As Angela would say, awkward! I can't believe I left and editing note in the last chapter - I had meant to go and find the name of the place Brennan went to in between the fifth and sixth season but then forgot! Awkward. Still, not as bad as doing the same sort of things on papers for Uni... which I've totally never done ;)

Thank you for the reviews, and for kindly not tearing me apart on my massive error! Very kind people :) Hope you enjoy the next chapter, and that their aren't gaping big mistakes in it! The sexual tension is building as well - a slower and more explosive burn is what I'm hoping to achieve.

Chapter Two: The Innocence in the Lover

Brennan and Angela watched as Booth gave Parker a big hug, telling him that he would most definitely be home for Christmas, and he just needed to help Bones with a case 'from a land down under.'

'You love that song, don't you, Parker?' Booth kissed him on the forehead. Parker nodded, smiling.

Angela and Brennan grinned at each other, before Angela reached over to give her a big hug.

'This is such a nice thing of you to do, Brennan.'

'Well, he's an old friend, and I haven't seen him for a very long time. He seemed to be in need of assistance, so I thought I'd murder two birds with one stone. Plus,' she said, looking pointedly at Booth, 'I think that this little trip is working wonders for Booth. He already seems more like his old self.'

Angela hugged Brennan again, before letting her go. She still wondered how her genius best friend could be so thick when it came to matters of the heart.

'Have fun, sweetie. Go catch the Aussie murderer – and make sure you look after yourself.'

'I will, Ange. Though, we don't yet know if the victims were killed by an Australian. You know how I don't like conjecture.'

'Sure, sweetie, sure.' Angela shook her head, before turning to Booth, and wrapping him in a huge hug.

'Have fun, Booth. Let's hope the Australian sun helps Brennan see things more clearly.' She whispered, giving him a knowing look. He smiled back at her, holding her at arm's length.

'I have no idea what you mean,' He said.

The last boarding call sounded over the airport speakers, and Brennan walked over to Booth, carrying a small bag. Smiling broadly at one another, they walked off to the ticket counter, and turned to wave at Angela, Parker and the team one last time, before disappearing into the terminal.

'You know,' Sweets said as they each turned to walk away, Parker hand in hand with Angela, 'I've pretty much given up on those two ever getting together. But something feels a bit different this time, doesn't it?'

The team looked at each other, smiling.

'We can only hope, Sweets.' Hodgins said, before adding. 'You wouldn't be averse to making a bet on it, would you?'

'Ooh, Bones.' Booth sighed, reclining in his chair. 'This, Bones, this is the life.' He sat up slightly, smiling at her. 'This is the best Christmas present you could have possibly gotten me,'

Well, almost the best.

Brennan looked at him, smiling at his happiness. 'This wasn't intended as a Christmas present, Booth. But if you are content with this trip, then I won't get you anything more. But remember you'll be working, while we're in Australia, so it won't all be fun. I'm so used to your help with cases; I don't think I could solve one without you, much as I hate to admit.'

'Thanks, Bones. ' He smiled at her, before re-adjusting his chair into the upright position. 'So, run through the case with me again. And tell me more about your friend; I want to know more about the guy if we're going to be shacking up with him while we're in Australia.'

'Okay, well I'd prefer to tell you about the case first, if you don't mind.' She said, looking pensive.

'Sure Bones, course I don't mind.' He said, waving the airhostess down and grabbing a glass of champagne of her for himself and Brennan. 'But first, a toast to you. For being the best partner a man could ever have.' He raised his glass to her and she smiled her twinkly smile at him. They clinked their glasses, and each took sips.

A rogue thought passed through Brennan's mind before she could stop it.

I wonder if he realises how happy I am without Hannah around.

She instantly berated herself for the thought. Here she was – having just shared a toast with the man who had lauded her as the best partner, and she was happy about his sadness, his broken heart. She was a terrible partner. But she couldn't help but enjoy having him all to herself – she had felt so Booth-deprived while Hannah was around, and now she had him all too herself again, just like old times.

Booth was looking at her inquisitively.

'So, um, the case?'

'Right, yes, sorry, just got caught up in my own thoughts.' She reached down for her handbag and pulled out a case report. Before she could speak, Booth interrupted her.

'What were you thinking about?' He asked, looking at her over the top of his champagne glass as he took another sip.

She paused for a moment, wondering if it would be wise to tell him how much it meant to her, him coming out to Australia, that they were going to spend the next few weeks together, alone. She surmised it would probably be inappropriate, since he was only really coming to get over his love for Hannah.

'Nothing of importance,' she said, before opening up the report.

'Okay, so the case involves two young students of my friend, Al, who went missing six months ago. It was assumed that they had run away together, as they had both been a couple. But two months ago, their bodies were found together at a dump. They'd been stabbed to death.'

'It seems like a pretty run of the mill crime, Bones. Hardly worth our expertise.' Booth commented, holding his hand out for the file. She passed it to him, and he opened it up, looking it over.

'Well, I haven't quite told you the whole story, I suppose, Booth. See, my friend Al, he was the prime suspect.'

Booth looked at her, surprised. 'That's sort of vital information there, Bones.'

'I suppose I was just trying to protect him.' She said, looking somewhat sheepish. Booth was surprised – it was hardly her normal 'rational' behaviour. 'I didn't want you to jump to conclusions about him.'

'Well, what if it turns out that your friend, Al, was it? Is the murderer?' Booth asked, taking the last swill of champagne from his glass, trying to come to terms with the fact he might be staying with a murderer over the next two weeks.

'He assured me of his innocence, and the reason he asked for my assistance is due to the fact that the case has reached a dead end. Though it may seem like a run of the mill case to us, Booth, perhaps there isn't a crime solving duo like ours in Sydney.' Brennan said, casting him a smile.

'So do you think he's innocent?' Booth asked. He assumed he would give her a vague answer, something about not jumping to conclusions without all the evidence.

'I admit that the case against him is quite... incriminating. But the evidence is all circumstantial, none of it hard. He's the prime – the only suspect. He had sexual allegations made against him by the female victim, just three days prior to their disappearance. The attack against the two victims was one of rage, according to the report, and the male showed signs of defence wounds, as if he had lay across the female to try and keep her safe. The Australian forensics calculated the attack would have been committed by someone of Al's size, with a generalised weapon such as a kitchen knife which they described as 'impossible to trace.' Al has no alibi, and was seen arguing with the couple a few hours prior to their disappearance. The main issue is the fact there is no other suspect, and though he has not been convicted, people are treating him as though he is a criminal.' She looked at him, somewhat conflicted.

'You still didn't tell me – do you think he did it? I mean, it doesn't sound good. Sexual assault charges? We've both seen people kill for less.'

She sighed, pausing before she responded. 'I don't think he did it, Booth. I know Al very well; we were incredibly close, years ago.' She paused, a twinkle in her eye. 'Almost as close as you and I,'

'And just as I would never suspect you of murder, Booth, I couldn't expect the same of him. And while that may seem like jumping to conclusions, I think I have enough evidence of his character to know he wouldn't do anything such as this. I say the same for the sexual assault allegations.' She paused again, looking reminiscent. 'He certainly wouldn't resort to sexual assault; he had enough charm to get by quite well.' She thought for a moment, and added, as if an afterthought – 'and he's been married for ten years, anyway.'

Booth looked at her, curious as to how close they had been.

'When you say almost as close as us, what do you mean by that? How close where you?'

She smiled, taking her last sip of champagne.

'Well, Al and I went to the same University, we both did our undergraduate degrees together. He was the first friend I made who was the same age as me. We spent four years extremely close, we eventually moved in together. I've never been in a relationship as long as the one I had with Al,' she looked at Booth, surprised to see a look of incredulity on his face.

'You were together for four years?' He breathed, trying to hide his jealousy.

I thought she couldn't commit to relationships! Four years, at that age? Gees, Booth, all this fear of commitment is just a way for her to let you down easy!

A small voice at the back of his head reminded him of something she'd just said, though.

She still wasn't as close to him as she is to you.

The thought gave him some hope.

She laughed. 'No Booth, I was with him for just under six months. That's not to say he hadn't been trying to use his charm on me for the entirety of our friendship – he told me he had loved me since the second semester where I had corrected one of our ancient professors.' She paused, smiling at the memory. 'But in the end it took a bottle of wine and his rather amazing sexual expertise for me to give the relationship a chance.'

Booth couldn't help but feel a swell of jealousy, even if it was for a relationship that had happened more than ten years ago. 'Sounds like the perfect guy,' he said, somewhat sarcastically, but Brennan didn't pick up on it.

She smiled, somewhat sadly. 'He was wonderful. He was good to me, he made me laugh, and all those things people say are important for a relationship. But in the end, I wasn't enough for him. I couldn't give him what he wanted.'

The words sounded familiar to him, almost echoes of what she had told him when he'd asked her if she wanted to give it a try. Is that where those fears had come from? Already he didn't think much of this 'Al' character. If he was stupid enough to let Temperance go...

'He broke up with you?' He asked, wanting to verify the fact before he got his hate on.

'No, I saw the relationship wasn't going anywhere. I knew that he loved me, but... I didn't think I loved him back.' She looked at Booth, smiling at him sadly. 'But now that you've taught me about love, I think that I did, you know. Love him. I passed it all off as youthful hormones, serotonin in the brain, all those scientific reasons. I thought that being with me was cruel to him. Though I was happy, I wasn't sure if he was as happy as he could have been. And I was right, in the end.'

'How could you possibly know that, Bones?'

Booth had firsthand experience about how her assumptions could hurt.

She looked at him with her clear blue eyes, gazing directly into his.

'He fell in love with an Australian exchange student soon after we broke up. Once he had finished his degree, they married and he went back to Australia with her. He said that while he had loved me – that he'd always love me; he told me himself that I'd been right. Like you, he agreed that there is someone out there for all of us, and while he had believed that he had found that in me, he was wrong. He found that in Sarah.'

Booth nodded, sitting back in his chair. He wondered if she was trying to tell him something, convince him of something – that she wasn't the one for him. He wanted to tell her that he'd tried so hard to believe that; for both their sakes. He wanted to tell her that he never would believe anything except that she was meant for him - and him her.

Instead, he changed the topic back to their previous conversation. 'So you think he's innocent. On all charges?'

'I do.'

'Well, I'll have to get a feel for the guy, but I guess I trust your word after all this time, Bones,' he said, winking at her. She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

'You do realise that your authority in Sydney is going to be somewhat limited? You won't be able to carry a gun or request warrants, for a start...' She sounded a bit sheepish again, looking at him nervously.

He couldn't help but feel that without his FBI badge he was probably going to be fairly useless too her. 'Gees Bones, what am I without that stuff? I'll barely help at all.'

She looked surprised. 'Booth, you're so much more than just your badge, or your FBI status. Your case solving is generally a result of your skills and your own talents. That's why I wanted you to come.'

And I would have missed you too much.

'What sorts of authority do you have then, Bones?'

She now grinned, looking kind of smug. 'Well, the Sydney Justice Department is flattered that such a renowned forensic anthropologist wants to assist them in a case, so I will be allowed to arrest, interrogate, and have access to all of their resources.'

'You did tell them of your personal connection, right?'

'I did. I had to resort to recommendations from Cam and Sweets – even your boss. I'm also being assigned a D.I. whom will work with me every step of the way to make sure I keep everything professional.'

With mention that she was going to be assigned another partner, Booth felt even more undermined.

'Bones! I'm seriously feeling that there is no reason for me to be here with you!'

She looked somewhat hurt, and Booth regretted his words. While he hadn't meant it in any way other than 'wow, I feel pretty redundant', he could see how they could be misconstrued.

'I didn't mean it like that, Bones... do they even know I'm coming?'

She smiled, though still looked a little wounded. 'Course they do, Booth. I told them that I was a package deal – take one of us, you have to take us both.'

He felt happier at that thought. 'Thanks,' he said, smiling.

They remained quiet for a moment, before she reclined her chair, sitting back and pulling out a scientific journal from her handbag, opening it up to an article she had dog eared. Booth considered her for a moment, before opening up the case file.

He read over it, considering the evidence. She'd been right – though the evidence against Al didn't sound good, it certainly wasn't enough to convict. But it would be enough to destroy a man's life.

He looked at the picture of Brennan's ex. Booth could see that he was an attractive man, piercing blue eyes not dissimilar from Brennan's. He was tall, athletic - a golden boy, with dimpled cheeks and a cheeky grin. Booth couldn't help but compare himself the man, and wondered, if in Brennan's eyes, if he came up short.

He looked back to Brennan, who was frowning at something she was reading, as if she disagreed with it. He smiled, putting the file in the pocket on the seat in front of him and waved down the air hostess for another drink. He had a reasonable sized plasma TV in front of him, a games controller, and an endless supply of alcohol. He liked to think he could be deep, but sometimes, he really did just enjoy the simple things in life.

He nudged Brennan, who looked up at him.

'Want to play video games with me, Bones?' He asked, giving her his mischievous smile.

She pursed her lips before shaking her head and laughing.

'Well, I have to admit that playing video games with you may well be more thought provoking than this ridiculous article. I don't know how they justify putting a psychology article in what I thought was a reputable science magazine.'

Booth rolled his eyes, picking up her controller and handing it too her.

'Let's kill some zombies.'

She smiled at him, before turning to face the screen. Booth grinned at her 'efforts' to help him eradicate the zombies that were taking over the streets, and when he stole a quick glance at her, he was surprised to find her looking straight back at him, a smile playing on her lips.

'This is nice, Booth.'

He didn't say anything. The way she had smiled at him had dulled the sense of loss, the feeling that he had screwed everything up with her.

Just for awhile, but for now, it was enough.

Thanks for reading :)