A/N: the words I used in this chapter are bikini, stranded, and mistake. The holiday is Kiss and Make Up Day, which is August 25.

"Son of a bitch!" Booth pounded on the steering wheel of his government issued SUV, glaring at the 'check engine' light that was glowing on the dashboard. The engine had apparently suffered a catastrophic failure of some sort, and now the vehicle refused to budge, no matter how much he swore at it.

Normally, he'd get out and check on things himself, but it was a sweltering day in late August, and he was dressed in the FBI standard apparel: a dark wool gabardine suit, along with one of his colorful ties…the appropriate attire in which to testify on an important case in Federal court. Anyway, even if it was something he could fix, he was short on time. He had to be at the courthouse in a couple of hours, and now he had no way to get there.

After calling the motor pool to ask them to come pick up the dead SUV, he stepped into a nearby comic book shop, hoping to take advantage of their air conditioning while he tried to decide who to call so he could catch a ride. He mumbled to himself as he went through his contacts list. "Hmm…Aubrey is out of town…Shaw is on maternity leave…Gentry has the flu…"

He grimaced as he got to the end of the list, realizing he only had one real option. Hitting the speed dial, he made the call. "Hey, Bones…"

She was cautious as she responded. "Hello, Booth…"

"Um…listen…I know you and Angela are having a 'girl's day off' together, but my car just broke down, so I'm stranded, and I need to be in court soon. The motor pool guy said it'll be a couple of hours before he can get here, so I was wondering if you could pick me up. You can drop me off at the courthouse and go back to Angela's house, okay? I'll get my own ride home…"

He could almost hear her eyeroll over the phone. "C'mon, Bones…please? I know it's a pain in the ass, but Caroline needs my testimony today so we can tie up the DiStefano case…and you know what she's like when she's annoyed. I don't want to cross her just because the damn SUV won't run."

Brennan sighed softly, reluctant to leave the coolness of the swimming pool to battle the heat and the DC traffic. "Alright…I know you can't help it if your car is malfunctioning. Text me the address and I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Bones…you're the best!"

"I know…"

Oooooooooo

Twenty minutes later, Booth was relieved to see his wife's blue Prius as she parked in front of the shop. After quickly purchasing the copy of Green Lantern Strikes Again that he'd been reading, he jogged out to the car and opened the passenger door.

"Thanks, Bo…" He stopped in mid-word and did a double take. "What the hell are you wearing? Or should I say…not wearing?"

She was surprised as she glanced downward. "It's an old band tee shirt that I borrowed from Angela. I thought you'd recognize it as such, considering how many you have…"

Licking his lips as he glanced at her long, shapely legs, he willed himself to be calm. "What I mean is…where are your pants?"

"Oh…I'm not wearing any." Hearing his startled gasp, she giggled. "I thought you were in a hurry to go to the courthouse. Get in and let's go…"

"Uh…right. Let's go…"

They drove along in silence for a few minutes, but Booth finally got to a point where he could no longer contain himself. "So…you came to pick me up wearing only a tee shirt…"

"You said you were in a hurry, so I didn't have time to change." She gave him a sidelong glance. "Of course, I'm wearing my bathing suit underneath it." She lifted the hem of the shirt so he could see. "It's the blue and white one…"

Booth shuddered slightly, knowing exactly which suit she meant. It wasn't exactly a bikini, but it still showed a lot of skin, and even though it was modestly cut, the two pieces of the suit enhanced his wife's figure beautifully. As if she needed any more enhancements… He cleared his throat quietly. "Um…I thought you said you didn't like that one for actual swimming, right? I mean, I thought you and Angela were gonna do some laps and water aerobics today…"

Checking her rearview mirror, she nodded. "True, but I found that the clasp on the top of my other suit was broken, so I couldn't wear it." Her brows knit in confusion. "Why do you care which bathing suit I'm wearing?"

"Well, normally I don't care…except that you're driving around in the city wearing a thin tee shirt over a skimpy bathing suit, and I don't think my wife should go out in public like that…"

He knew he'd made a mistake as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Now all he could do was pray for mercy.

Slowly turning towards her passenger, Brennan scowled. "So are you saying that as my husband you should have a say in which articles of clothing I wear when I'm out in public?"

"No, of course not…not exactly…" Booth hesitated slightly, wondering how to make his point without setting off the powder keg sitting next to him. "But think about it…what if you had to get out of the car for some reason? That shirt is kinda short, and you'd be revealing a lot of skin, right?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "I'm wearing enough clothing to meet the standards of our society, Booth. Neither my genitalia nor my breasts would be exposed if I had to get out of the car, because I'm actually wearing two separate layers of clothing. Besides, you should be happy to have an attractive mate."

"Yeah, I'm glad you're attractive, but I also don't want other guys checking you out…and if you had to stop for some reason on the way here, I wouldn't be there to fend them off if they tried to make a move on you."

"I can take care of myself, Booth…"

"That's beside the point." He grunted in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest. "Look…you're my wife, and I don't want a bunch of horny guys drooling all over you because you're wearing next to nothing out in public, okay? It ain't right."

"So you'd rather I take my time to get covered from head to toe before I pick you up in case I had to stop, even though doing so would make you late for court."

"Well…no. I need to be on time…" He shrugged as he turned to look out the passenger window. "Actually, I think you need to get a new one piece suit and something heavier to wear over it, okay? I don't think you should wear that blue and white one to Angela's house anymore…maybe you should save it and only wear it when I'm around, like make it for my eyes only, okay? You know, I think the guy who lives next door to Angela probably has his telescope focused on her backyard."

"Dr. Bell is an astronomer, Booth. His telescope is focused on the sky, not his neighbors." Brennan narrowed her eyes at her husband. "You're being ridiculous! Even if some man were to find me attractive in this outfit, the fact is that I wouldn't return his interest, because I'm committed to you."

Closing his eyes, he shook his head. Might as well go for broke…"No, I'm not being ridiculous. I know how guys think, okay? Even if they know you're married, they still might put moves on you to steal you away from me." Hearing her scoff, he decided to play on her sensibilities. "Anthropologically speaking, you belong to me, okay? You're my wife…you're part of my territory, and I have the right to defend that territory from an invasion of rivals. The problem is that your outfit is actually gonna encourage that invasion, so now I have something else to worry about besides being in court. I know you don't like to think of our relationship that way, but that's how I think about it, and you should respect that."

They were at the courthouse, so Brennan parked the car, but she quickly put her hand on Booth's arm before he got out. "The idea that I 'belong' to you simply because we've entered a legal covenant together is absurd. I live with you because I choose to do so. Being of age, I can also decide what kind of clothing to wear without your approval. I also don't need your 'protection' from marauding invaders. Your Puritanical ideas about what women should wear in public belong in the last century."

"But…"

She held up her hand to cut off his statement. "By the way, be careful how you use anthropology, Booth. You may soon find out how a matriarchal society works if you can't get your possessiveness and your ego under control. Now…you'd better get out of the car so you won't be late."

He exited the car and considered slamming the door, but he figured that might not be a good idea. Instead, he very gently closed the door and waved goodbye. He wasn't surprised when she sped off without acknowledging him…but he had to be in court in ten minutes. He'd worry about making things up to her after court was adjourned for the day.

Ooooooooooo

There was an almost imperceptible chill in the air when he arrived home later that day. His wife was obviously still annoyed with him, based on how overly polite she was as they sat down to dinner. After taking care of the evening chores and tucking in their kids for the night, she announced that all the swimming she'd done that day had made her tired, so she was going to bed early.

Watching as she walked down the hall to their bedroom, Booth nodded to himself. He knew he'd made a silly mistake, and eventually she'd forgive him, but he wondered if he couldn't speed up the process somehow. In the past, it had only taken a small amount of cajoling on his part to appease her, so he'd use that as his starting point to work his way back into her good graces.

He waited a few minutes before going into their bedroom. Finding her propped up against her pillows, he made a show of yawning. "You know what? I'm kinda beat, too. I think you've got the right idea, hitting the hay early."

Getting no response, he made his way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he was finished, he was surprised to find that their bedroom was already dark. She normally reads longer than that…either she's really tired, or I'm really in trouble…

He turned down the covers and crawled into bed, moving so that he could snuggle next to her. After putting his arm around her, he pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "Bones? Are you asleep?'

"Yes…"

He chuckled softly before whispering in her ear. "Then wake up! I wanna tell you something…"

Groaning softly, she turned away from him. "What's so important that you feel the need to deprive me of sleep?"

"Well, on the way home from court, we were listening to the radio in Caroline's Gremlin…would you believe it only gets AM stations? I think she needs a new car…"

She grunted as she rolled onto her side so that she was facing him. "Get to the point, Booth…"

"Right. Anyway, the radio announcer said today is Kiss and Make Up Day…so I was wondering if you'd like to help me celebrate the occasion…"

"I see." Pursing her lips, she averted her gaze. "What are you making up for?"

"You know…for when I went into caveman mode over your swimsuit and tee shirt combo this afternoon." He sighed as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I went way overboard on that, and I know I was acting like a jerk…"

"There's no evidence that cavemen acted like jerks, Booth…although I imagine they were territorial about their mates…"

"Okay, then…I guess I was being overly territorial, for lack of a better term, but…" Caressing her gently, he shook his head. "...I know it sounds weird, but sometimes I feel a little insecure, because you're so beautiful and so kind…and so smart…and maybe one day you'll figure out that I'm nothing special, and you won't want to be married to me any more, so then I get worried and act like a moron. I know that's a lame excuse, but it's true. So when I got a load of you in the car…and I saw how great you looked…all sorts of alarm bells went off in my head, okay? It was like I couldn't stop thinking about what another guy would think if he saw you. Would he make a play for you? I couldn't handle that…"

Brennan reached up to pat his face. "You have nothing to worry about when it comes to me, Booth…I love you, and I'm committed to our relationship. I'd never consider leaving you for another man. You're well structured, an excellent father…a caring lover…"

"Shhh…" He put a finger to her lips. "Look, I know you love me…and I know you're committed to our marriage…and to our family…but sometimes it's like I can't help myself, and so I end up having a tantrum, like some rotten little kid." He sighed softly. "So…you can wear whatever you want whenever you want, and I'll make it a point not to be such a jackass about it, okay?"

She considered his words for a few seconds. Of course it's ridiculous for him to worry about my appearance in public attracting other men…especially at my age! However, Booth feels things deeply, and perhaps he does experience anxiety about our relationship from time to time. It's not logical, but he's not always logical in his thought patterns. Maybe it's worth compromising about if it'll ease his mind. After all, it's not like that situation occurs every day…

Finally she nodded. "In the future, I'll make an effort to consider your feelings when I choose my attire for certain situations. I'll also purchase a different bathing suit, if that will make you happy."

"Yeah…get a one piece suit with lots of coverage for going out in public." He grinned at her, waggling an eyebrow at her. "But maybe you could get one of those Brazilian bikinis to wear just for me…you'd look so hot! You know, we could even do some role play where you were at the beach and needed a lifeguard to give you mouth to mouth resuscitation."

"That sounds interesting." Snuggling next to him, Brennan wore a coy smile. "So…it seems we've accomplished the making up part of the commemoration…but what about the kissing part?"

He chuckled as he pulled her closer. "Oh, I almost forgot." He kissed her tenderly. "How's that?"

"More, please…" She smiled as she ran her hands over his broad shoulders. "Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you very much…so much that the idea of me having any other man in my life is ludicrous. You'll always be the one for me."

He smiled as he gave her another kiss. "Thanks, Bones. I love you, too."

Thanks for reading! If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it! Laura