So this chapter doesn't really make the story go forward but hey, I had plenty of fun writing it, and I do hope you enjoy reading it!

The Desire in the Hearts

He lay back on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position. He'd turned on the small TV for a few moments but found nothing of interest on. Seemingly daytime TV in Australia differed little from what he would have seen back home, and he'd never really found those gossipy female shows all that interesting. He had considered unpacking his suitcase of clothes and using the cupboard and drawers that had been set up for him and Brennan, but had instead decided on a little nap while she had a shower.

Dammit.

He'd been trying so hard not to think about her in the shower, all hot and steamy, a mere few metres away, only a flimsy door between them –

His mind flooded with images and thoughts which he had been trying to ignore ever since he had heard the running water from the bathroom adjacent to the room. He felt so immature, so unrestrained. Yet he couldn't restrain himself, couldn't help but picture her with nothing but water streaming over her soft skin, he couldn't help but fantasise that he was inside that shower with her – inside her; running his hands and mouth over every inch of her skin, pinning her up against the tiled bathroom wall, making her want him as much as he wanted her...

His thoughts became more disjointed as his fantasy progressed, and he felt himself getting too carried away. He sat up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed, and let out a groan, his head in his hands. He rubbed his eyes, trying to rid his mind of the images he had conjured, feeling almost ashamed; yet thrilled at the same time. He had certainly fantasised about women before, but he had never felt so powerless to such temptation, and certainly not when they were in the next room. He'd slept with many beautiful women, and loved them, too. But he'd never felt this onslaught of emotion – passion, heat, ferocity, and such need, felt to the point that he just wanted to break that bathroom door down and show her exactly the intensity of his emotion because he sure as hell couldn't put them into words.

The fact that he had been sexless for a few months didn't help.

He heard the water stop running in the bathroom, and heard her gently humming some tune he didn't know. He lay back on the bed, closing his eyes, listening to the sound of her voice.

It soothed him, and while the heat of his emotions still coursed through his body, he felt calmed by the gentleness of her voice and could push them back down, where he felt they belonged. He smiled as his heart beat slowed, remembering how his entire body had reacted to his thoughts from just a few moments ago. Every atom of his being longed for her, and he felt like it would result in the unravelling of his mind if he wasn't soon satisfied. He realised now that other women were only pale imitations of what he could have. He found himself thinking about Hannah, how she was beautiful, sexy; did all the things he liked and then some things he'd never even thought of – but he couldn't remember his body ever reacting to her touch in the same way his had moments ago, merely at the thought of Temperance's.

Booth was distracted from his thoughts as he looked up to find that Brennan had left the bathroom, clasping a large white towel around herself. Her hair hung in wet tendrils around her face, her normally pale cheeks tinted slightly red from the warmth of the shower, beads of water clinging to her skin.

She looked surprised to see Booth in the room, lying on the bed. She paused in the doorway of the bathroom for a moment, before heading over to her bed to grab the clothes she had laid out for herself.

'I thought you would have gone up to eat by now, Booth.'

Her back was too him as she reorganised the clothes on her bed. He felt intoxicated by the sight of her barely covered long, smooth legs, and kind of perverted at the same time, like he should be looking in another direction.

He looked away, picking up his suitcase from the side of his bed, trying to look busy and intent on not looking at his semi naked partner. His heart was pumping madly again and blood was rushing to areas in his body which he was not keen on them rushing too. Images half formed in his mind from his fantasies moments ago surged back into his head, and he felt his cheeks warm at his inability to control himself.

She turned around to look at him, an eyebrow raised, waiting for a response. She looked so sexual, with that impatient look in her eyes, the beads of water glistening on her skin, almost as if they could be sweat exerted after a certain activity...

He recited Saints in his head.

'Just... I fancied a shower too. Get out of these clothes, you know. Freshen up.'

He held up a shirt and a pair of jeans, looking at her innocently.

She nodded, turning back to her bed.

'You should have said. I would have been quicker.'

'It didn't bother me.' He said, shoving the clothes in the crook of his arm and turning to the bathroom. He reached the door, and turned around to look at her. 'See you upstairs?'

She nodded, smiling. She heard the bathroom door close and let her towel drop, beginning to get dressed. Her heart was starting to calm down, having started to race as soon as she'd seen Booth from the bathroom doorway. She wasn't shy about her body, and never had been. But the way he'd looked at her had made her feel self conscious, naked.

Excited, too.

She pushed the thought away, pulling her pale blue summer dress over her head, and sat down on the bed, towelling her hair. Afterwards, she sat still for a moment, looking at the bathroom door. She heard the sound of running water, and couldn't help but picture Booth in there, hot water rushing down his body, over his well muscled arms and chest, down his torso...

She almost blushed, berating herself for letting her thoughts run away with her. It did no good to live in fantasy, outside of fact. And she'd accepted the facts of their partnership, accepted what could and couldn't be.

They had loved each other, but she'd made the biggest mistake of her life.

He had fallen in love with another woman, and was now sore over that woman, not her.

He'd moved on, and would never be hers.

Sadness passed through her as she tossed her towel to the side, slipping on a pair of sandals and padding up the stairs to the house. She cast the images of Booth from her mind, but for all her efforts, could not cast aside the feeling of desire which had only grown since they had gotten on that plane to Australia.

Upstairs, she helped Al and Sarah in the kitchen, making a sandwich for both herself and Booth, pushing her emotions for Booth back where she hid them on a day to day basis, noting just how hard it was getting to hide them.

Downstairs, Booth shivered beneath an icy jet of water, his hands pressed against the tiled walls as he let the cold water pass over his skin and wash over his upturned face. It did little to put out the burning heat in his heart - he doubted there was anything in the world that could do that for him; but it put out fires elsewhere on his body, and he figured that was all he could do for now.

Thanks for the reviews! Oh, I was looking at Booth and Brennan clips on YouTube the other day, for inspiration, and came across these excellent clips which I'd never seen before – apparently they were podcasts you could get off iTunes that were never on TV or the DVDs – if you haven't seen them, search for 'Couples Counselling, Bones' and they should appear. They are absolutely adorable, and really make me realise that I'll never be able to capture that brilliant banter between the two!

Also, the song that Brennan is singing in my imagination is from Zooey Deschanel's excellent duo, She & Him, and the song is "Sweet Darlin'". Totally advise you check them out too.

Ahem! I'm not paid to advertise, I promise :)