up the day.