Twenty-one Weeks at Quantico
By: Lesera128
Rated: T
Disclaimer: I own nothing... Obviously. Just playing in someone else's sandbox for a bit.
Summary: When the FBI establishes a pilot program for consultants to receive training at the FBI academy, Brennan and Booth clash over whether she should enroll. AU.
12. T-plus Eleven Weeks Until Graduation, Part II
Booth looked at Brennan, cautiously... his glance very measured, as he repeated her words. "You want me… to say… to you… right now... 'marry me'?"
"Yes," Brennan nodded. "Or, some other variant that you prefer is fine, as long as the wording implies the same general offer."
At this, Booth realized two things. First, Brennan wasn't joking… and two, he needed to tread even more carefully than he had initially thought. Very, very carefully.
Finally, he said cautiously, "And do I have the option to preface the statement which implies that offer?"
Brennan thought about it for a moment before she nodded slowly again.
"Okay," Booth said. "Then, in that case... I have to ask, Bones – why?"
"That's a fair question," Brennan responded. "But, first I get to ask… why not?"
Running a hand through his hair in… not frustration… or even exasperation… but definitely uncertainty, Booth said, "Well, you gotta admit, Bones… it's kinda sudden."
"I find no reason why the topic broached is in any way affected merely because we are having a discussion that you did not anticipate, and so you consider it to be unexpected, Booth. Logically, the haste or delay with which we choose to make a decision and act on it should be unrelated to the manner in which it is discussed," Brennan observed rationally.
"Bones-"
"It's really a simple question, Booth… unless, for some reason you don't wish to comply with my request, in which case there are, again, issues with larger implications that we should discuss..."Brennan's voiced trailed off.
"Well, this one has a pretty big implication just by itself, Bones... maybe we should start with this one instead of looking for other ones," Booth suggested.
"And, I wish to do so as well, Booth, or I wouldn't have brought the topic to you attention," Brennan said pointedly. "I find it confusing that your reaction seems to indicate that you wish to discuss the matter, but, also... for some reason, you don't wish to comply with my suggested course of action."
"You think I don't want to marry you?" Booth asked.
"At this point, I am unsure what to believe," Brennan said honestly. "But, the longer you delay in complying with my request, as I know your favorable opinions on the institution of marriage itself, would seem to indicate that the act itself isn't something that is worrisome to you... and, so, by the process of elimination, it must be marrying *me* that causes you to hesistate. If that's the case, I would like to know why," Brennan finished.
"I-"
Looking up at him, Brennan said, "Did you answer truthfully when you responded to the series of questions I just asked you?"
"You know I did!" Booth responded vehemently.
"Then," Brennan said. "I don't see any valid reason why you should object to us formalizing our arrangement in the eyes of the legal system... unless you *are* hiding something from me... which would not surprise me because, as I said, I seem to sense that you have some hesitancy, or some objection to the idea of me being your wife, given your lack of an enthusiastic response to my making my preferences on this topic known..."
"Okay, Bones… we'll deal with *that* one in just a minute. Let's go back for a sec. I answered your question… now you answer mine," Booth said. "Why now?"
"I… because… I want it," Brennan said, at last. "I want to be your wife. And… I can't really give you an answer that is any more simple than that, Booth."
"Okay, I get that... I'm surprised by it... sorta... flattered, I think, too... but surprised nonetheless... However, you *still* haven't answered my question. Why now? Or, have you been planning on dropping this little bombshell on me… which one might argue that your making a nasty habit out of, Bones, but we'll let that go for now… well, since when?" Booth inquired.
"About…" Brennan looked at her watch. "Ninety minutes ago."
"Ninety minutes ago?" Booth asked in continued disbelief.
"Yes," Brennan said.
"So... let me get this straight... you finished class... stopped by the library... ran your last errand... came home... and somewhere in between those stops... you decided... 'hey, I think I want to get married'?" Booth asked.
"I don't know if I would characterize the process by which I came to this conclusion in quite that manner... but... yes, more or less... those events preceded the moment at which I came to have such a realization," Brennan said.
"What happened ninety minutes ago that prompted it then, Bones? It's not like you to just randomly latch onto an idea like this without some type of catalyst..." Booth asked. He quickly went through his mind of where Brennan had said she was going on the way home. He tried to figure out how a stop at the Academy's library, or stopping at her father's to pick the baby up could bring about the topic of marriage... "Oh, wait." Booth said, as understanding dawned on his face. " Max... you... you stopped by to get Chrissy... I forgot about that for a minute... and... Max... ahhh, he said something to you, didn't he?"
"Yes," Brennan said instantly. "He said a great many things to me... but, if you are specifically referencing a comment that directly related to my decision about wanting to get married... then yes, he did say something. He mentioned that you and he had discussed the topic during Labor Day Weekend. This… made me concerned, naturally, given the fact that you were talking about such personally significant topics about us with my father, instead of with me—"
"Only because Max brought it up," Booth defended himself.
Brennan waved her hands dismissively. "I don't care about that part... what I do care about it... well, I decided I needed to broach the topic with you immediately once I determined I could not recall which specific prior conversations he intimated we had had about the topic which you referenced to him… so that made me think that you might be reluctant to tell me some unpleasant news and hoped to hide behind the made-up conversation you told him about... hence my earlier questions."
"Wait," Booth said. "Just wait a minute, Bones... what do you mean that I hoped to hide behind some made-up conversation?"
"Well," Brennan began. "You told him that we had discussed the issue of us getting married, and that such a conversation resulted in your decision to, in my father's words, 'never' propose to me... and thus we would 'never' be married."
"Yeah, I did tell Max that, but-"
"And, I have spent a tremendous amount of time in the last hour attempting to identify the conversation you might have referenced to my father... and since I can't identify any appropriate conversation which might, even in a very, very tangential manner, be the one of which you spoke, and since we both know I have an excellent memory, I arrived at the conclusion that you misdirected my father on the issue for your own purposes."
"I, ah-" Booth struggled to take a part Brennan's reasoning, let alone even address the issues upon which it was based.
"So, since we never discussed marriage... I thought it appropriate to talk about now, and make my preferences on the matter known if your earlier responses are truthful and not a part of some elaborate subterfuge on your part," Brennan said.
Booth closed his eyes for a moment, shook his head, and then said, "Wait... just... *stop* talking for a minute, Bones... you're going at the speed of light, and I need a minute here..."
"The speed of light-" she began before Booth fiercely interrupted her with a growl.
"Bones! Come on... just... give me a minute, okay? Remember," he said, pointing to his head, "It's Friday... and been a long week... and my brain doesn't work as fast as yours on a good day, okay?"
Brennan looked at him, but remained quiet as he asked. He took a couple of minutes to process what she had said, replaying her rapid volley of words. Swallowing, he then opened his eyes and finally began to speak.
"Okay," Booth said, taking a breath. "I guess... in a way, you're right... our previous discussions on the topic of marriage *are* a bit dated... and they never were applied... personally, to us, and were more in the hypothetical and impersonally abstract... but... you've always been quite clear in what you thought of marriage as an institution in the past, Bones... and, well, your thoughts on marriage and my opinion on the matter never really seemed to jive..."
"I fail to see how it is pertinent for our opinions on the topic of marriage to dance, even though such a happening is not actually physically possible, or why you would assume I might not change my mind as our relationship and both our personalities have change and evolved... but... neither one of those are really important right now." Brennan said with a frown. "The important part is that ... *I* do want to get married. I want... you... I love you and if there's one thing that the past three months have taught me, being away from you... being away from Chrissy... our family... it's the most important thing in my life... and no matter how bad things get out there... I... I need to know I can always come back here... that you'll be here... and our family... it's a safe place... and it won't going anywhere..."
"We don't have to get married for that to be true, Bones," Booth said. "You know that. I'm not going anywhere."
"I know," Brennan said. "But... I... I, there are many reasons to formalize... solidify the relationship between us in the eyes of the outside world, even if we haven't been ready to share how things are between us now outside of the family. And... when I'm here... I... it doesn't matter what's going on out there... I know here, that when I'm... with you... and Parker and Chrissy... our family... it's real, and it's a success... our life here is something that I've done that's good and real and..."
"Bones-"
"And... then there's the simple fact that... I love you..., and I want to be your wife."
"And, that's it, Bones…?" Booth asked. "The topic finally just... came up... got your attention... and now that it has... you... you know what you want, made a decision... and that's it?"
"Yes," Brennan said.
"There are no other hidden reasons, secret agendas here... something you're not telling me? Any kinda crisis I'm going to find out about later that you want to avoid dealing with, so you've latched onto this idea instead?" Booth pressed.
Taking a step towards him, Brennan shook her head as she said softly, "No."
Moving towards her, Booth cupped her face as he said, "So... you're serious about this?"
"Why do you keep asking me that? I wouldn't joke about something like this, Booth," Brennan said.
"Bones-"
"Yes," she repeated with another look of exasperation at him. "I am."
He stopped, again looked at her, considered what she said, and then nodded.
"Okay, then," Booth said, after a minute.
"Okay?" Brennan asked, hesitantly.
"Okay," Booth nodded. He looked her directly in the eyes and said simply, "Be my wife."
"Yes," Brennan nodded as she gave her reply.
"Yeah?" Booth said, with a wide smile cracking his face.
Brennan nodded again happily. "Yes," she repeated.
Booth pulled her to him tightly, and kissed her. Brennan thought that over the two years they had been in a romantic relationship that she had come to know all of Booth's kisses. This kiss, this passionate… intense… hopeful… wonderful… purely happy kiss proved her wrong… she didn't know *every* one of this kisses… no, not yet she didn't… and for that, Brennan was intensely happy. He pulled away from her, pressing his forehead against hers, the grin still wide on his face.
"Booth?"
"Yes, Bones?"
"I… I have something I need to say," Brennan said softly.
Rigidity flooded through him as a look of despair and panic fell over his face. "Oh, God, please don't tell me you already changed your mind, and it hasn't even been sixty seconds yet..."
"No, no, Booth," Brennan said, realizing what she had said panicked him. "It's not that… but… I don't want a long engagement."
He shrugged. "Fine. Whatever you want is fine with me, Bones. As long as you show up, and I show up, and we both say 'I do' and sign the marriage license… as long as that part happens, I don't care about the rest."
"Even if I want to do it tonight?" Brennan pressed. "I... I feel a need to take control of our lives, Booth... and... do you understand what I mean?"
He smiled. "Yes..."
"And the preference of my haste to finalize the decision by carrying out the task of getting married immediately doesn't bother you?"
Booth pulled away, looked at her curiously, and then shook his head. "No, not really... if you want to get married, if I want to get married... then let's do it... now. Tonight." He paused and said with a half-laugh, "Just in case you change your mind."
"I won't," Brennan said. "Aside from it being what I want to do... it's... given our life together, our family... it's the logical choice."
"Okay, then," Booth said smiling. "Let's do it."
"I-I… I'll need a moment to think about how to do this, but I don't want to wait. We… I don't want another day to begin when I'm not married to you, Booth… so, yes… just let me think on how we can make this happen," Brennan said, now realizing she wasn't quite sure how to actualize the goal that the pair had now set for themselves.
However, fortunately for Brennan, to this one quandary, Booth did seem to have an answer.
"Give me a few minutes and let me make a phone call, Bones, but I think *I* know how we can make this happen," Booth said, reaching for his cell phone and dialing a number.
"Lutrell," came the immediate response, clear and confident, even this late on a Friday evening of a holiday weekend two weeks before Thanksgiving.
"Hank, it's Seeley Booth," he replied.
Almost as if he could hear the grin translated into his voice, "Booth, to what do I owe this unexpected favor?"
"Well," Booth began. "Remember when we had lunch last week, and you said I had until the 15th to come up with a favor to ask you so you could call us even for the protection detail thing, or else you were going to make the choice yourself?"
"Yes," Lutrell said. "I recall. Vividly... because you love having people in debt to you and never let them reciprocate, Booth. You've been that way at least going back as far as when we were together in Kosovo... probably further. Why? Did you finally think up something?"
"Yeah, I did… but… I kinda need it done tonight," Booth said. "Is that possible?"
"Depends," came the response. "What warrant do you need signed now?"
"It's not for a warrant, Hank… it's… umm… personal," Booth said. "I… I sorta need you to sign a marriage license for me."
The line was silent for a moment before Lutrell answered, "For you, as in Groom's Name is Seeley Joseph Booth… or for you, as in a friend of yours needs this, and you're calling in one of your own markers to pull it off?"
"Ummm… you probably won't believe this… but… the first one. Not the second," Booth said, a bit nervous as to what he would do if Lutrell couldn't help him. He immediately began to figure if driving to Atlantic City or hopping a red-eye flight to Vegas would be more cost effective.
However, Booth need not have worried as Lutrell said, "Okay… the only issue I see is if we do this at my office in the DOJ, we fall under District law that requires a five-day waiting period and a blood test for the license, Booth… and even I can't waive those."
"Damn." Booth muttered.
"But—"
"But?" Booth asked.
"But, if we were to meet at my private law office in Alexandria, we would fall under the laws of the great state of Virginia – which doesn't happen to require any waiting periods or blood tests before a marriage license is signed," Lutrell said. "I'll need to make a call to a friend I have at the Clerk of the Court for Fairfax County, but he should be able to get us what we need."
Booth's free hand clinched in victory as he said, smiling, "Hank, if you were here right now, I would kiss you."
"Not necessary, Booth… really *not* necessary," Lutrell laughed. "When can you meet me there?"
"Name the time," Booth said as they discussed logistics.
After a couple of more minutes, Lutrell replied, "Okay… so… just a couple more questions, Booth… do you need witnesses, or do I need to provide?"
"You have witnesses on retainer?" Booth asked in disbelief.
"No," Lutrell chuckled. "But, I do have two law clerks and an office manager who know we go to trial on Tuesday and are working non-stop on finishing the prep work for the Lawson case. The defense submitted a motion for discovery that makes absolutely no sense… so, yeah, in this particular case, I can provide witnesses."
"That would be great," Booth said. "Uhh… since this thing is kind of a spur of the moment elopement, ya know?"
"Okay… second question… who's the bride?" Lutrell asked.
"Umm, you've actually already met her, Hank… a while back… but do you remember Temperance Brennan?" Booth said.
"The bones doctor who wasn't your girlfriend… what… six, seven years ago?" Lutrell barked.
"Yeah," Booth said. "Her."
"Okay..." Lutrell chuckled. The talked for a couple more minutes, Booth giving Lutrell the vital statistics he needed to complete the marriage license application. When they were done, Lutrell said, "I'll meet you guys there then… but, Booth?"
"Yes, Hank?"
"You do realize you are going to have to come to dinner to see Janie with the new missus to explain all of this so we both don't piss her off once she finds out that A.) it's done, B.) I helped you do it, and C.) she wasn't there to see it, right?" Lutrell asked.
Smiling, Booth said, "Sure, Hank. We'd love to…. mark it on the calendar… after you sign the paperwork that gets me a missus, of course."
"Get your asses over here, Booth, and I will. See you soon."
"Okay," Booth said, looking up at her.
"Okay?" Brennan asked.
"Yup," Booth said. He glanced at his watch. "We need to get moving pretty quickly so we aren't late… but if you want to change… we have a couple of minutes."
Brennan glanced down at herself and frowned. "Uhhhh… give me five minutes, and let me see what I can do." She paused and looked at him. "Booth?"
"Yeah, Bones?"
"Will… will you put your jacket and tie back on?"
Booth smiled the smile that melted her. "Why?"
She moved up to him and grinned, "So I can peel it off of you later."
"Good answer," Booth said with a nod.
Brennan began to scurry about the bedroom, and realized she didn't have a lot of time with which to work a great difference. But, she did rummage in her closest, as she vowed she would not be getting married in a pants suit, such as the one she had worn to the Academy earlier in the day. Pulling a navy a-line dress out of the stacks of clothing, she then went to the dresser and quickly chose a new bra and a fresh pair of panties. A couple of minutes later, she had hastily changed, and was reaching into their closest for a comfortable, but simple pair of black pumps that she had often worn when she dressed as Andi Anderson two years before… they weren't her normal taste per se, but they did go better with the dress than many of her other choices. She quickly ran a brush through her hair, sprayed herself a couple of blasts of hairspray to hold the frizz to a minimum, and splashed herself with a couple of spritzes of one of her more expensive perfumes. Taking only a minute to sit at her vanity, she quickly touched up her foundation and blush, applied a new liner to her eye lids, and freshened the mascara she had been wearing. Grabbing a plum-colored lip gloss from the table, she popped it into her purse, deciding she would retouch in the SUV en route.
Watching with her with an amused look, Booth glanced at the clock and said, "That's seven minutes, Bones. We're on a schedule here… chop, chop."
Turning to stand, she said, "Okay, I'm ready. How do I look?"
Booth took one appreciative look at her entire body, letting it roam for a few seconds longer than he normally would, and smiled as he said, "Perfect, Bones… you look perfect…"
"That is a highly inaccurate statement, Booth..."
"Okay, how about this?" He grinned. "You look like a woman who's about to get married."
"So, Booth… you sign here… and Dr. Brennan, your signature goes there… and then, once we file this in the system, it will take a couple of days, but in the eyes of the state of Virginia, you two will be hitched," Judge Hank Lutrell said in his private office.
Brennan quickly scrawled her signature on the document after Booth had added his illegible scratchings.
"Umm, Hank…?"
"Yeah, Booth?" Lutrell responded as he took the license from them.
"Are you sorta skipping something?" Booth asked, as he nodded at Brennan.
Lutrell looked up, saw the look on Booth's face, and then laughed as he passed the license to the two law clerks who were serving as witness. Nodding, he said, "Oh, yeah…."
He cleared his throat, and sat a bit straighter in his wheelchair. But, then he stopped, slouched a bit, and arched his eyebrow as he said, "You two have any preference on what wording I use?"
"No," both Brennan and Booth responded at the same time, smiling sheepishly when they realized what they had done.
Looking at Lutrell, Booth said, "How about the short version?"
"The short version," Lutrell said. "Okay—" He then paused and quirked an eyebrow again at Booth as he said, "Wait… you sure this isn't some kind of... shotgun wedding that you neglected to tell me the real reason for?" Lutrell asked, mostly as a joke.
Booth shook his head as he said, "Nope. We already did that part about a year ago."
"What?" Lutrell said, genuinely surprised, but immediately understanding Booth's insinuation.
"It's kinda a long story, Hank," Booth said. "And I'd be happy to tell it to you… after, ya know?" He gestured in Brennan's direction.
"Oh, right… okay," Lutrell. "Well, in that case… the short version…." He paused again as he said, "You guys have rings?"
"Damn," Booth muttered. "I knew I was forgetting something—"
"Ummm, here," Brennan said, pulling off the ring she wore on her right hand. "Can we use this for now? It was my mother's."
"Smart thinking, Bones," Booth smiled. He took the ring and handed it to Lutrell. "Okay, how's that?"
"It'll do," Lutrell said. "Okay… now, where was I… oh, yeah, the short version…."
"We are gathered together to witness the union of these two people who wish to join together in the bonds of legal matrimony. Seeley Joseph Booth, do you?"
"I do."
"Temperance Brennan, do you?"
She looked up at Lutrell, obviously confused by the abbreviated version they were getting as compared with many traditional wedding rituals she had observed. Somewhat tentatively she said, "Ummm… yes?"
Amused by her seeming tentativeness, Lutrell looked at Booth.
"'I do', Bones," Booth muttered to her. "Like we practiced in the car… this is the part where you *very* confidently say 'I do'."
"I do," Brennan repeated emphatically, with a nod of her head. She then smiled weakly at Booth before he took her mother's ring and placed it on her own ring finger.
Lutrell grinned. "Then by the power vested in me as a judge in the state of Virginia, you guys are now married."
"That's it?" Booth said, as Lutrell reached to take the marriage license from the legal clerk who was holding it in his outstretched hands.
"Yeah," Lutrell was saying. "That's it. You're married. Technically, you were married as soon as we all signed the license, the formality of filing it with the clerk aside. Why?"
With a nod of his head at Brennan, Booth said, "Aren't you forgetting one thing, Hank… ya know… the important part?"
"What? I already pronounced you husband and wife… ohh," Lutrell said. He chuckled and then grinned as he nodded and said, "Yeah, you guys can kiss... so..."
"Hank!"
Lutrell sighed and said in a more formal tone, "Husband, you may now kiss your wife... especially if it'll shut you up for a minute."
"Thanks," Booth said sardonically.
Brennan had to bit back a chuckle as Booth leaned in to kiss her. It was a sweet kiss, but somehow… it meant more to Brennan than many of the kisses that had come before… and she didn't mind that she didn't quite know why.
"We're married?" she whispered to him as, this time, she pressed her forehead to his for a just one private moment between them.
"Yeah, Bones, we are," Booth said. "You okay with that?"
"More than okay," she breathed.
They pulled a part, and at that point, both the legal clerks and Lutrell began to clap. Booth and Brennan both blushed as Lutrell extended his hand to Booth and said, "Congratulations!"
A few more moments passed as Lutrell insisted they share a toast to celebrate the marriage, and Booth and Brennan discussed their opens regarding a problem that had been weighing in the back of their minds the entire car ride into Alexandria.
"Well, Booth… I'm just a judge… I… to block something like that… you'd need someone higher up… in the State Department, at the very least," Lutrell said. "I mean, I can buy you some time… the holidays, combined with the fact that it's almost Thanksgiving specifically, it'll mean document processing is slow - then again, they're always slow…. It'll probably register with the Clerk of the Court… end of next week, I would guess. From there, normally, I'd say it would be released as a public record a couple of weeks after that… now, because of your issues with security clearances, the normal blackout on the release of your public information would still apply.. but I don't see how you're going to keep something like this from the Bureau. It'll flag in the system when the public records block kicks in, and you guys know, post-9-11, the DOJ and State Department have been fanatical about keeping updated records on individuals with security clearance as high as you two have."
"So bottom line," Booth said. "We can count on how long before the FBI will know for sure?"
Lutrell sighed, but did some calculations in his head. "To be on the safe side… I would say you guys have no more than… with the holidays… hmm… say... five weeks? I think I can give you five weeks, but that's it. Then, they'll know."
Booth frowned, but Brennan clutched his hand to reassure him. "It's more time than we thought we'd have, Booth. At least this way, we can take a few days and think about how we want to do things and then tell then when we've done that," Brennan said.
"Yeah," Booth said. "I… I just don't look forward to having that conversation with Hacker… or Cullen, because you know this is going to end us up back in Sweets' friggin' office."
Brennan leaned in and gave Booth a small peck on the cheek. "There are worse things, you know?"
At this, Lutrell chimed in with a grin, "Yeah, like my wife Janie's Sunday dinner, Booth… which you will be coming to next week before everyone leaves for the holiday?"
Booth looked up at his friend, pleased to see the happiness that shown on Lutrell's face as he looked at the newlyweds, and smiled. "Sure thing, Hank… now that you made good on your end of the bargain? Sure thing…."
"Aren't you even going to ask me if I want to go, Booth, before you start making commitments in my name like I'm your chattel now?" Brennan asked.
Booth's head snapped up to see if she was serious. When he saw the twinkle in her eyes, she knew he was teasing him, and answered in kind, "Yes, Bones, I am… and you should just be happy that I'm going to let you out of the kitchen with shoes on long enough to eat dinner with the Lutrells on Sunday… I don't want to spoil you, after all…."
"I'm not letting you carry me over the threshold," Brennan said as she firmly crossed her arms and stood waiting in front of their open front door. "Setting aside the point that it is a silly superstitious Ancient Roman practice, I really have no desire… on tonight of all nights, for you to throw your back out because you want to feel dominant and demonstrate your alpha-male tendencies."
"Come on, Bones… please?" Booth said. He smiled at her and said, "You know I love it when you let me carry you."
"No," Brennan repeated emphatically. "Especially not after your little crack about letting me out of the kitchen to come to Hank and Janie's for dinner next week."
"Hey, you started that part," Booth said, chuckling. "It's not my fault if I just finished it better than you could."
"Yeah," Brennan muttered. "Like that even happened."
"Please?" Booth repeated.
"No," Brennan said. She gestured with her hand. "So, unless you want to spend all night in the hallway…."
Brennan should have known better. It was his wedding night… albeit impromptu wedding night… and, today, finally, Seeley Booth had attained that which he had thought almost impossible to attain… he was married… he had a wife… and that wife was Temperance Brennan. She should have known he wouldn't let a little thing like her refusal keep him from carrying her over the threshold... but, she didn't... and Booth was able to use that mistake much to his advantage.
"Okay, Bones," he had said with a smile. "Ladies, first, though."
She sighed, but moved to go past him… and felt herself very quickly swept up into his arms… and then found herself inside the apartment on the other side of the threshold before she knew what he had done, with the door being shut and locked in front of her… with Booth grinning at her once he had set her back on the floor.
"That… was—"
"Not fair," Booth finished. "Yeah, I know. But, it was important to me… so tough, deal with it."
Brennan's lips pursed, she gestured at him in warning. "Just for that... I should refuse to have sex with you tonight."
At this, Booth chuckled. "But, you won't," he responded confidently.
"And how do you know that?" Brennan asked, as she crossed her arms defiantly.
Again, Booth grinned. "Because… if we don't consummate the marriage, then technically its validity could be argued... which is something I know you don't want."
Opening her mouth, Brennan was about to protest when she immediately frowned. "That is a valid point," she said at last.
"Ha!" Booth yelled. "I knew it. I'm right… come on, Bones. Go ahead and say it… 'Booth, you're right'."
"I'm not saying that," Brennan said. "And I find it somewhat… irksome that you've been reduced to using technicalities to get me to sleep with you."
"Pfft," Booth said with a wave of his hand. "If you really think I'd have to rely on a technicality to get you into bed, you don't know me very well now, do you, Bones?"
Again, she opened her mouth to speak, and was cut of when Booth pulled her to him. "Bones?"
She suddenly felt a warmth course through her as he looked at her with *that* look. "Yes, Booth?"
"Look, I know you won't make a nasty habit of it… but, for once… could you please shut up and…." He paused, grinning at her. The silence and grin began to annoy her.
"What?" Brennan prodded. Still he said nothing. She frowned as she said, "Booth, what?"
He leaned in and almost was kissing her, but not quite when he said, "How about fulfilling some of those wifely duties of yours now?"
Brennan's mouthed opened in surprise. "I can't believe you just said such a sexist, egotistical-"
And, as he had often done, Booth wasn't really surprised when their wedding night had to be kicked off with him… sticking his tongue… into her waiting and welcoming mouth... and then down her throat… with several minutes of very passionate kissing ensuing… before the pair somehow stumbled towards their bedroom… and a while later, there definitely were no longer any *technical* reasons as to why someone might be able to challenge the validity of their marriage based on the grounds of non-consummation.
-TBC-