A.N. SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG! I can't thank you enough for reading and reviewing my story! Over 60 reviews, I am THRILLED :) So here's a little gift for you all. And let's get to 100! Haha Oh, and I noticed some of you are worried about Cal, about cheating, about this triangle… Don't ok? Trust. ;)

Chapter 5
AVOID AND CONQUER

Angela was the last one to leave. Cal stayed to help her clean up a little.

"I like your friends," he said.

"I think they like you, too," she commented with a smile. Tying a knot in the green garbage bag, she went to put it by the front door.

"I'm not sure about your partner, though."

"How so?"

"Well…" Cal rounded up the empty beer bottles. "At one point, you went to the kitchen, and he called me Callister."

So all men were stupid that way!

"And he said you called him Seeley, so you're even," she tried to joke. "Booth just likes to tease."

Was he teasing her in the kitchen? Was he serious? Of course he wasn't.

She dimmed the ceiling lights.

"He told me he liked you," she reassured him.

"He did?" He sounded really surprised.

"Yes. He told me I chose well."

Cal smiled and put his hands on her hips.

"Good."

He noticed she was biting her bottom lip.

"What?"

Brennan took a deep breath.

"He also said you thought he and I used to… uhm… be an item."

"For a minute there, yeah. You two look like you know each other so well."

"We might know each other, but we don't understand each other at all."

"Plus, you bicker a lot," he laughed.

"We work together all the time, of course we'll argue."

"You seem really close."

She heard in his voice that he was simply stating a fact, not passing judgment.

"We've been through a lot, that's all."

She was glad Cal hadn't mention anything about chemistry. So, Booth was wrong. Not everyone could see it. If it even existed.

"I know it's important to you that I like him," he said, kissing her head.

"He's… He's an amazing person."

"You're an amazing person…" he said, averting the subject.

"Are you spending the night?" she asked, unsure what she wanted his response to be.

"I can't. I have an early flight in the morning and my suitcase is not packed yet."

She felt relieved, which probably meant she still wasn't ready.

***

"How long do we have to say here?"

They had been stuck in this car for two hours in these stupid, uncomfortable car seats.

"As long as it takes," he replied.

"Couldn't we have taken the SUV?" she whined.

"So that everyone who sees it knows we're Feds?"

"We could have taken my car, then."

"Sure, a luxurious convertible is so common in this creepy part of town."

She sighed. They had talked the case through and through. What else was there to do?

"What are we looking for exactly?" she asked for the 4th time.

"I told you. I'll know it when I see it."

"Great! An entire night waiting for a gut feeling. That's some plan."

Booth took a chocolate bar and threw it at her.

"Here."

"I'm not hungry."

"Eat it anyway."

"Why?"

"So you'll stop complaining for a few seconds."

She shut up and threw him back the candy. Hard. But she couldn't hold her tongue for very long.

"Why am I here, Booth?"

Good question.

"Because it's dark… and… because you can tell me if we have the right guy just by the way he walks or stands or things like that," he said before he found an even better reason. "And because you're always asking me to come along when I go for stake-outs."

"Yes, but it never took so long to catch a suspect before."

He didn't say anything, trying to concentrate on people passing by.

"I'm thirsty," she said.

"We don't have anything to drink."

She frowned, looking around.

"You brought all that junk food and nothing to drink?"

"When you drink, you pee."

"That's the way it goes, yes. What's the point?"

"The point is: we're stuck in a car, not in a bathroom."

Oh.

Amazingly, it turned out they were both more than able to pretend the moment in her kitchen never happened. Brennan honestly thought Booth had forgotten about it. He probably only had tried to test her, for fun, and hadn't even noticed it had shaken her up. Or so she hoped.

He burnt to cross every boundary and ask,

Did he sleep over last night?

He handed her the bag of gummy bears. She took it.

She fidgeted so much in her seat, that he almost grabbed her by the shoulders to make her stop. Because every time she moved, she exhaled or sighed or breathed. And his heart was already beating too fast.

She couldn't believe she had missed a date with Cal for this. Stake-outs were supposed to be fun.

"What's the longest stake-out you've ever been on?" she asked, curious.

"Two weeks," he replied.

"How's that possible?"

"We were taking shifts," he laughed. "But we were on surveillance duty for two weeks. It was my first year in the force."

"Did you at least catch the bad guy?"

"Nope."

Brennan's eyes caught a glimpse of two individuals hiding in an alley.

"Oh! Is that what we were waiting for?" she asked excitedly, pointing through her window.

Booth leaned over her to see properly. She was now painfully aware of her bust, dangerously close to his face.

"Nah," he concluded, sitting back on his side. "That's just some punk dealing crack."

"Shouldn't you arrest them?"

"We're not here for them."

"But they're engaged in an illicit activity. And it's in progress. Even I know you have the right to take them in without a warrant."

"Bones, we can't arrest every criminal we see tonight. We would fill the jails of the surrounding counties before we even got to the suspect we're looking for."

"Then call for back up," she suggested.

"Let it go."

"But…"

"Let it go," he insisted.

After a few minutes of silence, she asked,

"Would you, at least, put some music on?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's distracting."

"You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?"

He turned to her.

"And what am I doing?"

"Making me miserable," she blurted out, gazing out her window.

The radio started to play. She could make him do anything without even really trying.

"What are you doing?" she questioned him. "You're distracting us for all that wonderful silence!" And she turned the radio off.

"Jesus, woman! What do you want from me?" He was losing it.

She sighed, mad at herself. She had no idea what her problem was. She just knew she felt angry.

"I was supposed to be on a date tonight," she said.

Great.

"Then why are you here?" he bluntly, exasperated.

"Because you asked me to be with you!" Her own feverish words made her stomach flip.

"You could have said no, you know? I didn't force you to be here."

She closed her eyes. I know.

"I wanted to be here'" she finally admitted. Maybe that was the reason she was enraged. "I'm just not sure you want me to be here."

"I do want you." When her head spun in his direction, he realized he had not finished his sentence. "To be here. If I didn't want… your company, I wouldn't have asked you in the first place." And I wouldn't have gotten in trouble with my boss trying to get you permission to be here.

They both wanted to say it, but Booth got the nerves first.

"We fight a lot more than we used to."

Calmer, and even a little ashamed, Brennan agreed.

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't know why I find you so infuriating all the time."

"And I'm sorry I keep pushing your buttons when I know you're gonna push back."

Their eyes met and they smiled at each other. Will we be ok? To dissipate the awkwardness of this sweet moment, Booth had to make a joke.

"See? We don't need Sweets to talk things out. I'll try to behave," he promised.

"Don't try. Just do," she said, still smiling.

Booth laughed. "Did you just quote Yoda?"

Oh! She knew that one!

"Why would I quote a fictional character from Star Trek?"

"Star Wars", Booth corrected her.

"They're not the same thing?"

"Not even close."

"Well, they're both about stars, how different can they be?"

"Please, tell me you don't think Dancing with the Stars is a science fiction."

She didn't answer, completely lost.

He smiled broadly. Unbelievable! His eyes delicately swept her face.

What?

You're amazing.

"But Yoda is a very small weird looking creature, right?"

Booth laughed again. "Yes." He took his Jedi Master's voice and quoted him, "Go, I will. Good relations with the Wookiees, I have."

She tried not to laugh and examined his features.

What?

You're amazing.

"One day soon, I will force you to watch all 6 movies with me on your gigantic TV."

"Six movies?" she repeated. "That's a long story!"

"Oh, yeah! And you have to start with the first one, which is in fact the fourth one, which came out 30 years before the fourth one, which is the real first one."

She didn't even bother to try to understand. He laughed at her confusion and ruined the fun by asking a question he didn't even want the answer to.

"Do you love him?"

That was out of nowhere!

"Yoda?"

"Cal."

She sank in her seat. She had forgotten all about him, so by Booth's rules, it probably meant she didn't. But she couldn't say she didn't love him. Because if she did, Booth would inevitably ask her why she was with him and it would turn into another dispute.

"I… How am I supposed to know?"

"You want me to explain the symptoms again?"

"You made those up," she stated. "There's no way you can stick to the same speech."

"Do you miss him right now?"

She didn't answer because he posed another question.

"Does your heart threaten to come out of your chest when he kisses you?"

Her eyes dropped to his lips.

"Do you feel the need to be closer to him when he holds you?"

She started played with her mother's ring, unable to tear her eyes of his face.

"Do you feel safe and happy when you realize he's there for you?"

Who is he talking about?

"Do you want to have his babies?"

Finally something she could laugh at! She snorted.

"THAT doesn't qualify to fit your list."

"Of course it does!"

"It so doesn't! I wanted to have… I thought about having… with you. So the baby thing… I don't… It's not… You and me… You're not… So it doesn't mean anything."

Brennan was never at a loss for words. He loved it.

"That's very articulate. You impress me every day."

"Shut up."

"Oooh, the big words!"

She didn't want Cal's babies. She didn't even consider considering it for one second and she knew she never would. But Booth was starting to look cocky. She couldn't let him get away with making her look like an idiot.

"Maybe."

"What?" Booth almost choked.

"Maybe I would consider procreating with him."

But once she said the words, she couldn't stand by them at all. It sounded so wrong!

Booth came out of his two-second stupor. He brought his face close to hers and squinted.

"Bullshit," he called out, knowing he was reading her right.

"Ok, fine," she admitted. "Still doesn't mean anything," she said, going for the gummy bears.

***

She was refilling their second glass when her phone rang. She was still laughing at what Booth had just said when she picked up.

"Brennan."

"Hi, it's me."

Oh. She saw Booth frown, asking her without words who it was.

"Hi, Cal."

Both nodded and took his glass.

"We just got back from a 5 hour stake-out," she explained. "You should have seen Booth go after the suspect! It was really…"

"You're still at work?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to call you back a little later when you're home?" Cal asked.

She smiled an apology to Booth and walked outside her office, just far enough so Booth wouldn't hear.

"We still have some things to finish up, here. It might run late."

"Ok, then. We still on for Chicago this weekend?"

"Of course," she replied, waiting for some enthusiasm to kick in. "My flight will arrive at O'Hare around noon."

"I can't wait to spend every minute of those 48 hours with you."

2,880 minutes. That's a lot a minutes.

"Yes. Cal, I have to go," she said.

"See you Friday."

She hung up. Cal was a great guy. Chicago was a great city. She would have a great weekend. She looked at Booth through the glass wall. He was stretching, leaning back in the chair, eyes closed. Yes. A long weekend away would do her some good.

***

She knew she shouldn't have stopped by work on her way to the airport, but she just needed to pick up her unfinished manuscript so she could do some editing on the plane. The minute she put her suitcase on the floor of her office…

"Dr. Brennan!"

"I can't stay. My plane leaves in two hours," she interrupted Cam.

"There's a situation."

"What kind of situation?"

"Bones! Finally! I've tried calling you 12 times already!"

She put her manuscript in her purse and replied,

"I turned it off. I'm leaving for three days, remember?"

"Leaving? Where?" Booth asked, surprised.

"I told you! I'm going to Chicago for the weekend."

"You never told me that."

Ok, she really didn't have time for this now. She picked up her suitcase and tried to get out of there. But Booth and Cam followed her fast pace.

"Dr. Brennan! You can't leave."

"I cleared it with you 10 days ago!" she said, turning around to face her.

"I know. I hadn't expected to…"

"Four girl scouts went to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge…"

"They get over 100,000 visitors a year, Booth. Why is this relevant?"

"… and never came back," he finished.

"And four bodies have been found last night. They need you in Delaware right now."

She sighed. "If they know who they are, why would they need me to go there right now? Just ask them to send the bodies. They'll still be here when I get back on Monday."

She grabbed her bag again, and continued walking.

"Bones, come on! We go there, we investigate like we always do and we come back. It's a 2 and a half hour drive. We'll be back tonight, and you catch a plane first thing tomorrow."

She thought about it. She and Cal would still have 1,440 minutes…

She dropped the bag on the floor and headed to Angela's office. Walking away, she told Booth,

"Put my bag in the car, you're driving me to Dulles International as soon as we get back."

"Yes, boss!" he said, way too happy to object.

She spotted Angela on the computer.

"Ange, I'm leaving for…"

"Oh, sweetie! Have a great trip. Have loads of sex for me, ok?"

"Wh… what?!" Brennan uttered.

"Since I am not getting any, I live vicariously through you. You have to work that man until he begs you to stop."

"I'm not gonna sleep with Booth! He wo… I..."

"Who said anything about Booth?"

"We're going to Delaware for a case."

"Oh. I thought you were leaving for Chicago to meet Cal."

"I was… still am. Could you contact the airport and have them change my flight to tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Thanks." Before she left, she added, "Oh! And could you let Cal know I won't arrive today?"

"No."

She never thought Angela would refuse to help her.

"Why not?"

"You tell him. I hate giving bad news."

"It's not bad news. It's… work."

"Please, Bren, don't make me do this."

"Fine. I'll see you later!"

"Have fun!"

She went out the door and turned her cell phone on. Having a boyfriend was tiring, always having to justify your whereabouts. She hoped he wouldn't make a scene.

***

Well, Cal hadn't made a scene. Brennan hadn't even picked up on the fact that he sounded disappointed. She knew he would understand, being a successful businessman, how work could force you to change your plans at a moment's notice.

It was raining, pouring, to be exact, so the drive to Kent County was dreary.

"Feels like we've been driving forever and a day," Booth said.

"You can't add a day to forever. Forever is infinite, there's nothing longer than that."

"Exactly," he concluded. "So! Chicago, huh? Great lake. Great wind. Great… sports."

"Yep."

"… You're going with…"

"Yep."

"That's nice."

Are we there, yet?

***

She had examined the bodies, asserted their identities and declared the girls had been murdered. The forensics team had collected all the evidence they could, Booth and she had interviewed everyone on staff, none of which turned out to be suspects. It was almost 7 pm, and they were walking back to the car. The remains and all the recovered evidence was being shipped to the Jeffersonian so that her colleagues could solve the case while she would be enjoying Cal in Chicago. She would leave her cell phone on, though, just in case she turned out to be indispensable. She hadn't felt indispensable in months.

Block all negative thoughts, Angela would say. Focus on the good. The good, yeah, she could do that. The thunder had just started, she had just spent hours probing the disgusting, even to her, remains of four little girls, the heavy rain had probably washed all trace evidence, she was soaking wet, freezing and famished, and Booth wouldn't let her drive. Everything was perfect, really.

Corpses rarely affected her. At least she was usually able to compartmentalize enough so that people didn't see it affected her. But this was… She needed a sanitizingly hot shower.

"I'm sorry I dragged you here," Booth said, as they both got out of the rain and into the car. "I had no idea it would be that… gruesome. I should have let you go to Chicago."

"It's fine. It's my job."

He could see she was still thinking about it. But she clearly didn't want to think about it.

"Could we grab some dinner before driving home?" she asked.

Of course she would still have an appetite.

"Fancy or greasy?" he asked.

"What do you think?" She knew he knew. They were so predictable.

"I spotted a little diner like ours just outside of Dover."

"Sounds good."

***

They had barely finished their food when the waitress, an imposing woman who seemed to be in charge, yelled,

"We're closing early!"

Booth turned to check out the window.

"There's a biblical deluge out there, and she's throwing us out?!" He couldn't believe it.

" The storm's getting worse and they just announced both sides of the 301 was closed to traffic," a man shouted so that everyone could hear.

Brennan and Booth exchanged a look. What were they gonna do?

"You wanna try to find another route to go back to DC?"

She looked out the window. A lightening stroke. She glimpse at the clock on the wall. 7 h 48.

"If I want to make my flight in the morning, we probably should…"

The lights went out.

Great.

Some of the customers yelped. The only lights they could see were the red exit sign and the occasional flash of lightening.

"Guess you better call Callister," Booth said. "Looks like we're stuck in this town for the night."

She sighed, dreading that phone call. No service. Oh, well.

"Are you guys looking for a motel?" a man asked in the dark.

"Do you know an establishment that is close by?" Brennan inquired.

"The only one for miles around is the Downside Palace Motel. It's a 15 minute drive."

"Not sure I like the name…" Booth noted.

"But you should hurry. It's pretty booked this time of year."

"It must not be that bad, then," Brennan pointed out.

"Great, let's go!"

***

"You sure it's in business?" Booth asked as he pulled in the small parking lot. "This place looks like it could be from a horror movie."

"There's a power outage, Booth. Of course it looks… dark."

He stopped the car. The headlights were probably making the scene look worse than it was. So what if the outside pool looked like it had been turned into a garden? At least they had a pool.

"No wonder they are booked this time of year," Booth mumbled. "There's what? Three rooms in this palace?"

"Stop whining and let's go," Brennan ordered.

They ran out of the car and reached the front desk. It was dark, but at least the emergency lights were on. A young man came out of nowhere.

"May I help you?"

Booth took out his wallet.

"Would you, by any chance, have a couple of rooms available?"

"I got one," he dryly replied.

"Ok… uhm… with two beds?"

"One. But it's a big one."

Booth sighed and looked at Brennan.

"Do you wanna go somewhere else?" he asked her.

"You can sleep on the floor, I don't mind," she said.

He laughed. "Oh! You don't mind, huh? With my back problems?"

She was drained. "Let's argue about that later, ok? Just take it."

The young clerk swiped Booth's credit card in the machine and made him fill out a form, then handed him the key. "Room 5. Enjoy," he said.

Once outside, they ran to door number 5. Booth's hands were shaking from the cold and he struggled with the lock as the rain kept falling. Finally, the door opened.

"Well!" Booth exclaimed, trying to make out the room through the darkness. "It doesn't look that bad," he said.

"Yeah," Brennan agreed. "Aside from that faint mold smell… it's not bad."

Booth sniffed the air. She was right. He hadn't noticed the smell. Whatever. At least, they didn't have to sleep in the car.

They were busy shaking off the water from their hair and sticky clothes when the lights came back on.

"See? It's not that bad," he tried to convince them both.

But it really was. The carpet was stained, the window had no curtains, they had a lovely view on the deserted highway… And the bed. The bed.

"I should have known," Booth let out. "When a young guy tells you he's got a big bed, he means a double bed."

They both stood there, staring at it.

"I think this is a Queen sized mattress," she corrected him.

"Made for one small queen."

They didn't move, like stuck in front of all the unthinkable possibilities. Brennan shifted on her feet, and their hands scarcely brushed. The lights went out again.

--------------------------------

TBC

As I said, don't worry about Cal, he'll be gone soon. Don't worry about the tension, it's back full blast in the next chapter which will pick up right where I left this one. STAY WITH ME!!!