A/N: Chapter 2
OOOOO
Thursday morning
Brennan woke easily the next morning, her mind stirring as she stretched her stiff limbs. She realized almost instantly that it was brighter in her room than it should be. She opened her eyes and tried to focus on the clock on her bedside table. As the red numbers came into view, she sat up with a jolt.
It was 9:30.
She leapt out of bed, searching for her phone so she could notify work that she would be coming in late but she couldn't find it. She ran out into the living room, hoping that it was still in her purse when she was stopped dead in her tracks by Booth sitting on her couch eating a bowl of cereal. He was still wearing the clothes he had on yesterday.
"It's 9:30." She informed him as if he didn't know.
"I know. I called us both in. Cam understood." He took another bite of his cereal.
"You did what?" She waited impatiently as he swallowed the bite before responding to her question.
"Bones, you had a hell of a day yesterday. You need to take the day and regroup, okay? You're strong, I get that, but even the strongest people need to take time off every once and awhile to..."
"What I need is to go to work!" She cut him off and went back to her bedroom to shower. If she hurried, she could still make it to work in time to...
The sight of Booth's shoes at the foot of her bed reminded her that she had asked him to stay with her last night. She closed her eyes and cringed. In the sobering light of day, she hated herself for being so needy. In fact, she was so angry with herself for needing him that she turned right back around and headed into the living room to take it out on Booth.
"And who are you to tell me what I need?" She asked, picking up right where she left off. "You had no right to turn off my alarm. And calling my work? What would possess you to do that? I can take care of myself, Booth!" She argued. He ignored her and continued munching away on his cereal, his eyes glued to some ridiculous sports news show. She stomped over and turned off the TV and stood in front of it, wanting his attention. "Answer me!" She demanded.
Booth sighed and finally set down his cereal bowl.
"Are you always this angry after drinking too much or is it just me?" He asked.
"What?" She cried, confused by his question.
"The last time you drank too much, you ended up in a huff at my crime scene." He reminded her.
"Because you fired me!" She yelled back.
"You punched a federal judge!"
"I'm about to punch you!" She threatened.
"You know, I'm realizing I like drunk Brennan a lot more than hungover Brennan. Drunk Brennan is nice and sweet and invites me into her bed. Hungover Brennan always ends up hitting me." Booth teased darkly.
"What happened to you not being my Dad?" She asked, throwing his own words back at him years later.
"Yeah, unlike Max, I'm the one who's actually trying to stick around long enough to take care of you." He shot right back. She stared at him, her eyes burning angry holes into his before losing it.
"Gaaaah!" She put her hands out in a strangling pose and let out a frustrated cry. "You are impossible!" She screamed as she headed for her bedroom.
"Look who's talking!" He called out as he sat back down on the couch. She slammed the door behind her and she was alone again, her entire body vibrating with frustrated rage.
God, why did he have to be so difficult?
She was angry. Angry and...something else. She paused to consider how she felt.
Turned on?
Her blood was pounding through her body and awakening all of the nerves under her feverish skin.
She shook off the feeling and focused on the anger. She stomped off to the shower and turned on the water. As she waited for the water to warm up, she undressed and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were blazing and her skin was flushed. Her mind flashed back to Booth's dark eyes staring into her own unflinchingly. They had been just as alive, nearly black with passion, despite his outwardly calm exterior.
The steam emanating from the shower beckoned her and she stepped inside the cocoon of warm air. The spray of the shower eased her tense muscles and she felt herself relax instantly. She leaned her head back, soaking her hair and exposing her neck, imagining the tickle she felt from the spray was actually Booth's lips on her neck.
Her entire body reacted at the treacherous thought, her nipples puckering and her thighs growing damp with her desire. She pictured the way his muscles tensed when he was angry, the strong way he would take control and pin her against the shower wall if she let him. She thought of his strong, firm hands running over her body as her own hands ghosted over her torso.
She fleetingly realized that she would probably obsess over what this moment of weakness meant later, but for now, she knew precisely what she needed.
OOOOO
Thursday morning
Booth sat on the couch, stewing in annoyance over Brennan's reaction. He was only trying to help.
A normal person would have been grateful.
She had been vulnerable and open last night and in some sort of sick pendulum swing, she was now being overly independent. She was pushing him away, if only to prove to herself that she could. He sighed in frustration as he stood up and took his cereal bowl to the sink. Why couldn't she just let down her guard a little without turning into a terror the next day? It's not like he couldn't be trusted. He posed no threat to her.
He heard her re-emerge from her bedroom and he almost didn't turn around for fear of what she would do if he moved too suddenly. But, deciding it was also possible that he would have to defend himself from objects being hurled at his head, he kept an eye on her in his peripheral vision. She was wearing a silk robe, her hair still in wet curls. Once again, the smell of her soap or shampoo or something wafted through the air and drove him wild. How was it possible that one woman could constantly smell so enticing?
Pheromones.He heard Brennan's pedantic voice answer quickly.
Great, now he was hearing her inside his head too. Booth mentally slammed the door shut on that idea. This was his partner and he was not going to go there. There was a line, he reminded himself, and Cam had nearly died the last time he had crossed it. Besides, as Brennan so clearly pointed out this morning, she could be nearly impossible to deal with when she wanted to be. They would kill each other within the week.
Deciding it was safe to turn around, he watched as she pulled some oatmeal out of the cupboard and went about preparing her breakfast in silence.
"Feeling better?" He asked as he leaned up against her counter, his arms folded protectively against his chest.
"Much." She said, refusing to look at him.
"Good." He replied hesitantly, unsure of what she meant. He had a thousand questions he wanted to ask. Was their fight was over or was she still mad at him for trying to take care of her? Why wasn't she making eye contact with him? And why must she insist on being the most infuriating woman he had ever met?
"Well, I'll guess I'll head out then." He said as he made his way towards the door.
"Booth?" Her voice stopped him dead in his tracks and he had to marvel at the power she held over him. He turned around. "Thank you for last night." She said quietly. She looked...shy, embarrassed even maybe. It wasn't something he was used to seeing from her.
"Any time." He said sincerely. "Hey, it's what partners do, right? We take care of each other." She nodded and they seemed to reach a mutual understanding. Booth gave a small wave before heading out the door. But as soon as he closed the door behind him, he felt another one opening, ever so slightly, in his heart.
OOOOO
Saturday evening
He was sitting in her office, looking over her calendars, going through her email, anything he could think of that might help him find her. He knew it was useless. She hadn't expected this anymore than they had but a part of him felt better being surrounded by her.
A knock on her office door turned out to be Angela, holding a cup of coffee.
"When was the last time you slept?"
"I can't sleep, Ange."
"Have you tried? I just did. I feel better."
"Everytime I close my eyes..." he didn't bother finishing his statement. She walked to the desk and set the cup of coffee down.
"Look at me." She demanded. He did as he was told. "Brennan is the strongest person I have ever met. She has taken out gang members, and guerrillas in the jungle, and survived more than any person should and she did it all alone." She reminded him. "And now that she knows that she has people fighting for her, she's going to fight even harder." He knew that she was right. "You can sleep for an hour and this time when you close your eyes, picture Brennan giving those assholes just as hard of a time as she gives you." Booth wanted to chuckle, but he didn't have the energy to spare.
"We were supposed to meet last night."
"I know." Angela nodded sympathetically.
"Things were finally, we were finally..." He stopped as he felt himself getting emotional. Angela rubbed his shoulder.
"Sleep." She reminded him. "She needs you on top of your game. She would kick your hypocritical ass if she knew that you hadn't eaten or slept yet. We'll wake you up if we find out anything." He nodded and glanced to the couch. Angela flipped off the lights on her way out and Booth was left alone in the dark.
OOOOO
Saturday evening
"Courtesy of your father." A man said as a small loaf of bread dropped from the ceiling.
Brennan looked up in surprise. It was barely bigger than her palm, but she was desperately hungry. Part of her wondered if she should ration it in case it was the last bit of food she got in a while, but her stomach growled violently and she knew that it was pointless. She bit off a piece and relished the flavor on her tongue.
What did they mean?
They were rewarding her because of Max? Had they gotten whatever it was they wanted? Would they let her go if they had?
Or maybe Max had just contacted them and they realized they had to keep her alive now, use her as a tactic in some sort of sick trade negotiation?
For the first time in her life, she didn't care the reason. She was eating and right now, that was enough.
OOOOO
Thursday afternoon
Brennan couldn't stop pacing. She couldn't concentrate on anything. Every time she tried to focus on something else, images of Booth from the night before and that morning bombarded her senses.
He was invading her life, slowly taking up space in her mind. What had happened that morning in the shower could not happen again. Booth had laid down a line for a reason. The rules made sense and she had agreed with them. After all, it could have very easily been one of them lying in that hospital bed instead of Cam and the thought of him lying there instead... Well, she couldn't even let herself imagine that scenario.
Brennan thought back to all that he had done for her in the past year. He had taken good care of her, despite her not deserving it some days and she was grateful for that. But then there were times when it took everything she had not to strangle him.
She paused halfway through her living room as she recalled her father's latest murdering streak. Apparently, there was something to be said for nature over nurture.
OOOOO
Thursday afternoon
Booth ran.
It kept him in shape but he mostly it helped clear his head. And lately, all of his thoughts revolved around her. Today, he was focusing on her words from the night before.
She wanted him.
Only him.
He knew that her reliance on him during her mother's case had changed their relationship. For the first time in her life, she needed someone and he liked being the person that she needed. But that reliance also freaked him out. It was hard to keep a professional relationship with someone who needed you like that, especially given their rocky romantic past. There were times when he just wanted to kiss her until she forgot about all of the pain in her life. He wanted to make things right for her again.
Their adventure in Vegas hadn't helped matters any. He had gotten to see a completely different side of her and he wondered how much of that undercover assignment was acting and how much was the freedom to be themselves. Still, there was no point in wondering. He knew that they couldn't let it get that far in their real lives. Not after Cam had nearly died.
Looking back, it was easy to see that his recent sexual relationships with Cam and Rebecca had stemmed from his fear over his growing relationship with Bones. It had been the perfect backslide. Booth could work off some of his sexual tension and still keep his relationship with Brennan intact.
Or so he thought.
His mind wandered back to her words from last night.
"I just want you."
Something within him stirred and he picked up his pace, needing at least one more lap to quiet his mind.