Disclaimer: See ch. 1

Spoilers: Through season 4

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, real life's been hectic. Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter, and a special thanks to those who reviewed, you guys keep me writing. Enjoy!

At 8:30 she opened the door to the hall and almost walked into the fist which had been poised to knock. Her eyes slid up from the lean waist to the broad chest…

"I swear to god, Logan, I…"

…right into the brown eyes of Seeley Booth, where they froze.

"Booth," she managed to gasp. "What are you doing here?"

His eyes roamed her body and she knew that he wasn't checking her out, but checking for damage; he seemed to do the same thing every time they were apart for any length of time. Probably some overprotective alpha-male thing.

"Angela said you needed me." His eyes pierced her with a concern so genuine that her throat felt suddenly tight. "So, here I am. Now, what's wrong?"

"I…" She couldn't speak, she was too busy replaying what he'd said in her mind. She was going to kill Angela.

"Bones?" He bent down to peer into her face. "You okay?"

"I…" She glanced down at her watch. Shit. "I have to go."

She shut the door behind her and brushed past him into the hallway.

"Bones?" He called as he took off after her. "Bones, what the hell is going on?"

"Nothing," she said briskly, stepping into the waiting elevator. No way was she asking Booth for help with Logan. If that didn't scream helpless female, then she didn't know what did. "Everything is fine."

"Oh, hell no." The elevator doors began to close, but Booth slammed his foot down between them and waited for them to reopen. As he stepped into the elevator, the doors sliding silently shut behind him, Temperance suddenly wished she'd taken the stairs. His presence in the small, enclosed space was stifling. She didn't know what it was about this particular elevator which forced that realization upon her; they'd shared plenty of other elevators and she'd never felt intimidated by him. Perhaps it was the gleam of something she wasn't sure she wanted to name in his eyes, or maybe it was because she knew implicitly that his presence here would only complicate her mess.

She forced herself to take a step forward and return his frustrated glare.

"Let me get this straight. I drove all night to be here for you and now, suddenly, nothing is wrong?" His finger was dangerously close to her face and it took all of her control not to grab it and wrench his arm behind his back.

"That is correct," she spoke calmly.

"Well," he said through gritted teeth, "you'd better make something up then, because I did not drive ten hours on the whim of some drama addicted artist."

"Angela isn't…" She stopped when he cocked an eyebrow in a clear who-are-you-trying-to-kid look.

"Fine. But it isn't my fault."

The elevator dinged, telling them that they'd reached the ground floor, and the doors slid open.

Temperance forced herself to move past him again and walk calmly through the gilt and marble lobby.

"Where are you going?" Booth asked from a pace and a half behind her.

"The university," she answered. "I'm giving a speech there in—" she glanced down at her watch, "—twenty minutes."

She put on an extra burst of speed as she pushed through the doors, and had nearly made it to her rental car before he grabbed her arm.

"I'm driving."

She stared up at him, incredulous.

"You are not coming."

"I sure as hell am," he muttered and held his hand out for the keys.

"Oh, yeah, right," she snorted.

She beeped the car unlocked and slid into the driver's seat. She nearly had the thing in gear when the passenger's side door opened and Booth folded himself into the car.

"Let's go," he said. She rolled her eyes, put the car in drive and pulled out into the street. She didn't have time to argue with him.

"I'm fine, Booth. You can go back home, you know," she told him at a red light about five miles from the campus.

He laughed. "Oh, no, I can't. When Angela told me that I needed to get up here, I told Cullen that my partner was having some trouble and needed my help. He granted me a week and a half paid leave to come get you sorted out. No way am I going back to D.C. to sit in my office till you get back. You know they hardly ever give me a new case when you're away."

The light changed and Temperance stepped on the gas.

"I'm sorry, Booth. But I'm really fine. Angela must be extremely bored if she's making up imaginary crises for you to come rescue me from." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Booth shrug.

"I've always wanted to visit Vermont. All these green mountains and those cute little teddy bears. Aren't there supposed to be more cows?"

Temperance rolled her eyes and groaned inwardly.

"Why don't you use your vacation to spend time with Parker? You could take him away somewhere. He's out of school for the summer, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Booth sighed. "But Rebecca and her new boyfriend took him to visit her parents in Nevada. They'll be gone for the next two weeks." He sounded so dejected that she nearly told him just to stay.

"I'll be in and out of lectures and conferences, Booth. You'll be bored silly."

"I can make my own fun, Bones. You don't have to worry about me. Maybe I'll check out those teddy bears." He flashed her a charm smile.

She pushed her foot down on the accelerator. Thanks to Angela, instead of just one, she now had two impossible-to-shake males to deal with.

He had told her the truth; Cullen really had granted him a leave, Parker really was in Nevada. He knew without a doubt that she wasn't being entirely truthful with him, however. There was something going on that she didn't want him to know about. Well, guess what? He wasn't one of the top FBI agents in the country for no good reason. He'd figure out what was bothering Ms. Temperance Brennan, and then…well, he'd think about fixing it.

He followed her into the university, down a couple of old, dusty hallways which made him grateful that his college days were long over, and through an open doorway.

He froze as he stepped in behind her. The lecture hall was huge, extravagantly decorated, and filled to overflowing with college students. Every head swiveled to the doorway as they entered.

Bones gave a small wave and headed straight to the platform at the front of the room. Most eyes followed her progress. Only the students nearest the door continued to gawk at Booth. He gave them a smile and a nod and slid into a seat near the back.

A man in a green button down shirt and an old beige suit stood as Bones approached the podium. The two shook hands, pleasantries were murmured, and then the man stepped up to the microphone.

"Would everyone please welcome Dr. Temperance Brennan, world renowned forensic anthropologist."

The hall filled with polite applause. A boy about four rows back gave an enthusiastic wolf-whistle. Booth thought about shooting him, then realized that his gun was locked in the glove box of his SUV, along with his badge. Too bad.

"Thank you, Dr. Loughlin. And thank you all for having me. I'm honored to have the opportunity to speak for you."

She looked so at home up there in front, he thought. The teacher, the instructor, the expert. She smiled out at the room like she owned it, but her eyes didn't crinkle at the corners, her irises didn't dance with mirth. This was her public appearance smile, her you're-paying-me-a-lot-of-money-to-be-here-so-I'll-at-least-look-like-I'm-enjoying-it smile. This wasn't the smile he loved, the one he was sure very few people ever got to see. He counted himself lucky to be one of them.

"For thousands of years…"

He tuned out her words. He'd heard this speech quite a few times over the last four years. He understood little more of it now than he had the first time. Instead, he let the sound of her voice wash over him; the low, smooth cadence, the sureness in the tone, in the words; never stuttering, never pausing where it wasn't supposed to. Her hands danced before her, clicking the button to change the slide, pointing the laser, pushing back her hair. She'd left it down today and he knew it would be annoying her now. She always complained about her hair being in the way when she left it down. He was half surprised she hadn't shaved it all off by now. He was very glad that she happened to be more vain than she let on and would probably never dream of doing such a thing.

She looked perfectly at ease; calm, content, alert. But he knew that something was wrong. He knew it by the way her eyes would jump from the clock up on the wall to the door and then back to the crowd. He knew it by the way her shoulders tensed just slightly the two times the doors opened to admit newcomers. He had no idea what was bothering her, but he was her partner and he wasn't about to let her deal with it alone. He wished he had his gun.

"We're going to open the floor for questions now." The man in the bad suit was back at the podium beside Bones, looking timid and unsure next to her perfect poise.

Hands came up all over the hall and suit-man began fielding questions.

"You're an author, Dr. Brennan. I'm sure we've all read your books." There were murmurs of agreement throughout the hall. "My question is, who do you use as inspiration for your characters?"

Bones seemed to think it over for a moment, her eyes intent on the girl who'd asked the question. Or perhaps she was considering the best way to thank the girl for stating the obvious. 'I'm aware that I'm an author.' It would be just like Bones to latch on to that part of the statement and forget about the rest.

"My characters are all fictional," she said in her cool, logical way. "Next question please."

The girl looked like she might protest, but 'suit' was already motioning to the next student.

"Your books are based on actual cases, correct? In your newest book, Agent Lister finds the body of a woman who had been hung by the neck because someone thought she was a witch. Was that a real case?"

Bones looked like she wanted to roll her eyes. "The cases in my books are completely fictional. They are, of course, based in fact. Meaning that these things could happen. To the best of my knowledge, they have not."

"What about that case in Washington last year? It was all over the news. That book publisher eaten by ants."

"She was an agent," Bones corrected. "And the ants didn't…"

"I'd like to remind everyone that Dr. Brennan is here to discuss her work as an anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institute, not as an author."

Booth shook his head and chuckled. "Bones, Bones, Bones," he muttered under his breath.

There were a few questions about bones and mummies and cases at the Jeffersonian, then a red-haired boy about halfway back stood and rubbed a hand over his head.

"What's it like working with the FBI?"

Bones seemed confused for a moment. Her eyes scanned the hall and Booth knew that she was looking for him. He smiled when she gave up and turned back to the student.

"It's fine," she said.

The red-head opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, shook his head, and sat.

"What do you think of your partner?" A brunette girl asked. Ah, now this could be interesting.

"In your book, Kathy seems to think very highly of Agent Lister."

Bones smiled; the real, eye crinkling, teeth showing smile he'd been waiting for.

"My partner is highly acknowledged in his field," was all she said.

Booth couldn't take it anymore. She looked too polished and self-assured up there at that podium. If there was one thing he couldn't resist, it was rattling Temperance Brennan. He stood.

"Is he cute?"

Her blue eyes swiveled to him and her smile faded. She watched him for a long moment as every head in the room turned to him. Then her lips tilted up and the smile reappeared along with that glint in her eyes which, from much experience, told him to duck.

"I wouldn't know," she said slowly. "He's my partner, I've never looked at him that way."

"Because, you know, some people might look at the way you describe Agent Lister in your books as a way of transferring your feelings for your own partner."

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't believe in psychology."

He grinned. "I know."

Whispers broke out throughout the hall. Booth slunk back into his seat as Bones continued to glare at him.

"Is that…"

"Is he…"

"I bet that's…"

"…a case?"

"…his gun."

A gaggle of girls two rows in front of him turned back and giggled.

"Definitely Andy Lister," he heard one of them say.

Bones cleared her throat.

"If there are no more questions…"

Twenty minutes later, Booth watched as the hall slowly emptied. She'd been great, as always; intelligent, enigmatic, charming. He watched as she conversed with bad suit guy, oblivious to him watching her.

'Bad suit' left and Bones bent down to retrieve her case. The door opened and a man with unruly blonde hair stepped into the hall. He scanned the place, ignoring Booth and the few students still lingering, and headed towards the platform. Bones looked up and her shoulders tensed. She seemed to catch herself, however, because her public-appearance smile slid into place and she stood straight to face the man.

Booth felt himself tense and his hand shifted automatically to his belt where his gun should have been. It wasn't, of course.

'Blondie' spoke a few words and Booth watched Bones's eyes narrow and her chin set. Her eyes flicked to him, and she seemed to relax a bit. She replied to whatever the man had said, and then motioned towards Booth with an upraised hand. 'Blondie' turned and locked green eyes with Booth's brown ones. He cocked his head almost imperceptibly, then turned back to Bones. Whatever he said clearly made her angry. Booth was about to stand and go to her when 'Blondie' turned abruptly and left the hall.

Booth met her at the door and took the briefcase from her hands. She let go with obvious reluctance and led the way into the hall.

"What was that all about?" Booth asked.

She looked over at him as if he were a bit dim and replied, "That was a lecture, Booth. You've heard it before."

He rolled his eyes. "I meant that thing with 'Blondie' back there."

"Blondie?"

"The blonde guy you obviously weren't too happy to see."

She shrugged, but there was something in the way her voice came out next that told him she wasn't being entirely truthful. "An old classmate."

"What were you two arguing about?"

"We weren't arguing," she said slowly. "He was upset about something his boss said to him earlier."

That was total BS, but Booth decided to let it go for now. He'd get to the bottom of this if it took him the entire week and a half they were here.

He grinned down at her as they stepped out into the sunlight. "I'm starved. They got a diner in this town?"

A/N: Thanks for reading and don't forget to let me know what you thought! And if anyone's waiting for an update on Just Life or Between the Lines, I'll have something up by tomorrow, or Wed. at the latest.