Thank you all for reading and for commenting - feedback is appreciated! :) I'm upping the rating - would rather be safe than sorry. Enjoy!:)
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Booth opened his sleepy eyes to find Brennan's naked body tangled with his own. It felt good . . . right . . . like it was the way they should've been a long time ago. She soon opened her eyes as well to find him staring at her.
"What?" she smiled.
"You're beautiful," Booth grinned.
"I know," Brennan replied.
"You really make me work to compliment you," he chuckled, kissing her shoulder.
"You were stating a fact. My bone structure, like yours, consists of elements conducive to a positive hormonal reaction in most men and even some women," she argued.
"True – except mine's more with women. But can't you gimme a break once in a while?" he pleaded.
"I suppose so," she relented, nibbling on his ear. "Are we telling people we're having sexual intercourse?"
Leave it to Bones to just put it out there . . .
"We made love, Bones," Booth corrected her. "Not that anyone needs to know the details. What's between us is ours, okay?"
Brennan nodded.
" . . . By people, you mean excluding Angela - since she obviously knows?" he guessed.
"You could tell?" Brennan propped herself up on his chest.
"She gave me a look last night, when we were singing and you grabbed my arm. And later on at the pub she mentioned something to me about life and holding onto love. So yeah, I have a feeling she knows," he answered.
"I had to tell someone. And I knew she wouldn't judge me for the timing of it," Brennan defended.
"I'm not mad, Bones. But I do think, considering the circumstances, that we should wait a while to let anyone else know – especially Sweets. His first observation will be that we reacted out of the need for comfort in a time of tragedy," he scoffed.
"That is true to some extent. I went to your room because I needed reassurance. You gave me that," she recalled.
"Yeah, but it was also about us and not wasting any more time," Booth added.
"Yes. It was," Brennan agreed. "Do you think we can manage to keep it in the download for two or more weeks?"
Booth laughed.
"Keep it on the down-low, Bones. And yeah, I think we can. What's between us is ours. We'll just act normal. Besides, it'll be fun sneakin' around for a while," he flirted.
"I have never done that before, but I've heard it can be a very invigorating experience," Brennan smiled, coyly, and teased his lips.
"Mmmm . . . so I was thinking maybe we could drive up to New York, today . . . see the Yankees . . . go to the Museum of Natural History . . . get a five star hotel room and take advantage of room service?" Booth suggested, kissing her neck. It was rare that they had a long weekend and he thought maybe a trip would get both of their minds off of the tragedy and give them some time to just enjoy their new relationship.
"We can see Yankees in D.C., Booth – you and I are Yankees, as deemed by the Southern Rebels in the Civil War. But I would like to go back to the Museum of Natural History. I heard that they have a very interesting display on an unidentified Egyptian queen. Perhaps I can persuade them to bring the mummified remains back to the Jeffersonian?" she contemplated.
"The Yankees are a baseball team, Bones. And no work, okay?" Booth insisted. "I want us to be able to relax and have fun. Neither of us has had a vacation in a while."
"Your invitation does sound quite intriguing . . . especially the room service idea," she grinned slyly and straddled him, kissing her way down his chest.
He pulled her lips to his, running his fingers through her hair, when his phone rang. They both groaned.
"Booth," he responded.
"I hate to tear you away from your free day of booze and violent sports, cher, - not that you don't deserve it - but we've got a major security issue on our hands," Caroline replied.
"What's the problem, Caroline?" he wondered.
"Your sniper friend has escaped," she informed him. "If I were you, cher, I'd get that pretty doctor you claim you don't love somewhere safe and your cute ass down to the bureau."
"I'm on my way," he said and hung up.
"What was that about?" Brennan asked.
"It's Broadsky. He escaped from holding last night. They were supposed to transfer him today. I guess he slipped the night guards something . . . I don't know the details yet, but I've gotta get to the office and you need to be somewhere Broadsky won't know to look," Booth told her.
"Booth, I can help you find him," she insisted. "I'll call Angela and Hodgins and –"
"No - Bones, this is between me and Broadsky this time. I know you want to help, but I need you safe. I need to know you're okay so I can concentrate on bringing him down for good this time," he explained.
"We helped you the last time. What's the difference now?" she wondered.
"Broadsky knows I was upset about Vincent. If he can't find me, he'll start going after the rest of the Squint Squad and that includes you. Call the team and tell them it might be a good idea for them to go out of town this weekend," he said.
"Okay. But I won't go with them – not when you're in danger, Booth," she insisted.
"You're not. You're going somewhere safer," he told her and dialed a number on his phone. "Max? It's Booth. Listen, can you do me a favor?"
Brennan tried to pry the phone out of his hand.
"Booth, no! I can take care of myself –" she protested.
"Is that Tempe I hear in the background?" Max questioned, happily.
Booth swatted her hand away, but she retaliated.
"Ow! Jesus, Bones! You don't mess with the Family Jewels!" he exclaimed, holding the phone out of Max's earshot.
"I still fail to see how your male genitalia has any resemblance to precious gemstones," she stomped off, muttering something about partnership and trust, and slammed the door to the bathroom.
"Yeah, Max, she's here. But I need you to listen. Broadsky's escaped. I need you to take care of Bones in case he decides to go after her," he requested.
"Of course," Max said.
"Thanks," Booth told him.
"You don't have to thank me, Booth. Tempe is my daughter, and I may not have been there for her in the past, but I'm trying to make up for that," he said.
"Just do whatever you need to do to make sure she's safe," Booth replied. "I can't let anything happen to her."
"You kids are sleeping together, aren't you?" Max assumed, a hint of hope in his tone.
"We'll be at the diner in an hour, Max," Booth avoided answering his question and hung up. He found Brennan in the bathroom, taking a shower. He ripped open the curtain to talk to her.
"Ya know, Bones, if you want a kid someday, I hope you still have that supply of my stuff from a few years ago. Seriously – what the hell?" he exclaimed.
"You don't trust me," she stated, matter-of-factly, shampooing her hair.
"Where did you get that idea?" he wondered.
"You called my father?" she questioned, slamming the bottle down. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Booth! And you need help. We're partners - I won't let you do this alone. Y-You could . . ." she trailed off.
Booth took one look at her fearful face and his anger dissolved. He got in the shower with her, pulling her in his arms.
"I've always trusted you, Bones. And you won't lose me. Besides, I'm taking Sweets – he's the best when it comes to all that psycho crap," he assured her.
Brennan nodded.
"You'll stay in touch? Keep me informed of everything?" she asked.
"You bet. If I have anything that needs scientific expertise, you're the first one I'm callin'," he smiled, wiping soap away from her eyes.
"Everything, Booth. I need to be informed of what's going on. I need to know –" she insisted.
"That I'm okay. I get it – and I will. It'll be fine, Bones. I'm gonna get Broadsky and I won't let him off easy this time," he vowed.
"Are you comfortable with that . . . with killing Broadsky?" she asked.
"I'm never okay with it, Bones. A life is a life – good or bad. But this guy has to be stopped. I – I don't wanna talk about it, okay?" he said.
"I understand," she said. "When do you have to leave?"
He briefly kissed her lips.
"As soon as we get ready," he answered, pressing his forehead to hers.
"Broadsky now has a fractured right tibia in addition to his bruised right hand; that will limit his shooting advantages. He will have difficulty shooting from above, without an elevator to aid him. It will also immobilize him from running," she offered her knowledge and the shampoo bottle.
He took it from her and washed his hair.
"Yeah, that'll make it a lot easier . . . Unless . . . he must have someone on the outside helping him. There's no way he could've gotten out without it. And he couldn't have gone far," he contemplated.
"That's not necessarily true, Booth. With someone driving him, Broadsky could be as far as three or four states away by now," Brennan pointed out as she washed his body, massaging his shoulders and back.
"Mmmm . . . Bones, you gotta stop doin' that or I'll never get out of here," Booth moaned with pleasure.
"Massage is a form of relieving tension from the muscles of the body. You need to be relaxed and free from stress in order to prepare to catch Broadsky," she replied.
"Yeah, well there are other parts of my body that are far from relaxed right now, so I think we need to pick this up later, okay, babe?" Booth said, teasing her bottom lip for the effort. "We should get dressed. The sooner I go, the sooner this'll all be over."
"I agree," she said, reluctantly stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel. "I'll need to stop by my apartment on the way."
He followed, taking one for himself.
"Sure. And I'm, uh, I'm gonna clean out a drawer for you when this is over," he said, hoping it would be a positive outcome.
"Thank you. I should do the same at mine. It's more practical that way," she stated, unable to see the sentiment of it.
"You know what this means, right?" he asked, putting on his pants.
"Yes. That we will be saving gas and time on the days we spend over at each other's apartments," she replied, putting on her blouse.
"Yeah. But it also means you're stuck with me, Bones," he flirted. "Well, at least a drawer full of my stuff."
"I am . . . open to taking that risk," she smirked.
"You just made a joke," Booth grinned, tying his tie.
"Yes, I did," she smiled proudly, handing him his 'Cocky' belt.
"You ready?" he asked, bringing the mood back to reality.
"I will never be ready for something like this . . . but I am confident in your skills and I believe you will do the best with your capabilities," Brennan answered, honestly.
"Thank you, Bones, that means a lot," he smiled and took in a deep nervous breath. "Let's go."
"Booth . . ." she stopped him. "I won't be able to tell you later on . . . but I'm glad I have you in my life . . . and I hope our new arrangement will not be altered by the impending events . . . I-I love you, Booth."
"I love you too, Bones," Booth said and held her close. He knew it was hard for her to become vulnerable with someone. It meant revealing her weaknesses and emotions, her deepest fears. She had gotten a lot better since he'd known her, but the past few days had been different. She'd let him in completely and he hoped that that wouldn't change.
Brennan pulled away and pressed her lips to his one last time.
"We should go," she said, unconvincingly.
"Yeah," he said, opening the door.
"If I don't see you –" she began, tears starting to run down her face.
He gently wiped them away, trying to control his own.
"You'll see me, Bones. I'm coming back to you. I'll always come back to you," Booth promised, squeezing her hand and leading the way.