Spoilers: Flatlines

Disclaimer: Another surprise visitor, and some couch-related-fluff!

Author's Note: Okay. So. I've decided to include a little more of Alex and Laura alone in this chapter, rather than all four of them. Just for my own (and hopefully your) amusement. I painted (literally) my face today, and now it's hot. Temperature-wise, I mean. I don't think that's a good sign. Either that, or it's warm in here.


Brennan tugged the blankets tighter around her in her sleep, conscious on some level of the cold that surrounded her. As the blankets came to the crook of her neck comfortingly, they were pulled off her feet.

Slowly waking, she groaned and tucked her feet closer, bending her knees. As she did, she heard a yelp. Sitting up instinctively, she cast a terrified glance at the source of the noise.

It was Booth.

On seeing her sitting up, he grabbed her with a strong arm and pulled her back down so that she was half sitting against his chest. He snuggled into her to get warm, pulling her a little closer.

"Booth!" she scolded. She wasn't sure whether she was scolding him for being there, for waking her or for pulling her. She decided it was all three.

"Bones, you'll freeze to death," he snapped back. He picked up her blankets and threw them back over her, marveling at the fact that they'd somehow managed to become their blankets as they slept. Not that he'd had anything to do with helping that process, of course…

But she never had to know. Never would.

"Booth, it's cold, yes, but it's not that cold. It would take temperatures of - ah!" she exclaimed as Booth yanked her blankets back off. "Fine, you've made your point."

"Thank you. Now, will you lie back down?" He studied her, the question more of a demand than a question. Brennan rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, sitting upright against his chest now, as Booth lay on his side.

"No."

"Why not?" he asked, feigning indignation.

"Because you're all grabby."

"I think you mean 'crabby', Bones."

"No, I mean grabby." She looked pointedly at his left hand, which had found its way to her waist as they'd been speaking. She grabbed his index finger between her finger and thumb as if it were a foreign object and dangled it in front of them. He took his hand back and put it back on her waist.

She shot him a look over her shoulder to tell him that she was, at least on the outside, not impressed. He only grinned at her.

They'd made definite progress the previous night. They were sleeping in the basement again; still on two mattresses, but Booth had insisted on pushing them together again.

But the best thing. The best thing was that his kissing her hadn't freaked her out too much. She'd frowned and rambled something about decency and timing, but once his lips met hers again, she'd kept quiet for a while.

"We have to get up," she tried lamely. She was sure, before, in her conviction that she wasn't attracted to Booth. She'd convinced herself of as much. But then last night…

Last night he'd done something that threw all that into chaos. Now, she was not only having trouble keeping her thoughts in line; she was terrified.

And being terrified was not something Temperance Brennan did particularly well. Nor was it something she liked to demonstrate.

Which, for the most part, only made her irritable. And she was taking it out on Booth. After all, it was his fault.


"Mornin' sunshine!" Laura exclaimed as Alex stumbled sleepily into the kitchen. Out of the four, Alex was the most prone to getting out of bed and heading straight for the coffee. No shower needed. It was a force of habit.

"Mm," he grumbled in response, almost tripping over his own feet as he ambled into the kitchen. He grunted and pointed to the coffee, eyelids fluttering in sleepiness. Laura chuckled, ever the early-riser, and poured him a cup. He took a sip and she could swear his eyes doubled in size.

"Ah. Good. You?" he asked, pointing to the coffeemaker. He may have his caffeine, but he hadn't had sufficient amounts to form full sentences yet. That came with the food.

"Yes, sweet, do you see anyone else who could have made it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the empty rooms. Alex followed suit.

"Oh," he smiled lopsidedly. "True." He looked around the kitchen, nodding slowly at nothing in particular.

"Toast?" Laura offered with a smile. Alex grinned in a way she could swear she'd never seen him grin before.

"Please."


"Why the kitchen?"

Four food-full faces turned to Brennan.

"Huh?" Booth managed through a mouthful of cereal. She rolled her eyes as if he should have understood her.

"Every morning we've been here, we've all met in the kitchen. Why? Surely the lounge room is more comfortable…" She frowned and Booth had to force himself not to laugh. She was actually serious.

"Fish gotta swim, men gotta eat," Booth replied, pounding his chest in a way strikingly similar to a gorilla. A development in the relationship didn't mean that it wasn't still fun to tease His Bones. That would never cease to be fun. The way she gets all pouty-Shut up. Focus.

"Mature, Booth. And now you're only being sexist to annoy me. Which, by the way, is no more mature," she snapped. Booth held up his hands in surrender, wondering whether what he'd said had really annoyed her.

Alex looked at Laura and flashed his eyebrows and pursed his lips in lieu of whistling at the bickering. Whistling tended not to be the most subtle way of doing things. She held up five fingers and mouthed Brennan. Alex nodded. Since yesterday, they'd been betting on who had the least self-control, not the most.

"I didn't mean offence, Bones," Booth warned. Brennan looked angry, then frowned in confusion before shrugging and getting up for another coffee. All within less than five seconds.

"Then why did you say it know it would annoy me?" she challenged. Now, though, he detected a hint of amusement. Now, she was playing, too.

"Because it's fun, Bones," he said as he moved behind her into the kitchen.

"You do know that that kind of attitude is congruent with a sociopathic pathology, don't you?"

"Ah, ah, ah, Bones," he tutted, moving to stand directly behind her so they were just touching. He bent his head to her ear. "Psychology."

Brennan spun and glared at him. He'd won, and she didn't like it. Now, however, had probably not been the best time to feel the need to face her rival. They stood in the kitchen toe-to-toe, and because of his previous head-dipping, they weren't far from lip-to-lip.

Not far at all.

Alex choked silently. They'd flirted, but this? This was just…intense. Laura nodded and palmed a twenty, smiling impishly at Booth and Brennan from the table.

Booth now had one hand on the bench; the other had made its way to Brennan's chin, one finger hooked under it. He leaned in and Brennan pushed herself back against the counter further, trying pathetically to escape. At least, that's what she had been telling herself when Booth kissed the corner of her mouth.

The kiss was so fleeting that if they had been immersed in another culture, it would probably have been used as a greeting. But they weren't; and it wasn't.

With the hand he had on the bench, Booth grabbed the coffee pot and turned, taking it back to the table, leaving Brennan with an utterly baffled look. He looked back at her when she didn't follow him and grinned.

Brennan rolled her eyes, and Booth was again amazed that their relationship was so similar. If not for Booth kissing Brennan against the bench, this could have been a perfectly normal scene for them.

Brennan sauntered back to the table, trying to think of a fitting revenge. Booth refilled his coffee obliviously, picking up a disregarded section of newspaper from the table. Brennan sat down almost unnoticed by Booth and took his coffee.

Laura noticed and snorted while Alex grinned, watching for Booth's reaction as Brennan drank his coffee. To everyone's surprise, Booth remained oblivious the whole time. Brennan shrugged at Laura and simply finished off the coffee in silence.

About five minutes later, Brennan stood up, placed the mug on the bench and moved towards her room. Suddenly, Booth jumped up from the table and grabbed her from behind. She stiffened and yelped at the contact, but had to make a conscious effort to continue her air of annoyance.

"You stole my coffee," he growled into her ear quietly. Brennan smiled and shrugged, grabbing Booth's hands, unwrapping them from her waist for the second time that morning. "Oh, no you don't!" He grabbed her again.

"What are you going to do, Booth, join me?" she asked with a cynical expression. Booth grinned.

"Well that depends on where you're going."


"So the black one goes here when the red one is…there…?" Brennan said slowly. Booth nodded encouragingly.

"You're finally getting it!" He held his hand up in a high-five request. She ignored it and stared at the cards in front of her. "But we do tend to refer to 'the red one' as an Ace," he added patronizingly.

Brennan ignored him again, continuing to stare at the cards, trying to learn the rules. Booth put down his last card triumphantly. "And that's Rummy!" he announced excitedly. Brennan frowned.

"There's not need to be cocky," she pointed out, annoyed at having been beaten.

"Oh, come on! I just beat my genius partner in a card game. I think I've earned at least one whole minute of cockiness." He grinned and Brennan rolled her eyes at him, picking up the deck to shuffle it.

"I'd say two," Alex pointed out from the other end of the table. He and Laura had taken another deck of cards and had been playing their own weird rendition of two-player Texas Hold'em while Booth had been teaching Brennan Rummy. They'd both only played one game.

"Hear that, Bones? Alex thinks I should get two minutes!" He sounded like a child complaining that he didn't get as much ice cream as his brother. Brennan narrowed her eyes at Booth, handing him the deck.

"Yeah, but Alex doesn't have to deal with you like I do," she snapped playfully. Booth grinned and started dealing the cards.

"You know you love it, Bones." But she was studying her cards too hard to notice. He smiled as her brow creased in concentration. She's so cute when she's confused…

Brennan won the next five games.


"Seriously, Temperance, that's just cruel. Not even a pity win!" Laura giggled. Ever since Brennan had beat Booth in their second game, Alex and Laura had stopped their playing to watch as Booth got his butt kicked over and over. Ever since, Laura had been in a fit of giggles; mostly prompted by Booth's expressions.

By the second win, Brennan was hardly even trying.

"Pity?" Booth scoffed. "Pfft, I don't need your pity," he grumbled. "I don't want to play anymore." Brennan laughed at him.

"Oh grow up, Booth. You didn't think that once I learned the rules I wouldn't beat you? Please!"

"Now who's being cocky, Bones?" he snapped.

"She earned it," Laura added in Brennan's defense. Alex chuckled and began clearing the mug-and-card strewn table while Booth and Brennan stared at each other.

"See that, Booth? I earned it."

"Well, technically, I didn't see anything," he pointed out bitterly. She only smiled smugly.

"Now you're just nitpicking because you're touchy."

"Am not."

"Are too. I bet if I told Sweets about this, he'd say something bad about you," she tried. Psychology really wasn't her thing. Booth stopped short.

"Wait, since when did Sweets have valid opinions?"

"Since I'm the one who's helping you work together."

Booth and Brennan whirled in the chairs, spotting Sweets standing near the doorway. Booth rolled his eyes.

"Who let in the pre-pubescent one?" Sweets frowned, slightly offended as Laura raised her hand.

"Guilty," she shrugged indifferently, moving back to the kitchen to help Alex clean up.

"So, what brings you here, Sweets? A Wiggles concert in town?"

"Insulting me will get you nowhere, Agent Booth. I thought you'd have learned that by now." He turned to Brennan. "How are you, Doctor Brennan?"

"What would you say if I told you that Booth was nitpicking because-"

"Really, Bones. Let it go," he said, exhaling slowly for emphasis. Sweets grinned. Their relationship would never change. Brennan looked at him grumpily, crossing her arms.

"You're just mad that I beat you," she mumbled. Sweets kept smiling, shaking his head.

"Wait," Booth said. "You never said why you were here."

"I'm here to observe."

"You were here to observe yesterday," Brennan told him as if he were an invalid.

"Wrong, Doctor Brennan." She frowned, not liking being told she was wrong. "Yesterday I was here to evaluate. The bureau wouldn't let me stay for the whole week; it would defeat the purpose of the exercise anyway."

Brennan smiled and raised an eyebrow to Booth. "Hey, I think he really did miss us," she laughed. Booth grinned, both at the joke and at the reference point.

"I don't miss you. I can go a week without listening to your constant mocking perfectly fine," he defended. Booth looked at Brennan and they smiled at one another conspiratorially.

"Do you want a hug, Sweets?" Brennan offered, pouting in mock-pity. Sweets frowned. Booth just laughed again, wondering how stupid one really has to be to refuse that.

"Yeah, I think he needs a hug, Bones. Do you want a hug?" he turned to Sweets with a grin. Sweets glared at them both.

"You two seem to be getting along very well tonight," he tried. If you can't beat 'em, baffle 'em. He smiled inwardly at his proverb-manipulation-skills.

"We always get along," Brennan lied. Sweets couldn't help but laugh.

"Sure, Doctor Brennan; whatever," he laughed. Booth shrugged and ignored Sweets entirely.

"So, Bones, y'up for some extreme-TV-watching?" he proposed with a too-excited eyebrow waggle. Brennan shrugged.

"It's better than being analyzed by a pseudo-scientist."

"Hey!" Sweets defended as they got up and moved to the lounge room, settling comfortably in the couch; comfortably close, but not touching. Sweets made a mental note just as Alex and Laura wandered in from the kitchen looking awfully pleased. Booth flipped the remote cockily and flicked on the TV.

Typical controlling behavior from Booth, he noted. Brennan rolled her eyes at the choice of channels.

"Not again! We watched this last night, Booth!" she complained. Alex spoke up from his chair.

"We didn't." Sweets frowned. Alone time and a couch…

"Um, where were you two?" Sweets asked as casually as he could. He couldn't.

"In bed," Laura replied casually, though Sweets detected a flash of expression pass Alex and Laura's faces.

Booth looked at Brennan and made a crude gesture pertaining to Laura's comment.

"What are you doing, Booth? You look like you're having a fit." He narrowed his eyes at her for spoiling his joke. She shrugged. "If we're going to watch this, can we just watch it?" She was a little annoyed all of a sudden. Touchy, Sweets noted.

"Get off, Booth!" Brennan suddenly exclaimed half way through the movie. The other three agents' attention moved to Brennan who was currently being smothered by Booth's legs.

"Oh, sorry, Bones! I didn't see you there," he apologized.

"How could you not see me? You knew perfectly well that I was here, and-"

"It was a joke, Doctor Brennan," Sweets pointed out sympathetically.

"Well it obviously wasn't a very funny one," she snapped. Laura giggled and Brennan frowned.

"It was funny, Bones, see, because I could see you."

"But that's just stupid! How is stating reality funny?"

"Because I wasn't stating reality. I was stating something that was blatantly not reality."

"That's even more ridiculous."

"You know what, Bones? Just be quiet. It isn't my fault that you don't have a sense of humor," he added shrugging as if he were really denying responsibility.

"I have a very god sense of humor. My books have often been called 'witty'-"

Booth cut her off. "Doesn't count."

"Wait, why doesn't that count? I wrote them."

"Because they're books. It's one thing to be 'witty' on paper; it's another to get a funny joke." He held up a finger in emphasis.

"Why are they-"

This time she was cut off by his hand on her mouth. Sweets was shocked. This kind of contact was generally incredibly limited between these two. The fact that she wasn't yelling or biting his hand meant that something, mostly undetectable, had shifted. He was on full alert while Alex and Laura placed their bets.

"No," was all Booth said. Brennan looked as if she wanted to hurt him, but Booth kept his hand there and leaned in closer, raising his eyebrows. "They're very different, Bones," he repeated as if he wanted to brainwash her.

She rolled her eyes and let herself sink back into the couch in defeat, effectively removing his hand. Booth grinned at her expression and turned his attention back to the TV.

"Booth," Brennan said after a few seconds. Booth looked at her questioningly. She looked pointedly at her legs, barely visible under his. He grinned and turned his attention back to the TV.

Sweets inhaled and exhaled in slow, measured breaths. He only had one mental note, now.

Finally.