Chapter 4

It was late when Booth pulled into the parking ramp of the Jeffersonian. He pulled into Hodgins' usual spot next to Dr. Brennan's car and turned off the engine. He turned to wake her but his breath caught in his throat. She had been asleep for most of the ride back and she was now slumped down with her head resting on her seatbelt. The lights in the parking ramp entered the SUV and played with the shadows on her face. The light was coming from outside the vehicle so he could only see a shadowy silhouette while the outline of her profile seemed to glow. He stared at her peaceful slumber and lost any sense of time. He had to wake her, he didn't want to but if he tried to drive her home she would just take a cab back to work. It was better that he was around so he could take her home if she got too tired.

"Bones. Bones we're here." Booth said gently, quietly. She stirred a bit but didn't wake. "Bones." He said a little louder. Still no movement. Booth reflexively reached to touch her shoulder but stopped, his hand hovering between her shoulder and her cheek. His hand tingled. He looked at it curiously. His nerves had received the signal from his brain to expect the warmth and softness of her skin but still his hand hung in the air. The confusion made the nerves tingle. It was like they, independent of his conscious thought, wanted to touch her. Fate won, she shifted and her cheek brushed lightly on his hand. "Bones, we're here." He said.

"Mmm. Oh. What?" She mumbled as she woke. She felt his hand on her cheek and opened her eyes to see his face less than an inch from hers.

"We're at the Jeffersonian." He whispered hoarsely. She slowly regained full consciousness and looked into his eyes. The shadows darkened his eyes but she could see their customary warmth and something else she couldn't identify. She looked at his face and traced its lines with her eyes. His strong brow ridge, the zygomatic arches, the sharp angle of his mandible. She lingered a moment then started to sit up. With her movement he sat back into his seat. The intensity of the moment hung in the air but the foolish partners went back to their oblivion. "I assume you are wanting to look at those fragments tonight?"

"Yes, there isn't any further to go until we know who this is. Are you coming in, or should I call you in the morning with what I find?"

"Not happening, if I leave you here you won't sleep or worse, you will try to drive home drowsy. I want to look at Robert Newton and I need to make notes about our interviews today. Are you hungry, should we have something delivered?"

"Sure." She said as she retrieved her bag from the back seat and climbed out of the SUV.

As they crossed the lab to get to Brennan's office, a familiar squeal and its maker pounced on them.

"So tell me about Dr. Handsome!" Angela grabbed Brennan's arm.

"It wasn't a date, Ange. He seemed nice." Brennan said. Booth shifted uncomfortably. Angela eyed his discomfit with glee.

"Cam said to send you to give her an update when you got here." Angela said looking at Booth.

"I'll go fill her in." Booth mumbled, not meeting Angela's eyes. Angela followed Brennan into Brennan's office and stood with her hand on her hip, waiting.

"Well?"

"Well what Ange?"

"Booth calls you beautiful, you meet up with a sexy PhD, and all you can say is 'well what?'"

"That's all that happened. What more do you want?"

"Oh, I don't know, Booth got jealous hit the guy and you spent the rest of the ride home feeling him up."

"What?"

"Nothing Sweetie." Angela called as she strode back to her office. Brennan was confused but shook it off and pulled on her lab coat.

"Cam?"

"Come on in Seeley."

"Not much to go on, missing guy, a few pieces of bone, giant sand pit."

"Hodgins must be overjoyed."

"Oh yeah. Bones has the fragments and I'm sure she'd already squinting at them."

"I hear you called Brennan beautiful. Angela is ecstatic." She eyed him for a moment, reading him. "Well, I'll be heading out of here soon, let me know if you need anything."

"Will do." Booth called on his way back to Brennan's office. He glanced at the platform to see her seated looking at a screen. He crossed to the platform and swiped his card. "See anything, Bones?"

"These are very damaged. They have been soaked in acid. I don't think I can get any DNA off of them. I really can't see much of anything. These are little more than thin hollow chunks of calcium." Booth stared thoughtfully at the screen.

"So there are no tumors, no little holes, none of the things you usually find for me so we can identify them?"

"No Booth, maybe there will be something when we find the rest of the bones." Booth glanced at his partner, she looked tired, a little defeated. He fought the compulsion to hug her. Cam walked around the platform and called to them.

"Anything?" Booth shook his head slightly. "There isn't much else to do tonight. I just got off the phone with Hodgins and they are packing up for the night. They will be back soon and get started again tomorrow morning."

"Bones, lets go get something to eat and then get a fresh start in the morning." Brennan sighed and put the bone fragments away. Cam waved Booth over while Brennan was busy finishing up.

"She looks a little sick, maybe you shouldn't let her drive. Make sure she gets home okay."

"You think she looks sick? Tired maybe, a little frustrated at not finding anything yet, but sick?" Booth started to look worried. Cam swallowed a chuckle and stifled a smile.

"Yeah. This case will be challenging, she's going to need to be ready."

"Uh, yeah, ready..." Booth muttered distractedly and walked quickly after Brennan into her office. When he was out of ear shot, Cam started laughing. Too easy, she thought.

Brennan was seated on her couch scribbling furiously on a clipboard. Booth tried to assess her health by looking at her but all he could see was tired and frustrated. Cam had medical training, she would know better than he. If I try to feel her forehead, will she kill me? Booth decided that his best chance was to sit nearby and work and hope he could get a better look. He sat down next to her, a little closer than usual but she didn't seem to notice. He pulled open the missing person's report on Robert Newton and began to read it. His eyes looked at each word but nothing registered. All he could think about was his partner. He glanced furtively at her, trying to see if anything was different. His fidgeting was starting to disturb her, she had stopped writing and was lost in thought. Booth tried to keep his nervousness under control. He didn't know that it wasn't his fidgeting that was bothering her.

She tried desperately to focus on her work. He is so close. It's nice, he is warm and he smells good, even after being in the heat all day in a suit. He seems so nervous. That makes no sense, what could be making him so nervous? Temperance Brennan! Pull it together and get to work! She shifted a little in her seat and tried to read what she had just written. The words made no sense, she had just written it but it was just random symbols on a page. Dinner! She thought. Let's order dinner.

"I'm getting hungry, why don't we get some dinner." Brennan looked at Booth.

"Great idea Bones, let's order a pizza tonight?" Booth looked up smiling.

"Okay, but I'm ordering it." Brennan tried to look serious but his mischievous grin made it impossible.

"Fine, but no green olives, black are fine, but no green. And put some meat on it!" Booth dared.

"Fine, but only on half. Thin crust." Their eyes were locked, flashing with the mock-battle.

"Thick." Booth used his best authoritative tone, knowing it would annoy her.

"Do we have to do this every time?" She was weakening. Those big brown eyes and that million-dollar smile were winning.

"Just order what we always do and we can skip the negotiations." He cocked one eyebrow, flashed his best smile and rejoiced in this silly victory.

"I guess you have a point." Brennan pulled out her phone and placed the order, never taking her eyes off her partner. They gazed at each other for several minutes. The intensity of their gaze got the better of them and Brennan let out a small chuckle. Booth followed a second later laughing. They both erupted in fits of giggles. As the giggles subsided, they found themselves leaning on each other out of breath. Brennan stood to remove the little jacket that was part of her outfit. The giggling had made her feel warm. Booth was feeling warm too and took his suit jacket off and loosened his tie. Booth had tossed his jacket onto a small stack of boxes from Limbo that was near the couch.

"Booth!" Brennan scolded and walked around the coffee table to grab the jacket and hang it up. Booth snatched the jacket up and looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry, I'm so used to them being here that I didn't see them as human remains." Brennan smiled at him and her hand brushed his as she took his jacket. Electricity spread from the touch up each arm. Neither could meet the other's eyes. Brennan's computer beeped. They both walked to the desk. It was images from the scene. Wendell was uploading them on the drive back. There was just not a lot there. Brennan sat in her chair, Booth leaned against the desk and they looked at each picture hoping something would jump out at them. Brennan sighed. Booth glanced at her. She was frustrated that there wasn't more to do yet. Usually by this time, there was more work for her. Booth placed his hand on hers, stopping the mouse's movement.

"Hey" He said. "We'll find something tomorrow." Brennan's desk phone beeped.

"Dr. Brennan, did you order a pizza." It was security.

"Yeah we did."

"Okay." Booth grinned, clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously.

"Pizza!" There was a small scuffle as they each pulled out a bill and tried to take the other's bill to pay. Brennan's reflexes won placing her just outside her office door when the pizza arrived. Booth was sitting on the couch pouting when Brennan set the pizza on the coffee table. She lightly bounced against him as she sat down making him drop his fake pout and smile. They ate, arguing playfully about the relative merits of different toppings and crusts. The work lay forgotten in piles next to the couch. After they had eaten their fill, their discussion shifted to the scientists they interviewed that day and how one seemed too upset and the other didn't seem upset enough. The topic of the handsome Dr. Shannon was carefully avoided. Eventually, each resumed the discarded work.

After working for awhile, Brennan heard Booth's breathing become deep and regular. She glanced over and saw him dozing peacefully. She was almost done and decided to leave him be a bit until she finished then she would wake him so his back wouldn't hurt. Booth's soft snoring made her eyes heavy. She drifted off slowly, all the while believing she was still working.