The Camper in the Lake

Hi ABY! This is my first Post and my first FanFic. I had a great time writing it. I hope you all enjoy it!
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Background: Booth decided to stop by his parents for dinner... possibly after he and Brennan

were working a case together all day. Booth's mom convinces Bones to stay for dinner

as well.

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It was evening and dinner with Booth's family had ended. Booth sat outdoors on the front stoop of his parents' little white house outside of the city. Booth had a glass of water in his hand. He leaned forward comfortably with both elbows resting on his knees.

Bones came outside to sit down beside her partner.

"I like your parents. They seem... very congenial." Bones looked at Booth. Booth smiled at her.

"I like to think so." He smiled at her and then looked back into the night sky. He took a sip from his glass.

"Your dad... he's really funny. I think you get that from him." She playfully bumped her shoulder against his. It was silent for several seconds. Brennan's face grew serious, then she said, "They--you know, they seem like they're in love."

For the first time since Temperance sat down, Booth really looked at her... more than just glances at her. "You're surprised." He smiled slyly.

Bones returned his sly smile. "Well, intellectually speaking, I can understand long term partnerships, Booth. Financial collaboration, procreation, the need for interpersonal interaction... but you know, I would've thought that the whole love thing--" Her eyes avoided Booth's as she looked at the stars and breathed in deeply. Shedidn't finish her sentence.

Booth smiled silently, thoughtfully. "I wanted this with Rebecca. The whole white picket fence, dog, playing ball with my boy in the driveway..." Booth glanced over at an old basketball hoop attached to the garage.

Temperance looked understandingly at Booth. "The chances of having a white picket fence, a dog..." Brennan met Booth's eyes. She stopped and swallowed. "I'm sorry. I guess I just don't know what to say." She looked down at the ground in front of her.

"You know... not every marriage ends in tragedy, Bones. My parents have been married for 26 years. Like you said, they're still in love." Booth looked at Bones for a few seconds. She avoided his gaze, so he continued, "I want that just as much as any other normal person on this planet." He sipped his water and looked at the stars again.

Temperance looked quickly in his direction.

"Booth, it's not like I don't want love and a relationship. I guess... I don't know... I guess I just get afraid when..." She looked at Booth and leaned her chin on her hand, "...you know."

"Yeah, I do know. Not every relationship ends up like that." Booth leaned back on his elbow so that his face is near Temperance's. "Sometimes the stars align, Bones, and everything is just ...perfect." Booth smiled at Brennan deeply. Booth and Brennan looked into each others eyes. Moments passed in silence as they both smiled and leaned slowly closer to one another.

Fighting the moment weakly, and with her voice a little lower she replied, "Perfection... is a... mathematically imp--"

"Impossible?" Booth replied and by now their noses were touching...

"Yeah." Booth took his hand and placed it gently on Brennan's neck, his fingers intertwined with her hair, and drew her near to him. And there they kissed under the starlight...

the kind of kiss that would even make Caroline Julian blush.

"The Camper in the Lake"
(This is a continuation of my FanFic short, "Perfection" *previous post*)

In the lab Temperance was leaning over a set of remains, a new case that was brought
to the Jeffersonian that morning. The body of Halle Pearsons had been found at the
bottom of a nearby lake. The death seemed accidental in nature. The cause of death was
drowning, but unnatural bruising on her arms and back suggested another cause
altogether.

A soft smile was on Temperance's face and she hummed softly to herself as she did her
work.

"Who is he?" said Angela. Temperance jumped.

"Oh! It's you!" Bones put her hand on her chest and she laughed at her friend. She
turned her eyes back to her work.

Angela put her hand on the work table and leaned on it. A playful, furtive smile came
across her lips. Temperance glanced at her friend, tried to avoid her gaze, but then
spoke: "Who's who, Ange?"

"Oh puh-lease!" Angela placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. Temperance put down
her work and looked into her friend's eyes expectantly. "Don't you think I recognize
that look?"

A smile came across Temperance's lips, but she smudged it out quickly and became
serious again. "What look? I'm trying to work here, Ange. I've still got to do a full
set of X-Rays, then I've--"

Angela grabbed her friend's elbow gently and turned her back to her attention. "The
look of LOVE... sweetie."

Bones scoffed at her. She walked over to a microscope and placed a slide under the
nose-piece. "Love? I don't believe in love. I believe in a series of events:
endorphins, seratonin, body language, etc..."

"Sweetie, you're talking to a woman who has fallen in love at least twice a year for
the past two decades. I know that look." Angela was grasping her clipboard and staring
through her friend--a look that seemed to see past her and through her at the same
time. Several moments passed with Angela gazing and Bones ignoring. Then, softly,
Angela asked, "Did you get laid?"

That got her attention. Bones pulled her face quickly away from the microscope and
looked at her friend. Laughingly, she replied, "Did I get LAID? Angela!"

"You got some lovin' didn't you?" Angela's face was cheek-to-cheek smiles. "Who's the
mystery man?"

"Ange--"

"Wait, wait, let me guess... tall, dark, handsome... big muscles... dreamy smile. I've
noticed that you like that type."

"What type, Ange?" Temperance's voice was serious, but her face said otherwise.

"You know... well, I guess Sully was more like short, dark, and handsome... but
Booth... he's pretty smokin', tall, handsome..."

Temperance's face grew serious, her cheeks blushed delicately, "I think we should get
to work. I don't think Cam would be very happy if she saw us gossiping like this.
Especially when there is a human being here who deserves our full attention." She
looked back into the microscope.

Angela was looking through her friend, in the way that she does. Softly, as in a very
loud whisper, "It's Booth, isn't it?"

Bones continued to look at her slide and didn't once give her friend a look. "No, no,
of course not. We're partners... that would... it would just be weird."

Just at that moment, Booth swiped his card and hopped onto the platform. He met
Angela's gaze. It was as if he was hit in the face by a baseball bat. He stopped
shortly. Bones looked up from her microscope and looked at Booth with surprise...
surprise at the look she met.

"What? You told her?"

"Told her what?" Bones said seriously.

"Yeah, what did she tell her?" Angela smiled.

For several moments, Booth just stood there. He stood silently, trying to read
everyone's looks, trying to figure out what to say next.

"Look, Bones," his glance turned back to Bones and away from Angela's
all-knowing-gaze. "I found out that Halle Pearson's parents," He gestured to the body,
"started her on swim lessons when she was two." He walked up to the work table as he
talked.

"That combined with the unexplained bruising suggests that..." began Bones.

"Suggests that Halle Pearsons did not drown. She was an experienced swimmer. The
lake's waters are calm. It's not like a wave could've taken her down." By this point,
Booth and Bones were looking at each other across the stainless steel table. They
stared into each other's eyes for several moments.

"Mmmmmm-hmmmm!" Angela picked up her clipboard and walked away with a huge smile on
her face.

Angela walked away from Booth and Brennan, leaving them at the top of the platform
alone. They stood silently, awkwardly for a few moments. Bones fought to avert her
eyes from his.

Whispering, Booth reassured his partner, "Look, Temperance--" Bones quickly looked up.
On her face was a look of curiosity, panic, and elation.

"Bones," she whispered. A smile came across her face, "I prefer it when you call me
Bones."

"Bones." Booth repeated softly.

She smiled, "Don't call me Temperance."

Booth continued, "Bones, uh," Silence swept between them. Bones fought her tendency to
avoid Booth's eyes. "I just don't want this to get between us. You know... last
night."

Bones smiled suddenly. "Don't be silly, Booth. Last night was..." They looked at each
other and they shared looks of understanding that went unspoken between them. It
seemed that mid-thought, Bones changed what she was going to say. Her tone changed as
she said, "It was..."

"Nice." Booth grinned.

"Yeah." Bones scrunched her chin, smiled, and looked up into Booth's face. "Nice," she
agreed.

Hodgins entered the platform, breaking the spell between them. "Woah-ho-ho! Angie
wasn't kidding!"

"I, uh..." Bones looked down and nervously rummaged through paperwork on the stainless
steel table, busying herself. "Dr. Hodgins, I want you to collect particulates on the
victim's clothing. I found soil and white particles of, um, something I need you to
identify..."

"Wait, wait, what was Angela not kidding about?" Booth broke in.

"Booth--" Bones interrupted in a hurried whisper. She seemed afraid of Hodgins'
answer.

"No, no, I want to hear this." Booth stood in front of Hodgins in his alpha male
stance, thumbs in his belt buckle.

Hodgins gave Booth an odd look. He appeared to study Booth's facial and body language.

"Angie said the body was still pretty meaty. What did you think I meant, man?"

"Nothing." Booth glanced toward Brennan, as if asking for help.

"Nothing." Brennan looked convincingly at Hodgins.

Another moment of painfully awkward silence passed. Hodgins seemed to begin piecing
the puzzle together. The same look he once gave Cam and Booth he began to give the
pair that stood in front of him. He smiled slowly, ending in a wide mischievous smile.
"Wait a minute..."

"The, um, particulates, Dr. Hodgins. You can begin with the victim's clothing. They're
at your workstation." Bones shot Hodgins a formidable glance. A look that said, Don't
you speak another word!

"Yes, ma'am!" Hodgins smiled at Booth, winked at him and walked to his station.
Booth leaned in, "Anyway, I was thinking we could go talk to the parents."

"I thought you already did. You said--"

"It was a brief interview. I thought I should bring you along for the ride."

"Booth," Bones said, "You said you do the heart thing, and I do the brain thing. You
don't need me."

"Sure I do. Now get your things and let's skedaddle." Booth placed his hand on
Brennan's elbow and led her to a standing position.

"What? Skittles? I don't eat candy. It weakens the enamel on the tooth, mixing with
dental plaque to lower the pH in the mouth which in turn creates an acid-- " Bones
smiled wide as she spoke, baring her teeth for Booth to see.

"Skedaddle, Bones. It's a verb meaning to get the h#ll outta here." Bones smiled
playfully at Bones.

"That's not the literal definition, is it?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Booth laughed and he smiled playfully at
his partner as they walked off the platform and out of the Jeffersonian.

The drive to the Pearsons' residence was spent in muteness. Several times, one or the
other, Booth or Bones tried to initiate a conversation, but stopped quickly. Finally,
the vehicle pulled up to a small house. It was gray, worn with years of moist lake
air. Booth was the first to get out of the blazer, then Brennan followed quickly
behind.

Booth opened a little gate and they walked up a path to the front door. Booth spotted
a swimming pool, almost completely hidden by the house and tall trees.

"Surprising..." he mumbled as he walked up the steps.

"What's surprising?" Brennan asked as she walked up the stairs.

"The pool. The house is so small-- It's just surprising, that's all." Booth rung the
doorbell.

"Not necessarily. The property taxes out here must be astronomical. And if you want a
pool. Something's gotta give, right?"

Booth smiled pleasantly and rung the doorbell again. An older man came to the door.

His hair was almost white, his face was worn and wrinkled. He smiled at Booth and
nodded at Bones. "Ma'am," he said as he nodded. "You must be Agent Booth. Come in." He
opened the door wider for the pair to enter his little home. As the door widened, it
revealed a woman who laid silently on a hospital bed near the back of the room. Mr.
Pearsons wiped his hands off on a dishcloth. He had been cooking. The room smelled
like urine and cookies: an odd combination. Bones wrinkled her nose. Mr. Pearsons
offered his hand to Booth to shake. Booth shook it as he looked around the room.

"I'm Tom and that's Ruth over there." Tom gestured towards the woman on the bed.

"I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan. Is that your wife, Mr. Pearsons?" Brennan asked as she
looked at the woman in the corner.

"Yes, ma'am." The man looked at his wife, smiled tiredly and then asked, "Can I get
you two something to drink? Coffe? Lemonade? Water?"

"I'll take a coffee if that's not too much trouble." Booth said.

The man smiled and left the room.

"Stinks." Whispered Booth to Bones.

"It's Mrs. Pearsons. She has no bladder or bowel control due to her injury." Bones
returned.

Bones and Booth sat next to each other on a little sofa opposite where Ruth lay.

Brennan leaned closer to Booth and whispered, "Mr. Pearsons--his hair is white, but
the carriage of his body... that combined with the lack of wear on the acetabulum, the
femoral head, the spine--"

"Just skip to the good stuff, Bones." Booth whispered back.

"He's much younger than he appears."

"Stress does that, Bones." Booth looked over at Ruth who lay in hushed stillness, with
the exception of the sound of the oxygen pump 'KSHH... KSHH... KSHH...'

Mr. Pearsons walked in with a glass of water in one hand and coffee in the other.
"Here's your coffee, Agent Booth. Ma'am, your water." He handed the glass to Brennan.

"Oh, I didn't--" she began, but caught Booth's eye mid-sentence. "Thank you very
much." She took the water and sat back. "Mr. Pearsons, may I ask what happened to your
wife?"

The man sat down in a chair kiddy-korner from the little sofa Booth and Bones sat on.
He looked at his hands and smiled reminiscently. He played with his wedding ring as he
spoke, "It was an accident. 'Bout ten years ago. Halle was five." He looked up and
smiled a forced smile. His eyes appeared moist as he continued, "I'm a blessed man,
Dr. Brennan. A blessed man."

"H--how is that? I don't understand." Brennan's face was blank with curiosity and
concern. Her eyebrows wrinkled.

"It isn't every day a man can have a daughter AND a wife in one lifetime." He smiled
at them. A tear escaped his eye and he quickly wiped it away. "Are you married, Dr.
Brennan? Kids?"

Bones shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She looked at Booth, whose eyes were watching
the steam rise from the cup of coffee in his hands. "No, Mr. Pearsons. Neither."

Mr. Pearsons smiled softly. "You government people have to lie like that, don't you? A
pretty lady like you can't stay single for this long."

"No, Mr. Pearsons, it's no lie. I'm single." Bones assured. Booth looked up at his
partner. His look seemed surprised, but he said nothing.

"Mr. Pearsons, when did you last see Halle?" Booth asked.

"It was two weeks ago on the 22nd. She and her friend Georgia went camping on the
lake." Mr. Pearsons sniffed and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "She told me she loved
me... kissed my cheek," he laughed lightly and touched his cheek with his finger. "And
that was the last I saw of her." He looked up at Booth and Bones. "I can give you her
little friend's number if you like."

"That would be great, thanks." Booth took a little pad and pen from his pocket.

At that moment, a groan came from the little bed and the woman who laid so still for
so long began to contort her arms painfully. Mr. Pearsons stood up and went to attend
to his wife.

"What do you think?" Brennan whispered to Booth.

"I don't know yet... We'll have to go check out the friend."

The rest of the day was filled with lengths of uneasy silence. Brennan sat in her
office that evening. The lights were dim and she watched the clock on the opposite
side of the room.

"Bren." Angela walked into the room. Brennan looked up and smiled at her friend. It
was as if she had been expecting her to walk in. "I hope you're not mad, sweetie."

Temperance smiled a funny half-smile, "No, I'm not. I kind of expected it. You can
read me like I read the human anatomy." The smile retreated, leaving Brennan with a
dimmed look on her face.

Angela walked over to the desk and sat on the edge. She reached over and held
Brennan's hand. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Brennan looked at her right hand, which was held so gently by Angela. She looked up
into Angela's compassionate brown eyes. "We kissed." She whispered. As if she worried
that the whole world would hear.

Angela understood one hundred percent. She squeezed Brennan's hand tighter. "I know."

Temperance laughed and chased away a tear with her sleeve. "I can't hide anything from
you, can I?" She smiled at her friend bravely.

Angela looked confused, "Why are you crying, sweetie?"

Temperance leaned back in her chair, looked up at Angela and breathed in heavily. "It
was a mistake."

"Sweetie!" Angela shook her head.

"You don't understand. The whole day was spent in silence." Temperance looked
earnestly into her friend's eyes. "You know how Booth and I usually discuss
passionately--"

"You mean bicker?"

"Banter."

"To-may-to, to-mah-to." Angela responded.

"There was none of that. It was completely awkward. After the other night... it was--"
Temperance smiled fleetingly at that sweet memory.

"Nice?"

Temperance laughed as she remembered her conversation with Booth that morning. "It
was...incredible."

"Then why was it a mistake?" Angela urged.

"Today was..." Brennan brushed away another tear. "It was awful, Ange. I feel like
someone died. I feel like the relationship that Booth and I had just died."

"Listen, sweetie," Angela cut in. "Do you remember that first date that Jack and I
had?"

Brennan smiled, "Yeah. It was a disaster. You broke it off that the next night."

Angela shook her head, "No. It was flawless... sweetie."

"So, you broke it off," Began Temperance, "So as to not change your friendship? I
think you made the right decision under the circumstances."

"It was the wrong thing to do, sweetie." Angela smiled as she thought on her
relationship with Hodgins. "To think I missed out on six months of us being
together... six months of Jackela." Angela smiled playfully and squeezed Brennan's
hand.

"Jackela? I don't understand. What's Jackela?" Brennan smiled.

"It's a celebrity thing, sweetie." Angela grew serious and looked sympathetically at Brennan.

Brennan's smile disappeared and worry replaced the expression. "I don't know what to
do. Usually I ask Booth..."

"Sweetie, whatever decision you make, I'll be here for you." Angela stood up and
walked toward the doorway.

"What if I told Booth we made a mistake?"

Angela stopped and looked at Brennan, "I'll think you were the one who made the
mistake. Not him." Angela turned and walked out of the room, leaving Bones to her
thoughts.

Hodgins was leaning over an electronic microscope. He was in the room and a graduate
student, an Asian young man with a kind look on his face.

"That's unusual." Hodgins spoke carefully as he moved a slide around.

"What's unusual, Dr. Hodgins?" asked the grad student.

"The particles I found on the victim's clothing contain isocyanates and other
polymers..." Hodgins pulled his face away from the microscope.

Jin, the grad student shook his head curiously, "What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure yet." Hodgins sat for a moment thinking then looked back at Jin, "I want
you to find out what species of insect that is." Hodgins gestured to a little vile on
his desk. Jin walked up to the desk and picked up the vile.

"But I thought you already identified the species, Dr. Hodgins."

Hodgins smiled widely, "That's right... but today I am The Master--" His smile
vanished. "Why don't you just do what you're told?" Hodgins went back to work quickly.

Jin looked perplexed, but grabbed the vile and took it back to his little corner of
the room... the corner where Zack once worked. Hodgins seemed to be studying a sample,
but instead he sat very still with a somber look on his face.

Booth walked into the room and looked over Hodgins' shoulder. Hodgins pulled himself
out of the mire that were his thoughts and looked at Booth. "Hey, man..." His face was
serious until he remembered his recent discovery about Booth and Dr. Brennan.
"Heeeeey!"

"Don't give me that... I'm here about the case. Do you have anything new to tell me?
Find out anything with your magic goggles?"

"Magic Goggles?" Hodgins laughed mockingly. "This is a Trinocular Compound High Power
Infinity Corrected Microscope. You are looking at the Cadillac of microscopes. These
are no goggles, man."

"Right, right... then did you find out anything with your Cadillac?"

"Well... so far, I found out what the particulates on the victims clothing, and under
her nails as well, contained isocyanates and other particulates that I have not yet
identified."

"Yeah... what does that mean?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"So nothing?"

Changing the subject, Hodgins smiled and replied, "So have you asked Dr. Brennan out
on a date yet?"

Booth shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "It's complicated."

"Complicated?" Hodgins smiled. "There's nothing complicated about sex."

"We didn't have sex. There was no sex. Just a kiss." Booth seemed very quiet, but
Hodgins broke in.

"Dr. Brennan was humming in the lab the other day. I had no idea that woman could
hum!"

Booth looked at Hodgins. "She... was humming? That's... cute!" Booth smiled to
himself.

"Boy meets girl, girl shows boy a few corpses, boy kisses girl..." Hodgins jested.

Just then Cam walked into the room. She held a file folder. "What boy kissed what
girl?" She smiled at Booth. Booth looked at her with a deer-in-the-headlights look.

"Apparently, Agent Booth kissed Dr. Brennan." All eyes turned to the grad student,
Jin, who sat so silently in the back corner until now. All faces looked surprised,
except Booth's. Booth shot him a very threatening glance. "Did I... say too much?"

Booth looked back to Cam, "Look, Cam, I..."

Cam just smiled, "Actually, I'm surprised. I thought you two had already... you
know..."

"Kissed?" Booth said, trying to stop any further thought processes that may have been
rolling around in Cam's head. "No, actually, this was the first time... well, second
time... third if you count the kiss on the cheek, but cheek kisses don't count."

"Dude, they do if you tally them in your head." Hodgins said. Booth bit his tongue.

"Seeley," Sensing his discomfort, Cam smiled gently. "It's all right... You know, what
we had was fun." Booth and Cam smiled as they reminisced about their relationship
together. "What we had was fun," she continued, "But if you didn't break it off, I
would have."

A smile came across Booth's face, "Why's that?"

"Eh... you're not my type."

Booth smiled thoughtfully for a moment, then replied, "You're lying, Cam. I can tell
when you're lying."

"I guess that's why I became a Medical Examiner and not an actress." Cam turned to
leave the room. She turned and look back. "You should ask Dr. Brennan on a date.
You'll never know what could happen if don't take the chance."

Bones leaned over a cleaned skeleton. Her eyes followed the curves of every bone. She
caught the smallest imperfections. She noted everything on a file next to her arm.

Booth walked onto the platform slowly, in a manner very different than his usual
lighthearted spring. He held a folder in his right hand as he walked slowly to the
workstation that Brennan sat at.

"Bones," He said. "Bones."

Finally, Brennan looked up and smiled at Booth. "Good morning, Booth." She said
slowly. Her concentration was on the skeleton in front of her, so her speech was
labored and sluggish.

"They found another body."

Dr. Brennan looked up sharply. "That can't be."

"What do you mean?" asked Booth, his face scrunched with curiosity.

"This just doesn't feel like a serial killing to me. The victim's death seemed rushed,
like it was done out of... passion."

Booth smiled, "I thought you didn't like psychology."

"I don't, but I've worked on enough cases, serial or otherwise. I think I can tell the
difference by now."

"Well, I didn't say they were connected, but it's quite a coincidence, right?" Booth
leaned in. "I just thought I should tell you." Booth handed Bones the file in his
hand. "Here's the coroner's report."

"Thanks, but I don't think we will need it." affirmed Bones.

"How can you be so sure? This body," he tapped on the file that lay on the table. "was
found yesterday. Time of death two days after Halle Pearsons."

"I think I can be sure, in this instance, Booth." Bones looked into a microscope at a
slide of bone. Booth watched her intently. Feeling his eyes on her face, Bones pulled
away from the microscope and looked at Booth. "A few years ago there was a case in
Oregon. A man killed two girls and left his daughter completely unscathed. I'm just
saying that this doesn't seem like a serial killing."

"So it's just a coincidence?"

"Just a coincidence." Bones looked back into the microscope in front of her.

"Where's Cam?" asked Booth.

Bones looked away from the microscope with a look of bewilderment on her face. "Um...
I don't--"

"She called me. She said she found something."

Cam slid her card and walked onto the platform. "You rang?" she asked.

"Hey, Cam. I got your message." Booth turned toward Cam and rubbed his hands together.
"So wuddaya got?"

"So I did a tox screen on Halle Pearsons and low and behold I found
tetrahydrocannabinol, methylamphetamine..." Cam paused... "and here's the kicker, I
found traces of risperidone in her blood."

"Wait, wait, wait... you lost me at Pot." Booth stood, with his eyebrows raised. He
looked to Bones, "Translation?"

"In the vernacular, Cam found traces of marijuana, Ecstasy, and an antipsychotic drug
that goes by the name of Risperdal." Bones explained.

"Oh, and the cherry on top: a blood alcohol level of 1.9!" Cam smiled. "You got your
work cut out for you. Good luck." Cam sat at a nearby desk and began to enter
information on the computer as Bones and Booth mulled the new information over in
their minds.

"Did Mr. Pearsons ever mention any disorders that Halle might have: schizophrenia,
OCD, Tourette Syndrome, APD, aggression?" Bones asked. Booth didn't reply. He just
stood silently, his brows furrowed, his lips tight. "What?"

"Georgia Allen lied on the police report."

"Who?"

"The little friend. Halle Pearsons' little friend." Booth turned to Bones, the wheels
turning in his head. "She said that she and Halle went camping. They made S'mores,
went to sleep--"

"Wait, some more what?"

"It's food, Bones, just stay with me." Booth then continued, "Then, according to the
report, Georgia woke up at around 2 AM and Halle was missing. She returned home,
worried and called the police. What I'm thinking is... Georgia and Halle had a little
party in the woods that night. They got a little high, thought they could walk on
water, got in a fight, maybe--"

"Then Georgia drowned her friend? It's a real possibility Booth."

"Let's go talk to the friend."

"Let me go grab my things." Bones jumped up and ran to her office, leaving Cam and
Booth alone on the platform.

Cam swizzled around in her office chair and smiled at Booth. Booth, knowing what Cam
was up to, smiled back, "What?" he laughed.

"Do you know where you're going to take Dr. Brennan?"

Playing dumb, Booth replied, "To the Allen residence. Catch a killer or two. Call it a
day."

Smiling, "You know what I mean, Seeley."

Booth sat on the corner of the desk next that Cam was working at. "I was thinking
dinner."

"Dinner?" Cam sounded surprised.

"What? What's wrong with dinner?"

"It just sounds a little cliché, that's all." Cam smiled up at Seeley.

"Then what do you suggest? Golfing, bowling, a game?"

Cam laughed, crossed her arms in front of her and replied, "I think you better stick
with the dinner idea."

Booth crossed his arms, mirroring Cam, breathed in deeply and looked toward the
office, where he could see Temperance gathering her things. "I know it sounds cliché,
but... taking a woman to dinner just says something."

"Says what? That she should put some meat on her bones?" Cam laughed loudly, covered
her mouth and blushed. "I didn't mean for that to sound that way..."

Booth, still serious, cracked a smile at the joke. He watched as Bones walked toward
them, her bag over her shoulder, her jacket changed from the lab coat. Booth leaned in
and whispered to Cam slowly, "It says... I L--"

"Ready to go?" asked Bones.

Booth smiled at Cam and smiled back at Bones. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Booth stood up, put his arm around Bones' shoulders and led her out of the room. Cam
watched as they left. Her eyes followed them... sadly at first, but then a smile
sprung on her face and eyes glittered. She turned back to the computer and continued
typing.

Booth and Bones stood outside the door of the interrogation room. Inside, 16 year old
Georgia Allen waited with her mother.

Bones reached for the door handle first, but Booth blocked her hand. Temperance looked
up. She shook her head, "Wha--"

Moving closer to Bones and in a hushed, sober tone, Booth asked, "Are we ok?"

Bones smiled and looked into Booth's eyes, "I think we're ok."

Booth smiled his charm-smile, "Good because there's something I've been wanting..."

Bones opened the door, cutting him off, "We'll talk about it later," she whispered.

Georgia sat on a chair with her head down, tucked into her arms. All that could be
seen were plumes of curly black hair that draped over her pale arms. Mrs. Allen had
her arm around her daughter, she was leaning in and whispering sternly to Georgia,
instructing her, chastising her. Her voice was rigid and strict. Mrs. Allen looked up
as Booth and Dr. Brennan entered the room. The deep wrinkles around her eyes softened
and she smiled amiably.

Booth took a seat across from the mother and daughter. Bones sat beside him.

"I am Special Agent Seeley Booth, this is my PARTNER" he said this word with emphasis
"Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Hello--" Mrs. Allen began.

Butting in, Bones whispered to Booth, "What was that all about?"

Mrs. Allen looked addled and Georgia raised her eyes from her hiding place.

Booth sighed, looked at Mrs. Allen and Georgia then back at Bones. Whispering back to
his partner, "What I mean is... nothing has been the same since the other night."

"Exactly what I mean!" groaned Brennan.

"What?" Booth was taken aback. He looked a little hurt.

"We haven't been the same. We haven't been Booth and Brennan. We've been Temperance
and Seeley: Insane People Who Don't Know How To Act Like Rational Human Beings."
Brennan's face was still, her cheeks a little flushed. A few moments passed, then she
said, "Isn't that what you meant?"

"No. I meant that you've been avoiding me like the Plague for the past three days."

"Oh."

"I don't like it. We don't work well like this. You've got to talk to me, Bones. We're
a team. You're my PARTNER."

"I apologize." Her eyes softened. "You're right. I should have spoken to you sooner."

"So are we good?" Booth leaned closer to Bones. Their faces were close. Bones lifted
her closed fist. Booth smiled and bumped it with his fist. Mrs. Allen and Georgia sat
silently, unexpectedly enjoying their experience at the FBI.

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!

All eyes flew to the door. A familiar face poked in.

"I want to see you two out here!" Caroline Julian's face did not look pleased. The
door shut vehemently. Bones stared wide-eyed at the door. Booth turned to the Allens
and apologized. That entire conversation seemed to them like they were the only ones
in the world, but the on other side of the two-way glass, Caroline Julian fumed at the
goings on in the interrogation room.

Booth and Temperance met Caroline inside of the little room that adjoined the
interrogation room.

The door shut, leaving them to the fierce storm of opinionatedness that was Caroline
Julian.

"What in the world are you two doing? This isn't Days of Our Lives, Cherie, this is
the FBI!"

Temperance's head cocked to one side, "Days of Our..."

"Professionalism at all times, Cherie." she turned to Booth. "And you, Cher. I don't
know how you two lost your Mojo, but you better find it--AND QUICK!"

"Mo...jo?" began Bones.

Caroline's face stiffened. A deep wrinkle between her eyes grew deeper. "Dr. Brennan,
Agent Booth, I don't care what happens in the bedroom as long as that stays in the
bedroom and out of this building."

"There was no bedroom--" Bones began.

Booth shook his head, "No bedroom." He parroted.

Caroline looked annoyed. "Living room, kitchen, what-have-you, as long as it stays out
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Bones blushed deeply. Booth saw her embarrassment. "It won't happen again." He said.

"It better not, Cher. I like you. Don't make me change my mind!"

Booth and Bones left the room quickly, but before the door closed, Booth caught a
smile emerge from Caroline's lips.

Georgia's dark eyes turned darker. Her lips, stained purple with lipstick, pursed in
an angry scowl. "I told the police everything I know," she muttered.

Booth leaned back in his chair. He glared at the girl. She was being defiant and rude.
Every question was answered with the same seven word phrase: I told the police
everything I know.

"Miss Allen," Bones leaned across the table. "We found evidence that Halle Pearsons
was under the influence of tetrahydrocannabinol, methylamphetamine, and risperidone.
My question is, was the risperidone taken to combat the psychotic hallucinogenic
effects of the methylamphetamine?"

"Me speaky English," sneared the girl. Georgia looked Bones up and down.

Booth leaned in as well, "Pot, Georgia. Weed, dope, reefer. We found that in her
system as well as ecstasy and antipsychotic drugs." Georgia's snarl disappeared.
"What? Were you partying? Having a good time?"

"Things got out of hand, didn't they?" Bones asked. "You held her down, drowned her."

Tears welled up in Georgia's eyes. She stood up hastily, "You don't know anything!"
She shouted fiercely.

Booth looked at Bones. Several moments of quiet passed as Georgia sobbed. She took a
seat then spoke, "We had a little fun, alright?"

"What kind of fun?" Booth pressed.

"We smoked a little weed, ok? Is that so illegal?"

"Yes, actually, it is." Bones corrected.

Georgia sneered, "I don't like you."

"Well, I do." Booth informed Georgia. Bones turned to Booth and smiled.

"Thank you." she said. Booth smiled at Bones, then turned back to Georgia.

"Then what?" he asked.

"All right... we partied, smoked some pot, did a little ecstasy, had a few drinks,
then passed out. That's all I remember."

"You know research suggests that people who used ecstasy at least 25 times had lowered
serotonin levels for as long as a year after quitting." Georgia wrinkled her nose at
Dr. Brennan. Bones continued, "That might explain your depression, the way you
dress--" Bones motioned toward the girl's dark clothing and makeup, "You should
consider seeking professional help."

"Where did you find her?" Georgia asked Booth.

"A museum." Booth answered. He felt like he had been through this same conversation
once before. "Were you partying with anybody else in the woods that night?"

"Yeah. A few guys from school." Georgia replied.

"I'm going to need names."

"Whatever." Georgia crossed her arms and stared at the glass of water in front of her.

Booth and Cam stood outside the little room where Dr. Brennan and two of her grad
students, Jin and a young woman named Lauren, who was third in her class, worked.
Lauren had short brown hair and striking blue eyes that watched Dr. Brennan's every
move. Inside, the three squints measured and calculated. Dr. Brennan shared her
expertise as the team huddled over slides and photographs. The room was abuzz with
techno-speak and garbled four dollar words.

"How is the case going so far... I mean, as far as the investigation goes?" Cam asked.

"I think we've hit a brick wall," Booth sighed. He leaned against the wall and crossed
his arms.

"Really?"

"We do have a few more people to check out, but so far we haven't found the smoking
gun." Booth watched Bones through the glass. She was leaning over the table and
pointing to a photo of Halle Pearson's body.

It was silent for a moment, then Booth turned to his friend. He smiled his
charm-smile. "What?" she asked.

"You said you would've broken it off if I hadn't. What's the real reason?" he asked.

"I told you the real reason, Seeley. You're not my type." Camille smiled. "You know I
like my men short, bald, and fuzzy." Camille laughed.

Booth smiled, but asked seriously, "Come on, Cam. What's the real reason?"

Camille's laughter melted away. She smiled softly. "Do you remember the Brianna
Swanson case?" Cam looked at the floor, then looked up as Booth nodded.

"The mini beauty queen case. What about it?"

Camille seemed to look into the distance, as if reliving a memory. "The night after
the little girl confessed to pushing her into a drainage pipe, I was leaving for home.
I saw you and Dr. Brennan at the conference table. The way you looked at her--"

"Cam..."

"The way you looked at Dr. Brennan..." Cam shook her head, a little half smile on her
lips. "You never looked at me like that before, Seeley. I knew that it would just
be... that our relationship would never go beyond having a good time."

Booth smiled at the memory of that moment.

Temperance looked up from her work. She saw Booth and Cam engaged in deep
conversation. She tried hard to look at the photograph that Jin was talking about. He
said something about microfissures... something else about hinging. "Yeah." she
murmured, almost inaudibly.

Booth looked back towards Bones and smiled through the glass. He walked into the room.

"What's the skinny, squints?"

"Squints?" Lauren asked. Booth just ignored her and kept his eyes on Dr. Brennan.

There were very few times in Temperance Brennan's life that she was at a loss for
words. This was one of them. Temperance just stared at Booth. It was only a fraction
of a second, but it seemed like forever.

Temperance blinked, "Uh... I'm glad you came Booth." she smiled. "Angela has something
she wants to show us on the Angelator."

"The Angelator? I didn't know she still used that thing."

Bones breathed, "Let's do it."

Booth smiled with amusement, "Let's do it." He agreed.

Temperance looked up from her work. She saw Booth and Cam engaged in deep
conversation. She tried hard to look at the photograph that Jin was talking about. He
said something about microfissures... something else about hinging. "Yeah." she
murmured, almost inaudibly.

Booth looked back towards Bones and smiled through the glass. He walked into the room.

"What's the skinny, squints?"

"Squints?" Lauren asked. Booth just ignored her and kept his eyes on Dr. Brennan.

There were very few times in Temperance Brennan's life that she was at a loss for
words. This was one of them. Temperance just stared at Booth. It was only a fraction
of a second, but it seemed like forever.

Temperance blinked, "Uh... I'm glad you came Booth." she smiled. "Angela has something
she wants to show us on the Angelator."

"The Angelator? I didn't know she still used that thing."

Bones breathed, "Let's do it."

Booth smiled with amusement, "Let's do it." He agreed.

Hodgins and Angela were standing next to each other. Angela's arms were around Jack's
neck as Jack kissed her lips and neck. Angela laughed and pulled back a little.

"Did you hear that Booth kissed Brennan?" she asked.

"Did you hear that Jack loves Angie?" he kissed her romantically. Angela leaned on the
Angelator. Its white glittering streaks stretched from the top to the bottom. Angela's
eyes shimmered in the dim room.

"Cheesy line, but I'll take it." she kissed him back. "Seriously, though, Jack--"

"You want to talk about Booth and Brennan while I try to turn you on? That might spoil
the mood." Hodgins laughed and continued to kiss Angela, from her lips down to her
collar bone, which left Angela's mouth free.

"Brennan says she thinks she made a mistake." Jack pulled his lips away from Angela's
neck and looked into Angela's eyes, his arms still around her waist. "I think they're
totally right for each other. Like two pieces of a puzzle. I just don't know what to
say to convince her to go on a date with Booth."

"Oh, Aphrodite!" Jack, enamored with Angela's kindheartedness, began to kiss her
shoulders, his mustache tickling her neck. "You have a heart of gold!"

Angela laughed, "If I'm Aphrodite, then you're who? Cupid?"

"Short fat guy with wings and an arrow? I think I'll pass." Hodgins smiled and
continued to caress Angela's neck with his lips.

"You are far from being a fat guy with wings, babe." Angela laughed and kissed his
lips with hers.

Booth, Dr. Brennan, Cam, and two squints who followed robotically behind, walked
towards the room where the Angelator awaited. Cam walked ahead of the group, followed
by Booth and Bones, then finally the two students complete with pads and pencils.

Booth reached out for Brennan's arm and slowed her. Bones slowed and turned to Booth
as they walked. "I've been meaning to talk to you," he whispered.

"Not now, Booth. I've been meaning to talk to you, too. Just not now." Brennan looked
into Booth's eyes, then walked quickly ahead. Booth jogged after her.

Cam was the first to enter the room where Angela and Jack were intertwined. Booth,
Bones, and the squints entered next and began to circle the Angelator.

"Somebody get me a can of Pam and the biggest spatula you can find." Cam smiled at the
couple who realized they were no longer alone. Jin who took the comment seriously,
stopped and turned around to run the errand. Booth, with one hand on his hip, put his
free hand on Jin's head and led him back to his spot next to Lauren.

The group assembled around the Angelator. The students with their pencils in hand,
ready to scribble notes like madmen, Angela with the digital pen and pad in hand, the
others with their arms either tucked into pockets or crossed in front of them, and
waited for the next chapter in the story...

The Angelator glittered above the team as they waited for Angela to begin.

"So what do you have for us, Eisenheim?" asked Booth, referring to The Illusionist.

"Angela." Bones corrected in a sharp whisper. "Her name is Angela."

"It's a movie, Bones." Booth whispered back.

"If this is about me avoiding you..."

"No, it's not about anything, I was just telling you--"

"I absolutely intend on discussing this with you at a later time." The volume of
whispers intensified as all eyebrows in the room lifted in curiosity. "JUST- NOT-
RIGHT- NOW."

Booth moved closer to Bones until they stood toe to toe. They were hunched slightly,
as if still in a whispering posture. "That's what you've said three times so far,
Bones.Three times so far. If you intended to talk to me then you would've done it
already."

"What are you-- counting now?"

"I thought we were ok--"

Angela smiled widely. Cam's eyes widened. Hodgins chuckled. The students looked
alarmed.

"Is this the way it's always going to be...?" asked Lauren.

Bones shot a warning look her way, "Butt out." Mouths dropped. Nobody had ever heard
Dr. Brennan speak that way to a student before.

"You, Temperance Brennan..." Booth wagged his finger in Brennan's face. "You are a
very difficult woman!"

"Sexual Tension, party of two..." Angela sang. Booth and Brennan both looked at
Angela.

Booth stepped away from Bones. Bones stepped away from Booth. They stood on opposite
sides of the Angelator with their arms crossed.

"Alrighty then..." Angela began. "I fed the victim's height and weight into the
computer, the pounds per square inch water would force down upon the body..." Angela
wrote on the wireless digital pad in her left hand. A glistening 3 Dimensional figure
of a thin girl on her stomach, her arms wrenched backwards appeared before the team.
The students scribbled away on their notebooks. Bones looked up at Booth. His
shoulders were weak and sloped. He looked at Bones. Their eyes met, but they quickly
looked away from one another. Angela rambled on about weight and velocity, pounds per
square inch, and so on. "Which means that for Halle Pearsons to have been held down in
that way... even when her left arm escaped, leaving sliding bruises, the killer was
still able to hold her down. He had to have been at least 180 pounds and 5 foot 11
inches tall."

"Which at least rules out Georgia Allen." Cam reasoned. "Good work, Angela."

Angela returned Cam's smile. Angela turned off the Angelator and left the room with
Hodgins.

"Do any..." Brennan's lips were stiff as she addressed Booth. "of the young men who
partied with Georgia and Halle fit that description?" Booth seethed silently. "Booth?"

"Follow me." was all he said.

Yet another drive in the black S.U.V. was spent in quiet. Temperance watched the trees
that lined the streets pass by, Booth watched the road, but looked at his partner
every few minutes.

"Bones... I don't know why we keep ending up like this."

Temperance Brennan sat a little straighter and looked at her partner. She sighed.
"I've been meaning to talk to you, Booth. About the other night. I guess I don't know
how to handle all of this quite yet." Her blue eyes traced the lines in Booth's face.

He looked away from the road.

"I know what you mean." He nodded, deep in thought. "I've been meaning to talk to you,
too."

"I know. And I think I know what it's about."

"No, you don't." Booth glanced over at Bones to see the surprise on her face. It
wasn't every day that Temperance Brennan did not know something. "I want you to
know..." Booth breathed in deeply. "I want you to know..." Booth lost his bravery as
he spoke, "I want you to know that whatever you want is ok with me."

"Seriously?" Booth nodded. Brennan looked back out the window. Her eyes followed the
landscape as she spoke. "I want things to go back to the way they were." Her voice was
soft and a little sad.

"Yeah," Booth replied. His voice was dim and humorless. Bones tried not to look at
Booth, she was afraid that his expression would be etched into her memory forever.

Booth's eye wandered to the passenger side of the vehicle. He thought he saw
Temperance's chin tremble.

Temperance Brennan watched Seeley Booth interrogate a young witness on the other side
of the two way glass. The boy, a tall lean young man of 17 obviously knew much more
than he let on. Booth knew how to get information out of him, so he relentlessly
pried.

Temperance reached to the volume control on the right side of the mirror and turned it
all of the way down. She turned to the man who stood in the room with her.

"Hypothetically speaking, what would you say to a woman who..." Brennan was reaching
for words, phrasing what she spoke carefully. "who... abjured..."

"Like, avoided?" Dr. Lance Sweets clarified.

Dr. Brennan threw him a menacing glance. "Who ABJURED stressful situations?"

Dr. Sweets flipped through the Complete Works of Psychological Terms and Definitions
that he stowed deep in his mind. He replied, "Two general coping strategies for stress
management have been defined: problem solving and emotion-focused..."

"So you're saying I'm being emotional?"

Sweets smiled, "Just wait Dr. Brennan. Let me finish. An additional distinction is
often made between active and avoidant coping strategies."

"So this is just a psychological coping strategy?" Brennan turned to face Booth who
was still interrogating the young witness.

"Wait," Dr. Sweets observed, "Why aren't you in the interrogation room with Agent
Booth?"

Brennan's poker face was on as she glanced at Sweets then back at Booth.

"I see... the stressful situation is between you and Agent Booth?" Brennan looked at
Sweets, her eyes a little wider. "I'm getting warm huh?

"Cold." declared Bones.

"You two had were in a romantic situation and YOU can't deal with the stress involved
in the post-kiss era," Sweets pieced the information together in his mind.

Bones finally turned to Sweets. "You know I don't believe in psychology, Dr. Sweets."

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Who said I needed your help?"

"With all due respect, Dr. Brennan, you were the one who brought it up."

"Fine. I can't talk to Angela. She thinks the answer to all of our problems is to hop
in bed. I can't talk to Booth... because..." Dr. Brennan crossed her arms.

"Sometimes we hide our emotions, Dr. Brennan, when we're afraid of the consequences of
sharing them."

"I'm not afraid, Sweets."

"For someone who has never been afraid of warring tribes or the Chinese Army, you sure
act like it."

"I'm not afraid."

"Then tell Agent Booth that." Dr. Sweets' phone rang, he picked it up, spoke a few
seconds while Brennan's eyes watched Booth. Sweets hang up, "I've gotta roll, Dr.
Brennan."

"Your girlfriend?" she asked, smiling.

"My mom." Dr. Sweets grabbed his bag and left, closing the door behind him.

Dr. Temperance Brennan slept at her desk, the sun was rising and a beam of light
glistened on her hair. She had been working all night trying to find the one shred of
evidence that would lead the team to Halle Pearsons' killer.

"Bones." Booth laid his hand on Bones' shoulder and shook gently.

After a moment, she raised her eyes and looked up. "Booth?"

"Have you been here all night?" he wondered.

"Yeah," she said groggily. She brushed little hairs out of her face. "We're missing
something. Everything up until now has been conjecture. We need facts. What are you
doing here?"

Booth just smiled and handed Bones a cup of coffee.

Temperance returned the smiled and thanked him. "Booth, uh..." Booth sat down on the
little sofa in her office. Bones stood and walked over to him, then sat beside him.
"About last night..."

Booth smiled his friendly smile, "Don't worry about it. I won't mention it again. It's
the past. Let's just forget about it."

For a moment, Bones looked hurt, but she quickly smiled widely, a fake smile. "Yeah...
I'm--I'm glad you agree."

"Yeah, it's the past, Bones." He held out his hand. "Partners?" Bones shook his hand
awkwardly.

"Partners." she agreed.

Cam knocked lightly at Dr. Brennan's door. "Dr. Brennan, I'm surprised to see you so
early."

Brennan looked up, "I just stayed here all night. I think we're missing something."

Cam walked into the office and stood beside the little sofa. "And I think I know just
what that something might be." she held up a folder that had been tucked beneath her
arm.

"What's that?" Bones asked.

"It's the something." Cam smiled.

Bones reached up and took the folder from her boss. She opened it and flipped through
papers that were tacked inside. Hodgins and Angela found their way into the room as
she read.

"I think I've got something!" Hodgins announced.

Cam turned to Hodgins, "So have I."

Bones and Booth looked up.

"What did you find?" Hodgins asked.

"What did you?" Cam asked.

"Ladies first."

"I ran the water that was found in Halle Pearsons' lungs through the mass
spectrometer. I found high levels of Sodium Chloride and Sodium Hydroxide." Cam
smiled, expectant of Hodgins answer.

"And I found isocynates... this morning I discovered that the unidentified
particulates that were under Halle Pearsons' finger nails are Diatomaceous earth..."
for a moment, everyone was still as Hodgins rolled the facts around in his brain.
"That's it!"

"What? What's it?" Booth asked Bones.

"Translation: Dr. Hodgins found swimming pool paint--the isocynates-- and filtering
agents--the Diatomaceous earth-- and I found levels of Sodium Chloride and Sodium
Hydroxide only found in swimming pools." answered Cam.

"Halle Pearsons wasn't murdered in the lake at all. She was murdered in a swimming
pool!" Bones lept to her feet and grabbed her jacket. "We've been looking in the wrong
place all along!"

"Where are you going?" Booth asked as he ran after her.

"We've got to get samples from Mr. Pearsons' swimming pool for comparison!"

"Wait for me!"

Cam, Hodgins, and Angela watched as Booth and Bones ran out the door.

"They're back!" Angela said in a sing-song voice.

"Here's how I see it," Booth hypothesized. "Tom Pearsons had two very big weights on
his shoulders: a wild teenager and a dying wife. In the middle of the night, Halle
wandered home, drunk, high, stumbled into the house. They got into a fight..." Booth
stopped mid sentence. "I just don't understand how they got out to the pool..."

"That's it!" Bones pointed to an almost hidden driveway, tucked between large trees
and foliage.

The S.U.V. slowed to a stop behind an old station wagon. Booth and Bones hopped out of
the car. They walked up the steps to the front door. Bones looked at the pool as they
walked. She tugged on Booth's elbow, "Booth."

"What? Bones, wait!" Brennan walked through the brush and up to the side of the pool.
She looked down into the hallow pool filled with murk and painted with green slime and
moss.

"I think we're back to the first block, Booth," Bones said as she squatted and took a
sample of moss. She tucked the plastic baggy into her pocket and looked up at Booth.

"That's square one, Bones... and I think you're right."

Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth sat on an old sofa in the Pearsons residence. Ruth lay
quietly as ever before, her oxygen pump KSHHed away every five seconds.

"What's this all about? Did you find out who killed my little girl?" Mr. Pearsons
asked. His wrinkled eyes were bloodshot and sunken from nights of sleeplessness.

"We've found evidence that Halle was murdered in a swimming pool," Brennan began. She
stopped shortly, though, once she caught Booth's eye.

"We wanted to know if there were friends who Halle hung out with who happened to have
swimming pools," Booth said.

"It's just me now..." tears streamed down Mr. Pearsons' face and were channeled by
deep wrinkles until they dripped onto his collar. "Ruthie's sick. She's dying. She's
on 80% oxygen now."

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Mr. Pearsons." Bones said sympathetically.

"There's, uh," Mr. Pearsons spoke slowly. "a friend of Halle's who she played with. A
young man by the name of Ben Wright. I think that the Wrights have a pool."

Booth seemed to be thinking deeply, so Bones leaned in and whispered, "What are you
thinking?"

"Can I get you two something to drink?" asked Mr. Pearsons.

"Water," replied Booth. He waited until Mr. Pearsons walked into the kitchen before he
whispered back, "Ben Wright was the kid we interviewed last night."

"Do you think he could do it?" asked Bones.

"You tell me."

"He is about 6 feet tall, 185 pounds. He could do it, Booth."

Booth stood up as Mr. Pearsons reappeared in the room. Bones followed his lead and
stood beside him. "Thanks for everything Mr. Pearsons." Booth and Bones walked to the
door, leaving Mr. Pearsons with two glasses of water in his hands.

Booth and Bones were in the viewing room on the opposite side of the two way glass as
Ben Wright waited to be interrogated once again.

Booth and Bones were alone and the room was quiet. Booth leaned against the wall where
Bones was leaning. His face was close to hers. He gave her his charm smile.

"What?" Temperance asked, with a soft smile on her lips.

"I was thinking," Booth began nervously. "Would you let me take you out to dinner? At
the Diner, I mean. "

Bones smiled back, "Sure." she replied.

"People gotta eat," Booth said. He opened the door for Bones as they entered the
interrogation room.

Booth sat down across from Ben Wright and Bones sat beside Booth. The boy sat up and
smiled at Bones.

"You didn't bring her in last time," he addressed Booth, looking at Bones. "Hey
Beautiful."

Booth glared at him. "This is my PARTNER Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Oh? A doctor?" the boy leaned over and smiled deviously at Bones.

"Right, a doctor, meaning she's about 300 times smarter than you and she can snap you
like a twig." Booth warned.

Bones leaned in, "We know you did it, Ben."

"Did what?" he shot back.

"You killed her." Booth answered back.

"You have no proof of that." the boy squinted at Booth.

"We have forensic evidence. We can place you at the scene of the crime." Bones
replied, her voice low with intensity.

"I left the lake at midnight. Alone. You can't prove anything."

Booth looked at Bones, raised his eyebrows slightly, giving her permission to do her
thing.

"You, Halle Pearson, Georgia Allen, and Kyle Tracey partied in the woods on the night
of the 22nd and into the morning of the 23rd," she began. Ben rolled his eyes,
unconvinced. "It wasn't long after that when Georgia and Kyle passed. You took Halle
back to your place. Your parents had already gone to bed. You took Halle to the pool
to have sex with her. She didn't want it, so you tried to rape her." Booth looked
sharply at Bones. No semen had been found in Halle's body. He looked worried, but
Ben's smirk disappeared slowly. "She didn't like that."

"You're wrong. You're WAY wrong--" Ben began, his face turned red with fury.

"The thing you didn't count on, though, was that Halle was taking Risperidone to
combat her depression. She knew what you had in mind the moment you tried. She wasn't
as out of it as you expected. She fought back."

"Then you killed her. You wrenched her arms behind her and stood on her back until she
drowned. Then you threw her in the lake to throw off the scent." Booth told the boy.

Ben's face grew somber. His lips quivered, but his eyes remained dry as he spoke, "She
was going to tell. That b**ch was going to tell."

Booth and Bones looked at each other.

They found Halle Pearsons' killer.

Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan sat at the Royal Diner in their usual window
seat.Booth took a bite from a french fry and asked, "Haven't you ever been camping,
Bones?"

Temperance replied thoughtfully, "When I was thirteen I attended Chemistry Camp."

Booth laughed at her answer. "No, I mean... out in the woods, the stars above you, the
ground below you... eating hot dogs and s'mores--"

"I know what s'mores are," answered Brennan with a twinkle in her eye. "but I'd never
eat hot dogs."

Booth put down his hamburger and smiled, "Why?"

Bones leaned across the table, "You wouldn't either if you knew that hot dogs are made
up of the processed leftovers of larger cuts of meat... ears, snouts, hooves,
tails..."

"That's a myth."

"Or is it?" Bones smiled furtively.

"Now you're going to ruin hot dogs for me?" Booth laughed. "How about camp fires?"

"That summer, there was a boy who accidentally mixed two explosive chemicals. Does
that count?" Bones and Booth laughed for a while, then they both grew silent. Booth
smiled at Bones and the world was still. The only two people left were Seeley Booth
and Temperance Brennan. Brennan sighed, blinked, then looked down at Booth's plate. "I
don't know how you can eat that," she motioned toward the pie on his plate.

"It's the best pie in the world." Booth smiled. "Take a bite."

Bones shook her head, "You know I don't like my fruit cooked."

"Just one bite?" Bones shook her head. "When was the last time you tried Apple Pie?"
he asked.

Bones thought for a moment, "I think I was a teenager. Seventeen?"

"I thought that scientists had to test and retest their hypotheses," Booth pushed the
little plate closer to Bones. "Are you afraid?" he asked.

Bones took a minute to consider. She remembered her conversation with Dr. Sweets. "I'm
not afraid," she replied. She reached for the fork that lay on the plate.

Booth put his hand over the plate and stopped her. "Wait, you'll probably get mostly
crust. Then the experiment will be a bust. Let me." He took the fork and cut out a
piece with a little bit of apple and a little bit of crust. He lifted the fork to
Temperance's lips. She paused for a moment, then smiled slightly. She leaned forward
and took a bite.

Booth leaned in a little further. "What do you think?" he asked.

Bones covered her mouth to catch crumbs. "It's good..." Looking into Booth's eyes, she
replied, "It's perfect."

Booth laughed, put down the fork, then crossed his arms and rested them on the table.
Leaning forward, he asked, "I thought you said perfection was mathematically
impossible?"

Bones leaned in, too, until they were just inches away from one another. "What if I
told you I lied?"

"Then I'd say I forgive you." Booth replied.

The lights lowered and a waitress walked up to the couple in the window seat, "The
diner closes in ten minutes, love birds." She smiled and walked away.

Bones leaned back, her cheeks pink, "I think I should go home now."

Booth copied her and leaned back. "Yeah." He wiped his lips with a napkin, opened his
wallet, then left a few dollars on the table. Booth and Bones stood up and Booth moved
closer to Temperance until they were very close to one another.

"I can..." Temperance said softly, "just take my car." She looked up sheepishly into
Booth's eyes. "I'll need a ride to the Jeffersonian first, though, so I can--"

"Or I can just take you home." Booth replied, his cheeks blushing and his heart
beating loudly in his ears.

Bones gave Booth her very own charm smile and replied, "Or you can take me home." She
started walking toward the door. Booth grabbed a mint from the table before he left.
He stopped and looked toward the ceiling and mouthed the words "Thank you."

I just have a few notes about my story to share...

* I named "Jin" after my favorite professor: Dr. Jin, the Biology Prof. He was awesome!

* The short story, "Perfection" which started this whole story... before Booth and Bones kissed, Bones said that Perfection was mathematically impossible... that's not true, but she was trying to staunch the moment. Didn't work.

* The whole pie thing was an idea I shared on the board before, that they should have a moment where Booth feeds Bones pie. Sweets always says on the show that Booth tries to woo Bones with pie.

* Booth says earlier, or begins to say, that taking a woman to dinner says I love you. Although the date never actually occurs, he still is able to take Bones to dinner.

hey mama...i think people need to read this because it's AWESOME

I love it