The Kelpie in the Turret

Tired from cycling and fresh sea air, Brennan was more than amenable to setting their next location in the SatNav and letting Booth do the driving. Oban was a fishing town and a major port for the Hebrides and Western Isles, that she knew, but it would be obvious to anyone passing through from the amount of boats adorned with nets and crab pots and the amount of seafood themed restaurants and stores along the streets they drove down.

It took less than 15 minutes for them to arrive at Glencruitten House, a monument to baronial architecture. Booth was disappointed they had arrived after sunset because he was sure that the mansion and grounds would be spectacular in the daylight. Brennan checked them in while Booth got their cases from the car and waited for him in the lobby with a hotel porter.

"Booth, as I mentioned before, when I booked accommodation I wasn't intending on us sharing a bed but I did book this for you. We're staying in Kelpie's Spire - the turret room."

He handed a bag to the porter and spoke excitedly "We're staying in the turret of a castle?"

"Well, it's not a castle, despite having turrets. Glencruitten House is just a mansion that happens to have a turret room that I know you would appreciate."

They followed the porter up more stairs than they really had the energy for and were thankful to finally open the door of the suite. Bones tipped the porter five pounds and took in the space they would be staying in for the next two nights.

"Oh God! Bones! Look at this!" Booth was standing next to a copper slipper tub placed directly in the rounded extension the turret made. Five windows letting the bather look out onto the grounds of the hotel and beyond. "Damn, I wish I'd brought a cigar!"

Brennan cleared her throat to get his attention and picked up the 'no smoking' sign that perched on the coffee table.

Booth smirked and walked over, pulling her close and burying his nose in the collar of her padded winter jacket. "Guess I'll need to keep my lips busy with something else then."

His stomach picked that moment to grumble loudly, they hadn't eaten much all day and he was ravenous.

"It sounds like your lips would rather be kept busy with food, come on let's freshen up a little and get down to the restaurant before your stomach disturbs the whole hotel!"

"It's not that loud!" Booth smiled and hung his jacket on the hooks behind the door.

#

The hotel restaurant was as plush and decadent as they expected, and the food was just as impressive. Just as the server was setting their desserts on the table, the loud reedy chords of an accordion sounded from the bar in the next room.

"There's a ceilidh on tonight, it's free for guests to attend if you'd like to see some Scottish Country dancing … or maybe even give it a bash yourselves." The server winked at them.

"Oh that sounds fun!" Brennan was delighted "Doesn't that sound fun, Booth?"

"Sure, Bones, we'll check it out." Booth laughed.

When they finished their desserts, the whooping from the crowd was almost drowning out the music from the band. They entered the room to find the dancefloor full of couples with one arm around each other hopping then separating and clapping at a fast pace. The song ended to applause from everyone and the band master thanked everyone for taking part in the Canadian Barn dance.

"I've never seen them do that in Canada." Bones spoke loudly near Booth's ear so she could be heard.

"Now for the Military Two Step, grab your partners please and come onto the floor and we'll do a short run through for those who don't ceilidh enough!" It was said with encouraging good humour and the atmosphere was electric.

An older lady and gentleman approached them, without asking their names or if they even wanted to dance, the man pulled Brennan onto the floor and the woman, who was in front of Brennan and her partner, wrapped her left arm around Booth's waist firmly. Booth looked over his shoulder at Brennan, he assumed that the fear on her face mirrored his own.

"I'm afraid I'm not the best with choreographed dancing" Brennan spoke to the man as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her left hand onto his shoulder.

"Oh don't worry about that!" His crisp, English accent was friendly and his smile was infectious. "We didn't have a clue the first time we came up here either!"

Facing anti-clockwise, the band master talked them through the steps and both Brennan and Booth watched the other couples as well as listening to the instructions. Heel, toe, heel, toe, turn in the opposite direction, heel, toe, heel, toe, turn to face your partner and hold hands, kick to the left, kick to the right, twirl the lady, ballroom stance, waltz for the count of eight.

"It helps if you say the steps out loud until you get the hang of it." The woman smiled up at Booth.

"Oh, I should be fine, my Mom taught me ballroom dancing."

His confidence lasted until the music started and he realised that the instructional moves had been slowed down and the real dance was a fair bit quicker. When they turned and Bones was now in front of him with the mystery man of this enthusiastic couple, he could see her mouthing the instructions and staring at her feet.

They travelled around the dancefloor, it was during the second set that Booth felt confident enough to smile at his dance partner and didn't need to keep the steps clear in his head. By the third set, Brennan was also feeling more confident and wasn't staring at her feet anymore. That's when their dance partners let them go and swapped. Booth was now dancing with Bones and having more fun than he thought he could with structured dance. When the song ended they were both laughing and smiling and accepted the unknown couple's invitation to sit at the same table.

"Alex" The man stuck out his hand to formally introduce themselves "and my wife, Helen."

"I'm Seeley and this is my … partner … Temperance." They all shook hands.

"How long are you in Oban for?" Helen asked while sipping on a glass of white wine.

"We're only here for two nights, we're touring the country." Brennan smiled and lifted her hand to catch the attention of one of the waitstaff.

"Not the best time of year" Alex put his arm around Helen "You should …"

"Come back in the summer" Booth and Brennan said at the same time before laughing.

"We first came to Scotland for our Son's wedding, thought he was mad marrying some scotch lass and wanting to move here … but we absolutely fell in love with the whole country. Now we visit whenever we can, tonight we're celebrating becoming grandparents, Morag is in labour right at this moment!" Alex raised his glass of beer and clinked it against Helen's wine.

They had just enough time to order a beer for Brennan and a measure of a whisky made in Oban for Booth when the next dance was announced. Bones looked at Booth excitedly and he nodded before looking at Alex and Helen.

"Ohhhh no!" Alex shook his head "The Dashing White Sergeant is a dance for you young folks!"

#

Dizzy and euphoric from the alcohol and vigorous dancing, Booth and Brennan giggled all the way up to their room before falling into bed and sleeping, fully clothed, in each other's arms. They woke, groggy and pained, from the alcohol and vigorous dancing, when Brennan's alarm went off.

"Please tell me we aren't doing anything strenuous today." Booth muttered into his pillow.

"No, we'll be taking a nice drive down the west side of Loch Lomond to Balloch and back up to Oban through Glencoe, and I have the perfect way to relax before we set off for the day."

"Mmm, great minds think alike!" Booth stroked down her back and cupped her rear.

"Not that! Well, not yet anyway." She rolled out of bed and walked over to the slipper bath and started the water running. "This turret faces east, what better way to watch the sun rise?"

Booth sat on the edge of the bed, smiling "When did you get so romantic?"

"I …" She stood and frowned "I have no idea!"

When the bath was drawn, they stripped off the previous day's clothing and settled in the tub together. Bones lying between Booth's knees with her back against his chest, took the opportunity to record the sunrise through the windows of the turret. As the room was lit up by dawn, the camera was put down and they bathed each other gently before drying off and making love slowly on the four poster bed. It was as decadent and pleasurable as the luxury suite they inhabited and they were more than ready to satisfy more innocent hungers at the hotel breakfast buffet when they were done.

#

"Man, Scottish food is awesome!" Brennan curled a brow at Booth's plate piled with link sausage, square sausage, back bacon, fried eggs, potato scones and fried tomatoes.

"The oatmeal, or porridge, here is far superior to what we have back home." She spooned her breakfast carefully while Booth dug in with abandon.

"Seeley! Temperance!" Helen called as she entered the restaurant. "Morag had a girl at 3am, 7 pounds 8 ounces!"

"Congratulations!" Brennan allowed Helen to hug her and Booth shook Alex' hand firmly.

"That's a good weight!" Booth added.

"We're just going to have a quick bite and head to Oban Maternity Hospital to see our wee granddaughter." Alex looked like he was fit to burst with joy.

Brennan watched them walk toward the self service cereal bar and tilted her head. "They're so happy, do you think we'll be like them when we're in our 60s?"

Booth wiped his mouth with a napkin and nodded "Absolutely, Bones, like I said - you're it for me."

She smiled softly, thoughtfully. "I accept that and concur with your appraisal of our situation."

"Well, I'm glad we still agree!" He grinned "Come on, let's get on the road."

The road in question took them along the coast, into the forests and past lochs that shimmered under the weak late autumn sun. Through villages and small towns, around the head of Loch Fyne and up into the hills where they stopped at the 'Rest and be thankful' viewpoint to marvel at the clear view straight down the valley before they set off through Arrochar down the banks of Loch Lomond to Luss where they stopped again to take in the views and have coffee in a local cafe. Their route took them to the Loch Lomond Shores shopping mall where the stores all faced the loch in a semicircle and the plaza that separated the stores from the water was the busiest area. They visited the sea life centre there and Brennan giggled at the antics of the asian short clawed otters and Booth tried to count the baby seahorses he spotted in one of the aquariums.

The Maid of the Loch took them out on the water around the islands of Inchmurrin and Inchcailloch while they watched a school group in colourful kayaks learn how to do their cold water capsize in the shallow waters. Driving east through Balloch and Drymen, they turned north to catch the eastern side of Ben Lomond on the way to Aberfoyle, around Loch Achray and east again down the banks of Loch Venacher.

Each viewpoint was pulled into and Brennan paused to appreciate them before taking out her camera and capturing the scenery before them. It was a breathtaking country, a mix of modern and historical attractions surrounded by the beauty of forests and mountains. They had lunch in a log cabin on the banks of Loch Lubnaig before heading north then west through Crianlarich and north again through the moors of Glencoe.

The sun was setting as they turned toward Ballachulish and south down the banks of Loch Linnhe, the moon was full and the night was cloudless enough that she was able to get some amazing photos of Castle Stalker. Their energy was waning as they rounded Loch Creran and crossed the Connell Bridge but that meant they were only twenty minutes away from the hotel and their energy would be replenished by a good meal and a relaxing evening in the gorgeous turret suite.

#

In the late evening, after dinner, after making love, they laid in the four poster bed and simply enjoyed holding each other. Booth's finger tips stroked around Bones shoulder and her palm settled over his heart to feel its steady beat.

"This room is really … horsey … is Kelpie gaelic for horse?" The vibrations of Booth's voice against her hand made her smile.

"No, Kelpies are mythological creatures in Scottish folklore. They're water spirits that were not nice at all - and would often appear in the form of a horse to entice travellers to ride them and then drown the unsuspecting human in dangerous waters."

"That's pretty dark!"

"All folklore is dark, it's only in the last couple of hundred years that they've been distorted and sanitised to make them palatable for children."

She felt Booth take a breath and hold it, she stroked her fingers on his chest waiting for him to say whatever was on his mind. "Do you still think about having a kid?"

"Yes." Bones' reply was quiet. "I still desire progeny."

"I know we talked about it before my tumour … I wasn't sure if it was a topic you'd want to come back …"

"In the summer?" They both laughed and Booth rolled her onto her back, her thighs parting to receive his slim hips on instinct. She felt his member twitch and harden and lifted her head to kiss him. "Again?"

"Morning, noon and night, Baby. Morning, noon and night."

#

Peyton Perotta wasn't happy at filling in for Booth while he was off on vacation with Dr Brennan, she would have much preferred him filling her. In her limited knowledge of the partners, she was sure that they would return from their trip in foul moods, not talking to each other due to Dr Brennan embarrassing him in some way, and he would need someone to vent to and be comforted by. She was vaguely listening to Dr Edison's explanation for the injuries to the skeleton on the table when Angela bounced onto the platform.

"I got an email and a video from Bren!"

She settled in front of one of the computers and logged in while everyone, except Dr Edison, crowded around the screen. They took in the taps and edge of the copper tub before focusing on the incredible sunrise through the windows beyond.

"That's so pretty!" Cam commented.

"Pretty?" Angela gawked at her. "Did you not see what I saw?"

"It's a sunrise." Perotta shrugged, sure it was pretty but everyone had seen the sunrise before.

Sighing in exasperation, Angela slid the playback bar backwards and pointed to the bottom of the screen. Brennan's slim feet appeared, then a pair of hairy knees came into the shot briefly before Booth's toes tickled at the top of Brennan's foot.

Tipping her head to the side, Angela slid the bar backwards again and turned the volume up to full setting. Brennan's feet, water sloshing, Booth's knees, more water, a husky giggle as Booth's toes tickled her foot, more sloshing, a very low, very sexual growl.

"Well, that's pretty damn definitive." Cam nodded at the screen, the evidence indisputable.

"I'll say!" Angela chuckled "Watching the sunrise, bathing with your honey? That's a whole new level of romance!"

"Is there any chance we'll get back to my findings on this case today?" Dr Edison chimed in.

"Clark, come on!" Hodgins cajoled "You've been here long enough to know what a big deal this is!"

"It's not that big a deal" Perotta sniffed "So they're having a fling while away on vacation."

Everyone turned to look at Perotta, astonished, but they were even more astonished that it was Clark Edison that started laughing hysterically first.

#

Booth was smiling in his sleep, he knew he was smiling because he was having the dream again. Ever since Bones had squared up to him and told him to 'be a cop' he'd dreamed of having that smart, sexy mouth around his cock. When he was Tessa, when he was messing around with Becs … even when he had whatever the hell it was he had with Cam. The dream remained. His eyes blinked open and Bones was staring at him, inspecting him like she would a clavicle or femur.

"You seemed to be having a very good dream." She smirked.

Still not fully awake, he was too drowsy to lie "Mmm I was dreaming about you sucking me off, I love that dream."

Bones didn't say anything, she just threw back the blankets and kissed and licked her way down his chest as she rolled him onto his back, his thighs spreading to make room for her as she settled between his legs. Her hands lay gently on the crests of his illia and as he stroked his finger across her knuckles she licked him from base to tip like he was a stamp - and he knew exactly where she was going to send him.

"Oh God!" Booth sucked a breath through his teeth.

"How did I do it? Is it slow, fast? Aggressive, gentle?" She suckled on the tip, looking at him hotly.

"S-slow and … holy shit" His eyes widened as he watched her take the root of him in one hand and run her tongue all over the top couple of inches of his erection "Aggressive, y-you're always in ch-charge."

Raising a brow mischievously, she pressed down on both his hips with her hands and took as much of him into her mouth as she could, sucking as hard as she was able and breathing deeply through her nose as she attempted to swallow every inch of him. Booth's eyes rolled back as the pressure around his girth made his balls tighten, he could feel Bones saliva dripping down the lower half of his cock when she started to move.

Booth's hands came over his head and he pulled at the headboard of the bed, panting as she worked him, the level of suction lessening on the way up and increasing on the way down. Slow like he wanted and oh so wet.

"Bones, Baby … fuck, I need … uh"

Noting the pained wrinkles on his forehead, she leaned her forearms on his hips and gripped the base of his length with her thumbs and index fingers imitating a cockring. Pumping him and twisting a little at the same speed her mouth was moving over him. His hands slammed down on the mattress and his back arched, pressing his shoulders deeper into the pillow.

"Please, faster, Bones, please!"

She moaned around his member and sped up her movements, feeling his hips trying to raise off the bed despite the pressure and weight of her. Brennan's core throbbed as Booth started making incoherent grunts and grabbed at the back of her head, not pushing, even though she could feel he wanted to, just massaging her scalp roughly. Moaning again around him, making him shudder, she squeezed his cock with her whole left hand and moved her right hand between her legs for some relief.

"Bones, gonna … Christ Almighty!" His hips free from her weight, he thrust them upwards, coming in hot streams down her throat before flopping back to the bed and twitching as she continued to minister to him.

When she knelt up and placed a hand on his thigh for support he watched her finish herself off, her slick fingers moving quickly over her clit until she tensed, moaned out his name and slowed down the movement of her hand as she came back down.

"Fuck, that's hot." He scrambled onto his knees and pulled Bones to him for a deep, searing kiss that left both of them panting when they separated.

"So how did I compare to dream Bones?"

Booth laughed and left a trail of sweet kisses from her neck to her deltoid. "Well, dream Booth obviously forgot that dream Bones would never perform a standard blow job and real Bones just gave dream Booth a whole lot more to work with. Seeing you touching yourself, like you just couldn't control how turned on going down on me made you? Jesus, Bones, that's some next level spank bank material!"

She moaned quietly as he palmed her breasts. "Spank bank?"

"Mmmm" Booth pushed her down to the mattress and captured a rosy nipple between his lips "Y'know, mental images for when you're having some sexy alone time."

He continued letting his tongue and lips explore her breast while his fingers snaked in between them and parted her folds. "Oh, I love when you do that! Yes, my spank bank will be much more varied now but … mmm … will we need them?"

"Oh God, I hope not! But just in case we have to spend a night apart …" He sank into her velvety, slippery channel and paused to relish the sensation.

"Yes" Bones nodded, undulating her hips "Just in case."

#

After breakfast, checking out of Glencruitten house was bittersweet. Bitter because it had been such a romantic room and location but sweet because both Brennan and Booth knew that there was still a lot of adventure, and romance, to come.

"So, Bones, What are we doing today?" Booth closed the hatchback of the Land Rover and got in the passenger seat.

"Today we're going north to Fort William and taking a train ride to Mallaig."

"Why the train? Can't we just drive?"

"Just because." She shrugged but her sly smile gave her away.

"Ohhhh is it a secret treat for me? Like staying in the turret?" His eyes gleamed.

"Hmm, I'm not sure … but it will definitely be an experience you'll want to share with Parker."

"Ah! Not a sexy treat then?" He pouted jokingly.

"Definitely not!"

She laughed and drove the same road north to Ballachulish that they had driven in the southerly direction the previous evening. The crossed the Ballachulish bridge and followed the banks of Loch Linnhe up to Fort William with the imposing Nevis mountain Range on the other side of the road.

"We're not gonna climb a mountain are we?" Booth frowned.

"Not in November! The climb to the summit is a well worn path but, after September, it's still classed as a winter ascent due to the weather and gradient and would require more than a good pair of hiking boots."

"So, we'll need to come back …"

"In the summer …." She looked at him with that same mischievous glint in her eye that she had that morning. "Have you ever had sex on a mountain top?"

Booth laughed and shook his head "No, Bones, can't say that I have."

"The lower oxygen levels due to the high altitude make it a very intense experience … or so I've heard." She shrugged.

"Oh, so when you do ask me to go climb a mountain with you I can expect a big reward when we get to the top?"

Brennan just shrugged again and grinned at him as she slowly entered the parking lot of Fort William train station. When Booth asked her if the place was on fire, she just laughed and took a sheet of paper out of her purse to hand to the ticket collector. When they walked out onto the platform, Booth's mouth hung open.

"A steam train? Like in Harry Potter?"

"Very much so" She started snapping photos of the engine with steam rising from the stack. "Although this train is The Jacobite - not the Hogwarts Express - it takes a similar route."

"Man. Parker loved those movies!" Booth followed her onboard and into the first class carriage. "No compartment?"

"We have one on the way back, I wanted to procure seats which had the best views."

Once all the passengers were aboard, The Jacobite chugged out of the station noisily, sounding its whistle - much to Booth's childlike joy. Clickety clack over Neptune's Staircase, along the banks of Loch Eil and through the mountain pass. Brennan got her camera ready and Booth realised something big was coming up.

As the train approached the Glenfinnan Viaduct, Brennan started recording and Booth jumped out of his seat. "It's the bridge, Bones, the Harry Potter bridge."

The Jacobite sounded its whistle again and a crowd of people on the ground near the viaduct started waving frantically at the train. Not caring if they could actually be seen or were invisible to the group of onlookers, Booth and Brennan waved back just like all the other excited passengers.

With neither of them driving, they were both able to fully enjoy the scenic journey of woodland, rock formations and lochs, taking them past the most westerly train station in Scotland and up to Mallaig near the inlet of Loch Nevis. Mallaig was another major port and the gateway to the Western Isles, or Outer Hebrides. Bustling with cafe's and tourists in the summer, in November it was calm and filled with friendly local voices.

Their stay was short, but there wasn't much to do except have lunch and enjoy the scenery, and they climbed back aboard The Jacobite for the return trip to Fort William. With the sun low in the sky, casting a golden glow over the rivers, lochs and mountains, Booth put his arm around Bones in their private compartment and let a sense of peace wash over him.

#

"Now, Booth, this is an actual castle." Brennan announced as they passed through the gates of their accommodation. "Inverlochy Castle, to be precise, but we're sleeping in the gatehouse suite as it has two bedrooms and was available to book."

"Seems a shame to take up all that space when we don't need it."

"It was a non-refundable booking" Bones curled a lip "I may be wealthy but I'm not wasteful!"

Booth nodded "You know … I had doubts about being worthy of going on this trip with you. I mean, this cost a lot and …"

He shrugged and let the incomplete sentence hang in the air, Bones placed her hand on his knee.

"I would trade every cent in my bank accounts to have these experiences with you Booth, you're the only one who would ever be worth it … the way you love me, respect me, even before we had intercourse, were worth more to me than any check my publisher could wave under my nose. You give me something money simply can't buy."

"Thanks, Bones." He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose lightly before grinning animatedly "Are we gonna have dinner in a castle?"

"We absolutely are!"

As they were only staying at Inverlochy for one night, they had simply packed an overnight bag with clothes for dinner and the next day and chose to lock their suitcases in the Land Rover rather than drag them through the narrow hallways of the gatehouse. They arrived promptly at Seasgair restaurant at 6.30pm and were halted from entering by one of the hotel staff members.

"I'm afraid gentlemen must wear a jacket to dine here, if sir would care to follow me we should have something to fit."

Booth raised an eyebrow to Brennan, remembering her 'everything will be smart/casual' comment on the first day here. "I … I'm so sorry Booth, had I known I would have told you to wear your suit jacket."

"It's okay, Bones, you're worth it." He winked at her and followed the staff member behind a curtain, appearing moments later wearing a black jacket over his navy blue button down.

They were handed a glass of champagne each and offered canapes before their five course meal was brought out at 7pm. Prepared by a Michelin star chef, the food was adventurous and flavourful, despite Booth's misgivings about fancy food he also found it to be more than filling and felt pleasantly stuffed as the wait staff buzzed around the tables with sweet treats and coffee.

Bones nibbled at a marzipan apple. "Although we've only been in Scotland six days, it feels like we've achieved so much but, at the same time, like we've barely scraped the surface of everything the country has to offer."

"It really does." Booth nodded, inspecting a chocolate drizzled florentine. "Where to next, Bones?"

"North!" She grinned "Tomorrow we're visiting Eilean Donan castle then driving up to Scrabster, I have a cabin booked."

Booth's eyes twinkled "Would that be the cabin with the hot tub I noticed on the itinerary?"

Bones nodded, she hadn't booked the cabin because it had a hot tub, she had booked it because it was the only two bedroom cabin available on that date. It seemed that the longer she knew Booth, the more her opinion on fate was being tested.

A/N: Yes, it annoys a lot of Scots when the engineering marvel of the Glenfinnan Viaduct is called 'the Harry Potter Bridge' and The Jacobite is called 'The Hogwarts Express'. Both attractions were famous in Scotland before Mouldemort wrote about them. Also if anyone is struggling with the pronounciation of any places, or has questions just ask :) I'm more than happy to help others understand my homeland.