Thank you for your reviews on the last update. Glad you liked the insight in Booth's thoughts…. Maybe it's time to learn a bit more about Brennan's now?

Hope you'll enjoy the update, it's a little longer this time.

Under cover(s) – 9

"Where are the others?" Booth asked, when they arrived at the table again, to find it occupied by only about half the people they had met earlier. To his relief also Vivian and her young husband – aka toy boy - were nowhere to be seen.

"Around." Terry's wife smiled at them, not explaining the whereabouts of the missing few people. And there was no need anyway. A moan from one of the alcoves told them enough. Brennan assumed that the bedroom Terry hadn't shown them was occupied too.

"Ah." Roxy made and smiled knowingly.

"Some of us seem to be lacking in patience." Andrew's brows were drawn together in what could only be interpreted as disgust.

"Free choice." Gloria, who was sitting beside him, commented and shrugged. She said it as if it was a kind of motto.

"I know." Andrew nodded. "Still… When we welcome new people in our community…. We should be able to talk to them and get to know them, not vanish like that." He frowned. "I like to think that we're not completely sex-driven."

Roxy sent him a smile. "Doesn't matter, we were gone anyway. Terry gave us the tour and I have to say it is really wonderful. I like the whirlpool."

"Who doesn't?" Gloria grinned and that made all the difference. The unspectacular looking woman clad in jeans and t-shirt had a beautiful smile, that made her eyes sparkle. Somehow, Brennan found her sympathetic, although she knew she couldn't let that interfere with their investigation. But Roxy was allowed to make a friend, right?

"I'd love to hear a bit more about all of you…. what you're doing. We told us about our lives already…" Roxy's gaze settled on Gloria and Andrew.

"Oh, I'm a mechanic." Gloria said, her eyes sparkling with amusement at their obvious surprise. "I know, not that common for women, but hey, I love cars."

"Oh, it may be unusual, but I think it's a great choice. Women are just as capable of doing this kind of work as men." And this was Temperance Brennan talking, Booth knew. Hiding a smile, he gently placed a hand on her arm, before she could launch into a anthropological speech and addressed Gloria. "What kind of cars? I love to work on old cars, especially Cadillacs, whenever I have time."

Andrew gave his wife an amused glance as she lost herself in a discussion about restoring Oldtimers with Tony, then turned his attention towards Roxy. "I'm a dentist, in case you're interested." He winked at her.

"A mechanic and a dentist. That's an unusual combination." Roxy commented.

Andrew merely shrugged. "And a teacher and a security consultant isn't? Gloria likes to say that she's repairing cars and I'm repairing jaws. Not so different." He grinned again and Brennan had to acknowledge to herself that he looked very attractive. The type of men she wouldn't mind getting sexual relief with. And Andrew made no attempts to hide his interest in her…

And still… she didn't feel the desire, didn't feel the arousal she'd felt before when she'd been talking about tapes and whirlpools with Terry and Booth. Tony, she corrected herself, she'd been talking to Tony.

Playing her role, she chatted with Andrew about various things, but still there was a nagging thought in the back of her mind. All her attempts at pushing it away did not really succeed.

Had it been the topic and Roxy's desire for Tony that had made her so aroused… or did Brennan really want Booth that much? Somehow the thought shocked her, although she'd known she was attracted to Booth. Why wouldn't she? After all, he was handsome and had a great body.

But the man in front of her had too. And still, the certain spark just didn't come. No flutter in her stomach, no pooling of desire. Just a faint note of interest, barely detectable.

Was something wrong with her? No, she decided, surely not. It had to be that place. Somehow her efforts to remain detached, keep the distance had to have created a kind of barrier by now. That's why she wasn't as susceptible to Andrew's charm as she had thought. That just HAD to be the reason, right?

Booth actually enjoyed talking with Gloria about repairing Oldtimers and was glad to have found a topic that didn't have anything to do with sex. And after all, it was one of his hobbies, a hobby he hardly had time for. Keeping his mind off what was going on around them was made far easier….but he somehow stil felt that something was not quite right with Brennan.

He couldn't say what, but since he thought that they had spent enough time at the Sinner's Palace for one evening, he decided it was time for them to leave. After all, they would have to write down all the names and information as long as they were still fresh in their mind and they needed to discuss their strategy for the next meeting.

Booth faked a yawn, only half-heartedly hiding it behind his right hand. "'m sorry." He mumbled and gave Gloria an apologetic smile. "I fear I didn't get enough sleep last night. There was a failure in one of the systems I installed and I had to work on it half of the night."

He gently nudged the woman beside him. "What do you say, darling, should we call it a night?"

Roxy nodded. "If you're tired, we better get going." Booth noted the slight hint of confusion in her voice.

"You want to leave already?" Andrew seemed a little disappointed and at his words, the O'Reillys also looked up and gave them a questioning look. "It's just past midnight." Andrew added.

"Tony's been up nearly all night, working." Roxy gave Terry and his wife an apologetic look. "But we would love to come back soon."

"We'll be here tomorrow evening." Gloria was quick to throw in.

Roxy and Tony exchanged a surprised glance. They had thought there would be weekly meetings at most.

"Most of us will be here tomorrow night." Terry corrected and his glance towards Gloria was not entirely friendly. "We usually meet every Friday and once a month also on Saturday. Some people can make time easier on Saturdays, that's why. You're welcome to join us tomorrow."

The last words were added in a way that made clear he didn't really want them to come. His glance towards Gloria had indicated that he had not intended to invite them to tomorrow's gathering, maybe to discuss Roxy and Tony with the others?

"Ahhh," Roxy made. "I think maybe we'll need time to process all this first. Can we decide tomorrow if we're in the right mood and give you a ring?"

"Sure." Matilda quickly agreed. "That's not a problem."

"Thank you." Tony smiled at her, then rose. "Then I guess we'll be saying good bye now."

It took some time to say their good byes…. Although three couples we're still missing in action, including the one that had arrived later. Booth didn't like the fact that they hadn't been able to meet them too, but it couldn't be changed. For now, he just needed to get out of the club…. And he suspected Brennan wanted out too. Though he couldn't quite understand why. After all, the sexually so independent woman should feel as if in paradise at Sinner's Palace, shouldn't she? And still it gave him some satisfaction… it pleased him that obviously she hadn't enjoyed her conversation with Gloria's husband as much as Andrew.

When they stepped outside and walked the way back to the car, they both remained silent. They simply didn't know what to say to each other. Roxy and Tony had done enough talking for the evening and Brennan and Booth couldn't discuss the case as long as they were not in the car.

Being gallant, Tony held the door open for Roxy. He knew that Brennan would hate it, but in case somebody was watching he intended to stay true to his role as devoted husband. A devoted husband who'd hand over his wife to another man – like Andrew – in a heartbeat. He stifled a shudder, still not comfortable with the concept, while moving around the car to the driver's side.

When he turned the key in the ignition he felt more self-confident again, happy that he could get rid of Tony now. He had survived an evening in hell…. Well, at Sinner's Palace, but that wasn't a long shot, in his opinion.

They remained silent for some time, until Brennan cleared her throat.

"What do you think…." She asked slowly. "Where do they keep the original tapes?"

"I have no idea, but that's something we could try to find out. What do you say, should we come back tomorrow?" Booth's voice didn't betray an emotion.

"Let's put together all we found out tonight and decide then." She suggested and he nodded.

"We need to prepare ourselves for the next meeting, make sure we're saying the same stuff. About…. Well, things." He sighed, not sure how to approach the topic. He hadn't forgotten about how they were expected to talk about their sexual preferences during the next meeting. Booth was racking his brain how to avoid that topic during the next meeting.

"I agree. We have to be prepared. I think we should have sex." She said bluntly and nearly caused him to drive off the road and into the ditch. The car swerved dangerously, but he didn't lose control.

"What?" He gasped.

"We should have intercourse." She emphasized. "We never were intimate and we're shy – well, especially you are - about touching each other. They will know something is wrong. We have to make sure we're comfortable with talking about sex with each other. The best way to ensure that is, to have it." Brennan stated matter-of-factly.

"Absolutely not! I'm not going to have sex with you for this undercover assignment, Bones." He was shocked at her suggestion. And even more upset about the fact it was also a bit hard to refuse her. He wanted her, but he longed for the whole package. Not just a quick tumble between the sheets to add to their credibility as a couple.

"It would be Roxy and Tony." She stated. "Which has nothing to do with us."

He gave her an incredulous look. "Do you actually believe in the crap you just said? Hello, I happen to be in this body. Tony is just… a mask, a cover. Not a separate persona. I can't switch that on and off."

She let out a sigh. "You have to admit that we won't be able to act convincingly if they want us to… touch each other or talk about the act, about sexual preferences. You'll blush, you'll be uncomfortable. You just blushed right now at the mere thought, Booth."

"I'll be able to play a role, I'll be able to act as if Tony and Roxy had sex every night… but… you can't ask this of me." His voice sounded strained and she wondered why.

She shook her head. Why did he have to make this so complicated? He had drawn a line once, sure. And she'd been careful not to step over it, at least not too boldly. She'd been attracted to him all along, but if he didn't want sex with her because he feared it wasn't professional, well so be it. She could respect that. But now and here was the perfect loophole…. And he didn't want it. Didn't want her.

She swallowed hard, but managed to keep her composure. He didn't want her, despite his reaction to her outfit earlier this evening? Well, she may not be used to that kind of rejection, but she'd be damned if she let him see that she was hurting.

"I'm just saying. If they want us to DO something more intimate, Booth, I'll be able to act the part. But will you?" She asked, her voice dry and distanced.

"Hey, I'm not a trained dog. They won't tell us what to do, okay? You'll just get a migraine or I'll have an emergency to go to. But I'm not going to …. No way!" Booth shook his head vigorously.

"We won't be convincing. We'll never be fully accepted by the group." She retorted.

"Fully accepted? We'd have to fuck with all of them first!" He nearly yelled it at her, desperate to make her let it go, to make her stop talking about them having sex like that. No way in hell he was going to bed her in the name of adding credibility to their undercover-personae. He hoped to make love to her one day, but it would be Booth and Brennan and not Roxy and Tony, he'd make sure of that.

"So you don't want to… see this assignment through, Booth? I thought you wanted to solve the case." Brennan asked a while after his outburst, her voice flat and emotionless, though for a moment he thought he'd heard a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Booth took in a deep breath, hoping he was calm enough to form coherent sentences. "I want this to be a successful operation. I want to solve the case, find out who murdered the Freeports. ….but not at any cost, damn it." He was not going to sacrifice his dream, his hope for a future with her, his plans of loving her like she deserved. He had no intention of tainting it by having meaningless sex, even though he wanted her so much he thought his longing for her would eat him alive.

Upon hearing his words Brennan averted her gaze and looked out of the window, trying not to show how much what he had said hurt her. So, having sex with her would be too much of a sacrifice?

Damn him. She had thought she knew him, understood him, but she hadn't anticipated that he'd be disgusted at the thought of her in his bed. Obviously, she didn't know him at all.

Uh-oh. Trouble, trouble! What do you think, did you like it?