AN: Well here we go 4th chapter in under 2 days... and it's a big one. Thanks to all my loyal readers i hope you're enjoying it, there's a little something in this chapter that you'll all enjoy. And if anyone wants to try and guess which state/territory the pair will not be visiting go for your life (if you get it right i might just PM you a copy of the itinerary if you want it). Also anyone in search of a beta (especially for Bones fics) can feel free to PM me... Well on with the story.

mumrulz: glad you liked that line, it's the sort of blunt thing i think Bones would say.

mustanggirlz07: bathing suit conversations with Bones are notoriously funny :) of course Booth's reaction to them is even better we might be able to get it in there somewhere

lisaluvsfox22: awesome, haven't had too many people from overseas review this, i'll try and keep it as close to real as possible, maybe you'll get to visit us someday.

nymphatrix: well they'll probably make it to Sydney but i don't know that they'll be spending a whole lot of time in Manly, maybe they can drive through.

XedwardismyromeoX: you'll just have to wait and see what they do i don't want to give it away too much ;)

ncisgirl101: well Bones might be open for a threesome but Booth maybe not so much... and i promise there will be lots of fun but it won't all be fun... sorry. You're right it hasn't been real hot this summer, not that i'm complaining i hate hot weather i almost died during the heat wave last March. And wow must really not have been paying attention how long have we had a new parliament house? I'm not from Sydney, i'm actually from Adelaide but i'll try not to be too mean to Melbourne, though you guys are pretty mean about us... last time i was there someone asked if i was from the place where people have sex with their cousins (i think they were getting Adelaide confused with Tasmania though).

LeahElizabeth: There's actually a heap of fics with Sweets in them, i was sort of worried about putting him in there because there's so many fics with the same sort of thing out there... There's one called Puppy Love that's not bad it's BB and Sweets babysits, there's some others that i can't think of right now and Casualty of Love and How my Heart Behaves are awesome Bones fics too.

Running with scaples: Haha, i can just imagine Booth's face if he thought she was talking about/wearing the other kind of thong, would be as good as the one in 'the Woman in the Sand' when Bones comes out in that little black dress.

BaybeeTae: hmm, they're only around for 3 weeks but they'll definitely be doing some of those things... wait and see which.

Chapter 4

"Bones, isn't this amazing?" Booth asked reclining his airplane seat up and down while his partner settled in next to the window already pulling out a thick novel, Booth didn't care about the title but noticed that the cover was mostly black with dark emerald lines and some sort of morbid picture on the cover.

"Actually Booth, air travel is based on simple Newton physics. So long as the aeroplane thrust is greater than or equal to the drag, the plane's velocity will remain constant or accelerate and if the thrust is smaller in magnitude than the drag the plane will decelerate. And as long as the weight is equal or less than the lift the plane will gain altitude or remain steady if the plane's lift is less than the weight of the plane its altitude will drop. It's really not that amazing Booth." Brennan explained without looking up from her book.

"Way to spoil the party Bones, but that's not what I was talking about. How cool are these seats" Booth grinned enthusiastically once again reclining his seat until Brennan had to twist her head awkwardly to see his eyes sparkling happily like a child at Christmas. Brennan was saved from having to respond to her partner by the appearance of the steward who began instructing them on the proper safety procedures at which point Brennan hastily fastened her seatbelt and returned to her book.

The plane took off as scheduled but they'd barely been in the air five minutes when Booth turned to his partner "I'm bored Bones" she groaned, but did not look up from her book.

"Didn't you bring one of your comic books or something? It's an eighteen hour flight surely you bought something to pass the time" She reasoned.

He nodded "Yeah I did" he smiled.

"Okay, well let me read then"

"No can do, I bought you to pass the time. Entertain me"

"Booth" Brennan protested "I am not a toy, I'm a forensic anthropologist with three doctorates, go flirt with that woman over there or something and let me read in peace" she suggested loudly gesturing to a leggy blonde dressed in a tight shirt and mini skirt sitting on the opposite side of the plane.

Booth considered the blonde for a moment before turning back to his partner "I'd rather flirt with you" the words were out of his mouth before his brain had even registered him thinking them.

Brennan's head shot up her book toppling to the floor as she attempted to process her partner's words "Booth?" she questioned, her tone indicating she had a good idea why he'd said what he'd said but she wanted to hear it from him, or at least a damn good explanation.

"I didn't mean... I don't think I should have said that" Booth stuttered, leaving his partner confused.

"Well, you are a heterosexual man and anthropologically speaking it is accepted that when a person is attracted to another person they use verbal and non-verbal cues to indicate their attraction. I suppose rationally that it is possible given your sexual preference that you could be attracted to me, thus explaining your statement and I suppose that given my own sexual preferences were you to flirt with me I may inadvertently flirt back, which would in no terms be related to whether or not I wished to have a romantic relationship with you or you with me" Brennan rationalised quickly leaving Booth shocked that she could so easily logic away any chance for a future with him.

"C'mon Bones, rationally you know that for a romantic relationship to succeed there has to be some attraction between the parties involved, physical or otherwise. We've got all that. You are a very physically attractive woman Bones, and you already know what I think of your mind" Booth grinned thinking he had made his point.

"You are right, there is a correlation between attraction and relationship success but not all cases of attraction result in successful romantic relationships, or in any romantic relationship. Our attraction to one another is strictly platonic, just as Angela's attraction to me is strictly platonic" Brennan countered.

"Just how sure are you about that?"

"My conclusion is accurate Booth"

"What evidence do you have to back it up?" He asked, using her own scientific nature to hopefully prove his point.

"Angela has never once made a move on me sexually despite numerous opportunities, she does not exhibit signs of anxiety when we are close to one another and she has never been jealous of anyone I've dated"

"Okay Bones, think we're getting a little off topic here, I was talking about us... what evidence is there to suggest that we are not sexually attracted to one another rather than platonically?" Booth clarified amused by his highly intelligent partner's misunderstanding.

"You've never made a move on me either" Brennan defended

"But you've made a move on me" Booth reminded.

"That was so that I could spend Christmas with my family"

"You didn't protest the bargain, I'm sure Caroline would've done it for something else. Face it... you wanted to kiss me. You enjoyed kissing me" Booth proposed smugly.

"Okay, I admit that kissing you was not an unenjoyable experience, but that doesn't mean I wanted to do it"

"Whatever Bones, still one point in favour of sexual attraction. What's your next argument?"

"You've still never approached me as a possible sexual partner"

"Maybe I'm just a nervous guy who's scared of rejection"

"Maybe." Brennan conceded "Or maybe you're just not sexually attracted to me"

"You know Bones, sexual attraction is not the problem here. You are a sexually attractive woman and if we did not work together I would've flirted with you until you wanted me as much as I wanted you"

"So you're saying the real problem is that we're partners?"

"No, I'm merely saying that I would not enter into a purely physical relationship with my partner, I would want to know it was worth the risk and sex is not worth the risk" Booth clarified.

"How do you know? I really am quite good in bed, I think I might be worth the risk" Brennan teased.

"Maybe" Booth agreed "And you just flirted with me, bordering on propositioning in fact so I think that counts as another point in favour of sexual attraction."

"I thought you said sexual attraction wasn't the issue"

"It's not" Booth agreed growing tired of the circular argument, one that he was sure neither he nor his partner would win, at least not using scientific rationale. Reasoning can only go so far, you never really know what's going to happen until you test your hypothesis.

Once again Booth's body seemed to act before his brain had okayed it and he felt warm lips underneath his own, moving against them, he pushed himself closer using his arm rest for leverage until he could slip his tongue between his partner's lips and into her mouth where he tasted coffee and something sweet like chocolate. As their tongues moved against each other her hand came to rest on his thigh and his pressed gently on her shoulder, before she abruptly pulled away.

"I thought you said you weren't the kind of guy who would risk our partnership for a physical relationship"

"I'm not" Booth confirmed "And I thought you said you were worth the risk"

"I am" She confirmed, staring straight into her partner's dark eyes which seemed even darker at that moment, as she was sure her own did "But I never said you were" Her tone was not harsh, nor judgemental merely a statement of fact which left Booth wondering where he stood with his partner, unsure whether he should apologise for his actions or repeat them. However the choice was made for him when a few moments later his partner snuggled under her blanket mask over her eyes and fell asleep her head lolling onto his shoulder their conversation not yet complete.

So what does Bones think about Booth kissing her? Is she happy, angry, confused?