Rescues

A/N: First off, thank you for the response to my last chapter. I appreciate the feedback. As a result, updates may slow down a little. Not a lot, I just have to rework the rest.

A recurring theme in reviews is that I should get them together, that you guys want to see some "action". I'm sorry, but I just really can't write that stuff well. As it is now, getting them together is a very gradual process, and I don't see that changing. Sorry. Keep reading please!

Lastly, there are apparently some technical difficulties with this. I haven't done anything differently, but I have no idea what to suggest except to keep checking back. I'm new to the site and I still don't understand everything. Thank you for humouring me. With out further ado, the party:

"Seeley! I'm told you're taken now. The ladies at church will just be crushed." A pretty blonde woman hurried over to them.

"Is this her?" Brennan asked. Booth glanced at her unimpressed expression.

"Yeah. Temperance Brennan, Marcy Capps."

"Hi. Seeley and I have known each other forever, right?" The blonde reached for her hand with a smile. Her hand felt like a dead fish in Brennan's.

"Sorry, Marcy, my mom wanted to see us."

"Oh! I'll catch up with you later, then. Nice to meet you." She extracted her hand from the other woman's grip. "Are they all going to be like that?" she hissed in his ear as soon as she deemed it safe.

"Let's hope not."

"Have I lost my doctorate?"

"She would have asked what it was and I really didn't want to talk to her. Sorry."

"It's okay. I just wanted to know if there was a reason. So I can tell people?"

"Course you can, Bones." He smiled and she suddenly felt the room was warm. She took a small step away.

"Okay."

"Hey! Seeley, son, we've missed you."

"Hey, Coach." Booth embraced the solidly built older man.

"And this is the girl, huh? The Booth women are all lookers." He glanced at her again.

"This is Dr. Temperance Brennan. Tempe, honey, meet my high school football coach, Mr. Yolen."

"I don't have no fancy doctorate, but I do know how to win state."

"I've never played football."

"Well, no, sweetheart,"

"Tempe, Alice looks in need of rescuing." Booth cut in. And Alice did. She was smiling and nodding as an older woman, hair sliding dangerously with every bob of her head, spoke and gestured wildly.

"Good idea." But it wasn't. She and Alice were sucked into a conversation with more older women. Which wouldn't have been a problem except that they were all ex-pageant winners with no career and no goals to speak of who now revelled in running their children's lives. They professed to be deeply religious but seemed very un-kind and un-Christian (as she understood it) as they gossiped about the women not present to defend themselves. Finally she saw, in the crowd, Marcy making her way towards Seeley with a predatory directness.

"I'm sorry, but I think I feel like dancing. Would you excuse me?" she extricated herself from the group, knowing they would talk about either her or Marcy as soon as she left and not much caring either way.

"Dance with me," she said, reaching him just before Marcy and taking his hand.

"Okay." He looked a little confused, but pulled her onto the dance floor. It was only then that she realized it was a slow love song.

"Sorry." He muttered. "Rescuing Alice didn't go so well, huh?"

"We covered pageants, marriage and children."

"And?"

"I mourn my lost pageant years, I'm not going to push you about marriage, and I simply adore Parker."

"You said all that?"

"Well, one of them is true." Impulsively, he kissed her on the forehead.

"You're incredible, you know that?"

"Well, yeah." She said, deadpan. Her façade broke when he leaned back to look at her. She started giggling. A phone rang. Tempe looked down at her dress and realized that hers was in her purse, with the ladies.

"Booth." He answered curtly.

"How's my favourite FBI agent?"

"Fine, Angela." He pointed at the phone and then at Tempe, and shrugged his shoulders.

"So what are you doing? It sounds like a party." She didn't get it.

"What did you tell her?" he asked, holding his hand over the phone. She held up a finger and ran for her phone, leaving him standing there with no ide what to say.

"Yeah, sorta." he replied lamely. "My mom loves to throw these 'get togethers'."

"Really? Well, I'm just calling about Brennan. She's gone to meet some guy's parents and I haven't even met him! She said she'd introduce us after this weekend, and I have been trying to wait, but I am not a patient woman. So, you know anything?"

"Uh ... no." He hoped that was the right answer. What had Brennan told Booth?

"You haven't grilled him? Run him through the FBI background check thing? Why? You were all over David!"

"Well, he's a friend of mine, actually." Yes! That was a good lie.

"Are you worried?"

"Well – uh – no. Angela, Tempe can take care of herself. And - Andy's a stand-up guy."

"Tempe?" Damn it! He knew Angela, and if he didn't efuse this, she'd have conviced the entire Jeffersonian that he and Tempe - Brennan - Bones - were married by the time they got back.

"Bones. Brennan. You know what I mean."

"Right. Well, I have another call. Gotta go." He wasn't sure if she had been convinced.

"Alright. Bye, Angela."

"Who's Angela?" Someone asked behind him. He jumped.

"Someone Tempe and I work with. She was just checking to see how the weekend was going. She's Tempe's best friend." It all poured out of his nervous mouth as his mind reviewed the conversation again for slip-ups.

"Then why didn't she call her?" Marcy seemed suspicious.

"I think Tempe had her cell phone off or on vibrate or something. You know, I like to keep mine on in case it's FBI stuff. Angela knows that."

"Oh. Well, where has Tempe gone?"

"I don't know, but I think I'd better go look for her."

"Oh, come on, dance with me."

"I don't think so, Marcy, I," he looked around for an escape.

"Marcy!" Lucy smiled and waved, but he knew her tone. It was his mother's tone. The sickly sweet I'm-going-to-tear-you-to-shreds voice. Lilah and Katherine and even Alice drifted over. "I haven't seen you for ages!" Lucy cooed, coming over to take Marcy's hand. She pulled her irresistibly towards the waiting women. Seeley shuddered. Booth women might be lookers, but they were also scary. He hoped he was never on the receiving end of their wrath. He decided to make good on his promise and go look for Tempe.