Thank you, thank you, thank you for the LOVELY reviews! It really made me feel better about this story. I had such a great time writing this one, and I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Cheers!

Booth and Brennan were staring at the victim in the oven while the flight attendant was crying and trying not to vomit.

"Well," Booth said. "I retract my previous statement."

"What statement?" Brennan asked.

"You can cook a body in a plane on the way to China," he replied.

"You didn't say that," she pointed out.

"I thought it," he muttered. "Okay. Let's go see who's missing"

"You do that. I'll stay here and examine the remains," Brennan murmured. Booth patted her shoulder before leaving. He spoke with the captain, who assured him it would be the flight attendant who could tell him more about who was missing. Booth carefully walked back to the flight attendant, who was now sitting as far away from the oven as possible.

"Hi," Booth said. The woman just nodded. "You will never have to see that again, I promise. What's your name?"

"K-Kate," she said.

"Okay, Kate. Is there anybody missing from your crew?" he asked her.

"N-no," she stuttered. Booth knew that she was in too much shock to help him right now. He went over to Brennan.

"I need some things to do this," she informed him. She told him what she needed, and he knew just the right person to ask. He went back to coach and found the elderly woman he had been sitting beside.

"Do you happen to have tweezers and measuring tape?" he asked her. She looked up at him gleefully.

"There's been a murder!" she exclaimed. She immediately rummaged through her bag.

"Shhhh!" Booth told her. "Don't get everyone excited!"

"Okay," the woman whispered back. "I bet it's Dr. Brennan doing the autopsy am I right? I saw her in first class. I'll keep watch on anyone down here to see if they're suspicious." She winked at him.

"Ok, thanks," Booth replied, going to leave.

"Wait!" the lady hissed, handing him a knitting needle.

"What's this?" he asked.

"A probe," she beamed at him. He took it gingerly and headed back to Brennan. She was taking pictures of the crime scene and talking to Angela.

"Looky looky," he said, holding up the needle.

"A probe! I didn't think of that," she smiled at him, taking it.

"Lucky I did," he winked. The old lady was smart, which made him look smart. He'd definitely be talking to her again later.

Later

"Do you have a magnifying glass?" Booth asked Charlotte, the elderly woman.

"I don't," she said sadly. "It's to look at the victim, right?" Booth spotted the other lady's glasses.

"You think...?" he asked, gesturing.

"Nadine would be thrilled. Take 'em," Charlotte said.

"Great, thanks," Booth said, taking Nadine's glasses.

"Here," he said, giving them to Brennan. She put them on. Booth couldn't help but grin at her.

"What?" she asked, noticing. She looked up over the glasses at him.

"Glasses make you look incredibly sexy," he replied. She half smiled.

"No time for that," she told him.

"A man can dream," Booth muttered. "What have you got?"

"I need to make an impression of this wound," she said. "I need baby powder, denture cream, and a butane lighter," she instructed.

"Is that all?" he asked. He'd be mightily impressed if Charlotte or Nadine had any of those items.

"Yes. Hurry up if you want me to do this quickly," she ordered. He obliged. As predicted, the ladies didn't have what he needed, so he called upon the entire plane and was successful. He returned a few minutes later with the items she had requested.

"Thanks," she said, taking it from him. She briefly wondered how he was finding all of this stuff but let it pass. Booth watched her work. He was getting antsy as he knew they were running out of time. He peered over her shoulder at the impression she had made.

"That's a door handle," he pointed out. "Same one as the oven."

"Can you describe the flesh for me?" Cam asked, making Booth jump and yelp in surprise. He hadn't noticed her on the screen. Thank God he hadn't touched Brennan affectionately like he was thinking of doing.

"I...I can't do that," Brennan said.

"I can," Booth told Cam. He peered at it, telling her what he saw.

"She was alive when put in that oven," Cam concluded. Booth and Brennan looked at each other. Booth felt sick suddenly. Brennan wouldn't readily admit it, but she was feeling a little nauseous herself.

"I, uh, need a moment," Booth said, excusing himself. Caroline called him then, giving him an excuse to get away from the body. He had a pilot to talk to.

Later Still

"I'm sorry you're missing out on your old bones," Booth said as they sat in first class. They had solved the case just before touchdown, but that meant they couldn't stay, and Booth was feeling sorry about this. The drunk kid was behind them in cuffs, making the odd comment. Booth felt only slightly sorry for the boy as he knew the kid was just protecting his mother, but it still didn't excuse murder.

"It's all right," Brennan said. "I was more looking forward to our time together."

"Ugh," the kid moaned.

"You know what? Coach for you," Booth said, getting up and hauling the kid down to coach. He returned to find Brennan reclined and staring absently at the ceiling.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I know you like the science-y part of your work," Booth said. "I'm sorry if working with me is taking you away from your true passion."

"Don't be. I begged to be on your team," Brennan replied. "And I don't regret it." She smiled at him.

"I'll take you somewhere for a vacation real soon," Booth promised. She leaned over and kissed him gently.

"I'll hold you to that," she said. Booth grinned and tried to recline his chair, but it wouldn't go down.

"Hey," he said. "How come mine doesn't do that?" Brennan just laughed and put her mask on.

The Jeffersonian

"Great job, Zacharony," Cam said, patting his shoulder as she passed. "Case closed. Everyone have a great night." She left with a wave. Zack was tidying up while Angela helped. Hodgins had split. He was still feeling awkward about the whole Roxie fiasco.

"Glad to have you back, Zack," Angela said, smiling. "We missed you."

"It's good to be back," he agreed. He didn't say anything else, but he didn't have to. Angela could see clearly he was thrilled to be back at work. Her phone buzzed, making her check it.

Dinner? Roxie asked.

Sure :) Angela replied.

"You need anymore help or can I go?" Angela asked.

"You can go," Zack said absently. He busied himself for the next hour with cleaning. He was getting ready to leave when Sweets walked in.

"I hear you were magnificent," Sweets commented. He leaned against the door frame of Zack's office space.

"I did what needed to be done," Zack replied. "I don't know about magnificent. I was King of the Lab twice though."

"That's...great," Sweets said. "Any plans tonight?"

"Go home. Eat. Sleep," Zack shrugged. "Prepare for tomorrow's work."

"Sounds very routine-y," Sweets noted.

"It's what I do."

"Come on. Let's go out, meet some women. Do something fun," Sweets suggested.

"Meeting women isn't something I'm great at," Zack sighed.

"I'll be your wing man," Sweets said. "Come on! Live on the edge a little."

"I don't know what that means," Zack said as Sweets hauled him off. He didn't really want to meet any women. He was still fond of Naomi, but she wasn't talking to him after the whole incident. He wished he knew why.

A Week Later

"I am astounded that nobody has figured this out yet," Booth said. They were in his apartment lying intertwined on his bed after sex. They hadn't been able to get away like they wanted, so they had to make do with this arrangement for now.

"I know. I figured Angela would catch us out within days after," Brennan agreed. "I guess she's had a lot on her mind since Hodgins."

"That was in our favor," Booth said, kissing the crook of her neck.

"And Sweets," Brennan said. "He hasn't figured it out either, and he's in psychology."

"He's a kid," Booth scoffed. "What would he know?"

"He knows lots," Brennan argued, defending him. "He just can be naive in some areas."

"Yea, like our relationship," Booth laughed.

"Maybe we should tell him. It might ruin his study if we don't," Brennan pointed out.

"Are you kidding? He'd be all over us if we told him. I would rather not," Booth said. "If he doesn't figure it out, then it's his problem."

"I see your point," Brennan agreed. Her phone rang then.

"Brennan," she said. "Oh, hi Dad." Booth got up to make coffee while she talked to Max. When he came back, she was sitting on the edge of the bed looking annoyed.

"What did he say?" Booth asked. Things had been going well between Brennan and her father lately. He was curious as to why she looked almost angry.

"He's going to be working at the Jeffersonian," Brennan huffed.

"Huh," Booth said. He would have never guessed that. "Doing what?"

"A tour guide for children," she replied. "I don't like it."

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure. I just don't know how I feel about him being in my professional space," she said.

"You won't know until you try it," he said. She pressed her lips together in response. She didn't think it was going to end well. Booth's phone rang just then.

"Booth," he said. "All right."

"Case?" she asked.

"Yup. Off we go," Booth said.

The Next Day

"Little snot-nosed brat," Booth muttered. Brennan snickered at him. She had been highly amused when the young boy had called Booth an inbred stack of meat in Chinese. They were on their way back from interviewing the King family about their dead male nanny/bodyguard. Brennan was distracted by thinking about her father being at the lab. It was making her uncomfortable.

"Sweets thinks it's because you have abandonment issues that you don't like your father being there," Booth said, knowing that was what she was thinking about. She snorted.

"What does Sweets know?" she asked.

"I think he's right," Booth told her. He looked at her meaningfully. She looked away. It bugged her that they were both right. She really did fear being abandoned again, and not just by her father.

"Can we not talk about this right now?" she asked instead.

"Okay," he nodded. He drove in silence. He was thinking about the privileged kids he had just spoke with and felt bad for not being able to afford such a luxurious school for Parker.

"Don't worry about Parker," Brennan said, reading his mind. It was almost scary how they were doing that with each other. "You're a better father. He's very privileged in different ways."

"Hmm," Booth said. He knew she was right. Parker was just fine and happy with his life and school. Why should he worry about it? They arrived back at the Jeffersonian where he kissed her goodbye quickly. He drove off to speak with Dr. Ezralow. Brennan went inside where she found her father, Hodgins, Wendell, and Zack standing around talking excitedly.

"What's going on?" she asked, making them stop and look at her.

"Your dad just reminded why I love science," Hodgins beamed at her. Max shrugged guiltily.

"What are you doing?" she asked, pointing.

"Figuring out the wind speed to which the bone blew with," Zack answered sheepishly.

"He's not touching the evidence, Dr. Brennan," Wendell reassured her. She looked at the four of them. They all looked like schoolboys up to no good. Max looked at her hopefully, wanting her to join them. She just shook her head. She watched as they figured out the wind speed. This feeling inside of her boiled over, and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Dad, you're fired," she said. His head snapped up quickly. She felt as shocked as he looked.

"But he didn't touch anything," Wendell insisted.

"It's all right, kid," Max said. He walked past Brennan without a backwards glance. She felt horrible. She avoided the looks from Zack and Hodgins and went to her office. She needed to be alone.

Later

Booth had finished with the doctor and was back at the lab waiting for someone to tell him something, anything, when Max approached him.

"Rough day?" Booth asked, noticing Max's sullen face.

"Last day with the kids. I'm outta here," he said glumly.

"Cam fired you?" Booth asked, surprised.

"No. Tempe did. It's all right. Maybe I crossed a boundary by working here in her space," he sighed.

"I think she's just afraid you're going to leave her again, so she's dismissing you first before you can," Booth pointed out. Max looked thoughtful at this. Booth started to drink his coffee.

"Maybe. Hey, question for you. Are you sleeping with my daughter?" he asked. Booth sprayed his coffee everywhere. The question had come from nowhere, and he wasn't prepared to answer it. Max was watching him carefully.

"No sir, I am not," Booth lied.

"Why not? You gay?"

"Absolutely not!"

"She not pretty enough?"

"She's...beautiful," Booth replied carefully.

"Then why not? Is it me?"

"No. Knock it off, Max," Booth said. "She won't listen to me, but I'll try to talk to her about this."

"All I can ask for," Max said, smiling. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a soda to explode for the kids." Booth watched him leave, feeling a sense of wonderment. Did Max know about them? Had he seen them? Booth wondered just what he'd do if he found out Booth had lied to him just now. He hoped the repercussions wouldn't be as bad as the deputy director of the FBI's was.

After the case is over

"I'm glad you let your Dad stay," Booth said as they ate Chinese food in his bed. "I've never seen Parker so thrilled with science before."

"They were having fun," Brennan agreed. Booth reached over to steal one of her vegetable spring rolls. "Hey!"

"I didn't get any," he whined.

"And who's fault is that?" she asked. He gave her a puppy dog look, and she sighed, letting him take one.

"You're the best, Bones," he said, chewing happily.

"You're lucky I love you," she said absently. Booth froze mid-chew, as did Brennan. They looked at each other.

"What did you just say?" he asked. She swallowed hard. He put down his food and set his focus on her.

"I think you heard me the first time," she tried.

"Oh no," Booth said, shaking his head with a smile. "No, no. You don't get to just say that and then not say it again."

"Why do I need to say it again when you obviously heard me?" she asked. He took he food from her and set it down on the floor next to his. "What are you doing?"

"I just want to hear it, is that so wrong?" he asked her. She cocked her head at him.

"I just think..."

"Say it, Bones," he cut her off.

"All right! I...love you," she said. She covered her mouth, hiding her smile. Booth grinned to hard his face felt like it was going to split in half.

"So, now what?" she asked, feeling self-conscious suddenly. Their arrangement was becoming more than she had thought it could. It was a little frightening to her, but she believed that for her to say she loved him, she really must.

"Now we say we're in a relationship," Booth said. He watched her carefully.

"I believe I concur," she agreed. He touched her face gently before kissing her.

"I love you too, Temperance," he said, his face close to hers. "I always have."

"I think somewhere a part of me always has loved you too," she whispered. They kissed again. It felt different to Brennan somehow. She couldn't understand it. Instead of analyzing it, she just went along with it, and for the first time in her life, she actually made love with a man instead of just having sex.

A Week Later

Booth and Brennan fell into her apartment laughing. They had just finished being undercover at a circus, and they were high on the excitement still.

"Let's go away," Brennan suggested after Booth had kissed her soundly. "Let's just go. Zack is back full time with the interns, and you can find someone to cover you. Let's do it."

"I didn't say no," Booth laughed. "You don't have to convince me. Where are we going?"

"Anywhere," she said. "I don't care as long as it's with you."

"Hawaii?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes! Yes, let's do it," she said again, hurrying to her laptop. She had tickets to purchase.

The Jeffersonian-Two Days Later

"Where is Dr. Brennan?" Zack asked. He was staring at the remains of a frozen body in front of him. Wendell was working with him again. Zack appreciated Wendell's expertise more so than Fisher's or Nigel-Murray's. He found the depressive attitude of Fisher extremely annoying, not to mention Nigel-Murray's Google-like behavior with the constant spewing of facts. Wendell was just Wendell. No drama and no extra facts that had nothing to do with the case.

"She went to a conference in Hawaii," Cam explained. "Booth went as well."

"They do a lot together don't they?" Wendell commented. Cam didn't respond. Brennan and Booth had a special relationship, and she didn't expect everyone to understand it.

"Right, so let's get back to the body," Cam said. Zack obliged.

"Hang on," Wendell said. He pulled something off of the body. "I know who this is."

"Really?" Cam asked, surprised.

"Yes, and you're going to be upset," Wendell said.

"Why?"

"Because this is the guy I got into a fight with at hockey the other day," Wendell sighed. "I guess that makes me a suspect."

"Sure does," Cam said. "Maybe you should not touch the body anymore."

"Good idea. What happens now?"

"We wait for Agent Perotta," Cam said.

Hawaii

"This is what I'm talking about!" Booth exclaimed. They were sitting on the beach under an umbrella. He was in swim trunks sipping a beer while Brennan was lying on her stomach in a bikini reading a book.

"It is heavenly," she agreed, flipping a page.

"Why are you reading?" he asked. "There's a whole ocean right in front of you. You can read anywhere."

"I'm on vacation. I can do what I want," she argued. Booth sighed with a small chuckle. She went back to her book while he gazed out at the water. He had never felt happier. Then he got an idea. He grinned as he set down his beer and bent down to haul Brennan up and slung her over his shoulder.

"Booth!" she protested. "I was at a good part..."

"It can wait. Unlike this, a book can wait for you forever," Booth said. He ran towards the water as she shrieked with laughter.

"Don't, don't, don't!" she begged as he crashed into the waves. The water was shockingly cold, making her gasp for air. He dumped her off, laughing. They had a splash war until she dunked him under. They floated for a while, enjoying the moment.

"Is this what you've always wanted?" she asked him.

"That and then some," he told her. He kissed her passionately. If he'd been asked six months ago if he'd be here right now with her, he'd have laughed them off. This was perfect, and he'd never change a thing.

D.C.

Wendell appeared looking shaken after his interview with Agent Perotta. Angela noticed right away.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I don't like being a suspect," he shuddered.

"Did you do it?" she asked pointedly.

"No! All I did was get into a fight with him on the ice after he knocked down a teammate for no reason," Wendell said. "I have the cast on my hand to prove it." He showed her.

"Hmm, well then I think you're fine," she said. "They have to ask you everything."

"I know. I still don't like it," he said. "I'm bummed I can't help out with the case."

"It's okay. Zack's on it," Angela smiled.

"I need Dr. Brennan," Zack said, coming in. "Can you video conference her?"

"I can try," Angela said. "She might be busy." She logged into her account and called Brennan. To her surprise, she got an answer. Brennan was in a bathrobe and looking a little annoyed at being disturbed.

"Hi, sweetie," Angela said. "You look like you're having fun."

"I am. Why are you calling?" Brennan asked. Angela saw Brennan's eyes flick to something off camera.

"Do you have a man with you?" Angela asked. "I can turn this off right now. I'll do it. You need this, Brennan."

"No, stop. It's just Booth," Brennan said. He stuck his face into the camera and waved.

"Oh. Well, while you're there, try to get a little action okay?" Angela prompted. Brennan didn't respond to this.

"Dr. Brennan," Zack said. "I need your help with something."

"Okay, Zack. Let's hear it," she said. He explained about the puncture in the eye socket from a projectile and how he was unsure of what had caused it.

"If he's a hockey player," Brennan said. "It might be something to do with hockey equipment." Zack pondered this.

"I'll look into it," he said.

"Is that all?" she asked. "I would have thought you could have figured that out without me."

"Zack is just worried about you," Angela piped up. "He gets worried when you're so far away from home."

"I'm fine," Brennan huffed. "Now please, don't call me again." Their connection ended, and Angela turned to see Zack standing there wincing.

"What?" she asked.

"Perhaps I was hasty in thinking I needed her assistance," he said.

"Accept it, Zack. You just wanted to make sure she was okay," Angela laughed. He didn't reply and walked out. Angela smirked as she went back to her work. Zack always did have a small crush on Brennan.

Booth & Brennan

"That ended way to quickly," Booth said, sighing. They were at the Royal Diner having supper when the others came crashing in.

"You're back!" Angela cried, hugging Brennan. "How was the conference?"

"It was great," Brennan lied. Cam, Hodgins, and Zack pulled up chairs to join them.

"Wendell was a murder suspect," Hodgins said eagerly. "Perotta had him terrified he was going to jail."

"Wow," Booth said. "We missed an exciting case."

"It was a lace puller," Zack said quickly. "That was the murder weapon."

"All because of stolen jewelery," Hodgins tossed in.

"Told you it had something to do with hockey," Brennan smiled at him. "The lace puller, not the jewelery."

"So, how was it! I bet it was beautiful," Cam interjected. She was tired of work talk for now.

"It was. I'd go again in a heartbeat," Booth said, touching Brennan's foot with his under the table.

"I concur," Brennan nodded.

"Did you meet any hot Hawaiian guys?" Angela asked, nudging Brennan.

"No," she said.

"She kept her nose in a book the entire time," Booth told them. "We're in freaking Hawaii, and she just reads the whole time."

"Sounds like a nice time," Zack nodded. He understood it.

"Yes," Brennan said. "Now I guess it's back to catching murderers." She smiled at Booth. Things were so good right now. She didn't want any of it to ever change.