"And so in conclusion" Booth swallowed, trying to bring it home, "The Nuer also have several forms of 'ghost marriage'. A man may marry a woman as a stand-in for his deceased brother. The children that are born of this union will be considered descendants of the dead man--the "ghost" is the socially recognized father. The woman is in effect, a widow who takes care of her husband's wealth and children until they are mature."

The audience applauded with approval and the partners shared a pleased smile.

"Ah, Dr. Brennan" the head of forensics at the university moved to the podium, "Thank you very much. And now" he turned toward the group, "I believe we have time for a couple of questions. Yes, you…" he pointed to a smartly dressed student in the third row.

"Yes, Dr. Brennan?" the student stood "Your last article on territorial sovereignty was described as a comparative study with modern day ghettos. What's your response to this?"

Booth tensed, this was SO not part of the plan, but he couldn't let his partner's reputation be ruined now… "I see. Um, yes…Actually" a small smile emerged. "I believe I will let my partner, the incredibly talented Special Agent, Seeley Booth, who if he lived in England would most likely be called SIR Special Agent Seeley Booth…"

"Don't push it, Dr. Brennan" a husky growl emerged as well.

"I will let him answer that question."

Brennan's hand slid subconsciously over the red tie, down to the belt buckle. "Excellent question, and I'll be happy to answer that."

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The next night Booth sat in the stands, clenching manicured fists repeatedly. For one thing, the lascivious glances coming his way was enough to make him want to punch out a few noses. Then again, he smiled, punching a guy in the face was something he could probably get away with as the feisty Dr. Brennan.

With a sigh, he looked back onto the ice as she was making a mess of a hockey play he'd mastered at about age 7. "Oh, man…" this was not good.

The other guys on the team shoved and joked and prodded with their sticks, and Booth watched as she seemed to hold her own.

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Brennan gripped the hockey stick harder as she tried to keep balance. Actually, the balance wasn't the hard part, she realized. Booth's natural center of gravity was fully functional, and she was able to skate quite proficiently. It was the knowing what to do part that was nerve wracking. Calling on her memory, she picked up her stick and shoved against the chest of an opponent.

"That's it" the ref shoved "Get over there…" he pointed to the penalty box, and Brennan felt a surge of gratitude that her plan worked.

So she skated over to the punitive area and looked up to see Booth coming down the steps to talk to her.

"Smart plan" he smiled, and Brennan wondered if the twinkling in the brown eyes she was seeing was a reflection of her own bodies excitement, or if it was Booth's personality.

"Thank you. Now what?"

Booth shrugged. "I don't know. But number 3 has been challenging us all night, you know?"

Brennan could feel pain across the knee area and nodded. "I do know. This game is very elemental"

"Well…"

"Well, what, Booth?" Brennan leaned against the hockey stick.

"Well, I guess you could quit for the night. Say you were too sore and just sit out the rest of the game."

"But…you would never do that." She countered.

"You're right. I would never do that…but…"

"But what?"

"But I would want you to do that. If you were hurt. And believe me. You'll be hurting tomorrow." His eyes were sad.

"Booth!" another player skidded to a stop in front of the penalty box. "You comin back, or what?"

Booth and Brennan exchanged glances.

"No, I'm going to call it a night."

"You're getting old, Seeley Booth" the other player joked and poked Brennan with his hockey stick. "Guess we'll have to go on without you."

Brennan sighed and sat back down in the penalty box, then looked over to her counterpart in the bleachers. She could see that Booth was trying not to be sad about this turn of events, and she wondered if that is what she looked like when she was trying to avoid expressing emotions.